Quoted II

"I don't want anyone writing in to point out that I spend too much money on books, many of which I will never read. I know that already. I certainly intend to read all of them, more or less. My intentions are good. Anyway, it's my money. And I'll bet you do it too."

-Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree

I had a delightfully Brit-tastic afternoon, huddled under my covers because my bedroom at home is frigid in a way that seems to completely defy that whole "heat rises" concept, reading Hornby's essays about reading and listening to Coldplay. My favorite part of any break from school is having time for recreational reading - reading about reading just epitomizes the temporary freedom from academia's shackles.

Mood Music VII / Favorite Music Videos Addition

I was watching Walk the Line while paper-editing this morning, and realized that I left a video off my list of favorites.  This video is a beautiful, heart-wrenching coda to that love story.

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Added bonus - a performance of theirs that I simply love.  No disrespect to Bob Dylan, but this song is exponentially more interesting as a duet.  If I ever engage in a karaoke duet, this song's first on the list.

Mood Music VI

This may be the only good thing that came out of all the time I spent watching Studio 60.  I can't say how thrilled I was that the person who posted this chose to mute all the dialogue - just the sight of the characters making eyes at each other made me roll mine.  In many ways, this scene is emblematic of all the things that didn't really work about Studio 60 - it's the culmination of a plot about the show's musicians taking leave to give their spots over temporarily to displaced musicians from New Orleans.  Unquestionably well-intentioned, but poorly executed - mostly, it always seemed like Aaron Sorkin was trying to give the same kind of import to the backstage goings-on of a sketch comedy show as he once did to the backstage goings-on of the White House.  It never really gelled.  Mostly the show siphoned away my goodwill for The West Wing and made me feel sorry for Kristen Chenoweth, as Sorkin seemed determined to address various sticking points of their relationship through the show. (I read somewhere that there were rumors about her writing a memoir, and it made me really excited because I'd love to know her take on all that craziness.) However, right after this show aired, NBC offered the song as a download on their site, and I have enjoyed it ever since.  I'm generally more of a fan of poppy, sixties-era Christmas music, but this is a beautiful rendering of a more traditional song.

Hmmm...

This is not inspiring confidence.  Personally, I'm reserving judgement on the whole director switch - I like Catherine Hardwicke, but I also understand how it makes business sense to Summit.  Changing it up increases the likelihood that those fans who were unhappy with Twilight will be willing to give New Moon a chance.  I'm planning to Netflix Chris Weitz's oeuvre if he gets picked officially - About a Boy seems promising, The Golden Compass seemed to have a lot going on that was out of Weitz's hands.  New Moon comes in with significantly less controversy than The Golden Compass, and it would be nice to think that he's learned from the difficulties with that film.  I'm not a person who thinks that it has to be directed by a woman, I'm willing to wait and see.

Mainly, what's troubling is the tone being used to discuss the movie, and the seemingly speedy timeline.  This time last year, Kristen and Rob had been cast and the movie was heading forward to start filming in February with a December release date.  Now there's no director, Volturi and Quileutes (vital to any potential future films) yet to be cast, and apparently they're going to start shooting in March and plan to get all the post-production work, including the giant wolves, done in time to hit theaters on the same November weekend next year.  The statement about a "guaranteed $100 mil. gross" shows a lack of understanding of the fan base - there seems to be an idea that the success of Twilight is tantamount to a carte blanche from the fans for future work, which anyone who's spent any time on a fansite for the series knows is grossly inaccurate.  Summit only got to their $70 mil. opening weekend with a healthy respect/fear of the fans.  Assuming blockbuster status is counting chickens before they've hatched.  As one of the crazy bitches who love and obsess over this series: we're fickle and easy to anger - failure to respect us could blow up in their faces hardcore.

Mood Music V

Oh, Kristen Stewart.  Others may mock you for your hostile body language in interviews, or for toking on your front stoop as though you haven't a care in the world and are not, in fact, the star of a movie making millions upon millions of dollars (something the fandom seems surprisingly chill about - maybe it's the fact that Twilight fans face a solid amount of judgement themselves, but most places the response I've seen has been a resounding "Whatever. It's her life."), but to me you seem kind of delightful, and probably very cool and a lot of fun.  Also, after hearing that putting this song on the Twilight soundtrack was your suggestion, I officially cannot dislike you at all, for it is beautiful, and makes me want to cry all the time, and is my new favorite song.  It was kind of perfect for today, a kind of grey day when I should have been working but didn't and was generally irresponsible and lazy.

Screw You, ABC

No, really. I mean it.

When I was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and Kristin Chenoweth came on singing a cheery Christmas tune, tears sprang to my eyes just thinking about Pushing Daisies. Listening to her sing, I recalled how much I want Alfredo to come back so she and Raul Esparza can sing the beautiful duet of my musical-theater-loving dreams. But that will probably never happen now. Screw you, ABC. I mean, the fact that they didn't use the summer to show reruns of the strike-shortened season (of which there were only nine episodes. Nine.) just demonstrates the lack of regard they have for this show.

Gah!

On a partially related note, Ms. Chenoweth is not the only phenomenally talented member of the cast. I just watched this movie again, and, well, damn.

Tell me that man shouldn't be on my television all the time.

Sigh.

Mood Music IV

Paper-writing crunch time. Man alive, do deadlines make me crazy.

My all-time fave crunch time song.  I don't know why. Freshman year of undergrad for my first-semester finals I just latched onto this song and listened to it like 150 times. -->

Mood Music III

Acknowledging that it will be God knows when that Apple Records gets on the whole digital music thing, last year I broke down and bought Badfinger's greatest hits in CD form.  I just had to own "Day After Day" so I could listen to it over and over again, rather than utilizing the following YouTube version.

Beautiful, right?

My Favorite Music Videos

I've been working on a paper about the VMAs, which compelled me to compile my favorite videos of recent years.

First, two from a bit longer ago:

Hot for Teacher - Van Halen

The feminist in me is not a fan.  The pop culture lover in me is relentlessly amused by this video. The little girls fluffing their giant metal hair.  The mini Van Halen analogues.  The rhythmless "dancing" to the chorus is one of my favorite things, like, ever.

Pink - Aerosmith

I'm a big Aerosmith fan - album-wise I prefer the harder, more bluesy pre-rehab seventies stuff, but I still love their later singles.  Time renders effects like the superimposition of the band's faces a little low-tech, but I love Joe Perry as a centaur.

From this decade:

It's My Life - No Doubt

No Doubt - New Music - More Music Videos

No Doubt has made some unbelievably entertaining videos - as a band they seem to really get into the "acting" aspect of the music video process.  Even though they're probably not coming anywhere close to me, I'm still excited about the fact that they're reuniting to tour again.  The best part of this video - Adrian Young's expression in the tub followed by the hair dryer flying through the air. Classic.

Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers

I love the mini-chronicle of video-musical history that they pack into this video.  The band is clearly having a ball, which sells any video.

Helena - My Chemical Romance

I love a band with a great sense of spectacle, which My Chem definitely does.  They never go half-assed on anything.  Also, the dancing in this video is really quality, a rarity in rock videos.

She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5 / Cool - Gwen Stefani

Maroon 5 - New Music - More Music Videos

Gwen Stefani - New Music - More Music Videos

I know that more technically showy directors like Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry get a lot of press, but I love the dreamy aesthetic of Sophie Muller's videos.  They're like mini-movies.

Roses - Outkast

OutKast - New Music - More Music Videos

The Grease-esque high school in miniature in this video looks like so much fun.  I love Paula Abdul coaching the choreography from the wings.

The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes

One of the interesting things about researching MTV and the VMAs has been learning about the contrast between music videos as a commercial product selling a song and an artist and music videos as art themselves.  The White Stripes are a band who continue to make artful videos, even as the form's heyday gets further and further away.

Perfect Situation - Weezer

Another band who really tries to do something with their videos.  This song was, like, the soundtrack to my intermittent periods of depression and ennui sophomore year of undergrad.  I love Elisha Cuthbert's over-the-top performance in this video.

Sugar We're Going Down - Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy - New Music - More Music Videos

As stated in the previous post, I love Patrick Stump's voice.  This video was the perfect odd-yet-riveting accompaniment to the "hitting the big time" explosion of From Under the Cork Tree.

Mood Music II

I understand why some people are annoyed by Pete Wentz, but I'm kind of having a love affair with Patrick Stump's voice right now. Love or hate FOB, the man can sing. 

Presentation Clips

Link to Jordin Sparks in 2008

Justin Timberlake in 2007:

MTV Shows

Madonna in 1984:

Madonna and Friends in 2003:

Madonna - New Music - More Music Videos

Link to Katy Perry in 2008

Quoted

"The goal of being alive is to figure out what it means to be alive, and there is a myriad of ways to deduce that answer; I just happen to prefer examining the question through the context of Pamela Anderson and The Real World and Frosted Flakes. It's certainly no less plausible than trying to understand Kant or Wittgenstein." - Chuck Klosterman, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

This is like an explanation of my own personal methodology and what I love about American Studies.