Doctor Sleep

Stephen King's sequel to The Shining is a kick ass story, but it's not scary. In the afterword King is baffled as to why Stanley Kubrick's film version of his novel is so universally considered one of the most terrifying films of all time. So why did King pen a sequel that fails to scare us? There have been five adaptations of King's work that are even worth viewing and the only remotely scary film is Carrie. Kubrick's film is more of comedic take on horror films, which is likely why King show's such disdain for the film. Light's being placed where ghosts appear, arrows pointed towards the sky suggesting aliens, chairs misplaced in what may or may not be continuity errors, televisions working without electricity, these are all clear clues that Kubrick is poking fun at the work of a really talented writer. I enjoyed Doctor Sleep immensely, but for King to state this is a follow up to the book and not the film is just plain silly. Images from the film are so aggressively engraved into so many people's minds it's impossible not to compare the bucked tooth Wendy Torrance with the villainous Rose the Hat, or the irony of Jack mocking Wendy for wanting to take Danny to a Doctor. In the end Doctor Sleep is like a great big Cadillac with no scares inside. It really should be pushed as a fantasy novel instead of horror.

Nirvana

Music from the 90's is vastly underappreciated. Kurt Cobain had his day in the sun, so here are five other bands that stimulate the emotion the late rock star named his band after.


The Brian Jonestown Massacre

All it took to fall in love with this band was to take one listen to "(David Bowie I Love You) Since I was Six", a blissful love song from their best album Take it From the Man. The fifth track on the album comes after four hard hitting rockers tasty enough to fall head over heels before singer Anton Newcomb spouts the indecisive lyrics, "Does she love you? You suppose.". The album ends with the fantastic seventeen minute jam session "Straight Up and Down", with the band so caught up in the moment they begin chanting "Hey Jude". With my excitement at its peak of discovering Jonestown the previously mentioned song burst onto the opening credits of prohibition drama Boardwalk Empire, giving me hope that more folks would catch on to the bands excellence. However, Newcomb claims to have never even seen the show, appearing content to stay under the radar. The 90's should have belonged to this band who released seven different, progressive, and artful albums before the core of the group broke up. Yet, with a mind as active as Newcomb's the music continues to be delivered with the same passion to this day. I only wish I could go back to the first time someone played "Anemone" for me so I could feel that excitement of hearing The Brian Jonestown Massacre again for the first time.

Pavement

With five superb and radically different albums the Stephen Malkmus' lead band is able to lay claim to the only group with a perfect catalogue. Slanted and Enchanted begins the journey with the group sounding raw and edgy. Filled with improvisation from a band mates getting to know each other. Malkmus is quoted as saying this is probably their best record simply for how it created a new Indie genre. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain follows with their most accessible and critically acclaimed set of songs. The album gave the group a following which seemed to irk the slackers the wrong way. In response they recorded Wowee Zowee, an assorted mess of genres ranging from folk "Father to a Sister of Thought" to borderline techno "Western Homes". Of the eighteen songs at least half seem to have inspired the sound for newly formed bands. Still, being a group of seemingly well educated members were once again eager silence the critics when they released Brighten the Corners. As the title implies there doesn't seem to be a throw away track on the entire track list. Kicked off with the sarcastic "Stereo" and finishing with the epic "Fin". Like all bands who spend countless hours together on tour emotions began to cause riffs. The turmoil is apparent in their finale Terror Twilight. Sounding more like a Malkmus solo piece, the songs focus on life after fame and settling back down into the middle class blur from whence they came.



The Apples in Stereo
There's nothing wrong with basing your groups music off another. The Beatles have inspired countless bands and were themselves inspired by early blues. The Apples quickly find their own sound with each progressive record. Happiness gushes from their songs usually keeping things light. Tracks featuring drummer Hilarie Sidney on vocals "Stay Gold" and "Winter Must Be Cold" give me goose bumps with every listen. It's also a nice change of pace from the whiney vocals of Robert Schneider. Even though the band has slowly shifted from psychedelia to techno pop, their early albums are amongst the best of the 90's.


Built to Spill

This group took a while to build on me, until a few months ago the music is now spilling out into my ear drums on a daily basis. The reason for this could be that for years the only record I owned was Perfect From Now On, which like the name suggests is a batch of eight perfectly crafted songs. Yet, there is not a stand out single in the bunch. Perhaps if I first listened to There is Nothing Wrong with Love, before handing out judgment I could have enjoyed this band for a longer span of time. Much like Pavement, band leader Doug Martsch adds an incredible intellectual touch to the music. They aren't some group of noisy misfits, but a well educated band with the ability produce songs of purposefully guided misdirection. The swirling dual guitars are constantly reaching a point of apex, while Martsch's lyrics keep everything grounded. Nirvana is no channeled in songs like "Some", but the lyrics are somewhat tongue and cheek, "Some people like her for her charm, some people take her for granted." Nobody sees one another in the same vein, all the more reason to give people second chances, because sometimes you might miss out on a hidden gem.



The Olivia Tremor Control
Despite only releasing two magnificent opus's, Will Cullen Hart and Bill Doss are among the most innovative minds ever to make music. The beautiful musical collages of Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage are works genius beyond any doubt. There are enough ideas on each of the two records to have enough material for a ten disc catalogue. It's difficult not to mention Neutral Milk Hotel who also only dropped two records of superior quality, but the Jeff Magnum led band had to have lent some inspiration. Both albums, at times, seem to teeter off into obscurity with prolonged journey's into Pink Floyd type noisy banter. However, the wait for actual music is well worth it. At one point on Dusk the words "How much longer can I wait", are uttered before a epic guitar solo in the vein of Jimi Hendrix. The same such tease occurs on Black Foliage as we lulled away from melodies for over ten minutes before the bands best song "California Demise" hits the air waves like a jolt of thunderous melodic bliss. New ideas and sounds appear with each listen, expanding each and every moment of sound glorious, introspective, and always enjoyable.

All five of these bands are likely considered classic rock here in 2013. I wonder how coincidental it is that my love of these five 90's bands is so strong despite never hearing them as I grew up. A recording is locked in time, so even though it was radio heavy bands like Weezer, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Green Day that were among my record collection during the decade, these five bands were inspired by the same satellite of time. Thanks for the eternal nirvana.  

Everything is Green

I have had a passionate love affair this summer. Our time together is spent entirely in the sunbaked hours. At times we allow others to share the enjoyment of our company, however the love is most pure while listening to Built to Spill jam sessions alone. The best part of it all is that everything is green.

“Will you birdy? Will you bogey? It doesn’t matter much. Just keep your head down and swing right round and soon you’ll be in the cup.”

The golf season is just about over. I’m surely going to take every advantage I can to get out there in the chilly weather. The feel of the club hitting the ball just right and watching the little white dot fly through the sky and land gently on freshly cut grass is what keeps me coming back.
 

“I never saw that boy in you locked behind your eyes.”

As I watch these older men approaching their seventies and eighties still able to give their balls a good stroke, they all have one thing in common. There is that youthful gleam in their eyes as they watch their shot soar. Even if their limbs are creaky, their minds fading, and their distance diminishing, they are still able to hit a ball and compete.

“In the woods what will we find? This day was made for you and I.”

 

Essex Green's "Everything is Green" has been a favorite song of mine for at least half a decade, however this discovery of the songs true meaning was never as clear as the gorgeous melody. Ah! the mystery of a well crafted tune.

Une Vie Rangï

Sometimes I wonder if there is any possible way I could settle down, move to North Dakota and live of the land. There is nothing more perfect than Pavement’s “Range Life” to examine the possibility of a middle class twenty something contemplating whether or not he can live a life of mundane obscurity. How I wish I could have this pop song playing in my head for all eternity, luckily there are so many lyrics that have stuck holes in my head to satisfy the craving.

 

“Hey you gotta’ pay your dues before you pay the rent.”

 
This is where I’m at right now in life and have been before. Money isn’t something that’s given, but growing up in an upper middle class family can at times feel like a life of luxury. However very quickly we discover that work must be done to earn these amenities.

“Until you snort it up or shoot it down your never gonna’ feel free.”

Drugs are something that temporarily heals the gaping void of existence. Filling that void with passions is rewarding, but so is the temptation of mixing drugs together with passions.

“School’s out what did you expect?”

So many kids go to school expecting bliss and for the most part receiving it. Then the big chill hits and you realize that the rest of your life a waits. So far I have found one true way of dealing with the continuous prospect of career building, relationship hunting, and peace of mind.

 

“Dreamin’ dream dream dream.”

 

We Are Underused

We all lie. Even it’s in the most subtle of ways. The most glorious part of a lie is that it never has to end, it can be ridden like a roller coaster until we die. All songs are lies. All movies are lies. All relationships are lies. Simply put I want to be entertained, and if a story is told that is has a copious amount of lies that's fine, just make sure hit nails me to my core.  Our instinct is to fabricate the truth. Pavement's gem “We Are Underused”, is an epic tribute to all those who stick honesty in their back pocket for the sake of a good story.

 

 

"Let's drink a toast to all those who will ride a lie, to tell about their struggles in hushed tones around the fire."

 

Don Jon

The wait is over; a film has finally been released that explains the alienation of our youth through media. A woman in her fifties stated while leaving the showing that the movie was pointless, everybody knows that a meaningful sexual relationship is better than meaningless sex. My quick response was, "You would be surprised as to how many people thrive on living such a lifestyle.”

The film's opening segment shows many well know clips of sexual breakthroughs in cinema, music, and television, such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, a scene that most men and women born in the late 50's to late 60's must have had fond(ling) memories of. The montage continues into the narrative as the first third of the film allows a peek into a Jersey Shore like onslaught of raging hormones and sexual escapades. Our main character Jon begins as a ladies man addicted to sex with women who look like models from magazines, while going home and enjoying masturbating to women who look like whores too sexy to work the streets. His outlook on life changes by the end of the film, but his character does not, allowing the audience the luxury of not being forced to suspend any sort of disbelief.  

The largest mystery of the film posed to myself is what 'cars' represent. Several key scenes take place on and off screen with vehicles. Early on Jon states that his 'ride' is one of the few most important things he values. The meaning clearly points towards Jon's macho sexual nature. However the vehicle he drives also keeps him in a shell, much like pornography allows him to lose himself. Don shows no fear in shouting to the ignorant drivers of New Jersey, until eventually he punches in a car window forcing him to show the emotion of pain. Later in the film John chooses to have sex with the older and more mature Esther in the back seat of her car, a very vulnerable place to make love. Later in the scene Esther reveals that her family was killed in a car accident sadly stating, "Cars can be awful things," or something to that affect. However they still make beautiful love putting Jon into a sexual frenzy porn has ever given him. After sleeping with Esther, Jon is seen driving in his car ecstatically bouncing to "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch completely lost in love stricken bliss. Jon is bellowing the songs chorus as he reaches a stop light where an Asian couple shoots him a disconcerting smirk. Jon does his best to shy away from the embarrassment. I do not believe we ever see Jon in a vehicle again.

Eye contact also plays a large role in the film. While picking up women Jon can tell immediately if the woman is interested. It seems to be a sort of primal force between humans. This continues throughout the film in a variety of ways. Upon dating Barbara, the romantic comedy obsessed Jersey girl peach, there are very subtle downward glances by her character. She is constantly playing the game of hard to get, a trait that the beautiful bombshell has no doubt picked up from the entire ersatz ardor she watches on the big screen every day. Scenes within the church are both the most comical as well as the most frustrating. The comedy lies within the Catholic Churches readiness to forgive their followers through a private confession addressed to a Priest who in turn passes the sins onto the one and only God. This leads to a line I laughed at with glee. After Jon told the Priest he had only slept with one woman several times out of wedlock, and did not engage in any pornographic sessions. The Priest again advised him to say ten Hail Mary’s and ten Our Father’s. Jon’s response had me rolling in the isle, “Father, how do you come up with these numbers?” Jon is never shown within a church again.

It’s great to see a movie in my dreams produced and released. Although my top ten films list of 2013 is still in progress Don Jon is in the top 3 along with Frances Ha and Upstream Color. Certainly seeing more of the Martello clan characters fleshed out would have been intriguing. Exploring the Martello’s may have given insight into exactly why Jon was brought up to become the man we despise, yet still root for as our protagonist. Although director Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives us clues through an honest depiction of what family life is like at the Martello family dinners, there is never any fleshed out dialogue sequence between any of the family members. Perhaps that is the intention of the film. This family is so close knit that meaningful words cannot really be spoken at the intellectual levels craved by a more intelligent film viewer.

Keep working Joe, you are extremely talented, after viewing Brick there was no doubt in my mind you were going to explode onto the scene. Hollywood has caught the bug too, so cash in on some good Hollywood blockbusters, then go back to fine tuning your beautiful craft. hH