Ellen Page and Michael Cera were equally compelling, even though Cera is already flirting with the line of becoming a innocent white-boy character actor. Also, any movie with a pubescent indian kid saying "I think I'm gonna stop wearing underwear so I can raise my sperm count" is gonna float my boat.The real reason I wanted to write this post though, was because of the music in this movie. Juno's soundtrack is similarly indie in the vein of Garden State or Little Miss Sunshine but without as much variety or mainstream sound (like a song that could be on the radio but just isn't discovered yet), and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Moldy Peaches set the pace with some great songs that really make it seem like the movie could not survive without them. I was also very pleasantly surprised to hear a few Belle and Sebastian hits. While not my favorites, they got the job done and showed some real thought had gone into the soundtrack. At several points in the movie I felt that a Tilly And The Wall song would've fit PERFECTLY into the mood and feelings of the movie. All of their songs are about teenagers touching and doing scandalous things like that. Especially on their first album, Wild Like Children, which is incredible by the way. That album probably could've stood on its own as the soundtrack for this movie, but I'm happy they put some effort into the soundtrack.The songs in the movie are weird in a good kind of way, especially the first one during the opening sequence, but as the movie goes on you really start to feel like you're living the moments they're living in high school all over again (although high school was only last year). All in all, I was impressed by the movie, and Diablo Cody's incredibly quick, witty, and slang-ridden screenplay really represented teenager-dom with the kind of accuracy Superbad did, although obviously with much less vulgarity and profanity. When I got home, I quickly ran to the computer so I could find some ukulele chords or a tab for Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches. All I found were guitar chords, but they work just fine. The lines go G C G C G C and on and on its very easy and fun to play. "You're a part time lover and a full time friend," the first line of the song, so perfectly fits this movie. Go see this movie!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Juno - I Really Liked It
So I saw "Juno" the other night, and it was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. And that's a good thing! A feelgood movie with some depth, some humor, and some great music. Acting was also pretty good too. It was very interesting to see J.K. Simmons playing somebody else besides the protagonists' jackass boss. Instead this time he was a compassionate father with a love for heating and cooling, and he got the job done surprisingly effectively. Ellen Page and Michael Cera were equally compelling, even though Cera is already flirting with the line of becoming a innocent white-boy character actor. Also, any movie with a pubescent indian kid saying "I think I'm gonna stop wearing underwear so I can raise my sperm count" is gonna float my boat.The real reason I wanted to write this post though, was because of the music in this movie. Juno's soundtrack is similarly indie in the vein of Garden State or Little Miss Sunshine but without as much variety or mainstream sound (like a song that could be on the radio but just isn't discovered yet), and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Moldy Peaches set the pace with some great songs that really make it seem like the movie could not survive without them. I was also very pleasantly surprised to hear a few Belle and Sebastian hits. While not my favorites, they got the job done and showed some real thought had gone into the soundtrack. At several points in the movie I felt that a Tilly And The Wall song would've fit PERFECTLY into the mood and feelings of the movie. All of their songs are about teenagers touching and doing scandalous things like that. Especially on their first album, Wild Like Children, which is incredible by the way. That album probably could've stood on its own as the soundtrack for this movie, but I'm happy they put some effort into the soundtrack.The songs in the movie are weird in a good kind of way, especially the first one during the opening sequence, but as the movie goes on you really start to feel like you're living the moments they're living in high school all over again (although high school was only last year). All in all, I was impressed by the movie, and Diablo Cody's incredibly quick, witty, and slang-ridden screenplay really represented teenager-dom with the kind of accuracy Superbad did, although obviously with much less vulgarity and profanity. When I got home, I quickly ran to the computer so I could find some ukulele chords or a tab for Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches. All I found were guitar chords, but they work just fine. The lines go G C G C G C and on and on its very easy and fun to play. "You're a part time lover and a full time friend," the first line of the song, so perfectly fits this movie. Go see this movie!
Ellen Page and Michael Cera were equally compelling, even though Cera is already flirting with the line of becoming a innocent white-boy character actor. Also, any movie with a pubescent indian kid saying "I think I'm gonna stop wearing underwear so I can raise my sperm count" is gonna float my boat.The real reason I wanted to write this post though, was because of the music in this movie. Juno's soundtrack is similarly indie in the vein of Garden State or Little Miss Sunshine but without as much variety or mainstream sound (like a song that could be on the radio but just isn't discovered yet), and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Moldy Peaches set the pace with some great songs that really make it seem like the movie could not survive without them. I was also very pleasantly surprised to hear a few Belle and Sebastian hits. While not my favorites, they got the job done and showed some real thought had gone into the soundtrack. At several points in the movie I felt that a Tilly And The Wall song would've fit PERFECTLY into the mood and feelings of the movie. All of their songs are about teenagers touching and doing scandalous things like that. Especially on their first album, Wild Like Children, which is incredible by the way. That album probably could've stood on its own as the soundtrack for this movie, but I'm happy they put some effort into the soundtrack.The songs in the movie are weird in a good kind of way, especially the first one during the opening sequence, but as the movie goes on you really start to feel like you're living the moments they're living in high school all over again (although high school was only last year). All in all, I was impressed by the movie, and Diablo Cody's incredibly quick, witty, and slang-ridden screenplay really represented teenager-dom with the kind of accuracy Superbad did, although obviously with much less vulgarity and profanity. When I got home, I quickly ran to the computer so I could find some ukulele chords or a tab for Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches. All I found were guitar chords, but they work just fine. The lines go G C G C G C and on and on its very easy and fun to play. "You're a part time lover and a full time friend," the first line of the song, so perfectly fits this movie. Go see this movie!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Assorted Wisdom From Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
"Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college."
-Kurt Vonnegut
After finishing Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, two books books I've always wanted to read, I figured I'd blog about some of my favorite things from each. There's not much, but as soon as I read some of these sentences or paragraphs, I wrote them down instantly so I wouldn't forget them. Vonnegut has a way of making his characters so real and so personable, but almost in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. He has a way of writing so that his stories seem so real, but as the same time almost dreams. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim's journeys through space and time really made me sit and think, between chapters, about the fabric of our minds and the fabric of the world around us. Pilgrim has a tendency to get "un-stuck" in time: a moment where he travels to various memories and relives them, or a moment where he travels to a dream he once had, or even a moment where he travels to the planet Tralfamadore and is a Zoo exhibit for the Tralfamadorians. I can't say I've quite traveled through time, but there have definitely been moments for me where I look around and everything is moving in slow motion. I look forward to reading some more of his work like The Sirens of Titan and Breakfast of Champions. So it goes...
Now on to the quotes:
During one part in Slaughterhouse-Five, a pendant hangs between the breasts of Billy Pilgrim's lover. It reads:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."
Now a few from Cat's Cradle that I felt particularly connected to.
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." -Bokonon
"Not one pair of eyes was clear. The women's breasts were bare and paltry. The men wore loose loincloths that did little to conceal penes like pendulums on grandfather clocks. There were many dogs but not one barked. There were many infants, but not one cried. Here and there someone coughed-and that was all. A military band stood at attention before the crowd. It did not play."
"I asked Stanley, the major-domo, if there happened to be a copy of The Books of Bokonon about the house. Stanley pretended not to know what I was talking about. And then he grumbled that The Books of Bokonon were filth. And then he insisted that anyone who read them should die on the hook. And then he brought me a copy from Frank's bedside table."
Bokononist Words I Need To Remember:
Boko-maru = spiritual touching of the soles of the feet, connected two beings, the "mingling of awareness" and making them feel much better and more comfortable in the process.
The Boko-maru Calypso from the Books of Bokonon reads:
We will touch our feet, yes,
Yes, for all we're worth,
And we will love each other, yes,
Yes, like we love our mother Earth.
Karass = a group of people eternally tied together by the fabric of the universe with a mission from God to do.
Wampeter = the pivot of a karass, around which the souls of the members of the karass revolve ex. Ice Nine
Granfalloon = a fake karass, like "Hoosiers" in the book
Zah-mah-ki-bo = fate, inevitable destiny
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Here Comes The Sun - Ukulele Chords
A fact many of you probably did not know - George Harrison and the Beatles were all huge ukulele fans. Harrison was even known to carry 2 with him everywhere he went, just so he would have somebody else to play with. Anyways, I recently purchased my first musical instrument, the ukulele, because I've always wanted to learn and instrument but was neverpatient enough to (apparently the uke is pretty easy to play).
And Yes, it is pretty easy to play-learning the strumming patterns is the hardest part. Nicely enough, many great bands' music can be adapted to the uke. Recently, I've mastered The Penalty by Beirut which is an incredible song, and I was looking for a new challenge. Fortunately for me, I found an amazing site on how to play a few dozen Beatles songs on the ukulele. The hard part is, you can either play with the website since it's flash, or you can write down the chords yourself. Lucky for you (if any ukulele fans are directed to this site from Google), I've tabbed out the chords for the entire song with the words. I know I have a tough time finding songs I love chorded out for the uke. The website is good, but it's hard to go back and forward in order to just get the chords down. Here is the website by the way if you want to try some of your own: http://beatlesite.info/
To figure out how to play the funny sounding chords like C7sus and stuff like that, just click Here Comes the Sun on the website I linked above and write it down once you get to that part in the song (the website shows the finger movements). Some of this may look complicated, but it's actually very easy, just see and follow along with the website and you'll see.
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
and I say it's all right
F Bflat C7-C7sus-C7-C7sus
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
F Bflat C7 C7sus C7 C7sus
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
and I say it's all right
F Bflat C7 - C7sus - C7 - C7sus
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
F Bflat C7 - C7sus - C7 - C7sus
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F C7 (trans to Sun, Sun)
and I say it's all right
Aflat Eflat Bflat F C7 (trans)
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... (x5)
F Bflat C7 C7sus C7 C7sus
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
F Bflat C7 C7sus C7 C7sus
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
and I say it's all right
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
it's all right
F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
it's all right
To figure out how to play the funny sounding chords like C7sus and stuff like that, just click Here Comes the Sun on the website I linked above and write it down once you get to that part in the song (the website shows the finger movements). Some of this may look complicated, but it's actually very easy, just see and follow along with the website and you'll see.
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
and I say it's all right
F Bflat C7-C7sus-C7-C7sus
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
F Bflat C7 C7sus C7 C7sus
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
and I say it's all right
F Bflat C7 - C7sus - C7 - C7sus
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
F Bflat C7 - C7sus - C7 - C7sus
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F C7 (trans to Sun, Sun)
and I say it's all right
Aflat Eflat Bflat F C7 (trans)
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... (x5)
F Bflat C7 C7sus C7 C7sus
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
F Bflat C7 C7sus C7 C7sus
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
Bflat F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
and I say it's all right
F Fsus (trans) Bflat
Here comes the sun,^ here comes the sun
F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
it's all right
F Bflat F Gm F C7 F
it's all right
Monday, December 10, 2007
another reason why i love e.e. cummings
since "in just-" e.e. cummings has been one of my favorite poets. his style, repetition, bizarre spacing and funny capitalization has always intrigued me. as i compile a poetry anthology for my english class, i came upon another interesting poem by e.e. cummings. the pacing and the sense of youthful awkwardness is refreshing-even if we find out by the end that the characters in the poem are probably middle aged. or at least the man is. but anyways i included it as one of the centerpieces in my anthology. i think you'll enjoy it. and yes, the lack of capitalization in this entry is some sort of tribute to him. it must have been quite interesting to live a life in lowercase as he did.
may i feel said he
(i'll squeal said she
just once said he)
it's fun said she
(may i touch said he
how much said she
a lot said he)
why not said she
(let's go said he
not too far said she
what's too far said he
where you are said she)
may i stay said he
(which way said she
like this said he
if you kiss said she
may i move said he
is it love said she)
if you're willing said he
(but you're killing said she
but it's life said he
but your wife said she
now said he)
ow said she
(tiptop said he
don't stop said she
oh no said he)
go slow said she
(cccome?said he
ummm said she)
you're divine!said he
(you are Mine said she)
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
So last night I stumbled upon one of the best videos I've ever seen. I'm generally not super into music videos, but this video just fit the song so perfectly and just takes you to another universe. I'd heard of Los Campesinos before, a group of 7 some young Brits that sound a bit like Architecture In Helsinki mixed with the Go Team with the vocalist from the Streets-or something a little bit in between all of them, but I'd never really looked into them much.
I am very happy I did; I rarely love a song or video the first time I see/hear it. Not only that, but I can definitely see humans as a whole taking the route that the little red people take in this video, i.e. repeatedly blowing themselves up at the peak of their existence. The music is really good too, but that video just expands its value so much more to me. I mean, I'm always up for a good taste of the glockenspiel. See for yourself
Anyways, 6 minutes have never gone by so fast. Be patient, it takes a little time to build up.
I am very happy I did; I rarely love a song or video the first time I see/hear it. Not only that, but I can definitely see humans as a whole taking the route that the little red people take in this video, i.e. repeatedly blowing themselves up at the peak of their existence. The music is really good too, but that video just expands its value so much more to me. I mean, I'm always up for a good taste of the glockenspiel. See for yourself
Anyways, 6 minutes have never gone by so fast. Be patient, it takes a little time to build up.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
My First Post
Well, here it is:
I've always wanted a blog but I never really got around to doing it. Now that I'm a freshman in college at Michigan and I'm changing my ways, I figure it'll be a cool think to look back on over the next couple years.Not only that, but what better time to create a blog than when you're supposed to be studying for finals? I thought so too. It'll be almost like an internet journal, I say. A cultured internet journal with things I like on it, and things I think you should like too. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Anyways, I've been really into Beirut lately-especially when Zach Condon includes mustachio'd men in his music videos. The video for Elephant Gun is simply gorgeous, and you should probably watch it. The song's one of my current favorites as well. Zach Condon is a genius. Enjoy.
I've always wanted a blog but I never really got around to doing it. Now that I'm a freshman in college at Michigan and I'm changing my ways, I figure it'll be a cool think to look back on over the next couple years.Not only that, but what better time to create a blog than when you're supposed to be studying for finals? I thought so too. It'll be almost like an internet journal, I say. A cultured internet journal with things I like on it, and things I think you should like too. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Anyways, I've been really into Beirut lately-especially when Zach Condon includes mustachio'd men in his music videos. The video for Elephant Gun is simply gorgeous, and you should probably watch it. The song's one of my current favorites as well. Zach Condon is a genius. Enjoy.
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