Billy Joel
- The real catalyst for this entry is in fact a conversation with a friend. Recently I've become more and more completely against anything Billy Joel. I blame classic rock radio for this. Billy Joel is an artist whose hits are way better than his album material, but even then those hits have become increasingly less palatable as the years go by. I'll still enjoy a handful of his songs. There is no way that I won't ever enjoy the silliness of "Movin' Out" with it's heart attack-ack-ack-ack's and overly produced sound. I also extremely enjoy "Just The Way You Are" maybe because it's my parents wedding song. But if I have to hear "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" in full ever again.... bad things may happen. His songs lost all luster to me. He tacks himself on tour with Elton John and comparing the two gets annoying. Elton's piano playing is far superior and lyrically (well for the most part) Bernie Taupin does a better job. EJ isn't without his blemishes, but Elton John's catalog at large has countless classics that go beyond the singles. I find this one half a shame and half a loss due to overexposure so maybe BJ is less "dead to me" and more "on notice." Regardless, I could care less what Brenda and Eddy are doing.Donnie Darko
- No real surprise here. Donnie Darko was introduced to me at a very transitional time in my life. I had yet to become the uber snob of movies that I can safely ay I have become (I can't stand to watch most movies and have found myself watching documentaries or Criterion Collection selections more than anything else.) I was still young and somewhat angsty, so the characters in Darko seemed pretty relatable. I also enjoyed pretty much anything as long as it had an intense world that sucks you into and that I've found is the only thing Donnie Darko has going for it. I haven't watched it in a very long time, but I can safely say that I have very little desire to do so. Richard Kelly has proven his hackery to us through the insanely horrible Southland Tales and looking back at Darko proves that only a few things good have come from it. A great scene put to Tears For Fears' "Head Over Heels" which is a fantastic song and a few lines of dialogue, specifically one that has become the moniker for our Fantasy Football League. "They need to go for a safety."Pink Floyd's The Wall (Album)
- Strangely enough, whenever I listen to The Wall, the only two things I think of are Hoskins and Geldoff. As I assume a lot of people realize, The Wall is an epicly overrated album. It's not bad. This is one of those things that I'm sure I will still enjoy from time to time, but in no way would The Wall be in my top 10 Pink Floyd albums. The overstuffed album is just too long to really enjoy anymore and it's story, although intriguing, is done better on albums like Wish You Were Here or Animals. It's also strange that I'd prefer to watch the film version rather than listen to the album. That's right. I said it. I enjoy the movie more so than the album. The movie is half really bizarre filled with amazing animations and half hilarious acting care of Geldoff and Hoskins (who is only in it for like once scene... but he steals the show!) I can't really explain it much further but everytime I hear "Comfortably Numb", all I picture is Geldoff's face during the "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" part and I just start laughing. That's not good, especially for a song that used to be easily my fav Floyd track.Cable TV - I've never been a huge TV watcher, but I can safely say that I don't really need a television. Sure I'm missing Treme which poses to be the next best TV show since.... maybe since The Wire and Arrested Development ended? Not that I don't enjoy TV if it is on, but lately I can't really tell you any shows that I've been dying to watch. Most of what I want to see is BBC Comedy or is somehow available via Netflix streaming. Since four seasons of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain is available at all times, why bother? I also have no capability of keeping up with most TV shows. Since TV has it's new golden age bubbling forth (suppsoedly), I get hooked on a show, forget what channel its on or just have something more pressing to do then watch a TV show on any given night off. I just don't have time for it! Since everything is put on DVD, I'd rather watch it all in one sitting or over the course of a few weeks. Gone are the TV shows that aren't interconnected by some story. The sitcom is basically dead and the best TV dramas are all on HBO or Showtime. Screw cable. I'll be behind the curve with TV then. I guess I'm cheap. The only thing I will miss are sporting events but I can always go to a friends place or to a bar to catch that.
That's all for now. I'm done complaining about things I used to enjoy.
4 comments:
I can totally understand tastes changing and the effects of overexposure, but I have to object to the casting out of The Wall. 10 better Pink Floyd albums? Come on!
I love all those other Floyd albums, but the epic scale of The Wall, especially contextualized by the time of it's release, conquers any staleness accrued with the passage of time.
I challenge you to go see Roger Waters tour with The Wall this fall. I wrote a blog post about Floyd recently, so feel free to pick that apart.
The Wall isn't a terrible album. I just find it hard to sit through the whole damn thing anymore. Unlike Dark Side which gets a ton of exposure, it lacks the same direction that other Floyd albums have. It's too much in one spot.
I would see Roger Waters again but no way I'm sitting through The Wall live.
agreed. Billy Joels a fag and I haven't liked since my Mom ( who is a semi-fan) told me that Joel said "Elton John and I are the same. . .except I write my own lyrics" well Billy, you fuck, maybe you should hire someone to write your music because you sound like a pretentious pussy every time you open your mouth. which leads me to my next point. i realize this blog is relatively old and you wrote their congratulations blog, but MGMT belongs on this list. the two of the most pretentious pussies in pop music today. sure they're catchy and i like their use of synth, although i can almost guarantee that they get a ton of help from whoever produces them, but a band is NOTHING without a good live performance and theirs is worst ive ever had the unfortunate experience of witnessing. theyre recent performance on SNL was hard to watch. in fact, i turned it off (mind you that I watched all of Katy Perry's). and Paul, I know i sent you the video of them playing "kids"...or should i say singing to it off-key in a karaoke-style manner. thats insulting. i have a million other reasons for hating mgmt, but ill spare my fingers. i LOVED electric feel. ill even say that its one of the catchiest and most original songs of the last ten years, but when i began listening to their catalog, my immediate thoughts were "wow. these guys are total hipster pussies." theyre lyrics are mediocre at best, they play with zero feel, and theyre shitty live performances just pushed me over the edge. sure they have catchy synth leads, but so does flight of the conchords or ANYONE with a synthesizer and ears. Fuck MGMT. theyre dead to me.
and i know that you're a devoted MGMT fan, Paul, but I guess I just wanna know why. Similar things piss us off and make us happy, so I guess i'm just curious as to why you would like a band that, in my opinion, is not particularly musically talented/inclined, and doesnt give a rats tit about its fans (as made evident through their shitty live performances). I should ask you in person but I figured ill forget and now is as good a time as any.
Well, most of my criticism of artists stem from the art they produce. Take, for example, Woody Allen. The man is a reprehensible doucher who left his wife for an aadopted daughter. That's kinda effed up. But do I love Annie Hall and Manhattan? More than most movies.
I'm not saying MGMT is on the level of great artistry, but I try to seperate the annoying, hipstery brooklyn douchers themselves vs. their music. I do agree that if a band blows live that it lowers their standings in the world, but that's why I enjoy MGMT only moderately. i thought Congratulations was a really good album. It has some strange sounds and interesting song structures, so I genuinely enjoy the new album. I don't even really like the first album, save for "Electric Feel." I won't defend them, but they still write some good songs, so they aren't dead to me. I won't be waving the flag of MGMT on high. I wouldn't even put them in my top 25 bands of the bast 10 years.
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