Here's another vote for Citizen Kane coming your way--
1. Citizen Kane
2. 8 1/2
3. Chinatown
4. Metropolis
5. Once Upon A Time In The West
6. Andrei Rublev
7. Taxi Driver
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
9. The Big Lebowski
10. Boogie Nights
...Based roughly on a highly questionable mixture of personal appeal and "objectivity"
Sure I'll participate. My name is simply "call any vegetable", after the great Zappa tune. But you may call me any vegetable of your choice. Marquee, for example, has taken to calling me Cabbage. :)
From what I can tell, Claypool's creativity was kickstarted by having Lane back in the band. Frizzle Fry is their best I think, definitely one of my all-time faves. Such a fierce rocker! You might be thinking of Tales From the Punchbowl, and Pork Soda has some good ones.
I was impressed by the new Primus. Like their older stuff but even funkier. Interesting how Lane was their original drummer and helped shape the early sound, similar to their original guitarist. Such a unique group, nice to hear them again.
Cool! They have gems on all their albums, hard to pick a favorite at this point, but I really dig most of the tunes on Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, and Katy Lied. But I must add that "Kid Charlemagne" is unbelievable.
All the albums from Can't Buy a Thrill to Aja. Still need to listen to Gaucho, which was their last before disbanding. Then there's Fagen's solo effort The Nightfly which is supposed to be quite good. Also their more recent releases. Very solid group, great songwriting, impeccable studio musicianship, plenty of jazz chord changes and esoteric references in the lyrics. The words are very important in this group. Their music has a very interesting character, something like the proud loser. Some fans think the whole ethos is summed up in "Deacon Blues." Another great choice would be "Doctor Wu". They have a type of cool which you don't often find today, maybe the 50s beatnick, pretty dark. Kind of a dominating group too, like you'll just listen to them only for a month, then take a few months break! But very recommended. This is one of my faves.
Yes, the dinner scene was really fun and heart-warming. I liked how it felt lighthearted even though it was dealing with heavy stuff.
Re: Tree of Life. It's definitely not bad, in fact it was probably the best purely visual experience I've had in the theater since Hausu (or maybe even Sin City). It was the ending that basically disappointed me. At that point, it felt like Malick was just throwing everything on the screen that he could randomly think of, a barrage of ultimately meaningless images, because he was trying really hard to make a "very important point". It was one of the few times any of his movies felt forced. What was the deal with the floating mask? Why stop with an image of a bridge? Even the people walking around with Penn irritated me. It felt too solemn, to the point of artificiality. It was odd really, maybe because of how it was filmed (or Penn's lack of screen time), but I didn't connect with anyone on the screen in that moment.
That's a great point about Toy Story 3 avoiding the reality of death for the sake of younger audiences. And the plot is pretty predictable. But I enjoyed it anyway. Maybe sometimes the familiarity of Hollywood schemata (if not outright cliches) is comforting. I dunno. I don't really see the insincerity of the animation. I thought it was clever enough in its jokes and ideas, a superficial but nevertheless successful creativity. While I can't really agree with you about Pixar in general, I definitely agree that no film company (or filmmaker for that matter) should be placed on a pedestal. It is probably nostalgia for the first Toy Story that is giving the third one such impressive chart rankings.
Uncle Boonmee was really good. I saw it about a year ago and I can vividly remember many images. Gotta love the catfish scene. I also liked the parallel world suggestion. Should see it again.
Yeah Tree of Life is kind of overrated. I mean the ending was pretty bad, I think Malick panicked. Coming of age story segment was brilliant tho.
You didn't like Toy Story 3? Not even the security monkey or holocaust finale? I thought it was really entertaining. At least a 6.5
That's a good description of the second half, and so AfterHours ;-) It's definitely less "forceful" and less resonant for me, but it really shows off their goofy and silly side (which might shed more light on the genesis of their music). Childish tracks like "Tony's Theme" are quite fun, and "Brick Is Red" is an excellent closer, understated and almost mocking. I can understand people going either way with Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, as they're definitely the band's essential material.
Here's another vote for Citizen Kane coming your way--
1. Citizen Kane
2. 8 1/2
3. Chinatown
4. Metropolis
5. Once Upon A Time In The West
6. Andrei Rublev
7. Taxi Driver
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
9. The Big Lebowski
10. Boogie Nights
...Based roughly on a highly questionable mixture of personal appeal and "objectivity"
Sure I'll participate. My name is simply "call any vegetable", after the great Zappa tune. But you may call me any vegetable of your choice. Marquee, for example, has taken to calling me Cabbage. :)
Well that was ... something.
From what I can tell, Claypool's creativity was kickstarted by having Lane back in the band. Frizzle Fry is their best I think, definitely one of my all-time faves. Such a fierce rocker! You might be thinking of Tales From the Punchbowl, and Pork Soda has some good ones.
I was impressed by the new Primus. Like their older stuff but even funkier. Interesting how Lane was their original drummer and helped shape the early sound, similar to their original guitarist. Such a unique group, nice to hear them again.
Re: Pet Sounds -- totally agree on "Don't Talk", that's an intoxicating experience. The chords are gorgeous.
Nice, the numbers band album is definitely a fun listen. Would probably work well for parties, good background music for sure.
Paul's Boutique. Word.
Listened to Nightfly today. Good stuff. Softer rock but clever.
Cool! They have gems on all their albums, hard to pick a favorite at this point, but I really dig most of the tunes on Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, and Katy Lied. But I must add that "Kid Charlemagne" is unbelievable.
All the albums from Can't Buy a Thrill to Aja. Still need to listen to Gaucho, which was their last before disbanding. Then there's Fagen's solo effort The Nightfly which is supposed to be quite good. Also their more recent releases. Very solid group, great songwriting, impeccable studio musicianship, plenty of jazz chord changes and esoteric references in the lyrics. The words are very important in this group. Their music has a very interesting character, something like the proud loser. Some fans think the whole ethos is summed up in "Deacon Blues." Another great choice would be "Doctor Wu". They have a type of cool which you don't often find today, maybe the 50s beatnick, pretty dark. Kind of a dominating group too, like you'll just listen to them only for a month, then take a few months break! But very recommended. This is one of my faves.
Gotta get on that Once Upon a Time in the West soundtrack man ;)
Yes, the dinner scene was really fun and heart-warming. I liked how it felt lighthearted even though it was dealing with heavy stuff.
Re: Tree of Life. It's definitely not bad, in fact it was probably the best purely visual experience I've had in the theater since Hausu (or maybe even Sin City). It was the ending that basically disappointed me. At that point, it felt like Malick was just throwing everything on the screen that he could randomly think of, a barrage of ultimately meaningless images, because he was trying really hard to make a "very important point". It was one of the few times any of his movies felt forced. What was the deal with the floating mask? Why stop with an image of a bridge? Even the people walking around with Penn irritated me. It felt too solemn, to the point of artificiality. It was odd really, maybe because of how it was filmed (or Penn's lack of screen time), but I didn't connect with anyone on the screen in that moment.
That's a great point about Toy Story 3 avoiding the reality of death for the sake of younger audiences. And the plot is pretty predictable. But I enjoyed it anyway. Maybe sometimes the familiarity of Hollywood schemata (if not outright cliches) is comforting. I dunno. I don't really see the insincerity of the animation. I thought it was clever enough in its jokes and ideas, a superficial but nevertheless successful creativity. While I can't really agree with you about Pixar in general, I definitely agree that no film company (or filmmaker for that matter) should be placed on a pedestal. It is probably nostalgia for the first Toy Story that is giving the third one such impressive chart rankings.
Uncle Boonmee was really good. I saw it about a year ago and I can vividly remember many images. Gotta love the catfish scene. I also liked the parallel world suggestion. Should see it again.
Yeah Tree of Life is kind of overrated. I mean the ending was pretty bad, I think Malick panicked. Coming of age story segment was brilliant tho.
You didn't like Toy Story 3? Not even the security monkey or holocaust finale? I thought it was really entertaining. At least a 6.5
That's a good description of the second half, and so AfterHours ;-) It's definitely less "forceful" and less resonant for me, but it really shows off their goofy and silly side (which might shed more light on the genesis of their music). Childish tracks like "Tony's Theme" are quite fun, and "Brick Is Red" is an excellent closer, understated and almost mocking. I can understand people going either way with Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, as they're definitely the band's essential material.