The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 28,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Before I get to the list of my favorite albums released in 2011, I have to make this important announcement: I have finally, FINALLY, finished ripping and tagging some 1,124 albums in my music collection and now I’m rediscovering my collected tunes all over again. Having a digital music server means I can go from J. S. Bach to Beastie Boys to Vince Guraldi Trio and back to Aberfeldy, all in a single listening session without having to rummage through my CDs. This is especially important for the screw-your-desert-island types like me who simply must have ready access to at least 20 different albums by different artists in different genres at any given time.
So, what good tunes turned up in 2011?
Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 by Beastie Boys
One of the things I dislike most about 8 Mile (I don’t think much of the movie as a whole either) was when Eminem dissed the Beastie Boys. Now I don’t care whether he actually loves and respects the Beasties in real life, but somebody’s gotta let him know that the Beastie Boys are still in the game, and Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2 is their strongest record since Hello Nasty. Adam Yauch’s (aka MCA) battle with cancer in 2009 sure made me worry for a while, but the minute I put this CD on, I knew the boys were back. Not convinced? Listen to this.
Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music by Laura Cantrell
I stumbled upon Laura Cantrell purely by chance back in 2005 when she released Humming by the Flowered Vine. I had not heard of her prior to that, and when I checked out the samples on Amazon, I thought, okay, I’ll give it a whirl. That record has been in heavy rotation in my CD player and iPod ever since. Although I was a little apprehensive on hearing that Cantrell’s latest album is a series of covers (save for the eponymous track), again the samples I heard proved my fears unfounded. And so Kitty Wells Dresses is now in heavy rotation in my music server.
This Is Only a Test by Smoking Popes
Not many people know that one of my all-time favorite albums is the Smoking Popes’ Born to Quit. But why should they? I don’t know that many people, and it’s unlikely they even heard of the band; they’re not exactly Grammy Award material, and they’re not hip or cool in any kind of way. After two more albums, they disbanded in 1998, and I thought that was that; you know what they say about good things. So imagine my surprise and joy when I heard This Is Only a Test. No, it’s not Born to Quit, but it’s better than much of the crap that kids are listening to these days. What do the Smoking Popes sound like? Like Morrisey crooning lounge-style about being a loser youth hopelessly in love with the school’s most popular girl, backed by Weezer or Green Day. Try this one (play it LOUD); it’s my favorite track on Born to Quit.
Ceremonials by Florence & the Machine
Has anything good come out of the Twilight series, other than four films so laughably bad and popular it’s not even funny, and four so-so but equally popular novels? I confess I have yet to read any of the books or watch any of the films, but I’m willing to take the word of both my friends and professional film critics for it. But going back to the original question, my answer would be an an unequivocal ”yes”: the soundtrack to Eclipse first introduced me to Florence & the Machine, and I went on to buy their 2009 release Lungs, and I was hooked. Standing now on the edge of 2012 (the Mayans said it’s all gonna end next year, right?), Florence Welch’s cosmic vocals and gets me all “ready to suffer and I’m ready to hope.”
Four the Record by Miranda Lambert
Another country album? For me, this year’s been pretty strong for country music (Brad Paisley’s This Is Country Music damn near made this list), but rap and and pop/rock are also very well represented here, as you’ll soon see. Anyway, this is my first Miranda Lambert album. For some reason I just couldn’t wrap my head around her acclaimed Crazy Ex-Girlfriend—a little too fiery, perhaps?—but Four the Record suits my country music taste just fine.
Wasting Light by Foo Fighters
You might have read somewhere that the Foo Fighters’ latest album was inspired by ABBA and the Bee Gees. Either I have absolutely no musical sense or Dave Grohl is absolutely pulling your chain, but Wasting Light bears no resemblance nor reveals any kind of influence from those two 70s pop groups. Chain-pulling aside, though, this album is probably the Fighters’ greatest moment. Meaty, fierce as hell, and armed with solid hooks, get this album and you’d have the best rock record of 2011 in your hands.
Blood Pressures by The Kills
I discovered The Kills in a Rough Trade Records sampler quite a few years back. The compilation included acts like British Sea Power, Belle & Sebastian, and Kathryn Williams, but The Kills resonated with me the most with “Pull a U.” Those who are prone to jumping to conclusions will straightaway shout “White Stripes!” but trust me, the similarities are superficial (even though Alison Mosshart did take part in Jack White’s Dead Weather project). Nope, the vibe’s all different—sexier, and more dangerous—and The Kills have a truly signature sound and a chemistry so invincible yet effortless it’s ridiculous.
Undun by The Roots
Didn’t I say rap would be well represented? It may be the last one this list (mainly because it was released only earlier this month), but it is without a doubt one of the best albums released this year, and arguably one of the Roots’ best; and given their body of work, that’s saying something. While the honor of the most incisive Roots album goes to 2006′s Game Theory, in Undun the rhymes flow smooth and sure, and the theme is simple and down-to-earth, making this most accessible album Roots album yet.
Next: The Best of 11: Movies
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From April 27 to May 14 this year, we took Liam on an 18-day trip to parts of Germany and Austria, with a short two-day excursion to Prague thrown into the mix. Add to that my parents, my brother and his wife, and my sister. Modes of transport: planes, trains, and automobiles. Keeping in mind that Liam had not yet turned one during that time, this was was a suicide mission, particularly because both my wife and I had a pretty good idea how things would turn out, given that Liam isn’t exactly the easiest kid in the world—he’s not the worst, but he’s no angel either—and the rest of my family is, well, my family. We’ve traveled with them before (minus Liam), so we at least have some idea of what to expect.
Why did we go, knowing all this? It’s mainly for my father. He’s been hankering for a trip to Austria probably ever since he saw The Sound of Music, and in his twilight years, I understand it would mean a lot to him if his grandson came along. So there it is.
Did we enjoy the trip? If you’re into the Old World charms (palaces, gardens, various architectures), you’ll probably have a decent time. Just don’t be too put off when things reveal themselves to be little more touristy upon closer inspection, and most importantly, don’t bring your sub-one-year-old along.
Next: The Best of 11: Music
Yes, it’s that time of year again: for best-of lists and ,of course, another Modernpost catch-up.
In my end-of-year post for 2010, I mentioned I’d be taking on the Postaweek challenge in 2011. Looking back, I currently have a grand total of 12 posts in 2011, including this one you’re reading. So, 12 out of 52. That ain’t bad, right? As a matter of fact, with that statistic, I’m pretty much in the running for Spectacular Failure than Mediocre Success.
With that confession out of the way (my superiors tell me confessions of failure is bad for my career, but I never listen), let’s get down to it. Last year I talked about my son, my job, some films and some music, so I’ve been thinking about what to write this time round. Unsurprisingly, it turns out I have a lot to tell you, so I’m break it up into parts: Travel, Movies, and Music. Here we go.
If there’s one thing that made my eyes widen with excitement this morning, it’s this:
Finally! I’m sure there’re many like me who’ve been waiting, waiting, WAITING for an anamorphic widescreen home video release of The Rocketeer since the pooch-screwed DVD Disney gave us back in 1999. (Yes, we have been waiting for eleven years!) And watching Joe Johnston’s competent handling of Captain America: The First Avenger this year only reminded me of how long I’ve yearning to have a respectable copy of The Rocketeer in my film vault.
Now, Disney, all you have to do to be forgiven for your unforgivable crime is a proper job on the video transfer – somewhere along the lines of Pirates Of The Caribbean
In the meantime, you can pre-order The Rocketeer: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray
It’s been, what, almost forty years since Blade Runner was released by Warner Bros. in 1982 to dismal box office results. Since then, no less than five versions of the film has surfaced: the original theatrical cut from 1982, an international cut, a “workprint,”, a 1992 “Director’s Cut” that appeared on DVD in 1997, and the “Final Cut” that was released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2007. (Has been that long already?) And of course, nowadays you can’t mention seminal sci-fi cinema without a respectful nod to Blade Runner, and every film fan (and poser) out there sees influences of the film everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE.
Anyway, I count myself a Scott fan (yes, that includes Tony), albeit not a rabid one. Ridley Scott’s work can be downright vacuous (G.I Jane, A Good Year, Robin Hood), but you gotta admit they’re always pretty, and like it or not, visuals stick. Proof? Gladiator. Or Black Hawk Down. Neither of them can be considered classic cinema, but tell me they didn’t heavily influence the visuals of many of the later films in their genre. Nowadays even Chinese period flicks “smell” like Gladiator.
So, what’s my reaction when I hear about Ridley Scott signing on to another Blade Runner film, prequel sequel, whatever? (No remake, please). I’d say, bring it. Let’s see if he’s still got it. For those of you who’ve been keeping up with the news, the upcoming Prometheus seems to signal a return to roots for Scott. And that’s a very good thing, considering Scott was behind Alien (in a totally different class than Aliens, by the way).
So, let’s just sit back, keep our fingers crossed, and watch what happens.
PS: If for some reason you haven’t checked out the Final Cut of Blade Runner yet, get it on Blu-ray. Trust me, it’s worth it.
I know what you’re thinking: Captain America as a junkie lawyer fighting the case of his life? That’s probably why Chris Evans initially turned downed the Marvel hero role; he doesn’t want people to take one look at the screen and say, “Oh, Captain America …. ” Either that or he’s (or was) determined to forge his career on doing well in mainly supporting or co-starring roles. But it’s not always a bad thing that people always remember you for that one role, and I feel Evans is at his best when he’s not so humble and noble; something tells me the guy can be pretty snarky. Anyways, this one looks fairly interesting. Some movie news coming right up after this ….
When I first heard about this, I didn’t think much of it. I know, Ryan Gosling’s one hell of an actor, but films he’s starred in aren’t always easy to digest (e.g., Half Nelson, Fracture). The title and synopsis don’t help much either; it looks like it has strong potential to be yet another middling and forgettable Hollywood flick, strong perfs aside. But then I didn’t know Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks are gonna be in it. And this trailer? Well, maybe, just maybe it’s not be just another Hollywood flick after all. Take a look.
Boom. After several months of struggling to post something but typically ending up posting on Facebook, I thought, why not just write on ModernPost? Yeah, stupid, why don’t you? So, there it is; I’m with stupid, but in this day and age, a man needs a little variety. Anyway … I caught the teaser of Kevin Smith’s upcoming Red State, which will debut on VOD on September 1. For those of you who are not Smith fans (I’m not) who don’t already about the film, Smith bought the distribution rights to Red State (which he wrote and directed) at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
I’m not sure why Red State isn’t going by the conventional film distribution routes. Something to do with Smith’s curmudgeonly ways? Maybe it wants to create all the trappings of an indie flick? Who cares? From the trailer, this looks seriously good, especially when you consider it comes from “that Kevin Smith.” As long as he steers clear of any torture porn antics (some parts of the trailer smell like Hostel), Red State looks pretty rock solid. Throw in John Goodman and Kevin Pollak, whoa, this baby is funny, scary, and lethal all at once.
You can find out more about the movie here.
A mafia comedy “from the creator of Dragon Wars“? I blinked a couple times as my brain struggled to grow a new dendrite to connect the fairly ridiculous clips of Dragon Wars I’d seen on HDTV demos in the stores with the idea of a comedy on mafia succession in New York City in the 1950s. But when the trailer for The Last Godfather started playing, I thought it looked okay; in fact, it reminded me a little of Chaplin. And Harvey Keitel is a damn funny actor when he’s not playing some violent hood or cop. They might have just collected all the funniest bits in the movie to make this trailer, which means the movie is probably not going to be even half as funny, but who knows? According to IMDb, director and actor Hyung-rae Shim is “one of the most popular comedians on Korean television.” So, give it half a chance and check out the trailer.
