ad hoc.

I guess with it being the last day of 2007 I should get a move on with this, huh?

COMPLETE LIST HERE

#10 Soundtrack, Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof

I usually don’t put soundtracks on these lists because it is usually a random collection of songs that the producer threw in the movie. But Quentin Tarantino usually takes the soundtracks very seriously, and can find semi-obscure songs that fit the movie perfectly. These songs illustrate the movie perfectly and are awesome.
Standout track(s): 16-chick-habit.mp3 /02-baby-its-you.mp3

#9 I’m From Barcelona, Let Me Introduce My Friends

I feel like this is one of those kids’ sing-along-records because it’s so catchy. I love those Swedes.
Standout track(s): 03-were-from-barcelona.mp3

#8 Amy Winehouse, Black to Black

How can this not be on here? I still hold my ground that her “persona” is fabricated to create an ilage.
Standout track(s): 05-back-to-black.mp3

#7 Mary Onettes, The Mary Onettes

I am not even sure how I found out about this band. But seriously, they sound straight out of 1984. And I mean that in a good way.
Standout track(s): 09-the-mary-onettes-under-the-guillotine.mp3

#6 The Go! Team, Proof of Youth

Everything they touch is gold. I thought their first album was fantastic, this one was ten times better. Can’t wait to see what they do next. I was also lucky enough to see them live this year. I felt like I was getting baptized.
Standout track(s): 10-flashlight-fight.mp3

#5 Alaska in Winter, Dance Party in the Balkans

I am actually surprised that I like this. This is the kind of stuff I usually loathe. But it is refreshing to me that people still can and wan to make music like this.
Standout track(s): alaska-in-winter-dance-party-in-the-balkans-09-staring-at-the-sun.mp3

#4 Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City

I can’t believe I was disappointed when this came out, I must have not listened hard enough. I like the level of fame that Bloc Party are now. I’m a little scared because their upcoming single “Flux” is a bit, shall we say, TECHNO, but I am sure that they will continue their trail of awesomeness.
Standout track(s): 02-hunting-for-witches.mp3

#3 Blonde Redhead, 23

This is beatiful, depressing, and haunting.
Standout track(s): 02-dr-strangeluv.mp3

#2 M.I.A. Kalla

This is probably the only hip-hoppish album you will ever see on any list of mine. This was a close contendor for my top spot. I also listended to this constantly as I was moving and when I first got here, and it got me through some rough stuff.
Standout track(s): 05-hussel-feat-afrikan-boy.mp3 / 11-paper-planes.mp3

#1 The White Stripes - Icky Thump

Some people say that the White Stripes keep releasing albums too quickly, but you know what? Each album is better than the last. Jack White is so prolific, it sounds like he may have written these songs in one sitting. Some of them are very structured, melodic, almost radio-friendly tunes, others are just some hardcore jam sessions. To quote Reen Big Fish, why do they rock so hard?
Standout track(s): 12-catch-hell-blues.mp3 / 04-conquest.mp3

Part of on ongoing series where I look at fucked up kids’ toys….

I totally had one of those Barbie stylin’ heads when I was little, you know, the one that is just a head with a purpose of styling their [synthetic, stringy nylon] hair and putting makeup on it. I get it, I do. It made a lot of sense for me, because in reality, all I liked to do was brush my dolls hair. They still makes those things, and it may be just me, but these things are fucking scary these days. Example A:

What the fuck? It’s a head that “talks” and “sings” alongside a mutant monkey child and other animals. If you want nightmares for a week, watch the commercial. It’s bad enought it’s just a head, now it talks to me?

At least these two have each other for company as they spend eternal damnation with no bodies.

This one managed to lift up her hands and get collogen injections before the guillotine dropped.

Oh my god! Even the children are not safe!

Is that war paint?

One of the scariest of them all: This one is clutching a baby dog that looks scared shitless.

Lest we not forget the severed horse’s head.

I’ve already heard several great albums from 2008, and this is one of them. Funny, I never really liked the Magnetic Fields before this. Stepen Merritt, the brainchild behind the MFs, is kind of an overrated songwriter. It was kind of an indie-rock staples that I never really understood. Arguably this album sounds very similar to their others, but it’s the only one I like and it’s frigging good. You know how I am bad at decribing music, but it sounds kind of like a modern synth-pop version of the Beach Boys.

Also, I am deleting the link in a few days. Click here and change the “xx” to “tt.

I had to post this because I just heard it on the radio on my drive home.

Um, when you think about it, the song is actually pretty fucking fantastic. Who woulda thunk we would have gotten an Oscar-nominated actor out of that one?

Okay, finally got through Season One, although it dragged at the end there.

Season Two: HOLY CRAP. Now we’re getting somewhere. It’s like a whole new writing crew. The Dharma Initiative thing? Awesomeness. I am over Jack and his god complex and his need to control everyone. Also, everytime we see him sitting staring off into the distance and Kate plops herself next to him for a chat, I want to gouge my eyes out. Locke, who I didn’t like before, is pretty kick-ass. However, I wish the female characters were a bit more courageous and athletic. Kate just volunteers to do everything because she wants in Jack’s pants, Claire cried about her baby, and Shannon just changes clothes. Whenever there is a problem they run and get Sayid, and Locke always saves everyone. Were there all wimpy females on this plane? At least not in the front of the plane….At first I didn’t want there to be any mysical, scifi stuff and wanted everything to be based on reality, but that black smoke monster thing has me intrigued.

Bear with me here…the whole plot turn really reminds me of a Christopher Pike book. (He was a kickass teen horror writer in the late eighties/early nineties.) Something about the mix of science and deception and the strange black cloud thing in the jungle. His books would always reveal some weird sci-fi plot in the end having to do with some government experiment or weird altered reality. I can’t quite explain it, but maybe those of you that read his stuff can see it too.

Planet Hiltron: John, this may even put your photoshopping skills to shame.

Retail sales were down a lot this year, and the news coverage treats it with as much fear as global warming. Shouldn’t this be good news? That people are realizing that they arew trillions of dollars in debt or that theit kids need their love and attention and not a new Wii?

From IMDB:

The film features a few cut songs from the Broadway musical. They are: “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” (and it’s many reprises); “Ah, Miss”; “Johanna” (as sung by Judge Turpin); “Parlour Songs”; “City on Fire”; “Epilogue”. As well as the elimination of singing of the ensemble completely. There are also a few cuts within the remaining songs. The only songs to remain in tact are: “Epiphany”, “Pretty Women”, “Johanna” (both Anthony’s and Sweeney’s), “The Worst Pies in London”, “Poor Thing” and “My Friends”.

And that was my biggest complaint! Sure, they needed to cut back for timing, but some of the awesomeness was the ensemble/”Greek Chorus” parts. And they changed the plot a little: Sweeney builds his own chair instead of orders it, among others. And how can they leave out “City on Fire” with the lunatics running the streets of London? You’d think Tim Burton would be all over that. The cuts of songs made Johanna have an absolutely useless role. And can we get an epilogue please? It was so needed. It is hard for me to judge the movie because I know literally every word and every note so I cringed when something was left out. Also, they seemed to cut out the humurous lines. Yes, there are several hymurous parts to i, but I guess Tim decided to go with horror movie, not black comedy.
But otherwise, it was good. Johhny Depp’s best work, I think and it was cool to see Sweeney/Ms. Lovett as a younger goth couple. Sacha Baron Cohen, pretty good. Costumes/makeup- should win the Oscar hands down. The singers were not strong, but whatdya goin’ do? But Sweeney Todd is probably my favorite music ever so I don’t think anyone can live up to the expectation.

For those of you that don’t know, I was in the orchestra for my high school’s production of the show (I know, what high school does this? Luckily we had a great music/drama program) and it was the one experience in high school that I actually enjoyed. High school musicians playing Sondheim? It totally improved my playing about 300%. Sondheim is awesome to play, even after a thousand times. I loved the experience and I loved seeing it put together. I don’t really remember the actors who were in it, but I remember them being good. I wonder how a high school production sounded? The music is pretty difficult. To me, it sounded awesome. The year after that we did South Pacific which sucked so, so badly and was so boring to play (the cello had some down beats for about 5,000 measures and barely any melodies) and the show was horrific.

There also seems to be a trend of musicals being made into movies, which really irks me, because it totally cheapens the musical experience. The only musical that I would LOVE to see as a musical is Assasins, another Sondheim musical. Can you imagine the possibilities? It will never get made because some conservatives may find it innapropriate (It’s a musical about people in the past who have assasinated/attempted to assasinate US presidents, and they all interact with each other and give their reasons why).

I mentioned this Xmas rap song a while back, but someone pointed me towards a video of it. THe boys have the same message to all of my Jesus-worshipping friends as I do: have a funky, funky Christmas. I really meant it.

I changed the template again because some of you were having trouble viewing the youtube videos. And some other formatting stuff.

I think I might be dead inside because I was in a full theater for a showing of Juno and there was sniffles and tears near the end. Uh, what? It was not a movie that at all touched me. In fact, I thought everything about it was trying too hard. I think it was trying to be a female version of Napolean Dynamite, with it taking place in a small midwestern town with a quirky teenage lead who utters one liners that the promoters are trying waaaayyyy to hard to make catchphrases. The writing was totally bad, with things happening for no reason. Michael Cera was supposed to be a lead? His characer was barely in it, and really didn’t add much to the story (but was adorable, of course). Boom, Juno was suddenly in love with him for no reason why. The whole Vanessa/Mark thing resolved waaaaay to easy, like suddenly they have a fight and then suddenly she’s having a nice glass of wine and he’s all “so, divorce, that’s all settled.” For a short time I thought she was going to suddenly decide to keep the baby after all, and if that happened I may have stormed out. At least she still gave it up. I think this was still a subversive anti-abortion message veiled in a hipster indie film, much like Knocked Up.

Speaking of Judd Apatow, someone needs to tell him he is not god’s gift and to stop greenlighting his movies- my next stop on my holiday movie marathon was Walk Hard, and oh my god this movie was a piece of shit.  It maybe got two chuckles from me, the rest was painful. The whole punchline was maybe worth a three minute SNL sketch, if that. What a mess. The only thing going for it was the stunt casting, and seeing Jack White as a puffy Elvis was worth the $7.50 I guess. I can’t believe I am saying this, but even the Jewish jokes went a bit far- and I am always the first to make fun of the Jews.

Over the next few days I am planning on seeing Atonement, Sweeney Todd, and I’m Not There. I will probably be let down.

#20 Bedouin Soundclash; Street Gospels

The closest to reggae I will ever get.
standout track: 04-trinco-dog.mp3

#19 Justice; Cross

Sounds life Daft Punk’s younger punk kid sister.
standout track: 06-phantom-pt-ii.mp3

#18 Enon; Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds

Never a dull moment. The alternation of the voives totally does it for me.
standout track: 11-enon-labyrinth.mp3

#17 A Place to Bury Strangers; A Place to Bury Strangers

This stuff is really dark and scary. I imagine this is what “goth” kids listen to.
standout track: 06-breathe.mp3

#16 Kenna; Make Sure They See My Face

Angsty and electronicy.
Standout track: 10-better-wise-up.mp3

#15 Calla, Strength in Numbers

I am bad at explaining music. Their previous albums were super depressing, this is just as depressing but with more melody-driven stuff.
Standout track: 12-simone.mp3

#14 Editors; The End Has A Start

This is what Interpol SHOULD sound like.
Standout track: smokers-outside-the-hospital-doors.mp3

#13 The View; Hats Off to the Buskers

I definiately heard this in 2006, but it was officially released in the US this year. Again, the US has no taste and never really picked up on their awesomeness.
Standout track: 03-same-jeans.mp3

#12 The Raveonettes, Lust Lust Lust

Genius.I read a review somewhere that said this band is a perfect soundtrack to a David Lynch movie. Also, their imitation of the Jesus and Mary Chain is at times actually better than actual J&MC.
Standout track: 10-sad-transmisson.mp3

#11 The Comas; Spells

Sometimes I don’t understand why they are not as popular on the radio as Rihanna and the other stuff.
Standout track: 03-now-im-a-spider.mp3

Any predictions about what my top 10 are?

Judd Apatow really needs to get over himself. Ok, he did two good tv shows and some mediocre, subliminally sexist movies, but he is not god’s gift. Example: The Pineapple Express looks horrendous. However, Seth, I still love you.

Word on the street (and the geekboards) is that The 4400 has been canceled. Which is dumb because I’ve said it a million times already, Heroes IS A 4400 RIPOFF!

Well, Pitchfork picked its top 50 albums. No big surprises. LCD soundsystem and Panda Bear as their top albums? Yeech.

Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey are going to be gay together! The only thing better would be a movie where Ewan does it with Christian Bale while wearing eye makeup. What? That exists? Little known fact about me: I find Jim Carrey oddly attractive. I know! Ew! We are not talking Ace Ventura era, we are talking post-2004, Jenny McCarthy-dating, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Jim Carrey. I’ll bet they are going to change the plot where the two guys are just bffs, not lovers. But a girl can dream.

This movie makes me want to rip out my ovaries and stomp on them until they are bloody pulp, if this is what being female is all about.

The “plot”:

A young woman (Heigl) who has made a career out of being a bridesmaid but never a bride faces her worst nightmare when her sister (Malin Åkerman) becomes engaged to the man of her dreams. Luckily, the wedding brings around the man (Marsden) who will change her bridesmaid status for good, along with the help of her nephew Brett (Ryan Laskey).

How much do you want to bet there will be montages set to Kt Tunstall or some shit like that? Or I’ll bet there will be a zany chase scene and the couple finally meet up on a busy street, stopping traffic, and when they kiss the whole city will cheer. Oh, how about a scene where the main character gets depressed and some girlfriends arrive with some chubby hubby to cheer her up. Maybe an overcontrolling mother? Probably a sterotypically gay wedding planner in there too. I’ll bet the sister will have cold feet the day if her wedding but Katy Heigl will calm her down and convince her to go through with it, even though she loves James and it will be the most selfless.act.anyone’s.ever.committed. Oo, ooo, oo, I’ll bet James will realize he loves Katy Heigl right when he is at the latar before he says “I do” and announces his true love to everyone, devastating the sister, but then they will get married but the SISTER will have to be the bridesmaid. Hardy har! I could go on forever.

But damn you James Marsden! Stop being charming and wasting your hypnotic bone structure in these crappy movies. You are cyclops! Cyclops doesn’t deal with this shit, he fucking kills people with his eye lasers. Get a grip.

Okay I am about three-quarters into the first season of Lost, and I’ve lost momentum. I’ve heard it gets bad than second season gets better, right? I actually could do without the flashbacks, quite frankly. [If I hear about Drive Shaft one more time...]I think you could do some character development with people’s actions on the island. Also, can we get an acting coach on set? Each actor has one facial expression they revert back to when stuck. [Jack] condescending scowl [Locke] amused smirk [Shannon] snotty frown [Sawyer] angry furrowed brow [Sun] scared subserviance and [Kate] blank stare. Seriously, and the impossibilities are getting to me.

I love how they are all wandering around a few square miles of island and always just happen to run into each other. And they are willingly all going in alone knowing that King Kong is loose in the jungle. Jack conveniently runs into people to get plot advancement info.

Seriously, who are these people who are not the main characters? Do they get a say in anything? Doesn’t one of them want to stand up to Saint Jack and Sawyer and say “just do it and get it over with already! I’m starving.” They are only useful for standing in the background and during golf tournaments.

Seems that Pier One has generously donated some of their decorative tiki torches.

Why are Jack and Kate all chummy chummy flirt flirt one episode after she was lying to him about the metal case ordeal (which was such a snooze). Why are Sun and Jin all lovey-dovey now? Did she momentarily forget that he is an abusive husband? And you’d think someone would have the idea to MAYBE teach him some basic English phrases to help with survival. And wasn’t Claire kidnapped? They seemed to forget about her a while and had some gold tournaments thrown in there.
Why the fuck does Shannon keep changing her earrings? I hope it’s not too many more episodes before the incest twins die. I’m over them.

They let Sawyer have the gun for two days  and didn’t try to get him back? Do they remember anything from the last week?

Someone please rifle through Sawyer’s loot and try and find a bra for Kate.

Ok, the hint that Walt is “special” somehow. If one more show uses the idea of people having special powers, I am going to scream.

I just got a copy of the new Nada Surf album that will be released in 2008. I’m in shock. Haven’t listened yet.

Believe it or else, I may have already found my top album of 2008. It’s Sons and Daughters new album, The Gift. Brilliant.

Dr. Tobias Funke may make an appearance on Scrubs. Maybe as an “analrapist”? That’s a combination of analyst and therapist, you sickos.

I was previously ignoring the fact that this movie even existed, but can you believe this is the voice of Simon?

The Dark Knight trailer leaked. When I watched it, something else leaked. My god, I talk about this movie a lot. Last time I babbled on about a movie coming out so much is was Brokeback Mt. Both starring Heath Ledger. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing.

Hold on tight little girl, because horses and or/robotic horses will overtake humans one day. I’m not sure which ones, but it will happen.

So the hot new toy this year is Butterscotch, a robotronic horse that responds to touch, petting, grooming, and the feeding of a fake carrot. You can also sit on it and when you “bounce up and down” it will make galloping noises. Er, um. Apparently it is all the rage and costs $300. Another fact about it: it is fucking scary. Look at it! What is with that facial expression. I saw the demo in Target and it creeped me out so much I ran and ducked in the Issac Mizrahi section. Horses are also scary animals. They act all docile but in fact in a rage, once horse can probably kill several humans at once. I know the social brainwashing prescribes that all little girls love horses, but I was all, I’ll stick to my 11 1/2 inch Barbies, thankyouverymuch.

Oh my god, there is another one, called S’mores.

Ick. It’s eyes follow you no matter where you go.

No thanks, I’ll stick to Magic Hair Bratz. Or the Hannah Montana special collection. Or the gayest doll ever.

As a stand alone novel, it was nothing life-changing. But as a rabid Douglas Coupland fan, any prose that he writes is genius to me. He has a knack for writing a train of thoughts from “ordinary” people that make them fascinating. One of the characters is also writing a novel called Glove Pond, which reads almost like a Bret Easton Ellis novel. How does he do it? Is his writing effortless? Or does he excruciate over every sentence? I think these are my favorite Coupland novels, from favorite to least-favortie.

Microserfs
Girlfriend in a Coma
JPod
Eleanor Rigby
Shampoo Planet
Hey Nostradamus!
The Gum Thief
Generation X
All Families are Psychotic
Life After God
Polaroids from the Dead
Miss Wyoming (I totally loathed this one)

moar funny pictures

Just an adendum to my thoughts of BSG:R: the dvd is worth renting/seeing. The extended version has some pretty kick-ass scenes not shown when it aired on tv, including a freking kick ass scene where young Adama battles an old skool Cylon in mid-air.

Also, Seth Rogan is GQ’s man of the year.

Also, I worship Alex Blagg.

Also, Lily Allen is way cool.

#30 Fall Out Boy, Infinity on High

#29 Lily Allen; Alright Still

#28 The New Pornographers; Challengers

#27 Spoon; Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

#26 Black Kids; The Wizard of Ahhhs

#25 Rogue Wave; Asleep at Heaven’s Gate

#24 The Hives; The Black & White Album

#23 Matt & Kim; Matt & Kim

#22 Peter Bjorn & John; Writer’s Block

#21 Patrick Wolf; The Magic Position

Will Arnett will be the voice of KITT. [source]

Colin Firth, you’re off my list.