tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63216482011-05-08T12:19:05.198-05:00Dave's Totally Boss MusingsYour one stop shop for all of the bossest film and music criticism of the day.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1117178662477706682005-05-27T02:22:00.000-05:002005-05-27T02:27:25.103-05:00CHANGESBoss Musings is no more! I've changed venues. Click here for BedbugsDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1103889017082324452004-12-24T06:26:00.000-05:002005-01-07T05:02:39.816-05:00RANK AND FILE
PART IV: SUPERWHEAT—THE TOP 20 (COMPLETE!)
None of these picks are going to be particularly surprising. My lists have now been published three times, so this is really more of a personal take on twenty albums I’ve really cherished this year. Looking back, the year was pretty strong for new releases—though my perspective on it is fairly biased (this is the first year I even Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1103561941230976522004-12-20T11:35:00.000-05:002004-12-20T15:13:23.720-05:00PRELUDE TO SUPERWHEAT
Note: I have some time to compile top 20 blurbs now that the semester is over, Basshead is (almost) ready to post, and I’ve been able to somewhat recuperate from the Week That Sleep Forgot. But rather than actually show you that list, I’m going to look ahead to THE YEAR 2005 to call out the best, worst, most amusing, and head-smackingly misguided releases of the new year soDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1102057592132671792004-12-03T01:50:00.000-05:002004-12-10T20:27:01.806-05:00RANK AND FILE, 50-21
PART III: WHEAT
Note: I covered a few of these in the “chaff” section, but after a few last-minute listens, I’ve stuck them on the list. Here are the changes.
Blonde Redhead, #49, bumped: Tarantel – We Move Through Water
Busdriver, #47, bumped: Black Dice – Creature Comforts
Neotropic, #46, bumped: Shugo Takumaru - Night Piece
On with the list! I’m only going to write Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1101984171578566042004-12-02T05:02:00.000-05:002004-12-10T20:26:18.080-05:00THE TORTURE BEGINS…
RANK AND FILE: THE YEAR IN MUSIC 2004
PART I: INTRODUCTION
It’s been quite a year—personally, politically, musically. I’ve taken this little internet thought hovel about as far as it can go, and don’t plan on stopping any time soon. I do plan on taking things back a notch, though: I’ll be ceasing/taking hiatus from Pitchfork work while I’m in London, during which time I’ll Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1101715786204679022004-11-29T03:04:00.000-05:002004-11-29T23:20:07.136-05:00TOP 50 SINGLES OF 2004
Hey all...Pfork lists are due Friday, so I thought I'd post what is shaping up to be my final singles list for 2004. Great year for singles, so long as you didn't look to the radio, which didn't offer a heckuva lot of hits. My tastes in singles are in something of a transition period at the moment, so this list is a bit scattered. In the end I just went with my gut on mostDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1101461966303600952004-11-26T03:44:00.000-05:002004-11-26T04:39:26.303-05:00GAFFES, BLUNDERS, MISTAKES, EMBARRASSMENTS
Note: This was a much larger, more neurotic piece I wrote on election night, when I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and depressed. It was supposed to be, y'know, funny...but after posting I realized how ridiculously unpleasant it was and deleted it. I just came across a fantastic gaffe, though (the U2 one), so I'm going to try this again without treadingDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1101376523567944432004-11-25T03:08:00.000-05:002004-11-25T19:43:07.470-05:00TOTALLY BOSS MUSINGS, THANKSGIVING EDITION
Note: Here, then, is a bunch of stuff that has piqued my interest in the past month or two. Movies, music, etc. I've been pretty burned out lately, hence a lack of blog entries...hopefully there will be more on the way when the semester ends. Enjoy!
Team America
The hype for this film has passed, but I still think it's shocking how many in the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1097385469934743112004-10-10T00:15:00.000-05:002004-10-10T02:53:51.253-05:00[Note: This is my 50th blog entry, and nearly marks the one-year anniversary of my first post, which was also my first piece of music criticism. Ironically, my first review was one of two Pitchfork screeds, the second of which helped secure a staff position at the site. It's more than a little ironic that I've already started my own 'Fork conspiracy (and bollocks to you if you aren't head over Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1095930440045615552004-09-23T03:58:00.000-05:002004-09-23T04:21:14.890-05:00WHY HAVEN'T YOU PRE-ORDERED THIS YET?
Two transcendent musical experiences in two weeks means I'm finally meeting my quota!
Brian Wilson - SMiLE
This may sound a bit trite, and may be revisionary to the point of ludicrousness, but SMiLE screams 2004. While listening to this album, I couldn't help but note how many contemporary artists are dying (and many succeeding) to sound like this: Just Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1095499010154054532004-09-18T04:11:00.000-05:002004-09-18T13:59:42.590-05:00BEST NEW MUSIC
How many times can I say “retro”?
Hey all...I’ve been sort of crash-listening to a thousand different CDs as a part of my baptism by fire into the realm of music idiot savantdom. So here are a few of the most amazing of things out there at the moment.
PS – I will no longer be posting my Pfork reviews here, as it seems like something of a waste of web space...instead I’ll try to Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1094758742806047912004-09-09T14:29:00.000-05:002004-09-09T15:45:02.273-05:009/09/04
Various Artists - Future Soundtrack for America (Barsuk, 2004)
How does one “review” a political fundraiser? Harshly criticizing the individual tracks on this compilation would be a bit like complaining about the stitching on a PBS tote bag. Similarly, by encouraging others to purchase this album, I am essentially advocating donations toward the causes of organizations like MoveOn.org, Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1094336872713208582004-09-04T16:55:00.000-05:002004-09-09T14:28:44.716-05:00DANCIN' WITH THE MAN
9/02/04
Joan of Arc - Joan of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain...(Polyvinyl, 2004)
One might think that Tim Kinsella, the outspoken shit-magnet/revered frontman of Joan of Arc, Make Believe, Owls, Cap'n Jazz, Friend/Enemy, etc., might have something to say about the current national and global political landscape. And so he does: In recent interviews, Kinsella's commentary on Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1093804916709149602004-08-29T13:12:00.000-05:002004-08-30T22:07:37.903-05:00BACK TO THE GRIND...MEGAPOST!
Note: Hey all...this is the longest I've gone without posting (I needed to make sure every person who has ever read this thing got a healthy dose of fake concert reviews), so here's to the start of some regularity in posting.
I've decided with some reluctance to continue posting all of my Basshead stuff here, and, perhaps with more reluctance, I will post my Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1090205865711511132004-07-18T21:07:00.000-05:002004-07-18T21:59:31.140-05:00THE PHANTOM CONCERT SERIES, (HOPEFULLY) PART 1 OF 1
If we believe we were there, we were there...
It is with a heavy heart I inform my loyal readership that of a planned eight music concerts, I have attended only one thus far this summer: the Village Voice Siren Festival, which is about as close to hitting the broad side of a barn as one can get as far as concert attendance is concerned. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1089413786266820052004-07-09T16:28:00.001-05:002004-07-09T18:01:41.273-05:00[Note: Basshead stuff for July. This month's issue came out much stronger than I anticipated, which is nice. Thanks to everyone for helping to get it together in time!]
Beastie Boys- To the Five Boroughs (Capitol, 2004)
How far the mighty have fallen. In what can only be described as a complete and total embarrassment, the Beastie Boys have actually regressed both lyrically and musically to Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1088318472205535942004-06-27T01:14:00.000-05:002004-07-09T18:02:09.533-05:00I LOVE THE 90s!
The Moog Cookbook in: “Basket Case!” Starring Joyce DeWitt and Billie Joe Armstrong
[Note: With the frenzy of summer and Basshead obligations, I feel that I’ve been less than consistent with posting my I Love the 90s essays. Since VH1 has already given the “go” code for decade bastardization, now is a good time to touch bases with the real 90s, and not the phantom Tickle Me Elmo Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1087194853182299392004-06-14T01:04:00.000-05:002004-06-14T15:14:53.746-05:00FROM DA MAN TO THE MAN:
Or How Pitchfork Learned to Stop Dancing and Love Jaded Head-Bobbing (Again)
Well, one of the best albums of the 00’s thus far has come and gone without so much as a bat of an eyelash, despite having a full year of hype and an entire pseudo-movement backing it. I now use the term “pseudo-movement,” only a few weeks after recognizing the latter hyphenated part in the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1086468995734390012004-06-05T15:47:00.000-05:002004-07-05T23:30:47.240-05:00[Note: Basshead stuff for June...I'm moving to NYC tomorrow to start working with Mr. Burns (or, as my non-fiction teacher calls him, the Darth Vader of documentary film...she's a tad outspoken), so I may not be posting so much from here on out...although I'm not sure what my housing situation is exactly yet, so who knows. Enjoy!]
Animal Collective- Sung Tongs (Fat Cat, 2004)
Avey Tare and Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1084803106888757392004-05-17T08:22:00.000-05:002004-05-18T21:32:53.510-05:00THE TAO OF HIPSTER
The Premise:
We must first begin with a proper definition of the common terminology “hipster.” A hipster is generally known as “one who is exceptionally aware of or interested in the latest trends and tastes” (dictionary.com).
However, in recent years there has been a shift in the meaning of this term to be more of a derogatory shorthand for the aforementioned “character Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1084654515138346462004-05-15T12:49:00.000-05:002004-05-16T23:51:17.643-05:00THE TOP TEN SO FAR...
This is the first year in my brief period as some sorta hot shit music dude that I've amassed enough current releases promptly enough to "keep up" with the ol’ indie biz fairly consistently. I thought it would be appropriate to compose a Top Ten of the year so far. I suppose June would be the best time to do that, since it's technically the halfway point of the year, but Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1083647227199221182004-05-03T23:59:00.000-05:002004-05-17T15:36:39.676-05:00[Note: Basshead stuff from the May issue, which is shaping up to be pretty impressive...check out the killer interview with Patrick Wolf! With an interview with Xiu Xiu following in June! Also check out my Lonely Samoans essay, which I don't think I'll post here.]
Belle and Sebastian- Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Rough Trade, 2003)
I have set two modest restrictions for this review of Dear Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1083612787316395032004-05-03T14:31:00.000-05:002004-05-03T22:40:51.233-05:00Modest Mouse- Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Epic, 2004)
Modest Mouse, for better or worse, used their major label debut as a means to extend the themes of their early independent releases to their logical conclusion. The Moon and Antarctica was the ultimate synthesis of Isaac Brock’s desolate, poetic imagery with the gritty twang of a gifted rock band with one foot still planted in a Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1082315296667892942004-04-18T14:06:00.000-05:002004-04-20T02:42:58.640-05:00 Film Review: Kill Bill, Vol. 2
Woe is Bill
[Note: My roommate, who has an intensely personal relationship with "Kill Bill," has written a far more intensive (and spoiler-laden...be warned!) critique of the film. If it doesn't convert a few Vol. 2 Believers, I don't know what will. If you liked the film, please read it and then call him personally for extensive de-programming. Ian's Boss Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1082017211621551412004-04-15T03:08:00.000-05:002004-04-15T03:41:04.106-05:00Mission of Burma- ONoffON (Matador, 2004)
They’re back, baby.
Mission of Burma, inarguably one of the single most influential bands in the earliest history of indie rock, have released their sophomore album after a hiatus of twenty-two years. An entire culture, subculture, and sub-subculture have developed around the sound that they largely helped pioneer, complete with a time-tested touring andDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1081747374143052552004-04-12T00:15:00.000-05:002004-04-12T00:52:12.576-05:00!!!- Louden Up Now (Warp, 2004)
DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE
OK, maybe I was wrong. I’ve been knocking the whole “dancepunk” trend for a few months now, mostly due to a less than fantastic experience with The Rapture—which, unfortunately, I’m sure has more than a little to do with Pitchfork’s album-of-the-year foolishness. And what meaning is there in such a claim, really? But O MyDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1081600902520191942004-04-10T07:39:00.000-05:002004-04-11T21:05:52.030-05:00I LOVE THE 90S!
Talk Talk: Eden or Bust
Albums on the Top 100: Laughing Stock (1991)
The term “post-rock,” despite its recent ubiquity in the music press, is a fairly shortsighted and presumptuous description. Still, only one year into the 90s (and a good five or so years before the phrase was coined), Talk Talk, a group of new wave synth-poppers turned organic “free” rock collage masterminds, Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1081070004814080672004-04-04T03:38:00.000-05:002004-04-04T04:36:50.403-05:00LIVE IN CONCERT: OH, THE RAPTURE!
I Can't Believe It's Not Better
Well, I've finally seen the Rapture in concert, and as much as I'd hate to narrow-mindedly use the experience as further petty validation of my lukewarm sentiment toward the band in general, I will anyway. Truth be told, the concert was great, with opening bands Starlite Desperation (their hair was about as forced as their band Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1081066194019437392004-04-04T03:08:00.000-05:002004-04-04T03:13:36.450-05:00Amps for Christ- The People at Large (5 Rue Christine, 2004)
Henry Barnes of Amps for Christ: Oh great and powerful Nostradamus, I fear the end of the world is upon us. I’d like to make an eclectic 23-track concept album about the subject. What would you recommend?
Nostradamus: My son, the end of the world is foretold with hyphens. Al-Queda, 9-11, A-bomb, Bush-Cheney...all hyphenated. What is Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1080272802727116232004-03-25T22:43:00.000-05:002004-03-26T02:55:18.123-05:00FRANZ FERDINAND
This is big. Franz Ferdinand streamlines the influences of popular acts like Interpol and the Strokes, adds a healthy dose of Britpop and a dash of 90s-era Manchester rock, and shoves one of the best albums of the year (yes, this year...and I’m aware that it’s only March) down the throats of the recent crop of supercool Joy Division-cribbers and garage-rock revivalists. The Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1080113615416879432004-03-24T02:25:00.000-05:002004-03-24T02:43:55.076-05:00FILM REVIEWS
Spartan, Osama, The Dreamers
[Note: These three wonderful films will probably not be playing in theaters very long, if at all. I saw them all over break, two completely by chance, and returned to school only to find that they might as well not have been released in the first place. A sad state of affairs indeed.]
SPARTAN
One of David Mamet’s most shocking and cynical thrillers Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1079944209373542022004-03-22T03:17:00.000-05:002004-03-23T03:07:17.343-05:00FILM REVIEW: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
The dilemma of eternal spotlessness
It is a testament to Charlie Kaufman’s genius that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is arguably his least ambitious film to date. The film spends almost the entirety of its two- hour running length inside the mind of perpetual sad-sack Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) as he eradicates every last memory of his Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1079766343215701312004-03-20T02:00:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:08:31.436-05:00FILM REVIEW: DAWN OF THE DEAD
Fearless Zombie Rehashers or, Pardon Me, but Your Teeth Are STILL in My Neck
Hollywood has recently put forth Herculean effort to squeeze a few bucks out of a particularly tricky beast—the remake. Usually direct comparison to the original is unavoidable, and tackling the issue directly (the most infamous example being Gus Van Sandt’s Psycho) can have even worse Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1079646866850339602004-03-18T16:49:00.000-05:002004-03-23T11:59:59.310-05:00[Note: This is the first of what may well be many CD review blurbs resulting from...promos! Yes, I contacted a few labels and they were more than happy to fulfill my insatiable craving for real-life, artwork-laden releases via the wonderful people over at Buzzsaw Haircut. By the way, I reviewed this album before Pitchfork did and am quite giddy at the prospect. I predict they give it an 8.3. Any Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1078982008719352332004-03-11T00:05:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:00:03.186-05:00FILM REVIEW: MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
White guys’ eyes on the prize
Master and Commander is a roaring, swashbuckling, high seas adventure—OK, enough of that. If you’ve seen the previews for Master and Commander and are familiar with Peter Weir’s diverse body of work (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Witness, The Truman Show) you can probably guess that this film is beautifully Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1078776642486558622004-03-08T14:50:00.000-05:002004-03-19T01:08:31.356-05:00I LOVE THE 90’S!
Dr. Octagon: Oh, shit—there’s a horse in the hospital!
Albums on the Top 100: Dr. Octagonecologyst (1996)
Dr. Octagon, one of the short-lived aliases of rapper “Kool” Keith Thornton, is certainly not the most influential hip-hop figure of the decade. Dr. Dre, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur, and the Wu-Tang Clan easily trump Octagon in terms of influence on the hip-hop community Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1078462931251561602004-03-04T23:56:00.000-05:002004-03-19T02:13:07.763-05:00I LOVE THE 90’s!
Mike Patton: CHAK! CHAK! CHAK! TAKA-TAKA-TAKA!
Albums on the Top 100: Mr. Bungle (1991), Disco Volante (1995), California (1999)
I’ve chosen Mike Patton as the first subject of what I hope will be a fairly regular series on that most wonderfulest of decades, the 90’s, for several reasons. First of all, I just reviewed the new Fantômas album, which is totally boss, if a Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1078390290413180472004-03-04T03:46:00.000-05:002004-03-04T04:13:45.670-05:00I LOVE THE 90’S!
Introduction
Two recent developments have led me to begin a “retrospective” column in which albums from my Top 100 of the 90’s (which I will print later) and artists from said albums will be recognized for their brilliance and relative importance. The first development: I’m broke. After an expensive glut of 2003 purchases that coincided nicely with the holiday season and the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1078347066960770122004-03-03T15:46:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:47:37.483-05:00FANTÔMAS- DELIRIUM CORDIA
Sounds of Surgery
Mike Patton has got to be one of the busiest misanthropic Dadaists in the music industry. After fronting one moderately popular band (Faith No More) and one exceptionally good one (Mr. Bungle) in the nineties, Patton has recently turned his focus to a mind-boggling array of side projects, including collaborations with jazz experimentalist John Zorn, “Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1077858320898422582004-02-26T23:28:00.000-05:002004-03-29T15:32:05.043-05:00THE TOP 100
2004 Edition
I bought my first "real" album (discounting the Offspring, the second Rage album, and Soundgarden, which comprised the entirety of my collection for many years) in my junior year of high school—"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by the Beatles. Since then I've amassed a collection that is quickly approaching 500 albums, not including my burned CDs, which I don't Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1077062557707481122004-02-17T18:57:00.000-05:002004-03-03T16:05:05.373-05:00ACADEMY WHORES
Dave Moore and Emily Gallagher’s Oscar picks: fulfilling our obligation to da Man
Ah, the smell of blood in the air—it must be Oscar time once again! This year, the major studios have overcome such hardships as Internet downloading (which didn’t affect sales, judging from the highest box office grosses in history) the Valenti screener embargo (which didn’t affect the studios, onlyDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1077008709050631692004-02-17T03:46:00.000-05:002004-03-21T13:39:09.716-05:00RAZZ AND PLOP
Dave’s musings on a veritable (vital?) institution
[Note: I thank my faculty advisor Marty Brownstein for introducing me to the word “sexagenarian”, which has rocked my world for the past couple weeks now.]
For the past few years I have developed a love/hate/hate relationship with Robert Christgau, the resident music critic and cranky old fart over at the Village Voice. As snarky Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1076292553683909152004-02-08T21:02:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:04:51.590-05:00FILM REVIEW: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Thar’s a typhoon a-brewin!
The title credit that opens The Butterfly Effect informs us that “a butterfly flapping its wings could potentially cause a typhoon across the world.” Why is it that the chaos theory, a fascinating and complex scientific premise, is invariably manipulated solely to further the plots of mediocre action and thriller movies? As The Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1076189571597983482004-02-07T16:27:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:06:33.153-05:00FILM REVIEW: GERRY
Just deserts or,
Bertolt Brecht’s Oscar acceptance speech was weird
Ah, the attention span—what is it about this malleable little devil that allows us to casually absorb hours upon hours of mile-a-minute television programming (and Torque) while still being able to stare at our feet for a good ten minutes without a second, third, or fourth thought? This is one of the many Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1075679458939662742004-02-01T18:46:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:10:32.780-05:00FILM REVIEW: 21 GRAMS
Forgotten moments
21 Grams is a film of moments and glimpses, of intense but fleeting sketches of three stories so devastating it is a shame they couldn’t be told in a manner straightforward and honest enough to make a substantial point. The film tells the interconnected stories of three people bound by tragedy in a loose, abstractly structured format, which turns out to beDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1075540326217143212004-01-31T04:10:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:23:41.013-05:00FILM REVIEW: MONSTER
Disturbing revelations, commanding voices
Aileen Wuornos killed eight men between 1989 and 1990. The television news media portrayed her as a monster, triumphantly declaring her the first female serial killer in American history. The story was a major sensation, as was Wuornos’s execution in October of 2002. Her life has been documented before in a film by controversial Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1075446103458317042004-01-30T01:49:00.000-05:002004-02-07T02:11:31.950-05:00SCOURGE OF THE SAINTS
Cinematic terrorists
The Boondock Saints is one of the most reprehensible of modern films, a film in which urgent political issues are given a backseat to stylistic irony, and any semblance of moral responsibility is consciously evaded. It is not a poorly made film, nor is it a tedious one. It is, rather, a film that raises serious ethical questions and promptly debases Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1075278795958279082004-01-28T03:25:00.000-05:002004-01-30T02:17:44.186-05:00WHY I’M PISSED
The Decline of Morality in Modern Cinema
[Note: This essay is a corollary to my review of The Boondock Saints, posted above.]
I love film. I love it physically. I love the grain of it, the smell of it before and after shooting—and there is a difference. I handle cameras in a manner that is, to say the least, transparently Freudian. I demand DVD prints over VHS; I will not stand Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074909489866229122004-01-23T20:44:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:30:37.950-05:00FILM REVIEW: BIG FISH
Burton Blues
Tim Burton gets a bad rap. Despite being one of the most original and visually inventive directors of the last twenty years, most of his films open to bafflingly mixed reviews. His big break, Peewee’s Big Adventure, has come to be widely accepted as a classic, but is often marginalized as a children’s movie. Beetlejuice has always been underappreciated as Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074817240397277012004-01-22T19:01:00.000-05:002004-03-19T02:36:51.780-05:00DEAD HORSES AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED RABBIT DISEASES
The Year in Music, 2003
It was a strange year. As I stated before in a hastily-written, sloppy first entry, no unique sound or movement really unified the year in music. Honestly, I don't particularly care. From a theoretical standpoint, I'd love to sink my teeth into a sweeping generational trend, but personally I don't flip the radio or TV Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074673097200901492004-01-21T03:14:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:35:31.996-05:00THE CONSTANTINES- SHINE A LIGHT
Gimme my punk back, asshole
And then, from an electrifying explosion of guitar noise, the Constantines did emerge as the band to redefine punk for a new generation.
Ah, yes, “punk”, that most endlessly debatable of genres in the canon of rock history, which rabid purists argue has been DOA since 1978 and morons claim is still alive and well—on the radio, no Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074416173834909632004-01-18T03:45:00.000-05:002004-03-22T16:33:46.356-05:00THE UNICORNS: WHO WILL CUT OUR HAIR WHEN WE'RE GONE?
They Ain’t Dead Yet, Baby
Who would have thought that struggle, war, regret and death would make for such a playful album? Aside from single-handedly bringing the recorder back to the foreground of pop music from an absence of however long its been since you were in third grade music class (and damned if it don’t sound just as awkward and Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074372696449936862004-01-17T15:44:00.000-05:002004-03-19T02:41:30.450-05:00THERE’S AN ALIEN IN MY KITCHEN
A forgettable rant about an unforgettable man
[Note: I wrote this about a year ago and stumbled across it today while going through some things. I thought it was kinda funny. Here ya go.]
Now let us turn our attention to Paul Fusco, who in 2002 made a comeback of sorts in a series of telephone commercials with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan (didn't he already have a Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074234140826281442004-01-16T01:19:00.000-05:002004-03-19T02:47:44.140-05:00OH, WHAT LOVELY TORTURE!
A pleasant drive in the country with John Mayer
John Mayer and I have an unpleasant history. Late one night during my halcyon days of high school I switched on the tube for a few hours’ respite from chronic insomnia. Shoved between a local used car dealership spot and the third act of an episode of "Three’s Company" was a commercial heralding the debut of a “breakthroughDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1074154800085600362004-01-15T03:16:00.000-05:002004-03-19T02:45:49.390-05:00REVIEW: THE RAPTURE- ECHOES
Fork’d! The Hipsters Dupe Us
Confession time: in the past few years, as part of my attempt to become fully immersed in the wonderfully esoteric (ok, elitist) world of indie rock, I, like so many other geeks and posers before me, have become addicted to the online publication Pitchforkmedia.com. Pitchfork provides aspiring elitists all of the resources they need in Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1073981777340680472004-01-13T03:09:00.000-05:002004-02-01T21:37:16.420-05:00WHA’ HAPPENED?
The Year in Film, 2003
Hello, my darlings. The year that brought us war (RIAA vs. the Little Girls of America), high-profile pedophilia issues (the Olsen twins in Rolling Stone), and heavily hyped weapons of mass destruction that didn’t turn out to be that big a deal (Gigli) has passed us and I would say good riddance, but that would be excessively negative of me. There were Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1073964659257236202004-01-12T21:25:00.001-05:002004-01-13T16:53:55.560-05:00DUDE, THIS SUCKS- SONIC REFLECTIONS ON 2003
Alright, I’m pissed. For the third consecutive year, there has been no progress in popular music. Come on, people, wasn’t it just THE YEAR 2000? Mainstream rock radio is content to perpetuate the same whiny shit (hint: blatant self-pity has never been fascinating to the people who aren’t actually in Nickelback) that’s been stinking up the airwaves for Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321648.post-1073959252008077932004-01-12T21:00:00.000-05:002004-01-12T21:01:13.343-05:00Welcome to Dave's totally boss blog. I will attempt to keep this self-indulgent mess up-to-date as often as possible. I love you.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13148394237957464053noreply@blogger.com0