Inglourious Basterds

I should probably start with a fact that almost embarrasses me to admit. Prior to this week, I had never seen a Quentin Tarantino movie (with the exception of Sin City, which wasn't mostly his). I've owned Reservoir Dogs for years and just never got around to watching it. I dislike Uma Thurman enough that I won't bother watching the "Kill Bill" movies (I'm very closed-minded, I know. I won't watch anything featuring Kevin Costner, John Travolta or Jamie Foxx either. It could be the best movie in the history of film and I still wouldn't...well, no...if it starred any of them, it couldn't be anywhere near the best movie in the history of film -but I digress.), and I haven't had the opportunity to watch Grindhouse yet. I guess that reveals me as "not-a-real-film-guy," and may or may not make my opinion of any movie irrelevant.

That being said, I friggin' loved Inglourious Basterds. I'm not entirely sure where to begin, honestly. A little background for those that are not familiar, I suppose. "IB" is a 153-minute work of historical fiction set primarily in France during World War II that outlines dual plots to assassinate as much of the leadership of the Third Reich (including Hitler and Goebbels) as possible. One plot deals with a small group of Jewish-American commandos nicknamed "The Basterds," headed by Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine. I typically find Pitt hit- (Burn After Reading, Fight Club, Se7en) or-miss (Troy, Joe Black), but he was dynamite in this role, and I think brought out the best in his co-stars (especially The Office's BJ Novak and Eli "The Bear Jew" Roth, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Jason Schwartzman in this role). The other deals with Shoshanna Dreyfus, a theater owner in Paris whose witnessed her entire family getting gunned down by Nazi troopers and their leader, Colonel Hans Landa, portrayed flawlessly by Christoph Waltz.

Enough about the plot, because any more will give the movie away. Bearing in mind that it is historical fiction, Tarantino took immense liberties with the real events of WWII (woulda been nice if the real story went the way Tarantino's brain envisioned it!). There are scores of brilliant performances throughout [Pitt, Melanie Laurent (Dreyfus), Alexander Fehling's 'Master Sgt Wilhelm'], but none is better than Waltz. In all honesty, I can't really think of a better acting performance in any movie that I've seen in a long, long time. The Austrian-born Waltz not only nails the dialogue in English, French, German and Italian, but his portrayal of an SS Standartenfuhrer was incredibly smart and chilling in many different ways. The mark of any good villain portrayal is that you find yourself almost getting lost in the performance and disliking the actor as a person. Waltz's Landa so perfectly relished his "Jew Hunter" title that it may be hard to watch him in any other role. To me, that is high praise.

If I have anything negative to say about the film, I think a little of the violence in the climax may have been overdone, though it is Tarantino so I guess that comes with the territory (or so I hear). Also, add Eli Roth to the list of former Bostonians who so completely butcher the "Boston accent" that he should have his Dunkin Donuts card revoked. I generally liked his "Bear Jew" character, but the accent is inexcuseable. He's up there with Affleck in Good Will Hunting, Damon in The Depahted and the otherwise brilliant Julianne Moore in "30 Rock." Okay, so I know she isn't from Boston, per se, but she graduated from BU - she should know better.

But those negatives hardly detract from the movie in any meaningful way. The movie is beautifully shot, smartly written and the emotionally perfect. 2.5 hours flew by. Can't wait to see it again...but maybe I'll finally unwrap Reservoir Dogs first!

4.5/5 stars

Review: Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

First, a little back story. As a dedicated fan of the late David Foster Wallace since way before I should have been (bought and tried tackling "Infinite Jest" for the first time at age 16), I've long hoped for the day that someone would be ambitious enough to bring his work to life visually. DFW wrote in a that was very vivid and clear in its imagery that it should easily translate to the big screen, but the dialogue (and specifically the vocabulary) and the thematic elements are so complex that much of his work doesn't seem viable outside the printed word.

So I've gotta say I was a wee bit skeptical when I heard that A)"Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" was going to be the first DFW work to be adapted for film, and B) that it would be done by "Jim from The Office." I certainly have nothing against John Krasinski as an actor (well...more on that later), but making your writer-director-producer debut by being the first to adapt a David Foster Wallace work is like trying to take the LSATs before passing high school English class. "BIHM" as written is essentially 23 short stories composed in part of dialogue and narratives taken from (fictional?) interviews with men in various different settings. There are no characters, per se, aside from the men being interviewed (the identity of the interviewer and the text of the questions is always omitted) and the "victims" detailed in their stories.

The book contains no central plotline or setting or other central non-thematic element binding all of the stories together. Suffice it to say, a rather ambitious project to bring to the big screen. Krasinski's rather astute way of relating all of the "hideous men" to one another is to actually introduce the interviewer...in this case a thirty-ish Ph.D. (or perhaps Psy. D.) student portrayed somewhat underwhelmingly (on purpose) by Julianne Nicholson. Nicholson's cold, clinically-detached Sara serves as a perfect blank screen for her subjects to project upon. Krasinski also introduces a point to all of the interviews: Sara's quest to understand the opposite sex in a way that goes beyond "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus," especially after a sour break-up. Some in DFW fanboy circles find that this cheapens the original story for the sake of making it more accessible to a wide audience. I choose to disagree...and I find that the film version actually makes the book a little more palatable by giving it some context (BIWHM is my least-favorite Wallace work).

Brilliant performances abound, and the film screens like a graduate level class on character-acting. Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard making his acting debut as a hipster friend/subject of Sara's. Ben Shenkman (Damages, Law & Order) nailing the "Victory for the forces of Democratic Freedom" guy. Will Forte portraying the incredibly creepy Subject #72 in a way that only he could...and in a way that may make me unable to watch him in anything else ever. The underrated Josh Charles (Sports Night). Perhaps the most compelling part of the film is the volley between Subject #42 (Frankie Faison - "The Wire) and his father (Malcolm Goodwin).

The only drawback, really, was Krasinski himself. His monologue at the end (which really explains the whole movie) was a little too Gilmore-Girlsy, meaning that it seemed like he knew the big words and could recite them, but that he at times was doing only that without any real understanding of what he was saying. Sorta like how I passed high school Spanish.

All in all, I think the film was very solid, albeit a tad short at 80 minutes. Krasinski did an incredibly admirable job pulling off that which I didn't think could be pulled off while being watchable by all but DFW fanboys. Not bad for a first outing. Now let's see him tackle "Infinite Jest." I'm thinking trilogy...

4/5 stars

Still working on my review of Josh Ritter's "So Runs The World Away," which will probably be the album of the year. Lots of music related things coming up...

5/15 Pearl Jam in Hartford
5/17 Buzzcocks in Boston
5/18 New Black Keys
5/21 Josh Ritter in Boston
6/8 New Blitzen Trapper
6/15 New Gaslight Anthem

It's gonna be a good summer!

Songs I wish I had written - Volume Two

I haven't been as blown away by an opening act that I had never previously heard as I was when I saw Josh Ritter open for Jamie Cullum at the Orpheum in Boston back in 2006. He's been likened (fairly, I might add) to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, etc. I'm of the opinion that people will be likened to him in the same way in the future. I'm not kidding...he's that good.

2006 marked the release of Josh's "The Animal Years." It marked the beginning of a sonic shift from traditional singer-songwriter, man+acoustic guitar tunes that were the bulk of his first several albums to a more band-oriented sound. This sound was taken to another level completely by 2007's "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter," which ranks on my very short list of best albums by anyone. That said, buried as the tenth track on "The Animal Years" is (to co-opt the title of an extremely overrated book) a heart-breaking work of staggering genius. It tips the scales at a whopping nine minutes and thirty-eight seconds and is very, very wordy, so buckle up folks...it's a bumpy ride.

http://www.plumtv.com/videos/juans-basement-josh-ritter-thin-blue-flame/
(excellent live version)

Josh Ritter - Thin Blue Flame

I became a thin blue flame
Polished on a mountain range
And over hills and fields I flew
Wrapped up in a royal blue
I flew over Royal City last night
A bullfighter on the horns of a new moons light
Caesar's ghost I saw the war-time tides
The prince of Denmark's father still and quiet
And the whole world was looking to get drowned
Trees were a fist shaking themselves at the clouds
I looked over curtains and it was then that I knew
Only a full house gonna make it through

I became a thin blue wire
That held the world above the fire
And so it was I saw behind
Heaven's just a thin blue line
If God's up there he's in a cold dark room
The heavenly host are just the cold dark moons
He bent down and made the world in seven days
And ever since he's been a-walking away
Mixing with nitrogen in lonely holes
Where neither seraphim or raindrops go
I see an old man wandering the halls alone
Only a full house gonna make a home

I became a thin blue stream
The smoke between asleep and dreams
And in that clear blue undertow
I saw Royal City far below
Borders soft with refugees
Streets a-swimming with amputees
It's a Bible or a bullet they put over your heart
It's getting harder and harder to tell them apart
Days are nights and the nights are long
Beating hearts blossom into walking bombs
And those still looking in the clear blue sky for a sign
Get missiles from so high they might as well be divine
Now the wolves are howling at our door
Singing bout vengeance like it's the joy of the Lord
Bringing justice to the enemies not the other way round
They're guilty when killed and they're killed where they're found
If what's loosed on earth will be loosed up on high
It's a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die
Where even Laurel begs Hardy for vengeance please
The fat man is crying on his hands and his knees
Back in the peacetime he caught roses on the stage
Now he twists indecision takes bourbon for rage
Lead pellets peppering aluminum
Halcyon, laudanum and Opium
Sings kiss thee Hardy this poisoned cup
His winding sheet is busy winding up
In darkness he looks for the light that has died
But you need faith for the same reasons that it's so hard to find
And this whole thing is headed for a terrible wreck
And like good tragedy that's what we expect

At night I make plans for a city laid down
Like the hips of a girl on the spring covered ground
Spirals and capitals like the twist of a script
Streets named for heroes that could almost exist
The fruit trees of Eden and the gardens that seem
To float like the smoke from a lithium dream
Cedar trees growing in the cool of the squares
The young women walking in the portals of prayer
And the future glass buildings and the past an address
And the weddings in pollen and the wine bottomless
And all wrongs forgotten and all vengeance made right
The suffering verbs put to sleep in the night
The future descending like a bright chandelier
And the world just beginning and the guests in good cheer
In Royal City I fell into a trance
Oh it's hell to believe there ain't a hell of a chance

I woke beneath a clear blue sky
The sun a shout the breeze a sigh
My old hometown and the streets I knew
Were wrapped up in a royal blue
I heard my friends laughing out across the fields
The girls in the gloaming and the birds on the wheel
The raw smell of horses and the warm smell of hay
Cicadas electric in the heat of the day
A run of Three Sisters and the flush of the land
And the lake was a diamond in the valley's hand
The straight of the highway and the scattered out hearts
They were coming together they pulling apart
And angels everywhere were in my midst
In the ones that I loved in the ones that I kissed
I wondered what it was I'd been looking for up above
Heaven is so big there ain't no need to look up
So I stopped looking for royal cities in the air
Only a full house gonna have a prayer

I'm not going to begin to digest the entire song here for a couple reasons. One is that I have nowhere near the time to spend to do it total justice (I'm thoroughly convinced it could be an honor's level Master's class). The other is that I have nowhere near the actual ability or cognitive capacity to digest it all. Literary and cultural references that I can never dream of approaching abound. That said, here are some of the highlights for me.

First off, the overall sonic experience is a memorable one. Each verse follows a similar pattern of building from a few simply strummed chords on Josh's Telecaster (or acoustic, depending on the version), doubling in time and urgency after the first several lines (sometimes with the full band, sometimes just himself). I think "urgency" is the best word to use when trying to boil down the sound...the song sounds musically as important as it is lyrically.

Speaking of lyrics...as I said before, there is way too much going on to do justice to with my feeble mind. In things I've read from Josh since the album came out four years ago, "Thin Blue Flame" was written over the span of about eighteen months during the peak of frustrations over the inept Bush Administration and the Iraq War (remember that?). The song deals with the thin line that separates heaven from hell, peacetime from war, good from bad, etc. Obvious frustrations with political leadership abound. Obvious questioning of religious dogma, which is common for the skeptics among us during times of trouble. I'll highlight some of the parts that still get me every time.

(God) bent down and made the world in seven days
And ever since he's been a-walking away
-Heavy. I think those of us who trend toward the rational/skeptical/humanistic points of view that were brought up exposed to many religions (especially Catholicism) started down our current paths with thoughts of "If there really is a God, why does He let this shit happen?" in relation to war, death, cancer, divorce, disease, starvation, poverty, The OC, etc. Same theme as another of my favorite songs, "Georgia Lee" by the inimitable Tom Waits.

It's a Bible or a bullet they put over your heart
It's getting harder and harder to tell them apart
-Again...written during the beginnings of the real backlash toward fundamental religious conservatism (on "our" side and on "their" side) and the way that it tends to blur a lot of lines on a lot of issues for a lot of people. And this was well before then-candidate Obama's "cling to guns and religion" comments in Pennsylvania.

And those still looking in the clear blue sky for a sign
Get missiles from so high they might as well be divine
Now the wolves are howling at our door
Singing bout vengeance like it's the joy of the Lord
Bringing justice to the enemies not the other way round
They're guilty when killed and they're killed where they're found
If what's loosed on earth will be loosed up on high
It's a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die
-Sorta sums up the whole Bush Doctrine era pretty succinctly, doesn't it?

Oh it's hell to believe there ain't a hell of a chance
-I leave open to interpretation what there ain't a hell of a chance of. I think this line can be applied to a lot of different situations when taken out of the context of this song specifically and it'll be just as poignant. An incredibly deflating feeling, knowing that there is nothing that can be done in certain life situations. Prompts the downfall of many people that I experience daily in my profession...

I wondered what it was I'd been looking for up above
Heaven is so big there ain't no need to look up
So I stopped looking for royal cities in the air
Only a full house gonna have a prayer
-Sums up the song and my own personal thoughts beautifully. I think this points to the idea of trying to enjoy and appreciate the beauty and the intricacy and the wonder of the natural world that is all around us without needing to look to a pie-in-the-sky, Flying Spaghetti Monster for inspiration. All of the inspiration that we need is right around us...and we've only got a prayer (of staying happy...of staying sane...of staying alive) if we recognize and appreciate our own "full houses."

Songs I wish I had written - Volume One

As my ability to write and play music has progressed over the years, I've found myself listening to music in new and different ways...trying to absorb the various different textures involved, put myself in the songwriter's shoes, wrap my head around the connection and the interplay between the lyrics and the music. They aren't necessarily my favorite songs (though most of them are on the very, very short list), but they are songs that I find incredibly special. Here's the first one...

Face To Face - Burden
(Trever Keith, Scott Shiflett)

You could say
I might find it difficult to show it on the outside
From far away
I should seem as ordinary as would seem the truth
But all we find
Dishonesty and lies
It’s hard to recognize the truth
And why can’t I discover what the reason is that I
Know there’s something left that I should prove

I didn’t mean to burden you
Is there something more to this?
I didn’t mean to burden you
Is there something more to this?
Was it something I’ve already missed?

Peel away
The fear that I’m not good enough
To give back what I’ve taken
It’s hard to say
The disappointment tends to make the optimism fade
I’m still behind and running out of time
It’s nothing but a trite excuse
And why can’t I discover what the reason is
That I know there’s something left that I should prove

I didn't mean to burden you...


It's probably no great secret that I enjoy Face to Face more than most (any?) other bands. Traditionally thought of (correctly) as a SoCal punk rock band, Ignorance Is Bliss marked a departure from that sound that, sadly, prompted a lot of their "fans" to jump ship. It is a vast understatement to point out that they really missed out. A stellar album from start to finish, IIB's sound is at its peak on "Burden."

The song starts out with Trever's not-heavily-distorted Les Paul playing a stripped down run through of the 9 second main chord progression that will be duplicated for the remainder of the song. A quick machine-gun snare fill by Pete Parada cues the rest of the band to join in lockstep. Those first notes still hit me the way that they did when I first heard the song sometime in 1999. The noted addition to the normal sound on this song is strings (strings?!?), expertly arranged by the renowned Steve Croes.

Around the 30 second mark, Trever's vocals kick in. I've long found his to be arguably (or not) the best voice in music over the last several decades. The honesty and sincerity in his voice is never better than on this song. You get the sense that Trever really believes what he sings...no Green Day-esque vapidity on this song (apparently vapidity is an actual word...I was hoping I had just coined it!). The line "I didn't mean to burden you" has always struck me in a couple of ways...one that is straight-forward (genuine concern over having burdened another person), one that is less so (a hint of passive-aggressive sarcasm, perhaps, on Trever's part). More than a decade later, I still oscillate between which opinion is correct.

The beginning of the second verse continues to hit me in the stomach with every listen (which has got to be over the 2,000 mark at this point). "Peel away the fear that I'm not good enough to give back what I've taken... It's hard to say - disappointment tends to make the optimism fade." I really don't think a line in any song has so perfectly painted a verbal picture for the melancholy and self-doubt than can creep into the mind of the middle-class, suburban white male with an unhealthy amount of Catholic guilt (really..that's what I absorbed out of all those years of Sunday school???).

The chord progression, the guitar sound, the air-tight rhythm section of Pete Parada and Scott Shiflett, the string section...all serve as a perfect stage for Trever's vocals in all their contemplation. Tough to categorize the sound...not punk rock, not traditional alternative, not straight-forward rock...maybe "post-punk" is the best title. Maybe it doesn't need a title at all. It is moving, but written in a way that is simplistic enough that you really don't need multiple listens to absorb it all...it just plain smacks you in the face from the first time you press "play." Do yourself a favor and click the link below and press "play" for yourself. Feel free to comment.

http://www.rhapsody.com/face-to-face/ignorance-is-bliss--2006

Best of 2010...Volume Two

February was mostly a slow month for new music (as usual), but in some ways it was a nice calm before the storm that the next few weeks and months will bring. It allowed me to fill in some back albums in catalogs that I had been missing (Eels, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club most notably).

All that being said, my favorite album of the month is probably going to turn out to be in the top three for the year...

Tony Sly - 12 Song Program

http://www.myspace.com/tonyslymusic

There has been a trend in the last couple years for front men of punk bands putting out solo material, often times acoustic. Trever Keith (face to face), Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds, etc.), Joey Cape (Lagwagon, Bad Astonaut), Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio), Greg Graffin (Bad Religion), and Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) are among those that have gone this route. Now "No Use For A Name" leader Tony Sly throws his hat into the ring in a big way. It's probably not groundbreaking at all, but it is easy to listen to, lyrically great, and musically just difficult enough to be better than I could play it. Solid, solid album from start to finish.

Check out: Capo 4th Fret, The Shortest Pier, Toaster in the Bathtub

Best of 2010...Volume One

As a way to keep the creative-writer part of my brain from complete atrophy, I'm going to do my award-winning "Favorite Albums" thingy a little different this year. Toward the beginning of each month, I'll post my favorite album(s) of the preceding month. Without further adieu...

January 2010
I guess the popular thing is to vote for the Magnetic Fields, but honestly, I haven't heard it yet. Even if I had, I guarantee it wouldn't top "Legion of Doom vs. Triune".

http://www.the-legion-of-doom.com

To quote Legion of Doom's website, "strange, dark and densely layered, this is not a typical hip-hop record." That couldn't be more accurate. There is a lot going on musically (it ain't a Lil Wayne album, let's put it that way). Triune (who I was only partially aware of) hits a lyrical home run (more Common/NOE than Weezy or Jeezy). Sadly, it is only available via digital download (I'm still an old school, "like to open the album and flip through the liner notes and absorb the artwork" kinda guy and I hope that never changes).
Check out: Cipher Sounds, Inner-City Renewal Program, This is Your Police Department.