As many times as I have heard and LOVED this song, the first time I ever saw the film clip was on a Radiohead bio on MusicMax that I watched tonight. Amazing. Someone else digs their David Lynch too.
The biography was fantastic too, a great reminder that despite the bullshit tall-poppy criticism of recent years, the Radiohead evolution is one of the most fascinating progressions of a band. As perhaps one of the world’s most musically-purist bands, they deserve respect.
Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder is a comedy roller coaster - lots of rises but quite a few dips as well. I caught it on Friday night in a surprisingly empty cinema (actually, it was here in the Blue Mountains - most people were probably huddling around their fireplaces). I gotta say it was a little disappointing, but still mostly enjoyable. I think I expected more satire and less situational comedy though.
Robert Downey Jnr and Jack Black are both excellent despite being comedic counterpoints within the film and perhaps this is why Tropic Thunder doesn’t work as well as it should. Downey Jnr’s egotistical, obssesively method actor is a smarter cariacature than Black’s vapid Eddie Murphy-esque comedy star, and the juggling of comedic tone sometimes results in a few balls hitting the ground.
But there are some great moments, and the remaining supporting cast are mostly pitch perfect (with one exception: Tom Cruise. Despite the hype, he’s just not that funny in a role that you can sense he and Stiller thought was hilarious).
On contemplation I think the movie’s biggest fault is Stiller himself, and I write this as a Stiller fan. I like his good-guy-screwed-over-schtick, including recent The Heartbreak Kid that was very hit and miss in critical response. And I love his directorial work in this film, which has really improved in scope and confidence. But I can’t help but think the movie would have benefited from a real action hero in the Tugg Speedman role; someone with a comedic bent, like The Rock. Despite his massive guns, Stiller fails to imbue the Speedman character with the genuine “yearning for acceptance but limited by talent” persona of someone like Sly Stallone.
My other disappointment was that the film didn’t maintain the darker comedic tone of its first half hour. It’s a clever premise that should have provided more laughs. Still, there’s more than a handful of good laughs and a lot of check-your-brain enjoyment to be had. Just wish they had fully mined that pit.
My personal favourite scene was Downey Jnr’s pompous actor Kirk Lazarus explaining to Speedman that you “never go full retard.” Just ask Sean Penn.
One word: Ewwwwwwwwwwww.
You know somewhere some creepy dude is getting off watching this.
Cool song though. And I love Sia, she just seems like a regular goodtime Aussie girl. Love her work with Zero 7 and more recently her guest vocals on ‘I’ll Forget You’ from Lior’s great album ‘Corner of An Endless Road’.
And this interview has a cool little confession about her snaggletooth that just makes me love her more.
Had the pleasure of seeing one of my favourite bands, Death Cab For Cutie play a show at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on Monday night. It was the third time I’d seen them play, but the first time in Australia (the first two in the US and Canada when they were touring ‘Plans’).
With tickets in the back floor section of the Enmore, my expectations weren’t high (seeing Silverchair from this vantage point was a real letdown), but oddly enough the energy of the band and a great setlist more than made up for it.
Support slot ‘An Horse’ were solid if unspectacular, though I only caught 15 minutes of their show - I really love the tracks featured on their Myspace though.
Death Cab opened with the brilliant ‘Narrow Stairs’ opening track, ‘Bixby Canyon Bridge’. A slow-burn rumination on the pursuit of truth, it builds to a thunderous bridge that got everyone in the mood.
Leadman Ben Gibbard looked like Superman to his regular Clark Kent, lacking his usual glasses and appearing healthy and happy (a big change to his onstage vibe during the US tour). Musical magician and producer extraordinaire Chris Walla contributed his usual wizardry on keys and guitar.
As mentioned, the band’s setlist for the night was excellent; a great mix of the last four studio albums, plus my personal favourites of the gig, ‘Company Calls’ and ‘Company Calls Epilogue’, off the underrated ‘We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes’.
Biggest crowd singalong of the night belonged to ‘Soul Meets Body’, which had even the fairweather fans bopping their heads and singing the “bada-bada-ba”s. ‘I Will Follow You Into The Dark’ had an unusually passionate response too, a sea of cameras (aka the 21st century cigarette lighter) floating in the dark in front of stage (I’m saving my vitriol on this topic for a future blog).
They definitely seem to have picked up a lot of followers from ‘Plans’ and the subsequent tours, and whilst the crowd wasn’t always responsive, there were pockets of legit devotees enjoying every note.
I was trying to decide if ‘nerd-rock’ was an appropriate description of Death Cab’s sub-genre earlier this week, and decided against it because of the negative connotations. But with their lyrical depth and pathos, anti-rock-star tendencies, and musical dexterity, I’m now thinking it’s pretty apt.
A surprisingly great gig. Long live Nerd Rock.
Here’s the set list:
Bixby Canyon Bridge
The New Year
Why’d You Want To Live Here
Crooked Teeth
Long Division
Grapevine Fires
A Movie Script Ending
Company Calls
Company Calls Epilogue
Soul Meets Body
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
I Will Possess Your Heart
Cath
No Sunlight
The Sound of Settling
Marching Bands Of Manhattan
Title Track
Title And Registration
Expo ‘86
Tiny Vessels
Transatlanticism
Okay, so I finally finished all five seasons of The Wire on Friday night and found it breathtakingly amazing. I want to write in more detail about it soon. Just a magnificently brilliant show, in scope and detail.
And like any good addict, without my fix of one product I’ve had to move straight to another; Grand Theft Auto 4. Insanely addictive. I’ve been playing a couple of hours a day for a week (and I’m still only halfway through the storyline). Who would of thought killing and maiming could be so much fun?
I have been making legitimate use of a little of my time writing a new screenplay, which is a much better excuse for neglecting this sad little blog. Early stages, but progress is being made. Another one to add to the pile for when we run out of firewood.
In honour of my excitement for tonight’s Death Cab For Cutie gig at the Enmore, today’s SotD is new single ‘Cath’.
The more obvious narrative style of film clip really suits Ben Gibbard’s observational lyrics - this song is just a pure heartbreaker. A line like “she holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child” illustrates Gibbard’s lyrical talent. Their Narrow Stairs album is definitely one of my favourites of the year, easily cracking my top 5.
Will post about the gig tomorrow.
I love the 80s pop-pastel sound and stylings of this catchy little tune by UK band Mystery Jets. Any band that can gleefully pay homage to the cheesy flavour of almost anything from that period of time gets kudos from me.
Their ‘Twenty One’ album is on high rotation on Radio Real Topeka at the moment.
Hands down most ridiculous movie-tie to a burger chain in I have ever seen…
“Inspired by the Dark Knight”? How the hell can a movie be inspiration for a burger??? And what exactly makes a Whopper ‘Dark’? Double cooking the patties? Barbecue sauce instead of tomato sauce? An extra pattie made of 100% moral ambiguity?
You know what I hunger for? Advertising companies that don’t treat consumers like we are retarded.