January 2010
56 posts
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Top 10 Films Of 2009
And finally…
#10: Antichrist written & directed by Lars Von Trier
#09: Moon written by Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker directed by Duncan Jones
#08: A Serious Man written & directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
#07: Das Weiße Band written and directed by Michael Haneke
#06: Fish Tank written and directed by Andrea Arnold
#05: Un Prophète written by Thomas...
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Top Acting Performances Of 2009: Ladies
As with the gentlemen, it was equally as hard for me to pick just ten performances that I loved. I’m still hoping to see Mo’Nique in Precious and Penélope Cruz in Broken Embraces as soon as possible, but this list will just have to do without them.
#10: Paz De La Huerta The Limits Of Control
#09: Meryl Streep Julie & Julia
#08: Robin Wright-Penn The Private Lives Of...
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Top Acting Performances Of 2009: Lads
I’ll begin today’s film-centric posts with my favorite acting performances by the guys. I’m upset that I still haven’t had the chance to see certain movies and missed supposedly life changing performances by actors such as Colin Firth (A Single Man), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) or even Patton Oswalt (Big Fan). Still, it was hard to choose just ten performances from 2009,...
December 2009
32 posts
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Just Read: I'm Dying Up Here
I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak And High Times In Stand-Up Comedy’s Golden Era by William Knoedelseder
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Quote: Leonard Cohen
“And what can I tell you, my brother, my killer? What can I possibly say? I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you. I’m glad you stood in my way.” - Leonard Cohen
Been alternating between Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat” and The Replacements’ “I Will Dare” in my head all evening long. Just one of those nights, I guess.
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Just Watched: An Education
An Education (☆☆☆☆) (directed by Lone Scherfig / written by Nick Hornby & Lynn Barber)
I’ve been excited to see this film for a while now and all in all, it lived up to the majority of my expectations. To be honest, it doesn’t have the most original premise, but the incredible performances from Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina and Peter Sarsgaard matched with Nick Hornby’s...
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Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck: "Heaven Can Wait"
The video for “Heaven Can Wait” has been around for a while now, but I thought it might be a nice companion to the mix I posted a couple of days back. Keith Schofield is the mastermind behind this fantastic clip, but truthfully, it’s just kind of relaxing to see the lovely Ms. Gainsbourg doing something on film that doesn’t involve a pair of testicles being smashed with...
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New Year's Resolution
Marc Johns. As usual, nailing it. In other great news, I received the print below as part of a simply wonderful Christmas gift. It is now quite proudly displayed on the wall.
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Weekly Last.fm: December 22-29, 2009
I’ve decided to try and remember to post my top Last.fm plays here on a weekly basis. This isn’t an insanely accurate way to keep track of what I listen to as it doesn’t account for the good deal of music I listen to on vinyl. It also seems to randomly decide not to scrobble quite a few of the tracks I play on my iPod. It’s an imperfect science for sure, but it’s...
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Christmas...And Films
In visiting home for Christmas this year, I had formed a plan to fill in the hours that weren’t going to be spent shopping, cooking or working with my family by watching as many movies from 2009 as I could possibly cram in. Unfortunately, this didn’t pan out as I had hoped and films like Summer Hours, An Education, The Messenger and Broken Embraces still sit in waiting on my hard...
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Airline Logos
The Museum Of Flight has a great section on their website devoted to the artwork of airline logos. It’s a charming little journey through the airline industry of past and present. (The logos on this page: Air Canada, Air Malta, British West Indies Airways, Lan Chile, Middle East Airlines)
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Mix #01
Company Pants Mix #01 (December 2009)
01 Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck / “Heaven Can Wait” 02 Class Actress / “Let Me Take You Out” 03 Nana Grizol / “Galaxies” 04 Broken Bells / “Sailing To Nowhere” 05 Basia Bulat / “Go On” 06 Field Music / “Measure” 07 Yeasayer / “Mondegreen” 08 Owen Pallett /...
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Top 25 Records Of 2009
#25: Royal Bangs: Let It Beep (City Slang)
#24: Beirut/Realpeople: March Of The Zapotec/Holland EP (Pompeii Records)
#23: VEGA: Well Known Pleasures EP (Vogue College)
#22: A.A. Bondy: When The Devil’s Loose (Fat Possum)
#21: Holopaw: Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness. (Bakery Outlet)
#20: Junior Boys: Begone Dull Care (Domino)
#19: Scary Mansion: Make Me Cry (Talitres...
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Marc Maron & El Chupacabra
I don’t mean to keep going on about my adoration of Marc Maron, but I stumbled across this clip of him and Nick Kroll recording together in the WTF studio and just had to throw it up here. This particular segment appeared back on Episode 26 and almost required me to pull my car over along the side of I-5 to clear away the tears of laughter. Marc Maron and Nick Kroll…fucking...
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Donald Glover: I Am Tiger Woods
Like most people, I’m fairly tired of opening my RSS feed only to be inundated with reports and opinions about Tiger Woods. However, I’m always interested in anything Donald Glover has to add to whatever topic is at hand. (If you’re at work and decide to watch, I’d suggest you throw on a pair of headphones)
Sidenote: If you haven’t yet watched Community (which...
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Good Day
I’d definitely use Good Day soap. Especially if it was a promise.
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Photo: TJ Proechel
“Washington Ave.”
TJ Proechel / Minneapolis, MN
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Top 30 Tracks Of 2009: #10-1
And that about wraps up this particular list. Once again, here are Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them. Thanks for playing, folks.
#10: Dirty Projectors: “Two Doves” (from Bitte Orca / Domino)
While the majority of the internet’s Pitchfork devotees cream themselves over Amber Coffman’s stunning Mariah Carey-ish take on “Stillness Is The Move” (and...
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Quote: Theo Hilton Of Nana Grizol
“Cynicism isn’t wisdom, it’s a lazy way to say that you’ve been burned.” - Theo Hilton
Those E6 kids. Damn.
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Yeasayer: "Ambling Alp"
Just in case you were wondering (and let’s face it, you probably weren’t), the new Yeasayer record is pretty damn close to my idea of perfection.
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Top 30 Tracks Of 2009 (#20-11)
And thus begins part two. If you missed part one of this list, head back this-a-way. Not much else to say here right now, so let’s just get on with it…
#20: Magnolia Electric Co.: “It’s Made Me Cry” (from It’s Made Me Cry 7” EP / Secretly Canadian)
In a year filled with so many Jason Molina-related releases, it’s hard for me not just to crown...
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Quote: Marc Maron
“It is amazing to me that you are not deterred by my constant rejection of you.” - Marc Maron
Statements like that are doing absolutely nothing to quell the huge crush I’ve developed on this man’s mind over the past seven months. There is not a single reason I can come up with for you not to download the best podcast available on the internet.
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Moonface: Dreamland EP
If you’re lucky enough to strike during a moment when their server isn’t completely slammed, the fine folks at Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian are offering a download of the upcoming vinyl release from one of Spencer Krug’s many projects, Moonface. The Dreamland EP: Marimba And Shit-Drums spits itself out as one long twenty minute burst of…well, marimbas and drums laced...
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Pitchfork Memes
Brilliant. Courtesy of Waxin’ And Milkin’.
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Top 30 Tracks Of 2009 (#30-21)
This year’s best of lists start with what is always the hardest one for me to compile. After going through all the records, EPs, singles, etc. I was left with 186 songs that made me flip my shit in 2009 and a scorned galley of songs just waiting in the wings for…something. Eventually, I painfully boiled that group down to 30, the first ten of which I present to you today. You can...
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The Monster At The End Of This Book
Something reminded me of this book this morning which was easily one of my favorites as a kid. So, I decided to take a second and look it up and found this site which lets you scroll your way through the whole damn book. I have to admit, I got a little stupid and gushy and started pining for my old Grover stuffed animal. Yeah, weird morning.
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Quote: Werner Herzog
“I remember that Nicolas Cage, I think on the second day of shooting or the first day of shooting, asked me, ‘Werner, I hate to come with this question about motivations.’ He knew that I couldn’t stand this kind of discourse with an actor. And he said, ‘But why is he so bad? Is it the drugs? Is it Katrina?’ And I said, ‘Nicolas, there is such a...
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Want/Need: December 14
I’ve fallen a bit in love with both of these bags. While I can’t honestly believe that either of them will ever work their way into my possession, a guy can have weird, mid-afternoon dreams, right? The Fjällräven Vintage Pack on top comes courtesy of Fjällräven via A Time To Get. The Peseta Ukelele Tote below found its way into my heart via Kitsune Noir’s crafty navigation...
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Papercuts: "White Are The Waves"
Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #-114:
Papercuts: “White Are The Waves”
from White Are The Waves 7” (Gnomonsong / 11.24.09)
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Lunch With A Star
Nothing handles that middle of the day hankering for sustenance like dos tacos de pollo from Taqueria Lindo Michoacan. It also doesn’t hurt when David Bowie shows up.
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The Extra Man
Having just barely cracked the spine on Jonathan Ames’ 2006 book of essays I Love You More Than You Know, my interest was piqued when a few photos from the upcoming adaptation of his novel The Extra Man hit Slash Film this morning.
2009 has unintentionally become a one-sided get to know you year between Mr. Ames and myself. Between his two appearances on The Moth, reading two of his...
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Kitsune Noir Poster Club
The undisputed king of all design blogs, Kitsune Noir, introduced the Kitsune Noir Poster Club earlier this morning. The inaugural batch of five posters finds artists interpreting their favorite books and includes contributions from Mark Weaver, Frank Chimero, Cody Hout, Garrett Vander Leun and Jez Burrows who is responsible for the phenomenal print shown above as inspired by Henry David...