pop culture, reviewed

Hi!  I’m alive!  Jake did not take over the blog (though wasn’t it nice to have him finally writing on here?  Of course it was!).

 So.  What have we been doing?  I haven’t written in so long that I forget where to start.  I’ll just go by category.

 What We’ve Been Watching on the Big Screen:  Awards season is gearing up and I already have several picks for Oscar nominations (not that I have a vote, of course).  Since last I wrote, I’ve seen: 

1. The Jane Austen Book Club.  It was delightful and better than the book, which was mediocre and forgettable.  It’s the kind of movie that, if you are a girl, you should probably go see with your mom or your girlfriend.  (Also, Claire Danes, I totally get what you see in Hugh Dancy.  He was actually really good in the movie — somehow he managed to be believable as a dork even though he is crazy handsome.)

 2. Michael Clayton.  Some of the legal bits were quite authentic, especially one scene when George Clooney’s character talks some associates after a disastrous deposition, which was spot-on.  Tom Wilkinson was outstanding as usual, and Tilda Swinton was phenomenal.  She has one of my Best Supporting Actress nominations this year (so far).

3. Martian Child.  I went to see this one by myself because, like every woman of my age bracket, I believe that John Cusack is actually Lloyd Dobler and I will go see just about anything he is in.  Martian Child might as well have been a made-for-TV movie, except that it had the Cusacks in it.  It worked, though.  John is appealing enough that he made it into a worthwhile big screen movie.  I’m not nominating this one for any awards, but if you want to go see a matinee while your husband watches football one Saturday (like I did), you could do a lot worse. 

4. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.  My love for Ethan Hawke is well-documented, I believe, and he was excellent in this, even compared to the brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman, who can do just about damn anything.  Perfectly cast and really well-directed.  (You see a lot of Marisa Tomei in this one, too, for better or for worse.  It’s worth mentioning because seriously, you see a LOT of her.)

5. Gone Baby Gone.  We had both read the book and both liked the movie — if possible, the movie streamlined the book in some really effective ways and made it more believable (and certainly easier to follow).  It didn’t dumb it down; it just made it less convoluted.  Good job, Ben Affleck.  (Also, hi, Casey Affleck.  How YOU doin’?)

Next up:  No Country for Old Men.  I read the book this weekend and had to take an emotional breather before I saw the movie right away.  I am pretty stoked to see it soon, though. 

What We’ve Been Watching on the Little Screen:

1.  Gossip Girl.  I sure do love shows where beautiful teenagers talk like grown-up writers and wear pretty clothes.  That’s one of my favorite genres, so I am enjoying this show immensely.

2.  Friday Night Lights.  We finally caught up.  I still cry in pretty much every episode so it’s still good as ever, in my humble opinion. 

3.  30 Rock and The Office.  Obviously, I mean, please.  Unless you hate fun, you watch these, and we love fun in our house, so there you go. 

4.  Grey’s Anatomy.  Yes, we finally started watching it.  We watched them all on DVD until this season, and now we record them and watch Thursday’s episode on Sunday.  I still hate Meredith and stupid McDreamy, but I like the rest of the cast.  Right now I am kind of digging Dr. Hahn, because, let’s face it, we all have a soft spot for her seeing as how we all remember when she had to put the lotion in the basket.  You know?

5.  The Wire.  This is our current TV-on-DVD project, finally.  We’re only, what, four years behind?  Whatever. 

6.  House.  Always and forever.  I love some of the new peeps, but I hard-core miss Cameron and Foreman and especially precious, precious Chase.  We need more of them, Chase especially.  I need more Cuddy and Wilson too, for that matter. 

What We’ve Been Listening To:

1. Josh Ritter.  His show at the 9:30 Club in October was, simply put, incredible.  He is a joy.  The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is currently in the lead for my favorite album of the year so far.  You too can experience how awesome his show was at NPR.org, or you can download that particular All Songs Considered podcast (for free!) off iTunes.

2. The New Pornographers.  Saw them for the third time two weeks ago, and it was really fun.  I really, really like the new record, more than I did upon first listen.  I even like the Dan Bejar songs. 

3. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals.  We saw him the day before Halloween at DAR Constitution Hall, which is my least favorite venue in the greater D.C. area.  It was a good show, but as Ryan shows go, it was just… fine.  The highlight for me was “The Sun Also Sets,” which is my favorite song off of Easy Tiger.  I was really hoping to hear the Cardinals’ cover of Alice in Chains’ “Down in a Hole,” which is so freaking good that it is worth buying his new EP, Follow the Lights, just for that song.  (The other standout on the EP is the song he wrote for Willie last year, “Blue Hotel,” which is gorgeous and sad and perfect like all the best Ryan songs are.) 

4.  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.  Saw the Boss tonight at the Verizon Center and it was everything you think a Bruce show is going to be and he played “Thunder Road” and I cried.  I am such a baby. 

5.  White Rabbits.  We missed them when they were at the Rock and Roll Hotel last week, but their album Fort Nightly is super fun and you should totally get it.

6.  Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.  You guys, 100 Days, 100 Nights is a new record!  You might hear it and think, “Who is this old-fashioned soul singer from the 60’s and why have I never heard of her before?”  But no!  This album came out last month; it’s just so awesome that it sounds like that.

7.  Dan Wilson.  Jake was not kidding, the song “All Kinds” off of his new album Free Life is really good, but my favorite on the record is “Breathless.”  I really like the whole thing, though.  These are just really nice, pretty, sweet pop songs, and they make you feel good.  They make me feel good, anyway, so I think y’all should try them out too, if you are in the market for nice and sweet and pretty.

What else:  Well, although I do not think that I have posted a single entry about books this year (how did it get to be November?), I do still read and I’ll work on a book entry soon.  Oh!  And I turned thirty last month.  How about that?  I’m a thirty-something now.  We celebrated by going to see the Beatles Love show in Las Vegas.  I don’t talk about the Beatles that much on this site, but I was pretty much a total Beatles freak for most of my late childhood/early adolescence, and that is something that will stay with me forever.  Basically, from the time I was about eleven until, I don’t know, I was through with college, I used to get Beatles books for every holiday, I wore (and still wear) black every December 8, the first trip I took when I lived in England was a pilgrimage to Liverpool, and as a result of all those things, I have a longstanding and deep emotional connection to all things Beatle.  Therefore, Jake was not surprised when, on our first day in Vegas, I cried as soon as we walked into the Beatles gift shop.  There was just so much Beatles stuff, I couldn’t handle it!  I also cried through the first half of the Love show, and in the middle, and then again at the end.  Also, I kept going back to the Beatles store every day to buy something else and wound up coming home with the following: two souvenir plastic cups, a mug, two magnets, a pair of Rubber Soul socks, and a Sgt. Pepper’s sweatshirt.  Y’all, I don’t even wear sweatshirts.  I am a total freak. I’m going to stop typing about what a freak I am now before I tell y’all that I was also obsessed with The Brady Bunch, though not in the same way.

Anyway, it was a happy birthday, and now I’m 30 plus one month.  Happy late birthday to me and happy Tuesday to you all!

I have held off on posting about Ryan’s new album for awhile now, but this early review from RollingStone.com was just too much for me to take.  The album is called Easy Tiger  and it comes out on June 26. 

Caroline and I are taking a road trip to West Virginia next week to check out my first Ryan show of 2007, so we’ll let  you know how it goes.

A Ryan Adams song on Idol.

Because even if Tim McGraw’s version had a wider audience, Ryan Adams wrote that song.  Okay?  HE WROTE IT.

8.  David Mead at Jammin’ Java.  It’s a shame that there were only, like, fifteen people there, because he was amazing. 

7. Marah at Iota.  This was way back at the beginning of the year, but it was a fun, fun, loud, fun show.  (They played two nights in September but I only saw them when they were here in January.)  They should be more famous. 

6. Tift Merritt at the Birchmere.  We have seen Tift Merritt twice now and she always surprises — she puts on a much more powerful live show than you might expect just from listening to her albums (which are also good). 

5.  Arctic Monkeys at the 9:30 Club.  This was probably the most crowded that I have ever seen the 9:30 Club, and the crowd was so young that I felt middle-aged.  (It didn’t help that the band looked like they could go to high school with my cousin Ben.)  Sometimes I just really, really like a super-loud rock concert, though, and this was that.

4.  Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins at the Birchmere.   We also saw Jenny Lewis at the 9:30 Club this year, but the Birchmere performance was better.  I think it’s probably just because the Birchmere is such a great venue — great sound, a quiet and respectful crowd.  I have seen several people play at the Birchmere that I have also seen at other places, and  the Birchmere show is always better.   And regarding Jenny Lewis — girlfriend has a voice that will stop you in your tracks. 

3.  Bruce Springsteen at Nissan Pavilion.  We were thisclose to Bruce!  Thisclose!

2.  Justin Timberlake at the 9:30 Club.  Do I need to remind you again that the show was so good that, afterward,  I bought a $40 Hanes black tank top just because it said “Justin Timberlake” on it?   It was that good.

1.  Ryan Adams and the Cardinals playing as Cold Roses, Inc., at the Bowery Ballroom.  You’re surprised?  Look, I saw him seven times this year.  Just be glad I only put him on the list once.  The Bowery show, though, was the ultimate. 

Over the course of the last three days I have seen Ryan Adams and the Cardinals play the following songs.  Merry Christmas to me!

Monday:

Magnolia Mountain
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Dear Chicago
Peaceful Valley
Mockingbird
Tears of Gold
Nightbirds
Cold Roses
New York, New York
Arkham Asylum
Kiss Before I Go
Let it Ride
Bartering Lines >
To Be Young
Blue Hotel
Beautiful Sorta
The End>
Egyptology >
Wharf Rat >
Expressway to Your Skull
Shakedown on 9th Street >
I See Monsters

Tuesday:

What Sin
Nobody Girl
Harder Now That It’s Over
September
Meadowlake Street
Freeway to the Canyon
Trouble on Wheels
Easy Plateau
Firecracker
Goodnight Rose
Trains
Cherry Lane
Dear John
Stella Blue

Wednesday:  

Come Pick Me Up
When the Stars Go Blue
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Love is Hell
This is It
Afraid Not Scared
La Cienega Just Smiled
Hallelujah
Wish You Were Here
Judy Garland
Blue Sky Blues
Games
Winding Wheel
Willow Jane
29
Rescue Blues

 Monday night Ryan was goofy and adorable, in knee-high silver platform boots that made him about six feet tall.  (Those are high platforms, because he’s rather a small man usually.)  The setlist was wonderful, as you can see, but fairly predictable (save for “Bartering Lines,” which isn’t one of the most-played from Heartbreaker).  That’s not at all a criticism; it just meant that I was even more excited to see what would happen on Tuesday and Wednesday, since he had gotten a lot of the usuals out of the way early on. Monday’s highlights:  Seeing Ryan beam at Neal — I think Neal is a very, very good thing for the Cardinals and for Ryan personally — and hearing them perform the beautiful “Blue Hotel.”

Tuesday marked my thirteenth Ryan show and the first I’ve ever gone to see him by myself.  It was also the first time I had heard “Harder Now That It’s Over” since my very first Ryan show in 2001, so that was special.  It’s always a treat to hear “Cherry Lane.”  Highlight, though, was definitely Norah Jones’s duet on “Dear John” — gorgeous. 

By Wednesday I was convinced that it was going to be the best show I had ever seen.  I predicted several songs that they might play first — it never crossed my mind that they would play “Come Pick Me Up,” since Ryan said not three months ago that he would never play that song again, that he wasn’t that person anymore, etc.  Perhaps I should have known that when he started with it that he wasn’t in a good place on Wednesday night.  (Actually, it was pretty clear that something was off when he appeared with the opener, his ex-girlfriend Leona Naess, to sing her first song.  He stood there and barely sang maybe two lines, mostly looking at the floor.)  Anyway, he started with “Come Pick Me Up” and at the time I thought, oh, that crazy Ryan, always changing things up, giving the audience what they want… now I think it was not such an auspicious start.  The setlist, though, was incredible — he got three of the “hits” out of the way right off the bat, then started rocking with “Love is Hell” and “This Is It,” and then pulled out “Afraid Not Scared,” which he has only ever played live twice before.  The song choices just kept getting better and better, and then it just… stopped.  He quit playing at 10:40, a good half hour before he needed to.  The end.  Thanks a lot, Ryan.

I blame myself for the night’s sorry end because after hearing rare treats like “Afraid Not Scared,” “Hallelujah,” “Blue Sky Blues,” and “29,” mixed with favorites like “Come Pick Me Up, “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” and “La Cienega,” I had just texted Jake that it was “maybe the best setlist he has ever played.”  I totally jinxed everyone.  Sorry, guys.

So, I was pretty bummed on Wednesday that an evening of such awesome music ended so abruptly .  I was pretty mad at Ryan and pretty sad about it, but I’m over it now.  I’ve seen him fourteen times and I’ve been disappointed twice — that’s not terrible.  (And unlike the first time he was disappointing, when he was drunk, incoherent, belligerent, and not really playing well, this time the music was great — there just wasn’t enough of it to satisfy me.)  I know that had I seen a show of Wednesday’s quality from another band, I would have been impressed.  My expectations of Ryan, however, are significantly higher than my expectations of any other artist (except for Bruce Springsteen, maybe).  I can get over being let down… but Ryan needs to get over being let down by his audiences as well.  Apparently he was annoyed because people were shouting out song requests (note:  people!  don’t yell out song requests to him!).  As much as those assholes get on my nerves, they are an inevitability.  Until Wednesday, I believed that lately Ryan (sober now for seven months) had found, along with his sobriety, an ability to separate himself from the audience enough that he could soldier on even through a bad mood or an obnoxious crowd.  Apparently I was wrong.

However.  This does not change my devotion to his music or even my affection for  him personally (not that I know him personally, of course).  What I love about Ryan’s music is the brutal honesty, the astonishing vulnerability and openness.  He lays it all out there.  If the price I have to pay to get all that truth and beauty is a guy who is too sensitive to be professional all the time (read: a moody priss), fine.  I’m willing to accept the trade-off.  So be it.

And really… who can look at that cumulative setlist from all three nights at Town Hall and claim to be angry?  Not I.