this alien appreciates the many music blogs that offer evaluatioin MP3s of new music releases. but he often finds a track playing on his itunes for which he has no recollection of its origin, and so credit cannot be given.
listening to "hold" muzak -- the attention retainer, as it's called -- and the carpenters' "yesterday once more" ("every la la la") comes on with swelling strings and glissando-ing piano. the entire population has impenetrable emotional responses to carpenters records, so no embellishments are needed to push our buttons...am i right?
this alien remembers a few years ago when someone attempted to blow up a plane with a device in his footware; hence, he was given the name, "shoebomber".
this alien wonders which of the following might be applied to this week's suspect:
this alien was shocked, SHOCKED, at how much he liked sherlock holmes, which, based on the terrible previews, he hadn't even intended to see.
the previews gave it something of a wild wild west vibe (thanks, will smith, for wrecking a perfectly good tv show with cinematic overdose); instead, it was fairly sophisticated, and allowed viewers to think their way through.
true, some of the critical plot points were apparent from the start, but that's a minor quibble. there was one device in use twice early in the movie, that could well have been utilized more: holmes internally analyzes how to respond to a given situation, and then the audience watches the effect in real time.
the device allowed viewers to get into the character's head in a unique manner, which carried the viewer through some of the not-quite-as-well-thought-out bits.
robert downey jr is not reliably entertaining to this alien, and jude law barely even registers; but both were more than adequate.
this alien is ashamed to admit he has been watching, "men of a certain age" on TNT (they know drama, or something). never a fan of ray romano, but liked watching "everybody loves ray", curiously enough. but "men of a certain age" doesn't dwell exclusively on romano; rather it fairly evenly divides time among the three main characters: divorcing dad, car salesman family man, and peter pan syndromed temp-job-working actor.
it's not really "sex and the city" for middle-aged guys...more like, "existence and the suburbs". that the three characters all have "real jobs" is refreshing...none are writers, or working actors, or in advertising, or any other typical TV-show jobs that nobody in the real world has. and all very definitely have problems. it's the problems, though, that make the little victories so gratifying. and each character seems to have his moment...after several moments that are far less satisfying.
owen, the car salesman's storylines are particularly follow-able (played by andre braugher). he's dragged through all sorts of humiliation by the owner of the car dealership, who happens to also be his father. owen finally wins big car sales one month...the viewing audience is ecstatic!...but still, his father screws him over. owen's big moment, though, made the comedown 1) real and 2) bearable. we know owen will still make it.
this alien ran across this song on MTVU today...the alien thinks it has appeal. is he alone in thinking this?
impossible, shout out louds
I don't want to feel like I don't have a future. I don't want to feel like it's an end of a summer. Let's not fall back to sleep like we used to. I don't want to wake up knowing I don't have a future.
Impossible. Your love is something I cannot remember.
I don't want to spend another day in this city. I woke up thirsty, it's hard to go back you know. Let's not fall back to sleep like we used to, do you remember? I don't want to wake up knowing I don't have a future.
Impossible. Your love is something I cannot remember. And there's a first time and a second time, you've got to hold on. Did you know it could happen to you? Your love is something I cannot remember.
I don't want to see the same pictures all over. And I've been standing on the same spot now since it's been over. 'Cause someone promised me a new chance, yes you promised. I don't want to wake up knowing I don't have a future.
Impossible. Your love is something I cannot remember. And there's a first time and a second time, you've got to hold on. Did you know it could happen to you? Your love is something I cannot remember.
You are just like your mother, I'm just the same as the others. Do you believe everything they write in all those magazines? Stay out of love until you're ready, stay out of it 'cause it scares you. You'll still find your love outside the public library.
this alien fell in line and saw avatar this weekend. he also rewatched star trek at home while wrapping xmas prezzies, which vibrantly underscored what he found so lacking in avatar: characters he could care about.
first, avatar has gorgeous, superbly executed images. no doubt about it...this alien could look at this movie over and over again. but after the first 7 hours or so, the spectacle overwhelms, bombards the viewer.
in the end, avatar tells a story that this viewer didn't want to see: bad, bad capitalist humans pillage other worlds for mineral riches. the final showdown is so very, very lengthy, when everyone knows exactly frame-for-frame what will happen, that an hour could easily have been cut, and nobody would have noticed.
so then, star trek is all about people actually learning lessons, caring about each other, blah blah blah, in relatively sparse settings (relative to sci-fi blockbusters, that is) just so the characters become the focal point. and wraps up rather efficiently with enough humor that one doesn't feel he's been driven out of the theater, hit over the head with a big bad club of learnin.
this alien understands that at least one of his readers will disagree. and so it goes.
this alien hates santa ana weekends, when the desert winds blow in from the east, creating crazy-ass allergy symptoms in this one. most difficult: one gets so sleepy from feeling sick like this, but the coughing increases when one lies down.
this alien thought is was funny when wired magazine wrote that an asteroid "will almost hit earth", as it buzzes by "just 18,300 miles" away. 18,300 miles? does that even register?
but then he saw the animated rendering of what it would look like, from the asteroid's POV...yikes, that IS close!
this alien had never heard of the track, "wonderful life" by HURTS till about three weeks ago, when it suddenly showed up on several blogs' end-of-year best lists. awesome synthpop moper (which is what we all adore, right?) with a great big rhythm section and classic echo-y keyboards.
this alien wishes all records were just like this.
this alien is a fairly big fan of the tv series, scrubs. there have always been things about it that don't set well, but for the most part, great characters, silly-yet-interesting storylines, plenty of long-running jokes. one of the more appealing aspects has always been the not-quite-straight, just-this-side-of-irritating relationship between turk ("cocoa bear") and JD ("JD")...adorable!
so, the series looked like it was cancelled twice, first by NBC two years ago, then again by ABC last year -- with an episode completely suitable for a series finale. but no, it came back this year as scrubs: med school wherein the most implausible setup is the basis of the "new" series: the 8th year doctors and their mentor now serve as faculty for a neighboring medical college / teaching hospital.
half the cast is new (med students), and many of the characters from previous seasons are moving on...after having a few minutes to explain why they're no longer written into the script, oddly enough.
the new characters are cute and interesting enough, but the returning characters are suddenly UNBEARABLE. JD tops the list as the most, MOST agonizingly character since baby-talk jack from will & grace (normal-talk jack was great...baby-talk jack...ugh). always baby-talk, always trying to play pal-teacher, never comes down to earth, and is even more the "girl" in his crush on turk.
this alien never thought he'd sour on the JD-cocoa bear couple. after four episodes (so far), this alien isn't so sure he can keep watching anymore.
this alien made a mistake at work today. as it turns out, having made the mistake was a good thing, because we now know how to resolve that mistake if it ever happens again.
this alien was a huge fan of the lightning seeds records in the 80's. last year, he found that he / they recorded an album recently...still doing what he / they were doing twenty years ago, just as well.
My world was so wonderful Anarchy from Rome to Hull I was born for this All I want is this At seventeen, I used to play guitar I never knew I could dream so hard And though it feels like it was yesterday And though my heroes have got overweight I’m still waiting for the world to change
My life was like a fairy tale Lydon roared and Roxy wailed I was born for this All I want is this And since those times you know I’ve had some fun I’ve been happy with the things I’ve done But I can’t resist And sometimes I think of this
Coz there’s a little piece of me Somewhere in my memory I love the world for being strange And times have changed But I think I still feel the same
There’s a little piece of me Somewhere in my memory I love the world for being strange Times have changed But I think I still feel the same
And there will always be anarchy in my heart I hope that the end for me will live up to the start
so all this news about the inquiry into starting the iraq "war"...everyone seems shocked, SHOCKED, that bush/cheney/blair may not have thought there were WMDs in iraq; rather, they just wanted to go in and blast hussein.
how does this come as a surprise to anyone? did anyone really believe we were going in because of some WMD threat?
this alien is justifiably boasting that his xmas shopping is pretty much complete. now to get these things out in the mail on time...something this alien is almost never able to do.
this alien saw brothers today (tobey maguire, jake gyllenhaal, natalie portman's eyebrows, and a bitter little girl with chubby cheeks). it was actually pretty good...this alien stayed awake the whole time, though much of the audience seemed distracted. maguire's character was absolutely insane (as the previews showed); this alien could hear several members of the audience wondering how they could get PTSD so they could lose 50 pounds, too...maguire was breakably thin. gyllenhaal's character wasn't quite as endearing as the viewer was supposed to believe.
portman's eyebrows did their weird "upset face" thing where they're completely flat from the outsides to about the last 3/8" inside, when they suddenly bend STRAIGHT UP her forehead.
and poor mare winningham (from st elmo's fire), already playing a grandma-wife to sam shepard.
the part (also in the preview) where little girl blurts out that mommy and uncle were having an ongoing sexual thing wasn't quite believable to this alien. but maguire's big bag of crazy was totally believable. this alien thinks toby is not going to be confronted anytime soon, for fear that he's carrying a fire poker in his back pocket.
note: the lighting in several scenes was...shaky. like the guy holding the reflector screen was shivering. odd.
this alien has been reviewing music and movies and tv he's studied over the past year. one of the album highlights (in a year of great singles, not so many albums) was muse's the resistance.
this alien isn't a longtime fan of muse...he just found them about two years ago (with "supermassive blackhole")...but since then, this alien has been shopping down muse stuff, and most of it is quite good.
so. from the resistance, this track, "undisclosed desires" is particularly good. like the stringy arrangement, and the weird violence-beauty-demon lyrics make a compelling juxtaposition.
this alien, like everyone else in the world, is intrigued by the upcoming movie, avatar. but he's suspicious of the early reviews coming in, almost all of which go way, way over the top with praise.
in this alien's experience, movies with such buildup tend not to live up. so this alien strives to keep his expectations low.
this alien acknowledges that he named "spaceman", by the killers, as single of the year...but he would argue that "this used to be the future", by pet shop boys and phil oakey places very, very high on the list.
he would perhaps create a new category in the list, for GREATEST OUT OF THE BLUE COLLABORATION for 2009, thus giving "future" someplace for a top spot.
coincidentally, this alien saw human league in concert with "the regeneration tour" in 2008...and was fairly impressed. fingers are crossed for a new single or two from mr oakey and the league.
postscript: this alien's husband wonders why he has so much pet shop boys on his player...it is not intentional. this alien suspects pet shop boys tracks regenerate on their own.
dear project leader:
this alien's local 7-11 has replaced their outdoor lighting with banks of LEDs...it's surprisingly bright.
this alien spent several hours one recent evening trying to purchase today's adorable track, "kimi ni munekyun", by yellow magic orchestra. other than suspicious on foreign mp3 sites, this track was not available for purchase...careless record companies.
anyway, this alien first heard YMO as a young human performing slave labor in the harsh climates / fabulous municipalities of japan. he was instantly entranced, and followed the band for their last couple of albums; then latched onto one member's solo projects, ryuichi sakamoto.
mr sakamoto didn't continue in the same direction as YMO; rather he did a lot of movie scores (merry christmas, mr lawrence), and ultimately settled on jazz and piano solo stuff.
still very interesting, but not YMO. and that's okay. it's worth mentioning, sakamoto did appear in madonna's "rain" video. random.
this alien's workplace PC was in surgery today...but seemed, at the end of a 5-hour procedure, to be fully recovered. this alien thanks you for the good wishes, etc.
in the meantime, this alien was forced to use an empty workstation too far away from his own desk, and found the arrangement entirely disruptive.
she assumes an odd "character" (vocally) to sing this one; that would have probably been changed if it was actually a single. (but since nobody except 14-year-olds are played on TV or radio anymore, this alien guesses "singles" aren't really what they used to be.)
she said:
The chorus says it all, but it's about losing the chance of a relationship because the other person is involved with drugs. It's a fairly obvious parallel in a lot of people lives. It was fun to write a really straight-out rock song that had a great sort of punk feel to it.
If what I think is happening is happening - it better not be.
dear project leader:
this alien went to see fantastic mr. fox today and loved, loved, loved it. all the things one might fondly recall from previous wes anderson movies (well, except for darjheeling limited, perhaps) were present: too-self-aware supporting characters, uncomfortably close close-ups, static and symmetrical graphic layouts, jason schwartzman, layered dollhouse sets...and enhanced with really suddenly-appearing animal behaviors.
(not to mention the bollywood numbers here and there.)
"island of lost souls", from their album, the hunter, which this alien and about 5 other fans bought the first time around. the rock and roll hall of fame says:
June 26, 1982: Blondie’s “Island of Lost Souls” (from The Hunter) enters the Top Forty, where it will peak at #37. It is the thirteenth U.S. single from Blondie’s first go-round as a group, marking the end of their three-year reign as the New Wave’s most successful singles act.
this alien is a casual fan of the bravery...listen to and like their music, have bought an album, etc., so i was pretty excited to see they had a new track and album out. the single, "the spectator" is okay. not great. not as engaging as previous releases...maybe it's a video-only song (used in "the vampire diaries", on tv).
as for the new album, stir the blood, here's this alien's initial impressions: album starts out with some good pop-rock stuff, which, by track 3 ("slow poison"), had pretty much sold me on the album. then, out of nowhere, track 4 goes into some sort of manic depressive hostility thing, and the following two songs are either generic or just unappealing.
then, "the spectator," mentioned above. but yay, track 8 ("i have seen the future") comes along to resuscitate the listener with another uptempo synthy bass track. track 9 doesn't really move me so much, but it's passable. "jack-o-lantern man" gets back into the darkness at a time this alien no longer cares to follow you there. in one sitting, this album is a bit tiring with the processed vocals and rambling basslines.
try it out one track at a time, as the first few tracks are fairly appealing.
this alien wonders, when moses broke the other tablets, were those the ones that had the footnote to "Thou shalt not kill (*except when going to war, chasing down terrorists, or you know, whenever)".
this alien doesn't subscribe to "the bible" or any of that, but he does think killing humans is wrong. why don't the pro-lifers?
this alien has observed reports of behavior that may cause us to rethink cohabitating with humans on this planet.
"THE 650-POUND VIRGIN": a man who somehow gained 500 pounds in less than 10 years, mainly by locking himself inside his parents' house and eating his life away (while watching the rest of the world live their lives through the living room window).
this alien has to ask: after the first 200 pounds piled on, who kept buying and delivering twinkies to him? not saying the gain wasn't his fault, but one must accept that the guy was enabled by people who WERE willing to leave the house, run down to the 7-11 and stock up on his behalf.
"HOARDERS": one's mother lives a mile away, and hasn't taken anything out of the house in a dozen or so years. ANYTHING. every room of the house is piled with rotting garbage. the bathroom hasn't been cleaned for as many years. mother has asthma, maybe resulting from the decaying cats under the 2-foot drift of trash in the den? or perhaps from the mattress and box springs that literally disintegrate to the touch.
this alien asks once more: after the first year of trash buildup, who didn't hire a haulaway service to clean out even a dumpster's worth of trash, whether mom complained or not?
this alien recommends further observation before proceeding with plans to settle here. but one item for the "plus" column: basic cable is awesome.
this alien remembers it was oddly exciting when the first WORLD AIDS DAY was organized. merchandising and media events were released, but outside of the typical communities, it never really caught on. it was a time when people still thought rock hudson was the only person they "knew" who died of AIDS.
i've known relatively few people to pass on due to HIV-AIDS, so that list runs through my head whenever december 1 comes up on the calendar, noted with a press release or two, but no other real notice.
just a few people that come to mind:
a property manager at an apartment i once rented. our conversations would be interrupted by him going into a coughing attack while he had to hold his head to alleviate the chronic headache pain.
two co-workers who were a couple. one went out on disability, never returned. the other went out for a short time (in those days being gone less than 6 months was considered a short time); came back having lost a significant amount of weight, but holding up well. disappeared a few months later.
a friend with whom i had similar cultural background. his parents never acknowledged his HIV-AIDS, but instead recorded a voice mail greeting for callers that he had died from "cancer".
ex-brother-in-law, ex-cousins-in-law. they were fortunate enough to have family surrounding them to the very end. family who didn't isolate them out of fear, or out of shame.
club-friends couple, one passed away, the other moved away...not wanting to stay in the same city where he lost his love. even those who didn't die from the then-unmanageable disease disappeared.
of course there were others whose images try to fade from my mind. but then this alien will run into someone from that era, serving as a reminder that we are still here to remember those who have gone.
