blackleatherbookshelf | Entries tagged with entertainment

The Sound Of The Smiths: The Very Best Of The Smiths

Smithy Sounding
5 Out of 5 Stars

Morrissey and Johnny Marr composed the most idiosyncratic duos of the 80's as the core of The Smiths. Morrissey of the complex and quintessentially droll gay Brit lyrical sensibility, Marr of the melodic yet jangular guitar mixture. Despite the dichotomy (and the friction that ultimately broke the band apart), when the two men clicked, they created brilliant bits of hit single obtuseness. "The Sound of The Smiths" captures that perfectly.

The finest examples are songs like "How Soon is Now," where the unbearably devious guitar riff anchors the song, dragging you into the Morrissey's usual tale of desperate relationships with a sickening thud. Then there's the jangling tease of "This Charming Man," about a piece of insecure street trade being solicited by a man of class. And who can resist the sardonic call of "Panic's" "Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ"?

While it is hard for me not to recommend any single Smiths album or the many compilations, I can also safely say that any of their four proper albums (especially the debut) is likely a better buy than their multiple best ofs. But if all you're really looking for is the brilliant decade of genre defining singles, "The Sound of The Smiths" is invaluable.

Current Mood: relaxed
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "How Soon Is Now" The Smiths

Crushed
3 Out of 5 Stars

Four short films that deal with love in the sense of how it can affect you when there's too much uncertainty involved make up "Crush," Michael J. Saul's rather uneven new movie. I found myself engaged by two of the segments here, bewildered by one and just flat out annoyed by the final episode.

The opening, "Don't Ask," is a musing on the lives of gay soldiers and the 'army wives' they leave behind. Cameron is about to leave on yet another tour of Iraq, and his partner James is struggling with the emotional freight of having to keep that part of their relationship private. While they played a loving couple very well, the story itself was less than compelling. Add a stridently annoying 'friend' who has to be the angry-war-hating loudmouth, and I was left wondering why this was the kick off to the DVD.

The second is a vampires in love segment, and was interesting in it's style, even if I am sick to death of vampires. But the two young actors were very good together and the open-ended final scene made me wonder where the story would lead to next.

The best of the four segments is "Strokes," about a gay art student's meeting/internship with his artist idol. Who just happens to be a caustic, bitter man whom nobody can stand to be with. The artist, Robert Brooks (Marc Sicilani) is note perfect as the disillusioned painter who wastes no time crushing Micheal The Intern (Jorge Diaz), even though all Micheal wants is to discover why his hero is the man he is. They play extremely well off of each other, and this was the one segment I was sorry to see end.

Finally, there is "Breathe." A soppy sponge cake of pre-adolescent desires as seen through a pair of awkward kids and their families as they go camping, it positively dripped syrup, and the narrator's whispery wet voice was as annoying as I could stand. Cloying, gauzy looking and saccharin, I forced myself to watch it all the way through. It's the kind of artsy cute romanticizing of young boys that gives gay movies a bad rep.

So there's the split - about 50/50 for my viewing entertainment. Individual mileage may vary.

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "Cigarette" Ben Folds

Best things on Grammys in order:
1) Pink. How did she do that?
2) Elton and Lady Gaga made me go haha.
3) Prince Michael Jackson
4) Green Day and the cast of ~~Glee~~...American Idiot.
5) Kings of Leon win.

Worst
1) Anyone there rock? Anyone?
2) Jeeze, enough with auto tune!
3) The Rap Summit finale. Mute Button in 3...2...1
4) Adam Sandler. You can afford a tux, dude.
5) Wasn't there any other album good enough to be nominated for Album of the Year?

Current Mood: cranky
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "Use Somebody" Kings of Leon

The Best TV of 2009 | Television | Advocate.com Cool stuff from a great TV crit/writer!

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "On TV" The Buggles

Teenaged Dreams in a Teenage Circus,

3 Out of 5 Stars

The debut album from Mika, Life in Cartoon Motion, was a splashy, colorful explosion of sugar pop that seemed to go to the top of every chart except the American ones. Mika himself is a chameleonic music swirl, parts Freddy Mercury, George Michael/Wham! and Elton John, capable of extreme catchiness yet artistically delirious at once. He's a guilty pleasure with bonus nutrients.

His sophomore album, the more seriously titled "The Boy Who Knew Too Much," races headlong down the same candy-land trail, but hints at a more tart center beneath all the frosting. The irresistible "Rain" makes you tap your dancing foot while asking if he should be happy. You'd be hard pressed to notice, because Mika is the kind of songwriter for whom over-the-top is a limit to be conquered as many times as possible. "Blame It On The Girls" and "We Are Golden" (the first two singles) are so flamboyantly effervescent that they'd make Elton and Mercury both proud - or at least make you wonder if Mika should just chuck it all, cover A-Ha's "Take On Me" and be done with it.

It's only on the song "Blue Eyes" that Mika finally tones it down a bit, moving into the kind of pop Paul Simon perfected with Graceland. That song is indicative of why The Boy Who Knew Too Much only rates as three stars; after awhile, there's only so much sweetness you can ingest before insulin shock starts to settle in. Mika proves again here that he can sling impeccable pop melodies with effortless ease, but "Blue Eyes" makes me wonder how much he could accomplish if he held back on the Andrew Lloyd Weber and maybe took some time studying up on the Paul McCartney.

Current Mood: crazy
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "Blame It On The Girls" Mika

Joel and I have been season ticket holders for The People's Light and Theater for several years. As a Theatre Arts major in college, I still have an appreciation for well done stage work, and this organization has maybe let me down twice in the last seven years. But last night was a special treat. The current run is a parable called "Nathan The Wise," set in 12 Century Jerusalem. What we didn't know was that the lead for this production was David Strathairn. For those that don't know, Stathairn was nominated for an Oscar as Edward R Murrow in the excellent bio-pic, "Good Night and Good Luck."

When we first walked in and saw the array of head-shots and actors on the lobby wall, my first thought was "it can't be that David Strathairn. But when he walked on stage, I realized it was. As I would list him the class of actors that would include Paul Giametti or Liam Neeson, seeing him perform in a theater that holds maybe 500 people (and was about half full) all but gave me goose-bumps. It certainly helps that the ensemble crew that People's Light usually has on stage is top drawer, and "Nathan The Wise" is no exception. I strongly recommend anyone in the Philadelphia area get to see "Nathan The Wise" before the production wraps on Oct 11.

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Location: Philadelphia
Current Music: "21 Guns" Green Day

If I had to pick a film moment that summed up why I loved John Hughes' movies, this scene from Pretty In Pink sums it all up:

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Location: Duckville
Current Music: "Try a Little Tenderness" Otis Redding

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Entries tagged with entertainment

My Amazon Reviews: The Smiths "The Sound of The Smiths"

(no subject)

10 comments about the Grammy Awards

The Best TV of 2009 | Television | Advocate.com

My Amazon Reviews: Mika "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"

Great night of Theater

I Always Will Be A Duckman

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