Rather than discuss any of these at length… here were my favorite things from this past year.
Video Games
7. Guitar Hero 3
6. Puzzle Quest
5. Assassin’s Creed
4. Super Mario Galaxy
3. Skate
2. Mass Effect
1. Rock Band
Albums
7. Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch
6. Apostle of Hustle - The National Anthem of Nowhere
5. Pseudosix - Pseudosix
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
3. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
2. The New Pornographers - Challengers
1. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Top Films
7. 28 Weeks Later
6. Grindhouse
5. Day Watch (Dnevnoi Dozor)
4. 300
3. Zodiac
2. Sunshine
1. The Darjeeling Limited
December 11th, 2007
This is ginchy: one of my favorite musicians teaming up with the always entertaining Zooey Deschanel. Not much else to say on that that hasn’t been said, other than I adore the “You Really Got A Hold On Me” cover, because I’ve always loved that song. This is from a live performance on KEXP in late June 2007 (the two also are both involved in the eventually-hopefully-being-released film “The Go-Getter”).
- Magic Trick
- Change Is Hard
- Bring It On Home To Me
- You Really Got A Hold On Me
Enjoy!
Edit: Here’s You Really Got A Hold On Me in AIFF form; it’s 16.7MB, but it might work better if the mp3 causes you issues.
July 18th, 2007
The IMAX film projector is apparently a very complex thing. It weighs just over a ton, and makes use of all sorts of pistons and compressed-air devices and xenon bulbs that can kill a man with quartz crystal accuracy.
In short, it’s not a camera to fuck with. If it were a Transformer– presumably monikered IMAXtron– it would crush you to death and record the whole thing in an incredible resolution of clarity. At least you would achieve some nominal immortality on film.
So, for the first time ever, I ventured forth with a couple of friends to see an IMAX movie, specifically “Spider-Man 3: The IMAX Experience”. I figured it was a good bet to see in mind-boggling high-def, and the complexity of the eye-candy proved me right. From the awesome physics of the whorls of digital sand grains, to the high-powered web-grab-and-punch moves in mid-air melee, I delighted to the detail that might otherwise have been lost.
However, almost exactly 120 minutes in to the 140 minute spandex-clad melodrama, just as the hands of the clock swept past midnight, just as the final climactic battle began to build towards its crescendo, everything went dark.
Despite the plainitive cries of dissatisfaction throughout the theater, IMAXtron refused to show us the last fifteen minutes. Something’s wrong, the employees said, after tracking down the projectionist, and we can’t fix it. Here’s some free movie passes, they said, and urged us on our way.
At the price of IMAX tickets, and after this “experience”, I’m not sure I’ll see one again anytime soon. But I sure would like to see the end of Spider-Man 3, someday.
May 23rd, 2007
