Everyone's doing it, and I've never been shy about jumping on the bandwagon, so here goes:
TEN Random things about me:
10. I weigh 140 pounds
9. I love Beverly Hills 90210
8. The Godfather is my favorite movie
7. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want
6. I would like to start a family
5. I can't ever think of anything original to blog about
4. I would love to be lazy all the time like Peter from Office Space
3. I am tentative when it comes to meeting new people, but once I've warmed up to them it's like we've been friends forever
2. I lived in Scotland
1. I love my wife
NINE Places I've Visited:
9. Colorado Springs, CO
8. Olympia, WA
7. Baltimore, MA
6. The Canadian Rockies
5. Cocoa Beach, FL
4. New Orleans, LA
3. London, England
2. Paris, France
1. Rome, Italy
EIGHT Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
8. Go to Fiji
7. Take a 2nd Honeymoon to Mexico
6. Run the Mini-Marathon (13 miles) again
5. Retire comfortably
4. Raise kids and grandkids
3. Buy a house
2. Live somewhere tropical (like Destin)
1. Play beach volleyball competitively
SEVEN of My Favorite Things:
7. Showers
6. Coke
5. Chicken Noodle Soup
4. Family
3. Sleep
2. Music
1. Movies/TV
SIX Things I Believe In:
6. The Bible
5. My Wife
4. The Church
3. Math and Science
2. My Dad
1. God
FIVE Things I'm Afraid Of:
5. Mice
4. Heights
3. Debt/being broke
2. Spiders
1. Losing Lacey
FOUR of My Favorite Items In My Bedroom:
4. My Bed
3. My Pillow
2. My Lord of the Rings Books
1. My Wife
THREE Things I Do Everyday:
3. Talk to Lacey
2. Shower
1. Pray
TWO Things I Am Trying Not To Do Right Now:
2. Work
1. Worry
ONE Person I Want To Meet Right Now:
1. Bono
When are these things gonna come down in price? I remember when the cheapest CD player was 100 bucks, and Lacey saw one the other day for 10 bucks. The cheapest I-Pods are still 100 bucks, but it's at least 250 for a decent one. GEEZ! Anyway, here's my new i-pod list of my recent musings in music:
1.Vitto's Ordination Song-Sufjan Stevens
2.Walking Shade-Billy Corgan
3.Wonderwall-Ryan Adams
4.Tricky-Run DMC
5.Collide-Howie Day
6.Close to Me-The Cure
7.Swallowed in the Sea-Coldplay
8.Delicate-Damien Rice
9.The Way We Get By-Spoon
10.Amazed-Jem
11.We Will Become Sillhouettes-Postal Service
12.Something Pretty-Patrick Park
13.Specialist-Interpol
14.Off He Goes-Pearl Jam
15.Dice-Finley Quaye
16.Southern Girl-Beck
17.No Rain-Blind Melon
18.Whatshername-Green Day
19.If You Leave-Nada Surf
20.So Sweet-Jonathan Rice
What makes a good cover song? Should you do it exactly the way the original artist did? If not, how much should you change it? Are these questions completely subjective? These are questions I've been wondering lately. I have come across a smattering of covers recently, and many of them have been of fairly recent songs. The one I heard most recently is Ryan Adams' cover of Wonderwall (Oasis). It (of course) was used beautifully on the O.C., but in a general sense, it is a brilliant cover. I've been listening to it non-stop. Part of it is (of course) that Oasis wrote a great song. But Adams puts his own spin on it too. I think that covers need to capture the essence of the song, while having something original as well. Just doing it exactly the same is boring. My personal measuring stick is if I'd rather just go listen to the original, it must not be that great a cover. But if the covering artist can bring something unique to the table that makes me want to listen, then they've done well. The ultimate best at covers (even though he had millions of great originals) is Johnny Cash. His covers of One (U2) and Hurt (NIN) are absolutely awesome. He always stays true the original just enough, while being completely original and Johnny Cash-like. Contrast Cash and Adams with someone like Howie Day. While I do enjoy Day's originals, his covers are very lacking. He basically just gets his acoustic guitar out and plays the songs exactly like the original artist. And I'd rather just listen to the original.
So I've been thinking a lot lately about the use of music in movies and TV shows. The cool thing about using specific songs in those other media is that when you hear the same song outside that movie or TV show, you start to conjure up images of what was happening in the film or show. And it almost makes the song better somehow. Now obviously, there is the caveat that the song had to be good in the first place. I don't know, it's just weird. I've been enjoying certain songs more because they were used in certain movies, or certain shows. It's kind of like when you are listening to a song on the radio. Yeah, you already have the CD and could listen to that song any time, but there's just something about the fact that it's on the radio that draws you to it.
What really brought all this to my thinking is the use of music in the O.C. I know I've been talking way too much about it lately, but oh well. This show uses music better than just about any movie or TV show this side of Cameron Crowe. The music editors and producers ALWAYS seem to pull out a song that not only has lyrics to match what's going on in the plot, but also that fits their indie rock/california band/college radio station/brand-new-never-released/obscure music agenda. And it's almost always really, really good stuff. Now, they obviously work very hard to do it, by finding the right artists, the right songs, the right lyrics, getting imports like Finley Quaye's "Dice", etc. But really, you don't have to even work that hard to at least have a modicum of decent songs that fit the mood you're going for. Never was this more apparent than in the movie Hitch. Lacey and I saw this one for the second time the other night (her choice, not mine), and I realized that the movie's producers had put forth absolutely NO effort whatsoever in the soundtrack. There were a smattering of "in" rap/r&b songs, and a good oldie at the end, but for the most part, the music consisted of some extremely cheezy synth/electric guitar. It was absolutely terrible. Now this was a decent-sized budget film with several stars. Is is too much to ask that they hire someone to find songs that fit what's going on in the movie? Seriously, it's not that hard, I just don't think they try a lot of times. Anyway, I'm rambling now, but I just want to reiterate that the music editors on the O.C. are amazing. And I would love to have the job of picking music for TV shows and movies. Fun stuff.
This finally completes the three-point play. First music, then movies, now TV. Could my posts be any more predictable? Oh well.
Now that Lacey and I's TV shows are on summer vacation, we have had more free time in the evenings (sheesh, it sounds like TV is our job or something). So we have been doing other things, and such. But I found myself being tempted to watch TV shows on DVD, that I either haven't seen in a while or missed. Now, I always swore to myself that I would never watch TV shows on DVD. It always seemed like such a waste of time. Other than that one time that we watched the first two seasons of 24 in like a week, but that was only to catch up. I just never wanted to do it. But we succumbed. I know, I know, it's terrible. It started with just wanting to see episodes of the OC that I had missed in the beginning before I started watching it regularly. While Lacey was out of town, I watched 12 episodes in 2 nights...and now I'm hooked. We watched the complete first season of Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman (one of my favorite shows of the 90's back when I had a crush on Teri Hatcher...plus I'm a Superman freak) in 6 days. And we're back to the OC season 1. Man, that's a great show. Josh Gibbs has taken a lot of flak on his blog for his love of the OC, but leave the guy alone! The show kicks ass! The music is always hip to that generation and it rocks for old guys like me as well. The relationships explore real issues. It does a great job of being dramatic, while also keeping it fairly light and realizing that they are still just in high school. It has a GREAT sense of humor, and the writing is actually excellent for what is pretty much a prime-time soap opera. But I'll tell you, what really holds the show together is the Cohen men. The dad and son. Sandy and Seth. Pretty much every character, I've decided, is replaceable, except for Peter Gallagher (eyebrows and all) and Adam Brody. That kid is hilarious! Now, maybe it's mostly the writing, but I find myself laughing throughout each show, especially on little tiny quips that most people probably miss. Anyway, it really is quality programming despite what you've been hearing. And now I'm a TV on DVD junkie. Yikes.
Thank goodness I've been able to get to the theater 3 times very recently. And just in time too, cause there's tons out there that I have to see. Let's try and do these in order...
First, Cinderella Man. I very much enjoyed this movie. I mean, come on, any time you've got Ron Howard and Russell Crowe together, it's gonna be good. But I was surprised at how well they depicted the poverty and despair of the depression. The boxing action was, of course, very good, and made you get excited. But the human element of the film was what made it. I thought Crowe was amazing as Jim Braddock. Absolutely amazing. Zellwegger was passable, I guess. In the first third of the movie, she was definitely over the top, but in the last two acts, I didn't mind her so much. And I'm not a fan, so that's saying something. Anyway, Howard definitely knows how to craft a movie, and this was no exception. But I just have not been incredibly impressed with any movie in a long time, where I left the theater breathless and amazed. I haven't been inspired. You know, like a Braveheart. Really the last movie I can remember that really caught me and I thought "wow!", was Finding Neverland. And I only got that on video. I don't know, maybe I'm incredibly jaded, so movies don't get to me like they used to. Anyway, Cinderella Man was very good, but I wouldn't rush out and see it again or anything.
Next, Mr and Mrs Smith, the much-hyped and talked about summer blockbuster with Pitt and Jolie. Scott Cunningham on his blog made a very telling comment that it seems like this movie has already come out with all the exposure over the Brad/Jennifer/Angelina triangle, which is kinda true. However, it hadn't, and I really enjoyed the movie. It wasn't deep or telling or anything like that, but it certainly was a lot of fun. The action was excellent, the chemistry between the two main characters was dynamic, and I laughed quite a bit. Now that I think about it, there really is a layer of the movie, underneath the obvious. I think maybe the battle between the husband and wife is a metaphor for marriage in general. It's not easy. There are going to be struggles, and fights, and tough times. But you fight through them. You persevere. Oh geez, I sound crazy. Enough of that. The movie is a lot of fun, just what summer audiences are looking for. And Adam Brody from the O.C. wears a Fight Club t-shirt when being interrogated by Brad Pitt, which while being funny is just downright cool.
And lastly, Batman Begins. I just saw this yesterday, so I haven't had a ton of time to process it, but I did dream about it, and that always means that I liked the movie and it made me think. Batman Begins is the best of this trifecta. It is awesome. Dark, sometimes scary, funny at times, great action, and even thought-provoking...just what you don't expect from a Batman movie. I absolutely loved it. I still think Michael Keaton is an overall better Bruce Wayne/Batman, but Christian Bale is a stinking close second. And I love the way they tie in his past, bring in Jim Gordon, give the flick some romance (Mrs. Tom Cruise)...this one might be the movie of the summer. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Star Wars more, because I'm a nut, but Christopher Nolan is a frickin' genius. He made an absolute whale of a movie. I still hold to my earlier statements that I haven't been blown out of the water by a movie in a long time, but this one came the closest that any movie has in quite some time. I can't go on any longer about this movie, but take my advice: go see it.
*warning* *Sappy post ahead*
So I am definitely not a morning person. I hate getting out of bed and going to work, when all I want to do is lay there and sleep. But one thing I love about the mornings is watching my wife sleep while I get ready for work. There is something so soothing about watching her lie there so peacefully, without a care in the world. I have the habit of letting our dog Abbie upstairs to come lay in bed with her, and she snuggles up to Lacey and it's about the cutest thing ever. I always wish I could get back in bed, but then I wouldn't be able to do one of my favorite things: watch my wife sleep. I don't know why, but somehow it is very comforting. It's kind of like being inside during a crazy thunderstorm and snuggling on the couch (which we endured the last couple nights). Nature and the weather are raging outside, but inside we are nice and comfortable, and protected from the lightning, the rain, the hail...I guess I shouldn't feel so relaxed, but I just am. So there.
Some of my thoughts on the new Coldplay album have already been espoused elsewhere (Amos's blog), but I wanted to post a short review of their latest offering, X & Y. I have listened to it a number of times, and have come to the conclusion that it is an excellent album. Front to back, every song has something to offer. The only drawback, is that it doesn't quite hit the level that their previous album hit. A Rush of Blood to the Head had that extra something. Lyrically, musically, it was just a better album. As Lacey remarked, "every single song is a hit!". And while that's not quite technically correct, she has a point. Every single song on that album is fantastic. And on this new album, they just tried a bit too hard. The songs are a bit too "produced", and melodically, they aren't as on the mark. Now don't get me wrong, I love the album. It will definitely get a lot of airplay in the Melton household. And "Fix You", while being earmarked as Coldplay's favorite song they've ever written, is certainly the best song they've ever come out with. It is fantastic. However, their standard was so high after AROBTTH, it was nigh onto impossible to beat. I do highly recommend you pick up both albums, as well as their first, Parachutes. All three have combined to bring Coldplay up to a level of one of the finest bands in the world. And the thing I love about them, is they are actually very down to earth. Despite all you've heard and read about Chris Martin and free trade, etc., they are actually very humble an self-deprecating. Now, this could very well be an act, but I don't think so. They seems to be in general very humble and well-spoken. Some of the most likable rock stars around. Check 'em out.
Well, I don't have an ipod (if you wanted to all chip in and get me a birthday present, there's a good suggestion), but if I did, here's what my current playlist would look like:
1.Fix You-Coldplay (really the whole album, but this track in particular)
2.Beverly Hills-Weezer
3.Let There Be Love-Oasis
4.American Baby-Dave Matthews Band
5.Sometimes you can't make it on your own-U2
6.Be Yourself-Audioslave
7.Funky Cold Medina-Tone Loc
8.Cannonball-Damien Rice
9.Honest Mistake-The Bravery
10.Mockingbird-Eminem
11.Sea and the Rhythm-Iron and Wine
12.Hallelujah-Jeff Buckley
13.Look What you've done-Jet
14.You and Me-Lifehouse
15.California-Phantom Planet
16.Late-Ben Folds
17.Pink Bullets-The Shins
18.BYOB-System of a Down
19.Blue Orchid-White Stripes
20.Somersault-Zero 7