NewVillager

Kerry and I saw this band when we went and saw Sunset Rubdown. That show was really weird, but I really enjoyed NewVillager. I feel like Kerry probably doesn't remember them that well (she was half asleep), but I've been listening to their song Rich Doors for a while. Apparently they have an album coming out soon, which I'm excited about! They seem like they deserve to get popular. They don't have a ton of music online right now, but this is a newer song of theirs which I really enjoy.

Hipsters

Wow. What is the deal? I don't know if any of you are still in college (just kidding, I know you're not still in college), but people love talking about hipsters like it's the year 2000. Seriously. They can't get enough of it. Talk about missing the boat. Jesus Christ. It's become that go-to joke that everyone one who isn't clever makes. The type of thing that is supposed to get a laugh just because you used the word.

That being said, I actually kind of liked this. Good job somebody.

Girl I'm Gonna Miss You

I can't be the only one who watched Behind the Music: Milli Vanilli multiple times in the late 90's/early 2000's. I was a chubby, weird kid, and I was kind of stuck in a neverending cycle where being weird and chubby led to me watching a lot of VH1, which in turn led to me being weirder and chubbier AD INFINITUM.
Anyway. If you've seen that particular BTM, you know that the story of Milli Vanilli is a pretty tragic one. So I've got a soft spot for those two guys, because any of us (as long as we were young, reasonably attractive, muscular African-American men) could've fallen into that same opportunity. And Oh My G is this song good.

My Favorite Books of 2010

I've been meaning to post about the best books I read this year (not necessarily books that were released this year, since I rarely read books right away). Here they are, in no particular order:

Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan:

This book almost made me cry at work. I maintain that the last paragraph is one of the most perfect examples of prose I've ever read. If you haven't read Snow Angels yet, what are you waiting for? I can't recommend this enough. This book, to me, was about how painful it can be to realize how much sadness exists all around us, and how sometimes we can love each other with everything we have but it still won't be enough. Also it's about high school, which I always love.

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel:


Lauren loaned me this book when H. and I visited her in Brooklyn. I read almost the entirety of it at the airport and on the plane, so the book is kind of this wonderful, light-headed, hazy memory for me. I can't think of time I've ever read a book in so perfect a situation, because the story itself is kind of slippery and mysterious and very much suited for high-altitude reading.

Citrus County by John Brandon:

Holy Macaroni was this book good! Why haven't you read this yet? Don't give me excuses like, "I've been in class," or "I'm working on a sketch comedy show." Not acceptable. I still don't understand how this book was so funny when it really should have been upsetting. Don't get me wrong, I was plenty worried for a good portion of it, but somehow the tone really straddled the line between light and dark. I was going to say Mr. Hibma was my favorite character, but Shelby is also my favorite character. Everyone's my favorite character, you guys. Read this book. Sidenote: As I was google image searching Citrus County in order to find this picture, I came across SO MANY MUGSHOTS!

Tunes pt. II

Lately, I haven't been feeling a ton of music. I don't have a lot of new stuff, and there's nothing coming down the pipes that I'm super pumped about. However, I have been listening to a lot of Cyberthug Radio and also Hype Men, and they all about the hip hop. Obviously, the new Ghostface Killah album is great, and blah blah blah Kanye West. What I'm trying to say is that my knowledge of hip hop is very limited, and it's exciting to know that I have a ton of stuff I can still discover and enjoy. Recently, I've been listening to a lot of Busta Rhymes, who strangely enough, I did not respect very much as a white, elementary-school-age boy. I always just thought he was silly, which he is, but also, listen to this song! Come on.

Tunes

Trying to decide whether or not I'll drag H. with me to see Jesse Malin in two weeks. This is my favorite of his songs. Can you tell he's BFFs with Ryan Adams?

A Thing I Like

Who doesn't love internet comics? I especially love Liz Prince's comics. They're funny and nerdy and smart without making me feel dumb. Alex might not like these, because I think they're more relate-able for the ladiez. I especially like this one, because I have this experience at almost every show I go to. I get too lazy to dress up, and then I realize all the girls around me are wearing cute dresses and I look like a dude. Story of my life.

Easy A

Last night I saw Easy A with H. and a friend of ours. I love teen movies; we don't need to call Freud on a Beyond-the-Grave phone to figure out why (but if we did, he probably be like, "It's because you were chubby, unhappy, and had an underbite as a teenager and you're vicariously living out all your past fantasies. Also, I'm a raging misogynist. See yas!"). The point is, I love them, and in my opinion there are two types of teen movies. Forgive the outdated genderness of this, but here goes: there are teen movies for guys (that girls either pretend to like so that guys will like them, or just actually like because they have poor taste), the ones that involve too-obvious gross-out gags, or a parent walking in on someone masturbating. Then there are the movies made for girls, the ones that actually have jokes and characters. The kind of movie that, after a guy comes to see it with you, he'll say something like, "That was actually pretty good," like he's surprised, like, what, did you expect it to be shitty because the cast is largely female and there wasn't any implied nudity in the trailer? This movie fell into the latter category, obviously. Also both of the guys I saw this movie with expected to like it (I think) because I am an adult now and I don't hang out with douchebags.

Here are my thoughts on Easy A:

-I know this is a super-obvious thing to point out, and the same thing could be said about virtually all teen movies, but COME ON! Emma Stone is a stone fox, you guys. There is absolutely no way in hell that someone who looks like her would be "invisible" in high school.

-Thomas Haden Church was so good, right? Why was his part so small? The plot with him/Lisa Kudrow seemed so shoe-horned in there that I feel like it must've originally been larger. Wishful thinking, probably.

-I liked (okay, l-o-v-e-d) all the references to the John Hughes oeuvre (but why doesn't ANYONE remember Pretty in Pink?), but they ultimately reminded me of the one way this movie actually disappointed me: not enough ~*~*romance~*~*! I thought the relationship between Olive and Gossip Girl Guy was totally sweet, and I wish there'd been more of it.

-Did you notice that Miranda from Lizzy McGuire was (so, so) briefly in Easy A? Easter egg for the Disney Channel superfans. I loved Lizzie McGuire. Can you believe that the only Gordo/Lizzie resolution we got was the lame, closed-mouthed kiss at the end of the Lizzie McGuire movie? Ugh. Gordo 4evs. It's nice to see Miranda's still around, though.

-People can hate on Amanda Bynes and her weird twitter account all they want. I love her! Also, Alex and I loved the Amanda Show when we were kids.

If you haven't seen Easy A yet, rent it! Or see it at a dollar theatre, whatever.

Best of '10

Everybody did their best of the year lists already, and I figured I should do something. I liked all the same films that everyone else did pretty much, so I'll just list my favorite film of the year.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

If you haven't seen this film yet please watch it. The trailer isn't the best indication of what the film is like. I wasn't incredibly excited about this movie, but I decided I would see it (because Leonard Maltin recommended it) and I immediately loved it. It's the kind of movie that I would go see again the next day (the next day it wasn't in our theater anymore). Seriously, every scene, every shot, every performance knocks it out of the park. When people talk about how good The Town was, and how refreshing it was to see a crime film treated with some intelligence, I think about how much better Animal Kingdom was. It's a really unique film that, in the words of director David Michod, is "dark and violent yet beautiful and poetic at the same time."

I really like this film and I can't recommend it enough.

Things I Shouldn't Be Thinking About

As everybody probably knows, Oprah Winfrey launched her television network recently. While OWN debuted to much fanfare, Martha Stewart's been quietly building her own TV empire on the Hallmark Channel.
When Martha moved her show to Hallmark, I thought to myself, "Downgrade, girl!" But this month, while I was flipping through Martha Stewart Living (my bff got me a subscription for the second year in a row, jealous?), and then later when I was perusing Whole Living (a Martha Stewart Omnimedia publication, natch), I noticed that half the ads were for shows on the Hallmark Channel. Shows produced by or starring Martha herself. So that's what the woman was doing...taking over Hallmark. In addition to her regular-style show, she has a baking show hosted by herself, a cooking show hosted by some other lady, and the show I'm most excited about:

Oh, hell yes. Marc Morrone is the best. That guy loves all the animals!
Out of curiosity, I decided to check out Hallmark's schedule. Do you want to know what's on today? You will not even believe me when I tell you. In addition to the aforementioned shows, you can watch three hours of Cheers, three and a half hours of Who's the Boss?, two hours of I Love Lucy, two hours of Little House on the Prairie, and (are you ready for this?) FOUR HOURS of the Golden Girls. FOUR HOURS! This channel does not even take a break to show informercials for the Slap Chop. It is just a straight shot of sitcom genius.
Congratulations, Martha. Oprah might have all the glory right now, but we all know you're just biding your time until the eventual takeover.