Music- John Mayer- Battle Studies

Battle Studies is the 2009 release from John Mayer, and the mood throughout is, well, battle-weary.  From the opening track “Heartbreak Warfare”, these are the songs of an artist in personal turmoil.  It’s not a good CD to put into the car stereo for a long drive or a workout, as many of the songs have a forlorn, sorrowful vibe.  Battle Studies does perk up in the second half- “Assassin” is a standout track with a good groove in which Mayer describes himself as a taker of hearts, but one who met his match, and “Edge of Desire” is another I’d recommend.

Overall, I don’t recommend Battle Studies as much as Continuum- there’s nothing wrong with songs about a breakup or sorrow, but this just isn’t a very memorable set.

Music- John Mayer- Continuum

Continuum, the 2006 release by John Mayer, begins with "Waiting On The World To Change", which has never been one of my favorite songs.  The song is a justification of passivity and isn't very interesting, but it doesn't set the tone for the rest of the album.  There are several stellar tracks on Continuum (three of the first five, in fact), the first of which is "I Don't Trust Myself (Loving You)", which has a nice groove to it and excellent soft horns near the end.  I found the lyrics to the next song, "Belief", thought-provoking and the song itself to be a compelling listen due to the chorus and the guitar.  Other standout songs include the quieter "The Heart of Life" and "In Repair", which features a solid jam.  Overall, Continuum is highly recommended for finely honed and thoughtful song-writing, and solid guitar work.

New Poem- Haunt

I know
That
Different events
Moments that flash past in my waking life
Instances that I may not care to remember
Influence me and shape who I am today, right now, at this second
Snippets from childhood
Jumping from one sled to another on an
Icy hill
My one daredevil moment
Keeps me cautious
And is just one representation
Of how all my days add up to me

But

Do I have the reverse influence
And is there a ghost of me
Haunting the places I've been
Energy spilling
Out into places that were once but are no longer there
Or people I no longer know                                                                               

Music- The Fixx- Beautiful Friction

Phantom living............

Phantom living...........


This is PHANTOM LIVING!

The Fixx and I, we go way back.  They are as indelibly etched in the sounds of my childhood as Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry", the "Chess" soundtrack, and Pete Townshend song "Gonna Get You" (which may not be the title, but is to me).  These were all records my dad played when I was growing up, fond memories from the living room of the first place I truly remember living.  The Phantoms record was well worn, and I remember just the mood of that set of songs, sort of pondering and mysterious.

I've always loved the Fixx because they were great at setting a mood, and that began with their first release, "Shuttered Room", which included "Red Skies", sort of a hostile-takeover, danger-is-coming song.  As time went by, they still made some interesting albums.  2003's Want That Life had "You Don't Have To Prove Yourself", which was an uptempo, let's all get along shuffle, and Elemental before that had "Happy Landings", a touching song about recovery.

I wish I could say that Beautiful Friction was a masterpiece, that it took me back to their glory days or had a highlight song, but though I didn't dislike too many of the songs, it just didn't grab me as I hoped it would.  There are songs where the lyrics just aren't interesting, and songs where instead of letting a nice groove or instrumental go, singer Cy Curnin interjects inane words.  It's not all negative, though- now I might just find Phantoms to listen to  though it won't be the same since it's not on vinyl)

Music- Carry Me Back- Old Crow Medicine Show

Carry Me Back is Old Crow Medicine Show's first release since 2008- reviews described them as old-fashioned country, which is definitely true on their latest (also my first exposure to the group).  Carry Me Back starts out with the fast and furious title track, and it sets the tone for much of the album  There are several other rollicking tracks, such as "Mississippi Saturday Night" and especially "Sewannee Mountain Catfight".  I recommend Carry Me Back- I did enjoy the first half more than the second, and there are a couple cliched songs like "Ain't It Enough" and "Ways of Man", but it's overall a good listen.

Jeff Who Lives At Home- Quick Hit

In Jeff Who Lives At Home Jason Segel plays Jeff, a 30-year old living at home and believing in signs.  Ed Helms plays Pat, who is one-half of a desperately unhappy, uncommunicative marriage (the dude buys a Porsche without asking his wife).  Susan Sarandon plays their mother, who doesn't appear to be too proud of them or happy in her own life.  It takes a while to get into or care about the characters, but ultimately is worth the patience. 

Zac Brown Band- Uncaged

You Get What You Give, Zac Brown Band's previous release, was a pleasant surprise for me.  I was impressed by the range of styles- a little country, reggae, and some jamming thrown in for good measure, making it a solid collection of songs good for repeated listening.  Uncaged presents a different vibe- there's definitely more of a country flavor, although there are songs done on ZBB's consistent themes ("Jump Right In" and "The Island Song" are getaway songs that sound ideal for cruise line ads, and there are several heartfelt ballads such as "Goodbye In Your Eyes).  Uncaged isn't as memorable as YGWYG simply because it doesn't seem so, well, uncaged, as most of the songs are slow-to-midtempo, and unlike YGWYG, there isn't a single song in which ZBB really cuts loose.

Old Hat

Growing up, I felt like education was a hard time
Learning everything atat once, I never colored between the lines
Too much art when all I wanted was to read
Too much scientific information I didn't need

My report card said that I wasn't performing
Up to potential
Teacher chagrin at conferences was torrential

I was looking back on those days recently
Because education doesn't stop with school
Life lessons learned the hard way
Life experience begins to sort exceptions from rules

It's the learning about one's self, one's spirit, one's soul
What to accept, what to reject
When to gamble, when not to bet
When to give the benefit, when to shake your head
When to sit up and worry, when to go to bed

Each new situation brings new worries, yes
But for something to become old hat it has to be tried on and worn
Sometimes for the soul to grow it has to be torn

And although learning sometimes equals consternation
Every day is an education

2000 Best Picture Roundup........and the winner is....

A few weeks ago, I decided to embark on a project, a journey of sorts.  I've become more interested in movies over the past couple of years, and I wanted to see what makes a "great" film.  I also needed a focus, so I decided on watching all the Best Picture Nominees from the 2000 Oscar ceremony forward.  I truly wanted to see what the Academy thought were the standout films and decide for myself which ones were my favorites and why.

Having watched The Green Mile  yesterday, I have now watched the five Best Picture nominees from the 2000 ceremony.  These films took me from an orphanage in Maine (Cider House Rules) to suburban rage (American Beauty), from a struggle to expose the tobacco industry (The Insider) to a struggle to stop Cole Sear from seeing dead people (The Sixth Sense), and then, perhaps fittingly, to Death Row in The Green Mile.

So, without further delay, here's how the nominees ranked, in reverse order.

#5- The Cider House Rules


The journey began with this film about life within a Maine orphanage's walls and a young man's desire to get out and have his own adventures.  After having watched all the nominees, The Cider House Rules to me is just not in the same class with the others.  Although it does have one of my favorite actors in Michael Caine, the fact that he won Best Supporting Actor over Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile) and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) is astounding to me.  His performance, especially in comparison with the two just mentioned, was not all that memorable.  The Cider House Rules isn't a bad film, but it isn't consistently attention-grabbing or as memorable as the others.

#4- The Insider

  The Insider is a gripping film, very well paced, and features an excellent performance from Russell Crowe as a fired scientist determined to tell the truth about the tobacco industry and Al Pacino as a dogged journalist who wants to bring the story to light on 60 Minutes.  The second longest of the nominees at over two and a half hours long, it was the only one of the nominees I hadn't previously seen, so it was a good new film experience, as it moved briskly along with a lot of quick scenes and cuts, but overall, although it was very interesting to me (as I love a good movie about journalism), it comes up a bit short in intensity to the final three.

#3- American Beauty


I remember being lukewarm on this when I first saw it, but I was quite spellbound seeing it this time.  Kevin Spacey gives a commanding performance as Lester Burnham, a man who finds himself slowly dying on the inside.  It seems each character has something bubbling just beneath the surface- Lester's rage at living a safe life, his wife Carolyn's self-loathing and increasing distance from Lester, their daughter Jane's suffering from being between the two, and the neighbor kid's living in fear of his father.  From this point on, there's nothing really negative to say, just a gut feeling as to why these films rank the way they do....









                                                          #2- The Green Mile

When these films first came out, I probably would have ranked this one first.  I enjoyed The Green Mile as much this time.  Clocking in at over three hours long, each scene, each sequence seemed essential to the story.  There are some absolutely frightening scenes in this film set on death row in 1935, and I remember being haunted by them upon first viewing.  Michael Clarke Duncan gives a towering performance as tormented giant John Coffey.   I loved that there was a sense of dignity in a film about death row, and a stellar cast brings Stephen King's memorable characters to life.









And the winner is.......

                                                     The Sixth Sense

There was something that just stood out about this film for me, and I think it was the fact that The Sixth Sense uses various ways of grabbing and holding the viewer's attention.  As I mentioned in my review, it's a relatively quiet film.  Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment speak mostly just above a whisper, and the film seems almost old-fashioned in how still it is.   For all the rage in American Beauty and the chaos that unfolded in The Green Mile, The Sixth Sense had the scenes that hit me the hardest at the end.   This project is about really paying attention, and The Sixth Sense rewarded that and proved to be my Best Picture winner.









   

Zac Brown Band- You Get What You Give

"Oh, no no, I won't like that.  I've never liked that.  I'm not going to try it."

Such is the inner dialogue sometimes when a person eliminates the possibility of enjoying something based on past experience.  For me, this includes spicy foods, horror movies, and country music. 

Sometimes, however, I find that I need to challenge those thoughts, and listening to Zac Brown Band's You Get What You Give rewarded that thinking. 

You Get What You Give started out a little slow for me.  The first three tracks were about finding peace, being by the ocean with no worries, and being in no hurry, so I was feeling like I might be listening to Jimmy Buffett (especially since he guests on the second track.).   After the first few tracks, however, I appreciated ZBB's versatility, instrumentation and songwriting.  Upon multiple listens, I enjoyed the first few tracks even more and can listen to You Get What You Give straight through.  Definitely recommended- as is trying something new once in a while.  It's just a fun set of songs to listen to- there's some reggae, some country, and some jamming.

Tracks I especially enjoyed:  "Quiet Your Mind", "Cold Hearted", and "Who Knows" (an excellent ten-minute jam)

2000 Best Picture Nominee- The Sixth Sense

Director:  M. Night Shymalan

Stars:  Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette



One of the reasons that I wanted to watch the Best Picture nominees from 2000 to the present is that I remember seeing a few of the films, but I really wanted to pay attention to each one, to see if I thought they were great films, to see why they were regarded highly enough to be nominated (especially before the Best Picture category ballooned to nine or ten nominees).  I remembered some of The Sixth Sense, but with tonight's viewing gained a new appreciation for the film.

Bruce Willis plays Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist.  At the beginning, he and his wife are celebrating his having been honored by the mayor.  They venture into the bedroom and find one of his former patients, Vincent Gray, in the bathroom.   He says that Dr. Crowe failed him.  Dr. Crowe begs him for a second chance, but Vincent instead pulls a gun and shoots him.

The film flashes forward to the fall, and Dr. Crowe begins to assist Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a child tormented by a secret:  He sees dead people.  People who don't know they're dead.  He sees them routinely, and Dr. Crowe wants to help Cole. 

What I appreciated with this viewing was that the atmosphere throughout the film was very still and lifeless.  The dialogue is all spoken at a very soft level, which kept me paying very close attention.  Visually, there is a lot of shadow-play and crafty angle-work, especially in the scenes between Willis and Haley Joel Osment. 

Osment was nominated for best supporting actor, and I wondered upon a second viewing if I would find him in any way cutesy or annoying, but although Osment plays a child in the film, there's very little child in him- he seems like a haunted adult in a child's body.  He definitely earns his nomination, as does the film.  Four down, one to go!