Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche New York is what I consider a “beautiful mess”. Kaufman’s unique and ambitious story about a theater director’s midlife crisis is frustrating, confusing, touching, fascinating, maddening and thought-provoking, all at the same time. In his directorial debut, Kaufman presents an unconventional tale about the meaning of life through the eyes of a miserable man named Caden Cotard. Cotard takes on a monumental task of staging his life as it happens. Things get mind-bending as Cotard casts an actor to play himself who in turn hires an actor to play himself in the play within the play and so on. But the key is not to focus on the intricacies. The heart of the story is about loneliness, regret, death and of course, love.
Like a lot of movies that Kaufman wrote in the past, either you’re going to love it or hate it. I consider Kaufman a brilliant writer and I was absolutely fascinated by the movie. Yes, it does get a bit frustrating and the film isn’t perfect by any means. But unique films like these need to be cherished in an industry full of Jerry Bruckheimer blow-em-ups and no-brainer comedies.
one of the many highlights in the film include this eulogy toward the end of the film. This is absolutely brillant - Everything is more complicated than you think. You only see a tenth of what is true. There are a million little strings attached to every choice you make; you can destroy your life every time you choose. But maybe you won’t know for twenty years. And you’ll never ever trace it to its source. And you only get one chance to play it out. Just try and figure out your own divorce. And they say there is no fate, but there is: it’s what you create. Even though the world goes on for eons and eons, you are here for a fraction of a fraction of a second. Most of your time is spent being dead or not yet born. But while alive, you wait in vain, wasting years, for a phone call or a letter or a look from someone or something to make it all right. And it never comes or it seems to but doesn’t really. And so you spend your time in vague regret or vague hope for something good to come along. Something to make you feel connected, to make you feel whole, to make you feel loved. And the truth is I’m so angry and the truth is I’m so fucking sad, and the truth is I’ve been so fucking hurt for so fucking long and for just as long, have been pretending I’m OK, just to get along, just for, I don’t know why, maybe because no one wants to hear about my misery, because they have their own, and their own is too overwhelming to allow them to listen to or care about mine. Well, fuck everybody. Amen.
If you haven’t seen it already, be sure to check it out.
There’s a fairly new online menswear site that seems to have adopted the web 2.0 approach in running their business. The site called MONIKER caught my attention this morning because the guys behind the site are pretty upfront about their business venture and the actual production costs of their items. You rarely see this level of disclosure in this line of business. So instead of hiding behind a faceless corporate facade, Moniker Wear’s chairman, Chris Kutarna and his colleagues openly blog about their operation and are actively utilizing various social networking sites like facebook, myspace and flickr to connect with their customers. They’re currently in Phase 1 of their venture with only custom dress shirts available for ordering but they should be offering a full line of men’s dress apparel by mid-year. Personally, I admire their approach in building an online business especially the fact that their customers have the ability to know who’s “running the show”. and I suppose this level of interactivity with their customer base will give Chris and company valuable feedback that they might not be able to obtain otherwise. That’s pretty neat and I wish them much success in their new venture.
oh, crap. another one of my favorite magazines bites the dust. It was inevitable, I suppose, with the way the internet has affected print media over the years. According to the news item, it seems that their website blender.com will still continue to operate. RIP Blender Magazine! you’ll be missed.
Alpha Media Group closed Blender magazine today, eliminating about 30 jobs and reducing its portfolio of titles to Maxim alone. The April issue of Blender out now will be its last.
The decision, delivered to Blender staff in a meeting this morning, came as part of broader changes that also included the departure of Alpha co-CEO Glenn Rosenbloom and the integration of editorial staff for Maxim and Maxim Digital.
The remaining CEO, Stephen Duggan, said in a company memo that the company was closing Blender with great sadness. “Since 2001, Blender has provided unmatched music coverage and entertainment news in its unique voice to a profoundly dedicated audience of music enthusiasts,” Mr. Duggan wrote. “We are particularly grateful to the sales team and to the tremendously talented editorial staff for their hard work and commitment to Blender.”
Alpha, the former Dennis Publishing, has endured a series of difficulties and hard choices since its acquisition by Quadrangle Capital Partners and magazine-industry veteran Kent Brownridge in August 2007. The new owners punctuated the $240 million deal by immediately closing Stuff magazine, a sort of laddie shopping title. Blender.com will continue, much as Stuff continues as “Stuff Magazine” at stuff.maxim.com.
OK, here’s what I’ve been listening to lately. Hopefully I’ll be able to crank out some reviews of these releases here on RetroBlog when I finally get some time to sit and write out my thoughts. who knows when that’ll be!
Wetton Downes – Icon 3 Circa - HQ Ben Folds – Stems and Seeds Katy Hudson (AKA Katy Perry) Yes – Alternate Generator (boot) Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
I’m really enjoying the new Neko Case album. love her voice. Oh and there’s also a fairly recent Jimi Jameson CD that I might post about as well.
After seeing U2’s limp debut performance of the song “Get on your Boots” during the Grammy telecast last month, I was all too ready to dismissed their latest release as weak filler from a “legacy band” struggling to keep relevant. But now that I’ve actually listened to No Line On The Horizon for the last couple weeks, I’m relieved to say that the new album is a lot stronger than I expected. I suppose it’s easy to be a bit cynical about one of the world’s most popular rock bands especially with someone as outspoken as Bono as your frontman. But with No Line on the Horizon, they demonstrate once again that they’re still capable of delivering the goods. With familiar faces behind the recording console (Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite), the band plows through the new material with energetic enthusiasm. Honestly, it’s not a perfect album and definitely won’t be considered their *best* album but there are some moments of bliss sprinkled throughout that keep the listener coming back for more. The multilayered aspect of the recordings provide listeners depth when the album is put on repeat. Indeed, there are some missteps such as those clunky techno-speak lyrics in “Unknown Caller” (Force quit and move to trash, Restart and re-boot yourself). But overall, NLOTH is an enjoyable album, nonetheless.
standouts include: Magnificent, Breathe, White as Snow, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
retroGrade: B
No Line On The Horizon by U2
Interscope Records
released March 2009
Produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite
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When I first noticed the initial buzz about Dolphin Bubbles around the blogosphere, I just assumed it was something to do with ordinary dolphins blowing through their blowholes. I didn’t realize there was much more to the story than that. Interestingly enough, the buzz about these unique dolphins at Sea World kept on spreading and even caught the attention of ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson. These dolphins are actually creating and playing with fluid, symmetrical rings of air in front of the underwater observatory down in Sea World Florida. The caretakers aren’t exactly sure how it all started but say that only one or two of their dolphins had the ability to do these bubble rings in the beginning. It’s absolutely fascinating to hear that over time the other dolphins eventually picked up on this behavior and learned how to do it themselves. It’s best just to watch the youtube video to fully understand how amazing and unique this really is. I’m bound and determined to make a trip out to Sea World with the kids during their summer break to see these dolphins first hand. To learn more about these amazing dolphins, check out DolphinBubbles.com, a website created specifically about them.
new Journey U.S. tour dates are trickling in. Nothing official has been announced but fans are anxious to see if the band will be making it around to their neck of the woods this summer. Arnel Pineda and company did a phenomenal job in bringing in the numbers last summer (along with Cheap Trick and Heart), so expectations are high for this summer’s tour. As for the tour package this time around, it’s anybody’s guess at this point but there’s some buzz that Bryan Adams might be one.
here are the U.S. dates so far:
May 23, 2009 – Sacramento, CA – Raleys Field
July 18 (?), 2009 – Cadott, Wi – RockFest
August 21, 2009 – Louisville, KY – State Fair – Freedom Hall
August 23, 2009 – Des Moines, IA – State Fair – Grandstand
what are your current must-see TV shows? here is my list of the shows that I’m currently making an effort to watch each week -
Monday – How I Met Your Mother (CBS), Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Tuesday – nothing currently Wednesday – Lost (ABC) Thursday – The Office (NBC), 30 Rock (NBC), ER (NBC) Friday – The Dollhouse (Fox) Saturday – nothing currently Sunday – Breaking Bad (AMC)
Who would have thought that Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer would continue on as “Spinal Tap” all these years after the initial release of their groundbreaking mockumentary back in 1984??? Well, the musical joke has stood the test of time and the movie never gets old, in my book. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film “This is Spinal Tap”, the trio will be out on the road for a 30-date concert tour. The new twist on this outing is that they’ll be on stage without the wigs, spandex and the elaborate stage show, hence the title – “Unwigged & Unplugged”. Expect acoustic versions of classic Spinal Tap songs as well as material from the comedy trio’s folk parody A Mighty Wind. Personally I’d love to see the Tap in all their glory with amps turned up to “11″ but I guess with the economy the way it is, doing a no-frills acoustic tour is the way it has to be for now. Go out and see them beginning in April.
Hey remember that old line from the movie “Crazy People” where Dudley Moore’s character says “Volvo – They’re boxy but they’re good”? I’m always reminded of that quote whenever I see my neighbor’s old 1993 Volvo 850 in his driveway. I’m amazed that he has kept that old car in such good shape. It probably has something to do with the amount of time my neighbor has put in to maintain the vehicle. Unlike me, he loves spending time working on his cars. I recently asked him if it was tough finding parts for that old Volvo of his. He mentioned a website called SwedishParts.net where he gets all his Volvo Parts from. He swears by the site and says that he saves a good chunk of money by purchasing directly from the website. I guess with the economy the way it is, it’s all in our best interest to keep our vehicles in good running order for as long as possible. Thanks to the web, finding parts and accessories for our cars have become easier than ever.
for the last couple weeks, I’m relieved to say that the new album is a lot stronger than I expected. I suppose it’s easy to be a bit cynical about one of the world’s most popular rock bands especially with someone as outspoken as Bono as your frontman. But with No Line on the Horizon, they demonstrate once again that they’re still capable of delivering the goods. With familiar faces behind the recording console (Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite), the band plows through the new material with energetic enthusiasm. Honestly, it’s not a perfect album and definitely won’t be considered their *best* album but there are some moments of bliss sprinkled throughout that keep the listener coming back for more. The multilayered aspect of the recordings provide listeners depth when the album is put on repeat. Indeed, there are some missteps such as those clunky techno-speak lyrics in “Unknown Caller” (Force quit and move to trash, Restart and re-boot yourself). But overall, NLOTH is an enjoyable album, nonetheless.
Wednesday – Lost (ABC)
I recently asked him if it was tough finding parts for that old Volvo of his. He mentioned a website called SwedishParts.net where he gets all his 
