1. Wolf Parade, “Kissing the Beehive.” Great new track from Wolf Parade’s second disc, From Mount Zoomer, and ample evidence that the band seems to have weathered the sophomore bummer that afflicted other class of ‘05 up-and-comers.
2. Stevie Wonder, “Creepin’.”
3. The Flaming Lips, “What Is the Light?”
4. RedSkins, “Kick Over the Statues.” An underground classic of British Socialist soul, which was all the rage in the mid-’80s. Dig the old new breed!
5. M.I.A., “Jimmy.”
6. Weezer, “Thought I Knew.”
7. Lavender Diamond, “Here Comes One.”
8. Great Northern, “Babies.”
9. Sparks, “There’s No Such Thing As Aliens.”
10. Adele, “Chasing Pavements.” The Brits are cranking out white soul singers at an alarming pace these days to close the Winehouse gap. Both Adele and Duffy are expert at delivering a decidedly safer version of the Dusty Springfield blue-eyed soul, but even as Wino spirals and becomes even more of a tabloid specter, I mourn the fact that we’re probably not getting any more decent music from the one who started all this.
In celebration of Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary, here’s a superlative track from two Sub Pop hall of famers, Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli, accompanied by the video that must warm Johnny Knoxville’s heart. The Gutter Twins almost do justice to the twin legacies of the Screaming Trees and Afghan Whigs, and it’s great to hear both men rocking with impunity again.
“Mad Men”
As per usual, the Emmy voters ignored ”The Wire,” which concluded its run as the best regular series on television this year. However, my current favorite, “Mad Men” did well, breaking through the pay-cable barrier and joining “Damages” this year as the first two basic cable shows to get best series nods. Jon Hamm and John Slattery of “Mad Men” also were nominated, and each deserves a win.
Expect ”John Adams” to clean up when awards are conferred Sept. 13 – at 23 nominations, it leads the overall pack. But in the movie/miniseries categories, I’ll be pulling for the HBO underdog: “Recount,” one of the best films I’ve seen this year, cineplex or not.
Nominees in major categories for the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards announced Thursday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Drama Series: “Boston Legal,” ABC; “Damages,” FX; “Dexter,” Showtime; “House,” Fox; “Lost,” ABC; “Mad Men,” AMC.
Comedy Series: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” HBO; “Entourage,” HBO; “The Office,” NBC; “30 Rock,” NBC; “Two and a Half Men,” CBS.
Miniseries: “The Andromeda Strain,” A&E; “Cranford” (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; “John Adams,” HBO; “Tin Man,” Sci Fi Channel.
Made-for-TV Movie: “Bernard and Doris,” HBO; “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale,” HBO; “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,” Lifetime; “A Raisin in the Sun,” ABC; “Recount,” HBO.
Actor, Drama Series: James Spader, “Boston Legal,” ABC; Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad,” AMC; Michael C. Hall, “Dexter,” Showtime; Hugh Laurie, “House,” Fox; Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment,” HBO; Jon Hamm, “Mad Men,” AMC.
Actress, Drama Series: Sally Field, “Brothers & Sisters,” ABC; Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer,” TNT; Glenn Close, “Damages,” FX; Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” NBC; Holly Hunter, “Saving Grace,” TNT.
Supporting Actor, Drama Series: William Shatner, “Boston Legal,” ABC; Ted Danson, “Damages,” FX; Zeljko Ivanek, “Damages,” FX; Michael Emerson, “Lost,” ABC; John Slattery, “Mad Men,” AMC.
Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Candice Bergen, “Boston Legal,” ABC; Rachel Griffiths, “Brothers & Sisters,” ABC; Chandra Wilson, “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC; Sandra Oh, “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC; Dianne Wiest, “In Treatment,” HBO.
Actor, Comedy Series: Tony Shalhoub, “Monk,” USA; Steve Carell, “The Office,” NBC; Lee Pace, “Pushing Daisies,” ABC; Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock,” NBC; Charlie Sheen, “Two and a Half Men, CBS.
Actress, Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” CBS; Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who?,” ABC; Tina Fey, “30 Rock,” NBC; America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty,” ABC; Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds,” Showtime.
Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Jeremy Piven, “Entourage,” HBO; Kevin Dillon, “Entourage,” HBO; Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS; Rainn Wilson, “The Office,” NBC; Jon Cryer, “Two and a Half Men,” CBS.
Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Kristin Chenoweth, “Pushing Daisies,” ABC; Jean Smart, “Samantha Who?,” ABC; Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live,” NBC; Holland Taylor Two and a Half Men,” CBS; Vanessa Williams, “Ugly Betty,” ABC.
Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Ralph Fiennes, “Bernard and Doris,” HBO; Ricky Gervais, “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale,” HBO; Paul Giamatti, “John Adams,” HBO; Kevin Spacey, “Recount,” HBO; Tom Wilkinson, “Recount,” HBO.
Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Catherine Keener, “An American Crime,” Showtime; Susan Sarandon, “Bernard and Doris,” HBO; Judi Dench, “Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Laura Linney, “John Adams,” HBO; Phylicia Rashad, “A Raisin in the Sun,” ABC.
Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: David Morse, “John Adams,” HBO; Stephen Dillane, “John Adams,” HBO; Tom Wilkinson, “John Adams,” HBO; Denis Leary, “Recount,” HBO; Bob Balaban, “Recount,” HBO.
Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Eileen Atkins, “Cranford” (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS; Ashley Jensen, “Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale,” HBO; Alfre Woodard, “Pictures of Hollis Woods” (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation), CBS; Audra McDonald, “A Raisin in the Sun,” ABC; Laura Dern, “Recount,” HBO.
1. Dizzee Rascal, “Fix Up, Look Sharp.” If my history of rap serves me correctly, big meat-rock beats were standard issue when hip-hop involved jacking into a Bronx street light for power. In this early ’00s track, Dizzee brings it back.
2. St. Vincent, “Human Racing.”
3. Brandi Carlile, “Closer to You.”
4. The Flaming Lips, “The W.A.N.D.”
5. Kid Creole and the Coconuts, “Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy.” God bless the good souls who kept their VHS tapes from the old days. If not for these archivists with climate-controlled attics, ridiculous moments like these might be lost, as Rutger Hauer said, like tears in rain.
6. Dennis Wilson, “Wild Situation.”
7. The Ruby Suns, “Morning Sun.”
8. Kate Nash, “Men’s Needs.”
9. Erykah Badu, “Back In the Day.”
10. Gnarls Barkley, “Going On.” “City of God” goes sci-fi in this shiny-and-new clip.
This is the first clip from CSS’ Donkey, and it looks like Staticblog’s favorite Brazilian girls (except one) other than Brazilian Girls (who aren’t actually Brazilian and only one’s a girl, so there’s a certain symmetry, no?) are going pure stadium glam. And in this case, it’s a futbol stadium. Let the rioting commence.
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Either/Or, Episode 1
In Either/Or, we take two people in similar pursuits, and you choose between them. It can be based on any criteria: professional ability, personality, intellectual prowess, physical pulchritude, or who you’d want backing you up in a knife fight. It really doesn’t matter: just choose Either/Or.
Either Kyra Sedgwick of “The Closer”:
Or Holly Hunter of “Saving Grace”:
Either Keith Olbermann of MSNBC:
Or Bill O’Reilly of FNC:
1. Beck
“Modern Guilt”
(Interscope)
2. DeVotchKa
“A Mad and Faithful Telling”
(Anti)
3. Ratatat
“LP3”
(XL)
4. Man Man
“Rabbit Habits”
(Anti)
5. The Velvet Underground
“The Velvet Underground and Nico”
(Verve)
6. Evangelicals
“The Evening Descends”
(Dead Oceans)
7. Sigur Ros
“Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust”
(XL)
8. Coldplay
“Viva La Vida”
(Capitol)
9. Jay Reatard
“Singles 06-07”
(In The Red)
10. The Cool Kids
“Bake Sale” (Chocolate Industries)
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DVD Review: “21″
Rating: 66
Robert Luketic’s “21” isn’t merely a triumph of style over substance — it’s style breaking the bank and kicking substance out of the casino. But this fact-based drama about Massachusetts Institute of Technology students counting cards in Las Vegas is as seductive as the high-style life it portrays, and even the most mainstream-averse film snob will cave into its joys as “21” deals out its winning hand.
Math wiz Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) squirrels away every dime he earns at a suit shop when he’s not keeping his nose in the textbooks and building the perfect robot with his geeky friends (Josh Gad, Sam Golzari). He isn’t sure if he can cover the bills for Harvard Medical School, until Professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) recruits him into MIT’s after-hours card-counting team. Ben and his teammates (a solid ensemble led by Kate Bosworth and Aaron Yoo) fly to Vegas on weekends and clean house with their winning combination of math skill and hand signals, but they soon find themselves scrutinized by a pit boss (Laurence Fishburne) who knows Micky’s routine all too well.
All the expected plot twists end up on the table, including the inevitable conflict with Micky, the romance that takes Ben’s eye off the cards and the fall from grace. But Luketic knows what he’s doing, and he executes “21” with such glamour and panache, those shopworn conventions become easy to forgive. Spacey is solid, even when playing a character he could do with his brain tied behind his back, but this is Sturgess’ moment, and the young Brit carries the film with a canny mix of charisma and everyman charm. Throw in a killer, of-the-moment sound track supervised by Dave Sardy and featuring Mark Ronson and MGMT, and “21” pulls off a winning streak.
— George Lang
Rating: 72
Don’t be carelessly seduced by the sunny pop on Beck’s new disc, “Modern Guilt” — those ultraviolets are deadly. There’s no denying the beach-party vibe on songs such as “Gamma Ray,” but in all that sun, Beck only sees a bad moon rising. “If I could hold out for now, with these icecaps melting down,” he sings on “Gamma Ray,” and there’s a laundry list of other weather hazards on the horizon. “Modern Guilt” is full of the “light music, dark mood” dichotomies that Beck gravitated toward on “Guero” and “The Information,” but the melodies and arrangements, delivered with economy at 31 minutes, shows newfound inspiration and life.
Much of the credit goes to Danger Mouse, who shares Beck’s devotion to classic ‘60s pop structures — the title song could be a lost Turtles gem if not for the bubbly bleeps from the trusty, musty Moog. The apocalyptic Motown rhythms on “Orphans” suggest the Mouse’s regular gig, and Cee-Lo shares Beck’s penchant for cheery dread, but this is hardly “Gnarls Beckley.” The dreamy psychedelia of “Chemtrails” is actually closer to Beck’s old tour mates, the Flaming Lips, dropping listeners into a beautiful abyss of crashing drums and innocents disappearing into the deep blue sea.
The frustrating element of Beck’s recent work is its disconnection — since the devastatingly personal “Sea Change,” his lyrics keep listeners at bay. But “Modern Guilt” closes with “Volcano,” in which Beck ponders his continued value to people around him and considers flinging himself into the magma. “Volcano” shows that the increasingly guarded artist can still connect with an inner dread even when most of his concerns are outside his skin.
— George Lang
