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Parents of toddlers know the pain: The small boss in the car seat demands that they turn off Vampire Weekend and put in a Wiggles disc or — horror of horrors — the Doodlebops. Thanks to They Might Be Giants, ironic heroes of discerning young parents’ hipster youth, it doesn’t have to be that way. Since 2002’s “No!” established John Flansburgh and John Linnell as first-echelon purveyors of smart music for tiny rockers, They Might Be Giants now split time between their adult-cult stardom and being the Lennon/McCartney of the Playhouse Disney crowd.

“Here Come the 123s” is not just acceptable kids’ fare; adults with or without spawn will find much to love about TMBG’s third children’s collection. Most of the tracks get in and out in less than three minutes and most of the songs are about numbers, and Linnell and Flansburgh plant fun lyrics about math and geometry in contagious melodies — like the ’70s “Schoolhouse Rock” shorts with better music.

The DVD has engaging animations for each song, which will help make the R.E.M. parody “Figure 8” and the piano-driven “One Dozen Monkeys” become staples in most children’s musical diet. TMBG succeeds because they do not condescend — this is music that sounds great at any age. Kids will grow out of many pairs of jeans before they grow out of “Here Come the 123s.”

Originally broadcast on The History Channel as a tie-in to Tom Brokaw’s recently published generational summation, “Boom: Voices of the Sixties,” “1968” is not simply a rote retelling of events from one of the 20th century’s most turbulent years. This documentary draws scholarly parallels between 1968 and 2008, pointing out often unnerving similarities along the way.

Like most of his TV news colleagues at the time, Brokaw was a straitlaced observer of the counterculture. But his relative youth allowed him to file reports from Haight-Ashbury without the kind of harsh judgment often heard from his contemporaries. In “1968,” Brokaw looks at the turning point in public attitudes toward the Vietnam War, the turmoil of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. By interviewing famous and private people who were swept up in the events, Brokaw shows that 40 years is not a huge chunk of time, and that our present often echoes the past — war, deep division and a hotly contested presidential race only scratch the surface.

The events of 1968 still elicit raw reactions from all points on the political spectrum. If “1968” has a weakness, it is the producers’ unwillingness to obtain copyright clearance for music — the generic acid rock used in the background hardly does justice to the polyglot greatness of that year’s music. But “1968” gets it right more often than wrong, and Brokaw offers just as much insight into baby boomer culture as he did for “the greatest generation.”

1. Kanye West, “Champion.” For years, I though Donald Fagen was singing “Did you realize, that you were Italian in their eyes” instead of “a champion” in “Kid Charlemagne,” now sampled in “Champion.” That’s right up there with “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy.” April 29, Ford Center — be there!

2. John Legend, “Each Day Gets Better.”

3. MGMT, “The Handshake.”

4. Art Brut, “Nag Nag Nag Nag.”

5. Asobi Seksu, “Lions and Tigers.” American neo-shoegazers Asobi Seksu revive the shimmering-sheets-of-sound unsettling beauty of My Bloody Valentine, Curve and Lush, mainly because shoegazer got a raw deal in the U.S. when it was got zeitgeist-trampled by grunge.

6. The Postal Service, “Against All Odds.”

7. Neutral Milk Hotel, “Ghost.”

8. J Dilla, “Wild.”

9. Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill.” My spooky-prog crush, circa 1985, Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love still sounds like ghosts pushing their way into our dimension. Like many of her art-rock contemporaries, Kate was playing around with a Fairlight, one of the best early digital samplers, which accounts in part for Hounds of Love’s excellence as a headphone disc — found sounds drifting in and out of the mix evoke the creepiness of Gothic literature more than they do mere Gothic rock.

10. The Fratellis, “Henrietta.”

Bill Carter, who wrote the superb book about the battle for Johnny Carson’s time slot, The Late Shift, looks to be working on a sequel. In this article in the New York Times, Carter discusses the battle royale heating up over Jay Leno, a host whose popularity baffles me to no end. Leno is scheduled to exit “The Tonight Show” next year, with Conan O’Brien moving to Burbank and taking over the gig.

It also appears that Lorne Michaels is looking to install Jimmy Fallon as Conan’s replacement, though I would have imagined there might be some moves afoot to wrestle Jon Stewart away from Comedy Central. Sony is prepared to pay Leno mightily to start a new lookalike program on another network, something to the tune of $40 million a year.

The jaw-dropper in the story is the penalty NBC would have to pay Conan if the network were to go back on its promise to him and try to retain Leno: $45 million. Read it all here.

Jim Davis is probably ready to unleash the legal hounds on this one, but Garfield Minus Garfield is an utterly brilliant deconstructive blog treatment of Garfield in which his owner, Jon Arbuckle, seems to be bordering on Red Meat-like psychosis. Be reduced to tears by the Bergman-esque sorrow of life without a lasagna-eating beast in the house.

Tickets go on sale at noon March 1 for Kanye West, performing at 7 p.m. April 29 at the Ford Center, 100 W Reno. The rapper, who won a Grammy award for best hip-hop album earlier this month for his latest compact disc, Graduation, will perform with special guests Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco.

West, who has several family members living in Oklahoma City, is a platinum-selling rapper and producer who first rose to prominence producing much of Jay-Z’s 2001 disc, The Blueprint. He went on to release his debut CD, The College Dropout, in 2004 and its 2005 follow-up, Late Registration. His latest release, Graduation, debuted at No.1 last year with first-week sales of 957,000 copies. In November 2007, West attended the funeral for his mother, Donda West, in Oklahoma City.

A native of Barbados, 20-year-old Rihanna first hit the charts in 2005 with “Pon de Replay,” and has continued as a major chart presence since with hits such as “S.O.S.” and her Grammy-winning single, “Umbrella.”

N.E.R.D. is a side project for Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, the production team known as Neptunes. The band releases its third disc, N.3.R.D., this spring.

Chicago rapper Fiasco’s two discs, 2006’s Food and Liquor and 2008’s The Cool, have been critically acclaimed for their inventive production values and subject matter.

Tickets are $44.50 to $94.50 and are available at the U.S. Army Box Office at the Ford Center, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 235-8288.

7 p.m. “Well, that’s because he’s dead, and nobody wants to be dead.” — George Clooney after Regis Philbin trots out the well-worn notion that Clooney’s the new Cary Grant and everybody wants to be him now.

7:04 p.m.  “Edith Piaf died before you were even born. Did you know anything about her beforehand?” Shawn Robertson asks Marion Cotillard about perhaps the most famous French performer in the history of French performers. It’s like asking Tom Hanks if he feels comfortable playing a World War II soldier when he was clearly born after the war. Oh, and the WWII soldier he played was an Edith Piaf fan, if I recall. My soul train of thought is chugging out of the station.

7:08 p.m. “I am so glad that you don’t have that haircut.” — Robertson tells Javier Bardem. Jeez, it makes you pine for the eloquence and trenchant analysis of Billy Bush.

7:13 p.m. “I’m playing the madame in a whorehouse in Nevada, and I think a little bit of my character is rubbing off on me,” said Helen Mirren, referring to the red dress she’s wearing as a presenter. Regis quickly steps away, concerned that it might soon rub off on him.

7:18 p.m. Unknown teenagers screaming for Miley Cyrus. Not enough stars to interview, Reege?

7:22 p.m. Ellen Page says she “won’t lie” — she’s been celebrating her 21st birthday with some drinkeepoos. And it isn’t even the Golden Globes!

7:24 p.m. Doesn’t that Oscar torso with the countdown clock look like a golden middle finger?

7:27 p.m. Reege just called the Best Supporting Actor frontrunner Xavier Bardem. Like he’s a Cuban bandleader or something.

7:30 p.m. Montage-o-rama featuring a frenetic delivery of statuettes amid crazy, madcap figures of SFX yesteryear. Thank goodness the writers are back.

7:33 p.m. “The fight is over, so tonight, welcome to the makeup sex!” — Jon Stewart.

7:35 p.m. “‘Atonement’ — finally a story that captured the passion and raw sexuality of Yom Kippur.” — JS is rolling.

7:37 p.m. “Diablo Cody used to be an exotic dancer, and now she’s a screenwriter. I hope you’re enjoying your paycut.” — JS.

7:42 p.m. Jennifer Garner announces Best Costume Designer.

COSTUME DESIGN
[   ] Across the Universe
[   ] Atonement
[   ] Elizabeth: The Golden Age
[   ] La Vie en Rose
[   ] Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

And the winner is Alexandra Byrne for the ridiculous “Elizabeth.”

7:47 p.m. George Clooney begins the first of many clipjobs. Jack Palance doing pushups. David Niven and the streaker, Adrien Brody’s kiss-a-rama, and Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White — all the best.

7:52 p.m. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway announce animated features.

ANIMATED FEATURE
[   ] Persepolis
[   ] Ratatouille
[   ] Surf’s Up

And the winner is…

Brad Bird for the ”Rat in Mi Kitchen” movie.

7:57 p.m. Katherine Heigl announces …

MAKEUP
[   ] La Vie en Rose
[   ] Norbit
[   ] Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

And the winner is not Norbit. It is La Vie En Rose. And this is a picture of…

Katherine Heigl, because I cannot find pictures of the makeup designers for the Edith Piaf movie.

8:02 p.m. Amy Adams does a perky rendition of  ”Happy Working Song,” one of three “Enchanted” songs that could possibly cancel one another out tonight. She’s great, though, and she should have already racked up her first Oscar for acting by now.

8:07 p.m. Visual effect Dwayne Johnson announces …

VISUAL EFFECTS
[   ] The Golden Compass
[   ] Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
[   ] Transformers

And the winner is…

The Golden Compass. Yes, it was one of the biggest bombs of 2007,  but those polar bears could fight and talk better than most drunk Hollywood starlets.

8:10 p.m. Cate Blanchett announces…

ART DIRECTION
[   ] American Gangster
[   ] Atonement
[   ] The Golden Compass
[   ] Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
[   ] There Will Be Blood

And the winner is…
 

Sweeney Todd. True dat — no Oscar-nominated film this year owed so much to art direction.

8:15 p.m. Jennifer Hudson announces …

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
[   ] Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
[   ] Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
[   ] Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
[   ] Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
[   ] Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

And the winner is…

Bardem, who thanked the Coens for being “crazy enough to think that I could do that, and put one of the most horrible haircuts in history on my head.”

8:22 p.m. Stewart offers a look at Oscar’s Salute to Binoculars and Periscopes before Keri Russell arrives to introduce “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” a movie I liked despite having every molecule in my body telling me to reject it.

8:28 p.m. Owen Wilson arrives to announce

SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION
[   ] At Night
[   ] Il Supplente (The Substitute)
[   ] Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
[   ] Tanghi Argentini
[   ] The Tonto Woman

And the Oscar Goes to…

“The Mozart of Pickpockets.”

8:31 p.m. Jerry Seinfeld of the unnominated “Bee Movie” announces…

SHORT FILM - ANIMATED
[   ] I Met the Walrus
[   ] Madame Tutli-Putli
[   ] My Love (Moya Lyubov)
[   ] Peter & the Wolf

And the winner is…

Peter & the Wolf.

8:35 p.m. Alan Arkin announces…

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
[   ] Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
[   ] Ruby Dee, American Gangster
[   ] Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
[   ] Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
[   ] Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

And the winner is…

Tilda Swinton, who made reference to George Clooney’s nipples in “Batman and Robin,” and in one fell swoop, Swinton delivers the best laugh line and scoops up one of the most richly deserved awards of the evening. If you’ve yet to see “Michael Clayton,” do yourself many favors.

8:44 p.m. Jessica Alba announces the scientific and technical awards, mainly because most of the winners have posters of her over their beds. In their mother’s houses. Because they’re geeks, get it?

8:45 p.m. “Jessica Alba is pregnant and I saw earlier that Cate Blanchett is pregnant. That’s very exciting — two pregnant women here tonight at the Oscars. Then again, obviously the night is still young. And Jack is here. So perhaps, sir, we’ll retally at the end of the evening.” — JS.

8:46 p.m. Josh Brolin and James McAvoy announce…

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
[   ] Atonement
[   ] Away from Her
[   ] The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
[   ] No Country for Old Men
[   ] There Will Be Blood

And the winner is…

Coens. Because the ground might swallow up the Kodak Theater if they didn’t.

8:50 p.m. Sid Ganis does the obligatory Price Waterhouse Cooper spiel. Man’s a comic genius. He’s a real Bob Hope.

8:52 p.m. Miley Cyrus introduces Oklahoma’s own Kristin Chenoweth singing “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted.” Way too sambariffic. Sambariffic to the point of soporiffic.

9:01 p.m. Stewart introduces Dame Judi Dench and Halle Berry, who look extraordinarily like the funniest large white men with afros in comedy. Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen announce…

SOUND EDITING
[   ] The Bourne Ultimatum
[   ] No Country for Old Men
[   ] Ratatouille
[   ] There Will Be Blood
[   ] Transformers

And the winner is…

The Bourne Ultimatum. And the winners are so flustered they get played off after saying “uh,” “blurrrgh” and “unnnnh.” Then Halle Berry and Dame Judi Dench announce…

SOUND MIXING
[   ] The Bourne Ultimatum
[   ] No Country for Old Men
[   ] Ratatouille
[   ] 3:10 to Yuma
[   ] Transformers

Which is different from editing. Trust me. And the winner is…

The Bourne Ultimatum. I do remember that film sounding amazing. The Foley completely rocked.

9:10 p.m. Forest Whitaker announces…

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
[   ] Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
[   ] Julie Christie, Away from Her
[   ] Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
[   ] Laura Linney, The Savages
[   ] Ellen Page, Juno

And the winner is…

Marion Cotillard. Total upset! I completely banked on Julie Christie, but this category was packed with deserving performances and she was great.

9:19 p.m. Colin Farrell announces Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova performing “Falling Slowly” from “Once.” Because of the sheer tonnage of “Enchanted,” it might sneak through with a win.

9:23 p.m. Jack Nicholson introduces the Best Picture clipjob. And you just thought you were getting out of here before 3 a.m.

9:26 p.m. Renee Zellweger announces…

FILM EDITING
[   ] The Bourne Ultimatum
[   ] The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
[   ] Into the Wild
[   ] No Country for Old Men
[   ] There Will Be Blood

And the winner is for The Bourne Ultimatum. I’m deeply disappointed that it wasn’t Roderick Jaynes. The man is a legend.

9:30 p.m. Nicole Kidman presents an honorary Oscar to …

98-year-old production designer Robert Boyle. This guy worked on more than half the films in Chase’s DVD collection. And at this point in the evening, he’s sharper than all of us.

9:40 p.m. Penelope Cruz announces…

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
[   ] 12 (Russia)
[   ] Beaufort (Israel)
[   ] Counterfeiters (Austria)
[   ] Katyn (Poland)
[   ] Mongol (Kazakhstan)

And the winner is…

The Counterfeiters.

9:45 p.m. Patrick Dempsey introduces another “Enchanted” song, sung by Dan “Sometimes When We Touch” Hill. Er, Jon McLaughlin. Ick. That song would make England Dan and John Ford Coley sound like “Metal Machine Music.”

9:49 p.m. John Travolta announces…

ORIGINAL SONG
[   ] “Falling Slowly” - Once
[   ] “Happy Working Song” - Enchanted
[   ] “Raise It Up” - August Rush
[   ] “So Close” - Enchanted
[   ] “That’s How You Know” - Enchanted

And the winner is…

Glen and Marketa. Score one for taste and subtlety. “Make art,” indeed.

9:56 p.m. Stewart brings Marketa out to let her talk. Wow — they stopped the awards show to let someone talk. Nice move for nice people.

9:57 p.m. Anna Faris Cameron Diaz announces…

CINEMATOGRAPHY
[   ] The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
[   ] Atonement
[   ] The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
[   ] No Country for Old Men
[   ] There Will Be Blood

And the winner is…

Milkshakes all around!

10:01 p.m. Bring out yer dead! Where have you gone, Jack Valenti? Dabbs Greer, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Biggest applause seems to go for Suzanne Pleshette, mainly because we still love the “Newhart” finale.

10:08 p.m. Amy Adams announces…

ORIGINAL SCORE
[   ] Atonement
[   ] The Kite Runner
[   ] Michael Clayton
[   ] Ratatouille
[   ] 3:10 to Yuma

And the winner is…

Atonement.

10:11 p.m. Tom Hanks sends us live to Baghdad for…

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
[   ] Freeheld
[   ] La Corona (The Crown)
[   ] Salim Baba
[   ] Sari’s Mother

And the winner is…

Freeheld. Coming to Cinemax soon. Quality on Cinemax, and it doesn’t star Shannon Tweed.

10:15 a.m. Hanks announces…

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
[   ] No End in Sight
[   ] Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
[   ] Sicko
[   ] Taxi to the Dark Side
[   ] War/Dance

And the winner goes to…

Taxi to the Dark Side. I swore it would be No End in Sight, but Alex Gibney had his hands in both.

10:21 p.m. “Auto dealership” Harrison Ford grumbles onto the stage to announce…

Best Screenplay. And it goes to…

Diablo Cody for Juno. We might not have been surprised, but she was. It’s nice to see such genuine emotion from someone who clearly deserved it.

10:29 p.m. Helen Mirren spouts a list of descriptors with mucho gravitas before announcing as a formality …

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
[   ] George Clooney, Michael Clayton
[   ] Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
[   ] Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
[   ] Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
[   ] Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

And the winner is…

He drank everyone’s milkshake!

10:38 p.m. Clipjob of everyone who has ever directed a film. My God, I think my blood is turning to gel. They have no business padding at 3:38 and counting.

10:40 p.m. Marty Scorsese (because I’m feeling familiar) announces…

DIRECTOR
[   ] Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
[   ] Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
[   ] Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
[   ] Jason Reitman, Juno
[   ] Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I’m thinking pajama boy’s out of luck. The winners are…

Coens, directors of “Henry Kissinger, Man on the Go.”

10:43 p.m. Denzel Washington announces…

BEST PICTURE
[   ] Atonement
[   ] Juno
[   ] Michael Clayton
[   ] No Country for Old Men
[   ] There Will Be Blood

Call it friend-o.

No Country for Old Men. Yes, it’s been a great year, and tonight has felt like one. Good night, drive safely and remember: only you can prevent self-conscious backlashes.

Best picture

Michael Clayton

Atonement  

No Country For Old Men

Juno

There Will Be Blood

This is one of those rare years when I would be perfectly happy if any of the nominated films took home the statuette. But the odds are pretty great that my nihilistic favorite from Joel and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men,” takes home the big one. It is a feel-bad masterpiece full of master’s class acting and remarkable scenes of deft direction that will be taught at film school for decades.

Should and will win: “No Country for Old Men.”

Best director

Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Jason Reitman, Juno

Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

His first two films display undeniable directorial gifts, but Hollywood wants to see more from Jason Reitman before he wins the gold. The same goes for Tony Gilroy, though few debuts are as sure-footed as “Michael Clayton.” Julian Schnabel need not worry about picking out his acceptance pajamas, and while Paul Thomas Anderson could squeak a win, it’s likely that the two-headed beast takes top honors.

Should and will win: Ethan and Joel Coen.

Best actor

George Clooney, Michael Clayton

Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah

Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

In any other year, the top honor would likely go to George Clooney for his title performance in “Michael Clayton.” This was the role in which Clooney transitioned from being a great movie star to being a great actor: His “I am Shiva, the God of death” speech will be played for years during American Film Institute honors. But this year, Clooney is up against Daniel Day-Lewis in the best performance of his career, and that is saying something. Day-Lewis chews the scenery like an irradiated giant termite, and if he does not win, there will be blood. And he’ll drink your milkshake.

Should win: George Clooney.

Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis.

Best actress

Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth, The Golden Age

Julie Christie, Away From Her

Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose

Laura Linney, The Savages

Ellen Page, Juno

Cate Blanchett has a better shot at best supporting actress for “I’m Not There” than she does for her performance in the ridiculous “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” Laura Linney was great in “The Savages,” as was Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose.” But this year’s competition is between one of the grand dames of classic cinema and an upstart ingenue on her way to greatness. Julie Christie already took home a Screen Actors Guild award, and she should start clearing mantel space. “Juno” will be remembered as the role that put rockets under Ellen Page’s career, not as her career peak.

Should win: Ellen Page.

Will win: Julie Christie.

Supporting actor

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War

Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

All the nominated actors are worthy, but only one delivered a career-defining performance. Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh comes on like the root of all evil in “No Country for Old Men,” an unerring force against which mere mortals curl up and expire like autumn leaves. Bardem will have that same effect on his Oscar competition.

Should and will win: Javier Bardem.

Supporting actress

Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There

Ruby Dee, American Gangster

Saoirse Ronan, Atonement

Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

In “Gone Baby Gone,” Amy Ryan is the film’s sooty, hardened heart, a woman whose mothering instincts prove nearly fatally flawed. Ryan is often the best guest on series television or a valuable player in great ensemble pieces such as “The Wire.” But “Gone Baby Gone” finally gave Ryan the haunting, terrible role that could shift her career. But she was bested by Tilda Swinton, whose role as an unsure company mouthpiece in “Michael Clayton” was full of the kind of nuances and subtle character ticks that must have seemed like a gift from writer-director Gilroy. Swinton did not squander the gift — her performance is all exposed nerves and uncommonly worthy of the Oscar.

Should and will win: Tilda Swinton.

1. Dr. Dog, “Worst Trip.” One of my favorite current Beatles revisionists, Philly’s Dr. Dog upped the ante on their sonics with the second disc, 2007’s We All Belong, but the band is still refreshingly lo-fi in its approach to pop classicism.

2. Pavement, “Perfume-V.”

3. Sam Prekop, “Something.”

4. Sister Vanilla, “What Goes Around.”

5. Kanye West, “Good Life.”

6. Imogen Heap, “I’m a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch.”

 

7. Self, “Meg Ryan.” Self is one of my favorite great lost bands. Essentially a vehicle for the talented multi-instrumentalist Matt Mahaffey, Self should have become Beck-level huge in 1999 with its Dreamworks debut, Breakfast With Girls, which featured “Meg Ryan,” the best and probably only song ever inspired by Joe Versus the Volcano. Mafaffey’s next release, Gizmodgery, was recorded entirely on toy instruments and featured some of his best and most idiosyncratic work, including “Truck Fulla Amps,” “Pattycake” and a great cover of the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.” Self eventually ran into the standard problems facing quirky alt-pop bands in this decade: Dreamworks did not want to release Self’s 2004 disc, Ornament and Crime, and now that Dreamworks records is shut down and the masters belong to Universal, it’s essentially a dead record, stuffed in a warehouse like the Ark of the Covenant. In an act of salvage/retribution, Mahaffey made the demos for the disc available for free download as the cheekily titled Porno, Mint and Grime. It’s available here.

8. Rakes, “The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect.”

9. Datarock, “Nightflight.”

 

10. CSS, “Pretend We’re Dead.” In which the preeminent sleaze-girl group of the late-oughts pays dutiful tribute to the preeminent sleaze-girl group of the early ’90s. With the exception of some expected glitchy synths, Lovefoxxx might not be bringing anything new to the table here — this sounds remarkably like L7’s original — but it’s all so highly appropriate.

With the telecast of the 80th Annual Academy Awards scheduled for Feb. 24 back on track following the end of the Writers Guild of America strike, Oscar excitement is escalating and Oscar buzz is building. Oklahoma Film Critics Circle members have made their predictions for the major awards categories.

“This year doesn’t seem much of a contest, given that earlier awards presentations and popular sentiment seem to favor heavily nominees in almost all the major categories,” OFCC President Kathryn Jenson White said.

“This was a stellar year in most of the categories, so the races shouldn’t seem inevitable; however, several do. While these predictions don’t necessarily reflect our personal or even group choices, these are the films, actors, writers and others the 17 members of OFCC think the Academy will select.”

OFCC Predictions

Best Picture: “No Country for Old Men”

Best Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for “No Country for Old Men”

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”

Best Actress: Julie Christie in “Away From Her”

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men”

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone”

Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, for “Juno”

Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, for “There Will Be Blood”

Best Animated Feature: “Ratatouille”

Best Documentary: “No End in Sight”

OFCC members predict that two major films, “Atonement” and “Sweeney Todd,” will take home honors outside what are considered the major categories by most as what are often considered consolation awards for being left out of the nominations or not having a strong chance at scoring in the majors. “Atonement,”

will take the Best Costumes and Best Score categories; “Sweeney Todd” will take home the statue for Best Art Direction.

Neither of the audience and critical favorites for Best Foreign Film — “La Vie en Rose” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” — earned nominations for various reasons. OFCC members did not predict in this category.