Culture

A while ago, some of my friends were bandying around the idea that 1999 was the best year for movies in our generation. Others agree (original).

I had this entry going where I was trying to contextualize M.I.A. and talk about influences and stuff, but screw it, truth is I don’t know about about the British music scene to do that. So here’s a 17 meg QuickTime video. Square-wave synth beats — very video-game — with a melodic poppy rap going on over them, and a tribal chorus that takes over the song by the end. The imagery is pop violence; her father is (to some unspecified degree) connected with the Tamil Tigers. Careless appropriation of terrorism chic? Conscious rebranding? Damned if I know. ...

Sure, you can listen to a lot of interesting singles by way of MP3 blogs — but SXSW just published a BitTorrent torrent containing 2.6 gigs of music (original) from bands which will be playing at this year’s SXSW. That’s 713 songs and almost two straight days of music. Boston locals who want a copy of it without the 1+ day download period should get in touch with me.

If you are a mad Aimee Mann fan like myself, you will want to know two things: first, that she has made a concept album and it is available for pre-order beginning March 9th for delivery beginning May 3rd. March 9th is tomorrow, not today, no matter how often I check the date on my computer. Second, the first three songs on the album are available for streaming on her website (original). ...

Truth be told (and that’s really kind of the point, isn’t it?), Hunter S. Thompson stopped writing well sometime in the 70s. It doesn’t matter. Even if you discount The Great Shark Hunt, which I personally wouldn’t, you’ve got a legacy the likes of which we don’t see often. Hell. It says enough about him to say that he was so dominant, so powerful, that (despite Tom Wolfe and George Plimpton) he birthed and killed gonzo. If you write like he wrote, you’re an imitator, and who thinks of gonzo journalism as anything else but writing in his style? ...

First off, if you want links to everything, check out the IMDB Oscars page (original). Second off, Defamer claims they’ll be liveblogging as well. Chances are the snark quality will be somewhat higher over there.

Souvenir Press is reprinting the Modesty Blaise books, but they’re in no particular hurry about it. For my own notes: Haves Sabre-Tooth (1966) I, Lucifer (1967) A Taste for Death (1969) The Impossible Virgin (1971) The Silver Mistress (1973) Last Day in Limbo (1976) Dragon’s Claw (1978) The Xanadu Talisman (1981) Have Nots Modesty Blaise (1965) Pieces of Modesty (short stories) (1972) The Night of Morningstar (1982) Dead Man’s Handle (1985) Cobra Trap (1996)

For reference: Oscar predictions from CNN, the Guardian, Associated Press, and the talented Robin Laws. Without summarizing all of them, suffice it to say that my picks were not deeply daring. Then again, neither is the Academy.

It’s about that time. I’ll probably live-blog the Oscars tonight, just because I like doing it. My commentary on the nominees is here. My picks for winners (and preferred winners if I had to pick from the nominees): Best Actor: Jamie Foxx. Should be Clint Eastwood, but the Academy will steer clear of him this year. The political aspects to Million Dollar Baby didn’t help him. Best Actress: hard to call, but I think Hilary Swank. (My other guess would be Catalina Moreno.) Kate Winslet should win it, though. ...

FYI: Theodore Roszak’s Flicker is back in print. It’s a great book about movies, albeit one with a somewhat unsatisfying ending; this review hits the mark for me. Particularly in the snark about Aronofsky as a director. (Via Twitch.)