The Kiddo Awards - Day 1 (Acting)

It begins. Let's not beat around the bush; today's categories are:

Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Ensemble Cast

~~~

Yep, it's all about the acting today, so first up...

Best Actor
Sean Penn, Milk – The definition of a lived in performance. Never for one moment do we think it’s Sean Penn acting. Without his performance, the film wouldn’t be half as good.
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler – Gets all of the talking-without-saying-anything and pitch-perfect line-readings that are just a clinic on dramatic acting. You can tell much of the “Ram” is Rourke’s creation.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York – His performance is all in the subtle details that shape his character of Caden Cotard. I can’t think of anyone who could have undertook such a complex character.
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor – As Roger Ebert said: “Richard Jenkins is an actor who can move his head half an inch and provide the turning point of a film.”
Josh Brolin, W. - He brings more to the table that just an impersonation of the most impersonationable person ever. There's depth in his performance, and without him W. would be far less enjoyable.

Bronze

Mickey Rourke

Silver

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Gold

Sean Penn

Best Actress
Melissa Leo, Frozen River – Plays a gruff, burnt-out mom with a warm heart if you get to know her. Leo brings such realism and you can truly sense her character’s urgency.
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky – A testament to her tour de force performance is how goddamn annoying Poppy is. She played the character perfectly and was one of the funniest performers of the year.
Meryl Streep, Doubt – Over-the-top in the best way possible. She get’s the Brooklyn accent and the nun-bitchiness down perfectly and overall, creates an extremely complex woman.
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married – At times hilarious, and always trying to escape the shadow of all that is wrong with her. We cringe with the rest of the family, just watching her.
Cate Blanchett, Benjamin Button – Blanchett gives the film a much-needed heartbeat (I still haven’t gotten over the disappointment…). Everyone on screen with her in the film pales in comparison.

Bronze

Anne Hathaway

Silver

Meryl Streep

Gold

Melissa Leo



Best Supporting Actress
Samantha Morton, Synecdoche New York – Hazel is the one thing Caden and we, the viewer, hold onto throughout the film. You can sense her feigned perkiness, done so naturally by Morton.
Viola Davis, Doubt – What hasn’t already been said?
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler – All kinds of incredible as the Stripper With a Heart of Gold. Never becomes cliché. I cared about her character more than any other this year. Proof of her brilliance.
Hiam Abbass, The Visitor – So subtle and understated. Each time her character enters the frame, the film gets a little bit better.
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona – Off-the-walls and daring as Maria Elena and follows in the footsteps of Dianne Keaton, Mira Sorvino and Dianne Wiest as one of the great, neurotic Woody Allen creations.

Bronze

Samantha Morton

Silver

Penelope Cruz

Gold

Marisa Tomei

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight – Legendary and genius and everything synonymous with those adjectives.
Emile Hirsch, Milk – At first, I thought he was overplaying Cleve (awesome name, by the way) but he started playing his character just right and ended up evoking a very realistic and funny performance.
Josh Brolin, Milk – In some ways, he’s similar to Penn’s performance of Harvey Milk. Both performances get every mannerism down and truly are their characters. Brolin is stunning at the end of the film.
Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky – Tortured and set-in-his-ways, Marsan should somewhat thank Mike Leigh, because Scott is flawlessly written. But Marsan steals a bunch of scenes and at times, runs away with the film.
John Malkovich, Burn After Reading – The award for most ‘f--ks’ also goes to him. He’s f—king crazy throughout the film and really is one of the great Coen characters.

Bronze

Eddie Marsan

Silver

Josh Brolin

Gold

Heath Ledger

Best Ensemble Cast
Milk – Career work from so many great actors (and an actress) in a movie that feeds off of the spirit the actors bring to the movie.
Synecdoche, New York – No other film this year can say it sports about a dozen great characters and performances. From Weist to Watson, this cast is stunning.
The Dark Knight – Every performance opens up another door in this complex plot, each character effectively helping in telling an incredible story.
Doubt – There are four performances in this film that I wouldn’t have minded winning the Oscar. Consistently great across the board.
Burn After Reading – A film built up in the small characters that work together to string together an awesome film. Like, a thousand very good performance add up to one hell of an ensemble.

Bronze

The Dark Knight

Silver

Milk

Gold

Synecdoche, New York

Holy Shit.

Over or under: ten Oscar nominations?

!The Kiddo Awards!

Yes, I am going to try my hand at an awards event. I know I've been quiet and negligent but that is mainly because I'm assembling The 2009 Kiddo Awards. Like 30 friggin' categories, 150 nominees and a bunch of other shit dedicated to my obessions. It is epic.

So here are the categories and schedule:

Day One
Monday, May 20th ~

Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Ensemble Cast

Day Two
Wednesday, May 22nd ~

Costume Design
Cinematography
Art Direction
Editing
Visual FX
Makeup
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing
Original Score
Original Song

Day Three
Friday, May 24th ~

Best Male Cameo
Best Female Cameo
Body of Work Award
Best Character
Best Villain

Day Four
Monday, May 27th ~

Tagline of the Year
Poster of the Year
Trailer of the Year
Best Scenes
Best Ending
Most Aesthetically-Pleasing Film of the Year

Day Five
Wednesday, May 29th ~

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay

Damn, huh? Stay tuned!

Ghosts and Vampires

Let The Right One In
A totally unique story of a young, bullied boy who befriends a girl who's a vampire. Heart-stopping displays of vampire legend (ex: vamps burning up due to a speck of sunlight) and moving moments of interaction between two lonely kids ensue. It's about kids and it captures the whole schoolyard "phenomenon" just right. The way the kids act at school in the film is very true to life. Also, the film sets one of the oddest yet most effective atmospheres of the year. Snowy Sweden sets the stage for a very sinister tone that evokes the perfect grounds for a thriller. Yet this film has much more than just peoples' necks being bit to shreds, also telling a very emotional story. Who knew vampires were so sensitive? A-


Ghost Town
This Ricky Gervais-Greg Kinear vehicle was a total flop in the US, and I can see why. First, the story may come across as being inaccessible, though it really isn't. Also, the comedy comes across as slightly old-fashioned in the world of Judd Apatow and Borat. Yet I almost liked the old-fashioned, simplistic feel to it. There's no tension or pressure in the film, just a simple romantic comedy of a misanthropic dentist who sees ghosts. The thing is, it ended up becoming forgettable. The comedy wasn't engaging enough. Really the only laughs come from Gervais, who walks the tightrope of playing an insanely unlikable character. Yet Gervais keeps the character from getting annoying and injects the performance with sarcastic wit. In the end, will I remember the film in a month? Naw. But was it sort of pleasant while I was watching? Yeah, kinda. B-

Bands I'm Hooked on Right Now

Sigur Ros
Strangely, hearing Hoppipolla (one of their best songs) constantly due to all the 'Earth' trailers led me to Sigur Ros. They're pretty great, really. At times, very happy, hopeful music, but at other times sorrowful. Ah, and some of the songs would fit seamlessly into a movie. This one I'm going to embed, Saeglopur, is amazing. And, yes, I had to find a website that gave pronunciations on all the crazy Polish words featured in the song names. Foolishly, I had thought they were pronounced SUGAR ROSS, which is retarded (I'm such an ignorant American), but really it's pronouned more like si-yur rose. So now I use every opportunity I can to correctly say "Sigur Ros"



Ween
They're very weird, and almost surreal. My brother is a huge fan and has been to one of their concerts. I never thought I liked them, but I heard a few of their songs and now I'm kinda hooked. And I just learned from the band's Wiki that the two founders are named Gene and Dean Ween. That's almost the coolest thing ever. But I love their lo-fi, experimental tone. This song, Mutilated Lips, is straaange. It's not a question of "if" LSD was used when recording this song, but "how much" LSD was in effect.



311
Oh my god, they are great. I randomly have their greatest hits stored away on my iPod and I can't get enough. Their songs stick in your head forever. They have a really cool, almost reggae-ish (it has to be cool) sound and the lead singers' voices are great. I feel like a cool kid when I listen to them. This song is Flowing and is all kinds of amazing.



MGMT
Yeah, they're God's gift to Earth, in a way. Very cliche lyrics and that's why I love them. The instrumentals are orgasmic and their videos are crazy. It's all sorta psycodelic and amazing. No explanation is needed for the song below. Mhm.

What am I doing? I'm quietly judging you.

Thoughts on Synecdoche, New York

I was slightly afraid I was going to be disappointed with Synecdoche, just because it's been so critically divisive. But it's just my kind of film, really. Quirky and mind-bending while never sacrificing beautiful drama to just be a mindf--ker

Okay, Charlie Kaufman can now do no wrong whatsoever. He is brilliant, from the direction to the screenplay. He creates Caden Cotard (played brilliantly by PSH) and a plethora of female characters. Cotard rivals The Joker as the best character of the year. He's neurotic as hell and so caught up in his neurosis, which is a strange emotion. He's also a hypochondriac, as he thinks he's dying if he was an itch or a slightly yellow shit. And he is so narcissistic. Caden Cotard is obsessed with Caden Cotard. So much so, that he uses his MacArthur grant to stage a play about his life and all of the stuff that happens in it.

Then it's trademark Kaufman. Who's acting as whom? Is she an actor? Is he real? It's the type of movie that occasionally you have to pause the DVD (from Netflix, by the way. I lost my Netflix virginity) and think about what the hell is happening. Such a smart and endearingly confusing film.

So, on instinct, I logged onto IMDb to see the reception of the film on the boards. It was all quite interesting, as everyone was trying to dissect every little part of the film. And I say, why? Why is it necessary? Art like this shouldn't be made so logical. To me, the explanation isn't important. I watched a character study of a messed-up guy and the people around him. And I loved it. But these people are trying to find the further meaning in it. I find that so exhausting. The lesson of the film? Don't be like Caden.

One theory on the film, though, that I found interesting [the following paragraph could be perceived as spoilers] was that, perhaps, Caden was dead the whole time. The evidence seems totally there. And that's why, if Caden was in heaven (or in some ways, hell), a thousand people would "realistically" follow this tortured director (Caden) for seventeen friggin' years to make a play that no one will ever see. I mean, something like that couldn't happen in real life, right?

Anyway, Synecdoche is a must-see. Total brilliance. A (By the way, the quote on the sidebar is from the film and I found it to be so effective of the film's meaning. And life's meaning)

To Grade or Not to Grade...

For years now, I've consistently used the Four Star System of Movie Grading, that of most newspapers in America. It just became a habit, and I never thought to change this rating system. Yet now I find myself torn. The system of rating out of four stars has gotten tired, as I feel I'm not giving a variety of different grades. It's all like three stars, and I'm feeling the grades are becoming too definite. With an A, B, C, etc. grading system, there are more potential grades, providing a more varied analysis of a movie. Or maybe I'm taking this all too seriously. Maybe I just want a shaking-up. So from now on:

A + : a stunning, masterpiece, one of the best films I've ever seen (very rare)

A : a great, great film (basically four stars)

A - : a really well-done film that's on the cusp of greatness

B+ : A very good movie

B : A good movie; wouldn't be too enthused about watching it again, though

B- : An average movie, with good parts and bad parts

C+ : A below-average effort

C : A bad movie

C- : A really bad movie

Anything lower just plain sucks.

Update

Okay, I'm not dead, in case you were wondering. I just had a major case of busy-ness (business?), laziness, and loss of interest. But I'm back, hopefully for a long while. You see, any other blogger knows it's hard to come up with ideas for posts on a consistent basis. And over the past few weeks I just haven't been up for putting in the thought for posts that not only are stimulating to read, but more importantly for me to write. I also want to focus on movies more on this blog. I got a little distracted with other things, and I want to once again spotlight my true love, film.

Speaking of which, I fah-inally got Netflix and I am so obsessed. I keep randomly logging into the site just to look at my queue list. Just to admire it. It's as if I think something happened to the DVD's I've ordered. I got the $8.99 deal, so I get one DVD at a time. And, Christ, I am like an obese kid in a bakery. Within minutes I had already put 40 DVD's in my queue. It's crazy. Almost like a dream come true. It is so fun. Here's how my queue looks right now:

(Note: Just as I went to look at my queue so I could talk about some of the titles in this post (below), I noticed there's a new number one on my queue. That means Synecdoche, New York is shipping! Exciting!)

Some of the titles include: Magnolia, Let the Right One In, Donnie Darko, Memento, Reservoir Dogs, You Can Count On Me, Big Night, The Sea Inside, Frost/Nixon, Wendy and Lucy, The Fountain, Pi, Interiors, Brick, Dancer In The Dark, Sunshine, Bubble, Transiberrean, Tell No One, Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather (!), The Science of Sleep, Sky Captain..., Speak, The Station Agent and about a dozen more. I'm so pumped.

Look for many more reviews and many more posts hopefully. I really do love blogging, it can just be a drag from time to time.

A Shock

A Great Discovery

Been listening to a lot of new music lately. This - It Never Stops by Deerhunter - is among the juicy musical discoveries.

And A New Obsession for the Next 206 Days Is Born, My Friends

It's here.

The trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze's upcoming spectactle, has landed. Youtube had the trailer yanked for copyright, but you can find it here.

And dazzling is an understatement. It looks like pure magic on film. Fun and imaginative and colorful and, ugh, whoa. I'm really impressed. Then they had to go put some (rather weird yet awesome) version of Arcade Fire's Wake Up in the background which ended up selling me.

What I really like is that Jonze doesn't appear to have made the film Dark. Blatantly gloomy and sort of, atmosphere overkill. It's just images, it's not striving for a certain mood, really, and I love that. I mean, damn, am I happy Tim Burton isn't making this movie.

So, yeah, I'm gonna be crazy about this I think. So happy it comes out October 16. Good timing. Not too late and Oscar-y. Not that I think this has a chance at the Oscars beyond some random techs, if that.

The Top Sitcoms on TV

So I'm not a very big TV fan. I watch it casually, and tend to stay away from the really intense stuff like 24, Lost or the recently bowed-out Battlestar Gallactica. Really, the only drama I watch is House, and that's sort of inconsistent. I tried Mad Men. Eh. I really wanna see Breaking Bad but am a tad intimidated by jumping in so late in the game. Does American Idol or Top Chef fall under the drama category?

Yeah, I basically just watch reality TV and comedies. So many comedies, in fact, that I decided to list my favorites here. In no particular order...

• How I Met Your Mother - Has a rare one-two punch in combining good writing with good acting. Only a few shows really are consistent in both arenas. Jason Segal is great, along with Neil Patrick Harris, of course. The writing is creative, not totally chronological and almost reminiscent of Golden Age Scrubs with its unique and complex storytelling.

• The Office - Used to be the best show on TV, but now it's just good. The downfall has been in the characters. Dwight went from funny, to annoying. Andy is really aggravating. And the writing isn't focused squarely enough on Michael, who is far and away, the best on the show. Yet I still get a kick out of the mundaneness, and Carell is still on his game.

• The New Adventures of Old Christine - The Seinfeld curse has been broken, and that is a remarkable thing. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is all kinds of brilliant, comedically, on this show. The whole ensemble is utilized, and for good reason. Solid supporting work from Wanda Sykes and Clark Gregg, among others, gives the show some balance. The writing isn't perfect, but gets the job done.

• 30 Rock - Another case of great acting and great (GREAT) writing coming together and forming a damn good show. No wonder it's won so many Emmys. Fey could make Liz Lemon sort of one-note, but she never does. The writing gives the show a light, almost cartoonish feel, with a ton of strange situations. Possibly the most consistent show on TV.

• Arrested Development - Okay, it doesn't really count, because it's off TV. Yet I've caught a ton of re-runs and the show is pure brilliance...most of the time. It has a tendency to throw in a shitty episode occasionally, but when it's good it's REALLY good. Again, it comes down to writing. It's so weird and very politically incorrect, but that's why I love it. The whole cast brings something to the table. Very eclectic.
  

Beautiful

The Hazards of Love

Lately it's seeming as if I get all my news from Entertainment Weekly. I always find out the big news last, but whatever. Today was another day of EW breaking big news for me.

So I was thumbing through EW this morning and was skimming the music reviews section over. Of course, the featured review was for the Hannah Montana Movie Soundtrack. Shoot me, okay? So, I was looking at the other reviews and I zeroed in on two words I always look for: The Decemberists. It doesn't matter where I am, like I could be at the bank or something, and I'll have my Decemberists heat-seeking radar initiated.

The review was venomous. They hated it. They said the vocals sucked, which doesn't seem possible to me, and that there was a lot of "comically-misplaced guitar shredding." Of course, my initial reaction was, "How dare they."

So immediately, I booked onto iTunes and see that the review has four and a half stars over 700 ratings. Um? Is it not so bad, then?

Whatever, in the end, all that matters is if I like it. I really think I will. Maybe an update later in the week on my thoughts.

Awesome 'Away We Go' Trailer

Love this. The ensemble looks pretty amazing.

Great Albums Bracket - Region 1 (part 1)

And we're off. So this is Region One and in this part 1 (of 2), we'll be seeing:

Radiohead's In Rainbows (1) vs. Beck's The Information (8)
Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It In People vs. Amy Winehouse's Back To Black

The two winners of these matchups will face each other in the Sweet Sixteen in a couple weeks. Click here if you need your memory refreshed.

(1) In Rainbows vs. (8) The Information

Overall Musical Quality and Consistency: In Rainbows is an innovative, unique and complex listen. The same can’t necessarily be said for The Information. It’s one of Beck’s lesser albums, yet even a bad Beck album is still a really good album. The Information probably has the edge in terms of lyrics, but the sheer sound of In Rainbows will be quite hard to beat. Victor: In Rainbows

Best Track: This comes down to Jigsaw Falling Into Place vs. Cellphone’s Dead. Jigsaw Falling Into Place is basically a perfect stage for Thom Yorke’s wailing voice. Pure brilliance and one of Radiohead’s best songs, period. Cellphone’s Dead is classic, weird-o Beck, combining interesting beats and almost a hip-hop foreground that’s reminiscent of anything off of Midnite Vultures. A great song, but not as memorable as Jigsaw Falling Into Place. Victor: Jigsaw Falling Into Place



Impact: The Information was perhaps the first album that I truly waited for and had the date of release marked on my calendar. I was just coming off of intense love for Midnite Vultures (came out in 1999, just missed the cut, would have been a number one seed). My Beck love was at its height. In Rainbows simply solidified the fact that Radiohead is one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite. Has nearly everything I dream of from an album. Victor: In Rainbows

Overall Play Count: 182 to 107 Victor: In Rainbows

Cover Art: I must say, two heavyweights in terms of Cover Art. Yet the cool graphics and colors of The Information are pretty amazing. Victor: The Information



And the winner is… In Rainbows, 4-1

(4) You Forgot It in People vs. (5) Back to Black

Overall Musical Quality and Consistency: The thing that Back to Black has going for it is that basically every song on it is good – if not really good. It has its flashes of brilliance and remains stable the whole time. You Forgot It In People has one of the best songs of this decade (Almost Crimes) and Cause=Time is not far from that status either. Yet Back to Black’s powerhouse consistency reigns supreme for me. Victor: Back to Black

Best Track: As stated earlier, Almost Crimes is incredible (please listen – you’ll be hooked right away). Back To Black, the song, is really strong but simply no match. Victor: You Forgot It in People



Impact: Back to Black was almost a flash in the pan for me. I like Amy Winehouse (AS A MUSICIAN) yet I’m not into her whole train-wreck-whore…aura. But beyond personality, the music is more daring and oozing with unique genius (most of the time) on YFINP. It solidified BSS in my pantheon of greatness and was constantly listened to two summers ago when I ate, slept and breathed Broken Social Scene.

Play Count: 115 to 107 Victor: You Forgot It in People

Cover Art: The YFINP art is mediocre and Back to Black’s isn’t too much better, but kinda fitting to the whole album. Victor: Back to Black



And the winner is…You Forgot It in People

So Region One will be continued later in the week where bands like Coldplay, TV on the Radio and other favorites will be featured. Stay tuned.

The Great Albums Bracket: The Search for My Favorite Album of the Decade

Over the past few weeks I've been mulling over ideas for posts to apply to this here blog. I had little (no) luck until last week when I thought of a rather interesting and certainly appropriate serial posting event (SPE).

General Idea: I make a bracket displaying my 32 favorite albums of this decade. I then seed them from 1-8. Ones are dedicated to the best of the best, while 8 seeds are still great, yet probably won't get too far in the bracket. Then, through weeks of judging and analyzing through match-ups I come up with my favorite album of this decade. If any of you are sports fans, you can correlate this directly to March Madness (something I wil regularly allude to this month).

So I'm really stoked for this series. It should be great fun and give you a good idea of my favorite music. I think it's fitting with March Madness and total bracketology looming. So, below, I'll run through some more details and then, during the rest of the week a few match-ups should pop up, the games beginning.

So here is the rundown on the seeding (the number to the left is the seed):

1 Funeral by Arcade Fire
1 In Rainbows by Radiohead
1 Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene
1 Neon Bible by Arcade Fire

2 Hail to the Thief by Radiohead
2 Return to Cookie Mountain by TV on the Radio
2 Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
2 A Mad and Faithful Telling by DeVotchka

3 The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
3 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
3 Dear Catastrophe Waitress by Belle and Sebastian
3 Arcade Fire EP by Arcade Fire

4 Random Spirit Lover by Sunset Rubdown
4 Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon
4 You Forgot it in People by Broken Social Scene
4 Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers

5 Z by My Morning Jacket
5 Pressure Chief by Cake
5 Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
5 American Idiot by Green Day

6 Set Yourself on Fire by Stars
6 X&Y by Coldplay
6 Sea Change by Beck
6 Let’s Get Out of This Country by Camera Obscura

7 Dear Science by TV on the Radio
7 We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse
7 Come On Feel The Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens
7 Modern Guilt by Beck

8 The Information by Beck
8 Apologies to the Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
8 In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars
8 The Reminder by Feist

And here is the actual bracket in all its glory. (Click on it to enlarge)



Surf Wikipedia if you aren't familiar with some of the albums. Most of them should be familiar. I'd be elated if you were to broaden you're musical interests from seeing some of these bands in this tournament. All of the bands and albums are brilliant and there's something for everyone.

Yes, I know I'm like Obsessive-Compulsive in terms of organization, but here is a rough schedule of how I'll post everything. It should end up taking about two months, if everything goes according to plan. I've already written up a few match-ups and it's really fun to write, so don't expect me to get overwhelmed and discouraged (tends to happen).

Region One (Week 1)

Funeral vs. The Reminder
Hail to the Thief vs. Modern Guilt
Arcade Fire EP vs. Set Yourself on Fire
Random Spirit Lover vs. Z

Region Two (Week 2)

In Rainbows vs. The Information
Return to Cookie Mountain vs. Come on Feel The Illinoise
Dear Catastrophe Waitress vs. X&Y
You Forgot It In People vs. Back To Black

Region Three (Week 3)

Broken Social Scene vs. In Our Bedroom After The War
Vampire Weekend vs. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah vs. Sea Change
Ga Ga Ga Ga vs. Pressure Chief

Region Four (Week 4)

Neon Bible vs. Apologies to the Queen Mary
A Mad and Faithful Telling vs. Dear Science
The Crane Wife vs. Let’s Get Out of This Country
Twin Cinema vs. American Idiot

Week Five: Winners of Regions 1 and 2 Face off (8 of the 16- 4)

Week Six: Winners of Regions 3 and 4 Face off (8 of the 16- 4)

Week 7: Elite Eight (8 of 8 - 4)

Week 8: Final Four and Championship

Finally, the judging will be based on five categories that are as follows:

1. Overall Musical Quality and Consistency (self-explanatory)
2. Best Track - I'll weigh the stregnths of the best track off of each album.
3. Impact - Though it sounds cheesy, it's like the impact of the album on my life. Did it help me discover (Insert Band Here)? Is it an album that is still extremely vital in my life after many years? Did I wait in line to buy it? Did the music "speak" to me in an important way? And, overall, which album has had a bigger impact on my life?
4. Play Count - Which album has the greater overall play count according to my iPod?
5. Cover Art - Which album has the superior cover artwork? In some instances this is somewhat of a tie-breaker.

Okay, so that's about it. Stay tuned and wait for updates. I'll try to make it kinda hands-on with polls and samples of the songs, etc. For now...

It's as if he saw the future...

A rather brilliant scene (okay, not just brilliant - one of the best) and an almost prophetic clip with today's craziness.

What A Showman...

By chance, I came across a video of Tom Waits on Letterman the other day. Tom Waits had been a name I'd heard quite a bit, and everything said about him was pretty ecstatic. So I was discovering Waits that day, and I'm slowly catching onto his greatness.

His voice is awesome and unlike any other. Raspy and deep and all weird. Or as critic Dan Durcholz says, his voice sounds "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."

This performance of 'Chocolate Jesus' below, from Letterman, put me over the top. The man is a frickin' showman. Just simply watching him is crazy compelling. Who else can work a room that well?