Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind--Michel Gondry

Before you look at the title of this post and decide you don't really have to read it, because you love Eternal Sunshine as many people do, be warned that I probably won't even address the movie in this post. I think it is awesome, and if you want to learn about it wikipedia has a very detailed entry here. It features an amazing cast of actors (Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood (so what if he's a weiner), David Cross, etc), and won a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (which Charlie Kaufman contributed greatly to). It gets a full recommendation from me, and it being one of the only movies I own I stand strong behind it. As a whole the film really is a work of art, something not often achieved by a movie that was relatively commercially successful.

The mastermind behind Eternal Sunshine is director Michel Gondry, also known for his works Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, and Human Behavior. What interests me most about the French director is his work outside of the feature-length film industry. Some of his best work comes in the form of short films, commercials, and a slew of music videos. I guarantee you've seen a LOT more of Gondry's work than you realize. My introduction to him outside of Eternal Sunshine came through this DVD called The Work of Director Michel Gondry (2003). It features many of his best music videos and a couple of really great commercials (I know, that is a weird thing to say) but they are worth checking out. In the music world he is most known for directing seven of Bjorks videos, in addition to David Chappelle's Block Party, and videos by the White Stripes, Beck, the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters and Paul McCartney to name a few. Once again, Gondry makes real art in areas that don't always depend on such to be successful (music videos and commercials).

The best way to show his style, which is very original, is by example so I've included a few of my favorites. If you like them, it would be worth it to pick up the DVD mentioned above and go from there...it has a good representation of his work on it. I have included music videos of Beck's Cellphone's Dead, The White Stripes' Fell In Love (the lego stuff is awesome), and possibly his most well-known Bjork's Human Behavior (with the chasing bear). Also I've posted one example of his commercial work for Levis, but there are a ton more on youtube. Also, did anyone see the Science of Sleep? Was it worth a damn?

Pinkerton--Weezer

For me, Pinkerton (1996) is far and above the crowning achievement of Weezer's (now long) career. I'll be honest in saying that I haven't heard any of their albums after Maladroit (2002) and I was really really really not impressed by that one. For me their only album that could possibly rival the quality of Pinkerton is (other Eric recommends pick) Weezer (The Blue Album). Even that album, as great as it is, is really no comparison. I know a lot of people are aware of Pinkerton making me hesitant to post about it, but in the process of researching this post I discovered some really interesting things about the album that I was inclined to share. The major difference between Pinkerton and any other Weezer album is the rawness of the sound. The overall sound of the album is significantly darker than the rest of their output (that I am aware of) and it lacks their poppy side which was so crucial in hits like Buddy Holly and The Sweater Song. There isn't a band song on the 10-track record, and as I've talked about before in other favorite albums (see Bjork's Vespertine) the album as a whole has a sound. It isn't just about quality on a song-to-song basis, part of the beauty of this album is how well every song contributes to the album as a whole.

Some interesting facts about Pinkerton that I wasn't aware of (thanks Wikipedia!). The original album concept was to write a space-themed opera entitled Songs From the Black Hole, a seamless album in which all the songs were supposed to flow into one another. A detailed and pretty interesting summary of this concept is available right here, but as always with Wikipedia reader beware. Still, the failed concept and how it morphed into Pinkerton is pretty interesting, even though I didn't read the whole thing. The album did, however, end up being loosely based around the Puccini opera Madame Butterfly, with the album name coming from a character in the opera.

Another interesting Weezer fact that I feel like I should have been aware of is that Rivers Cuomo attended Harvard beginning in 1995, and started immediately after the initial songs (Why Bother?, Getchoo, Tired of Sex, No Other One) for Pinkerton were recorded. The remainder of the album was recorded over the course of the next year while Cuomo was on break from classes at Harvard. All songs on the album are written by Cuomo, and all seem to be about or directly affected by events in his personal life.

Initially Pinkerton was a major commercial failure, especially being the first album they recorded after the hugely successful Blue Album. However as time goes on, this album seems to make its way onto more and more peoples' favorite albums list. So many musician (and non-musician) friends of mine, including those who listen to relatively little rock music, site this as being one of their favorite rock albums. On the other end of that a lot of people hate Pinkerton for it's underproduced and pop-lacking sound. These people are not my kind of people. Pinkerton rules, simply put. The one time I saw Weezer live, at least two or three years after the release of Pinkerton, they played almost the entire album with only a few tracks from (the then new) Green Album, and a couple choice Blue Album songs. I was thrilled.

A few samples of the album, via youtube. I didn't even know their was a video for El Scorcho, one of my favorite tracks from Pinkerton. Also included is the music video for The Good Life, and a nice (though much rockier, and much less acoustic) live recording of the album's final track Butterfly:

Bjork--Vespertine vs. Medulla

Vespertine (2001) and Medulla (2004) are two successive releases from Iclandic singer Bjork. Now, upon receiving vicious criticism from loyal readers I am trying to shorten the length of these posts (I tend to ramble on?), and this is my first attempt. Let's get down to business.

I hated Bjork before I heard Vespertine. I thought she was a weirdo and I could never understand her music (after hearing parts of albums Post and Homogenic). Hearing Vespertine changed all of it for me. The soundscapes she creates on the album are amazing...sampling everyday things like door slams, popcorn sounds, ice cracking, someone walking on snow, and cards shuffling to create really interesting beats. The overall sound of Vespertine is heavily sampled giving it an electronic feel, but it is more organic because of the constant use of everyday sounds.

Medulla on the other hand is almost completely a vocal album. Sampling (of vocals) is still a major part of the project, but almost every sound on the album originates from the human voice (with very few exceptions). She enlists the help of heavyweight voice noisemakers Mike Patton (of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas) and Rahzel (the Roots, and possibly the greatest beatboxer of all time) on a couple of tracks.

For me Vespertine is the masterpiece of Bjork's career. It is a complete musical statement and the album itself has a sound. Every song on it has it's own vibe, but they all contribute to the complete album sound. It is also forward thinking and innovative while still remaining true to the album concept. Medulla on the other hand is very much an experimental album. It is amazing that Bjork was able to put together such an interesting album with only the use of vocals, but for me it always sounds a little like something is missing. I still LOVE the album, but it doesn't quite work overall to me as well as Vespertine does. For the record I prefer Vespertine but Cory noted in his post that he prefers Medulla. You be the judge for yourself! Below are three interesting quotes by Bjork about the album sound and vibe of Vespertine, followed by a video for each--Hidden Place from Vespertine (first) and Where Is the Line? from Medulla (second).

"It sounds like a winter record. If you wake up in the middle of the night, and you go out in the garden, everything's going on out there that you wouldn't know about. That's the mood I'm trying to get. Snow owls represent that very well."

"I was collecting together all the noises that I know that are like hibernating and that sound like the inside of your head. I guess 'Vespertine' for me was going really, really, really internal and trying to make music with huffs and whispering and music boxes."

"Vespertine is little insects rising from the ashes."

Almost Famous (2000)--Cameron Crowe

This entry could be alternately titled "I Already Dropped the Ball" and it could be an apology to my many, many loyal readers. The intent of Friends Recommend is for daily updates and feedback on some of my friends' favorite things. And a little over one week into this and I've already missed an entry. I swear my reason is valid, and has something to do with me being in Michigan all weekend in sub-zero temperatures, but who wants to hear about that?

A little further into this entry we'll address the fantastic movie Almost Famous, but I can already see that I'm going to run out of days this week to cover all of the Cory picks that I stand behind whole-hearted. So I'm just going to give some backup and props to a few of these picks that I might not get to. Hopefully I'll get to cover some of them in the next few days, but if not these are a few of my all-time favorite things that made it to Cory's list and I feel everyone would/could enjoy. They are the Bartok String Quartets, Bjork's Vespertine (sorry, no love for you Medulla!), Slaughterhouse Five (Vonnegut's Bluebeard nudges this one out for me, but I still love this book), Amelie, Donny Darko, and the British Office (although I think I am won over as a Michael Scott fan). All of these things are worthy of your ears and eyes and if I don't give them adequate recognition this week, I hope to in the future.

When I look over these lists of my friends, I generally try to comment on the things that I have some knowledge of that might be slightly lesser known to this audience as a whole. For instance Cory's list initially had the Harry Potter books on it, which I know he loves. However I decided to remove them (with his approval!) because most people have already formed an opinion, and if they were going to read them they have probably already done so. I've already made the decision that I will probably never read these books, so a recommendation doesn't weigh too heavy with me. I also try to apply this point of view to the things from a list that I choose to comment on during the week. Today's commentary does not follow this point of view. I know most people have seen Almost Famous, and most people I know already love it. But when I was going through Cory's list I found a Youtube clip of the scene that ends this post and I couldn't resist getting it up here. It has contributed strongly to my strange and unhealthy love of this song.

If you have never seen Almost Famous, I am recommending that you go out and get a copy now or put it at the top of your Netflix cue. If you don't like it you can blame me, but if you don't like it we probably don't have all that much reason to be friends anyway. If you fall into this category and you rent it based soley on my recommendation and really dislike it, please comment and tell me why. I need to know.

The basic story line is of an aspiring teenage rock journalist, William Miller, and his pursuit of writing a cover story for Rolling Stone on the fictional band Stillwater. Philip Seymour Hoffman is his usual amazing self in the role of Lester Bangs, and Kate Hudson and Jason Lee are both standout in their roles of Penny Lane and Jeff Bebe. All-time favorite funnyman Mitch Hedberg also makes an appearance as the Eagles road manager. This is one of my favorite scenes from the film and if you tell me you weren't singing along by the end I would probably call you a liar. The scene is a testament to the powers of Elton John's Tiny Dancer.