Well, I have to hand it to The Christopher Myers for this one. Following his theme of "Things I Was Determined To Hate" I walked into watching the first episode of Friday Night Lights (for free, on hulu.com) determined to never watch another episode. I mean, come on, I hate football. But a weak little man inside of me loves epic sports scenarios, be it on a softball field in Druid Hill Park, or unfortunately be it on a made-up football field in Odenton, TX.
I never saw the movie Friday Night Lights, but I am imagining it follows the same theme. Top-rated football team, in football town Texas, and all the things that happen in football town. Really though, the show had me at hello. It was a cheap shot, but after the credits rolled the first song playing on the jukebox in football town diner was Debra by Beck off of my all-time favorite party album Midnight Vultures. That was a low blow, Friday Night Lights. The direction of the first episode is a little bit obvious from the onslaught, following backup quarterback and his grandma, and his non-football playing (for shame!) friend. And in the next scene following the top-ranked quarterback in the nation and his top-ranked girlfriend. I think what happens in the first game is made pretty obvious, but it makes for real good television. So, we'll see where it takes us.
It is 12:41am currently, and I have to be up much earlier than normal to mix the Quartet Offensive record. But I am hooked enough to watch just one more episode before bed. Damn you The Christopher Myers for this one. I never asked to like this show.
P.S. you might remember from a previous post the mention of Cory recommends band Explosions In the Sky writing the soundtrack to the movie version of Friday Night Lights. Don't be deceived, the theme music is not them. It is a television composer (not a chump...he did score the Wonder Years, The West Wing, My So Called Life, and Felicity (!!!)) but he is still not Explosions In the Sky (it is however, a terrible rip-off). They are used for some music throughout the show though, so not all is lost. I don't know. Maybe you should check this out? Especially football fans? One this is for sure...Texas is a weird, strange football loving, praying in the middle of football games, kind of place.
If you are into instrumental rock bands like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor you don't need to read the rest of this, you just need to go get ahold of some Explosions In the Sky albums. I like a lot of bands in the instrumental rock vein (often called "post-rock," which I've always thought a stupid name for a genre of music) but Explosions In the Sky is actually my favorite. Prevas turned me on to Explosions a bunch of years ago after he saw them play at some rug store somewhere near Baltimore. He told me to buy an album and I bought "Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever" (2001) which is an excellent introduction, but warned me that the live show is the best way to experience the band. A few years went by and I continued to listen to the album (and love it) intermittently and then Explosions came to a crappy bar in Michigan when I was there for grad school. I got Cory to go with me, and Prevas was right. This band is amazing live. Don't get me wrong, you should definitely get their albums and I consider the one that Cory recommends to be their best, but if you ever get a chance to see them live you need to do it. It was enough to get this band on an all-time recommends list for CP.
You may have heard Explosions without knowing it. The instrumental element of the band really lends itself to accompany film, and their music by itself is often described as cinematic. They wrote and performed the score for the movie Friday Night Lights with Billy Bob Thorton, and "The Only Moment We Were Alone" from "The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place" is playing in a trailor for the new film "Australia." You can see a pretty comprehensive list of their music being used in film and television in their wikipedia entry. Their songs tend to be long, usually around the 10 minute mark, and often use minimalist composition techniques to allow the music to move and grow slowly. It is great music for a late night drive in the middle of nowhere. Below are two clips, the first being a live performance of "First Breath After Coma" from the album this entry is recommending, and the second the aforementioned trailer for Australia which features the music of Explosions In the Sky (up until the planes start dropping bombs, then it isn't them anymore).
Well, I have to hand it to The Christopher Myers for this one. Following his theme of "Things I Was Determined To Hate" I walked into watching the first episode of Friday Night Lights (for free, on hulu.com) determined to never watch another episode. I mean, come on, I hate football. But a weak little man inside of me loves epic sports scenarios, be it on a softball field in Druid Hill Park, or unfortunately be it on a made-up football field in Odenton, TX.
