two amazing pieces of art...
a while for an entry, but today was a good day for 'me sights and sounds....
First, "King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters?" This was a phenomenal documentary. It rang with the kind of truth that is too damn good for fiction. During the first five minutes you'll find yourself asking if you're watching a mockumentary in the trappings of the unscripted day, only to convince yourself that not christopher guest, not sacha coen, no one could map something so tragically awkward and hysterically human.
The hero is about the nicest guy you could ever meet on the street - who for some autistic reason - just happens to need to have the world record in Donkey Kong or else find his life without meaning. Enter the evil villian - straight out of the Simpson's. You get a Machievellian "current record holder" who defined his life in the '80s by achieving a nationally recognized high score and went on to open a restaurant that specialized in hot sauces in Hollywood, Florida. Who will win, underdog or the reigning champ? Strategy, desire, deception, and a introduction to what it means to be sublimely clueless make this one of the best documentaries i've seen.
Second, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant's "Raising Sand."
When I first heard about this album I was skeptical. Not that I don't love both Plant and Kraus. I think they are two of the best ever at what they do. But I just couldn't see them together on an album than was anything other than what I've heard on country radio during the times they play a half-way decent song - which just so happens often to be any song kraus does with a paisely, turner, or mcgraw.
But splash my face and call me Star-O, this thing blew me away. it is like nothing i've ever heard in the genre. it gets the best part of a low-riding, misty zepplin track like cashmir, and the firey, mountain-country america-the-ghost-story vibe that alison's voice invokes. there's not an ounce of pop-production or twangy patriot ism. this is the kind of record that you live a life to, not use in a commercial.
be blest, be happy...
jp
First, "King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters?" This was a phenomenal documentary. It rang with the kind of truth that is too damn good for fiction. During the first five minutes you'll find yourself asking if you're watching a mockumentary in the trappings of the unscripted day, only to convince yourself that not christopher guest, not sacha coen, no one could map something so tragically awkward and hysterically human.
The hero is about the nicest guy you could ever meet on the street - who for some autistic reason - just happens to need to have the world record in Donkey Kong or else find his life without meaning. Enter the evil villian - straight out of the Simpson's. You get a Machievellian "current record holder" who defined his life in the '80s by achieving a nationally recognized high score and went on to open a restaurant that specialized in hot sauces in Hollywood, Florida. Who will win, underdog or the reigning champ? Strategy, desire, deception, and a introduction to what it means to be sublimely clueless make this one of the best documentaries i've seen.
Second, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant's "Raising Sand."
When I first heard about this album I was skeptical. Not that I don't love both Plant and Kraus. I think they are two of the best ever at what they do. But I just couldn't see them together on an album than was anything other than what I've heard on country radio during the times they play a half-way decent song - which just so happens often to be any song kraus does with a paisely, turner, or mcgraw.
But splash my face and call me Star-O, this thing blew me away. it is like nothing i've ever heard in the genre. it gets the best part of a low-riding, misty zepplin track like cashmir, and the firey, mountain-country america-the-ghost-story vibe that alison's voice invokes. there's not an ounce of pop-production or twangy patriot ism. this is the kind of record that you live a life to, not use in a commercial.
be blest, be happy...
jp