ten good things

[danschank]

hi, remember me?
looking over this journal, i notice that the past half-dozen entries have either been about self-promotion or wacky youtube clips. consider this my penance...
10.

Comments

[bikerbar]

Hey thanks for turning me on to Mark Gormley
its nice to think that through the power of the internet everyone with talent can eventually find an audience. I also like how it is small town local culture. He lives in Pensacola, happily unsigned. The amateur quality is refreshing actually. I like the natural beauty of the girl in his other video. And you know we all eventually get older and turn into versions of our Dads, and Gormley unashamedly lets it all hang out. Maybe he'll find that special woman one day. Its never too late for love.

[danschank]

totally. i like how quickly the tone of the song changes once he opens his mouth. almost reminds me a bit of those bobb trimble records that got re-released last year... have you heard him? another case of some eccentric dude making nice songs on his own terms, and then suddenly an audience takes notice.

been digging your posts lately too, btw. your son is adorable!

[bikerbar]

Yeah Bobb Trimble, definitely
the coolest thing about Trimble is that he's psychic. I had just started listening to him last year and then out of the blue HE FRIENDED ME on Myspace ... I'm not worthy

[danschank]

haha, that's awesome!

[localcharacter]

The Lau Nau video cues Dirty Three to me, but it's free of the bombast that keeps me from listening to D3 on a regular basis. While Mark Gormley's video, to me at least, is missing the bombast that makes T. Rex such fun.

Must watch Mad Men soon-probably on DVD or hulu, since a TV is probably not in my near future.

[danschank]

yeah, that's actually one of her more sing-song-ish tracks... i'm not sure the rest of the album would trigger dirty three as much. not that i don't love the dirty three. in fact, they might be my favorite live act ever.

i should clarify that gormley reminds me - and only a little bit - of the real early "tyrannosaurus rex" marc bolan. the records where it's just him and that other dude with acoustic guitars and bongos and silly tolkien-style lyrics. i agree that he has nothing in common with the "bang a gong" era, haha.

i think you'll dig mad men. there's occasionally a soapy streak to it, but most of the time it's pretty spot-on and intelligent. i don't think hulu has it though, but i could be wrong?

[chocolatebark]

I re-watched APPALOOSA recently on DVD, and the second time around, I was really struck by the focus on loving someone (either sexually or platonically or whatnot) despite their flaws--not just Zellwigger and Harris, but Harris/Mortensen and Mortensen/his French-Canadian girlfriend or whoever she was, etc.

That and Ed Harris singing over the credits that I'd missed the first time around. He sounds like a combination of Mr. Froggy and Johnny Cash.

[danschank]

hahaha, whoa! i didn't notice ed harris singing either! it's perfectly in line with everything else though... like, the way he preserves the old-school, corny sense of humor. oh and:

the focus on loving someone (either sexually or platonically or whatnot) despite their flaws--not just Zellwigger and Harris, but Harris/Mortensen and Mortensen/his French-Canadian girlfriend or whoever she was, etc.

this is pretty much exactly what i like about it. that and viggo's weird hair.

[chocolatebark]

Viggo's hair only seems weird when his hat falls off in that one scene---oh, wait, do you mean his facial hair?

[villagecharm]

This is great, thanks for putting all the work in. This is the kind of the thing that redeems the concept of the Internet. Your description of "Mad Men" is the first one that makes me want to check the show out, despite all the hype I've heard.

[danschank]

actually, i could see you getting into the advertising side of it. there's plenty of space devoted to the old posters you occasionally post, etc. as well as a healthy dose of what that "other," pre-hippy-love-freakout 60's might have been like. to be honest, when you were posting about nixonland a while back, it got me thinking about the show.

It's about time

[bad_juice]

Man, speaking of the exact opposite of what you wrote about Appaloosa, you heard about the Coens' new project? I'm depressed.

Re: It's about time

[danschank]

i'm actually kinda excited about it, though i've never seen the original true grit. i think the coens could effectively mirror the way directors (especially howard hawks, not that he directed that one) made john wayne's grumpiness kinda funny? it'll be interesting to see who they choose for the role. i have a feeling tommy lee jones is the obvious pic. i'd prefer someone like brian cox.

have you seen true grit? sometimes it freaks me out how interested i am in john wayne movies.

i was gonna tell you how i saw something in the asian grocer the other day that reminded me of you. "sweet basil something-or-others." if i could remember the item, it would be much funnier.

I haven't seen the original, either

[bad_juice]

But somehow the idea of a movie made in 2010 pitting main character white folk against angry Native mobs baffles me that it can even exist, let alone be made by people I actually like.

Sweet Basil is a Thai restaurant in Portland. Perhaps they are connected.

Re: I haven't seen the original, either

[danschank]

oh right... i didn't know what true grit was actually about. i just knew that john wayne was fat and grumpy and had an eyepatch in it. i doubt the coens will indulge any old school xenophobia though. but yeah, i can see how their sarcasm might be troublesome in a narrative like that.