Underrated Bands

So, here's the deal. I am looking just at the talent in the band. Units sold or lyrical content does not matter. Some of these bands are huge, but never got respect but others were genre or small niche markets. These are five that I think may be the most underrated.

In No Particular Order:
Duran Duran- Their new romantic look and really dumb songs (Rio anyone?) made them seem like dumb preening boys. But, they had some really tight music and John Taylor was a really good guitarist. The production of Nile Rodgers gave them a dance sheen and enhanced their sound. The drum line in "Wild Boys" is propulsive and well done. Listen to them again without the 1980's baggage and the videos.

AC/DC- Talk about lyrical content sinking a groups standing. If AC/DC had decided to talk about something other than rocking, drinking, and pussy the musicianship of the band would have mattered. Angus Young is possibly the the greatest guitarist ever, certainly from Australia. He knew when to shred and when to just play solid support. Both Bryan Johnson and Bon Scott had voices that made you forget how dumb the lyrics were.

The Staple Singers- Working in a genres that usual get no respect for their guitar, soul and gospel, Pops Staple was one of the best soul guitarists ever. Excluding Curtis Mayfield, calm down people. Their big break to the pop charts never really happened so they never got the fan base they should have. The band as a whole was amazingly tight and their uplifting lyrics and beautiful singing of Mavis Staple has made them my Sunday morning staple (ha ha) for years.

Chic- Disco sucks. Possibly the most racist and homophobic statement uttered in defense of rock. Chic had great vocals and Nile Rodgers, but most importantly it had Bernard Edwards on bass. His beats and the break on "Good Times" made this band one of the most important to the rise of hip-hop. They also knew that disco could have "real" music and not just rely on studio tricks. Their songs were easy to sing along to and I bet right now your thinking about clams on the half shell and rollerskates...rollerskates.

Motley Crue- Vince Neil's voice and Tommy Lee's penis almost kept them off the list. However, the stellar play of Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars got them on here. Like AC/DC they had a shortage of lyrics you would call "intelligent", but they had a sense of fun and real talent. If they hadn't pissed it all away they might have done something. Bob Rock honed their admittedly sloppy sound and made their records almost as good as T-Rex. Yeah, I said it.

Upcoming Amy Events

This Week....

Tuesday at 8pm Village Lantern (hopefully) 167 Bleeker Street (btwn' Sullivan and Thompson)

Wednesday at 6pm Ha! Comedy Club 369 west 46th Street (near 9th Ave.)

Hopefully more to come!

Websites I Love

Here are a few of the websites I love to look at or have entertained me.

http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.sportsguy.net

http://www.viceland.com

http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com

Enjoy them all. Any suggestions? Add a comment.

I Haven't Forgotten About You...

My little chicklets, I have not forgotten about you. But, I have been super busy. I am currently doing the work thing and stand-up twice a week. Soon to be more. When I have information about it, I'll let you know.

But....upcoming

June 2nd at 6-8pm
NY Comedy Club
(24th Street and 2nd Avenue)
Be there!!!!!

Another Five Movies to Add to Your Netflix List

You know the drill...

1. Poolhall Junkies (dir. Mars Callahan) A really great character piece and one of the few movies that gets how characters on the fringes of society get down. Lots of great scenes and two great monologues for Rod Steiger and Chris Walken. About 4 people saw it. Let's try to get that number up to ten.
2. Get Over It (dir. Tommy O'Haver) A funny and exceptionally campy film about teen love. The teen love part is predictable. But, the background stories, Marc Shaiman's score, and Martin Short's amazing performance as Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates. Hilarious!
3. Wild Things (dir. John McNaughton) Forget about the threesome which is what the guys remember. The noir is nice and twisty and the acting is good. It's one of the few films to feature Florida well and play up the "Redneck Riviera" vibe. There is some great self-aware performances from Theresa Russell, Robert Wagner, and the immortal Robert Wagner.
4. Playing By Heart (dir. Willard Carroll) A romantic and funny Altmanesque look at three sisters and their romances. There are other characters involved and much of the story rings true. Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillipe steal the movie with a tender story with Gena Rowlands and Sean Connery. Every Valentine's Day my husband and I watch it.
5. Blow (dir. Ted Demme) The true story of drug dealer George Jung that will bring a tear to your eye. The acting is first rate and the soundtrack rocks. The movie soft peddles Jung, but makes the point that like Rick James said, "cocaine is a hell of a drug."

Five More Movies to Add to Your Netflix

Here they come again...

Go (dir. Doug Liman)- Great cast, funny script, and some really memorable scenes. The whole rave thing is going to seem dated now, but the characters and their situations make the movie still entertaining.

Starship Troopers (dir. Paul Veerhoven)- An unfairly maligned movie that people thought praised facism, not denouncing facism. The use of Anglo actors with Latino surnames is part of the satire. Look for great ideas about media and how all of us could become part of a proto-Nazi movement. "Service equals citizenship."

The Limey (dir. Steven Sodebergh)- Funny, sad, and clever. Terrence Stamp gives an amazing performance. Luis Guzman, Peter Fonda, and Nicky Katt all deliver good support. The story is a traditional revenge tale, but told boldly.

Undercover Brother (dir. Malcolm Lee)- Hilarious! One of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Clever and dumb, that is hard to pull off. Dave Chappelle steals the show as "Conspiracy Brother" and there are scenes skewing racism that are still laugh out loud funny to me.

Wonder Boys (dir. Curtis Hanson)- What a great movie. My husband enjoys movies where there are characters we grow to love and live with. This is a very smart movie that accurately captures English and creative arts departments with their unprofessional mingling of students and teachers. Well shot and well acted.

Middlebrow: A Definition

So, here are my conditions on being middlebrow. Feel free to send your own.

• vegetarianism
• public television/history channel/discovery/etc.
• bumble and bumble haircuts
• whole foods
• woody allen movies
• the new york times
• belittling mtv/reality tv/popular shows
• life of pi
• golf
• herbal essences shampoo
• new york/new yorker magazines
• for the oldsters, M*A*S*H (the originator of middlebrow)
• Other Music

Five Movies to Add to Your Netflix

So, I've decided to give you five movies I enjoyed and maybe didn't get enough love. You should check them out. I'm gonna do this every week or so, so enjoy!

1. Nurse Betty (dir. Neil Labute)- One of the few movies to understand how a soap opera is made. I'm talking to you Soapdish and Tootsie. The acting is great and a solid supporting cast make this a comic and romantic film to try.
2. Kingpin (dir. The Farrelly Bros.)- One of my top 10 movies. I laugh every time I watch it. This movie is not as loved as Something About Mary, but it has some great performances and Bill Murray as Ernie Mcracken is another gem from him.
3. Gattaca (dir. Andrew Niccol)- Brave New World meets a 1940's film noir. This was Jude Law's big break and he is fabulous as is Alan Arkin and Uma Thurman. A lot of heady ideas are involved and it's a true testament to humanity.
4. Equilibrium (dir. Kurt Wimmer)- Not perfect, choppy, seems edited by committee. But, the fight scene are amazing and Christian Bale is quietly creating the most interesting filmography of his generation.
5. Grace of My Heart (dir. Allison Anders)- A movie for music geeks featuring characters based on Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Carol King, et. al. A well done melodrama with some beautiful songs and a great central performance from Illeanna Douglas.

Oscar Thoughts

So, the Oscars have come and gone and I just have a few thoughts...

Chris Rock was hilarious. The Magic Johnson segment was hilarious.

"Russell Crowe does research on three weeks ago."

Johnny Depp looked crazy, but he rules so who cares.

Best Dressed: Hialry Swank, Beyonce, Cate Blanchett, and Salma Hayek.

The show was very nice and in general I was happy. Yay Charlie Kaufman!

Black History Month 3: The Enemy Strikes Black

"A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell. (and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill. (but Whitey's on the moon) Ten years from now I'll be payin' still. (while Whitey's on the moon)
The man jus' upped my rent las' night. ('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights. (but Whitey's on the moon)
I wonder why he's uppi' me? ('cause Whitey's on the moon?)
I wuz already payin' 'im fifty a week. (with Whitey on the moon)
Taxes takin' my whole damn check, Junkies makin' me a nervous wreck, The price of food is goin' up, An' as if all that shit wuzn't enough: A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an' arm began to swell. (but Whitey's on the moon)
Was all that money I made las' year (for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain't no money here? (Hmm! Whitey's on the moon)
Y'know I jus' 'bout had my fill (of Whitey on the moon)
I think I'll sen' these doctor bills, Airmail special (to Whitey on the moon)" -Gil Scott Heron

Black History Month 2: Electric Boogaloo

"Power condedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong that will be imposed upon them, and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows or with both. The limit of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -Frederick Douglass

"All racists are irresponsible." - James Baldwin

"I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me." -Muhammad Ali The Greatest (1975)

Black History Month...

Some quotes:

"A wise man once told me not to argue with fools, 'cause people from a distance can't tell who is who." -Jay-Z

"The true measure of a race can be judged by the character of its woman." -Mary Bethune Cookman

The Fifth Annual Amy Awards

Here they are. The fifth annual Amy Awards. Please remember that I currently do not get paid to see movies, so I missed a few. So, this list is based on what I saw and what I really liked. Enjoy the creamy goodness.

Best Movies-
1. Mean Girls
2. Spider-Man 2
3.Hero/House of Flying Daggers
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. Kill Bill II
6. The Incredibles
7. Million Dollar Baby
8. Sideways
9. Garden State
10. Maria Full of Grace

Honorable Mention- Anchorman, Collateral, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, The Terminal, Bad Education, Vanity Fair, Shaun of the Dead

Favorite Male Performances- Tim Meadows, Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls), Mark Wahlberg (I Heart Huckabees), Dustin Hoffman (Meet the Fockers), Jamie Foxx (Ray), Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), Gordon Liu (Kill Bill), Wil Ferrell (Anchorman), Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby), Neil Patrick Harris (Harold and Kumar), Brad Bird (Incredibles), Gael Garcia Bernal (Bad Education), Tobey Maguire, JK Simmons (Spider-Man 2)

Favorite Female Performances- Sanrad Oh, Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Daryl Hannah, Uma Thurman (Kill Bill), Catalina Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), Cate Blanchett (The Aviator), Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst (Eternal Sunshine), Natalie Portman (Garden State), Sharon Warren (Ray), Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers/Hero), Reese Witherspoon (Vanity Fair), Amy Poehler, Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls)

Favorite Screenplays- Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine), Tina Fey (Mean Girls), Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby), Alvin Sergeant (Spider-Man 2), Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill)

Favorite Directors- Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill), Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine), Pedro Almodovor (Bad Education), Zach Braff (Garden State), David O'Russell (I Heart Huckabees)

Random Musings-
Team America had some of the best songs of all time, too bad the movie didn't live up to it.
I Heart Huckabees was not a complete success, but the ideas and the interesting visuals made it a movie more people should have tried. It was not as pretentious as it seemed.
Can someone make a scary Hollywood movie? Please?????
Wil Ferrell is a comic genius. Enough said.
The voice work in "The Incredibles", "Shrek 2" and by Alan Tudyck in "i, Robot" was fabulous. Maybe actors do better without their bodies?

Hope you enjoyed the list, send your comments.

Watch this Space...

5th Annual Amy Awards.

Coming next week. Get ready!

Random Musings...

Enough with the inaguration. I didn't get to see "The View", "Starting Over", and "AMC". Great! Thanks. At least I got to see "The People's Court". You may stop Reihnquist but you can't stop Marylin Milan.

Best Quote on I Love the 90's. "He's so old, he farted dust." Godfrey on Anna Nicole's husband.

In NYC, get Bread Papa and get the best cream puff ever.

So, I could watch I Love the 90's all day and night and that's what I'm doing.

Please watch "Life as We Know It". If it gets cancelled like "Freaks and Geeks", "Undeclared", and "My So-Called Life." I will hunt all of you down and stab you in the head with a fork.

What's the Matter With Gwen Stefani?

My answer, nothing. I will start all of this by saying that I am NOT a fan of No Doubt. I hated ska before they popped it up and I still hate it. But, I love the new solo album by Stefani entitles "Love Angel Music Baby". The album is a hodgepodge of styles and sounds. The whole thing is a sloppy kiss to the music she (and I) grew up on.

In the US, this album has not gotten loads of praise, but it has killed in Europe. It's easy to see why. Most Americans want sincere music, they hate camp, irony, or humor in music (look at Robbie Williams and The Darkness. Two really great sounds, that have not made it stateside or American acts like Rufus Wainright and Scissor Sisters who hangs on the edges.) The fluffy, poppy, and very "gay" sound turn off many. This knee jerk reaction is similar to disco hate. (Another topic for another time.)

Stefani's album has tracks that feel like PIL, Grease, Stetsasonic, Force MDs, and many songs you might remember skating too. I feel for this album immediately. Women ages 25-35 will have an affinity for the music here, its what you heard every Friday during All Skate.

Happy Holidays

I am taking Christmas back from Bill O'Reilly. He can kiss my butt. I love Christmas, but seriously most people like the gifts and trees and crap. Give the whole "secularists hate Jesus." I believe myself to be a Christian in the traditional sense of the word. But, I know many people who are not religious and they don't hate Jesus or the holidays. Let it rest!

but, for everyone else, Merry Christmas and Happy Happy to any holiday you celebrate!

Television...

TV is really in a great period right now. Everyone is aware of Lost and Desperate Houswives, two shows that kick major ass. But, please watch Arrested Development and life as we know it. They are struggling and they are some of the best shows on TV. So, it would be a nice thing if they lasted.

But, ABC should be patting themselves on the back for creating some great television.

Get Thee to a Video Store...

Yesterday Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" was released on DVD. I am getting my copy tomorrow after work. Anyone who loves film and loves humanity should have this movie. This is my favorite Altman film, it made me seek out his other work. I saw "Popeye" when I was a kid, but didn't know he directed it. And, I love that film. Different debate for a different day!

"Short Cuts" takes several stories and one poem from great American writer Ray Carver and weaves them in a coherent and realistic narrative. The film is long and some of the stories are not my favorites, but as a whole piece of work looking at human relationships it says a lot. The story has no formal ending and there are very few epiphanies. Unfortunately, this is true of life. Most of us don't change and most of us feel our lives are hermetically sealed. Altman's film refutes this, he makes us look at ourselves and determine if we truly make decisions that affect no one.

This is not a film for fans of Michael Bay. All the explosions are internal. But, there is some amazing acting. You will get to see an actual performance from Andie McDowell and look for cameos from Altman regulars. Also, this is the movie that foisted Julianne Moore on an unsuspecting society. Her performance here is one of her best and truly brave. Pubes are brave! Altman is also one of the few people who realizes that we live in a multicultural world. He never pushes it in your face, but he truly realizes that in the present cultures are not hermetically sealed.

So, go get it. Give Criterion a big kiss and thank God that some people follow their muse no matter how bleak or unprofitable it is.

Guess Who's Back?

Okay, I'm done talking about politics and I'm gonna go back to writing crap.

I hope to post more and also make those posts fun and cute. I want to be a beacon of superficiality in these times. It has been a sad week and now it's time to get back to the business at hand.

But, on one sad note, I just read that ODB died. The rap world lost a true original and someone who always played it on the edge.

"Wu-Tang is for the children." Remember that. And listen to some WU and ODB in memory of his passing. You won't regret it!