Recommendations

You know, films simply don't get less depressing than this. All sunshine and hope.

Kidding aside, this is one of those Films You Must See if you hope to be a person who has seen all those Films One Must See. I've seen it now, and loved it, though I had to fortify myself with a couple extra fingers of Maker's Mark at the midpoint.



And another of Those Films. Magnificent, ground-breaking and technically masterful. No wonder all those Warner Bros. cartoons used Peter Lorre caricatures for villains (and occasionally for pathetic love-struck losers). Brrrrr! (I watched this after being awakened once again by our new neighbors and forty or fifty of their closest friends--one of them I chased out of my yard at 2am, another I caught pissing on my front porch before I finally called the cops who came and broke things up. As a result my experience of M was less than satisfactory despite its greatness).



I found this cheap at Record and Tape Traders--a major score. Hank wrote all the fucking tunes, man.



I think "Save Me" from the Magnolia soundtrack is a nearly perfect track, and "Voices Carry" was one of the few radio hits from the '80s that I actually liked during the '80s. So when I saw The Forgotten Arm used I picked it up; I've only heard it three times now but find it excellent. I think Aimee Mann's chunky rhythmic style is very engaging, and the way she transitions from a strong tenor to breathy falsetto is most attractive. Lyrically the album is clever but I don't know it well enough for further analysis [yet].