The Career Of Will Ferrell

One of the biggest shames in the world of comedy is the slow decline of Will Ferrell.

Ok, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but let me ask you, do you know anyone who has any interest in seeing this:




Yeah, and here's the sad part. At one time, this would have been the role that Will Ferrell was perfect for. Roles that involve pompous, windbag, over-acting/reacting, Ignatius J. Reilly-like man-childs, allowed him to shine.

Sadly, it's come to the point where no one cares anymore. After one bad sports movie parody after another (after another, after another), is there anything left to get excited about? The last time I really looked forward to a Will Ferrell movie was 2004, when Anchorman promised to be the most absurdest piece of surreal-ness to hit the cinema since Airplane 2: The Sequel. Now even a much-talked about Anchorman sequel doesn't even get a rise out of me. And that's a shame, because the man has so much talent, and has shown it before numerous times. So, here is the best 5 Will Ferrell projects, and the 5 most overrated.

The best 5:

5)Elf (2003)


Feel-good family Christmas films haven't exactly been works of high art in recent years, or for that matter, even good films (or watchable), but there was once a time when a Christmas film didn't have to insult your intelligence, and could be, dare I say it, good natured AND a fine film. While "Elf" is not cinematic gold, it is an enjoyable family film where Will Ferrell plays his role perfectly. That child-like spark of enthusiasm in his eyes when he sees something fun just makes the movie. When his overacting is not making a meta-joke about acting itself, it's perfect for keeping kids entertained.

4)Stranger Than Fiction (2006)


"Charlie Kauffman-lite" was among the insults that were thrown at this movie (and I can't deny that I was one of the insult-slingers), but amidst the not-uncalled for comparisons, the actual movie was lost. Is it perfect? No, most of Will Ferrell's movies are not perfect. The movie is notable though for being an experiment to see if Will Ferrell can work in a more restrictive environment, and the answer is a huge "yes". When he's not overacting, it appears that Will Ferrell can adequately act. Now, if only he can do this in a better movie.

3)"The Landlord" and "Good Cop, Baby Cop" (both 2007)




Alright, so the reason that both of these www.funnyordie.com skits were funny is because of little Pearl McKay. But, the joke would have fallen completely flat if not for Will Ferrell's reactions to Adam McKay's daughter. But you knew that already.

2) The Oblongs (2001-2002)


The critical reaction to The Oblongs was less than enthusiastic. In fact, I can't find one good review. On show creator Angus Oblong's website he makes a list of all the bad reviews and displays them proudly.

Oblong himself claims the show was a disaster. I disagree. Ok, I'm sure it could have been better, but from the episodes that I've seen airing on Adult Swim, I think it's genius.


1)Anchorman: The Story of Ron Burgundy (2004)


As I mentioned above, Anchorman was a mash-up of surreal gags, non sequiturs and Will Ferrell-style overacting that on paper seems like it should be the biggest mess in cinematic history. (In fact, the original script, which is more closely represented in Anchorman's "sequel" "Wake Up Ron Burgundy", is a huge unfunny mess. Most of what you see in Anchorman was the improvised scenes and last minute gags that happened on-set). Anchorman is the perfect example of Will Ferrell set free on screen to do whatever he wanted, his id just blazing about. The movie is one of the most spectacularly funny movies of the last decade, and possibly rivals the Marx Brothers for the wackiness content.

It's claimed that on the set of Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey's improvisations made a horrible script into a comedy classic. The actors of Anchorman did the same here.

Also great Will Ferrell projects: Most of his career on SNL, his supporting role in Zoolander, and his great cameo in Wedding Crashers. I'll mention Melinda & Melinda as well, as there was nothing particularly wrong with the concept of the movie, but Will Ferrell's acting was very held back, almost as if Woody Allen didn't know what he was getting into when he hired him.

The 5 Most Overrated:

I originally called this the "5 worst" until I looked at Will Ferrell's imdb page and remembered his was in Superstar, The Ladies Man, Boat Trip and Starsky and Hutch. Overrated is a lot better a choice than reliving those atrocities.

For something to be overrated people have to like it. At least more than a handful of people. So, something like "A Night At The Roxbury" doesn't count, because if you actually enjoy that movie, I think you can qualify for state aide.

5)Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)


It's been a little while since I've sat through this movie, but I remember that I hated it. Will Ferrell shouldn't have been anywhere around this. In fact, it should be a rule that unless Kevin Smith has worked with the actor since before they were really famous (Ben Affleck, Jason Lee), big stars should never be in a Kevin Smith film. They only end up distracting from the script and compromising characters. Granted, Will Ferrell wasn't what ruined this movie, but his presence totally didn't help.

4)The Producers (2005)


You know who likes this movie? Drama majors and people who have never seen the original.

3)Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (2006)


Exec #1: Hey, you know what my son was really into this year? That Will Ferrell comedy. What was it called...Anchorman?

Exec #2: Yeah we should make a another movie that's a complete retread of that one, colon and all...but we should include that other thing that people like...NASCAR!

Exec #3: Yeah! I saw Jay Leno make fun of NASCAR last night! He's funny! *


*Note, all movie executives talk like badly written characters from first drafts of scripts. How else could you explain "Hide and Seek"?

2)Blades of Glory (2007)


My eyes still hurt.

1) Old School (2003)


Ok, here's the thing. This isn't that BAD a movie. It's just that if I hear one more person make a Frank The Tank reference, 5 YEARS LATER, I might strangle them. You know what, I take back what I said. This is a terrible movie. Yeah, ok, it made me laugh, that scene where Luke Wilson walks in on his wife having an orgy was hilarious, but other than that, every joke in this movie has been done by some other movie before in some form or another, and it was funnier then! This is the movie that defined the regrettable "Frat Pack" and that right there should define why I hate this movie...Frat humor. No, not humor about fraternities, but rather humor that people in Chris Miller-like fraternities would find funny. I have as much use for this movie as I do for another frat staple, Dave Matthews. So call me elitist, I don't care. Call me a film snob if it makes you feel any better, but don't call me a fan of this movie, because that insults me. God, it's even got a friggen Snoop Dogg cameo in it! And I love Snoop, but come on, could we be pandering to the frat boy demographic any more obviously here. These are the type of people that, when I was Managing Editor of Nonsense Humor Magazine, would come up to me and ask for more fart jokes. These are the type of people that...dhsdfhsbfjffdbfdznmAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

...

...

...

I'm sorry, but I'm angry. Damn you Will Ferrell. Damn you.

Superman: Red State or Blue State?

I hate to do another comic book related post so close to that last one, but this pisses me off:

Newsarama has reported that DC is doing a book where all the superheroes supposedly declare their political ideology.

No, this is a really stupid idea that has the potential to alienate half their readership. You know there are people that will throw a tantrum because they find out that their childhood hero is of the opposing party of themselves.

Superman Red or Blue?
And what happens when DC's Trinity declares their party? Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are DC's flagship characters and their over-saturated icons. Whatever way they fall will certainly bare scrutiny from the fans that that's the way DC or Dan Didio (Editor of DC Comics) falls.

Dave's Long Box did a pretty good job with guessing superhero political parties last midterm election. For the most part I agree with him on everything, but the people in his comment section bring up quite a few good points that could just as easily go against what Dave Campbell had posted.

Since Superman has had so many different writers over the 70 years he's been in creation, each with their own personal politics and image for the Man of Steel, it's not a surprise that there has been so much evidence to push Superman either way on the spectrum.


The Golden Age version of Superman can be argued to be socialist (for the time), but probably would be regarded as a Moderate Democrat today. In his first issue, Action Comics #1, Superman,
Stops an execution,
Beats up a wife beater,
Dictates what should and shouldn't be in the news,
Tries to clean up Senate corruption,
And scares the shit out of a lobbyist.

And that's only by page 13!

When John Byrne took over Superman after Crisis on Infinite Earths he had Superman execute three criminals from the Phantom Zone (including General Zod). This is the Superman that Dave Campbell mentions in his blog as a Moderate Republican who supports the Death Penalty. Many thought that was out of character for Superman at the time, and it is refuted by Campbell's commentors (quite a bit actually) that Superman, despite this execution, is actually very against the death penalty. DC Comics eventually gave into the pressure and removed the execution and all previous General Zods from continuity during the events of Infinite Crisis (personally I think it should have stayed because it was quite an important part of Superman's characterization and ethical code).

When Joe Casey took over the book in the early 2000s he made Superman a full on pacifist who hated throwing a punch. This is probably the most liberal leaning Superman has been since the Golden Age.


Currently I'd probably say Superman is that Moderate Republican that Dave Campbell talks about, regardless of the execution. His small town values mixed with his big city styling kind of push him that way. I don't think Superman would declare himself to a political party though. He'd probably give a speech that he's not for only Democrats or Republicans, but that he's for all Americans, in fact, he'd say he's for all humans and creatures of the world. Superman hates partisanship and division, and he doesn't really consider himself to be of one country (despite the fact that he wears Red, White and Blue).

Now that I think about it, can Superman even legally vote? He's an illegal alien. He's from the planet Krypton; an adopted child of earth. Sure Clark Kent could be passed off as an earth native...he could even possibly have a Social Security Card...but with the public knowledge that Superman is an alien, would his endorsement of a candidate or political party have much weight, or even be asked for? And with Superman's personal ethics, knowing that he himself is not of earth, and therefore would not be allowed to vote in an election without proper citizenship authorization, do you think that Clark Kent votes, even though he technically can? Would he not vote on purpose just to be fair to all American citizens? To make him just as equal as the others? Maybe that's the inner socialist in him after all?




I was going to talk about some other heroes and their political ideologies here, but I might hold that over for another post because this one is getting too long. I do want to say one more thing though: Superman is an odd case for his time period. If he was to be this anti-authority socialist hero in the 30s and 40s then that was a direct opposite to all the other heroes at the time who were jingoistic, America-loving, Nazi-bashing, patriots. Superman definitely stood apart from them...in fact, unlike all his contemporaries, he never actually fought in the War! This probably has something to do with Superman's creators: Jerry Shuster and Joe Siegel. Yes, they certainly would have been anti-Hitler and would certainly have wanted Superman to fight the Third Reich (which I'm not saying Superman wasn't anti-Hitler, I'm just saying he didn't stand along side The Flash, Green Lantern, Manhunter, Robotman and the others in the All-Star Squadron on the European Front), but they also were urban liberal Jews from poor families.
There was no way Superman was going to represent a WASPy sentiment. He was going to be what his creators wanted: a savior for the poor Jewish people of the time. And at the time, that savior was looking more and more like socialism.

B-I-N-G-O and Fanboy were their names-Oh

I did find time in my busy schedule to attend New York Comic Con last month. in lieu of a detailed review of the event like I gave last year, I wanted to post something I found on someone else's website:

Greg Hatcher in his awesome column on the Comics Should Be Good blog posted a game called Comic Con Bingo (which he says was created by Young American Comics). I figured it'd be a fun little thing to play to see if I really did encounter all of these stereotypes.

I'll analysis it later.



Well let's see:

Top Row: I can honestly say I didn't see anybody wearing socks and sandals, mostly because I wasn't really looking at anyone's feet. So no-go there.
Furries? Really? Come to think of it, thinking of furries in the cleanest way possible, yes I did see some furries.
Superhero tattoo? Yeah, I remember that, I think. Probably.
Fat Jedi? Absolutely. In fact, the place was filled with Fat Jedis and fat Stormtroopers. Oh comic con, you make me laugh.
"Hopeful with Portfolio" --like every three seconds in Artist Alley. You couldn't move in the place without bumping into one.

Second Row: Bald Guy With pony Tail--Does Peter David count? Heeey-Hooo!
B-List Celebrity not at table-I didn't see any, but I heard that many were there. Ranging from Bill Hader to...Bill Hader. Oh wait, does Stan Lee count? I saw him while on line. He wasn't at a table.
Long Black Trench Coat, Girl in comic shirt and Stripey Tights, yes to all three.

Third Row: Yes to this whole row, with no added commentary!

Fourth Row: "Over-Flowing Comic box/bag". I saw some guy with a luggage carrier.
Got T-shirt and Goth Pony-tails-- Does Peter David count?
Full Body Costume--Um...this should have been the free space. Have the makers of this never gone to a comic con before?
GF taller than BF--I mean, I wouldn't really know if they were dating unless I asked them, but sure I'm pretty sure I saw this.

Fifth Row: Wings--Both people wearing wings, and a poster for the first Oscar winner.
"Someone painted blue"--hmm. This year, I don't recall any blue people. In my head, I'm going through every possible blue character that could be a candidate for someone to dress up as at a con. Nightcrawler, Beast, Mystique, Blue Man group, Smurfs, Guardians of the Universe, post-incident Violet Beauregarde...I don't remember seeing any of them.
Kilt--no.
White-Boy Afro--No.
Porn Star--Does Peter David count?

yes, there was a porn star there, just like last year, and she had a booth. Again.

Well, I would have won on the second column. Yay.

Are we that predictable?

Sorry

I woke up today to a phone call from a friend of mine asking me why I hadn't updated my blog since February. Possibly due to sleep deprivation, or to the fact that it was SIX THIRTY ON A SATURDAY MORNING and I had to get up for work very soon after that, I sarcastically (and unamusingly) inquired "Blog? What blog? I have a blog?"

Like I said, it was 6:30 in the morning and I wasn't trying to be funny.

Ridiculous phone calls aside, the reports that I haven't updated my blog here are true.

Yeah, sorry about that.

My fake online Reverend school has taken a lot out of me, what with term papers and "online blackboard discussion groups" and what not. I haven't really had time for anything fun outside of kicking ass in Super Smash Brothers occasionally.

(ok, and yes, going to Comic Con. Which was awesome by the way).

If it means anything, I also haven't done any stand-up since March, so this little-read blog is not the only thing that is suffering from my need to further my education.

My education, ruining my dreams since college.

After my final paper for this semester is in though, you better believe I'll be back to posting every week or so (you know, cause I'll find something better to do then as well...like reading the second volume of Geoff John's Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.). SO, look forward to that!

Thanks for your patience guys.

Prince To Have Hip Replacement Operation?

http://imdb.com/news/wenn/2008-02-28/#10

Alleged reports that pop star Prince has outgrown his own hipness seen to have been true, as this morning the Purple Rain singer checked into a British hospital to undergo "Hipness Replacement Surgery."

"It's a very complicated procedure," said Dr. Phinius Fogg of London's Secret Celebrity Hospital (SCH/St. George's), "but it's effects can benefit the "Under The Cherry Moon" star till long after his hopefully meaningful death."

Prince first hit the music scene in the late 70s with a fresh pop/soul sound. The star had a string of hits and a movie career in the 80s, but by the mid-90s had settled into an adult contemporary rut. "We knew it was critical when 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' was being played on WPLJ. I mean, that song's about sex!" said Suzanna Hoffs, long-time lead singer of The Bangles, and friend of the Prince family. "You should have seen Prince's face! It was like all {at this point Hoffs started making many odd facial expressions, most of which cannot be shown here because we were conducting a phone interview}."

Prince attempted a recovery of his hipness in the 2000's with three mediocre albums, most of which didn't get above a 6.0 on Pitchfork. As more and more time passed, it was obvious the once could-do-no-wrong Prince would need some kind of boost to regain what he once had hipness-wise.

Dr. Fogg wouldn't give any other information on the "Graffiti Bridge" star's current state after the operation, but did say that he hopes to get Prince "out and hip again" before Stereogum's next best of the year list.

Good Time Music for 2007

I've been a baaaaaaaad boy.

I haven't updated in quite some time.

And the worst part...I have content. I really do. Here's something now:


Finally. Dante's Infernal Racket is proud to present:



Like the saying goes, better late than your mama's a whore.


10) Panda Bear-Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)



After holding up this list just to make sure that I got the full potential out of this album, I decided that it wasn’t good enough to make the cut. I enjoyed it, there was no question on that. I just didn’t think it had anything that I hadn’t heard before on one of Animal Collectives more accessible albums. For a day straight I listened to the album, trying to pull something out of it that I hadn’t heard the first time around. I kept playing through my head what everyone else was saying about it. Beach Boys. Beach Boys. Yeah, I hear where they’re getting Beach Boys from. Noah Lennox’s voice is a dead on Brian Wilson impression. The back up harmonies have that late-sixties sunshine pop feel. But that wasn’t a selling point to me anymore. Since before SMiLE came out, every other band is trying to sound like the Beach Boys. As a huge Wilson brothers fan, it pains me to say…stop it! Don’t try to emulate one of the best bands to ever make music. Be original. Be creative. Don’t try to be Brian Wilson.

I was fine with it when The Thrills first appeared because they were the first to wholesale rip the Boys off…but even they got tired of their sound and changed. Other sometimes-sunshine-poppy bands like Belle and Sebastian and Supergrass have so much else going for them, and so many other sounds, that their echoing didn’t annoy me much either. But now Panda Bear, which can best be described as a combination of the Beach Boys and Animal Collective…they’re just trying to remake Pet Sounds. Yes, it’s interesting, and yes, “Comfy in Nautica” and “Bros” were almost spot on. But can’t I get the same enjoyment (and possibly even better) from actually listening to The Beach Boys? Can’t I get the same (if not better) experimentation from putting Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs into my CD Player?

At first I said yes. Things changed. On Saturday I was having an AIM conversation with my former editor and the mind behind the T-Sides blog, Taylor Long. After being scolded for taking so long on this list, the topic of overrated albums came up…and I mentioned this one. “Billy! You, a huge Beach Boys fan don’t realize the greatness of this album!” “I’m sorry Taylor, I just thought it was overrated and not as amazing as everyone said it was.” “It’s more accessible than everything Animal Collective has ever done! Who cares if everyone else is doing the same thing! They’re doing it better! Listen to it again you mugwump!” *

So, I went back to my CD player and put the album in again. But this time I switched things up. I played the songs out of order. I paused the CD in between tracks. I made sure that the residue from the previous track was not still in my mind when I heard the next one. The result: success. (aside from a few snarky comments in my mind about the song titles “I get it, Carrots=Vegi-tables! Bros? The Wilson Brothers!”). Ok Taylor, I concede. It works as an album…when I’m not thinking about how much I hate the current crop of Beach Boy rip offs.

*Note, Taylor was not actually this excited/mean, nor did she use the word ‘mugwump’.

9) TIE: Nellie McKay- Obligatory Villagers, Patrick Cleandenim-Baby Come Home (Hungry Mouse, Broken Horse)




At certain points I feel like I’m the only fan Nellie McKay’s got. From her first album Get Away From Me, I fell in love with her song writing, her humor and her jazzy leanings. As one reviewer put it, “She’s like Frank Sinatra mixed with Eminem. A punk Norah Jones.” She was new, different, yet embodied in an older sound. If Debbie Harry came of age now, she’d be Nellie McKay. Her second album, Pretty Little Head, was a step in a different direction, but still an amazing piece of work, and maybe her best album. Now, her third full length album, Obligatory Villagers, is another reinvention of her sound…and though not as strong as Pretty Little Head, it is her most interesting album.

The password is ‘Broadway’. The album is full of showtune influence, and yet, the same energy and punky attitude that her former works had. “Identity Theft” sounds like it could have been the show-stopper in Wicked, and at the same time reminds me of Patti Smith (and even references Johnny Cash). “Galleon” would fit in fine with RENT, yet after the first minute would be mistaken for a Donna’s song. “Testify” is meant to portray a 1930’s prohibition revival meeting sound, another element of the old New York that McKay seems to be so fascinated with. It’s clear with this album, McKay is a New Yorker. She loves New York, and she wishes her life was just like the Great White Way.

Ironically, my favorite song on the album is not a Broadway style piece at all. It’s the opener, “Mother of Pearl”, a jokey Randy Newman-like ditty about feminists.

Now, Patrick Cleandenim. I had to put these two albums on the same number because of their similarities. Also because of how I got to find out of Mr Cleandenim’s work. It goes back to that same AIM conversation I was having with Ms. Taylor Long about Panda Bear (see above). At one point, I was trying to give her some Nellie McKay selections, and she mentioned that if I liked Nellie McKay that much, I should take a look at Patrick Cleandenim’s album. I also noticed that on her own top ten albums list, Baby Come Home made her number one rank. That’s pretty good for an album that I had never heard of before.

So I tracked down a copy of it (thank you iTunes!) and gave it a listen. Wow. Cleandenim is just as infatuated with early 20th century American music as McKay (and myself) are. I haven’t given it enough listens to write a full comprehensive review of the album, but I can promote this album as being one of the forgotten bests of the previous year. If you like Nellie McKay, or even the more poppyer work of Nick Cave and Tom Waits, give this a listen.


8)Rilo Kiley- Under The Blacklight (Warner Brothers)



Rabbit Fur Coat, Jenny Lewis’ 2006 solo effort, was one of my favorite albums of that year. The country sound that Lewis adapted for her solo release was far enough away from her work with Rilo Kiley, that it gave it the feeling of almost another band entirely. With the first Rilo Kiley album since Lewis’ solo experiment, Under the Blacklight, it seems that the rest of the band has adapted those same country influences (to an extent).

My only probably with the album is that the opening track “Silver Lining” has a guitar riff that at first seems like a George Harrison rip off (which is funny because the song in question, “My Sweet Lord” was deemed to be a rip off of the Chiffons' hit “He’s So Fine”.) Once you get past that, you realize how amazing the song actually is, but it seems a little odd to be that outright of a rip.

Almost all the songs on Blacklight seem to revolve around sex. Might it be to easy to jump to conclusions that some of these songs were inspired by the former relationships of the songwriters? If it weren’t for the fact that Jenny Lewis and her bandmate/ex-lover Blake Sennett had broken up some time ago, I’d say we must be hearing their breakup unfold, and would be drawing comparisons to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors. Hell, those comparison’s are still somewhat valid, since some of the songs seem to be about Lewis’s relationship with Sennett. The only problem with this is that unlike Lindsey Buckingham, Sennett doesn’t get a chance to respond. His only song written without Lewis at all, “Dreamworld”, cartainly seems to take a few shots at a female figure, but it’s no “Go Your Own Way.”

7)The White Stripes-Icky Thump (Warner Brothers)



I’m not sure what I could say about Icky Thump that hasn’t already been said by everyone else. The mix of styles is excellently done, the Patti Page cover (“Conquest”) is a highlight of the album, and the title track is full on Stripes goodness. I guess I could mention that there is a slight Velvet Underground influence in “St. Andrew’s (The Battle Is In The Air)”…think “The Black Angel’s Death Song”. And I guess I’ll say that all the problems of Get Behind Me Satan are gone with this album. It’s just great. Give it a listen.


6)Spoon-Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)



Contrary to the song’s name, Spoon was not “The Underdog” in indie circles this year. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was one of the most looked forward to albums of 2007, and ended up being one of the best reviewed as well. The bouncy pop of the aforementioned “The Underdog”, or the undeniable catchiness of “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb”, the introspectiveness in the lyrics of “Black Like Me”…everything here was a winner.

But, in the mainstream, Spoon are still nowhere. Even though the music is more catchy and more poppy than anything Avril Lavigne or even Gwen Stefani put out this year, the mainstream are still hesitant to latch onto Britt Daniel and crew. I guess that’s a good thing, but it’s also truly a shame that more people aren’t getting into this band. Do they sound too 70s to be accepted? Are they too minimalist? Will no one understand the spooky excellence of “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case”?

Well, it sucks for them, cause they’re the ones missing out.

5)Beirut- The Flying Club Cup (Ba Da Bing!)



The amazingness of Beirut's French jazz meets yeh-yeh pop hit me the first time I heard them. I guess I have a weakness for well done world music. Beirut is basically everything that you don’t hear in the mainstream, yet somehow still sounding familiar enough that the melodies are instantly recognizable, and the song sounds like a piece of imaginary nostalgia.

Zach Condon’s got a hell of a voice. It’s deep like Morrissey, and expressive like Billie Holiday and Jeff Buckley. His crooning alone could convey the whole emotion of the song. His music creates images of smokey French cafes where people like Jean-Paul Sartre sit and discuss existentialism or why Charles De Gaulle is a douche bag.


4)Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortadala (Secretly Canadian)



Jens Lekman sounds like a happier Morrissey.

"When Shirin cuts my hair/It's like a love affair" Out of getting a haircut, Jens Lekman finds love. In "Your Arms Around Me", a song about accidentally cutting off the tip of your index finger, Jens Lekman sings about love. In "A Postcard To Nina", where our hero pretends to be his friend's boyfriend so that her parents won't know she's a lesbian, you guessed it, Jens Lekman says he'll do anything for love. Boy, Jens Lekman loves to sing about love, doesn't he?

The music can’t be seen as anything but happy, even when his lyrics are telling a tale of sadness. His chamber pop orchestration never slows down enough for the sugar high of the album to wear out. Like many perfect albums, it’s hard to write about, since there are no faults to point out. Just give it a listen yourself...Unless you hate being happy.


3)Radiohead- In Rainbows (self-released)



Radiohead’s come to a point where you either like them already or you don’t. They’re not going to be gaining any new fans they don’t have already, so my promotion of them isn’t going to mean squat. Let’s talk about how this album was given to the Radiohead friendly masses though.

As I’m sure you’ve heard already, Radiohead offered In Rainbows as a “choose your own price” type of deal. You went to the In Rainbows website, and typed in how much you were willing to pay for the album, and it was instantly downloaded to your computer. It’s quite a marketing concept, and as we all know it worked out in their favor.

Even if you’re not a fan of Radiohead’s music, you gotta appreciate what they did for the music business and the internet.

2)Kayne West- Graduation (Roc-A-Fella)



With the exception of the #1 album on this list, I don’t think I’ve ever played an album more times in a row than I have Kayne West’s Graduation. It was non-stop in my car for around two months. I couldn’t get enough of it. Every song was fantastic. The opening seconds of “Good Morning”, the Steely Dan sample in “Champion”, the use of Daft Punk in “Stronger”, the personal introspection in “Homecoming” and “Big Brother”. Every song. Perfect.

Except “Drunk And Hot Girls”. I could have done without that one.

1)Feist- The Reminder (Cherry Tree)



When Leslie Feist’s cover of the Bee Gee’s “Inside And Out” came out a few years ago, I remember thinking to myself that I wanted to hear more of that singer.

If I had to compare, I’d say that Feist sounds very similar to Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, with the songwriting sensibility of Cat Stevens. She’s able to master every style, from pop to blues to soul. Her music is poppy and poignant at the same time. This lady’s got a future.

No matter what mood you start in, The Reminder leaves you in a happy mood. There’s just no escaping the contagiousness of this album.


Well. Now that that's done I can get to work on the top singles of 2007 list. Yeah, I'm going there. Let's hope I get that out before 2008 is over.

I also have a bunch more posts planned on a wide variety of topics, so fear not...there will be content!

Wait. They don't love you like I love you.

I haven't forgotten about the top albums and singles list for 2007 I was planning on doing. Don't fear!

You'll see it up here soon...my life has just had other priorities recently. Most of them revolve around registering for grad school/taking a fake online Reverend exam.

From here on out, I will refer to my completely legit venture to grad school as my online Reverend school. Eventually I'll get my online Reverend degree.

Fun.


Also, my whole house has been hit by, what seems to my semi-trained eyes, to be the plague. I fear I will be joining their ranks soon, so that's been slowing me down as well.

Fun Fact: First Chris Sims of The-Isb got sick.
Then Dave Campbell of Dave's Long Box.
Then Scipio of the Absorbascon.
And now Taylor of T-Sides.

EVERY BLOGGER IS GETTING SICK!

Shit.



Anyway...I ordered the most recent Panda Bear album off of amazon, because apparently, I'm an idiot for not having it on my list...or listening to it at all, so I gotta give it a listen. The music lists will be up soon after that.