January 7th, 2009

Heads up: /Film's site seems to have been malware-jacked. This may be very temporary, but proceed with caution.

MUSIC:

New Peter Bjorn & John song, "Nothing to Worry About," courtesy of Kanye West's blog, because the world isn't weird enough. In keeping with their recent "Lay it Down" video (NSFW), the track is big, beat-heavy, slightly malicious and peculiarly raw. Oh, and Kanye likes the chorus.

TMT has an informative and concise article about some interesting trends in 2008's music sales. Notably, vinyl sales almost doubled and the same tiny group of songs is selling repeatedly through digital venues.

FILM:

New Slammin' Salmon trailer! It's a red-band, of course. Parts of it seem uncomfortable, but I laughed out loud a few glorious times - in other words, this movie looks likely to replicate my Super Troopers experience.

RottenTomatoes has an interesting BSG-inspired (advertiser-funded?) write-up of smart science fiction films. It's mostly the predictable canon, but the inclusion of Solaris, a true gem, makes the list worth it.

Continuing their string of hype, MTV has a clip from Notorious. To be honest, the acting looks a little bit forced, and the writing is trying too hard by a longshot... this clip has got me nervous, but maybe context is all I need.

WEIRD:

If neither "Nothing to Worry About" nor its premiere on Kanye's blog are weird enough for you, you're pretty much impossible to confuse. Well, here's this: on my iTunes, "Nothing to Worry About" is followed by a real why-did-I-download-this masterpiece, Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now." Imagine how that transition feels.

WORLD:

The situation in Gaza is amplifying with no discernible end in sight.

Desperate Haitians have been denied protection by the United States.

...but things are doing fine for Burris!

PERSONAL:

I caught some new episodes of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report today, and the experience was thoroughly rejuvenating, far more than I predict my roommate's "cleansing" process will be. Starving yourself seems to be generally misguided.

I went out to eat with some friends I haven't seen much since I left for college; we all wound up playing a few intense games of Clue. Both times, I guessed incorrectly at the center of the board; it was a heartbreaking experience.

The two songs I'm listening to most are collaboration-overdosed N.A.S.A.'s "Gifted" and that streaming Animal Collective song. It's like getting two samples of a larger and more delicious dish. I really don't mind.

2009 FILMS SEEN: 0
2009 SONGS ON MY ITUNES: 6
Current Computer Situation: MacBook Pro, comfortable on my desk in the old room.