First Halfsies

2008 is halfway over. Here are my music and film favs over the first halfsy of the year.


Film

1. WALL-E (pure magic and inspiration)
2. Iron Man (Downey Jr. is the cat's pajamas)
3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Doesn't quite reach the hilarity of Knocked Up, but still funny)
4. In Bruges (a little uneven, but strong in parts)
5. Wanted (fun to watch, altogether forgettable)

Films I have not yet seen that may have changed this list

The Bank Job
Redbelt
Smart People
The Life Before Her Eyes
Leatherheads
Kung Fu Panda
Paranoid Park
Run Fat Boy Run
The Visitor

Disappointing first half film

Be Kind Rewind (Great cast, promising premise, solid director, bad film)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal School (Could have been terrible...it wasn't, could've been great...it wasn't)
Prince Caspian (Not a bad film by any stretch...too much action and too little character development, fun action but could've been so much more)

Second half film I'm looking forward to

The Road (John Hillcoat)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher)
Milk (Gus Van Sant)
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
Synechdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)
Pineapple Express (David Gordan Green)
Choke (Clark Gregg)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Peter Sollett)
W. (Oliver Stone)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith)
Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster)
House of Lies (Ridley Scott)
Changeling (Clint Eastwood)
Che (Steven Soderbergh)
Brothers (Jim Sheridan)


Music

Five Favs so far

1. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
2. Sun Kil Moon - April
3. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
4. Spiritualized - Songs in A & E
5. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

Very Solid albums (alphabetically)

The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
DeVotchKa - A Mad And Faithful Telling
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Jack Johnson - Sleep through the Static
The Roots - Rising Down
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Unwed Sailor - Little Wars

Decent Albums, few good songs, altogether forgettable

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
Weezer - Weezer (Red Album)

Albums I'm most looking forward to

Beck - Modern Guilt (tomorrow)
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst (August 5)
The Verve - Four (August 19)
The Cure - ??? (September 13)
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling (September 23)
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul (October 6)
David Bazan - ??? (???)
Common - The Believer (November)


Both these lists are subject to change...especially the music list, seeing as albums grow on you with repeated listens.

Dilemma

Barring any unforeseeable obstacles, my roommate John and I are headed to Lollapalooza! I'm experiencing a level excitement which is causing me to sweat in places I never have. The current lineup is quite impressive. The likes of Radiohead, Wilco, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West, The Raconteurs, Nine Inch Nails, and Gnarls Barkley will grace the stage with their presence....not to mention smaller equally awesome acts like Broken Social Scene, Explosions in the Sky, Iron and Wine, Devotchka, The Black Keys, and Grizzly Bear. Needless to say, I can't wait.

There is in fact a dilemma. Wilco and Rage Against The Machine are scheduled to perform at the same time. I love both of these bands. Who in the hell do I go and see?

I'm leaning towards RATM and let me tell you why. I've already seen Wilco twice this past year....once in May and once last September. I've never seen Rage. Rage has also been divorced, or I guess separated, for about 8 years now and they are performing again. This is a chance to see a historical band, once thought to be dead, now resurrected in glory. I'm also excited about the energy of a live performance from a band like Rage.

A couple of things that would send me Jeff Tweedy's way include that my roommate really wants to see them, even though he was with me in both September and May. Also, both of those shows were indoors, while they'd be playing on an outdoor stage at Lollapalooza. Finally, the concert is in Chicago, which is where Wilco hails from. Bands, like sports teams, usually play best at home.

What should I do?