Month: January 2007

From the Sci-Fi Wire:

The comedy spoof Epic Movie debuted atop the box office, taking in about $19.2 million in the three days beginning Jan. 26, the Associated Press reported.

Proving, I guess, that not only will people flock to see mediocre movies, but they’ll also flock to see really terrible parodies half a year later.

Nathan Rabin asks:

What is comedy? That seems like a strange question to ask after 100 years of cinema, but Epic Movie — the latest from Scary Movie scribes and Date Movie directors Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg — strays so far from the solid fundamentals of filmmaking that it calls the very foundation of humor into question. Is it enough to simply place a familiar pop-culture phenomenon into an unfamiliar context? Can contemporary comedy be reduced to the simple equation “pop-culture reference + slapstick violence or scatology = hilarity”?

Rabin’s opinion seems to be no, hell no. I like how he says that “only the desperation and cynicism feel authentic” in the movie.

So you might remember, I’ve decided to put together a new mix CD of 12 songs for every month of 2007. Here’s January’s mix:

  1. “Long, Long Time Ago” by Javier Navarrete
  2. “Set the Fire to the Third Bar” Snow Patrol w/ Martha Wainwright
  3. “Ever Fallen In Love” by Nouvelle Vague
  4. “This Lamb Sells Condos” by Final Fantasy
  5. “Rainbows In the Dark” by Tilly and the Wall
  6. “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” by Stars
  7. “Superman’s Song” by Crash Test Dummies
  8. “New Art For The People” by The Indelicates
  9. “Box No. 10” by Jim Croce
  10. “The Quiz” by Hello Saferide
  11. “A Hudson Cycle” by Nico Muhly
  12. “Butterfly Nets” by Bishop Allen

If you’d like to trade a mix, let me know.

I’m all for making a song your own when you do a cover version, but I’m less enthusiastic when I hear an actual change in the lyrics. For instance, I’ve been hearing a line from R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” sung as “A simple
thought to occupy my time.” Which, from where I’m sitting, sort of screws over the original intent and meaning of the song (wherein it’s “a simple prop.)

Also, the fact that some tracks are only available in iTunes when you purchase an entire album…? Rather lame — and that sort of defeats the whole purpose of a service like iTunes, which allows me to pay for only the songs I want. Maybe I don’t want the entire soundtrack to a particular movie. Maybe I already own some of the other songs on it and would prefer not to pay for them again. Maybe there’s no good reason why the record company or studio can’t make each individual track available.

I’m just saying.

BBC News reports:

The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short.

The bird, a captive African grey called N’kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.

Though said not to be a big fan of Monty Python for some reason. (Link via Warren Ellis.)

And speaking of Python and parrots: Martin Lewis wishes to register a complaint. (“Well, it’s… it’s errr… probably pining for a surge…”) Via Mark Evanier.