Playlist 3/28/2006

Playlist Title: "somefing for urryone"
Show Title: Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution by J Henson
Band of Horses - The Funeral
Tapes 'n Tapes - Jakov's Suite
Wilco - Via Chicago
Art Brut - Emily Kane
The Breeders - Cannonball
Love is All - Used Goods
Sufjan Stevens - Decatur
Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous Girl
Architecture in Helsinki - Scissors Paper Rock
The Walkmen - Little House of Savages
Swearing at Motorists - (It Came) Out of Nowhere
Beck - Guess I'm Doin' Fine
Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Biomusicology
Elliott Smith - Waltz #2
Broken Social Scene - Lover's Spit
Neko Case - Star Witness
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - New Year's Kiss
The Beta Band - Out-Side
The Strokes - Between Love & Hate
Built to Spill - Girl
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Fractions & Feelings
The Flaming Lips - Mr. Ambulance Driver
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Dudley
The Streets - Empty Cans
Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
The Thermals - How We Know
Ben Folds Five - Jackson Cannery (By Request)

Playlist 3/21/2006

Playlist Title: everyday is ash wednesday!
Show Title: Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution by J Henson
Animal Collective - The Purple Bottle
Okkervil River - The War Criminal Rises and Speaks
The Streets - Fit But You Know It
Dogs Die in Hot Cars - Godhopping
Drive-By Truckers - The Day John Henry Died
The Strokes - Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men
Jens Lekman - A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill
Stars - Romantic Comedy
Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (Live)
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Alcohol
Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Timorous Me
Flaming Lips - The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Silver Jews - I'm Getting Back (into Getting Back into You)
The Velvet Underground - After Hours
Architecture in Helsinki - Wishbone
Tapes 'n Tapes - Cowbell
Mates of State - Punchlines
Spoon - Chicago at Night
The National - Driver, Surprise Me
Final Fantasy - Peach, Plum, Pear
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Young Shields
TV on the Radio - Mr. Grieves
*Interview with Matt Detzler*
Swearing at Motorists - This Flag Signals Goodbye
The White Stripes - You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
David Byrne - Glass, Concrete and Stone
Stephen Malkmus - Pencil Rot
The Glad Version - Shenandoah
Daniel Johnston - Mountain Top
Tom Vek - Nothing But Green Lights
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Sleater-Kinney - Burn, Don't Freeze

Playlist 3/07/2006

Playlist Title: crash is for dumb people
Show Title: Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution by J Henson
Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater
Andrew Bird - Skin Is, My
Built to Spill - Goin' Against Your Mind
Pinback - Fortress
Beulah - A Man Like Me
Interpol - NYC
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cheated Hearts
Bright Eyes/Britt Daniel and Spoon - Let the Distance Keep Us Together
Okkervil River - For Real
Wilco - Theologians
Mirah - Don't Die in Me
Shout Out Louds - Please Please Please
Broken Social Scene - Cause=Time
The Unicorns - Sea Ghost
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - House Fire
Pavement - Loretta's Scars
Tapes 'n Tapes - Omaha
Cat Power - Love & Communication
The Streets - Could Well Be In
Idlewild - El Capitan
The National - Lit Up (Parisian Party Version)
Laura Veirs - Icebound Stream
Preston School of Industry - Caught in the Rain
Rogue Wave - You
A.M. Sixty - Your Stuff, My House
Shimmer Kids Underpop Association - Like Candy, Like Poison

"All Bad Art is Sincere" -- 78th Annual Academy Awards

Tami Lane, a Peoria resident and Bradley Alumna, won an Oscar last night for her makeup work in the film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."


"Walk the Line" had a poor showing at the award show that would normally jerk-off to big budget biopics. Reese Witherspoon won the Best Actress trophy without making herself ugly ::cough:: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron.


George Clooney took the award for Best Supporting Actor in "Syriana." His film "Good Night, and Good Luck" walked away with zero. A travesty. Two (often overlooked) actors took home Best Actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Best Supporting Actress, Rachel Weisz, statues.

This is about the moment I threw up...

Nicholson looked more surprised than anyone.






















That's right..."Crash." Best Picture of 2005. The year that brought audiences such great films as "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Capote," "Batman Begins," "The Squid and the Whale," "A History of Violence," "The Constant Gardener," "Match Point," hell even "Brokeback Mountain."

Anything but Crash. The Academy hit a new low last night. Lower than when they gave the statue to "Gladiator."


What Paul Haggis should have said.




















The immediate reaction from the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences...

Short...but Deep.

Being an avid iTunes shopper, I am constantly looking for interesting things to buy, be it new music or the latest addition of video.

It's this addiction that led me to some new favorites, like the hysterical Showtime series "Weeds."

I recently stumbled upon their latest addition to the vast music store. Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International teamed up to release the five Oscar nominated short films for $1.99 each.

The prospect was immediately appealing because of:
a) my fascination with film
b) the shorts are generally not available to the public--making the awards at the ceremony completely uninteresting to me.

So, I downloaded them before I went to bed and awoke the next morning with over an hour of shorts to watch.

The first one I viewed was a short film by Sean Ellis entitled "Cashback." The film focuses on the latenight employees of a British grocery store. The humor is dry and drags a bit, but it was by far my favorite of the five nominated films.

Sean Biggerstaff ("Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets") plays Ben, an English art student. He narrates the work, telling the secrets each employee uses in order to make time pass quicker. The mood remains light until the audience discovers Ben's way of offsetting the banality. He imagines that time stops and then wanders the store looking for beautiful women. He unclothes the women and draws stunning depictions of them. Sure. It sounds weird. It is. But, the British wit and charm are obviously appealing. And the arthouse twist at the end makes the film totally enjoyable. If you're interested in watching the shorts, but working on a limited budget, download "Cashback."

"Our Time is Up," directed by Rob Pearlstein, stars Kevin Pollak ("The Usual Suspects") as a thearapist who finds out he only has 6 weeks to live. Rather than wasting those weeks stuck in his same old routine, he decides to help his patients by telling them exactly what he thinks.

His patients include a man with an obnoxious fear of turtles, an extreme germaphobe, a guy who is absolutely terrified by the dark, a playboy who can't committ and a man unaware of his painfully obvious homosexuality.

It's a cute little story, but it lacks the depth of the other nominated films. It's worth checking out if you have 2 bucks and fifteen minutes to kill.

The Irish short, "Six Shooter" is a tale of irony and depressing circumstances.

Starring Brendan Gleeson ("28 Days Later," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") and directed by Martin McDonagh, "Six Shooter" begins with a doctor informing a middle aged man that his wife has passed away. The doctor is busy with another case, however, and must leave Gleeson alone with his wife.

What starts as a bad day only gets worse for the main character. He boards a train to Dublin and meets a brash young man and a depressingly depressed couple.

By the end of the trip, two people are dead and it seems fate brought them together.

"The Last Farm" is a bleak drama about a man coping with his wife's death. The film is short and simple. If you aren't in the mood for agonizing sadness, take a pass on this one.


Fans of the semi-hit Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo vehicle "Just Like Heaven" will enjoy "The Runaway" (Ausreißer)." What starts out as a cute story about a father and son turns strangely mysterious. Definitely worth watching.

Odds are The Runaway will walk away with the Oscar, however my pick is "Cashback." We'll see this Sunday night at 7 p.m.

Going for the Gold -- Oscar Predictions

Each year, Hollywood’s best and brightest gather in the Kodak Theater hoping to be recognized by The Academy of Arts and Sciences. Some believe the Oscars are nothing more than a glorified popularity contest.

However, receiving an award can make a relative nobody into a major Hollywood player. This year’s nominees offer old favorites and rising stars.

For students entering into a friendly wager, here are Voice’s picks and favorites for the Academy Awards airing at 7 p.m. this Sunday on ABC.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Will win: Rachel Weisz, “The Constant Gardener”
Should win: Amy Adams, “Junebug”
Should have been nominated: Maria Bello, “A History of Violence”

Rachel Weisz walked away with a handful of awards for her performance in “The Constant Gardener,” and deservedly so. Weisz plays the role of Tessa Quale, working fearlessly to uncover the secrets of African drug companies. She is the leading contender for the Oscar on Sunday night.

My pick is Amy Adams, who slipped under most viewers’ radars. Adams plays the goofy, pregnant southern belle in the indie hit “Junebug.” She balances quirky comedic timing with dramatic sensibility – a task not easily completed.

Perhaps the Academy’s biggest oversight this year is its lack of nomination for Maria Bello. As the wife of a supposed mobster, Bello gave the best performance of her career and one of the best of the year.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Will win: Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line”
Should win: Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line”
Should have been nominated: Laura Linney, “The Squid and the Whale”

Without a doubt, last year belonged to Reese Witherspoon. Portraying the late June Carter-Cash, Witherspoon gave “Walk the Line” heart and soul. Nobody in the category will take the award from her.

The Academy constantly overlooks small independent features such as “The Squid and the Whale.” However, Laura Linney is an Academy favorite. Like Amy Adams in “Junebug,” Linney manages to perfect both the comedic and dramatic as a divorced mother of two. Her performance more than qualifies her for a nomination, especially against some of the lackluster nominees in the category.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Will win: Jake Gyllenhaal, “Brokeback Mountain”
Should win: George Clooney, “Syriana”
Should have been nominated: Jeffrey Wright, “Broken Flowers”

This may be the hardest category to predict, as many great performances are competing. Although some argue Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance in “Brokeback Mountain” pales in comparison to Heath Ledger’s, Gyllenhaal shines as cowboy Jack Twist. Gyllenhaal plays Twist as a reckless and outspoken young man in an impossible love.

My personal favorite performance in the category belongs to George Clooney in “Syriana.” Clooney plays CIA agent Bob Barnes and possesses a fiery and fidgety attitude throughout the film. And unlike Gyllenhaal, who suffered in mediocre makeup and a fat suit, Clooney put on 35 pounds for the role. Another indie film under the radar is “Broken Flowers.” The impeccable Jeffrey Wright plays Winston, a mystery-loving music enthusiast. Although it may not be the best performance of the year, Wright deserves recognition for his work as one of the year’s most likeable characters.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Capote”
Should win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Capote”
Should have been nominated: Tommy Lee Jones, “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”

Philip Seymour Hoffman is a lock in this category. Playing the title character in “Capote,” Hoffman is perfect. He took the prize for this role in nearly every other award ceremony this year. Receiving the Oscar on Sunday is merely icing on the cake.

Though he won the Cannes Film Festival’s award for Best Actor, Tommy Lee Jones surprisingly failed to earn a nomination from the Academy. Jones not only directs “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” but stars as well. He plays Pete Perkins, a man so devastated by his friend’s death he stops at nothing to honor him. His performance is captivating and heartbreaking.

Best Original Screenplay
Will win: Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, “Crash”
Should win: Noah Baumbach, “The Squid and the Whale”
Should have been nominated: Judd Apatow and Steve Carell, “The 40 Year Old Virgin”

“Crash” was my least favorite film of 2005. Everything about the film was third-rate. The performances and characters lacked depth. The story was tired and formulaic. That said, the film will (unfortunately) win an Academy Award for its (awful) screenplay.

Every other screenplay nominated is 10 times more deserving, especially Noah Baumbach’s “The Squid and the Whale.” His semiautobiographical account of growing up in a divorced family, struggling with joint custody and the affections of teenage girls displays the most depth and charm of the nominated films.

However, the Academy snubbed the most charming film of the year with “The 40 Year Old Virgin’s” failure to garner a nod. Arguably the funniest and sweetest film of 2005, Carell and Apatow perfected the art of comedic writing.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will win: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, “Brokeback Mountain”
Should win: Josh Olson, “A History of Violence”
Should have been nominated: Gill Dennis and James Mangold, “Walk the Line”

A victory for the screenwriters of “Brokeback Mountain” is a sure thing. But Josh Olson’s adaptation of the graphic novel “A History of Violence” is the tightest screenplay of the year. The film twists and turns through a brief 90-minute runtime and constantly keeps the audience guessing.

“Walk the Line” didn’t get quite as much recognition from the Academy as it deserved. The screenplay, by Gill Dennis and director James Mangold, carried the excellent performances and the film itself. Without a nomination for the screenplay, the film was doomed from earning one of the five spots for Best Picture.

Best Director
Will win: Ang Lee, “Brokeback Mountain”
Should win: George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Should have been nominated: Peter Jackson, “King Kong”

The most bothersome aspect of the Academy Awards is its predictability. Ang Lee is a given. He’ll win an award for his direction of “Brokeback Mountain.”

However, it would be fun if George Clooney took the award for “Good Night, and Good Luck.” He directs the best ensemble cast of the year with amazing precision.

Granted, I wasn’t a huge fan of the “King Kong” remake. But the thing I loved was Peter Jackson’s ability to milk what he could from a lackluster film. Besides, it takes a lot of guts to place a majority of the film in the hands of a computer-generated creature.

Best Picture
Will win: “Brokeback Mountain”
Should win: “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Should have been nominated: “Walk the Line”

The real race for the Best Picture trophy is between “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crash.” But my choice is the sharp and topical “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

Director George Clooney created a small film packing a powerful punch. David Strathairn stars as famed journalist Edward Murrow. Tackling the ideas prevalent in today’s world, the film is a sociopolitical commentary reaching further than “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crash” combined.

Many seem more deserving than the five movies vying for the trophy Sunday. The most obvious choice is “Walk the Line.” The film is as great a love story as “Brokeback Mountain” and tugs at the heartstrings more than “Munich,” not to mention the nominated performances of Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. The Academy’s failure to nominate the film is one of the greatest slights in the history of Oscar.

Daring Drama

The latest production to grace the Hartmann Center’s stage is the powerful and impressive “Extremities.”

At the center of the brutal drama is Marjorie, played perfectly by senior Tiffany Albers-Lopez. With disheveled hair and smeared makeup, Albers-Lopez commands the stage.

Following a wasp sting on the front porch, Marjorie douses the bug with insecticide and burns the creature in an ashtray. Not long after the wasp attack, another creature ready to hurt Marjorie appears on the porch. A young man enters the house and claims to be looking for a friend named Joe. The man, who has an eerie saunter and obvious sexual motives, is portrayed by fantastic Joseph Majestic. Marjorie tells him no man named Joe lives in the house and her nonexistent husband will be downstairs shortly. It becomes clear to Marjorie the man plans to harm her. With a few sudden moves, the man overpowers Marjorie.

But it’s not long before Marjorie turns the tables on the assailant. She plays along with his sick fantasies before blindfolding, gagging and knocking him unconscious.

Fight choreographer George H. Brown makes ample use of the actors’ talents and the excellent stage and props designed by Erich Keil. The two actors wrestle on stage with extension chords, pillows and a fireplace poker. As the intensity continues, Majestic and Albers-Lopez fall deeper into their characters. Majestic, in particular, proves his skill as an actor. He has a seemingly innate ability to make the audience laugh one minute and absolutely hate him the next.

But Albers-Lopez carries the majority of the emotion. She is strong and resilient, even in the face of her attacker. After the physical sparring ceases, verbal combat continues. The man taunts and teases Marjorie until she snaps.

At the crescendo of the drama, Marjorie’s roommates return to the ravaged home and traumatized victims. The two roommates, Paige Miller-Morand and Jenn Fliehler, provide a sense of comic relief and a welcome reprieve from the tense wordplay.

Miller-Morand is fantastically funny and altogether heartbreaking as Patricia. She wavers between compassionate and disbelieving, as Marjorie relays the events of the day. Wanting to believe her friend and roommate proves to be a much larger struggle than one would imagine.

Fliehler, on the other hand, is forgettable as Terry. Her performance lacks the intensity of the other three actors. It’s as if the action of the play surrounds her without involving her.

The production is filled with edgy twists and turns, carefully constructed by scribe William Mastrosimone and orchestrated on Bradley’s stage by director Steve Snyder.

The timeliness of the work is stressed in the dramaturgical and director’s notes. The scope is wider than an attempted rape and its aftermath. The play explores the overall effects of violence. “Extremities” is a highly effective and formidable drama – a must-see.