By Jack Silbert on November 21, 2023
EPISODE #565: THANKSGIVING 2023
Ray Davies — “Thanksgiving Day” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Overmountain Men — “Leaving England”
The Glands — “Mayflower”
The Give — “Massachusetts”
Billy Ward & the Dominoes — “Rock Plymouth Rock”
Screaming Females — “Electric Pilgrim”
The Only Ones — “The Happy Pilgrim”
Victoria Williams w/ Julian Lennon — “The Pilgrim’s Tale”
Satan’s Pilgrims — “Pilgrim Party”
Doctor Ross — “Turkey Leg Mama”
Dee Dee Sharp — ”Gravy (for my Mashed Potatoes)”
The “5” Royales — “Pumpkin Pie”
Vince Guaraldi Trio — “Thanksgiving Theme”
Mary Gauthier — “Thanksgiving”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Billy Ward & the Dominoes, Dee Dee Sharp, Doctor Ross, Julian Lennon, Mary Gauthier, Overmountain Men, Ray Davies, Satan’s Pilgrims, Screaming Females, Thanksgiving, The Give, The Glands, The Only Ones, The “5” Royales, Victoria Williams, Vince Guaraldi
By Jack Silbert on November 19, 2023
3.5 stars out of 5
You can go see this movie or, just watch the trailer, as there isn’t too much difference. Meet Paul Giamatti; he’s a curmudgeonly teacher! Now meet a bunch of students left behind over winter break at a fancy school — and Giamatti has to oversee them! Throw in the cafeteria lady, and they’ll form hard-won, unlikely friendships!
The basic idea reminded me a little of Unaccompanied Minors, which I watched a lot of on cable one lazy day and recall kind of enjoying. And Alexander Payne directed this, so I thought maybe he’d turn the feel-good trailer into something special. However, Payne generally does his best work when he also writes the movie, and this time he did not. That honor went to TV writer David Hemingson.
Giamatti could play this role in his sleep; alas he doesn’t go above-and-beyond that. The lead student is newcomer Dominic Sessa, who shows he’s able to play both edgy and wounded. And Da’Vine Joy Randolph is the down-to-earth cafeteria manager who slowly reveals her own pain.
Loss and abandonment are recurring themes here, and while I’ll give Hemingson credit for subverting some clichés, I do feel he tried to shoehorn too much drama into the script, and wasn’t able to resolve it all effectively.
Still, it’s a nice wintry setting in the earliest 1970s (kudos to the opening credits design), with some decent light humor much of the way through. So if you want to see this in the theater, hurry up, as I can’t imagine The Holdovers will be held over for very long.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 00s movies, 20s movies, Alexander Payne, Paul Giamatti
By Jack Silbert on November 14, 2023
EPISODE #564: RIVERS
Yo La Tengo — “The River of Water” [ALTERNATE THEME]
John Cozz — “The Passaic River”
The Special Pillow — “Hudson River Dreamboat”
Bruce Springsteen — “The River”
House of Usher — “River to River”
The Beths — “River Run: Lvl 1”
Chuck Willis — “Going to the River”
R.E.M. — “Find the River”
Justin Townes Earle — “Harlem River Blues”
Mattie Delaney — “Tallahatchie River Blues”
T-Bone Burnett — ”River of Love”
Robert Forster — “The River People”
David Byrne & Brian Eno — “The River”
Tom Waits & John Lurie — “River of Men”
The Minders — “Into the River”
The Lost Crusaders — “There Used To Be a River”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Brian Eno, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Willis, David Byrne, George Usher, John Cozz, John Lurie, Justin Townes Earle, Lost Crusaders, Mattie Delaney, R.E.M., Robert Forster, Special Pillow, T-Bone Burnett, The Beths, The Lost Crusaders, The Minders, Tom Waits, Yo La Tengo
By Jack Silbert on November 10, 2023
3.5 stars out of 5
I read Peter Guralnick’s superb two-volume Elvis Presley biography, but it is not at all fresh in my mind. And thus far, I haven’t watched the 2022 Elvis movie. So I was pleased to revisit the Priscilla years, and Sofia Coppola is much more my speed than Baz Luhrmann.
This film is based on Priscilla’s memoir Elvis & Me, so we’re definitely getting her side of the story. We begin when 24-year-old Elvis, suffering from the G.I. blues in Germany, takes an interest in army brat/high-school freshman Priscilla. Her parents worry about his intentions and even Elvis’s crowd privately joke about how young she is. (It helps the movie that we believe 24-year-old actress Cailee Spaeny is in her early teens.) But Elvis gets what Elvis wants.
Coppola captures the starstruck and lovestruck girl and her isolation — in the classroom, it’s like she’s the only one there. When they arrive in Memphis, the isolation continues, but not of her own making. Elvis (portrayed by Jacob Elordi) is shown as a very controlling figure. Priscilla becomes almost a prisoner at home; a doll in the dollhouse that is Graceland, while “E” heads off to make bad movies and have affairs. Coppola makes the compelling choice not to show us Elvis having his fun, but rather staying with bored, lonely Priscilla, reading sordid stories of Presley in celebrity mags. When he is home, Elvis dictates what she wears and her overall appearance; hmm how about some black hair dye and dark eyeliner so she looks more like… him! Marriage and motherhood improve things but only too briefly.
Coppola revels in period details and has a lot of fun conveying passage of time. Always music-minded, she doesn’t bind herself to the songs of the era, but rather what best captures the mood. And ultimately as writer and director, Coppola gives us this very public coming-of-age story in which Priscilla initially craves affection but ultimately wants to be her own person.
The film is formatted as a series of telling anecdotes (in which Coppola wisely shows instead of telling). Toward the end, though, it felt like an additional anecdote or two might’ve helped us reach the conclusion, which as-is I found a little unsatisfying. I don’t know, maybe I’ll watch the Luhrmann one now and see if I prefer getting hit over the head.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Presley, Priscilla Presley, Sofia Coppola
By Jack Silbert on November 7, 2023
EPISODE #563: ANGER
Public Image Ltd. — “Rise” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Rolling Stones — “Angry”
Noun — “Just How Angry I Am”
Marvin Gaye — “Anger”
Nice Try — “Angry”
George Usher — “The Angry Smile of a Lonely Man”
Ex Void — “Angry at You Baby”
Sleater-Kinney & Fred Schneider — “Angry Inch”
Neil Young — “Angry World”
White Fence — “Anger! Who Keeps You Under?”
For Against — ”Why Are You So Angry?”
Everly Brothers — “I’m Not Angry”
Elvis Costello — “I’m Not Angry”
Thee AHs — “I’m Not Angry Anymore”
David Bowie — “Look Back in Anger”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Everly Brothers, Ex Void, For Against, Fred Schneider, George Usher, Marvin Gaye, Neil Young, Nice Try, Noun, Public Image Ltd., Rolling Stones, Sleater-Kinney, Thee AHs, White Fence
By Jack Silbert on November 3, 2023
3.5 stars out of 5
This is like a jumbo episode of La Loi et L’Ordre. And perhaps they purposely used a title similar to the legendary courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder. Our story begins in the French Alps. German actress Sandra Hüller plays German author Sandra Voyter, being interviewed in her family’s chalet by a young journalist. Both the two women and we the audience feel tension right away, as someone is rudely playing very loud music upstairs at their home. Turns out it is Sandra’s French husband. Their mostly blind son Daniel takes Snoop the dog for a walk, perhaps to avoid a harried situation at home. When he and Snoop return, Daddy is lying dead on the ground outside the chalet! Did he jump… or was he pushed?
Sandra’s old lawyer pal Vincent shows up to calm her down, and represent her as evidence against her begins to pile up. Swann Arlaud, who plays Vincent, looks like an anime version of Martin Short.
Thus the procedural aspects of the story go into high gear. And the movie is quite compelling as we see the role of police, attorneys, investigators (looking at, yes, the actual anatomy of a fall), the media, and soon enough, the French court system — with a vision-impaired child “witness” in the mix. Sandra’s “outsider” status — she never wanted to leave London and move to her husband’s hometown — is further amplified by the request that she speak French when testifying (and when talking with her son in the presence of a court-appointed guardian), a language she clearly struggles with. Though not exactly cinéma vérité, director/co-writer Justine Triet keeps things realistic; when there’s a surprise in the courtroom, even the camera appears to be caught off-guard.
As details unfold, we learn of a variety of strife in the marriage. And thus the relationship is seemingly on trial as much as the possible murder is. To me, that was less interesting than all the legal wrangling, and I found that the later part of the film dragged a bit (unfortunate with a total running time of 2.5 hours). To top it off, late-surfacing details in the case were convoluted and that left me frustrated. For someone raised on judge-and-jury stories, bring in that just-discovered piece of evidence and/or a surprise witness, give me an unassailable verdict, and let’s clear the courtroom!
Nevertheless, Anatomy of a Fall is a well-performed, nice piece of filmmaking, and if you have greater tolerance for squabbling couples (Marriage Story, anyone?), you’ll likely enjoy this even more than I did.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies
By Jack Silbert on October 31, 2023
4.5 stars out of 5
I know, you’re waiting to watch this at home on Apple TV+, a half hour here, 42 minutes there, between football games and driving the kids wherever. But if you really love movies — and I know you do — plan a day around seeing Killers of the Flower Moon in the theater, no distractions, no glancing at your phone. Pee first because it’s 3 hours 26 minutes and you don’t want to get all squirrelly.
Martin Scorsese recruited his most trusted associates — Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro — to help shine a spotlight on a shameful moment in American history. (The older I get, the more of those I find out about.) I’ll admit this was all unknown to me: The Osage tribe of Oklahoma greatly prospered when oil was discovered on their land. Not at all shockingly, white industrialists and opportunists moved in, trying to cash in and ultimately take control. Systematic murder of Osage citizens was seen as a convenient path to grabbing their extremely valuable land rights.
This particular true story from the 1920s focuses on the long-time powerful “friend” of the Osage, William Hale (DeNiro), and his back-from-the-war nephew Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio, who is now 49 but is still able to pull off playing younger). When Ernest becomes sweet on full-blooded Osage Mollie (Lily Gladstone, so good as Daniel’s imprisoned mom on Reservation Dogs), Hale sees a golden chance to sweep up not just her land rights, but those of her sisters and their mother as well.
I imagine all three leads will be Oscar-nominated. Leo turns in a compelling character study. His Ernest is… earnest, but also greedy and not too bright, not a winning combination. We want to root for him, we want him to do the right thing, but Hale easily and routinely manipulates Ernest to do his bidding. As his character’s actions and inactions weigh down on him, Leo’s face tires, his mouth drooping to a frown. At this point his voice takes on a slight Sling Blade quality that I found mildly distracting.
DeNiro has a blast as Hale, falsely pious and magnanimous, always with bravado and self-preservation, and quickly given to — when frustrated — to rage. Scorsese knows how to bring out Bobby’s best, never in a cartoonish way. When he clashes with Ernest we see flashes of previous iconic DeNiro performances (including Cop Land and The Untouchables), and it is a thrill to behold.
Lily Gladstone as Mollie is the movie’s heart and soul. Having witnessed the deception and damage to her people, Mollie is cynical and guarded. Gladstone carries herself with reserve and dignity, ever aware of the potential wrongdoing around Mollie. There are subtle shifts in Gladstone’s face and body language as Mollie slowly opens herself to love and vulnerability.
Kudos also to the ever-reliable Jesse Plemons as an injection of decency and light when things are seeming awfully dim.
Super music fan Scorsese employs Jack White, Jason Isbell, Pete Yorn, Sturgill Simpson, and Charlie Musselwhite as actors here. The film is dedicated to Marty’s great friend the late Robbie Robertson, who composed the original music and plays guitar. Of Indian background himself, Robertson smartly uses traditional rhythms and percussion to underscore rising tension. One minor musical gripe: A repeated theme late in the movie sounds a lot like the Sopranos opening, and it took me out of the story for a moment or two.
Overall, though, I was engrossed in this tale. I can’t say 3.5 hours flew by, but the plot was straightforward and easy to follow, the story never drags (there is some Law and Order late in the game that creates a tone shift), and I never lost interest. With references to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and a couple of anti-semitic slurs, Martin Scorsese places the Osage tragedy in a greater context that sadly still resonates. Then the ending is unexpectedly brilliant and left me applauding. Let the prestige film season begin, but this one will be hard to beat.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lilly Gladstone, Martin Scorsese, Robbie Robertson, Robert DeNiro
By Jack Silbert on October 31, 2023
EPISODE #562: HALLOWEEN 2023
The Frogs — “I’m Evil, Jack” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Zacherle — “Happy Halloween”
Eyelids — “Halloween”
CR & the Nones — “The Ghosts Are Coming Home”
Velvet Monkeys — “Spooky”
Pussy Gillette — “Jane Pettibon”
Squalls — “Bride of Frankenstein”
Love, Burns — “Gate and the Ghost”
The Dungeons of Horrors — “My Halloween Suit”
Psych-O-Positive — “Naked or Dead”
Fred Schneider — ”Monster”
The Human Hearts — “Believe in Ghosts”
The Bee Gees — “Some Christmas Eve or Halloween”
Jupiter Jones — “The Spook Spoke”
Vince Guaraldi Trio — “Great Pumpkin Waltz”
Lou Reed — “Halloween Parade”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Bee Gees, CR & the Nones, Dungeons of Horrors, Eyelids, Fred Schneider, Jupiter Jones, Lou Reed, Love Burns, psych-O-positive, Pussy Gillette, Squalls, The Frogs, The Human Hearts, Velvet Monkeys, Vince Guaraldi, Zacherle
By Jack Silbert on October 24, 2023
EPISODE #561: SAY IT
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Arthur Russell — “I Couldn’t Say It to Your Face”
Teenage Halloween — “Say It”
Hello Mary — “Say It”
The ”5” Royales — “Say It”
Heavenly — “Stop Before You Say It”
El Vez — “Say It Loud! I’m Brown and I’m Proud!”
Eyelids — “Say It’s Alright”
Glen Hansard — “Say It to Me Now”
The Maddox Brothers & Rose — “Mama Says It’s Naughty”
Soul Walkers — ”Can I Say It Again”
Hall & Oates — “Say It Isn’t So”
The Outfield — “Say It Isn’t So”
Eels — “There I Said It”
Dwight Twilley — “I’m on Fire” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Arthur Russell, Dwight Twilley, Eels, El Vez, Eyelids, Glen Hansard, Hall & Oates, Heavenly, Hello Mary, Maddox Brothers & Rose, Soul Walkers, Teenage Halloween, The Outfield, The “5” Royales
By Jack Silbert on October 17, 2023
EPISODE #560: NONSENSE II
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Ramones — “Pinhead”
Al Green — “Sha-La-La”
The Shirelles — “Sha-La-La”
The Last — “Be Bop a Lula”
The Bandana Splits — “Baby Talkin’ (The Shoo Wop Song)”
Jesse Hill — “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” [part 1]
Roy Orbison — “Ooby Dooby”
Eugenius — “Oomalama”
Brenton Wood — “The Oogum Boogum Song”
Don Covay — ”Bip Bop Bip”
Paul and Linda McCartney — “Bip Bop/Hey Diddle”
Austin Roberts — “Ricky Ticky Ta Ta Ta”
Ernie K-Doe — “Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta”
The Echoes — “Ding Dong”
Kasenetz-Katz Super Cirkus — “Dong-Dong-Diki-Di-Ki-Dong”
The Tricks — “Wham! Bam! Ala Cazam!”
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band — “Diddy Wah Diddy”
Jack White featuing Q-Tip — “Hi-De-Ho”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Al Green, Austin Roberts, Bandana Splits, Brenton Wood, Captain Beefheart, Don Covay, Ernie K-Doe, Eugenius, Jack White, Jesse Hill, Kasenetz-Katz Super Cirkus, Paul McCartney, Q-Tip, Ramones, Roy Orbision, Shirelles, The Echoes, The Last, The Tricks
Jack Silbert, curator