By Jack Silbert on July 5, 2022
EPISODE #494: CIRCUS
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
R.E.M. — “Circus Envy”
Bruce Springsteen — “Wild Billy’s Circus Story”
The Beatles — “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite”
Ric Menck — “Clown”
Jack Frost — “Trapeze Boy”
Psychedelic Furs — “Highwire Days”
Tommy Keene — “Highwire Days”
Henry Mancini — “Baby Elephant Walk”
Echo & the Bunnymen — “Bring On the Dancing Horses”
Wire — “Ex Lion Tamer”
XTC — “Dear Madam Barnum”
Elvis Costello — “Clown Strike”
R.E.M. — “West of the Fields”
The Kinks — “Death of a Clown”
The Clientele — “The Circus”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Echo & the Bunnymen, Elvis Costello, Henry Mancini, Jack Frost, Psychedelic Furs, R.E.M., Ric Menck, The Clientele, The Kinks, Tommy Keene, Wire, XTC
By Jack Silbert on June 28, 2022
EPISODE #493: ABORTION RIGHTS II
in protest of our illegitimate Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade
The Fall — “Fiery Jack” [THEME]
The Clash — “Know Your Rights”
50 Ft. Furies — “My Body”
Screaming Females [feat. Sammus & Moor Mother] — “End of My Bloodline” [remix]
Tammy Faye Starlite & the Angels of Mercy — “Don’t Make Me Pregnant”
Cyndi Lauper — “Sally’s Pigeons”
Amyl & the Sniffers — “Choices”
The Rolling Stones — “Rough Justice”
The Scene Is Now — “If Justice Hides”
Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon — “Will the Fetus Be Aborted”
The Frogs — “Stand Up for Your Rights (or Sit Down)”
The Jackets — “Hands Off Me”
Lunachicks — “Fallopian Rhapsody”
Laura Cantrell — “Angry White Man (Bless)”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged 50ft Furies, abortion, Amy & the Sniffers, Cyndi Lauper, Jello Biafra, Laura Cantrell, Lunachicks, Mojo Nixon, Moor Mother, Roe v. Wade, Rolling Stones, Sammus, Screaming Females, Tammy Faye Starlite, The Clash, The Frogs, The Jackets, The Scene Is Now, U.S. Supreme Court
By Jack Silbert on June 23, 2022
4 stars out of 5
Be careful what you wish for, they say. The last time I reviewed a David Cronenberg movie, A Dangerous Method over a decade ago, I said that the talky film made me “long for the twistedness of Dead Ringers, etc.” At age 79, my crony Croney is back with maybe his most f’ed up flick ever. And while I can’t imagine that a ton of people would willingly pay to see this, I certainly did (full price!), and I… enjoyed it? That doesn’t seem like the right word. Admired it? Hmm, that’s closer.
We’re in the not-too-distant future, or perhaps an alternate post-apocalyptic present in which point-and-shoot cameras have made a comeback. Viruses and pain are things of the past, and human evolution has sped up, meaning that people are growing new organs within and without themselves that have unclear functions. Cronenberg regular Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux (who is making brave career choices) are lovers second but performance artists first, making spectacle of these mutations for hipster crowds. Kristen Stewart, who remains my favorite ever, and Don McKellar run the government’s Ministry of Organs or some such name; they are tasked with cataloging these metamorphoses. Stewart is a delight as the mousy office girl who becomes fascinated with Viggo and his underground world. Viggo is terrific as a shadowy figure on darkened streets, seemingly needing an Albuterol inhaler as his rapidly evolving body is affecting his breathing. Or as Jeff Goldblum said in the first Cronenberg movie I ever saw, The Fly, “I’m not getting worse. I’m getting… better.”
There’s also a cop story somewhere in here.
Along the ride, Cronenberg tackles human/machine symbiosis (hello Crash), romantic jealousy, medical ethics, vanity, tech support, family responsibility, and drawing a moral line in an immoral world. This dark content is matched by a dark, rundown urban setting, filled with old equipment and crumbling, dirty walls. Cronenberg’s regular composer, the great Howard Shore (now 75) contributes an appropriately morose score.
What can I tell you? There is also a lot of bodily gross-out content. If you’re a Videodrome/The Brood/Rabid Cronenberg fan, I can see you watching this, subtly nodding your head, with shock occasionally registering on your face. If you’re more of a History of Violence/Eastern Promises person, treasure those memories and avert your eyes.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 00s movies, 10s movies, 20s movies, 70s movies, 80s movies, 90s movies, David Cronenberg, Howard Shore, Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen
By Jack Silbert on June 23, 2022
EPISODE #492: SUMMER 2022
Aberdeen — “Super Sunny Summer” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Superchunk — “Endless Summer”
Charlotte Rose Benjamin — “Heatstroke Summer”
Jan & Dean — “(When Summer Comes) Gonna Hustle You”
Sonic Youth — “Crème Brûlèe”
They Might Be Giants — “The Summer Breeze”
Sarah Dougher — “Summer”
The Pogues — “Summer in Siam”
HAIM — “Summer Girl”
Prince — “Hot Summer”
Fred Schneider — “Summer in Hell”
The Yum Yums — “Summertime Pop”
Lana del Rey — “White Dress”
The Woods — “Love Me Again Next Summer”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Aberdeen, Charlotte Rose Benjamin, Fred Schneider, Haim, Jan & Dean, Lana Del Rey, Pogues, Prince, Sarah Dougher, Sonic Youth, Superchunk, The Woods, They Might Be Giants, Yum Yums
By Jack Silbert on June 16, 2022
4 stars out of 5
Spoiler alert: This whole movie is about Liz Cheney and her Deep State cronies hiding all the compromised Dominion voting machines on Isla Nublar where they’re attacked by velociraptors and the TRUTH.
OK, no, it’s just another installment in the Jurassic Park/World series, and if we can believe the hype, it’s the final one. (Though I have to imagine in my 70s I’ll be dragging my sorry old ass to the VirtuoPlex for the new reboot Jurassic Universe: Reawakening starring Prince Louis and a genderless android named Glip.)
Speaking of being older at the movie theater: The only reason I saw this movie in Real3D was the showing time was 15 minutes later than a standard screening, and I really had to go to the bathroom. If the price differential is substantial, you absolutely don’t need to see this flick in 3D; there are no coming-at-ya moments and almost no wow-look-at-the-sense-of-depth scenes.
Does it seem like I’m about to give this movie a snarky, negative review? I know, right? And yet, I kind of loved it. Maybe I’m just a sentimental sucker for these Star Wars/Ghostbusters old-cast-meets-new-cast ploys, but, it’s nice! I’m older, they’re older, it works by gum!
Picking up from the fairly dreadful Fallen Kingdom, Earth is slowly becoming Planet of the Dinosaurs and it is not going fantastically well. Chris Pratt and Ron Howard’s daughter are hiding the British tween clone granddaughter of Jurassic Park cofounder Lockwood. (They’re really ramped up the stupid in these Jurassic World movies.) Then, in a none-too-subtle metaphor, giant locusts arrive. Laura Dern (yay!) recruits a looking-better-than-he-has-any-right Sam Neill to find out who’s behind these nasty bugs. Oh and by the way? If they don’t stop the locusts they’ll destroy our food chain and we’ll all die.
So this is all entertaining enough, pretty good, but then here’s the thing: The effects and the action sequences are AMAZING. And they don’t skimp on the thrills through this 2-hour, 20-minute extravaganza. It is literally action-packed. A brilliant truck/motorcycle/dinosaur chase scene had me cheering and laughing. Many sequences were similarly delightful.
Other old pals round out the cast, notably Jeff Goldblum who was in Fallen Kingdom for a hot second, but really gets to be his glorious self here. BD Wong is back as the morally compromised yet still probably a good guy researcher. Isabella Sermon returns as 14-year-old Maisie Lockwood and definitely holds her own; she can roll her eyes and storm off with the best of them. And the villain is… I had to look this up because the character was briefly in Jurassic Park and that was half a lifetime ago… Campbell Scott who is not as young and dashing as you remember him. Except wait, Campbell Scott wasn’t in Jurassic Park. What happened to the original actor? I’ll let you Google it yourself, but, just so you’re prepared: ewwww.
The emotional payoffs are OK, though certainly would’ve been a lot stronger if handled by executive producer Spielberg himself. Still, the end result is the best entry in the series since the original film, and the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, 90s movies, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Steven Spielberg
By Jack Silbert on June 14, 2022
EPISODE #491: CASEY KASEM TRIBUTE 2022
“The New Scooby-Doo Movies” [ALTERNATE THEME]
U2 — “With or Without You” [Billboard No. 1, 5/16/87 – 5/30/87]
Kim Wilde — “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” [No. 1, 6/6/87]
Bob Seger — “Shakedown” [No. 1, 8/1/87]
U2 — “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” [No. 1, 8/8/87 – 8/15/87]
Los Lobos — “La Bamba” [No. 1, 9/12/87]
Michael Jackson w/ Siedah Garrett — “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” [No. 1, 9/19/87]
Paul McCartney & Wings — “Let Me Roll It” [long-distance dedication]
Michael Jackson — “Bad” [No. 1, 10/24/87 – 10/31/87]
George Harrison — “Got My Mind Set on You” [No. 1, 1/16/88]
Michael Jackson — “The Way You Make Me Feel” [No. 1, 1/23/88]
INXS — “Need You Tonight” [No. 1, 1/30/88]
Michael Jackson — “Man in the Mirror” [No. 1, 3/26/88 – 4/2/88]
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged American Top 40, Bob Seger, Casey Kasem, George Harrison, INXS, Kim Wilde, Los Lobos, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Siedah Garrett, U2
By Jack Silbert on June 13, 2022
4 stars out of 5
Maybe you have a work husband or work wife. Back in 2012–13, I had an unemployment wife. Laid-off Lex and I would go to the movies, often ending up at the Crocodile Lounge on 14th Street where you’d get a free pizza with every drink. (Toppings extra.) One of the movies we really loved during that time: What Maisie Knew directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel.
It’s a decade later, and McGehee and Siegel finally have another film out — Montana Story. And where Maisie was a city tale about parents and the effect of their actions/inactions on a young child, this rural story focuses on mid-20s siblings still coping with Dad’s behavior from long ago. We first meet Cal (Owen Teague), back at the ranch because Dad is dying. Eventually sister Erin (Haley Lu Richardson) shows up, surprisingly — she’d run away 7 years before and hadn’t kept in touch. The trailer led me to believe this was a road picture, with Erin rescuing their old horse and taking him to New York. And that is a plot point, but what this truly is is a family drama I feel many can relate to.
The death of a parent and selling of a home is familiar turf for many of us, or someday will be. (Hell, just the other weekend I saw Peter Holsapple sing his aching song “Inventory” on the very same subject.) Cal is mostly dealing with the logistics and finances, while Erin is paying the emotional cost, revisiting the pain that caused her to flee in the first place. Which leads to confronting the siblings’ unresolved issues.
I’ve only seen Teague in the IT movies and a Black Mirror episode but he hasn’t really stood out for me before. I did think Richardson was solid as the lead in Edge of Seventeen, which I caught on HBO a while back. But both actors are quite good here, Teague laid-back and matter-of-fact, Richardson a tightly-wound type-A, unwilling to unravel.
The filmmakers take their time filling us in on the backstory. For the longest stretch, I didn’t even know if Cal or Erin was older. (Surprise: Smaller, younger-looking Erin is the older one.) Even so while parsing out the details, they still over-rely on exposition. (“Hey medical aide, let me tell you our entire family history.” “Hey sister, during this car ride I’ll tell you of my life for the past 7 years.”) McGehee and Siegel, listen to your own line of dialogue written for the medical aide: “Some things are clear without explanation.”
And yet, as the drama slowly ramps up, I was drawn in more and more. The story is wrapped in the beautiful openness/emptiness of Montana, with a couple of lovely songs by Kevin Morby added in, so the movie looks good, sounds good, and feels real.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, 20s movies
By Jack Silbert on June 7, 2022
EPISODE #490: FIELDS
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Paul Westerberg — “Meet Me in the Meadow”
James McMurtry — “Canola Fields”
Amor de Días — “Bunhill Fields”
Leadbelly — “Cotton Fields”
The Good, The Bad & The Queen — “Green Fields”
Calexico — “Voices in the Field”
The Jayhawks — “Across My Field”
The Lilac Time — “Fields”
The Silver Jews — “Open Field”
The Connells — “Rusted Fields”
The Beatles — “Strawberry Fields Forever”
Sting — “Fields of Gold”
R.E.M. — “West of the Fields”
The Go-Betweens — “Cattle and Cane”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Amor de Días, Beatles, Calexico, James McMurtry, Jayhawks, Leadbelly, Paul Westerberg, R.E.M., Silver Jews, Sting, The Connells, The Go-Betweens, The Good the Bad & the Queen, The Lilac Time
By Jack Silbert on June 1, 2022
4 stars out of 5
In its decade-plus on the air, Bob’s Burgers has never reached the giddy pop-culture heights of The Simpsons, South Park, and that one with the sassy baby and the dog. But, like King of the Hill before it, Bob’s is one of those IYKYK deals, with a secret society of fans. (Well, as secret as a network show with millions of viewers can be.) Mariah and I would give each other subtle BB nods at the record store.
To me, what’s made Bob’s Burgers so special — beyond the sharp, hilarious writing, the uproarious voice acting from so many top comics, and the very real settings — is the show’s huge heart, without ever getting corny. Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, and Louise truly love each other. As do Jimmy Jr. and Zeke. And Teddy and Bob, though it’s not always reciprocal. And the characters deal with genuine emotions… I was about to list some emotions but it seems like a lot of the show is based on insecurity, and trying to overcome it.
And now we fans are rewarded with a big-screen movie. Like the series, it’s not flashy, and they didn’t really do anything to lure in new viewers (stunt voice casting, etc.). Instead we get a super-sized, slightly better animated, expectedly wonderful episode of the show. They get to stretch out, so we see more of the town. The dialogue is a smidge edgier than you can do on network TV. We get to see almost all of our favorite recurring characters. You knew there’d be songs, but here we get a couple of production numbers. Oh, and there’s a murder. (Don’t worry, things don’t get dark.)
Plus everything you want from Bob’s Burgers: Bob is worried about the restaurant, Tina is worried about Jimmy Jr., Gene has a crazy plan, Louise lures her siblings into something they don’t really want to do, Teddy wants to help Bob and Bob reluctantly agrees, and Linda is rooting everyone on. We get plenty of Kevin Kline as Mr. Fischoeder. And because it’s a movie, the action actually ramps up toward the end. Dare I say it gets exciting? While keeping tongue in cheek.
Two of the show’s producers created the newer animated show The Great North which is cut from a similar cloth of quirky sweetness (albeit with an over-reliance on puns) and I like it a lot, but Bob’s Burgers, as a series and now a motion picture, remains the (burger) king. Well done.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, Bob’s Burgers, television
By Jack Silbert on May 31, 2022
EPISODE #489: GUNS II
in memory of the 19 students and 2 teachers killed in at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas
The Boomtown Rats — “I Don’t Like Mondays” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Gorillaz — “Kids With Guns”
The Replacements — “Junior’s Got a Gun”
Bob Perry — “The Boy Has a Gun”
The Schramms — “He Has Got a Gun”
Gang of Four — “Armalite Rifle”
The Clash — “Tommy Gun”
The Ramones — “Scattergun”
The Wrens — “Faster Gun”
Spiritualized — “Borrowed Your Gun”
New Order — “1963”
Johnny Cash — “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”
The Beatles — “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”
Lou Reed — “The Gun”
Ian Hunter — “Gun Control”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Beatles, Bob Perry, Boomtown Rats, Gang of Four, Gorillaz, Ian Hunter, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, New Order, Ramones, Spiritualized, The Clash, The Replacements, the Schramms, The Wrens
Jack Silbert, curator