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
By Jack Silbert on May 24, 2022
4.5 stars out of 5
Hmm, how to get Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito to see this movie? Because they really need to. And yet, are any of them bright enough to read subtitles? Happening is a French film which takes place in 1963, though it may as well be Red State America, fall 2022, because abortion is illegal. We meet Anne, a bright college literature student eager to continue her studies. She is very surprised and upset to find out she’s pregnant from a fling. Anne has no intention to keep the baby. But her society has other ideas.
Anamaria Vartolomei is outstanding as Anne. She is strong, independent, unrelenting. Vartolomei deftly shows the changes as sadness and desperation creep in and build up, while never abandoning Anne’s central strength.
Director/cowriter Audrey Diwan, working from a semi-autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux, ramps up the urgency and tension as the weeks add up, giving the film a race-against-the-clock thriller aspect. But much more so, it’s a psychological exploration. We see a fiercely independent person who realizes she needs help. Tragically, when she does ask for help, she finds that doctors are spooked and/or judgmental, and even close friends don’t wish to discuss the situation.
There are a couple of absolutely harrowing scenes to sit through. And yet, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett need to Clockwork Orange it with eyelids pried open.
In the AIDS crisis, we learned that Silence = Death. Happening unflinchingly reminds us that it will absolutely be the same for outlawed abortion, and that when matters become the most desperate, we allies will need to step up.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, abortion, Roe v Wade, Supreme Court
By Jack Silbert on May 24, 2022
EPISODE #488: MONKEYPOX (MONKEYS II)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Los Lobos — “I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)”
The Beatles — “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey”
Mighty Mighty — “Everybody Knows the Monkey”
Major Lance — “The Monkey Time”
The Pixies — “Monkey Gone to Heaven”
Peter Gabriel — “Shock the Monkey”
Richard Lloyd — “Monkey”
Barreracudas — “Monkey See, Monkey Do”
The Wedding Present — “I Lost the Monkey”
Eurythmics — “Monkey Monkey”
Ben Cook — “Mike’s Monkey”
Daniel Johnston — “Big Business Monkey”
Optiganally Yours — “Pirates and Monkeys”
Dave Bartholomew — “The Monkey (Speaks His Mind)”
The Mekons — “Poxy Lips”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Barreracudas, Beatles, Ben Cook, Daniel Johnston, Dave Bartholomew, Eurythmics, Los Lobos, Major Lance, Mekons, Mighty Mighty, Optiganally Yours, Peter Gabriel, Richard Lloyd, The Pixies, The Wedding Present
By Jack Silbert on May 18, 2022
4 stars out of 5
Can we please just can it with the multiverse for a hot minute? Couple of pals said, “you gotta see Everything Everything All at Once,” yet three words into the summary I read, it said multiverse, and I was all, thank you but no; myself and my parallel selves are outta here.
The multiballverse was admittedly very cool in that cartoon Spidey movie, and who didn’t enjoy seeing Tobey Maguire (or wait, was that Elijah Wood?) et al. in the recent No Way Home. But at the end of the day it’s really lazy storytelling and needs to stop.
OK then, so why did I purposely go see a movie with Multiverse in its freaking title? Two words: Sam Raimi. The early Spider-Man installments that he directed remain the series’ best. Besides, the modern Marvel Universe could certainly use some of his Evil Dead-style goofiness.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is thankfully less wisecracky than he’s been in recent appearances. Though a problem with having such a top-flight actor in this film is that some other cast members pale in comparison. Teen Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, in a key role as the “asset” Strange needs to protect, gets the job done but doesn’t really stand out. And brace yerselves for a hot take, true believers: Elizabeth Olsen is not a very good actress and doesn’t have much screen presence. Plus, her Scarlet Witch outfit looks like a leftover Rite Aid Halloween costume. Luckily, Rachel McAdams is around to pick up the acting slack. I remain a fan.
The film’s first two thirds are alternately entertaining, needlessly confusing, and stupid. I’ll concede that jumping from universe to universe provides some impressive visual effects. But in the final third, the movie improves from merely watchable to something I honestly felt was very good. And that’s because it finally becomes a Sam Raimi flick. In the early going, it seemed like he was hamstrung by all the Marvel canon that needed to be jammed in. But finally, Raimi gets to be Raimi, and we get a zany horror film with genuine scares and laughs. Elizabeth Olsen truly comes into her own as a limping, bloodthirsty killer. Strange multivitaminverse madness, and very much fun!!
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 20s movies, Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange, Rachel McAdams, Sam Raimi, super powers
By Jack Silbert on May 17, 2022
EPISODE #487: MAYBE
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Eyelids — “Maybe More”
The Connells — “Maybe”
Lesley Gore — “Maybe I Know”
Arthur Russell — “Maybe She”
Okkervill River — “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe”
The Smittens — “Maybe It Is Me”
Colleen Green — “Maybe I’ll Get Hit by a Car Tonight”
Richard Davies — “Sign Up Maybe for Being”
Justin Townes Earle — “Maybe a Moment”
Bad Sports — “Maybe Not”
Minutemen — “Maybe Partying Will Help”
Tony Bennett — “Maybe This Time”
Björk — “Possibly Maybe”
Stevie Wonder — “Maybe Your Baby”
Chuck Berry — “Maybellene”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Arthur Russell, Bad Sports, Björk, Chuck Berry, Colleen Green, Eyelids, Justin Townes Earle, Lesley Gore, Minutemen, Okkervil River, Richard Davies, Smittens, Stevie Wonder, The Connells, Tony Bennett
By Jack Silbert on May 10, 2022
EPISODE #486: IMAGINATION
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Exploding Flowers — “Imagine All Possibilities”
Robert Forster — “Let Me Imagine You”
Brian Wilson — “Your Imagination”
The Temptations — “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)”
Bill Withers — “My Imagination”
Joan Jett — “Make Believe”
The Easybeats — “The Land of Make Believe”
Kitty Wells — “Making Believe”
Conway Twitty — “It’s Only Make Believe”
The Exploding Hearts — “I’m a Pretender”
Dany Laj & the Looks — “Sweet Pretender”
Vivian Girls — “Trying To Pretend”
Jackson Browne — “The Pretender”
Edward Rogers — “Imaginary Man”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Bill Withers, Brian Wilson, Conway Twitty, Dany Laj & the Looks, Edward Rogers, Exploding Flowers, Jackson Browne, Joan Jett, Kitty Wells, Robert Forster, The Easybeats, The Exploding Hearts, The Temptations, Vivian Girls
By Jack Silbert on May 3, 2022
EPISODE #485: GROOVIN’
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Katrina & the Waves — “She Loves To Groove”
Wizard Brain — “Keep On Groovin’”
The Lees of Memory — “(We Got To Be) Groovin’”
Leon Bridges — “Twistin’ & Groovin’”
The Equals — “Soul Groovin’”
Earth Wind & Fire — “Let’s Groove”
Isley Brothers — “Groove With You”
The Cucumbers — “Body Groove” [live]
Liquid Liquid — “Lock Groove” [live]
T.Rex — “The Groover”
Robyn Hitchcock — “Saturday Groovers”
Louis Jordan & his Tympani Five — “Oh Boy, I’m in the Groove”
Heatwave — “The Groove Line” [disco version]
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Earth Wind & Fire, Heatwave, Isley Brothers, Katrina & the Waves, Leon Bridges, Liquid Liquid, Louis Jordan, Robyn Hitchcock, T. Rex, The Cucumbers, The Equals, The Lees of Memory, Wizard Brain
By Jack Silbert on April 26, 2022
EPISODE #484: WIND
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Roy Orbison — “Borne on the Wind”
Deena and Chasing Colours — “Everybody Knows the Way the Wind Blows”
Beach Boys — “Let the Wind Blow”
Fats Domino — “Let the Four Winds Blow”
They Might Be Giants — “I Hear the Wind Blow”
Ian & Sylvia — “Four Strong Winds”
Jimi Hendrix — “The Wind Cries Mary”
Bob Dylan — “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Donovan — “Catch the Wind”
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band — “Against the Wind”
Don Covay — “It’s in the Wind”
Graham Parker & the Rumour — “Howling Wind”
Terry McCarthy — “Awkward Wind”
Iron & Wine — “The Wind Is Low”
Paul Westerberg — “Runaway Wind”
Warren Zevon — “Hasten Down the Wind”
Nina Simone — “Wild Is the Wind”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Chasing Colours, Deena Shoskes, Don Covay, Donovan, Fats Domino, Graham Parker, Ian & Sylvia, Iron & Wine, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, Paul Westerberg, Roy Orbison, Terry McCarthy, They Might Be Giants, Warren Zevon
Jack Silbert, curator