EPISODE #456: GOT MILK?
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Louis Jordan — “Show Me How (You Milk the Cow)”
Joy Cleaner — “No Milk Today”
The Operators — “Mild as Milk”
Eugenius — “Buttermilk”
Franklin Bruno — “Milkcrate”
Robert Johnson — “Milkcow’s Calf Blues”
Elvis Presley — “Milkcow Blues Boogie”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions — “Sour Milk-Cow Blues”
Jackie Lomax — “Sour Milk Sea”
Summer’s Children — “Milk and Honey”
Rufus Wainwright — “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk”
They Might Be Giants feat. Elma Mayer — “Please Pass the Milk”
The Crabs — “Spilt Milk”
Magic Bullets — “Spilled Milk”
The Planes — “Milk Maid”
halfsour — “Milk Bath”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/12/21
Movie Review: The Many Saints of Newark
3.5 stars out of 5
I felt I owed it to David Chase to see this film in a theater. Way back, my coworker/friend Mona mentioned an upcoming HBO show, The Sopranos, that one of her fellow actors had scored a big part in. I thought it was maybe about opera singers. My cousin Ilene was a producer on the series, and soon a co-executive producer, then an executive producer. But mostly I was excited because we loved the show, and here in North Jersey, were kind of able to live it. The toll booth and Paul Bunyan Man on Tony’s drive from the city were familiar sites. With my buddies Joe and Bob we visited the Satriale’s location. Alone I checked out PizzaLand (also from Tony’s commute) and the diner where Christopher got shot.
That’s a lot of advance pressure on a movie, which was (understandably) marketed — against Chase’s will — as a Tony Soprano origin story. However, my own enthusiasm was somewhat curbed (eh, eh? #premiumcablesundays) by my fading recollections of Chase’s 2013 film Not Fade Away which was… OK, not great. Hey, there are TV people, and there are movie people (even in this “prestige” streaming era) and Chase will ultimately be remembered for The Sopranos and The Rockford Files. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Which is all to say, maybe I should’ve watched this on HBOMax. It’s a decent movie, and there is a lot for Sopranos fans to look for and enjoy, but Chase and director Alan Taylor are no Coppola, they are no Scorsese. (“Marty! Kundun! I liked it!”) There is not an epic sweep to the film, nor a genuine grittiness. The performances, though, are generally solid. Alessandro Nivola, as Dickie “Chris’s dad” Moltisanti, seems to know what he’s doing in this world, and doesn’t ham it up too much. Same for the increasingly reliable Jon Bernthal as Tony’s dad. Ray Liotta, however, misses a golden opportunity to give one of his completely terrifying, over-the-top portrayals as Dickie’s dad; perhaps he just can’t summon it anymore. (Operation Dumbo Drop will do that to a fella.) Liotta actually plays a dual role but… it’s just too stupid.
As far as the characters we know, New Jersey’s own Vera Farmiga lets us see the cracks already forming in Livia, and Corey Stoll is especially good as Junior — recognizably funny, angry, a little off, yet still making the character his own. Billy Magnussen as Paulie and John Magaro as Silvio are less successful, with Magaro particularly delivering a total caricature. Ooh, and there’s an indistinct guy playing Slightly Smaller Pussy, but there’s another actor in this movie who looks an awful lot like current-day Vincent Pastore/Big Pussy, so I’m sitting there flabbergasted: “Is he playing his younger self but actually looking older?!? Couldn’t they have done some of that Irishman digital de-aging?”
I’m pleased to report that Michael Gandolfini does a fine job filling his dad’s shoes, displaying the iconic character’s sensitivity and indecision as life pulls him in different directions. And there is a line or two of dialogue where the similarity in vocal timbre was eerie.
There’s another prominent storyline involving the Newark riots and Harold, an African-American associate of Dickie — played by… I want to say Leslie Uggams Jr.? — who eventually wants to start his own separate crime operation. Era- and setting-wise, this makes total sense to include, and for the most part it works, highlighting the hardcore racism and resistance to civil rights in the community, and also hinting at the transition from numbers running to narcotics.
Most importantly, David Chase doesn’t embarrass himself or the legacy of The Sopranos. The Many Saints fits in the canon, as my comic-book nerd friends might say. Plus, seeing Holsten’s luncheonette in the movie and later, passing it in real life on my drive home — that’s pretty cool.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/5/21
EPISODE #455: STRESS
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Talking Heads — “Psycho Killer” [live]
Bob Perry — “Man on the Brink”
Nick Lowe — “Cracking Up”
Bo Diddley — “Crackin’ Up”
The Jesus & Mary Chain — “Cracking Up”
Vivian Girls — “Tension”
Jay Gonzalez — “Tension”
Superchunk — “For Tension”
Eddy Current Suppression Ring — “Anxiety”
Blushing — “Pressure”
Queen and David Bowie — “Under Pressure”
ZZ Top — “Got Me Under Pressure”
The Selecter — “Too Much Pressure”
Torres — “Are You Sleepwalking?”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 9/21/21
EPISODE #453: NICE!
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Lithics — “Nice Alone”
Colleen Green — “It’s Nice To Be Nice”
The Jesus Lizard — “Mouth Breather”
Kimya Dawson — “So Nice So Smart”
English Beat — “Too Nice to Talk To”
Todd Rundgren — “Be Nice to Me”
Nellie McKay — “Won’t U Please B Nice”
Paul McCartney — “Seize the Day”
Screaming Females — “It’s Nice”
Lovin’ Spoonful — “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice”
Flowers of America — “Please Be Nice to Me”
Beach Boys — “I’ll Bet He’s Nice”
Hiding Behind Sound — “Kinda Nice”
Mose Allison — “Ask Me Nice”
Ron Gallo — “Really Nice Guys”
Alice Cooper — “No More Mr. Nice Guy”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 9/14/21
EPISODE #452: END OF SUMMER III
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Michael Shelley — “Summer, I Pissed You Away” [non-LP version]
Calvin Johnson — “(I’ve Still Got) Sand in My Shoes”
Speed the Plough — “Take Me”
Lost Balloons — “Change Your Mind”
Taylor Swift — “August”
Edward Rogers — “Last of the Summer Wine”
Chad & Jeremy — “A Summer Song”
Beach Bunny — “Goodbye Summer :(”
Bob Dylan — “Summer Days”
halfsour — “Day Dogs”
The Mantles — “Strawberry Thighs”
Amy O — “Rest Stop”
The Insomniacs — “Maryanne Lightly”
The Dream Academy — “Lucy September”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 9/7/21
EPISODE #451: 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 (NEW YORK II)
Cat Power — “New York” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Richard Hell & the Voidoids — “Downtown at Dawn” [Destiny Street Repaired version]
The Drifters — “On Broadway”
John Lennon — “New York City”
Amy Allison & the Maudlins — “I Was Born in NYC”
Laura Cantrell — “14th Street”
Rufus Wainwright — “14th Street”
Leonard Cohen — “Chelsea Hotel #2”
Marshall Crenshaw — “Rockin’ Around in N.Y.C.”
The Rolling Stones — “Harlem Shuffle”
The dB’s — “I Read New York Rocker”
Joey Ramone — “New York City”
Steve Earle — “N.Y.C.”
Dion — “King of the New York Streets”
Spit-take — “Memorial”
They Might Be Giants — “New York City”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Movie Review: Flag Day
4 stars out of 5
I was looking forward to the Sean Penn movie Flag Day, and it was certainly promoted, and yet, now three weekends in, it’s not really playing anywhere! (OK, OK, it’s playing in Manhattan, which is very close to me, but, I save the city for special occasions.) And then a headline infuriated me: “Sean Penn’s Flag Day Fails To Fly As Older Arthouse Crowd Shuns Cinema.” Hey, I’m the Older Arthouse Crowd and I haven’t shunned a goddamn thing! Did they consider that my local “arthouse” in Montclair closed, eventually changed hands, but still hasn’t reopened? Or that the same happened with the arthouse in Asbury Park, where I would schedule in a movie whenever I’d drive down for a concert? And, come on, this isn’t some obscure indie flick. But the surviving multiplexes would rather fill up multiscreens with limp would-be summer blockbusters than something with a little more thought behind it.
So I took a long drive — I’m not going to get into details, but it involved a bridge and downloading yet another parking app — to a theater that was showing Flag Day. I’m very glad I did.
Penn directed the film, based on a true story, and co-stars with his daughter Dylan. I imagine her being Oscar-nominated and not winning. The movie is a bit of a family saga — a tragedy, really — so there are three actresses playing Jennifer Vogel over the span of time. Three actors also play brother Nick, including real-life bro Hopper Jack Penn.
Now, as Penn showed us as the world-wise dad in The First series, even decorated astronauts can have a hard time holding a family together. So if you’re a total fuck-up like Penn’s John Vogel, you can just imagine how difficult it would be. Which is not to say John doesn’t have good qualities. He loves his kids. Pretty good at drawing. A dreamer who likes to roam and have fun. But because of John’s not-so-good traits — including but not limited to thievery, rage, and compulsive lying — Jennifer and Nick bounce between dad and mom. She’s no great shakes neither, what with the alcoholism and dangerously lousy taste in men.
Overall, it’s Jennifer’s story. As a kid, she roots for her dad, overlooking the flaws, and it’s heartbreaking watching her try to keep disillusionment at bay. As Jennifer ages (and is portrayed subtly and realistically by Dylan Penn), she indulges her own vices, and wonders how much of her parents her psyche is saddled with. Is she genetically doomed to fail or can she reinvent herself? And at what point do you — or can you — draw a boundary with a beloved parent who has let you down over and over again?
Heavy stuff, beautifully and delicately directed by Penn. He’s helped by a very strong soundtrack which includes Eddie Vedder, Cat Power, and a song by Glen Hansard (of Once semi-fame) that just perfectly matches and enhances the action on-screen.
This Labor Day weekend, consider tracking down Flag Day. Or maybe it’ll be streaming by Yom Kippur.
Aquarium Playlist, 8/31/21
EPISODE #450: DIAMONDS
The Rolling Stones — “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” [ALTERNATE THEME] r.i.p. Charlie Watts
Dan Penn — “Diamonds”
Son Volt — “Diamonds and Cigarettes”
Dany Laj & the Looks — “Diamond in the Rough”
Shirley Bassey, Kanye West, Jay-Z — “Diamonds Are Forever”
Willie Nelson — “Ocean of Diamonds”
Sharon Van Etten w/ Glass Ghost — “Like a Diamond”
Them — “I Gave My Love a Diamond”
Opal — “She’s a Diamond”
The Clean — “Diamond Mine”
Gene Turonis a.k.a. Gene D. Plumber — “Diamonds as Big as Potatoes”
Mary Lou Lord — “He’d Be a Diamond”
Bob Dylan — “Diamond Joe”
Neko Case — “Dirty Diamond”
The Exbats — “I Got the Hots for Charlie Watts”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 8/24/21
EPISODE #449: CATS VI
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Dave “Baby” Cortez — “Catnip”
The Lucksmiths — “Cat in Sunshine”
The Wailers — “What’s New Pussycat”
Peach Kelli Pop — “Hello Kitty Knife”
Naked City — “Snagglepuss”
John Wesley Harding — “Monkey and his Cat”
Luna — “The Owl and the Pussycat”
The Carter Family — “Kitty Waltz”
Thee Speaking Canaries — “When Cats Fight/Let Loose of Me”
R.E.M. — “Swan Swan H”
U2 — “An Cat Dubh”
Sherman Hemsley — “Skinnin’ a Cat”
Matthew Sweet — “Girl With Cat”
Nick Jorgensen — “Black Cat”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Jack Silbert, curator