EPISODE #460: DISCO
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Disco Bros. (Nick Lowe) — “Let’s Go to the Disco”
Jennifer O’Connor — “Born at the Disco”
Tussle — “Disco d’Oro” [AB mix]
Colleen Green — “Disco”
The Minutemen — “If Reagan Played Disco”
Future Bible Heroes — “The World Is a Disco Ball”
The New Pornographers — “Valkyrie in the Roller Disco”
Missing Persons — “Disco Boy”
The Smiths — “The Death of a Disco Dancer”
Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots — “Disco Duck”
David Bowie — “Bring Me the Disco King”
Sun Ra & his Arkestra — “Disco 2100”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 11/9/21
Movie Review: The French Dispatch
4.5 stars out of 5
Or maybe 4 out of 5, but, somewhere in there. As I’ve said a number of times, there are a handful of directors that I am absolutely crazy about, and Wes Anderson is one of them. Perhaps I’m too soft on them or perhaps I hold them to too high a standard? Does it all even out?
I was really looking forward to this — a smart, funny, star-packed movie in a theater! The fact that it is loosely based on The New Yorker struck me as maybe a bit too precious/clichéd art-film, but what can I say, I subscribe to the magazine so I’m part of the problem. It starts and Owen Wilson (hey he was in The Life Aquatic!) is giving us a “front of the book” travelogue of Paris. It was kinda flimsy, no big laughs; basically a paint-by-numbers Wes Anderson throwaway piece. I should mention that this movie is anthology-style: different stories a la the Coen Brothers’… I want to say Legend of Bilbo Baggins? And my gut instinct is that these films are like fast food — easy to swallow but ultimately less satisfying than a full-course meal.
But perhaps I spoke too soon, and Wes was just warming up for the first substantial story. A very amusing Tilda Swinton introduces the tale of the gruffly funny prisoner artist Benicio del Toro (flanked by a deadpan, gorgeous Léa Seydoux), pursued for his works by a hilarious Adrien Brody with Bob Balaban and the Fonz in tow. It’s a study of art v. commerce, commencing in a slapstick brawl. A hoot!
Next, money-in-the-bank Frances McDormand (hey isn’t she married to one of those Coens) isn’t playing Fran Lebowitz but you get the idea. Her reporter character gets maybe too involved in covering revolutionary wunderkind Timothée Chalamet. Now, he was good in Dune but with a tight script and top-flight director, he really shines. A very funny performance. So in this segment we’re looking at young v. old, establishment v. The New.
Finally, Jeffrey Wright is profiling a police-department chef when, uh-oh, a kid gets kidnapped. I didn’t find too much to philosophically ponder in this entry but it really didn’t matter because Jeffrey Wright delivers a bravura, non-stop performance, aided and abetted by Liev “Junk Sleep” Schreiber. Things get so madcap it becomes animated and I was delighted.
And I didn’t even mention Bill Murray. There’s a boatload of other stars in this, in roles small and medium, from within and without Anderson’s regular stable, giving their all and having a splendid time. The wonderful little details you expect from Anderson, they’re all there, as is a very lovely soundtrack. I could imagine watching this again. Point, Wes. Your move, P.T.
Movie Review: Dune
3.5 stars out of 5
Never read Dune, never watched Dune. In middle school it seemed like a lot of dudes were reading it. Not. And even though I loved Sting and later, David Lynch, no interest in the movie.
Decades went by, and finally I decided to check out the reboot — in a theater as the Lord intended — directed by Denis Villeneuve, who I mostly like (Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049, yay; Arrival nay).
I mostly liked this Dune. I thought a lot about Star Wars while watching it. That’s not Dune’s fault; the book was written long before George Lucas dreamed up his galaxy far, far away. But still, in my mind, we get Timothée Chalamet as Luke Skywalker, hanging out on Tatooine, needing training as a Jedi. Except it’s not Tatooine, it’s… Spiceworld? And there’s an ecological message as relevant today as it will be in the year 10191 (if man is still alive). Because money-hungry outsiders come to plunder the natural resources — mining the spice, my precious, along the Fury Road — with no regard for the native peoples. Little Prince Chalamet and his royal dad (Oscar Isaac) come to do the spice mining but they’re not evil like the other guys who were mining just before them. Who as soon as they leave turn around and come back. Also there are 800-foot worms.
If Dune were a relationship status: It’s complicated. If only I’d read the book! But should you need to read a book to understand a movie? I didn’t read a Star Wars novel at age 8 and could follow that plot easily: The good guys needed to stop the bad guys from finishing the Death Star. Its name was the DEATH STAR fer crissakes. Here the baddies are the Harkevorkians or some such nonsense, but at least they wear black for quick identification.
Yes, the film is very well made, and the cast is strong. Chalamet who is slowly growing on me, is solid as the reluctant Messiah. Isaac is money in the bank as Good King Beardy. Rebecca Ferguson, who I appreciated as Ilsa Faust in a couple of Mission: Impossible flicks, is believable as the conflicted mom queen. (She’s only 12 years older than Chalamet but, whatevs.) Stellan Skarsgård is amusing as Jabba the Hut. Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem learn that the desert is no country for old men. Jason Momoa gets to kick butt and I think Groot is in this too.
There are cool space planes that look like houseflies. And rows and rows of soldiers like in that other Star Wars movie. And quality fight sequences. Just when I was ready to give this 4 stars it… kept going… through a dust cloud…. I had sudden flashbacks to trying to watch that first Star Trek movie on TV as a tween. The Enterprise was traveling through a space cloud and it was taking foreeeeeeever and was soooooo boooooorrrrring. I feel like Villeneuve and his editors could’ve trimmed 20 to 30 minutes off this movie. I’m on board for part II but was saddened to realize a big difference from Star Wars: There’s really no fun in Dune. I’m not saying they need Jar Jar Binks in the sequel, but, maybe lighten up.
Aquarium Playlist, 11/2/21
EPISODE #459: DIWALI FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
Zohrabai Ambalawali and Naushad — “Aai Diwali Aai Diwali” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Richard & Linda Thompson — “I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight”
Papercuts — “Staring at the Bright Lights”
Jimmy Reed — “Bright Lights, Big City”
Wild Carnation — “The Lights Are On”
Bruce Springsteen — “Party Lights”
Palomar — “Park Lights”
Matthew Sweet — “Parade of Lights”
Juliana Hatfield — “The Lights”
Elvis Costello — “Suit of Lights”
Alejandro Escovedo — “Suit of Lights”
The Space Merchants — “City Lights”
Freedy Johnston — “The Farthest Lights”
The Garment District — “Women Who Keep the Lights”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/26/21
EPISODE #458: HALLOWEEN 2021
The Frogs — “I’m Evil, Jack” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Wussy — “Halloween”
Phoebe Bridgers — “Halloween”
The Fleshtones — “Face of the Screaming Werewolf”
Bettye Lavett — “Witchcraft in the Air”
The Porchistas — “Mischief Night”
Peach Kelli Pop — “Black Cat 13”
Matthew Sweet — “Lady Frankenstein”
Shiny Times — “Be a Ghost”
Nick Jorgensen — “Dreams”
Redd Kross — “Dracula’s Daughter”
Lambchop — “I Hate Candy”
New Order — “Spooky”
Michael Jackson — “Thriller”
Lou Reed — “Halloween Parade”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/19/21
EPISODE #457: STICKY
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Velvet Underground — “I’m Sticking With You”
Dennis Young feat. Sal Principato — “Sticky Feet”
Robyn Hitchcock — “Dr. Sticky”
The Wedding Present — “Sticky”
Juniper — “Sticking With My Henry”
Bryan Ferry — “Let’s Stick Together”
Eels — “Stick Together”
Paley Brothers — “Baby, Let’s Stick Together”
Everly Brothers — “Stick With Me, Baby”
Rat Fancy — “Stuck With You”
Elvis Presley — “Stuck on You”
Atoms for Peace — “Stuck Together Pieces”
2nd Grade — “Superglue”
XTC — “Generals and Majors” r.i.p. General Colin Powell
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Movie Review: No Time To Die
2.5 stars out of 5
And so, the pandemic-delayed movie we’d waited the longest for: Daniel Craig’s last hurrah as 007. Back in 2020, we had Craig’s turn as an SNL host (and the resultant meme), and Billie Eilish’s Bond theme. But then… a quantum of silence for 18 months. Talk about building anticipation! Was it worth the wait? The Broccoli bunch truly tried to give us the world in this installment. Yet sometimes the world is not enough.
When Daniel Craig arrived as James Bond in 2006 (007 would’ve made more sense, but whatevs), it was the jolt of fresh blood the series needed. Bond films were never really bad, but the franchise had become paint-by-the-numbers, outpaced by Jason Bourne in the action-spy arms race. Casino Royale was a tougher, darker Bond, and it worked. And worked again, and again. And then… well, I enjoyed much of Spectre, but it definitely came off the rails.
Could they get things back on track for Craig’s Swann song? Certainly not by hiring True Detective’s Cary Jojo “Diminishing Returns” Fukunaga to co-write and direct. He continues the previous films’ grimness. But when you live by darkness, you die another day by darkness. And this is pretty dour Bond. Which drags a lot, and is stupidly long (2 hours, 43 minutes, sheesh). Admittedly, when 007 gets his first action sequence (with returning Dr. Swann, Léa Seydoux, in tow), it’s textbook thrilling Bond, including a fully-loaded Aston Martin. So, I was initially on board. But as the plot carried on, becoming increasingly convoluted, I realized I had no idea what was going on. And even more importantly, wasn’t enjoying myself a whole lot.
They do tick off the Bond checklist: shaken not stirred; Bond James Bond; a new Bond girl. Ana de Armas is indeed an absolute knockout, and impresses mightily in her big fight scene. Yet just when we want to see, er, more of her, she’s gone. It’s like Fukunaga felt, ok, you’ve had your fun, now back to the dreariness.
It’s nice to see our old friends M, and Moneypenny, and an oil painting of Dame Judi Dench, and Q, who’s revealed as gay, hooray. (More inclusion: With Bond believed dead at film’s start, the 007 agent number has been reassigned to… a black woman. Take that, patriarchy!)
Rami Malek is here as the baddie and I thought, “Ooh, that’ll be good,” but he gets very little to do and doesn’t give it much oomph.
Then there’s just some clumsy, lazy filmmaking. There’s a Silence of the Lambs rip. And, no spoilers, but a character totally inexplicably escapes. And also Bond, who has shown no traces of Roger Moore wit during the lighter parts of the film, waits until things are getting really heavy before firing off two corny one-liners. Read the room, pal!
Dear Bond producers: I think a major problem here was trying to make the Craig 007s a continuing story. Plots just piled up on top of each other and this time for sure, there weren’t talented enough filmmakers to interweave it all (and edit, for godsakes). I was genuinely saddened back when they announced that this would be Daniel Craig’s final film as Bond. But now I’m quite glad. The series could definitely use a fresh start, a dash of fun, and a stand-alone plot. From Jack, with love.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/12/21
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.
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.
Jack Silbert, curator