By Jack Silbert on August 6, 2019
EPISODE #342: MASS SHOOTINGS AND MURDER
after the latest two, in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH
The Fall — “Fiery Jack” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Basic Bitches — “Mass Shootings and Donald Trump”
The Selecter — “Murder”
Head Cheerleader — “Murderers”
The Insomniacs — “Help! Murder! Police!”
The Police — “Murder by Numbers”
Bruce Springsteen — “Murder Incorporated”
Another Sunny Day — “You Should All Be Murdered”
The Clash — “Somebody Got Murdered”
Camera Obscura — “Away With Murder”
The Old 97’s — “El Paso”
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young — “Ohio”
The Boomtown Rats — “I Don’t Like Mondays”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Another Sunny Day, Basic Bitches, Boomtown Rats, Bruce Springsteen, Camera Obscura, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Head Cheerleader, Old 97's, The Clash, The Insomniacs, The Police, The Selecter
By Jack Silbert on August 2, 2019
4.5 stars out of 5
I feel like I’m in an unhealthy long-term relationship with Quentin Tarantino. We got off to an excellent start, but now he disappoints me time and again, and yet always manages to lure me back. Every now and then, he surprises me with a delightful bed-and-breakfast long weekend (um, wait, I think I’m taking this analogy too far) that makes me forget all the bad times. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is that Poconos getaway. Which is to say, I freaking loved it.
There was a two-second scene in the trailer, of DiCaprio dancing with 60s ladies on a TV soundstage, that absolutely cracked me up and got me very excited to see this film. That exact moment isn’t even in the movie — oh you’re a cheeky monkey, Quentin! I settled in at my local cineplex and there was a couple behind me gabbing throughout the coming attractions. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they would observe “silencio” when the actual movie started but they kept chattering away like a pair of goddamn mynah birds. I stood up, grumbled, and moved several rows ahead to bathe in the glorious light of the big screen. (Pro tip: It’s bigger when you’re closer.)
I’ve written two recent reviews in which I referred to the movies as “love letters” to [insert topic here] but I have to go for the threepeat: This is a love letter to Hollywood and the good old days of TV and moviemaking. It’s 1969 with fading actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his personal stuntman buddy Brad Pitt. Hell, I’d watch that show! The sun is always shining and it’s another fabulous day in the greater Los Angeles area. Tarantino walks us through spot-on homages to old shows and flicks and sets, peppering the soundtrack with vintage commercial sound bites. Also in here is an extended salute to spaghetti westerns (see title).
Brad Pitt is looking a bit weathered and it suits him nicely. Very Redford. His character lazily smiles his way through life, perhaps with a skeleton in the closet but who cares because he’s damn handsome. DiCaprio as Rick Dalton works even harder — coughing, sulking, stuttering, sputtering, being an upper-case STAR when he needs to — it’s a terrific performance. Margot Robbie is perfection as Sharon Tate (oh did I forget to mention the Manson family is in this) — sexy, carefree, confident. The film is loaded with great mini portrayals: Al Pacino! Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, Tim Olyphant, Margaret Qualley (who was fab as the daughter on The Leftovers), Mr. Blonde, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Willis’s daughter, even Lena freakin’ Dunham does an awesome job. Until later, I forgot Luke Perry was in this — he is unrecognizable and it’s a wonderful send-off.
A big concept here is the passing of the old guard, represented by Leo and Brad, to the new world, as played here by the burn-it-all-down Manson family. But you can bet your bippy our cagey vets won’t go down without a fight.
I sat there for 2 hours, 40 minutes with a huge smile on my face, and likely would’ve felt the same if it was twice as long. It’s a kinder, gentler Tarantino until it isn’t, and I frickin’ loved that aspect too. This is his best movie since Inglourious Basterds and perhaps his best ever. All is forgiven, Quentin; bring on the Untitled Star Trek Project!
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Quentin Tarantino
By Jack Silbert on August 1, 2019
Tammy Faye Starlite is a singer, an actress, a neighbor, and an absolute delight. Her New York Times-feted salute to Marianne Faithfull returns this month, and I had the pleasure of interviewing Tammy for hMAG.
Posted in shameless self-promotion | Tagged Broken English, hMAG, Hoboken, Marianne Faithfull, Tammy Faye Starlite
By Jack Silbert on July 31, 2019
2.5 stars out of 5
The trailer looked cute — Marc Maron working in a pawn shop. Was playing at the artsy theater in Asbury Park, so I could beat the traffic before a concert, chat with the friendly ticket booth guy, sit in some air conditioning, and enjoy another chocolate covered graham cracker. Nice way to spend a couple of summer-day hours.
Movie begins. The very, very funny Mike O’Brien on the screen — from SNL and the creator of the brilliant show A.P. Bio! This film might be even better than expected!
Except it looked cheap. Like, filmed on a flip phone or something. OK, OK, it’s a “small” movie. We’re in Birmingham, Alabama and Marc Maron runs a pawn shop. Maron doesn’t really “read” southern; they explain that he’s from New Mexico. OK, whatever. His young coworker Jon Bass — who was hilarious in the sadly one-season-only Big Time in Hollywood, FL — also doesn’t seem particularly southern. Hmmm.
Dependably funny Michaela Watkins and I-think-I’ve-seen-her-before Jillian Bell aren’t supposed to be southern; they are a couple visiting because Jillian’s grandpa died and left her… a sword. So we have a movie set in the deep South with four non-southern leads. That’s maybe a bit problematic.
But first that sword. We have a high-concept comedy here. A letter from the deceased Alzheimer’s-afflicted gramps indicates that this Union sword was surrendered to the Confederacy — there is vague paperwork backing the claim — and it all proves that… the South won the war! And because the Internet is filled with conspiracy freaks — including Dan Bakkedahl, so delightfully cruel as Roger Furlong on Veep — they might be able to make a tidy bundle by selling this sword. With help from a pawn shop.
There’s a subplot with a maybe-still-strung out woman played by director/co-writer Lynn Shelton, former lover of Marc Maron, but how can he ever trust her again?
There is also bluesy guitar and I immediately worried, “No, please, they didn’t let Marc Maron do the music.” They did. I feel like a lot of favors were cashed in in the making of this movie.
We do get a decent amount of laughs — I’d credit O’Brien, listed as the co-writer — but the movie is just not very good. Too much plot, too many leaps of logic, and this vague anti-South feel that seemed kind of offensive to me. Especially playing in a little art cinema, where you’re preaching to the converted.
If you really love Maron, watch this when it goes to streaming. But if you’re like me and fast-forward through his WTF intros, you can skip this too.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Marc Maron
By Jack Silbert on July 30, 2019
EPISODE #341: MAMA’S LITTLE BABY LOVES SHORTENIN’ WORDS (NUTHIN’ BUT a G THANG)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers — “Jammin’ Me”
Tracy Chapman — “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution”
Reigning Sound — “Lyin’ Girl”
Public Enemy — “Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man”
The Pastels — “Comin’ Through”
Woods — “Mornin’ Time”
Suzanne Lavine — “Hangin’ Around”
T-Bone Walker — “Evenin'”
Wondermints — “Runnin’ Thru the Nite”
The RocknRoll Hi-Fives — “Livin’ the Lost Boy Life”
The Wrens — “Darlin’ Darlin'”
soundbite from The Wire — “Omar Comin’!”
Pianosaurus — “Thriftshoppin'”
The Coctails — “Walkin’ Down the Street”
Ben Vaughn — “Lookin’ for a 7-11”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Ben Vaughn, g-dropping, Pianosaurus, Public Enemy, Reigning Sound, RocknRoll Hi-Fives, Suzanne Lavine, T-Bone Walker, The Coctails, The Pastels, The Wire, The Wrens, Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman, Wondermints, Woods
By Jack Silbert on July 23, 2019
EPISODE #340: COOL
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Meters — “Look-Ka Py Py” r.i.p. Art Neville
June Christy — “Something Cool”
Rat Fancy — “Stay Cool”
Sparks featuring Jane Wiedlin — “Cool Places”
Pylon — “Cool”
Lucinda Williams — “2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten”
Algebra II — “Cool Girl”
Sonic Youth — “Kool Thing”
Karl Hendricks Trio — “Hold On, Cool Breeze”
Dinosaur Jr. — “Whatever’s Cool With Me”
Colleen Green — “You’re So Cool”
Soccer Mommy — “Cool”
The Original Sins — “Uncool”
Devo — “Through Being Cool”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Algebra II, Colleen Green, Devo, Dinosaur Jr., Jane Wiedlin, June Christy, Karl Hendricks Trio, Lucinda Williams, Original Sins, Pylon, Rat Fancy, Soccer Mommy, Sonic Youth, Sparks, The Meters
By Jack Silbert on July 19, 2019
4 stars out of 5
I’ll never hear the song “So Long, Marianne” quite the same way again. What a sweet and sad love story this documentary is! I’ve been a Leonard Cohen fan since my mid-20s — “Bird on a Wire” was the first that really got me — but I never knew too much about him. His voice was soft, then got gravelly; he lived in a monastery for a while; he wrote “Hallelujah.” And I guess he was Canadian?
So this film was a welcome opportunity to learn a lot more, even if ultimately, it’s a love letter to Marianne Ihlen — Cohen’s great muse — from the movie’s director, Nick Broomfield.
We begin in the earliest 1960s on the sun-dappled island of Hydra, in Greece. Marianne is there with her husband Axel and their son Little Axel. Leonard is there too, the privileged young writer trying to focus on his work. The island was full of writers, artists, painters, all seeking inspiration. It was also a time of free love and so, soon enough, Marianne and Leonard are together. We have archival footage because the great documentarian D.A. Pennebaker was there too. So was Broomfield, and as he admits early on, was briefly another of Marianne’s lovers.
Cohen emerges as a fascinating individual, lover of women, a spiritual searcher, depressive, a loner, a bit of a dick and yet I could relate somehow? There’s an anecdote that rattled me, where he sends word to Marianne to leave Hydra, bring her son, come live with him… yet as soon as Leonard says it, he doesn’t want it anymore. He just needed to say it.
The most clear-headed (some might say jaded) presence in the film is Aviva Layton, widow of Cohen’s poetry mentor. She definitively states that a creative soul can never be a good spouse, as they’ll always care more about the work.
And where did this leave Marianne? Not a painter, writer, or musician, she struggled for self-identification on Hydra. (The island also plays a major role here: a paradise that seems to doom those who return to the “real world.”) Marianne envisioned a happily-ever-after with Leonard though it was not to be. Realizing such things can take a long time.
Yet… the flame never went out. Love never dies they say, and here we see it glimmer on through the decades, and it’s heartbreaking and wonderful. Nick Broomfield felt it too, poor sod, and thus we get this very special remembrance.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Leonard Cohen
By Jack Silbert on July 17, 2019
4 stars out of 5
This might sound a little weird, but Midsommar made me miss Woody Allen. I was the only one in an Asbury Park theater watching this thoroughly f’ed up story unfold against a gorgeous sunny Swedish backdrop. And I flashed back to Woody’s summer releases. Every year there seemed to be one, light comedy and deep thoughts set in some super pleasing locale, the theater nicely air conditioned and it was like taking a sweet little vacation. Midsommar is like that except, as stated, 100% f’ed up.
So you’ve got four U.S. anthropology student buddies: a poor man’s Chris Pratt, an annoying goofball, the voice-of-reason black dude, and a young Swedish Mark Linn-Baker who likes to draw and is all smiley. They’re going to visit Mark’s old Swedish commune which is staging a once-a-century traditional festival. Pratt’s girlfriend is having a pretty rough go of things, so she tags along. And things go downhill from there.
It’s a horror flick, but at a significantly slower pace than most, which I guess makes this an “art film.” Within two minutes I was thinking, “See? It’s not too hard to make a movie look really good, even with a lower budget. Are you listening to me, Spider-Man: Far From Home?” You’re not continually on the edge of your seat as with A Quiet Place, but the weirdness builds and builds and builds amongst all these smiling Swedes and, did I mention it’s pretty f’ed up?
Florence Pugh is excellent as the lead, Dani, totally broken, totally vulnerable, but still with an inner strength. Between this and The Little Drummer Girl miniseries, she is absolutely one to watch. The other actors show up and are either suitably nervous-looking or else blank stared, depending which side they’re on, but nobody stands out. That’s OK, this is a genre exercise (we even get the classic “if you do drugs or have sex, you’re gonna get it!” horror trope), and a pretty good, fun, unique one at that. So rally ’round the maypole and enjoy.
Posted in movie reviews
By Jack Silbert on July 16, 2019
EPISODE #339: MOON LANDING 50TH ANNIVERSARY (MOON III)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Allo Darlin’ — “Neil Armstrong”
The Stray Cats — “Blast Off”
Frank Sinatra — “Fly Me to the Moon”
Sheryl Crow — “Straight to the Moon”
R.E.M. — “Man on the Moon”
Sugar — “Man on the Moon”
Grinderman — “Man in the Moon”
Beulah — “If We Can Land a Man on the Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart”
Sharkmuffin — “I Called You From the Moon” [acoustic]
Refused — “The Apollo Programme Was a Hoax”
The Mekons — “Ghosts of American Astronauts”
Ted Leo — “Let’s Stay on the Moon”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Allo Darlin', Beulah, Frank Sinatra, Grinderman, Mekons, Nick Cave, R.E.M., Refused, Sharkmuffin, Sheryl Crow, Stray Cats, Sugar, Ted Leo
By Jack Silbert on July 15, 2019
Remarkably, it took me a full year to get a reserved disabled parking space in Hoboken. Have I mentioned that I don’t have feet? I wrote the whole ugly story for hMAG.
Posted in shameless self-promotion | Tagged disability awareness, disabled parking, hMAG, Hoboken, Hoboken Jack, Toyota Corolla
Jack Silbert, curator