By Jack Silbert on June 25, 2019
EPISODE #336: CASEY KASEM TRIBUTE 2019
“The New Scooby-Doo Movies” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — “I Love Rock n’ Roll” [Billboard No. 1, 3/20/82 – 5/1/82]
Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney — “Ebony and Ivory” [No. 1, 5/15/82 – 6/26/82]
The Human League — “Don’t You Want Me” [No. 1, 7/3/82 – 7/17/82]
John Cougar Mellencamp — “Jack and Diane” [No. 1, 10/2/82 – 10/23/82]
Michael Jackson — “Billie Jean” [No. 1, 3/5/83 – 4/16/83]
Dexy’s Midnight Runners — “Come on Eileen” [No. 1, 4/23/83]
Michael Jackson — “Beat It” [No. 1, 4/30/83 – 5/14/83]
David Bowie — “Let’s Dance” [No. 1, 5/21/83]
Dion — “Drip Drop” [long-distance dedication]
The Police — “Every Breath You Take” [No. 1, 7/9/83 – 8/27/83]
Yes — “Owner of a Lonely Heart” [No. 1, 1/21/84 – 1/28/84]
Culture Club — “Karma Chameleon” [No. 1, 2/4/84 – 2/18/84]
Van Halen — “Jump” [No. 1, 2/25/84 – 3/24/84]
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Casey Kasem, Culture Club, David Bowie, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Dion, Human League, Joan Jett, John Mellencamp, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, The Police, Van Halen, Yes
By Jack Silbert on June 21, 2019
4.5 stars out of 5
Yes, I respond very positively to movies that are well-made and entertaining. But when a film also appeals to your own bizarro subset of sensibilities, that’s a rare and special thing, and that’s what The Dead Don’t Die is to me.
Either independent movies used to be quirkier or I used to seek out strange flicks more often, I don’t know. But Jim Jarmusch has been a reliable purveyor of offbeat cinema since I was a teenager. This is his first genuine comedy, while at the same time staying true to the zombie genre, and some of you may hate this movie but I kind of loved it.
There are a bunch of stars involved but Bill Murray and Adam Driver as small-town police are the real leads, and they’re great. Both have worked with Jarmusch before so everybody knew what to expect. Driver is particularly good; if I was writing a dissertation on “Jarmusch and Comedy” it might be that the key is, everybody is the straight man, but I am not writing a dissertation, I am writing a movie review.
In a college film class we discussed how some directors would purposely leave little touches in to remind you that you’re watching a movie. Here, early on, Jarmusch smashes through the fourth wall. There is no doubt that you’re watching a movie, a silly movie, so enjoy.
This is set in Centervile, PA, population 738, and the Pennsylvania connection isn’t random. George Romero is name-checked and really, a lot of this is homage to the godfather of zombie flicks. Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive was art-house vampires and this is undead spoof, but both clearly came from a place of love and deep respect.
So, laughs and scares and spot-the-famous-person and in-jokes, but also a little environmental message (polar fracking!), Trump teasing (Steve Buscemi wears a red Make America White Again hat), and consumerism shaming. Also, a great theme song by Sturgill Simpson, Iggy as a zombie, Eszter Balint runs a diner, RZA’s here too, and a later obscure music reference made me think, “Oh my goodness I love this movie.” Again, you might not. Hey that’s cool too.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits
By Jack Silbert on June 21, 2019
I’ve been a fan of the Schramms since moving to Hoboken back in 1994. I’m thrilled that they’ve released their first studio album in nearly 20 years, and was quite honored to write a review for hMAG.
Posted in shameless self-promotion, unsolicited criticism | Tagged hMAG, Hoboken, the Schramms
By Jack Silbert on June 18, 2019
EPISODE #335: SUMMER 2019
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Cars — “Magic”
Colour Me Wednesday — “Queer for the Summer”
Me in Capris — “Summer of Scowling”
Secretary Legs — “Rerun Summer”
First Base — “Don’t Let Me Down This Summer”
Kate Jacobs — “Slacker Mom Summer Song”
Phil Ochs — “In the Heat of Summer”
Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston — “Summertime”
Thee Speaking Canaries — “Summer’s Empty Resolution”
Ruen Brothers — “Summer Sun”
The B-52’s — “Summer of Love” (original mix)
Richard Lloyd — “Summer Rain”
The Clientele — “House on Fire”
Peter Wolf featuring Neko Case — “The Green Fields of Summer”
The Lovin’ Spoonful — “Summer in the City”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged B-52's, Colour Me Wednesday, Daniel Johnston, First Base, Half Japanese, Jad Fair, Kate Jacobs, Lovin' Spoonful, Me in Capris, Neko Case, Peter Wolf, Phil Ochs, Richard Lloyd, Ruen Brothers, Secretary Legs, the Cars, The Clientele, Thee Speaking Canaries
By Jack Silbert on June 11, 2019
EPISODE #334: HEY
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Little Richard — “Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey”
Karyn Kuhl Band — “Hey Kid”
Basic Bitches — “Hey Kid”
Alvvays — “Hey”
OutKast — “Hey Ya!”
Rocketship — “Hey, Hey Girl”
Louis Prima & Keely Smith — “Hey, Boy! Hey, Girl!”
Eels — “Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)”
Luna — “Hey Sister”
Bruce Springsteen — “Hey Blue Eyes”
Honeybunch — “Hey Blue Sky”
Johnny Cash — “Hey Porter”
Hank Williams — “Hey, Good Lookin'”
Ian Rubbish & the Bizzaros — “Hey Policeman!”
Kimberley Rew — “Hey, War Pig!”
They Might Be Giants featuring Elma Mayer — “Hey Now Everybody”
Leonard Cohen — “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”
Dr. John — “Tipitina” [r.i.p. Dr. John]
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Alvvays, Basic Bitches, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. John, Eels, Elma Mayer, Hank Williams, Honeybunch, Ian Rubbish and the Bizzaros, Johnny Cash, Karyn Kuhl Band, Keely Smith, Kimberley Rew, Leonard Cohen, Little Richard, Louis Prima, Luna, OutKast, Rocketship, They Might Be Giants
By Jack Silbert on June 7, 2019
The new EP by Hoboken’s own Karyn Kuhl Band, Hey Kid, will be released on June 21, but is available for pre-order now. I wrote a review for hMAG.
Posted in shameless self-promotion, unsolicited criticism | Tagged hMAG, Hoboken, Karyn Kuhl Band
By Jack Silbert on June 5, 2019
4 out of 5 stars
As the very beginning flashes back to 2014, I wondered if I was watching a sequel to some Godzilla movie I’d never seen. Later, when David Strathairn shows up as a serious military dude, I thought, “Hmm, I do vaguely remember him as a serious military dude,” and worried that I was in the middle of some sort of Marvel Universe Except With Monsters. (Should I have finally watched Kong: Skull Island off my DVR before coming to see this?) Sure enough, there was a 2014 Godzilla which I did in fact see and enjoy and then completely forgot about. But Coach Taylor and Vera Farmiga weren’t in it. But they are in this one. Got it?
Godzilla’s 2014 destruction was real September 11th-y, and Coach and Vera lost their son and split up. Now Coach is off “finding himself” but Vera, with their teen daughter Maddie in tow, sticks with the Monarch team (which Wikipedia tells me was in the 2014 movie) to study the “Titans” which is the politically correct term for monsters. But when mom and daughter are kidnapped by… hmm it’s not Max Von Sydow, and Christopher Lee is dead… some villainous old guy, Coach Taylor… just when he thought he was out, is pulled back in!
In addition to Strathairn, returning from ’14 are Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins as Monarch researchers. They’re joined by Bradley Whitford (because every science team has one guy who talks super casually) and Thomas Middleditch, trying to sell everybody a Verizon plan. Absolutely holding her own with the grown-ups is Millie Bobby Brown (I don’t watch Stranger Things but that’s my prerogative) as daughter Maddie, with sort of a young Natalie Portman vibe. Stay away, Moby.
And oh yes there are monst… uh, Titans. (Even though the new mystery super-creature is officially labeled “Monster Zero.”) The plot overlaps with the Jurassic films — should we destroy or protect these beasties? Plus the standard Godzilla nuclear stuff and that’s updated with a “it is us humans that are destroying the planet” message — but the monsters here are way better. Godzilla! Mothra! Rodan! And Monster Zero is hella scary!
Of course it’s not a perfect movie. Just when I was seemingly settling into a thoughtful “family trying to recover from tragedy” vibe, we enter one of those giant underground sci-fi command centers and I was instantly reminded, “oh yeah this is a big dumb Hollywood movie.” Also, security is very, very lax in this world; a savvy teen girl can basically evade any and all protocols.
But overall, it’s good! Especially for a monster movie, it’s really good. Dark and stormy and foreboding and you get the sense the world is actually ending. The action and monster fighting is pretty awesome and it builds and builds and builds. Plus on the soundtrack we get some Pixies, and updates of the Blue Öyster Cult “Godzilla” song and Mothra’s theme. Solid summer entertainment. Bring on the big ape!
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Godzilla
By Jack Silbert on June 4, 2019
EPISODE #333: HALF DEVIL
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Sputnik — “333”
The Rolling Stones — “Sympathy for the Devil”
Robert Plant — “Angel Dance”
INXS — “Devil Inside”
The Mighty Lemon Drops — “Like an Angel” (original 7″ version)
Steve Earle — “The Devil’s Right Hand”
Rogue’s March — “If I Was an Angel”
The Beatles — “Devil in Her Heart”
k.d. lang — “Angel With a Lariat”
The Dramatics — “The Devil Is Dope”
Lucinda Williams — “Drunken Angel”
Smoking Popes — “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”
Roky Erickson — “Don’t Shake Me, Lucifer” [r.i.p. Roky]
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Beatles, INXS, k.d. lang, Lucinda Williams, Mighty Lemon Drops, Robert Plant, Rogue's March, Roky Erickson, Rolling Stones, Smoking Popes, Sputnik, Steve Earle, The Dramatics
By Jack Silbert on May 30, 2019
3.5 stars out of 5
Two generations of Swintons? Count me in! Tilda has a relatively small role in this, but it’s all about her daughter Honor Swinton Byrne. She plays 24-year-old Julie who wants to make films. Ah, but not about her relatively comfortable existence; she’d rather focus on a boy in the northern industrial town of Sunderland.
Julie likes discussing her ideas with Anthony (a very good Tom Burke, who I think I’ve only seen before in the 2003 British crime miniseries State of Play). He’s posh with pin-striped suits and that worldliness is part of his appeal. He’s also married but that doesn’t stop them from beginning a romance. Early on it’s rather charming but becomes less and less so, and that’s the crux of this story.
There’s an interesting subtext of identity politics here. Middle-class Julie is actually from an upper-class family, while fancy lad Anthony comes from a working-class background. (Crikey, he’s even got kin in those shipyards she fancies so much!) Meanwhile, in film school, professors insist that you have to reveal something of yourself in your art.
The film school scenes don’t quite jibe with the rest of the movie. (Beware films about filmmaking.) But overall there’s a pleasing realism here. Setting the tale in the 1980s reminds us how much more organic life was without computers and smartphones everywhere. Music is very well deployed: Images of rundown shipyards summon Robert Wyatt’s “Shipbuilding.” When Julie is falling for Anthony, we’re tipped off by Graham Maby’s iconic bassline from Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” Later, Julie switches off stuffy Anthony’s opera and slips in a hiphop cassette.
In her debut lead role, Honor Swinton Byrne does indeed honor thy mother. She’s innocent and soft where the Tilda we usually see is knowing and angular — but they share a certain boyishness. The arc of the plot tests Julie’s pleasant demeanor, so Honor gets to test out confusion, fatigue, disappointment, and anger. Tilda steps up late in the game, exuding motherly love. It’s the role she was born to play!
At the end of the credits, we learn that The Souvenir: Part II is coming soon. Huh! I don’t think I’ve seen a dramatic sequel since the early 90s Blue/White/Red trilogy which introduced me to Juliette Binoche. I do wish Souvenir: Part I was a little stronger, but writer/director Joanna Hogg and the Swintons have hooked me enough for the next installment, provided there’s no Thanos.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton
By Jack Silbert on May 28, 2019
EPISODE #332: CIGARETTES
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Benny Spellman — “Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)”
Karyn Kuhl — “Cigarette Song”
Karl Hendricks Trio — “Some Girls Like Cigarettes”
Spoon — “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case”
The Insomniacs — “The Long Cigarette”
Hefner — “The Hymn for the Cigarettes”
My Bloody Valentine — “Cigarette in Your Bed”
The Minus 5 — “Cigarettes Coffee and Booze”
Son Volt — “Highways and Cigarettes”
Rufus Wainwright — “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk”
The Smithereens — “Cigarette”
Benji Cossa — “Hearts and Cigarettes”
Withered Hand — “No Cigarettes”
Patsy Cline — “Three Cigarettes in the Ashtray”
Dramarama — “Last Cigarette”
Yo La Tengo — “Buckner’s Boner” [BONUS TRACK] r.i.p. Bill Buckner
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Benji Cossa, Benny Spellman, Dramarama, Hefner, Karl Hendricks Trio, Karyn Kuhl Band, My Bloody Valentine, Patsy Cline, Rufus Wainwright, Son Volt, Spoon, The Insomniacs, The Minus 5, The Smithereens, Withered Hand, Yo La Tengo
Jack Silbert, curator