By Jack Silbert on September 11, 2018
EPISODE #297: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
The Who — “Happy Jack” (acoustic) [ALTERNATE THEME]
Bruce Springsteen — “The Rising”
Steve Wynn — “Tuesday”
Grass Widow — “Tuesday”
The Pogues — “Tuesday Morning”
The Moody Blues — “Tuesday Afternoon”
Karl Hendricks Trio — “Nogales by Tuesday”
Palomar — “Hooray for Tuesday”
The Rolling Stones — “Ruby Tuesday”
The Smithereens — “Groovy Tuesday”
The Apartments — “Speechless With Tuesday”
Ryan Adams — “New York, New York”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Bruce Springsteen, Grass Widow, Karl Hendricks Trio, Moody Blues, Palomar, Pogues, Rolling Stones, Ryan Adams, September 11, Steve Wynn, The Apartments, The Smithereens
By Jack Silbert on September 4, 2018
EPISODE #296: END OF SUMMER II
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Simone White — “I Didn’t Have Any Summer Romance”
Steve Goldberg & the Arch Enemies — “Summer’s Ending”
Epic45 — “A Year Without a Summer”
The Beach Boys — “Things We Did Last Summer”
Ron Sexsmith — “Summer Blowin’ Town”
Buffalo Tom — “Summer”
The Yawns — “Summers Wasted”
The Proper Ornaments — “Summer’s Gone”
Grandaddy — “Summer… It’s Gone”
Lorna — “The Last Mosquito Fight of Summer”
soundbite from The Wire — “You remember that one day summer past?”
Frank Sinatra — “There Used To Be a Ballpark”
John Prine — “Summer’s End”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Beach Boys, Buffalo Tom, Epic45, Frank Sinatra, Grandaddy, John Prine, Lorna, Proper Ornaments, Ron Sexsmith, Simone White, Steve Goldberg & the Arch Enemies, The Wire, The Yawns
By Jack Silbert on August 31, 2018
3 stars out of 5
It’s only the third Ethan Hawke movie I’ve ever seen in a theater (and I see an awful lot of movies in the theater), so I definitely wanted to catch this one. Though only Nick Hornby’s earliest books have truly impressed me — Fever Pitch and High Fidelity — this story seemed up my alley: Indie rock guy guy becomes reclusive after an iconic album. (Think Jeff Mangum and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.) Somewhat obsessed British superfan Duncan devotes his free time to the scant information available on Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Crowe makes contact… with Duncan’s girlfriend Annie.
Fifteen years into her relationship, cracks are widening, and Annie welcomes the distraction of a secret transatlantic correspondence with the less and less mysterious musician. That aspect really rang true — innocent infidelity for a bored lover — as did the world of the obsessive music fan. (I may know one or two.) There is much to enjoy here, and a lot of credit must go to the leads. Chris O’Dowd as Duncan is as goofily likable as ever, and convincing in his inability to focus on Annie. We pull for Rose Byrne as Annie and maybe we have a little crush on her too. (The character runs a small-town historical museum fer crissakes.) And my man Ethan is believable and friendly as the weathered rocker who is perhaps being sparked back to life.
I didn’t like everything. Super Hans makes a brief appearance, and he’s my least favorite thing in Peep Show. There’s too much about Tucker being a bad dad, to the children of his different conquests, and how this contrasts with Annie’s growing regret about not being a parent. (The script twice has Tucker tell her, “I’m not one to give advice” and it didn’t feel intentional that he was repeating himself.) Still, it was feeling like 3.5 stars nearly all the way through, until the ending left me kind of cold. Like what had come before didn’t totally justify how things wound up, and/or maybe too much ground was covered too quickly. (I totally would’ve dropped the “extra content” during the credits.)
Oh, one other thing. I was further drawn to the movie by the promise of new songs by Robyn Hitchcock. However, we were not told that these compositions would be sung by Ethan Hawke. So I’m feeling pretty justified about my 3-star rating; don’t mess with an obsessive music fan.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Ethan Hawke
By Jack Silbert on August 29, 2018
3.5 stars out of 5
I’ve seen all the Mission: Impossible movies in the theater, whether or not they’re written and directed by a friend from high school. I also bestowed 3.5 stars on the previous two installments, which is likely as high as I’ll rate this kind of film (due to inherent silliness of the spy-vs-spy genre). All that said, Fallout felt a little stronger than recent impossible missions: more fun, more “epic.”
The gang’s mostly here: Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg. Alec Baldwin returns as the boss and gets a bit more to do this time, thankfully. (I heart Baldwin.) Ilsa, the complicated love interest from Rogue Nation, is still complicated. Also, baddie Solomon Lane from that flick is still bad. And just to show that Chris McQuarrie doesn’t only bring back characters from his own scripts, Michelle Monaghan is here as Julia, who we first met all the way back in M:I3.
The opening sequence in Berlin is especially good, before we hop to London, Paris, and Kashmir. And the action is solid throughout, whether hand-to-hand, on the road (in a BMW, because every fucking car in this movie is a BMW), or in the air. It’s on the long side for a summer blockbuster — 2.5 hours — but the film never drags. And McQuarrie the director sneaks in a couple of artful touches, and as writer keeps the plot pretty straightforward with a sprinkling of M:I laughs. So if you want a little action fix before summer’s out and fall’s in, Fallout is far out.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies, Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise
By Jack Silbert on August 28, 2018
EPISODE #295: CATS III
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The A-Bones — “Cat Nip”
Colour Me Wednesday — “Cat Hair”
Franklin Bruno — “Cat-Scratch Fever”
The Smittens — “Cats for Cats”
Elf Power — “The Cat Trapped in the Wall”
Alejandro Escovedo — “Shave the Cat”
Devo — “Pink Pussycat”
Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five — “At the Swing Cat’s Ball”
Protomartyr — “Feral Cats” (live at WFMU’s Monty Hall)
Squeeze — “Cat on the Wall”
Roy Orbison — “Bad Cat” (demo)
The Pogues — “Wild Cats of Kilkenny”
Adam Ant — “Puss ‘n Boots”
Karl Hendricks Trio — “How’s the Cat”
Prince — “Scarlet Pussy”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged A-Bones, Adam Ant, Alejandro Escovedo, Colour Me Wednesday, Devo, Elf Power, Franklin Bruno, Karl Hendricks Trio, Louis Jordan, Pogues, Prince, Protomartyr, Roy Orbison, Smittens, Squeeze
By Jack Silbert on August 21, 2018
EPISODE #294: DOG DAYS OF SUMMER III
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Pulp — “Dogs Are Everywhere”
The Beatles — “Hey Bulldog”
The A-Bones — “Jupiter Bulldog”
Guided by Voices — “Bulldog Skin”
Fugazi — “Bulldog Front”
Elvis Presley — “Hound Dog”
Roy Orbison — “Hound Dog Man”
Devo — “Big Dog”
Bee Bee Sea — “This Dog Is the King of the Losers”
R. Stevie Moore — “Don’t Let Me Go to the Dogs”
Bauhaus — “The Dog’s a Vapour”
King Missile — “That Old Dog”
Jason Lytle — “Ghost of My Old Dog”
Laura Veirs — “Little Lap Dog Lullaby”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged A-Bones, Bauhaus, Beatles, Bee Bee Sea, Devo, Elvis Presley, Fugazi, Guided by Voices, Jason Lytle, King Missile, Laura Veirs, Pulp, R. Stevie Moore, Roy Orbison
By Jack Silbert on August 19, 2018
4.5 stars out of 5
I’m an old-school Spike Lee fan. In high school, my friend Jeff and I drove out by Fort Dix to see She’s Gotta Have It. (“Pleasebabypleasebabypleasebabybabybabyplease.”) I can’t say that I’ve seen all his films since but I have seen several. Chi-Raq was the last one I tried and the first that I couldn’t get through. Was it me? Was it him? Hey, it’s in the past. This is now, and oh man is Lee at full strength with BlackkKlansman.
We begin with a scene of Confederate wounded and dead, then fast-forward a century to “Dr. Kennebrew Beauregard” (a hilarious Alec Baldwin, matching the get-in-get-out brilliance of his Glengarry role) filming a white-supremacy public service announcement, flubs and all. Next it’s the 70s, and we meet Ron Stallworth (a confident John David Washington in his first major movie role), applying for a job on the Colorado Springs police department. Colorado Springs — sounds lush and green and mountainous and mellow and not a hotbed of racial tension. Yet Stallworth notices an active chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, and decides to infiltrate it by joining. But because he’s black, he’ll need a white detective to complete his undercover Cyrano routine. Enter secular Jew Flip Zimmerman (Kylo Ren).
Pretty high-concept stuff if it wasn’t based on a true story, which makes it all the more wild. There are many laughs here, from Baldwin to Clay Davis from The Wire saying “Sheeeeeeeeeet!” to a drunken comic-relief Klansman. In fact, with the exception of a couple of over-the-top deplorable characters — KKK member Felix (Finnish star Jasper Pääkkönen, totally convincing as American trash) and racist cop Landers (Frederick Weller, also terrific in Mosaic) — everyone has some likable quality. The New York Times got raked over the coals for humanizing white supremacists, but Lee uses that as a scary hook: The kinder, gentler Klan of the 1970s didn’t publicly preach violence, in a cynical effort to weasel its way into the mainstream.
Great casting all around, in big roles and small: Topher Grace as That 70’s Grand Wizard David Duke. Robert John Burke promoted from RoboCop to police chief. Michael Buscemi as a smiling intelligence detective. 24: Not Much of a Legacy star Corey Hawkins as Kwame Ture (the former Stokely Carmichael). Nicholas Turturro, who has played many a police detective, on the other side of the law. Relative newcomer Laura Harrier shines as Black Power student activist (and Stallworth love interest) Patrice Dumas. And a legendary individual who I won’t spoil is featured in one of two smartly directed, Godfather II-esque simultaneous scenes. For Coppola, it was innocence vs. violence; here, Lee contrasts the consecration of hatred with its harrowing after-effects.
The ending is unexpectedly powerful and really knocked me for a loop. If you thought Spike Lee wasn’t going to somehow connect this story to modern America, you don’t know Spike Lee. As a result, he transforms a compelling time piece into an absolutely crucial and urgent movie for today. Ya dig?
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies
By Jack Silbert on August 14, 2018
EPISODE #293: FIRE II
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Jimi Hendrix Experience — “Fire”
Mount Eerie — “Forest Fire”
David Bowie — “(You Will) Set the World on Fire”
The Byrds — “This Wheel’s on Fire”
Ben Vaughn — “Fire in the Hole”
Bruce Springsteen — “I’m on Fire”
The Ladybug Transistor — “Hey Jack I’m on Fire”
Chris Stamey — “Brushfire in Hoboken”
Otis Ball — “Fire Needs Oxygen”
Morrissey — “Hairdresser on Fire”
Cadallaca — “Fire Trap”
The Trypes — “Play With Fire”
Petal — “The Fire”
They Might Be Giants — “Catching on Fire”
Robert Plant — “Carry Fire”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Ben Vaughn, Bruce Springsteen, Cadallaca, Chris Stamey, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Ladybug Transistor, Morrissey, Mount Eerie, Otis Ball, Petal, Robert Plant, The Byrds, The Trypes, They Might Be Giants
By Jack Silbert on August 7, 2018
EPISODE #292: ATHENS POPFEST
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Elizabeth Morris — “Athens”
R.E.M. — “Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)”
Pylon — “Crazy”
The Glands — “Straight Down”
The B-52’s — “Private Idaho”
Joy Cleaner — “I’m Not From Some Other Dimension”
Air-Sea Dolphin — “Exploding”
Eureka California — “MKUltra”
His Name Is Alive — “Universal Frequencies”
Guided by Voices — “Echos Myron”
Man or Astro-Man? — “Destination Venus”
Dean Wareham — “Love Is Colder Than Death”
Ex Hex — “You Fell Apart”
The Dead Milkmen — “Punk Rock Girl”
Elf Power — “O What a Beautiful Dream”
Jack’s Aquarium podcast is proudly recorded in Hoboken, NJ.
Posted in internet radio playlists | Tagged Air-Sea Dolphin, Allo Darlin', B-52's, Dead Milkmen, Dean Wareham, Elf Power, Elizabeth Morris, Eureka California, Ex Hex, Guided by Voices, His Name Is Alive, Joy Cleaner, Luna, Man or Astro-Man?, Pylon, R.E.M., The Glands
By Jack Silbert on August 6, 2018
4 stars out of 5
When it comes to summer 2018 movies about guys with disabilities, I ultimately couldn’t drag myself (pun intended) to Skyscraper, but was very excited about the John Callahan biopic Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Starring Joaquin Phoenix! Written and directed by Gus Van Sant! I was sure it would be at my nearby multiplex very soon.
But instead of coming to more theaters, the number of screenings has dwindled. Why? Are we too far removed from Callahan’s heyday? (I think I was in college when I first fell under the spell of his twisted, rude, hilarious cartoons.) I don’t know, but it’s a shame, because this is a real good movie.
Phoenix is great — hey, he always is. Early on, we see him as a blissed-out, drunk-off-his-ass, Spicoli type in early 70s southern California, on Callahan’s last day as a walking person. It’s all good times with women, booze, and partying with a stranger (Jack Black in a small but impactful role), until the car crash that rendered Callahan a quadriplegic.
Callahan returns home to Portland to recover, and I couldn’t help but compare his arc to my own — depression and the sense of helplessness; frustration; the small achievements that slowly, slowly bring normalcy; etc. Of course, just as much as his disability, Callahan was also grappling with alcoholism.
On that front, we meet a somewhat less chunky Jonah Hill as an AA group leader. It’s a nice, laid-back performance, exuding love and faith but without taking any shit. Van Sant places a couple of rockers in the group: Kim Gordon (!) and an especially impressive Beth Ditto. (Appropriate for Portland, we also get Carrie Brownstein as a disability-services employee.) I did not recognize Rooney Mara as Callahan’s love interest.
It’s a powerful story about the search for meaning in our lives, the help we need to get there, and the healing wonders of creativity.
Posted in movie reviews | Tagged 10s movies
Jack Silbert, curator