Lyric Entry #012

I have a mansion, but forget the price
Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice

I live in hotels, tear out the walls
I have accountants pay for it all

They say I'm crazy but I have a good time
I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime
Life's been good to me so far!

My Maserati does 185
I lost my license, now I don't drive

I have a limo, ride in the back
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked

I'm making records, my fans they can't wait
They write me letters, tell me I'm great

So I got me an office, gold records on the wall
Just leave a message, maybe I'll call

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
(Everybody say "I'm cool", he's cool)
I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far!

...

I go to parties sometimes until four
It's hard to leave when you can't find the door

It's tough to handle this fortune and fame
Everybody's so different, I haven't changed

They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time
(Everybody say "oh yeah", oh yeah)
I keep on going, guess I'll never know why
Life's been good to me so far!

Best of 2018: Music album

Double Negative
Low

This is it. I've read two reviews that say this album is political, but I don't see it. It's one of Low's best, most complete works. Better than their early stuff, than Drums and Guns, than Invisible Way. It's quiet, it's disjointed, it's romantic. It's an album that demands headphones to hear those little raindrops. It makes you think of the husband-wife songwriters making this in the studio.






Age Of
Oneohtrix Point Never


Virtue
The Voidz


Criminal
The Soft Moon


Pinned
A Place to Bury Strangers

Best of 2018: Song

Check my Spotify playlist for various selections. By far, my favorite songs came from Low this year. The others are good, too, so take a look-see.

Shortlist:

• "Always Up" by Low
• "Young" by the Soft Moon
• "All Wordz Are Made Up" by The Voidz
• "Never Coming Back" bt A Place to Bury Strangers

https://open.spotify.com/user/steveprutz/playlist/4UwUhBz5HDX9yrPIlPB49B?si=PHqF1rQbRdWZ75brwy0Fuw

The worst film of 2018

Suspiria 2018 is almost three hours long. Imagine seeing a slow, atmospheric movie on a weeknight. That's how I experienced it, and I don't recommend seeing it even in ideal conditions. It's a movie about a witch-run dance school, but there is very little dancing. Like, I don't want to see choreographed dance routines, but I was honestly subverted on that point. I also went in knowing the 1977 original work. I wouldn't call this film a remake, no way. It's barely got the original plot, and the rest is all new. That's not a compliment. I could have been marketed as a totally new idea, and it's sad it had to go with brand recognition--which is a stretch for an Italian cult horror film. Maybe it could have been called A Coven Milling About. I was expecting great special effects demonstrating black magic and witch-power, but again, I was disappointed. Halfway through, I couldn't wait to go home.

A comment: the cast is almost entirely female. There are two males that I recall, obviously a call to how "feminist" the filmmakers wanted this whole ordeal to be. And I think the director, Luca Guadagnino, intentionally cast grotesque and ugly women to support "Susie" (Dakota Johnson). It was really distracting--too much so. I realize how superficial this whole paragraph sounds, but honesty triumphs over deception.

I'm glad it bombed. I'll be surprised if it wins any mainstream awards. Tilda Swinton isn't even worth seeing--not her best work at all. The Thom Yorke soundtrack is overrated (hard overrated). None of this is worth a second of your time. Go see the original and its sequel, Inferno, which was on Amazon Prime last I checked.

Lyric Entry #011

History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues

I'm just the oily slick
On the wind-up world of the nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel

I hang around dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel

So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your Alice

You know she has no sense
For all your jealousy
In a sense she still smiles very sweetly

Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous

And now you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets
And leave discreetly

I might make it California's fault
Be locked in Geneva's deepest vault
Just like the canals of Mars and the Great Barrier Reef
I come to you beyond belief

My hands were clammy and cunning
She's been suitably stunning
But I know there's not a hope in Hades
All the laddies cat-call and wolf whistle
So called gentlemen and ladies
Dog fight like rose and thistle

I got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief

midway 2018: what I'm watching

YouTube & Twitch
I follow a ton of YouTubers, but, aside from pro musicians and directors, the "amateur" ones that post frequently and I look forward to watching:

• acgameryoutube (Twitch)
• Cinemassacre
• CinemaTyler
• Michael's shenanigans
• IdeasOfIceandFire
• RedLetterMedia
• Rifftrax (Twitch)
• Sam O'Nella Academy
• Sardonicast/YourMovieSucksDOTorg
• Shadow Glass
• Summoning Salt
• TierZoo
• Trekspertise
• troutjerky87 (Twitch)
• videogamedunkey

Picard returns to Trek

So they've announced another Trek series reviving the TNG Captain Picard character...

[YouTube announcement]

Sir Pat is 78 years old... by the time this series gets underway and released, he'll surely be 80...

Honestly this series is going to focus on mentoring youth. Sure, there will be Data and Worf guest drop-ins, but I don't see a full reunion happening unless ratings dip. I'm cautiously optimistic, but also fearful that Alex Kurtzman will screw it up.








And also... Professor X... would he just be imitating that role mentoring kids?

So! Let's play the name lottery. What will be the title of this new Trek TV show?

• Star Trek: Archeologists
• Star Trek: Academy
• Star Trek: Admiralty
• Star Trek: Family Ties
• Star Trek: Mentors
• Star Trek: History Repeats Itself
• Star Trek: Nothing Original
• Star Trek: Diplomacy
• Star Trek: Extended Captain's Holiday
• Star Trek: the Generation Gap
• Star Trek: Octogenerians
• Star Trek: the Line Must Be Drawn Here!
• and obviously, Star Trek: Make It So!

By the way, Rolling Stone published a great article in 2013 proposing they bring back the TNG cast in a revival series. Check it out.