Songs that ruined the band: Iris

more about “Songs that ruined the band: Iris“, posted with vodpod

Is an explanation really necessary? The Goo Goo Dolls were never the same.

Other songs.

 

The day U2 (almost) jumped the shark

more about “The day U2 (almost) jumped the shark“, posted with vodpod

 

To be honest, this could’ve been a “Songs that ruined the band,” if it weren’t for the Grammy-winning All That You Can’t Leave Behind a few years later.

Why do bands write songs specifically for soundtracks? It’s a lucrative business, for sure, but it also comes at great risk. There have been many U2 songs on soundtracks, notably “Elevation” on that forgettable Tomb Raider 2. The difference, however, is that “Elevation” was pulled from a collection of songs released as an album. This song wasn’t.

So, the jury’s still out on this one … which should probably tell you something.

Top 5: John Cusack

This clip makes me think about Doug Patterson and N.C. State Youth Camp.

In honor of release of the upcoming movie 2012, here are the top 5 John Cusack leading roles, with some (but definitely not all) favorite lines from the movie.

* Note: In true Rob Gordon (#5) fashion, the list is character age chronological.

1. Lane Myer (Better Off Dead): This, to me, is the template movie for many teen movies to follow (and, even though it wasn’t his first movie, was the first movie to really draw attention to him.) Line: “Man, it’s a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that.”
   
2. Lloyd Dobler (Say Anything): The iconic 1980s movie. Peter Gabriel certainly benefited, as did the trench coat industry. Line: “I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen.” (Alternate: “I’m looking for a dare-to-be-great situation.”)
3. Walter “Gib” Gibson (The Sure Thing): While Better Off Dead may have made people take serious notice, it’s his role in this Rob Reiner film that’s one of my favorites. Line: “How’s this for an opening line: Did you know that Nietzsche died of syphilis?”
   
4. Martin Blank (Grosse Point Blank): Let’s face it, how many of us avoided / tried to avoid the dreaded high school reunion? And, who among us hasn’t wondered what it would be like to be an assassin? Line: “You can never go home again … but I guess you can shop there.”
   
5. Rob Gordon (High Fidelity): This movie let me know it was OK to get married. That’s all I’ll say. Line: “John Dillenger was shot dead behind that theater in a hail of FBI gunfire. You know who tipped them off? His f***ing girlfriend. He just wanted to go to the movies.”

It could be (successfully, I think) argued that each of these characters are just one character: the typical X-generation male growing up, from awkward high schooler to self-realization to marriage crackup. It’s the circle of life, Simba, in five movies. If that is the case, that’s why I’ll add this bonus:

Craig Schwartz (Being John Malkevich): Puppeteer and entrepreneur. And pretty quirky. Line: “This is something I call Craig’s Dance of Despair and Disillusionment.”

Including the bonus, you have pretty much the life cycle of millions of men: high school achiever, college slacker, career questioner, husband, leading to the downward spiral. Kind of depressing, isn’t it? But, I guess that’s where Serendipity comes in.

What are your top five John Cusack leading roles? What order would you put these in? What lines would you use?

Batman Poll

With ABC Family playing a Halloween Batman movie marathon, I got to thinking: which one of these 1980-1990 Batman movies is the worst? Which led to this question: Who played the worst Batman in history? (Note: I’m exempting Lewis Wilson [1943] and Robert Lowery [1949] … because only hardcore fans would remember them).

So here’s the poll:

Most fanboys I know wet themselves over Christian Bale’s throaty Dark Knight. Most people who are of a certain age have a soft spot for Adam West’s campy rendition.  But somewhere in between, the wheels kind of fell off.

Who loosened the lug nuts?

I’m also open to starting a poll of the “Worst Acting Choice for Batman Villain.” Place your nominees in the comment section.

Anyway, if this stirs your thoughts, jump on down to your local Wal-Mart, where you can pick up most versions of the live-action Batman saga or $7.50.

Laziness? At least it’s an ethos

In the book The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers, chapter authors Matthew Douglass and Jerry Walls* bestow upon the Dude four central tenets to his chosen ethos — laziness:

1. Reality is inherently chaotic and purposeless; yet the interactions between chaotic molecules creates a mighty force we cannot resist.
2. One should expend effort only on simple, short-term goals; since everything is chaotic and ever-changing, long-term planning is pointless.
3. Since one can do very little to affect this mixture of good and bad, one should accept life as it is and learn to be content. As successful dude can tell the difference between simple problems that can be solved and complex problems that take more effort than necessary to solve (and are, therefore, pointless).
4. The purpose of life is to be as happy as possible in any situation. The purpose of life must come from the inside the individual; it cannot come from anything external.

Hmmm. That’s interesting and all; at least it’s an ethos, I guess. But I wonder what the Dudeists at Dudeism.com (or at The Dude’s Paper) would say. Can someone check for me?

I’m feeling a little lazy. And I’m not sure that’s very Dude of me.

* Douglass, M.K. and Walls, J.L. (2009). “Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners,” in Conrad, M.T., ed. The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers, Lexington, Ky: The University of Kentucky Press. Their essay is pages 147-162.