My 5 Favorite albums

Alright, I'm just warning anyone who reads this, I'm not great at describing the way an album makes me feel, I wrote most of this while I was tired, and therefor it might be a bit random. Having said that, here you go, my five favorite albums.

You know I've have conversations about my five favorite films with people countless times, but I don't think I ever talk about my five favorite albums, so I decided to write a little entry about them.

5- Bing Crosby "Merry Christmas" 1945
To me, no Christmas is complete without this album. Seriously, I've been listening to this album since I was born pretty much, I've listened to every type of music my entire life, and while I enjoy a little of everything, When it comes down to it Bing is one of my favorite artists of all time and probably will be, this album to me is the essential Christmas album, It's soft, it's sweet, and it has sentimental value to me. When I was in... I'd like to say either second or third grade (two years of my life for whatever reason I don't remember very much of...) my class participated in the Christmas show and we sang 'Christmas in Killarney' and 'Mele Kalikimaka' years later I would hear those songs and smile to myself, at the time I had no idea who we were singing along to, but now it just makes me smile to think that even then I knew that whoever was singing those songs I had to memorize was going to be a part of my life for a long time.

4- The Beatles- "Abbey Road" 1969
For the most influential band in the world, I think that the second side of this album is one of the most amazing collections of music I've ever heard, the Abbey Road medley, made up of eight short songs is one of my favorite collections in an album, it's hard to describe, I mean, describing the Beatles music is near impossible, how do you describe the sun to someone who's blind? I'll admit it, I like Maxwell's Silver Hammer, I know many people don't, they call the song Campy, and just plain silly, and sure, it's not the greatest song they've got but I do still like it, the only thing that still bewilders me is how some people think that that's a children's song. People just need to listen to lyrics. All in all, Abbey Road is an amazing album, I'm going to be honest, I've got three copies of Abbey Road on LP, all for different reasons, and I love all three of them. For a long time a few years ago I was obsessed with the hippie culture, I would rant to anyone who would listen how things were better back then, wish to anyone with ears that I could go back, but now I'm pretty happy with where the universe put me and I'm even happier to just sit back, turn this album on and listen.

3- Buck Brothers "Me" 2006
I know it might be a little odd for me to post a band I've actually met and had in my home as the creators of one of my favorite albums of all time, but I have to say I really love this album, I first heard the Buck Brothers on the Rodney on the Roq show when I was still obsessed with listening every Sunday, back when I didn't have to work Monday morning and had the energy to listen every Sunday from Midnight 'till three. Sometimes when I'm driving home from Hollywood on a Sunday night I'll catch part of it but it's very rare for me to listen to the whole show. Anyways, it must have been about 2008 that I first heard them, their song (which is track number 7 on the album) 'Girls, Skirts, Boots, Bikes' has a very pop punk sound that would make the Ramones proud (and seeing as Marky Ramone apparently played them on his radio show recently it does). Seeing as I'm not one to review albums or movies for that matter I'll stop pretending I'm writing a review and just tell you my honest opinion, I love this album, to me this album is poppy, and fun, and just a great album, it's one of the only albums that I can sing along (not well mind you) to all the way through, the Buck Brothers have this great pop sound that you don't hear very much in groups these days and kind of remind me of like The Kinks or The Who or one of those types of bands from the sixties, which I guess is why Rodney Bingenheimer played them in the first place. I also totally love their cover of Pop Musik which is available on iTunes, all of their stuff is on iTunes so I suggest you check them out, they're totally worth it.
I had the Buck Brothers on my radio show in 2008 when they were on tour and had a gig canceled, they were a ton of fun and three of the sweetest guys, So to Andy, Dom and Craig, keep up the great music!

2- The Monkees "The Monkees" 1966
I know this might be an odd choice considering with the exception of "Sweet Young Thing" and "Papa Gene's Blues" none of the Monkees played their own instruments, one of the things that people now say is the reason they don't like the Monkees "Because they didn't play their own instruments" well, keep in mind America, neither do any of the pop stars people are so intent on worshiping nowadays. I love this album though, not only because it's pop, or because Michael Nesmith wrote some of the songs on it, but because this album has one of their less heard of songs "Let's Dance on" It's a great song and I never did understand why it wasn't one of their hits, I mean, Valleri was a hit and to be honest, that's the only one of the Monkees songs that I can't stand! I don't know what it is about that song, but I honestly can't stand it. Another thing that I like about this album is the misprint, I've never actually seen it, but I'm always on the lookout, rumor has it the first printings of the album on the cover, "Papa Gene's Blues" is misspelled as "Papa Jean's Blues". Another song I totally love is "Saturday's Child" and of course the totally fun "Gonna Buy Me a Dog" that sounds like it turns into just complete chaos in the recording studio. It makes me laugh, and the whole album makes me happy. No matter what people continue to say about them, the Monkees will always be one of my favorite bands.

1- Tom Waits "Rain Dogs" 1985
Seriously, this is the greatest album of all time. Not only is it one I grew up with, my mom being a huge Tom Waits fan, she got me started listening when I was young, but it has this gritty true rock and- Well, I wouldn't say jazz, but jazz-ish sound. If a jazz musician took a peice of a 2X4 and slammed it against a chest of drawers in a bathroom which is apparently what Waits did to get some of the sounds heard in the album, which in my opinion shows he's creative and crafty. I love the entire album but my favorite song on it has got to be "Tango 'Till They're Sore" In my opinion, that song is like The Godfather of the music world, it's just perfect. My second favorite is the spoken word "9th and Hennepin" that sounds like the internal narration of an old noir with a disturbing soundtrack, the kind of film that's shot in black and white and makes you depressed while watching it. One that takes place in some alter LA or Chicago or New York where it rains all the time and there's long shots of the narrator walking down wet alleyways just missing the rain, or a shot of a lone dame standing at a train station as the train leaves taking her lover away, the kind of film that takes place in a coffee shop with some old time jazz musician playing in the background, the kind of character who's seen it all. The entire album reminds me of a film like that, someone moving out with a plan only to find city life to be more then what they expected or something like the plot to the film "Trouble in Mind" This album in my opinion is perfect, from the first note to the last, Tom Waits' gravley voice is one I can always look to for a trip to my past or a trip to a different state of mind.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king" - Tom Waits, Singapore

Daddy Issues.

I know it's been forever and I Do feel bad that it takes me soooo long to update and my last update wasn't exactly long. I also know I said I'd try and make my blog all about film, and this post isn't related to film, but I feel like it needs to be said.

Anyone who knows me knows I have Daddy issues, it's not that hard to realize, and yeah, I know it's so cliche to blog about it, but hell if a blog isn't for me posting what's on my mind, what's it for? Me pretending to be so superior to people I don't know and talking shit about celebrities? No, that's falling under the cliche category for me. Okay, anyways, Daddy issues. So, the last time I talked to my dad was before father's day... Know what I'm going to have to go back a leeeeetle further then that. A few years ago my dad moved back to Ventura with his girlfriend and her two kids, he then asked if he could see me, if I would start spending weekends out there with them, and my mom agreed that I could spend my court ordered weekends there. Every other weekend and Wednesdays. That Wednesday thing happened like... Twice. After awhile things started to feel normal, I started to feel like I had a dad again, sure I was reserved, I didn't want to get hurt, but, this was my dad, and he seemed like he was making an effort, right? Well, after awhile they found a bigger place in Ventura, over on the East side of Ventura, so we moved into that place, I was still a couch dweller but that was no big deal, I could handle sleeping on the couch. I spent Easter morning there and was given an easter basket, an awesome Beatles picture and a cute stuffed monkey that I promptly named 'Easter Monkee'. Things seemed great, Dad or his girlfriend would help me get hours with my driving since I had just gotten my permit, I was seeing my brother more... Then It happened. I got there one Friday ready for a nice weekend, when the first thing I noticed was a huge pile of boxes in the kitchen. A huge pile of boxes that went unmentioned for hours while my dad got ready for work. Finally I couldn't help but address the elephant in the room. They were moving back to Vegas. Not only were they moving back to Vegas but he couldn't understand why I was so upset about that. Things were finally starting to look up, we were getting along and I was dropping that wall I had built for that very reason. Life wasn't fair! Ever since then it was limited contact with him. When I finally got a car he agreed to pay my insurance and then, like child support, when he decided he didn't have the money, he stopped paying without me knowing my mom started to pick up the insurance tab. I don't think she was surprised. Conversations between us (my father and myself) were rarer and rarer and not only that, they were... Forced. I felt like I had to force myself to say something, we had so little to say to each other. Sunday my dad is getting married, and what are my plans for the big day? I'm planning on sleeping. Saturday night at the New Beverly is the 12 hour horror marathon and I'm not missing that for the world. I tried calling him for father's day only to get his voicemail, I left him a message that would never be returned. To be honest, I don't know if he's still getting married on 10/10/10 like they planned, and to be even more honest, these days I don't care. If he doesn't have the time to stop and take five minutes to call me, why should I drive myself crazy about whatever it is he's doing with his life? his dad was an alcoholic and wasn't really there for him. One would hope that he would have learned from that and tried to be the dad his wasn't, but that would be too romantic, this is the real world after all, and the real world is full of depression and disappointment, two things emotions I'm sorry to say I've felt waaaay too much when it comes to my dad. Therefor from this moment on, if he's not ready to make an effort, then I'm not either. He can have his perfect little replacement life in Vegas with his new house, new family and new life and I'm going to go on pretending he doesn't exist. And that's just one story.

I know it's obvious I still think about my dad as much as I try not to. Sometimes I wish I could tell him everything I've neglected to tell him, and sometimes I think it's better this way. I don't think either of those answers will ever be the right, somethings should be said and other should not but until the effort is put forth by him, I'm not saying anything. I'm tired of trying to make everything work and I'm tired of always being disappointed by him. So until then, I'm not going to post about my dad anymore. Unless it's something among the lines of "He showed me this movie once".

My Dad

Looking back on my childhood my father was a huge inspiration for the films that would later be the types of films I live off of. The only problem with that is the fact that he would show me said movies a long time before I should have watched them. Tonight my revelation and reasoning behind me writing this post was because of the movie Four Rooms. People are often surprised when I tell them I've never seen it, even though I'm such a big fan of Quentin Tarantino's. I suppose now after realizing I must have been nine or ten when I saw it.
Until tonight I couldn't remember why this scene of two children, a very large needle and a dead hooker shoved into the box spring of a bed was something that I would remember from time to time. That or the finger scene. I suppose I can honestly say I saw my first Quentin Tarantino film when I was younger then thirteen now.
I love my dad, don't get me wrong, but there are a few things he could have done differently, and obviously, letting an eight/nine year old child watch a film like Four rooms was one of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeNrqBjbFJs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBRHTU8BEH8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdaKRwe_scE

Movies

For as long as I've remembered I've loved movies. I was eight when I saw my first Star Wars movie (Episode four, also known as A New Hope), I was at my usual weekend visit with my dad and my younger brother and I were playing outside when for whatever reason I decided to go inside. I walked in just after Luke first meets Ben so I stopped and started to watch. I was hooked the moment I saw the light saber. My brother and I used to play star wars while beating the crap out of each other with sticks (which wasn't exactly fair if I think about it now, I do have a few years on him) but at the time it was perfectly fine.
Over the years movies have become like a comfort to me. If I'm pissed off I'll watch a slasher film, if I'm sad I'll... Well, to be honest I'll probably watch a slasher- or a Tarantino film, give it a little variety. Watching Mr. Pink dispute tipping or Freddy Krueger ripping through the sleeping children of Elm St. usually makes me feel a little better about how life is going for me- call me sick, call me whatever you want, I just think of it as I could be that waitress, or I could be that teenager on Elm St., but lucky for me, I'm not. If I'm in a good mood, I'll watch a western (Anything with Clint Eastwood, though I've become a recent fan of Lee Van Cleef) or something by John Waters.
One of- Well, okay two of his classic films hold the number four spot in my top five movies of all time. Two holding one spot only because I don't know if I prefer Pink Flamingos or Female Trouble, both are great films. Pink Flamingos being one of the first sexually explicit films I've seen I watched when I was seventeen to the dismay of my step dad who tried every excuse in the book to not let me watch it, but when my mom just shrugged and said "She's seventeen, it's an NC-17 film, we can't stop her" the DVD was on and playing no less then five minutes later in my room. I had never seen anything like it before. Sure, I had seen John Waters films, Hairspray and Cry Baby, campy and a little more mainstream for my taste, but still great films. Female Trouble I watched online a few weeks after seeing Pink Flamingos.
One of my favorite genres of film is Zombie films. I love zombie films. I can't remember what my first zombie film was, probably the 1978 Dawn of the Dead because I have vague memories of watching that with my father as well, but who knows. The first time I really remember watching one was with my younger step brother, then he introduced me to the 2004 remake. Since then I've been stuck on Zombie films like no other, even earning me one in my Christmas stocking one year (White Zombie, one of my favorite scenes, a character is being thrown into water by some zombies and as they let go the actor covers his nose).
More recently I've become a fan of exploitation films, getting my true Exploitation education from a co-worker and good friend of mine, I try to familiarize myself with as much of the good exploitation as I can. Some of you may say that's an oxymoron, but I assure you, there is a difference.
I've always loved classics, two of my favorite films growing up were Shirley Temple films, the 1937 Heidi and her next film, the 1938 Rebecca of Sonnybrook Farm. I don't know what happened to those tapes, I probably wore them out, I'd love to find them on DVD someday but I have no idea if they're in print. Another movie I loved around the same time was Bed Knobs and Broomsticks staring Angela Lansbury, which I know came out some years after both Shirley Temple films posted, but it was another film I probably wore the VHS out on. I loved the idea of a flying bed, the songs were great and the cartoons along with people were pretty awesome too. It's a film that even now watching it (On youtube) I can sing along to the words and still laugh like I did when I was a kid.
Nowadays I spend most of my free time at a revival house and pay my way into any double- and sometimes triple- feature I can. I used to consider myself a movie geek, but having met some of those over the past few months I prefer to call myself a 'Geek in training'. These days I watch anything, I love expanding my film knowledge and I love hearing other people's thoughts on film. I guess that's why I named this blog 'Thoughts in 35mm'. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this blog as much as I keep up with watching movies.