The Conical Glass: Lively up yourselves

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Lively up yourselves

The votes -- all 17 of them -- are in, and I shall be attending the winning movie this evening. I'll keep the polls open for another day or so just in case my readership increases dramatically on weekdays; unlike a lot of bloggers, I don't really track the statistics of who reads this stuff and where they come from or which wacky key words they searched on to get here (+saarsgard +naked, anyone?). I thought I would get a few more votes than 17, but there's so much else going on online, who am I to judge anyone who would rather spend their precious time elsewhere? Mary Worth is going to Vietnam, for God's sake! Anyway, if there's a significant groundswell of votes for a runner-up film, I'll try to see that one, too.

No one correctly guessed the movie I didn't want to see. It was "Miss Potter." Every time I've seen the preview or a clip from the film, I've cringed at the incredible tweeness of it. That scene where one of her watercolors comes to life and Renee Zellweger squinches up her ferrety little face and admonishes Jemima Puddleduck to "stop that silliness!" -- dear reader, I fwowed up.

I mentioned the Shins a few days ago, and I still maintain that "Phantom Limb" is a good song, but after seeing them on "SNL" last night, I can state unequivocally that the Shins are the dullest live band in America. The lead singer has the looks and charisma of a junior high school geometry teacher. The rest of the members seem to be in a competition with each other over who can move the least. Their second song came on at around 12:50 AM, no doubt putting millions of people to sleep.

There was a time when I'd go see any band whose songs I liked, but nowadays, I'm far more selective. It's not enough for me to love your music; you have to be entertaining, too. Two of my all-time favorite live acts, Cheryl Wheeler and Ted Leo, are going to be coming to town this winter. Young artists could do well to learn from them. And if you're a frontman with zero stage presence, there's always the option of hiring a dancer or two to liven things up. I hear Bez may have some free time these days.

posted by 125records @ 2:04 PM

2 Comments:

At 4:18 PM, yellojkt said…

I've seen both Casino Royale and Dreamgirls and you can't go wrong with either. I am really waiting for Mary to land in Vietnam so I can start ripping it apart.
At 10:37 PM, Tom G. said…

I think "Phantom Limb" is a GREAT song. I saw The Shins a few months ago on an Austin City Limits episode and thought they were OK. No great shakes, but not the most boring band I've ever seen. Didn't catch them on SNL. I try to watch SNL but I just can't get past the totally un-funny opening bits. Geez what a bad show...