Beltmann

Even though it is filled with resentment and quiet desperation, there's something surprisingly compassionate and vulnerable about the Norwegian Oslo, August 31st, which separates it from most stories about addiction and recovery. It's been lingering in my mind, accumulating power after the fact. Worth mentioning is how it offers a beautiful, lively portrait of Oslo.

In a way, the misdirection of the subtitles seems fitting, since The Cuckoo is largely about communicating, misunderstanding, and talking merely to talk. It's been nearly a decade since I've seen it, but I remember thinking it was very funny, particularly for its ruminations on friendship, allegiances, and the folly of war.

Very underrated. I'd like to say The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the best teen movies I've ever seen, but that would be unfair--it transcends the teen genre.

My wife and I caught This Is 40 today. We knew beforehand that "I Got You" (the new version recorded specifically for the film) is included in the ending credits, but were disappointed to discover that only the first 20+ seconds are heard before giving way to an outtake.

Awesome.

Thanks for the heads-up! Just downloaded.

Congratulations! One of the first things I did for my second newborn was a Wilco shirt, too. He's almost five now, and is getting yet another Wilco tee for Christmas. (And a Blues Brothers poster.)

His other favorite CD is the soundtrack to The Blues Brothers, which has been in heavy rotation for months now. (It's also his favorite movie; I made a kid-friendly edit for him and burned it to DVD.) That's inspired all sorts of great conversations about music, partially because so many other great performers are in the film. That kind of cultural knowledge is why I wanted the spawn to see the 12-12-12 concert. We skipped past much of it, but watched the good stuff. Couldn't get my daughter interested in The Who, but she already has a big poster of the Beatles in her bedroom, so she's o

My 7-year-old daughter said the same thing: "Ugh, what's he doing! He looks like grandpa!" As Lou said, it's unreasonable to think the voice is ever going to sound prime again. That said, I thought he sounded much better than at the Super Bowl, which was quite poor. Whatever the limitations of the 12-12-12 set, I'm grateful for it: After hearing them, my 4-year-old asked me to make him a mix CD of The Who, and he's been listening to it all morning while playing with Legos.

That get lots of play in our house, too. Haven't busted it out yet this year, but probably will over the weekend!

I've been meaning to see Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed for years, primarily out of historical interest: Made in Germany in 1926, it's the oldest extant animated feature. It was certainly worth the wait. As the stills above indicate, Reiniger's specialty was "silhouette animation." The visuals are gorgeous, but most remarkable are the bursts of imagination at work in the storytelling. It's a great movie, and its influence clearly extends to French animator Michel Ocelot, whose Azur & Asmar and Tales of the Night are two of my favorite animated films of the last ten ye

In the most recent episode of New Girl, one of the main characters had a Wilco concert poster featured on his bedroom wall.

I just bought that Blu-Ray this week. Holy hell. Worth every penny.

I like this post, Tweedling.

I teach, and once our superintendent saw me in a Wilco tee and said, "Love that band!" Another colleague saw the band at Red Rocks. One time, I was on an interview committee and lobbied hard for a particular hire based mostly on the fact that he was a professed Wilco fan. (He was the best choice for other reasons, too.) He got the job, and about six months later we went to a Tweedy solo show together.

Today one of my colleagues wore a Sky Blue Sky T-shirt to a staff meeting.

I haven't seen 2016, but I found it very interesting that, to a person, my "serious" conservative friends were embarrassed by it. They agreed that it's worse than a Michael Moore movie (which is saying something, since they really, really hate Moore's movies). That said, I know a few less serious conservatives (you know, the kind that think Sarah Palin is a genius, Sean Hannity is a journalist, and Obama is an America-hating communist) who thought it was must viewing. I think the different responses say more about our current political environment--which allows the unserious, with their car

Thanks, Tommy! I've been spending way more time at the site than I probably should--pretty soon my family is going to resent you.

Definitely a highlight. In other news... holy hell, it's Matt Z! Good to hear from you, friend.

I don't know if I'm just in the right spot for Dylan right now, but I'm loving this album, much more than the last few. And I can't get enough of the video for "Duquesne Whistle," which veers seamlessly between tones with such dexterity that it keeps cracking me up. (It's directed by Nash Edgerton, who also made The Square, an excellent Australian thriller.) Added bonus: While listening to "Narrow Way" in the car this afternoon, my 4-year-old son yelled from the backseat, "Dad, I like this song! It sounds like the Blues Brothers!"

The first one that comes to mind is Crooked Fingers (2009 opening for Neko Case). Another one is Riviera (2005 opening for Jeff Tweedy). In both cases, I made a point to buy every record, including all subsequent releases. Both still rank among my favorites. A lot of other openers have been terrific--Heartless Bastards, Dr. Dog, New Pornographers, St. Vincent, Merle Haggard, to name a few--but I was a big fan even before showing up.

I have the gold one, and also the same design on a bright orange shirt. Love 'em both. Wore the orange one yesterday!

There are the obvious Bergman titles to see, but let me add two that are usually not included in the conversation: Winter Light and Shame. I think both rank up there with his established classics.

Love that one. It's an allegorical medieval fable concerned with many familiar Bergman topics: forgiveness, faith, suffering. Unlike its many rip-offs--including both versions of The Last House on the Left--it has a haunting magic. Might be one of my favorite films of all-time.