Memetics: The EW Music List

Like the movie list, the music list ends up almost entirely bold-faced. More than movies or books, I love music, and there is very little of importance or "quality" (however defined) that I don't have -- at least when it comes to the rock spectrum that Entertainment Weekly chronicles.

Much of what I don't have, I used to have but lost in the fire and never managed/bothered to reacquire.

1. Purple Rain Prince and the Revolution (1984)
2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill (1998)
3. Achtung Baby U2 (1991)
4. The College Dropout Kanye West (2004)
5. Madonna Madonna (1983)
6. American Idiot Green Day (2004)
7. The Blueprint Jay-Z (2001)
8. Graceland Paul Simon (1986)
9. Back to Black Amy Winehouse (2007)
10. In Rainbows Radiohead (2007)
11. MTV Unplugged in New York Nirvana (1994)
12. Stankonia OutKast (2000)
13. You Are Free Cat Power (2003)
14. Disintegration The Cure (1989)
15. The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem (2000)
16. Rain Dogs Tom Waits (1985)
17. Odelay Beck (1996)
18. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm A Tribe Called Quest (1990)
19. Dangerously in Love Beyoncé (2003)
20. Tidal Fiona Apple (1996)
21. The Emancipation of Mimi Mariah Carey (2005)
22. 3 Feet High and Rising De La Soul (1989)
23. The Soft Bulletin The Flaming Lips (1999)
24. Come On Over Shania Twain (1997)
25. Turn On the Bright Lights Interpol (2002)
26. Time Out of Mind Bob Dylan (1997)
27. Funeral Arcade Fire (2004)
28. Illmatic Nas (1994)
29. Breakaway Kelly Clarkson (2004)
30. Appetite for Destruction Guns N' Roses (1987)
31. FutureSex/LoveSounds Justin Timberlake (2006)
32. Life's Rich Pageant R.E.M. (1985)
33. As I Am Alicia Keys (2007)
34. Is This It The Strokes (2001)
35. Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette (1995)
36. CrazySexyCool TLC (1994)
37. The Moon & Antarctica Modest Mouse (2000)
38. Raising Hell Run-DMC (1986)
39. Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow (1996)
40. Ready to Die The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
41. Legend Bob Marley and the Wailers (1984)
42. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
43. Paul's Boutique Beastie Boys (1989)
44. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Lucinda Williams (1998)
45. If You're Feeling Sinister Belle and Sebastian (1996)
46. Homogenic Björk (1997)
47. Exile in Guyville Liz Phair (1993)
48. American IV: The Man Comes Around Johnny Cash (2002)
49. A Rush of Blood to the Head Coldplay (2002)
50. Sounds of Silver LCD Soundsystem (2007)
51. The Score Fugees (1996)
52. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Spoon (2007)
53. King of America Elvis Costello (1986)
54. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 Janet Jackson (1989)
55. It Takes a Nation of Millions... Public Enemy (1988)
56. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco (2002)
57. Harvest Moon Neil Young (1992)
58. Surfer Rosa The Pixies (1988)
59. Ray of Light Madonna (1998)
60. Crooked Rain Crooked Rain Pavement (1994)
61. Paid in Full Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
62. OK Computer Radiohead (1997)
63. The Joshua Tree U2 (1987)
64. Mama's Gun Erykah Badu (2000)
65. Elephant The White Stripes (2003)
66. The Chronic Dr. Dre (1992)
67. Metallica Metallica (1991)
68. Wrecking Ball Emmylou Harris (1995)
69. Give Up The Postal Service (2003)
70. My Life Mary J. Blige (1994)
71. Rock Steady No Doubt (2001)
72. 1984 Van Halen (1984)
73. The Queen is Dead Smiths (1986)
74. Play Moby (1999)
75. Born in the U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen (1984)
76. Heartbreaker Ryan Adams (2000)
77. Dummy Portishead (1994)
78. Vs. Pearl Jam (1991)
79. Let It Be The Replacements (1984)
80. Back to Basics Christina Aguilera (2006)
81. The Downward Spiral Nine Inch Nails (1994)
82. Grace Jeff Buckley (1994)
83. Learning to Crawl The Pretenders (1984)
84. Low-Life New Order (1985)
85. Home Dixie Chicks (2002)
86. Loveless My Bloody Valentine (1991)
87. All Eyez on Me 2Pac (1996)
88. So Peter Gabriel (1986)
89. Bachelor No. 2 Aimee Mann (2000)
90. Toxicity System of a Down (2001)
91. Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins (1993)
92. The Writing's on the Wall Destiny’s Child (1999)
93. Either/Or Elliott Smith (1997)
94. Synchronicity The Police (1983)
95. Trap Muzik T.I. (2003)
96. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea PJ Harvey (2000)
97. Britney Britney Spears (2001)
98. Transatlanticism Death Cab for Cutie (2003)
99. Live Through This Hole (1994)
100. Faith George Michael (1987)

After doing the book list I am not at all surprised that of the 28 albums I don't have, 19 are by female artists or bands fronted by women.

Memetics: The EW Movie List

Another listicle from EW for us all to pore over -- the 100 best films from 1983-2008:

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Unsurprisingly, I did better on this list than I did on the book list -- I've seen 95 of these 100 movies, and two of the five I haven't seen are on my to-watch list (There Will Be Blood and The Lives of Others). The other three are all chick flicks, more or less, though I'm actually surprised I never watched Hannah and Her Sisters, which is always at or near the top of any "Best Woody Allen Films" list, or Pretty Woman, which is on cable all the time. As far as Out of Africa goes, eh.

Music Friday: Crazy Cambodian Garage Rock

Yes It Does

Wanna hear something really cool? Check this out:

Cambodian Rocks

My pal JoeyX mentioned this album on The Well the other day. It's a compilation of Cambodian psychedelic and garage rock from the late 60s and early 70s that was "compiled by an American tourist named Paul Wheeler from some cassettes he bought in Phnom Penh."

WFMU originally posted the tracks without any attribution (that's the way they are on the album) but thanks to the power of the Internet the song & artist information has been filled in. It's great stuff, full of fuzzy guitars and Farfisa licks that sound like they were lifted straight off the Nuggets record. Play it at your next party and I guarantee you'll have people asking about it once they stop dancing to it.

Memetics: The EW Book List

I am a sucker for lists; I have been since I was a kid. Anytime a magazine spits out a listicle I am inclined to read it and see how many of the the albums/books/movies on the list I have seen/read.

So when Marjorie pointed me at the Entertainment Weekly list of the 100 Best Books Since 1983 (part of their New Classics series -- I'll blog the other lists later as well), I had to see how I did. The answer is: not very well. Here's the list, with the Books I've read in bold:

1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

That's 33, which is not very good. But here's what's even worse:

There are 58 books written by men on that list; I've read 31.
There are 42 books written by women on that list; I've read 2.

I am: ashamed. A few of these books (Lovely Bones, Birds of America, Fun Home, Comfort Me With Apples) I remember bringing home from the library for Daryl to read; another bunch (Secret History, Lovely Bones, Kite Runner, Liar's Club, Joy Luck Club, Poisonwood Bible) are books that either Daryl or my mom have been telling me to read for years. I guess I really should read them.

Marjorie tells me I shouldn't be ashamed, that we read what we are drawn to, but still. Call it male guilt, but I feel like plenty of these books are books I should have read by now. Not all of them -- I'll probably never read Bridget Jones' Diary or The Stone Diaries, for (diametrically opposed) example -- but some of them, like Possession, A Thousand Acres, Gilead, and some of the non-fiction (Eat Pray Love, Nickle & Dimed) are going on my ever-growing book list.

What To Drink

Thanks to Mark Bittman, I now have the entire menu for wht I'll be drinking this summer:

Be Your Own Mixologist

As Bittman points out in this article, just about any combination of liquor, a little sugar, and something sour is a named drink. So if you know how to make one, you can make any of them, depending on what you're in the mood for, and what's in the house. Here's his handy clip-and-save list:

GIMLET: Gin (traditionally) or vodka (more recently), with sugar and lime (or Rose’s Lime Juice).

TOM COLLINS: Gin with lemon instead of lime, sugar and club soda. There are also bourbon, rum, or vodka collinses.

SLOE GIN FIZZ: Tom Collins with sloe gin.

DAIQUIRI: Gimlet with rum, more or less.

MARGARITA: Gimlet with tequila, with triple sec instead of sugar.

KAMIKAZE: Margarita with vodka.

COSMO: Kamikaze with a splash of cranberry juice.

SIDECAR: Margarita with cognac and lemon instead of lime.

To this list I would of course add:

MIDTOWN: Kamikaze with pomegranate juice, more or less.

Drink up!

Must Watch: Lara Logan on The Daily Show

I have become a member of the cult of Lara Logan, after this interview on The Daily Show earlier this week. Watch the whole thing, it's fantastic.

"If I were to watch the news that you're hearing here in the United States, I'd just blow my brains out, because it would just drive me nuts."

"You get in a Humvee with soldiers, they're all on their best behavior, they've been told not to swear about you, and you say, 'Yo, what's up, motherfuckers?' and then it's all done."

"You know, I was asked once, 'do you feel responsible for the American people having a bad view -— a negative view -— of the war in Iraq?' and I looked at the reporter, and I said, 'Tell me the last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier. What does that look like? Who in America knows what that looks like? 'Cause I know what that looks like, and I feel responsible for the fact that no one else does.'"

Candor from a MSM correspondent, anger, and a desire to get the real story out to the American people, with a feeling that if she doesn't she's failing us. Pretty damned impressive. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention her hottness.

According to Wikipedia, Logan has been in Iraq and Afghanistan ever since she essentially snuck in via Russia in November of 2001. Also, she pissed off Michelle Malkin, which is always a good thing. She's now Chief Foreign Correspondent for CBS News and her reports appear regularly on 60 Minutes, a show I will definitely need to start watching again.

Attacks In Midtown

This weekend saw a couple of assaults in my neighborhood:

Attacks unnerve residents

The first was on a residential block about two blocks from my house; the second was in front of a bar about 7 blocks away (a quick aside: I wouldn't describe Shady's as "near the Broad Street Market." I'm sure the management of the Market was un-psyched to see it pop up in this article; they need all the help they can get attracting visitors).

The article I linked to is a typical nearly-useless Patriot-News article, but it does have an interesting quote from Mayor-For-Life Reed:

"We aren't going to tolerate that crap," Reed said. "If we find them, we will arrest and prosecute them."

I am of two minds about our tough-talking mayor. On the one hand, I wonder if he gets this upset when kids get shot in Allison Hill, or only when people get beat up in the one neighborhood that can be pointed to as a New Urbanist success? In general I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he gets upset anytime someone gets assaulted; it's just that the Patriot-News doesn't bother going to him for a quote because they figure assaults in black neighborhoods don't sell papers.

On the other hand, I'm glad he's upset, and publicly, because THIS IS MY NEIGHBORHOOD. There was a roving gang of eight to ten hooligans beating people up, just a few blocks from my house! That is fucking scary. So, yeah, Steve, glad you're pissed. Now let's see the HPD do something about it.

[UPDATE 6/20}: The Penn Street crew (of which I am an auxilliary member) was out in full force last night, with about a dozen of us hanging out on the block for about three hours. We've been doing this since long before these recent attacks, but it seemed like an opportune time to re-convene.

While we were out, a patrol car came down the street, followed a few hours later by an officer on foot with a police dog (who also made an appearance up on Susquehanna, according to some friends up there). Then, right after I went in, a couple plainclothes in a van stopped by and mentioned that they had caught two of the kids:

2 Juveniles Arrested In Midtown Robberies

So, right on. A little increased police presence and at least two of these guys are in custody. Let's hope the police attnetion doesn't fade away, not just in Mindtown but throught the city.

Random Thoughts After Listening to 10 Minutes of the Light Classic Rock Station

1. As much as I hate the country station that's usually on in the shop, I would gladly listen to that "stick a boot in your ass" song a hundred times instead of being subjected to "All Out Of Love" even once.

2. The line "she blew my nose, and then she blew my mind" confused the hell out of me when I was a little kid.

3. When you open a dictionary to the page that has the word "funky" on it, there ought to be a little microchip that plays the opening bars of "Superstition."

4. If I was walking down the street one day, and I asked a man what the time was that was on his watch, and he said "does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?" I would punch him in the throat.

Must Read: Michael Lewis on Baseball in Cuba

Jonah Keri calls this "the best baseball article you'll read all year," and he's right. Michael Lewis (of 'Moneyball' and 'Liar's Poker' fame) writes about the state of baseball in Cuba.

Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution

This is reporting at its best. Do yourself a favor and read this over the weekend -- you'll be glad you did.

Why To Vote Republican