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March 31, 2006

Heat Vision and Jack!

Some of you haven't seen this yet, and you really ought to: Ben Stiller's 1999 pilot for Fox for a show called Heat Vision and Jack, starring Jack Black as a super-intelligent spaceman and Owen Wilson as the voice of his talking motorcycle. It's pretty awesome, pre- all these guys getting tired.

click here to watch it.

March 29, 2006

Darn.

Planetarium's a little irked about not yet getting a chance to see the new super-dork horror film, Stay Alive, about a - brace yourself - video game that kills you...IF YOU DIE IN THE GAME! Mu-ah! The possibility of seeing Frankie Muniz, that little bastard from Malcolm in the Middle, meet his maker on the pointy end of a vengeful demon's spear, is pretty tempting. Too busy to see it yet, but first chance we get...

March 28, 2006

just a quick note today

The T-Rex is really funny today. We love our daily dino comics:

Click here.

March 25, 2006

Honorable Mentions

A few remaining folks who didn't get mentioned but who nevertheless still kicked out the jams:

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Tortoise - It's All Around You and covers album w/ Bonnie Prince Billy
The Soviettes - LP III
Ladytron - Witching Hour
The Posies - Every Kind of Light
dEUS - Pocket Revolution

March 24, 2006

LPs, anyone?

Alright, we admit it - we dropped the ball this year in our best-of list. We only got out movies and the worst-of lists, though we did manage a best singles of the year, which we're moderately proud of. However, there was no album list, and for this, we heartily apologize. So let us attempt to make it up to you: though there will not be the usual paragraph-long explanation extolling the many virtues of each of these choices (really, 2005 turned out to be an awesome year for music. Except for that Bo Bice fellow - he can go take a flying liplock on a stick of dynamite) we nonethelesss hope you are inspired to check out a few of these options. Without further ado (again, bear in mind, though MOST of these are new albums, some are pre-existing jams it took us until the past year to finally discover):

1. Four Tet- Everything Ecstatic
It's really hard to make emotionally affecting - but still bumpin' - electronic music. This has the goods and then some. Even the Boss felt compelled to give it props.

2. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
All is forgiven, Dave. We've put "Learn to Fly" out of mind, and re-give you mad props. This is one of the only good straight-up hard rock records that has been on a major label for a long time. (though that 2nd "quiet" disc is kinda bogus, brah.)

3. Metric - Live it Out
It's no Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, but the high points are higher, and it's definitely more effecting, lyrically and melodically.

4. Tegan and Sara - If It Was You
Man, these sisters make really good records. Period.

5. Cat Power - The Greatest
We were NEVER a Cat Power fan. She's a weirdo. But this new record, oh SNAP. She got herself the Memphis Rhythm band (read: Al Green's old backup players) and pounded out her most accessible album yet. It literally sounds like a collection of old standards, classics she re-did - um, we're trying to think of a bigger compliment.

6. Missy Elliott - The Cookbook
Missy be the name that ya already know.

7. Idlewild - Promises/Warnings
Aside from the obnoxiously emo title, there's nothing emo about these Brits. In fact, we're having a hard time recalling the last time we really dug a record of slow-cooking, powerful anthems made by Brits. (Shut up, already - Radiohead don't make anthems, no matter what you say.)

8. Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love
This is the best, most gorgeous jazz soul singer on the planet right now. Just an upright bass, mellifluous drumset, and the most incredible voice in the world. She could sing the phone book and we'd cry.

9. Dessa - False Hopes
Relative to her actual talent, by FAR Doomtree's most underrated rapper. And it's only an EP! It's that good.

10. Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust
Like, duh.

March 22, 2006

Dave hearts Diablo

Check out our darling Diablo Cody of PussyRanch fame holding her own on the David Letterman show. (click to take you to the link, then click the play button in the middle of the image)

Woot wooot!

Planetarium would just to take a moment to point out how difficult it can be to maintain a blog that is dedicated to NOT sharing any details of ho-hum everyday life with you all. Other blogs, when they feel listless and uninspired, will simply barf up some mundane, execrable minutiae from their everyday life that no one needs to hear. Not so with us. We keep our ears to the rhythms of the Superweb, and only post when there is cultural, political, or musical goings-on worth letting you in on. That shit ain't easy to do on a daily basis, because, let's face it, there's a lot of boring culture out there. Tough to find the good stuff. Cherish it when it appears.

So why aren't you watching Veronica Mars right now?

March 21, 2006

Oops.

Just noticed, we let A WHOLE WEEK go by without a post. In our defense, we were out of town playing cards all weekend. 'Cuz that's a good defense.

Newbies to the site: We swear to God this shit is usually updated daily. Check the records, people. Records don't lie. If you can't trust a minute, out-of-the-way blog, then who can you trust? Who???

Nice Work, Racism!

Just finished reading Black Skin, White Masks for the second time the other day. Ummm, why is this book not listed as a precursor to half of the theoretical work that appeared in the latter part of the twentieth century? Seriously: no Franz Fanon, no Michel Foucault. No Fanon, there wouldn't be a Deleuze. This dude basically rewrote the book on psychoanalysis, and he gets NO props for it - instead, he gets cloistered off into the corner and labeled "postcolonial studies", as though that was all his work fit into, Why did they do that? There MUST be a very good reason, hmmm, let's see.......oh yeah, it's because of RACISM. Thanks, racists! You guys rock!

Thus endeth the Planetarium rant of the day.

March 14, 2006

Is this like when we were supposed to buy duct tape?

"When you go to the store and buy three cans of tuna fish, buy a fourth and put it under the bed."

-- Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, asking Americans to prepare for a possible flu pandemic

Debbie Harry, still bitchin' it up

Blondie was inducted into the Rock n' Roll hall of fame last night, and it seems knives were drawn:

As Blondie's Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke received their awards, they barely acknowledged former members Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison and Gary Valentine, reports the Associated Press. The slight prompted Infante to plead to perform with the band: "Debbie, are we allowed?" he begged before Blondie played "Heart of Glass," "Rapture" and "Call Me." "Can't you see my band is up there?" Harry snapped, prompting Infante to groan into the microphone as the three rejected members walked offstage.

March 11, 2006

Aja? Thumbs up.

So tonight Planetarium was lucky enough to get to see The Hills Have Eyes this evening in a fairly crowded theater. There is an art to reading between the lines of horror film reviews: when critics mentioned not liking this or that in the film, instead of just panning it, you can usually apply a scale of interpretation to what they're talking about and determine whether or not it's a good movie. That was the case here. (Although, it got a wildly enthusiastic thumbs-up from the NYTimes, so you never know.) But, as always, one of the best reasons to see a horror film opening weekend is because nothing beats the collective energy of an audience watching a great nightmare unfold. The setup seemed so grim for the protagonists, that about halfway through the film, when an unexpected attack on the bad guys occurs, everyone in the theater burst into applause. The sense of unity, of going through this experience together really ratchets up the enjoyment of the film.

But that's not all: Eyes boasts a fascinating and well-done style of spaghetti western that's woven into itself. The last 30 minutes almost seem like they were written and directed by Sergio Leone with an Ennio Morricone score, which obviously added to the enthusiasm we all felt. It was a clever move, and something Planetarium hasn't seen lately in the glut of American horror films crowding the market. Also, there was some pretty blatant symbolism and meaning in the film, that while obvious on one level, has a bunch of layers that we're still unpacking. After all, when a guy grabs an american flag and shoves the stick through the throat of a mutant, you don't have to be Laura Mulvey to get the symbol. BUT- when it's done by the guy whose character background is basically "wimpy Democrat", and the mutant in quesation is actually a guy who the US government deformed in the Los Altos nuclear testing of the 50s, well, now we're off to the races.

The Hills Have Eyes was directed by Alexandre Aja, the man responsible for the pile of excrement known as High Tension. He's redeemed himself completely, we're happy to report, and Planetarium eagerly anticipates his next offering.

March 09, 2006

Post of the Day

Everyone should take a quick peek over at A World Of Cliche Fans, because the most recent post is very much worth a second of your time. It's a nice little one-paragraph roundup of South Dakota's new law. You'll thank us later.

March 08, 2006

Overheard at the bar last night

Bar Patron #1: "There's no way that Crash deserved to beat Brokeback Mountain. Quick, pop quiz: What's more entertaining, watching Matt Dillon be racist or watching Jake Gyllenhaal penetrate Heath Ledger? Time's up! Answer? Watching Jake do his thang."

Bar Patron #2: "I think my vodka has too much alcohol in it."

March 06, 2006

Dino comics

It's what's been missing from your life.