Lindsay’s Weblog

I have recently been getting into the HBO series Rome, and I have to say it is pretty awesome. I’ll start by saying that yes, there is quite a bit of violence and sex. The sex scenes are quite explicit and there is lots of nudity. But that content aside, Rome is really a great show. The script is very well written. The dialogue is smart and fresh. I have always been fascinated by Roman history, so the history behind it all interests me very much. They did an exceptional job of casting, particularly Ciaran Hinds at Julius Caesar. You may know him from There Will Be Blood, Amazing Grace, Munich and Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life. He has a very powerful and stoic air about him, which is perfect for the role. Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus is definitely the break-out star of the show. He can play emotion really well and doesn’t try too hard. Lastly, if you are a fan of period pieces, I would watch this show. The costume design and art direction is fantastic. All the colours are very deep, dark and rich. It’s a great show! Go watch it. Rent it on DVD. Do what you must.

Check out the preview

M.I.A has taken over my IPod in last few weeks. I had heard her song “Paper Planes” a few months ago and thought it was an awesome song, so I decided to check out her album Kala. I put it onto my IPod and for the first little while I listened to the first song or two, then switched to something else. But within the last month or so, I can not stop listening to M.I.A. Kala has a really great dancehall, kind of funk, groovy thing going on. Can’t quite explain it, but it’s original and it’s good.
For those of you who do not know about M.I.A I will give you a little bit a background:

M.I.A. was born Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam in Hounslow, London, England. Shortly after she was born, her family moved back to Sri Lanka. Her father was activist turned militant who helped found a militant group, The Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS). For most of her life she never saw her father because he had to go into hiding from the Sri Lankan army. She moved many times because of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, eventually moving back to London, where she and her family lived as refugees. M.I.A. began listening to the radio where her interest in hip-hip and rap began. Her early influences included N.W.A, Big Daddy Cane and Public Enemy. She also attended art school which inspired a love for painting, visual art and film. The rest is pretty much history from there.

M.I.A has had two albums, Arluar and Kala, named after each of her parent, both integrating several genres of music. Alternative, hip-hop, reggae, dancehall, electronic, and funk can all be found, also a heavy influence of her Sri Lankan background. Many of her lyrics deal with global and political issues, such as war, guerilla warfare, the difference between 1st and 3rd world countries, capitalism and money. M.I.A. has toured with Peaches, Gwen Stefani, and Bjork and has worked with the likes of Timbaland and Missy Elliot.

Rolling Stone and Blender magazines named Kala the best album of 2007 and I would have to agree. I don’t think M.I.A is not exactly everybody’s cup of tea, but she is pretty damn unique with her mix of musical genres and some of the heavier topics that she writes about in her lyrics. She looks, sounds, acts different than any female artist I have seen in a while. It was unfortunate that I missed her shows while she was in Vancouver. I heard they were insane! She is definitely one of my favorite new artists, and I am very excited to see what she comes up with next.

Check out her video for “Boyz.”

It has been announced a new Kurt Cobain biopic has entered into pre-production. The film will based on Cobain’s biography Heavier than Heaven, written by Charles Cross. The book talks about the life and struggle of the troubled singer, until his untimely demise in 1994. Apparently Courtney Love has put in her two cents about who she believes should play Kurt and herself: Ryan Gosling and Scarlett Johansson. I could possibly see Gosling in this role, but Johansson is just a little too pretty to play a grunged-up, drug-user. I also think she just doesn’t have the acting chops. I think the best way for this film to be made is to sign on relatively unknown actors. It worked really well for the Joy-Division film, Control. I think if a big star was to play someone like Cobain, it would take away from the film and his character. I think I would be too distracted watching Ryan Gosling playing Kurt Cobain, because I would be just watching Ryan Gosling playing Kurt Cobain. I would be thinking too much about the Star and not the content of the film. I have yet to see Last Days directed by Gus Van Sant, which is “not about Kurt Cobain” even though it is about Kurt Cobain. Look at the cover of the movie, it is a Kurt Cobain movie. Anyways I think the film should stick to the no name actors and really focus on what the story is really about. Do not stuff it full of stars that are going to suffocate the story.

Check out who Rolling Stone thinks should play some of the other key roles in the new Kurt Cobain film.

The 2007 Oscar Noms are in. Here are my picks for this year.

Best Picture: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood

I have seen all of these except for There Will Be Blood which I have heard is a great film. It’s a hard pick for me this year. I have to say Atonement was my least favorite out of lot, but I think it has the best chance at winning because it’s a very “Hollywood” movie. I think it would be the easiest pick. Juno is this year’s Little Miss Sunshine. The little movie that could. I think it has a good chance of winning, but I don’t think it will. Michael Clayton was one of my favorites of the year. Incredible performances from all the actors, but it won’t win. I can not praise No Country For Old Men enough. A great script, amazing performances, but it is not as audience friendly as Atonement. But The Departed won Best Picture last year, which was also a pretty brutal movie, so there could be some hope for No Country.

My Pick: No Country For Old Men

Who Will Win: Atonement

Actor in a Leading Role: George Clooney - Michael Clayton, Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood, Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd, Tommy Lee Jones - In The Valley of Elah, Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

First off, I am very excited that Viggo Mortensen got a nomination because he gave an awesome performance in Eastern Promises, but once again the movie and the role are not very accessible, and the Oscars like accessible. I think George Clooney in Michael Clayton is probably his best performance ever, but I don’t think the movie received wide enough acclaim. I have yet to see In the Valley of Elah, so I don’t know about Tommy Lee’s performance, but once again I don’t think that movie has received enough acclaim. Johnny Depp, oh Johnny Depp. Nominated once again, but he will not win, because he is Johnny Depp and Johnny Depp never wins. Also I don’t think it was his strongest performance. I think that his performances are always strong, but there is always someone else nominated who is just that much stronger and beats him. Johnny Depp is everybody’s favorite loser. I have heard that Daniel Day-Lewis gave yet another amazing performance in There Will Be Blood. I think he should win because I want revenge for him not winning for The Gangs of New York and all the buzz has been about his performance.

My Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis

Who Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis

Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Julie Christie - Away From Her, Marion Cotillard - Le Vie En Rose, Laura Linney - The Savages, Ellen Page - Juno

This is a hard one because I have only seen Juno. I am sure that Ellen Page is everybody’s favorite to win and I think she has a good chance to take home the Oscar, but I have heard many great things about Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard, and each of them took home a Golden Globe for their performances. Cate Blanchett and Laura Linney won’t win because Elizabeth apparently was a terrible film and there wasn’t enough talk or acclaim for Laura Linney’s role. Both are personal favorite actresses of mine, but it’s not their year for best actress.

My Pick: Ellen Page or Julie Christie

Who Will Win: Julie Christie

Actor in a Supporting Role: Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James, Javier Bardiem - No Country For Old Men, Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson’s War, Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild, Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

All I can say is Javier Bardiem has it in the bag. Casey Affleck and Tom Wilkinson were both great in their roles but Bardiem was better. I can’t say much for Hoffman and Holbrook because I have yet to see either of the other movies, but Hoffman won two years ago for Best Actor and this is the first I have heard of Hal Holbrook’s performance in Into the Wild. Javier Bardiem completely embodied his role as a crazy, psychotic killer with no soul. You hate him at the end of this film and you hate the fact that his character has not been stopped. The entire time watching the movie, every time he enters a room, I got a chill down my back because he was always about to do something terrible. Javier Bardiem has got it hands down.

My Pick - Javier Bardiem

Who Will Win: Javier Bardiem

Actress in a Supporting Role: Cate Blanchett - I’m Not There, Ruby Dee - American Gangster, Saoirse Ronan - Atonement, Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone, Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

I have seen all of these movies except for Gone Baby Gone, which I heard that Amy Ryan was really good but there were two performances that really stood out to me this year. Cate Blanchett as Jude Quinn in I’m Not There, I think is a highlight of her career. She was definitely the strongest actor in the entire movie. Though her character was “not” Bob Dylan, she was Bob Dylan. She had his mannerisms, personality, swagger and voice down to a tee. Cate Blanchett has amazing versatility and really shines in any role that she takes on. But the one actress I am really rooting for is Tilda Swinton. She was SO GOOD! SO GOOD! in Michael Clayton! It gave me chills she was so good. You could feel and understand every emotion that this woman was going through, throughout the entire movie. You can hear the words that running through her head at every moment. She was woman who was trying to evoke this strong almost steel like demeanor but underneath she is struggling so hard to keep things together, only to have things coming crashing down on her in the end. One of my absolute favorite performances of 2007. But I think that Cate Blanchett has a better chance of taking the Oscar home because she is more of a house-hold name and everybody loves a role where the actor has to completely transform themselves to play their character.

My Pick: Tilda Swinton

Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett

Best Director - Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jason Reitman - Juno, Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton, Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men, Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

I am really bad a deciding who best director is, because I don’t really understand the criteria of what makes a good director. I would really like for the Coen Brothers to win because they deserve it. I think that Jason Reitman has a good chance, but I think that Julian Schnabel by come from behind and take it. But I really can’t say.

My Pick: Joel and Ethan Coen

Who Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen

Writing: Adapted Screenplay - Atonement, Away From Her, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood

My Pick: No Country For Old Men

Who Will Win: No Country For Old Men

Writing: Original Screenplay - Juno, Lars and the Real Girl, Michael Clayton, Ratatouille, The Savages

My Pick: Juno

Who Will Win: Juno

It has been announced that everybody’s favorite leading lady of the New Pornographers will be making a guest appearance on the Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force show. I have to say I am pretty excited. I am a big fan of Neko Case and a big fan of Aqua Teen. I am glad that these two favorites of mine have decided to join forces. I have to say that Neko Case is one of the last people I would think of appearing on that particular show, or in fact, make any kind of guest appearance at all. But heck, what do I know? I have never met her before. But anyways, I am glad that she has decided to do this guest appearance. Neko Case, along with fellow folk singer Kelly Hogan and baseball star John Kruk will be appearing on the January 27th episode together as a group of sirens. It has been reported that Case and Hogan will be singing all of their lines. As obscure and strange as it seems, I think it will work. It wouldn’t be an Aqua Teen episode if it wasn’t weird and demented anyways.

For more info on Neko Case’s upcoming guest appearance and why they chose to have her on the show, check out this blog post at Pitchfork Media.

If you are looking for a good, suspenseful ghost story to get your heart pumping I suggest the Orphanage. It is the story of a woman who decides to re-open and run the Orphanage that she grew up in. Along with her husband and adopted son, they move into this large house that has a sinister past. Then strange things begin to happen…you know the drill. I can’t say that the plot line is the most original, because we have all seen the haunted house movie, but there is a great twist at the end that I was not expecting. The movie was also not that over-the-top. There was no gore or guts. The Orphanage had this understated suspense that was just enough to keep me at the edge of seat and gripping my boyfriend’s hand throughout the movie. And also if you are looking for a little change of pace, it is in Spanish. If you are a fan of Pan’s Labyrinth or the Devil’s Backbone or Guillermo del Toro in general, I am sure that you will enjoy the Orphanage.

Here are some music blogs that I found that I thought were kind of interesting reads:

1. Dr. Dre is working with Monster Cable to launch a new pair of headphones. Apparently it will be the ultimate listening experience…for only $400!

2. Panic at the Disco has decided to drop the exclamation point from their name for their next tour. Woohoo! Who really gives a shit?! It’s a sucky name in the first place and I can’t say much more for their music.

3. This blog post is proof that some people should not be writing music.

The New Music West Festival & Conference is the largest new music festival in Western Canada, showcasing over 200 bands during a five night, multi-venue music festival. NMW 2008, running May 14-18^th, will mark our 17^th year. Music industry professionals and fans will experience a music extravaganza that includes educational workshops, a conference, networking events and the latest in new and emerging talent from around the world.

I have been interning at New Music West working on the International showcases. We have Australia and the Netherlands signed on to send some bands over for the festival which is awesome. We are also in talks with France, New Zealand, Switzerland and Iceland to send over some artists. Hopefully they will be able to participate.

If you are a band or artist and you are interested in playing check out the New Music West website. www.newmusicwest.com and fill out an application. The application deadline is February 1st so submit your band soon!

Flight of the Conchords is one of my favorite new television shows. For those who do not know the show it is about two very naive guys from New Zealand who have traveled to New York to begin a career as serious musicians. They have a kooky manager, one crazy obsessed fan, and a friend who owns a pawn shop. It is all very silly and fun. Their songs and dancing are integrated into each episode. The two lead guys Jemaine and Brett are actually two musicians from New Zealand who have made a name for themselves playing sort of comedic novelty rock. All I can say is they are great. The show is played on HBO. The first season is over and I am very excited for the next season. Here is a clip from the pilot episode.

This is my first blog ever! This is all very exciting! More to come later.