Hey, I know I’m weeks behind schedule, but having now seen Birdman I just finished the “Why Do We Do This?” episode, and was wondering if you guys could recommend some decent critics to read. I love criticism, but I find myself going to the same wells pretty regularly (The Dissolve, AVClub, etc.) and am hoping to diversify.
Thanks for a consistently ace show, and also for recommending the Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
I also read AV Club religiously. And LA Weekly/Village Voice, where you’ll find Stephanie Zacharek and our friend Amy Nicholson, as well as Ernest Hardy. I’ve been reading Ray Pride for years. Also, J.R. Jones and Ella Taylor. Many others but that should be a good start. Browse the Rotten Tomatoes links and find critics that speak to you.
Here are ten songs I would have brought to play on this episode:
Peter Gabriel – “A Different Drum” (The Last Temptation of Christ)
Elton John – “Tiny Dancer” (Almost Famous)
Jim James & Calexico – “Goin’ to Acapulco” (I’m Not There)
Fire Inc. – “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young” (Streets of Fire)
U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (Rattle & Hum)
Aimee Mann – “Wise Up” (Magnolia)
Eddie Vedder – “Hard Sun” (Into the Wild)
Samuel L. Jackson – “Alice Mae” (Black Snake Moan)
David Newman & Van Dyke Parks – “Worthless” (The Brave Little Toaster)
Johnny Cash – “The Man Comes Around” (Dawn of the Dead)
Yeah, I knew you liked that sequence. That movie came out right around the time I was getting into Johnny Cash. In the years since he’s become my touchstone artist, sort of the way Tom Waits is for Tyler. Not sure if Dawn of the Dead had anything to do with that (probably not), but I do associate it with that time in my life.
It also features in the underrated William Friedkin film The Hunted, along with Cash reciting the first verse of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”. Chilling stuff.
I would have easily thrown The Specials’ cover of Pressure Drop from Grosse Pointe Blank on mine. Glad to see the soundtrack show up on David’s list in part 2!
David, I am SO glad you included Wild Wild Life from “True Stories.” A truly under appreciated film and fantastic album by Talking Heads. And yes, they are definitely a top-5 worthy band!
Here are 10 songs I’d have included (in no particular order):
“What Is Life” George Harrison – Goodfellas
“Everybody’s Talkin” Harry Nilsson – Midnight Cowboy
“Sweet Emotion” Aerosmith – Dazed and Confused
“Jessie’s Girl” Rick Springfield – Boogie Nights
“The Sound of Silence” Simon & Garfunkel – The Graduate
“Stonehenge” Spinal Tap – This is Spinal Tap
“In Dreams” Roy Orbison – Blue Velvet
“Eleanor Rigby” The Beatles – Yellow Submarine
“The Rainbow Connection” Kermit the Frog – The Muppet Movie
“You Only Live Twice” Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice
Well done, Tyler, for paying homage to my least favorite thing that has ever happened in a movie (“Party Man”).
Well on the topic of recent soundtrack hits, this of all things is currently Number 12 on the Billboard charts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14H8OzTzne4
And it’s well-deserved!
– David
Hey, I know I’m weeks behind schedule, but having now seen Birdman I just finished the “Why Do We Do This?” episode, and was wondering if you guys could recommend some decent critics to read. I love criticism, but I find myself going to the same wells pretty regularly (The Dissolve, AVClub, etc.) and am hoping to diversify.
Thanks for a consistently ace show, and also for recommending the Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
I also read AV Club religiously. And LA Weekly/Village Voice, where you’ll find Stephanie Zacharek and our friend Amy Nicholson, as well as Ernest Hardy. I’ve been reading Ray Pride for years. Also, J.R. Jones and Ella Taylor. Many others but that should be a good start. Browse the Rotten Tomatoes links and find critics that speak to you.
– David
Here are ten songs I would have brought to play on this episode:
Peter Gabriel – “A Different Drum” (The Last Temptation of Christ)
Elton John – “Tiny Dancer” (Almost Famous)
Jim James & Calexico – “Goin’ to Acapulco” (I’m Not There)
Fire Inc. – “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young” (Streets of Fire)
U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (Rattle & Hum)
Aimee Mann – “Wise Up” (Magnolia)
Eddie Vedder – “Hard Sun” (Into the Wild)
Samuel L. Jackson – “Alice Mae” (Black Snake Moan)
David Newman & Van Dyke Parks – “Worthless” (The Brave Little Toaster)
Johnny Cash – “The Man Comes Around” (Dawn of the Dead)
I hope more people post their lists! I did consider “The Man Comes Around” myself.
– David
Yeah, I knew you liked that sequence. That movie came out right around the time I was getting into Johnny Cash. In the years since he’s become my touchstone artist, sort of the way Tom Waits is for Tyler. Not sure if Dawn of the Dead had anything to do with that (probably not), but I do associate it with that time in my life.
It also features in the underrated William Friedkin film The Hunted, along with Cash reciting the first verse of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”. Chilling stuff.
I would have easily thrown The Specials’ cover of Pressure Drop from Grosse Pointe Blank on mine. Glad to see the soundtrack show up on David’s list in part 2!
David, I am SO glad you included Wild Wild Life from “True Stories.” A truly under appreciated film and fantastic album by Talking Heads. And yes, they are definitely a top-5 worthy band!
FYC:
Here are 10 songs I’d have included (in no particular order):
“What Is Life” George Harrison – Goodfellas
“Everybody’s Talkin” Harry Nilsson – Midnight Cowboy
“Sweet Emotion” Aerosmith – Dazed and Confused
“Jessie’s Girl” Rick Springfield – Boogie Nights
“The Sound of Silence” Simon & Garfunkel – The Graduate
“Stonehenge” Spinal Tap – This is Spinal Tap
“In Dreams” Roy Orbison – Blue Velvet
“Eleanor Rigby” The Beatles – Yellow Submarine
“The Rainbow Connection” Kermit the Frog – The Muppet Movie
“You Only Live Twice” Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice