Easy Come Easy Gaughin

Ten days in

I am posting my picks for worst of music of the decade in post-per-day format on twitter. Just completed 91-100; here’s where we are so far.

91) Morcheeba – Charango; On the wrong side of the fine line between beautiful languor and lethargic noodling. http://bit.ly/9r8UBQ

92) Electric Six – Senor Smoke; This disc is that friend at the party who thinks he’s a lot funnier than he really is. http://bit.ly/aHK8Gv

93) Robbie Williams – Rudebox; Williams fails to conquer America yet again with faux Pet Shop Boys. http://bit.ly/drbJAP

94) Seal – Seal IV; Once you’ve purchased Seal I, Seal II, III, and IV are just redundant. http://bit.ly/d3JgjK

95) Everclear – Slow Motion Daydream; The equivalent of a British pub band, efficient and lacklustre. http://bit.ly/bnwOwj

96) Tokio Hotel – Scream; Germany’s version of those pre-fab Disney groups, Jonas Brothers in Hell. http://bit.ly/cO7p5I

97) Feeder – Pushing the Senses; Like Coldplay’s scrawny (scrawnier) little brother. http://bit.ly/afA8pd

98) Jamie Foxx – Unpredictable; Unlistenable. Indefensible. Unnecessary. Unoriginal. Unconscionable.
http://bit.ly/c3lABs

99) Staind-The Illusion of Progress; Hot Topix has manufactured bands just like The Disney Channel! http://bit.ly/9pxEVl

100) 100) Starsailor – Silence is Golden; Phil Spector to end your career? yes! On your 2nd record, no! http://bit.ly/a0hagO

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My new post-per-day project on Twitter will be called #worstoftheoughts

You would have to assume that this means my take on the worst recordings of the last decade, but I need to throw in a couple of disclaimers.

Technology has made it cheap and easy to compose and record music. This is both good and bad. While there have been a number of great homemade recordings, it’s also opened up the ability of truly atrociously untalented people to disseminate their sounds; this is a bane to modern existence.

So it’s a little ridiculous to say that I have pinned down the absolute worst of the decade; with tens of thousands of candidates, it’s an impossible task.

So my worst has to be taken in context. I am focusing my attention on recordings that fall into two basic categories. There are those well-known, heavily backed but uninspiring bands and artists who have enough support and/or sales to enable them to keep spewing out the same useless crap that the masses seem to crave. I will be pointing to these artists’ worst recordings. There are also a number of recordings by artists who only got one or two shots, but whose work nailed the right combination of too-horrid-to-be-possible and why-did-anyone-put-up-money-to-publicize-this to attract my attention.

Much in these ratings is swayed by my exposure to publicly available rock press; I read lots of magazines and blogs to pass the interminable days, and I take lots of notes. I am really happy to say that I never heard the last Queen disc, featuring Paul Rodgers on vocal, but it’s earned its spot here by sheer reputation. In many cases, however, I have listened to these discs. Yes, I heard the entire Kevin Federline disc. Twice. I’m there for you, people.

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I spend so much time talking to family and friends and in class about music, occasionally people that are equally enthusiastic about it are curious to hear the artists getting my attention. So for the last year, to the best of my ability, I kept track of everything I listened to. The following is a list of 105 or so musical artists that I spent time with in 2009.

The problem with a list like this is that I also listened to hundreds of artists for whom I heard only 4 or 5 songs; since I am listing only those that got the most repetitions, my list looks a little more mainstreamy thanmy actual listening habits. But I am not going to lie; transparency and full disclosure here. Yes, friends, I probably heard 4 or 5 Billy Joel songs per month throughout the year; I am not ashamed.

Still, my normal speachifying  remains in place despite the appearance of at least a couple dozen radio-friendly artists here…turn off your radio, it wants your brain to turn to mush. If radio could get away with playing all Bob Seger, or all Kenny Chesney, or all Slipknot, provided you keep buying the crap they’re selling you between these “songs”, they would do so.

All you need music-wise is wfmu.org and discexchange.com. Radio just stunts your growth.

Here’s my most-played artists of the last year.

This is the no-documents provided figure it out yourself version. If anyone’s interested, I can provide a map.

The most exceptional (and gracious) Lisa Jane Persky was the first film actor to comment on this blog in response to their own entry. Sure, Meryl Streep or George Clooney or Nate Hartley may eventually show up, but LJP will always be first, both on the blog, and in my heart. Please be sure to visit her exceptional photography site http://www.lisajaneperskyphoto.com/

Heath Ledger

He’s going to be remembered for decades as The Joker, let’s balance that inevitablility with a picture in which he doesn’t look like a lunatic psychopath.

More has probably been written about him since his death than any other actor.  His performance as The Joker was so indelible that it will not be forgotten. Unfortunately, his untimely death might ultimately lead to a sort of backlash among those arguing that without his personal tragedy, the role would not have been so praised. I think, though, that if you can remove yourself from Ledger as a person and simply fix on his wild performance (which I always saw as a sort of ramping up of the act Brad Pitt utilized in 12 Monkeys,) it’s a legitimately great performance. I believe that his death may have cemented his Oscar win (voters normally don’t vote for comedy or genre work), but the role stands up on its own.  Also intensely great in his limited screen time in Monster’s Ball.

Has any other young actor had two classic roles as different as The Joker and the cowboy-in-denial from Brokeback Mountain?

Ten best roles: 10) I’m Not There 9) The Order 8) 10 Things I Hate About You 7) Ned Kelly 6) Candy 5) A Knight’s Tale 4) Casanova 3) Monster’s Ball 2) The Dark Knight 1) Brokeback

Percentile ratings: 93.82

Peak Period: Strangely, 2001 – 2005 (The Dark Knight came after a bit of a dry spell for him; only two films in 3 years, and one of them was his small part in I’m Not There)

Neighborhood: Harriett Andersson, Jennifer Connolly, Chris Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Gambon, and, fittingly, Jake Gylenhall

Fabrice Luchini

His Italian name belies his innate Frenchness (Frenchitude?) Born and raised in France to immigrant parents, Luchini’s the centerpiece of a number of important French films in a career that spans 40 years. During the first half of his career, he normally landed supporting roles as a character actor; in the last 20 years he’s been recognized as a star of French cinema who never gained much acclaim outside of western Europe.

Ten best roles: 10) On Guard 9) Intimate Strangers 8) Beaumarchais L’Insolent 7) Un Air Si Pur 6) The Girl from Monaco 5) Full Moon in Paris 4) Colonel Chabert 3) Perceval 2) Moliere 1) La Discrete

Percentile rating: 93.39

Peak Period: 1996 – now

Neighborhood: Tadanobu Asano, Toni Collette, Laura Dern, Ben Gazzara, Kris Kristofferson, Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury

Yet another link to Hollywood’s olden days, she’s star of film, TV, and screen. To give you an idea of the breadth of her career, she received an Oscar nomination for Gaslight, a film she shot in 1943. She’s best known among younger folks for the disturbingly pervasive reruns of Murder She Wrote, but not as many people know of her prominence in both dramatic and musical theater.

Ten best roles: 10) The Dark at the Top of the Stairs 9) The Court Jester 8) Samson and Delilah 7) Something for Everyone 6) National Velvet 5) The World of Henry Orient 4) The Private Affairs of Bel Ami 3) Bedknobs and Broomsticks 2) The Manchurian Candidate 1) The Company of Wolves

Percentile Rating: 93.34

Peak Period: 1962 – 1984

Neighborhood: Tadanobu Asano, Toni Collette, Laura Dern, Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Fabrice Luchini

Ray Liotta

With his sudden maniac laugh, he’s legitimately scary, like a half-cocked pistol. Perhaps typecast as a lunatic. Does rage really well; probably should do some comedy to convince people he’s not actually dangerous.  Wait, Corrina Corrina was a comedy? Never mind.

Ten best roles: 10) Corrina Corrina 9) Phoenix 8) Identity 7) Cop Land 6) Field of Dreams 5) Something Wild 4) Narc 3) Observe and Report 2) Dominick and Eugene 1) Goodfellas

Percentile rating: 92.75

Peak Period: 1986 – 1994

Neighborhood: Kathy Bates, Richard Bohringer, Timothy Bottoms, Bryan Brown, Rutger Hauer, Scarlett Johansson

Piper Laurie

She’s been around so long she’s essentially had three different careers, with her most publically recognized role on David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series. She’s the crazy Mom in the first version of Carrie (and in retrospect, the scariest character in the film, because she probably lives just down the street from you.) She went 15 years in the middle of her career without a single film role; I am interested whether that was a) Kids b) Theater c) TV or d) Other. Classy link to the end of “old Hollywood.”

Ten best roles: 10) Distortions 9) The Mississippi Gambler 8) Days of Wine and Roses 7) Johnny Dark 6) Francis Goes to the Races 5) The Grass Harp 4) Children of a Lesser God 3) Tim 2) The Hustler 1) Carrie

Percentile rating: 92.48

Peak Period: 1958 – 1986

Neighborhood: Joan Allen, Timothy Bottoms, Bryan Brown, Danielle Darrieux, Derek Jacobi, Jude Law