(Trailervision, 2003) I am hesitant to call this the worst movie I have ever seen as that might intrigue people to watch it. But I believe it is. Just an awful, pointless, confused, ugly, punishing collection of quotes about nothing by non-experts and man on the street interviews about nothing all while horrible, irritating music ruins everything and a visual cacophony of uninteresting footage that means nothing is vomited on screen. To paraphrase a film featuring Adam Sandler (who appears in shitty found footage for a second or two), At no point in this rambling, incoherent film was there anything that could even be considered a rational thought. Everyone is now dumber for having watched it.
(Badman) To me these pretty instrumentals are the audio equivalent to a soft color, morphing screen saver that I wouldn't notice. So I assume these are not directed to me.
(Pravda, 2021) I don't know if Steve is related to Richard Dawson, but I do know that, much like Richard's M.O., these 70s California-style sweet Americana nuggets make me want to kiss him on the lips!
(RCA, 1972) Not the best George Jones record, but George Jones records are like pizza and sex...even when it's bad it's good! Except there's Domino's and sexual assault, so that saying is meaningless, and this record is not bad at all, just a little bit along the lines of elevating Porter Waggoner B-material with the best singing and picking you could ever want. So better than pizza and sex in some ways.
(Drawn & Quarterly, 2021) Roberts is one of the funniest, best cartoonists in Chicagoland, and has been for a long time. Her vignettes about her honest, cutting, absurd takes on mundane day to day family stuff is just a rich joy to experience. The only reason she does not have a full room at the MCA's new exhibit on Chicago comics is that the museum is defining art as "visual art," and Roberts' expressive, yet simple and diagramatic artwork might not jump out when framed on a gallery wall, but as comics- married with perfect words, powerful funny, and honest emotional expression attached, these are perfect drawings. This book is good.
(benjaminjayne.com, 2021) Somber much? JK everybody, this is great, and if history had not already burnished memories of Karen Carpenter with a patina of deep sadness this brother-sister act would be the Carpenters of Misery...if you played the Carpenters records at a slow speed so Karen sounded like sexy Lurch.
(2021) Sid is a masked experimental theoretically-prolific outsider beautiful noise maker. This sounds like a cartoon orchestra tuning up for an hour. I Yid you not!
(Samoht, 1985ish) Obviously rock n roll has little meritocracy involved, so when a band you like doesn't hit the big time there's no surprise. But when a deserving ac can't even hit outsider artist novelty minor cult status something is wrong with this system! A few years back Thomas, a veteran Harlem jazz fringe figure who made a series of strange but groovy private press releases in the early 80s, had a seeming moment. A documentary was produced on him, he was mentioned in Irwin Chusid's "Songs in the Key of Z" book, he was even on Chic-A-Go-Go. But somehow his records are still available at $5-$20, and there is no chatter about him online, and the lead single from this LP has less than 200 views on Youtube. I hope he is still with us, but I wouldn't know, because he fell back into the cracks after he should have gained Daniel Johnston-ish fame! Not demented enough for Dr. Demento, and not mentally ill enough to laugh at like Wesley was, this album instead offers warm, sincere, off kilter (and sung off time and key) takes on life, love, and getting by. So get and buy while it's still dirt cheap, you will not be sorry.
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