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My Top 10 CDs of 2002

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posted by Fawaz at 3:32 PM

 

I was able to arrange a trade of mp3 version to acquire the whole 3.5 hour Essential Mix of James Lavelle's UNKLESounds from early last year. I have no idea what the tracklisting is past the first 2 hours that I already have, but if it's anything like that I'm sure it's excellent. I also got a Goldie Essential Mix, and another James Lavelle set from the Australian Triple J radio station. . I let him have Essential Mixes by Massive Attack, the Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, and live Chicago set from Underworld. Here is the guys list.   One day I will get organized enough to make a list of all my bootlegs and live recording.  Maybe then I'll be able to trade for more things I really want.   I have to remember that there is only so much time in the day and only so much time each day that I actually get to listen to music.   I already have so many CDs that I have yet to listen to, and other CDs that I've heard, but have yet given a chance since I've only heard them once maybe twice.  

If you haven't yet checked out BBC Radio 1's website, give it a try.   They have the past weeks shows archived (with tracklistings).  It's a great source to hear new music that is blowing up London and the UK.   While they have reduced Steve Lamaq's show to once a week (excellent source of live bootlegs), his replacement Colin Murry is doing an ok job playing music that I love and music that I will love.  

Check out this sample tracklisting from Murry's show and tell me how you wish there was a show
somewhere in the U.S. this cool.  (Maybe XMU
on XM comes close)

• Eminem -
  'Lose Yourself' (Interscope)


• Audioslave
  - 'Cochise' (Epic)


• Underworld
  - 'Dinosaur Adventure 3D' (JBO)


• Supergrass
  - 'Seen the Light' (Parlophone)


• Bad
  Company - 'Mo Fire' (Bc Recordings)


• Hell Is
  For Heroes - 'You Drove Me to It' (-)


• Uncut -
  'Midnight (Mist 2003)' (White)


• 50 cent
  - 'In Da Club' (Shady)


• Layo And
  Bushwacka - 'Love Story (Tim Deluxe Finally Mix)' (XL)


• Something
  Corporate - 'Punk Rock Princess' (Drive Thru)


• Easyworld
  - 'Junkies' (Zomba)


• FC
  Kahuna - 'Hayling (SFA Mix)' (City Rockers)


• Clipse -
  'When The Last Time' (Session)


• Mint
  Royale - 'Blue Song' (Faith And Hope)


• Idlewild
  - 'A Modern Way Of Letting Go' (Parlophone)


• Dog -
  'Bitten' (EMI)


• Clipse -
  'Cot Down' (Session)


• Ty Cobb
  - 'Wheel' (Abstract Dragon)


• Clipse -
  'Grindin'' (Session Track)


• Medicine
  8 - 'Rock Music Pays Off' (Regal)


• Darkness
  - 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman' (Must Destroy)


• Polyphonic
  Spree - 'Light And Day' (679 Recordings)


• Red Hot
  Chili Peppers - 'Can' t Stop' (Warner)


• General
  Levy - 'Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya' (Urban Explosion)


• OK Go -
  'Get Over It' (Parlophone)


• The
  Coral - 'Don't Think You're The first' (Deltasonic)


• Kinesis
  - 'And They Obey' (Crystal Songs)


• Royksopp
  - 'Eple' (Wall Of Sound)
  
  

They have a new bhangra show, Bobby Friction and Nihal.  I heard a couple of shows and even though I am not a huge fan of bhangra by any means they did play some nice mashups of bhangra tunes with rappers rapping over them.     There is the Essential Mix, where a big name DJ or electronically-inclined band play a seamless mix for 2 hours.   I heard DJ Shadow recently recorded one, but has yet to be broadcast...drool...drool. 

On one last note, I'm trying to get a little more proficient in Photoshop. I still suck, but at last I got a new logo to replace the crappy hatchet job I did of UNKLE CD. Here is the original and the copy I made using a few easy (and I mean very easy) steps in Adobe Photoshop 7.

posted by Fawaz at 3:18 PM

 

The hiphopsite.com has an interesting top listing for 2002 that deals with many cool categories.    Best Beefs, Best Beats, Nicest Emcee's, etc...

Slant Magazine, has the top 100 videos of all time, with some interesting choices and excellent commentary about the videos and their meaning.  C'mon, I know most of you are just as confused as me when watching most videos these days.   Highlights: Verve's 'Bittersweet Symphony" at #8,   Radiohead's 'Karma Police' at #54.   Lowlights:  Too Many Madonna videos on the list.

I missed Coldplay on the new Jimmy Kimmel show, but I read they played 'Clocks' and 'Yellow'.

Listen to excellent artists playing excellent sets, archived by these radio stations,  KCRW - Morning Becomes Eclectic featuring many excellent sets and KEXP featuring Super Furry Animals, Interpol, Doves, Enon, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Sahara Hotnights, The Flaming Lips and many others.

Check out the many cool movie previous played at this years disappointing Super Bowl.  The best one I saw is the Matrix:Reloaded.   I was looking forward to finally seeing the Hulk, but the CG Hulk looks kind of disappointing, maybe Ang Lee will save this movie from being not so great.  I'm sure the very appealing Jennifer Connelly will do her part.

The Matrix trailer had many, many amazing effects and sequences in it, I cannot wait for this movie and it's sequel, Matrix:Revolutios, to come out.  And I cannot be happier that we will get both THIS year.  I read somewhere that the 2nd Martix movie might even make it to DVD in October.

Here's a couple of pics that show the best effect in the super bowl trailer,  it shows an agent using a car traveling down the highway as a spring board, I highly suggest talking a look at the trailer as these 2 still images don't really show off what a cool effect his really is.

Also here's a pic from the hulk trailer:


posted by Fawaz at 1:55 PM

 

posted by Fawaz at 4:25 PM

 

I got the UNKLESounds CD in the mail last night.   This 3-CD compilation is supposed to be limited to 500 copies, but as I read on the MoWax message board it is a boot since the original came in a harder cardboard slipcase and does not have a bar code on it.   I was hoping this was not the case as I spent almost $40 in getting in from the HMV.co.uk site, but I had a gut feeling that this could not be one of the only 500 original.   The packaging is kind of cool, but there is no track listing and each CD is just 1 long mix and is not broken up into separate songs.  The HMV site does list the whole correct track listing though.   As I am typing this I am listening to the second disc for the first time (I'm at the UNKLESounds mix of Be There featuring Ian Brown.)   It's pretty sweet so far, more like the UNKLESounds Essential Mix then the James Lavelle Global Underground CD from late last year, since it features more trip hop/downbeat then banging techno. This comp actually shares a lot of songs featured on that Radio 1 Essential Mix.

It's really quite dope, excellent mixes and song selection.  There is an OK Computer electronic/Stephen Hawking voice that pops up regularly to let us know that we are listening to UNKLE mix.   From what I read the songs were not cleared and that was the reason for the minimal amount of CDs released.  I wonder about the origins of the boot.  If you are a fan on UNKLE definitely pick it up while you can.   Also search for the Essential Mix from January 6th of last year if you are a fan.   Look for a more extensive review once I get to listen to it a few times, and a hats off to elastic heart for letting us know that is was available.

posted by Fawaz at 3:31 PM

 

I am kind of pissed off how much press the passing of Maurice Gibb got compared to the passing of Joe Strummer. It's sad that Maurice passed, especially since it lookslike it could have been avoided.  I saw at some awards show that they remembered him and on some entertainment shows they were asking celebrities how important his and his bands music was to them.   (I'm sure Cedric the Entertainer and Matthew Perry probably do listen to more Bee Gees then Clash.) OK, no doubt the Bee Gees sold a ton of records and were the main band in the front of the disco music scene, but were the Clash not mportant.   Of course they were, "London Calling" was Rolling Stone'stop record of the 80's.   And they were such a large influence on so many bands that started after seeing or hearing them.   I'm sure in England Joe Strummer's passing got a few more blurbs in the papers and a few more minutes on TV.  I just think that it is rather sad how he received so little recognition for how important of a person he really was and is.  
RIP Joe.   You will be missed by me.

I watched most of the Golden Globes, and sadly to say most of E!'s pre show activity. I was happy that Curb Your Enthusiasm took home best comedy show.  I find this show funny in the same was Seinfeld is, you laugh at everyday things.   I think Sex in the City has way better writing, but sometimes it feels that everything they say has some funny, other meaning to it, and sometimes it just gets a bit to much.   The Two Towers got completely snubbed, but I was expecting that.  I haven't seen the Hours or Chicago, so I can't comment on their awards, but was happy that Renee Zellweger beat Catherine Zeta Jones, since Renee had no previous dancing or singing experience.   Cool to see U2 winning too, for some reason Bono's swearing was not nearly as tasteless as the Osborne's on the American Music Awards.  

Bought any music?  Get $20 from by filling out this claim form.   Yahoo article about it.   Link to claim form.  I just takes  a few minutes. Sorry only open to US residents.

Check out the Weblog awards.  Check out the most popular sites of similar ilk and vote for one of your favorites or vote for one of mine.  

From themodernage.org: Interpol on Carson Daly's Last Call on Friday.

It's been interesting to see how many new movies are up on file sharing programs for people to download.  It used to be that the newest movies would have the crappiest quality since most were just cam-captures, you know where a guy in the theater just recorded it on a camcorder.   Usually one would have to wait until the DVD was officially released on DVD to be able to download and view a movie that was watch-able.   But with DVDs going out to academy voters, many movies that are still in theaters and movies that have not yet opened in some areas are out there more people to download.    I've seen the Two Towers, 8 Mile, the Hours, Die Another Day, Adaptation, About Schmidt, and others all listed on peoples shared folders.  This just has to piss off the MPAA.   Oh well they can't complain too much, movies made more money last year then ever before.   One cannot say the same for records companies.    Related News: A judge recently ruled that an ISP has to give up the name of a user who supposedly downloaded over 600 songs in one day to the RIAA.   Here's the article on that.

Here is a couple screen captures I pulled down from another site:

 

posted by Fawaz at 3:18 PM

 
I am trying to get a new look started on this website. It probably will take a few days to get it right.
posted by Fawaz at 4:14 PM

 

Looks like I am going to NYC soon, and hopefully twice.  While I will be there once for business reasons, I will be able to do some cool NY things.  Not sure if I'll make it to SOB's on Tuesday 02.04 for the Dead Prez, but maybe on Wednesday for International Bob Marley Day.   I'll be taking my camera and hopefully posting some pics soon after I get back.    Until then enjoy this amazing site with amazing pics of shows and just regular people on the streets of the city..  

Here's a few below:

 

posted by Fawaz at 3:55 PM

 

Some interesting Links:

These:Here's an interesting turbalism site, OK, I really have never heard of or from most of the artist that are listed on here and the people responsible for the site are way more knowledgeable then me on this type of music, but it's interesting none the less.  

links: Funny, but at the same time very strange, of course it's a joke, but I could see how people would be offended.  I had to laugh at the audacity and hilarity of the site.

are: Excellent opinion column from the San Francisco Gate about the impending war (you really can't call it a "war", read the article and find out why)

interesting: I check this site once in a while and check out the amazing digital photos that people take.


posted by Fawaz at 11:50 AM

 

UNKLE:Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Beats?





I just saw this on another blog site Elastic Heart, and I am so tempted to pick up this amazing issue from UNKLE, it's a mix CD, 3 infact, that basically make up what a live DJ show from UNKLE would sound like. It's available at HMV.co.uk for only £23.99, mind you that is about $40 USD. But this release is supposed to be only limited to 500 copies making it a really hard to find item, some other online record shop has it listed for £99. I am so so tempted. Check out the amazing track listing. (Before I posted this, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and bought it. I'll let you know how it is after I get it!)


Disc 1 Shin Mix :::
1. UNKLE: Intro
2. Rare Earth: Get Ready
3. UNKLE: Lonely Souls [UNKLEsounds Edit]
4. The Psychonauts: Circles
5. Giorgio Moroder: Tears
6. DJ Shadow: Organ Donor
7. DJ Shadow: Organ Donor [Extended Overhaul]
8. South: Broken Head II
9. South: Broken Head [Jagz Kooner Mix]
10. Queens Of The Stone Age: Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
11. Garbage: The World Is Not Enough [UNKLE Remix Beats]
12. Sunna: I'm Not Trading [UNKLE Remix Instrumental]
13. UNKLE: Nursery Rhyme [UNKLEsounds Edit]
14. Blur: Battle [UNKLE Remix]

Disc 2 Tai Mix :::
1. Tycoon To$h & The Terminator Troops: Prop Master's Party
2. Star Wars Theme [Obscure Version]
3. Skelf - I Can't Comprehend
4. Peter Dildo: Physical 2000
5. UNKLE feat. Ian Brown: Be There [UNKLEsounds Edit]
6. Kraftwerk: Numbers w/ Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody
7. Forme: Kick A Hole [Tigerstyle]
8. Howie B: Hey Jack [UNKLE Metamorphosis Remix]
9. The Beatles: Tomorrow Never Knows [UNKLEsounds Edit]
10. UNKLE: Eye For An Eye
11. Bushwacka!: Feel It
12. Mercury Rev: Holes [Unknown Remix]
13. Forme: Percussive Thinking
14. Bushwacka!: Egyptian
15. UNKLEsounds Interlude
16. UNKLE: Rabbit In Your Headlights [UNKLEsounds Edit]

Disc 3 Gi Mix :::
1. UNKLE: Intro
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers: Breaking The Girl
3. Animated: Grab The Rope
4. FC Kahuna: Mindset To Cycle
5. Superfunk - Last Dance (And I Come Again) (Eric Morillo Dub)
6. The Rolling Stones: Sympathy For The Devil [UNKLEsounds Edit]
7. Morel: True [The Faggot Is You]
8. Psychonauts - Empty Love
9. Bladerunner End Titles [possible UNKLEsounds Edit]
10. Iggy Pop: Nightclubbing
11. Echomen: Thru 2 You [Bushwacka! Remix]
12. Landmine: Fairytale
13. Depeche Mode: Dream On [Bushwacka! Blunt Mix]
14. Medway: Release
15. Lazonby: Sacred Cycles
16. Radiohead: Everything In Its Right Place [UNKLEsounds Edit]
17. Layo & Bushwaska: Love Story
18. Fleetwood Mac: The Chain
19. UNKLEsounds Outro


posted by Fawaz at 1:10 PM

 

Movie Review: About a Boy
I saw this Hugh Grant movie this past weekend. I never got a chance to see it in theaters (as with so many other movies.) I had heard conflicting reports about it. Some of my friends liked it, most didn't, it wasn't on many top tens of the year, but it was Film Jerks top movie of 2002. Anyway, I really do like British comedies (I thought Bridget Jones's Diary was very good.) This movie had some other good things going for it. It was based on a book written by Nick Hornby who had written a really good book that I read (also made into a movie) "High Fidelity" (in which Jack Black is hilarious.) Also it has an excellent soundtrack by none other then Badly Drawn Boy.




The movie is very funny, Hugh Grant plays Will Freeman , a smug Englishman, but he is good in this role because I'm sure Hugh Grant is a smug Englishman. I found a lot of similarities to High Fidelity since they are both about 30 somethings who have issues with relationships and their lives. While Will is not as much as a looser as the main character in High Fidelity, they both have issues in the point in life. Will is a guy who does nothing...that is in nothing...he lives of the royalties of a song that his deceased father wrote. The song is a very cheesy Christmas song that made his father a one-hit wonder. We learn about what his life is like and what he believes in by his internal monologue which is very funny. We see him in some interesting situations, like trying to pickup single mothers at a single parent support group. Anyway in a roundabout fashion he meets Marcus. Who we also follow around hearing his internal thoughts. Marcus is a 12 year old who is picked on at school and whose mother, Toni Collete, is a aging hippy with severe depression. Predictably we find out how this 12 year old boy teaches a man over 30 about life, but this movie goes about this is a funny and touching way.

The whole cast does a good job. The music is really cool. Badly Drawn Boys songs fit it great. The movie was directed by the brother team behind the American Pie movies. I couldn't really tell as the movies are so different. I would definitely recommend renting this movie.

I've read that the movie and book differs on a few things, especially the ending. I would be interested in reading the book to find out what was different.

I've Been Listening to:
Doves - live at the Rock AM Ring Festival 2002 (I really want to see these guys live)
Massive Attack - 100th Window (this CD is very good)
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (I've only really gotten into this CD now, I really like it and you can listen to the whole thing here)
posted by Fawaz at 10:39 AM

 
DVD covers
It's so funny how dumb movie companies think we are, they think to sell a movie they have to put it's star on the cover of DVDs and videos so that Joe Six Pack walking into the local Blockbuster will know want to rent a movie because he sees some actor that he recognizes. I guess they do have a case with this, but it sucks when people who actually know stuff about movies buy DVDs with terrible covers rather then DVDs that feature the cool cover art from the movie poster.

Case in fact is 'Signs' (BTW - it's an excellent movie and DVD, except for the cover)
Here is the cool movie poster art and the crappy DVD cover



They just squished the image of the crop circle and added the family shot on top. Someone from dvdtalk.com said "I found it amusing that a small chapter of the documentary was devoted to the promotional art of the film and how Shyamalan did not want any characters on that image because he wanted the film to stand on it’s own and not be tied into his earlier work or that of the actors. I guess Shyamalan changed his mind or has no control over the cover art of the home video market."

Ok, that's bad enough, but not as bad as when they completly change the cover art for the US market. Case in point, the upcoming DVD release of the story of Tony Wilson and Factory Records "24 Hour Party People". Not only does the US not get the 2nd disc of extras, but we get cover art that not only is digusting, but just sucks.

The UK (Region 2) release and the US (Region 1) release.



Here is the special features that they crappy US release gets:

Audio Commentary with Steve Coogan and Producer Andrew Eaton
Audio Commentary with Tony Wilson
2 Featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Photo Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
Come on, were tongue rings even around when this movies story actually takes place (late 70's to early 90s)? The answer in no! If there was a tablet of ecstasy on the end of the tongue it would be more fitting to the story, but then again that would upset quite a few people.

And here is the really cool features in the UK release:

Audio commentary by Tony Wilson
Audio commentary by Steve Coogan and Andrew Eaton
Artist's commentary by Peter Hook (New Order), Rowetta (Happy Mondays), Leroy Richardson (Hacienda Manager), Bruce Mitchell (Durutti Column), Miranda Sawyer (Journalist), Bobby Langley (Hacienda DJ) and Martin Moscrop (A Certain Ratio) (very cool feature)
Sleeve Notes - a 'Who's Who and What's What' white rabbit guide
24 deleted scenes (very cool feature)
Interviews
Michael Winterbottom documentary
Designs with Peter Saville and Tony Wilson commentary (very cool feature)
New Order music video

I'm thinking it's not even worth getting the US release and just watching the UK/Region 2/PAL release on my computers DVD drive.

Anyway check out this site about the movie itself (which I have yet to see, but any movie about Joy Division, Happy Mondays, with an appearence by a fake Stone Roses has to be great right?!)
posted by Fawaz at 1:45 PM

 
Remember to check out the newish band, Interpol, tonight (Wednesday) on David Letterman. Their CD, Turn on the Bright Lights, was on my top ten of last year and was #1 in Pitchforkmedia's top 50 CDs of last year. BTW if anyone is looking for Interpol lyrics, I found some at this decent Interpol site here.

Listening to: the excellent Spritulized CD Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space Sorry Abrar, I still have your CD.

Check out these cool new pics of Gandalf, Gollum, and Aragon. It's from a promotional calendar from New Line given to people in the movie business. Click on to find an IGN article with high-res versions of these pictures plus 3 more.

Here is the best list of bootlegs on bands that I like that I have ever come across. I love the layout of the site and that it's easy to view setlists for some many cool bands. His/her(?) Coldplay collection of live CDs is very impressive. While I could only dream of having so many boots, I do have a few and these are my favorite:

The Stone Roses - 08-12-89 Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, UK - I have the video of what many consider that band on top live form - excellent versions of "I Am the Resurrection" and "Where Angels Play"
Doves - 03-01-01 The Opera House, Toronto, Canada - Doves rock live, extended versions of "Catch the Sun" and the amazing techno-rocker "Spaceface" are amazing.
Grateful Dead - 05-07-77 Barton Hall, Cornell University, NY - What many consider the Dead's best show - that's saying something since they played a few thousand. Beautiful segues between songs and the best "Scarlet Begonias" I have ever heard.
Coldplay - 08-27-02 L'Olympia, Paris, France - This show is very similar to the show I saw later in the year in Toronto. The peaks reached in "Everything's Not Lost" and the wonderful "Lips Like Sugar" cover are my favorites.
Verve - 93 Frankfurt - Great versions of "Gravity Grave" and "Already There".
Badly Drawn Boy - 12-13-00 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, UK - The amount of improv and little speaches that Damon does throughout this show are quite impressive. While the speeches do slow down the show a bit, the interaction with the audience is excellent as is the songs of his amazing debut.

posted by Fawaz at 10:09 AM

 
My Top Ten DVD of 2002

So Farhan you asked for it and here it is.

I am going to review only DVDs which I have actually bought since I usually buy all the ones I really want and only rent the ones in which I am only interested in seeing the movie.

I am going in descending order this time.Click on the names of the DVDs for a link to another review of each of these movies

11. Jackie Brown




I have to include this #11 on my list of 10 since it completes my collection of having all the movies written or directed by Quentin (except for the very sucky Four Rooms.) While I didn't like this movie as much as Quentin's other works it does hold up well after seeing it after sometime. This movie just seems too toned down for me, while there is some excellent dialogue, and some violence, I think it not being a Tarantino original story hurt it. Great job by Samuel Jackson in being a incredible sleazy gun runner. Good soundtrack (as all of his movies.) Some cool features include documentaries, a few interviews and a trivia track. The funniest extra is the complete 5-minute "infomercial", Chicks Who Like Guns.

10. Changing Lanes





After missing this movie in the theaters I was happy to catch and buy it on DVD. It really is a good movie with characters that slowly and realistically spiral into revenge driven by hopelessness. I love Sydney Pollack in his supporting role as Affleck's father-in-law and law firm boss. He is perfect in this role as he was in a similar role in Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut'. It's a very well shot movie that takes us in the crazy ride these two men take during one overcast Manhattan day. I haven't listened to the commentary and this DVD is rather light in extras, but I really like the movie and the video/audio quality is very good.

09. True Romance: Special Edition




This Tony Scott directed special Edition DVD even has a commentary by the writer (Tarantino) and has a ton of cool extras. The cast in this movie is amazing and has some very memorable sequences, Gary Oldman as pimp and the scene with Christopher Walken as a gangster and Dennis Hopper as a washed up policeman are both excellent. How have James Gandolfini being more brutal then he ever has as Tony Soporano, Bronson Pinchot doing an hilarious job with a bag of coke, and about 10 other actors that you would recognize in bit parts. Some of the cool features are selected commentaries of their scenes by Brad Pitt, Michael Rapaport and a few others actors, a directory commentary, and some alternate endings. On a deleted scene you can even catch a glimpse of Jack Black as a theater usher.

08. Spiderman





Like I said in my top 10 movies of this past year, I found this movie to be a lot of fun and I enjoyed the DVD too. The interview with comic creators is very interesting.
07. Amelie





This movie did not blow me away, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. The multiple breaks in the film that give a back story to the people that Amelie passes by are very innovative and smartly done. Audrey Tautou does a great job as the do-gooder and is very cute. Good extras include a director commentary and a doc about the wonderful cinematography.

06. Monsoon Wedding





The second foreign movie on my list is by Mira Nair a very acclaimed directory. This movie is really interesting. I really like Indian movies that have plots and characters that one can actually relate to. This movie has some wonderful performances by many of the actors including the very funny Nasiruddin Shah. The many subplots are interesting, while never really getting off the topic of this family wedding. The interviews in the short documentary and the directory commentary are very interesting.

05. Reservoir Dogs: 10th Anniversary Edition





When this special edition came out for this movie there was so much controversy on the quality of the transfer. After watching it I thought it was fine and was just happy to have a 2 disc SE for this wonderful and groundbreaking movie. Although the plot for this movie is based on a heist, I would never call it a heist movie. It's more like the character study on a bunch of gangsters. The best extras on this feature laden 2 disc set is some critics (including Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine) commentaries that are very informative.
04. Pulp Fiction





Finally a special edition of my favorite movie of all time. One could complain that there was no director commentary, but I won't because I am very happy to finally get an excellent copy of this fine, fine film. The video and audio quality of this movie as well as the packaging were heads and shoulders above the crappy previous release. The interviews and old documentaries were good too. I knew most of the trivia that run on the info subtitle track, but it is still fun to read along with. Watching this movie again and again will be even more fun now.

03. Monsters, Inc. - Collector's Edition 2-Disc DVD





What a fun movie this was, I think I liked it more then the 2 previous Toy Story's. The quality of the picture and sound are amazing. There is a effect only audio track in full 5.1 that lets you really appreciate how much effort goes into making all the background sounds that you just take for granted when watching these animated movies. This movie kicks Shreks ass if you ask me. The extras are very comprehensive and include 2 very funny short films. There is a ton of stuff to enjoy here and even though I have seen it countless times (it being my daughters favorite film) I still have a good time watching it.

02. Band of Brothers





I didn't get a chance to see this wonderful mini-series when it first aired on HBO because at that time we didn't have it. But after my co-workers were raving about it and after finding it about half off from amazon.ca, I thought why not. I am very glad I bought this. It's a very realistic view into one group of guys who go from the beginning of the US's part of the European theater to the end of the European part of WWII. Amazing performances and stories that the producers took painstaking effort into making sure it was true to life. Based on a Sean Amborse (RIP) book, this 10 hour series is one hell of a trip. With over 150% of the company losing their lives many of the main characters suddenly get taken out half way through the set. Excellent performance from the English Damien Lewis and all of the other cast. Well worth the 10 hours it took to watch the whole thing. I wish it had a couple commentaries, but the video diary and background info on the war and the military are compelling as well. Some of the episodes leave you emotionally drained. I think its a ton better then Saving Private Ryan because you actually get to know, respect, and feel for the men of Easy Company.

Read more about this amazing group of real men here.

01. Lord of the Rings Extended Edition





What can one say about this Special Edition Box? It made my favorite movie of last year even better, with 30 minutes of extra and extended scenes. It has the best sound and video quality of any DVD I've ever seen before, and on top of that there is everything and anything that you could want to know about this movie spread among the sets 4 discs. The documentaries about Tolkien and the writing of the script are fascinating. Do you want to know how they made the Hobbits look so small when they have regular actors playing the roles? Well there is a 45 mintue doc telling us just how. Care to look at ~20 conceptual drawings of Sauron. Well it's here. I didn't have enough time to go through all the things on this disc, but until the Extended Edition of the Two Towers comes out I will have a lot of fun trying.

You can see all the DVDs I own here.

Let me know on the Tag Board what some of your favorite DVDs of this year have been.
posted by Fawaz at 4:14 PM

 
Cool things I have just bought Vol 1:

This weekend my cousin just told me about this cool little gadget that plugs into the headphone jack on any portable player and transmits a signal to a radio within 30 feet. This will work great for playing my MP3 CD player in my car. The crappy Sony adapter that I had stopped sending audio to my left speakers about 2 months after I bought it. That one cost $20, it is only $10 more for the iRock 300W pictured above and it will work with car stereos that don't have a cassette player. I bought one from Radioshack since the price was comparable with online stores and I could have one right away. I am going to try to hook it up to our computer to see to see if I can listen to my many MP3s and some online radio stations such as Radio1 on the HT receiver we have in our living room. I'll let you know how that works later. Check out some more info at the iRock site.
posted by Fawaz at 1:38 PM

 
I want to, but have yet to see live:
1. Doves
2. Massive Attack
3. The Chemical Brothers
4. Badly Drawn Boy
5. Tool
6. the Strokes
7. the Roots
8. New Order
9. Echo and the Bunnymen
10. Embrace
11. Sigur Ros


Bands I saw and will never be able to see again:
1. The Verve
2. the Stone Roses
3. the Grateful Dead


Bands I will never be able to see, but I wish I could:
1. Bob Marley and the Wailers
2. the Clash
3. the Grateful Dead '72 or '77 era (I saw them in their '93-94, Jerry's high on China White era)
4. Joy Division
5. the Doors
6. the Smiths


My favorite concerts:
Rage Against the Machine - First CD
the Verve - twice for Urban Hyms (one with Nick McCabe and one without)
Coldplay - Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head
Radiohead - OK Computer and KID A/Amnesiac
Blur - The Great Escape
U2 - Zoo TV
Pearl Jam - Ten
Tricky - Maxinquaye and Pre-Millenium Tension
Jane's Addiction - First Lollapoloza
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish
Sonic Youth/Public Enemy - Followed by a anti-Gulf War riot outside the Aragon Ballroom
Travis - The Man Who and The Invisible Band
Fugazi - In on the Kill Taker



posted by Fawaz at 10:29 AM

 
My Top Ten Movies of 2002

disclaimer: These are the top ten movies I have actually seen (in the theater) this past year and since my wonderful daughter was born I have seen about a 1/3 of the movies I used to and want to. So my top list might have some movies that aren't the greatest, but they are movies that I have actually seen.

1. The Two Towers





As I stated earlier, I loved this movie. While this part of the triology does not hold up as a complete movie (as the first one did,) it is an excellent part of what will become the greatest film trilogy in history. The movie just holds you for the whole 3 hours (even the second time I saw it.) The acting, cinematography, special effects, the battle scenes are amazing. Gollum is something to behold and really steals this movie from everyone else. I really do hope that the creators of this amazing CG character are awarding or recognized with something.


2. Signs





Seems like popular opinion is completely split for this movie. Most of my friends and family detest this movie and so do many reviewers, however it was a huge hit at the box office. I loved it, as much as I have loved M. Night's other three movies. I loved how the movie only focused on how the events were affecting this ONE family. It's suspense kept me at the edge of my seat for the whole movie and the director has an excellent way of keeping you very tense throughout the whole movie. The kids in this movie did not annoy me and the effects did not let me down as others have stated, since wasn't looking for this movie to be an 'alien invasion' movie as others were. Also some people have stated how this movie was to pro-Christian for them. I did not feel it was pro-Christianity at all. It just made me along with the characters think about how one feels about their own feelings of what is meant for each of us.


3. the Ring



This movie just plain scared me, more then any other movie in recent memory. It's hard these days to get a decent horror movie, so this movie was a pleasant surprise. Good performance by Naomi Watts and a great story adapter from the original Japanese movie. I can't believe this movie was only rated PG-13, it does have some very disturbing images and is way too scary for kids.


4. Spiderman




This movie was plain fun. I really enjoyed the first half on how Spidey came to be.


5. Die Another Day





One of my favorite Bond movies of all time. They took what was fun with Bond and cranked it up to 11.
6. Road to Perdition



Cool gangster movie that reminds us just how bad-ass gangsters are, even the ones played by likeable guys like Tom Hanks.
7. Minority Report





Finally a good Spielberg movie. The ending was kind of predictable, but it was fun getting there.


8. xXx





I liked how they took Bond and skewed to be able to include so many extreme sports: Base Jumping, Moto-X, Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Rock Climbing, and general badassness. Asia Argento does rather well as Xavier's rather hot sidekick. Too many dumb one-liners and the bad guys are stereotypical, but I enjoyed this movie.


9. Gangs of New York





I stated previously that I didn't like this movie, but I still put it on here because it was better then the other movies I've seen this summer. I have to give Daniel Day Lewis props because he was very good as the immigrant hating bad guy.

10. The other movies I saw were just too bad to put on any top ten list.
posted by Fawaz at 11:24 AM