State of the Union: three snapshots from the week past
1: Good news: The President of the United States can read. Bad news: His lips get awfully tired from sounding out the unfamiliar words. This week a United Nations website briefly posted George W. Bush’s own copy of the text of his speech to the UN General Assembly, which included phonetic pronunciation keys for toughies like “Caracas” [kah-RAH-kus] and “Mugabe” [moo-GAHbee]. USA Today has the story here; ABC has the transcript here. Read more
How to spot a slow news day: lesson one
Banner snapshot from yesterday’s Startribune.com; click on image for larger version.
In less consequential news–and beneath this featured slot–U.S. autoworkers at GM walked off the job for the first time in 31 years.
Forget Youtube–do they own you yet? Some handy guides to Google acquisitions
On the advice of a friend, the Mole journeyed this morning to Grand Central to check out their digital telephony-and-recording tools–only to find that the company has been acquired by Google and is currently (irony of ironies) in invitation-only beta mode. Read more
Daily Mole Bad DVD Review #1: “The Covenant”
Okay, so first of all, you know it’s a boring Saturday with slim pickins at the local Blockbuster when you come away with a movie like The Covenant, which, with the phalanx of pretty-boys on the cover, even looks irredeemable (other movie rented: Thunderpants, with Rupert Grint). But second of all, it’s a rare and special movie that makes you come away from it thinking “there is absolutely nothing whatsoever to recommend this film.” Even some of the worst films of all time have at least one small thing, one tiny special effect or set-piece, one scene or bit or something that makes you think “well, even though that was only worth 1/10th the money I spent on this DVD rental, that at least diverted me from thinking about the imminent destruction of the planet for .0001 seconds, and that’s something, I guess.”
Movie Molecast: Greil Marcus talks about I’m Not There and Juno
Today we talk with author and critic Greil Marcus about two upcoming movies that have drawn raves from film festival crowds this fall: Todd Haynes’s Dylan bio-pic I’m Not There, and Juno, the Jason Reitman film that marks the debut of Twin Cities screenwriter Diablo Cody.
There are excerpts of Marcus’s comments after the jump (click Read More), or just listen to the whole interview right here:
Beta Note: I’m posting this because Marcus has interesting things to say and they’re perfectly audible–but otherwise the sound quality is unacceptable even by the Daily Mole’s lo-fi standards. This is our first audiocast, and clearly we’ve got work to do figuring out how to manage the levels on phone interviews.
Big Deep Question of the day: Dear [blank], your [blank] changed my life
Has there ever been a work of art–a record, a movie, a book–that felt as if it changed the course of your life? One that affected your decision to pursue a career, abandon a career, get married, get divorced, move to a new city, stay alive?
[Below the jump: What is Big Deep Questions?] Read more
Worst week ever? The Star Tribune reels, bleeds money
Thursday brought news that the Strib overlords at Avista will begin an immediate search for a publisher who is not court-enjoined from working for them, thus ending the local career of terminally boyish publishing scion Par Ridder.
Anyone with a lesser last name might be finished at this point, but second chances are one of Ridder’s birthrights. Read more
Dude Weather: Coming this Fall to the Daily Mole
A sneak peek at the Star Tribune’s new weekly/website
A new regional travel publication in the proud lineage of Vita.mn and Buzz.mn.
Rilo Kiley, the Donnas, and the sting of dashed expectations
First off: the new Donnas album is fantastic. It’s about what you’d expect from the Donnas — it sounds like Kiss circa 1974 with all the riffiness and hookiness and swagger and sexiness that entails. If you can listen to the beginning of “What Do I Have To Do” and not pump your fist in the air, 70s-anthem-style, then mister (or miss), you’re a better man (or woman) than I.
Secondly: The new Rilo Kiley album is also fantastic. It, like the Donnas, is not remotely lacking in hooks; in fact, the thing is drenched with ‘em. From the anthemic, gorgeous chorus of “Close Call” to the smooth Bee Gees pastiche of “Breakin’ Up” and “Dejalo” to the oddly cornball “Give A Little Love” the album apprently defies expectations (see: next paragraph), but tweaks the same exact pleasure centers as the aforementioned Donnas thing. They’re both basically like musical cocaine: pure pleasure, easily snorted, leaving you vaguely wanting but oddly satisfied.
The difference, re: public opinion, seems to be that while the Donnas have always been about hook-laden pop garbagio (not a bad thing in the slightest!), Rilo Kiley used to (ahem!) stand for something different than that, and therefore their extremely likeable, extremely listenable, extremely well-written, performed and produced disc amounts to — gahh, that term! — a sellout.
I find this incredibly odd. It’s not like Rilo Kiley were Kraftwerk or Mike Patton or something before — “More Adventurous” is a slightly twangier blend, but only absolutely slightly, it’s still a frothy confection at best, and hardly avant-skronk. Really, it’s about one click to the left of the new one, not even as big a leap as Veruca Salt made from #1 to #2. Hell, listening back, they were totally heading for this territory, they just didn’t quite have the chops or the daring or the werewithal to just balls-out deliver the pop.
So whence the hate, when the Donnas get a pass every time? It’s purely expectation-defiance, really. Whereas the Donnas’ evolution has basically become about becoming better musicians (their Kiss pastiche sounds slicker now than ever, and they’ve all become absolutely tremendous players and singers, whereas before they could quite generously be referred to as “ragged”) Rilo Kiley were always good. But before, they added in that twinge of “authenticity” — ah, yes, folks, the country influence — whereas now they seem to be leaning more towards, I dunno, Fleetwood Mac or something. More FM, less “authentic,” therefore less good.
Stuff and nonsense. Both Bitchin’ (The Donnas) and Under The Blacklight (Rilo Kiley) are extremely worthy albums, and both are basically extremely pleasurable pop confections that go straight for the brain’s pleasure center. Don’t worry s’damn much about “authentic” and “sellout” and such and just dig. You’ll be glad you did.
Cry me a Ridder: Par needs a job–and the Daily Mole is there!
An open letter to the former publisher of the Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune:
Dear Par,
We at the Daily Mole were saddened to hear of your abrupt exit from the Newspaper of the Twin Cities this morning. We can only hope it spells an end to the scorn and mockery you have endured in your time of trial. People can be so judgmental. Especially judges.
As your friends have no doubt pointed out, sometimes the best thing one can do in the face of adversity is to turn the page. In that spirit, we want to be the first to offer you a chance at earning back your good name. (And make no mistake: Ridder, under normal circumstances, is a really good name.)
We’re talking work. A job. And by “job,” I mean unpaid internship. If you will agree to sell advertising for the Daily Mole for a period of six months, gratis, we will pledge to consider hiring you full-time.
As a Daily Mole intern, your perks would include a desk (with chair), access to a telephone, and a whole box of business cards. You would need a laptop computer of your own, but we assume that’s not an issue.
Courage!
Best wishes,
The Mole People
Graduation Redux
Okay, the last thing you probably want right now is another thirtysomething dork pundit telling you why you should listen to Kanye West’s Graduation. Seriously, do you not get the feeling that half the critics out there are telling you it’s good because they feel like they have to, and seem kinda short on the specifics of why exactly it’s any better than yr. average rap slab?
I have a good reason, though, and it really has very little to do with the actual rap of the thing. I think that Kanye West is the best track producer in rap music, full stop. Especially these days, you’re almost programmed not to notice the tracks, so uninteresting have they been for so many years. And believe me, most producers take advantage of that — I think Scott Storch does most of his production on your gramma’s Baldwin with the “samba” setting switched to “slow” and one finger on the keyboards, no lie.
Kanye, though, is different. He’s almost like a rap architect — his works, divorced from the flow in front of them, strike me as great Frank Lloyd Wright structures in which form follows function but the whole thing has a carefully-constructed, mannered beauty and attention to detail, as amazing close up as from ten feet away. Holy crap — that was pretentious, but you get my point: Kanye gives a shit, and is taking the time to make each track its own unique thing of beauty. It’s, y’know, art. Mostly with rap anymore you get artifice. Not the same thing.
So forget for a minute about the posing, the posturing, the “my-thing-is-bigger-than-your-thing” battle he’s got going with 50 Cent, and whatever else — superficial tabloid garbage, all! — makes you hate the guy, and just turn off your forebrain and listen to what he’s got cooking up behind the songs, from the crazy Can and Mountain samples to the sped-up Laura Nyro bits to just amazing hook after amazing hook. Listen to the music, not just the Vuitton-bragging.
Man Town serenades Minnesota’s senior U.S. senator
Man Town: Gotta Stop Norm
Welcome Page
Hey, we’re really getting close now. Honest.
Just check out the swell new audio player tool Chuck has installed at the link above. And the membership features are being created as we speak. (Thanks, Mike!) Likewise the photo gallery tools, which will allow all site members to upload single pictures or whole galleries.
We promise to use these powers for good.
Breakout: Diablo Cody’s Juno is a major film festival hit
A.O. Scott raved about it in the New York Times’ roundup piece on Telluride. Chris Willman did likewise at Entertainment Weekly. And now Movie Poobah #1 Roger Ebert has chimed in as well. In the lede of his Toronto festival summary, Ebert writes:
I don’t know when I’ve heard a standing ovation so long, loud and warm as the one after Jason Reitman’s “Juno,” which I predict will become quickly beloved when it opens at Christmas time, and win a best actress nomination for its 20- year old star, Ellen Page.
… The magical screenplay is Diablo Cody’s first, and I won’t ask you to believe me, just look up her biography on IMDb.com.
Juno is slated to open December 14.
Read Ebert here.
Read the EW review here.
Special session follies: Pawlenty ups the ante on punchless DFLers
A day after DFL legislative leaders essentially agreed to Tim Pawlenty’s terms for calling a special session of the Legislature to deal with last month’s flooding and the aftermath of the 35W bridge collapse, the governor has elected to squeeze the Democrats harder yet–calling for the session to be limited to flood relief issues alone, as Bill Salisbury reports in today’s Pioneer Press.
Read the Pi-Press story here.
DFL caves to Pawlenty’s terms on special lege session
After some days of moping and without much public fuss, the leadership of the state Democratic party has given Tim Pawlenty what he wanted: a narrowly defined special session confined to doling out $370 million in disaster funds for flood victims and the 35W bridge collapse.
No new taxes, that is–the DFL has pledged to forget a gas tax increase for now. No heated debate about the state’s shrunken revenues and growing infrastructure troubles. And likely no further political damage to anyone in particular–least of all the governor, as all right-thinking Minnesota Democrats have apparently concluded it would be rude to suggest any connection between years’ worth of accumulated tax cuts and declining standards of governance and public safety.
“We have absolutely no interest in putting special legislation on your desk that you feel compelled to veto,” wrote Larry Pogemiller and Margaret Anderson Kelliher.
Nooo. That would amount to political pressure. So undignified.
Read Mark Brunswick’s Strib account here.
Michael Wolff’s Newser makes its beta debut
Michael Wolff–the author (Autumn of the Moguls), Vanity Fair columnist, and ’90s Internet entrepreneur)–has launched Newser.com, a news-aggregator site. “What if you could become the Amazon of news?”, writes Wolff in his VF column about the launch. ” The Google of news? This is a holy grail.”
It’s off to an intriguing start. (Those scrollover pop-ups still need some work. So do the algorithms: Under the item “School Bans Tag on Playground,” the related stories from AP include a link to “Shiite Militia Expands Grip in Baghdad.”)
Check out Newser here.
Read Wolff’s VF column here.
