The Fountains of Wayne are one band I don’t know much about, but have this feeling I would/should love.

I don’t know why I have never explored them in full. I of course know the “Stacy’s Mom,” which I heard on my way to work this morning; in my head that is their one big radio hit, but perhaps I am wrong about that. I remember being tickled by it when it came out — it walked that fine line of sounding not entirely unlike other things on Top 40 radio, yet possessing a distinct difference, largely in its somehow arch but not cynical sense of humor and irony. (OH MY WORD WHAT A CRAP SENTENCE TGOTS. But you catch my drift.)

ANYWAY, so I know and enjoy the “Stacy’s Mom,” and I’ve stumbled upon and likewise enjoyed a couple other FoW tunes like “Valley Winter Song” and “Someone to Love.” But that’s about it. Except:

What I really think of when I hear any Fountains of Wayne song is the movie That Thing You Do!, since FoW bassist Adam Schlesinger wrote the title song. I LOVE THAT MOVIE. AND YES THIS IS A MUSIC BLOG SO AFTER THIS I WILL SHUT UP ABOUT MOVIES FOR A WHILE. BUT OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THAT MOVIE.

I remember seeing it for the first time with MamaKitt at a little theater across the river from our crappy apartment — the one where I would always claim the projection was fuzzy, except (as MK knew) the problem was actually that I needed glasses. I remember thinking the scene where The Wonders’ (The One-ders’) song was first played on the radio was pure, delicious joy, and I remember walking out of the theater so happy, and dying to see the movie again.

I’ll shut up about the movie now (I TRIED TO PUT IN A CLIP BUT COULDN’T FIND A GOOD ONE BUT TRUST ME IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YOU MUST PS I HEART STEVE ZAHN!), but figure any band that had a part in it is all right by me. So: In 2010, I resolve to find out more about the Fountains of Wayne. Please, if any of the five of you who read this blog have any suggestions on what to check out first, please share. (MK, I have some sense that you know these fellows better than I — thoughts?)

Below are a collection of good songs with the same title — while they may share a title, these songs are definitely different from one another:

“After Hours” (Velvet Underground cover) by Rilo Kiley:

“After Hours” (Acoustic) by Phantom Planet:

“Dance With Me (Tonight)” by The Wonders:

“Dance With Me” by Uh Huh Her:

“Thinking of You” by Hanson:

“Thinking of You” (Acoustic) by Katy Perry:

“Give a Little Love” by Noah and the Whale:

“Give a Little Love” by Rilo Kiley:

“Goodbye” by Asobi Seksu:

“Goodbye” by Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris:

“Goodbye” by The Spice Girls:

“16″ by Noise Addict:

“16 (Going on 17)”: The Sound of Music

Do you all remember that amazing dress that Liv Tyler (Faye Dolan) wears to the award show in the 1996 hit, “That Thing You Do“?

I know I wasn’t the only on wishing that was me getting dolled up to go to an awards show where my totally awesome boyfriend’s band was playing (who turns out to be a jerk not many scenes later – but it’s okay because I get to make out with Guy Paterson at the end of the movie).

Anyway, what was I saying.  Oh yeah, so imagine my enthusiasm when I saw this piece from ModCloth.

A lovely tribute to these grey, satin, knockout of a dress.  I might need to purchase that last medium before someone else does.  Can you say New Year’s Eve party?

VERDICT:
7/10 Future VH1 Posterboys

13 years later and that song is still catchy as hell.

That Thing You Do! is about four guys in ‘64 that start a band in their garage called The Oneders (pronounced “1″-ders – it’s a running gag). Anyway, they write a hit song, the country goes freakin’ crazy for it, they get signed by a big-time label, and as The Proclaimers can probably tell you, things get complicated as they try to break out from their notoriety as the band behind America’s favorite one-hit wonder.

Pretty cool idea for Tom Hanks’ first writing/directing effort. Come on, who doesn’t like one-hit wonders? The Proclaimers freakin’ RULE!

It had been a while since I’d seen this, but That Thing Yo Do! is one of those movies I always find myself happy to revisit. Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing since my Dad bought the soundtrack and, fittingly, all we did was listen to that awesome song over and over, completely ignoring the rest of the album, but this is just a feel-good movie in it’s own right that’s hard not to like if only for the song.

But that’s the funny thing about this movie, it all goes back to the song. It’s the best part of the movie, and even though Hanks does a lot of other things right, they all kinda get overshadowed in the long run.

Then again, one thing I do love about this is that the drummer is the main focus of the band. Tom Everett Scott is totally sweet as Shades. He’s a good character in general and both he and Hanks do a fine job of finally showing the world how cool drummers and drumming actually are. It’s about damn time. Damn singers and guitarists getting all the credit…

Steve Zahn is also great as the lead guitarist (its beyond me how this guy isn’t more mainstream by now, dude is hilarious). Man, there’s a million people in this movie. Liv Tyler as the lead singer’s girlfriend, Ethan Embry as the bass player (appropriately named T.B. Player), Tom Hanks as the band’s manager, Rita Wilson as a waitress, Charlize Theron as Shades’ girlfriend, Giovanni Ribisi as the band’s first drummer, Clint Howard as a radio deejay (Clint Howard rules), Colin Hanks for five seconds, Chris Isaak for ten seconds, Kevin Pollack for fifteen seconds, and I’m sure there’s about fifty other people I’m forgetting. Might not be a selling point or anything, but hey, I thought it was cool. That Tom Hanks sure does get around.

But like I said, Tom Hanks’ big problem is that he made that song too damn good. His directing is fine, the script is fine, but nothing else really stands out like that hit single. It’s an interesting story and Hanks probably has the best lines of the movie, but by the time credits roll, the only thing you’re gonna be doing is playing air drums to “That Thing You Do!”

The funny thing is that there’s a couple other good songs on this soundtrack based on the tracks The Oneders play in the movie that aren’t their big hit, but I guess that’s the whole point, and it works. After all, does anyone know any other songs by The Proclaimers? I’m sure they’re there, but that’s what I’m sayin’.

But alas, minor faults and all, That Thing You Do! is a fun trip with a great premise. Been whistling that song to myself the whole time I’ve been writing this and there’s no way you won’t be following suit after all is said and done.

That Tom Hanks…what a guy.

Because I really don’t feel about writing about my trip to the dentist (which was fine–but it was a trip to the dentist), I thought I’d take a trip down memory lane.

When I was at William and Mary, there were a number of a cappella groups on campus.  The best of which was the Gentlemen of the College. I did a little search on YouTube and found this video.  Obviously, the group is completely different from when I was in the ‘Burg, but they are stil fab!  Enjoy!

What a great movie. I can’t think of a better film that captures everything I love about life. That’s an overstatement, but if you’ve seen this flick, you know what I’m talking about. It just makes you feel good, and not in a cop-out, blockbuster sort of way. It was made well with one of Hollywood’s few “white knights” (ahem, Tom Hanks).

My favorite scene? In the studio towards the end, when Guy jams with Del Paxton (I hope I’m not ruining it, but if you, Constant Reader, haven’t seen this movie…well, you probably wouldn’t be reading this little blog because the universe where you live that doesn’t include That Thing You Do! is a universe where I do not and will not exist). That scene helped shape my desire to create music, to contribute something creative and artistic to this world even if only a few people heard it.

Guy loved music. That’s why he was the main character. The good guy. The one that could do no wrong. Jimmy, as Mr. White (Tom Hanks) said, was the talent. He didn’t appreciate music as much as Guy, because he had that natural ability to write a great song and yeah, it went to his head. Who wouldn’t want to be engaged to a gal like Liv Tyler, or at least a gal that was played by Liv Tyler? Seriously. Todd Rundgren was her legal guardian for Something/Anything?’s sake!

I can’t say that any aspect of this film is bad. The theme song, written by the great Mike Viola (who produced Mandy Moore’s Amanda Leigh) and Adam Schlesinger (of Fountains of Wayne fame), is a course in classic pop songwriting. Never mind Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” “That Thing You Do!” has stood the test of time.

Side Note: By the way, do you know how many times we listened to “My Heart Will Go On” in Spanish in 5th grade? I don’t know! I don’t remember! Which means that it was more than once. That was back when I was living and breathing pop music on the radio. Kiss FM (106.1 ya’ll), Hot 100 (100.3, the more “urban” Kiss FM), you know what I’m talking about, Southlake, TX. I distinctly remember that Kiss FM was playing an alternate version of “My Heart Will Go On” with actual quotes from Titanic. The same thing happened with Bruce Springsteen’s “Secret Garden” when Jerry McGuire came out. And people ate it up! I’m making an assumption here, because I ate it up and I heard it all the time.

I think my first experiences with certain emotions came from Pop radio. Heartache (is that even an emotion?) was one of them. My Mom was driving me to hockey practice. What did my heart ache about? I don’t know. But “Genie in a Bottle” was making me long for someone. It wasn’t even someone. It was just some entity, some idea. This feeling of being caught up in an interaction with a girl that went beyond the scope of cootie resistance.

Pop music in the late 1990s had created this void inside me. The music was telling me “you have to find a girl and love on her and get her to love on you…and by love on, we mean awkwardly slow dance with her at the next middle school extracurricular socializing event.” All the while, I’m thinking “Okay, just as soon as I get frosted tips, start shopping at Structure, and try out for one of the four football teams.” So Pop music is the leading cause to coupling. Interesting.

Another emotion I first felt through Pop radio was Aggression. I think it came when “Forgot About Dre” hit the airwaves. It was 7th grade. And for some reason, the song resonated with me. It wasn’t about feeling a connection with the subject matter then. Did I have any idea what it felt like to be bombarded by younger rappers trying to upstage and replace me? No. It was more about feeling cool. My parents let me get the edited version of Chronic 2001 at Wal-Mart. I don’t know why. Maybe I made a fuss? Maybe they weren’t aware of the album’s content? What I do know is that I wanted to have sex/have slightly-more-than-platonic relations with as many attractive girls as possible at that age. And by knowing a song that Eminem rapped on, I’d be in the right direction.

Side, Side Note:I had to scratch my head for a minute about the continuity here. If Chronic 2001 would have actually come out in 2001, I would have been in 9th grade, well into my post-punk/ska phase. But alas, Dr. Dre’s masterpiece came out in 1999, putting me in 7th Grade with a lot to lose and a lot to gain, workin my way up the middle school food chain. See that? I came up with that rhyme just now.

Wow. That Thing You Do! to Chronic 2001. This single post covered just about everything you wanted to learn today/night.

Well, I’ve run out of steam here at Minutiae Music Land. As you can tell, this was a very stream-of-conscious post, but I plan on revisiting the topic of Pop radio in the 1990s because I think it was pretty integral to my growth as a humanitarian/man of the people/songwriter/regular dude just trying to bide his time.

And by the way, in all seriousness: Dawes’ North Hills is on constant playback here at the Great Pagoda of Fun(n). And also Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons’ Death Won’t Send a Letter. Both are very nice albums that make me hopeful for the future. And I say this, because you, Constant Reader, are here to seek out my guiding light (read: my opinion on contemporary music).

If there was ever a band that met by God’s providence, it would be MIKESCHAIR.  To be fair, Mike Grayson (lead vocals, guitar), Sam Tinnesz (lead guitar, vocals), Jesse Hale (violin, keyboards, utility, vocals), and Jon Haire (bass) were all living in the same dorm at Belmont University.  While others in the highly music student population were awash in a sea of music dreams, the quartet began writing songs, playing shows, and finding success.  After singing to Curb Records, MIKESCHAIR released their self-titled debut album in July.  Currently, the band is on The Altered Minds Tour with Lecrae and After Edmund (for a full tour schedule, click here).

Because it was his chair that inspired the band’s name, Mike Grayson kindly answered the questions for Backseat Writer’s latest Take 5. I want to see pictures of your diva chair, Mike!

Tell me about MIKESCHAIR, like the chair itself.  I hear it¹s become a diva since it inspired the band name. True or false?

HAHAHA!!  I tell you what, ever since the band was named after the chair, “Mike’s Chair” won’t let anyone sit on it because it thinks that it is so much more than a chair now.  The chair refuses to leave my room out of fear of being mobbed by fans.  If that’s not diva then, I don’t know what is.

The band has a great “how we met” story.  You’re all talented musicians rooming in the same freshmen dorm at Belmont and… (finish the story).

The whole thing started with a song.  One of the guys in the band and I sat down and started writing a song.  In the middle of the process Jesse (our violin/keyboard player) walked across the hall into the dorm room and said that he played violin and wondered if he could come and play with us.  We agreed and thankfully so because Jesse is an amazing violin player.

The three of us then decided that we wanted to record this song but we didn’t have all the necessary instrumentation to complete the song but decided to start recording anyway.  A couple days later we were talking about how we really needed electric guitar on the song. To our surprise Sam (our lead guitarist) happened to be walking by the dorm room and mentioned that he played electric guitar.  We added Sam to the song and then rounded out the group by adding Jon to come play bass.

During this whole process all of the guys except for me lived on the first floor of the dorm.  Because of this I spent all my time with the rest of the guys down on their floor–to the point that I was constantly sitting and even sleeping on their floors.  One day I came back from class and the guys went out and got me a chair so that I could have something that was mine down on their floor.  I wrote “MIKE” really big on the chair and from that point on whenever we wrote and or played music the chair was always involved.  The name MIKESCHAIR is simply a reminder of those times and how faithful God is to bring us from a dorm at Belmont University to the platform we have today.

Your first single, “Can’t Take Away” is so catchy with singability through the roof.  What inspired the writing of this song?

“Can’t Take Away” was actually the very last song to go on the record. In fact, the record was finished when we wrote this song, but we knew right away that it had to go on the record.  This song was written right when gas had reached over $4 a gallon, a hurricane had just hit down south, election season was well under way, and the news was about nothing but the bad economy.  We sat down to write, and practically all we could feel was defeat.

As we were talking it was almost as if rebellion set in, and we decided that even though the world around us is in turmoil God is still exactly where He has always been—on His Throne!  No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter how bad it gets, no one and nothing can take away our God.  This song is our reminder that it doesn’t matter who is in office or what the economy is doing or what troubles come our way, our hope and our trust lies in the hands of a God who is unchanging.

My favorite song on the album is “Silhouette” or “Outside of Me.” I can’t decided which I like more.  Which song do you think should be my favorite?

First off,I am so impressed by your favorites!!  Most people always choose the radio singles as favorites and you have chosen two of the more artistic songs on the record which I LOVE.  It’s always hard to pick a favorite for us because it’ like saying you like one child more than the other, but in this situation I would have to say that I think “Silhouette” should be your favorite. “Silhouette” is one of the songs on the album that we all love from a lyrical and musical standpoint.  This song will never be a radio single but the imagery the songs paints is something that we all love.

Does your band have any unique quirks that you’d like to make public? (Like maybe you¹re all obsessed with Planet Earth or have a fascination with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—let’s hear it!)

When it comes down to it MIKESCHAIR is nothing but quirks – hahahah. Just to name a few:

1.  Jon and Jesse can’t stand people touching their necks

2. Sam hates all fruits

3. I snore like a beast

4. And we used to watch That Thing You Do every time we were in the van!!

5.  We mostly communicate in different accents when in the van.

To connect with MIKESCHAIR, go to myspace.com/mikeschair and hit up the band on all your favorite social networks!

now sit down David Bahati, sit down parliament of Uganda,

(all homophobes line up here)

and just SHUT UP  en listen!

the most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love….

There are few things about me that I’m certain will never change: I will ALWAYS be the person to make the inappropriate comment at the most inopportune time, I will NEVER check the voicemails people leave, and I will ETERNALLY be obsessed with the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Tom Hanks. While I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I knew I was hooked on the man, I can say that it’s something I’ve never been able to shake, but, let’s be honest, why would I want to??

I realize that some may think “Hmmm Tom Hanks, eh?” but those people can go directly to hell because he’s the man. Most people make their Hollywood obsessions in the form of Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp, but where’s the originality in that? Sure, they’re both good looking, but who cares? It’s not like you ACTUALLY have a snowball’s chance in hell of meeting one of them, let alone dating them.

As a native of the great city of Erie, Pennsylvania, I was pumped to discover that a movie was going be partially set in my fair city, only to find out that T. Hanks himself would be staring. Double greatness. (Shout out to “That Thing You Do!”)

Perhaps I misspoke when I said I’m full-on obsessed with the man. No, I don’t belong to any Tom Hanks fan clubs, nor do I post “I love you Tom” notes on message boards, but I am a devoted follower and own every single Tom Hanks movie to date, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! When TBS decides to run back to back showings of Sleepless in Seattle I watch both. Yes, yes I do.

The numbers of awards he has received are literally countless, but the thing that everyone remembers are his super sweet movie quotes…i.e…”There is no crying in baseball” and “Houston, we have a problem”. I’ve watched him transform from a child to a grown adult, suffer from a brain cloud, and antagonize Meg Ryan to no end as NY152. All of which, were hysterical.

If you still don’t agree with me on how excellent he is, his dad was related to Abraham Lincoln. Case = rested. Bottom line, Tom Hanks owns your life.

Hugs,

Hargusta

Nada como um bom sing-along para levantar o ânimo…

…ainda mais se tiver  legenda em português (e lembrar o Vale a Pena Ouvir de Novo, da extinta Rádio Cidade 96,9).  

While we are on the subject of movies, I thought I’d say a little something about my all-time favorite movie – That Thing You Do.

I was six years old when this movie was released and for the life of me, I cannot remember how I was first introduced to the film. Regardless, for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved it more than any other movie. New favorites come and go, but nothing lasts as long as my love for Guy Patterson, Faye, and the gang from Erie, PA.

Maybe it is because of the soundtrack. Last summer, when a certain fellow was trying to win my affection, he taped the soundtrack from the film to the roof of my car. I’d had a copy before, I’m sure, but it was lost before I could put it in my iTunes. While that relationship didn’t pan out (The CD, frozen coke, and chap stick were really sweet, though. I’m sorry!), having the songs at my finger tips picks me up any time I’m down. Sure, the title song is a great, but there are many more gems like Little Wild One and All My Only Dreams.

But really, the reason I love the movie so much is the ending scene. I wish I could find it on YouTube, but I guess it is too cool for that. This line won’t do the whole scene justice, but it is a start.

“I have wasted thousands and thousands of kisses on you – kisses that I thought were special because of your lips and your smile and all your color and life. I used to think that was the real you, when you smiled. But now I know you don’t mean any of it. You just save it for all your songs. Shame on me for kissing you with my eyes closed so tight.”

I can almost picture myself as a kid, reciting the lines along with Liv Tyler as she broke up with the jerk lead singer. She never belonged with him, anyway. She always belonged with Guy.

So, sure, it may be a bit cheesy, but it is so great. If you haven’t seen it, definitely put it on your list.

Past few days have been quite packed with school stuff and more school stuff. It’s nearing the last week of school and everything is being super fast paced in terms of assignments due.

Without gossipgirl i would probably be like dead or something. Love the long bus trips to the places that i have to go so that i can watch the episodes on my ipod touch. =)

Being back home after two days staying at the loft, feels just like what it has always felt, not homely. i think my aunt’s house is nice to live in and such but the feeling is just not the same. Everything from the food, the smell, the neighbours, the view from my bedroom window seems foreign.

Ironic. considering i’m a foreigner living in Singapore who’s now living in another person’s house that belong’s to the Singapore government. How much more ALIEN can i be? Guess its fate. Meant to travel around the world after all.

Cant stay rooted in one place for too long, if not a tree will sprout. I don’t even know if i used that analogy properly…

But my Anki monkey is always there to cheer me up with her mischievous grin and evil nature. She is my aunt’s kid. i think she is 5-6 years old? She totally destroys my room but i make her pay by getting her to get me cold water from the fridge.

Its all fair.

Kara Swisher showed us all how it can be done today: her post about the need for MySpace and Yahoo to reinvent themselves was wise, incisive and witty. Informed by original reporting and intimate knowledge of Silicon Valley, it was elevated further by her own special zing: Two accompanying vids — Peggy Lee crooning “Is That All There Is” and the Wonders singing “That Thing You Do!” — punctuated her points while reducing the sting of her message.

We should all remember to focus on that special thing we do.

This message resonated on a personal level because I, too, have had my Peggy Lee moments lately. What does the future hold? Who knows. But Swisher’s post, absent the nasty know it all tone that pervades so much of media blogdom, gives me renewed hope. Maybe there’s room for humanity in the new media order, after all.

Certainly there’s no dearth of competition in the showbiz segment. Earlier today, David Carr at the NYT broke the news that Bonnie Fuller is joining Jay Penske’s expanding showbiz blog empire. The former Us mag editor intends to turn Hollywoodlife.com, the reincarnation of the mag once known as Movieline, into a femme-friendly home for celeb and lifestyle news. PaidContent’s Rafat Ali reports that Fuller aligned with Penske, and his deep pockets, after struggling to raise the money for her own venture. Penske, son of race car driver Roger, recently bought Nikki Finke’s site and lured original Defamer blogger Mark Lisanti into the Movieline web fold, where writes for former Defamer colleagues.

Sharon Waxman, meanwhile, continues to bring veteran showbiz reporters into the fold at The Wrap, most recently my old Variety colleagues Joe Adalian and Dan Frankel. And Variety blogger/columnist Anne Thompson is taking ownership of her site under a new arrangement with Indiewire. To show how intertwined the journos are — no one loves to report more on media than those in the media themselves — Waxman broke the news about Thompson, also on Thursday.

Will Tina Brown beef up her showbiz news on The Daily Beast now that she has a new West Coast chief? Dunno. But let’s keep dancing.

The other night I went to see the band Fountains of Wayne at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI. Fountains of Wayne had their fame with the hit song “Stacy’s Mom” from they’re popular album “Welcome Interstate Managers.” The show was great. I was right up against the stage and went home with a guitar pick that was thrown right to me. The frontman, bassist, and keyboardist for Fountains of Wayne, Adam Schlesinger’s talent has been recognized on more than one occasion. On one occasion he wrote the title track for the Oscar-Nominated movie “That Thing You Do!” Stacy’s Mom was Grammy Nominated, and he also has 2 other bands aside from Fountains of Wayne; Ivy (a band formed before Fountains of Wayne) and Tinted Windows (a new power pop band including current and former members of Cheap trick, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Hanson). So, Schlesinger’s is quite the fellow that can play one hell of a show.

The drummer for Fountains of Wayne, Brian Young was formerly the drummer for the ’90s band “The Posies.” Also, the opening act for Fountains of Wayne was the guitarist and singer for The Posies, Jon Auer. Although it was just Jon and his guitar he really did exceptional. Overall, it was a great show, except that towards the end of the show lead guitarist Jody Porter seemed drunk. It put a small damper on things. But otherwise-very good show.

exhausted from all the drama.

So, this countdown is about MY TOP 10:  Fictional Bands and what songs best represent those bands.  I’m going to throw in about 5 BONUSES throughout this countdown as well.  It’s a fun one in a different kind a way (MY TOP 10s are always fun, aren’t they?), so I’m going to be a little looser with it.  I’m going to go girl-boy-girl-boy as much as I can, so this time around the men will be on top.  I’ve  let the women lead more than a few times, so turnabout is fair play. 

7. The Wonders “That Thing You Do”

The Wonders are the one-hit wonders in the 1996 film That Thing You Do! written and directed by Tom Hanks.  Summer of 1964 is the backdrop of this story about the meteoric rise and equally as fast fall of this band.  Propelled by the song, “That Thing You Do,” which is also the title of the film, they go on to tour, make movies, and experience all the trappings of stardom.  The song was also a hit in real life, charting on various Billboard Charts and earning  both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture.

***BONUS*** The Time “Jungle Love”

Okay, this is  a bit of a stretch as The Time is a real band with real people with real songs.  But, this is my argument — Purple Rain is a fictional film, not a documentary, and the actors are playing fictitious versions of their real selves.  And “Jungle Love” is one of, if not the, best performances in the film.  I couldn’t resist.

After writing about The Boat That Rocked the other day, I thought about other music-related movies that I really enjoyed and found that I had several favorites that I could watch over and over again and enjoy almost as much as the first time. These aren’t concert films – those are obvious repeat performers – but movies about pop music. I’m also focusing on the more modern era (forgive me, Sal Mineo). Plus the movie has to be good (sorry, Tommy) . A few are obvious commercial favorites (is there anyone who doesn’t quote Spinal Tap?) but a couple of these must be off the path; I find most people have never heard of them, let alone seen them.

But hey, that’s a large part of why I do this, to share information about what knocks me out and hopefully expose people to a great band, film or book they might have missed. I highly recommend every single one of these, and hopefully there’s at least one you haven’t seen that you will take a chance on. Enjoy some great movies with great music, whether it’s a library rental, a used copy on Amazon or circling the listing in TV Guide when you see it. Without further ado (you’ve had just the right amount of ado so far, right?) and with apologies to The Committments and The Rutles, here they are in alphabetical order…

Almost Famous : Cameron Crowe drew upon his own story to craft this brilliant peek behind rock’s curtain, from the groupies (sorry…Band-Aids) to the roadies and the madness that is rock’n'roll. Great music and wonderful performances from the leads and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s great turn as Lester Bangs.

A Hard Day’s Night : The Beatles. Need I say more? “I’m a Mocker”

Hedwig and the Angry Inch : Absolutely the best rock opera ever. John Cameron Mitchell’s brilliant performance and Stephen Trask’s music are a perfect match, and both the musical and the movie soundtracks could stand on their own as great music. But the film is phenomenal.

The Idolmaker : Ray Sharkey should have won the Academy Award for his performance as a teen idol Svengali. Great performances from Paul Land, Joe Pantoliano and Peter Gallagher.

A Mighty Wind : The Spinal Tap of folk music and another perfect movie from Christopher Guest. Tremendous performances from everyone, but Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara as “Mitch and Mickey” were brilliant. How did this song not win the Academy Award?

Rock and Roll High School : The Ramones. Need I say more? “Things sure have changed since I got kicked out of high school”.

Spinal Tap : Absolutely hilarious, with pitch perfect performances from the three leads and an amazing array of bit parts and cameo roles, like Paul Shaffer as Artie Fufkin and Bruno Kirby as the Sinatra-loving limo driver (the extended deleted scenes are priceless). Here’s a song so good I like it even though it’s parody.

Still Crazy : I think the common thread in all these movies is perfect casting. Bill Nighy is wonderful as the fragile lead singer and you can’t go wrong with comic geniuses Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall. But the story is as heartwarming as it is funny and the music is phenomenal.

That Thing You Do : Tom Hanks nailed the screenplay about a one-hit-wonder band and even wrote many of the songs that the other acts in the “galaxy of stars” performed. The main songs benefitted from pop wizards like Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) and Mike Viola, but the perfect casting was only exceeded by the movie’s heart. One of my favorite films of all time in any genre.

Velvet Goldmine : Glam fans will lap this up – an Eddie and The Cruisers type plot in the world of glitter and decadence, with Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as thinly disguised Iggy Pop and David Bowie plus great performances from Christian Bale and Eddie Izzard.

i have this title on my home page which asks “who am i”.  on my description i have a line that says, “beyond these three i am still a man searching for who i am”.  i’ve been having this slow revelation, if it’s even possible to have a revelation slowly, about who i am and what my purpose is.  now i have heard all my life what my purpose is, in fact i wrote a reflection in the M.I.P. (ministerial internship program) titled My Porpoise.  (yeah it says porpoise).  but just this week it seems to be sinking in. 

my job, my old truck, my motorcycle, watching football, being married to the greatest wife on earth, raising 2 precious children, all these things are not my purpose. they are tools to help me succeed in fulfilling my purpose.   my purpose is to KNOW God and to help others KNOW God.

i work as an executive pastor.  i start the connection process for all attendees to our church. that is being purposeful on my job.  i drive an old truck.  because of this,  i’ve needed parts or have given parts away.  an open door to connect with people outside of my usual circle.  i like to go to small car shows from time to time.  the truck is not show quality but these times are opportunities to meet people and develop a relationship with them that may lead them to Christ.  the motorcycle has been a way to connect on an intimate level with a few friends and fellow servants of the Lord.  we encourage one another and take time to relax and re-focus on our purpose.  football, ok, this still needs work.  but my love of football has helped me to connect with people on a different level than  i could have connected with them otherwise.  it’s also helped build friendships, that i prize, with some of the elders i work with.  my wife, wow! she is my rock. she helps me make right decisions and keeps me moving down the right path, even when i don’t want to.  i couldn’t fulfill my purpose without her.  my kids, are my personal disciples.  they are there to train and to train me. 

the point is this, whether or not i get to see the ballgame,  whether or not i have the prettiest truck, whether or not i embarrass  my friends with how poorly i ride a motorcycle, is not important.  whether or not i use that time to bring myself and those around me closer to God is important.  it’s not the things we do but the things we do with the things we do that counts.  that about sums it up.  you think?

“Shame on me for kissing you with my eyes closed so tight…”

Ah I was such a lame blogger last week, but between having a stomach flu and having to work earlier (and longer) shifts in work, my creative juices were well and truly sapped.

Not that I usually feel amazingly and awe-inspiringly creative, but you know what I mean!

So a quick catch up of last week now…

Monday: Starting to feel sick.

Tuesday: Woke up very sick and couldn’t go into work.

Wednesay, Thursday, Friday: Up at 5:30am for work while unable to take my head out of the toilet for more than an hour at a time.

Saturday: Felt slightly better and so made a trip to HMV to invest in some new DVDs. New additions to my collection include The Brady Bunch Movie, Brick, Empire Records and A Little Princess. That evening was spent in The Boy’s house having a childhood-inspired night with sweets, crisps and ice-cream. The Boy watched The Goonies for the very first time and we both reminisced with The Karate Kid.

Sunday: Spent the day being too hot and cranky (lol, how will I handle Oz!!!???) and wasted some nice afternoon hours away in Starbucks. Watched That Thing You Do that evening and continuing my Meg Ryan obsession, followed it with City of Angels, which left me in tears. How embarrassing!!!! I only started crying about 18months ago ….true story.

So that was my week ….more posts to follow ….I promise!