Kensington Blues

Man, were the ’90s really 20 years ago already? Yup, they sure were! Now, I’ve been paying special attention to Pitchfork’s nostalgia trip, but I get the keen sense that they’ve obliterated the true gems from this list. What do I mean? I’m talking about the sappy nonsense that all children of the ’90s got sucked into in the days before the O.C. You know, the songs they ask people about in that 5-10-15-20 feature they do from time to time. Where’s the embarrassing stuff that we know you all loved as kids? You weren’t listening to Olivia Tremor Control during puberty, were you?

I’ve compiled the twenty songs I was most likely to belt out when they came on the radio, whether I was doing farm chores or I was feeling sorry for myself somewhere else. There were a few from the late ’80s that nearly made the list; wish I could’ve put the B-52s on here, as I feel like they’re disjoint from history at this point and I loved them so very much.

Please bear in mind that I don’t mean that these songs are embarrassing in and of themselves. Rather, I think these songs are emblematic of what’s likely the most vulnerable ten years of my life, a decade that covers my junior high years, my year abroad, and college. It was a rough ten years!

Watch the videos after the jump.

(more…)

It goes without saying that this is the second coming of Office Space. It’s the kind of movie that doesn’t scream at you to see it in the theater, but once you give it a shot on the ol’ boob tube, you can’t help but be sucked in by its silliness. I have a great love of many serious movies and directors, but I may have seen this movie more in the past year and a half than any other movie in my life.

I hated Talladega Nights. Thought it was stupid. Couldn’t finish it. Put the same cast — minus Borat — in a different setting: comedy gold. You can watch my favorite scene above. (It contains some strong language, so, fair warning.) I think I just love the bonkers premise that these two man-children might become step brothers and then realize that they’re soul mates. I think it’s so simple that it creates an opportunity for the actors to really flesh out just how demented their characters are and the dysfunction is a delight.

You haven’t seen it? What are you doing!? It’s been on on-demand for, like, over a year!

I’m saddened that there will be no Step Brothers 2. I had a treatment for a sequel. I’m serious! Adam McKay, if you ever Google yourself — and I’m sure you do — be in touch. I know Paramount shot you down, but if that documentary Entourage is any indication, Hollywood’s just loaded with second chances. You’re totally better than Vinnie Chase, man. Call me.

Think your Windows-based PC takes a long time? This took forever. It booted from a cassette! It was an amazing experience to actually interact with something on the television screen. I can’t believe how lucky my sister and I were to have one. That $300 computer in 1980 would cost $793 today!

Hard to believe that this was my first computer. What was yours?

Well, I sort of saw Get Low. There were a few spots where I closed my eyes just for a minute. Yeah, even the Ritzes get bad movies in August. It just didn’t hang together very well. And I was sleepy after that delicious dinner at Zahav.

I will say that Robert Duvall was great and it’s already evident that Bill Murray could be the most underrated star of my lifetime.

Simply amazing. Still in heavy rotation.

I’ve become the sort of critic who likes spring releases. Give them time to marinate, I say. That new Liars album is still revealing new things to me.

Ready for a stunning admission? I still haven’t heard the new Arcade Fire album! I’m still aghast that Spoon opened for them.

What’s even cool anymore? I’m so old I remember when an 8.1 on Pitchfork meant you hit the big time.