moviesandmusic

My Favorites - Music

2004-09-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

In accordance with movies, I like most music, with my favorite being the classics, whether it's the golden oldies or classic rock. I can not, absolutely can not, stand rap and most hip hop music or whatever you want to call it.

I like country music but more of the 1990s stuff. Country now just isn't what it use to be. My favorite artists would be Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Diamond Rio, Brooks and Dunn, Kenny Chesney, and Montgomery Gentry. The current trend is more popish which I already mentioned that I don't care much for it.

Oh, but the 60s and 70s have to be my favorite decades for music. Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin, Boston(with their famous ballads), The Who, The Styx, the Eagles, Aerosmith, the Doors, Kiss, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top, and Bobby Dylan all emerged from this great period. The Rolling Stones and the Beatles most definitely have to be my favorite bands to give rise during this time, considering that these two bands are my favorite, hence the website name. It is one of the Beatles most famous albums, Abbey Road, recorded in 1969.

I don't have much to say about the 80s except that Paul Simon started his mega solo career dropping Garfunkle. He was the best artist during this time.

Then earlier there is the golden oldies with the Angels, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Elvis, these artists are all still known by people today, even though they may not be as popular as the groups such as the Clash or the Strokes(which weren't known until decades later).

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Zwan, Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Mathews Band, Offspring, No Doubt, Radiohead, Counting Crows, Live, Train, White Stripes, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and Green Day are all the present day bands that I listen to.

Bluegrass though is music all to its own. Alison Krauss and Union Station, along with Rock Bottom, Tony Rice, and (my good friends back in lovely Ashe County) White Water make the most beautiful music in the world.

Lights, Camera, Action!

2004-09-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

Movies! Movies! Movies!
I am hardpressed to find a film that I absolutely hate, but there are those few out there. However, most films are fantastic if you take into account all the work that is put in and, of course, the plot and so on and so forth. Todays society is more interested in the suspense of not knowing what is going to happen in the plot; whereas, it used to be that people already knew the plot but was impressed by how the action came about. If you think about this is true, because movies follow the same story line (boy meets girl, they fall in love, they break up, or get back to gether, or one is tragically hit by a car below the Empire State building and crippled). The important facts to take into consideration is how the author and the actors portray the action leading up to the climax. The uniquness of a movie is key; these are the great ones. For example, Frailty is a complex movie with tons of suspense in not knowing what is going to happen next and it is also totally unique in its presentation.

These movies that I will mention now are some of my more recent favorites based primarily on uniqueness(it's what makes a good movie), whether or not this is due to the actors, directors, authors, etc.
Frailty, White Oleander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Road to Perdition, Sleepy Hollow, Donnie Brasco, Donnie Darko, 21 Grams, Sleepers, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Cast Away, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Ashe Wednesday, Young Guns, Tombstone, American History X, Legends of the Fall, Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, Blow, Reservoir Dogs, Edward Scissorhands, Goodfellows, The Matrix trilogy, and X-Men 1 and 2. Also, the first two Batman movies are superb for there darkness along with The Nightmare Before Christmas.

As you can see a lot of Johnny Depps movies are in my list, as well as Robert Deniro's and Sean Penn's, because they have a uniquness within their acting ability that is all their own.

Comedies

2004-09-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

This category speaks for itself. Since man even invented the idea of entertainment, comedy has been around. Anytime that I am in a gloomy or blue mood this is the place i turn to; it's my escape. Some people excercise, others eat, but I watch movies, comedies in particular. They are a mood lightener. Charlie Chaplin and the Three Stooges, along with Fatty Arbuckle are some super comics of the past that perfected this fine art. Today, we have Robin Williams, Dan Aykroyd, Adam Sandler, Billy Krystal, D.L. Hugley, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Bernie Mac, etc. Some greats that I would like to make a tribute to would be John Candy and Chris Farley. Comedy is one of the hardest to master because it has to come naturally. If an actor or stand-up is struggling with a comedic script or his/her routine it is extremely noticable.

I'll just list my favorite comedic movies for you here:
Nothing But Trouble, The Burbs, My Blue Heaven, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Cheech and Chong Up in Smoke, As Good as it Gets, The Three Amigos, Roxanne, The House Sitter, Fletch, Harry and the Hendersons, The National Lampoon movies, Stripes, Ghostbusters 1 and 2, Meatballs, Four Rooms, Turner and Hooch, Father of the Bride 1 and 2, Look Who's Talking, City Slickers 1 and 2, The Jerk, Three Men and a Baby, and Monty Python's Holy Grail.

Movie Classics: Type 2

2004-08-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

Now, if you have read my earlier post, then you'll know what i'm talking about. These are the true classics that will never die. Alot of the movies that I mentioned earlier cross over into this list; however, there are more recent movies that can already be considered classics such as Fargo, Gangs of New York, Gettysburg, Robin Hood, 8 Seconds, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seatle, Blow, Edward Sissorhands, Rain Man, Catch Me if You Can, The Untouchables, Big, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Cast Away, the Die Hard trilogy, the Indiana Jones trilogy, and Glory just to name a few. This category is, of course, by far the most awarding to the film makers, actors etc. Comedies, which I won't get into right now, do not often make the list for classic movies; though, most of the famous classic television shows are comedic. Dramatic and tragedic films are the most likely to be the ones labeled as classics during our day in age. Early in the 1900s however most all kinds of films were labled as classics including comedy.

Movie Classics: Type 1

2004-08-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

To me there are two types of classic movies: the plain, old movies and then the ones that will always be inscribed into our memories. However, these two categories do overlap and virtually coexist. The first type, which just so happens to be my favorite, is the old classic films. Present movies are completely different in the way that they're made and in that the content is presented in a more bold and sometimes insulting manner. Please, don't get me wrong I still love them, but I think that somethings are to be kept in their rightful place. For example sex, it has exploded onto the screen in the past years, and a movie, now, is said to be no good without it. The old classics however just allude to this exploited act and keep sex where it should be, behind closed doors.

Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day, Cary Grant, Debra Khar, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, and Marlon Brando are, to name a few, famous, and justly so, stars of the past. Some of their movies will forever be etched into history and some will not. For example, most of Audrey Hepburn's movies are famous, but no one hears much about A Nun's Story which is still a good picture, as opposed to Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, or Sabrina, which are heard of by most people today.

Here are some films that I recommend, including the ones that I have mentioned above:
Guys and Dolls(Marlon Brando's only musical and which he was made fun of for; although, I think that he was extremely great), Cover Girl, The Godfather, Young at Heart, Top Hat, Love Affair, An Affair to Remember, all of the James Bond movies(that star Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and George Lazenby), A Summer Place, Pillow Talk, Roman Holiday, The Natural, The Last Detail, Chinatown, My Fair Lady, The Great Escape, Taxi Driver, Casablanca, Raging Bull, The Stepford Wives, Gidget, The Alamo, Swiss Family Robinson, The Exorcist, Maltese Falcon,The Birds, Psycho, The Graduate, The Forbidden Planet, Alfie, Dr. Detroit, Sound of Music, A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Julius Caesar, The Chase, Apocalypse Now, The Shining, The African Queen, Jaws, and Smokey and the Bandit.