All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 5: Nathan E. House

A mutual love of Lynne Ramsay and French chanson (combined with a fairly intense disdain for the shitty company we were working for) solidified my friendship with Nathan House. After we parted ways with said shitty employer, we would often find ourselves crossing paths in not-so-unexpected situations (lately: a screening of Made in USA, the St. Vincent concert and a bitter cold house party). You can check out a couple of Nathan's video projects on The Auteurs. Thanks, Nathan.

On Film: All i can say for my turn-of-the-century film list is i picked my favorites, not the best, just the ones i plan to revisit again & again.

L'intrus (Claire Denis, 2004) ~ The phrase 'hauntingly poetic' gets used far too often. After Joe recommended Betty Blue, I did a library search for Béatrice Dalle, the only other film of hers they had was L'intrus. This was my first entry into the world of Claire Denis, & it caught me wildly off guard. I was lulled & hypnotized. I'm sure Beau travail may be her 'best', but L'intrus will always be closest to my heart.

Vicky Christina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008) ~ The best narrative dramatic-comedy-romance Woody has offered us since Husbands & Wives. A stunning screenplay. Vicky Christina Barcelona is a mine-field of diamonds. Beautiful, rare gems exploding everywhere, at the slightest touch of love.

Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000) ~ As a Björk fan, this was my first serving of Von Trier. I still tear up at the 'Next to Last Song', no matter what. The master of cinematic manipulation does it again.

Twentynine Palms (Bruno Dumont, 2003) ~ This film destroyed me. Utterly unaware of its contents, my jaw hung agape at its audacity. I was mortified; couldn’t get it out of my head for days; still thought about it on a regular basis weeks/months later. A serious challenge; a powerful film.

Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) ~ The phrase 'hauntingly poetic' gets used far too often.
Never has a tail been used with greater effect.

The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) ~ The phrase 'hauntingly poetic' gets used far too often.
POCAHONTAS, LEARNING ENGLISH, SPINNING AROUND: "Wind! Wind! Wind!"

Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001) ~ I used to watch this everynight before bed; i think it accounts for the wild dreams I've had in my twenties. That, & legal Native American drugs.

V for Vendetta (James McTeigue, 2005) ~ On a whim I wandered into a movie theatre at 9pm to find out the foreign film i wanted to see didn't start 'til 11. So i moseyed into this after seeing a cardboard advertisement donning Natalie Portman's sexy bald-head. Long-story short, I was enthralled, love its anti-establishment sentiment & ended up liking it better than the foreign film i had originally wanted to see. I love a film about 'the power of ideas'.

Transformers (Michael Bay, 2007) ~ Quality escapist entertainment & funtastic directorial orchestration.
KID ON CELLPHONE RUNNING THROUGH DEMOLISHED STREET: "This is easily a thousand times cooler than Armageddon!!"

Up (Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, 2009) ~ Brilliant comedy. I’ve such a deep admiration for innocent comedy. Comedy that needs no shock-value, degradation/sadism, or subversive ‘adult’ jokes thrown-in. There are so many irreproachably clever jokes along this adventure. A beautifully funny film.


On Music: For this list of my turn-of-the-century favorites, I've decided to single out the artists that I hold closest, & go double-time as I refuse to hold any one of their albums above another.

The Books ~ Thought for Food (2002)
The Books ~ Lemon of Pink (2003)

Erykah Badu ~ Mama's Gun (2000)
Erykah Badu ~ Worldwide Underground (2003)
Erykah Badu ~ New Amerykah: 4th World War (2008)

Parenthetical Girls ~ Safe as Houses (2006)
Parenthetical Girls ~ Entanglements (2008)

Camille ~ Le fil (2005)
Camille ~ Music Hole (2008)

Beirut ~ Gulag Orkestrar (2006)
Beirut ~ Flying Club Cup (2007)

Björk ~ Selmasongs (2000)
Björk ~ Vespertine (2001)

Funky 16 Corners ~ Funky 16 Corners (2001)

Lonely Island ~ Incredibad (2009)

Rifle Recoil ~ Rifle Recoil (2009)

Prince ~ Musicology (2004)
Prince ~ 3121 (2006)

All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 4: Blake Williams

Blake and I met somehow through the ol' blosophere. I typically assume it's related to Jacques Rivette, as most of my relationships with other like-minded film bloggers seem to stem from that (or maybe it comes later, I'm not sure). Blake is a Yankee residing in Canada, where he's a grad student at the University of Toronto. Please check out his blog R and G and B. His film list is a tentative one (like all of ours are), as he's waiting until the end of next year to publish the "official" one on his site. Thanks, Blake.

On Film: The first 5 films (maybe 6) I imagine will rank in my favorite 100 films on the day I die.

01. Inland Empire, 2006, d. David Lynch, USA/Poland/France

Basically, my favorite film. I kind of hate saying that about a David Lynch film, since he's like the weird director that college freshmen wig out over and tell all their friends to rent at the video store so they can watch their confused faces at the end and say that they should totally smoke out while watching it next time so they can understand it more. But alas, it is. Can't imagine many better things to do with 3 hours of my time than watch this film for the nth time.

02. Syndromes and a Century, 2006, d. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/France/Austria

Contains the single greatest shot I saw this decade, preceded by an hour and a half of relaxed, unstrained spirituality and whimsy (the good kind). Very funny, too.

03. Punch-Drunk Love, 2002, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA

The film that motivated me to devote a majority of my time to seeking out 'art cinema.' No film I have seen captures awkwardness - in most of its forms - as thoroughly and concisely. Not to mention the Jeremy Blake factor, making the film just that more uneasy.

04. RR, 2007, d. James Benning, USA/Germany

Last April, I took a 14-hour bus from Toronto to Boston to see this film (and a 22-hour trip back (#won'tdothatagain)) after missing it in the Toronto Film Festival. Basically, it was worth it, especially when it was followed by a wonderful QA with Benning. Could be the perfect structural film project, matching the speed, lengths of trains with the qualities of the reel, and the origin of the medium. Helps that every shot is beautifully framed.

05. Melancholia, 2008, d. Lav Diaz, Philippines

Not here because it's the longest film I've ever seen; I think that if it was edited down to 2 hours, retaining the key elements, it could still be in this position. One of the only things the length contributed was the possibility of fucking up an amazing idea by making it unnecessarily long, which didn't happen. Instead, what would be 'just another amazing cinematic experience' is drawn out to a euphoric, almost day-long immersion in role changes, mysticism, performance art, Tropical Malady-esque jungle hunts, and, naturally, melancholia (AKA, right up my alley).

06. In the City of Sylvia [En la ciudad de Sylvia], 2007, d. José Luis Guerín, Spain/France
07. Tropical Malady, 2004, d. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/France/Germany/Italy
08. La ciénaga, 2001, d. Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/France/Spain
09. The New World, 2005, d. Terrence Malick, USA/UK
10. The Gleaners & I [Les glaneurs et la glaneuse], 2000, d. Agnès Varda, France
11. Synecdoche, New York, 2008, d. Charlie Kaufman, USA
12. Code Unknown [Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages], 2000, d. Michael Haneke, France/Germany/Romania
13. Dogville, 2003, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/UK/France/Germany/Norway/Finland/Netherlands
14. Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, USA/France
15. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, 2001, d. Steven Spielberg, USA
16. Wild Grass [Les herbes folles], 2009, d. Alain Resnais, France/Italy
17. Talk to Her [Hable con ella], 2002, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
18. Hairspray, 2007, d. Adam Shankman, USA/UK
19. About Schmidt, 2002, d. Alexander Payne, USA
20. There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
21. 25th Hour, 2002, d. Spike Lee, USA
22. Colossal Youth [Juventude Em Marcha], 2006, d. Pedro Costa, Portugal/France/Switzerland
23. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon [Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon], 2007, d. Eric Rohmer, France/Italy/Spain
24. Ratatouille, 2007, d. Brad Bird, USA
25. The Triplets of Belleville [Les triplettes de Belleville], 2003, d. Sylvain Chomet, Belgium/France/Canada/UK

On Music: Pardon the Pitchforkousness, but these are the 25 most played, post-1999 albums in my iTunes since 2006 (the last time I cleared out my Library and started fresh). It's a pretty accurate hierarchy, too, with the Kate Bush album having a play count nearly twice that of the second highest play count, Antony's debut.

01. Kate Bush - Aerial (2005)
02. Antony and The Johnsons - Antony and The Johnsons (2000)
03. Burial - Untrue (2007)
04. Antony and The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (2005)
05. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)
06. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
07. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
08. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (2004)
09. The Microphones - Mount Eerie (2003)
10. Fever Ray - Fever Ray (2009)
11. Björk - Vespertine (2001)
12. Mount Eerie - Singers LP (2005)
13. Mount Eerie - Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie (2004)
14. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi (2002)
15. jj - jj n° 2 (2009)
16. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
17. The Knife - Deep Cuts (2003)
18. Sam Amidon - All Is Well (2007)
19. Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go (2008)
20. Akron/Family - Akron/Family (2005)
21. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)
22. Appaloosa - Easter Demos (2008)
23. Radical Face - Ghost (2007)
24. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006)
25. The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002)

All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 3: Mike Hassler

For something like three years, Mike Hassler and I suffered working for the same horrible company, which is where we met and where my first impressions of him were from another co-worker who informed me that Mike really liked the movie Electra. Thankfully, I soon learned that his admiration for the Daredevil spin-off was neither a fluke nor indicative of his taste on a larger scale (thankfully). Shortly afterward, we would spend most of our time on the clock creating a real-time commentary for the Sister Act saga, throwing themed music nights (the soundtrack night/weekend was the highlight of which), making up elaborately perverse fantasy lives for the motley crew of customers we had to encounter every week and occasionally convincing one another to take home DVDs we wouldn't give a second look (sometimes out of curiosity, other times out of malice, often just to fuck with one another). Mike occasionally updates his blog Heteroerotica with film and music write-ups (and, yes, he was the one who chose his Amy Winehouse Halloween costume photo). Thanks, Mike.

On Film: I like to think I hit middle ground -- not too snobby, but people can point fingers. I haven’t had the time to watch or rewatch all that I would like to, but I’m happy enough with my list. I know I’ve forgotten things, and I’m positive I’ve jumbled the order so many times that they’re probably not in any particular order outside of the first few. Congrats to Greengrass for making it twice. [Editors note: Quentin Tarantino only made the list twice due to Mike including a 1999 film in the 25th spot.]

01. Oldboy, 2003, d. Park Chan-wook, South Korea
02. The Piano Teacher [La pianiste], 2001, d. Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany/Poland
03. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001, d. John Cameron Mitchell, USA
04. The Squid and the Whale, 2005, d. Noah Baumbach, USA
05. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [Le scaphandre et le papillon], d. Julian Schnabel, France/USA
06. The Shape of Things, 2003, d. Neil LaBute, USA/France/UK
07. Fat Girl [À ma sœur!], 2001, d. Catherine Breillat, France/Italy
08. The Beat My Heart Skipped [De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté], 2005, d. Jacques Audiard, France
09. Inside [À l'intérieur], 2007, d. Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury, France
10. Rachel Getting Married, 2008, d. Jonathan Demme, USA
11. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies [OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions], 2006, d. Michel Hazanavicius, France
12. Once, 2006, d. John Carney, Ireland
13. Bloody Sunday, 2002, d. Paul Greengrass, Ireland/UK
14. A Bittersweet Life, 2005, d. Kim Ji-woon, South Korea
15. Inglourious Basterds, 2009, d. Quentin Tarantino, USA/Germany
16. The Incredibles, 2004, d. Brad Bird, USA
17. Chopper, 2000, d. Andrew Dominik, Australia
18. Murder on a Sunday Morning [Un couple idéal], 2001, d. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, France/USA
19. Ip Man, 2008, d. Wilson Yip, Hong Kong
20. Love Exposure, 2008, d. Sion Sono, Japan
21. House of Sand and Fog, 2003, d. Vadim Perelman, USA
22. Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, France/USA
23. There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
24. The Bourne Supremacy, 2004, d. Paul Greengrass, USA/Germany
25. Grindhouse, 2007, d. Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth


On Music: Likewise here, I'm positive I've missed things, but decided to go with what I believe have had the most spins.

01. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
02. Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
03. Lupe Fiasco - The Cool (2007)
04. Portishead - Third (2008)
05. Clipse - Lord Willin’ (2002)
06. Muse - Origin of Symmetry (2001)
07. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)
08. Coldplay - X & Y (2005)
09. PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her (2004)
10. Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R (2000)
11. Thrice - Vheissu (2005)
12. The Damnwells - Air Stereo (2006)
13. Kanye West - College Dropout (2004)
14. Espers - II (2006)
15. Sigur Rós - Takk... (2005)
16. Louis XIV - The Best Little Secrets Are Kept (2005)
17. Doves - Lost Souls (2000)
18. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple (2008)
19. The Strokes - Room on Fire (2003)
20. Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
21. Ray LaMontagne - Trouble (2004)
22. The Roots - Rising Down (2008)
23. Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights (2002)
24. The Darkness - Permission to Land (2003)
25. Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe (2009)

All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 2: Damion Clark

Damion and I met when he was hosting a Queer Film Blog-a-thon two years ago at his old blog Queerying the Apparatus. While I miss visiting his blog, we kept in touch, and he helped me with some source material for my undergraduate thesis last year. He's working on his Ph.D. in English Language and Literature at the University of Maryland. If you're wondering, a mutual love for Bruce LaBruce and PJ Harvey is always a great starting point for a friendship. Thanks, Damion!

Films

01. There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
02. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004, d. Michel Gondry, USA
03. Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, France/USA
04. Bad Education [La mala educación], 2004, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
05. Far from Heaven, 2002, d. Todd Haynes, USA/France
06. No Country for Old Men, 2007, d. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, USA
07. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile], 2007, d. Cristian Mungiu, Romania
08. Requiem for a Dream, 2000, d. Darren Aronofsky, USA
09. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001, d. John Cameron Mitchell, USA
10. The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001, d. Wes Anderson, USA
11. Dancer in the Dark, 2000, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Netherlands/Germany/France/USA/UK/Sweden/Finland/Iceland/Norway
12. Kill Bill, Vol. 1, 2003, d. Quentin Tarantino, USA
13. The Departed, 2006, d. Martin Scorsese, USA/Hong Kong
14. Children of Men, 2006, d. Alfonso Cuarón, UK/USA/Japan
15. United 93, 2006, d. Paul Greengrass, UK/USA/France
16. Mysterious Skin, 2004, d. Gregg Araki, USA/Netherlands
17. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [Le scaphandre et le papillon], 2007, d. Julian Schnabel, France/USA
18. The Squid and the Whale, 2005, d. Noah Baumbach, USA
19. Let the Right One In [Låt den rätte komma in], 2008, d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
20. Good Night, and Good Luck., 2005, d. George Clooney, USA/UK/France/Japan
21. Volver, d. Pedro Almodóvar, 2006, Spain
22. Shortbus, 2006, d. John Cameron Mitchell, USA
23. Where the Wild Things Are, 2009, d. Spike Jonze, USA
24. The Raspberry Reich, 2004, d. Bruce LaBruce, Germany/Canada
25. Secretary, 2002, d. Steven Shainberg, USA

Albums

01. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
02. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)
03. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry (2004)
04. Gossip - Music for Men (2009)
05. OutKast - Stankonia (2000)
06. Antony and the Johnsons - Antony and the Johnsons (2000)
07. Coldplay - Parachutes (2000)
08. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
09. New Order - Get Ready (2001)
10. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
11. Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)
12. Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel (2005)
13. The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)
14. M.I.A. - Arular (2005)
15. The Bravery - The Bravery (2005)
16. Kylie Minogue - X (2007)
17. Keane - Hopes and Fears (2004)
18. Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
19. Christina Aguilera - Stripped (2002)
20. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

All My Friends: Millennium Mambo, Take 1: Jason Huettner

Jason and I established a cyberspace amity based on two great mutual obsessions: PJ Harvey and queer cinema. He's my go-to man when it comes to PJ news and rumors, a job of no small importance for someone like me. He currently resides in New York City. I'm happy to have Jason as the first entry in this series. Neither of his lists are in preferential order.

On Music: "I hate lists that are aimed at developing some kind of consensus about art. Here are ten albums, in no particular order, released in the 00's that are essential to my 00's experience. This list isn't definitive at all (plenty of other 00's albums that I love).. but all are quality and have sentimental value. The music speaks for itself."

Life Without Buildings - Any Other City (DCBaltimore2012, 2001)
Diamanda Galás - Guilty, Guilty, Guilty (Mute, 2008)
Various Artists - Give Me Love: Songs of the Brokenhearted - Baghdad, 1925-1929 (Honest Jon's, 2008)
Scott Walker - The Drift (4AD, 2006)
Mayyors - Deads 12" (self-released, 2009)
A Frames - "1" (S-S Records, 2002)
Quasimoto - The Unseen (Stones Throw, 2000)
Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky, 2007)
The Thing (with Joe McPhee) - She Knows... (Smalltown Superjazz, 2002)
Power Douglas - Pentecostal Fangbread (FiveSix Media, 2008)

On Film: "Again, sentimentality plays a big part here. Picking just ten is hard. I am prone to alarming lapses of taste in films."

Bad Education [La mala educación], 2004, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
Brick, 2005, d. Rian Johnson, USA
Children of Men, 2006, d. Alfonso Cuarón, UK/USA/Japan
Dancer in the Dark, 2000, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Netherlands/Germany/France/USA/UK/Sweden/Finland/Iceland/Norway
Eastern Promises, 2007, d. David Cronenberg, UK/Canada
O Fantasma, 2000, d. João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal
Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, France/USA
Notre musique, 2004, d. Jean-Luc Godard, France/Switzerland
Pan's Labyrinth [El laberinto del Fauno], 2006, d. Guillermo del Toro, Mexico/Spain/USA
The Proposition, 2005, d. John Hillcoat, Australia/UK
The Raspberry Reich, 2004, d. Bruce LaBruce, Germany/Canada
The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001, d. Wes Anderson, USA
Strange Circus, 2005, d. Sion Sono, Japan
There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
Waltz with Bashir, 2008, d. Ari Folman, Israel/Germany/France/USA

Announcing...

In an attempt to diversify all the '00 listing on this blog and everywhere else, I'm going to start a new "feature" on the blog, hopefully this weekend, which will highlight personal friends of mine and their favorite films and/or albums of the past 10 years. It's a bit of an experiment, so we'll see how it goes.