First, a piece I did for E! on the top 5 Oscar movies most people haven’t seen but should:
5. Food Inc. (Best Documentary Feature)
Why you didn’t see it: Because almost every exposé of the food industry ends up telling you to go vegan, and who needs that? Meat and cheese are delicious!
Why you should: Because this one doesn’t. Finally, a truly fair and balanced look at the food industry that yes, dings factory farming for its flaws and overreliance on antibiotics, but also tells you that it’s OK to eat meat if you’re smart about it, and…praises Walmart? C’mon. You have to see that to believe it.
Then, an appreciation of A-ha for Geekweek:
It saddens me to say that I’m less interested in music now than I’ve ever been. Music used to inspire me. And I used to discover good new stuff thanks to MTV, which at one point played music most of the day. Nowadays I see them talking about making an original comedy series to try and lure viewers back, and I’m thinking, “why not play music again”?
And concerts are expensive as all hell – I remember shelling out what seemed like a massive $32 to see Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Motorhead at the Coliseum. Nowadays, good luck even seeing one decent act for that.
All of which is preamble to the fact that I was reading the LA Weekly over lunch yesterday, and saw that A-ha were coming to town.
Hey Luke, long time no comment.
And yeah, MTV these days saddens and annoys me too. But then so does the general music scene. Half the reason the only acts I still enjoy are No Doubt/Gwen Stefani and Katy Perry (yeah I know, teenage girl stuff) is likely because, in my experience anyway, none of them seems to take themselves that seriously. OTOH, so many others do (*cough*/Lady Gaga/*cough*), and their videos reflect it: they’re nothing but seven-minutes love letters to themselves and their oh-so-incredible talents, looks, sex lives, mansions, cars, guns, etc. etc. etc.
‘Bout the only stuff I find myself downloading (legally of course) these days is classics. I just downloaded the Moody Blues’ Best of and The Other Side of Life. And I’ve been debating lately whether to blow the dough for Foreigner’s first album and 4.
So I can absolutely understand and appreciate the a-ha fandom. Their two- count’em, two– big hits were IMHO far more memorable than most of what passes for new music these days. I might even have gone with ya to see ‘em, if I had the dough myself.