On a completely different note

Today I am departing from my usual blogging and focusing solely on criticism. I will address music, movies and books and hopefully stimulate some modest discussion.

Music

Despite my age, I still listen to new rock music. Today I will comment on two bands that current have captured my focus – Radiohead and Spoon.

The new Radiohead music (I paid $10 to download) is addictive. I have liked Radiohead in the past (my son tells me that they are the greatest band in the world) but I believe the current collection of songs (not really an album or CD since you can only download the music) reaches a new peak. The music is complex and balanced melody with the expected weird sounds. They clearly understand music at a high level – they include a wonderful song in 5/4 which to me suggests that they have transcended 3 chord boredom.

Spoon has just attracted my attention. I started with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga because the reviews were so good. I now have listened to most of their work. They have become my favorite workout band (many of their recent songs have the perfect rhythm for my elliptical machine.) If you are interested in alternative rock – check out their concert at All Songs Considered – in general a great source for listening to new music.

Movies

My two most recent movies were Michael Clayton and Gone, Baby, Gone. Both are great in different ways.

Michael Clayton’s greatness comes from the unusual method of story telling. The story itself is a somewhat standard story of industrial corruption, but the screenplay develops that story in such an unusual way that I found it great storytelling. Some of my friends found the movie too confusing. The acting is outstanding, as is the cinematography.

Gone, Baby, Gone is based on a book written by Dennis Lehane (the author of Mystic River). I read the book several years ago and was overwhelmed with the ending. While I loved the book, I also loved the movie. The story focuses on the abduction of a 3 year girl. As the story unfolds it becomes more complex. The final resolution is guaranteed to create debate. As one reviewer points out, the story ends with moral ambiguity. As in real life, right and wrong are not black and white. Everything in this story represents shades of gray.

Books

I am in the process of going through Daniel Silva’s works. I like mysteries and thrillers. Daniel Silva writes well. His books speak to the problems of terrorism and the problems of the Holocaust.

The most clever book that I have listened to recently is the Yiddish Policeman’s Union. This is a mystery novel set in an alternate universe. The writer Michael Chabon has much previous acclaim.

The alternate universe is a Yiddish speaking enclave in Alaska. In this alternate universe, the Israeli War for Independence was unsuccessful, and the US leased land to the Jews who survived WWII. The protagonist wakes in his “flop house” and is asked to examine an unknown resident who is found dead in another room.

This book especially resonates with Jews. The book uses many Yiddish phrases, and is otherwise a tale about the diversity of the Jewish experience. Chabon writes beautifully, and the narrator is simply superb.

What are you reading, watching and listening to?