The Shins - you heard of them?

“You gotta hear this one song; it’ll change your life, I swear.”

If you were between 15 and 18 in 2004, you’ll know what I’m talking about.



My boss was listening to The Shins today (I know… cool boss) and I sent her this clip in response. I love The Shins (though I haven’t listened to them in a while) and I love Garden State… oh, and I also love Natalie Portman, and Zach Braff’s aight, too… anyway, so I consider this clip pretty fantastic.

But it occurred to me while reminiscing on the first time I saw Garden State, in the theatre with my sister Sarah, and “New Slang” and the movie as a whole sort of did change my life… and least in terms of music.

The amalgam of songs on the Garden State soundtrack sort of opened up this whole new world of music for me. There were all of these songs available to me once I tapped in to this underground network of subversives and hipsters. The Internet was still sort of a new-ish pastime at that point, so realizing it had the capability to introduce me to what seemed like an infinite amount of new music was this huge revelation. I started spending all of my time figuring out what else was out there that I would enjoy.

It just so happened that I started getting into “The O.C.” at that time. It was in its 2nd season and it turned out that it, too, was a platform for up and coming musicians. Thanks to the character Seth Cohen, an outcast with impeccable music taste, the gang went to all sorts of concerts with bands from Modest Mouse to Death Cab for Cutie, if I remember correctly. Oh, and Rooney, too.

Obviously “The O.C.” was a huge and extremely popular show, but somehow we (if you’ll allow me to include you in this) felt like a part of this secret club because we had Belle & Sebastian, The Dandy Warhols, Alexi Murdoch, and the Eels on our $400 iPod Minis. Can you believe a device with 4gb cost that much? Well it did...

I don’t hunt for music like I used to… it’s just not the same, involved process of writing out lists and waiting for your 5-song limit to finish downloading on LimeWire, so it doesn’t feel like such a mission every time. I also don’t really listen to the same stuff I used to, but my adolescence, and now adulthood, wouldn’t have been the same without it, and I thank Zach Braff for that.

Natalie... you are a bad-ass bitch II

I'm having Monday morning panic as I was away from work at the end of last week and I have a big and busy week this week. Between emails and the increasingly long list of to do items that I'm compiling...... I'm kinda freaking out. I don't see blogging at this moment as a procrastination tool; I see it as stress and anxiety management. Truly. I can have an extremely productive day today, but I need to start by removing myself from the situation, and then re-entering it with a fresh perspective.

SO... what should I blog about?

BLACK SWAN

I saw "Black Swan" this weekend. I had always meant to see it, but time kept passing me by and all my friends had already seen it. So Saturday I had nothing to do and I thought, "Screw it, I'll go alone."

WHOA. Black Swan... Black Swan... It was so intense. Typical of Aronofsky, the movie drew you in to a point where you were looking at your fingernails and finding yourself holding your breath. My chest was tight with empathetic anxiety. I thought the story was unique and different. It drew you into a specific world (the dance world), but the real focus was on Nina. People like Nina are everywhere, so the fact that Swan Lake was being performed and it was set on a stage with a company, etc. was sort of an aesthetic thing more than anything else. It was about perfection and anxiety and nightmares and... I was blown away.

It wasn't the type of movie that you see and immediately want to see again. Not for me, at least. It's too intense and too much of a full body&mind experience that it's difficult to watch. That said, I thought it was incredible. I thought Natalie Portman was incredible. She won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture last night, and I believe she really deserved it. She was intense and weak and vulnerable... I wonder how she'll fare at the Oscars.

Alright - time to get to work. I need to do away with my own anxiety now and get going!

Natalie... you are a badass bitch!

Why do I love Natalie Portman?

#1: She shaved her head.



#2: She starred in my most favourite movie.

#3: She did this: