Last year I heard a small buzz around The Cove, but it was drowned out by the roars surrounding big titles such as The September Issue, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, and No Impact Man. However it happened, I found a free time slot and watched with mixed horror and fascination the secrets of The Cove unveiled. It begins with one man’s directive to show the world what is going on in Taiji, Japan. Behind the “Do Not Pass” signs and heavily guarded sea cove are mysterious sounds and sights always kept hidden by what he believes to be the capture and murder of hundreds of wild dolphins. One man isn’t enough to fully investigate the scene, and this film documents his journey to uncover the truth in “a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action.”

By the halfway point of my screening, the plight of murdered dophins were pulling at my heart, and I was eager to cheer on the team gathered to pull off a secret mission to expose the slaugher. Selected like the team of Oceans 11, the film introduces the special operations team:

The team is described as an “elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers… [who embarked] on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, shining a light on a dark and deadly secret. Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide.” Really, I couldn’t have said it better myself. After seeing this film and others at SILVERDOCS, I’m convinced that a well-edited documentary keeps it’s story at the center and pushes that story forward with every scene – whether action or interview. What makes The Cove a double-whammy of a doc, is the combination of fascinating characters and the unfolding of a secret mission only matched by fiction thrillers like Mission Impossible. If you’d like to see how it all ends or if you’re wondering if you should fulfill your childhood dream of swimming with the dolphis, go to the official website, download it on Amazon.com or iTunes, buy a hard copy at your local DVD shop, or you can rent it from Netflix.

This year, SILVERDOCS’10 will be June 21-27 located in Silver Spring, Maryland in and around the AFI-Silver Theater.
I’ve already screened a dozen documentaries – good and bad – out of our 2,000+ submissions. We’ve got our work cut out for us and less than 8 weeks to bring you some amazing movies!

So, what is YOUR favorite documentary?

Highlighting next week:
If you haven’t seen an episode there’s no doubt you’ve at least heard of the Tina Fey break-out comedy from NBC, 30 Rock. In the vein of The Office and Saturday Night Live comedy, 30 Rock captures the hilarity of Tina Fey & Alec Baldwin along with Jack McBrayer, Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan and Judah Friedlander in my new favorite Thursday night comedy! Physical comedy, political jesting, self-deprecation and guest appearances that rival E.R. – you can find it all HERE next week! Thanks for reading!

An attractive feature of electronic music and what keeps me coming back for more is the empowering tools that allow a solo or duo to have a full sound – all woven together in an electronic tapestry. Take Andrew Bird for example – his live music takes on much the same electronic elements as do others who use samples. Imogen Heap weaves her songs live on stage, piling loop after loop and fits them in just the right rhythm and place.

Along with the new introductions to electronic artists, one of my old favorites put out a surprise electronic album: Derek Webb. Today, Thursday February 25, 2010 ONLY you can get a FREE download at NoiseTrade.com/ of his new album Stockholm Syndrome. Check it out, seriously. A lot of hype that gradually produced doubt accompanied it’s release. The relevance of its release is doubtless for me and I listen to it more than any of his past work. Going back to his previous record The Ringing Bell I can continue to understand Webb’s growth and musical trajectory. With the release of Stockholm Syndrome, Webb also released the song stems for fans and musicians to remix and mashup on a site called SoundCloud- a hosting site for remixes, electronic sample sharing, and a place for artists of all professions to communicate and critique. girltalk is the best example I can give for an artist/producer who takes dozens of song – new and old and mashes them together in insanely imaginative ways. [note: It would be another entry to discuss the role of a dj vs. producer. I'm purposely leaving out the dj/MC which uses sampling and mashing by definition] I believe that more self-produced artists like Webb & Heap are using the ease of file sharing and inexpensive mixing software to encourage creativity among fans, allowing an almost conversational give and take of music. During SILVERDOCS 2009, I saw the documentary RIP: A Remix Manifesto which furthered my education of the issues behind mashups, music downloads and the question of freedom in media exchange and copyrights. The film goes beyond music and encouraged viewer participation through video remixing. In the end, there can be collaborative, mutually-supportive peace between artist and downloader or an intense – often money-driven – power war.

Back to the music… one critical turning point in my music listening was when I started subscribing to the KEXP Song of the Day Podcast. This (FREE!) daily bit of current and sometimes pre-released music accompanied by ablog gives context and information. Bell’s song “Housefire” was one of those tunes that eased my ears into more electronic music. Instead of hearing meaningless beeps & taps, I began to hear layers of complex rhythms and harmonies. Passion Pit was the next group to REALLY catch my attention. Let me tell you, I fell head over heels and was fully convinced that if their song “Sleepyhead” could be a person – a man – I would marry him. Ironically, or not, Passion Pit became one of Paste Magazine’s “Best of What’s Next” bands and caught the attention of NPR’s All Songs Considered as well as festivals & listeners around the country in 2008. They have a pop-driven sound. Similarly, Bon Iver gave me a taste of simpler self-produced music that verges on electronic with a few affected tracks such as “Woods” which is reminiscent of Imogen Heaps’ “Hide and Seek”… and we’ve come full circle. Before I let you go, just wanted to share a list of songs in my iTunes library & final thoughts.

25 Top picks for KEXP’s Song of the Day electronic songs:

• Dan Deacon “Paddling Ghost” (5/19/09)
• Bon Iver “Skinny Love” (3/31/09)
• The Arch Cupcake “Rubix Dude” (5/11/08 )
• Booka Shade “Charlotte” (7/15/08)
• The Dodos “Fools” (7/21/08 )
• El Ten Eleven “Jumping Frenchmen of Maine” (4/14/09)
• Faunts “Alarmed/Lights” (4/1/09)
• High Places “Head Spins” (10/9/08)
• High Places “From Stardust to Sentience” (11/20/08)
• Le Loup “Beach Town” (10/19/09)
• Kinky “Fuego En La Fabrica” (3/3/09)
• Lusine “Two Dots” (9/2/09)
• Man Plus “A Ghost is a Ghost is a Ghost is a Ghost” Remix (12/19/08)
• Miike Snow “Animal” (6/8/09)
• Miike Snow “Burial (DJ Mehdi Remix)” (3/11/09)
• Moby “Pale Horses” ( 7/23/09)
• Peter Bjorn & John “Nothing to Worry About” (2/25/09)
• The Pinker Tones “Fugaz” (6/3/08)
• School of Seven Bells “Iamundernodisguise” ( 11/19/08)
• Zion I “Caged Bird Part 1 (feat. Brother Ali) (4/16/09)
• Telepathe “So Fine” (2/30/09)
• Stellastarr* “Freak Out” (7/21/09)
• Nino Moschella “Continue to Call” ( 6/23/09)
• Passion Pit “I’ve Got Your Number” (11/3/08)

Click, read, download & enjoy! If you want more reading, there are several other blogs like SoftSynth Blog who shares their 25 top electronic albums of the Decade. Many other songs and artists are worth exploring in this discussion and as I barely scratch the surface, I’m finding more. Have you heard a song that inspires you to dance or mix it up? Leave a comment and pass it on!

Highlighting next week:
On the Big Screen – Oscar Predictions! I’ll be giving my predictions for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards which happen Sunday March 7th, so read ahead & tune in!

In order to delay that even further, I give you my Top 10′s of 2009!

Top 10 Songs:
10. “Love Lost” – Mindy Smith
9. “I Love/Hate You” – Derek Webb
8. “Lions” – The Features (repeat!)
7. “Hey Na Na” & “Hologram” – Katie Herzig (tie! & repeat!)
6. “My Girls” – Animal Collective
5. “Dreamer” – K’naan
4. “Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear
3. “Stillness Is The Move”- Dirty Projectors
2. “1901″ – Phoenix
1. “Sleepyhead” – Passion Pit

Top 10 Artists I listened to in 2009 compared with 2008 with help from last.fm
10. Michael Jackson*
9. Sara Groves (-6)
8. Sufjan Stevens (-1)
7. Jennifer Knapp (-1)
6. Over the Rhine (-2)
5. Andrew Bird (+3)
4. The Weepies (+6)
3. Derek Webb (-1)
2. Katie Herzig*
**1. Sandra McCracken**

Top 11 Movies of 2009
11. The Fantastic Mr. Fox (September)
10. The September Issue (SILVERDOCS)
9. Where the Wild Things Are (October)
8. The Philosopher Kings (SILVERDOCS)
7. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (Summer?)
6. An Education (December)
5. (500) Days of Summer (July)
4. Up (May)
3. Julie & Julia (August)
2. Precious (December)
1. Avatar 3D (December)

Top Concerts/Live Performances of 2009
10. Charlotte Martin (Jammin Java, VA)
9. Mae (Black Cat, DC)
8. Dar Williams w/Jordan Hamlin (Blueberry Hill, St. Louis)
7. Katie Herzig opening (IOTA, VA)
6. Over the Rhine (Alexandria, VA)
5. M. Ward (9:30Club, DC)
4. Katie Herzig & Brandi Carlile (9:30Club, DC)
3. Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken (Jammin Java, VA)
2. 10 Out of Tenn (IOTA, VA)
1. St. Vincent & Andrew Bird (9:30 Club, DC)

Top 10 TV Programs of 2009
10. What Not To Wear (TLC)
9. L.A. Ink (TLC)
8. SpongeBob SquarePants
7. Hollywood’s Best Film Directors (Reelz Channel)
6. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
5. Phineas & Ferb (Disney XD)
4. 30 Rock (NBC)
3. American Idol (FOX)
2. The Office (NBC)
1. Glee (FOX)

I missed WAY too many good films & concerts this year, but I’m really glad for the ones I did see. My list of “too see” is constantly growing. It’s challenging to be inundated with stories and live my story at the same time. Each story, each character, and each experience becomes a part of my own story, my character, and my experience. I’m like 8-yr-old Oskar in Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, who fills a journal with news clippings and printed pictures in order to claim others’ experiences as “Things That Happened To Me.”

In 2010 I want to do something with those stories, characters, and experiences. I need to share them with you. I will be processing, reviewing, and story-telling. Let me know what works, what doesn’t work and how I can be a character in your story. Let’s experience movies, music, and television together!

That night stirred me into an admiration for musicians who really PLAY music. I mean PLAY. Not only does he prove his musical talent for instruments, but I would argue that his ability comes out most when he’s on stage putting it all together – a wonderful sort of plalying. That first year of listening to Andrew Bird’s music I saw him play live three times in three different cities: First was June 2005 in St. Louis for a PACKED house at Off Broadway, second in Atlanta that fall at The Eyedrum (again a packed house), and third in Nashville on my way home to St. Louis at The Mercy Lounge that same fall. All three awesome shows. Since then I’ve seen him on a few late shows showing off his newest album: Noble Beast.

If you aren’t familiar with Bird’s music, your first listen will NOT disappoint. And let me tell you, it is no lie when Paste Magazine’s Kate Kiefer warns you to grab a dictionary before trying to decipher the lyrics!

A sampling of A.Bird lyrics:
palindrome
plasticities
radiolarian
aubergine
fratricide
rheostat
machinations
cosmonaut
incandescent
proto-Sanskrit
Cypriot
Uralic
troglobite
plecostomus
anthurium
pleurisy
valerian
dermestid

About a year ago, Bird started a blog on The New York Times website called : Measure for Measure. It is here that he explains how he chooses the words that fill his songs saying, “…writing lyrics becomes like running multiple code-breaking programs in your head until just the right word with just the right number of syllables, tone of vowel and finally some semblance of meaning all snap into place.”

So you can see that not only is he giving plenty of thought and practice to the melodies, harmonies, and parts of each instrument, but the words – both their combination & rhymes – are just as important to the wholeness of the songs.

“That’s part of the fun with Andrew Bird, the songs are so well-crafted, music and words so inextricably connected, that the songs are both beautiful objects to be admired as well as puzzles to be unlocked.” -Gavin Breeden

The release of Noble Beast and the kick-off to the album’s tour started with a concert at the historic Carnegie Hall in New York City on January 28th. Bob Boilen at NPR gave me my first listen to the new album while I waited for my download on iTunes. It’s a great album. Lives up to his last release, but involves a little more creativity in the percussion department. I would also agree with the compliments on his vocals which are all rich and lilting throughout the album. Three stand-out tracks to me are: “Fitz and the Dizzyspells,” “Tenuousness,” and “Not a Robot, But a Ghost.” His imagination is as deep and wide as any 8-year-old, but his years of training as a musician give way to sound maturity. Comparing the sound of this album with the previous, I would say that it’s a fuller sound – more production in what feels like a larger space. Armchair Apocrypha, to me, has a more intimate production quality. There may even be less whistling & glockenspiel in this new album – more guitar & violin. Maybe “Effigy” is the most characteristic to me on Noble Beast of that layering process that Bird uses in his live shows -the transitions from one melody to the next and then the connection in the end. The key is that Bird is growing as an artist and yet stays true to his own style; one that I haven’t heard repeated.

**Check out the A.mazhing Archive.org for some FREE Downloads of Andrew Bird’s music. click here for my favorite show**

Next Time: On the Big Screen: The Class – This film, nominated for this year’s Academy Awards as Best Foreign Film, is playing at the AFI and as soon as I see it, I’ll let you know how I like it!

This specific resolution also refers to the fact that this blog is dusty. No. Worse than just dusty – it is so sparsely used that it’s at the risk of foreclosure in a bottomed-out economy of unread blogs. It’s time for a cleaning, a polishing, and to keep with the house analogy – time for a blog flip…. oh yeah, I’m gonna sell it… to you!

My blog-refurb starts with a new goal for my writing. Instead of giving you all the details of my ever-exciting-post-student phase of life, I want to do some reviews and commentary on the media that is impacting my life and hopefully the lives of those who will be reading. The three big media types that impact my life and give me cause to interact with my culture are films, music, and TV programs. For each of these three categories, I partake using several venues including movie theaters, the local Library, Concert Venues, magazines, my fave television stations, iTunes, and of course the all-knowing, all-inclusive World Wide Web.

Instead of overwhelming myself with a daily post of quick info, I’m going to aim for a bit more in-depth research and then offer a weekly post. If I find myself with more time/words, I may up it twice a week…

For now, I’m going to follow the year-end trends and give you my top 10 in each category that I mentioned. If I had a billion years, I’d link each one to myspace or something… just use the ‘ole highlight, right-click “search for in google“…

Top 10 Songs I listened to in 2008
10. “Why Did You Let Me Stay Here?”- She & Him
9. “Why Can’t It Be Christmastime All Year” – Rosie Thomas
8. “Hologram” – Katie Herzig
7. “Lose You” – Sandra McCracken
6. “Good Night Girl” – Nadas
5. “Honey Will You Sing Me a Song” – Matt Hires
4. “Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis
3. “When Water Comes to Life” – Cloud Cult
2. “Mercy”- Duffy
1. “Buildings & Mountains” – The Republic Tigers

Top 10 Artists I listened to in 2008 (with a little help from last.fm)
10. The Weepies
9. Anberlin
8. Andrew Bird
7. Sufjan Stevens
6. Jennifer Knapp
5. Hem
4. Over the Rhine
3. Sara Groves
2. Rosie Thomas
1. Sandra McCracken & Derek Webb (counting them as 1)

Top 10 Movies of 2008
10. High School Musical 3 (October)
9. Kung Fu Panda (June)
8. Be Kind, Rewind (February)
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May)
6. Taxi to the Dark Side (January)
5. Synecdoche, NY (October)
4. Burn After Reading (September)
3. Man on Wire (July)
2. The Dark Knight (July)
1. Slumdog Millionaire (December)

Top Concerts/Live Performances of 2008
10. Shane & Shane with Bethany Dillon (St. Louis, MO)
9. Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken (St. Louis, MO)
8. Katie Myers (Lookout Mountain, GA)
7. Michael Rhodes (Lookout Mountain, GA)
6. Ingrid Michaelson (Alexandria, VA)
5. Over the Rhine & Garrison Star (Birmingham, AL)
4. Rosie Thomas (Vienna, VA)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (Norfolk, VA)
2. Iron & Wine (St. Louis, MO)
1. Art. Music. Justice. With Sara Groves, Brandon Heath, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, & Charlie Peacock (Messiah College, PA)

Top 10 TV Programs of 2008
10. L.A. Ink (TLC)
9. Soup (E!)
8. John & Kate + 8 (TLC)
7. What Not To Wear (TLC)
6. American Idol (FOX)
5. 30 Rock (NBC)
4. True Hollywood Story (E!)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
2. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
1. The Office (NBC)

Please feel free to comment on my top 10 lists! I am not holding myself to standards besides honesty about what I was able to “consume” this year. I admit I left out several movies that I should have seen/will see and several artists/songs that I should have listened to/will listen to in the coming year! Thanks for reading!

Peace_Sarah_