molly.com
Saturday 15 March 2008
Your Best Pop, Your Worst
NEEDING TO GET AWAY FROM STANDARDS and browsers and conferences, I’m interested in a conversation about the best and worst pop culture right now.
Whether journalism, fiction, television, film, photography, illustration, diaries or mixes thereof, I really need your help expanding my horizons.
It can only help!
I’ve been watching “Ashes to Ashes” and waiting for a new episode of the “Big Bang Theory.”
What are you following? Reading? Watching? Doing?
Share your worst, your best!
Filed under: faith(less), humor, blogging, pop culture, poetry & fiction, society, creativity, molly asks you, community, nmby
Posted by: Molly | 7:23 pm |
March 15th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I watched all three seasons of Veronica Mars within months. That show should’ve never gone off the air. I think anything not on the big four networks is overlooked.
National Treasure was amazing. I’ve never been a big fan of Nick Cage, but this movied — I liked him completely. Waiting for the second one to come out on DVD or on cable.
Book: The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead by David Shields. Both funny and depressing. Lots of facts about growing up and aging. Maybe I could handle the aging part if I were 25.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
My best tv: Now that the Wire is over, LOST.
My worst tv: Celebrity Fit Club
My best read: The Monsters of Templeton
My worst read: valleywag
My best movie: I guess the last movie I saw in the theatre that I liked was Juno.
My worst movie: Jumper was horrid.
Best Doing - Hmmm, I’m still working my way through Mario Galaxy on the Wii although I haven’t played in weeks.
Worst Doing - If I’m doing it, it must be good on some level.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Best: finding Corner Gas on WGN, the finale of The Wire, Torchwood season 2, new pornographers, great lake swimmers and polyphonic spree’s cover of nirvana’s “lithium”
Worst: tech blogs, primetime game shows, reality shows (except big brother)
March 15th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I collect signature guitar picks and have one from the Glen Campbell Show. Guess that was from the early 80s. That’s some old pop culture.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
TV: love Dr Who, detest Torchwood. Enjoyed The Lost Room mini-series.
Movies: loved Sweeney Todd, hated 10,000BC, detested Jumper.
Music: Enjoying anthing from Mika, hating what Bond does to classical music.
March 15th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Music: Vampire Weekend and last years Of Montreal’s album
TV: Started watching SNL again.
Movies: Loved Juno and No Country For Old Men. Can’t wait to see The Diving Bell And The Butterfly and There will be blood.
March 15th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
At the moment, I’m watching SNL and it’s awful.
Otherwise, I enjoy Lost, Eli Stone, Big Love (on HBO) and Top Gear (on BBC).
March 15th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I’m completely addicted to Lost. It should get very interesting now that Michael is back!
March 15th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I have a love-hate relationship with “Lost”, hoping that it’ll all come together and make some sense, and fearing that it can’t possibly happen.
Caught a series about art on PBS recently, “Simon Schama’s Power of Art” where he explains several famous paintings in their context. I want him to be my personal museum guide!
Speaking of museum, SFMOMA had a Joseph Cornell exhibit recently. I am just smitten with those shadowboxes!
Movies: I liked Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, Juno, Cloverfield.
Reading: a bunch of thrillers, including the first two of Charlie Huston’s vampire noirs, “Already Dead” and “No Dominion”. Also really liking F. Paul Wilson’s “Repairman Jack” series.
Music: always always Elvis Costello and Robbie Williams and Robert Palmer. And I always get a kick out of Alcazar’s “Crying at the Discotheque”. I mean, how can you beat “The golden years, the silver tears, he wore a tie like Richard Gere”. The video is cracking-up campy greatness too.
March 15th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Best: Reginald Hill and Ian Rankin both have new books that I ordered from Amazon UK because I’m too impatient to wait for the US release.
And “Lost” I suppose. Once I realized that show was never going to make any sense, I’ve enjoyed it much more.
Worst: (Sorry, Molly) - “Ashes to Ashes”. I was really looking forward to it after “Life on Mars”, and I think Keeley Hawes is a great actress, but this show just hasn’t worked for me.
March 15th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
TV: Have recently been following “Torchwood” (which is MUCH better in Season 2), “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and, as you have, “The Big Bang Theory” (new episode this Monday!!)
Other than that, the recent series of “Doctor Who” have been wonderful and Season 4 is just about to start airing in the UK. That’ll be a must see for me.
Music: I simply can’t abide the contemporary chart music - haven’t even bothered for some time now. Give me some Jazz records any day….
Don’t know if any of that helps, but there it is…
March 16th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Me, I’m reading a lot of Tim Powers at the moment (”Three Days to Never” is excellent - Albert Einstein’s occult secret comes back to haunt a family in late 80s LA). Watching, well, like you “Ashes to Ashes”, and looking forward to the return of BSG.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:30 am
If I’m going to amuse myself with something that is quite fantastickal when compared with my everyday life, I want something that doesn’t make me rage. I threw the TV out 20 years ago for lack of stuff worth watching, and what glimpses I get these days show it having gotten even worse.
I used to be an avid reader of SF, but there’s precious little new out there that’s not just generic thriller with spaceships; and even good authors (who are probably a bit recherché to be called pop-culture) put out a fair number of clunkers, or only write books every few years. I don’t have a book on the go ATM, but I just finished Baxter’s Resplendent.
I guess the nearest I really get to pop culture these days is 4chan and an eclectic selection of anime and manga recommended from there — currently watching Ghost Hound, Mah-jongg Legend Akagi and, as a guilty pleasure, Hakaba Kitarou (sort of Japan’s equivalent of the Addams family); reading Great Teacher Onizuka, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Bokurano and Blue Drop.
Another current guilty pleasure — Monkey, DVDs of the 1979 Japanese live action, which I only caught parts of when broadcast on the Beeb.
Films so far this year : Mushishi (DVD), Heima (sigur rós music tour); before that Day Watch and The Golden Compass.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:39 am
Carl Sagan’s Cosmos was, and stil is, my favorite tv show.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:53 am
Hmm. Well, I have to admit I can’t even remember the last time I went out to see a movie. It was probably a Harry Potter movie, seen in Gold Class (which is an 18+ arrangement, avoids kids
).
TV: I can’t get enough Top Gear and I still enjoy Mythbusters even if they’ll never top the concrete truck explosion. I really quite liked the first series of Life, it has a good level of quirkyness. Nicely replaces the fifteen million variations of CSI/Law and Order etc that blurred into each other years ago.
Reading… well, lots of cyberpunk/science fiction. Not sure if you’re into that.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:03 am
My fave TV at the moment: Shameless, Lost and Torchwood.
Currently listening to Brighton’s British Sea Power.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Best tv watching for me currently - Dr. Who, Torchwood, Lost, Battlestar Galactica (which I’m happy to report will be back April 4th.)
I can do without the reality shows.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Oh, yeah. And it’s not on the telly at the moment, but The Mighty Boosh is genius (perhaps an acquired taste, though).
March 16th, 2008 at 6:18 am
TV: I’m running behind the times, but I’m enjoying watching “Tin Man” on my Tivo. And, for those of you with small children, “The Backyardigans” is incredible (compared to the crap that they pass as children’s shows).
Music: check out Vienna Teng. Definitely worth a listen.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Music:
Belle & Sebastian (Always)
Pelle Carlberg - his latest album ‘In a Nutshell’ is beautiful
Film:
Once
Juno
TV:
Peep Show (UK) - brilliantly observed and interestingly shot sitcom which makes Larry David look like an upstanding member of society.
Monkey Dust - Dark, Morbid, painfully accurate depiction of the British Media.
March 16th, 2008 at 7:41 am
You can always start with The Comedies - Shakespeare just never goes out of style. For pop-culture interpretations, any of the recent ones are fine. (I haven’t seen Dicaprio’s “Romeo and Juliet”, but I understand it’s quite good.) After those, the Tragedies are a little more enjoyable!
If memory serves, you live in a desert-like area (you mentioned it once, I believe), so you could start some Edward Abbey (his fiction can be a bit eccentric; but “Desert Solitaire” is superb). Other Americana includes Washington Irving (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is even better than the movie, despite Johnny Depp!)
And, of course, there’s Mark Twain! Watch some Hal Holbrook doing his oratory - and if you get a chance to see him live, do so. Without hesitation! And then pick up a Mark Twain or two. The ebullient and effusive Samuel Clemens is forever a wonder! I can read his books over and over; and indeed, have done.
If you’re up for short, staccato sentence structures, there’s John Steinbeck; I find Hemingway to be tiresom - but he can be interesting. Some (many) love his work, though. And don’t forget the biographies; if you want a perfect example of how to write one, Carl Sandberg’s “Lincoln” is an excellent place to start! (Sandberg’s poetry is a delight, too!)
And you like poetry - at least you’ve written some! (which would indicate a liking for it - so Robert Frost, Walt Whitman and (if you’re feeling up to it), some Alan Ginsburg - I should note that he’s a bit too macho for many. Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore are both excellent. Stay away from Sylvia Plath; she can turn a comedian into a morose wreck.
Movies? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Bringing Up Baby; any Fred Astaire; American in Paris (oh, Gene Kelly in that! His dancing is enough to make me swoon!
), All About Eve. There are so many to choose!!!
Music? Well, you can always got to the classic pop stars - James Taylor (what a troubador!) The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin (I recently came across a fascinating blue-grass cover of Led Zep numbers!), oh, so many - again! I like You Tube for watching (and listening) to some of the greats. Oh, I can’t forget John Denver - some of his songs about America are just pure anthems to the place. (The ones where he was having lots of girl trouble and delving into lots of illegal substances have a depressing air, but that’s what the “skip” button is for.
) Then there’s Dusty Springfield, Sheryl Crow, Joan Baez (check out the Judas Priest cover of her “Diamonds and Rust”!), Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon.
Classic music? Well, there really are too many to list! George Gershwin (he of “American in Paris”; listen to the version with André Previn conducting the LSO; it also has “Rhapsody in Blue” - what a work!) Dvorak, Mahler, Holst, Le Figaro by Mozart, and on and on and on!
As someone who’s involved in the visual, you shouldn’t forget art, and maybe even architecture! Look at the works of Zaha Hadid, Stephen Holls, Frank Gehry, Michael Graves for a start. Art and sculpture - well, like everything else, you have to figure out what sort of styles you like. I like minimalism, so I’m drawn to Dan Flavin, Sol LeWitt, (and I’m literally running out of time, here!) and the others of the 1960’s. Pop art is a favorite of mine, too - so Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, et alia. Frida Khalo (there’s an, reportedly, excellent exhibition of her work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - we haven’t been to it, yet).
I’m sorry - I could write about so many other writers, artists and musicians! But I’m quite out of time. I tend to lean toward the Americana - but there’s so much out there! The trick is to start, and persevere; it’s so easy to sit in front of the box (which is more and more a large pizza box), and watch the provided “entertainment”. It takes about the same effort, in the evening, to pick up a Mark Twain, and forget to go to bed because you’re having such a good time.
And that’s the key - none of it should be “work”; the story comes first - the alliteration, later. (That’s one reason I can’t stand Neil Stephenson; his stories and his alliteration are one and the same. Quite schizophrenic, and very distracting.) Anyway, I really am out of time!
Enjoy!
Carolyn Ann
March 16th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Film: Just watched “There will be blood”… It’s a masterpiece!
March 16th, 2008 at 11:18 am
It’s March and collegiate basketball. What else matters?
Well, maybe, the film “Love in the Time of Cholera”. Perhaps not. But its sequel, “Sex during Hemorrhagic Fevers” sounds novel.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
And people wonder why I don’t answer all my comments! What great answers so far.
Me, I have a big problem with reality shows, largely because they have nothing to do with reality. Having received my share of Anthropology at Uni (I liked it) I have to point to the fact that once there’s an outsider, a commentator, a camera in the room, any objectivity is tainted. What’s more, reality shows tend to be very cruel, and I don’t like that at all.
Re: Torchwood - I tried to watch it early on, it never caught me.
Re: Ashes to Ashes - as many say about Torchwood, it has to be watched to be appreciated. I really think this show has some spice and it has grown on me. It could never compete with Life on Mars. I think everyone knew that going in. But Gene Hunt is one of those grumpy coppers whom you have to love. Philip Glenister is simply a joy.
Speaking of grumpy coppers, I’m a reader of all that is Ian Rankin. Rebus series especially. I have yet to visit Scotland, believe it or not with all my UK travels, but Ian Rankin is a writer of such mood and depth that I quickly became addicted.
I lost it on Lost. Completely. I was very interested the first year or so, then wandered away and haven’t wandered back.
Basketball? March madness is a religion here in Tucson, home of the University of Arizona Wildcats. Lute Olson is, IMO, the best basketball coach of all time.
There’s so much more I’d like to answer. This is a great thread. I’m really, really looking forward to tomorrow’s Big Bang Theory. The show’s stupid laugh track aside, its superficiality and stereotyping belies what brilliance is really beneath it.
Said simply, I laugh my ass off every time I watch it, and that to me is great pop.
xoxoM
March 16th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Best pop culture: Battlestar Galactica, Jericho, Torchwood, Dr. Who, Twitter.
Worst pop culture: *insert reality tv show here*, *insert top 40 music here*, Twitter.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Pop culture
Hmmm… what am I listening to?
At the moment it’s Midlake, Grandaddy, British Sea Power and Elbow
Tv - Shameless - best show to come out of the UK for eons and also the extremely funny ‘The Mighty Boosh’
Film - I just watched ‘Thumbsucker’ which has music by The Polyphonic Spree and it’s ok not brilliant. Also I watched ‘Zeitgeist’ - very thought provoking film.
Other stuff I have enjoyed - Stephen Fry’s ‘Podgrams’, watching my beloved football team Swansea City FC maintain their lofty position at the top of league 1 plus my country Wales becoming grand slam rugby european champions again!
March 16th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Shameless is top of the list great. I’m not sure there’s anything that knocks it off the pedestal upon which I place it these days.
No one’s brought up Simon Pegg. He’s very entertaining.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Holzschlag and basketball?? You are full of surprises. Arizona’s first round of the NCAA will be interesting. :
: I like Olson’s commitment to UofA … it speaks volumes in character of the man.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I just got “Hot Fuzz”, but I haven’t watched it, yet. (I rarely go to the movie theater these days) If memory serves, he plays the lead cop?
Carolyn Ann
March 17th, 2008 at 1:08 am
Yeah, Simon Pegg. Forgot about him.
March 17th, 2008 at 3:03 am
I’ve been watching all seasons of 24 all over again because I’m weird like that.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I’ve been listening to pandora.com, I put together a station with lots of things like Billy Joel, Ben Folds, Keane, some other stuff, older stuff, newer stuff, idk. It’s on my facebook.
I don’t really watch much TV or movies. I have too many papers to write.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Best animated TV: The Venture Bros. Both seasons are out on DVD, and 2-3 of episodes per week are typically available online at [adult swim] (possibly NSFW).
March 17th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Best TV: Lost and Battlestar
Worst TV: Project Runway is over, so how about “How I met your mother”?
For some good background entertainment, I’ve been catching up on my Keith and the Girl podcasts.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Maybe this is a stupid question: but why did you ask for “pop”, specifically?
Just curious,
Carolyn Ann
March 18th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Best TV: Project Runway
Worst TV: The Giant Snake show on NatGeo
Reading: Well, your work at the moment! And Sarah Waters, “Affinity” and “Fingersmith”
Listening to: Julie London influenced radio on LastFM.com
and absolutely loving Ghostland Observatory. You can check them out at YouTube - awesome flashback to the 70s/80s and they still sound “new”
March 18th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Check out http://www.goodreads.com and invite everyone you know, it’s the best for finding new books and remembering old ones you always wanted to read.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:52 am
How cool, Ashes to ashes is actually the only show I follow. I loved Life on mars and Ashes to ashes is just as brilliant. Besides that: Ted talks on Miro ( getmiro.com ). Very insightful talks on a whole range of topics. Check out the special theme channels as well.
Also check out Drawn.ca a great weblog about illustration, design and animation
March 19th, 2008 at 9:24 am
TV: Re-runs of Scrubs (slightly bizarre but hilarious!) and Battlestar Galactica. Interested in anime? Fullmetal Alchemist (on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim) is charming and funny yet has serious themes like karma/dharma and science vs. faith.
Online/offline hobby: Sampling niche perfumes. There are entire online communities around buying/trying/swapping perfume samples, especially BPAL (Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab). Lucky Scent is another great sampling site that has lots of user reviews but lacks the community feel.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:13 am
thanks
March 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
TV (pretty good): Jericho (but you’re at the end of a season, so catch it on CBS’ web site)
TV (promising): New Amsterdam (on Fox)
TV (the worst): Any reality program.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Two more:
TV (90% good): Jeopardy!
TV (really bad): March Madness preempting Jeopardy!
March 21st, 2008 at 5:13 am
teşekkürler..
March 21st, 2008 at 5:14 am
teşekkürler..
March 21st, 2008 at 5:14 am
thankxxx..
March 21st, 2008 at 5:14 am
teşekkürler..
March 21st, 2008 at 5:15 am
thanxx..
March 21st, 2008 at 5:16 am
teşekkürler..
March 21st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I was just messing around when I found this website and I encourage the thought of making a website that kids have free will. I really respect that.
thank you for your time and thought,
sincerly,
Molly H.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:08 pm
JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How did Hellen Kellar die? (cant see,hear or talk)
she felldown a well and screamed her hands off! (sign language)
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 am
Watching movies the best one I have seen yet is The Hitman, have you seen any good movies lately Molly?
March 29th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Enjoying: Skins, The Big Bang Theory, Reaper, That Mitchell and Webb Look, Babylon 5 (started re-watching it all from season 1 onwards)
Annoyed at the lack of: 24, Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Brothers & Sisters
Mildly disappointed by the lack of chemistry in: Ashes to Ashes (it’s not a patch on Life on Mars)
In the queue to watch: Torchwood, Love Soup, Hotel Babylon, Dirty Sexy Money
March 30th, 2008 at 5:56 am
thanks
March 30th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
hi Molly
Saw your presentation at Webstock this year; awesome evil fun.
Enjoying reads :science fantasy re-reading Julian May’s Many colored Land series, Pat Cadigans ‘Patterns’ short stories with a left of center take on life..(reads i recommend Ian M Banks, Alistair Reynolds)
Sounds: Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck (classic cool jazz), Oscar Peterson Quartet, Gilberto Gil . on the other side watch the anime 5555- by Daft Punk.. very cool
Movies; oldies - Charade, High Society , Newish - intolerable cruelty, bladerunner
TV- trippy 60’s sci fi ‘The Prisoner’ (think avengers but wierder) - 2008, bring on Razor and Battlestar Galactica series 4 (yes NZ is behind), want to see Dirty Sexy Money and more of Dr Who
itunes won’t rent movies, TV series in Australian and New Zealand Versions
Food - (i’m making) try Chilli Chocolate Chicken (
April 25th, 2008 at 11:01 am
it is easy to find it, i think u just search on google or yahoo
April 25th, 2008 at 11:42 am
but, i think it is another thing which you have
April 25th, 2008 at 11:55 am
i like it
April 25th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
interesting, thanks
April 25th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
do you know everything about css?
April 25th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
how can i find everything about css?
April 25th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
what do you want to learn about css? we can help easily
April 25th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
i want learn too, i want start at the beginning of css
April 25th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
it is good t see u
April 25th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
thats the matter i want to learn
April 25th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
ok,thanks
April 25th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
hi, umit. how is going on
April 28th, 2008 at 10:00 am
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tumbled upon this Site with admiration.
Allow me, poor avatar to enter
my compulsive bi-polar disorder.
What I do? Wrestling with the Standard
beat thr bondage all apart.
The big Bang is not beginning nor the end
The theory of Tension the future trend.
Nor Yin and Yang can make the Be
Albert;s A will not equals E.
Our buchu on Thao nothing but tension,
let us travel with good intension..
Grett you all with Net Tensions.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I want to learn too, more about css.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Yes, thats nice.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
[…] Molly asks: “What are you following? Reading? Watching? Doing?” concluding that “Needing to get away from standards and browsers and conferences, I’m interested in a conversation about the best and worst pop culture right no.” […]
May 14th, 2008 at 3:45 am
thanks:)