"GRANDMA'S HANDS/NO DIGGITY" BY PADDY CASEY AND THE DUBLIN GOSPEL CHOIR
I was doing some iTunes browsing--where you essentially keep clicking recommended links until your 38 steps from the song you originally looked up--and happened upon on my favorite 99-cent purchase of late. (Okay, second favorite; the IKEA magnetic strip for bill sorting is pretty awesome.) Paddy Casey, a singer-songwriter I previously knew nothing about, covers a great song by one of my all-time favorite songwriters. That would be Bill Withers and the song is "Grandma's Hands." Casey is, somewhat inexplicably, backed up by the Dublin Gospel Choir who add a nice bit of passion to a song that already plays out like Southern beat poetry. But then, halfway in, when he's run out of lyrics, Casey--and the choir--jump into Blackstreet's "No Diggity." (They are, admittedly, kind of the same song.) With the choir howling out the "Bang it up now!"s and the live production wisely stripped-down, it gives the recent Klaxons cover of the song a run for its money. It can be found on the album Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2, a collection of covers by Irish artists done in affiliation with an FM station. Check it out, especially if you want to hear Glen Hansard, from Once, singing Britney and Justin songs.
GETTING THE TIME PERIOD RIGHT IN THE BANK JOB
I saw The Bank Job recently and truly enjoyed its seemingly simple caper tale and the "based on a true story" fascination it quickly evokes. While I found a few things distracting--mostly the cinematography; it looked a bit movie-of-the-weekish--I was really struck by how much fun the crew had with the 1970 setting. Granted, I wasn't alive in 1970 and I certainly wasn't in London, but everything from the hair to the cars to the clothes to the random slang crafted a world that felt historically accurate without ever seguing into extremes or easily recognizable touchpoints and iconic images. (You know, like Austin Powers-level grooviness.) The movie is a fun trip even though it does enter dark corners at the end, but it's also a much better time machine than I was anticipating. Bravo to all the below-the-liners.
MINNIE DRIVER ON "THE RICHES"
The season premiere on March 18 left a little to be desired, I'll admit. I understand that plans have to be shattered and things must go awry for drama to exist, but must every conceivable problem be hoisted on this family in a single episode? However, the reason I will keep returning to this series is Minnie Driver, who continues to give one of the best performances on television. Her Dahlia is a former inmate and drug addict as well as a prominent member of a sect of Irish Travellers (aka gypsies.) But rather than filling this character with tics and showiness, she gives this exasperated mother a deep-seated fear and sadness as they move from con to con while crafting a new identity in Edenfalls, Ga. As Dahlia attempts each con with forced confidence, her eyes not only betray her fear but her desire to remain on the outside of the buffers' world. Plus, she's finally mastered that Southern accent and, with witty and vulnerable lines to say, it sounds great.
I was doing some iTunes browsing--where you essentially keep clicking recommended links until your 38 steps from the song you originally looked up--and happened upon on my favorite 99-cent purchase of late. (Okay, second favorite; the IKEA magnetic strip for bill sorting is pretty awesome.) Paddy Casey, a singer-songwriter I previously knew nothing about, covers a great song by one of my all-time favorite songwriters. That would be Bill Withers and the song is "Grandma's Hands." Casey is, somewhat inexplicably, backed up by the Dublin Gospel Choir who add a nice bit of passion to a song that already plays out like Southern beat poetry. But then, halfway in, when he's run out of lyrics, Casey--and the choir--jump into Blackstreet's "No Diggity." (They are, admittedly, kind of the same song.) With the choir howling out the "Bang it up now!"s and the live production wisely stripped-down, it gives the recent Klaxons cover of the song a run for its money. It can be found on the album Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2, a collection of covers by Irish artists done in affiliation with an FM station. Check it out, especially if you want to hear Glen Hansard, from Once, singing Britney and Justin songs.
GETTING THE TIME PERIOD RIGHT IN THE BANK JOB
I saw The Bank Job recently and truly enjoyed its seemingly simple caper tale and the "based on a true story" fascination it quickly evokes. While I found a few things distracting--mostly the cinematography; it looked a bit movie-of-the-weekish--I was really struck by how much fun the crew had with the 1970 setting. Granted, I wasn't alive in 1970 and I certainly wasn't in London, but everything from the hair to the cars to the clothes to the random slang crafted a world that felt historically accurate without ever seguing into extremes or easily recognizable touchpoints and iconic images. (You know, like Austin Powers-level grooviness.) The movie is a fun trip even though it does enter dark corners at the end, but it's also a much better time machine than I was anticipating. Bravo to all the below-the-liners.
MINNIE DRIVER ON "THE RICHES"
The season premiere on March 18 left a little to be desired, I'll admit. I understand that plans have to be shattered and things must go awry for drama to exist, but must every conceivable problem be hoisted on this family in a single episode? However, the reason I will keep returning to this series is Minnie Driver, who continues to give one of the best performances on television. Her Dahlia is a former inmate and drug addict as well as a prominent member of a sect of Irish Travellers (aka gypsies.) But rather than filling this character with tics and showiness, she gives this exasperated mother a deep-seated fear and sadness as they move from con to con while crafting a new identity in Edenfalls, Ga. As Dahlia attempts each con with forced confidence, her eyes not only betray her fear but her desire to remain on the outside of the buffers' world. Plus, she's finally mastered that Southern accent and, with witty and vulnerable lines to say, it sounds great.
2 comments:
What is this IKEA thing that you mentioned?
Behold the SPONTAN: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30117169
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