This is a great New York song. It gives me a certain infinite feeling and makes me love the city all the more. It also holds unpopular political connotations for me. My first hearing it coincided with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's induction into Congress and her defeat of long-time incumbent Joe Crowley. People turned out in massive waves in her district to vote in a young progressive of color, so the lyrics certainly remind me of this. "Oh my God, New York can talk, somewhere in all that talk is all the answers, everybody owns the great ideas, and it feels like there's a big one around the corner." That, and it's just a great song, one that speaks of humanity and makes me feel like I belong to something bigger than myself.
24. "There Goes the Fear" - Doves
At one of the shows I did when I was in one of my many bands, the venue played this track during an intermission while I was standing around moping. I rushed out the next day to grab the album. The lyrics are pensive and reflective with a hint of sadness, while the music is melodic and drum-heavy, downtrodden while being strangely upbeat. This track defined a few years of my life, so it deserves to be front and center when reflecting on my all-time songs.
23. "Take Me to Church" - Hozier
This is one of the more poignant, more powerful songs I've ever heard. It coincides with my realization that church wasn't all I thought it was, often marginalizing and scornful when it comes to what it referred to as "sin." More specifically, it coincides with the moral, ethical issue of same-sex relationships and my defense of it in a town and in a church where the concept was completely unheard of. I'm sure I made a few enemies, but I always felt that Hozier and his groundbreaking song had my back.
22. "Stone" - Unbelievable Truth
Back in my band days, I made a couple of young fans. One of them was a girl obsessed with Radiohead, and Thom Yorke for that matter. Yorke's brother fronted the band Unbelievable Truth, who wrote this endearing little gem that the girl introduced to me. It features the heartfelt lyrics "If you were someone else I could live without you."
21. "Cherry Waves" - Deftones
This one comes from Deftones' fourth studio album, Saturday Night Wrist. They'd long since tread into more melodic territory, and "Cherry Waves" is an exemplary effort of their overall sound. It's my favorite track from the band, still heavy but ethereal in its approach.
20. "The Next Life" - Suede
"The Next Life" is sad and pensive, infinite in its overall feel. I first heard it on the soundtrack for The Chase starring Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson. The movie was an unlikely place to find this track, better suited for something like Vanilla Sky over anything else. In any case, it forced me to rush out and buy the album based solely on the track.
19. "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space" - Spiritualized
This is gorgeously sad tune, especially given the context surrounding why it was written. The composer's girlfriend and band mate split from him to marry Richard Ashcroft of The Verve fame, all unbeknownst to him. Oddly enough, the girlfriend still plays on the album, which is all about the heartbreak she caused the singer, essentially dedicating the songs on it to her and her infidelity. It's a brutal story, but the song is incredible, taking heavy hints of Elvis' classic "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" within the context of the original lyrics.
18. Heart and Soul" - T'Pau
This is what summer sounds like to me. I figure that's because it's popularity coincides with my first summer job growing up, passing out flyers door to door for an upstart pizza joint. It also coincides with my first taste of romance with the cute blonde down the street. So, to be more precise, this tune just sounds like nostalgia to me, likely my favorite from the 80s.
17. "Lead in the Light" - The Hundred In the Hands
Goosebumps. This song incites that strangle little phenomenon, especially towards the end of the track. It has a certain sort of Cocteau Twins quality to it, but it's far prettier than anything written by them. The Hundred In the Hands is little known duo, but what they came up with here is magic.
16. "Passage" - Exitmusic
"Passage" shares a lot of DNA with "Lead In the Light," but the former sounds like a feral ghost trapped in the throes of purgatory. It's beautiful, haunting, ethereal, and highly emotive, the song that instantly made Exitmusic one of my favorite bands of all-time. "Passage" makes you feel on a deeper level, written by then husband and wife duo Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church. It's one that I can listen to over and over again without ever getting sick of it.
15. "Bug Eyes" - Dredg
"Bug Eyes" is a song about reincarnation, as Dredg was really on a spiritual, Hindu kick during its composition. "Bug Eyes" speaks to me in that sense, but also in the sense of self-care and what kind of life we leave behind after our souls ascend. The music is absolutely on point as well, and Dredg, like Deftones, successfully merge reverb and delay with crunching guitars for a heavy, melodic combination. "Bug Eyes" means more to me now than it did when it first came to my attention, which is why it comes in at number 15 on my favorite all-time songs list.
14. "Fifty-Eight" - The Prayer Chain
Like "Bug Eyes," "Fifty-Eight" meant more to me when I looked past the amazing musical composition to delve through the poignancy of the lyrics. Goosebump-inciting guitar solo aside, the lyrics paint a picture of a child growing up without their father, pining for a relationship when there was none to be had. I connect with the lyrical content on more levels than one, leaving the little known gem on my all-time list for the long haul.
13. "Gunner" - Denali
Okay, so I used to have a major crush on Denali front woman Maura Davis. Not only that, I loved the band, especially their debut album, featuring the pensively up-tempo "Gunner." Maura's voice comes off elegant through the tempest of the song, fighting it's way out from under the threat of her "killer." The musical composition is excellent as well, especially the breakdown, which then slips into the droning, pulsing finale. I saw the band perform it twice live, where the song sounded just as good as it did on their self-titled debut album.
12. "Strip Her Down" - Cold
Strangely enough, "Strip Her Down" and "Gunner" were both fictionalized in the first novel I ever wrote, so iconic that they inspired two different musician characters. This particular track, surrounded by an album full of crunching guitar and guttural vocals, features heart-wrenching lyrics, low tuned acoustic guitars, and subtle guitar effects that make it one of the most unique songs I've ever heard. I followed Cold for several albums following this one, their debut, but none had quite the same affect as this one.
11. "Come Undone" - Duran Duran
This is excellent song musically, one that would be included on the soundtrack to my life. I can't remember a particular time or place that this song meant so much to me, but I do know that it was always there, with downtrodden lyrics and the musical elements built around it, complete with a wailing woman saturating the pre-choruses. I was always on the verge of some sort of internal or external challenge, and this track comforted me.
10. "Let Down" - Radiohead
This one came into my life right around the first time I experienced heartache. Radiohead wasn't and still isn't really known for their ballads, but the sound and the content really applied to my life. On an album filled with one diamond after another, "Let Down" stands out among the rest, as Thom Yorke reassured me I wasn't the only one.
9. Glassjaw - "The Number No Good Things Can Come Of"
Glassjaw is not really known for their ballads, but more for their post-hardcore screamo assault. Judging from the hidden track on their debut album, "The Number No Good Things Can Come Of" comes as little shock. It's a heartfelt tune carried the drums, a lonely piano, and the crooning prowess of front man Daryl Palumbo. It was the feature on an LP the band put out called El Mark, but it should have been made more front and center on a full length. It's my favorite Glassjaw song, a track that gleams pretenses of a lowly heartbreak.
8. "Dagger" - Slowdive
I heard "Dagger" on a mixtape, and that was the deciding factor in my buying the album Souvlaki. Right around the time I was getting into The Autumns, I was pointed into the direction of Slowdive, another shoegaze band in a limited scene. "Dagger" was their best tune, a slow, isolated ballad featuring an acoustic guitar and subtle melodies floating around the ether.
7. "Glosoli" - Sigur Ros
I used to be kind of obsessed with Sigur Ros. When I went out and bought this album, Takk, and leaned into the opening track "Glosoli," I exaggerate not wlyhen I fully admit that I cried upon my first listening to it. I didn't just listen to it. I felt it. The sweet, slowly burgeoning melody surged through my limbs and my soul due to its beauty and sheer gravitas. I've not ever had that sort of reaction to a song on the first listen before, so it's only fitting that it rank so high on my all-time list.
6. "Mayonaise" - Smashing Pumpkins
For a long time, this was my favorite song of all-time. Of course, that was in the early days of my musical history, but still, the overall composition, the crunching guitars, the feedback, the two-fret slides, the acoustic breakdown, and the subtle effects make this track one to remember. How it was never one of their hits, I can't quite be sure, and why they never played it live the two times I saw them, I can't quite be sure of either. It's a melancholy barn-burner with an uneasy lullaby opening and ending.
5. "Hallelujah" - The Helio Sequence
Like "Lead In the Light," the first half of this one is good, but the middle to the end is of the infinite variety. It features an instrumental section of the song that takes me to new heights, causing me to shake my head side to side and close my eyes and feel the goosebumps multiply up and down the length of my arms. I just happened across it years ago on an indie Pandora playlist, and my life hasn't been quite the same since.
4. "Levitation" - Beach House
This is an anthem to some ethereal dream about eternal love. This is what utopia sounds like, I'm sure of it, and both times I've seen the band live, they started the show with it. It gives out that infinite feeling more than most, which is why it's ranked so high on the list. I liked Beach House before I heard it, but once I did, it cemented the band as one of my all-time favorites.
3. "Ask For Answers" - Placebo
My local rock station used to play an album at midnight every Tuesday. When I woke to hear the sounds of Placebo's Without You I'm Nothing, I groggily scrambled for a blank tape and hit record. The next day, I listened on the way to work, and after a long night in frosty SC winter, I came across "Ask For Answers" for the first time. I associate it with the warm feeling it brought to an otherwise chilly ride home, and it was the deciding factor on my going out and buying what has become my favorite album of all-time.
2. "Pale Trembles a Gale" - The Autumns
When I first heard The Autumns, it was via mixtape. I liked the song "The Garden Ends" so much, that I went out and bought the album, The Angel Pool. When I needed more Autumns, I bought their debut EP, Suicide At Strell Park, featuring track one, "Pale Trembles a Gale." I loved the song then, but it has grown to become a top favorite with it's pensive melody and poetic overtones. The Autumns are no longer a band, but they forever changed my music catalog with this little-known gem.
1. "Last Goodbye" - Jeff Buckley
This is first song that made me a fan of Jeff Buckley. I loved it so much and the optimistic sadness it encapsulated that I went out an bought the CD - when I didn't even own a CD player. I had to be really nice to my sister to borrow hers, and when I did, I recorded Grace on cassette to listen to it in my car until I could afford a CD player. The album now ranks number two on my all-time list, and this song, which started the whole thing, proudly lands at number one.
There are several elements that define an INFP movie. Their characters, or the movie itself, is often sweet, thoughtful, spiritual, selfless, and deep, telling some sort of love story at its core in the midst of some internal or external conflict. INFP stands for Introvert, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving, some of the traits that make these characters and their movies what they are. Below, I have compiled a list of the 10 best that I have encountered. 10. Garden State (2004) While I'm not really a fan of Zach Braff, he did stumble upon a hit in his writer/director debut, Garden State. It tells the story of Andrew "Large" Largeman, a struggling actor in LA who travels back to his hometown in New Jersey for the funeral of his crippled mother. He was essentially the cause of her crippling, but the medications his doctor father has had him on forced him to float through life as an unfeeling zombie. As he mingles with his old high school friends, he meets the eclectic charms of Sam (Natalie Portman), who is adjusting well to life despite her own damages.
Large comes to terms with his father, with his mother's death, and with the landslide of feelings that he is experiencing for the first time since he was a child. Those feelings include falling in love with Sam and her endearing family as he struggles through the reality of returning to his empty life in LA. Garden State is about tying up loose ends, falling in love for the first time, and learning how to feel for the first time all the emotions that tear at our souls on a daily basis. It's funny, heartfelt, and quirky, riddled with a solid indie rock soundtrack. If Zach Braff were actually more like the character he created in Large, I would appreciate him all the more.
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the best book to movie adaptation I've seen. It should be, considering that novel author Stephen Chbosky was chosen to direct the movie. And boy, did he get it right on so many levels. Perks tells the story of Charlie, who is writing to an unknown friend the travails of his lonely existence. Through his sister's mix tapes from her abusive boyfriend, he's discovered the soul-changing music of The Smiths, Smashing Pumpkins, and Fleetwood Mac for the first time.
A loner, Charlie soon meets upperclassmen Sam and her brother Patrick, who bring out the "infinite" feeling in him he never knew could exist. The story tackles issues of child abuse, homosexuality, love, and sadness, all wrapped into one complicated outing. One of the first books I fell in love with, Perks brought all the above elements to the screen in a highly-emotive fashion. It's a coming-of-age story, one in which the character of Charlie displays some highly-INFP characteristics on his way to finding out who he truly is as a person.
8. Vanilla Sky (2001) Vanilla Sky is a love story in the guise of a psychological thriller. There's certainly a lot to unpack here, but Vanilla Sky tells the story of magazine CEO David Aames and how his life came crumbling down after a fateful accident. He meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz) at a party and falls head over heels in love with her. But, he's been courting Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz) in a fruitless relationship. Julie takes David's new love interest to heart and attempts to kill both of them in a kamikaze car accident, leaving her dead and David disfigured. David finds that there is a lot more going on under the surface as he lives out a lucid dream, trying to reconnect with the society that has forsaken him.
I'm not a Tom Cruise fan in the least bit, but this movie is a great one, and he's actually great in it. Vanilla Sky is actually a remake of the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes), in which Penelope Cruz stars as well as the same character. Vanilla Sky is an unforgettable flick, one that deserves more than one viewing due to its complexity, and its quality. There are several psychological INFP films out there like Vanilla Sky, such as Stay, The Jacket, The Butterfly Effect, and Wicker Park. I'll be highlighting that one later in the list.
7. Seven Pounds (2008) Of all the movies I've cried in, I've devoted the most tears to this one. It's an unassuming movie, and I went into the experience of watching it blind. Will Smith has been known to put out some tearjerkers in his day, but there are none quite so heavy as Seven Pounds. The title refers to the seven pounds of flesh that Ben Thomas (Smith) feels that he must pay back due to the lives he has accidentally taken. While looking at his phone when driving, Ben takes the life of his wife and six other drivers around him. He now lives his life to atone for the grievous error he has made, giving back the life he has taken away.
If this doesn't scream INFP, I don't know what does. INFPs have a strong sense of justice and principle, which is just the sort of mindset that Ben takes when engaging on his quest of penance. Just watching the trailer makes me tear up. I've only been able to endure Seven Pounds once due to its remarkable heaviness, and of all the movies I've cried in, only this one and Les Miserables have made me sob. Seven Pounds will demand a toll of you, but if you are a true INFP, you will appreciate it and remember it for all your life.
6. High Fidelity (2000) Much like myself, Rob Gordon likes to compile lists. Except his go beyond the world of music and movies and apply directly to his life. He's a man-child to be sure, but one that is funny and endearing, a record store owner on the outs with his girlfriend, Laura. He comes up with a list of his top 5 girlfriends of all-time, and he arranges his extensive record collection in autobiographical order.
Jack Black provides the slapstick sidekick every one needs, hilarious in his meltdowns and in his day to day life selling vinyl records for Rob. Joan Cusack and Lisa Bonet play interesting supporting characters as Rob grapples with the reality of growing older and losing the affections of Laura. Only a tragedy brings them back together in a scene reminiscent of Say Anything. The guys of Championship Vinyl are surely music snobs, but ones who have endearing qualities that grow on you in their own way. Though, Rob's top 10 and top 5 lists are the most entertaining elements of the film.
5. Say Anything (1989) I have a theory that Say Anything, High Fidelity, and Gross Pointe Blank are all connected. They're all Cusack films basically portraying the same character (but not really) at three different times in his life. I'll have a later blog post about that very thing, but for now, we focus on the ultra INFP Say Anything. John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobler, a quirky, fast-talking, lovable soul who falls head over heels in love with high school valedictorian Diane Court. It's your classic two different worlds/wrong side of the tracks love story set to the tune of Peter Gabriel.
Lloyd is not much of an I (introvert), but he's the sort of extrovert people want to be around, the friend you can depend on, whether listening to your romantic woes or holding onto your keys so you don't drive home drunk. Lloyd is an odd pairing with Diane, but after spending enough time with him, she can't help but fall in love, even if her crooked father is attempting to pull her away for himself. Say Anything is one that stays with you.
4. Amelie (2001) I fell for Amelie the first time I saw it back in 2004. It's a French-speaking delight from the brilliant mind of writer/director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, scored by the brilliant mind of world-class musician Yann Tiersen. The film features Audrey Tautou as Amelie Poulain, a lonely, whimsical girl who gets her personal kicks out of making people's lives better, though often discarding her own. She brings childhood nostalgia to strangers, serves up justice to evil-doers, and watches contrived news reels of her own dwindling life as she makes everyone else happy but herself. She's essentially the cutest, most adorable superhero the world has ever seen.
Amelie is tons of fun, a French film that put Audrey Tautou and Yann Tiersen on the map. The musician scored the entire movie, a virtuoso dabbling in pianos and accordions, violins and whistles to give Amelie her own set of whimsical little theme songs. Amelie enjoys skipping rocks and cracking the outer layer of creme brulee for herself, but when it comes to making a lasting love connection with her would-be beau, Nino Quincampoix, she retreats into her shell - right up until she doesn't anymore.
3. Wicker Park (2004) Like Vaniila Sky, Wicker Park dabbles in the psychological sphere as it jumps all over the timeline of lovers Matthew (Josh Harnett) and Lisa (Diane Krueger). It's a remake of the French film L'Appartement (The Apartment) starring Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci. In Wicker Park, Matthew's lover Lisa has mysteriously disappeared after he asks her to move in with him. Little do either of them know, Alex (Rose Byrne) has fallen in love with Matthew and is willing to do anything to keep him for herself.
Wicker Park is a much better movie than the trailer suggests. I was pleasantly surprised when I ventured out to the theater in 2004, jamming to its indie rock soundtrack all the way there. The psychological romance is a sub-genre up there with some of my favorites, ushering in such films as Vanilla Sky, The Jacket, The Butterfly Effect, and The Lazarus Project.
2. Bright Star (2009) Bright Star probably best falls into the category of the Jane Austen adaptations, but don't let that fool you. It's based on the life of John Keats, a posthumously famous poet who fell in love with his neighbor, Fanny Brawne, at the end of his consumption-ridden life. This is the best piece of Regency-era cinema I have seen, complete with a dwindling view of the magic that was the work of famous INFP John Keats.
Keats gave up his medical training in order to become a poet. When Keats' first collection of poems is poorly-reviewed, he catches the attention of Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), who rents a home just next to the one he is renting with his friend, Charles Armitage Brown. Keats and Brawne fall deeply in love, but in Regency England, a young man cannot marry a young woman if he cannot support her financially, no matter how much he loves her. Bright Star is a tragedy and a triumph in one, proving only that more people should be in tune with the works and the story of John Keats.
1. Charlie Countryman (2013)
Charlie Countryman was an accidental find on Netflix one weekend afternoon. Shia LaBeouf is excellent in the title character, a young man who has just lost his mother to a debilitating illness. When her spirit appears to him, she tells him to travel to Bucharest, which is the capital city of Romania. The fateful flight over leads him to Gabi Ibanescu, a pensive violinist who's just lost her father, and who has some extra baggage that Charlie volunteers to take on with her, as he's fallen in love at first sight.
The most beautiful thing about Charlie Countryman is all the chases and beatings that Charlie is willing endure for Gabi. He's not concerned with himself in the least, and when he is confronted by the spirit of his mother again, she tells him that she meant for him to travel to Budapest, not Bucharest. Despite what fate had in mind, Charlie has set his sights on Gabi, all her troubles, and he knows he's come to the right place to deliver her from all the stifling ropes that bind.
This is a list that should have compiled years ago. It took a minute to finalized the list, as so many bands and so many songs have touched me in my lifetime. From the ones I discovered in high school to the ones I ran across as late as 2015, these are the finalists for my favorite bands of all time.
10. Interpol I first came across the New York City rockers in 2002. I jammed to the post punk guitar licks and up beat drum sounds of Interpol, who at one time graced every one of their live shows in matching blacking suits. Their debut album, Turn On the Bright Lights. It captured the essence of NYC, especially on tracks like "NYC," and like "Untitled," both of which boast an ethereal reverb and delay guitar effect that alludes to the infinite beauty of the twilight city lights.
The band returned in 2004 with Antics, which featured gems like "Next Exit," a pensive block party theme for the ages, "Evil," and the sensitive post punk offering of "Not Even Jail." Like Turn On the Bright Lights, Antics got a lot of playing time in my CD changer when it first came out. Since, the band have released four more albums, including the latest, 2018's Marauder. To the right is a standout track from called "The Rover."
9. Portishead When Portishead dropped their debut album Dummy in 1994, I was completely floored. The English three-piece, naming themselves after their hometown haunt, served up haunting vocal work, intricate, sinister, spaghetti western guitar work, and hip hop beats to go with rap staple record scratches. The band all but defined the trip hop genre, the best to do it out of the bunch (Tricky, Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps). Dummy featured standout tracks like the moody "Sour Times," girl power anthem "Glory Box," and the lulling lullaby, "It's a Fire."
The band returned in 1997 with a self-titled album, darker in feel with tunes like the eerie "Cowboys" and "Over," and the gravely potent love ballads "Only You" and "All Mine." The band left fans waiting on their third album, appropriately titled in Third, in 2008. The record introduced a different feel altogether, especially with opening track "Silence," which sounded like it was scored for a 70s cop show chase scene. The rest of the album explored the avenues of their sound previously undiscovered, defining them as everyone's favorite elusive trip hop trio.
8. Exitmusic Though Exitmusic dropped their first album in 2007, I didn't discover the duo until 2015. Their 2012 album Passage is one of my favorites of all time, ethereal and visceral and emotive. The husband and wife team of Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church are sadly no longer a husband and wife team, but that didn't stop them from releasing 2018's The Recognitions, a nine track opus to their crumbling but still amiable relationship. Passage was a game changer for me, putting the band onto my map with standout tracks like "Passage," "The Night," and "White Noise."
While the band surely evolved musically in the six years between albums, The Recognitions featured a few Passage-like tunes in "Trumpet's Fade," "Iowa," and "Closer." They were certainly still Exitmusic in sound, peeling back their swarthy shades of their debut album, the mediocre Decline of the West. Exitmusic has only released three albums, but the latter two are so good that it places the duo on my all-time list, for their ethereal, feral sounds and the tragic love story that unfolds within the lyrics.
7. Deftones Deftones first came on the scene in 1995 which their tinny, blistering album Adrenaline. They only improved from there after being roped into the nu metal scene alongside Korn and Limp Bizkit, introducing melody to their brutal brand of metal. Around the Fur was a concept album by any other name, and my personal favorite Deftones album, only to be followed up by canon high point White Pony. Singer/screamer Chino Moreno's lyrics were obscure but metaphorical, his feral scream intermittently soothed over by his cool, calm croon.
Saturday Night Wrist was released next, which offered highlights "Cherry Waves" and "Beware," followed by albums Diamond Eyes, Koi No Yokan, and 2016's Gore. It's too difficult to pick a favorite Deftones album, as Around the Fur, White Pony, Saturday Night Wrist, and Koi all feature stellar tracks. Deftones have been a core part of the heavy music business since 1995, keeping hold to their essence, best compared to the eye of a storm. The brutality of the tempest is soon met with the calm reassurance of the beauty found in chaos.
6. Beach House I first heard Beach House back in 2014 with a single from their 2012 record Bloom called "Wishes." It captured a sort of 50s rocker gloom that might have serenaded a melancholic drive out to Inspiration Point. The electric duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally had charmed me well with Bloom tracks "Wishes," which features one of the best segments of instrumental music I've heard, and "Myth," which also features one of the other best segments of instrumental music I've ever heard.
As if Beach House couldn't have gotten any better, their next album, 2015's Depression Cherry, ranks among my favorite albums of all time - number seven on my list to be exact. I've seen the band live twice, and both times, they kicked the night off with the album best "Levitation," which ranks as one of the greatest songs I've heard. Beach House followed up Depression Cherry with Thank Your Lucky Stars and 7, both showing that the two-piece dynamo had no plans of slowing down. From 2010's Teen Dream, the infinitely elegant "Walk in the Park" in posted to the right.
5. The Autumns The Autumns were a band introduced to me by a couple of friends back in '97. They first recorded a couple of tracks for me from the band's first LP, The Angel Pool. When I fell in love with the tunes, I then had to have my own copies, finding that The Autumns first released an EP called in 1996 called Suicide At Strell Park, which featured one of my favorite all time songs, "Pale Trembles a Gale." Labeled as dream pop/shoegaze and influenced by bands like Cocteau Twins, The Autumns remained LA indie darlings for years to come.
Next, the band released LP In the Russet Gold of This Vain Hour, an album that saw them give up their dreamy reverb and delayed guitar effects for a cleaner sound altogether. The band released two EPs in the coming years, one a tribute to '50s duwop bands, and one a four-track cover album, featuring "Please, Please, Please" by The Smiths. The band put out their third LP in 2004, a self-titled effort that saw a triumphant return to their dreamy soundscape. The best track was the one posted to the right, "Deathly Little Dreams." The band released one last album, Fake Noise From a Box of Toys, in 2007 before officially calling it quits.
4. Coldplay I first came across Coldplay when their debut album Parachutes dropped on American soil. I fell in love with the album, and the first single from it, "Yellow." The album was full of debut gems, filled with INFP anthems written by famous INFP Chris Martin. Parachutes ranks among one of my favorites of all-time, and following it, the band continued to hit gold, achieving worldwide commercial success. A Rush of Blood to the Head served up such hits as "Politik," "In My Place," "Clocks," and "The Scientist." Martin and company had locked in on heartfelt, melodic masterpieces to make the world sing.
The band release X&Y in 2005, introducing hits like "Fix You," "Talk," and "Speed of Sound," and endearing love ballads "Swallowed in the Sea" and "Kingdom Come." In 2008, Viva La Vida came to us, featuring the tracks "Strawberry Swing," and one that coincided with the birth of my son, "Lovers in Japan." With the next three albums, there were still shades of the old Coldplay, but we saw a real departure from the old one. More time spent on mainstream airwaves saw to a more mainstream sound, which was highly disappointing. I understand that they were toying with their style a bit and trying new things, but the heartfelt magic was seemingly gone.
3. Smashing Pumpkins I first encountered Smashing Pumpkins when they were still called Smashing Pumpkins, as opposed to The Smashing Pumpkins (which never quite stuck for me). I first encountered their Siamese Dream album in high school, which has remained a favorite of mine. It ushered unique vocals and searing guitars, melodic chimes and whimsical music videos, which gave us a glimpse of singer/songwriter Billy Corgan with hair. I then discovered their b-sides and rarities album, Pisces Iscariot before they released grand scale double album in 1995, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
Mellon Collie was a definite departure from the Siamese Dream Pumpkins, with more fantasy-like anthems and piercing metal wallops. It was still good overall, but it took some getting used to. I saw them live twice on the Mellon Collie tour. The Pumpkins next released Adore in 1998, a subtle continuation of Mellon Collie with hits like "Ava Adore," "Perfect," and "Crestfallen." Then came Machina/The Machines of the Gods in 2000, with excellent tracks "The Everlasting Gaze," "Raindrops and Sunshowers," "Stand Inside Your Love," and "This Time," which is posted to the right.
2. Placebo Like Coldplay and Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo started strong and tapered off toward the end. I first discovered the band after their 1998 sophomore album, Without You I'm Nothing, which is still my personal favorite album of all-time. It featured gems such as "You Don't Care About Us," "Ask For Answers," "Without You I'm Nothing," "Every Me Every You," and "My Sweet Prince." During the time, singer Brian Molko was highly inspired, his guitar riffs and musical composition magical, and his lyrics metaphorically poetic.
I couldn't wait for their next album, so I went out and bought their debut 1995 self-titled album, featuring tracks like "Come Home," "Bionic," and "36 Degrees." Their next album was 2000's Black Market Music, and while it had a few weaker tracks on it, there were also stellar ones in "Taste in Men," "Days Before You Came," and Slave To the Wage." 2004 saw the release of Sleeping With Ghosts, which boasted a host of somber tunes like "This Picture," "The Bitter End," "I'll Be Yours," and "Centrefolds." Meds, their last great album, was released in 2006. Afterward, the band put out a couple more decent but wholly inspired efforts.
1. Jeff Buckley Where to start with an artist like Jeff Buckley? He's one of those once in a lifetime sort of singer/songwriters, and while he never achieved the mainstream success of his inspirations Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan in his living years, he has now obtained a posthumous cult following that drools over every new composition his estate releases. Jeff, the son of the legendary Tim Buckley, released his debut album, the watershed Grace in 1994. It featured a slew of originals and covers, some highly unexpected like "Corpus Christi Carol" and "Lilac Wine."
While taking a break from recording his follow-up album, My Sweetheart, the Drunk, Jeff tragically drowned in the Wolf River, a run-off of the Mississippi, in the spring of 1997. RCA Records and his mother eventually released Sketches For My Sweetheart, the Drunk, a incomplete double album which included a full ten-song record, plus "sketches" recorded by Jeff on a four track recorder. A series of live concert albums were released after Jeff's death, as well as well as a 2016 b-sides, rarities, and covers album in called You and I. Just this year, a 1996 demo version of "Sky Blue Skin" was put out for Jeff's adoring fans.
Scream featured a few oldies, a few covers, and a few modern contributions to round out the mid-nineties horror flick that reshaped the genre. The soundtrack features "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, as well as "School's Out" by Alice Cooper. The unknown band Birdbrain tossed out a hard rock helping of "Youth of America," and Republica contributed radio hit "Drop Dead Gorgeous." On the covers side, Gus Black gave a quiet, subtle remake of "Don't Fear the Reaper," and electronica band Soho added a cover of 80s hit "Whisper To a Scream," originally performed by The Icicle Works.
9. Charlie Countryman (2013)
Charlie Countryman is a little known gem streaming on Netflix starring Shia LaBeouf. It's main contributor to the soundtrack is certainly Moby with a slew of original tracks and remixes. Other contributors are The Xx and M83, whose perfectly-placed tracks make this a movie one to not miss.
8. Romeo & Juliet (1996)
This is a case in which the soundtrack was better than the movie, and the movie wasn't bad at all. Garbage headed an all-star cast with their original haunter "#1 Crush," which conjures up images of a dangerous obsession. Radiohead also throws out a solid song in "Talk Show Host," one that's simple enough but builds on itself for a more epic ending. "Little Star" by Stina Nordestam is a sweet little track, "Whatever (I Had a Dream) by the Butthole Surfers is haunting and gritty, and "To You I Bestow" by the unknown Mundy was a surprisingly well done track as well.
7. Juice (1991)
Certainly the best tracks with Juice come from Eric B. & Rakim, Naughty by Nature, EPMD, and Cypress Hill. All the above tracks are stellar, rounded out by dated hits from Big Daddy Kane, Salt-n-Peppa, and The Brand New Heavies. The Juice soundtrack is a glance back at yesteryear in the way of hip hop and R&B, and the movie is pretty darn good as well. Even though Tupac is a lead actor in it, none of his songs grace the soundtrack for some reason.
6. Mad Love (1995)
Mad Love was a movie that seemed to come out of nowhere, its soundtrack the same. It introduced us to bands like Magnapop, Madder Rose, 7 Year Bitch, and a stellar track in Grant Lee Buffalo's "Mockingbirds." The movie even gives us a glimpse of 7 Year Bitch performing live on the stage in all their pent up, Babes in Toyland meets Hole fury.
5. The Invisible (2007)
The Invisible boast unofficially a who's who of contributing artists in Sparta, TV On the Radio, Snow Patrol, Broken Social Scene, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Death Cab for Cutie, and the unknown gem "Music For a Nurse" by Oceansize. There a lot of great indie rock hits on this soundtrack, but Oceansize's Sigur Ros-like grand scaler sticks out over the rest to paint a landscape of vastness and hope.
4. Psychopaths (2017)
Psychopaths in an indie horror movie most people would hate, including horror enthusiasts. It's gritty and raw, exploiting the serial killer life of the '60s in vivid detail. The senseless slaughter is carried out to the tune, or the tunes rather, of a handful of acts from the '60s, as well as a few contemporary artists slinging songs that sound like they came from the days of yesteryear. The sore thumb is "Handsome Killer" by Kindest Cuts, which sounds like it belongs on the Drive soundtrack. Some of the better tunes come from Jay Jayle, and the one to the left by Shayfer James, who also loaned this gem to the soundtrack for The Ranger.
3. Wicker Park (2004)
Wicker Park is a great movie with an equally great soundtrack.It features the likes of The Postal Service, Broken Social Scene, Mazzy Star, and Icelandic band Mum, whose hollow, twinkling tune "We Have a Map of the Piano" fits perfectly with the icy Chicago landscape of the film. While Coldplay's "The Scientist" features at the end of the movie, we're given a cover on the soundtrack by Johnette Napolitano. It's a decent effort, but I'd have preferred the real deal.
2. The Crow (1994)
This is one pushes for number one. The Crow is one of the best soundtracks ever compiled, featuring rock tunes from The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Helmet, Rage Against the Machine, My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult, and the track to the left by Medicine. My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult and Medicine actually play live in the movie, much like Deftones did in sequel, The Crow: City of Angels. This is one of the those soundtracks you can just let play, as every track reflects the movie and the scenes that bring it to life.
1. Drive (2011)
With Drive, I discovered a new form of music in indie electronica. The bands on the soundtrack offer electronic dips into a digital, ethereal world painted with dashboard lights and neon. There's a certain '80s flare to tracks like "Under Your Spell" by Desire and "Real Hero" by College, as well as "Nightcall" by Kavinsky. Chromatics also contribute the humming, hypnotic "Tick of the Clock," which serves as a great getaway track for the antihero Driver to manipulate the streets of downtown LA to.
Comic book movies have been in circulation for a long time. While most people would bank on the Marvel Avengers universe and the slew of over-produced DC movies, I tend to appreciate more the dark, gritty, somewhat realistic representations out there. While my picks wouldn't match up with most people's, here is list of my personal favorite comic book-spawned vehicles out there, spanning from the regular comics to movies based on graphic novels.
9. Blade (1998) Marvel finally unleashed it's infamous vampire hunter in 1998, employing the talents of Wesley Snipes for the role. Blade is a half vampire, half human who mercilessly rids the world of the bloodsuckers, especially when Deacon Frost and the vampire elite threaten to take over the world by unleashing the potent vampire virus. All Blade's weapons are made a from stainless steel, those that vanquish vampires where they stand, including a bladed boomerang, knives, dart guns, and his famous sword that boast its own set of lethal tricks on the opposition.
8. From Hell (2001) While From Hell is based on the nefarious exploits of Jack the Ripper, it's also based on the graphic novel created by Alan Moore. Just as in actual case, Saucy Jack is pursued by Frederick Abberline, portrayed expertly by Johnny Depp. Abberline is given a sixth sense to see events before they happen, which may or may not be an affect of his opiate and alcohol abuse. From Hell places Sir William Gull, physician to the royal family, in the cross hairs, banking on the theory of a skull and bones type society which hid and covered up the murders of Jack the Ripper.
7. The Dark Knight (2008) The Dark Knight was Heath Ledger's breakout performance as the Joker, a fact that places this comic book gem on this list. While Christian Bale's Batman was solid, it was Heath Ledger's vision of the Crown Prince of Crime that made this movie stand out and receive the accolades that it did. We also get to see district attorney Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face, but his rendition, and Bale's for that matter, was overshadowed by the maniacal prowess of the Joker. He's a comic book baddie for the ages, and Ledger gives the best representation of the clown killer to date.
6. Conan the Barbarian (1982) It's a little-known fact that Conan the Barbarian was actually based on an old comic series, and it just so happens to be old Arny's best performance as the titular character. From orphaned child to cage fighter to thief to a man out for bloody vengeance, Conan is unleashed on the netherworld of Cimeria to track down the snake cult that defined his lonely walk as an adult. Conan battles sorceresses, giant snakes, and thuggish brutes on the way to exacting his revenge on Thulsa Doom.
5. 300 (2006) Also based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 busted onto the big screen to rehash the story of the brave 300 Spartans to stood against the massive incoming army of the Persians, led by Xerses the Great. The movie scenes do well to replicate the pages of the comic, often sticking to the same frames verbatim. 300 was like no other historical portrayal before it, and it stylistically inspired later movies like Immortals, Clash of the Titans, and the STARZ series, Spartacus.
4. Sin City (2005) Sin City, also from the graphic novel by Frank Miller, incorporated something new to screen with its patches of stark color patchworked against an otherwise monochrome landscape. It's a brutal, gritty, slick crime story told with a neo-noir fervor, pitting lowly characters Marv (Mickey Rourke), Detective Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Dwight (Clive Owen), Nancy (Jessica Alba), and Gail (Rosario Dawson) against the all-powerful villains oppressing Basin City. The dialogue is saucy, the violence is heady and often warranted, and the look of the film is absolutely stunning.
3. Batman (1989) I first saw Batman in the waning days of middle school. It was the first live action iteration of Batman since the Adam West TV show from the sixties. For the first time since the comics, Batman was clad in black with a surprisingly great portrayal by then-comedy actor Michael Keaton. Jack Nicholson brought the Joker to life, having risen from a noirish underworld to transform into the crime prince after a spill into a vat of toxic chemicals. Batman's outfit was slick, the Batmobile was even slicker, and the overall film was a Gothic delight, straight from the darkly creative mind of Tim Burton.
2. Punisher (2017) Jon Bernthal was the fourth actor to bring Frank Castle to the big screen, following behind the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, and Ray Stevenson. I loved Bernthal's acting far before his assignment to the Punisher role, so when I found out he would be the guy, I knew we were all in for a treat. Frank Castle was first introduced in season two of Daredevil, but because of his onscreen presence and the popularity of the character, Netflix soon signed off of the standalone series which spawned two spectacular seasons. The fight scenes are brutal, the wounds are plentiful, and the acting is superb, as Bernthal transform wholly into the persona of the tortured, punishing soul of Frank Castle.
1. Daredevil (2015) Daredevil is the best comic portrayal I've seen, as well as the best superhero portrayal. Daredevil had a slow, organic ascent to the world of crime-fighting, spending the entire first season in a homegrown black outfit. He didn't don the classic red look until the final episode, which made for a refreshing take on the whole superhero trope. Like Frank Castle, Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox) was a torture soul, bound by a sense of blind justice, in more ways than one. Start-up lawyer by day, crime-fighter by night, Daredevil spun a realistic approach to the world of comic characters, where Matt spent much of the three seasons injured and constantly recovering from those injuries while taking on human traffickers, organized crime thugs, ninjas, and paid inmates in a plethora of wowing fight sequences.
I grew up watching Westerns with my dad, just as he'd grown watching all the John Wayne and Roy Rodgers movies he could handle (which was a lot). Apparently, some of it took, which can allow me to identify a good Western when I see it. There are a few surprises, a few unknowns, and a few fundamental favorites for the genre listed below.
10. In the Valley of Violence (2016)
I think I caught this one on a cable channel one day. It offers a nice line-up with Ethan Hawke, John Travolta, and Taissa Farmiga, playing their parts in an unorthodox Western, one that offers equal parts slapstick humor and bloody violence. The movie sticks to a simple enough formula - drifter comes into town, is forced to fight, then is persecuted for the trouble he's started, which he didn't really start at all. Hawke plays Paul, an ex-soldier drifter with a dog who is wrongly hunted down by Gilly, the hot-headed son of the Sheriff, Clyde Martin (Travolta). Gilly and his bumbling henchmen push Paul, literally, too far, which forces the sheriff's hand.
9. The Salvation (2014)
This one stars Danish sensation Mads Mikkelsen as Jon, a Danish settler who experiences one hardship after another in an attempt to settle in America after fighting a war abroad. The film also stars Penny Dreadful alum Eva Green, and The Walking Dead alum, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays a better bad guy than most. Jon takes no pleasure in the vengeance he must have against Delarue (Morgan), whose brother Jon kills when his family is attacked. Madelaine (Green), used and abused as she is, plays an interesting role as well, a mute woman who's bent on her own revenge. Jon is the reluctant killer, and Madelaine is the black widow who's been wronged one too many times.
8. 3:10 to Yuma (2007) Ben Foster was for a time one of my favorite actors. He's never really carried a movie, but certainly could if given half a chance. In 3:10 to Yuma, he plays bit bad guy Charlie Prince, the second in the outlaw gang of Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). Not only is Foster a great actor, and wears a cool jacket and carries a cool gun, but he's my doppelganger, even though he's about a foot shorter than me. But despite all the praise, Foster isn't the best part of 3:10 to Yuma. A remake in itself, the movie pits simple farmer Dan Evans (Christian Bale), along with a town full of law men, against Ben Wade, as they attempt to bring the outlaw to justice. Charlie Prince and gang follows the lawful caravan across the desert in order to free Wade. The ending is classic.
7. The Quick and the Dead (1995)
The Quick and the Dead is about as campy as they come, but it's no less entertaining for it. It's campy on purpose, which gives it a unique style for a Western movie. It features Sharon Stone, a very young Leonardo DiCaprio, and Western movie staple, Gene Hackman, who is excellent as town villain Herod. It's the Bloodsport of Western movies, pitting would-be challengers against one another in a shootout contest to win a boatload of cash, courtesy of Mr. Herod and his paid henchmen. Sharon Stone plays Ellen, a mysterious drifter bent on revenge, who looks to take out Herod with the help gunfighter-turned minister, Cort (Russell Crowe).
6. Unforgiven (1992)
In one of the first movies I remember suggesting we root for the bad guy, Unforgiven grows on you after every viewing. It's a long one, and it takes a lot to get to the legendary shootout in the end, but man, is it worth it. Clint Eastwood is at his best here as William Munny, supposed murderer of men, women, and children. He's settled down, is a widower and a farmer with two children, and needs just as much money to survive as the next guy. This is why he embarks upon a dangerous mission with old friend Ned (Morgan Freeman) and the Kid to avenge a brutalized prostitute at the behest of her associates. Though, Little Bill (Gene Hackman) won't let such stand in his town of Big Whiskey.
5. The Hateful Eight (2015)
The Hateful Eight is one of Tarantino's best, if not THE best. He loves to bring together a who's who of criminals and shady lawmen in order to lead them to a deadly conclusion. I love movies like this, and The Hateful Eight gets it right on so many levels. Former Civil War soldier turned bounty hunter Marquis Warren comes across a second bounty hunter, "The Hangman" John Ruth (Kurt Russell) in a Wyoming snowstorm. Ruth is on his way to hang outlaw Daisy Domergue. A band of misfits, some who might have nefarious intentions, soon join the cast in Minnie's Haberdashery, a literal shelter in the storm.
4. Young Guns (1988)
This one was a childhood favorite, and it's still one as an adult. Young Guns tells the slightly fictional exploits of Billy The Kid and his gang of teenage accidental outlaws, riding across the barren plains of New and Old Mexico. Emilio Estevez is Billy, a role he was born to play, a young pistoleer with a wild, brazen, unpredictable disposition. When their benefactor is killed, Billy, Dick (Charlie Sheen), Doc (Keifer Sutherland), Chavez (Lou Diamond Philips), Charlie, and Dirty Steve, set out on a mission to bring the killers to justice. They are deputized, but Billy decides to execute the murderers without trial. This puts the group into the cross hairs of the law, a couple of bounty hunters, and even the US Army.
3. Silverado (1985)
Silverado pretty much defines the epic Western. It features an ensemble cast with a plethora of story lines, all rolled into one. Emmett is attacked by would-be assassins, Jake can't stay out of jail, Mal is trying to rekindle a relationship with his father and his uptown girl sister, and Paden has an old bone to pick with his old outlaw riding buddies from his old outlaw days. All of that seems to mesh into one is this epic masterpiece, one I first saw as a boy, and one I watch even now when given half the chance. It features a young Keven Costner in one of his best roles, a young Danny Glover as Mal, who's dangerous with his father's Henry rifle, and a young Jeff Goldblum, who's not quite as slick as his character name suggests.
2. Big Jake (1971)
Big Jake is one I grew up on for sure, and one with likely the best story line on the list. I have often thought a remake, or even a modern retelling, would suffice for it. I'm not really a John Wayne fan, but he lead this little-known gem. He stars as Jacob McCandles, a father who deserted his family years before with a collie sidekick simply named Dog at his side. When the grandson he never knew he had is kidnapped, his well-do-do ex-wife enlists his help, along with his two sons, James and Michael, and his old Native-American running mate, Sam Sharpnose. Together, they track down the men responsible, who are holding the boy, also named Jacob, for ransom.
1. Tombstone (1993) This one is probably everyone's favorite cowboy movie. Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday is one of the best portrayals in movie history, with excellent one-liners and a no fear attitude. Kurt Russell plays legendary Kansas lawman Wyatt Earp, who moves to Tombstone, Arizona to start a new entrepreneurial life with his brothers, Virgil (Sam Elliot) and Morgan (Bill Paxton). Lawlessness at the hands of a marauding bunch called the Cowboys sees his brothers take up the badge again, much to Wyatt's chagrin. A war then ensues between the Cowboys and the Earps, and with the help of Doc, they attempt to bring law and order back to the land.
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