Clattertron

Plenty of stuff on my mind this week: the new Daft Punk album, Star Trek Into Darkness, hockey, Star Wars, comic shops closing, and Bob’s Burgers.

And seven is RIGHT OUT

[] I streamed all of Daft Punk’s new album, Random Access Memories via iTunes the other day. I’m sold. I’ll buy Random Access Memories when it is officially released.

This experience reminded me of what a professor in college told my audio production class: people hear music, but don’t always listen. Meaning, for many, music is background stuff, not an experience. Most of us multitask while listening to music, I know I do (while cleaning, running, or writing ALF fan fiction). I’ll confess to multitasking while listening (or rather, hearing) Random Access Memories. For most the album, I added gifts to Steph and my’s wedding registry. I’ll say this: I find Bed, Bath, & Beyond’s lack of Ernest films disappointing.

When I stopped and listened to Random Access Memories, I was glad I did. It is a very layered and interesting album (and best enjoyed with headphones). I couldn’t say the last time I listened to a new album start to finish in one sitting.

There is something Pink Floydian about the album–by which I mean, it reminds me of Dark Side of the Moon, with its different tones, styles, and layers.

Keep in mind, I’m probably the last person who should opine about music. My last few iTunes purchases are: Danzig, Tom Waits, Lindstrøm, and the barking dog versions of Jingle Bells. My tastes are complicated.

[] More on the geek front, Stark Trek Into the Darkness opens this weekend, and I’m already seeing a variety of reactions. I’m not going into it expecting anything less than space-action, so I’ll likely enjoy it. Plus, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch. He could be the voice of Bumblelion in a Wuzzles movie, and I would still check it out.

All this online chatter about Star Trek Into the Darkness reminded me of a favorite joke from the cartoon, The Critic. Jay’s boss, Duke, tells him, as a critic his job is to ‘rate movies on a scale from good to excellent.’ This made me think of the changes The Critic would go through if repackaged for today. Jay would probably be a movie blogger, or podcaster, or both. He might even be a critic for a film review aggregate site, ideally spoofing Rotten Tomatoes (Moldy Cabbage?). Who watches film review TV shows, like Jay’s Coming Attractions, these days? I don’t. I read film blogs and listen to podcasts though, and social media is a big part of how I learn about films too.

[] My latest My’brary Adventure for the Capital Area District Libraries blog is all about Star Wars. See previously: On J. J. Abrams Directing Star Wars VII

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