What You Should Have Seen #25

30 Minutes or Less

I enjoyed exactly two things about this movie, and neither had anything to do with the story or the acting.

If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, it stars Aziz Ansari, Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Nick Swardson. Eisenberg plays a pizza delivery guy who gets strapped to a bomb vest by McBride and Swardson’s characters. They’re using him to rob a bank. Ansari plays Eisenberg’s best friend.

If the cast doesn’t do it for you (because I’m positive that little summary won’t make you jump with excitement), then don’t even bother with this. Hell, even if the cast does it for you (Ansari and McBride were my main motivations for watching it), you still might want to steer clear. I’m pretty sure this is supposed to be a comedy, but it was severely lacking in humor. I cannot recall laughing once.

If you’re a fan of McBride in East Bound and Down, then you might like him here. Of course, I’m not sure if McBride has much range beyond his Kenny Powers-esque characters.

Ansari is surprisingly the straight man in this double act with Eisenberg, but it’s all for naught since Eisenberg’s character does nothing funny for him to work with. Swardson plays McBride’s sidekick, and his brand of off-the-wall comedy is abandoned in favor of a conflicted henchman.

Eisenberg is dull. There’s less life here than in Zombieland, and there’s less story than in Adventureland.

The two things I enjoyed about this movie were both surprises. Bianca Kajlich, the hot one in CBS’s Rules of Engagement (I don’t want to just say attractive, because I find Megyn Price to be attractive too…just not necessarily hot), has a small role as a stripper. Spoiler alert: she goes topless. There’s surprise number one.

The second thing I enjoyed was the ending credits. Not because it included a blooper reel or a humorous ending scene, but because as the credits rolled I was treated to Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Got Your Money.” That’s a great song.

So, you’re welcome. I wasted an hour and a half of my life watching this movie so you won’t have to. Avoid it. All of these actors are in better things. Eisenberg is in The Social Network and Zombieland. Ansari is in Funny People and Parks and Recreation. McBride is in East Bound and Down and Your Highness (which wasn’t all that great, but it was still better than this). Swardson was in Grandma’s Boy and Reno 911! Go watch those instead.

First Spin: Say Anything's Furious 'Burn a Miracle' | SPIN.com

For some reason I really enjoy clapping in a song. Also, looking forward to the whole CD. I'm not expecting anything as awesome as "...Is a Real Boy", but I'm hoping for something slightly better than the self-titled last CD. This first single sounds promising.

First Spin: Say Anything's Furious 'Burn a Miracle' | SPIN.com

What You Should Have Heard #71

My Mix CDs

I’ve got a lot of music but limited space to hold it in, especially in my car. So I’ve gone the old tried-and-true way of making mix CDs to have access to as many bands as possible while driving. I’m going slightly old-school since I’m a bit backwards and have no iPod.

Most of the songs will be more upbeat, with probably only the occasional ballad or slower song included. I like to sing in the car, and the more upbeat songs are more fun to sing.

I’ll be going in alpha-numeric order with these, so if you’re wanting to argue with me about what Weezer songs should be included, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

My only limitations are that I use 80 min. discs, and I’m only going to use one disc per band/artist. I will make exceptions for only my most favorite bands with huge playlists (Foo Fighters and Self, off the top of my head), but I’d really like to boil everything down to just one disc.

Here’s the list guide:

Track # - Song Name - Album Name [Artist if album is by a different artist]

                                                                

Say Anything Mix CD

Disc 1

1. Belt – Is a Real Boy
2. Woe – Is a Real Boy
3. The Writhing South – Is a Real Boy
4. Alive with the Glory of Love – Is a Real Boy
5. Yellow Cat/Red Cat – Is a Real Boy
6. The Futile – Is a Real Boy
7. Spidersong – Is a Real Boy
8. An Orgy of Critics – Is a Real Boy
9. Every Man Has a Molly – Is a Real Boy
10. Slowly Through a Vector – Is a Real Boy
11. Chia-Like, I Shall Grow – Is a Real Boy
12. I Want to Know Your Plans – Is a Real Boy
13. Admit It! – Is a Real Boy
14. I Got Your Money – Punk Goes Crunk

Disc 2

1. We Will Erase All Life on Earth but Us – For Sale Tour EP
2. Slumming It with Johnny – For Sale Tour EP
3. Skinny, Mean Man – In Defense of the Genre
4. Shiksa (Girlfriend) – In Defense of the Genre
5. Died a Jew – In Defense of the Genre
6. Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too – Was a Real Boy
7. Little Girls – Was a Real Boy
8. It’s a Metaphor Fool – Was a Real Boy
9. Total Revenge – Was a Real Boy
10. Metal Now – Was a Real Boy
11. I Will Never Write an Obligatory Song about Being on the Road and Missing Someone – Was a Real Boy
12. Fed to Death – Say Anything
13. Hate Everyone – Say Anything
14. Do Better – Say Anything
15. Less Cute – Say Anything
16. Crush’d – Say Anything
17. She Won’t Follow You – Say Anything
18. Death for My Birthday – Say Anything

A few notes on the Say Anything:

• I have no idea how I came across Say Anything. I don’t remember where it came from, but I do remember that the first song I heard was “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too.” I loved it. It prompted me to search out …Is a Real Boy. Out of all the CDs I’ve had through the years, I can probably count on both hands the ones I can listen to completely. This is one of them. It is an amazing CD that, five years later, I’m still not sick of.
• I think Say Anything can get lumped together with bands like Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Panic at the Disco, etc, but I think there’s more artistry to the lyrics. The music lumps them together, the lyrics set them apart. They seem more honest, more emotional, and I can connect with them easier.
• Since I like the first album so much, I feel bad about liking the subsequent albums less. As opposed to the Foo Fighters, whose albums I like more than the last, I enjoy each Say Anything album a bit less than the previous. I WANT to like each album as much as the first, but I just can’t. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad at all…they’re just not as good. That’s just something you run into when you put out such a good CD…expectations are just so high for all the others, and sometimes you just can’t expect to live up to them.
• According to a recent announcement on Say Anything’s website, the band is back in the studio working on a new album. They’ve also got the guy who produced …Is a Real Boy along, so hopefully we’ll get the same kind of energy that drew me to them in the first place.

                                                                                                                             

Say Anything Official Site

Say Anything Wikipedia entry

Say Anything AllMusic entry

Say Anything MySpace page

Say Anything Facebook page

Say Anything Twitter feed

Say Anything YouTube channel

What You Should Have Heard #4

I’ve only recently received Say Anything’s latest CD, their self-titled third release, and it’s difficult for me to review a disc with only a couple week’s worth of listening under my belt. What makes it even more difficult is that the group’s debut album, Is a Real Boy, is probably in my Top 10 of CDs. I can listen to that thing nonstop.

The problem I have with getting so invested in a particular CD by a particular group, though, is that any other release fails to measure up. So far, that’s the problem I’m running into with Say Anything. It’s a fine CD, but it’s no Is a Real Boy. I can sing along constantly to that CD, but this one just isn’t as catchy. It’s emotional, but it doesn’t seem nearly as personal.

The more I listen to this in order to write something about it, the more I come to dislike it, and that makes me sad. I liked this group’s first CD SOOOO much, and I don’t know if it’s that I put that one on a pedestal, or if this CD really isn’t all that great. There are only two songs that I can actually get behind, Hate Everyone and Do Better, and that’s not really enough to recommend this, even though I’ll probably always be a fervent supporter of Say Anything (and I still cringe everytime I listen to Do Better and hear the line about Will and Grace).

Here’s a video from one of the better songs on the CD, Hate Everyone. It does well to recapture the poppy, upbeat anger that fueled Is a Real Boy, but it still feels a bit manufactured, like Say Anything lead Max Bemis tried too hard to recapture what he had with his debut, just without the raw emotion.

Official Website

Wikipedia Entry

Allmusic Entry