Crushes

What did I do this weekend? Let's see. On Friday night I watched "Finding Neverland," which was disappointingly mediocre (I wanted it to suck). How this movie garnered so many year-end awards, I'll never know, but I suspect it has something to do with Julie Christie sleeping with members of the Academy. Yeah, that's it.

Oh, and Gareth from "The Office" played a timid usher at the playhouse. He was funny.

On Saturday I went into work to prepare some stuff for my boss in anticipation of a big meeting on Monday. I was happy to see that Lori, our new Safety engineer, was also burning the weekend-oil. Towards early evening, I wanted to grab a bite to eat, but she had already left. Oh well. Que sera, sera. Then I went home and watched the Final Four games, which were also disappointingly mediocre (I wanted them to kick ass). I guess I want Illinois to win the whole thing, because what kind of Duke fan would I be if I was OK with UNC taking the title? Besides, Bill Murray is an Illini fan, and who wouldn't want to see that man happy?

Today, I again went into work for a few hours (I was the only one this time) before heading over to my parents' place to do my laundry and watch the last three episodes of "Carnivale," including the finale, which despite everything that happens, was a little anticlimactic. I think it was just the way it was shot or something, because the big confrontation scenes that we've waited 2 seasons for are barely suspenseful. The second-to-last episode, directed by Todd Field (reuniting with his "In the Bedroom" star Nick Stahl), was much better. Apparently, they've set up the third season to feature more of Clea Duvall's character, by far the weakest element of the show. What's always bothered me about her is that she is neither pretty nor talented. So why the hell does Hollywood keep hiring her? "Girl, Interrupted," "Identity," "21 Grams." "21 Grams" for godsakes!

Anyway, regarding the subject of my post, I feel compelled to list my musical "crushes" from the past 5 years or so. I don't know what brought this on, but my insatiable appetite for Le Tigre's "Eua D'Bedroom Dancing" got me thinking about other songs I've been addicted to. And there have been many. No, this is not a list of all those girl bands I like (that will be the subject of another post, I'm sure). It's a list of songs that, for one reason or another over a short period of time, captivated me and forced me to listen to them over and over and over. Here're the ones I recall the most, in historical order:

2005:
Le Tigre, "Eua D'Bedroom Dancing"
Arcade Fire, "Rebellion (Lies)"
Stars, "Elevator Love Letter," "Look Up," "Ageless Beauty"
Dear Leader, "Raging Red"
The Killers, "Mr. Brightside" (but I am so sick of it now)
The Walkmen, "The Rat"

2004:
The Black Keys, "Everywhere I Go"
Coheed & Cambria, "A Favor House Atlantic"
Frou Frou, "Let Go" ("Garden State")
Outkast, "Hey Ya"
The Pixies, "Tame," "Debaser," "Bone Machine," "Gigantic," "Dig For Fire" -- prep for Coachella
Pretty Girls Make Graves, "This is Our Emergency"
Stellastarr, "Somewhere Across Forever," "No Weather"
The Stills, "Lola Stars & Stripes," "Let's Roll"
Velvet Underground, "Heroin"
Wilco, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Y Control"

2003:
Belle & Sebastian, "Roller Coaster Ride"
Brian Eno, "Ascent" (plays during the credits of "Traffic")
Cat Power, "He-War"
The Dandy Warhols, "Bohemian Like You"
Interpol, "The New," "Leif Erickson"
Mates of State, "Proofs"
Notwist, "One With the Freaks," "Consequence"
The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights"
The Shins, "Kissing the Lipless," "Fighting in a Sack, "Saint Simon"
Death Cab For Cutie, "The Sound of Settling," "Death of an Interior Decorator"

2001-2002:
Ben Lee, "Cigarettes Will Kill You"
Death Cab For Cutie, "Blacking Out the Friction, "Face That Launched 1000 Shits
Dismemberment Plan, "Ellen & Ben"
The Hives, "Hate to Say I Told You So"
New Pornographers, "Letter from an Occupant"
The Secrets, "The Loneliest Duet"
Sleater-Kinney -- oh god so many -- "Get Up," "Don't Talk Like," "#1 Must Have," "Dance Song '97," "Size of Our Love," "Good Things"
The Strokes, "Hard to Explain"
The "Vanilla Sky" Soundtrack - fuckin everything, but mainly "Where Do I Begin?" (chem bros.)and "Sweetness Follows" (r.e.m.)
Weezer, "Knock-Down Drag Out," "Space Rock"
White Stripes, "Dead Leaves & the Dirty Ground," "Same Boy You've Always Known"

2000/Pre-2000:
Ash, "Petrol"
Beck, "Nobody's Fault But My Own," "Jack Ass"
The Beatles, "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Elliot Smith, "Waltz #2," "Pitseleh"
The Faces, "Ooh La La" ("Rushmore")
Green Day, "Panic Song" (this will be the song that plays at the beginning of the movie I'm gonna write someday. I swear.)
Luscious Jackson, "Why Do I Lie?" ("Good Will Hunting")
Madonna, "What It Feels Like (For a Girl)" hey I wanted to know
No Doubt, "Just a Girl"
Oasis, "Don't Look Back in Anger," "Up in the Sky"
The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"
Radiohead, "Airbag," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Let Down," "Electioneering," "I Can't," "Bulletproof"
Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Other Side"
The Rentals, "The Love I'm Searching For," "Please Let That Be You"
Sheryl Crow, "My Favorite Mistake"
The Smashing Pumpkins, "1979," "33," "With Every Light"
Spacehog, "In the Meantime," "Only a Few," "Captain Freeman"
Weezer, "Tired of Sex"
The Who, "Baba O Riley", "The Song is Over"

Yeah baby. And thus was created the iTunes playlist "Matt's Crushes."