10.24.2013

watching / reading / listening

W A T C H I N G-
We've watched some fun documentaries in the last couple of weeks that I wanted to share with you. First up is Room 237 about Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining. People have formulating some interesting theories about this film and they are shared in this documentary.
The other night I watched Following Sean, which (as Wikipedia says) "is a 2005 documentary film directed by Ralph Arlyck, and a follow-up to his 1969 student short "Sean," which features four-year-old Sean's thoughts on marijuana, police presence, freewheeling lifestyles. The film's notoriety landed a screening in the White House and a variety of predictions regarding the outcome of Sean's life - whether he could grow up to embody the hippy philosophy, or whether he would turn out a drug dealer or stock broker." You can watch the trailer here.
Last night we watched I Ain't in It For My Health about Levon Helm. If you're a fan of Levon or The Band it's worth a watch.
Last up is A Brilliant Life In Darkness. This short documentary is fascinating! It's about a man who went blind and then deaf as a child and what he went on to accomplish as an adult. Watch it.


R E A D I N G-
I finished Into The Wild a couple weeks ago and liked it quite a bit. I thought it was going to be solely about Chris McCandless but was pleasantly surprised at the many other stories Jon Krakauer told about himself and other similar people of the past.
I am reading a couple other books as well but haven't finished them yet. I'm a S L O W reader.

L I S T E N I N G-
The new Mazzy Star album, Seasons of Your Day. None of the "after a couple listens I'll like it" with this one. It was great the first time around!

The Deep Dark Woods new album, Jubilee. I loved it and heard hints of The Band on Red, Red Rose and Neil Young and Crazy Horse on Miles and Miles... which is never a bad thing in my book! They really are an amazing band. I love all their albums and I hope to see them live at some point.
I also listened to Lightning Bolt, the new Pearl Jam album yesterday and was happy to hear Sleeping by Myself (which is on Eddie Vedder's solo album Ukulele Songs) done with the whole band. I play that song on the uke and Ruben sings it :) If you haven't heard it, take a listen.

The album is good,  I especially enjoyed the slower songs. 


That's it. I'd love to hear what you are watching, reading and listening to. Please share!


♥ anne

11 comments :

  1. aaagh! the photo of the girls from the shining! always so creepy! was the documentary spooky?

    saw following sean too. i was a little saddened by how he seemed to be somewhat hardened or bitter.

    i recently had fun watching 'hemlock grove' on netflix...which i think was made for the 17-24 crowd...so apparently i'm reliving some fantasy there. good eye candy though!

    music wise, i have been listening to the album that edie brickell and steve martin did together, 'love will come for you'. came out earlier this year. it's been a long time since i've just put something on repeat, but i seriously love every song.

    thanks for the recommends, i'm looking forward to checking it all out. xoxo

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    1. Yeah, I wouldn't say he seemed overly happy but he appeared to more well adjusted than I thought he might be. "fun" isn't really the right word to describe all those docs :)

      room 237 wasn't scary just really interesting. Those people have spent quite a lot of time dissecting the shining and have noticed some pretty crazy stuff. Whether any of it's true is a mystery but that one was fun to watch.

      I'll have to check out your recommendations too :)

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  2. The Shining is one of my favourite movies, of. all. time. I hadn't heard about Room 237, not sure if I want to consider The Shining as anything other than a great supernatural horror. I also like the book. Am interested though as to the crazy stuff noticed by the film buffs. We are planning to go to the Big Day Out (as far as i know it's an Australasian music fest) next year, just to see Pearl Jam.
    x

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    1. i never would have thought there was more to it either. my husband and i have always agreed that we think the movie was better than the book. we liked the changes kubrick made although i recently read, and the documentary confirms, that stephen king hated the movie. anyway, i think you'd like it.

      jealous you're seeing pearl jam!

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  3. Okay, I'm happy to tell you that I'm on (yet another) Josh Whedon bender. I really only watch teevee either with C, which he's too busy for right now, or when I craft. I just stopped watching Buffy to watch Firefly for a spell. So witty. I'm also re-watching tons of 90s teen movies. The comfort food of TV. Listening to the New Neko Case and the whole oeuvre of Shearwater. I kind of forgot about them, but now I'm all about it. They might actually be one of my favorite bands. Speaking of which, maybe you and I need to meet up for a Deep Dark Woods Show ;)

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    1. buffy was one of ruben's favorites. i remember he watched it when we first met :) and you must tell me or post about your favorite 90's teen movies. there are some really good ones!

      i've only heard part of the new neko case, i'll have to listen to the whole thing because we are big fans of her in this house. never heard of shearwater, i'll check them out and hell yes to the deep dark woods! i'd prefer they come play on your island, after i have the baby...maybe we should let them know so they can make the proper arrangements ;)

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  4. Oh I am so excited to watch Room 237! The Shining is one of my all time favorites.
    I've been listening to Bill Callahan's new album "Dream River". I've only given it one listen but I'm liking it so far. I think I've mentioned before that this time of year I always break out Connie Converse "So Sad, So Lovely". I will definitely make and send you a copy if you'd like! It's one of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard.
    We've been watching random stuff when we get a chance. I saw "Pulp Fiction" and "Ed Wood" for the first time the other evening and enjoyed both. I am fascinated by Ed Wood now. We looked up some of his movies on YouTube and they are very similar to how they are depicted in the film.

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    1. i haven't heard of either of them. and considering you recommended them, i'm pretty certain i'll love both :) can't wait to give them a listen!

      pulp fiction is awesome. we watched it again not that long ago, it had been years since we'd seen it and it still ruled. ruben and i quote "cut and print" from ed wood. i love how in the movie there are no retakes, everything goes straight to print. :) ruben has seen most, if not all, of ed woods films. he use to have a box set of his on vhs that was covered in faux fur :) memories...

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  5. Thanks for sharing that Eddie Vedder song- feels bittersweet, one of my favorites feelings.
    I haven't watched anything in a while. But I've been reading James Hillman's book The Soul's Code, On Character and Calling. Listening to Basia Bulat and Local Natives. Which is what I was listening to last year this time. I'm a bit out of the loop of new music. Despite the internet! That's why I enjoy posts like this.

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  6. i love when you post this stuff! your taste in music is SO totally my cup of tea. i've never listened to the deep dark woods, very excited to try them out for some new fall music. also, glad to see that another reader is enjoying the new bill callahan, i like all his old stuff but haven't gotten that one yet. i've been listening to this gal from olympia called Eleanor Murray who just played in our town and absolutely haunted me. she has a song called "electric sky" in honor of walt whitman that made me weep to see it live. seriously! i must be pregnant, haha!

    darin and i loved Room 237. he is a huge fan of the Shining and has theories of his own, as well as being a bit of a conspiracy theorist, and I just enjoyed all the perspectives and the way it was presented and the very close look at a bit of cinema history. I can't think of a good movie I've watched lately, how sad is that? I watch a lot of Totoro.

    as for books, I just checked out a couple new ones at the library but I'm still working on the three I posted on milla's post about reading...so i better hurry up! as a matter of fact, my bed and books are calling.....

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thank you so much for stopping by. please feel free to leave a comment! i love reading them :)


anne