Andy Gapin

Given my obsession with Zooey Deschanel, checking out Our Idiot Brother was obviously a requirement for me, even if it took an extra week. But Zooey aside, the cast for the movie is pretty stacked. And for the most part, that’s what the movie became to me, a showcase of actors and actresses that I enjoy.

Our Idiot Brother isn’t a strong movie in any real sense, but Paul Rudd makes it work in the way that he pulls most things off. The story is just average and doesn’t really progress along too much. It feels as though it’s trying to tell a little too much at once. While most of the film tries to focus on the relationship between Paul Rudd’s character and his three sisters, a lot of time is still spent developing the individual lives of all four characters before everything can really culminate in Rudd ruining each of his sister’s lives–or rather exposing how they’ve ruined their own lives. Because of the three sisters, each of with coming with a male (female in Zooey’s case) counterpart, there was a lot of Rudd to spread around. Three may work well in theory, but I felt as though there were too many relationships to build.

Like I said, the movie itself is mostly average, but I walked away from Our Idiot Brother with a few other thoughts:

• Zooey Deschanel and Rashida Jones as a lesbian couple is almost too much to handle.
• I’ve said it a thousand times before, but Steve Coogan needs to be in a million more things. Everything, really.
• I’m really glad Adam Scott is on Parks and Recreation now and I’d also like to see him in a million more things.
• Elizabeth Banks looks even better with as a brunette than she does as a blonde.

Despite having a thousand relationships to build out, if you need a few laughs and are interested in any of the things I’ve just mentioned, Our Idiot Brother could be well worth the cost of an AM cinema ticket on a rainy weekend morning.

Rating: B-

First of all, getting into the city last night was way too easy. The drive from the office up to Hoboken during rush hour took an unfathomable 50 minutes, which is even less than Google says it should take with no traffic–their with-traffic estimate was 82 minutes, but I wasn’t expecting anything less than 90. I guess a lot of people took off of work for a four-day weekend. No complaints. Then, in Hoboken, there was available parking all over the place, my only mistake was taking the first spot I saw. Finally, there was a PATH train sitting there waiting for us and my MetroCard already had money on it. Wins all around.

Now, She & Him…were alright. Not great, not bad, just alright. I think I would say that the first time I saw them was better. To be fair, it wasn’t entirely their fault. The sound was rather inconsistent, sometimes too much on the high-end,  sometimes way too much on the low-end. Of all the shows I’ve ever attended at Terminal 5, this had the worst sound by far. On top of that, Zooey’s keyboard wasn’t in tune and this seriously frazzled her. On no less than three occasions, the band started to play a song only to stop a few seconds in for Zooey to try to figure out a way to play it with her keyboard.

The set was long, an hour and a half including the encore. Normally, that would be quite a bit more than I would like to see from a band, but it didn’t feel long at all. When M Ward and Zooey left the stage after the regular set, I looked down at my phone expecting it to only be 9:45ish (they went on promptly at 9), but I was surprised to see that it was already ten after ten. Those 90 minutes a pretty solid collection of almost everything the band has to offer across both volumes. 24 songs, to be exact. They included a few covers, as should probably be expected, and even played an M Ward song which was pretty sweet. In the end, there was nothing left that I wanted and didn’t get. (The setlist is at the bottom of this post).

Oddly, Zooey seemed a little out of her element on stage. Maybe it was just that she was thrown off by the keyboard problems, but she seemed to have to keep reminding herself to smile and look like she was having fun. At one point, she seemed somewhat annoyed with the crowd taking pictures and asked everyone to turn their flashes off. Apparently, there was a strict no pictures policy for the night even though when I had called the venue earlier in the afternoon, I was told that point and shoots were okay. Zooey seemed to not care that pictures were being taken and claimed that the flashes ruined the vibe, but also tried to frame it as a helpful advice that the pictures would come out better without a flash (which is true). I don’t know, it did feel a little bitchy which is very disappointing to someone with a crush on her as large as mine (you already know all about that, I’m sure). All around, it just seemed like she was having an off night, though her voice sounded right on throughout the show.

Sorry for the crappy picture above, it was the best I could get with my iPhone 4 from where I was. Even with the improved camera, there’s only so much you can do from halfway back at a venue the size of Terminal 5 with dim lighting throughout the entire set.

1. Change Is Hard
2. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
3. I Was Made For You
4. Black Hole
5. Thieves
6. Lingering Still
7. Me and You
8. Take It Back
9. Home
10. Riding In My Car
11. Over It Over Again
12. You Really Got a Hold on Me
13. Brand New Shoes
14. You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio (Joni Mitchell cover)
15. Sentimental Heart
16. Rave On! (Buddy Holly cover)
17. Gonna Get Along Without You Now
18. In the Sun
19. Don’t Look Back
20. This Is Not a Test
21. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

Encore:

22. Magic Trick (M. Ward cover)
23. Fools Rush In (Ricky Nelson cover)
24. I Put a Spell on You (Nina Simone cover)

Good show last night, nothing really worth mentioning, but it was an all around good show.

• Drive By Truckers – After The Scene Dies – The Big To Do
• The Like – Wishing He Was Dead – College Radio Sampler
• Night Driving In Small Towns – Get Free – Serial Killers
• Undersea Poem – Bacocho Sunsets – Undersea Poem
• Fanfarlo – Finish Line – Live [EP]
• The Whigs – Automatic – In The Dark
• Title Tracks – No, Girl – It Was Easy
• The Press – Fine China – INTEOTWIJTEOAE
• She And Him – Over It Over Again – Volume Two
• Murder By Death – As Long As There Is Whiskey In The World – Good Morning, Magpie
• Roky Erickson With Okkervil River – Birds’d Crash – True Love Cast Out All Evil
• Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy And The Cairo Gang – The Sounds Are Always Begging – The Wonder Show Of The World
• Roadside Graves – Jail – You Won’t Be Happy With Me
• Against Me! – I Was A Teenage Anarchist – I Was A Teenage Anarchist [Single]
• The Fall – Mexico Wax Solvent – Your Future Our Clutter

Source: 90.3 The Core

Good show last night! I had a lot of great new stuff to play again even though much of the playlist this week was the same as last week’s. I think I had my mic breaks dead on with where I wanted them to be and I was really happy with my music selection. The amount of new stuff to listen to lately has been crazy. I can barely keep up with what’s officially been released in the past month or so and the upcoming releases that have leaked. Gaslight Anthem, Murder By Death, Minus The Bear, Hold Steady, Against Me!, Drive-By Truckers, and She & Him. And that’s just a few of the bands taking up all my time right now. So much great stuff to listen to. Anyway, here’s the playlist from last night’s show…

• LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls – Drunk Girls [Single]
• Murder By Death – Foxglove – Good Morning, Magpie
• Jason Collett – Love Is A Dirty Word – Rat A Tat Tat
• The Mynabirds – Give It Time – What We Lose In Fire We Gain In The Flood
• The Like – Wishing He Was Dead – College Radio Sampler
• Roadside Graves – Everything – You Won’t Be Happy With Me
• The Whigs – Kill Me Carolyn – In The Dark
• Drive By Truckers – Drag The Lake Charlie – The Big To Do
• Elliott Smith – No Name #3 – Roman Candle (reissue)
• Title Tracks – Hello There – It Was Easy
• She And Him – Gonna Get Along Without You Now (Skeeter Davis Cover) – Volume Two
• Seabear – In Winters Eyes – We Built A Fire
• Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova – I Know You – One Jug Of Wine, Two Vessels (Reissue)
• Roky Erickson With Okkervil River – Goodbye Sweet Dreams – True Love Cast Out All Evil
• Tom McRae – Told My Troubles To The River – The Alphabet Of Hurricanes
• Against Me! – I Was A Teenage Anarchist – I Was A Teenage Anarchist [Single]

Source: 90.3 The Core

Last night’s The Playlist was possibly the most insane edition of the show that I’ve ever done. You’ll see what I mean when you take a look at the playlist from the show. I think I can safely say that I’ve never played that many established (indie) bands on one show ever. The show was kind of too epic for its own good. I struggled to keep up and to fit it all together. There was so much more that I wanted to fit in, but nothing else really stood much of a chance. And because I was struggling to fit so much in, my segues from song to song didn’t flow as well as they normally do.

On a related note, I blasted the monitors in the studio while playing I Was A Teenage Anarchist and I have to be honest about the fact that I gained a huge level of appreciation for that song after doing so. Maybe this new Against Me! record still has more to offer. We’ll have to see.

• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat The Devil’s Tattoo – Beat The Devil’s Tattoo
• Drive-By Truckers – After The Scene Dies – The Big To Do
• Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – Even Heroes Have To Die – The Brutalist Bricks
• Title Tracks – Found Out – It Was Easy
• Seabear – Wolfboy – We Built A Fire
• Against Me! – I Was A Teenage Anarchist – I Was A Teenage Anarchist [Single]
• Rocky Votolato – Fragments – True Devotion
• The Weakerthans – Tournament Of Hearts – Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre
• Murder By Death – Yes – Good Morning, Magpie
• MGMT – Song For Dan Treacy – Congratulation
• The Apples In Stereo – Told You Once – Travellers In Space And Time
• LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls – Drunk Girls [Single]
• Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova – Happy Accident – One Jug Of Wine, Two Vessels (Reissue)
• She And Him – Home – Volume Two

Source: 90.3 The Core

Last night’s show wasn’t too shabby, I kicked it off with a Gorillaz track again for something like the third week in a row, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

I’ve been listening a lot to the new albums from She & Him, Against Me!, and Ted Leo recently. I’m still totally in love with She & Him’s Volume Two, but Against Me’s White Crosses has only slightly grown on me. As much as I try to love it, I only feel lukewarm about it. There are songs I like a bit, but overall, it feels like the kind of album that I would be more positive about if it was from a different band. The Ted Leo record is kind of the opposite though, I think I’d like it less if it were from any other band. It’s a bit too polished, but for some reason, I’m not that bothered by it.

I finally got my hands on the new Murder By Death and Drive-By Truckers records as well. I’m about three songs into Drive-By Truckers as I type this. Not bad so far. Murder By Death’s Good Morning, Magpie feels like a solid record from the few times I’ve listened to it already. Not as good as Red Of Tooth And Claw, but still a nice offering.

Alright, back to last night’s show. It was the first show in a while where I didn’t get a listener request. I was almost disappointed by it, but overall, I was pretty happy with the show. I know the Weakerthans song I went with from the new (and probably unnecessary) live album was kind of the obvious choice, but it’s a great song either way.

• Gorillaz – Glitter Freeze – Plastic Beach
• MGMT – Flash Delirium – Flash Delirium [Single]
• Go Find, The – Running Mates – Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen
• One For The Team – Every Little Thing – Ghosts
• Postelles, The – White Night – White Night [EP]
• Weakerthans, The – Plea From A Cat Named Virtute – Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre
• Family Of The Year – Stupidland – Songbook
• Archie Bronson Outfit – Chunk – Coconut
• Whigs, The – Automatic – In The Dark
• She & Him – Over It Over Again – Volume Two
• Frightened Rabbit – Nothing Like You – The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
• Drink Up Buttercup – Gods And Gentlemen – Born And Thrown On A Hook
• Rocky Votolato – Red River – True Devotion
• Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – The Mighty Sparrow – The Brutalist Bricks
• Liars – Scissor – Sisterworld

Source: 90.3 The Core

Last night’s edition of the The Playlist was a bit mediocre. I started off great, but felt like I started losing steam quickly. Overall, the show was a little more artsy/experimental than normal. Not much, but a little.

I ended up playing a double dose of the Gorillaz. “Rhinestone Eyes” was a great intro for the show, but a listener IMed in a request for “Feel Good Inc.” and I didn’t want to rob him of that. Oddly though, that album somehow hasn’t been ripped into either of our computer based audio systems so I had to go dig out the CD from the library. It was kind of a pain, but completely worth it.

• Gorillaz – Rhinestone Eyes – Plastic Beach
• Dum Dum Girls – Lines Her Eyes – I Will Be
• Frightened Rabbit – Nothing Like You – The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
• Archie Bronson Outfit – Hoola – Coconut
• Bird And The Bee, The – Private Eyes – Guiltless Pleasures Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates
• She And Him – I’m Gonna Make It Better – Volume Two
• Broken Bells – Vaporize – Broken Bells
• Postelles, The – Looking Glass – White Night [EP]
• Donora – I Think I Like You – Donora
• Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc – Demon Days
• White Hinterland – Begin Again – Kairos
• Joanna Newsom – Jackrabbits – Have One On Me
• Liars – Scarecrows On A Killer Slant – Sisterworld
• Bundles, The – Metal Mouth – The Bundles
• Aloha – Cold Storage – Home Acres

Source: 90.3 The Core

I had a lot of fun with last night’s show, probably because my mic breaks were just me gushing over Zooey Deschanel. I got a double dose of She & Him in there, but I may have considered playing the whole thing in its entirety. It’s an awesome record. I also finally got my hands on the new Ted Leo/Pharmacists album. It’s okay, I’m not super in love with it.

The rest of the show was pretty poppy and fun. The Black Keys song was a request and I ended with a song off of Pavement’s new best of album. I’m not the biggest Pavement fan, but the album was there waiting to be played.

• Gorillaz – Rhinestone Eyes – Plastic Beach
• She & Him – Don’t Look Back – Volume Two
• Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt – Ride Friendship – I Love You! I Love You! I Love You! I Love You And I’m In Love With You! Have An Awesome Day! Have The Best Day Of Your Life!
• Archie Bronson Outfit – Hoola – Coconut
• Black Keys, The – Remember When (Side B) – Attack And Release
• Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – Woke Up Near Chelsea – The Brutalist Bricks
• Happy Birthday – Subliminal Message – Happy Birthday
• Drink Up Buttercup – Gods And Gentlemen – Born And Thrown On A Hook
• Joanna Newsom – ’81 – Have One On Me
• She & Him – Over It Over Again – Volume Two
• World Atlas – The Winter Stories – World Atlas [EP]
• Broken Bells – The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells
• Bird And The Bee, The – Maneater – Guiltless Pleasures Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates
• Aloha – Searchlight – Home Acres
• Local Natives – Camera Talk – Gorilla Manor
• Pavement – Cut Your Hair – Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement

Source: 90.3 The Core

Okay, so Against Me! and She & Him are not two bands that you’d normally talk about together, but they’re two of my favorite bands and they both have records coming out.

Against Me!’s new record will be called White Crosses and is due out in the beginning of June, but it’s already leaked. No, I don’t have a link for you, the one I used is dead already, sorry. Tom Gabel doesn’t really seem to care too much, he said there was “no drama” and even posted all the lyrics on his blog. I’ve only listened to it once so far and to be honest, I’m not really impressed. Like many people, one of my favorite things about Against Me! is that everything they do is a progression over where they’ve been. They don’t stick with anything too long and always push forward. I really love that about them. But, I’m not quite sure that I like this push. When they signed to Sire and worked with Butch Vig for New Wave I don’t think anyone really knew what to think, but the product was stellar and really exceeded a lot of expectations. But this time around, I feel like everything I feared was going to happen with New Wave did happen. White Crosses feels very polished and major labely. I’m not going to say that that’s inherently a bad thing, but I’m not sure that it’s what I want in an Against Me! album. However, Against Me! is one of the few bands that I have learned not to judge too quickly. I hated Searching For A Former Clarity when it first came out, I thought it was going to kill them for me. It wasn’t until shortly after its release when I saw them at a party at CMJ that I feel in love with the record. Based on that, I’m willing to give White Crosses some time, but that first listen was horribly disappointing.

On the opposite end of the expectation fulfillment spectrum is She & Him’s Volume Two. This record comes out next week, but it’s currently streaming in its entirety over at NPR. This album is everything I could have hoped for in a sophomore release from She & Him. They pick up right where they left off with Volume One, yet avoid regurgitating the same songs back to us again. There are thirteen songs and, this time, only two covers. Each of the songs is cute and sweet and Zooey Deschanel’s vocals continue to the best by any female singer out there. Friends and long time readers of this blog know my obsession with her–my fiance refers to her as my girlfriend–so I am pretty biased, but if you can listen to this record and not fall in love with her voice like I have, then you’ve got no business listening to music at all. You’re going to want to pick this one up.

In the meantime, check out the video for the first single, “In The Sun.” It’s pretty much the cutest thing you’ll watch this month.

The Playlist last night felt like it was packed with new stuff by known bands. As much as I love finding out about new bands, it’s awesome to have a ton of stuff to play by bands that I already love; it’s easier to get excited about what I’m playing because it’s something I know. This is definitely something that came out last night for me, I felt really into it. And I feel like this is going to be a recurring theme for the year too with everything that’s going to be coming out, it seems like every single day I see another band I love announce an album for this year.

She & Him have a new album coming out next month–you can hear their new single “Thieves” on Stereogum, it rules. The Hold Steady and Murder By Death both have records coming out on May 4th and Gaslight Anthem, Minus the Bear, and a ton more bands have records coming out as well. Oh, and The Thermals posted a new single called “Canada” on their MySpace page. It’s sweet and catchy with more “woah-oh-oh-ohs” than an entire Less Than Jake album. It’s going to be a crazy year.

In the last week, I found some time to check out the new stuff by Eels, Magnetic Fields, The Watson Twins, and Hey Young Believer. All awesome. The Hey Young Believer album reminds me a lot of a band called Del Cielo that played the ZEN House a few times when I used to do shows in college, and I’m down with that. I just wish the album wasn’t 64 minutes long. It’s a bit too long.

Anyway, I went way out on a tangent, but here’s the playlist for last night’s show. I actually ended up playing the new Alkaline Trio. I wasn’t planning on it, but I had the song stuck in my head so I figured I’d just go for it. If you’re reading on Facebook, you know the drill, head on over to the original or you’ll just see a jumbled mess below.

Source: 90.3 The Core