Tuesday, June 26, 2012

For Your Listening Devices

It's been a while since I last posted something, mostly due to the lull between Mad Men and Breaking Bad seasons, but I really do want to start posting more often if I can. The following list consists of songs I've been listening to the past week that I think are absolutely fantastic. Most of them are about 1-2 years old but I've only recently discovered them myself so if you haven't heard any of them yet feel free to give them a listen.

Those Darlins - “Screws Get Loose”
The song is very throwback Rock and Rollish and is a really fun listen. The band is still really raw and it makes it that much better.

The New Pornographers - “Moves”
Definitely my favorite music video of the songs I'm listing. It includes celebrity cameos from Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, Donald Glover, Kevin Corrigan, and most of the Daily Show writers.

Converse - "I'm a Goner" (Matt and Kim, Soulja Boy, Andrew W.K.)
Somehow the combination of an Indie Rock group, rapper, and heavy metal rocker form an amazingly catchy song that has probably gotten the most listens of any other song on this list for me.

Tennis - Marathon
Really like this band. They're a married duo who make indie pop and they have a great sound that becomes really uplifting.

Sound of Guns – Sometimes
This is a plain out amazing "pump-up" song. Once I start walking again I can't wait to listen to it when I contemplate the idea of working out.

Astronautilis – Contrails
I don't listen to rap often but this song is certainly an exception. Super catchy, love the lyrics and the message he's getting across. Plus it's not everyday you see someone who looks like Neil Patrick Harris rapping.

Alabama Shakes – Hold On
Out of this world vocals. A song straight from the soul. Just close your eyes and feel the warmth.

Comments are certainly welcome, whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Mad Men: “The Phantom”


“It’ll go away, it always does.” – Don Draper

What a strange, adventurous, dark, wonderful season it’s been for Mad Men, and it’s only fitting it would end it in such a vintage Mad Men fashion. In the first episode of the season Roger asked Don “when were things going to get back to normal?” Of course we knew at the time that Roger would never see his version of “normal” again as the 60’s transitioning into the 70’s marks one of the biggest, fastest cultural changes in our country’s history. What we didn’t know was that over the coming months we would witness Megan serenading Don in front 40 of his closest “friends” with a little "Zou Bisou Bisou,” Pete getting into a fistfight (twice!), Roger taking LSD (twice!), Joan terminating it with Greg and prostituting herself out to Jaguar, and Lane ending it all in his office. As for Don? Well it seems our anti-hero may in fact fulfill Roger’s wish after all.

The episode begins with Don experiencing tooth pain, but instead of going directly to the dentist he determines that the pain will eventually go away, symbolic of how Don treats every disturbance that crops up for him. But once the pain doesn’t go away, and he finally gives into the pleads of those around him, he goes to the dentist and is greeted with instant relief and freedom once his tooth is extracted. At this point it seems as though Don Draper finally figures out that things don’t just go away, they become phantoms or demons that will lay in wait and return to you when you are at your most vulnerable. One of those phantoms being the guilt eating away at him on the inside in the outcomes of Adam and Lane, both of whom were victims of his actions that he is now forced to bear alone. The other being that inescapable self-loathing that Dick Whitman developed as a young boy and has followed him throughout his entire life. And for Don the only the only way to feed these ghosts that are constantly on his tail is to give into their desires, to overindulge them so they will leave him alone long enough to think. And the only way he knows how to do that is through women and alcohol.

The final scene certainly gives us a lot ponder about. Will Don again give into his temptation? The temptation he’s so easily thrown by the wayside since he committed himself to Megan? My money is on “of course she will,” for the simple reason that it’s the only life he’s been truly comfortable in. We also see in this scene that Megan is reprising the roll of Belle in the “Beauty and the Beast” themed commercial they are shooting, are we then to assume that Don is the Beast in this scenario? It’s certainly interesting to examine it in that light because in the fairy tale Belle gets to live in the Beasts’ exquisite castle and is given whatever she wants or desires upon her arrival. To the same accord Megan has gotten to live this same life of luxury and it has become quite apparent to her that she hasn’t done anything to deserve it. It certainly looks like Don and Megan’s’ marriage has more than a couple speed bumps ahead for it.

We also see that Pete is starting down the same path Don, albeit in much more punch-able fashion. Pete is suffering from his fear of complacency. When he was just starting out at Sterling Cooper he had goals in mind: move up in the company, start landing accounts, start a family, become successful. And now that Pete is starting to reach his goals he’s starting to question them and beginning to wonder what else is out there and how can he get it for himself? Much like Don, Pete’s destined to live a life that is unsatisfying. Sure money, women, and  a new apartment in the city will give him that momentary triumph that can tide him over for a while but unlike Don he’ll never be “top dog,” the guy that other guys aspire to be, and for that reason he’d rather get banned from a train than apologize for his fantasies.

Overall, this season of Mad Men was extremely dark, from shootings across the country, a cancer scare, a murder hallucination, a suicide, and many more. Because of this I’m not sure how enjoyable this season really was, especially in comparison to last season which still remains my favorite. I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Mad Men next season but I’m pretty positive it won’t be nearly as grim. Heck I think even Matthew Weiner alludes to that very fact when Trudy tells off Pete for sulky attitude: “all this doom and gloom, I’m tired of it!”

Some other quick notes on the episode:

  • Even the now despicable Harry doesn't want Lane’s old office, can’t say I blame him.
  • Ginsberg really does seem to be from another planet at times as his shirt was covered in stains during their meeting with Topaz. Also, interesting to note that Topaz was disappointed to not have that woman’s perspective SCDP clients had grown accustom to.
  • Speaking of Peggy, I absolutely loved the scene with her and Don in the movie theatre and the mentor returns to the mentee. She wisely explains to Don about her departure that “That’s what happens when you help someone, they succeed and move on.” Yeah I’m glad you get to move up and all Peggy, but we need you back at SCDP before the end of next season.
  • I laughed out loud twice during the finale. The first being when Pete demanded fresh Life Savers from his secretary when he was on the phone with Beth. The second when we discover the prank caller to the Draper residence is none other than Roger Sterling who puts on a fake French accent when Don picks up the phone.
  • Looks like they finally have that second floor they've been telling clients they had from the beginning, I’m sure we’ll get more than a few good moments out of the agency’s new work-space next season.
  • Pete needs to take a martial arts class or something.
  • There was something hauntingly beautiful about Don watching Megan’s’ screen test. It’s like he realized who she was and who she wasn't at the same time.
  • Also, I loved the moment when the five partners are looking out at the view on their new floor, but I’m a sucker for that kind of cinematography.
  • Roger takes LSD again. I don’t think that could ever get old.

Comments are certainly welcome, whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Mad Men: “Commissions and Fees”


“What is happiness? It’s the moment before you want more happiness.” –Don Draper

The penultimate episode of Mad Men followed along the lines of what is superstitiously necessary for a wedding: something old (the return of power-hungry Don Draper), something new (Sally making the transition into womanhood), something borrowed (Don finds out Lane has been embezzling money), and something blue (sorry you had to go out that way Lane).

This marks the second time over the course of Mad Men that Don was directly related to a person’s decision to commit suicide, with the first being his a little brother from the Dick Whitman days. In the case of Adam though, he was simply looking for a little attention from his older brother. This scenario was much less the result of Don’s actions however, and much more the fault of Lane. Don could have very easily made life even more abysmal for Lane after becoming aware of his criminal actions but decided to keep it under wraps and allow Lane an opportunity to start over. That being said I’m sure it will eat at Don all the same if not more so as he’ll blame himself for the act by not allowing Lane a second chance at the agency. We see him immediately try to reconcile himself by insisting they cut Lane down to save him that last bit of dignity and when he returns home to find Sally’s pseudo boyfriend, he offers Glen a chance to get something to go his way, whatever he wanted. Chalk up another mental scar for our leading man.

So Lane Pryce is no longer with us in the world of Mad Men, but he certainly left his mark by allowing for the formation of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce* and helping to keep the company afloat in their time of financial crisis. The writing, however, has kind of always been on the wall for Lane to eventually take his own life. At the beginning of his run on the series Lane was the doormat for his employers over in London as he was the one forced to relocate time and time again and do the dirty work associated with mergers and whatnot. His highpoint certainly came when he fired Don, Roger and Cooper in order to void their contracts but he quickly fell back to doormat status soon after.** Lane was a man who was constantly playing catch-up in an attempt to fit in whether that be trying to assimilate into American culture (the Mets pennant on his wall in his office) or his endless struggle to feel relevant in both the workplace and at home.

*Will the agency just drop the name “Pryce” at the end now, or replace it with a different one? Sterling Cooper Draper Campbell?

**Including a physical beating at the hand of his elderly father when Lane had decided to cut ties with his family in favor of his “chocolate bunny” at the Playboy Club.

Before Lane’s final exit though, we got our old friend Don Draper back. Not content, honeymoon phase Don Draper, but the cutthroat wipe the blood off of his face before he goes and gets a drink Don Draper we used to love so much. I agree with Roger sum it up best upon the reemergence of this Don: “I like that guy. I missed him.” Don is gunning for the big fish now and is tired of bringing in little account after another, it’s what their agency needed to do to stay alive after the loss of Lucky Strike but they can hold their own now and Don isn’t going to stop until he gets them to the next level.

Over on the Sally side of things, it felt a little “after school special” at times. Ultimately, this marks an official end of Sally’s childhood and begins the first stages of what will almost certainly be a troubled young adult life. But Sally has been forced to grow up much sooner than most children her age should have to at this point in their life, this just means her physical body is starting to catch up with the many years head start her emotional body has on it. I’ve also never been a huge fan of Glen because of the creepy demeanor he has about him, and I’m not entirely sure if that’s intentional or not. That being said, Kiernan Shipka is such as amazing actress for someone her age so getting her involved in any way with the show is fine with me.

Some other quick notes on the episode:

  • Roger’s enlightenment has worn off. Roger taking LSD was such a great thing both in the moment and for the way it altered hos worldviews for the time after. But of course in typical Roger Sterling fashion it lost its allure once it stopped seeming fresh to him.
  • Only Betty would turn the news of her daughter running to her after getting her period for the first time into something she could use as evidence that Sally liked her more than Megan.
  • “I don’t want to be your partner, I've seen what’s involved” –Ken Cosgrove
  • Kenny’s made it blatantly clear he doesn't want his job to become his life like everyone else who works for the agency. Glad to see him join the list of Harry, Peggy and Ginsberg who have negotiated side deals with Roger this season.
  • I know a story involving Peggy wouldn't have fit very well into this episode, but hopefully we don’t lose many stories in the future involving one of the best female characters on television.

Comments are certainly welcome whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.