# 7 Album: “Plans” by Death Cab For Cutie (2005)
Why is it good?
As you can probably tell, I'm currently in an obsessive Brian Wilson phase, which has been induced by Dominic Priore's book: "Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece". My favorite Brian Wilson/Beach Boys-related anecdote by a mile: how Paul McCartney wept upon hearing "God Only Knows" for the first time (which subsequently inspired him to write "Here, There, and Everywhere" with John Lennon a few hours after hearing the would-be Beach Boys classic).
Well, just so I could push this Brian Wilson parallel to a more ridiculous level: "Marching Bands of Manhattan", the first song off of "Plans" by Death Cab For Cutie, was my "God Only Knows" (wait a minute, that's a Paul McCartney parallel). I absolutely fucking bawled the first time I played that song, especially when it got to the repetitive: "Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole/just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound/but while you debate half-empty or half-full/it slowly rises, your love is gonna drown."
At the time, I was totally convinced that it was the most beautifully sad song I've ever heard. Looking back, it's become apparent that it was just a pretty good sad song that happened to come in one of the saddest days in my life. And that's why "Plans" - an album I rarely listen to anymore - is on this list. For a considerable period of time in 2006, this stayed home in my CD player. For that period of time, I was an absolute emotional wreck. It was easily my best-timed CD purchase of the decade.
So even though I wasn't dying and anyone I knew wasn't dying, I still loved every single second of "What Sarah Said". The fact that I wasn't running away from anything didn't stop me from internalizing "Different Names for the Same Thing". And even though I wasn't trapped in a fading relationship, "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" still rang oh-so-true.
But "Summer Skin"...that's a different story. Ben Gibbard hit me right on the head with that one. But I won't go into details. This is a blog, not a diary.
What memories (fake or real) does it inspire?
Of fake emergency room terror, fake train rides, fake motorcycle rides, and real heartbreak.
# 7 Movie: “Ghost World” (2001)
Why is it good?
There is a trend in Hollywood lately - started by "Juno" and carried on recently by "(500) Days of Summer" - of the "Perceived Hipster Flick", quotation marks and capital letters very much intended. I use this label for movies that can only be perceived as hip by non-hipsters. I'm not claiming to be a "hipster"; I'm just all-too familiar with these people and their intentionally high and arbitrary standards. And I'm pretty sure that "Juno" (instant hipness: just add Iggy Pop reference!) and "(500) Days of Summer" (instant indie-cred: just add obvious Smiths and Pixies songs to otherwise blah soundtrack!) didn't fly with them.
"Ghost World" is my ultimate anti-Perceived Hipster Flick. Both the film and the graphic novel from which it was based were made by obvious hipsters (Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes, respectively) who weren't interested in being hip. In fact - and this is the single biggest reason why I love this movie (and of course, the graphic novel) - "Ghost World" is the greatest, and perhaps only, hipster tragedy ever made. It chronicles, with painful accuracy, how disappointing, lonesome, and hopeless it is to be in love with great things in a world that is increasingly becoming un-great.
Enid is one of my favorite characters of all time. Her genuine hatred for the people around her feels so palpable that, when it's time for her to hate her own state of mind, it feels infinitely palpable. Also, she doesn't end up playing guitar and singing with Seymour before the closing credits. Which is weird because you'd think the pregnant teenaged girl would be more depressed. But I guess Juno is just too hip to be bothered by reality.
What memories (fake or real) does it inspire?
Of spending over 5 grand on my very first, and probably only, graphic novel and collector's doll (it's supposedly rare in this country, you know). And no, Enid's not for sale. Give me five figures and we'll probably talk.
What does this list say so far?
More sadness! More indie versus pseudo-indie doctrine! This is not a trend. It's a complex.
album cover and movie poster from amazon.com
As you can probably tell, I'm currently in an obsessive Brian Wilson phase, which has been induced by Dominic Priore's book: "Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece". My favorite Brian Wilson/Beach Boys-related anecdote by a mile: how Paul McCartney wept upon hearing "God Only Knows" for the first time (which subsequently inspired him to write "Here, There, and Everywhere" with John Lennon a few hours after hearing the would-be Beach Boys classic).
Well, just so I could push this Brian Wilson parallel to a more ridiculous level: "Marching Bands of Manhattan", the first song off of "Plans" by Death Cab For Cutie, was my "God Only Knows" (wait a minute, that's a Paul McCartney parallel). I absolutely fucking bawled the first time I played that song, especially when it got to the repetitive: "Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole/just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound/but while you debate half-empty or half-full/it slowly rises, your love is gonna drown."
At the time, I was totally convinced that it was the most beautifully sad song I've ever heard. Looking back, it's become apparent that it was just a pretty good sad song that happened to come in one of the saddest days in my life. And that's why "Plans" - an album I rarely listen to anymore - is on this list. For a considerable period of time in 2006, this stayed home in my CD player. For that period of time, I was an absolute emotional wreck. It was easily my best-timed CD purchase of the decade.
So even though I wasn't dying and anyone I knew wasn't dying, I still loved every single second of "What Sarah Said". The fact that I wasn't running away from anything didn't stop me from internalizing "Different Names for the Same Thing". And even though I wasn't trapped in a fading relationship, "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" still rang oh-so-true.
But "Summer Skin"...that's a different story. Ben Gibbard hit me right on the head with that one. But I won't go into details. This is a blog, not a diary.
What memories (fake or real) does it inspire?
Of fake emergency room terror, fake train rides, fake motorcycle rides, and real heartbreak.
# 7 Movie: “Ghost World” (2001)
Why is it good?
There is a trend in Hollywood lately - started by "Juno" and carried on recently by "(500) Days of Summer" - of the "Perceived Hipster Flick", quotation marks and capital letters very much intended. I use this label for movies that can only be perceived as hip by non-hipsters. I'm not claiming to be a "hipster"; I'm just all-too familiar with these people and their intentionally high and arbitrary standards. And I'm pretty sure that "Juno" (instant hipness: just add Iggy Pop reference!) and "(500) Days of Summer" (instant indie-cred: just add obvious Smiths and Pixies songs to otherwise blah soundtrack!) didn't fly with them.
"Ghost World" is my ultimate anti-Perceived Hipster Flick. Both the film and the graphic novel from which it was based were made by obvious hipsters (Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes, respectively) who weren't interested in being hip. In fact - and this is the single biggest reason why I love this movie (and of course, the graphic novel) - "Ghost World" is the greatest, and perhaps only, hipster tragedy ever made. It chronicles, with painful accuracy, how disappointing, lonesome, and hopeless it is to be in love with great things in a world that is increasingly becoming un-great.
Enid is one of my favorite characters of all time. Her genuine hatred for the people around her feels so palpable that, when it's time for her to hate her own state of mind, it feels infinitely palpable. Also, she doesn't end up playing guitar and singing with Seymour before the closing credits. Which is weird because you'd think the pregnant teenaged girl would be more depressed. But I guess Juno is just too hip to be bothered by reality.
What memories (fake or real) does it inspire?
Of spending over 5 grand on my very first, and probably only, graphic novel and collector's doll (it's supposedly rare in this country, you know). And no, Enid's not for sale. Give me five figures and we'll probably talk.
What does this list say so far?
More sadness! More indie versus pseudo-indie doctrine! This is not a trend. It's a complex.
album cover and movie poster from amazon.com
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