6.15.09 My Top Ten RIGHT NOW

By Jeremy Kotin

1. NEW PARK The High Line
It might not be complete, but that little stretch of High Line from Gansevoort to 20th street is rather phenomenal.  Although an architecture friend of mine pointed out some flaws in the design, we both agreed that it was an incredible feat to turn a busted piece of train tracks into a fantastic outdoor oasis.  The plant life does truly seem to grow wild out of the railroad ties, bursting in an assortment of colors very clearly mimicking an abandoned railroad in the countryside.  Benches pop up out of the landscape providing decent seating throughout.  But it was the wooden lounges that really impressed me, looking like a piece of a cabana plopped in the middle of the city looking out over the Hudson.  I cannot wait to see as this new piece of NYC develops over the years, but this is an excellent and auspicious start.

2. ALBUM The Camel’s Back Psapp
Weird noise opens this sonically charged album of pure inventive happiness, trumpets and saxophones blaring, bass guitar and crazy pipe organs giving the overall sound that the band has dubbed toytronica.  Mixed over this is the low register winking voice of Galia Durant, providing a lovely counterpoint to the insanity playing out beneath, heard most beautifully on “The Monster Song.” You even get glimmers of Pink Floyd on the glorious instrumental “Marshrat” As if this weren’t enough reason to listen, then search them on YouTube and watch some of the most fun stop motion animation music videos ever created. If I haven’t gotten you to listen yet, then think of it this way: Psapp is what the baby of Sufjan Stevens, Keren Ann, Imogene Heap and Fiona Apple would sound like.  Oh, and one last tidbit, in concert they throw hand made cats into the audience.  Give yourself a gift today and take a moment, listen to it and love it.

3. TV Nurse Jackie
I have my doubts about this show, but when your pilot opens with the magnificent theme from Valley of the Dolls sung by Dionne Warwick, you’ve got my attention.  Edie Falco creates a character that is so authentically lived in that you’re captivated even if she is committing questionable acts and giving in to a painkiller addiction.  And for such a sobering show, there are an amazing number of throw off lines that had me literally laughing out loud despite watching this thing at the crack of dawn by myself.  Haaz Sleiman who impressed with his role in The Visitor takes on a gay sidekick role with fresh perspective. I’m not sure if this show will continue to hit the right beats or just hit you over the head with the concept of good people do bad things, but in the immediate, I’m curious to see what’s next.
4. MOVIE Boys in the Band
This William Friedkin directed version of the Matt Crowley stage play is a fascinating look at gay culture in NYC at the end of the 60s, encapsulated in a single catastrophic birthday party hosted on a roof deck on the Upper East Side.  Surprisingly, this film doesn’t feel particularly dated aside from the overall look, the fashion (which is still in a renaissance now) and the music references (also in a renaissance now).  The histrionics are a little overplayed and the shock of a straight man in the midst of it all doesn’t have the same dramatic daring that I imagine it once did, but the themes of extreme happiness and extreme isolation play out raw and accurately.  The film does feel a bit stifled by its play predecessor, only breaking out of the confines of a single location through the incredibly paced opening montage of New York life that is so accurate and winning that you feel like you’re watching your own life flash before your eyes.

5. ALBUM Lenka Lenka
I avoided this album for quite some time fearing that it was already too hyped to ever really be enjoyed.  But thanks to the massive going out of business sale at Virgin Records, I was able to procure it for minimal cost, and amazingly, it’s a fun album caught somewhere between the intelligent singer/songwriting of Ingrid Michaelson and the less intelligent but addictive Sara Bareilles (clearly heard in the opening track, “The Show”).  She even approaches the great Regina Spektor with the delightfully simple and quiet “Don’t Let Me Fall,” with the simple pizzicato opening up into a waltz-like pop ballad.  I have a soft spot for “Anything I’m Not,” moving from major to minor complete with Burt Bacharach style horn section and the message of wanting to escape from the box that other people put us in.  No, this album wont change your life, but it could brighten a day or two and with all these rainy summer days, that’s worth something.

6. SHORT FILM Pixar’s Partly Cloudy
If you’ve ever wondered where babies come from, this wont do much for teaching you, but as with all things Pixar, it’ll make you laugh and warm your heart.  Coming before Up, this was an odd short in the Pixar canon for it’s slightly dark take on the whole baby and stork concept.  It is quite delightful to see this stormy cloud create creepy baby creatures that you would be smart to avoid, from an electric eel to an adorable croc.  But it’s the touching ending that really gets me every time, as the more happy and successful clouds help out our sad protagonist.  This cartoon actually reminded me a lot of the earlier Disney works, the Silly Symphonies in which character development came straight out of the story, never relying on more than music and sound effects.

7. TV Weeds
I keep thinking this show has derailed as the plots get more and more outlandish and depressing, but anchored by such amazing acting and a genius creator, the show continues to please.  So it is with great satisfaction that I nestled into my couch and watched Mary Louise Parker rip through the role she was born to play.  Justin Kirk continues to enliven what could be a nothing character with deep pot-induced emotion.  And Kevin Nealon’s odd brand of stoner humor plays wonderfully into the ensemble.  But nothing compares to Elizabeth Perkins in her wonderfully dry witted role as Celia.  I would never have believed that this show would last, let alone move away from the suburbs and into the harsh realities of the drug trade.  What a wonderful mess.

8. ALBUM Jim Jamie Lidell
Opening with “Another Day,” you are immersed in a retro Motown sound that recalls Stevie Wonder at his best with those incredible background girl group vocals that make the whole thing punch with soul and a liveliness that you rarely hear in modern recordings.  “Out of My System” crackles thanks to a wonderful conjunction of the old school with flavors of modern techno working together amazingly well.  And when he slows things down with “All I Wanna Do” you think you might be listening to Ben E. King riffing on “Stand By Me” or even a cover of Aretha Franklin doing “Do Right Woman.”  And of course, as with all of this new soul music coming out of England, Lidell is a pasty scrawny white guy!  Like James Hunter and his female counter parts of Duffy and Amy Winehouse, there’s a whole new breed of soul movement that I’m quite enjoying.

9. SOUNDTRACK Next to Normal
I realize I gave a half-hearted positive review of this musical, and I stand by it, but the soundtrack is a whole other situation.  The music feels immediate, clever, fresh and is completely making me want to see it again.  Alice Ripley’s voice is harsh and imperfect creating the perfect timbre of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  Songs that fell flat during the show all of a sudden click, like “I’m Alive,” a catchy forceful tune from the character of the son or “Superboy and the Invisible Girl,” in which the lyrics are so poignant when heard clearly in this version as opposed to the mess on stage.  All in all it makes me wish that the show had been chopped down to the essential 90 minutes, no intermission and really pack the punch that is clearly in hiding.

10. TV The end of Pushing Daisies
It is with great sadness that I write this obituary to one of the few shows on television that was actually willing to try something different, if not always successful at it.  The quick witted dialogue, harking back to screwball comedies, the garish production design reminiscent of Tim Burton as seen through rose tinted glasses and the occasional musical numbers showcasing the wee dynamo Kristin Chenoweth all combined to make a beautiful show that deserved more respect from audiences and the industry alike rather than turning it into a forgotten gem.  But I am glad that unlike many other shows that fall to the wayside of our schedules, ABC allowed the final episodes to be broadcast.  Now if only the last episode didn’t have a ridiculous coda thrown on to make me feel better about never seeing my pie maker and his dead girlfriend again…