03.22.10 My Top Ten RIGHT NOW

By Jeremy Kotin

1. FOOD De Santos

Delicious is the only word to describe this meal, rich in flavor but not overly decadent in style.  The tuna tartar was a delightful balance between raw fish and avocado accompanied by a waffle cut crisp.  The beef carpaccio was made beyond tasty with the addition of thick truffle gnocchi.  But the entrees are where this restaurant really shines with an incredible basil encrusted swordfish on a slightly sweet bed of corn.  The flavor combination was to die for.  But the true beauty of the evening was the simple filet mignon.  Such an amazing cut of meat with some buttery whipped potatoes to accompany it.  Sheer perfection… A

2. ALBUM Volume Two She & Him

They’ve done it again, created a perfect blend of retro and modern pop sensibility. Take a listen to “In The Sun” and try to resist smiling to the grooving sing-a-long chorus and Zooey Deschanel’s gentle seductive winking voice.  They are never better than on the girl group throwback “Over It Over Again” and even make the slowed down “If You Can’t Sleep” work. While this album isn’t as immediately catchy as Volume One and has a much more subdued tone, with a couple more listens, it has become the perfect disc of sunshiny mellow summer tunes… B+

3. MUSIC VIDEO “This Too Shall Pass” Ok Go

I was tempted to call it just another elaborate gimmick, much like the impressive treadmill video from this same band that became a YouTube sensation a couple years ago.  But this video based around a crazily elaborate Rube Goldberg machine plays so nicely into the bouncy song that it won me over.  There’s even a section in which a series of water filled glasses take over the tune.  Through intelligent design and amazing timing with the music, the whole piece is elevated to ridiculously intelligent.  Now if only we could elevate the style away from the deliberate homemade quality… B

4. DVD Elaine Stritch At Liberty

The word raconteur is obnoxious but too apropos here to not use it.  Stritchy commands the stage with such grace and humility while exposing every bit of her life from the amazing opportunities to a bevy of heartbreaks and setbacks.  Her frank discussion of alcoholism is welcome and beyond moving.  Her approach to the impossibility of love will have your eyes watering.  It’s just a shame that whoever was behind the camera didn’t have the same depth of understanding of the subject, providing a very straightforward document of the nearly three hour stage show.  Well worth the viewing to see a master at work… B+

5. ALBUM Head First Goldfrapp

I was a huge fan of Goldfrapp’s change toward moody tunes on Seventh Tree, so this return to the dance track is less than thrilling..  Immediately with “Rocket” you hear bits of ABBA, ELO and Olivia Newton John all channeled into that crazy unique voice.  But the sound and songs don’t really go anywhere after that, all blending together into a string of too similar tracks.  There are a few that I can imagine remixed into a club hit, but it has no where near the depth of the previous work… C+

6. EVENT The Return of Warm Weather

The streets become a bit mobbed.  Every patch of grass becomes the perfect venue to catch a few rays.  People wear clothing that is way early for the season, although cutoff jean shorts really should never be in season.  Even Central Park was joining the splendor with a surprising array of crocus and snowdrops dotting the barren landscape with lush greenery. Everyone smiles a bit more, people move just a bit slower and a general sense of pleasant happiness settles among the usual hustle and bustle of New York City.  Fingers are crossed that we don’t get the usual April snowstorm that dashes any and all hope of summer… A

7. TV Psych – Season Finale

In an episode devoted to the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, this already deliriously ridiculous show reached a whole new level of surprising depth while not abandoning any goofball roots.  The sendoffs to such classic films as Vertigo, North By Northwest and Psycho were humorously inspired, especially Detective Lassiter being rundown by a town bi-plane.  But as the crazy killer took the inspiration further and further, there was an actual sense of dread that a beloved character might actually be killed off and that the stakes were far higher than ever before.  For a show this zany to find some element of gravitas is quite wonderful, if only people would tune in and raise it above a cult hit… A

8. ALBUM Almost Alice

This compendium of music inspired by Tim Burton’s new Alice is just a bit unnecessary.  Unlike the genius compiling that was done for the latest in the Twilight saga, filled with luminaries of the modern alternative music scene, this slightly goth effort panders too much to the source material creating awkward combinations of song topics with illogical melodies.  Metro Station and the electronica work of 30H!3 are decent.  The Avril Lavigne theme song is cloying at best.  The only real gem here is Grace Potter covering the excellent Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit,” but seriously, how do you mess that up?  A decent listen, but only worth one… C+

9. TV America’s Next Top Model

I always want to believe that I’m above this show, but with every cycle I get sucked into the inane genius of Tyra Banks’ competition for modeling glory, not that any winner seems to have really gone on to top model status.  This year it’s all the same mix, the reluctant girl who can really model, the one with body issues, the sassy one that wants to scream just for the fun of it.  And while it’s all so standard, the addition of Andre Leon Talley on the judging panel has added a little spark with his dropping of French bon mots every couple of minutes.  And if nothing else, there is the sheer ridiculously guilty pleasure of seeing the crazy that is Tyra in all her glory… B

10. MOVIE The Addams Family Values (1993)

After reliving the enjoyment of the first film so much, I was compelled to pop in the even better follow-up.  Much of it is the same old tricks, but the inspired addition of the Camp Chippowa setting is so inspired that this sequel completely trumps the first.  Watching Wednesday and Pugsley navigate the sticky sweet camp run by the brilliant team of Christine Baranski and Peter MacNicol is laugh out loud funny.  The Joan Cusack storyline hasn’t held up as well as I had remembered, but it doesn’t distract from the zany fun.  A lovely reminder of twisted childhood fun… A