Love Queen, love this song

I've been realizing lately that I like Queen. A lot. I don't know why I didn't realize that the same band played all of my favorites, but anyway... I was intrigued by this Ask Metafilter question: "[Who plays the] alt-rock song... [that] sounds like I imagine Queen might sound if they were just starting out today?" One of the responders hit the nail on the head (the title of this post is a link to the YouTube video).

Inessa, have you ever heard of Mika? They seem quirky enough but maybe too perky for you. I haven't tried any of their other songs yet, but I love this.

Don't be an elevator hog.

If you need to take the elevator one floor down or up, use the stairs! People, they're called legs. Use them. Don't slow down travel for the rest of us who need to traverse multiple floors.

The Flaming Dells

I've seen this Dell laptop ad at the movie theater, before the previews, and I've fallen in love with the song. I Googled it only to realize that it's a Flaming Lips song, "The WAND." Ah ha. I didn't even think it could be them. Oh yeah, and the commercial isn't half-bad either. I might have to think about buying a colorful Inspiron for my new computer.

Tea time with Owen

I caught the blurb on Yahoo that Owen Wilson was doing better, according to Wes Anderson. Reviews for The Darjeeling Limited, which opens September 29 in limited release, aren't too promising. The two which have trickled onto Rotten Tomatoes are splats though. Never fret; we shall keep you posted.

Let's take the Lexus.

I saw a Lexus SUV taxi today. What's next, the Hummer taxi? The Porsche taxi? And for you people who've asked me about the Cash Cab, no, I haven't seen it yet.

Bourne again

I know it came out a month ago, but I saw The Bourne Ultimatum today and had fun. Terrific ass-kicking action scenes galore. I think there should be a Jason Bourne versus James Bond deathmatch.

For people who know me: http://www.observer.com/2007/truth-about-real-estate-bourne-ultimatum (slightly spoilery perhaps?)

Atone home

I read in my Newsweek (the fall preview) about the upcoming film version of Atonement which is directed by Joe Wright (of that blah recent Pride and Prejudice) and stars Keira Knightley (of that blah recent Pride and Prejudice). Atonement is a novel by Ian McEwen which I read a couple of years ago. It's draggy and difficult at times but moved me [to depression] at the end. My main gripe is that I considered the younger sister the main character while the movie will probably feature Keira mostly more than the sister. I used to be on the Keira train, but we're over. She can take her skinny self and Orlando Bloom doppelganger boyfriend and hide out for a couple of years. Bend It Like Beckham rules because Keira plays second fiddle and doesn't get the boy. I love Parminder Nagra.

60,000 Feet Over

Parker, the remix of the Six Feet Under theme was the squishing in your seat/getting the heck off the plane music on my Delta flight.

Interpol, Our Love to Admire

I must declare promptly my love for the first track and the last track on Interpol’s latest, Our Love to Admire. “Pioneer to the Falls” and “The Lighthouse” are massively beautiful gorgeous hymns, some of the best work this group has penned and performed. “The Lighthouse” particularly is sparse and atmospheric, recalling one of my favorite cuts, Radiohead’s “Like Spinning Plates” as well as “Song to the Siren” by This Mortal Coil. You can easily picture in your mind standing on a rocky shoreline at midnight, gazing out into the oily black sea and glancing as the stoic beaming lighthouse. I am not sure if the lyrics are anything about that since I usually don’t pay much attention to Paul Banks’s odd poetry, if I even can comprehend what he’s singing about, and the lyric book, true to Interpol’s spartan mod nature, contains no lyrics. My other choice cut is the first single, “The Heinrich Maneuver,” which is bouncy and jangly but the other tracks tend to warrant many listens before sticking into your memory. I came up with an analogy for this observation. When I graduated from high school, family friends gave me a set of brass bookends with my initial engraved onto them. In my dorm room in college, I used them to contain my textbooks which were mostly for unappealing subjects and classes (I disliked most of my classes). That is just like Our Love to Admire. The bookends are the opener and closer, and the dull textbooks are the tracks in the middle. There might be an occasional non-dud like the aforementioned “The Heinrich Maneuver” as well as “No I in Threesome” and “Pace is the Trick.” Some reviews have lamented the absence of Sam Fogarino’s militant drumming and Carlos D’s dope bass lines. As a consolation prize, new instruments join the fray, such as piano and double bass. Not quite the same. I want my jerky dance-y tunes like from Turn on the Bright Lights! I’ll keep listening though and be quiet.