We also started into the first season of 24, which both of us missed (or avoided) at the time, and...well, lots of people like it, so it's probably worth at least checking out, right? Eh. Anyway, the show kept our interest enough that we felt the need to see it through to the end. But there's very clunky, expository dialogue, technology fails only in convenient ways, and I hate just about every major character on the show - they're either whiny and helpless (we started calling the Bauer family "the Stupids"), or morally cartoonish. Or, in the case of Dennis Hopper, actually cartoonish - I'm pretty sure I've only heard worse accents when people are trying to be funny.

Needless to say, we won't be checking out season two.

On the other hand, there's an article in the New York Times today about chapters 13-22 of R.Kelly's Trapped In The Closet, and the headline, "Outrageous Farce From R. Kelly: He’s In on the Joke, Right?", makes me want to go back and watch the first chapters again. No, really - the idea that this insane, fucked-up work isn't an attempt to create something serious makes me love it all the more. Oh, and Will Oldham has a brief cameo, which perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised by.

The good TV recently was the first disc of Simon Schama's The Power of Art, a BBC art history program. We'd been rabid fans of his History of Britain when it aired on TVO last summer, mostly for his obvious relish of the more lurid stories; one of our favourites was the one about Mary, Queen of Scots' head falling to the ground when, after her beheading, someone picked it by the hair (not realizing it was a wig). The Brits may not be able to cook, but they sure know how to throw a regicide.

Anyhoo - art. The first three programs deal with Caravaggio (painter, boozer, murderer, Knight Templar), Bernini (sculptor, architect, womanizer, buddy of the Pope) and Rembrandt (painter, spendthrift, Dutchman); and in each case, Schama weaves together the artists' life story, major works and some historical and æsthetic context into a reasonably compelling whole. It's not as juicy - not often, at least - as his earlier series, and perhaps as a consequence it relies rather heavily on dubious re-enactments (I'm pretty sure Caravaggio didn't sound like a small-time London thug). Still, the subject matter is interesting enough, and there's enough time spent looking at the art itself to make the program well worth checking out. (Some later episodes cover Mark Rothko, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh, the last of which provided JCrammit the thrill of hearing Schama say "fucking".)

~

The magazine Stylus recently ran a list of the 50 Greatest Rock Drummers, and needless to say, I've got a problem with it. First off, you've got Billy Cobham (pretty clearly a jazz drummer) and Tony Allen (who played with Fela Kuti); and if we're going to start opening things up like that, then the number one position had better be Ronald Shannon Jackson or Elvin Jones, not the tit from Led Zepplin.

Secondly, the tit from Led Zepplin shouldn't be number one anyway, because he, like the band, was and is grossly overrated. I'll grant that he's a good drummer - not as talented as Ginger Baker (Cream) or Jaki Leibezeit (Can) or, for that matter, Zach Hill (Hella) - but better than competent, and inventive enough to deserve a place, oh, somewhere in the twenties, maybe between the guy from the Jesus Lizard and the guy from Khanate.

But he does show up at number one, and Keith Moon - a notoriously sloppy drummer - gets to be first runner-up. One of the sad facts of life for drummers (in rock, at least) is that how well you play is less important than who you play with. When you look at the Stylus top ten, this becomes violently apparent. The inclusion of Leibzeit I'll grant might be because he's a very good player (again, I'm not sure he's better than Zach Hill) or it might be because of Can's enduring hip cachet. Stephen Morris' placement at #5 absolutely is due to Joy Division's hallowed place in alt-rock history, and Charlie Watts? He gets the kind of compliments that the dumb but earnest kids got in school - 'well, he's certainly steady!' But, actually, he's not; listen to "Honky Tonk Women", where he speeds up like crazy. No, Watts is a decent drummer, but like Moon, Bonham, and at least another third off Stylus' list, his greatest achievement was joining the right band.

There are a couple of other stupid inclusions on the list. Grant Hart (Husker Du, #44) sticks in my craw because of their reasons for including him: he can sing and play drums at the same time! Hey, you know who else can do that? The guy from Triumph. And Phil Collins. Both of whom are better, chops-wise, than Hart is, was, or will ever be. Unfortunately for them, they didn't play in cool bands.

Bill Berry from REM (#20) is pretty good, too. But that's it. He's just pretty good. I wouldn't even imagine he was a terribly influential drummer for college rock bands at the time - the Feelies had more of a reputation for their rhythm section; the guy from Camper Van Beethoven played with a smaller kit and did more with it, and Larry Mullen Jr of U2, who's placed at #21, is not only a better player, he's also much better-looking.

Who do I like? The most egregious omission, in my opinion, was Jim White, who plays like a motherfucker for the Dirty Three, on Cat Power's Moon Pix and with Nina Nastasia (particularly on the just-released You Follow Me). Also very good: Rey Washam (Scratch Acid/Rapeman), Mac McNeilly (the Jesus Lizard), Brit Walford (Slint, The For Carnation), and Scott Plouf (Spinanes, Built to Spill). But quibbles like this is what inane lists are for, and why nerds like me enjoy them so much.

Normally, I don't think we're really summer blockbuster people. But for Harry Potter, we made an exception (opening weekend, no less!) Earlier this year, Jess borrowed the first four DVD's, and watched them all over a couple of days (I stuck through all of the first and third films, most of the second and not a great deal of the fourth). In brief: number one is fine, number two is too long, number three is terrific, and I'm going to guess that number four is pretty good.

Jess has now finished all seven books (and cried at the end of the last); I stopped reading the second one about a chapter and a half in (Rowling's prose, at least what I've read, does nothing for me, and I don't find Potter terribly sympathetic.) I may give the rest of them a try at some point, but I also just picked up Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy in anticipation of the upcoming Golden Compass movie, and I think that'll fill my kidlit quota for the year. (Incidentally: in an article on the Potter books, Pullman's books are described as having a "killjoy, Santa-Claus-is-dead socialism". Dude. Write a book just for me, why dontcha?)

So anyway (yes, I'm getting back to my original point here) we saw The Order of the Phoenix, and it's pretty good. Jess pointed out that several significant sections of the book were left out, including, I think, a couple of characters. I countered this by asking if she seriously thought what the movie needed was more plot. At a lean (cough) 2 hours and 20 minutes, it's the shortest film of the series; and while my ass appreciated the (relatively) brief running time, it results in some blink-and-you-missed-it moments. For the most part, though, it's not difficult to follow without having read the books, or even having paid much attention during the previous films. The large battle scene between the titular group of good wizards and Voldemort's followers at the end of the film is quite smartly done - visually impressive, but clearly beyond the ken of Potter et al. - and maintains the students' perspective. It makes the battle difficult to understand, but it shows plainly how far out of their league the students were.

There are a couple of things I'd complain about, if I could find someone who'd listen: there's not nearly enough of Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), who's slimy and evil in a way that, unfortunately, can only be called 'delicious'. The scene during the 'O-level' exam doesn't make a lick of sense - I would gather that the students all got zeroes for running out on the test, and yet were cheering about it? - and there are a couple of story threads that get dropped rather suddenly (Harry kisses a girl who is never seen again, for instance.)

But it's a good, dark story, balancing its tripartite foci on Harry's adolescent angst, the fight against Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic's paranoid authoritarianism (and Imelda Staunton does a wonderful, evil impersonation of my high school guidance councillor - or maybe she's trying to be Margaret Thatcher as a PTA member, it's hard to say).

Next blockbuster to grit our teeth over: The Simpsons. Will it suck as much as the show has lately? Yeah, probably.

~

Some recent music acquisitions:
Bjork's Volta is nuts. Of course it is, I can hear you thinking, she's batshit crazy and makes videos where she's married to a cat. But despite the Timbaland production, the Lightning Bolt drumming and weird aggressiveness, it's not half as strange - and far more listenable - than her last one, Medúlla. My biggest complaint is with the presence of guest vocalist Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) whose voice is horrific - like a really, desperately bad Nina Simone impersonator (or the woman from Coco Rosie who sounds like a guy). As he's only on two tracks, it's not so bad; still, that's two write-offs.

Menomena's Friend and Foe is hit and miss. The opener, "Muscle'n Flo", is a strange, fractured tune, catchy and angular; the rest of the best songs on the record ("Air Aid", "The Pelican", "Ghostship") could be described in similar terms but don't sound much alike (one of the band's great strengths). The worst ("My My", "Running") sound like art school kids channelling Supertramp. Luckily, the dreck is outweighed by the good stuff, and it's a record I'd heartily recommend.

Feist's second (or third) solo record, The Reminder, is solid. I loved portions of Let it Die - the title track, "Lonely Lonely", even "Mushaboom" and the Bee Gees cover - but there were nearly as many duds - "Gatekeeper", "Leisure Suite" - and it felt, I dunno, padded, maybe. (I saw her performance at Babylon on that tour, btw, and it was phenomenal, despite the weaker portions of the record.) I haven't found this to be the case with the new album. The first two singles, "My Moon My Man" and "1234" are smooth, sexy pop, upbeat without being schmaltzy; and the rest of it has an eclectic, mature feel. Serve with unoaked chardonnay and seafood canapes.

If you've missed My Bloody Valentine, lo these last 16 years since Loveless came out, you might want to investigate Jesu's Conqueror. Sure, it's "technically" a metal record, is by Justin Broaderick (ex-Godflesh, Final, Head of David), and it's on Hydra Head (home to Botch, Cattle Press, Pelican), but just listen to those washed-out, blurry guitars - it's like 1991 all over again.

Other fun things I've heard lately: Battles' Mirrored (best described as 'robot elf music'); El-P's I'll Sleep When You're Dead; Murs' 3:16 the 9th Edition; Oxbow's The Narcotic Story and Stars' In Our Bedroom After the War (less overtly sexual than their last couple of records, but still pretty hot.)

~

In Crammit news, um, there's not really any news. I'm growing a beard, in preparation for having a 'stache as part of a Halloween costume. I also went to the dentist for the first in over 15 years, and not surprisingly, discoverd that my fillings are (over-)due to be replaced, and both of us need root canals. Gah!

There's a shitload of good shows coming up in September & October; the ones I'm most excited about:
- Animal Collective & Eric Copeland (of Black Dice), Sept 7th
- Great Lake Swimmers, Sept 12th
- Ruins, Sept 16th
- Grizzly Bear, Sept 22nd
- Bloc Party (meh) w/ Deerhoof (!), Sept 30th
- Caribou w/ Born Ruffians, Oct 2nd
- Magnolia Electric Co., Oct 4th
- Eric's Trip, Oct 5th
- Torngat, Oct 12th

And, of course, the Rizdales w/ Casey Comeau et al. this Friday, the 10th at the Black Sheep.