The Best & Worst Of Last Week - Musical/Music-Related Movie Edition

I was on vacation last week and I spent most of it sitting in this chair. I wasn't feeling great, so I played a shit-ton of Everquest 2 and watched movie after movie via Netflix Instant. Sixteen movies and ten episodes of Dragnet to be somewhat exact. There happened to be six musicals/music-related movies on the list of movies I watched, so I figured I would put together one of my best/worst blog posts.

1. Crossroads (1986) - I haven't seen this movie in a long time and I forgot how excellent it is. I'd always remembered it as a solid film, but this viewing pushed it into five-star status. Aside from the excellent music, there is a fantastic story and terrific acting from everyone involved. A classic movie.

2. Duets (2000) - I am sure many people passed on this movie simply because of the karaoke subject matter. They made a mistake. Duets is a wonderful film with humor, passion, depth, and much more. Oh yeah, and there is also some fun karaoke. Plus, it has got Pig Vomit in it. I can't think of a movie Pig Vomit has made that wasn't worth watching.

3. Enchanted (2007) - My first exposure to this movie was seeing the songs performed on the Oscars broadcast. They seemed pretty drab, but I assumed I would see the movie someday. I am glad that I did. I enjoyed just about every minute and laughed out loud several times. The songs really work amazingly well in the movie. A really fun movie. The second best non-Pixar movie Disney released in the 2000s. Do you know what the best one was?

4. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) - A well-earned Best Actress Oscar for Sissy Spacek. Spacek does an amazing job acting and singing. Tommy Lee Jones is great too. I have seen this three times now and I am sure I will see it again. A great story. Even if you don't like Country music, you should give this a try.

5. Music Of The Heart (1999) - I can't really remember this movie being released in the theaters. One of Meryl Streep's fifty-four Oscar nominations and she is quite good. The story may be familiar, but this movie is elevated into four star territory by some excellent music.

Most Surprising - Colma: The Musical (2006) - I typically put a worst item sixth on the list, so I dialed up Colma because there was a good chance it would be awful. The Netflix Instant description does this movie no favors. It said something about it being set in a town outside San Francisco with more dead people that living. It could have been really bad or really good. I turned out to be somewhat wonderful. This is about the most low-budget musical around. It makes Once look like Moulin Rouge. But that is part of the charm. These are real people living a real life and they just happen to break into song once in awhile. The songs aren't amazing and the singing isn't brilliant, but that just adds to the wonderfulness.  Definitely not for everyone, but give it a half hour and you might get hooked like I did.

The Best & Worst of 2008 - Live Music Edition

Over the past couple of years there has been a resurgence in the amount of live music I have witnessed. This has been mainly caused by my wife dragging me out of the house, but I have actually enjoyed many of the shows I have seen. I have even started dragging her out of the house occasionally. So here are my favorite live music experiences from 2008.

1. Fall Out Boy - December 20, 2008 at the Epicentre. I am not a huge fan of going to see bands in large venues. So, when I get the chance to see a huge band like Fall Out Boy in a tiny venue, I am quite pleased. The Epicentre is a youth recreation center that is about a five-minute walk from my house. Fall Out Boy is my son's favorite band. So, this was an amazing stroke of luck that they were playing there. I did have to wait in line for thirteen hours to ensure that we could get in, but it was worth it. It was a great show.

2. Ghostland Observatory - September 20, 2008 at Street Scene. My love for festivals has been diminishing lately. I do like the variety of music they provide, but the ambiance is usually lacking. I went to the second night of Street Scene only because I wanted to see Ghostland Observatory and they were amazing. I typically hang back and watch shows, but for this one I had to be as close as possible. So I was right in the midst of the crazy crowd right down in front. The amount of energy these two guys generate is unbelievable.

3. Maceo Parker - February 16, 2008 at the Belly Up. Over two hours of non-stop blistering soul and funk. Maceo is a legend. I can't remember the last time I actually danced at a show. I don't think it is possible to not dance at a Maceo show.

4. Vampire Weekend - September 19, 2008 at Street Scene. These guys are the reason I went to the first night of Street Scene and they did not disappoint.

5. Tilly and the Wall - July 11, 2008 at the Epicentre. A great band with a super-cool gimic. Their percussion is supplied by a tap dancer instead of a drummer. Great songs and a very fun live show.

The worst show of the year? New Kids On The Block - November 25, 2008 at Cox Arena. I won't go into how crazy my wife is for these guys, but she dragged me along to their show. I knew they would be bad, but they were way beyond bad. I spent the first hour laughing out loud constantly as things just got more horrendous with each song. Eventually it reached  a point where things couldn't get worse and I got bored, but before that I did enjoy the shear ridiculousness of the spectacle. It was definitely a horrible show, but I did have some fun.

Help me bring Jonathan Coulton back to San Diego

View all San Diego events at Eventful