"Kenneth Mars, 'Young Frankenstein' Actor, Dies at 75." Here he is in a scene from one of my all-time favorite movies, What's Up Doc.

The Machinist. Eh.

Sooo. . . the Machinist-- I grabbed this from the library since I've been wanting to see it since it came out. I remembered reading all the reviews and the articles about Christian Bale dropping like 50% of his body weight-- which, by the way, he's a total nutter, right? I mean, dedicated? On a Daniel Day-Lewis scale?-- though he's much more subtle actor than Daniel D-L.

This movie was fine; it was okay. I was expecting something on the level of Momento, in terms of the mindfuck/creative narrative, and something on the level of Kontroll in its treatment of mindfuck/insomnia and the surreal elements that come from such things. It does deliver on the atmosphere and look that those two expectations would promise; if this movie did one thing well, it was mood. In fact, halfway through, we paused it to put our dishes in the kitchen or something and I looked out and there was a green jeep-thing parked in front of our house with a plastic-wrapped Christmas tree on top of it. Which is weird at the end of January but mega-creepy if you're watching a creepy movie at the same time. So it was a mood that sticks to you while you're watching the film.

Throughout the film there are some nice visual hints-- the cigarette lighter in the car and the clock at 1:30 were good notes-- and the parts of Christian Bale's character cleaning things, included his bare hands, with some hard-core chemicals (lye, bleach) adds to the themes of destructive absolution that, it turns out, make up the core of the story.

Which is part of my quibble. By the end of the film, the reveal felt like too much all at once mostly because there was just one answer for all the little things, and the sense of mystery-- the atmosphere, the visuals, the paranoia-- didn't have the impact that would have made this a film that lingers. Granted, it all makes sense, and the fable-like arc of repressed memories and self-inflicted doppelgangers is something I like in theory, but the ending, much like in the film's referenced-Crime & Punishment, doesn't feel like something that is necessarily built up to, despite the constant baby step hints we get throughout (again, the cigarette lighter, for example), but instead is dropped in our lap all of a sudden, a big huge reference at the end that then simply inspires a game of who-can-spot-all-the-hints in retrospect, that isn't as satisfying as the build-up of so many hints would suggest.

The other part that brought the film down was that before the ending, there were certain parts that were clearly in his mind. Christian Bale's character becomes convinced of a conspiracy against him after he is the inadvertent cause of a gruesome accident; unfortunately, the film makes it immediately clear that this is a product of his exhaustion and paranoia, rather than keeping it a matter for the audience's speculation for any amount of time. There wasn't that unsettling uncertainty that a film like, say, Shutter Island, had (in spades-- my problem with Shutter Island is that they never give a statement about the film's reality--what was fake; what was real-- something I have a problem with on a theoretic and narrative level.) The Machinist does keep some of those aspects in question until the end, but not as a whole, which seems a missed opportunity.

Charlie Louvin, Country Singer, Dies at 83

"I Started a Joke" - Bee Gees < Faith No More

I think it might just be that I really like the Faith No More video. . . but either way Mike Patton has an excellent voice.

omg she is a 100-year old BALLER

ok, 73, but still, this is from last year y'all--

Stuck in the Middle With You

Heard about this on NPR the other day while driving to the mall, I think. Wow, yeah, good idea, driving in early January near the mall. Stealers Wheel vocalist Gerry Rafferty had passed away, and honestly, I had no idea he was associated with the band, a band I don't know by name, but like many people my age are instead intimately familiar with thanks to that Michael Madsen scene in Reservoir Dogs. So I felt a little guilty, especially because the other song they played by him made my toes curl (that 80s sax passive-aggressive synthesized sort of thing.) But on the other hand, this track is a perfect little rock track, so we can blame the 80s for that other one, and it's hard not to get the urge to cut someone's ear off bogey a little when you hear it.

Here is a much more knowledgeable posting on Mr Rafferty's passing from Berkeley Place, along with some covers of his work.

i'd never steal from santa

christmas caroling with GWAR

BING MOTHERFUCKING CROSBY

I'm sure you've seen this floating around. At first I was a little nervous because, as you know, I have a deep and abiding love for Bing Crosby, and will violently defend him, alcoholism and all (not that you have to do this in a world where top 40 hits talk about gargling with liquor, as far as I can tell.) Anyway, it turned out that Will Ferrel and John C Reilly have made what is a rather sweet homage to the original-- very wackadoo if you think about it-- video while still leading up to a pretty funny payoff. Turns out you can make a joke very funny with only a few simple elements, and not a fart in sight. Because remember, you cunts. He's Bing Fucking Crosby pal okay?

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy with Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly from Will Ferrell

5 Most Disappointing Music Videos of 2010

2010's Five Most Disappointing Videos, most of them sadly paired with really good songs.

Teenage Anarchist - Against Me! - This vid is just as bland as their sound is threatening to become. Don't get me wrong-- I like some catchy pop punk any day of the week, but I kind of want a fun video to go with it-- I need the whole package. Not the video of how the wrong stripper showed up to the lead singer's bachelor party. (Though could an argument be that this simplified view of us versus them meshes with his "teenage anarchist" ideals?)

3000 Miles Away - Star Fucking Hipsters - Same thing with this vid-- take your martyr complex out on your therapist. Not us. It presents an oversimplified vision not so much of brutality but of incarceration in general. What if the other four were, I don't know, arrested with 20 dead illegal immigrants in the back of their truck. What if they're trying to find the other 30 immigrants in their other truck? And they're orphans? In the truck? GET LENNIE BRISCOE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE GUYS! Anyway, that's not cool. And if Ethan Suplee is in this, does that mean SFH is now part of the Scientology conspiracy web that runs media? I mean, look at the production value on this: it's spiffy! (Ok. Jedi mindtrick moment is funny.)

Infinity Guitars - Sleigh Bells - I am so over anarchy cheerleaders. I didn't like it when Nirvana did it. All that goes through my head is Be Aggressive, which isn't a bad thing I suppose. This video does support my theory that hipsters are the new douchey McJocks of the decade, though.

Born Free - MIA - I remember when I liked MIA? In high school, they were playing Fire Fire on the radio and I was digging it like one of those Egyptian guys in Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Right? They excavate the Well of Souls in like, 4 hours.) Then it kind of got annoying-- then she kind of got annoying. And now this sensationalist drivel to match her revolutionary chic, something she's not even revolutionizing herself; it's always been about the flash and bang and tanks painted pink, and not about answering questions and providing information and awareness. This video takes that to the NINE MINUTE max and instead of defying expectations only has one thing to say-- MIA has nothing to say.

Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over 2010 Version - I'm all over the place with Florence & the Machine, and this is on here more on principle-- I can take or leave the video, which is a little bit of awkward America's Next Top Model photoshoot put in the easy-to-digest-avant-garde blender. But I think it's 100% nonsense that they've released another video when they had a perfectly decent one out their already. I couldn't tell you what the old vid looked like but this new move is a total George Lucas, this time with some backup dancers rejected from a Cramps video.

Bonus: I saw this on TV & it makes me uncomfortable.

did you know AFI is still around?!

What are they up to, you ask? Dressing up like Maroon 5 at a New Jersey after prom party & making unremarkable singles. Maaan, they were so hot in high school.

New Patrick Wolf track - hooray!

GAP owns Christmas

Shame on me for this in light of the rampant commercialization of Christmas. Or look at it this way: money funds the arts? I dunno. Anyway, I vaguely remember these ads on TV, but only just ran across them on Youtube. Obviously I dig the Janelle Monae cos it's Janelle Monae. I also dig "Baby It's Cold Outside" because of Selma Blair, who I'm all about simply because she's in Hellboy. I'm that easy.

no doubt vid

This No Doubt cover I can take or leave, much like No Doubt in general; it's got good energy. But I just saw the video (never knew there was one) and it's pretty silly in a good way.

han solo seriously had too much of that blue milk, which looks totally harmless but apparently is not.

I kept hearing about this interview but never watched the video mostly because I figured it couldn't be that bad. Harrison Ford couldn't be so high that you could tell! Who does that on TV! He's like 80, 80 year olds don't do that! People are just being mean! And so forth!

Okay, well guess what, he is-- you just have to see him walk onstage & sit down and you can figure it out-- & the big scoop: he dishes on exactly why he is going to make another gawdawful Indiana Jones movie. And it's exactly the reason you'd guess.

• Watch "Harrison Ford was High as Shit on Conan Last Night" from Splitsider

rancid wants to help you get your weekly rancid fix

Looks like Rancid is starting up a weekly feature called "Live in the Living Room," a video series of stripped-down versions of their songs, as well as some promised covers, which is what I'm especially looking forward to.

Sez them: Rancid has started doing weekly sessions we're calling "Rancid Live In The Living Room". Every Monday a new song drops. These songs are recorded live and filmed to share with you. We are keeping it raw, no overdubs, no studio tricks. Acoustic, and electric renditions of Rancid songs varying from our entire catalog, as well as an occasional cover song.

Neato freakin mosquito. Thus far we've got "Wrongful Suspicion" and "Tenderloin," (embedded above) a swingin' version that's pretty cool. It gets my thumbs-up for being a cover that brings something new to the original; "Wrongful Suspicion" does, also, but not in the same exotic way a rockabilly "Tenderloin" does.

A long time ago I left a vague comment on one of Tim Armstrong's videos on YouTube about how he's like omg waaay into b&w high-contrast-- as in so into it every single video from his album got that visual treatment-- and people got mad at me and I never commented on YouTube again because I'm sensitive. So I was worried I was the only one who is still sick of seeing all these vids in b&w high contrast. I dig the look on stationary, unmoving images: posters, art, whatever. T-shirts. I have a Rancid t-shirt that is exactly that; it's an integral part of the punk rock aesthetic. But I find it totally uninteresting to watch as a video; the movement makes the shadows move around too much & becomes hard to follow. It's also boring. Luckily, turns out other people don't like it, as I found out from Punknews, where I first heard about the Living Room series. I take comfort in being part of the majority, I really do.

So this is totally mean but we have this running joke at home about how Matt Freeman, who is always getting cut out of videos-- FOR REAL, they cut his freakin head out of one vid (I can't remember which one, the one where Tim has the Buddy Holly glasses) so they could film tim singing, or something--sounds like a muppet. But then again, so does Joe Escalante (Exhibit A) as well as crust, in general.

(See how I sneaked in a Christmas song on Thanksgiving? Which is to say, Happy Thanksgiving everyone xoxo)

i like a prizefight

That ain't no fix.

Everyone knows Eartha Kitt, but usually for different reasons. Most know her for "Santa Baby" and/or as Catwoman. I know her as the batshit lady in the Emperor's New Groove. Whatever it is, she's awesome.

The animators, by the way, got her to a freakin' T.

a bunch of your favorite singers yowling for haiti.

& it's good.