The postman finally finished reading my copy of the Oct. 4th edition of Rolling Stone and decided to deliver it to me today. Why do mags get so list crazy these days? Easy answers, advertisers like them so that they can target their ads more effectively. It's not a coincidence that electronic makers like Sony and retailers like BestBuy bought ads to the issue. Also, it creates debates from us bloggers, thus it drives website traffic and news stand sales.
Like a sucker, I have some suggestions on what should have been on the list. Before I looked at it, I said to myself, "If The Last Waltz isn't No. 1, the list is pointless." It is No. 1, so they are safe. Here's what I would have suggested:
* Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii -- The editors listed the 1968 Comeback Special, but I prefer the 1973 concert because it captured his magnetism specially at that time. You have the garish cape, the "thankyoumame" and the sort of the weird performer he was. Even if he was a little drugged up, he gave 100% into that performance. The exhaustive extras explain everything I needed to know about The King at that time. I've always felt Ed Burns should do a 18-hour documentary on his life.
* AIR: Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing -- Directed by graphic artist Mike Mills, the DVD is part documentary of the first year of their band's popularity and part exercise of the French new wave style. Shot in black and white with moments of Godard-like camera pans, the film matches the feeling of Moon Safari.
* Beastie Boys Anthology: Criterion Collection -- Never before as their been such an intense look at the videos of a specific band. It shows how much thought (and lack of thought) goes into these videos. You get to enjoy Spike Jonze's prank calls on the commentaries and the band's recollection of each video shoot.
* Director's Label: Jonathan Glazer -- He's one of favorite video directors and he's made Radiohead into the icons they are with the promo for "Karma Police." You can't pinpoint what these clips are about, but you know there's high art being displayed along with choice music. If Stanley Kubrick or Luis Bunuel made music videos, they would look like "Virtual Insanity" or "The Universal."
* American Graffiti -- Granted there weren't any fictional films or musicals on the list, but the music of 1962 and what it meant to the culture is best shown in the movie. Just compare the music culture of today in terms of style, variety and how we listen to it. DJs mattered. People listen to music in group together, not by ourselves. The general populous was more interested in music, it seems. The music in the movie wasn't background filler or even a soundtrack, it was the story. I wish someone today would make a modern movie using modern songs, where the soundtrack was the storyteller.
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