My Kind of Groovy

Where have I been? I’m not really sure either but I’ve been busy. Between work, preparing things for my (hopefully soon) move to LA, some sickness and just not feeling like writing, I haven’t had much time for the blog.

So, in what I hope is the beginning to a new string of fresh posts, I wanted to create a new, more sporadic column based on what I have been watching, reading, listening to and grooving on lately. This will probably be more of a monthly, rather than weekly or daily, thing but hopefully you can take my recommendations and find some pretty cool stuff that should last you a little while.

MOVIES

The Avengers

If you’ve read my blog post about it then you know all you need to know. It’s fun, it’s smart, it’s what any comic book movie should be. You don’t need any further motivation, just see it.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

I received this movie through Netflix a couple weeks ago and I while I had heard good things, I couldn’t have been more impressed with the result. Romantic comedies are tricky because the ideas of love and relationships are rarely handled responsibly. This film takes an uncompromising look at those ideas and never lets anyone off easy (maybe Julianne Moore’s character but that’s one of very few missteps). The cast, which includes: Steve Carell, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Marissa Tomei and Kevin Bacon is amazing and the movie is one of the funniest I have seen in a while. This should be the mold for this genre from now on.

The Dark Knight Rises

Because it’s coming and that’s all I need to say.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

I’ve not read the book but I know the premise and it sounds like a hell of a time. Yeah, it’s silly, but if it’s treated with a straight face and not overly self-aware, this could be much more than just a gimmick movie. I have faith in it because of director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch, Day Watch). His ability to stage action is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait. Here’s a trailer…

 

MUSIC

I’ve been listening to a lot of rap lately. A lot of bad rap too. I think my friends are growing to hate me for it because whenever I’m in the car I check 101.1 The Wiz first and whenever I have control of our outdoor stereo system, it’s on my “Terrible and Amazing Rap” playlist, not to mention the stuff I wrote and recorded. Either way, what I’ve been listening to isn’t all trash rap but it’s definitely not for everybody.

Cashin’ Out by (who else) Ca$h Out and Rack City by Tyga

These are trash. Straight up. Trash. “Rack City”, however, actually uses sentences and intelligible metaphors, “I need my money pronto/Get it in the morning like Alonzo” is actually an amusing, decently clever line. But once you hear the rest of the song, you’ll either dig it completely and embrace its trashyness or turn it off and stab your ear drums.

There are no words fit to describe “Cashin’ Out”. The “artist”, Ca$h Out, apparently named himself and ran out of titles and subject matter, then lost his ability to speak because there is no reason this song should exist on a serious level. But you know what, it’s catchy. It’s super, super catchy and to a guy like me, it is entertaining to hear someone rhyme “flockin’” with “Stockton” simply because they sound similar while having no need to be associated in the context of the song. I had to look up the lyrics just to be sure he was saying what he’s actually saying. If you think you can’t understand him, you actually can. Whatever jibberish you think you’re hearing is literally what he’s saying. I love it, check it out.

Mercy byA Whole Bunch of People and Kanye West

It took me a while to warm up to it, but “Mercy” is actually a good rap song. It’s not groundbreaking or even that deep but it’s just a good example of how to do this right. I probably wouldn’t be saying this if Kanye didn’t show to kick the song up a notch but he’s in it and the track is kind of ridiculously awesome for it.

Thug Magick

First, this isn’t rap music. At all. This band was featured in my last Groove of the Day. I’m going to keep shoehorning them in whenever I can because they’re that good. If you want to hear something entirely different than what you’re probably listening to, check them out on Spotify or iTunes.

 

TV

I haven’t had much time for TV. I quit watching The Walking Dead midseason and the only thing I watch or get excited for is Game of Thrones, which is one of the best anythings I’ve ever seen. Seriously.

 

BOOKS

A Clash of Kings

Yeah, this is Game of Thrones book 2. The second season of the show is based on this novel and I’ve been trying to get through it along with watching. The show definitely passed me as the book is over 800 pages long but it’s still an amazing read. The author, George R.R. Martin, is great with creating and then shuffling all of his characters around. One can easily get lost but Martin does well in grounding all his fantastical details so that they aren’t easily forgotten. Even if you’re not into fantasy or medieval-type fiction, you really will enjoy this book. Character comes first here.

The Hunger Games

I started it, saw the movie, liked the movie, bought A Clash of Kings.

 

FICTION I’M WRITING

….. More like fiction I should be writing. It’s a work in progress.

 

OTHER COOL STUFF I RECOMMEND

Go outside. It’s fun to be outside, especially while in water.

The Cincinnati Reds. In case you haven’t noticed, they’ve been playing well lately. And even when they’re not, the Reds are a fun team to watch. I haven’t been able to make it to Great American Ball Park yet this season but I plan to soon and you should too.

Sleep. I need more of it.

El Mariachi. The queso dip is worth the trip alone.

There ya go. I hope you find some of this stuff entertaining so feel free to let me know what you think after you’ve checked some of it out. This post was kind of aimless so excuse me while I get back into it. All I know is that it feels good to be writing again.