Five Alive! (No. 1)

1. Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days: I still haven’t stopped listening to this one yet. Everything, from start to finish, on this record is great. Soft and soothing, yet intricate and artistically developed. Like having a tall glass of lemonade with Bob Dylan (see #3).

2. Misery: I had forgotten how great this movie is. Kathy Bates plays the most disturbing role I’ve ever seen so perfectly—she definitely deserved that Oscar. The film does a really good job examining celebrity, middle-America ideals, and one’s reluctance to change. It’s certainly not the best movie I’ve ever seen, but you could do a lot worse.

3. Bob Dylan – “Lay, Lady, Lay”: Holy smokes. This song is so damn good. Simple, yet so classic. I listened to this about 15 times on today—I was trying to figure it out for the guitar, but I just got sucked into it over and over again. I hadn’t really heard this song before last weekend when I spent Easter in San Francisco. My family and I had just hiked a bit in Muir Woods, looking at some tall Sequoias and beautiful lush greenery. We were coming back in our rented silver Mustang, and it came on. I recommend listening to this song in that environment—crusing on a windy Californian road, about 60 degrees, overcast, the faint smell of burning wood in the air.

4. The Flamingos – “I Only Have Eyes For You”: Another one that I heard in San Fran. This time I was in a throwback diner, eating eggs benedict. There’s an incredibly huge sound to this song even though it’s not much more than a few drums, guitar, bass, and voice. Phil Spector must have produced this one—that watery reverb is spattered all over this song. It makes me want ice cream sundaes.

5. Kill Bill Vol. 1: I saw this on Wednesday night for the second time. It was so god damn good. Some of the most exciting action sequences I’ve ever seen, plus really great writing by Tarantino. Lots of really cool gender dialogue going on here (i.e. women’s roles, male sexuality, etc.). I cannot wait to see the next one tomorrow.