April Favorites

Everybody Wants Some!!: Historically, the movies I see twice are those starring Tom Cruise, or occasionally a James Bond movie. However, after I saw Everybody Wants Some!! once, I knew I had to make a serious effort to see it again – despite the absence of Tom Cruise, Daniel Craig, or even Chris Pine. Even without those A-list specimens of manhood, there are certainly plenty of hot boys (in short shorts to boot!) in Richard Linklater's most recent effort. This movie isn't really about anything, and yet it is inherently watchable. There are so many joyful and entertaining moments – and lots of great music and dancing. The cast is filled with charmers spouting many clever observations and witty things to say. While the strength of the film lies in the tight chemistry of the ensemble cast, there is one clear standout: Glen Powell as Finnegan, the most charming and witty of them all.  Finnegan is a realist (he knows baseball isn't his future) and a ladies man (he has all the best pick-up lines) with a sly sense of humor, and he's just as comfortable with the freshmen as he is with his fellow upperclassmen. Powell's performance is just as impressive as his mustache (sadly, I recently learned his fab shag haircut was not his own, even though the mustache was all him). I seriously can't wait for this to come out on DVD, because I think it will be the perfect movie to put on anytime I want to chill – or hang with some rad, retro Texas boys.

Lunch at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon London: After having two wonderful experiences at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, I thought I might as well try out the London outpost of his slightly more casual L'Atelier collection. I am happy to report that the food and service were just as good as what I've experienced in Vegas, though on a slightly less opulent scale. I dined at L'Atelier on my own, and this worked quite well as the ground floor space has a dining counter that overlooks the kitchen. My servers were just the right amount of chatty, letting me enjoy my food, but never leaving me hanging between courses. I opted for the lunch set menu, which is a great value at £38 (it's also available for pre-theatre). I made a reservation, but on the Thursday afternoon I dined there, I could have walked in just as easily. Basically, if you're looking for a posh lunch in London, I can't say enough about L'Atelier Joel Robuchon – go! And have a lovely meal, like this one:

Vegetable sushi: cauliflower, wasabi, beet, guacamole, chive

Green asparagus velouté, with soft egg and sorrel

Ox Cheek with port wine reduction, served with pomme purée

Chocolate sphere with hazelnut ice cream, hazelnut biscuit, and warm dulce de leche

Petit fours: pistachio cake, chocolate caramel, yuzu marshmallow

Veuve Clicquot Rosé Brut

Man About Town, Mayer Hawthorne: This album is everything I hoped it would be – and more. The only problem is that, at only 9 songs,  it is way too short! There aren't even any bonus tracks anywhere. At first, I liked every song other than "Fancy Clothes", but even that has grown on me with each new listen due to exceedingly great lyrics (and it's a good thing too, because Mayer has cited it as his favorite track on the album, due to its reggae influences). I already professed my own love for "Love Like That" last month, and it remains excellent, but it is somehow eclipsed by my three favorites "Book of Broken Hearts" (that signature Hawthorne soul groove delightfully at odds with a sad tale) , "Out of Pocket" (the horns remind me of Chicago, the band. Swoon.), and "Get You Back" (that falsetto!). Hawthorne wears his influences on his sleeve throughout this album, but that is such a good thing because he is able to take all those influences and create a sound and a listening experience that only he could ever produce – in both the literal and technical senses of the word.

Rick Astley at Indigo at The O2: When I was four years old, I discovered two very important cassettes in my mother's collection: Whenever You Need Somebody and Hold Me In Your Arms. Along with the Cocktail soundtrack, The Beach Boys's Made in the U.S.A., and various Carly Simon tapes, these two Rick Astley tapes were my absolute favorites. I used to spend summer evenings making up dance routines to all of Rick's songs. My aspiration in life at that time was to be a backup singer for Rick Astley. I semi-forgot about Rick during middle and high school, but then I rediscovered him sometime around senior year of college. I couldn't believe I had abandoned such classic 80s blue-eyed soul for so long. Ever since then, I have been an unapologetic Rick Astley fan. I genuinely love his music, and it has been a part of my life for so long. Sadly, he doesn't seem to perform in the States, and he had barely toured in England in recent years, only playing a handful of 80s flashback festivals here and there. Of course, I started following him on Twitter, even though he was usually pretty quiet.

However, activity started picking up a bit last year, and in November Rick announced a UK tour. As soon as I saw that his London date was on a Friday night, I knew I would be going to that show. If I can fly to England for the weekend to see a painting, I can certainly fly over there to see one of my all-time favorite pop stars. Of course I manged to get some great seats, and  the show was everything that I hoped it would be and more. Rick is now 50 (!!!), but his voice is just as rich and soulful as ever. Plus, he has a fabulous, slightly wicked, self-deprecating sense of humor. His banter between songs was priceless. The show was a satisfying blend of all the big hits alongside new tracks from Rick's forthcoming album and a few contemporary covers  (one of the songs that Rick covered was Calvin Harris's "We Found Love", and that kind of blew my mind a little bit). Even though Rick gave his all for a solid two hour set, the show still felt too short. As someone who owns all six of his albums and knows them all pretty much by heart, I would have been just as happy to hear some deeper cuts as I was to hear the hits. Still, I am so glad I finally got to experience Rick Astley live – though I hope it isn't the only time I'll get to do so.

Elvis in the Morning, William F. Buckley, Jr.: As Buckley novels go, this is a trifle, but delightful nonetheless. I was surprised that Buckley had written a novel about Elvis, and I am curious about why he did so. However, I was very pleased to find him giving a nod to Peter Guralnick in the author's note; nothing but the finest source material for WFB. While this is a book best appreciated by fans of Elvis (even on a casual level), WFB still manages to work in other important goings-on of the mid 20th century, such as the early days of the computer printing industry, and numerous mentions of, and a cameo by, Barry Goldwater. This is a quick read, but one that is somehow able to capture the sweeping changes in the zeitgeist that occurred between Elvis's time in the Army and his death, as seen through the eyes of an ardent fan named Orson. (Publisher's Weekly has a nice little review here.)

"Drive It Like You Stole It", Hudson Thames: I saw the trailer for Sing Street way too many times over the past several months, and as a result got this song stuck in my head. However, at the time, this song wasn't even available, and as it was written specially for the movie, there was no way to track it down until the soundtrack was released. Fortunately, I was finally able to download it, and now I can listen to it while I gleefully dance around my apartment. While the movie as a whole wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, all the original music is excellent. The trailer makes a big deal about all the 80s bands whose music is featured, but the original songs performed by the band in the movie (which take their cues from various genres of 80s pop and rock) are really where it's at, and "Drive It Like You Stole It" leads the pack.

Chris Botti with the New York Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall: If my records are correct, this is the ninth time I've seen Chris Botti perform. I've seen him in small venues (i.e.The Blue Note and Scullers) and large venues (i.e. The Beacon Theatre and Carnegie Hall), and always enjoyed the show immensely. This was clearly a large venue show (even though I was in the third row, of course), and while that means I don't get the experience of Chris encouraging me to take photos and then asking me why the heck I'm not taking a video of a killer Richie Goods bass solo, it does come with the benefit of excellent acoustics and the backing of a world-class orchestra. Chris said that the NY Phil is one of the best orchestras he's ever performed with, and I am willing to bet that that wasn't just lip service. The live orchestra brought an amazing depth to so many of my favorite pieces from Chris's albums, though of course he's equally astounding to hear when playing solo and holding notes for what seem like impossible lengths of time. Violinist Sandy Cameron added a bit of whimsy to the evening with her velvet jumpsuit and her highly skilled playing. Tenor Jonathan Johnson ably lent his smooth, rich voice to "Italia" and "Per Te", originally recorded by Andrea Bocelli. The performance of those two songs was so beautiful that I was moved to tears. The show lasted over two and a half hours (though there was an intermission), and those hours were full of musical bliss.

Iggy Pop at United Palace Theatre: Here's the deal: I was mainly interested in Post Pop Depression because of Josh Homme's involvement; the man is a fox, as well as an unbelievably talented musician. I bought the album and thought it was decent, but not something I put on heavy rotation (like, say, QOTSA's ...Like Clockwork). Outside of Post Pop Depression, I know three Iggy Pop songs ("Lust for Life", "Nightclubbing", and "The Passenger) thanks to the two volumes of the Trainspotting soundtrack. However, no way I was going to skip a super buzzy show that would also happen to give me a chance to see Josh Homme play live. Man-oh-man, I am *so* glad I went to this show! It is one of the very best rock shows I have ever been to, by a long shot. Of course I had an awesome seat, but the music was just so, so good! I pretty much danced through the entire show, even while I was being mesmerized by Josh Homme's crazy good guitar playing. Sometimes when I get really stressed, all I want to do is go to a really good rock show and get lost in music that consumes me. I wasn't stressed when I went to this show, but it was exactly the kind of show that I have in mind as an ideal escape. Iggy Pop is a tireless performer and clearly loves being up on stage, and the whole Post Pop Depression band has incredible chops. The evening was such a rush, and I felt very lucky to have experienced it.

A Sailor's Guide to Earth, Sturgill Simpson: I've seen Sturgill Simpson's new album labeled as "Alt Country",  which is quite accurate, because it's about as alternative as you can get from Country, with more of a Soul and old-school Rhythm & Blues sound going for it than anything else, expressed with plenty of mighty fine horn arrangements to spice things up. Granted, "Sea Stories" does sound like early Jimmy Buffett, who has his fair share of Country influences (and also used his far share of horns -- "Saxophones" anyone?), but it's not quite Country like you've heard it before.  This is also exemplified by "All Around You", which wouldn't sound out of place among the tracks on Van Morrison's Moondance. A Sailor's Guide to Earth is very clearly meant to be listened to as an album; the whole thing is one big, coherent work of sonic art with  a surprising buoyancy that will carry you across any ocean.

The Engagements, J. Courtney Sullivan: The advertising and Mad Men geek in me loved the chapters of this book set at N.W. Ayer & Son and revolving around the advertising and marketing for DeBeers that launched the modern concept of the diamond engagement ring. Though the book is a work of fiction, these chapters contain bits and pieces of history. The other chapters in the book, which cover four different stories, naturally involve engagement rings in one way or another. My two favorite narratives, other than the one set at Ayer, are those about Evelyn and Delphine. Both are touchingly romantic, but in very different ways. Five narratives might seem like a lot to juggle in one book, but Sullivan pulls it off quite well – the result is an engaging novel with a few subtle connective surprises.

American Psycho: As someone with a keen appreciation of all things 80s, I was long a fan of American Psycho in its c. 2000 film version. However, once I finally read the book in 2008, I had to distance myself from the story and even got rid of my DVD of the film.  Despite this, I became a supporter of the Kickstarter campaign for American Psycho the musical in 2013 – though I will admit that a Patrick Bateman business card flash drive, along with Duncan Sheik's involvement, was a large factor in that. Three years later, I finally got to see American Pyscho on stage, though I'm not quite convinced that a Broadway stage is the right venue for such a polarizing work. That being said, American Psycho is an exceedingly well put together production. Benjamin Walker is excellent as Bateman; however, he does borrow many cues from Bale's "original" take on the role. The rest of the ensemble also gives it their all with extremely high quality vocals. The choreography is nicely done – and often amusing; the minimalist set design makes good use of digital integrations; and of course Duncan Sheik's songs are divine and perfectly suited to the late 80s setting. However, there are a few scenes in the stage version that are disturbing enough to make me recall some of the more depraved scenes in the book. As someone who was deeply unsettled and disturbed by the gruesome scenes in the second half of Ellis's novel, I found that the play acknowledged the darkest side of Bateman's story enough to unsettle me once again, though not nearly as profoundly.

"This Is What You Came For", Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna: Calvin is back in top form with his latest Rihanna-featuring banger. The slightly melancholy tone of this new song recalls "I'm Not Alone", from my favorite Calvin album, Ready for the Weekend. After tiring of Motion quite quickly, I am glad to have a Calvin song that I can happily listen to on repeat again and again.