Here's to you Mrs. Robinson...

A short time ago, I finally got around to watching the 1967 film, The Graduate. And what a beautiful, thought provoking film it is. I loved it. Dustin Hoffman was perfect as 21 year old Benjamin Braddock who is simply "worried about his future," Anne Bancroft is Mrs. Robinson, the stunning and quintessential "desperate housewife," and the beautiful Katharine Ross is Elaine Robinson, a perfect representation of youth revolt and rebellious and capricious love. There is so much to take in with this movie--I can't wait to watch it again. Besides the  acting, incredible cinematography, and captivating storyline, there is one other aspect of the film that makes it that much more intriguing... the work of Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel. Their songs make up the entirety of the soundtrack, and three main songs- "The Sound of Silence," "Mrs. Robinson" (of course), and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle."

The music, the characters, the storyline--they all take the viewer on a journey. When you watch this movie, which you very well should, you see a coming-of-age tale, a view on late 60s youth culture, uncompromising and whimsical love through Benjamin and Elaine, and the staggering uncertainty of one's future. As for the soundtrack, Simon & Garfunkel create the perfect accompaniment. Their subtle, yet lingering music allows you to further appreciate the simplicity and, at the same, complexity of the film. 

Live from New York... It's Saturday night!

I've been a die hard Saturday Night Live fan since I can remember. In fact, I remember having dreams of becoming a cast member or even just being lucky enough to attend one of the shows. Someday, perhaps... However, in recent years, I've become much more interested in the performers than I ever was. In some of the past seasons of SNL, I remember thinking like, whoa, come on--this artist/band is whack. But this season, I've been surprisingly cool with most all of the performers. I dig Lorne's sometimes risky choices. He could choose public favorites and "well-knowns" every week, but instead he opts for crazies like Lana Del Rey and Robyn. And I like that. Below are some videos of the performers I think did one heck of a job. Finally... one show for two of my favorite things--comedy and music... Yeah SNL! 

Music Fans

Most of my musical energy is spent looking into bands I might fancy, however, I haven't spent much time at all considering the people on the my side of the stage--the Fans. As I started thinking about music fans in today's day and age, I think I came across a pretty solid classification system that most all "music fans" fit into. In my eyes, there are four kinds of people who listen to music. Hear me out on this one, kids. It might get interesting.

1. The first group consists of the people (usually young and moldable minds) who are sucked into falling for the already famous, popular image driven, and auto-tune facilitated type of music that has taken over a good deal of radio stations and popular culture today. They usually 'Never Say Never.'

2. The second group is filled with people who are only into a band or artist that no one knows about, but once this artist gets any sort of recognition or a bigger fan base, these people instantly become disgusted with their fame and accuse them of going "mainstream" or "selling out." These accusations have no definite meaning whatsoever--thus, I believe this group is roughly 75% insane.

3. The third group consists of the people that "love all types of music," however, they usually don't, in actuality, love all types. They like what they already know, what their friends are into, and what is played heavily on the radio/places they frequent. Jessica Simpson seemed to fit the bill on this one. My apologies.

4. In the fourth group, there are true music fans... The Band-aids. These are the people that support and live for the honest creation of music. They know what they like, but still remain open to tasting the different flavors of the musical spectrum. They will defend their favorites, spread the love, and appreciate music for the art it is and the art it inspires. Forevah and evah.