Monsoon Season

I’ve always thought about doing this – compiling a massive version of what amounts to a pop culture reclist – and never followed through. The task is too daunting, to compile everything and every piece of media I’ve ever had a torrid love affair with and bare it all for the world to see. But I figured I’d finally start, bit by bit. Piecemeal, a few things at a time. Partially because there’s no better time (I mostly have 4-day weekends here), and partially because I’ve finally found so many things that are so fantastic I just have to share them. I’d feel guilty keeping them to myself. So firstly, television.

I have just started watching “Burn Notice“, a show for which I’ve seen ads on the New York subways for the last three years, but never asked questions about or encountered in any other sphere. One quiet Indian night after I’d already downloaded and rewatched both Mean Girls and Pirates 3, and was without my personal DVD library collection, and jonesing for some new material, I decided to download the Pilot episode off of iTunes.

At first I was titillated, but not impressed. By halfway through I thought I might or might not download the second episode, depending on if I managed to get out and do other things that day. By the very end I was a convert. The show is sexy, sassy spy drama, but smarter and faster than James Bond ever was and more grounded than Alias. Jeffrey Donovan as the main Michael Westen is killer, as is Gabrielle Anwar as his trigger-happy ex-girlfriend who robs banks for the IRA for a living. Bruce Campbell is in it, Sharon Gless is in it, and the chemistry between the characters – as well as the rockin’ hand-to-hand combat scenes for those of us who like our daily doses of violence – are both superb. I am three episodes from the end of Season One on iTunes and still going strong.

For music, the following:

1) “Syvlia” by The Muckrakers.

I have been listening to this on repeat for many weeks now, and I mostly can’t pry myself away from it to listen to any other song. I first heard it on Pandora, and promptly downloaded the entire Muckrakers CD – while it’s fantastic and I highly reccomend it, little else (by them or anyone) can hold a candle to this song. It’s fast, it’s brilliantly articulated, and the White Boy Rap toward the ends absolutely lends itself to being belted out at the top of one’s lungs while dancing around your bedroom in your underwear. The only downside is that the band’s not well-known enough so that one can Google their lyrics online… so I e-mailed them and their vocalist sent me a message back with the verse in particular that I’d requested! Seriously, how much cooler can a band get?

2) “Lately” by Lijie.

I don’t understand why this woman is not coast-to-coast, household-name famous. She is stunningly beautiful, has a voice that could bring angels to tears, and a way with words that is nothing short of masterful poetry. I had a hard time picking one song by her to reccomend – Make Believe, Bar Song, and Roam are all also well worth the download – but this song has something to it that I just can’t resist. It’s just quick enough for a rhythmic, energetic singalong, but slow and haunting enough like all her things to make you feel moved. Not dramatically moved like a boulder rolling down a hill, but slowly, deliberately moved like a glacier coasting through the water. She’s an absolute must.

3) “Runaway” by 3 Doors Down.

They tend to be very hit or miss with me, but I can always find a fistful of songs on their albums that hold up to relistening again and again. This one off their latest CD does just that. It’s upbeat, it’s irreverent, and I can’t speak for everybody but I sure know I feel the way this song describes often. Perhaps more often than is normal.

4) “Bachna Ae Haseeno” from the new movie of the same name.

It’s fun, it’s catchy, they play it in all the clubs here and I have impressed several local adults here who’ve caught me running around singing along to the words. It’s funny, the things that get you respect here. A white boy singing Bollywood? Is like, India’s version of the Platonic ideal.

5) “I Should Go” by Levi Kreis.

This song was the primary soundtrack for a solid year span of my life for reasons that are almost impossible to explain. Suffice it to say I know the words forwards and back, inside and out, have felt them all with every fiber of my being, and as heartbreaking as they are to hear? They’re even more heartbreaking to understand. Truly understand.

All of these are available for download on iTunes, and as a gesture of support for the artists involved – most of whom are still independent – I’d ask a personal favor that you download them there or buy their CDs, rather than using filesharing or other sources. I don’t care where you get Burn Notice from; it’s rockin’ good fun and in no danger of being cancelled. Just watch it.