alpha charlie bravo, for no discernible purpose, presents:
The Five Creepiest Movies of All Time (as far as I'm aware).

5. Tideland
Okay, so there's this 10 year old girl named Jeliza-Rose who lives in an abandoned farm house with the corpse of her recently deceased father. Her only companions are her imagination and the doll heads (yes, only the heads) she talks to. That is, until she meets and develops a friendship with a mentally handicapped man who likes to blow things up and his hyper-religious aunt who likes to keep a corpse or two around the house herself. Brought to you by the director of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Enjoy.

4. Crumb
You might well expect this documentary about the cartoonist R. Crumb to be kind of creepy given the sort of things that spring from the mind and pen of its subject. But, what really makes this movie creepy is when you meet R. Crumb's family and discover that he's the normal one.

3. Gummo
Cinematic wunderkind Harmony Korine, who wrote the movie Kids at the age of seventeen, gives us in his directorial debut a plot-less cavalcade of freaks; some played by actors and some played by townies, which makes it all the more creepy. The boys in the town spend their days spitting off the overpass or killing stray cats. Werner Herzog cavorts in his underwear. There's a gay midget and Chloe Sevigny. Need I say more?

2. Mulholland Dr.
David Lynch originally made this as a Tv pilot, but when it was rejected he re-cut it into a feature film. It's filled with creepy scenes. For example: this one; made creepier by the fact that the scene has nothing to do with the plot (whatever the plot is) and features two characters that do not appear anywhere else in the movie. But don't watch that scene, because if you do you won't forgive me in time to watch this one. It's the final scene of the movie and sums things up nicely with a rousing: Wtf?

1. Crash
No, not that Crash. This is the David Cronenberg movie about people who are sexually aroused by car accidents (oh, yes). I believe I have mentioned before that this movie features the single creepiest performance ever recorded on film. But, it's not just Elias Koteas that puts Crash atop this list. Watch this movie, but make sure you have enough soap to take 3 or 4 showers afterward.

If you've got 40 minutes of your life you don't know what to do with and you want to listen to some music you may not have heard before, I've got a little podcast that I'm calling:

Buried Treasures

Yeah, I know: original

It's various stuff from various times in modern history. Various. There's nothing "urban" here. Take that as you will. I'm considering a separate "urban" buried treasures podcast, but for now, it is what it is.


Editor's Note: Obviously, when referring to the Billy Bragg & Wilco albums, I meant to say Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II. Also, I'd like to apologize to Joanna Newsom for referring to her as a "harp playing elf." I'm not sure exactly whether she's an elf or a sprite or a faerie, but I'm pretty sure they're all part of the same genus.

Playlist:

1. Get Out Get Out Get Out
Jason Molina

2. Snakes and Ladders
Basia Bulat

3. G.P.T.
Martha Wainwright

4. Walt Whitman's Niece
Billy Bragg & Wilco

5. At The Hop
Devendra Banhart

6. Sprout and the Bean
Joanna Newsom

7. Melt Your Heart
Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins

8. Black Cab
Jens Lekman

9. When Your Mind's Made Up
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

10.What You Want
John Butler Trio

I haven't been exposed to the media fixation with Michael Jackson since his death; I seem to turn on my television only for the purpose of watching The Simpsons or a baseball game.

But it has recently occurred to me that what I remember most about Michael Jackson is that he was really, really, really famous. I doubt that anyone born after Thriller or more specifically, his legendary performance on the Grammys can truly comprehend the cultural phenomenon that was Michael Jackson at the height of his popularity. I mean, people actually purchased and wore those crazy zipper jackets from the "Beat It" video. However, his incredible fame and subsequent infamy diverts our attention away from making the one indispensable judgment: namely, the impact and significance of his art.

To be frank, I haven't given much thought to this question. However, I can offer two examples that suggest Michael Jackson had an impact on music that persists. The following songs by contemporary artists undoubtedly owe something to his artistic legacy.

Example 1

Example 2