musicbyryan.com

i just got back from a midnight screening of the dark knight. WOW!

after one viewing i can say emphatically that:

-it is just as good as i remember thinking batman begins was after i saw it for the first time.

-christian bale has really settled into the role. he is bringing out the struggle and conflict that i have always identified with in batman, yet he is doing it naturally, organically even. he’s not in a hurry to get anywhere and it’s definitely working for him.

-chris nolan might now be my favorite movie director.

-heath ledger is very, very good. he is a much better actor in this movie than he was in 10 things i hate about you.

-the soundtrack was really stinking good. a lot of the techniques the composer used, i could have brought into my master’s level composition lessons and gotten praise. top-class stuff in several instances.

-i need to sleep and then see it again (at an imax theater) and then really write what i think.

what a fun night! too bad i won’t be able to watch it with my 2-year old for probably another 10-12 years, at least.

so i’ve kind of been in an all radiohead, all the time kind of mood for a while. it could be boredom, and it could be that ‘in rainbows’ is such an astounding album, or both. it’s such a beautiful collection of songs. incredibly inspiring to me. in 7 and a half months since i first heard the album, i haven’t grown tired of it, and i’ve listened to it probably over 200 times. the new single and video is a favorite track of mine, house of cards.

you can watch the new house of cards video here.

Radiohead - House of Cards

or here.

very strange looking. very weird….very weird, yet kind of cool in a way. very different than i had imagined when i first heard about it. strikes me as the kind of thing that grows on you over time.

here is a cool video about the making of the house of cards video.

seriously…..

Dwight Howard has got to be one of the most explosive athletes I have ever seen. As a kid, I used to always miss the All-Star Saturday Night because we never had cable. I’d sit and watch the 10 o’clock news hoping for highlights from the Slam Dunk Contest.

Well no longer. I watched this year’s Slam Dunk Contest itching to see something good, and it ended up being the best show I’ve seen for a long, long time. VC in 2000 was unbelievable, but to see someone of DHoward’s size do the things he does is off-the-charts.

Here’s some behind the scenes footage that is just as incredible.

This is longer and shows more than the first. I didn’t realize DHoward is that long. I mean I know he’s tall, listed at 6′11″, but he just gets up so quick and it doesn’t ever look like he’s as long as he is to me. Take a look at when he’s hanging on the rym, his feet are 6″ or so from the ground with his feet extended. That’s insane, as is the last dunk on the video. It’s just silly stupid that someone can do what he does.

this is actually better than ‘all i need’ below.

this is the most beautiful and well performed song i’ve heard in some time. it’s amazing to think that it’s all one chrd played over and over. so simple, yet so, so effective.

enjoy.