From the Couch Hole: I’m Just a Vagabond

Previously on FTCH, the American refugee witnessed Mary Jane’s last dance to a passage for trumpet on the causeway. The old school tavern-style pizza was eaten while playing board games. Last weekend was a great time with some friends. This week I got back to work, and the weather wasn’t autumn but not crazy summer heat. I’m prepping for another time away this coming weekend for a family weekend. This week you like it darker but it’s sunny. Aftersun, roll me easy into Area 51 with Fruity Pebble Waffles. Remember, FTCH eats like a meal.

Pop Culture Ephemera

• Stephen King – You Like It Darker (2024) (Scribner): “The world is full of rattlesnakes. Sometimes you step on them and they don’t bite. Sometimes you step over them and they bite anyway.” – Stephen King. His last novella collection was If It Bleeds (2020). This year, his release of a combination of novellas and short stories. There are five novellas and seven short stories in this collection. It’s no surprise that the novellas made the biggest impact on me. I tried to take my time on the book, but now I have to work through some older ones while I await the next.
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”: The longest entry in the book is also my favorite. A single psychic nightmare for Danny results in a set of circumstances that frame him for murder. It’s a story that would make Kafka proud. This is the story out of the group that would translate to film the best.
  • “Rattlesnakes”: It functions as a sequel to Cujo (1981) (the book, not the film). This story focuses on Vic Trenton, the husband. The story of a rabid dog doesn’t lend itself to a sequel, luckily. It’s as much a thematic sequel to Duma Key (2008) as any other piece. At almost 90 pages, this could even been padded out a little more. As written, it’s a nice surprising creepy piece that tells a good story with a rewarding nod to the past.
  • “The Dreamers”: This novella comes as close as any in the book to the feeling of ’70s and early ’80s Stephen King. It’s fun to live in the world of previously known characters, but it’s also exhilarating to meet a new character and feel like it’s a new world. William Davis is a Vietnam Vet back in Castle Rock in 1971. The story has a H.P. Lovecraft feeling like “Jerusalem’s Lot” from Night Shift (1978). There’s an actual “monster” for once. This story puts the “Darker” in the “You Like It Darker” of the title. I want a sequel immediately.

Buy You Like It Darker

• Sunny – “Who’s in the Box” (2024) (S.1 E.9) (Apple+): “Your weird algorithm sent you here to confront your crimes.” – Yuki. The current rule of penultimate episodes is to deviate from the usual structure of the series and to make it the emotional end of the series. It’s proven over Beef, The Bear, Shogun, and The Curse. It’s hard to even put into words that there’s a game show called “Wipe or Don’t Wipe” within Sunny’s memory that’s within the robot that’s within the show. The device of the game show allows the writers to fill in some gaps. That should have the appellation of “in theory.” What happens is that for every dot that is connected, there’s some contradictory dots that are unconnected. I appreciate the game-show format as a way to justify some flashbacks. I don’t know that it helped the flow of the show. It’s hard to go an episode without Rashida Jones who is our anchor to the “reality” of the show. Is Sunny a Suzie? Is Suzie a Sunny? I’m still enjoying this show as much as anything playing now, but I needed a better emotional peak to the story.

Buy Glen Campbell – Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb CD

• Glen Campbell – “Roll Me Easy” (1974) (from Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb): “But darling sweet darling / Now you’re the best thing I’ve ever seen.” I’m not really sure why this song is on this album. It’s not a Jimmy Webb song, in fact, it’s Glen just revamping the lyrics to a Little Feat song. He turns what feels like a Road song (doesn’t everything by Little Feat feel like a Road song?) into a Love song. No disrespect to Little Feat, but this song was made for Glen Campbell’s voice. The arrangement is top notch, and this should have been a hit song.

• Area 51 (2015) (Directed by Oren Peli): “Area 51, man. It’s the 51st state.” – Town Person. The “found footage” genre is too often an excuse for poor editing. This film it’s an excuse for poor structure. The first act doesn’t establish the motivation for the obsession with Area 51 nearly enough. The second act is a promising twist on the genre. The horror story has been the benefactor of the explosion of this technique since The Blair Witch Story (1999). This film spends the middle portion of the film being more of a caper film as the crew develops a plan on infiltrating Area 51. The third act is the execution of the plan. It’s just too difficult to stick to the found footage when the situation calls for more exposition. There are too many situations where characters are having to talk about what they are seeing in a very unnatural way. Too many conversations that start with an awkward, “Hey, dude, look at… ” I worry about a film made in 2009 that is shelved until 2015. It’s directed by the producer of the Paranormal Activity and Insidious series, so there’s a culture of knowing how to structure a horror film. This doesn’t feel genuine at any point. I would have accepted a handheld camera in a Lars Von Triers style that didn’t rely on the conceit of being filmed by the actors. It’s a real shame that they couldn’t make this story of three average people breaking into Area 51 work better. The final twist doesn’t save it.

• Aftersun (2022) (Directed by Charlotte Wells): “I think it’s nice that we share the same sky.” – Sophie. Sometimes the best films are the unknowable ones. Twenty people will have twenty different reactions to this film. It’s a flashback by Sophie (Frankie Corio) looking back at cam footage and memories of her vacation with her divorced father, Callum (Paul Mescal) at a resort in Turkey. Sophie is 11 years old on the vacation which is a perfect age to look back on. Both father and daughter are feeling loneliness for different reasons. Older Sophie can now identify with what her father was going through in a way she didn’t have the perspective as a child.
  
  Frankie Corio is wonderfully cast in this role. She plays that role of being on the cusp of turning into an independent teenager while still holding onto elements of her childhood. Those two realities exist comfortably in the film. There’s a peacefulness about the relationship between the father and child, and at the same time, there’s a persistent sadness that reflects the memory of the older version of Sophie. Those feelings are found in the ways that scenes are shot from distance and the excellent use of period music from the late ’90s. The film is a slow exposition of the daily activities of a vacation that rewards viewers who pay attention.

Best of the Rest

• The Glen Campbell version is great. The original by Little Feat is excellent in its own right. As previously stated, this feels like a Road Song. It’s the song that plays at the end of a night of drinking and we’re all singing along.

• You have Little Feat and Glen Campbell versions, but who made the song the most country sounding? Of course, it’s the beautiful voice of Linda Ronstadt. She finds a nice spot right in between the interpretations of the two. It’s almost of a celebration as she emphasizes the “harmony” and “unison” of the lyrics. I love the anthem-esque take here.

• I wouldn’t have picked Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) to have partnered with CarMax for their most clever movie tie-in, but this look and humor really fits for both brands. The way car buying shouldn’t be.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

• On the Sunday Morning Tuneage from 3/29/2009, I was back from Spring Break in Florida with the family. The boy’s baseball season didn’t start on the day before because of low temps and almost freezing rain. My #24 Favorite Movie of All-Time was E.T. (1982). The list was always going to be heavy on Hitchcock, Wilder, and Spielberg. I’ve never not loved this film, but I waffle on where I rank this. This is approximately where I’d put this or at least sub in another Spielberg film of this 5-10 year era. The long run of ER (NBC) was coming to an end. I loved this show early on, but I had no interest by this point with a cast I didn’t recognize. I was enjoying the final episodes of Life on Mars (ABC), and I was roped in with my first season of Biggest Loser: Couples (NBC). The list of the week might be one of those where nothing from 2009 makes the 2024 list.
  • TOP TEN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES OF ALL-TIME (2009)
    • 10. Not Necessarily The News (1982-1990): Where I learned about “sniglets.”
    • 9. The Sopranos (1999-2007): I know it’s good just not how good.
    • 8. Flight of the Conchords (2007-2009)
    • 7. The Life and Times of Tim (2008-2012): How come we don’t talk about this more?
    • 6. True Blood (2008-2014): It’s silly but sometimes I just need silly.
    • 5. Fraggle Rock (1983-1987)
    • 4. The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998): There’s a dead heat for #3 and #4.
    • 3. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2024)
    • 2. Six Feet Under (2001-2005): I have a small sampling, but this one rocks.
    • 1. The Wire (2002-2008): Based on just watching this first season, this is a best of all-time contender.
  • TOP TEN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES OF ALL-TIME (2024)
    • 10. Eastbound & Down (2009-2013): I could sub in Righteous Gemstones, but the baseball humor here puts it over the top. Kenny Powers is a quote machine.
    • 9. True Detective (2014-Present): I’m a fan of every season except for the second. It’s a great format for HBO.
    • 8. Game of Thrones (2011-2019) : There’s not a show on this list or just out of the Top Ten that I debated on more. I can’t deny that for the first few seasons this is the show I watched on a Sunday night before all others.
    • 6. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2024): There were just enough inconsistent episodes to make this short of perfect. When it was good though, damn it was good.
    • 5. Silicon Valley (2014-2019): I probably overrate this comedy. I have a soft spot for pretty much all of the cast, but Martin Starr is what puts this over the top for me.
    • 4. Veep (2012-2019): What other comedic show seemed outrageous at initial airing but seems closer to reality as the years go on? The show wouldn’t be what it is without the creative use of filthy language.
    • 3. Six Feet Under (2001-2005): Another show that I’ve watched the seasons that matter and haven’t finished. I love the cast and Alan Ball’s music choices are superb.
    • 2. The Leftovers (2014-2017): This show gets a spot this high mostly for doing two things that so few series manage to do. It got better as it went along, and it told a satisfyingly complete story. A good cast was a bonus.
    • 1. The Wire (2002-2008): I shamefully haven’t finished the series yet, but I don’t need those final couple of seasons to know it’s an all-timer no matter what the service.
  • I’ve removed The Sopranos to be fair. Even though I know it will eventually be one of the best shows I’ve ever watched, I still haven’t watched more than a couple of random episodes. Also not on the list even though they are likely really good are Barry, Succession, and Deadwood. The list has changed and if we went deeper to a 25 or 50 list, it would be dominated by shows from the last 20 years. As a postscript, I have gone long periods of time up until about 2009 where I didn’t have HBO and that has affected what I started or didn’t start. I’d put their Top 20 up against any other cable channel’s Top 20.

1974 in Review

• September – Marvel Two-In-One #5 (Marvel) Cover art and interior art by Sal Buscema. Written by Steve Gerber. More time travel stories and we find out more specifics of the Captain America timeline in the Marvel Universe.
• September 12 – The longest game in Major League Baseball history was played between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. It was 7 hours and 4 minutes and finished in the 25th inning as Bake McBride scored from 1st base on two Mets errors.
• September 10 – The St. Louis Cardinals are playing the Philadelphia Phillies. Lou Brock ties Maury Wills record with his 104th stolen base. Later in the 7th inning he would steal his 105th to break the record.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“Take my independence with no apprehension, no tension
We’ll walk and talk in sweet paradise
Now I have crossed this country, Lord, from Denver to the ocean
But I’ve never met girls that could sing so sweet” – Glen Campbell

Stay Hard

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