I’m going to weigh in with Lifeguard. This is a low-budget feature from the 70s. Beach movie/B movie, but with spotless acting and a super script, totally breaks out of the genre. Stars Sam Elliot, Anne Archer, Kathleen Quninlan, Parker Stevenson. The casting is impeccable.

I’m going to the buck the high-brow trend and suggest the Patrick Swayze movie Black Dog. It totally works as a straight action film (plus Meatloaf as a Bible-quoting antagonist and Randy Travis as a sidekick which I’m sure you have a new appreciation for living in Texas) that has a lot of class rage in it as well.

I saw it on my first solo date in HS but just watched it again last month and thought it was still wildly entertaining.

Book: _The Giver_, by Lois Lowry. Written for children, but transcendent in its ability to evoke the simplicity and strength of the human experience.

Music: Melody Gardot’s first (and, currently, only) album: _Worrisome Heart_. In particular, the track, “Love Me Like a River Does.” She’s a young, indomitable musician. There was a great profile of her here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87997628

I look forward to your thoughts.

cheers,
J

I finally shut down the comments because someone who had no understanding of blog etiquette took it upon herself to start issuing all kinds of broad accusations against a semi-public figure….Weird stuff.

The media “object” that has stuck with me the most lately is probably the “Once” movie and soundtrack. They both evoke each other so deeply that they are sort of inseparable. All-time, my first though is always of Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil, which is the film that made me want to study film rather than literature.

Congrats on your two-year milestone!

My pick is a musical one. As I think you know, I am a collector of obscure, underground Christmas music. This obsession was born back in 1984 when, in a flea market, I discovered Miles Davis’s “Blue Xmas (To Whom it May Concern)” featuring caustic vocals by jazz legend BOB DOROUGH — who also wrote the tune.

This mid-’60s bebop classic put a decidedly unsentimental spin on the season. And the idea that someone would be critical of Christmas, especially in a song, was a revelation to me.

I had the privilege to interview Bob for the doc I am currently working on and I am quite certain you’ll find his songs sentiments refreshing.

Thanks for taking on this challenge and take care.
m

p.s. If you need an mp3 let me know which email address to send it to.

p.p.s. I’m sure you’ll remember Bob Dorough as the musical genius behind ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock animated TV series.

Congrats with your anniversary. Maybe you’d like to take a look at: De Roltrap | Musings of That Escalator Vlognik at http://www.deroltrap.nl and write about it.

Best Regards!

Huub Koch | the Netherlands