Props, Vol. 3

"Props!" is a reoccuring feature on this site that will basically consist of a short list of things that are cool, things that are awesome, things that are recommended, and things that rule. I, therefore, will be giving mad "props" to everything on the list. You can read the first installment here, and the second here. I can't believe I haven't done this since August. I'm really not that busy, I just need encouragement.

1. The Unicorns "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?" This album made my best of 2K3, but I stupidly forgot to include on my over-hyped Top 100 list awhile back. The 'band', which I believe was two 19-yr-old Canadian kids at the time, is now broken up, but it's much better to burn out than blah blah blah. Piccolo solos and exuberant pop music without any choruses or repetition at all. Takes awhile to love (about 2.5 years for me). Dave Eggers once wrote that it's helpful to imagine the band as made entirely of candy. Listen to 2 songs and read more and then buy here.

2. The Microphones "The Glow Pt. 2" Speaking of growers, I've been listening to the microphones since 2000's It was hot, we stayed in the water, but despite my best efforts could never fully appreciate them. This album I've had on my iPod for months, and it took a few listens on headphones before I got it. Got the CD a few weeks ago, finally, and it's even better, good for nights you can't sleep or days when it's too cold to go outside. Acousticky strums, sudden walls of noise, faint tugboat recordings, murmured offkey vocals, sound that creeps into your head and never leaves. In a good way. All analog recording style, feels warm and comforting, somehow, improves upon each listen. See more and purchase at the K records site here.

3. SportsNight Aaron Sorkin's first series was something I barely noticed when it was on, but was one of my first DVD discoveries, and remains one of my favorite TV programs ever, and possibly best half-hour show. I rushed through the box set in a couple weeks, me and my roommate at the time pretended that all our conversations were written by A.S. for weeks afterwards. Such as:
N: Did you do the dishes?
K: The dishes?
N: Yes, the dishes. Did you do them?
K: Yes, I did the dishes.
N: Are you sure?
K: Yes, I did the dishes.
N: Seriously?
K: Yes, washed and dried.
N: OK, because usually you don't do the dishes.
K: I did the dishes. Except there's just one thing...
N: What's that?
K: I didn't do the the dishes.
As you can tell, it was HILARIOUS! I've probably cruised through the 45 episodes about 4 times since then, each no less rewarding. Buy it on DVD here. Sorkin has a brand new series on NBC this fall, called Studio 60 . Sure to be best evah!

4. Energy drinks + Alcohol. Please treat this one responsibly, aka when you can afford to stay awake until 4 a.m. I'm a pretty quiet person, and shy around new people. Therefore, I tend to appreciate the times when I am neither of these things. For some reason, other people tend to feel the same way. When I was single and looking: 50% of the time it worked 100% of the time.

5. Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? This is a short film directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl and Chuck and Buck) and written by Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), starring John C. Reilly, MJ, and others. As far as I know, the only place you can see it is on No. 1 of McSweeney's new DVD quarterly called Wholphin, which you can find for free in the latest issue of McSwy's or the Dec/Jan issue of their magazine The Believer. (The DVD also contains a Spike Jonze documentary on Al Gore circa 2000, and part of the David O. Russell doc on the latest mess in Iraq.) Check your nearby independent bookstore or go to their website. Anyway, this film is short, sweet, and is nearly exactly what you'd expect upon hearing the title. It prompted much daydreaming for me. Though I like to complain, I can gladly say the answer is "Yes". There haven't been many times in my life when that was the case.