My Funny Valentine

These are the reviews
(and other assignments)
I'm working on this month.

Amazon CDs: Belinda Carlisle - Voilà (Go-Go's front woman takes on the chanson), Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch (Lerche goes power-pop), Fall Out Boy - In-
finity on High, Gym Class Heroes - As Cruel as School Children
(dig that Supertramp sample), Hellogoodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, and Matt Wertz - Everything in Between.

Amazon DVDs: The Cuban Masterworks Collection (Viva La Revolución!) [five-disc set], Beauty and the Beast - The First Season [six-disc set] [Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman], The Rockford Files - Season Three [five-disc set] (click here for sea.
two review), Family Ties - The Complete First Season [four-disc
set], The Silence of the Lambs - Two-Disc Collector's Edition [ex-
tras only], Le Petit Lieutenant [click here for Siffblog review], Crossover (Anthony Mackie plays street ball), and My Country, My Country (Oscar-nominated doc about the Iraq occupation).

Amazon Theatricals: God Grew Tired of Us (doc about the
Lost Boys of Sudan), The Lives of Others (Oscar nominee for best
foreign-language film), Bridge to Terabithia (fine family film), and
Amazing Grace (Michael Apted on Britain's abolition movement).

Resonance: "Songs Destroyed by David
Lynch," sidebar to my interview with the man.

Siffblog: An interview with Robinson Devor and a re-
vamped version of a 2005 interview with Gregg Araki.



Endnote: When I think about Valentine's Day, I think about "My Funny Valentine." When I think about "My Funny Valentine," I think about Chet Baker. Sometimes I think about Elvis Costello, but even he would probably admit that Baker's version is superior.

Personally, I find the lyrics off putting, i.e. I love you despite your
physical imperfections. Why go there? We're all imperfect. I feel
the same way about Shakespeare's "My Mistress' Eyes Are Noth-
ing Like the Sun," which seems to have served as inspiration. Bak-
er renders the point moot. He could hum the song and it would be
just as effective. It's the melody more than the words. Give him a
chance, he'll break your heart. Image from the All Music Guide.