Over the past few years I’ve made some proclamations about movies and bands that proved to be correct. Last weekend Gregg decided I needed my own Seal of Approval because I have become pretty reliable. He had just watched European Gigolo and agreed with my thoughts on it.
Now, I don’t go around just declaring things great all that regularly. I have plenty of solid recommendations (also known as favorites) but it takes a little something extra to get The Seal.
Going back to the Spring of 2003 I have given The Seal to three movies and three bands. According to friends, 2 of the movies have come through and I haven’t heard from anyone about the 3rd. For the bands, one is huge, one is getting there, and the other needs some more time.
Let’s start out with movies, since music is sort of a different ball game. The movie has to be something that isn’t widely known or that has been trashed so much you think its going to be terrible and avoid it at all cost. You’ll understand.
Eurotrip – Evan and I saw this Spring Break 2003. We went to the theater hoping to see Girl Next Door, which hadn’t yet been released. It turned out being the funniest movie I’ve ever seen in a theater and behind Final Destination 2 as the most enjoyable time at a movie. (Seeing FD2 in a tiny/crappy/sold out theater will not soon be topped.) Evan and I left knowing we had just seen something special. I don’t remember the chain of events but I believe I told Janos and either they rented it or borrowed it when I returned from Minnesota. Janos, Gregg, Mike, and Scott need to weigh in on how many times they watched this movie and how it changed their lives. At school I’d feel like I had made an instant friend when someone had a Scotty Doesn’t Know ring tone. If you have seen the movie, can you think of a greater cameo than at the beginning of this movie? (I don’t want to give anything away.)
Deuce Bigalow 2: European Gigolo – How I came to see this one makes little sense because I didn’t much care for the first one and many critics named it the worst movie of the year. However, for some odd reason, I enjoy Rob Schneider movies. Add the fact that I was home with no job, no school, not much of anything going on. So I put it on the Netflix queue. Yes, its a terrible movie. However, there are enough hysterical scenes to make it all worth it. Some parts are just so wrong, yet you can’t look away and wind up laughing so hard it hurts.
Grandma’s Boy – This one didn’t get a whole lot of attention. The previous for it were so terrible, I didn’t really want to see it. After realizing that Nick Swardson wrote it I decided it was worth a Netflix. Its just barely on the awesome side of ridiculousness. A little further and it would have fallen off and just been stupid. I just loved all the random lines, I really have no explanation why. You might actually hate it, but you should give it a shot.
The real key to my movie selections is that you need to watch with some friends and have a good time. They will still work by yourself (2 of them I watched by myself) but go for the full experience. There were also all good on the first shot. None of this you need to see it a couple times before its funny. Sorry Napoleon, I don’t have that kind of time.
With bands its a little easier to find something that not many people have heard of. However, picking out one that is going to make it big and have a broad appeal is a little more difficult. It also can take a few years until you see anything big happen. Here are the bands I’ve given The Seal.
Fall Out Boy – It was Spring of 2003. I had one song by this band. It was called Headphones. I don’t know how long I had it on my computer before I listened to it. Then listened again, and again. I quickly went out and found the two CDs they had out. Turned out Headphones was really called Homesick at Spacecamp. I told just about everyone I knew about them. The punk/emo kids were big fans. Everyone else thought I was crazy but remembered the name. Two years later they came to Movin’ On. It was less than a month after I had first heard Sugar. By the end of that summer Sugar was everywhere, and that’s an understatement.
Cartel – I got hooked on the EP Fall of 2004. I knew that if they put out full length of the same quality they would be huge. The album took a little while to grow on me, but its been in my car since I got it (got the car). Honestly has started to get some play on Sirius and they have started popping up all around. I don’t think they have the single-power that Fall Out Boy does but they can produce a better album.
Hit the Lights – I think I got their EP last summer and was instantly hooked. There album wound up being just as solid. On the surface they remind me of bubble-gum punk (Simple Plan) but when you listen you find they have some pretty evil lyrics. (More on evil lyrics in general someday.) They definitely have the single-power more than album-power. Really, just a lot of fun.
I’m a little never to actually talk about The Seal and give it a name. I can only see bad things coming from this. Giving to many things The Seal, giving it less meaning. Or not giving anything The Seal, worrying that it people won’t like it and it will lose its credibility. We’ll see what happens. For now, I’ve done alright.