We here at Indie Schmarm feel it is our duty to not only report the news, but now to also give a weekly recommendation of things that we feel are deemed worthy of our attention. We’ve decided to bring out the big guns and encompass multiple categories such as books, film, T.V., food, and of course music.

This last week’s Indie Schmarm recommendations:

Dan Tana

The Music:

Sunny Day Real Estate: How It Feels to Be Something On

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Surviving the 90’s was quite a feat. I don’t know that there is a band that successfully crossed over who still uses the same name, and mostly has the same members in it. Ok, fine yes, good job Sonic Youth. Alright, well I’m too lazy to think more about that currently. I want to talk about How It Feels to Be Something On by Sunny Day Real Estate. I actually (as is my style recently it seems) got into this record a bit late. Certain bands need some attention and respect every now and then regardless of time released or genre. Sunny Day Real Estate is one of those bands. They were one of the first to have the “Jimmy Eat World” emo sound aside from Weezer, and are still considered “emo”. The lyrics are great, the songs are well thought out and the recording quality is amazing. This record has so much more to offer than some old Sum 41 Dashboard sounding record though. Where this emo catagorization is damaging, is somewhere along the way some douches deemed emo to be bad without any limits as to what emo is. Someone sang about girls and they used a C chord, it’s therefore emo and therefore its stupid and cheesy. A lot of good bands are overlooked because of this deemed “lame” category. It gets so far as people refusing to listen to bands or give bands a true shot because of a category name, and whether the band is good or not doesn’t matter. Listen to Jackson Browne for christ’s sake. He’s one of the first “emo” guys. He sang about girls all the time and had emotion, yet because of the era the music was in, and the respect Jackson Browne has, it can’t be emo. Regardless of that, emo music is still good and I still listen to what are considered “emo” bands proudly. As a pot head once told me “good music is good music”.
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The Movies:

Out For Justice

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One of Seagal’s fine moments is captured here in Out For Justic. Any Seagal is good Seagal, but when Seagal tries to have a Brooklyn accent, it’s even better. When it’s his 4th movie, it’s even better. Let me give you the official released synopsis: “The movie centers on NYPD detective Gino Felino (Seagal), a lifetime Brooklyn resident who is in the midst of getting divorced from his wife Vicky. One day, when about to play with his son, when he gets a phone call saying that his best friend and partner, Bobby Lupo, was murdered right in front of his family by Richie Madano, an enemy since childhood. With his friend dead, Fellino is now out to kill Madano by any means necessary, and to take the control of his neighborhood back from Madano and his cohorts.” Cohorts eh? Apparently this time it’s personal with the cohorts. The cohorts are apparently going to make it hard on Seagal. But he can stop any and all cohorts as we’ve all seen in the past.

Cohorts.
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The Food:

Mission Salsa Roja chips

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You of course have all heard the phrase “once you pop, you can’t stop”. Sorry Pringles you don’t have anything on Mission Salsa Roja chips. These guys are also known as “Feasts of a Thousand Rojas” and will make your gums bleed because you wont be able to stop eating them. I’ve given warning to those who haven’t been clued it, but yet they dive in thinking they are man enough to handle the Rojas. They leave with an empty bag or chips stuffed in their pockets and on their way to the store to buy more. These little guys pack so much punch they chipped one of my friend’s teeth once. So go nuts, just know that you may not make it out alive. They are great with beer too. They are also a great weapon for taking out cohorts.

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Torquil Crossingham

The TV:

Frisky Dingo

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I can’t deal with Sealab. Sorry. I really want to, ’cause in theory it’s right up my alley, but in reality it’s completely disorienting to me. If I watch it long enough I feel like I’m watching a crazy person in the park vomiting into his own pants, then he turns around and he has my face.

This show does the trick, though.

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The Book:

Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

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I could say I discovered this book ’cause I was on some big southern gothic kick and I peeled the Tennessee Williams onion. Or, that I came across the title in an intense discussion of theology with a homeless poet laureate in the Toy District. No, I’m not that cool. David Bazan wrote a song about it and that’s good enough for me.

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The Music:

Broken Social Scene - KCRW Sessions

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Shortly after releasing the best album in the world BSS came through Los Angeles on tour and made time to do a live performance on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. Where they found the time to rework their songs with these achingly gorgeous softer arrangements, I have no idea. Feist also does a song of her own that will make you weep like a pre-pubescent willow.

You can find it here.

Dane Sundseth

The Book: Like a Hole in the Head by Jen Banbury

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I stumbled across this treasure about a month ago at a Goodwill for $1. I liked the title and it had a quote from Legs McNeill on the back so I decided to give it a go. Centered around the sharp tongued sarcasm of Jill, who works at a used bookstore in LA, this book’s plot finds her purchasing what at first seems like an autographed first edition copy of Jack London’s The Cruise and the Snark, but quickly finds out it is much more than just that. After selling the book to a dealer, she learns that two different parties are now claiming ownership to it and that she must be the one to find it again…or else. All night drives to Las Vegas, kidnappings, stray dogs and murder fill out the rest of the book’s un-predictable drama that’s cast of characters include failed actors, dwarfs, vets and water delivery men. The best part of this book is Jill herself. The type of girl who gives absolutely no regard to what others think of her, whose defensive sarcasm puts her in more trouble then if she had just kept her mouth shut. Not to mention she’s a wreck-less alcoholic who is battling with a dark past amidst this all. It’s kind of like Catcher in the Rye meets Thelma and Louise, if that makes sense at all.