A children’s choir stands on a stage. They are dressed as all manner of zombies, witches, devils and goblins. They sing what seems like a showtune upon first listen, but no, that can’t be right – the words are rife with macabre imagery to bones and graves and, well, zombies. There’s a man standing next to them, and he strums a guitar, singing in a high-pitched voice along with them. And in the front, there’s a movie star with a microphone singing doo-wop over everything. His name is Ryan Gosling. His band is called Dead Man’s Bones.

I’ve listened to their very first (self-titled) album. It collects and blends a number of different influences, including showtunes, gospel, and 1950’s pop classics among so many others my untrained ears can’t identify, but it certainly sounds pretty. A track called Buried in Water is a slow piano piece that evokes a sinking feeling, much like the title implies. A song called My Body’s A Zombie For You almost sounds like a lost 1950’s pop radio hit. My personal favorite, though, has to be Pa Pa Power. Sung by Zach Shields, it has a lush electric melody that stands out against the deeper, “older” feel of most of the rest of the album. Still, it doesn’t break the flow of the album or feel “tacked on” at all, and with the use of electronic pops and a choir of children singing, “We won’t destroy. No, we will not destroy you,” well, in a strange sort of way, it just really sounds amazing.

Dead Man Bones is lo-fi and beautiful. Ryan Gosling proves he’s a capable vocalist, evoking a somewhat “old-time” kind of feel, reminiscent of music from the 1920’s. The two listed members – Gosling and Zach Shields – seem to play their own admittedly sizeable selection of instruments, often “singing out” beats or sounds they either don’t know how to replicate with their respective instruments, or just don’t feel the need to. The background of children’s voices works wonders, as well – they certainly add a spooky ambient in some spots to certain songs, and other times their innocence seems on fully display, shining brightly through the gloom.

Given the nature of the lyrics and the obvious use of gothic archetypes in the music, I’m tempted to say something like, “this is a glorious soundtrack to the spirit of Halloween.” Admittedly though, I don’t think it would be fair to corner the album like that. While I’m sure the record will hold a special significance for this time of the year – as the golden leaves fall from the trees, the breeze picks up and grows a little colder, and we all stand on the precipice of Halloween – it feels like a lot more than just a holiday album. From the slowly rising tide of sound on the opening track, Dead Hearts, on through, Dead Man’s Bones is an inventive album that, although certainly not perfect, is still filled with moments of pure beauty. I know that I’ll be listening to this long after the end of October.

In short, I like it a lot.

Tonight, I saw The Brothers Bloom. It centers on two brothers, Stephen and Bloom, who have become renowned con men. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) is the older of the two. He hatches their plans and writes out all of their cons like an intricate story – complete with symbolism and references and allusions to his favorite literary works. He loves what he does. Bloom (Adrien Brody) is his younger brother, the reluctant of the two. He plays the lead in all of Stephen’s cons, and he’s grown tired of reading lines and telling lies. Clearly, he yearns for something genuine for once in his life. Though he’s attempted to leave all this deceit behind him several times before, the fear that once he doesn’t have someone to tell him what’s next – someone like Stephen – he won’t know what to do with himself anymore. And so, he stays.

Enter Penelope (Rachel Weisz) , the eccentric shut-in “mark” (i.e., victim) for their con. She’s hardly ever left her mansion in her entire life, and she’s spent years by herself, collecting hobbies. She’s made pinhole cameras from watermelons, tried (and failed terribly) at racing expensive sports cars and learned to play a number of musical instruments from instruction books, but now she yearns for adventure. The Brothers Bloom soon find their way into her life and convince her that they’re antique salesmen. Quickly, they convince her to join them on a journey rife with danger and lies, but Bloom begins to develop feelings for Peneople, and in turn, feels guilty for the lies both brothers have fed her. It’s not long before Bloom begins to wonder if the real “mark” of Stephen’s con is not Penelope, but Bloom himself.

The film is directed by Rian Johnson, who previously directed Brick, a fantastic neo-noir story set in a high school. I liked Brick a lot, especially its 1950’s style inspired slang that the kids use throughout the film, the sharp cinematography and the beautiful ringing soundtrack. Since then, I’ve been eagerly awaiting Johnson’s next film, and this one hasn’t disappointed. I will admit though that Bloom doesn’t quite reach the brilliance of Brick, which has a special soft spot in my heart carved out for its magnificent shots, soundtrack and great lead character.

What’s to love in Bloom though? The performances by Brody, Wiesz and Ruffalo are all great. Rachel Weisz is a terrific, underrated actress that doesn’t get nearly the credit she deserves for a lot of her work (The Fountain!) Here, she really brings out the awkward quirks of a woman who hasn’t seen so much of the world, and emotes her passion for adventure in a really lovable way.

I’ve always liked many of the performances by Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody as well, especially Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind/Zodiac and The Pianist/The Darjeeling Limited respectively. Here, none of the actors disappoint. Brody really brings out the reluctance Bloom feels for most of the story, but he shines brightest when his character finally sheds his worries and acts on his own behalf for the first time in his life without his brother Stephen’s directions, culminating in a little scene of strangely uplifting petty larceny.

Oh, and I almost forgot, then there’s Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi)… the silent asian companion of the two brothers. She serves as the right-hand woman for Stephen (and Bloom), as well as demolitions expert. Though she’s a girl of few words, she’s certainly the most mysterious character, and while she barely has more than a few words throughout the whole movie, her use of body language and especially her facial expressions still puts a lot of mainstream “stars” to shame.

For con films, double-crosses and plot twists come with the territory, and I expected them. While this stories’ turns aren’t as shocking or unpredictable as some other films I’ve seen, the ending certainly does tug at the heart strings in a different way than I was expecting. Though I started watching the movie  hoping for a few big twists and turns (like many people do), I instead found myself surprised that the most successful element of the film was how the pieces for the characters fit together in the end.

While I started the movie in hopes for a little more carpet-pulling (from under me) than I got, I’m still pleased with the film, mainly due to the way the story arcs for each character fit together in the end. While Bloom isn’t nearly on the same intellectual plane as, say, a film like Memento, it still brings a fairly heavy emotional investment to its characters, and for that, I’d recommend it.

I’ll make this brief. One of my favorite bands ever is Rx Bandits. What started as a Ska/Punk blend has become one of the most criminally unknown and underrated bands in the world. They have brilliant lyrics, and their music is organic and chaotic rock with a reggae style floating somewhere in the background of it all. Their newest album is called Mandala, and it’s available to download for $2.99. The entire 11-track album, plus a bonus acoustic track, is 3 bucks here. It is absolutely, unquestionably the best three dollars I have ever spent. And I’m likely going to buy a hard copy too.

If you have ears and a soul, this is something I really really recommend listening to. I swear that this is not money you’d be wasting. This album’s a masterpiece.

I’ve been listening to punk rock all of my life. When I was young, twelve, thirteen, I heard a song from an old Green Day album called “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?” My sister had just recently read the book for school, and said I might like it. I was young and impatient and didn’t very much like to read, but a book with Billie Joe Armstrong’s endorsement got my attention at least. And so, I picked up Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and read it that summer. I didn’t stop until it was done. And in the end, I felt so many things all at once. Relieved but heartbroken, especially. I’ve never read anything since that’s affected me quite as much.

But I’ve only just now realized that novel’s affect on me (thanks Jessica!). Particularly in the book I’m still working on now, called Valentine. I don’t think I’ve ever realized just how much Holden Caulfield has stayed with me all these years, become a part of my personality. It isn’t just the big surface things about Holden, either: his rebelliousness, his angst, the profanity, the loneliness as he straggles to find his way in the world filled with people he thinks are “phony.”

And then there are the little things about him that have popped up in my mind over time, even while writing. Like his empathy, his sympathy, his love. His wonderment about the ducks in New York City that disappear in the winter, and the actual worry he feels for them. And there’s the protectiveness he has of Phoebe, his little sister. His fascination and guardianship of her innocence as he watches her ride the carousel in the park towards the end. His reluctance to commit suicide for nearly infantile reasons – like it would be an ugly mess to see for the people on the street. The vivid memories he has of a girl, Jane, playing checkers on the front porch where she’d keep all her pieces in the back row, away from him, like a wall. And all of these things, almost every single one reminds me of myself, my own writing, the character I’ve been working on for the past two years: Adam. And it makes me wonder if I’ve been writing my own Catcher in the Rye all this time.

Then, of course, there’s the style through which Salinger told the story. The vivid imagery he pushed, like the field of rye Holden talked about, from which the title comes. And I wonder, have I replaced that field with red grass and a violet sky? The way he attacked things that seemed almost intangible or secret, especially in his day… like talking to a prostitute in his hotel room instead of sleeping with her, just because he was lonely. And as previously stated, the way he couldn’t go through with killing himself, no matter how broken he felt, because of the mess he’d leave in his wake. Really, it’s only now that I’m starting to see the connections, the similarities, the unconscious references I’ve been making back to that book for so long.

One thing I know for sure is I need to read it again. I’ve always looked back at it with great affection, knowing well that I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t read it. More than anything else, more than the music I’ve heard or the films I’ve seen or the other authors whose work I’ve enjoyed, like Chuck Palahniuk or Will Christopher Baer, Salinger is, most of all, the one who made me most want to write, and in the times I’ve found myself heartbroken or tremendously depressed where I’ve thought of suicide much like Holden, Salinger, too, has reminded me no, no, it would be much too ugly, it would leave such a mess. And so I guess I must thank him again, not just for the inspiration to write, but to live as well, just to keep on living through good times and bad.

So I just saw Wall-E last night for the first time. It was pretty fucking amazing. I think it’s my favorite Pixar film. I mean, I think I love it even more than The Incredibles. It might be one of my favorite animated films ever. It’s a really simple, but incredibly human story told using two robots. It has pretty much everything: two dynamic, lovable, incredibly cute characters that happen to be robots: Wall-E and Eve. Fantastic visual elements that explore the radiant beauty of space and stars and make even the most common of things seem interesting… and the character, Wall-E’s, marvel and wonder for the garbage he’s digging through, like old video tapes or a zippo lighter, gives the audience an even greater appreciation for some of the everyday things we take for granted. There are heartbreakingly touching scenes filled with love, and Wall-E’s endearing innocence and determination to protect and win Eve over, and simply to hold her hand, is stunningly strong. Add in a endearing message about human dependence on technology and the simple joys of innocent love, and you essentially have a masterpiece.

It’s awesome. See it if you haven’t yet.