The Consumption

FILM: Parallel Folds: Second of the Indian movies I’m judging. Slightly unfair, because a fair number of scenes are quite overexposed, which makes the subtitles completely illegible for stretches, but I’m pretty sure I followed the whole thing. I’m also pretty sure it’s overly melodramatic, and whatever insight it has into the idea of dignified/voluntary death are overwhelmed by some soap-opera calibre characterizations. Definitely won’t be my pick.

VINYL: Them – Featuring Van Morrison: A little baffled by the exclusion of “Baby Please Don’t Go,” but otherwise this is extremely worthwhile. Less raunchy garage a la “Gloria,” more emphasis on the R&B jams, which is a good trade. Morrison occasionally sounds more like Jagger than Mick ever did, and the band’s tighter than the Stones ever were. Plus, I’m pretty sure this album’s the source of Beck’s samples on “Devil’s Haircut” and “Jackass,” which is neat.