Second Annual Beardys: Hollywood edition

Last year, we compiled a list of the best facial hair in music.  While, the beard trend continues to grow, even invading the once clean cut J. Crew catalogs, the facial hair landscape in music hasn't really changed that much since last year (minus Dan Auerbach retiring the gingerbeard!).  So, instead this year's beardys will focus more on the bewhiskered in film and television.

First, we do have three musical award updates first though:

Best Ginger Beard (Issued in memory of Dan Auerbach's Beard): Robin Pecknold from the Fleet Foxes.
On a non-facial hair related note, I'm totally digging the Fleet Foxes' new album, Helplessness Blues. 

Best Creepy Uncle Mustache:  George Lewis Jr., Twin Shadow.  He also wins the Steven Patrick Morrissey Award for best pompadour in popular music.

Check out Twin Shadow's excellent debut album,  Forget!

Best Beard in Rap: Rick Ross
Check out one of his albums!

Fret not, for more discussion of beards in music, check out New York Mag's excellent Beard Symposium. 

Now, the Beardys go to Hollywood:

Most Swoon-worthy beard:  Ryan Gosling.
I'm not saying that Ryan Gosling has a face that launched a million beards, but how many dudes under the age of forty had a beard before Half Nelson?  And now every hipster in the city of Chicago is happily bewhiskered...hmmm... But Gosling does know how to wear a beard right.  Without a beard, he looks too clean-cut and boyish, but with stubble, he's just the right amount of rugged.
Check out the dreaminess in one of his films!

Best Brooding Beard: Michael Fassbender, Jane Eyre.
Most of the time, Rochester just rocks the mutton chops, but when the going gets tough, he channels his inner mountain man.  Sadly, I could not find a picture of Rochester with a beard, but below is my mock up. You'll have to see the movie to get the real deal:

Check out one of his films!

Concert Review: Black Keys at Aragon Ballroom NYE

Dundee Media Corner favorites the Black Keys played three sold out shows last week at Uptown's Aragon Ballroom.  I attended the New Year's Eve concert.  This was my second time seeing the Keys live in 2010, having seen them earlier at the smaller and (vastly) acoustically superior venue Metro. 

The Greenhornes opened for the Keys.  On paper, they seem like the perfect openers.  Both bands have garage rock influenced sounds and hail from Ohio.  However, the Greenhornes' sound was no match for the Aragon's deplorable acoustics, leaving much of their set to sound somewhat indistinguishable, like a musical KFC bowl. From what I could tell, the band seem to be playing with a lot of energy and they are very skilled musicians.  The Greenhornes would sound good at a smaller, better venue. 

This was my first New Year's Eve concert and it was definitely a different atmosphere.  It was sort of a mixture between a concert and a party as concertgoers were chatting away with each other throughout the night. The audience was primarily made up of women all-dolled up for the holiday and men in flannel shirts.  There were quite a bit more ladies at this concert, which may have been why the crowd was less rowdy than at the Metro Keys' concert.

The Keys took the stage a little bit before midnight. Much to my surprise, my doppelganger, Dan Auerbach appeared without his trademark mysteriously orange beard!  Opting instead for a clean shaven look. 

The set list was a mixture of old favorites ("Girl is On My Mind," "I'll Be Your Man") and new hits ("Tighten Up," "Next Girl," "Chop and Change").  There was considerable set list overlap from their Metro show; some of which made sense (I'd be sorely disappointed if they didn't play "I Got Mine") and some not so much (Is "Short Stack Billy" really that loved?).  I give the Black Keys credit for playing songs that are popular and giving the audience what they want; the Keys have to be pretty sick of playing "10 A.M. Automatic" by now. But I like it best when they break away from the expected and play some of their less popular stuff.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find that they added several songs from their first album The Big Come Up to the set and- best of all- a cover of the Kinks' "Act Nice and Gentle" from Rubber Factory.   

Music Roundup: Best Tracks of 2010

 Song rankings are determined by the following (highly scientific) factors:

• Essential awesomeness
• Personal zealotry
• Number of repeat playings
• Perceived technical difficulty

1). Dance Yrself Clean- LCD Soundsystem

Found on: This is Happening (Find it in the catalog!) 

Comments:  Throw your little hands up!

2).  Bloodbuzz Ohio- The National

Found on:  High Violet (Find it in the catalog!) 

3).  O.N.E.- Yeasayer

Found on: Odd Blood (Find it in the catalog!) 

4). Everlasting Light- Black Keys

Found on: Brothers (Find it in the catalog!)

Comments: Dan Auerbach proves that he is finally man enough to sing like a girl .  

5).  Closet Astrologer- Ruby Suns

Found on: Fight Softly (Find it in the catalog!) 

6).  Wanderin’- Justin Townes Earle

Found on: Harlem River Blues (Find it in the catalog!)

7).  Dancing on My Own- Robyn

Found on: Body Talk, Part 1 (Find it in the catalog!) 

8). Take it Easy-Surfer Blood
Found on: Astro Coast (Find it in the catalog!)  

9).  Core of Nature- Midlake
Found on: Courage of Others (Find it in the catalog!) 

10).  Boyfriend- Best Coast
Found on: Crazy for You (Find it in the catalog!) 

Runners Up (unranked): 

Norway- Beach House
Found on: Teen Dream (Find it in the catalog!) 

F*** You- Cee-Lo 
Found on: The Lady Killer (Find it in the catalog!) 

Lark- Josh Ritter 

Found on: So Runs Away the World (Find it in the catalog!) 

Comment:  Best Paul Simon song not done by Paul Simon. 

Laughing Hieroglyphics- Avey Tare

Found on:  Down There (Find it in the catalog!)

Comment:  Recent discovery, otherwise would probably be in top 10.  

What We Are Watching: Terriers

When to Watch: Wednesdays at 9 PM on FX.

The FX series Terriers has a misleading name, as it is not about dogs and it doesn't have any major canine sidekicks.  The title instead refers to show's two rough and tumble leading men- ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth (Donal Logue) and his partner, ex-thief Britt Pollack (Michael Raymond-James).  The two run a small, unlicensed private investigation business in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego.  The sunny, coastal vibe permeates the show right down to the catchy surf rock-inspired theme song, but the show definitely portrays a grittier side to life in Maritime California than say the O.C. (don't call it that!).  

Terriers is often compared to one of my all-time-favorite California-based detective shows, Veronica Mars.  Like VM, Terriers doesn't shy away from depicting class conflicts, especially between the very blue collar Hank and Britt and some of their more white collar clients like Robert Lindus (Christopher Cousins).  Much of the show's dark humor comes form the fast, witty banter between characters.  Hank and Britt are the two biggest culprits, but other characters like the duo's foul-mouth lawyer Maggie, or Hank's socially awkward and sarcastic sister Stephanie, get their share of laughs too.  VM and Terriers also have a noir-ish tone and mixture of stand-alone and multi-episode mysteries.

Though Terriers is essentially a male buddy show, it definitely has its share of interesting and complex female characters.  This includes Britt's girlfriend, Katie, who is studying to be a vet and seemingly the responsible one in the relationship.  But Katie also has a self-destructive side and she's attracted to Britt's darker impulses.  Hank's sister Stephanie is another example.  She is incredibly smart (graduating summa cum laude from M.I.T.), but she also suffers from a debilitating case of schizophrenia.

Another highlight of the show is the performances by Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James.  Both actors are primarily known for supporting roles on bigger shows; Logue played Chuck Martin on ER and Raymond-James played Rene Lenier on everyone's favorite vampire show, True Blood .  Here they are really given a chance to shine.  About half of the lines are only funny because of Logue or Raymond-James's pitch-perfect delivery.  Both actors have really good chemistry together.  Logue's whip-smart and garrulous take on Hank Dolworth is nicely balanced by Raymond-James's laid-back and maundering performance as Britt.  On their own, Hank would be insufferable and Britt would be a bore, but together, they make an adorable pair.

I've been a fan of the show since the pilot episode, but the series seems to get more enjoyable with every episode.  Like so many good TV shows, Terriers has low ratings.  So check it out now and you can have bragging rights over all your friends who'll discover the show on DVD. 

Recommended for Fans Of:  Veronica Mars, The Big Lebowski, anything on the USA Network.