She Alone: Revisiting Buffy, the Reluctant Feminist Hero

At least once a year, I manage to revisit Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its entirety. There are a few shows I hold in high esteem as the most intriguing, well-written, and compelling: The Wire, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, just to name a few. But I have watched none of those as much as I have watched Buffy. The premise was simple enough, and yet it defied all existing tropes up to that point. Buffy Summers is the chosen one, the next in a long line of Vampire Slayers, called when the preceding Slayer dies. It is her duty to protect the world from bloodsucking creatures of the night, and all other manner of beasties. Creator Joss Whedon’s intention was to take the helpless girl in the alley in every cliché horror movie and give her agency and power. That, in itself, was likely enough to make me watch, despite the somewhat silly title, but the transformation of “High School as Hell,” from the figurative metaphorical to the literal made it even more appealing.

Fans know the origin of the show already. Originally, Buffy was a movie starring Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, and Luke Perry, with Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens as the baddies. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Whedon was unsatisfied with the result, despite Reubens performing one of the best death scenes in film history. It certainly wouldn’t be Joss’ first disappointment with Hollywood. But, he was given a second chance with this great character, the reprise to appear on the small screen. Cleverly, Whedon managed to reboot the property while maintaining the mythology created in the movie. Later, a comic book adaptation of Whedon’s original script was released, which he explains is to be taken as canonical. But the basics are the same. A new Slayer is called in L.A., she is trained in her fight against the vampires, she loses her original Watcher, and then she has to move.

The series starts with Buffy as a new student in Sunnydale, having just moved from Los Angeles. She meets her new Watcher, Giles, though she is at first resistant to resume her destined role, and quickly subverts a major tradition amongst Slayers by having friends. This becomes a key issue in the series. Though Whedon certainly follows his thesis of celebrating female power, he also follows the maxim that no one is truly alone, prophecy or no. The first set of episodes, a mid-season replacement, had twelve installments. They acted as a blueprint, establishing character, setting, situations, and mythology. Though the twists and emotional complexity would be more fully explored in later seasons, there were definitely some shining moments in the original dozen shows.



From the first show, Whedon wanted to establish the notion that nobody was safe. Eric Balfour, later to star in several shows including the aforementioned Six Feet Under, was to have appeared in the opening credits (though the network balked at the idea), only to be made a quick casualty in the war against darkness. While it wasn’t necessarily Game of Thrones, it was daring nonetheless. All of the chess pieces are put in place in the first two episodes. We have our heroine, Buffy, her substitute father figure in Giles, the Watcher, and her friends, Xander and Willow. In addition, we meet two different foils, the cliquish Cordelia and her mysterious romantic interest, Angel. We also have what Whedon establishes every season, what he likes to call “The Big Bad.” In the case of the first season, this is the elder vampire known as The Master.

The Master sets the architecture for major season-long enemies to come. While every episode may have some new challenge to face, there is always the threat of the major villain, ever plotting in the background for some major battle that will inevitably come. He and his minions, Luke (played by an actor who would later come back as baddie, The Judge) and Darla (a recurring fan favorite), scheme to rise from their underground “mystical” prison, and subsequently doing what nearly every Buffy baddie wants to do, open the Hellmouth and release untold evils upon the earth. The point is made again and again, as it probably needs to with such fantastical stories, that this is a lot of responsibility for one teenager to bear, even with special powers.



The Master’s arc over the season is peppered with what has become the norm for supernatural shows, which is appropriately called “Monster of the Week.” Buffy deals with witches, praying mantis monsters, animal possession, ancient demons, a cursed spirit inhabiting a ventriloquist’s dummy, waking nightmares, and a vengeful, invisible girl. And yet, they go far beyond those pedantic descriptions. All take on the subtext of the metaphorical becoming literal. The overbearing mother who lives vicariously through her daughter actually switches their bodies through witchcraft. Hyenas possess the cruel, preying clique. The ignored and scorned girl actually becomes invisible. And, though the bulk of the episode, “I, Robot…You, Jane,” is somewhat clunky, it is memorable not only for the introduction of Jenny Calendar, but also for its books vs. technology messages that are still relevant, fifteen years later.

“Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no- no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.”

The season finale, meant to wrap up the entire series in case it wasn’t renewed for a second season, has Buffy finally meeting and facing the Master. Though this seems formulaic, the episode is anything but. For one thing, when Buffy learns of the prophecy that predicts her death, she has a real, emotional, visceral reaction. There is no “rah-rah” moment or a stiff upper lip in the face of danger. Buffy is a reluctant hero. She’d much rather lead a normal life, and when faced with impending death, shows her true humanity. It is authentic and memorable. Secondly, the fact that the Slayer, the chosen one, has friends ends up to save her life. Though the prophecy actually comes to pass, Xander revives her, a circumstance that would never have happened had Buffy been a more “conventional” Slayer. And, though Buffy lived, she did die temporarily, which would have lasting effects in later episodes. This bit of business ended up becoming a touchstone of the series that proved to obsessive nerds, like myself, that no detail was insignificant.



Of course, a lot of fans will point to the Buffy and Angel romance as the hallmark of the series. It wasn’t the first instance of the vampire as romantic figure by a long shot, but it, and possibly Anne Rice, helped redefine the vampire as an elegant, all consuming, passionate character. Though it wasn’t the first, it definitely helped spawn an entire generation of supernatural romance, from True Blood to Twilight. With Buffy, however, there are no religious overtones and no sparkles. Angel is cursed, forced to walk the earth as an immortal, but with a human soul, aware at all times of the damage he has done and the pain inflicted. He is another piece of this Slayer’s unconventional life. Because of his unlikely curse and his desire to help this Slayer, who he falls for, Buffy has an advantage over past incarnations.

Buffy represents the power of feminism. This is not the kind of feminism that says women have to “be like men,” but instead showcases the strength of all women, distinct from men, yet equal, and uniquely powerful. It is a feminism that has the strength enough to share her power with others. This becomes a consistent theme throughout the series, making profound statements about humanity’s shared struggles, and how the battles we fight against our own demons are best assailed with the help of others.

In the days to come, I hope to share with you my thoughts about later seasons of this, one of my most beloved television series. I almost can’t wait to get to the second season, which is strange considering I’ve seen it so many times already. Buffy faces life after having faced death, a few more recurring vampire foes, including the enigmatic Spike, and a “Surprise” big bad that shocked everyone. Season two definitely raises the stakes on a show that had a strong beginning and near unlimited potential. Stay tuned.

Sunday's Playlist: 1-29-12

The Boxer Rebellion – “The Absentee”
Sufjan Stevens – “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!”
The Bangles – “Eternal Flame”
David Bowie – “Five Years (Live)”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Never Let Me Down Again”
Childish Gambino - “Put it in My Video”
The Weeknd – “The Morning”
George Michael – “Understand”
Zola Jesus – “Collapse”
Radiohead – “The Tourist”
Gonzales, Feist & Dani – “Boomerang 2005 (Comme um Bommerang)”
The Time – “Jungle Love”
Beastie Boys – “Lee Majors Come Again”
Hall & Oates – “Camellia”
Hall & Oates – “So Close”
Morrissey – “Disappointed”
R.E.M. – “Jazz (Rotary Ten)”
MC DJ – “UFO”
The Beach Boys – “Sloop John B (Instrumental)”
Big Star – “Holocaust”
Guided by Voices – “Game of Pricks”
The Jayhawks – “Wichita”
Ruby – “Paraffin”
Patrick Park – “The Lucky Ones”
Spoon – “Tweakers (Remix)”
Information Society – “Running”
Ryan Adams – “In My Time of Need”
Office of Future Plans – “The Beautiful Barricades”
Sufjan Stevens – “The Seer’s Tower”
Jawbox – “Cornflake Girl”
Sunny Day Real Estate – “9”
Carissa’s Wierd – “Blue Champagne Glass”
George Michael – “Spinning the Wheel”
The Beach Boys – “Little Honda”
Camper Van Beethoven – “We Saw Jerry’s Daughter”
The Cult – “Peace Dog”
Daft Punk – “Rectifier”
Animal Collective – “Did You See the Words”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Get it On”
Danny Elfman – “Gratitude”
The Kinks – “Mindless Child of the Motherhood”
ESG – “Tiny Sticks”
Baroness – “Bullhead’s Lament”
Radiohead – “Reckoner”
The Beach Boys – “The Elements: Fire”
Orange Juice – “The Day I Went Down to Texas”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Can I Kick It?”
Mumford & Sons – “Awake My Soul”
U2 – “Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)”
The Chameleons – “Swamp Thing”
Neil & Tim Finn – “The Weather With You (Live)”
Kylesa – “Spiral Shadow”
The Books – “Chain of Missing Links”
Stories – “Brother Louie”
Destroyer – “Kaputt”
The Swell Season – “The Swell Season”
U2 – “Discotheque (New Mix)”
Little Joy – “Play the Part”
The 88 – “As Far as I Can See”
The Elected – “See the Light”
The Bird & the Bee – “Spark”
The Go-Go’s – “Johnny, Are You Queer”
Jungle Brothers – “Good Newz Comin’”
R.E.M. – “Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I”
Suede – “He’s Dead (Demo)”
Fennesz & Sakamoto – “0425”
Can – “Sing Swan Song”
Deltron 3030 – “3030”
Woods – “Hand it Out”
Nada Surf – “Jules and Jim”
The Tallest Man on Earth – “Walk the Line”
Broken Social Scene – “Cause = Time”
Lansing-Dreiden – “Disenchanted”
Blitzen Trapper – “My Home Town”
Childish Gambino – “Backpackers”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Hippy Trippy (“Crush” Music Box Demo)”
Chicago – “25 or 6 to 4”
M83 – “Teen Angst”
Wild Flag – “Racehorse”
Radiohead – “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”
Placebo – “Bigmouth Strikes Again”
The Walkmen – “The Rat”
Eric B & Rakim – “Eric B is President”

Saturday's Playlist: 1-28-12

Mariachi El Bronx – “Map of the World”
Kaiser Chiefs – “I Dare You”
Peter, Bjorn and John – “Dig a Little Deeper”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Back in December”
Childish Gambino – “Lights Turned On”
Girl Talk – “Make Me Wanna”
Alice in Chains – “Rooster”
Blitzen Trapper – “Street Fighting Sun”
Stereolab – “Laserblast”
Leo Sayer – “Thunder in My Heart”
X- “Los Angeles”
Band of Horses – “Blue Beard”
Moby – “Flying Foxes”
X – “Wild Thing”
Band of Horses – “Northwest Apartment”
Lush – “Hypocrite”
Duran Duran – “Tel Aviv (The AIR Studios Version)”
Soft Cell – “Secret Life”
Crash Test Dummies – “In the Days of the Caveman”
Explosions in the Sky – “Inside It All Feels the Same”
Iron & Wine – “Upward Over the Mountain”
OMD – “If You Leave”
Valient Thorr – “Suddendeathisnothing”
‘Til Tuesday – “Sleep”
The Pixies – “River Euphrates”
Ryan Adams – “Luminol”
Dum Dum Girls – “Teardrops on My Pillow”
The Flaming Lips – “Race for the Prize”
Paul Simon – “American Tune”
Cass McCombs – “Pleasant Shadow Song”
Veronica Falls – “All Eyes on You”
Camper Van Beethoven – “No More B.S.”
Luscious Jackson – “Gypsy”
Janelle Monae – “Neon Valley Street”
Bomba Estéreo – “Tambora”
R.E.M. – “Bad Day”
Canon Blue – “Lulls (Memphis)”
Arcadia – “Election Day”
New Order – “Ceremony (Original Version)”
Cults – “Rave On”
David Lynch – “Noah’s Ark”
Sigur Rós – “Ný Batterí (Live)”
X – “Breathless”
The Locust – “Master and Servant”
James Brown – “Make it Funky, Pt. 1”
a-ha – “Take on Me”
Stricken City – “Five Metres Apart”
Ariel Pink – “Alisa”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Militia Song”
Wolfmother – “Vagabond”
Neil Finn & Eddie Vedder – “Parting Ways”
Thom Yorke – “Black Swan”
Beck – “Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat”
Damien Rice – “Volcano”
Kansas – “Carry On, Wayward Son”
Faunts – “Lights Are Always On”
Free Energy – “Wild Winds”
Adam Arcuragi – “Delicate”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Run, Run, Run (Live)”
Ray Davies & the 88 – “David Watts”
that dog – “Never Say Never”
Fountains of Wayne – “A Fine Day for a Parade”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Waka”
Blondie – “Die Young Stay Pretty”
The Rolling Stones – “Start Me Up”
Florence + The Machine – “Swimming (Live)”
Atlas Sound – “Parallax”
Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened”
The Pogues – “Haunted”
Hothouse Flowers – “It’ll Be Easier in the Morning”
Raphael Saadiq – “Heart Attack”
Madonna – “Crazy for You”
Styx – “Mr. Roboto”
Bruce Springsteen – “Gotta Get that Feeling”
The Beach Boys – “I Should Have Known Better”
Okkervil River – “Rider”
Danny Elfman – “Lightning”
Midlake – “In the Ground”
Toto – “Africa”
The Weeknd – “The Fall”
Blondie – “Sunday Girl”
Sons & Daughters – “Axed Actor”
Nirvana – “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam (Live)”

Friday's Playlist: 1-27-12

The Alarm – “Knife Edge”
The Swell Season – “When Your Mind’s Made Up”
New Order – “Vanishing Point (Instrumental)”
The Tough Alliance – “1981 -”
Bryan Ferry – “Shameless”
Scott Walker – “Always Coming Back to You”
Suede – “Picnic by the Motorway”
The Constantines – “Young Lions”
Fennesz & Sakamoto – “0328”
The English Beat – “End of the Party”
The Who – “Baba O’Riley”
Janet Jackson – “Livin’ in a World (They Didn’t Make)”
DJ Shadow – “Give Me Back the Nights”
Eagles – “James Dean”
Luscious Jackson – “Deep Shag”
Jungle Brothers – “Sexy Body”
INXS & Jimmy Barnes – “Laying Down the Law”
Jenny Owen Youngs – “F Was I”
Metric – “Ending Start”
A Sunny Day in Glasgow – “Ashes Grammar – Ashes Maths”
We Were Promised Jetpacks – “This is My House, This is My Home”
Moby – “Machete”
The Horrors – “I Can See Through You”
Wilco – “I Can’t Stand It”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Apathy’s Last Kiss”
Stars – “The Last Song Ever Written”
John Maus – “Matter of Fact”
Elton John – “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
The Cult – “No. 13”
Les Savy Fav – “Rodeo”
Q-Tip – “Blue Girl”
Wilco – “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”
The Black Angels – “Haunting at 1300 Mckinley”
The Bird & the Bee – “Spark”
The Yardbirds – “For Your Love”
Paul Simon – “The Boxer (Live)”
First Aid Kit – “Emmylou”
Nada Surf – “Jules and Jim”
The Delgados – “Coming in from the Cold”
ESG – “Hold Me Tight”
Pat Benatar – “Promises in the Dark”
The Cure – “10:15 Saturday Night”
Pearl Jam – “Let Me Sleep (It’s Christmas Time) (Live Acoustic)”
Jungle Brothers – “Good Newz Comin’”
Destiny’s Child – “Bills Bills Bills”
The Dismemberment Plan – “Come Home”
Missing Persons – “U.S. Drag”
KRS-One – “Mad Crew”
Glossary – “The Reckless”
Drive Like Jehu – “Good Luck in Jail”
ceo – “All Around”
James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”
Sufjan Stevens – “Romulus”
Tim Capello – “I Still Believe”
Glasvegas – “You”
Clint Mansell – “Opposites Attract”
The Sundays – “Can’t Be Sure”
Billy Joel – “You May Be Right”
Adam Arcuragi – “Go With Them”
Roxy Music – “Pyjamarama”
Weezer – “Jamie”
U2 – “With or Without You”
The Beach Boys – “Gettin’ Hungry”
The Beach Boys – “Cabin Essence”
Flying Lotus – “Camera Day”
Tim Minchin – “Storm (Live)”
Fly Pan Am – “Brulez Suivante Suivant”
Billy Bragg – “A New England”
The Swell Season – “Sleeping”
Ani DiFranco – “Albacore”
Jungle Brothers – “Black Woman”
Information Society – “Something in the Air”
Kings Go Forth – “Paradise Lost”
The Cure – “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”
Funkadelic – “Super Stupid”
Neil & Tim Finn – “Edible Flowers”
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – “Maniac”
Akron / Family – “Another Sky”
The Beach Boys – “Ten Little Indians”
Big Star – “Kangaroo”
The Bangles – “Walk Like an Egyptian”
The Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations (Session Highlights)”
Charles Bradley – “The Telephone Song”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Set the Ray to Jerry”
Grand Archives – “Left for All the Strays”
Garfunkel & Oates – “Me, You and Steve”
Childish Gambino – “Be Alone”
Little Joy – “Evaporar”
The Mountain Goats – “For Charles Bronson”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – “The Heretics”
OMD – “RFWK”

Tuesday's Playlist: 1-24-12

Future Sound of London – “Hot Knives”
X – “Los Angeles”
Adam Arcuragi – “Math”
Childish Gambino – “Freaks and Geeks”
Blondie – “Rapture”
Jawbox – “Cruel Swing”
The Antlers – “Prologue”
Blondie – “Once I Had a Love (The Disco Song)”
Charles Bradley – “Heartaches and Pain”
Charlie Haden & Hank Jones – “We Shall Overcome”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Cherry Came Too”
Supertramp – “Goodbye Stranger (Live)”
The Old 97’s – “The Dance Class”
AC/DC – “Thunderstruck”
Howard Jones – “Pearl in the Shell (Extended Mix)”
Stories – “Brother Louie”
Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”
Gang Gang Dance – “∞ ∞ ∞”
Janet Jackson – “Alright”
Robyn – “Criminal Intent”
Jellyfish – “That is Why”
Serge Gainsbourg – “Ah! Melody”
Lush – “Blackout”
Turin Brakes – “Feeling Oblivion”
Robyn – “Get Myself Together”
Vampire Weekend –“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”
Quiet Riot – “Cum on Feel the Noize”
David Lynch – “Football Game”
Future Sound of London – “Dead Cities”
Jaydiohead – “Change Order”
Prince – “Walk in Sand”
Jonsí – “Icicle Sleeves (Live)”
Natalie Merchant – “Motherland”
Madvillain – “America’s Most Blunted”
Mekons – “Flitcraft”
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – “Janglin”
Mekons – “Country”
Ryan Adams – “Burning Photographs”
Sigur Rós – “Ágætis Byrjun”
Mirah – “Nobody Has to Stay”
Eddie Money – “Baby Hold On”
ESG – “Moody”
Orange Juice – “A Sad Lament”
Beastie Boys – “C.A.S.”
The Cure – “A Night Like This”
Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc. (Stanton Warrior Remix)”
Little Dragon – “Recommendation”
They Might Be Giants – “Ana Ng”
Cults – “Most Wanted”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Round and Round”
Fleet Foxes – “Quiet Houses”
The Roots – “Stomp”
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – “Carries On”
Stevie Wonder – “Where Were You When I Needed You”
The White Stripes – “The Hardest Button to Button”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Come on Darkness”
Peaches – “Search and Destroy”
The Stone Roses – “Fool’s Gold 9.35”
Sigur Rós – “Hafsól”
X – “Delta 88”
Valient Thorr – “Habituary”
Sufjan Stevens – “I Want to Be Well”
Jawbreaker – “Wound”
Fonda – “My Heart is Dancing”
The Bird and the Bee – “Birds and the Bees”
The Futureheads – “I Can Do That”
Medicine – “She Knows Everything”
Eisley – “The Valley”
Wolves in the Throne Room – “Astral Blood”
George Michael – “Round Here”
Aimee Mann – “I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas”
Orbital – “Phoebus Apollo”

Weekend Playlist: 1-21-12 & 1-22-12

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – “She Reminds Me of You”
Krallice – “Litany of Regrets”
Florence + The Machine – “Dog Days are Over”
British Sea Power – “Luna”
That Dog – “Never Say Never”
New Order – “Cries and Whispers”
Paul Simon – “Look at That”
St. Vincent – “Cruel”
The Strokes – “Someday”
Q-Tip – “Vivrant Thing”
John Cougar Mellencamp – “Small Town”
Blonde Redhead – “Luv Machine”
Gang Gang Dance – “Adult Goth”
The Cult – “Little Face”
Interpol – “Success”
Rakim – “Know the Ledge”
Faunts – “Input”
Future Sound of London – “Eggshell”
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – “John Taylor’s Month Away”
The Byrds – “Goin’ Back”
The Fixx – “One Thing Leads to Another”
Galaxie 500 – “Cold Night”
The Who – “5:15”
Kanye West – “Jesus Walks”
George Thorogood – “Miss Luann”
Delays – “The Sun Always Shines on TV”
The Beach Boys – “The Surfer Moon”
Mastodon – “Thickening”
Office of Future Plans – “The Loyal Opposition”
The Old 97’s – “The Grand Theatre”
Lamb – “Heaven”
Radiohead – “Morning Mr. Magpie”
Torche – “Arrowhead”
British Sea Power – “Living is So Easy”
Aimee Mann – “Red Vines”
Interpol – “Memory Serves”
Little Scream – “Red Hunting Jacket”
Espers – “III”
The Jayhawks – “Blue from Now On (Take 2)”
Art Ensemble of Chicago – “Theme de Yoyo”
I Monster – “Daydream in Blue”
Canon Blue – “Honeysuckle”
Hall & Oates – “Say It Isn’t So”
Mew – “156”
Oneohtrix Point Never – “Sleep Dealer”
Neutral Milk Hotel – “Holland, 1945”
Rod Stewart – “Every Picture Tells a Story”
Paul Young – “Every Time You Go Away”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Long Way from Celebrating”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Suffer”
Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
Sleigh Bells – “A/B Machines”
Joe Purdy – “Wash Away (Reprise)”
Iceage – “Total Drench”
The War on Drugs – “Black Water Falls”
Little River Band – “You’re Driving Me Out of My Mind”
David Bowie – “Young Americans”
Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions – “Beyond Belief”
Devendra Banhart – “It’s a Sight to Behold”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – “Pinned and Mounted”
The Roots – “Finality”
Paul Simon – “Mother and Child Reunion”
Icicle Works – “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)”
Moby – “Rushing”
Gorillaz – “19-2000”
The Go! Team – “Yosemite Theme”
Feist – “Intuition”
Modest Mouse – “History Sticks to Your Feet”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Broke My Neck (Long)”
Suede – “This Hollywood Life”
Washed Out – “Far Away”
Oneohtrix Point Never – “Computer Vision”
Prince – “Laydown”
Tame Impala – “Desire Be Desire Go”
R.E.M. – “Two Steps Onward”
Jaydiohead – “99 Anthems”
Os Mutantes – “Baby”
Kate Bush – “Never Be Mine”
Mastodon – “Stargasm”
Woods – “White Out”
Ani DiFranco – “Life Boat”
A Flock of Seagulls – “Tanglimara”
Yaz – “Situation”
Heart – “Crazy on You”
Jimi Hendrix – “Foxy Lady”
Blondie – “Man Overboard”
DeVotchKa – “The Last Beat of My Heart”
Prince – “Sticky Like Glue”
Frank Turner – “Nights Become Days”
Cream – “Tales of Brave Ulysses”
Björk – “Hyperballad”
Motörhead – “Ace of Spades”
Florence + The Machine – “Shake it Out”
OMD – “History of Modern (Part 1)”
Crowded House – “Into Temptation”
The Smiths – “Pretty Girls Make Graves”
Suede – “High Rising”
Lucy Pearl – “Hollywood”
Cloud Nothings – “No Sentiment”
Florence + The Machine – “Strangeness & Charm”
The Kinks – “Big Black Smoke”
Gorillaz – “Rock the House”
KISS – “Makin’ Love”
The Motels – “Take the L”
Bad Lieutenant – “Split the Atom”

Thursday's Playlist: 1-19-12

Glasser – “Glad”
Tom Waits – “Do the Hokey Cokey (Live)”
Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Keep Me Waiting”
Low – “Try to Sleep”
The Feelies – “Change Your Mind”
Travis – “Dear Diary”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Today”
Hothouse Flowers – “Movies”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Zimbo (Live 1982)”
Be Your Own Pet – “Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle”
The Like – “Square One”
X – “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”
De La Soul – “Say No Go”
Orange Juice – “Poor Old Soul”
Cloud Nothings – “Youre Not That Good at Anything”
Ray Davies & Gary Lightbody – “Tired of Waiting”
Fleetwood Mac – “Sara”
Swans – “You People Make Me Sick”
David Arnold & LTJ Bukem – “The James Bond Theme”
The Beach Boys – “Little Miss America”
Tom Waits – “Jitterbug Boy / Better Off Without a Wife”
Frank Turner – “Glory Hallelujah”
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – “Up From Below”
Fountains of Wayne – “All Kinds of Time”
Moby – “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?”
Timex Social Club – “Rumors”
Hurricane #1 – “Step Into My World”
Dusty Springfield – “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today”
Suede – “Sound of the Streets”
Danzig – “Mother”
Peter Gabriel – “Shock the Monkey”
Eddie & the Tide – “Power Play”
Mates of State – “Basement Money”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Clap Your Hands”
Blondie – “Rifle Range”
Ray Davies & Spoon – “See My Friends”
Titus Andronicus – “A Pot in Which to Piss”
George Michael – “Patience”
Gorillaz – “Ghosttrain”
The Cave Singers – “Outer Realms”
King Curtis – “Memphis Soul Stew (Live)”
Dirty Projectors – “Knotty Pine”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “The Hardest Walk”
Beastie Boys – “The Bill Harper Collection”
The Tough Alliance – “Take No Heroes”
Maxence Cyrin – “Crazy in Love”
The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Live to Tell (We’re Scared Version)”
Samuel Barber / Baltimore Symphony Orchestra – “Adagio for Strings, Op. 11”
Jimi Hendrix – “Red House”
Kanye West – “Flashing Lights”
Patrick Park – “You’re Enough”
The Dears – “Degeneration Street”
Eric B & Rakim – “Microphone Fiend”
Röyksopp – “Forsaken Cowboy”
Kermit & the Muppets – “Rainbow Connection”
Band of Skulls – “Cold Fame”
Austra – “The Villain”
The Duke Spirit – “Procession”
DJ Shadow – “Redeemed”
The National – “Gospel”
Suede – “La Puissance (The Power) (Live)”
The Weeknd – “The Knowing”
Deadmau5 – “Right this Second (Original Mix)”
Midlake – “Rulers, Ruling All Things”
The Dream Academy – “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”
UGK feat. Outkast – “Intl Players Anthem”
Elbow – “The Birds”
Tammany Hall NYC – “Always on Sunday”
Little River Band – “It’s a Long Way There”
Health – “Triceratops (Acid Girls Remix A)”
Pete Yorn – “For Nancy (Cos It Already Is)”
Trans Am – “Polizei (Zu Spät)”
The Killers – “Somebody Told Me (Demo)”
The National - "Terrible Love"

Weekend Playlist: 1-14-12 & 1-15-12

Antony Hegarty – “If It Be Your Will”
Crooked Fingers – “Wild One”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Watching the Wildlife”
Blue Öyster Cult – “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
Devendra Banhart – “Chinese Children”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Never Let Me Down Again”
Leo Sayer – “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”
Blondie – “Look Good in Blue”
The Muppet Barbershop Quartet – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
The Kinks – “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”
Nirvana – “School (Live)”
Blur – “Coffee & TV”
David Bowie – “Suffragette City (Live)”
Radiohead – “Airbag”
Broken Social Scene – “Late Nineties Bedroom Rock for the Missionaries”
The Who – “Dirty Jobs (Demo)”
McLusky – “To Hell with Good Intentions”
Massive Attack – “Rush Minute”
The Tallest Man on Earth – “You’re Going Back”
Braids – “Plath Hearth”
Rocket from the Crypt – “Ditchdigger”
Prince – “Purple Rain”
Fruit Bats – “You’re Too Weird”
Tangerine Dream – “Love on a Real Train”
U2 – “’Baby’ Until the End of the World”
Atlas Sound – “Lightsworks”
Valient Thorr – “Night Terrors”
Architecture in Helsinki – “Escapee”
Faunts – “Explain”
Suede – “Heroine”
UNKLE – “Rabbit in Your Headlights”
The Old 97’s – “Champaign, Illinois”
Arctic Monkeys – “That’s Where You’re Wrong”
Neil Finn – “Driving Me Mad”
Eels – “Last Stop: This Town”
Interpol – “A Time to be So Small”
Lustre – “Nice Overalls”
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Contender”
Male Bonding – “The Saddle”
Otis Redding – “Down in the Valley”
Billy Joel – “She’s Always a Woman”
Boston – “Peace of Mind”
Midlake – “Small Mountain”
Aimee Mann – “Save Me (on Conan)”
The Black Keys – “Next Girl”
The Black Keys – “Yearnin’”
Beach House – “Walk in the Park”
Sharon van Etten – “For You”
Gorillaz – “Orchestral Intro”
Eliza Lumley – “Black Star”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Because You Are”
A Place to Bury Strangers – “Ego Death”
Tricky – “Christiansands”
Yuck – “Suicide Policeman”
The 88 – “They Ought to See You Now”
Jellyfish – “The Man I Used to Be”
Gillian Welch – “Silver Dagger”
Faunts – “Das Malefitz”
Blondie – “Rapture”
Faunts – “Alarmed / Lights”
Led Zeppelin – “Immigrant Song”
Dexys Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”
Fountains of Wayne – “Hung Up on You”
Prince – “I Would Die 4 U”
U2 – “Where Did It All Go Wrong?”
The Beach Boys – “California Girls (Instrumental)”
Crowded House – “Into Temptation
Childish Gambino – “I’m On It”
Adele – “Someone Like You”
The New Pornographers – “If You Can’t See My Mirrors”
Apollonia 6 – “Sex Shooter”
Warpaint – “Undertow”
Stereolab – “Delugeoisie”
Nas – “It Ain’t Hard to Tell”
Paul Simon – “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
Jungle Brothers – “Sounds of the Safari”
Woods – “Any Other Day”
R.E.M. – “Nightswimming”
ABC – “The Look of Love, Pt.1”
General Public – “Tenderness”
Gene Pitney – “24, Sycamore”
Jimmy Eat World – “Game of Pricks”
Grandmaster Melle Mel – “White Lines”
Elbow – “Mirrorball”
Okkervil River – “Mermaid”
Hothouse Flowers – “Water”
John Cougar Mellencamp – “Pink Houses”
Oingo Boingo – “When the Lights Go Out”
Prince – “Sexy M.F.”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Hummer”
Sunny Day Real Estate – “5/4”
Eagles – “Take it to the Limit”
Future Sound of London – “Smokin’ Japanese Babe”
Ray Davies & the 88 – “David Watts”
Bright Eyes – “First Day of My Life”
Mission of Burma – “Academy Fight Song”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Waiting”
David Bowie – “Young Americans”
X- “The New World”
Glossary – “The Natural State”
Kurt Vile – “In My Time”
The Black Keys – “Hard Row”
Billy Squier – “The Stroke”
The Acorn – “White Heat (Silken Laumann Remix)”
Van Morrison – “Moondance”
Sufjan Stevens – “Size Too Small”
Elton John – “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
Zola Jesus – “Sea Talk”
ELO – “All Over the World”
Saint Etienne – “You’re in a Bad Way”
Ryan Adams – “Ashes & Fire”
David Lynch – “Speed Roadster”
Scott Walker – “Such a Small Love”
Peter Salett – “Heart of Mine”
Caribou – “Eli”
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – “What are You Doin’ in My Life?”
Moby – “Signs of Love”
Interpol – “The Undoing”
The Byrds – “Wasn’t Born to Follow”
Marvin Gaye – “Sad Tomorrow”
Cut Copy – “Corner of the Sky’
M. Ward – “Poison Cup”
Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Below”
Vampire Weekend – “Giving Up the Gun”
Suede – “Animal Nitrate”
Kylesa – “Between Silence and Sound”
Mogwai – “You Don’t Know Jesus”
The National – “Murder Me Rachel”

Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One": Nothing Can "Console" Me. Get it?

The following is my personal review of Ernest Cline’s "Ready Player One." Before you begin reading, know that my review is not positive. If you cherish this book, I highly suggest stopping here in your reading. This is not an invitation to an argument, but instead merely my opinion of a book that is very popular, that many people love, but that I simply did not. If you have not read the book, know that there are some key plot elements that, while maybe not spoilers in the traditional sense, are included here as part of the critique.

Ready Player One is the debut novel from Ernest Cline, perhaps best known within indie geek circles as the screenwriter of the film, Fanboys. I was pointed to this book numerous times over the last few months, from fellow readers as well as podcasts and the inevitable stream of pop culture “word-of-mouth.” At first blush, the novel seemed perfectly suited to me, or at least my demographic. As I read through the book, I realized that it was more of the latter than the former, overtly and consciously constructed to hit all the buttons of a particular generation. The problem is there is very little to no substance under the surface.

In the year 2044, the world is in the third decade of a massive recession and most of the population is living in abject poverty. We are quickly introduced to our protagonist in this world, Wade Watts, who goes through most of the book under his avatar’s pseudonym, Parzival. He is what is known in the novel as a “gunter,” short for “egg hunter,” one of a group of people obsessed with the quest for Halliday’s egg. This egg is a valuable prize left by a genius game designer for these virtual adventurers to find within the gaming world he invented. Gunters spend their time in the OASIS, a huge online gaming world chock full of geekery. The requirement for finding the elusive egg, named after the concept of the “Easter Egg,” a practice of hiding elements within video games and other media, is an encyclopedic knowledge of 80s pop culture. More specifically, the gunters obsessively consume all of the pop culture artifacts revered by the character of James Halliday, mythic creator of the OASIS. There will be more on him and other characters later.

References and the Unending Abyss of Nostalgia:

From the first few paragraphs of Ready Player One, the pop culture references are not just dropped; there is a virtual deluge of allusions. While there are a few clever and appropriate nods, such as the name Parzival, the medieval German name for Sir Percival, the knight who found the Holy Grail, the vast majority of the other mentions fail in this endeavor (i.e. naming his virtual spaceship Vonnegut, mainly as very few of his books even involve space travel, and he was especially critical of pop culture and materialism). Perhaps it is the idea that the name Parzival is one of the few references not rooted in the 80s, but there is no denying that the immersion into the “Me Decade” is incredibly flawed at best. Parzival and his fellow questers, all young adults, our “hero” in high school, seemingly spend every last waking moment watching 80s television, playing 80s video games, role playing in 80s D&D campaigns, reading 80s science fiction and fantasy, and memorizing 80s films. While this may seem cheeky, fun, and hugely appealing to someone such as me, who grew up during that period, obtaining my first real introductions to great examples of these distractions, the actual result is far from enjoyable.

Those who know me are well aware that I can be a pop culture snob and obsessive, especially as relates to books and music. Because of this, some fans of Ready Player One may be crying foul, or even simply pointing out the flaws in others that I harbor as well. Bear with me. A friend of mine once looked at my music and book collection and remarked that I wasn’t discriminating enough, that I liked far too many things. As such, one could not determine the things that I truly loved, that should be seen as great as opposed to good. This is the difference between an obsessive collector, someone who simply must “conquer” every relic that comes across their path, which is just a small step away from “hoarder,” and the opposite side of critic or evaluator. (It is similar to the difference between the two camps in education reform that battle over breadth vs. depth. For your information, I fall into the latter category.)

Like Cline and his characters, there are many things I love, but I have learned about sacrifice, moderation, and putting aside childish things, which it seems Parzival and his buddies cannot, even in a poverty-stricken world. The characters in this novel, especially the third person limited narrative of Parzival, simply cannot find a situation in which they can’t reference their favorite things. At one point, Parzival points out that he has a “weakness for kaiju,” which is an incredibly meaningless statement because he makes so many references that it appears he has a weakness for EVERYTHING. It is a hallmark of this culture in which everything is either “my favorite” or “that’s the worst.” The only time I can remember that Parzival actually disparages something is when he uses Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” as an alarm to annoy himself out of bed.

Most references come so fast and frequently that the novel at times seems nothing more than a personal list of Ernest Cline’s “likes,” probably better done as a Facebook widget or Tumblr post instead of a basis for a science fiction adventure. In this way, the novel becomes the ultimate example of the maxim of “write what you know,” but takes the form of an exorcising information dump instead of the crafting of experiences into a compelling narrative. In effect, the referential avalanche becomes nothing more than onanistic self-congratulations for the author’s tastes. It is a fetish novel, pure and simple.

While the pace and frequency of the references may be fevered, the consistency amongst them is problematic. While Parzival and company have an incredibly deep and obscure knowledge of video games, as presumably does the author, their knowledge of music and films is fairly pedestrian. It is obvious that Cline’s expertise lay in video games, so why he chose to make the characters supposed masters of “all pop culture” is beyond me. Ready Player One could have been decidedly more effective had it confined itself to just video games (with perhaps a few instances of role playing) as opposed to having such a broad, unwieldy reach. It becomes a Mad Libs of pop culture references, the book equivalent of a Family Guy episode, shoehorning in all manner of geek obsessions at every opportunity, often seeming random and clunky in the process.

This choice to be so entirely exclusive is not just troublesome in the arena of depth, though that is certainly one that left me rankled. It also opens up the door for errors that obsessive fans are sure to gripe about (i.e. using the term “seppuku” to mean general suicide instead of a particular form of suicide by ritual disemboweling) and for cross-pollination of disparate elements that that should never be put together (i.e. a remix of New Order’s “Blue Monday 88,” itself a remix /reissue, overlaid with beeps and boops from Star Wars droids). Blasphemy, for sure, but none so much as having Halliday and Parzival’s favorite band be Rush, possibly the most clichéd reference in the bunch. While Cline’s incredibly obscure knowledge of Japanese robots and all manner of video games is, at best, alienating, his inclusion of music references is embarrassingly banal, hitting AC/DC, Duran Duran, and Def Leppard at various turns, who are the furthest form obscure you could get.

The novel is floor-to-ceiling full of what I am consistently weary of, the unending abyss of nostalgia. At one time, writers, artists, and filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard introduced the idea of the pop culture reference as a reflection of modern society and consumerism. While this was certainly meta-commentary, much of today’s culture lacks a dimension of reflection. We now live in a world in which movie studios and record labels prey on a consumer’s unnaturally exploded sense of nostalgia, with artifice playing a far greater role than substance, in examples such as the films of Transformers, G.I. Joe, Speed Racer, and others based on board games and theme park rides, as well as an eternal parade of nostalgic band reunion tours. (For more on this, Simon Reynolds has a book that deftly explores this subject, called Retromania). We continually seek to please ourselves with mere dog whistle reactions to the things we grew up with, instead of seeking out original, challenging, and contemplative material.

I was reminded throughout the reading of Ready Player One of other like-minded pop culture-laden, referential books and films, such as Scott Pilgrim, High Fidelity, and even Cline’s other creative endeavors, particularly Fanboys. But where those are selective, confined, subtle, and the references serve the plot, Ready Player One is definitely a case in which the tail wags the dog. In other words, it seems as if Ready Player One is merely an outlet for Cline to share the shows, movies, and games he loves, of which there are a LOT of them, many of them being much better alternatives to spend one’s time than actually reading this book. As a list of recommendations, it works fairly well. As a compelling and effective novel, it fails completely.

Plot, Setting, and the Mind-Numbing Vortex of Having to Watch Someone Play Video Games:

The plot of Ready Player One, as stated earlier, is nominally the quest of a young obsessive to find a virtual Holy Grail, that being the Halliday egg. In actuality, it becomes a mere justification for Cline’s own obsessive nature. Instead of wasted time or entertainment, the mass consumption of pop culture becomes a matter of life and death. As the character of Parzival narrates, “Having the right ‘80s song lyric memorized might save my avatar’s life someday” (Cline 2011). It is almost insulting. If I felt there were a subtlety of message, in which Cline were perhaps making a comment on the nature of nostalgia and obsession, this might be a different review, but every element of the novel is so superficial that one can easily dismiss this angle as being a possibility.

All good stories have conflict, and Cline does create it through the evil forces of “The Sixers,” the competition of his friends, and a love interest. The Sixers are representatives of an evil Internet company (the IOI) intent on taking over the virtual worlds of the OASIS so that they can charge users for access and implement advertising. The timing is convenient, given the current fight over SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act), with this particular storyline bringing to the fore the difficulty of regulation and monetization keeping up with the speed of information sharing. The IOI certainly represents several current tech companies and burgeoning social networks gobbling up start-ups and bandwidths with increasing rapidity. Certainly, Parzival’s rapacious appetite for pop culture, given his economic status, has to rely on what must be illegal downloading or at least the equivalent in 2044. That is, unless we are to believe that all of these shows, games, and songs have entered the public domain in 33 years.

Though this may seem especially relevant to readers of today, and the themes certainly are, Cline does very little to bring them to fruition in a satisfying manner. Like the references, they are mostly surface. For instance, the real world is rarely described, though Cline makes a point of addressing the fact that the world is one of abject poverty. While it does set up the justification for many choosing to live inside a virtual reality as opposed to authentic human existence, we have no real sense of how the real world works. What happened? I have heard this novel described as a Hunger Games for fortysomething slackers. But, Hunger Games deftly and economically presents a particular world, which then informs character actions. We have no sense of why teenagers still attend virtual school. We have no sense of what these teens want to do with their lives, other than maintain their obsessions with hollow pursuits. The hunt for Halliday’s Egg will, like Willy Wonka’s “Golden Ticket” conceit, award the winner with controlling ownership in Halliday’s company as well as his vast fortune. And yes, Cline does point out the Wonka reference in an almost "See what I did there?" fashion.

The plot relies just as much on nostalgia as the references. It is part Wonka, part WarGames, part early Atari or text-based video game, and part John Hughes teen romance, with all of the clumsiness that one would think a combination of these elements would make. While reading, one can visibly see the blueprints of already established plot lines, which could either make this endeavor entirely meta and postmodern, or just derivative. I suppose that determination will lay in the purview of the reader. One of the real problems with the plot is the idea of the virtual gaming world. This is not to say that I am not intrigued by it. I have read great books in the past that hinged on virtual worlds, immersive games, and vicarious adventuring through avatars, such as Jeff Noon’s Vurt and Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, two books I highly recommend. Aside from the barely described dichotomy between the real and virtual world, there is the larger problem of the concept of watching someone play a video game.

One of the main criticisms of modern sci-fi action films, such as the aforementioned Transformers series, Battle: Los Angeles, or any number of movies actually based on video game properties, is that it is like watching a video game as opposed to playing one, a decidedly frustrating and tedious pastime. Reading about someone else playing a video game distances oneself even further from it, though one could make the case for it just being another adventure story. However, the adventure story defense loses its teeth when we get a long description of a game of Pac-Man, among other game walkthroughs. Additionally, the pacing of the novel is inconsistent at best. Parzival meets the initial goals of his quest within a few short hours, but six months within the novel go by (taking several chapters), before the next goals are met. At times, it seems that Parzival completely forgets his task entirely. He does comment on his inactivity, but too late both in the construct of the novel and in the telling of it. In these moments, the tension and momentum is sapped from the narrative. As Parzival seems to lose interest in the quest (what other explanation could there be?), the reader is in danger of losing interest as well. As a kicker, part of the “dramatic” finale involves everyone with a feed into the OASIS watching a video game being played.

Rather than clever and consequential storytelling, Ready Player One is overpopulated with Dei Ex Machina. Things just tend to “happen.” Rarely do choices that are consciously made affect the narrative. Sometimes, these events directly contradict the rules and conventions set by the author. For instance, it is established that Parzival has spent nearly his entire adolescent life consuming Halliday’s favorite pop culture touchstones, as well as mastering nearly every video game in existence, especially those that were supposedly important to his gaming hero. So, when Parzival comes across a game that he has only played once and then dismissed, despite the Sisyphean importance placed on the encyclopedic knowledge of these games, it makes no sense other than to force tension where there is a void. Everything that is not a surprise in this way is simply too predictable. Parzival slacks off and gets distracted from the game only to be one-upped by a competitor? Yeah, we see it coming. The unbalanced nature of the tension with the lack of it is frustrating and even appears in the finale, which seems torturous at times and then is suddenly over.

Characters and the Bottomless Pit of Two-Dimensional Stereotypes:

One sign at the heart of the problems with Ready Player One is the disconnect between young adult characters and adolescent obsessions in a nominally adult novel with references that will only be picked up by someone who experienced the same pop culture era. In fact, the narrative point of view, though housed in the mind of a teenager, is unquestionably that of a 40-year-old attempting to get into the mind of a teenager. It is not marketed as a young adult book, due to the nostalgic factor for Gen-Xers, but probably should have been. This is where the aforementioned Scott Pilgrim and High Fidelity succeed. Scott is a teenager with current teen obsessions, most of them invented for the text, and Rob Fleming / Gordon is an adult with music obsessions rooted in his youth. They make sense in this way. Further, Scott and Rob are multi-dimensional characters. They lie to their friends and lovers. They can be, and many times are, complete jerks. But, we ultimately sympathize with them because they go through something that changes them for the better. Additionally, the plots revolve around their relationships in the real world outside of their obsessions, and do not stem from their hobbies.

Parzival doesn’t seem to change. Some of his decisions may be questioned, but he always has some kind of moral compass and even the smallest discretions are forgiven. He is a good guy; you can imagine that he’s going to win, and that he is going to get the girl. In addition, though Cline attempts to make consequences for his actions, they are near meaningless because of the disconnection Parzival has to those punished. In other words, there is nothing compelling about his character. He reflects once, more than halfway through the novel, wondering if he has gone overboard with his geekery and wonders about his distance from reality. Yet, he does not take any agency in changing anything.

On the alternate side of Parzival, there is his crush, Art3mis. In the world of OASIS, Art3mis is from the planet Benatar. Yes, really. Can you guess what her concern is once Parzival falls in love with her? She’s worried about her appearance in real life. Again, this would be fine in a young adult novel, but for adult readers, it is far too simplistic and predictable. Two other gunters, Daito and Shoto, are perhaps the most stereotypical representations of Japanese adolescents on the page. They love samurai movies and Ultraman. They do everything with honor. We see little else of any dimension of their characters other that what I just wrote. Only one character ends up to have a surprising bit of dimension, and even then it is only addressed in passing before we move on and completely forget about the whole thing.

The mythical James Halliday remains shrouded in mystery, himself a combination of Bill Gates, Lord British, Professor Falken, and the guy who created the Atari Adventure game. We know this because Cline spells it out, even putting all of these names together just in case we didn’t get it. As mentioned earlier, he’s also a little Willy Wonka, but the keys to his kingdom are left for others to find without his observation. He is an absent character, in more ways than one. His former partner, a Paul Allen to his Gates, is alive and present, but also ineffectual, having little to do with the plot and proceedings, that is until he is magically needed as a Deus Ex Machina. It’s as if Cline followed the blueprint of Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces template, but failed to go farther than the outline stage. Can you imagine Gandalf only appearing at the end of The Return of the King to give Frodo a magical t-bar lift up Mt. Doom?

What disturbs me the most is that I seem to be in the minority in my appraisal of this book. There are over 8,200 four and five star reviews on Goodreads.com, comprising 85% of the reviews in total. There are over 453 four and five star reviews on Amazon, comprising 87% of the total reviews. People love, love, love this book. One review I read said it was the best science fiction novels the reviewer had read in a decade! (BoingBoing). I wouldn’t try to dissuade them, despite the above evidence to the contrary. This is merely my opinion, but I respect and appreciate that others may disagree. There are plenty of things that I enjoy that others don’t. The Catcher in the Rye is just one example that seems to polarize people, and The Tree of Life as a more recent case, both of which I love and wouldn’t change my opinion based on anyone else’s. Neither am I trying to take down Ernest Cline or be a “hater.” I greatly enjoyed Fanboys and find it to be a great example of pop culture reverence mixed with heart and character. It’s just that these elements were certainly missing from Ready Player One. The complete confusion over who this book is really supposed to be for leads me to only one conclusion: this novel was really only for the author. Sorry, gang. I just really didn’t like Ready Player One. The best way I can efficiently express my reaction to it is with this sound:



GAME OVER.

Works Cited
Cline, E. (2011). Ready Player One. New York, NY: Crown. Kindle Edition.

Friday's Playlist: 1-13-12

Madonna – “Into the Groove”
Weezer – “Butterfly”
Sufjan Stevens – “All for Myself”
Tears for Fears – “The Marauders”
Monks – “Monk Time”
The Horrors – “Moving Further Away”
Kim Carnes – “Bette Davis Eyes”
The Like – “He’s Not a Boy”
Oneohtrix Point Never – “Child Soldier”
Thompson Twins – “Storm on the Sea”
Crash Test Dummies – “Untitled”
Massive Attack – “Atlas Air”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – “We Could Wait Forever”
R.E.M. – “Get on Their Way (What If We Give It Away)”
Serge Gainsbourg – “Cargo Culte”
MC DJ – “Chitown”
Okkervil River – “Mermaid”
Blondie – “Under the Gun (Live)”
Hothouse Flowers – “I Can See Clearly Now”
Les Savy Fav – “Fading Vibes”
Stricken City – “Gifted”
New Order – “Blue Monday”
Suede – “The Drowners (Demo)”
Here We Go Magic – “Backwards Time”
David Bowie – “Five Years (Live)”
Joy Division – “Digital”
Red House Painters – “Rollercoaster”
The Sea and Cake – “Weekend”
J.D. McPherson – “Your Love (All I’m Missing)”
Janelle Monae – “Suite II Overture”
Black Kids – “Hit the Heartbreaks”
Sons & Daughters – “Bee Song”
Girls – “My Ma”
Sigur Rós – “Hjartað Hamast”
KISS – “Cold Gin”
Maxence Cyrin – “Crazy in Love”
Snow Patrol – “Same”
The Thermals – “You Changed My Life”
Chevy Chase – “The Way It Is”
TV on the Radio – “Caffeinated Consciousness”
Wilco – “Dawned on Me”
Red Fang – “Malverde”
Yo La Tengo – “Last Days of Disco”
Health – “Die Slow”
The Kinks – “Dead End Street”
George Michael – “Fantasy”
Loch Lomond – “All Your Friends are Smiling”
Ramin Djawadi – “Game of Thrones Main Title”
Belle & Sebastian – “I’m a Cuckoo (by the Avalanches)”
U2 – “Trash, Trampoline, and the Party Girl”
Flight of the Conchords – “Sugalumps”
Minus the Bear – “Fooled by the Light”
Childish Gambino – “Nowhere to Go”
The Smiths – “This Charming Man”
King Curtis – “A Whiter Shade of Pale”
U2 – “Night and Day (Steel String Remix)”
John Maus – “Head for the Country”
Kruder & Dorfmeister – “Original Bedroom Rockers”
Billy Idol – “Love Calling”
Junior Boys – “Banana Ripple”
Wild Beasts – “Two Dancers (II)”
Esben & the Witch – “Eumenides”
Dum Dum Girls – “I Will Be”
Sigur Rós – “A Ferð Til Breiðafjarðar Vorið 1922”
The Beach Boys – “Surf Jam”
Kaiser Chiefs – “When All Is Quiet”
The Long Winters – “The Commander Thinks Aloud”
ABC – “The Look of Love, Pt.1”
Prince – “Take Me With U”
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “The Body”
Scott Walker – “Such a Small Love”
Little River Band – “Reminiscing”
Joanna Newsom – “Baby Birch”
Grouplove – “Slow”
Smokey Robinson – “Ooo Baby Baby”
Roxy Music – “Pyjamarama”
The Black Keys – “Hold Me in Your Arms”
Orbital – “The Box 1”
Battles – “Atlas”
The Swell Season – “The Hill”
The Sea and Cake – “Interiors”
Stars – “Opinions versus the Sun (Stars vs. the Album Leaf)”
The Rosebuds – “Cover Ears”
Suede – “Sleeping Pills (Demo)”
My Brightest Diamond & DM Stith – “Everything Is in Line’
Explosions in the Sky – “It’s So Natural to be Afraid (The Paper Chase Mix)”
The Rapture – “It Takes Time to be a Man”
Braids – “Lammicken”
Prince – “Peach”
The Clash – “The Magnificent Seven (12” Version)”
U2 – “Love is Blindness”
Darren Hayes – “Not Even Close”

Sunday's Playlist: 1-8-12

LCD Soundsystem – “Us v Them”
The Weeknd – “Life of the Party”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Zimbo (Live)”
Hall & Oates – “Rich Girl”
Kasabian – “Goodbye Kiss”
Duran Duran – “Fame”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Maps”
A Tribe Called Quest – “The Chase, Part 2”
Little River Band – “The Other Guy”
R.E.M. – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Demo)”
Megafaun – “Heretofore”
George Michael & Paul McCartney – “Heal the Pain”
Superchunk – “Slow Drip”
Jimi Hendrix – “Stone Free”
Blondie – “Sunday Girl (Live)”
Radiohead – “Codex”
Howard Jones – “Conditioning”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Starla (2011 Mix)”
New Order – “Denial”
The Elected – “Look at Me Now”
Everything But the Girl – “English Rose”
Roxy Music – “More than This”
School of Seven Bells – “Ilu”
Minus the Bear – “Hold Me Down”
The Seekers – “A World of Our Own”
Nine Inch Nails – “Closer”
White Denim – “New Coat”
Mogwai – “Tracy”
Divine Comedy – “There is a Light that Never Goes Out”
The Boxer Rebellion – “We Have this Place Surrounded”
Jellyfish – “That is Why”
The Head and the Heart – “Lost in My Mind”
Luscious Jackson – “Country’s a Callin’”
Mogwai – “Does this Always Happen?”
The Hooters – “All You Zombies”
LCD Soundsystem – “Sound of Silver”
My Brightest Diamond – “Ding Dang”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Luck of Lucien”
Nirvana – “Something in the Way”
The Weeknd – “Heaven or Las Vegas”
Life Without Buildings – “Philip”
English Beat – “March of the Swivelheads”
The Roots – “Make My”
David Bowie – “Stay”
Unwound – “Scarlette”
Dum Dum Girls – “Wrong Feels Right”
Iron & Wine – “Waitin’ for a Superman”
Talking Heads – “Once in a Lifetime”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Crocodiles (Live)”
Marvin Gaye – “Flyin’ High (In the Friendly Sky)”
Ty Segall – “Where Your Mind Goes”
Arcade Fire – “Rebellion (Lies)”
Pelican – “Aurora Borealis”
Adele – “If It Hadn’t Been for Love”
Natalie Merchant – “Owensboro”
Nirvana – “Drain You (BBC Live)”
The Smithereens – “This Boy”
Mike Ness – “Rest of Our Lives”
Maxence Cyrin – “Where is My Mind?”
Led Zeppelin – “The Rain Song”
Radiohead – “House of Cards”
The McCoys – “Hang on Sloopy”
Bee Gees – “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?”
Eric B & Rakim – “A Microphone Fiend”
Travis – “Indefinitely”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “War (Hidden)”
Souls of Mischief – “93 ‘til Infinity”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Smiley (Demo)”
Chameleons – “Up the Down Escalator”
Everclear – “Santa Monica”
Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song”

Saturday's Playlist: 1-7-12

Mogwai – “Cody (Live)”
Eels - “Climbing to the Moon (Jon Brion Remix)”
Eagles – “You Never Cry Like a Lover”
The Decemberists – “Calamity Song”
Kyuss – “Gardenia / Asteroid / Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop”
Portugal. The Man – “Once Was One”
The 88 – “Love You Anytime”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Yanqui Go Home”
Marjorie Fair – “Empty Room”
Dolorean – “My Grey Life (Second Chances)”
Health – “Heaven (Narctrax Remix)”
Ringo Deathstarr – “Sweet Girl”
BLK JKS – “Lakeside”
The Chills – “Pink Frost”
Feist – “Mushaboom”
Prince – “Delirious”
Nine Inch Nails – “Complication”
Gorillaz – “Stylo”
R.E.M. – “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
Mumm-Ra – “She’s Got You High”
Aloe Blacc – “I Need a Dollar”
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – “Dear Candy”
Duffy – “Stay With Me Baby”
The Album Leaf – “Landing in Snow”
Jungle Brothers – “Doin’ Our Own Dang”
Crash Test Dummies – “The Psychic”
!!! – “Made of Money”
ELO – “10538 Overture”
Röyksopp – “Happy Up Here”
The Go-Go’s – “We Got the Beat”
Valient Thorr – “Fall of Pangea”
The Cult – “Big Neon Glitter (Live)”
The Antlers – “Atrophy”
Suede – “The Chemistry Between Us”
George Michael – “Freeek!”
George Michael – “My Mother Had a Brother”
Sara Watkins – “Pony”
Snow Patrol – “Tiny Little Fractures”
Iron Maiden – “Powerslave”
The Smithereens – “I Saw Her Standing There”
The Horrors – “Oceans Burning”
The Byrds – “Artificial Energy”
Opus III – “It’s a Fine Day”
Suede – “Trash”
Nite Jewel – “We Want Our Things”
Missing Persons – “Words”
Robyn – “Dancing on My Own”
Information Society – “Repetition”
Band of Horses – “Compliments”
Gorillaz – “Plastic Beach”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Everything is Fair”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Keep it Rollin’”
White Denim – “Shy Billy”
U2 – “Satellite of Love”
Craig Robinson – “Jessie’s Girl”
Frida – “I Know There’s Something Going On”
Delta Spirit – “Bushwick Blues”
The Specials – “Ghost Town”
The Stepkids – “Shadows on Behalf”
James Murphy – “People”
Ludwig Gorranson – “If I Die Before You”
Depeche Mode – “But Not Tonight (Extended Mix)”
Blondie – “Atomic”
The Birthday Party – “Release the Bats”
R.E.M. – “Jazz (Rotary Ten)”
The Wombats – “Jump Into the Fog (Acoustic)”
Mötley Crüe – “Enslaved”
David Lynch – “She Rise Up”
Eisley – “Smarter”
Janet Jackson – “Black Cat”
Portishead – “Glory Box”
No Age – “Get Hurt”
Snow Patrol – “Same”
Prince – “Gett Off”
The Beach Boys – “Little Honda”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Villiers Terrace”
Paul Simon – “Quality”
Stars – “The Passenger”
M83 – “Claudia Lewis”
Julie London – “Yummy Yummy Yummy”
The Knack – “My Sharona (Demo)”
Wild Beasts – “All the King’s Men”
The Sea and Cake – “Do Now Fairly Well”
Mastodon – “Thickening”
Free Energy – “Bad Stuff”
Japandroids – “I Quit Girls”
Naked Eyes – “Always Something There to Remind Me”
Janelle Monae – “Mushrooms and Roses”
The Smiths – “Cemetry Gates”
Peter Gabriel – “Mercy Street”
Nine Inch Nails – “La Mer”
Raphael Saadiq – “Stone Rollin’”
The Rolling Stones – “Shattered”
Veronica Falls – “Beachy Head”
The Elected – “Go for the Throat”
Lou Reed – “Street Hassle”

Wednesday's Playlist: 1-4-12

Skee-Lo – “I Wish (Bonus “Street” Mix)”
Pat Benatar – “Love is a Battlefield”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Modern Way”
The New Pornographers – “Silver Jenny Dollar”
Flying Lotus – “Clock Catcher”
ELO & Olivia Newton-John – “Xanadu”
The Go! Team – “T.O.R.N.A.D.O”
M – “Pop Muzik”
King Khan & BBQ Show – “Third Ave”
Moby – “Spiders”
Mekons – “Lost Highway”
Suede – “Pantomime Horse”
Eagles – “On the Border”
Matthew Sweet – “Day for Night”
Twin Sister – “Bad Street”
Mastodon – “Bedazzled Fingernails”
Supertramp – “From Now On (Live)”
Minus the Bear – “Dayglow Vista Rd.”
Future Sound of London – “We Have Explosive”
N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton”
Fences – “The Same Tattoos”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Word Play”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Better Living through Chemistry (Live)”
Camp Lo – “Black Nostaljack aka Come On”
Washed Out – “Soft”
Tom Waits – “Way Down in the Hole”
My Brightest Diamond – “High Low Middle”
Dexys Midnight Runners – “The Teams that Meet in Caffs”
John Cougar Mellencamp – “Jack & Diane”
Camper Van Beethoven – “One of These Days”
Prince – “Hot Thing (Extended Remix)”
Woods – “Say Goodbye”
Band of Horses – “No One’s Gonna Love You”
My Brightest Diamond – “In the Beginning”
Moby – “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die”
Frank & Moon Unit Zappa – “Valley Girl”
The Hollies – “I’m Alive”
The Beach Boys – “Shut Down”
Frightened Rabbit – “Good Arms vs. Bad Arms (Live)”
West Indian Girl – “What Are You Afraid Of?”
The Mission – “Heat”
Nirvana – “About a Girl (Live)”
Florence + the Machine – “Hurricane Drunk (Acoustic)”
Fleetwood Mac – “Heart of Stone”
The Beach Boys – “Surfers Rule”
Missing Persons – “Walking in L.A.”
The Who – “Punk (Demo)”
The Beach Boys – “Darlin’ (Instrumental)”
Cream – “Sunshine of Your Love”
The Cure – “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”
A Place to Bury Strangers – “Ego Death”
Roxy Music – “2HB”
Tears for Fears – “Broken Revisited”
Embrace – “Ashes”
Laura Veirs – “Down in the Medder”
Hall & Oates – “Kiss on My List”
Okkervil River – “For Real”
Mariachi El Bronx – “Fallen”
How to Dress Well – “Walking this Dumb”
The Who – “I’m One”
The Decemberists – “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect”
Dusty Springfield – “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”
Sufjan Stevens – “Size Too Small”
Weezer – “Jamie”
Paul Simon – “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Rap Promoter”
Blondie – “Dragonfly”
Allman Brothers Band – “Melissa”
Ariel Pink – “Netherlands”
Rocket from the Crypt – “Ditchdigger”
Hooray for Earth – “Pulling Back”
A Tribe Called Quest – “Can I Kick It?”
Dum Dum Girls – “Coming Down”
Mogwai – “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (Live)”
Paul Simon – “Something So Right”
The Go-Go’s – “Skidmarks on My Heart”
Spoon – “All the Pretty Girls Go to the City”
Can – “Vitamin C”
Boston – “Amanda”
Sleigh Bells – “Tell ‘em”
Flight of the Conchords – “Too Many D**** (on the Dance Floor)”
Sufjan Stevens – “In the Devil’s Territory”
The Magnetic Fields – “Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing”
The Jayhawks – “Take Me with You (When You Go)”
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now”
John Cale – “All I Want is You”
Neil Finn – “Faster than Light”
Natalie Merchant – “Living”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Today”
ELO – “Roll Over Beethoven”
Gang of Four – “You Don’t Have to Be Mad”
Josh Rouse – “1972”
The Cave Singers – “No Prosecution if We Bail”
Camp Lo – “Good Green”
BLK JKS – “ZOL!”
The Pipettes – “Pull Shapes”
Simple Minds – “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
Happy End – “Kaze Wo Atsumete”
Phoenix – “Rome”
Dan Wilson – “Easy Silence”
The Smithereens – “Well Alright (Live)”
Tom Waits – “The Black Rider”

Sunday's Playlist: 1-1-12

The Smithereens – “Drown in My Own Tears “
Gillian Welch – “Dark Turn of Mind’
The Boxer Rebellion – “The New Heavy”
Psychic TV – “Just Drifting”
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi – “Roman Blue”
Caribou – “Sundialing”
The Who – “Doctor Jimmy (Demo)”
Okkervil River – “Show Yourself”
Gang Gang Dance – “Mindkilla”
Little River Band – “Happy Anniversary”
Bruce Springsteen – “Secret Garden”
The Like – “Square One”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Sowing Seeds”
The Beach Boys – “Little Deuce Coupe”
The Beach Boys – “He Gives Speeches”
Mumford & Sons – “Sigh No More (Live)”
Pelican – “An Inch Above Sand”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Pictures on My Wall”
Silverchair – “Undecided”
Morrissey – “Shame is the Name”
Fujiya & Miyagi – “Tinsel and Glitter”
The Go-Go’s – “Can’t Stop (Live)”
Perfume Garden – “When”
The White Stripes – “Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise”
Gorillaz – “On Melancholy Hill”
Childish Gambino – “That Power”
Aphex Twin – “Windowlicker”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Relax (Scott Storch Mix)”
Bobbie Bare – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”
X – “In the Time it Takes”
Metric – “Twilight Galaxy”
Camper Van Beethoven – “The History of Utah”
Little Scream – “Black Cloud”
Iceage – “You’re Blessed”
The Durutti Column – “Sketch for Summer”
Small Black – “Search Party”
The Dandy Warhols – “Smoke It”
Here We Go Magic – “Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore”
Still Corners – “Cuckoo”
Modest Mouse – “Bukowski”
OK Go – “Shooting the Moon”
David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
UNKLE & Thom Yorke – “Rabbit in Your Headlights”
The Trash Can Sinatras – “Funny”
Mychael Danna & Rob Simonsen – “A Story of Boy Meets Girl”
Delay Trees – “Quarantine”
The The – “Kingdom of Rain”
Finn Brothers – “Only Talking Sense (KCRW)”
Camp Lo – “Negro League”
Journey – “I’ll Be Alright Without You”
The Go-Go’s – “Surfing and Spying”
Happy End – “Kaze Wo Atsumete”
Ramin Djawadi – “Goodbye Brother”
Irma Thomas – “It’s Raining”
Unwound – “Scarlette”
New Order – “Confusion”
Beastie Boys & Miho Hatori – “Start!”
Curtis Mayfield – “Other Side of Town”
She & Him – “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
KISS – “Hard Luck Woman”
Aimee Mann – “The Fall of the World’s Own Optimist”
The Bird & the Bee – “How Deep is Your Love?”
The Beach Boys – “All Dressed Up for School”
Colin Stetson – “Lord I just Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes”
Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened”
John Cale – “You Know More Than I Know”
Travis – “…Baby One More Time”
Baroness – “O’er Hell and Hide”
Japandroids – “Darkness on the Edge of Gastown”
Sigur Rós – “Intro”
The Hot Rats – “The Lovecats”
The Cult – “Assault on Sanctuary”
Tom Waits – “Way Down in the Hole”
Her Space Holiday – “Black Cat Balloons (City Light Reconstruction)”
The Go! Team – “Lazy Poltergeist”
Sufjan Stevens – “To Be Alone With You”
Harvey Danger – “Flagpole Sitta”

Saturday's Playlist: 12-31-11

Faunts – “Lights are Always On”
The Knack – “Good Girls Don’t”
Glasvegas – “Go Square Go”
Bachelorette – “Waveforms”
The Flaming Lips – “Race for the Prize”
Todd Rundgren – “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference”
Jawbox – “Spoiler”
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Stay Alive”
The Old 97’s – “Timebomb”
Genesis – “Abacab”
Voice of the Beehive – “I Say Nothing”
British Sea Power – “No Lucifer”
R.E.M. – “New Test Leper”
Paul Simon – “Spirit Voices”
Billy Squier – “Emotions in Motion”
MC DJ – “Egypt”
Falco – “Vienna Calling”
Archie Shepp – “Blues for Brother George Jackson (Mondo Grosso Next Wave Mix)”
Sara Watkins – “Where Will You Be”
Stephin Merritt – “When You’re Young and in Love”
Prince – “Adore”
Eric B & Rakim – “Casualties of War”
Deltron 3030 – “Turbulence (Remix)”
Blondie – “Union City Blue (Live)”
The Sea and Cake – “A Fuller Moon”
The Beach Boys – “Finders Keepers”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Daydream”
Outkast – “Ms. Jackson”
Bomba Estéreo – “Las Siete Potencias”
Billy Idol – “The Dead Next Door”
The Sea and Cake – “On a Letter”
Better Than Ezra – “The Killer Inside”
New Edition – “Can You Stand the Rain”
Hothouse Flowers – “Sweet Marie”
Eagles – “King of Hollywood”
Yes – “The Clap”
Cat Power – “Amazing Grace”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “April Skies”
BLK JKS – “Cursor”
The Muppets – “Mah Na Mah Na”
Florence + the Machine – “Never Let Me Go”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Dead Or In Serious Trouble”
Frank Turner – “English Curse”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Tristessa”
Tombs – “Bloodletters”
KISS – “Rock and Roll All Nite”
The Knife – “Silent Shout”
Mötley Crüe – “Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room”
Castanets – “My Heart”
Kate Bush – “Constellations of the Heart”
Esben & the Witch – “Warpath”
The Decemberists – “The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle the Thistles Undone)”
Kaiser Chiefs – “I Predict a Riot”
Arctic Monkeys – “Piledriver Waltz”
The Field – “Sweet Slow Baby”
REO Speedwagon – “Tough Guys”
Aesop Rock – “Daylight”
Bee Gees – “Nights on Broadway”
The The – “The Beat(en) Generation”
Luscious Jackson – “LP Retreat”
Gorillaz – “5/4”
The Duke Spirit – “Everybody’s Under Your Spell”
Kool Moe Dee – “Look at Me Now”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Y Control”
R.E.M. – “Swan Swan H”
Interpol – “Safe Without”
ABC – “Vanity Kills (Abigail’s Party Mix)”
James – “Laid”
Mumm-Ra – “She’s Got You High”
Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist”
A Place to Bury Strangers – “Deadbeat”
The Killers – “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine”
Prince – “Little Red Corvette”
Passion Pit – “Cuddle Fuddle”
Future of the Left – “Team:seed”
Shabazz Palaces – “Yeah You”
R.E.M. – “Imitation of Life”
Q-Tip – “Johnny is Dead”
Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
The Shins – “Kissing the Lipless”