I think one of the under-appreciated movies of this century is the 2005 comedy Stranger Than Fiction.
It was well-received at the time, but it wasn’t a blockbuster by any stretch. And because Will Ferrell is remembered mostly for his over-the-top ridiculous comedies of that era, Stranger Than Fiction gets a bit lost in the memory shuffle.
In a bizarre way, I think its weakness was that it didn’t have one particular strength; rather, it did a lot of things pretty well, rather than one thing extremely well. It was funny, clever, cute, thought-provoking…but it wasn’t extremely funny, or extremely clever, or extremely anything. It’s the kind of movie you could watch in just about any mood.
It also features a lot of music by Spoon. Which is perfect, because Spoon might well be one of the most under-appreciated bands of this century, and for the same type of reasons as Stranger Than Fiction.
Spoon has made a 25-year career out of making music that is funny, clever, cute, and thought-provoking, without being too much of any one of those things. Their latest album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is music you can listen to in just about any mood.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The quiet boom-boom in the background recurs at various points. It’s intense but non-threatening, like a storm that passes just to the north.
2. The way the vocals are cut up at 1:33. Spoon loves using classic pop non-words like doot-doo’s and la-la’s, but somehow they make those non-words seem smart.
3. The strange extra notes after it appears to be over. Just to make sure you’re paying attention.
Recommended listening activity:
Checking your recently deleted photos in case there are some you might want to keep.