Guest Contributor #3: Collin Souter

1. What is a movie that you think people should know about that speaks to you? 

Not so much a movie as a blu-ray released by Kino this year called "Soundies: The Ultimate Collection." These are like "music videos of the 1940s" that you would watch on a video jukebox of sorts called Panorams. You'd put a dime in and then watch a 16mm film of a musical performance. Could be jazz, blues, a dance number or something just totally out there that defies description. The blu-ray set consists of 600 minutes(!) worth of these shorts, broken up into genres, each genre getting a short intro by a Panoram expert. As of this writing, I've only just broken the seal and watched one genre's worth of material (about 25 minutes), but I'm hooked and can't wait to watch the rest. 

The reason this speaks to me is that I love the short film form (it's part of my job) and discoveries like this keep me excited for it. About ten or twelve years ago, I started making video mix DVDs for my friends consisting of weird trailers, commercials, short films and other oddities I could find. I still love doing it and these "Soundies" fit right in with that. I love giving people a unique viewing experience, a la Joe Dante's "The Movie Orgy," where you don't know what you're going to see next, but you know it'll be a fascinating window into the past where attitudes were very different from today.  It is also, most likely, the most culturally diverse thing you will ever watch from this era, though there is a section of "outrageously incorrect" videos on here sure to offend. 

It's a wonderful escape and I feel like that's needed more and more these days.This collection of "Soundies" practically does my work for me. I look forward to putting any of the four blu-rays on, hitting play and letting them play straight through the day and letting the sights and sounds of nightclub music from the '40s fill our apartment. Man, I love this stuff. 

2. What is a favorite song that made you excited to explore a band / artist's career further?

I know we're not supposed to speak favorably of Arcade Fire these days, but you asked the question, so I'll answer it honestly. I first heard a song of theirs, "Neighborhood #3: Power Out," on Sound Opinions during their end-of-the-year episode in 2005. The timeline is hazy for me on this now because I know I didn't listen to a burned copy of "Funeral" until maybe February or March. I wasn't following music very closely at the time, but apparently, many critics and music fans had put "Funeral" on their Top 10 lists. I liked the song and wanted to hear more. 

I remember feeling miserable that week at work. I was rarely not miserable during this time because my girlfriend of nine years had just dumped me. We were both big-time, die-hard U2 fans and their music was hard for me to listen to during this period (it didn't help that they had just released an album and were about to go out on a full U.S. tour throughout the year). 

I put "Funeral" on my disc player one cloudy morning at work (stupid office/warehouse job where I could listen to music, audiobooks or talk shows while doing mind-numbing tasks). After "Neighborhood #1: Tunnels," my spirits lifted and I knew I had found my new U2, something I could claim as my own and that would fill this musical hole for the time being. There wasn't much of a back-catalog, aside from an EP, but I, like many other people, listened to whatever was out there obsessively and would see them twice in concert that year and at least ten more times in the years that followed. I remained a die-hard fan, so last year was a different kind of heartbreaking when I saw they would be "cancelled" due to Win Butler's allegedly horrible actions. The music is still the music and I still love it. 

3. What does your perfect comfort meal consist of?

For the past few years, I have been lucky enough to live across the street from Monti's in Ravenswood, who are known for their perfect Philly Cheesesteaks, which were never at the top of my list of preferred food items on this kind of menu before (I'm usually more of a cheeseburger guy), but since we moved here we figured we should see what the hype was all about. Sold! The perfect amount of meat and cheese, with a bread that isn't too tough. Easy to hold onto and not as filling as one might expect, so there's plenty of room for their fries or onion rings, also worth downing. If there is room for any kind of dessert after this (usually no, but I'll consider this a fantasy meal), lemon meringue pie or pumpkin cheesecake would do nicely. 

We try not to indulge in Monti's too often. We usually reserve it for birthdays or when a guest visits and spends the night. In the summertime, though, when we have our windows open, we can smell Monti's cooking up some cheesesteaks and it's hard not to give in and order one. 

4. What is something that moves you to tears (film, song, book, anything)?

Anytime I see a new U2 show for a new tour, there will always be a moment where I'm thankful that I still get to see this and experience this. The band never stops giving and I feel so incredibly lucky that I picked them as my favorite band. This last show is certainly no exception. The Sphere in Las Vegas itself is a wonder, but the show U2 put on as the inaugural live act will be tough to follow. The sound is perfect, which you'll notice if you look up any youtube clips taken from anyone's phone. The effects of this IMAX-on-steroids screen will take you on a ride you've never experienced before. The show is so immensely powerful that "With Or Without You," a song I've heard too many times to count and one I never thought I'd have to hear live again, is the emotional highlight, taking a song that is often meant to be about a deteriorating relationship (perfect for the "Achtung Baby"-themed show) and somehow turns it into a song about the earth and all of God's creatures. This band never stops surprising its audience. 

This doesn't mean that the next U2 arena or stadium tour will pale in comparison. Maybe in scale and effects, sure, but I've learned to never doubt these guys and what they can pull off (or the people surrounding them who give them good counsel). I'm never more alive than when I see a U2 show, especially for the first time all over again. 

Collin Souter has been writing about short films for RogerEbert.com since 2014 and programs shorts films for the Chicago Critics Film Festival. You can read his work on collinsouter.com. You can also hear his podcast Christmas Movies Actually (which he co-hosts with his wife, Kerry Finegan), a podcast all about Christmas movies, as well as new Blu-rays and the "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die." 

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Check out: 

https://www.collinsouter.com

Read Collin's reviews on RogerEbert.com

Listen to the podcast Christmas Movies Actually