Greg Cicchino

I know I've had guest bloggers before, but not as the featured blogger of RSVP.  I submit this on my website unedited for content.

I am wholly of the belief that I am not the smartest or most creative person in the room. I also generally don’t know the most. It is  consistently made obvious to me that I have a lot to learn from the others in  my life, even when I’m in the position of the man in charge. So I plan to every so often offer you the words of wisdom from people with whom I’ve been lucky  enough to collaborate… or at least know… or at least meet and beg for a few  minutes of their time. 

First up, I bring you Paul Dorfman. I have worked with him in his capacity as sound designer and I find him to be a man of incredible taste, especially in friends but also in the arena of movies and music. 
 
The Frugal Music and Film  Buff

One doesn’t have to reach too deep into their wallet to enjoy great films and music anymore thanks both streaming services and the changing  music industry. At long last record companies, film distributers, and  independent artists have discovered that the internet can be used as a tool to bring accolades and attention to their art by making it available for little or  no money. Movie companies are finally capturing a piece of the internet boom by  working with streaming services such as Amazon, iTunes, and most notably  Netflix. The result of this reinvention is amazingly beneficial to the  consumer. Below I present to you my picks for free (or nearly free) media from
around the net. 

Film Picks:

With Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris up for several Oscars including Best Picture, there’s no better time to catch up on older films in his canon you may have missed. Thankfully Netflix streaming provides a few of my favorite lesser known:

Another Woman (1988) features excellent performances by Gena Rowlands, Gene Hackman and Martha Plimpton among others. This is a terrifically acted and moving film that channels Ingmar Bergman while still maintaining classic features of Woody Allen films we’ve come to depend on. Out of all of Allen’s films available on Netflix Instant, this is by far the most inspirational and
criminally underrated. 

Annie Hall (1977) was originally intended to be a murder mystery, but thankfully Woody and co-writer Marshall Brickman decided Annie Hall was meant to be heavier and so they scrapped the lightweight murder mystery concept for almost twenty years before finally fleshing it out in the
90‘s with Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).

Allen dabbles in fantasy with Alice (1990), a film which finds Mia Farrow falling down the rabbit hole of New York with the help of a magical herbal specialist by the name of Dr. Yang. If you think this all sounds kind of silly, you’d be right. But silly is one of Woody Allen’s fortes. 

Also check out his bizarre homage to German Expressionism in Shadows and Fog (1991) which co-stars Madonna and John Malkovich.

Music Picks:


Canadian recording artist Abel Tesfaye,AKAThe Weeknd, had a very productive 2011 having released three mix tapes: Echoes of Silence, Thursday and House of Balloons. All of which
were highly regarded in the music blogosphere. These R&B/dubstep records can match just about any mood, whether you’re having a party, working out or making out. Did I mention they’re completely free? http://the-weeknd.com/

Celebrate Philip Glass’ 75th birthday with his newly released 9th Symphony now available on iTunes. If you need a good intro to Glass’music you can download his free sampler available through Amazon.

Paul Dorfman received his BA in English Literature in The University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2006. Together with his sketch comedy group Freeloveforum, Paul has performed at the People's
Improv Theater, The Barrow Street Theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and at the Toronto, San Francisco and New York Sketch Comedy Festivals. You can
follow him on twitter @pauldorfman