Just Your Favorite DJ Savior

I watched Marc Singer's documentary Dark Days the other night. It's about, and was filmed by, people living in an abandoned Amtrak tunnel under Manhattan during the late 90s. They shot entirely with 16mm black and white, mostly in the starkly lit tents or makeshift homes the tunnel residents constructed from scrap particle board, tarps, and curbside furniture. The permanent darkness of the tunnel makes for an unsettling mix of claustrophobia in the compact and crowded lit areas and agoraphobia for the surrounding oppressive and dangerous darkness. I've never seen "Pitch Black," but I'm guessing it's a similar sensation. Most of what little soundtrack the film features is DJ Shadow, which perfectly matches the film's tone. And that brings me to the real reason I started this post.

Last week, a coworker offered to make a cd mix for me. He has an ambient/trip hop/cool jazz radio show on the UW student station so in giving him an overview of my musical tastes I said, "Oh and I like DJ Shadow, of course." Because really, who doesn't? He replied, "Yeah, I don't listen to DJ Shadow very much, I don't really like him." OK, so I realize not everyone who has listened to Shadow loves his work, to me it's like someone saying "I love DC Punk" and "I'm not into Fugazi" in the same breath. Wha?