The other night I finally got around to seeing director Noah Baumbach‘s latest film, Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller, as the title character, a depressed 40-year-old former musician who’s house sitting for his successful brother in LA, scene of Greenberg’s dashed music dreams. I liked it, and Stiller was surprisingly restrained in playing the sort of pathetic dick I’ve known too well and verged on being myself. Greta Gerwig co-stars a the cute, goofy, young love interest and Rhys Ifans plays Greenberg’s old band buddy, who sucks it up and manages to help occupy his old friend’s time in hopes of moving past the dick he was and still is. 

As in his previous two movies, The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding, the film is populated by the sort of liberal arts educated, 100% natural cotton-clad types who tend to dig the daily proceedings in the Halls of Rock. With characters who were former bandmates this movie is especially rock oriented, and the Greenberg character can’t help but see the world through his rock nerd–glasses. The soundtrack was compiled and scored by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, I thought Greenberg touched on some good topics for today’s round of Dugout Chatter. Remember, it’s your gut answers that count!

What’s the best song you’ve heard in a Starbucks?

The first time Greenberg meets Gerwig’s he plays her “It Never Rains in California” and asks her if she remembers the days when LA radio stations played that song whenever it rained. What weather-related song do you most associate with radio stations of your youth?

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