Well, I hate this album less that I did originally. In fact, now I can say that I kind of even like it. It's just such a drastic change from their last album, The Hazards of Love, it took me a minute to get used to.
The King is Dead, The Decemberists' sixth studio album is a completely different world compared to their previous efforts. Long gone are the days of whimsy as found on Castaways and Cutouts, Her Majesty, and Picaresque, as well as the narratives heard on The Crane Wife and the Hazards of Love. This one's something completely new.
What's crazy is the fact that now that this album's been released, all of those critics who praised it last year are now tearing it apart. The King is Dead does not make Hazards of Love any less of a fantastic album, people. They're completely, utterly unrelated.
This album was a slap in the face, but the stinging's subsided. It's "country" in the way that the Old 97's are country (read: not terrible). It absolutely wasn't what I was expecting from the band. However, it really is just the same old Decemberists. You'll still find a plethora of unconventional instrumentation including 12-string guitars and accordions, but you'll also find a whole new set of sounds including heavy harmonica, fiddle, and saloon piano. While I miss Meloy's vivid storytelling, I must applaud them for trying something so incredibly different from their usual tastes. The roots rocks is more inspired by Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Tom Petty than modern country.
I'm hearing a lot of REM and The Smith's references being thrown around in reference to that album, but that's nothing new. Meloy has always openly admitted to being heavily inspired by both. I guess part of that has to do with the fact that Peter Buck and his guitar actually make guest appearances on this album.
This album is no less musically or lyrically impressive, just in a different format. There's still lush instrumentation and Meloy's patented wordplay, but rather than antique subject matter, they've traded it in for a dose of Americana. Rustic and cozy, The King is Dead is slowly but surely growing on me. There's something about that twang of country that saddens me, but just when you're getting down, there's a track to lift you back up, like "Rox in the Box" ominous tone following the weepy acoustic, "Rise to Me". So, "Down By the Water" is supposed to be the first hit off of this album, which doesn't necessarily make it the best song. "Don't Carry It All", "Calamity Song", and "This is Why We Fight" are right up there with it, and have far less of that twang, which I approve of. There's only so much harmonica and banjo that one girl can handle.
I've been listening to this album for two days and I'm still pretty undecided. I know how much it's grown on me since that first listen and can only imagine where it will go from here. For now, it gets a B, but that is subject to change. It's really a great album, musically. Perhaps it's just my hesitance to enjoy anything even remotely related to country. Who knows? Check it out for yourself, streaming for free on their Myspace.
"Calamity Song"
"Don't Carry It All"
"This is Why We Fight"
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Cake - Showroom of Compassion
Well, after nearly seven years, the boys of Cake have done it again. Their sixth studio album, Showroom of Compassion hit stores last week and man, I'm diggin' it. I didn't realize that it had been so long since Pressure Chief! Crazy!
This album is awesome. It's Cake, so I find it hard to believe that it could have been anything else. It's nice to see that they haven't lost their affinity for unconventional percussion, horns, esoteric lyrics, and funky ass guitar. In additional to all those Cake classics, you also have the introduction of piano on "The Winter" and "Teenage Pregnancy", which sounds incredibly like a funeral march. Appropriate. It's also the sole instrumental out of the 11 tracks a la "Arco Arena".
While Cake has always been a little spacey, this album is by far the most psychedelic. There's also a drastic lack of "oh no"s and "all right"s, in favor of extended notes, which is pretty rare from singer John McCrea. While I enjoy his typical half sung/half spoken vocals, this is a nice departure from the norm. It something different, yet refreshingly familiar. It's also delightfully lo-fi without being pretentious. Recorded in their own, solar-powered studio, it appears this album was nurtured to it's full potential. This album could have come out in between any of their other albums and fit right it.
While Cake usually employs the same methods of making music, it never becomes boring. It's not six albums of the same song, just songs with a distant cousin. Songs that see each other once a year at the family reunion, but still get along. Hence that familiarity.
Yes, I'm a general Cake fan all around, but I always appreciate a good, upbeat track and there's plenty to go around on this album including the devastatingly catchy "Sick of You" and the incredibly funky "Mustache Man".
Long story short: I love Cake. I love this album. You should, too. They even get an A. Check it out, streaming for free on their Myspace now. You can also find the over on Facebook or over at their site. Also, happy Tuesday...have some videos.
"Sick of You"
"Mustache Man"
"Federal Funding"
This album is awesome. It's Cake, so I find it hard to believe that it could have been anything else. It's nice to see that they haven't lost their affinity for unconventional percussion, horns, esoteric lyrics, and funky ass guitar. In additional to all those Cake classics, you also have the introduction of piano on "The Winter" and "Teenage Pregnancy", which sounds incredibly like a funeral march. Appropriate. It's also the sole instrumental out of the 11 tracks a la "Arco Arena".
While Cake has always been a little spacey, this album is by far the most psychedelic. There's also a drastic lack of "oh no"s and "all right"s, in favor of extended notes, which is pretty rare from singer John McCrea. While I enjoy his typical half sung/half spoken vocals, this is a nice departure from the norm. It something different, yet refreshingly familiar. It's also delightfully lo-fi without being pretentious. Recorded in their own, solar-powered studio, it appears this album was nurtured to it's full potential. This album could have come out in between any of their other albums and fit right it.
While Cake usually employs the same methods of making music, it never becomes boring. It's not six albums of the same song, just songs with a distant cousin. Songs that see each other once a year at the family reunion, but still get along. Hence that familiarity.
Yes, I'm a general Cake fan all around, but I always appreciate a good, upbeat track and there's plenty to go around on this album including the devastatingly catchy "Sick of You" and the incredibly funky "Mustache Man".
Long story short: I love Cake. I love this album. You should, too. They even get an A. Check it out, streaming for free on their Myspace now. You can also find the over on Facebook or over at their site. Also, happy Tuesday...have some videos.
"Sick of You"
"Mustache Man"
"Federal Funding"
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mark Ronson and the Business Int'l - Record Collection
There's something to be said about a man who has only released three full-length albums in the last seven years, but has managed four top ten hits. That man would be Mark Ronson and the fourth hit would be the delightfully French "Bang Bang Bang" from his new album with The Business Int'l, Record Collection.
2009's Most Stylish Man of the Year amassed a bunch of other incredibly talented people and had, what appears to be, a whole lot of fun while making this album. There's a whole lot of hands in this pot, including those of Q-Tip, Boy George, Alex Greenwald (of Phantom Planet, Jason Schwartzma's old band), Ghostface Killah, Andrew Wyatt (former bandmate of Greg Kurstin of The Bird and the Bee in a short lived project called Funkraphiliacs), D'Angelo, Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran fame, and my new favorite person, Rose Elinor Dougall of the Pipettes.
While Version was the "big" album for Ronson, this one is a more mature chapter in his history. You got the distinct, pretentious vibe of "everyone who is anyone is on this album" on Version, while Record Collection employs a more low-key, indie cast. And hell, this album just sounds fun, more so Ronson making an album for himself than the fans. I'm sure he's not upset by the two (and a half) hits on this album. "Somebody to Love Me" would be that half and that's only because it hasn't been out for that long.
The album title couldn't have been chosen more wisely. With all of these people, you end up with a decidedly eclectic sound, which keeps your ear entertained all the way through this album. It kind of amazes me how often this album is lumped into the "hip hop" category...it's so much more than that. A lot of it is very Basement Jaxx goes Motown, and it's pretty awesome. The amount of music on this album that could honestly be defined as solely hip-hop is virtually non-existent.
All in all, this album is soulful, funky, and entertaining. From novelty pop songs like "Bang Bang Bang" and "The Bike Song" to the depths of Boy George's vocals on "Somebody to Love Me", this album encapsulates exactly what it aims to be...a collection. This isn't surprising in the least, with such a prolific musician, but it's nice to see his name attached to something of his own. He's done so much work with various artists in the last few years (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Ghostface Killah, Macy Gray, Jimmy Fallon, Old Dirty Bastard, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, Q-Tip, Duran Duran, and a whole host of others) it's cool to see him doing what he wants to do.
For all of those guest vocalists, Record Collection also includes three solely instrumental tracks including "The Color of Crumar", "Circuit Breaker" (a tribute to Zelda!), and the incredibly sultry "Selector". What's amazing is that, within this all-star cast, these songs still hold their own. Way to kick ass, Mark Ronson. You get a B.
Check it out for yourself, I'm sure you'll find something on here that you'll enjoy. You can listen to the whole album, streaming now on Ronson's Myspace. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and at his site.
"Bang Bang Bang"
"The Bike Song"
2009's Most Stylish Man of the Year amassed a bunch of other incredibly talented people and had, what appears to be, a whole lot of fun while making this album. There's a whole lot of hands in this pot, including those of Q-Tip, Boy George, Alex Greenwald (of Phantom Planet, Jason Schwartzma's old band), Ghostface Killah, Andrew Wyatt (former bandmate of Greg Kurstin of The Bird and the Bee in a short lived project called Funkraphiliacs), D'Angelo, Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran fame, and my new favorite person, Rose Elinor Dougall of the Pipettes.
While Version was the "big" album for Ronson, this one is a more mature chapter in his history. You got the distinct, pretentious vibe of "everyone who is anyone is on this album" on Version, while Record Collection employs a more low-key, indie cast. And hell, this album just sounds fun, more so Ronson making an album for himself than the fans. I'm sure he's not upset by the two (and a half) hits on this album. "Somebody to Love Me" would be that half and that's only because it hasn't been out for that long.
The album title couldn't have been chosen more wisely. With all of these people, you end up with a decidedly eclectic sound, which keeps your ear entertained all the way through this album. It kind of amazes me how often this album is lumped into the "hip hop" category...it's so much more than that. A lot of it is very Basement Jaxx goes Motown, and it's pretty awesome. The amount of music on this album that could honestly be defined as solely hip-hop is virtually non-existent.
All in all, this album is soulful, funky, and entertaining. From novelty pop songs like "Bang Bang Bang" and "The Bike Song" to the depths of Boy George's vocals on "Somebody to Love Me", this album encapsulates exactly what it aims to be...a collection. This isn't surprising in the least, with such a prolific musician, but it's nice to see his name attached to something of his own. He's done so much work with various artists in the last few years (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Ghostface Killah, Macy Gray, Jimmy Fallon, Old Dirty Bastard, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, Q-Tip, Duran Duran, and a whole host of others) it's cool to see him doing what he wants to do.
For all of those guest vocalists, Record Collection also includes three solely instrumental tracks including "The Color of Crumar", "Circuit Breaker" (a tribute to Zelda!), and the incredibly sultry "Selector". What's amazing is that, within this all-star cast, these songs still hold their own. Way to kick ass, Mark Ronson. You get a B.
Check it out for yourself, I'm sure you'll find something on here that you'll enjoy. You can listen to the whole album, streaming now on Ronson's Myspace. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and at his site.
"Bang Bang Bang"
"The Bike Song"
Friday, January 14, 2011
Top (and Bottom) Five Albums of 2010
Alright, I'm a little late this year. I guess that makes up for being early last year? Well here they are, the best and worst of 2010!
5. Los Campesinos - Romance is Boring
It was actually a really close race between fourth and fifth place this year. The reason why Romance is Boring comes in last is because, well, I stopped listening to it. After that review, I listened to it a handful of times and then it sort of lost it's appeal. I had gotten everything out of it I wanted to. Not that it's a bad album by any means, but it lost my attention after a while. After so many listens through, it never gained any momentum. All in all, it's still a great album...versatile and catchy. It was also a refreshing alternate route on the annual road of pop wonders like Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, and Flo Rida.
"A Heat Rash in the Shape of the of the Show Me State; or, Letters From Me to Charlotte"
4. Fourtet - There Is Love In You
There was really no pun intended on the ranking of this album, I swear. This album, surprisingly enough, gets the Best Trip Hop Album of the Year Award from me. That's some shocking stuff considering that Morcheeba reunited with Skye Edwards and released and album this year. It remained a really good starting point in a year of somewhat mediocre electronic music. I hope that Hebden really keeps on the track he's on now, which would be the Plastic People track. There's something about live music that changes, well, everything. You know what people like because you see them respond to it every day and that's priceless.
"Sing"
3. Jupiter One - Sunshower
This one gets the Best Purchase of the Year Award. Seriously, I got this album for $.01 plus $2.99 shipping and handling on Amazon and it was worth every penny (HAH!) plus quite a few more. This album has made it into pretty heavy rotation on my computer and I still thoroughly enjoy it. Actually, as I am typing this, I had to put this album on. Every time I listen to it, it gets a little bit better. Plus, they're super nice guys, which makes me like them even more. Shit, now I'm going to have "Volcano" stuck in my head for a week. That is the only drawback, if you can call it that, of this album. It's like crack for your ears.
"Lights Go Out"
2. OK Go - Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
Ok, so OK Go comes in at #2, but I would just like to let you know that this was another super close race. In fact, can't we just make both Jupiter One and OK Go numbers 2.5.? I think that would work for me, if that works for you. Actually, I don't care if it works for you. The only reason why OK Go came out higher is, well, they've had more practice. This album is polished to perfection and full of great music, to boot. This one's made it into a pretty heavy rotation as well. This album was everywhere for a hot minute, too. There was some sort of commercial for a TV show or something that played "I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe", which is pretty cool. Good job, OK Go!
"I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe"
1. Girl Talk - All Day
And the #1 album of the year is!!!!....Girl Talk's All Day. This album is absolutely fucking phenomenal and it just gets better and better. Now that I've been able to spend some serious quality time with this album and a good pair of headphones, I appreciate it more and more. What's also pretty cool, is the fact that everyone loves the shit out of Girl Talk now. PA represent, man. And shit, there's a Gregg Gillis Day. I still think that we should all drink mojitos in his honor next December 7th. Well, I guess, technically, a couple hundred artists just won Album of the Year on That Girl With A Blog so...congratulations!...all of you?
"Oh No"
And now for the fun! Ladies and gentlemen, the worst albums of 2010!
5. 30 Seconds to Mars - This is War
So this album wasn't really bad, per se, but it wasn't really that great, either, and it CERTAINLY wasn't what I expected. That really isn't good or bad either way. That's the thing about this album: it's not great, it's not bad, it's lukewarm all the way around. Any album that gets a resounding "meh" can't be all that good. In fact, I think after the original review, I never listened to this album again. All I could stand were the 6 or 7 times I listened to it. Hey, at least they're at the top of the list of worst albums, right? This might also be partially because of my huge, girly crush on Jared Leto.
"Kings and Queens"
4. Ke$ha - Cannibal
This one's for you, JY. Okay, so let's face it, this album is terrible. I love this album because I love shitty pop music. Especially when I'm drunk. Me and Ke$ha are BFFF (just so you know, that means Best Friends For Fucking Ever) when I'm wasted. She really is the poor, dirty, drunk girl's Lady Gaga. Honestly, though, musically, this album is straight up garbage. It's terrible. She would have nothing if not for the invention of the vocorder/autotune. This isn't going to stop me from listening to it, but for anyone with reasonable taste in good music, well, it would probably make their ears bleed. It might also cause you to lose all faith in music, if you haven't already. Soul crushing bad-ness. That's what's happening here.
"Grow A Pear"
3. Sade - Soldier of Love
This album certainly gets the Most Boring Album of the Year Award. If you need music to play in your elevator, this would be it. Ten songs that sound just like "Smooth Operator", that's what this album is. I won't be mean to them, as people, like I will on the next two, but this album is simply bad. They aren't bad people. I'm sure they tried, but they failed miserably. You get an A for effort, Sade, but a great, big, fat F when it comes to making music. And seriously? I still can't get over the fact that there's a song called "Babyfather" on this album. In fact, here it is:
"Babyfather"
2. She & Him - Volume 2
Oh, sweet little baby Jeebus, do I hate Zooey Deschanel. Just typing her name makes me furious. She should take 1,000,000,000 pictures of M. Ward so he snaps and kills her. How the hell is her older sister so awesome? How did they even come out of the same vagina? Who knows. Man, Emily should have beat up Zooey on a regular basis when they were kids. Maybe it would have made her better. I don't know, but what I do know is that this album sucks, and so do Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Everything about this album is one giant suckfest. Seriously, I'm a little angry just talking about it. In fact, I'm making angry faces under my home-made Daft Punk mask, right now. Grr.
"In the Sun" God! I hate her face!
1. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Congratulations to you, Vampire Weekend, for being the worst band, musically and personally, to ever grace the pages of That Girl With A Blog. Seriously. How does it feel to come in LOWER THAN KE$HA on a random blogger's list from 2010? I hope you feel terrible about yourselves. This album is so, so terrible, and the fact that Vampire Weekend is comprised of essentially terrible people doesn't make their case any better. Still can't get over that "UR A Contra" situation. Or the shrieking. Or the trust funds. I seriously couldn't even listen to this album all the way through ONE TIME. Obviously, I like shitty music (see: Ke$ha) and I STILL think that this band sucks. I think I lost brain cells listening to this album.
"I Think UR A Contra"
Well, that's it folks! The best and worst of 2010! Enjoy! Or don't! Half of this list sucks anyway! Have a great weekend.
5. Los Campesinos - Romance is Boring
It was actually a really close race between fourth and fifth place this year. The reason why Romance is Boring comes in last is because, well, I stopped listening to it. After that review, I listened to it a handful of times and then it sort of lost it's appeal. I had gotten everything out of it I wanted to. Not that it's a bad album by any means, but it lost my attention after a while. After so many listens through, it never gained any momentum. All in all, it's still a great album...versatile and catchy. It was also a refreshing alternate route on the annual road of pop wonders like Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, and Flo Rida.
"A Heat Rash in the Shape of the of the Show Me State; or, Letters From Me to Charlotte"
4. Fourtet - There Is Love In You
There was really no pun intended on the ranking of this album, I swear. This album, surprisingly enough, gets the Best Trip Hop Album of the Year Award from me. That's some shocking stuff considering that Morcheeba reunited with Skye Edwards and released and album this year. It remained a really good starting point in a year of somewhat mediocre electronic music. I hope that Hebden really keeps on the track he's on now, which would be the Plastic People track. There's something about live music that changes, well, everything. You know what people like because you see them respond to it every day and that's priceless.
"Sing"
3. Jupiter One - Sunshower
This one gets the Best Purchase of the Year Award. Seriously, I got this album for $.01 plus $2.99 shipping and handling on Amazon and it was worth every penny (HAH!) plus quite a few more. This album has made it into pretty heavy rotation on my computer and I still thoroughly enjoy it. Actually, as I am typing this, I had to put this album on. Every time I listen to it, it gets a little bit better. Plus, they're super nice guys, which makes me like them even more. Shit, now I'm going to have "Volcano" stuck in my head for a week. That is the only drawback, if you can call it that, of this album. It's like crack for your ears.
"Lights Go Out"
2. OK Go - Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
Ok, so OK Go comes in at #2, but I would just like to let you know that this was another super close race. In fact, can't we just make both Jupiter One and OK Go numbers 2.5.? I think that would work for me, if that works for you. Actually, I don't care if it works for you. The only reason why OK Go came out higher is, well, they've had more practice. This album is polished to perfection and full of great music, to boot. This one's made it into a pretty heavy rotation as well. This album was everywhere for a hot minute, too. There was some sort of commercial for a TV show or something that played "I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe", which is pretty cool. Good job, OK Go!
"I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe"
1. Girl Talk - All Day
And the #1 album of the year is!!!!....Girl Talk's All Day. This album is absolutely fucking phenomenal and it just gets better and better. Now that I've been able to spend some serious quality time with this album and a good pair of headphones, I appreciate it more and more. What's also pretty cool, is the fact that everyone loves the shit out of Girl Talk now. PA represent, man. And shit, there's a Gregg Gillis Day. I still think that we should all drink mojitos in his honor next December 7th. Well, I guess, technically, a couple hundred artists just won Album of the Year on That Girl With A Blog so...congratulations!...all of you?
"Oh No"
And now for the fun! Ladies and gentlemen, the worst albums of 2010!
5. 30 Seconds to Mars - This is War
So this album wasn't really bad, per se, but it wasn't really that great, either, and it CERTAINLY wasn't what I expected. That really isn't good or bad either way. That's the thing about this album: it's not great, it's not bad, it's lukewarm all the way around. Any album that gets a resounding "meh" can't be all that good. In fact, I think after the original review, I never listened to this album again. All I could stand were the 6 or 7 times I listened to it. Hey, at least they're at the top of the list of worst albums, right? This might also be partially because of my huge, girly crush on Jared Leto.
"Kings and Queens"
4. Ke$ha - Cannibal
This one's for you, JY. Okay, so let's face it, this album is terrible. I love this album because I love shitty pop music. Especially when I'm drunk. Me and Ke$ha are BFFF (just so you know, that means Best Friends For Fucking Ever) when I'm wasted. She really is the poor, dirty, drunk girl's Lady Gaga. Honestly, though, musically, this album is straight up garbage. It's terrible. She would have nothing if not for the invention of the vocorder/autotune. This isn't going to stop me from listening to it, but for anyone with reasonable taste in good music, well, it would probably make their ears bleed. It might also cause you to lose all faith in music, if you haven't already. Soul crushing bad-ness. That's what's happening here.
"Grow A Pear"
3. Sade - Soldier of Love
This album certainly gets the Most Boring Album of the Year Award. If you need music to play in your elevator, this would be it. Ten songs that sound just like "Smooth Operator", that's what this album is. I won't be mean to them, as people, like I will on the next two, but this album is simply bad. They aren't bad people. I'm sure they tried, but they failed miserably. You get an A for effort, Sade, but a great, big, fat F when it comes to making music. And seriously? I still can't get over the fact that there's a song called "Babyfather" on this album. In fact, here it is:
"Babyfather"
2. She & Him - Volume 2
Oh, sweet little baby Jeebus, do I hate Zooey Deschanel. Just typing her name makes me furious. She should take 1,000,000,000 pictures of M. Ward so he snaps and kills her. How the hell is her older sister so awesome? How did they even come out of the same vagina? Who knows. Man, Emily should have beat up Zooey on a regular basis when they were kids. Maybe it would have made her better. I don't know, but what I do know is that this album sucks, and so do Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Everything about this album is one giant suckfest. Seriously, I'm a little angry just talking about it. In fact, I'm making angry faces under my home-made Daft Punk mask, right now. Grr.
"In the Sun" God! I hate her face!
1. Vampire Weekend - Contra
Congratulations to you, Vampire Weekend, for being the worst band, musically and personally, to ever grace the pages of That Girl With A Blog. Seriously. How does it feel to come in LOWER THAN KE$HA on a random blogger's list from 2010? I hope you feel terrible about yourselves. This album is so, so terrible, and the fact that Vampire Weekend is comprised of essentially terrible people doesn't make their case any better. Still can't get over that "UR A Contra" situation. Or the shrieking. Or the trust funds. I seriously couldn't even listen to this album all the way through ONE TIME. Obviously, I like shitty music (see: Ke$ha) and I STILL think that this band sucks. I think I lost brain cells listening to this album.
"I Think UR A Contra"
Well, that's it folks! The best and worst of 2010! Enjoy! Or don't! Half of this list sucks anyway! Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Faceoff (Soundtrack Edition): Tron Legacy vs. The Social Network
So, it's been a while since we've had a faceoff on That Girl With A Blog, but the time has come, my friends.This time, we'll be focusing on soundracks. While the similarities are there (the electronic inspiration, the prolific artists, the facet that they're both scores), the differences are abounding. Well, let's see where they stand. It seems like the winner always comes first. Let's start with the loser.
Now, I'm not trying to say that Trent Reznor is a loser, per se, I'm just saying that Daft Punk used their giant, stompy, space-aged boots to kick him in the face. Repeatedly. Also, I should probably mention that I am a little biased on this front. I am a huge fan of Reznor's...pre-1999 Reznor, that is. 1989 Trent Reznor was my favorite, though. I want Reznor at his finest. Young, dreaded, preferably covered in baby powder and screaming. This is the Reznor I have come to know and love. Now, man, where to begin. This whole "Henry Rollins Look-a-Like" contest thing has gotten out of hand and well, he got married? What's up with that? My inner 13-year-old just died a little bit. At least she's hot. Like, really hot. Good job, Trent. Anyway, onto the soundtrack.
While this is Reznor's first score, it's certainly not his first rodeo when it comes to working on soundtracks (See: Natural Born Killers or Lost Highway). That being said, The Social Network Soundtrack is soooooooo boring. So. Very. Boring. It's dark, it's brooding (who could have imagined!? Trent Reznor!? Dark and brooding? No effin' way!) and it's entirely predictable. It's everything that I imagined it would be, and that's not a good thing. Also, I don't even really understand why he would agree to do this (perhaps he should have kept his original answer?). While, yes, he's a pioneer of technology when it comes to releasing music, he's notoriously anti-social networking. This album does have a few stand out tracks including "In Motion" and "Carbon Prevails". Upon multiple listenings, these two are the only tracks to really demand my attention, even when I'm doing something else. But for every decent song, you end up with a song like "In the Hall of the Mountain King". Yup, it's the orchestral piece composed by Edvard Grieg for Peer Gynt, and it ends up sounding like a badly-recorded ring tone. In general, this album sounds just like everything that Reznor's released since 1999 and is almost a dead ringer for 2008's Ghosts. Do something else, already. As for it's relation to the movie, okay, I get it. It's darkly appropriate for the greed and betrayal, but as a stand alone album, it fails miserably.
As for Daft Punk, they take the Tron Legacy Soundtrack and make it their bitch. Seriously. And what's so amazing about this OST is the complete lack of a danceable beat. Who are you, you helmeted DJ duo, and what have you done with my Daft Punk!? Two of my favorite Frenchman were just absolutely perfect for this soundtrack. It's so understated for them and so incredibly beautiful. You get this layering of ambient, organic noise with the swelling of an 85 piece orchestra and it's enough to give me goosebumps EVERY listen through. Doing some general research for this review, I came across this on the G4 site:
"Anyone thinking that Daft Punk would record this as Discovery, Part 2 or Human After All: The Sequel will be greatly disappointed. If this causes you to make angry faces under your homemade Daft Punk mask..." First of all, thank you, Rick Damigella, for making me laugh harder that I have in a long time, and second of all, he is 100% correct. There is no sampling. There is no disco. There is nothing to make your heart want to explode while rolling. It's so not the Daft Punk we all know and love, but it's just SO GOOD. Grand does not even begin to describe this album. Epic? Maybe. Legendary? Almost. While the Tron Legacy Soundtrack has the capabilites that all soundtracks need (IE: the ability to blend into the background when necessary), as a stand alone album, it's still absolutely fucking phenomenal. This time around, this album is everything I thought it would be, only better. I don't think that there's anyone out there who fit the bill as well as the Daft Punk boys. I mean, they've been playing robot for almost my entire lifetime, why the hell not!? At this point, I don't even care if the movie's good or not because the soundtrack is more than enough to make up for it. It's just a bonus that the soundtrack matches the movie perfectly.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson - Break Up
I am shocked and amazed at how much the collaborative album between Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson, Break Up, doesn't suck. If I would have known that it is as good as it is, I would have listened to it quite some time ago. You know, like in 2009 when it came out. Sorry for the late arrival, guys.
First of all, I didn't even know Johansson had an album (if you can really call it that). She apparently put out a debut album in 2008, Anywhere I Lay My Head, comprised of one original song and 10 Tom Waits covers, which is pretty freakin' weird. What's even weirder is that she's really not half bad. I can kind of see why Yorn picked her for the Serge Gainsbourg and Bridget Bardot-esque album. I mean, she's no Bardot, that's a given, but she's got an old school, gravelly voice in the best sense of the term. Sort of Karen Bergquist from Over the Rhine, but less mature. The duo hits the mark somewhere between Gainsbourg/Bardot and Ward/Deschanel.
The beginning of this album is utterly fantastic. Really. I'm not even being sarcastic here, so take it while you can get it. It opens with the "hit" of the album, "Relator", which is one of the few songs on here that seems to have a good balance of Johansson and Yorn. They're both quiet, and they play off of each other so well over an old-school guitar line and minimalistic, well, everything else. It's nothing fancy, it's good, old-fashioned rock music. Followed by the slightly 60's, somewhat island like, Jack Johnson sounding "Wear and Tear", the album really just sucks you in with awe. Perhaps that's just me, though, because I really expected this album to be terrible. "I Don't Know What to Do" blends ScarJo's smokey voice and Yorn's whisper-y vocals into a classic alt-country ballad, while "Search Your Heart" has Johansson perfecting those "whoa-ohs".
While I'm generally a lukewarm Pete Yorn fan (read: a musicforthemorningafter fan) I find myself anxiously awaiting Johansson's parts and wondering when she's going to get a song of her own on the album, and then it comes...
The ridiculous, pointless cover of Big Star Bell's "I Am the Cosmos". It's weak and bland, and generally just no good. After that, this album becomes a trainwreck. Thank god that song is 2/3 of the way into the album. After that, it's just three, uninspired songs that feel like they were just stuck at the end of the album to fill some space. Man, I hate that. At least if you know that some of those songs suck, mix it up a little bit, dammit.
As for Yorn, anything after musicforthemorningafter has been pretty, lame. Just your standard, run of the mill pop music that tends to get lost in the sea of mediocre pop albums produced every day, so I really wasn't expecting much from him. He sounds pretty much like he does on every album, but at least this time, he has someone else to shake things up a little bit.
It's amazing how quickly this album turns around. With such a promising beginning, the rest of the album is such a sore let down. I can tell you one thing, though. The thing that I took away from this, is that I will definitely be watching out for the new Johansson album! It gets a B, minus, only because the beginning is so damn good. Such a shame about the end.
You can actually check out the whole album streaming on their Myspace, as well as a few tracks from both of them, separately. Check 'em out!
"Relator"
"Wear and Tear"
"I Don't Know What to Do"
First of all, I didn't even know Johansson had an album (if you can really call it that). She apparently put out a debut album in 2008, Anywhere I Lay My Head, comprised of one original song and 10 Tom Waits covers, which is pretty freakin' weird. What's even weirder is that she's really not half bad. I can kind of see why Yorn picked her for the Serge Gainsbourg and Bridget Bardot-esque album. I mean, she's no Bardot, that's a given, but she's got an old school, gravelly voice in the best sense of the term. Sort of Karen Bergquist from Over the Rhine, but less mature. The duo hits the mark somewhere between Gainsbourg/Bardot and Ward/Deschanel.
The beginning of this album is utterly fantastic. Really. I'm not even being sarcastic here, so take it while you can get it. It opens with the "hit" of the album, "Relator", which is one of the few songs on here that seems to have a good balance of Johansson and Yorn. They're both quiet, and they play off of each other so well over an old-school guitar line and minimalistic, well, everything else. It's nothing fancy, it's good, old-fashioned rock music. Followed by the slightly 60's, somewhat island like, Jack Johnson sounding "Wear and Tear", the album really just sucks you in with awe. Perhaps that's just me, though, because I really expected this album to be terrible. "I Don't Know What to Do" blends ScarJo's smokey voice and Yorn's whisper-y vocals into a classic alt-country ballad, while "Search Your Heart" has Johansson perfecting those "whoa-ohs".
While I'm generally a lukewarm Pete Yorn fan (read: a musicforthemorningafter fan) I find myself anxiously awaiting Johansson's parts and wondering when she's going to get a song of her own on the album, and then it comes...
The ridiculous, pointless cover of Big Star Bell's "I Am the Cosmos". It's weak and bland, and generally just no good. After that, this album becomes a trainwreck. Thank god that song is 2/3 of the way into the album. After that, it's just three, uninspired songs that feel like they were just stuck at the end of the album to fill some space. Man, I hate that. At least if you know that some of those songs suck, mix it up a little bit, dammit.
As for Yorn, anything after musicforthemorningafter has been pretty, lame. Just your standard, run of the mill pop music that tends to get lost in the sea of mediocre pop albums produced every day, so I really wasn't expecting much from him. He sounds pretty much like he does on every album, but at least this time, he has someone else to shake things up a little bit.
It's amazing how quickly this album turns around. With such a promising beginning, the rest of the album is such a sore let down. I can tell you one thing, though. The thing that I took away from this, is that I will definitely be watching out for the new Johansson album! It gets a B, minus, only because the beginning is so damn good. Such a shame about the end.
You can actually check out the whole album streaming on their Myspace, as well as a few tracks from both of them, separately. Check 'em out!
"Relator"
"Wear and Tear"
"I Don't Know What to Do"
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Ke$ha - Cannibal
In a posthumous movie about John Travolta's life, who would play him? Ke$ha.
Anyway, onto the music!
I never really listened to Ke$ha (or at least not that I was entirely aware of) until yesterday. I saw the episode of The Simpsons where they made fun of "Tik Tok" and apparently they play that "Take It Off" song at the bar that I frequent, but I never realized that it was her.
I have a soft spot for shitty pop music...I really do. I find it quite hard to believe that she has any real talent, but this album is downright entertaining. Autotune? Bring it on. Vocorder? There's enough of it on here to fill 50 million Brittany Spears albums. Ke$ha is the poor man's Lady Gaga. While Gaga's singing about "the Jag, the jet, and the mansion", Ke$ha is singing about how her and her friends are those girls who take your drink off the table at a bar when you leave. Okay, well...that part's kinda gross, but you get what I mean.
Cannibal is your standard, terrible pop album and I love it in that way that dogs love rolling in garbage. Yeah, it smells bad, but by god, it's fun. It's got such heartfelt lyrics as, "You should know that I love you a lot, but I just can't date a dude with a vaj" in the horrendously misspelled "Grow A Pear" and "Yup, I'll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer" in the eponymous single, "Cannibal". She's like a drunker (if you can even imagine that) Lily Allen.
Also, in "Cannibal", she tries to do this sexy, Christina Aguilera scale thing and fails so miserably you can't help but get a kick out of it. Every time I hear it I can imaging little Ke$ha on the short bus and it makes me smile inside. Imagine a mentally challenged kid just saying "Oh" over and over into a vocorder. That's what you get.
Even for all the humor of this album, there's not nearly as much funny shit as on her first album. I mean, Animal had such classics as "Blah Blah Blah" with the line "Cut to the chase kid, 'cause I know you don't care what my middle name is. I wanna get naked and you're wasted", and "Party at A Rich Dude's House", which is pretty self explainatory. She does include the mandatory pop-ballad per album with "The Harold Song", "They say that true love hurts, well this could almost kill me. Young love murder, that is what this must be." Ohhhhh, poor KeSha. Try not talking about boning half the population. That might help your whole "relationship issue" situation.
Long story short, this is not the album of the year. It's not even really that good, but I get a kick out of people talking about drinking, because I like drinking. This is a great album to put on while you're getting ready to go out, or you're drunk. Or you just wish you were drunk. It gets a solid C from me.
Check out the entire album, streaming on her Myspace, now.
Ke$ha - We R Who We R (Someone get this girl to a spelling class, STAT!)
Anyway, onto the music!
I never really listened to Ke$ha (or at least not that I was entirely aware of) until yesterday. I saw the episode of The Simpsons where they made fun of "Tik Tok" and apparently they play that "Take It Off" song at the bar that I frequent, but I never realized that it was her.
I have a soft spot for shitty pop music...I really do. I find it quite hard to believe that she has any real talent, but this album is downright entertaining. Autotune? Bring it on. Vocorder? There's enough of it on here to fill 50 million Brittany Spears albums. Ke$ha is the poor man's Lady Gaga. While Gaga's singing about "the Jag, the jet, and the mansion", Ke$ha is singing about how her and her friends are those girls who take your drink off the table at a bar when you leave. Okay, well...that part's kinda gross, but you get what I mean.
Cannibal is your standard, terrible pop album and I love it in that way that dogs love rolling in garbage. Yeah, it smells bad, but by god, it's fun. It's got such heartfelt lyrics as, "You should know that I love you a lot, but I just can't date a dude with a vaj" in the horrendously misspelled "Grow A Pear" and "Yup, I'll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer" in the eponymous single, "Cannibal". She's like a drunker (if you can even imagine that) Lily Allen.
Also, in "Cannibal", she tries to do this sexy, Christina Aguilera scale thing and fails so miserably you can't help but get a kick out of it. Every time I hear it I can imaging little Ke$ha on the short bus and it makes me smile inside. Imagine a mentally challenged kid just saying "Oh" over and over into a vocorder. That's what you get.
Even for all the humor of this album, there's not nearly as much funny shit as on her first album. I mean, Animal had such classics as "Blah Blah Blah" with the line "Cut to the chase kid, 'cause I know you don't care what my middle name is. I wanna get naked and you're wasted", and "Party at A Rich Dude's House", which is pretty self explainatory. She does include the mandatory pop-ballad per album with "The Harold Song", "They say that true love hurts, well this could almost kill me. Young love murder, that is what this must be." Ohhhhh, poor KeSha. Try not talking about boning half the population. That might help your whole "relationship issue" situation.
Long story short, this is not the album of the year. It's not even really that good, but I get a kick out of people talking about drinking, because I like drinking. This is a great album to put on while you're getting ready to go out, or you're drunk. Or you just wish you were drunk. It gets a solid C from me.
Check out the entire album, streaming on her Myspace, now.
Ke$ha - We R Who We R (Someone get this girl to a spelling class, STAT!)
Friday, December 10, 2010
Girl Talk - All Day
It's amazing to see how far he's come since 2002's Secret Diary. This album is fitter, happier, and more productive. It's cleaner and so well produced. What's awesome about Girl Talk in general, is that no matter what, there's some part of a track that you're bound to like. Classic rock with hardcore rap with happy hardcore with 80's pop. And somehow...it just makes sense. Also, it makes it okay for me to rock out to songs that I would otherwise feel a little embarrassed to enjoy. Case in point: Beyonce's "Single Ladies" or Rhianna's "Rude Boy" (Note: this statement does not apply if I am in a three block vicinity of a gay bar. Then it simply can't be helped).
Also, Girl Talk has changed the way I feel about rap, in general. I always thoroughly enjoyed the beats in rap songs...if only the people singing in them would just shut the fuck UP, already. Girl Talk remedies this quite nicely. You get only the best parts of three hundred and seventy-some songs. It is the ultimately party playlist. The mashups on this album are the best of the best, though. One of my personal favorites has got to be the call and answer of The Beastie Boys' "Hey Ladies" to Lady Gaga's "Lovegame". Okay, OR Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" vs. Ludacris' "Move Bitch" ("I'm doin' a hundred on the highway so if you do the speed limit, get the fuck outta my way. I'm D.U.I., hardly ever caught sober, and you about to get ran the fuck over.") Classy. Okay, OR any one of the other 1000 incredible mashups on this album. The whole thing is simply fucking phenomenal.
Oh, and have you heard about this "Gregg Gillis Day" situation? Alright, let's get on a personal Girl Talk for a minute hear. As stated before, we attended the same high school and her grew up like, two towns over from me. I didn't know him, but it still give me a warm, fuzzy feeling that something awesome happened in my neck of the woods. Anyway, Pittsburgh has declared December 7th (also the day of the attacks on Pearl Harbor) Gregg Gillis Day. How 'bout that. Is there a Michael Jackson Day? No. Is there a Beatles Day? No. Is there a Lady Gaga Day? No. Suck it, other cities. We have Gregg Gillis and you don't. We like him so much, we made him his very own special day. I really want to make the most of this. Gregg Gillis Day party next year? Yes, please.We'll mash up some various alcoholic drinks? MOJITOS!!! I declare the official drink of Gregg Gillis Day mojitos.
I did miss his live show here recently, which was a bummer. It's incredible that it sold out as quickly as it did and hell, I'm happy for him. I hope the half-naked, hairy, maniac that he becomes live entertained a whole lot of people at Pittsburgh's new Stage AE. Perhaps one of these days, I'll have to catch him.
Okay, back to the album:
It's one of those albums that you can just put on repeat and walk away. You never hear the same song twice. There's always that new layer of that other track that you didn't hear last time and somehow, it's always a welcome addition. It's ridiculously awesome and like most of Girl Talk's work, absolutely free. Head on over to Illegal Art and download your copy now. It's well worth your time. You can also stream it from his Myspace. A!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Jupiter One - Sunshower
Woo hoo! Two great bands in two days! This is awesome.
The founding members of Jupiter One, K. Ishibashi and Zac Colwell, actually met as traveling, orchestral musicians with Barnum and Bailey. Freakin' weird right? But, also awesome. Add in Ishibashi's wife, Mocha, drummer David Heilman, and bass player Pat "Panda" Dougherty and you have Jupiter One. And yes, they ARE named after the spaceship in Lost In Space.
I can tell you one thing for sure about their sophomore album, Sunshower: I purchased it. I used real, American, dollars to buy music. That's a pretty rare occurrence in my life, but these guys are awesome.
It's been a long time since I've actually enjoyed every song on an album and this one really hits the mark. There's such a diverse array of music that it doesn't get boring. From the funky "Find Me A Place" to the indie rock "Lights Go Out" to the 80's new-wave "Anna" to the reggae inspired "Simple Stones" to the pop hit "Volcano", this album's got something for everyone.
They're also popping up everywhere, from video games (Madden NFL '08, NHL '08, Burnout Paradise, FIFA '08, and FIFA '09) to commercials (Payless and Mazda) to television (MLB Network, Heroes, and Kyle XY). They've also toured with Regina Spektor on her last two circuits, which is pretty sweet. That sounds like a lethal combo of AWESOME!
You can check out the new album, Sunshower, streaming on their Myspace now and read more about the band over at their site. Check 'em out! This album gets a resounding A from me!
"Volcano"
"Anna"
"Lights Go Out"
The founding members of Jupiter One, K. Ishibashi and Zac Colwell, actually met as traveling, orchestral musicians with Barnum and Bailey. Freakin' weird right? But, also awesome. Add in Ishibashi's wife, Mocha, drummer David Heilman, and bass player Pat "Panda" Dougherty and you have Jupiter One. And yes, they ARE named after the spaceship in Lost In Space.
I can tell you one thing for sure about their sophomore album, Sunshower: I purchased it. I used real, American, dollars to buy music. That's a pretty rare occurrence in my life, but these guys are awesome.
It's been a long time since I've actually enjoyed every song on an album and this one really hits the mark. There's such a diverse array of music that it doesn't get boring. From the funky "Find Me A Place" to the indie rock "Lights Go Out" to the 80's new-wave "Anna" to the reggae inspired "Simple Stones" to the pop hit "Volcano", this album's got something for everyone.
They're also popping up everywhere, from video games (Madden NFL '08, NHL '08, Burnout Paradise, FIFA '08, and FIFA '09) to commercials (Payless and Mazda) to television (MLB Network, Heroes, and Kyle XY). They've also toured with Regina Spektor on her last two circuits, which is pretty sweet. That sounds like a lethal combo of AWESOME!
You can check out the new album, Sunshower, streaming on their Myspace now and read more about the band over at their site. Check 'em out! This album gets a resounding A from me!
"Volcano"
"Anna"
"Lights Go Out"
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sara Bareilles - Kaleidoscope Heart
Sometimes, I really love when an album gets mixed reviews. Okay, I like it all the time. I hate when an album comes out and everyone's all, "OMG BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIMEZ!!!11!!11one!11". Sometimes it's true, but more often that not, it's not. Not everyone likes the same type of music, and that's the way it's supposed to be.
Despite what appears to be a rather lukewarm reception, I like this album. I also like Sara Bareilles as a whole (um, piano? That's where it's at). Be forewarned, there is no "Love Song" on this album. There is no forcibly radio-friendly pop song, so if that's what you're looking for out of Sara, well...you're not gonna get it. On her junior effort, Kaleidoscope Heart, Bareilles uses complex vocal melodies, classically constructed arrangements, and good, old-fashioned talent to keep this album afloat. It's more of a return to her beginnings, as heard on 2004's Careful Confessions (or the other 12 tracks on Little Voice, for that matter). Bluesy, soulful, and while hindered in sound, it's just as emotionally compelling.
Once again, the "hit single" on this album, "King of Anything", is not even remotely the best song. That would be "Gonna Get Over You". It's the one that catches my ear on every play-through. It's got that same up-tempo beat /slash/ angry girl rock, kick-him-to-the-curb attitude as so many of her other tracks. And while she does do it on a regular basis, it never really gets old. This could be due to the fact that I do, indeed, have ovaries, but there's something that I really just love about angry, independent girls.
While she does recycle some of the same mentalities, she also veers off-course with two pure, acoustic, guitar tracks, "Basket Case" and "Let the Rain". More in a singer-songwritery-vein, they really bring her voice to light. It's really kind of amazing how it sounds without the clamor of her piano. Don't get me wrong, I love that piano, it's just nice to get a little variation every now and again. While I absolutely don't wish the curse of being a one-hit-wonder on her, I really enjoy where Bareilles is going with this album. It's a little more personal and a little less about the record company (aka: the people who pretty much commissioned her to sing "Love Song").
In a sea of auto-tuned female pop stars, it's refreshing to see someone with genuine talent making music. If you're looking for another easily-digestible, radio-ready pop album, this one's not for you. If you're looking for some actual female talent and compelling songs, it is. While I want to give this album an A, I've also heard Careful Confessions, which was just so filled with raw emotion and musically inspiring tracks, I just can't. So, it gets a B.
You can actually here it streaming now on her Myspace and you can check out more news'n'stuff over on her website.
"Gonna Get Over You"
Despite what appears to be a rather lukewarm reception, I like this album. I also like Sara Bareilles as a whole (um, piano? That's where it's at). Be forewarned, there is no "Love Song" on this album. There is no forcibly radio-friendly pop song, so if that's what you're looking for out of Sara, well...you're not gonna get it. On her junior effort, Kaleidoscope Heart, Bareilles uses complex vocal melodies, classically constructed arrangements, and good, old-fashioned talent to keep this album afloat. It's more of a return to her beginnings, as heard on 2004's Careful Confessions (or the other 12 tracks on Little Voice, for that matter). Bluesy, soulful, and while hindered in sound, it's just as emotionally compelling.
Once again, the "hit single" on this album, "King of Anything", is not even remotely the best song. That would be "Gonna Get Over You". It's the one that catches my ear on every play-through. It's got that same up-tempo beat /slash/ angry girl rock, kick-him-to-the-curb attitude as so many of her other tracks. And while she does do it on a regular basis, it never really gets old. This could be due to the fact that I do, indeed, have ovaries, but there's something that I really just love about angry, independent girls.
While she does recycle some of the same mentalities, she also veers off-course with two pure, acoustic, guitar tracks, "Basket Case" and "Let the Rain". More in a singer-songwritery-vein, they really bring her voice to light. It's really kind of amazing how it sounds without the clamor of her piano. Don't get me wrong, I love that piano, it's just nice to get a little variation every now and again. While I absolutely don't wish the curse of being a one-hit-wonder on her, I really enjoy where Bareilles is going with this album. It's a little more personal and a little less about the record company (aka: the people who pretty much commissioned her to sing "Love Song").
In a sea of auto-tuned female pop stars, it's refreshing to see someone with genuine talent making music. If you're looking for another easily-digestible, radio-ready pop album, this one's not for you. If you're looking for some actual female talent and compelling songs, it is. While I want to give this album an A, I've also heard Careful Confessions, which was just so filled with raw emotion and musically inspiring tracks, I just can't. So, it gets a B.
You can actually here it streaming now on her Myspace and you can check out more news'n'stuff over on her website.
"Gonna Get Over You"
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Less Than Jake - TV/EP
So...Less Than Jake made an entire album out of TV show theme songs, aptly named TV/EP. I'm not sure what to think about this. I mean, this is really what they're doing with their time?
I don't mean to sound critical, but LTJ is definitely on my list of favorite bands of all time. So, what are they doing? Yes, it's fun, it's campy, and they love them some cover songs, but I would have much rather had one or two of these per album on subsequent albums, rather than 16 songs that I've already heard all lumped into one. They have come out with an album of original material since 2008's GNV FLA, and it's sad, dammit.
What I love about Less Then Jake is their absolute dedication to making the best album possible (also, live shows. They're fucking incredible live) and this just seems like a half-assed effort to keep their name on the lips of fans. Well, we're already fans and we'd like some actual music, thanks.
From the standpoint that this is a real album, well, I'm not interested. From the standpoint that this is just something fun that they did to fill the time until a real album comes out, like I said, it's fun and silly and campy. I mean, they do that pirate credit report commercial song, which is rad. And the Malcolm in the Middle song. And the That 70's Show theme song. On the other hand, they do the Scooby Doo and Spongebob Squarepants themes. Like those haven't been done 2384502938502935 times already.
I am disappointed in Less Than Jake for the first time in my life. This is not okay, you guys. They should have made an original album and made this a free download when you bought in online or something. Or just make a new album, soon, and I'll forgive them. I don't think I could stay mad at them for long. It's like when your adorable new puppy eats a shoe. Yeah, you're pissed, but you know they'll grow out of it. I want to rub Less Than Jake's nose in this album.
So, long story short, beg, borrow, or steal this album. It's not worth your $5.99 (MP3 Download) or $7.99 (album). Actually, you can listen to the whole thing over on their Myspace. For long time fans, it's another notch in the collection and something you can show your friends (the cover art is pretty fun), but not something you'll be listening to repeatedly.
I'm sorry, Less Than Jake. :( I still love you. I hope we can still be friends. C
Still, make sure to check out their site for all the good news.
I don't mean to sound critical, but LTJ is definitely on my list of favorite bands of all time. So, what are they doing? Yes, it's fun, it's campy, and they love them some cover songs, but I would have much rather had one or two of these per album on subsequent albums, rather than 16 songs that I've already heard all lumped into one. They have come out with an album of original material since 2008's GNV FLA, and it's sad, dammit.
What I love about Less Then Jake is their absolute dedication to making the best album possible (also, live shows. They're fucking incredible live) and this just seems like a half-assed effort to keep their name on the lips of fans. Well, we're already fans and we'd like some actual music, thanks.
From the standpoint that this is a real album, well, I'm not interested. From the standpoint that this is just something fun that they did to fill the time until a real album comes out, like I said, it's fun and silly and campy. I mean, they do that pirate credit report commercial song, which is rad. And the Malcolm in the Middle song. And the That 70's Show theme song. On the other hand, they do the Scooby Doo and Spongebob Squarepants themes. Like those haven't been done 2384502938502935 times already.
I am disappointed in Less Than Jake for the first time in my life. This is not okay, you guys. They should have made an original album and made this a free download when you bought in online or something. Or just make a new album, soon, and I'll forgive them. I don't think I could stay mad at them for long. It's like when your adorable new puppy eats a shoe. Yeah, you're pissed, but you know they'll grow out of it. I want to rub Less Than Jake's nose in this album.
So, long story short, beg, borrow, or steal this album. It's not worth your $5.99 (MP3 Download) or $7.99 (album). Actually, you can listen to the whole thing over on their Myspace. For long time fans, it's another notch in the collection and something you can show your friends (the cover art is pretty fun), but not something you'll be listening to repeatedly.
I'm sorry, Less Than Jake. :( I still love you. I hope we can still be friends. C
Still, make sure to check out their site for all the good news.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Go Periscope - Mixtape
And know what's super awesome about it? It's free and you can go download it here right now!
It opens with the anthem "She Gets Around The World", a party time mashup of the popular Daft Punk track, with the guys adding their own vocals, which sets the tone for the rest of the album. There's quite a few mashups actually, including a kick ass track featuring their hit "Crush Me" and Bass Kleph's "Spend My Money" as well as the sexy mashup of "Yesterday's Chemistry" vs. The Glitch Mob's "Drive It Like You Stole It". There's also quite a few remixes including "Binary Love" from Blake Lewis, "Fourth of July" by Kelis and "When She Turns 18" from Christian TV.
Definitely check it out. What have you got to lose? It's FREE! Make sure to check out the guys' website for all the latest news, tracks, and general fun. B!
"Spend My Money"
Friday, August 27, 2010
Morcheeba - Blood Like Lemonade
Finally, finally, FINALLY...the boys of Morcheeba have brought back Skye Edwards. While I'm also a Daisy Martey fan, there's just something about Skye Edwards and Morcheeba that can't be changed. It's like her voice was meant for the music and the other way around.
Not since bits of pieces of Charango, have I heard such soul out of Morcheeba. Fragments of Freedom rocked my world for the most part, but it just wasn't what I expected and it certainly didn't sound like the Morcheeba that I've come to know and love. And shit, Dive Deep was just a catastrophe. Who let them release that? It was incoherent at best and downright bad at the worst.
While listening to this album, it's hard to believe that it's new. I prefer to think of it as a lost album that should have been released after Big Calm. It's has the maturity of a progressive flow of music, it's just a bit (well, five years) past it's time. They say that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to be able to find your way up...well, Dive Deep was the bottom of that well and their new release, Blood Like Lemonade is the very first handhold for the climb back up. I hope we can only continue climbing from here on out.
This album's got some seriously eerie undertones, but they blend so, so well with Edwards' languid vocals. Everything from vikings to vampires to middle class murders oozes it's way into this album, making it the perfect addition to welcoming fall, in my book.
Oh god, oh god, OH GOD! "Mandala". There's not even Skye's vocals on this one, but it's like her seduction has worked it's way into the Godfrey brothers' souls. They've returned to the irresistible formula of jazzy, trip hop beats, lush vocals, a major lounge factor, and just enough funk to keep you coming back for more (as seen in another semi-instrumental, "Cut to the Chase"). The vocal tracks, well, they involve Skye Edwards, so I'm down. The only song that falls a little flat is "I Am the Spring", and for a 13 track album, that's a pretty good number. As a whole, the album does lack the faster-paced tracks of it's predecessors, but it's got it's own thing going on. It's cohesive, well rounded, and smooth. Oh, so very smooth. For long time listeners, you'll feel like you're right back in 1998. For the new listeners, this is just the album that will prompt you to dive head-long in the wonderment that is Morcheeba. It's really a win-win for everyone involved, so definitely check it out! B
You can actually check it out now, streaming for free on Myspace. Be sure to check the website for all the latest news, as well.
Not since bits of pieces of Charango, have I heard such soul out of Morcheeba. Fragments of Freedom rocked my world for the most part, but it just wasn't what I expected and it certainly didn't sound like the Morcheeba that I've come to know and love. And shit, Dive Deep was just a catastrophe. Who let them release that? It was incoherent at best and downright bad at the worst.
While listening to this album, it's hard to believe that it's new. I prefer to think of it as a lost album that should have been released after Big Calm. It's has the maturity of a progressive flow of music, it's just a bit (well, five years) past it's time. They say that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to be able to find your way up...well, Dive Deep was the bottom of that well and their new release, Blood Like Lemonade is the very first handhold for the climb back up. I hope we can only continue climbing from here on out.
This album's got some seriously eerie undertones, but they blend so, so well with Edwards' languid vocals. Everything from vikings to vampires to middle class murders oozes it's way into this album, making it the perfect addition to welcoming fall, in my book.
Oh god, oh god, OH GOD! "Mandala". There's not even Skye's vocals on this one, but it's like her seduction has worked it's way into the Godfrey brothers' souls. They've returned to the irresistible formula of jazzy, trip hop beats, lush vocals, a major lounge factor, and just enough funk to keep you coming back for more (as seen in another semi-instrumental, "Cut to the Chase"). The vocal tracks, well, they involve Skye Edwards, so I'm down. The only song that falls a little flat is "I Am the Spring", and for a 13 track album, that's a pretty good number. As a whole, the album does lack the faster-paced tracks of it's predecessors, but it's got it's own thing going on. It's cohesive, well rounded, and smooth. Oh, so very smooth. For long time listeners, you'll feel like you're right back in 1998. For the new listeners, this is just the album that will prompt you to dive head-long in the wonderment that is Morcheeba. It's really a win-win for everyone involved, so definitely check it out! B
You can actually check it out now, streaming for free on Myspace. Be sure to check the website for all the latest news, as well.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Angus and Julia Stone - Down the Way
Aussies Angus and Julia Stone actually released their sophomore, self-produced album, Down the Way back in March, but hey, I'm running a little behind. A brother/sister band, a la The White Stripes, they've spend the previous three years touring the world, promoting their debut album, A Book Like This, and finally made it back into the studio (and old sawmill on the river banks of Cornwall, and water tank in Coolangatta, and their second home in London, and Queens, New York, for that matter) to release this gem of an album.
Starting from a musical family including another older sister (who I guess didn't make the cut for the band?), Angus and Julia have been collaborating since the early days, including in their father's school band. They didn't really do it professionally until about 2006. Before then, they were both performing, but mostly solo acts at open mic nights. Actually, they still kind of do their own solo things. Angus released a solo album, Smoking Gun, under the name Lady of the Sunshine in 2009, and Julia's working on her own, The Memory Machine.
As for them together...well, it's awesome. It still has the minimal element of A Book Like This, though just ever so slightly fuller. With a new variety of instruments including banjos and harmonicas, more complex arrangements, and a boost of confidence, they fill over an hour with thirteen beautifully composed songs. Juxtaposed, yet complimentary, the siblings alternate vocals. From Julia's fragile, delicate vocals reminiscent of Emiliana Torrini or Karin Bergquist (Over the Rhine) to Angus' slightly tougher vocals. There's a sense of...roots, folk, whatever you want to call it to this album that I haven't really heard since The Decemberist's Hazards of Love, and it's just remarkable. It's quiet and introspective and really just quite beautiful. Definitely check it out. B
PS: Make sure to check out their website, because it's super awesome.
Starting from a musical family including another older sister (who I guess didn't make the cut for the band?), Angus and Julia have been collaborating since the early days, including in their father's school band. They didn't really do it professionally until about 2006. Before then, they were both performing, but mostly solo acts at open mic nights. Actually, they still kind of do their own solo things. Angus released a solo album, Smoking Gun, under the name Lady of the Sunshine in 2009, and Julia's working on her own, The Memory Machine.
As for them together...well, it's awesome. It still has the minimal element of A Book Like This, though just ever so slightly fuller. With a new variety of instruments including banjos and harmonicas, more complex arrangements, and a boost of confidence, they fill over an hour with thirteen beautifully composed songs. Juxtaposed, yet complimentary, the siblings alternate vocals. From Julia's fragile, delicate vocals reminiscent of Emiliana Torrini or Karin Bergquist (Over the Rhine) to Angus' slightly tougher vocals. There's a sense of...roots, folk, whatever you want to call it to this album that I haven't really heard since The Decemberist's Hazards of Love, and it's just remarkable. It's quiet and introspective and really just quite beautiful. Definitely check it out. B
PS: Make sure to check out their website, because it's super awesome.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sex Dungeon For Sale is now for the illiterate!
Remember that hilarious guy, Patrick Wensink, with the hilarious book of short stories called Sex Dungeon For Sale? Well, yeah, now there's a short little movie thing done by Hank Rothrock and Bradley Buehring. It's super awesome and I appreciate how they didn't try to add anything or make it over the top, it's just the story. The story was awesome to begin with...why fix what's not broken? (Tell that to Hollywood, I know.)
I don't know who the actors were, but the female first time home buyer cracks me right the fuck up at the end (UPDATE! Hey! That's the author's wife! How cool!) That shrug is just priceless.
Dear Fictional Girl,
Your fictional boyfriend is lame. In the words of Dan Savage, "DTMFA" and get yourself a Sex Dungeon!
Sincerely,
That Girl With A Blog
I don't know who the actors were, but the female first time home buyer cracks me right the fuck up at the end (UPDATE! Hey! That's the author's wife! How cool!) That shrug is just priceless.
Dear Fictional Girl,
Your fictional boyfriend is lame. In the words of Dan Savage, "DTMFA" and get yourself a Sex Dungeon!
Sincerely,
That Girl With A Blog
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Last Airbender
It's taken every ounce of my self control not to title this "Avatar". Goddamn James Cameron has to screw everything up. I remember when the first rumors started flying about this movie and I started seeing previews and I was like, "Why is everyone blue?", "What the hell IS this movie?" Now, I see why I was so confused.
For those not familiar with the show, from the Wikipedia:
This movie was far better than I expected it to be. There's both pros and cons for people who have watched the show and people who haven't. The movie is separated into the same "books" as the show, just a lot more cut. I'll tell you right now, M. Night Shyamalan: If you don't make the sequels to this movie, I will hunt you down and murder you. I need the Earth book! It was the best one! If they were to actually film the entire season, it would have been a gajillion hour movie, though, so I do kinda get it. It was missing a lot of the character story and a whole lot of the comic relief. Sokka isn't nearly as funny as he is in the show, and you hardly see Momo. It's not the casting that I'm complaining about, because quite frankly, they did a wonderful job of that, it's just that they didn't allow enough time to actually inform you of who these people are. Aang and Katara were just about perfect. Prince Zuko's scar should have been more prominent, though. If your dad's the kinda guy that's gonna burn your face, I'm sure he's gonna do a good job. Appa was amazing! Absolutely awesome. I want an Appa! ZOMG ride-able Appa! I guess this will be as close as I get.
Even if you've never seen the show, it's a marvelous story. You won't be wow-ed with the 3D, though. It's got nothin' on James Camron's Avatar or Tim Burton's Alice. I really don't know why it's gotten such terrible reviews. And this racism outcry is utter bullshit. It's Hollywood, folks. You really expected anything different? And why does it even matter? Darin Miller makes some great points over at Big Hollywood. Why didn't anyone freak out when they cast Jake Gyllenthal as Dastan in Prince of Persia? Why was Dev Patel (Prince Zuko) ethnic enough to be in Slumdog Millionaire, but not The Last Airbender? People just need to calm the fuck down and enjoy a good movie when it comes around. Who really cares? Women play men, men play women, blacks play whites, whites play blacks. I don't give a shit who you are or what color you are, I care about your fucking acting. And seriously, this movie is FICTION. It's not a Muslim Abe Lincoln or a Iranian George Washington.
I am the worst person for watching movies. I actually can't watch them at home because I'm always getting up and doing things or fidgeting around and I always miss parts then I don't know what's going on. This is the first time that I have ever said this in my life, but: This movie is TOO SHORT. I couldn't believe it wasn't a three hour movie. It was barely half of that, and it felt so much shorter. Action packed is not a strong enough term for this movie. Riveting. Riveting might do it. It's pretty hard to keep my attention for more than oh, half an hour, but this movie did just that.
I did have someone ask me if it was worth it to see it in the theater, since the 3D isn't that great. Still, my answer is yes. The vast lands and just seeing all that action on the big screen was enough for my $12 or whatever the hell they're charging for 3D movies these days. You don't necessarily have to see it in the 3D theater, but definitely see it in the theater. This movie gets and A, a serious A.
For those not familiar with the show, from the Wikipedia:
One hundred years ago, a twelve-year-old Airbender named Aang learns he is the new Avatar, the only person in his generation capable of controlling and manipulating all four elements to his will and the one tasked with maintaining peace between the Four Nations of the world. Fearful of the heavy responsibilities of being the Avatar, Aang flees from home on his animal guide, a flying bison called Appa. Caught by a fierce storm, they crash into the ocean, and Aang's protective Avatar State freezes them in a state of suspended animation inside an iceberg. Right after his disappearance, Fire Lord Sozin launches a genocidal campaign against the Air Nomads in hopes of wiping out the Avatar so he can achieve his plot for the Fire Nation to rule the world.And that's only the first book!
In the present, Aang becomes unfrozen by a fourteen-year-old Waterbender girl named Katara, and her older warrior brother, Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe. This attracts the attention of Zuko, the Prince of the Fire Nation who was exiled by his father: The current Fire Lord Ozai. Arriving to Southern Water Tribe, Zuko demands the elderly under the impression that Avatar is an old person until Aang is found. Aang surrenders himself to Zuko as long as he agrees to leave the village alone. Aboard Zuko's ship, Aang is at Zuko's mercy, but he eventually manages to maneuver away from the guards before Katara and Sokka arrive on Appa, making their escape. Aang and friends visit the Southern Air Temple where the Avatar learns that he was in the ice for a century and the Fire Nation wiped out every on he knew there, entering the Avatar State and meeting a dragon spirit. It was there Aang meets up with the only known remaining "winged lemurbat", naming it "Momo" as it joins Aang's group. Meanwhile, Zuko and his uncle, the military genius Iroh, run into Commander Zhao, who belittles the exiled prince.
Arriving in a small Earth Kingdom town that is controlled by the Fire Nation, Aang's group are arrested while helping a boy named Haru. They then incite a rebellion with an inspiring speech. Soon after, Katara finds a waterbending scroll that she uses to perfect her skills while helping Aang master waterbending as they make their way to the Northen Water Tribe and liberate more Earth Kingdom villages in the process. During a side track to the Northern Air Temple on his own, Aang is captured by a group of Fire Nation Yuu Yan archers, commanded by Admiral Zhao. However, a masked marauder, the "Blue Spirit," rescues Aang from Zhao before being knocked unconscious during the escape. Discovering that his rescuer is Zuko, Aang takes him to safety under a cloak of fog before leaving him to continue his journey. Aware that Zuko is the "Blue Spirit," Zhao arranges the prince's demise. But Zuko survives the attempt on his life and, with Iroh's help, sneaks aboard Zhao's lead ship as his fleet departs for the Northern Water Tribe to execute the plan he and Ozai set up with the scrolls from the Library detailing the spirits there.
Upon arriving, Aang's group is welcomed warmly by the citizens of the Northern Water Tribe as Sokka falls in love with princess Yue while Aang and Katara master their waterbending skills under Pakku. Once the Fire Nation armada arrives, Zhao begins his attack while Zuko infiltrates the tribe on his own, capturing Aang while he entered the spirit world to find the dragon spirit to give him the wisdom to defeat the Fire Nation. Coming to, Aang battles Zuko before Katara freezes him. As the battles escalates, Iroh is unable to stop Zhao's plan to slay the moon spirit Tui, causing the waterbenders to lose their ability to waterbend. However, Yue, who was imbued with some of the energy of the Moon spirit when she was a newborn, sacrifices her life to revive the Moon spirit. As Zhao is drowned by Waterbenders after Zuko and Iroh leave him to his fate, Aang uses the ocean to drive the armada back. When news of Zhao's death and Iroh's betrayal reaches him, Ozai appoints his daughter Azula to pursue Aang and hinder him in any way before Sozin's Comet makes its return in three years' time.
This movie was far better than I expected it to be. There's both pros and cons for people who have watched the show and people who haven't. The movie is separated into the same "books" as the show, just a lot more cut. I'll tell you right now, M. Night Shyamalan: If you don't make the sequels to this movie, I will hunt you down and murder you. I need the Earth book! It was the best one! If they were to actually film the entire season, it would have been a gajillion hour movie, though, so I do kinda get it. It was missing a lot of the character story and a whole lot of the comic relief. Sokka isn't nearly as funny as he is in the show, and you hardly see Momo. It's not the casting that I'm complaining about, because quite frankly, they did a wonderful job of that, it's just that they didn't allow enough time to actually inform you of who these people are. Aang and Katara were just about perfect. Prince Zuko's scar should have been more prominent, though. If your dad's the kinda guy that's gonna burn your face, I'm sure he's gonna do a good job. Appa was amazing! Absolutely awesome. I want an Appa! ZOMG ride-able Appa! I guess this will be as close as I get.
Even if you've never seen the show, it's a marvelous story. You won't be wow-ed with the 3D, though. It's got nothin' on James Camron's Avatar or Tim Burton's Alice. I really don't know why it's gotten such terrible reviews. And this racism outcry is utter bullshit. It's Hollywood, folks. You really expected anything different? And why does it even matter? Darin Miller makes some great points over at Big Hollywood. Why didn't anyone freak out when they cast Jake Gyllenthal as Dastan in Prince of Persia? Why was Dev Patel (Prince Zuko) ethnic enough to be in Slumdog Millionaire, but not The Last Airbender? People just need to calm the fuck down and enjoy a good movie when it comes around. Who really cares? Women play men, men play women, blacks play whites, whites play blacks. I don't give a shit who you are or what color you are, I care about your fucking acting. And seriously, this movie is FICTION. It's not a Muslim Abe Lincoln or a Iranian George Washington.
I am the worst person for watching movies. I actually can't watch them at home because I'm always getting up and doing things or fidgeting around and I always miss parts then I don't know what's going on. This is the first time that I have ever said this in my life, but: This movie is TOO SHORT. I couldn't believe it wasn't a three hour movie. It was barely half of that, and it felt so much shorter. Action packed is not a strong enough term for this movie. Riveting. Riveting might do it. It's pretty hard to keep my attention for more than oh, half an hour, but this movie did just that.
I did have someone ask me if it was worth it to see it in the theater, since the 3D isn't that great. Still, my answer is yes. The vast lands and just seeing all that action on the big screen was enough for my $12 or whatever the hell they're charging for 3D movies these days. You don't necessarily have to see it in the 3D theater, but definitely see it in the theater. This movie gets and A, a serious A.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Chemical Brothers - Further
Oh, hey there, 1996, what's goin' on? It's been a while. Nice to see you're making a come back.
So, the Chemical Brothers have released their new album, Further, and well...it's pretty awesome, actually. It seems like 2007's We Are the Night was a hiccup in a pretty linear growth in music. Not that it was a bad album, it just wasn't nearly as cohesive as previous efforts from the British electronic duo.
(Wait, side note, can I just say how awesome it is to actually be blogging again?! And here, I was worried. Shit, it's like riding a bike...)
Further starts off a little abstract with "Snow". A glitchy, feedback ridden track, it's definitely in their more psychedelic niche. The album quickly dives into what made the Chemical Brothers a household name in electronic music, a recognizable formula of synth and beats. Just enough to keep you moving, but not enough to make your heart explode, a la Happy Hardcore. While this album does get the blood thumping, it is missing the usual slamming, driving track like the infamous "Block Rockin' Beats" or "Star Guitar". Also missing from this album are predominant vocals and big name collaborations. Not that I'm really, missing them, though.
After We Are the Night and Push the Button, I think it was just better for them to tear down and rebuild, rather than trying to add on. A lot of this album is back to basics, experimental electronic music, which is never a bad thing. Not back to basics as in break beats, but back to basics as in this is pure, electronic music. Simple, not boring. As for the vocals, they feature American singer-songwriter Stephanie Dosen in a few, spacey tracks, which she's perfect for. There is not a chorus to be found on this album, only chants and whispers.
Among the best tracks on the album are "Escape Velocity", a twelve minute expanse of...build. That's what this track is all about, and it's flawless. Jesus, after making music for twenty years, they better get that shit right. It's perfect. It's one of those tracks and before you know it, you're groovin' right along. And then there's "Wonders of the Deep", which is very reminiscent of the David Guetta/David Bowie situation on "Just For One Day (Heroes) [Extended Version]". Not in the vocal sense, but the musical sense.
If you've ever, and I mean EVER, enjoyed the Chemical Brothers, check out this album. It's a throw back to the golden days of early EDM, which makes me just the tiniest bit nostalgic. It would fit right in on that old school electronic play list. You can check out all eight tracks for free over on their Myspace. B
You can also check out their site for more info.
"Escape Velocity"
(Another side note: God, it's nice to have working videos. I don't think Blogspot could have made it more annoying to import videos/music. That's why I just gave up on them!)
So, the Chemical Brothers have released their new album, Further, and well...it's pretty awesome, actually. It seems like 2007's We Are the Night was a hiccup in a pretty linear growth in music. Not that it was a bad album, it just wasn't nearly as cohesive as previous efforts from the British electronic duo.
(Wait, side note, can I just say how awesome it is to actually be blogging again?! And here, I was worried. Shit, it's like riding a bike...)
Further starts off a little abstract with "Snow". A glitchy, feedback ridden track, it's definitely in their more psychedelic niche. The album quickly dives into what made the Chemical Brothers a household name in electronic music, a recognizable formula of synth and beats. Just enough to keep you moving, but not enough to make your heart explode, a la Happy Hardcore. While this album does get the blood thumping, it is missing the usual slamming, driving track like the infamous "Block Rockin' Beats" or "Star Guitar". Also missing from this album are predominant vocals and big name collaborations. Not that I'm really, missing them, though.
After We Are the Night and Push the Button, I think it was just better for them to tear down and rebuild, rather than trying to add on. A lot of this album is back to basics, experimental electronic music, which is never a bad thing. Not back to basics as in break beats, but back to basics as in this is pure, electronic music. Simple, not boring. As for the vocals, they feature American singer-songwriter Stephanie Dosen in a few, spacey tracks, which she's perfect for. There is not a chorus to be found on this album, only chants and whispers.
Among the best tracks on the album are "Escape Velocity", a twelve minute expanse of...build. That's what this track is all about, and it's flawless. Jesus, after making music for twenty years, they better get that shit right. It's perfect. It's one of those tracks and before you know it, you're groovin' right along. And then there's "Wonders of the Deep", which is very reminiscent of the David Guetta/David Bowie situation on "Just For One Day (Heroes) [Extended Version]". Not in the vocal sense, but the musical sense.
If you've ever, and I mean EVER, enjoyed the Chemical Brothers, check out this album. It's a throw back to the golden days of early EDM, which makes me just the tiniest bit nostalgic. It would fit right in on that old school electronic play list. You can check out all eight tracks for free over on their Myspace. B
You can also check out their site for more info.
"Escape Velocity"
(Another side note: God, it's nice to have working videos. I don't think Blogspot could have made it more annoying to import videos/music. That's why I just gave up on them!)
Monday, June 21, 2010
The A-Team Movie Review or Why I Began To Worry and Pray For A Nuclear Bomb!)
So, as you can see, I'm still in the process of moving the blog over from Wordpress. Manually. All those importers suck. If you know of one that doesn't suck, let me know. In the meantime, have this absolutely hysterical review from the incredibly talented Dave Rahner. I just got this this morning and I've shot coffee out of my nose. Twice. Enjoy!
Ho.
Lee.
SHITFUCKGODDAMNCOCKSUCKINGMOTHERFUCKINGHELL!!!!! These are the words I use to describe a movie so spectacularly shitty, that, to save time, I have taken a cue from the nostalgia critic and made up a new word for it:
SHITACULAR!
Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Seriously, I am now dumber from having watched this movie. I have forgotten how to write this movie is so SHITACULAR. I am actually dictating this whole review to my assistant, Anathema DeVice. The only reason I have escaped from going full blown Helen Keller was that I refused to pay for a ticket. I'd rather have people think I was going to go see Marmaduke the movie instead. At least the producers of the A-Team won't get royalties from me. That made me feel a bit better.
Just a bit.
I, I, I..... I don't even know where to begin. There are just sooooooooooooooo many things to hate with this movie. If I had to write about EVERYTHING I hated about this movie, I'd have to regrow the Amazon Rainforest, wait six thousand years, then chop the whole rainforest over again so I could have enough paper to cover it all. But, since I'm such a nice guy (reference needed) and BP has already done enough irreparable damage to this planet (ZING! Seriously, BP.... Fuck you guys), I'll just boil it down to the three thing that make the A-Team movie..... (wait for it, wait for it) SHITACULAR!!!!!
1 - Plot
2 - Characterization
3 - Heart
Now let's hurry up and get this over with quickly, I have to go see my anger management therapist ASAP.
As for the plot, the first half of this ridiculously stupid anal discharge, I mean "movie" is ALL setup. How, by sleight of hand and twist of fate, they all came together. This is only important for the victims, I mean viewers, that are too young to have seen or remember the T.V. series. I can understand that. In theory, anyways. What I don't understand is why they have to waste a whole half of a movie doing what the T.V. series did in 22 seconds without ever having showed it! Five minutes of interspersed flashbacks would have gotten the job done just as well in the hands of a halfway decent directive team.
So anyways, shit blows up. They go to jail. Shit blows up again. They escape. Shit blows up for a third, fourth, and fifth time. Nothing entertaining happens. Hollywood douche nozzles piss me off. Then I smash my face into the hand rail as an experiment to see which is less painful; that or this movie. The face smashing is less painful. Credits roll. Anyone with even a smidgen of cinematic taste looks pissed.
This movie relied waaaaaaaaaaaaay (I think that's enough A's, don't you?) too heavily on what is known as willing suspension of disbelief. Willing suspension of disbelief is what make movies happen. That for two hours you can believe a man can fly, that the geek gets the girl, or that there's an energy field created by all living thing that surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together. The "A-Team," on the other hand, is to willing suspension of disbelief as a Catholic priest with a Michael Bay boxed set taped to his dick (that's on fire) is to the altar boy of our cherished memories of this T.V. series.
To save you the high dosage of brain damage that WILL occur when you see this SHITACULAR movie, here are some examples:
-Face can be set on fire while trapped in a stack of old tires and only come out looking slightly smudged and tanner.
-That escaped convicts can fly a in free fall by firing into it.
-That said escaped convicts in said tank can slam into a Norwegian fjord at terminally velocity minus the concussive of a firing M-1 Abrams and walk out alive instead of being turned into what would roughly look like Strawberry Smuckers with stale marshmallows in it.
Speaking of walking out, I did at this point. I just couldn't watch this for another hour. But, being the uber-macho man that I am, I smoked a cigarette, listened to 'The Touch' by Stan Bush, let my testicles drop, and marched back in there. Apparently, I'm a masochist. Even more ridiculous shit happens after that, but thanks to five shots of Jameson and several Yuenglings, I don't remember (There IS a God!!)
So that leads me to characterization. It's late; I'll make this easy. I'll describe the T.V. version, then the movie version.
John "Hannibal" Smith (T.V.) - Leader. Loves his men as sons. Master of disguise and an strategist on par with the Patton/Captain America hybrid I'm making in my kitchen. When things go wrong, can come up with a backup plan at the drop of a mohawk.
Hannibal Smith (Movie) - Precognition levels only surpassed by the motherfucking Phoenix Force from the X-Men comics. His only weakness is Deus Ex Machina.
Templeton "Faceman" Peck (T.V.) - Suave, sophisticated, business like con man/ ladies man. Womanizer, sure, but still very likable. We all had a friend like this in high school.
Faceman (Yes, his actual first name) Peck (Movie) - Pretty much a self - loathing lothario since Jessica Biel's character breaks his heart. The equivalent of an over-coked frat boy that just slid your little sister roofies then said (with perfectly manicure eyebrows arched) "I'll take reeeaal good care of her, brah!" who then, after 25 seconds of date rape, plays Halo and spends all night yelling "YEAH!!!!! I JUST PWND YOU, YOU FUCKING N00B FAG!!!!" We all knew a guy like this in college, and wanted to severely beat him.
B.A. Baracus (T.V.) - Mr. Fucking. T. End of story.
B.A. Baracus (Movie) - BECOMES A FUCKING PACIFIST PUSSY HALFWAY THROUGH THE MOVIE!!!!! BLARGGGLEBRGAGKHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! SONS OF BEEE-SHEEEE!!!!!!
And can apparently slide down a 50 story building like he was fucking Spider-Man or some shit.
Murdoch (T.V.) - Comic relief. Actually had you wondering if, much like the Joker, he was actually insane or just someone that enjoyed being himself THAT much.
Murdoch (Movie) - Just annoying. I don't care how good of a pilot he was. I would have shot him in two seconds.
Finally, we are at heart. This won't take long because this movie has none. Zip. Zero. Zilch (I love alliteration). What made the A-Team as a series great was that they always stuck their collective necks out for the little guy, no matter how close they were to being caught. It was even said in the opening:
"If you have a problem; if no one else can help....."
That's where this movie's failing is. You see, a name carries A LOT of authority with it. Certain expectations were to be met. If this movie was Mission: IMPOSSIBLE IV? Well, it still would have been SHITACULAR, but forgivingly SHITACULAR! But it's not Mission: IMPOSSIBLE IV!!!! It's the FUCKING A-TEAM!!!! And them having a movie that doesn't involve them helping out a beleaguered store owner or a small village that's being trampled on by the mafia or a Third World dictatorship just isn't right. It was a wholly selfish 'clear-our-names' story that couldn't even capture their own compassion for other human beings!
My last two comment on this movie are as such.
1: If you're going to make a movie based off of a T.V. series, then make it, oh, I don't know, ENTERTAINING!! You've done it right before, Hollywood! Stop prescribing to the Michael Bay Thorem of Let's Just Blow Shit Up!!! Dragnet, the Dukes of Hazzard, and, God help me, even Sex In The City were true to the source material, and therefore, their fans. Hire writers, directors, and producers that give a shit about the story, not the paycheck!!!!!!
2: Hollywood, you've awoken a dark evil in me. Something.... ancient. Something with the burning fierceness of a billion dark stars. The type of evil that can only be exorcised by a magical, jewel encrusted dagger made from the incisor of the last dragon. Watch yourself, because I'm watching you. And I AM going to get you.
Well, that pretty much wraps it up, I guess. It was pretty cathartic to rip this movie a new asshole so big it looked like a combination Goatse/Divided By Zero demotivational poster. I hope to do this again sometime real soon. In fact, I just got my next assignment. It is, let's see here, JONAH HEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!! GOD DAMN IT ALL! (Editor's note: Sometime real soon has just been pushed back to the third of never. They're still trying to finish cleaning his brains from the ceiling. Services will be held at Hoffs/Drawler Funeral Parlor. Your condolences would be appreciated.)
Ho.
Lee.
SHITFUCKGODDAMNCOCKSUCKINGMOTHERFUCKINGHELL!!!!! These are the words I use to describe a movie so spectacularly shitty, that, to save time, I have taken a cue from the nostalgia critic and made up a new word for it:
SHITACULAR!
Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Seriously, I am now dumber from having watched this movie. I have forgotten how to write this movie is so SHITACULAR. I am actually dictating this whole review to my assistant, Anathema DeVice. The only reason I have escaped from going full blown Helen Keller was that I refused to pay for a ticket. I'd rather have people think I was going to go see Marmaduke the movie instead. At least the producers of the A-Team won't get royalties from me. That made me feel a bit better.
Just a bit.
I, I, I..... I don't even know where to begin. There are just sooooooooooooooo many things to hate with this movie. If I had to write about EVERYTHING I hated about this movie, I'd have to regrow the Amazon Rainforest, wait six thousand years, then chop the whole rainforest over again so I could have enough paper to cover it all. But, since I'm such a nice guy (reference needed) and BP has already done enough irreparable damage to this planet (ZING! Seriously, BP.... Fuck you guys), I'll just boil it down to the three thing that make the A-Team movie..... (wait for it, wait for it) SHITACULAR!!!!!
1 - Plot
2 - Characterization
3 - Heart
Now let's hurry up and get this over with quickly, I have to go see my anger management therapist ASAP.
As for the plot, the first half of this ridiculously stupid anal discharge, I mean "movie" is ALL setup. How, by sleight of hand and twist of fate, they all came together. This is only important for the victims, I mean viewers, that are too young to have seen or remember the T.V. series. I can understand that. In theory, anyways. What I don't understand is why they have to waste a whole half of a movie doing what the T.V. series did in 22 seconds without ever having showed it! Five minutes of interspersed flashbacks would have gotten the job done just as well in the hands of a halfway decent directive team.
So anyways, shit blows up. They go to jail. Shit blows up again. They escape. Shit blows up for a third, fourth, and fifth time. Nothing entertaining happens. Hollywood douche nozzles piss me off. Then I smash my face into the hand rail as an experiment to see which is less painful; that or this movie. The face smashing is less painful. Credits roll. Anyone with even a smidgen of cinematic taste looks pissed.
This movie relied waaaaaaaaaaaaay (I think that's enough A's, don't you?) too heavily on what is known as willing suspension of disbelief. Willing suspension of disbelief is what make movies happen. That for two hours you can believe a man can fly, that the geek gets the girl, or that there's an energy field created by all living thing that surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together. The "A-Team," on the other hand, is to willing suspension of disbelief as a Catholic priest with a Michael Bay boxed set taped to his dick (that's on fire) is to the altar boy of our cherished memories of this T.V. series.
To save you the high dosage of brain damage that WILL occur when you see this SHITACULAR movie, here are some examples:
-Face can be set on fire while trapped in a stack of old tires and only come out looking slightly smudged and tanner.
-That escaped convicts can fly a in free fall by firing into it.
-That said escaped convicts in said tank can slam into a Norwegian fjord at terminally velocity minus the concussive of a firing M-1 Abrams and walk out alive instead of being turned into what would roughly look like Strawberry Smuckers with stale marshmallows in it.
Speaking of walking out, I did at this point. I just couldn't watch this for another hour. But, being the uber-macho man that I am, I smoked a cigarette, listened to 'The Touch' by Stan Bush, let my testicles drop, and marched back in there. Apparently, I'm a masochist. Even more ridiculous shit happens after that, but thanks to five shots of Jameson and several Yuenglings, I don't remember (There IS a God!!)
So that leads me to characterization. It's late; I'll make this easy. I'll describe the T.V. version, then the movie version.
John "Hannibal" Smith (T.V.) - Leader. Loves his men as sons. Master of disguise and an strategist on par with the Patton/Captain America hybrid I'm making in my kitchen. When things go wrong, can come up with a backup plan at the drop of a mohawk.
Hannibal Smith (Movie) - Precognition levels only surpassed by the motherfucking Phoenix Force from the X-Men comics. His only weakness is Deus Ex Machina.
Templeton "Faceman" Peck (T.V.) - Suave, sophisticated, business like con man/ ladies man. Womanizer, sure, but still very likable. We all had a friend like this in high school.
Faceman (Yes, his actual first name) Peck (Movie) - Pretty much a self - loathing lothario since Jessica Biel's character breaks his heart. The equivalent of an over-coked frat boy that just slid your little sister roofies then said (with perfectly manicure eyebrows arched) "I'll take reeeaal good care of her, brah!" who then, after 25 seconds of date rape, plays Halo and spends all night yelling "YEAH!!!!! I JUST PWND YOU, YOU FUCKING N00B FAG!!!!" We all knew a guy like this in college, and wanted to severely beat him.
B.A. Baracus (T.V.) - Mr. Fucking. T. End of story.
B.A. Baracus (Movie) - BECOMES A FUCKING PACIFIST PUSSY HALFWAY THROUGH THE MOVIE!!!!! BLARGGGLEBRGAGKHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! SONS OF BEEE-SHEEEE!!!!!!
And can apparently slide down a 50 story building like he was fucking Spider-Man or some shit.
Murdoch (T.V.) - Comic relief. Actually had you wondering if, much like the Joker, he was actually insane or just someone that enjoyed being himself THAT much.
Murdoch (Movie) - Just annoying. I don't care how good of a pilot he was. I would have shot him in two seconds.
Finally, we are at heart. This won't take long because this movie has none. Zip. Zero. Zilch (I love alliteration). What made the A-Team as a series great was that they always stuck their collective necks out for the little guy, no matter how close they were to being caught. It was even said in the opening:
"If you have a problem; if no one else can help....."
That's where this movie's failing is. You see, a name carries A LOT of authority with it. Certain expectations were to be met. If this movie was Mission: IMPOSSIBLE IV? Well, it still would have been SHITACULAR, but forgivingly SHITACULAR! But it's not Mission: IMPOSSIBLE IV!!!! It's the FUCKING A-TEAM!!!! And them having a movie that doesn't involve them helping out a beleaguered store owner or a small village that's being trampled on by the mafia or a Third World dictatorship just isn't right. It was a wholly selfish 'clear-our-names' story that couldn't even capture their own compassion for other human beings!
My last two comment on this movie are as such.
1: If you're going to make a movie based off of a T.V. series, then make it, oh, I don't know, ENTERTAINING!! You've done it right before, Hollywood! Stop prescribing to the Michael Bay Thorem of Let's Just Blow Shit Up!!! Dragnet, the Dukes of Hazzard, and, God help me, even Sex In The City were true to the source material, and therefore, their fans. Hire writers, directors, and producers that give a shit about the story, not the paycheck!!!!!!
2: Hollywood, you've awoken a dark evil in me. Something.... ancient. Something with the burning fierceness of a billion dark stars. The type of evil that can only be exorcised by a magical, jewel encrusted dagger made from the incisor of the last dragon. Watch yourself, because I'm watching you. And I AM going to get you.
Well, that pretty much wraps it up, I guess. It was pretty cathartic to rip this movie a new asshole so big it looked like a combination Goatse/Divided By Zero demotivational poster. I hope to do this again sometime real soon. In fact, I just got my next assignment. It is, let's see here, JONAH HEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!! GOD DAMN IT ALL! (Editor's note: Sometime real soon has just been pushed back to the third of never. They're still trying to finish cleaning his brains from the ceiling. Services will be held at Hoffs/Drawler Funeral Parlor. Your condolences would be appreciated.)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Glee = EPIC FAIL
So, last night was the “Lady Gaga” (I use this term loosely) episode of Glee, “Theatricality”. I had never actually sat down and watched an episode of this show, but I figured, “Hey! I love Lady Gaga! This is gonna be awesome!”.
…not. So. Much.
How dare they use the name of Gaga to get ratings when they use TWO, count them, TWO songs, one of which was such a horribly butchered version of “Poker Face”, I just went to bed. That was the straw that broke the blogger’s back. I’m actually a little nauseous just thinking about it.
Glee‘s “Poker Face”:
Are you kidding me? THIS, “POKER FACE” is what you choose to sing with your MOTHER as some sort of incredible bonding experience? If I was your mother, I would beat the hell out of you for being such a jackass. I don’t know about you guys, but singing a duet with my mother involving anything even remotely related to “my muffin” does not sound like a good time. Do the makers of Glee even know the implications of that song?!
The only part of this show that is any good is the lovably stupid principal who things that all goth kids and Twilight fans are actual vampires. That guy, I like. And the weird Asian goth girl is okay. I want to love the weird, flamboyant gay kid, but no. Can’t even do that. In case you couldn’t tell, this show is epically cliche. You have: The Slutty Cheerleader, The Sassy Fat Black Girl, The Gay, The Sensitive Jock, The Asian Goth, The Handicapped Kid, and The Princess. Really? Hasn’t this been done to death already? John Hughes would kick your ass, Glee.
Glee‘s “Bad Romance”:
This one didn’t make a part of my soul die, thankfully. Nothing like “Poker Face”, but it’s certainly no Lady Gaga. This sounded like such a good idea once upon a time. I just lost an hour of my life to this show. Fool me once, Glee, fool me once…
I’ve learned my lesson: Glee = EPIC FAIL.
…not. So. Much.
How dare they use the name of Gaga to get ratings when they use TWO, count them, TWO songs, one of which was such a horribly butchered version of “Poker Face”, I just went to bed. That was the straw that broke the blogger’s back. I’m actually a little nauseous just thinking about it.
Glee‘s “Poker Face”:
Are you kidding me? THIS, “POKER FACE” is what you choose to sing with your MOTHER as some sort of incredible bonding experience? If I was your mother, I would beat the hell out of you for being such a jackass. I don’t know about you guys, but singing a duet with my mother involving anything even remotely related to “my muffin” does not sound like a good time. Do the makers of Glee even know the implications of that song?!
The only part of this show that is any good is the lovably stupid principal who things that all goth kids and Twilight fans are actual vampires. That guy, I like. And the weird Asian goth girl is okay. I want to love the weird, flamboyant gay kid, but no. Can’t even do that. In case you couldn’t tell, this show is epically cliche. You have: The Slutty Cheerleader, The Sassy Fat Black Girl, The Gay, The Sensitive Jock, The Asian Goth, The Handicapped Kid, and The Princess. Really? Hasn’t this been done to death already? John Hughes would kick your ass, Glee.
Glee‘s “Bad Romance”:
This one didn’t make a part of my soul die, thankfully. Nothing like “Poker Face”, but it’s certainly no Lady Gaga. This sounded like such a good idea once upon a time. I just lost an hour of my life to this show. Fool me once, Glee, fool me once…
I’ve learned my lesson: Glee = EPIC FAIL.
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