A Real Action Film

It takes the right team to make an action film. Action movies are churned out left and right every Friday. Movies like Crank or Transformers come along and they are true slices of entertainment. They are made for what they need to be. Then every once in a rare while an Action Film comes along. The kind of movie that goes beyond the explosions and digs deep into the heart of the psyche. Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight, gets this and has made a truly fantastic Action Film.

Let me be clear here: The Dark Knight is not a movie that digs super deep philosophically or morally (although it does work as a great social commentarty), but enough that it raises its intense action scenes beyond just being intense set pieces. It gives meaning to the chaos, as much as anarchy can have meaning. I'm not going to go into storyline here. It's nothing new story wise. The true genius behind this movie is the combination of the acting and the directing that made it a dance of visual brilliance and subtlety. The way Nolan was able to get the performances he did from a stellar cast of leads and supporting is a true triumph. The for major leads- Bale, Ledger, Eckhart & Oldman- take talent to the next level.

Christian Bale's triumph of playing a "freak...like me!" is wholly invigorating. He is a hero who knows his limits and his flaws and realizes exactly what he has brought upon Gotham. Heath Ledger is so outstandingly creepy that when people laugh in the cinemas at parts he plays, you almost cringe at them. There wasn't a single thing funny about his joker. Yes he had some genius one-liners, but even those were calculated and malicious enough to make you cringe in fear and horror. A scene where the Joker is being interrogated is just fitfully brilliant acting on Ledger's part that you can't but wonder how taxing it must have been to emerse yourself into that psychopathic mind. Aaron Eckhart plays Harvey Dent, the white knight of Gotham City, and although his part is understated at first, you see the mind of a man on the edge brewing behind his eyes. He may have been the shining light in Gotham's most tumoltuos time, but as in many of Nolan's films, even the good have a touch of evil somewhere tucked away that can come forth if pushed to the limits. Lastly, Gary Oldman, an actor who can never go wrong, also understates and slow plays his Detective turned Commisioner role. He's a true police officer not entirely liked by all because he wants one thing and that's the peace that Gotham City deserves.

The reason I still call this an Action Film is because beyond all the psychology is a truly riveting stunt filled spectacle. Unlike past Batman films, The Dark Knight is almost 100% location filming. Scenes where a policemen's parade for slain officers erupts into chaos thanks to the Joker is utterly breathtaking. The main chase sequence through Gotham's underground ending in the most glorious truck stunt you will ever see on film just explodes with brilliance. And the reason why? Very minimal CGI and real stunts. When you see the Joker's Truck do a front flip, that's not a computer altered truck. That's an 18-wheeler hurtling through the air. That's something you don't see very often anymore. Another mind boggling thing of chaotic beauty is when the Joker walks non-chalantly out of a hospital as it slowly explodes. This wasn't shot in Chicago like most of the film, but it was a set piece built for the sole purpose to succumb to the Joker's crazy rampage.

The film may be a tad bit long in the tooth, but it's a tooth that sinks right into your neck and feels good. It's the kind of 2 and a half hour film that you never want to end. As much as a lot of it is intense and in your face, it's something that gets your adreneline pumping and your suspense sensors flairing on overdrive. It's social comment on terrorism and heroes vs. villains is something that is such a dark and grey area that it will question both sides of the arguement for Homeland Security and the way things are done to "protect" the citizens. It's not ultra deep, but it's still there and really works. This is a must see film on the big screen and probably will be one of the best films you will see all year. There really is only one word to describe it... triumphant.

Finding the Human Spirit in a Desolate Place

Director Werner Herzog has a way of film making that takes what looks to be a documentary about the natural world, but ultimately ends up being about the nature of the human spirit. In Grizzly Man, we see a ultimately disturbing portrait of a man rather than a movie about living with bears. Although it's stunningly visual and shows off the wilderness as a place of raw and savage power, it also shows the emotions of it's protagonist and the derangement that takes him out to that place. In Herzog's new documentary, Encounters at the End of the World, we get a similar view of the human spirit but in a little less dark way. This time, Herzog and his crew brave the Forgotten Continent of Antartica to find what drives the human spirit to adventure.

The opening of the film is a gorgeous underwater shot of a diver illuminating a frozen piece of sea ice that points to the depths of the Ross Sea like a stalactite glow stick. It was these images a friend of Herzog sent him that drew him to visit Antarctica. Herzog at the beginning promises his audience that this won't be another documentary about "fluffy penguins" and although one digression where we see the goofy birds (more on that later), we intead get a really strange mission statment that mixes the question "Why do men wear masks and chase the bad guy?" to "Why do other smart animals, like chimps, not utilize other lesser species?" These questions are less about being answered by Herzog but are more the basis of his ultimate question: "Why is human nature so inherently drawn to exploration and further knowledge when all things in life are for the most part futile?" He never states this as his mission, but he sure does accomplish this stark vision of humanity into the desolate wastelands of Antarctica.

Herzog travels with his team to a remote settlement of sorts on a small island off the main coast of Antarctica with the large Ross Sea in between them. The Ross Sea, during the aural summer, is frozen solid with 8 feet of ice. Herzog has a way of capturing the spirit of the strange crew of misfits that include a descendant of the royal Aztec family, a lady who traveled from Chicago to Peru in a sewer pipe and a PHD in a language that has died. As one fo the people put it, they were all the people who didn't belong and sank to the bottom of the globe. Somehow, these folks have a passion and drive for science enough to bear the extreme weather, the 24 hour daylight and all matter of terrible living situations. The film then finally ventures into the vast wasteland, but underneath the ice is a living and thriving environment filled with strange creatures and wonderous otherworldy sounds. These images are some of the most breathtaking in the film.



The one thing, though, that holds back the film is its wandering sense of direction. Maybe this was done on purpose to show the wanderers who live in Antarctica, but the lack of a direct focus to the documentary makes it more of a visual feast than an intellectual one. The greatest moment in the film is when a lone penguin heads out into the mainland, unlike most penguins who either stay at their breeding grounds or go out to sea. This one penguin seeks adventure, much like the people observing him, even if this seals his fate. Herzog uses the only penguin scene to show that humans aren't the only ones with such an adventursome spirit. Encounters at the End of the World is a gorgeous film that may not answer all it's philisophical questions, but that is part of the mystery of life. It's all one adventure that leads to another and without any end in sight, just like the miles of snow covered mountains in Antarctica.

I Know I'm not Supposed to Get Girl Talk...

... but seriously? I mean, yeah it's interesting to listen to songs remixed and juxtaposed, but there is nothing really interesting to just taking small clips of songs and shoving them in a super collider and turning it on to full tilt until all your records come out smashed together and mixed up. This is the problem I have with Girl Talk.

Yes, I can see why people listen to this and sit around in awe. Feed the Animals takes all kinds of genres and really mixes it up. A music snob who listens to everything might appreciate the song recognition when "Procol Harum" is the backbeat or when Huey Lewis dip dip dips through the track as your hip-hop backbone. But, something about this as an album format just boggles my mind. When the disc starts, I really really like it. You get an amazing smattering of awesome beats that really work together and flow like a normal song would. The backbone to most of "Play Your Part (Pt. 1)" works as a song. Then the vibe of the song changes completely two minutes into the song when Twisted Sister and Temple of the Dog change it entirely in tone. This makes it really hard to get a certain grove going. It might work when you are drunk in a club, or tripping on some sort of drugs, but as an album it's like that annoying kid who just skips through every song on their iPod every five seconds until something good comes on and that never stops. Yet it's like 12 kids doing that at the same time. And of course anyone knows that certain songs can easily match up to each other, but it doesn't really work to hard. "In Step" is just one of these moments on the album that really just doesn't seem to work. It has a vibe but then just shifts vibes.

It truly is musical ADD as Mr. Dogg has mentioned. I bet a kid with ADD would like this more than anything. You could probably loop it and they wouldn't notice it. I've never listened to a lot of hip-hop through my life. I always have found it better listened to when I'm ready to party or dance or when I'm out at a club with friends. And maybe that is the place that Girl Talk would work. But it's an album, not a night club. I shouldn't be so critical, but it just doesn't work for an album. I want to like Girl Talk. But it's overkill and takes sampling to a weird shitty level.

Quality over Quantity

Beck is quite an eclectic eccentric songwriter. And his career is getting pretty long and has matured a lot with his 13th album, Modern Guilt. One constant in Beck's career has been his producers. Most of his albums were produced either by the Dust Brothers (Odelay, Geuro) or Nigel Godrich (Mutations, Sea Change, The Information.) Beck has made an interesting switch and worked with none other than up and coming producer Danger Mouse. This may be one of the most interesting changes in Beck's career filled with swerves from slack - folk to funk to hip hop and sometimes all three combined.

The Oughts have seen Beck at his most tumultuous. Sea Change is a masterwork if there ever was one and everything since has been so jam packed, it almost seemed a little much. As much as Guero is an excellent album, it has some tracks that could easily be trimmed from the album to make it work a little bit better as an album. The Information suffers from this a bit more and also suffers from a lack of production. As much as Nigel knows how to shine, he isn't a very good hip-hop oriented producer. He may have been better suited to produce Modern Guilt, but that is neither here nor there.

Modern Guilt is Beck's shortest album and that allows it to grow and mutate and become a cut above it's past two predecessors. I wonder how much may have been left in the studio or in Beck's basement that did not get put onto this album, but I'm sure with the large amount b-sides we already has floating out there, he might have a bunch more songs waiting to be found from these sessions or at least this period of songwriting. Whatever the case may be, we finally get a Beck album that is overall consistent without tracks that are easy to skip over. This doesn't mean perfection, but it means no wandering.

The first track "Orphans" is a summer time, car windows rolled, salt air in your face melody fest. It really sets the tone for the rest of the album. A small dash of backup from Cat Power adds to the airy vibe of a fantastic pop song. Beck doesn't tread very far with any experimentation, but the track still has a fresh sound and an originality to it. "Gamma Ray" sounds like a 60s pop tune and is much more standard than anything Beck has recorded in the past few years. But even here the production is what makes the track. Much more ethereal and spacey comes in the single "Chemtrails." One of the more interesting musical moments on the album, the drums and bass really take hold of the listener. Some of Beck's signature noise freakouts occur near the end and we get a classic cut off into nothingness. It's a very satisfying track. The titular track again has a vibe of mixing the best of Beck's futuristic bleeps spaciness, but is a jaunty throwback to 60s pop. The surfy guitars, piano frolics and crunchy drum beat makes the track sound like something The Zombies or early Stones might attain. Beginning with "Youthless" and continuing on through "Walls" and "Replica", we here the most challenging and contemporary songs structures. Interesting beats abound, funky vibes and more sensory kinetics going on behind the tracks than the first half of the record. "Soul of a Man" has a fantastic riff to compliment the strange guitar wails and the driving kick drum beat. The hypnotic drum and guitar combo on "Profanity Prayers" are reminiscent of space rockers The Secret Machines, but less grandiose and more down to earth in it's simplicity. The finale, "Volcano" may be one of best finest songwriting moments. Lines like "But there's a ghost in my heart/That's trying to see in the dark/I'm tired of people who only want to be pleased, /But I still want to please you...," shows some of the maturity Beck has grown into on the album and how even a 40 year old Beck can still write a fantastic lyric.

The album plays through very quickly and is quite a refreshing and interesting listen. My real love for the album is in it's combo of well written song structures and refreshing production. Danger Mouse definitely had his hand in making Modern Guilt Beck's most consistently good album since Sea Change. A song like "Replica", which DM has a partial writing credit is something that wouldn't happen on a Beck album usually and it makes for one of the finest musical moments the disc has to offer. I'm ambivalent on how to rank this among is other greats, but listening to this record next to Odelay or Midnite Vultures makes one think.... how does one artist sound so drastically different from disc to disc? For Beck, it works from time to time to change it up, and more so than his past two efforts it works very well. Another thing keeping Modern Guilt a cut above his latest is Beck's embrace of his vocal talents. I love Beck's hip-hop efforts as much as anyone else, but his honest voice on songs like "Orphans" or "Volcano" makes the album flow straight through rather than jump from style to style in a very frenetic way that The Information hurt from. This is Beck's pop album on his terms. Catchy yet quirky. Honest but shrouded in mystery.

Best of 2008 So Far...

Every year, I like to examine what I think is the best albums the year has produced thus far. And this year has been an interesting one at that. A lot of new phases in my musical loving. I have been doing a lot of research in bands that I missed along the way (i.e. Big Star, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) but let's forget all the old stuff I'm catching up and see what the new artists are churning out. Most of these I have already blogged about, but thats because I usually only write about things I can fully enjoy. I just picked up a few records from this first half of the year but wont include them until my head can fully wrap around them (namely DCfC and Nick Cave's latest.) I was going to to top 10, but I dont think some of the scraps I have leftover are worth including. So 9 it is.

Without further ado.

9. Lemons are Louder Than Rocks - Gallop
Just like last year, some local yokels have put out some of the best music to offer yet. The Jersey bred boys pack a handful of witticisms and honesty amidst their brand of freak folk melodies and, well, freak outs. The titular track itself is a goofy campfire ditty stacked with enough fun sing-along fodder for the next six months that you can't imagine what else the band is going to pack into their first full length record. More silliness comes in the carefree package of "Roast Beef Sammich" about a date gone terribly wrong. "Looking at Me" feels like a Paul Simon track that never made it out of the basement and it has great sentiment in its simple guitar picking and whistling. Gallop is the kind of album you bring to the beach with you late at night with a handful of friends sitting around in prayerful silence sometimes while othertimes you sit and giggle about times of old. Sentimental and fun. That's the recipe for success.

Standout Track: The 7 minute feelgoodery anthem "Keep My Bag"

8. Islands - Arm's Way
I may have sounded a bit misleading with my short write up on the latest Islands effort, but the truth is this is a solid album. Polished and a great listen overall. My only concern was the strangeness of the first album made it so great. This one is more from the heart (the album cover itself suggests that) "The Arm" is a baroque sensation and an excellent first track/single. The guitars taking the forefront with a bed of strings behind it in a way that Arcade Fire might turn their heads. It's a worthy single to pick up as there is a sweetass cover of Beck's "Cyanide Breath Mint" on it. The track "Abominable Snow" was a leftover from the debut, but fits in with the tracks here than it would on the first album. The whirly organ swirls in the background give it a fun house feel and reminds me a bit of The Fever, God rest their souls. The 7-minute in the rushes is anthematic enough for the album to give it a prog edge amidst its indie guitar posturing and baroque string veils. It's a valiant record.

Standout Track: The kinetic energy of its first half and the calypso breakdown of the second half of "J'amie vous voirre quitter"... its only 3 minutes long and it packs a punch.

7. Saviours - Into Abaddon
American Metal is NOT dead. Not that anyone was saying it was, but it's not all just commercial shit floating around. Some bands still get it. And is there a whole lot to get with metal music? If there really is, Saviours understands. The best way to describe what Saviours does on Into Abaddon would probably be a maelstrom of ear splintering riffage. From the first seconds of "Firewake Angel" to the apex of "Mystichasm" earth shattering guitar antics, it's no holds barred metal. Their live show is nothing to sneeze at, but these boys from Oakland know where they found a good home and thats at Kemado Records. The one label holding the sword high (no pun intended... see later) for bands who want nothing more to do but rock as hard and as ballsy as they want. Tracks like "Cavern of Mind" and "Raging Embers" hearken back to the riff kings of the early 80s American metal scene.... Metallica?! Remember those guys? Well, sort of like them. The real treat here is the intensely different lyrical delivery. Hardcore screams fade into the guitars as if to give them further distortion. It's great driving music, but you better be in a biker gang to get away with blasting.

Standout Track: "Mystichasm" will have you trashing from beginning to end. And when the closing solo comes, you still won't be prepared.

6. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
More intensity care of the fallen angels of At the Drive In. My first reaction to this album was perplexity. It's so fitting an album name for what you will get yourself into. But after 5 listens, you still won't feel it. After 15 listens you realize it's just crazy. After 30 listens you realize you keep replaying it over and over. And if that's not a sign of a good album, then by 50 spins you will. The album starts so overwhelmingly fast with "Abernikula" that you really have no clue whats going on. The songs structure is so radically great that by the time the funk breakdown near the end comes in, you will let your guard down and "Metatron" will kick in before you knew track one ended. It's moments like that that make The Bedlam in Goliath a stellar outing. I still have some problems with this album as a whole. It might be a little but too long in the tooth. But it is a Goliath record. So why not excess it up? After more spins then my head can remember, it's a worthy outing nonetheless.

Standout Track: "Goliath" owns supreme over all other tracks as the one track that is probably the most coherent in the Volta's entire catalog.

5. The Sword - Gods of the Earth
Enter the other Kemado Records rockers. And not the last of that labels ear candy for the year. Doom, Stoner, Hipster... whatever genre limit is thrown their way, the Austin boys raises their axes upon high and slay yet again. No slump this time around, the follow up to their blistering debut Age of Winters, is steadfast in it's mission: to keep hard rock alive one heavy riff at a time. Don't let the acoustic intro to "The Sundering" fool you. It will turn up as fast as you turned it on. The songs plod on with the fury of Thor's hammer. Tracks like "How Heavy This Axe" and "Maiden, Mother and Crone" will show their ability to write a track furious and catchy. The heaviest track is the blistering post apocalyptic/biblical image fest of "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephryians." I have no idea what a Hyperzephyrian is, but I know I wouldn't fuck with them if I bumped into them on the streets. All in all, The Sword know how to rock as hard as they can and their ultra intense live show will leave you shaking with fury.

Standout Track: "Lords" has a riff that will stay with you for a long while and the song has the most interesting structural elements the band has unleashed yet.

4. The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Leave it to Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo to back peddle after the fantastic genre bender Pretty in Black to a simpler sound and make it refreshing. Lust Lust Lust is a mood piece and a half and it's lamentations of the titular deadly sin is done with a spacey gusto the band has yet to produce. Production wise, this is the most stylistic the Raveonettes have sounded yet. Recorded with wall of sound fullness and Sonic Youth style feedback filling in the already crammed atmosphere, the songs still have a cloudy feel to them thanks to the harmonizing genius of the two. I feel The Raveonettes won't ever get the credit that is due to them thanks to the comparisons to other acts that they get (JaMC to name the most frequently compared), but songs like "Aly Walk With Me" and "You Want the Candy" still show that the band has its own vibe. Mixing surf guitars and delicate lyrics dripping with sexual innuendo is what the Raves do best. And on Lust Lust Lust it's all amped up. Listening to these tracks on my over-priced-but-worth-every-penny headphones at high levels is worth the hearing loss risk. So much is hiding amidst the reverb.

Standout Track: "Dead Sound" is sumptuous turned as high as your stereo, iPod, recod player or computer can go.

3. Portishead - Third
As much as I loved Dinosaur Jr.'s return to form last year, there is something to be said of the radical change that Portishead has taken. Dropping their trip-hop vibe for something entirely different, Third sees Portishead taking their 11 year break to come back with something hauntingly radical, yet keeping their original mission of melancholy. "Silence" starts off with a pulsating hypnotic rhythm that will set you in a trance and when it abruptly ends, the jarring notion is quickly lost as the dreamscape of "Hunter" creeps up and again hypnotizes you sonically. This record is as moody as it gets. It sets the pace for the paranoid times we live in and the melancholy will wash over you. It's weird thinking that the third record of a band could be so drastically different in ways yet seems like the right follow-up to the rest of their stalled career. If any world I have overused already in this write up could best sum up the album, it's hypnotic. And maybe that's their trip elements coming back in amidst the guitars, synths and mangled drum machines.

Standout Track: "Machine Gun" hits with such force that it's hard to not feel it inside your rib cage.

2. Danava - Unonou
The undefinable Danava are yet another of a few acts on this very list that have spit in the face of the sophomore slump. The Portland Oregon troops have churned out a glam prog masterpiece of sorts. It's sprawling anthemetic passages scorch the 55 minutes the album provides the listener. From the titular tongue twister of a title to the swirling synth intro of "The Emerald Snow of Sleep", Danava keep you guessing where they will take you next. It's hard to think of where these guys really come from. Their music is so other worldly in an alien way, it makes for a unique listening experience. When they bring in trumpets and strings on "A High or a Low" you wonder what exactly they want to do with their music, but you want them to keep doing it. Sure, "One Mind Gone Seperate Ways" sounds eerily like Zep's "Achilles Last Stand" at times, but hell if you are going to sound like something why not an amazing epic such as that. Easily one of the most impressive live acts you will see this year, Danava is something not worth missing. It just is a fools game. The music is so amazing and epic in every aspect that you must find a way to get this record. Apparently its only worth 6.99 on iTunes right now, which is kind of insane, but take advantage of that and enjoy.

Standout Track: "Where Beauty and Terror Dance" is a perfect single and a rollicking track filled with a catchy riff and an amazingly tripped out outro.

1. Black Mountain - In the Future
And there it is. I don't see this getting dethroned from the top spot anytime soon. Black Mountain has proven that they can write all different songs all within the scope of their classic rock vibe. The tones of the guitar, the varying usage of synthisizers and melatron and the dueling vocals of Amber Webber and Stephen McBean just scream greatness. "Stormy High" is a track for the ages that kicks the album off right while spacier elements come in trough songs like "Wucan" and "Queens Will Play." Webber's ethereal "Nightwalks" closes the disc in the perfect manner after the sprawling epic "Bright Lights" will floor you with it's sonic fury. It isn't that Black Mountain is bringing anything entirely new to the spectrum of music that makes them outstanding, its more the command of songwriting and style that makes them as good as it gets. Without excellent songwriting, it would be style for the sake of style and without style, it would be stale rock and roll exercises. But Black Mountain rises above these pitfalls and fills their craggy anthems with refreshing dynamics to rock and roll traditions. That is what makes In The Future outstanding.

Standout Track: "Tyrants" is the best song of the year. Still leaves me with chills.

Ten Tracks to Ease Your Mind

I haven't done a list in a while and recently I've been in meditation mode. Here is a random list of ten songs that soothe my mind that I would like to share with you. Find these songs and make a mediation mix out of them. These are great for passing out to late at night. If I can get a youtube video of the song for these tracks, I will let the music do the talking. No Particular Order. Just all great.

10. Brian Eno - "An Ending (Ascent)" Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks


9. Tim Buckley - "Song to the Siren" Starsailor


8. Nina Simone "Wild is the Wind" Wild is the Wind


7. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "People Ain't No Good" The Boatman's Call


6. Radiohead - "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" In Rainbows


5. Charlotte Gainsbourg - "The Operation" 5:55


4. Warren Zevon - "The Mutineer" The Mutineer


3. David Bowie " Slip Away" Heathen


2. Arcade Fire - "In The Backseat" Funeral


1. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis "Song for Bob" Assasination of Jesse James OST

Arm's Way Sees Islands Polish Their Sound

There once was a band called The Unicorns. They released an album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?, and then just like their band name's legacy, dissappeared. Then came Islands, from two of the members fo the Unicorns and they released an album called Return to the Sea. This album was one of those kooky, genre bending affairs that although was a little off the wall from time to time, it still worked and had a party/exciting vibe to it. This year, Islands has followed up 2006's Return to the Sea with a much more stable and standard sound in Arm's Way.

Arm's Way sees Islands dropping the heavey synths and the kooky vibes for the most part for a more standard baroque guitar pop sound. Less synths, less islandy break-downs and more guitars and heartfelt lyricism. After repeat listening's, I can't decide whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. My problem with Arm's Way isn't the songwriting, but the lack of the off-the-wall goodness that Return to Sea was so great for. Minus a few mid-song turns like during "J'aime vous voire quitter" when it goes from a fast jaunty guitar pop song into a full on bossa nova jam section a la Zep's "Fool in the Rain," the album is too tame compared to what made Islands intriguing. That being said, the songs are still high quality writing overall with sweeping baroque sounds and guitar riffs left and right.

The music of Islands on Arm's Way blends prog of the 70's song structures, baroque pop a la fellow Canadians Arcade Fire and indie guitar posturing of every other run-of-the-mill band crawling out of the woodwork. This is prevalent on the first single "The Arm" which has definitive structure changes, strings and everything you'd expect. It's really all in comes down to Nick Diamond's vocals and writing to shine through on this album. The music isn't as sparkling and fresh but the lyricism is something to enjoy. A cleaner more focused Islands isn't exactly a great thing, but it's definitely a good listen.

Coco Loco

With so many records to listen to in a given year, it's hard to listen to every great album when you don't work for a newspaper or an entertainment magazine. I either have to buy my albums, steal them or just miss a lot of music. I catch up with albums late all the time. Last year I was ready to deem the self titled release from Danava one of the years best, but that was actually from 2006 even though I probably listened to that record more than any other. This year, I discovered one of my favorite all time people's first solo album. That man is Jason Schwartzman and his record under the group Coconut Records is entitled Nighttiming is a collection of excellent power pop songs that stand as a testament to having a great time.

In a recent A.V. Club segment of Random Rules, where famous people randomize their iPod for them and explain why songs are on it, Schwartzman gave an uncompromising view into what his Coconut Records sounds like: Solo Paul McCartney. His love for the melody and straightforward pop master himself shows through the tracks on Nighttiming very much so. The structure of the album itself harkens the feel of McCartney records like Ram or McCartney. The songs are catchy, trippy, melodic and hypnotic. It's a taste of power pop that rivals other groups raising the pop flag high like Nada Surf and Band of Horses, but with a touch of something different.

The album kicks off with a quiet little ditty entitled "This Old Machine." With care-free backing vocals care of none other than Kirsten Dunst, it's a good opener to set the mood of the album. it's something to put on while smoking a doobie on a warm summers day at the shore with your feet at the edge of the outgoing tide. "West Coast" has as much power pop anthematic hooks as anything Schwartzman's old band Phantom Planet has put out, but there is a drop of melancholy goodness that makes this song as bittersweet as it is catchy. Schwartzman's voice crackles with insecurity as the piano hook and crescendo bring it into the atmosphere the way a Jon Brion song would. I dare you to not sing along after listening to this track a few times. The songs "Back to You" and "Nighttiming" show that Schwartzman can make you dance just like any other power pop band can. Step aside, The Killers and Maroon 5, Max Fischer is here to get anyone and everyone out on the dance floor without sounding repetitive.

Schwartzman teams up with Dunst again on the silly acoustic track of "Summer Day", again perfect for a doob enhanced walk on the beach. Zooey Deschanel also steps up to lend her fantastic vocals on the jaunty lo-fi country ballad "Mama" and the dreamy closing track "Ask Her to Dance." Any way you approach an album chock full of pop songs, it's hard to say any of it is new or different, because it never will be. What makes a pop album good is it's variety and it's replay value. Coconut Records has no place being as good as it is, even though I guess thats an unfair statment to make about anything. But when you look at it, power pop like this is for some reason no longer popular. It should be becase this collection of songs is diverse and has much more to offer than half the crap that is on the Top 40 charts. Nighttiming is a fantastic album of McCartney songs not written by McCartney, and that is a great compliment to Jason Schwartzman for being able to replicate the sound of a pop music genius and add his own personal musical voice to the mixture.

The Return of Portishead

For fans of may bands that made fantastic records in the 90's, it's taking some time for these bands to get back to it and release some new material. Last year, Dinosaur Jr. came out with the fantastic return to form after 11 years of nothing with Beyond while 2006 saw Evan Dando and the Descendants team up to release Lemonheads, another fantastic return to form. This year, Portishead joins this group of 90's groups to release a long long awaited next release. The new album simply entitled Third isn't as much of a return to form as the other bands I have mentioned, yet a welcome return to writing very moody fantastic music.

Portishead's first album Dummy and it's follw-up Portishead had a twinge of trip hop and jazz influences giving their music much more of a funky overtone, however moody it may have been regardless of this. Songs like "Mysterons" and "Sour Times" are perfect examples of the jazz/trip-hop influence with haunting vocals setting the standard for the mood and tone of the first album. Now, in 2008, Third continues in the standard of setting this mood, again with the vocals being the centerpiece, but the music has changed a slight bit. The group has traded in the sampling and such for more conventional instruments. That being said, the songs still have an unconventional sound to them as the instruments sound shipped from somewhere otherworldly.

Much like Radiohead's In Rainbows, Third is quite clean in production and allows the instruments and vocals do the work for setting the mood rather than the production as a whole. Songs like "Silence" and "Machine Gun" have a beautiful grit to them. "Silence" builds with a catchy riff and as the vocals come in the swirl of sound compounds until it cuts off into the spacey "Hunter." "Machine Gun", the first single off the record is a very difficultly beautiful composition with mostly electronic drums in an oppressive beat that pulsates and mutates as the track slugs on. The melancholy tone of the vocal performance brings the song out of the muck and into a thing of strange beauty. Definitely check the new album out as it's a thing of strange beauty.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BKm-OkHj-VM

Sadly the best quality version of the official video was disabled form embedding, so here is a link and a live version from the ATP Festival.

Indiana Jones Disappoints on an Epic Scale

Before you read this, see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That is, if you want to see it. If you don't care, don't worry.

Patton Oswalt has a bit where he says if he had a time machine, he would go back in time and kill George Lucas before he made the prequels to the beloved Star Wars films. I wold have to agree with him so Lucas could also not ruin the Indiana Jones franchise.

For me, Indiana Jones is one of the best blockbuster franchises out there. Indy is smart, badass and has many facets to his personality. The two sequels are far from perfect, although Last Crusade comes damn close. Action, fun and intriguing characters all come together with some interesting historical folklore attached to it.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from it's advertising seemed like it would fit right in to the rest of the series. The movie starts off on the right foot with a great opening in New Mexico. Communists are using Indy and his insider knowledge of a hangar that holds several powerful artifacts, specifically the remains of a charred body found in *gasp* Roswell?! Immediately, we can tell who is writing the story for this one. George Lucas and his vast obsession with space and everything that comes with it. This is strange territory for Indiana Jones and immediately we can tell where this film is going. Or do we?

The film slugs on with a really great scene between Indiana Jones and Mutt Williams (played really well by Shia LeBeouf) a 50's diner followed by the most believable and enjoyable chase scene of the movie. Once Indy flies to South America to the Nazca Lines, the movie starts to spiral slowly. A strange unexplained fight scene with some natives martial arts weirdos and the discovery of the crystal skull. Once the Russians meet up with Indy again, more ridiculousness ensues. A retarded fight/high speed chase through the jungle followed by another retarded fight amidst giant red ants followed by a retarded waterfall scene followed by the realization that Indiana Jones is no longer about finding ancient artifacts that have any semblance of history and we find out that it's all aliens. A stupid alien skull with other worldly powers. It ends in a spectical of retarded special effects and then a really really fucking cheesey wedding between Indy and Marion. BARF!

What ruined Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was not the acting or directing (minus some phoned in scenes and the advent of CGI) but what ruined the movie was the writing. The story was so loose and full of huge holes that it resulted to really lame and bloated action scenes that verge on the edge of lunacy. The alien angle has to be the fault of George Lucas. Why on Earth would you put Indiana Jones into a fucking movie about aliens?! WHY? Indiana Joens wouldn't give two shits about alein life. He seeks historical artifacts! GAAH!

Ok I know I'm ranting here. Some of the action sequences are fun to watch, Shoo LaBoo is quite good as Indy's bastard son and the first half of the movie showed what the movie could have been like. Too bad it was ruined. Not even Cate Blanchett, John Hurt or Ray Winstone could save the movie. Their roles were either so over the top or were misused and underused. It's disappointing and hurtful to sit through. Don't bother wasting your time.

My Obsession - Nick Cave

Yet another new segment I will kick off. Simply titled My Obsession, I will take a look into my newest and latest musical obsessions. Every month or so I go through an obsession with an artist that I have long wanted to listen to. This month it has come down to that of Nick Cave.

My first brush with Nick Cave was only a few months ago. I've known his song "Red Right Hand" thanks in part to its usage in none other than the brilliant Dumb and Dumber. You know the scene. "The elderly, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, still can serve a purpose."

Anyway, more legitimately, Nick Cave has come to mind when the amazing film The Proposition came out. He wrote the screenplay and did the soundtrack with Warren Ellis. The film is amazingly brutal, much like what I would find in Cave's lyrics, but something was enrapturing about it. The soundtrack is amazingly minimal and haunting with the strings of Ellis and the piano arrangements really bone chillingly beautiful. That was all I had of Nick Cave's until I recently got around to watching the masterpiece that is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Yet another soundtrack care of Cave and Ellis, it's the same simplistic beauty and grandiose minimalism of The Proposition (yeah I guess that's an oxy moron but it works if you listen to it.) I decided to take the plunge and look into some Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, his most enigmatic group. He is one Australian badass that captivates with quality music and quality lyrics. This proves to be the best move I made in a while...maybe since I became overly obsessed with Tim Buckley by randomly buying an LP of his in Lancaster, PA at an amazing record store on a whim (and on the knowledge of his being Jeff's father.... but I digress.)

My first line of attack into the affairs of Cave and the Bad Seeds was Tender Prey. The album is a haunting amalgam of sounds and jaunty tunes of gothic goodness. His signature track, "The Mercy Seat" is a phenomenal half spoken word, half desperately sung death row repentance track that is an amazing testimony to the stylistic qualities Cave can hit as well as the poetic nature of his lyrics. The music swirls and twists along like a train hurtling through the night. "Up Jumped the Devil" is my personal favorite track at the moment with a Tom Waits feel. jaunty pianos and growling baritone vocals tell the story of a damned man's life as the Devil waits in the wings to collect his soul.



At the suggestion of fans from the amazingly helpful wonderous website last.fm, I picked up Murder Ballads next in order to fulfill my need for more amazing tracks from Mr. Cave. What a brutal album, in the best way possible. "Song of Joy" is ironically joyless. His duet with none other than Kylie Minogue on "Where the Wild Roses Grow" is chillingly gorgeous. My favorite is the chewed up and spit out version of the traditional track "Stagger Lee." Enough grit is poured to give the repetitious traditional track a new life more brutal than it ever had. The album is obviously about the crimes of passion of sociopaths, but the poetic structures make it more of an existential statement than just a shock factor. It's artistic philosophy.



The last.fm charts on my page are sure to be crazy filled with anything Nick Cave next week when they update my weekly charts and that won't change until I get more of his albums and soak them up. His new disc Dig! Lazarus! Dig! has some great tracks, but I've only streamed it so far as I want to get into more back catalog before diving into the newest treats.

Weakest of the Best - Stanley Kubrick

Without fully seeing the early films of Stanley Kubrick, this seems a little unfair to be looking at his entire filmography and pointing out the weakest film. Undoubtedly, it's probably one of those early films that doesn't hold a candle, but let's be honest; from Paths of Glory to Eyes Wide Shut, that is when Kubrick was really a true auteur. That being said, Stan the Man only had 10 films to his credit from 1957 to 1999, and we all know Spartacus is not really Kubrick's (as he denounced it as his artistic vision as director.) So let's just say of the 9 truly fantastic Kubrick Film at hand, which one seems to be lacking the true greatness of the overall film making experience.

That being said, the selection we are working from here is as follows in chrono order:
Paths of Glory
Lolita
Dr. Strangelove
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Barry Lyndon
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Eyes Wide Shut

Looking at that list alone, I applaud the greatness of such a career. Yes it wasn't as prolific as say Woody Allen or Steven Spielberg, but at least none of these are truly awful. That said one is clearly not as good as the rest.

Bloated, boring and only redeeming in it's visceral brilliance, Barry Lyndon is the winner this time at Weakest of the Best. Barry Lyndon is a period piece that follows the story of Redmond Barry, a pathetic man-child, into the ups and downs of high society in 18th Century Europe. The long and short of it is, we get to follow the whimpy and poorly acted Ryan O'Neal (whose daughter, Tatum, won an Oscar which clearly has led him to be a jealous parent) galavant around in fancy dress and whine about his situation. His whole tale is dumb luck and everything that happens to him happens out of this lucky situation. That's basically the plot without running through the three and a half trudging hours of exposition.

Where Barry Lyndon falls flat is the story and the acting. From Ryan O'Neal's uninspired Barry to the long and disjointed plot of his life just adds for a recipe of boring film making. Long films don't have to feel long. The Deer Hunter is over three hours long and that film is riveting from beginning to end. But that's because plot wise, the story is enrapturing. Even other films of Kubrick's that are longer, like 2001: A Space Odyssey at least create a world so different and interesting that the long run time doesn't drag. The characters in Barry Lyndon are just so downright boring that watching them for over three hours just doesn't work. I will give it to Kubrick that his visuals are outstanding. The vision he has is pure art. The idea of moving picture has never looked so good. But the best films know how to take that idea of art and add entertainment and story to it. This is where Barry Lyndon fails.

Some may argue that Eyes Wide Shut is his weakest film, but here is why I didn't say that. The acting in Eyes Wide Shut is far superior and this makes you intrigued by the story, even if it tends to drag at times.

I've heard some people say that Barry Lyndon is what they qualify to be Kubrick's best film, and I dare ask you what it is that you say makes this film his triumph over, say, Dr. Strangelove or A Clockwork Orange or 2001: A Space Odyssey?



Next time on Weakest of the Best, I will jump back to music and attempt to find the weakest song on Led Zeppelin IV.

Summer Movie Yestival

I'm not one to usually be super stoked about Summer Blockbusters, but let's be honest here. May alone boasts some goodens. Whether you want to believe it or not, there are some awesone movies on the horizon that are at LEAST going to be enjoyable theater experiences let ALONE possibly awesome experiences.

I will let the trailers do the talkin' here.

1. Speed Racer - If you are going to make one of the greatest Japanime cartoons of all time a live action flick, you BETTER go for the gusto, America. And who better to try that than the Wachowski's. Not gonna lie, I can't wait. Could suck, but I think it'll at least be a visual fest.



2. Iron Man - Tony Stark + Robert Downey Jr. = Best Casting since Christian Bale as Batman.



3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - I don't care how Old Harrison Ford is, he is still a more badass hero than James Bond or any other fucker that comes along. He never did his stunts in the other movies, so who cares if he doesn't do them now. Shoo La Booo will rule this 40 times more than the shitty Transformers abortion.



4. The Dark Knight - Do I need to even say why this is going to be amazing?



5. The Incredible Hulk - Thankfully they nailed Bruce Banner as a whimpy guy with the casting of Ed Norton.


6. Pineapple Express - How could I forget this gem. James Franco looks ridiculous and the premise, altho ridiculous as well, will lead to an amazing comedy.

The Weakest Song on the Best Albums - OK Computer

One way to rile up the blogger community is to state your opinion on something and get people to voice their opinion's back. And since I focus on music and movies, I am starting another round of posts called Weakest of the Best where I will look at an artist's best album and pick the weakest song and say why or a great filmmakers weakest film and say why it's the weakest in hopes to hear what you think. Easy enough.

And where better to start than with Radiohead! Lord knows everyone and their mother has an opinion on Radiohead. Whether you think they are overrated crap or one of our generations best, you have to admit they have quite the loyal following and easily one of the most important albums of the 90's to their credit. That album is far and away OK Computer which has some great musical moments and some of the most interesting arrangements. There is no doubt that every song on the album is of high caliber goodness or at least intriguing in it's composition. This is the bridge between their rock sound and their electronic sound to come in the Oughts. Nevertheless, the point of this post is to try and figure out which song on this classic album is in fact the weakest. And for me, it's not that hard.

Many people that I know point to "Let Down" as the weakest link, but they'd be wrong. Others say "The Tourist" is too slow and boring, but after such a workout that the album puts you through, the melancholy closer is a welcome swell of gorgeous songwriting. It's also easy to look at "Fitter Happier" as a non-song, but that isn't the case. It is a song and it is quite dark and twisted. If anything it is the saving grace of the weakest moment on the album.

And there it is. "Karma Police" is by far the albums weakest link. Maybe it's unfair to give the albums biggest single as the weakest song because you might think I am saying it's weak because I heard it a million times on Y 100. No. it's the basic structure of the song that really kind of makes it the weakest track. Truth be told, this song was the reason I didn't really get into Radiohead until a few years later. Not that I hate the song, by all means I don't. It's just that in the grand scheme of the album, it comes at a point where I'm expecting more. "Airbag" is a strong opener, "Paranoid Android" leads you to believe nothing is going to get better. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" proves the listeners wrong in what is a gorgeous song of texture and melody. "Exit Music (For a Film)" is a melancholoy epic of love and "Let Down" is a wall of sound. "Karma Police" puts a stop on the wonder and awe effect and let's us hear a more standard track. A more typical song than the rest of the album boasts. It's not a bad song, it's just not as good as everything else. It's a tad bit boring, predictable and generic. And the video? Meh. Kinda cool I guess but nothing spectacular.



No that's said and done, let's hear it. Weakest song on OK Computer other than this. Try it.

Next time on Weakest of the Best, I will take on Stanley Kubrick.

Five Brilliant Film Scenes Made By the Use of Brilliant Music

I watch a lot of movies and listen to a lot of music so when the two come together, I truly get moved. Here are five scenes from five movies where the music and images work together perfectly to bring forth a brilliant moment in cinema. In no particular order.

1. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Sigur Ros "Staralfur"

This movie, although not one of most people's favorite Wes Anderson movies, has easily one of the most hauntingly beautiful scenes I have ever seen. At the climax, Zissou and crew finally get to see the elusive "Jaguar Shark" and in a moment in which you think Steve will get satisfaction and want revenge, his human side finally cuts through the masculinity and ego that he possesses throughout the film. And they say there isn't as much character arc in this movie. You are all fools for thinking otherwise. And although Mark Mothersbaugh does phenomenal soundtracking, it was a stroke of genius to use this piece of brilliant music.



2. Boogie Nights - "Sister Christian"/"Jesse's Girl"/"99 Luftballons"
This scene alone is amazing, but the deliscious 80's goodness of both songs amps it up and juxtaposes the tension of the scene brilliantly. PTA is another amazing director who knows how to use music so well to up the ante of an already awesome scene. Alfred Moline at his best? And any mention of mixtapes makes me happy.



3. Mulholland Drive - "Llorando" Rebekah del Rio

This scene is the answer to the movie's mystery. David Lynch is the master of deception and mystery and this scenes sheds massive life on a movie many can't grasp their head around. And the vocal performance is so hauntingly beautiful, I can't help but shake when she hits those high notes.



4. Reservoir Dogs - "Stuck in the Middle" Steelers Wheel

Like this wasn't going to be on here! I could have used many many other Tarantino scenes featuring amazing songs, but this one here is the creme de la creme. Brutal, yet comically dark. Madsen shows us who is boss in a twisted way. And I still stand by Reservoir Dogs being Tarantino's finest film to date.



5. Goodfellas - "Layla" Derek and the Dominoes

The list isn't complete without Marty. Usually, a great Scorsese scene involves The Stones, but the best is far and away this montage put to the outro of "Layla." It starts 2:40 into this video and ends before the video really ends, but it's the penultimate montage put to the penultimate outro of any song ever written (no offense, "Hey Jude".)

Album of the Week Vol. 5 - Gods of the Earth

I hate that I have to bring it up every time I listen to The Sword, but Thank you Guitar Hero.

That said, let's stick to the band itself. The Sword hals from music wondertown Austin, Texas although they sound as if they charged off the gangplank out of their Drekkar fresh from warfare somewhere in Reykjavik. Heavy heavy riffs, bone crushing drum work and tribal vocals scattered the shattered landscape of their music. The Sword's first outing Age of Winters is a doom fest that boasted some of the sludgiest metal some have heard in a while although rife with outstanding catchy riffage that shines through the muck and mire. From the standard "Freya" to the epic instrumental "March of the Lor", you get sucked into their furious dynasty of rock.

The new album, Gods of the Earth, follows up with yet another bone crushing punch. The formula doesn't change. The riffs are so monumentaly epic that one can only assume these guys are reaching for the mythological at all turns. The album never ceases to be as intense as it can. Even when they pick up some acoustic guitars here and there, it's never to slow down the war machine. The album opens with a stunning minute and a half instrumental "The Sundering" before plowing into "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" which totally slays. The first single, "Fire Lances of the Hyperzephyrians" is just as it sounds: brutal. The riffage is fast and furious and the drums are especially kinetic. A more polished version of the previously released "Under the Boughs" appears on the album, but the new additions and the polishing of the song is a definite plus. Other standouts are "Lords" and "How Heavy This Axe." If anything, this is a not miss album for fans of heavy metal music.



If that post apocalyptic video doesn't do it for you, then I don't know who you are.

WOO HOO!

Czech it out! I'm on the Clog!

http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/04/04/10-track-mind-hes-a-motherfuckin-tiger/

Spike Jonze Gets It

Abuzz on many different film blogs, IMDB message boards and other websites are the reports of a drastic change to the Spike Jonze adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. Rumors abound that Spike Jonze's cut of the Maurice Sendak adaptation (penned by Dave Eggers!!) is possibly going to be lost to something cutesy and more kid oriented. First off, here is a clip from the Jonze version to show you just what he is going to do with the story.



Although this is not a scene from the movie, this is the style of the creatures that Jonze is going for. The costumes are from the Jim Henson Workshop and only the faces are digitally altered. Even though this is some early test footage, this looks far and away better than any re-imagination might look. The loss of the costumes for completely digital characters would ruin the film. This clip alone looks more imaginative than any children's film or any other fantasy film in years.

In this article, we see how the studio may re-shoot the film. Basically, we would lose this interesting vision to something cutesy and cuddly. The story of Where the Wild Things Are is a scary tale and it's supposed to be. To change that would be another travesty caused by the film studios. Spike Jonze gets it. He gets the point of the novel and he seems to be interested in doing something unique (as he usually does.)

Let's hope this doesn't get changed and ruined. I am really looking forward to this project.

The fool looks at a finger that points at the sky

The only quote not chosen is from none other than Jean Pierre Jeunet's Amelie. A wonderful scene where Nino is hunting down his mysterious admirer and it leads him to a living statue pointing out. He stares blankly at it and a small kid utters this wonderfully whimsical line.

The winner of the guesses was that of Justin Leo. He wins... NOTHING! Except my undying respect.

Onward and upward.

Album of the Week Vol. 4 - Unonou

Tonight, landing at Johnny Brenda's is the infamous Acid Mother's Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Acid Prog will wreak havoc on the crowd. Opening for these outerspace rockers (aka- Japan) is Danava. These guys are quite the musical experience and their new album Unonou has garnered the official spot for the album of the week.

Danava have a crazy sound. As I've stated before when reviewing their self titled debut for Marginal Minds, I noticed that they are somewhere between early 70's prog and the early glam years of Bowie. Fantastical lyrics and mind numbing riffage flow from the Oregon three piece and mind altering speeds. The self titled debut was chock full of catchy riffs especially the tracks "By The Mark" and "Longdance." On the new album, the absurdly made up Unonou takes their sound and continues running down the field of psychedelia and grandiose rocking.

Unonou kicks off with an insanely fast paced syncopated rhythm with the titular track. The pace is frenzied, the vocals are howling and this continues right straight through to the end. Although Danava had great tracks, the variety wasn't really set in place that Unonou has proved. "Where Beauty and Terror Dance" is a fantastic song with interesting structure and an amazing synth/guitar outro that will haunt you as the next track bleeds into it. "The Emerald Snow of Sleep" is hypnotic with it's sequenced synth riff and it's slow build into epic rocking ending with horns and all. The standout track is definitely the more pop rock laden "A High or a Low" with the horns continuing and the beat jaunty and still filled with the magnificent howlings of Dusty Sparkles. The last half plods on with strides of rock glory and the closing epic "One Mind Gone Seperate Ways" is a homage to Led Zeppelin (although it sounds a little too much like "Achilles Last Stand"... but when was that ever a bad thing?)



Regardless of your thoughts on prog or glam, or prog glam for that matter, these guys rule. It's otherworldly and crazy goodness. Czech em out.

Fifteen Fav Movies

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was a decent idea. While I work on the Album and Movie of the week (yes I know it's been a few since I last updated), I figure I would steal this. Fifteen of my favorite movies will be put into quotes. Try to guess what each quote is from. They will be out of order so if you try to look at my old blogs with my top films list, you won't cheat. BWAHAHA!

1. "An honest man is always in trouble, remember that Simon. " Henry Fool -Stev

2. "It's just gossip, you know. Gossip is the new pornography" Manhattan - Leo

3. "Yeah, he's a nice kid, pretty kid, don't know whether to fuck him or fight him." Raging Bull - Leo

4. "You need more than guts to be a good gangster, you need ideas." City of God - Stev

5. "Because. I had a bad day at work. I had to subvert my principles and kow-tow to an idiot. Television makes these daily sacrifices possible. Deadens the inner core of my being." Trust - Stev

6. "Tell that stupid Mick he just made my list of things to do today." Rushmore - Valentine

7. "But captain, to obey - just like that - for obedience's sake... without questioning... That's something only people like you do." Pan's Labryinth - The Alid

8. "Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." The Shawshank Redemption - Leo

9. "I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do." 2001: A Space Odyssey - Leo

10. "This is your receipt for your husband... and this is my receipt for your receipt." Brazil - Stev

11. "Luther said I could learn some things from you. I already know how to drink." The Sting - Leo

12. "Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I do say no more then ten to twenty million killed, tops. Depending on the breaks." Dr. Strangelove - The Alid

13. "The fool looks at a finger that points at the sky."

14. "Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?" Magnolia - Leo

15. "In one week, I can put a bug so far up her ass, she don't know whether to shit or wind her wristwatch." One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Leo

Good Luck.

Album of the Week Vol. 3 - Cheeseburger

Rock music seems to have some sort of need for either pretension or bloated corporate leadership behind it. The days where rock music was about having fun and thrashing about seemed to be long gone. Eccentric rocker Andrew W.K. seemed to be the last bastion of rock based on partying left...until now. Last year a little band hailing from NYC called Cheeseburger released their self titled debut to relative obscurity. Much like the sandwich they are named after, Cheeseburger is comfort food for your eardrums. After listening to their ultra stripped down guitar and drums rock fronted by a howling beast somewhere between George Thorogood and Iggy Pop, there is nothing more satisfying then a band just enjoying writing fun songs that are best listened to driving down to the shore or blasting at a beach party. And not the kind of beach party that Annette Funicello or Frankie Avalon at.

Kemado Records, which is by far my personal favorite label churning out the best forms of acid prog (Danava), Viking Rock (The Sword) and Insane-o Riff Metal (Saviours), houses these party boys who have a reputation of rocking an insane live show. Apparently be prepared to meet and talk to the lead singer. From their website it sounds like he likes to chill. Also, straight from Kemado and probably the best description of the bands sound: "Essentially, the record is an ode to New York City and the love and drinking that comes with it." How could this be bad? Songs like "Let The Good Times Roll" (no not a Cars cover) and "Tiger" are just fun riffy tunes that ooze with rock and rolls essence. Check out the video for "Tiger" below.



He kind of reminds me of Dick Valentine of Electric Six with his strange approach to front man status, so having more fun rockers around can't ever really hurt a situation. The album all melds together without really varying in sound, but that's what Cheeseburger is good at. Straight up, no frills attached rock and roll music at it's most simple state, yet with a style and flair all their own.

Film of the Week - El Topo

Never have I ever finished a movie and been baffled, confused, enraptured and truly freaked out all at the same time. After hearing one of the most addictive video games as of late, No More Heroes took some strange parallels to a film called El Topo, I had no choice but to bump it to the top of my Netflix queue and see what this film was all about. What I didn't know was I was in store for absolute insanity of epic proportions. This is a film not to be missed for anyone who doesn't mind having their mind fucked.

Alejandro Jodorowsky, director and actor in El Topo really knows how to pour on the visual content. Overload it if you will. From the stunning first shot of a rider shrouded in black holding an umbrella over his head with his young, naked son contrasted in ghostly white riding behind him, you know that this is going to be a visceral film as apposed to any film bathed in compelling storytelling. The story follows El Topo who is a gunslinger. After saving a young maiden from a savage and ruthless killer who takes over a Franciscan monastery to make it his own private fortress, he is commissioned to hunt down the four best gunslingers who can be found in the blistering Mexican desert.

From there on, the story kind of just reels out of control. The real triumph of this film as many of Jodorowsky followers already know is it's intense visuals. It's a masterpiece of visual cinema. Alothough this film predates Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, you can clearly tell that the violence and sexual depravity of that film may have taken some sort of visual influence from this film. Zoom shots of breathtaking beauty and colors that paint the screen like a sunset in summer. Here is the trailer. Sad;y, the quality of the Youtube trailer ain't to great, but you can get a sense of whats going on.



It's beyond like anything I have seen and I definitely suggest seeing it more than once to fully grasp it's savage beauty.

Album of the Week Vol. 2 - The Bedlam in Goliath

Most times bands come up with album titles, they just sound good. Not in a long time has an album title described so accurately what is actually recorded. The Mars Volta’s latest release The Bedlam in Goliath is exactly what it says it is. It’s grandiose chaos in epically large proportions. This isn’t anything new for the Volta, but it’s even more apparent on Bedlam than it has been in the past. Twelve tracks of frenzied prog-jazz that only lulls a few times is very hard to listen to sometimes and the Volta has released one of the most daunting listens in a long time.

The album was written during a time of much chaos in the band’s life. Guitarist Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez and lyricist/vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala were messing around with a Ouija board that they got in Jerusalem during their recording sessions. Several overwhelming events almost tore the band apart during production of the album. Producers having nervous breakdowns, tracks disappearing that were already recorded, floods and a whole series of unfortunate events that somehow were overcome by the time the album was finished. This is fairly evident throughout the chaos that is The Bedlam in Goliath.

In fact, from the first second of “Aberinkula”, you are thrown directly into this conflict. A surge of sound, including new drummer Thomas Pridgen’s insanely accurate and avalanche speed, will immediately catch you off guard. The song truly blossoms once the chaos becomes a little more coherent toward the last two minutes when this funky, menacing breakdown comes together. “Metatron” follows easy suit and is such a seamless transition that you don’t realize track two has begun.

The albums first single, “Wax Simulacra” follows in the tradition of tracks like “The Widow” and “Vermicide” as being the most single friendly, yet still an overwhelming surge of sound that you shouldn’t expect to hear on the radio anytime soon. “Goliath” the most solidified yet still stilted track is easily the albums most gratifying performance. The funky mood to the song is a refreshing turn from the overwhelming tidal wave of sound that will come flying from your headphones, stereo speakers of whatever you play this on.

Songs like “Ilyena” and “Tourniquet Man” are easily forgettable and disposable. “Ilyena” tries to hard to sound different with its strange vocal effects and “Tourniquet Man” is a strange attempt at a ballad. By the time you get through the next few tracks before the finale of “Conjugal Burns”, you are tired, restless and not really interested anymore. Although the album follows suit in grand The Mars Volta

Unlike Amputechture or Frances the Mute, which both had long winded 16-minute tracks that could have been easily broken into multiple songs, The Bedlam in Goliath has shorter songs that flow together and swell with passion and power. That being said, it seems that no one song fully develops to its fullest potential and therefore each song just seems like an unfinished jam. Like most releases from The Mars Volta, there are refreshing moments of prog glory that end up shining through the rest of the muck and the mire that the album seems to be flooded with.

The Bedlam in Goliath may have been recorded during a time in which the band was either cursed or visited be otherworldly spirits that plagued the production, but I doubt that is what brings forth the weaknesses of the album. The band has a specific sound with it’s rather furious paced guitar work or falsetto lyrical content, but on this album, they really can’t figure it out to it’s fullest potential. Maybe a little less tinkering with the occult and more tinkering with song structures would have made The Bedlam in Goliath a more cohesive and intriguing album.

My Problem with Juno

Post Oscar buzz is slinging mud all over screenwriter new comer Diablo Cody and her Oscar winning screenplay for the highly overrated Juno. I'm no lover of the film Juno. It's a decent movie, yes, and quite enjoyable at times, but does it make it worthy of one of the highest honors in film making? The answer is hell no. Here are my problems with Juno.

If they made a movie of Dawnson's Creek, this is what it would feel like, minus the incredibly nuanced performance by Michael Cera. It would be fast talking Smart Alick kids who get mixed up in their pubescent emotions and speak like no one ever speaks. And this makes the movie a lot less realistic. Also, the parents reaction to their daughters teen pregnancy is so far fetched that it's borderline absurd. I guess their might be parents out there who actually don't really give a shit that their daughter is pregnant. The adoption scenario is nice and all, as it does show a very pro-life point of view, but it's mind numbingly insane that the character has such an easy time finding someone willing to adopt her kid. These are the problems with the film.

Now that this is said, you do have to admit for someones very first screenplay, it's pretty damn good. The movie is highly enjoyable chock full of one-liners and some sentimental moments (not to mention a Wes Anderson wannabe soundtrack.) Diablo Cody has a way of telling a story. Reading blogs and articles sending backlash her way is what really irritates me. After a long writers strike, we go on to bash someone just because she was a stripper once and now she comes out of nowhere to write an Oscar winning screenplay. This is the kind of shit that really irritates me about Hollywood and the media. Learn to respect someones past. Everyone has their tale of how they got to where they are now and it is not fair to judge someone based on their past. Even if she was a prostitute, that wouldn't matter now that she wrote a decent movie script and somehow won the Oscar.

The real travesty here is that Tony Gilroy's flawless script for Michael Clayton lost out due to the buzz of this movie. Not a dull character, an unbelievable performance or a plot hole can be found in Michael Clayton, yet people side with the one movie that has a psuedo feel good vibe to it. Annoying.

So, to Diablo Cody, wherever you are, congratulations on somehow winning. Don't listen to detractors (including me) and keep at it. You have potential to continue writing really decent movies. Don't get to egotistical and who gives a shit about shoes. Your movie is alright, but my God was it not worth a Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay nomination.