Jaga Jazzist

This is my favorite band right now. I don't even remember where I heard of them. Instrumental music- think Explosions In The Sky or Isis or Sigur Ros, but at the same time- don't. Because if you like those bands, you will probably like this one, but they sound NOTHING like anything I've ever heard. The music is clearly jazz influenced, but is much more experimental and melodic than any jazz band I've ever heard. Each song on What We Must (the only album I have) has several movements, each inspiring a different emotion; each incredibly intense. This is the kind of band that simultaneously baffles me and inspires me to do better- the true mark of a talented artist. The band is extremely large, using drums, horns, guitars, keyboards, synths, drum machines, and even singing (although there are no lyrics). A MUST listen. I'm thinking of traveling to Norway just to see them.

Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock is a semi-underground hip hop artist that approaches his music in a very creative and sincere way. There have always been things that I've loved about hip hop- it was actually the first kind of music I seriously listened to- but obviously things have become so hideous when it comes to popular genres that there's hardly anything worth listening to anymore. I've never been immersed in the true hip hop music scene, so when I find an artist like this, I basically always stumble on it. I found Aesop Rock on some late night MTV show.

His lyrics are SO clever, so unbelievable, and you can tell that they stem from raw talent. He writes as if it's semi-stream of consciousness; some of the words don't really rhyme, and his vocal rhythms will occasionally leave the beat, as if he's free-styling. If that was all, I wouldn't care to much, but the music is BADASS. All of his beats have a vintage, lo-fi sound, immediately setting his sound apart from all of the no-talent shit on the radio. On top of that, he layers the craziest samples I've ever heard, from a man giving some scientific dissertation to a toddler trying to speak. All are broken up, scratched, chopped, screwed, slowed, fucked, etc. Just listen to it.

Lack of Updates

So, I haven't been posting much on here, probably for a lot of reasons. The main reason is that I forget, or more importantly, that I can't find the energy to write several paragraphs about most of the albums I listen to. The only albums I feel urgent about reviewing are albums I love, and this blog would become pretty boring if every album I wrote about got a phenomenal review. To be honest, heavy music is becoming a mess, like a garden full of weeds. It's difficult to listen to trash over and over again, hoping to hear something worth listening to. Most people feel that reviewing is simply a matter of stating ones opinion, and maybe it is. But then, I've always felt that there IS an absolute good and bad, even in art. I believe that the heavier genres of music often lack true artistry because they are generally comprised of young musicians, often having just found a crowd where they belong, and it ultimately amounts to a lot of trendy bullshit mixed with teen angst. Also, album reviewing is difficult when I scarcely listen to an entire CD.

So, what I'm going to do now, tonight, is recommend bands and give my reasons. If you agree with the reviews you've read, then check these bands out.

Ian

Misery Signals- Controller

The first Misery Signals record (see Of Malice And The Magnum Heart) was a perfect record. It took me years to realize that, but it's the truth, as far as I'm concerned. It's very rare to find a disc without a weak moment in any area. Mirrors, their second effort, had no lasting impact on me as an avid Misery Signals fan- 10 of 11 songs were completely forgettable, but they did release "The Failsafe" on that album, which is easily the best song they've ever written, and almost completely redeems the other 60 minutes of so-so material. And now, they are on the cusp of releasing CONTROLLER, which is one of the most amazing records I've heard this year.

Reviewing albums is difficult to some extent and in more ways than one it's pointless. The idea is give your readers (or in my case, reader) the information they need to determine whether or not they should pursue a certain record, and it's a wonderful position if people actually listen to you because you have a chance to mold the future music scene in some small way according to your values. You can promote music that you think there should be more, and detract from music you think is detrimental to the overall music scene.

That being said, the key topic on CONTROLLER for me is "maturity." Misery Signals is no longer a teenager, no longer going through growing pains. It has grown into a beast of an adult; this disc knows almost exactly what sounds it wants, what moods it wants to convey, what niche to fall in, and what movements to make to win you over. The tedious song-writing reflects the earnestness which the music, even more than the vocalist, conveys. There are songs on this disc that will make you angry, and there are songs that will get you lost in some new environment. And that's what I mean about maturity. You no longer get the impression that this part is supposed to be "brutal" and make you want to break things, or that this part is supposed to make you think they are "super technical" at their instruments or anything like that. I get the impression that it's about conveying feeling, which is what music is ultimately all about. The day that you can stop writing for you audience and start writing to convey yourself is the day that your music becomes what it was always meant to be.

Things to note with this record:

1) Devin Townsend returns to the producing throne with this CD. Notice that I say the first CD (which he produced) was perfect, and the second (which he didn't) was completely forgettable. No one shall consider this a coincidence. I'm just curious as to how much of this CD he wrote himself.

2) A strange return to profanity on this record. I think that after the first one they took a much safer approach all around, including dropping the controversial (not really) F WORD.

Listen to this record hard. Notice the nice post-production touches, the barely audible clean vocals, and the auxiliary percussion. Track 3, "Labyrinthian," has some seriously sketchy song-writing that bores me to death, and there's definitely a few moments on this record I could do without. It's not perfect, but it will definitely stick around, just like Malice. These guys are completely undervalued.

The Dillinger Escape Plan- Ire Works

This is easily one of the most influential bands in my own life, so please understand that perspective when reading this review. Dillinger has had a special place in my heart for a long time, and no it's not just because of the musical complexity and technical skill. There's something about the band's speed and the emotion that their music inspires- it feels frantic, desperate, angry... crazy. Few bands make me want to break things as much as TDEP. And I mean that in the best way possible.

This record is not by any means a perfect record. In fact, following Miss Machine, I would say that this record is a disappointment. Having some memorable tracks is all well and good (Fix Your Face, Lurch), but there is a lot of filler on this record- to some extent there may be only so many ways to rehash chaotic/dissonant metal. But then again, that's not true. This record lacks the accessibility of Miss Machine. Some complex rhythms are catchy, some aren't. Some dissonant chords and notes and melodies will actually get stuck in your head, some wont. And when you're working with this kind of music, I feel like you walk a fine line.

As far as the experimental side of the band goes, again, I'm just not into it this time. Miss Machine was a perfect record. This record is not. Whether in a moment of artistic inspiration, or perhaps a moment of pretension, or perhaps uncertainty, DEP managed to put together a disc 3 consecutive mood-ruining songs (of course, only in my opinion), ultimately about 7 minutes of music, then one heavy song (clocking in at only 1:16), and then yet another another filler song. I don't know if I conveyed how I feel about this portion of the record correctly, but basically the record opens and we get 2 extremely promising Dillinger tracks, and then we hear a pop song, an electronic nuisance, a filler track, a heavy song, and then another filler track in the vein of Calculating Infinity. Seven tracks into the disc, we've heard 3 songs that actually fit in to the sound we've come to expect from this band. At this mark on their previous full lengths, we would have heard 6 and 5 respectively (and that's not counting Phone Home, which is not exactly soft).

Now, I'm all for experimenting, and ultimately I can't say that they've done something wrong, it just doesn't work for me. So let's move on. Chris Pennie is not on this record, and I've set on this CD for about six months so that I can decide exactly how I feel about that. It's just not the same. The taste and feel is deadened on this record. Sure, Pennie is a dick, and Ben writes all of the music, and I would love to be able to say that they are fine without him, but it's just not the same.

On the upside, this record has delivered some extremely memorable tracks that I can add to my catalog of Dillinger music that I listen to on a regular basis. And then there are the songs that I don't listen to on a regular basis, but are still good songs. The thing that kills this record for me is the surprisingly large number of songs that I have no desire to hear (and it's not like they just aren't my style, I just don't think they are well written songs).

August Burns Red- Messengers (7/10)

Honestly, all things aside, I don't think many people expected this band to last when they first heard them. I remember my very first conversations with friends about them, and I think the general consensus was August Burns Red is the culmination of everything popular going on in the metal/hardcore music scene; all aspects rolled into one big metalcore machine, and I think we just assumed everyone would see them as that. And then they became a guilty pleasure band for us.

Well, with Messengers, they are not so much guilty, but still quite pleasurable. August Burns Red is a band that has refined what they do to perfection in a very short time, and as a result, I feel strongly that they deserve credit, regardless of the originality of the band. This album sounds about as crushing, tight, and technical as metalcore gets.

Musically, I'm going to go ahead and say there's not much groundbreaking happening in Pennsylvania, but there is quite a bit of intelligent writing. The disc, along with Amon Amarth's latest, contains some very catchy metal "hooks" (I use quotes because there is no hook as effective as a well written singing melody, something you're not going to find here). Instead of relying on singing choruses (see As I Lay Dying, Destroy the Runner, other irritating band), you get super catchy rhythms in breakdowns, well written guitar melodies, and vocal rhythms, all of which manage to get stuck in your head, regardless of the abrasive nature of the music.

This ultimately impresses me. ABR will lose a substantial amount of street cred (not that they ever had any) by being so catchy, but albums will sell, and lo and behold, look who's getting ready to be Solid State Records' flagship band? The success of this record alone attests to it's appeal to a wide variety of fans. I know it converted me, and other skeptics that croon from their high horses that the band is "too GENERIC!"

Production wise, everything sounds perfect, and that is probably the greatest improvement from the last record. The drums are recorded incredibly well, with significant effort put into each small effects cymbal, while the needed punch and fullness is present in each tom. The kick booms but sounds natural, and the snare cuts through the music just hard enough to scream at you without making you cringe. The guitar tone is pretty nice; a blistering distortion without losing much tone, and another thing they do on this record is make use of effects in a creative way. The vocals sound worlds better, and I'm a much bigger fan of the new vocalists style. On the last record, the vocalist layered so many vocal parts that it was completely obvious to the listener that he couldn't perform them all live.

The packaging is nothing special, and the lyrics are my only real complaint (there's nothing profound about "One nation, under God, it's us against the world." In fact, it's a little disturbing). Overall, this record can't get greater than a 7 in my book, because a) while good at what they do, they cover very little new ground in heavy music b) the lyrics are below expectations given the norm in this genre and c) this album does have it's weak tracks. But it is very well done, and it has a greater longevity than the majority of albums that come out in this genre.

August Rush (4/10)

Welcome to the biggest disappointment of 2007, for me. We all develop expectations for movies based on their previews and advertisements, as well as the hype that the media brings to it. In this case, the practical version of this movie did not hold a candle to the theoretical version my mind had created.

Two young musicians meet unexpectedly and seem to fall in love, having sex on the first night. They never see each other again, the boy going on to tour with his over-pretentious cock-rock band, and the girl pursuing her virtuosic ability behind a cello. The girl is pregnant, and wants to have the baby, but her father disapproves. Late in the pregnancy, she is in a wreck and there is an emergency delivery. The father forges her signature on a form to put the baby up for adoption, and tells her the baby is lost. She abandons cello and becomes a music teacher. Meanwhile, the boy abandons his band and becomes an investor of some kind.

Alongside this story, we see the life of a young boy named Evan who longs for his parents. He is in love with music and hears it in everything, but he doesn't know how to play it or make others hear it. He runs away from his orphanage, and finds himself homeless in New York City, where he meets a young boy that takes him in. The boy is part of a group of homeless kids that play music on the street for money, led by Robin Williams, an insane person. The kids work for money, which they give to him, in exchange for a place to stay and work on their music. Here, Evan first touches a guitar, and is immediately incredible at it. The rest is a story of a kid who believes that he can find his parents if they can just hear him.

It's a chick flick that for some reason assumes it's audience has the collective mind of a five year old. Full of cliches, full of pretense, lacking in all substance and originality, and worse than that: it professes to love music, and then mocks it without restraint for the entire length of the movie. They make no attempt to make any of the several musicians in the movie look as though they are actually playing the music you hear. Evan's father, who dresses like a 90's punk kid but plays in a band comparable to Nickleback, spews pretension and sappy romance I-talk-to-the-Moon-and-it-talks-back nonsense to seduce the beautiful cellist, whose performance was actually the only decent one in the movie.

Bottom line: The premise for the movie is excellent and made me desperate to see it. But the writing is horrendous, ignorant, and cliche, the music lacks creativity, the acting is weak. From a movie that professes a love for music, you expect a unique and beautiful sonic experience, but you get an unrealistic, pretentious chick flick.

Emmure- Goodbye To The Gallows (3/10)

Look out everyone, it's Emmure's crushing Victory Records debut- a ten song mosh fest concept album about (drumroll please...) a guy whose girlfriend dumped him! Man, I remember when my girlfriend dumped me, and listening to this album just brought all those old feelings back. It's powerful dude, I just moshed my little body all over my room for like forty minutes!

Alright, let's get this over with. This cd is a joke. It opens with a breakdown, closes with a breakdown, and the middle is all breakdowns (minus one hilarious allusion to disturbed) and a 4 second "tech" chromatic run.

On top of that, the lyrics are pathetic. It literally is a concept album about a guy and a girl breaking up. The guy is really upset for nine songs, and on the tenth, he kills himself! That's gotta suck!

Moving on, obviously, being a mosh band, the musicianship isn't very impressive. The drummer has some pretty complex kick parts, and he seems to be fairly fast, but it's nothing to dwell on really. I feel very certain that you can judge the caliber of a musician by not just the technical complexity of his parts, but also the quality and creativity of the music being played, and in that respect, you really can't call these guys musicians. They're just dudes in a band.

The vocalist provides the only redeeming points on this record, because his voice is monstrous (albeit with an enormous amount of voice distortion) and he is very versatile as far as style. He has a large screaming range, he talks, he yells, he sings, and each are done well and are pretty memorable, despite the idiocy of the words being sung.

Production-wise it's a Victory Release. Triggered drums, crushing guitar that never leaves the gain below 10.9, and some bass drops and post production effects to tie up the package. There's no creative tracks or really anything about this album that expressly sets them apart at all from anyone, and it's no surprise. I don't know if you've heard of them or not, but this band is doing very well already by playing what kids want to hear. People don't want to take music seriously. It's all a big joke.

Scarlet- This Was Always Meant To Fall Apart (8/10)

Ah... Scarlet. This album, say what you will, has been very influential in my own life (musically, that is). There's something about the band that has always appealed to me as a total package, and I always felt like it shined through exceptionally on this record. When I say "as a total package" I mean that any one thing about the band by itself really isn't that special to me. It's only when all the ingredients come together and it's taken as a whole... which is what I typically enjoy about all the bands I listen to. I'm not one to love a band because they have an amazing guitar player, or because the lyrics are profound, or any one specific thing because I don't believe music should be listened to that way.

Anyways, what Scarlet is and has been to me is this: overtly cynical lyrics, catchy genre-avoiding riffs, excellent production, well placed melodies, and an overall accessibility without completely rehashing everything we've all heard before. In no way is this band a departure of the norm and I don't think it should be viewed as such, but there is alot to appreciate here. "Obsolete," the opening track, became one of my favorite songs for the next few months, even though it is merely an intro to the record. There's something about a "heavy" band doing something like this at the beginning of the record that I always cling to, largely because it's done so well. It's so easy to lose steam or be written off right off the bat when you do something softer like this at the beginning; most cookie cutter heavy bands try and start off with songs that describe every aspect of them in brief.

As the record progresses, you get a feel for the undeniably heavy yet easily accessible sound which was the new Scarlet. The new vocalist's voice is simply awesome- in fact, the reason the band has ultimately disbanded is because they didn't think they could find another vocalist as good (that and probably the rampant drug abuse factor... and probably the fact that they are all scum bags or something). The production is awesome and the album is crisp and hard hitting, and the layered electronic sounds and samples complete the album perfectly.

This is what I love about music, and don't misunderstand and think that I'm calling Scarlet the greatest band on the earth- in fact, it's quite the opposite. This is a band that once again is doing nothing special in any one area: neither guitar player flashes any sort of uber-technical skill (nor the drummer), the music is creative but still retains alot of what you hear in other heavy bands these days... but everything is SOLID, and when you put everything together, you end up with a great album. The first time I listened to this something inside me latched onto it, and that's what music is supposed to do. The majority of the people in the world don't need a logical reason to love the music they do, it just has to do with the overall catchiness and accessibility of the record. Something about it speaks to them, and something about this record speaks to me.

All of that being said, there are some problems with this record. First, I can't sit and listen to the whole thing. I guess either the songs are too long or they just did too much of the same thing- probably a little of both. Also, something that is always hard to listen to and is definitely present on this album is the sense that they're going out of their way to sell records this time. I mean, the difference between the last record and this one as far as added singing melodies go is astronomical, and I think that shines through a little. There's just a little too much singing in this for me to think it's really just what Scarlet should have done. But nonetheless, there is no denying how much this record has influenced my own musical direction, and for that, credit must be given where it's due.

So go check it out.

Les Revenants (They Came Back) (7/10)

Les Revenants or They Came Back is an artistic zombie-ish movie from France, directed by Robin Campillo. Across the globe, millions of the recently deceased have come back from the dead and walked back into society, and the film focuses in on a small French town where the mayor and a committee of officials determine the best course of action. The dead return to their loved ones, to their jobs- ultimately, attempting to return to their lives, but there are subtle, disturbing differences in their new incarnations.

The movie is intriguing and gripping. I was pretty sucked in throughout the whole movie for several reasons. First, probably my favorite aspect of this movie is the subtlety of the acting. The "dead" behave seemingly normal, but seem distant; their motor skills are only slightly slower and, as one character describes it, they behave as if constantly stuck in a world where they have just begun to wake up- their minds are flooded with jumbled memories and thoughts and feelings that they can't process, and in the meantime they are just going through the motions of life. While I generally enjoy a good horror-zombie flick, it is nice to see a different, more subtle take, instead of the limping-on-a-broken-leg rotting corpse-zombies or even the jittery, fast moving zombies of 28 Days Later.

The bizarre thing about this movie is that at first, the problem is approached very logically, and so I was expecting a scientific explanation, or at least some sort of explanation as to their presence and all of that. It just seemed natural. But little thought seems to be put into where they came from, and in the end we are left with no answer. In fact, by the end of the movie, one begins to feel that the entire affair is completely inexplicable and random, and I wondered at the purpose. But it's clear to me that the theme of this movie and the major idea that is portrayed is that we often long for the return of our lost loved ones, and Campillo seems to be trying to show what that would look like; the emotions felt and the strange way one learns to live with someone that has struggled to get over and has accepted as gone... if that makes sense.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will probably watch it again.

As I Lay Dying- Oceans Between Us (6/10)

First, let me say something that I feel pretty strongly about. Artists demand to be understood; that is the essential demand of any artistic creation. Therefore all a musician needs is ears to listen; ears he dares to decode his work properly and to understand it in the way it was meant to be understood. Now, being at least somewhat involved in the heavy music scene, you have these giants who no longer need to worry about ears, such as As I Lay Dying, and you find thousands of people eagerly anticipating the release of their next work of art- people who will go to great lengths to get their hands on it. This tells me one thing- regardless of what I say, As I Lay Dying must be doing or has done something right.

Unfortunately, maybe I have some kind of grudge against the band, but I find myself incredibly disappointed at every release... I've never really been a fan I guess. And I'm also jealous, because they have the ears; all they have to do is speak and play and people will listen and give the music everything they have to understand it. I just feel like a position such as that requires a great amount of attention and thought. Some people save lives literally every day in their profession, and that's what they are paid to do. As I Lay Dying is paid to make music- paid to tour, and do things that people dream of doing.

Anyway, on to the album. It's not terrible but its the same old crap as far as I'm concerned. I just don't care. I don't care about the message or purpose; I don't care to decode or understand because I don't care about the music; it doesn't draw me in. Riff-based metal-core, perhaps a little more on the metal side this time around- there is some growth here, I just don't care enough to figure it out. A perfect example of this is "Forsaken," which begins beautifully enough to almost make want to listen carefully, but the second it drops the melodic, chord based introduction and hits that riff- man, I just don't care anymore. I'm not one of these elitist pricks that wont shut up about abandoning metalcore, but seriously, something new needs to be done. As I Lay Dying are doing what they've always done, which is great for their fans... eh... not so much for me.

The guitar work on this album is a little more technically challenging and mature on this record, and they've taken that route that seems to be plan A or B for bands trying to jump the sinking metalcore ship- it's where you add lots more solos. I don't know why they do it, but whatever. There's also quite a bit more effects usage, which is cool- I'm always into that.

Their drummer is a machine as usual, lacking any sort of real feel or human touch-

Production wise, it definitely doesn't sound bad, but I feel like they've gone for a little more of a "raw" slant. The vocals are further back than in the previous two releases, and the guitar tone seems a little more gritty with some of the noise and distorted mess still left in. Overall, I'm not really feeling it, but it's not like I hated it or anything. If you like the band, I'm sure you'll like it. If you want something new, you're stupid for looking to As I Lay Dying anyway.

For Fans Of: As I Lay Dying, retard.

Amon Tobin- Chaos Theory (7/10)

I haven't been super familiar with this artist, but from what I understand, he's done tons of soundtrack work... mostly for video games, such as this one, but regardless we're trying to branch out here at fishpotato, and plus I'm entirely sick of 99% of heavy bands out there right now (accept a few albums I'll be reviewing soon).

The album opens upbeat and straight to the point with "The Lighthouse." I knew before I decided to review this album at least that Tobin was right up my alley, so it's really no shock that I'm totally into this right from the get-go. His rhythms are in no way cookie-cutter, and the use of some really odd time signatures, plus some absolutely insane drum samples really- it just really draws me in.

By the third track, I had already decided that the album was almost entirely rhythmically focused, but "Theme from Battery" is decidedly melody based, featuring some beautiful samples, and no established beat to back them up. The diversity on this album is something I can definitely respect; this guy has an ear for originality without losing accessibility which is something that I love about electronic music in general. I love seeing an artist who recognizes that "man's reach extends his imagination" so to speak.

"El Cargo" is by far my favorite track; just because it is. Overall, I'm into this album, it makes for a great listen while you're doing something else, and I'm sure fans of Tobin won't be let down, as I can't really find a specific flaw in the record. Not something I will listen to when I'm into focusing on the music, but great for a soundtrack, which is fitting, because that's exactly what it is.

Yep.

For Fans Of: Splinter Cell??

Mychildren Mybride- Having The Heart For War (2/10)

Tracklisting:
1. Circle The Sky
2. In Due Time
3. Love Letter To
4. A Spar Too Late
5. Close Your Eyes
6. Immaculate Murder
7. Falls First Fire
8. A Bayonette Doesn't Make You A Hero
9. Every Moment

Mychildren Mybride is a pretty much cookie cutter metalcore outfit that needs to get some years or some new members under their belt. Fortunately for them, they have plenty of the former ahead of them, and we'll see what comes, I guess. But as for this record, let's just go ahead and get this over with.

Musically, I will say that there is nothing explicitly horrendous, but regardless, we are dealing with very, very generic metalcore. I will go so far as to say Devil Wears Prada meets Job For A Cowboy. And I'm sorry to say, that those are both terrible bands as far as I'm concerned. So we're dealing with harmonic minor riffs, some sing alongs, lots of breakdowns, and I'm just waiting for the southern rock lick to lead into a breakdown with some clever repeated line about the South. I'm dead serious; we are talking COOKIE CUTTER. And the worst part is that none of the musicians even perform their parts well. The guitar work is so sloppy, as is the drums. The most solid member is the vocalist, but his voice just doesn't do much to redeem this band. I HATE listening to a drummer who clearly is winging the entire recording, by the way. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Okay, production: HORRIBLE. But, this being (I believe their first record) I'm sure it was pretty low budget so that's understandable, but it doesnt change the fact that this record is unlistenable. You can't put a combination like this together and expect it to work out for you at all. Gee, let's play the exact kind of music as all 20000 of our friend's bands, then record it in a cardboard box, and expect kids to pay for it!!! Sorry, dudes.

All I can say is- better luck next time. I'm sure you're sweet dudes, but I can't listen to this.

Sounds Like: The Devil Wears Prada, Job For A Cowboy, Haste the Day

Ligeia- Your Ghost Is A Gift (5/10)

Ferret Records

Tracklisting:
1. Beyond A Doubt
2. I'm Sorry You're Ugly
3. Heart Attack
4. Judas Complex
5. The Blackout
6. Household Stereotypes
7. Makin' Love To A Murderer
8. Swollen Eye View
9. Always, Forever
10.Dead Man's Bride
11.Wishing Wells

Ligeia comes out swinging on this semi-heavy, slightly comical metalcore/hardcore record. I'm kind of on the fence thus far. My impression of this band always seems to change, I guess. I hear people say they suck, that theyre just some bro-core dudes doing what's already been done, but then at the same time every song I had always listened to in the past would have these really odd Incubus-esque choruses... and bottom line, I will say that this band is hard to describe.

Picture hatebreed meets [insert any metalcore outfit these days here] meets, I don't know, the Backstreet Boys. Basically, it's lots of stuff that's already been done before, with just enough done differently to sell some records. Sorry to be harsh, but that's the impression I get. The record starts with a good punk beat and some beatdown riffs, some lyrics about punching someone out, and then a relatively weak but well placed breakdown. And you pretty much have a good picture of the whole record, with one exception. Every so often they have these just random singing parts with totally clean, pretty vocals. And I mean, I guess do what you want, but it's not good. It's just not.

I can't say enough that this band is really, really not covering new ground. The worst thing about listening to a band that can't decide if its metalcore, deathcore, grind, beatdown, or Underoath is that each of those is fundamentally one of the most copied genres in music today. COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW! You'd think that musicians, as artists, would enjoy breaking new ground, but when was the last time any of us saw that happen?

Production wise, there's nothing to complain about too heavily. The guitars are nice and present, although a little raw. The drum recording is punchy but authentic- definitely no triggers used here. And the vocals are recorded the same. Basically, I guess what I'm getting at is the whole theme of the production seems to be recorded well but not overdone. I can dig that.

Overall, not a necessarily bad record, but nothing special and I can't get into it. Lyrically, it's retarded. Musically, eh... not bad. Keep working guys, maybe you can develop this little nich of yours into something nice, but I can't say enough, try something new. Please.

It Prevails- The Inspiration (8/10)

Rise Records
2007

Tracklisting:

1. Explanation: Content
2. The Distance
3. Change Today
4. Thirst For A Better End
5. My Life Back
6. To Fail...
7. An Anomaly
8. Man.Moment.Machine.
9. At Least Understand
10. The Inspiration

I read a review of this cd that said something like, "easily the best release to come out on Rise Records in the last four years." Well, agreed. This disc absolutely rules, and it's great to know that there are still bands coming out in the world and making music as beautiful and authentic as this.

It Prevails is a melodic hardcore outfit that sites Shai Hulud as one of their biggest influences, and you can definitely hear it on this record (which I have absolutely no problem with that). The music is hard hitting but absolutely gorgeous, kicking off with a slow tempo drum intro and just absolutely crushing. Very open progressions with driving drums and melodic post hardcore leads, some very big breakdowns, and just absolutely heart wrenching vocals. I really can't say enough how impressed I am with this band, and secondly, how impressed I am that Rise put this out. Maybe someone over there actually has some decent taste.

The songs are pretty much similar throughout the record, not alot of high and low points, minus the two instrumentals, until "At Least Understand," which surprised me with an awesome clean singing part. Sort of in the vein of Aaron Gillespie's work with Underoath, which noone can say is original, but regardless makes a high point on the record as far as I'm concerned.

Production wise, this record is prestine. Nothing special, but no complaints here. I mean, it's not like I expected anything different from Rise anyway, but one thing that's pretty cool is there are no keyboards, and none of the tell-tale signs of a Foundation Recording on this record. Guitars are very nicely blended, which is so important on a record of this kind, drums are massive, and the vocals are comfortably out-front but not overbearing. I'd say these guys got hooked up, as far as I'm concerned.

I highly recommend this record. It breathes good feelings and positivity, and GO SEE THEM LIVE! An absolutely amazing live show.

For Fans Of: Shai Hulud, Hopesfall (Old Old), Anam Cara

The Namesake

Director: Mira Nair
Genre: Drama

Kal Penn plays Gogol Ganguli. The movie starts with Gogol's parents, showing how they met and how they got together. It covers almost 3 decades of their lives. Gogol struggles with his parent's traditions and lifestyle in the midst of American culture. It's a movie about a struggle to be who you are, to accept where you came from, or to forge your own way and break away from your past. I read a review from Entertainment Weekly that said "it's a movie that will speak to anyone who has ever felt pulled in different directions by his own heart." This definitely covers the way I felt at the end.

The movie is beautiful, the color, the atmosphere, the portrayal of both America and India. I was excited about seeing this movie because I loved Vanity Fair as a film (although I hated the story), and Mira Nair directed that as well. Kal Penn was wonderful in this movie. He has been in Van Wilder, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, 24 and now The Namesake. I love how he can cover various genres and excel at each one. Few people can find a way to genuinely do that and not come off forced. Evidently the people who play the mother and father in the movie, Tabu and Irfan Khan, are both famous in the Bollywood movie scene. Their performances were fantastic as well.

I would definitely recommend this movie. It seems to be a little long towards the end, but it's worth every minute. If you check it out, let me know what you think.

mewithoutYou- Brother, Sister (10/10)

2006
Tooth And Nail Records

1. Messes Of Men
2. The Dryness And The Rain
3. Wolf Am I! (And Shadow)
4. Yellow Spider
5. A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains
6. Nice And Blue (Pt. Two)
7. The Sun And The Moon
8. Orange Spider
9. C-Minor
10. In A Market Dimly Lit
11. O, Porcupine
12. Brownish Spider
13. In A Sweater Poorly Knit

There's not really much I can't say, but at the same time there's not enough words in the world to describe the feeling you get when you listen to a cd and realize that a band has achieved perhaps the greatest thing they are capable of. Brother, Sister is one of the greatest albums of our generation, hands down. If you disagree, I'll fight you. If you agree, I'll fight you. ANNNNNNYYYYWWWWAAAAYYYYYYY....

The musicianship on this album is incredible, the production is perfect, the artwork is gorgeous, the song titles and album title are just moving, and Aaron's poetry is as awe inspiring as ever. When you listen to song after song, it just becomes so clear how much this band has grown, and what a clear direction they have found. Every so often I hear a cd and I just don't really have anything to say. Go listen to this. Now. It's incredible.

There is no need to analyze, no need to grade or pick out imperfections.

The Chariot- The Fiancee (8/10)

2007
Solidstate Records

1 Back to Back (1:33)
2 Faced Each Other (2:01)
3 They Drew Their Swords (2:31)
4 And Shot Each Other (4:00)
5 Deaf Policeman (2:43)
6 Heard This Noise (2:44)
7 Then Came to Kill (5:00)
8 Two Dead Boys (2:36)
9 Forgive Me Nashville (3:11)
10 Trumpet

The Chariot's latest effort, "The Fiancee" has left me largely confused, and kind of at loss. But, I'll be honest, there's alot of different facets to my confusion, mostly because of my opinions of Josh Scogin, my completely bafflement (?) at their new lineup, and also the cover art and album title, I honestly just don't get. But let's face it, none of those have anything to do with this cd in and of itself, so on to the review.

What The Chariot have done here is completely revamped if not changed their entire sound, and released an album that is nothing less than a very solid, very well done, and very (yes, I'm about to say it) unique effort. I believe Josh, in his infinite wisdom, decided that their previous sound needed a little work, and perhaps wasn't really unique at all, and as a result it appears they went in the direction of what they believe is more of a punk-ish route. I'm not, however, saying that this is a punk album. But what we have here is a very heavy, fairly upbeat record, with less breakdowns, and less "WEEEEEEE", and alot more older hardcore chord progressions, alot of Josh showing off his vocals, and alot of strange experimentation that ultimately saves this album from monotony.

I haven't decided yet if I love it, like it, or hate it, but it's definitely a good album. My complaints are that in changing styles, they've done something a bit too much, and quite a few times during the cd, they went into parts that I would have sworn were repeats from previous songs. The musicianship is still awful, if not more so (minus a much more solid drummer), but the band does an excellent job hiding that, and having Hayley Williams contribute definitely gave some extra points in my book, although her part is barely audible in the recording.

Production wise, Matt Goldman did a satisfactory job. I'm not super stoked on the tones of any of the drums, namely the snare and toms, and the guitar tone is a little too plain for my tastes. But they definitely outdid themselves in the weirdness post production department, which is pretty cool, I guess. Overall, I'm impressed. Kudos Josh, we all know noone else had anything to do with it.

For Fans Of: Norma Jean, Every Time I Die

Harsh Times (0/10)

Director: David Ayer
Genre: Crime / Drama

I could not even begin to explain to you what this movie is about. It vaguely has something to do with a guy in the military who ends up going crazy because of it or something. I see a lot of movies. Like, a LOT. And just as hard as it is for me to give a movie a 10/10, it is probably even harder for me to give a movie a 0/10. I just like movies.

This is hands down, by far, the WORST movie I have ever seen. The acting is absolutely terrible, which I hate because I have really enjoyed Christian Bale up until this point. Christian Bale is not a gangster. He sounds ridiculous in this movie. I feel like the only people who would like this movie would have to either be deaf and blind or some 16 year old white kid who wants to be hardcore.

I'm not sure if it was the "I was at a party, someone offered me a joint, I was sad because I didn't make it into the LAPD, so I inhaled" or the "What if I just punch you in the belly?" after being told his long-time girlfriend is pregnant or the stupid, awful death scene at the end (yes I just gave away the whole movie, but if you were going to go see it anyway, I'm not sure we could be friends anymore...), but something about this movie just made me want to write a letter to David Ayer and ask him to give me 2 hours of my life back. I would rather watch Gigli 15 times in a row than watch this terrible excuse for a film.

If you absolutely MUST watch some of the movie, here is my advice: Watch the first 5 minutes, then turn it off and burn it.

Set Your Goals- Mutiny (7/10)

Eulogy Recordings
2006

1. Work in Progress
2. We Do It for the Money, OBVIOUSLY!
3. Dead Men Tell No Tales
4. Mutiny!
5. This Song Is Definitely NOT About a Girl
6. Old Book Misread
7. This Very Moment
8. Flight of the Navigator
9. To Be Continued...
10. Don't Let This Win Over You
11. Echoes

I had never heard this band before until now, but had heard an awful lot about them. I think I understand now. This is definitely a solid band, with a solid sound, that have definitely found their place in the world, and will probably make millions, or at least enough to pay rent from their music. What this is, is a very successful blend of hardcore and blink 182 style pop-punk, an easy transition that has already been touched and played with (Stretch Armstrong, Good Clean Fun, etc.) but as far as I'm concerned, has never been taken to this level.

If that's as far as they went, Set Your Goals, would be on my THESE BANDS SUCK list, but fortunately for them, for me, and for you, they also happen to be incredibly creative artists that take their music very seriously, which I find so ironic when lyrically they are so down to earth and simple. But I think there is something about a band that can make you feel something profound with lyrics about their ex-girlfriends and the whole "back in the day when we used to go to shows and kick each other and nothing else mattered but the sing a longs and hardcore" thing.

Music wise the album is fairly solid as well. Guitar work that follows that same blend of genres to a "T" and nothing that is obviously unimpressive. Production wise, again, very solid. Nothing to flashy, minus some impressive track transitions, but everything is present and mixed well, and sounds good, so that's fine by me. Alot of people don't understand how important and difficult production and engineering is for an album, until they and their little tardstick nu-core band go into their friends study and come out with an album that sounds like static and fart noises.

Set Your Goals is like Maylene in that, I think, they've claimed a very marketable nitch in the music industry. They are unlike Maylene in that they don't blow. But at least Maylene are the nices dudes ever.


For Fans Of: With Honor, Blink 182, New Found Glory, A Day To Remember

See You Next Tuesday-Parasite (7/10)

Ferret Records
2007

Tracklisting:
1. Baby, You Make Me Wish I Had Three Hands
2. Good Christians Don't Get Jiggy With It 'Til After Marriage
3. Honey, I've Never Had Sex That Wasn't Awkward
4. Before I Die I'm Gonna Fuck Me A Fish
5. Here, Take This Pill
6. How To Survive A Vicious Cock Fight
7. Paraphilia
8. Just Out Of Curiosity, Are Your Parents Siblings?
9. 8 Dead, 9 If You Count The Fetus
10. Man-Dude vs. Dude-Brah (Where's the Party At?)
11. Let's Go Halvsies on a Bastard
12. A Portable Death Ray And A Sterile Claw Hammer
13. Pogonatrophy Part One: The Hunter
14. Pogonatrophy Part Two: The Parasite

See You Next Tuesday are back again with their Ferret Records label debut, and more than anything it is 100% pure See You Next Tuesday- that is to say its loud, its obnoxious, its short, and its ridiculous, but at least its all on purpose, right? Right?

Okay so on to the album. 14 tracks of strange noises, breakdowns, and some meager attempts at melody, with completely unintelligible vocals, that are either really low or really high the majority of the time. I know exactly how they right their music. They sit down and for ever part, minus the breakdowns, literally try and come up with something that has literally never been done before... and I think they succeed quite a bit. The only problem is that making noises with your guitar that have never been done before... I mean they might all be different, but they sound the same with distortion on them, and putting them all together over and over and over, maybe its just me but it gets monotonous.

Maybe all I'm just saying is that I'm not a huge fan of what this band does. But that's not the question is it? See You Next Tuesday has, as far as I'm concerned, completely succeeded at being themselves. The music is all the same, without being too "the same." It's all fairly "brutal" so to speak. The songs are very short and concise. But they have grown as a band, and you can hear it in quite a few of their songs; a tiny bit of melody here, a little bit of, oh gosh don't say it, METAL there, all comes together to be a pretty nifty little set.

There are fourteen tracks, which I'm sure all the avid fans are thanking their own respective religious leaders for, seeing as their last EP was three tracks clocking it at about 5 minutes total. Those three tracks appear on this album, by the way, all rerecorded and nifty. The production is excellent, which figures since Ferret really seems to know how to do their bands justice on all fronts. The packaging comes from a newer artist that I've seen on alot of new releases, and it's definitely pretty cool looking. I don't know if I think it's the greatest album cover I've ever seen, but you know, to each his own.

Basically, this album annoys the piss out of me, unless its taken in really small doses. But if you dig them, you'll probably love it. Let me just say that I just listened to the ENTIRE ALBUM while typing this... so, there.

For Fans Of: Nu-grind/Noise (Cloacal Kiss, Job For A Cowboy, The Heartland)

Shooter (8/10)

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller

Okay, first of all, let me just say that I love Mark Wahlberg. Of all of his movies I've seen (which I'll admit, I haven't seen all of them), but of the ones I've seen, I love them. I haven't seen a single one I haven't liked. I just think that boy is great! Examples (in order of date released): Fear, The Big Hit, Three Kings, Rock Star, The Italian Job, Four Brothers, The Departed.

So this movie is about a former marksman for the military who is brought out of retirement to help stop an assassination attempt on the President. He is then framed for the assassination. The whole thing is pretty much a him getting even, taking down the bad guys, etc kind of thing. There is nothing super crazy or life changing about the movie. It just pretty much rocks your face off.

If you enjoy movies where something bad happens to somebody and then they spend the whole movie getting back at someone, you need to see Man on Fire, The Punisher and Walking Tall.

Blood Diamond (9/10)

Director: Edward Zwick
Genre: Adventure / Drama / Action

First of all, after reading Ian's posts about movies, I've decided that I suck at reviewing movies. I'm such a movie fan that when I see a movie I like I turn into a blubbering idiot who can't get her words out. It's just, "ooooo I loved it!" And later, once I calm down, I can explain why. Anyway, I'm going to attempt...

First of all, this movie is about a huge, rare diamond that is discovered by a fisherman in Africa who was taken from his family and forced to mine for diamonds for the rebels in Sierra Leone. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a diamond smuggler who, while in prison, finds out about the diamond and the man (Djimon Hounsou) who found it. They join together for different reasons to find this diamond.

This movie touches on so many different issues that it is hard to put them all together. It is a common theme in media today to make a movie that has a very distinct social statement. You could argue that the world is getting worse, but I think it is more that Hollywood is focusing it's attention on certain issues now that have been going on for years. Many people are just beginning to open their eyes to what is going on in other countries. This movie is one of these eye-opening movies. It speaks of the value Americans in particular put on diamonds and how this is affecting the countries some of these diamonds are coming from. It almost made me wish that my wedding ring was some other kind of stone. But the emphasis they are making is that conflict diamonds are the diamonds we are to avoid. And it is now (after recent legislation) the responsibility of the consumer to demand diamonds that are not conflict diamonds.

I gave this movie a 9 out of 10. I don't think I can put my finger on the exact reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10. It had something to do with the way it made me feel. But I may decide it is a 10 later and come back and change this.



And on a personal note, my heart goes out to the African people and the turmoil and destruction that is present and has been present in their country for decades. There are terrible things happening that are beyond any of our comprehension here as Americans if we don't step outside our comfort zone to see. BUT, it is important that we don't focus all of our attention in the direction of Africa. There are other countries with similar devastating occurrences that are sometimes overlooked. Bosnia, Colombia, Iraq, Palestine, Thailand, Peru, Philippines, Cambodia, Congo, Iran, Vietnam - it is important not to forget these countries as well. I'm not minimizing the importance of the conflict in Africa, only reminding us they are not the only countries like that.

INFORMATION

This is a site where me (Ian) and Cameron review music, movies, and books and anything we feel like reviewing. We love this stuff and we like having opinions about it. So, enjoy, hopefully it will help.

If you are interested in us reviewing anything you have, let us know, we'll tell you what to do.

Also, credit for the name goes to my uncle Chip. Because he's the man.

That's all I got for now.

300 (10/10)

2007
Directed by Zach Snyder
Gerard Butler
Lena Headey

Another revolutionary and beautiful film that challenges so much about us as people and our country but does so in a way that inspires rather than angers. This film almost captured me alone in its sheer disregard for me as its viewer. Zach and ultimately Frank Miller (writer of the original graphic novel) show so little concern for what is acceptable or politically correct in America today, and instead release a film that is easily as influential as The Matrix, if not more so, and easily more beautiful.

300 is a not-so-accurate interpretation of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. in which 300 Spartan soldiers took on over a million of Xerxes Persian Army rather than submitting. It's an amazing story of courage and honor, challenging so much of what America has come to accept as the truth.

The entire film was shot in front of a green screen, which I would normally despise (see Star Wars: Episode I), but the backgrounds are so beautiful and so realistic- I can't imagine what the budget for this film was, but it must have been sky high. Anyway, this lends so such a surreal atmosphere, adding the perfect mood to the film. Gerard Butler's performance also just makes the film- there's no way I could not say anything about it, he's pretty much the definition of courage in man, enough to make me want to start working out 25 hours a day.

The film challenges modern perception of honor, of loyalty, of marriage, of battle, of selflessness, of submission, of a man, of a woman, and ultimately points toward our own lack of moral fiber and will. We have become so complacent when we could be so firm. We bend when we could be like pillars. That's what I got out of it. Go see it. I'll shut up.

Babel (10/10)

2006
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Brad Pitt
Cate Blanchett
Gael Garcia Bernal
Rinko Kikuchi

Easily one of the greatest films of our generation. Babel comes from the same director as "21 grams" which again I have unfortunately not seen, but if this movie can be taken as any indication, I need to see it immediately. Babel is the story of a bullet and how it affects the entire world, but the values found in this movie run so incredibly deep, I can hardly understand it all. Before I go any further, may I just say that the best thing to do is stop reading this and go watch the film, and learn from it whatever you will, rather than listen to me blather on about it. Because this film is definitely worth it.

I'm not going to go into the plot, because you need to be watching it right now. But I will say this film covers everything from love in tragedy to teenager lust to coping with death to the idea that one small mistake can change everything to the idea that we are all ultimately connected to post 9/11 racism and paranoia to suicide to being viewed as different and acceptance and ultimately shows the vast gaps that we experience between each other; how little we understand one another, whether we have never met or have spent our entire lives together, ultimately pointing to the title, referring to the complete and totaly divergence of language and communication. Language is the only thing in the history of the world and humanity that has a tendency to diverge rather than converge.

Something I admire so much is how unique each story of the movie is, but yet so powerful. You don't get the feeling that Gonzalez Inarritu is just trying to be pretentious with this storyline, but rather that he feels very strongly about everything you see, and in turn transferring that feeling to you. The sountrack is incredible, the cinematography is very earthy but also clever; the movie is just gorgeous. And the settings are so beautiful as well. Go rent it. Go buy it. Now.

Hampton Sides- Ghost Soldiers (7/10)

Anchor Books 2001

The book that inspired the film "The Great Raid," which unfortunately I never saw. Sides definitely knows what he's doing, which I'm sure is the way it goes for anyone with a book that is a "national bestseller". Ghost Soldiers is the account of the largest surrender in US history outside of the Civil War, the Bataan Deathmarch, and a prison break operation conducted by US rangers to free the captured soldiers. It's horrifyingly honest, clearly portraying the evils and hardships of war, and telling the story without sparing any of the brutal details.

As far as writing style, Sides takes an approach that is fairly unique, telling two stories taking place at completely different times in a parrallel fashion; going back and forth between the captured soliders' story and that of the rangers trying to rescue them, climaxing when the two stories come together as one and finish the book together.

The book is profound in alot of ways. I found myself writing down certain quotes from the soldiers and having a better understanding of life and living through the stories of these men. It's touching, and Sides certainly does an adequate justice. If you're into war novels, I'd recommend this for sure.

300 (10/10)

Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action / Drama / War / History

I honestly don't have words to describe what I thought of this movie. I'm speechless and pretty much in awe.

Going to see it is absolutely necessary.

Ian, you really need to see it and put a better review of it on here because I just can't. I seriously can't describe how I felt about it or why it was good. Every single thing about it was great. You need to critique it, not me.

Half Nelson (8/10)

Director: Ryan Fleck
Genre: Drama

Ryan Gosling plays a middle school history teacher with a drug addiction. A student from his class discovers his addiction and they develop a friendship. It is odd and sad and funny and scary and brutally honest. I thought it was very well done. I love Ryan Gosling as an actor. I've seen most of the stuff he has been in and I've loved all of it. I love how he can play this and then play in The Notebook and then play in Remember the Titans and Stay and Murder by Numbers. He is diverse and he captures your attention by the way he plays whatever role it is.

I would say this movie is really excellent, but it's not for everybody. You have to really love and understand film in order to be able to appreciate it because it isn't your typical movie. But that's probably what I like a lot about it.

Gattaca (8/10)

1997
Directed and Written By Andrew Niccol
Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law

Genre: Sci-FI, Suspense

From the writer of "The Truman Show", this movie comes from in a similar vein but a completely different arena. Ethan Hawke plays a natural "God birth" in a world where babies are genetically engineered to be perfect, and as such he is a much "weaker" person than everyone around him, including his own brother. But he has a dream of being an astronaut, and he is determined to achieve it, and so he assumes the identity of a man better engineered than he, giving him the genetics to get him into the space academy, and allowing him to pursue his dream.

It's a clever story with some very serious undertones; not accepting one's own hand, the shame of living as someone you're not (because what you are isn't good enough), the human spirit, the jealousy of those who have been outstepped by those who haven't, etc. And all in all, it's superb. There are some gorgeous moments in the film, where the uniqueness of the setting helps portray the underlying ideas so well. For example, living as a different man, he has to constantly keep himself from shedding dead skin and hair, and instead leave traces of his alter ego in his place, and this habit ultimately makes him ashamed of his own skin.

The cinematography is great for 1997, and the movie never outsteps it's own means, which is something I find to be so important. That is, it never uses some kind of ridiculous CGI to render something that ultimately looks absolutely fake. For a science fiction, futuristic, movie, this one's much more character and dialogue based than anything else. There is a voice over for only a small portion of the movie, but, as it only rarely does, it actually adds instead of detracts from the overall film. Ethan and Uma's relationship is one of understanding more than anything, because she, like him, has a falty heart as a result of bad genetics, and while she thinks he is a perfect man, he relates to her in that both of them have achieved unimaginable things for themselves.

Anyway, I've said all I need to say. Go rent it.

Babel (10/10)

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Genre: Drama / Thriller

It's a pretty big deal to say a movie is 10/10. But this one is worth every bit of it. Incredible acting, directing, writing, cinematography - the list goes on and on. I don't have a whole lot to actually say about it because it was just so good that words will ruin it. Pretty much, just watch it.

Basic plot of the movie: It's about 2 tourists (Brad & Cate), the wife is shot by accident while in a tour bus. The whole movie is just the events leading up to and occurring because of that event. It is incredibly emotional and makes a very distinct statement about the state of the world right now. It's worth taking the time to watch. And then telling everybody about.

Bleeding Through- The Truth (1/10)

Trustkill Records

Tracklisting:
1. For Love And Failing
2. Confession
3. Love In Slow Motion
4. The Pain Kiler
5. Kill To Believe
6. Dearly Demented
7. Line In The Sane
8. She's Gone
9. Tragedy Of Empty Streets
10. Return To Sender
11. Hollywood Prison

Genre: Metalcore

The lead singer (whatever his name is) said that with this album, they would prove that they are not a "metalcore" band. Way to be trendy. Oh, wait, I meant way to be a liar.

"The Truth" gets a 1. And that's just because they are fun live, they have a hot keyboardist, and I can tolerate "Tragedy of Empty Streets".

I actually really enjoyed the previous album, but I mean, COME ON! If you are going to follow trends this blatantly, be smart about it.

PS. I almost took away their (1/10) just for having a song called "Return To Sender."

For Fans Of: Eighteen Visions, Bad Music, Etc.

30 Seconds To Mars- ST (7/10)

Despite the criticism of being an actor trying to start a musical career (which I will say, is in general a complete joke), this band's debut release was quite the album. While the general concept and majority of the lyrical content are hokey at best, the music is well thought out, the production is elegant, the instrumentation is thorough and fairly mature, and the hooks are catchy. Kudos, Jared Leto; maybe there's a reason you are my man-crush.

The band's sound itself is not generally my favorite- the industrial rock tinged with nu-metal- because generally these kinds of bands sound like they think they are from the future (this band is no exception). However, if you can get past that, we have some really good songs here. The disc has a fairly intense pace from the get-go and doesn't actually let up for most of the album. The instrumentation, guitar-wise, isn't anything special at all, minus maybe some slightly cliche effects loaded on with no mercy, but the percussion is something I always found to be superb. There are alot of electric drums use, but the drummer himself does show some natural talent. Production wise, it's everything you could expect from an album fronted by an A movie actor- perfect. Everything is mixed well and can be heard clearly.

Real quick, I'm going to touch on why this cd could never get higher than a 7 in my book. The lyrics are ridiculous. I think Leto wanted to portrat himself as some sort of futuristic astronaut hoping to lead a space revolution... or ? I really have no idea, but he ends up sounding like an idiot, or maybe someone who wanted to be an astronaut but did too much acid in high school and instead ended up pumping gas and continues to be obsessed with the "back when's" and "what if's" of total failure.

All in all, it's a decent album. Over the years my taste in music has changed quite a bit, but this album has always stayed somewhere on my shelf as something I can still enjoy occasionally, and that fact alone is why I chose to review it.

Hackers (6/10)

Directed by: Iain Softley

Genre: Sci-Fi

A group of sleek computer hackers are framed for a crime and use their super-dooper skills to get themselves out of it and solve a mystery. Honestly, this is a good film. It's one of Angelina Jolie's earlier ones, and all of the acting is good, the story is well thought out, and the film is probably well ahead of it's time. The only thing is, that time was 11 years ago, and I have a headache, and honestly this film does not hold my attention.

Maybe it's just me, but is this not just a cliche with the word "hackers" inserted every once in awhile? I don't know. But while this film isn't awful by any stretch of the imagination, and I do share the same name as the director, overall I find it boring. Sorry if that offends you. Go check it out if you're into this sort of thing.

The Pursuit of Happyness (8/10)

Director: Gabriele Muccino
Genre: Biography / Drama

Will Smith plays a father who finds himself without a job, a wife or a car and facing rent, parking tickets and taxes while trying to take care of his son. He joins an unpaid internship to become a stockbroker and at the end of the internship, only one person is chosen out of around 20 to get the job. It is a uphill battle the whole way and definitely emotionally tiring.

I think that in the times we live in, people are always expecting action-packed movies. They want to be kept on their toes. We live in an ADD world where many people have a hard time sitting through anything that isn't constantly fast-paced. This movie was worth the extra effort. It was a little slow, a little sad the whole time, but it paid off in the end. I, personally, thought Will Smith was more than excellent in this role. And his son, who plays his son in the movie, was surprisingly refreshing for his first big movie role. It was given bad reviews by some, but I think if you take the time to chill and just watch it, it is well worth it.

Final Say: Definitely worth seeing!

Rocky Balboa (6/10)

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Genre: Action / Drama / Sports

Rocky is working at his restaurant and trying to work out his relationship with his son. A computer-generated fight is shown on ESPN of Rocky vs. the new, young heavyweight champion. Since this new guy's agents see this as an opportunity to make a lot of money, they convince Rocky to actually fight the guy. He does and most of the rest of the movie is a pay-per-view looking fight with a happy ending (surprise, surprise, come on, it's a Rocky movie).

This was WAY better than the 5th movie. He lost it for a while and came back on top. It's a great way to end the series. He looks pretty great for a 60 year old if you can get past the nasty looking veins. It's definitely worth seeing if you like the Rocky movies, but the main line in the movie says, "It ain't over 'till it's over" which is true. It was great, but after this one, I hope they really let it be over. All good things come to an end. At least it ended like this as opposed to the 5th one.

Final Say: A definite must-see (**if you have seen all the others** - if not, don't really bother.)

Children of Men (8/10)

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Genre: Adventure / Sci-Fi / Drama / Thriller

So it's 2027 and women haven't been able to have children for 18 years. The youngest living person just died. Clive Owen plays this guy who through a series of events ends up being responsible for helping this woman who is miraculously pregnant get across the border safely to meet up with this group that is going to help her.

I'm very torn over what I think of this movie. First of all, it is an incredible film. In terms of cinematography and just the general way the movie was done and put together, it's really great. There is no way around that. I love the one continuous take type of filming. I thought the acting was incredible, but then again, I am a huge Clive Owen fan. I think he is fantastic. And I really liked the story. It was unique. It was making a statement. It was interesting. My only problem is that I feel like it was way too much story to put into a 2 hour movie. It left me with way too many questions. Not questions like lingering, left me thinking kind of questions, but actual, like I didn't understand basic premises of the movie kind of questions. I don't know, it was good. But it's not anywhere in my top movies. I would've liked to see it more in like a 3 part series and just get a lot more information. I know Ian disagrees, he loved it. And I just want to stress how incredible I thought the movie was. If you love movies or know anything about cinematography or actually good acting, then you will love it whether you completely understand everything or not. Maybe I'm just too dense to understand parts of it, but it didn't ruin it for me. It just isn't in my top movies.

Final Say: It's definitely worth seeing. But you may have questions.

Alpha Dog (7/10)

Directed: Nick Cassavetes
Genre: Crime / Drama

Johnny Truelove is a 19 year old drug dealer in California. Through a bad drug deal, Jake Mazursky ends up owing him about $1,200. After Jake breaks in and trashes Johnny's house, Johnny and his friends go to find Jake, but see his brother Zach walking down the road. They catch him and beat him up and then take him home with them to hold him for ransom. He is aware of what is going on, but is having fun partying with Johnny's friends. It is based on the true story of Jesse James Hollywood who was the youngest person ever to be on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

I actually loved the movie. I have been reading about the case and the making of the movie for about a month now and was just excited to see how the Writer/Director Nick Cassavetes put it all together. I think Justin Timberlake is actually a really good actor. I saw him in Edison Force and thought he was great, so I was excited to see what he would do in a completely different kind of role. And he was great. Ben Foster who plays Jake Mazursky was pretty out there, but he was playing someone who was supposed to be a little crazy and on drugs pretty much constantly. So if you've ever been around people who are on a drug that makes them like that, he really wasn't too far off from what it would've been like. Sharon Stone's fatsuit in the end was pretty distracting because it looked ridiculous. But if you can get past those things, it was just great. What is interesting to me is that the movie was taken straight from the case files of Jesse James Hollywood's attorney. So the movie is as accurate as it could be. In an interview with Nick Cassavetes, he says that it is between 90 to 95% accurate. He said obviously the actual details of what was said between everyone couldn't be completely accurate. But the storyline and what happened in what sequence of events and who was there and what they saw was taken from the witnesses accounts of the events. I think that's pretty much fascinating.

Final Say: If you can get past the drugs, sex, violence & language, it's worth seeing if you're interested in the story at all. But go into it knowing that it is a true story.


Here are some interesting sites with information about the real guy:

Really Detailed Account of how the movie was made
FBI Press Release about capture of Jesse James Hollywood
Unsolved Mysteries information
Jesse James Hollywood - Wikipedia

Audition (7/10)

Directed by Takashi Miike
Genre: Drama/Suspense/Horror?

I had never seen any of Miike's movies before, but one of my friend's kept talking up his horror movies as the most shocking he'd ever seen; "Nothing offends this guy." Well, lo and behold, Audition was a surprise for both of us, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's just that a) the film holds a strikingly low budget but surprisingly real feeling, and b) this is most definitely not a horror movie, at least not in the naturaly sense of the word.

The basic premise is actually pretty lame (what a surprise? Japan has given us a movie about a video that kills you, a website that kills you, a video game that kills you, and the Grudge), but don't write the movie off just yet. The main character, who's name has already slipped my mind, loses his wife at the beginning movie, and is forced to raise his son alone. Seven years later, he decides to remarry. So his friend, a movie producer, writes a movie plot in which the main female role is exactly what our protaganist is looking for in a woman, and then holds auditions. Long story short, our hero meets his dream woman and falls in love, but she apparently has some very strange secrets.

Spoiler Alert. Anyway, the film is very slow moving and has some really strange cryptic dialogue, but in the end, and by the end I mean the last 10 minutes, the girl suddenly turns sadistic and starts torturing the main guy. It's very graphic, but surprisingly real looking, despite the low budget look of the film quality, etc.

Ultimately, I felt sort of strange about this movie. It didn't rub me the right way as an obviously good movie, such as Eternal Sunshine would. But I still can't write this off. For a slasher director, this movie has a suprising amount of depth and maturity, seemingly showing infinite patience (the movie runs for nearly an hour and a half without anything significant happening). The dialogue, while cryptic (probably in part due to errors in the subtitle translation), is very clever and dark, and runs very deep. The acting might not be the greatest, but I think it's perfect for the film. I'm forever on the fence. Rent the film, and tell me what you thought.

Destroyer Destroyer- The Dead Sleep Like Us For A Reason (3/10)

Debello Recordings
2006

Tracklisting:
1. Dead Weight As Far As The Eye Can See
2. Horse-Drawn*
3. Error*
4. I'm Tired Of Making You Listen And Listen "Good"
5. Chainsodomy
6. 1981-2005
7. Why Isn't Dr. Gregory's office open? Because It's Sunday. No It Aint!
8. Don't Be Ridiculous, Doctor.

Destroyer's second release is quite the disappointment, if you ask me; and I only say that because this band is absolutely amazing live, and incredibly unique. On CD however, I find it hard to distinguish them from the one hundred and fifty bajillion bands in the Nu Grind upprising. Let me explain.

The first disappointment, that immediately made me want to break something pretty, was that this album is merely their old demo, plus 3 new songs. Which leads me to my immediate response: Why the hell did you release anything at all? What's worse is they didn't even re-record the old songs. It's literally just three new recorded songs plus the old EP, each sounding radically different. I don't think I can put into words how frustrating it is that between track 3 and track 4 the production style shifts completely, and this fact alone has completely tainted my view of the entire album. I'll listen to tracks 1-3, all of which are excellent musically, and then switch to a different band (even though track 4 was my favorite track off the old EP, I just cannot handle the sound change- IT'S HORRIBLE!).

Production wise, let me go ahead and vent a little more. The album must not have been mastered, because all of the tracks, old and new, and incredibly quiet. That coupled with the fact that the recording is so muddy that hardly a single instrument can be distinguished, and then add the chaotic style of the music itself (namely Noah's drumming), and what you have is jumbled noise. That's literally what most of this cd sounds like.

But, I will say this. Overtime I have gotten past these issues to some degree, and the music itself is pretty cool. Picture a fast and heavy version of melancholic jazz, with the greatest drummer of our (well my at least) generation playing behind it, and incoherent shrieking over top. Maybe it's not your cup of tea, but that at least sounds like something that can find a market somewhere.

The layout of the CD is pretty cool, for a low budget label, definitely. The Cd itself is clear, with some crazy designwork over top, and the only part that is opaque is the is the middle, where information was written. The artwork is all very dark and well done, if maybe a bit generic.

All in all, I just can't wait for Destroyer's first release on Goodfellow Records, because I've heard the new Handshake Murders, and that lable knows what they are doing. In case you missed the point, Destroyer is a great band, and definitely worth checking out. This recording is just not the one to go with.

Sounds Like: Really, nothing I've ever heard before.