Movie Review: Drive

September 19, 2011 Leave a Comment

The plot of Nicolas Winding Refn’s first major Hollywood film, Drive, isn’t exactly anything new.  The main character, simply known as “The Driver”, has a day job as a Los Angeles stunt driver.  By night, he drives getaway cars for anyone willing to pay.  But unlike films with similar storylines, Drive has depth.  It manages to separate itselfs from typical action/driving films in a way that is wholly unique.  The plot of the movie takes on an almost mythological, fucked-up fairy tale quality, making it one of the most interesting, original cinematic works of the past few years.

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Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You

August 29, 2011 2 Comments

Of the most popular rock acts of the past twenty years, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are no stranger to lineup changes.  Throughout the bands 28 year history, they’ve had a singer, a bass player, three drummers, and nine guitarists.  The band’s most consistent lineup – vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante – were together for ten straight years before Frusciante left the band for the second time in 2009.  While the band split up amicably, there was some question of the band’s will to go on.  Frusciante was a principle songwriter during his time in the band, and he was a huge part of the band’s biggest hits (which included “Under the Bridge”, “Californication”, and “By the Way”).  He played a huge role in moving the Chili Peppers from their early funk/punk style to a more melodic, accessible sound.

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Album Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne

August 9, 2011 1 Comment

While formulating a personal opinion on a piece of art – whether it be music, film, literature, etc – expectations are everything.

When Kanye West released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in November 2010, critics praised its excellent instrumentation, interesting subject matter, and grand ambitions.  It is one of the more interesting, unique albums in the history of hip-hop, and it clearly contained some of West’s best work.  When he announced his collaboration with Jay-Z, his long time friend and mentor, it was hard not to expect the same thing.  With Kanye’s production skills and the combined rapping skills of the two, how could an album with two of rap’s greatest (and most popular) not at least equal West’s previous album?  Then “H.A.M” was released in January 2011 to mixed reviews.  While critics praised it’s symphonic nature and gloating lyrics, it was not as special or interesting as anything from West’s Fantasy.

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Album Review: Meg and Dia’s Cocoon

July 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

Surprisingly, I owe this review to a TV singing competition.  Specifically, NBC’s The Voice.

I’ve never really enjoyed or even occasionally watched singing or talent shows like America’s Got Talent or American Idol.  Shows like that always felt a little contrived atmospherically to me, and kind of fake.  And I never fell in love with any of the singers.  So when I randomly decided to watch The Voice, I was surprised at the level of talent on the show.  The show’s four “coaches” also seemed much more genuine than the judges on American Idol.  I started tuning into the show regularly in order to see if my favorite singers moved on.

One singer in particular struck me as being great.  Dia Frampton had a unique voice and a personality, especially for the type of show The Voice was.  I was surprised when I looked her up online after her audition and found out she was from the band Meg & Dia (Meg Frampton is her sister), who I had heard of a few times before.  While Dia didn’t end up winning the show, she made it all the way to the end and was only narrowly beat out.  But her voice was so enjoyable to me that I checked out her and her sister’s music.  Cocoon was the first album I listened to.

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Movie Review: X-Men First Class

June 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s often hard to decide where the line between a good and bad comic book movie is actually drawn.  And sometimes it even depends solely on the viewer to decide what they want out of a film based on a comic.  Is a movie of that type supposed to focus more on action?  Or should it focus more on the “super” characters that are so beloved and their development?  The past few years have shown that a combination is necessary to create a truly great work of cinema.  While comic book movies work with almost non-stop action from start to finish, a different, more human side should also be shown.  It helps provide an interesting contrast and helps with emotional investment.  It’s the difference between a movie like Fantastic Four – which was decent, but very shallow – and The Dark Knight, a fairly deep film that was almost a crime drama as well as a super hero flick.

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Movie Review: Bridesmaids

May 17, 2011 1 Comment

The world we live in relies a lot on first impressions.  Our first contact with a person often decides whether or not we will ever see them again.  With movies and music, trailers and singles are often the only factors consumers will use to decide whether or not they are interested in a specific product.  Bridesmaids is a great example of how first impressions dominate the perception of movie-goers.  Despite the fact that Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin) produced the film and it was directed by Paul Feig (The Office, Arrested Development), Bridesmaids was quickly stereotyped by movie-goers to be a “chick flick.”

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Show Review: J Mascis at the Echo, LA 5/6/11

May 9, 2011 2 Comments

Note: No Records of the Week post today – I’m pretty much listening to a lot of the same stuff.  But I had been planned on reviewing this show for a few days, so I figured now would be the best time.  Also, there’s a great quality video of the show – click “Read More” to see it.

When J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr. fame) released his latest solo effort Several Shades of Why in March (a sparse, acoustic effort), I was conflicted.  J has always been one of my favorite songwriters and guitarists, but I was not a huge fan of it.  At first I thought it was just the songs – but after seeing J play a sold out show at the Echo in Hollywood last Friday, I realized that the reason I had a problem with the album was simply the mood I was in at the time.  The songs from Several Shades of Why really hit me after hearing them in a live format.  Instead of expecting the loudness and heaviness of Dinosaur Jr albums, I grew to enjoy the songs as they were.

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Video Game Review: Minecraft Beta

April 5, 2011 4 Comments

At first look, indie-game Minecraft seems fairly simple.  It’s blocky, outdated graphics have drawn people away on occasion in an era where gamers expect an increase in graphical quality with every year that passes in the video game industry.  But Minecraft is by no means simple – and while it’s graphics are definitely worse than other games (at least as far as realism goes), the gameplay is top notch.  It’s a must-buy (especially now, in it’s discounted beta state) for the sheer amount of possibilities the game has.  It is truly one of the most open-ended experiences you’ll find with a game, and the goal is…well, there is no goal.  It’s literally that open-ended.  You can do whatever you want to do for fun.  And it’s what makes Minecraft one of the most unique gaming experiences released in a long time.

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Show Review: Odd Future In Pomona, 4/1/11

April 2, 2011 4 Comments

someone let me know who took this awesome pic so i can give them credit.

45 minutes before the Glass House doors opened for the OFWGKTA show, the line was already around the block.  Around ten people (including some guy in a “Pavement ist rad” shirt…kudos for getting in, dude) were walking back and forth down it, asking “any extra tickets,” visibly disappointed every time someone said, “No, sorry man.”

If this isn’t indicative of the amount of popularity Odd Future has gained in the past few months – since appearing on Jimmy Fallon and being one of the highlights at the SXSW festival – I don’t know what is.  The hip-hop collective, based out of Los Angeles, has a real buzz surrounding them, and the energy before the show was impressive.  It’s not often (well, never in my experience) that you see crowd surfing and mosh pits before the music starts, but Odd Future is something different, new, and interesting, and people want to see them and be involved before they truly blow up.

(Show review/video of a new song from Goblin after the jump)

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Review: James Blake’s James Blake

March 30, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s hard to describe exactly what kind of music James Blake creates – his wikipedia page describes his music as “post-dubstep” and “minimal techno”.  However, his signature electronic/R&B sound defies even these loose genre lines.  Add Blake’s soulful crooning, and his debut album James Blake manages to be a unique listening experience.  It’s a very atmospheric record, filled with minimalistic soundscapes, and synth-treated, sometimes even auto-tuned vocals.  It’s an intimate record in a way that nothing released in the past few years is.

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