I'm trying out this idea: in the midst of movie reviews and news and stuff, I will do an "Album of the Week," where I talk about an album I have really been digging lately. I'll publish one every Tuesday, presumably.
The first album I wanna talk about is post-punk band Magazine's first album "Real Life." Magazine was formed by a fella by the name of Howard Devoto, a founding member of the Buzzcocks (it's the buzz, cocks!) He left Buzzcocks after about an EP or so, and they got way less interesting as they went on to pioneer pop-punk (so they have a lot of terrible music to answer for). Devoto, on the other hand, jumped into post-punk in the defining infant years of the sub-genre.
"Real Life" is an explosive, genre pushing album that achieved things that would not have been possible in the confines of the punk aesthetic. The punk attitude is still alive and well (especially on tracks like "Shot By Both Sides," and "My Mind Ain't So Open," the former was actually partially written before Devoto left the Buzzcocks), but the first track's spacey synthesizers, reggae guitar shuffle and lush arrangement makes it clear that this album is reaching further than raunchiness of first wave punkers.
The music here is very textured, but never at the expense of the songs. Mostly guitar driven songs are punctuated or expanded by all kinds of synthesizers and studio techniques. It is an incredibly produced album, but not in such a way that the studio ever gets in the way of the musicians or overexerts itself. A good example is the song "Motorcade," which drifts in on a dreamy synth line until picking up subtly processed vocals that sound like someone trying to communicate from another realm. Eventually the song catches fire, and the rock and roll energy of the guitar melts your speakers (bear this in mind, with Christmas™ coming up, you may wanna ask for new speakers).
The album is cohesive and the songs really create piece that comes together quite nicely. Still the variety makes it a really entertaining listen from start to finish. We aren't getting the same disparate idea's like what "London Calling" or "Wowee Zowee" throw together, but there isn't a monotonous or redundant moment anywhere to be found.
This is one of my very favorite albums and is a must listen for any fan of post-punk, cool synthesizers or the Buzzcocks. The songs are well crafted and catchy, as well as unique and adventurous. This really was a groundbreaking album in the way it blended, expanded and pushed genre conventions. I especially like the songs "Recoil" and the circusy "The Great Beautician in the Sky."
So get a hold of this album as soon as you can. Excelsior!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Heads Up: The Killing
What better way to get things started than with a Heads Up about a Stanley Kubrick film that is too often overlooked. The Killing, which came out in 1956, is one of Kubrick's earliest films, and for someone trying to make films that is sort depressing, because it is proof positive that Kubrick produced some of the highest quality films consistently for four decades. The Killing is a great movie.
It is a heist movie, about a group of men attempting to knock off a horse racing track and make off with the winnings. The first chunk of the film is devoted to establishing the characters, and preparing for the heist itself. The characters are, for the most part, pretty interesting, and well presented by the actors. A few characters stand out more than others; for me it was especially Kola Kwariani a Chess playing Russian wrestler who plays a Chess playing Russian wrestler in the film, and Timothy Carey who superbly plays the eccentric Nikki Arane, who is hired as a sharp shooter who were the stand outs. Largely the cast is pretty standard pulp fare, but that's a good thing in this case.
As with every Kubrick film, The Killing is beautifully shot. Composition is immaculate, and incredible throughout, and the lighting is truly dynamic at moments, making for some really stunning shots. The heist itself is an interesting one to follow, and I found the film thoroughly engaging from start to finish. As the heist is taking place we get to see each character play their part, and we get to watch the same event several times from different characters points of view. I am always a fan of this idea, and it is cool to see such an early and effective use of the concept.
This isn't necessarily a film of incredible eternal depth, but as previously mentioned: it's pulp. I take that as a good thing, but maybe not everyone does. The music, too, is very by the books pulp filmy for this time period. I don't remember being overly disappointed by the music, but I don't remember being very interested by it either. It is probably one of the more lack-luster elements. There is also a narrator who pops up here and there to tell us what time it is and what's going on. I've never really liked bodiless narrators in most cases, and for the most part in this film it is used in a pretty conventional manner, which is kind of boring. It works though, and I guess things needed to used first before they became convention, and eventually cliche. This film clearly used it in a time long before it became cliche, but it was certainly already a boring convention.
I have seen the film a couple times now, and I really, really like it. It's fun to watch if only to watch Kubrick develop his style as a young auteur. If you don't care who Stanley Kubrick is, shame on you, but still, if you like a good heist movie, this is a damn good one. It's not too long, and as far as I know it's on instant watch. So go look it up. The Killing is a fun, interesting and beautifully crafted piece of pulp film making.
I'd say it deserves somewhere between 4 and 4 1/2 stars out of 5.
It is a heist movie, about a group of men attempting to knock off a horse racing track and make off with the winnings. The first chunk of the film is devoted to establishing the characters, and preparing for the heist itself. The characters are, for the most part, pretty interesting, and well presented by the actors. A few characters stand out more than others; for me it was especially Kola Kwariani a Chess playing Russian wrestler who plays a Chess playing Russian wrestler in the film, and Timothy Carey who superbly plays the eccentric Nikki Arane, who is hired as a sharp shooter who were the stand outs. Largely the cast is pretty standard pulp fare, but that's a good thing in this case.
As with every Kubrick film, The Killing is beautifully shot. Composition is immaculate, and incredible throughout, and the lighting is truly dynamic at moments, making for some really stunning shots. The heist itself is an interesting one to follow, and I found the film thoroughly engaging from start to finish. As the heist is taking place we get to see each character play their part, and we get to watch the same event several times from different characters points of view. I am always a fan of this idea, and it is cool to see such an early and effective use of the concept.
This isn't necessarily a film of incredible eternal depth, but as previously mentioned: it's pulp. I take that as a good thing, but maybe not everyone does. The music, too, is very by the books pulp filmy for this time period. I don't remember being overly disappointed by the music, but I don't remember being very interested by it either. It is probably one of the more lack-luster elements. There is also a narrator who pops up here and there to tell us what time it is and what's going on. I've never really liked bodiless narrators in most cases, and for the most part in this film it is used in a pretty conventional manner, which is kind of boring. It works though, and I guess things needed to used first before they became convention, and eventually cliche. This film clearly used it in a time long before it became cliche, but it was certainly already a boring convention.
I have seen the film a couple times now, and I really, really like it. It's fun to watch if only to watch Kubrick develop his style as a young auteur. If you don't care who Stanley Kubrick is, shame on you, but still, if you like a good heist movie, this is a damn good one. It's not too long, and as far as I know it's on instant watch. So go look it up. The Killing is a fun, interesting and beautifully crafted piece of pulp film making.
I'd say it deserves somewhere between 4 and 4 1/2 stars out of 5.
Welcome!
I guess all the youngsters are talking about "blogs" and "iPads" and "megabytes" these days, so I figured it was about time to start writing something myself. This blog will be primarily devoted to movie reviews, but I intend to include occasional music related stuffs as well. I am poor, so reviews will rarely, if ever, be about current films. But everybody reviews those anyway. Go to the AV Club for things like that. I will be focusing on older films, overlooked films, foreign films, fun films and films that make you feel cool to mention when talking to your friends. If you have a film you would be interested in hearing about, let me know I guess. Or if you have a film you dig that you think I would like, or that you think gets overlooked, shoot that my way.
Make sure to tell all your friends, assuming you have a few. Also, if there are ever any grammatical mistakes I expect them to be pointed out as yellingly as possible. If you have any suggestions for content, layout, things of this nature, those are best shouted at me as well.
Excelsior!
Make sure to tell all your friends, assuming you have a few. Also, if there are ever any grammatical mistakes I expect them to be pointed out as yellingly as possible. If you have any suggestions for content, layout, things of this nature, those are best shouted at me as well.
Excelsior!
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