Reviews
2010-03-09
The Hurt Locker cleaned up at the Oscars this year taking home the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Screenplay. When set against the likes of Quinten Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, James Cameron's Avatar, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air and a host of other extremely well done films this accomplishment for The Hurt Locker is a great one.
I couldn't help but notice that many people had not heard of this movie before it started packing up a bookbag full of golden statues, so here's a little about the film.
2010-03-09
These artists have been around for at least a few years and now are trying new things and doing new releases.
Travis McCoy aka Travie
The next Gym Class Heroe's album will take a little while longer to come out (which makes me sad), however Travie will be dropping a new solo album Lazarus (date of release TBA) which features the single Billionaire. The single is officially downloadable (and listen-to-able) off of Travie's blog as of today (March 9th). Pretty much anything Travis McCoy does makes me happy but I always get nervous when artists from awesome bands go solo, the single does not disappoint though. On The Quilt Gym Class experimented with some new sounds and Travis continues that in his new single. It has an island feel too it, it's relaxing drive music and motivational music. Bruno Mars wails about wanting to be a billionaire "so freakin bad," and the things he'd do then Travie raps his fantasies about how he would live his life with that kind of money (in interviews he's openly admitted to just recently becoming a "thousandaire"). The past year has been a year of dreaming for younger people, for trying to get through this recession and do all the things we were told we could do when we were little (which is anything we want). Music has followed this trend and Travie is definitely on that band wagon with this track.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE INTERESTING A list of the most notable artists and albums of 2009
Best Newcomer: Lady Gaga
Now, I admit that I wasn’t the biggest Lady Gaga fan when “Just Dance” hit the airwaves, and I admit that I quickly labeled her as “gimmicky” and “over the top” when I saw her live performances and videos. But, Lady Gaga has done enough in the last couple of months to turn all of that around for me, and she has done so in a really profound way. It took a couple of watches of her “Bad Romance” video for me to finally ‘get it’, but when I did, it hit me like a bag of oranges. Lady Gaga is a total artist. She has a concept, an image, and a style unlike any one else in mainstream music today. But in the sea of artists who are constantly trying to be different (*cough* Rihanna* cough*), she sets herself apart by actually being *good* at being different. Her tunes are catchy and she’s got a voice that can bring the house down. Yes, she is weird. There’s no doubt about that. But, sometimes you have to push the limits in order to usher in a musical revolution, and she’s got the talent, the vision, and the attitude to do just that. It’s time to get with it, or get lost, people.
Read more: Brian Edwards's: Most Notable Artists and Albums of 2009
2010-02-09
The Perfect Sophomore Album
Much of what was so enjoyable about Corinne Bailey Rae's (CBR) self-titled first album was the youthfulness of it. The songs covered topics like first loves, first heartbreaks and a enjoyment of life likened to that of simpler days as a child. The rest of the brilliance of the album was a reflection of CBR's smooth, jazz-like vocals over mellow arrangements, but with enough surprises and creativity to keep it from becoming boring.
Joss Stone's Colour Me Free
♣♣♣ ♣
“Aw yeah, I gotta get my hands on that. That’s going to be awesome”.
These are the words that I remember saying to myself when I heard that there was a new Joss Stone album that was due to come out.
I remember vigorously perusing through all of the information I could acquire about its impending release and I remember getting really excited about it, especially after I read about her collaborations with the likes of Raphael Saadiq, Nas, and Sheila E.
I remember the day that I saw the album available on Itunes. I immediately purchased it and, as it downloaded to my computer, I remember the eager moments waiting for the undoubtedly groovy sonic experience that was about to take over.
I remember isolating the album on my Itunes library, pressing play, and listening to the album from start to finish
And after 52.4 minutes of Joss Stone, my genuine opinion is this:
It was…okay.
Read more: Joss Stone's Colour Me Free Released but I'm Still Waiting...
2010-03-03
A Growing Space without Boundaries
This is a time when hip hop as a music and art form is separated from the industry. The things the industry dictates for supposed fame are in opposition with the culture of music creation in general, but especially as it relates to hip hop. And yet every now and then there's a break through--an artist, a group that breaks this opposition with undeniable talent. That group is Just My Brother (JMB).
Rooted in hip hop and soul, and influenced by Nina Simone, Pharoahe Monch, Red Man, and Bob Marley (to name a few), there isn't a specific genre for the music that Yaw (singer, poet, and MC) and Phenom (MC and poet) of JMB make. Beyond the lack of some industry constructed genre, one of the the things that stands out in their music is the balance in the sound structure between rap and singing. The singing is not just for the chorus and the rap is not the only main focus to tracks.
"A great actor once told me," Yaw explained in a recent interview, "that the script will save your ass. And it's like that with JMB, the music is the script." Phenom added, "We don't sit down and say 'okay we'll put some rap here and then you sing there,' we feel the music and let it come out," . In following that script the balance also operates in that JMB can work as complex or as simply as they choose--from a full band, down to just drums and further down to just the two of them. "Phenom kind of coined the term free hop," meaning that even with these strong roots the music can go anywhere. It can be intertwined with jazz elements on one track, or rock and roll on another allowing the group to be versatile in the audience that they serve and unbridled in the projects they create.
Read more: Issue04 Music: Introducing JMB, Welcome to Freehop
Rating: ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Who could’ve imagined that those teenage, emo-hicks from Tennessee with the chick lead singer had an album like this in them? Opening cuts “Careful” and “Ignorance” kick the doors off the hinges, perfecting their signature style (as seen with previous gems like “Misery Business” and “For A Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic”) with fun, dynamic songwriting, irresistible melodies, and a nice dose of righteous anger from ridiculously-talented lead singer Hayley Williams. Williams’ heartfelt lyrics give the listener a bleak yet hopeful window into the intense pressure and inner-turmoil the band has endured since their second album “Riot!” catapulted them into the spotlight a few years ago. Like Gwen Stefani at her best, Williams’ lyrics have a charming, almost wide-eyed innocence to them, whether hopeful or steeped in sorrow and uncertainty, that is easy to underestimate, but impossible to ignore. And where most male emo-punk singers adopt a high-pitched, prepubescent squeal, Williams’ voice is soaring and powerful, recalling Kelly Clarkson or Pat Benatar. In other words, Williams’ performance on “Brand New Eyes” is worth the price of admission alone.
The rest of the band ain’t slouching either though; Paramore slash and bang throughout, but the band truly shines when they stretch out a bit and take a few chances, which they most definitely do on stand-out tracks like the country-tinged “The Only Exception” and the beautifully-understated “Misguided Voices”. The climax? Check out the final track “All I Wanted” and you’ll find a band that has truly arrived. Paramore flirted with a song like this with “Decode”, their contribution to the Twilight soundtrack, but this is the real McCoy. “All I Wanted” is where Paramore have finally transcended their Pete Wentz affiliation, their age, and even that silly emo-punk genre of theirs. Amid roaring guitars and thunderous percussion, Williams gives the kind of vocal performance Katy Perry, Avril, etc. could only dream of; powerful, passionate, and believable. Like Green Day circa “Warning” or System of a Down circa “Toxicity”, Paramore’s “Brand New Eyes” showcases a young band that’s making all the right decisions and breaking away from the pack artistically (something bands like Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy have yet to figure out). And they know it too; on the surging “Looking Up” Hayley sings, “God knows the world doesn’t need another band/but what a waste it would have been.” Damn right.
Rating: ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
One could make the argument that Jay-Z’s only true peers in the world of hip hop are Eminem and Nas; they are three of the greatest emcees of all time, each possessing their own unique style, perspective and career ambitions. Interestingly enough, in addition to most likely being Jay’s equals as emcees, both Nas and Eminem each played a role in making 2001’s The Blueprint such a complicated and powerful work. Forget what you heard, “The Takeover” is every bit as good of a diss record, if not better than “Ether”. Nas relied on cheap insults and homphobia, shocking the hip hop community with its ferocity. But “The Takeover” actually achieved its goal; total domination of New York hip hop. Nas could have responded with a symphony and it still wouldn’t have changed the outcome.
The Takeover
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