Movie Monday: Darkness Before The Joker
I used to make jokes about wanting to do heroin. It amused me because I didn’t know any junkies and I liked to see how far I could go before my friends called my bullshit. You’d think watching Requiem for a Dream as a teenager would be an effective deterrent, or maybe after seeing Trainspotting last year in my Edinburgh apartment (where the film is set in the late 1980s). Not until seeing Candy, a 2006 independent film from Australia, did I put the brakes on this jest.
Candy is not as sleek or inventive as its heroin-movie predecessors. What it lacks in luster it makes up for in a pair of gripping performances. Neil Armfield’s directing debut—based on the novel by Luke Davies, who co-wrote the screenplay with Armfield—is a poetic no frills look at how smack can derail young love. Heath Ledger plays Daniel, a selfish dispassionate slime ball who is in love with Candy, played by up-and-comer Abbie Cornish. The chemistry between Cornish and Ledger is electrifying, sparks which eventually burn as they nosedive along the spiral of addiction.
Unfortunately for the filmmakers, the main attraction in Candy is the chance to see Heath Ledger in one of his final roles. This was right before playing one the Bob Dylan iterations in Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There, and two years before his celebrated interpretation of The Joker. It can be seen as a sort of a villainous warm-up for Heath. It’s painful to watch Daniel take advantage of Candy’s admiration, pulling her into his pathetic life of petty crime and indifference. Cornish often steals the scene, giving a harrowing performance that does much more than compliment Ledger. Geoffrey Rush is excellent as their functioning junky benefactor, an organic chemistry professor who makes his own pure grade heroin.
Helen Earth Band – (We All) Talk With Knives [Review]
Helen Earth Band is the latest incarnation of brothers Marc and Adam Allen, who previously played together in the criminally-underrated San Diego band, Counterfit . Counterfit was known for its unique blend of Southern California pop-punk and midwestern emo, drawing comparisons to bands like Mock Orange and Braid.
With Helen Earth Band, the Allen’s have built upon their old sound, drawing on new influences and instruments. Their latest single, “(We All) Talk With Knives,” is a pitch-perfect example of this progression.
The song swirls in a complex web of guitars, vocals and keyboards. The guitar lines feed off of one another in increasing complexity over ever-changing time signatures, all the while retaining a subtlety that prevents them from ever getting in the way. The vocals are similarly complementary, passed between the two primary vocalists and regularly augmented by the inclusion of a third vocal line. What they may be talking about in terms of content, I haven’t the faintest idea, except that its with knives, which can’t be a good thing. In any case, it’s not what they sing, but how they sing it. And damn they sing well.
Diggy – The First Flight [Review]
I’m not going to lie; when I saw a link to a Diggy Simons freestyle on VladTv.com, I clicked on it thinking it’d be good for a laugh. But I must say, the lil man sure can rap and apparently I had missed the boat on the release of his first mixtape, The First Flight, which was released on December 2, 2009.
If you’ve ever seen Run’s House on MTV, then you know who Diggy is. If not, all you need to know is he’s the 14-year-old son of Run DMC member Rev Run. He actually spit a song on the show, but he’s improved much since then.
I had two major doubts about Diggy: 1.) While he undoubtedly has rap and hip hop in his blood, his older brother JoJo is less than impressive on the mic and 2.) Adolescent rappers just aren’t always impressive. They still have that whiny pre-puberty voice. See Lil Twist, who actually appears on the “Make You Mine” track. Diggy’s voice sounds pretty mature and his rhymes are actually pretty slick.
The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack [Review]
When The Soft Pack (at the time still called The Muslims) released their self-titled 12-inch I thought to myself, “This is garage rock.” The San Diego-based band had no intention of reinventing the genre. In fact, it played more like a Best Of. No surprises, but everything you could ask for in 10 garage rock songs, all in one place. Fast forward two years and the band is once again releasing a self-titled album, this time under their new, less controversial name The Soft Pack.
The problem with doing something so — I guess — unoriginal, is that you need to completely nail it. Unfortunately, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, they missed the mark here. Matt Lamkin, whose nonchalant vocals have always been a part of the band’s apparent Cali vibe, sounds much more like he doesn’t care at all versus being too cool to care. It’s really hard for me to call the lyrics uninspiring because I’m well aware that’s sort of what they are going for, but strictly going through the motions doesn’t become acceptable just because you admit to doing so. There needs to be something to justify repeat plays of the album that isn’t “because I’m reviewing it.”
Of course, if The Soft Pack come to town I would be more than happy to pay the 10 bucks to see them live and not just because I want to hear them play their old songs either. I can see this record translating much better in a live setting. Partly because it’s a little overproduced, but after seeing them at Don Pedro’s I have a feeling they can pull these tracks off. As long as they play Extinction too. Answer to Yourself, one of the better tracks off the album, is embedded below.
The Soft Pack ‘Answer to Yourself’ from Felipe Lima on Vimeo.
Andy Lehman & The Night Moves – Lowcountry [Review]
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Sumptuous, melodic, well-composed, earnestly written — What can’t you say about Andy Lehman & The Night Moves’ new album, Lowcountry?
Oh yeah, their next show is at a high school. And the one after that, too.
In Lowcountry, Lehman and his cohorts take a style of music that seems destined to be derivative and reinvent it into a fresh sound in all 11 tracks — no small feat. What stands out most here is that even though these are unabashedly pop songs, they draw much of inspiration from the crude oil of country music, which heartens the thin broth of pop-rock where they firmly land.
Andy Lehman & The Night Moves are an unabashed product of Greenville, South Carolina (I could tell they were from South Carolina before I even looked it up — and that’s a good thing) whose sound would play well anywhere. Great bands know who they are, and don’t shy away from it — a strategy that works so long as who you are is good. Albums of this quality from a young band make it plainly obvious that these guys benefit greatly from a range of favorable influences.
Hipsters Read: Country Music is Not Terrible.
But what really pulls Lowcountry together is the masterful production, which draws the rhythm elements into a space of their own. The one real question mark is how well this album would translate to live performance – since it seems to rely on many subtle and extra-band (a term I have just invented) sounds. But then again, with melodies this good, it’s even harder to imagine a band so talented screwing it up
But don’t worry Mauldin and Hillcrest High Schools, you’ve got a good one on your hands.
Go Rams!
Surfer Blood – Astro Coast [Review]
Guitar. That’s a quick and easy one-word description for the debut full length from Florida based band Surfer Blood. On their debut record, Astro Coast, they nail the clean and propulsive thrust of records like Weezer’s Blue Album and The Strokes’ Is This It. And while some may be quick to lump them in with the growing ranks of bands who have all heavily invested in reverb pedals, Surfer Blood display the chops and the songwriting skills necessary to help them avoid becoming a one-trick gimmick.
Like their peers in Real Estate, Surfer Blood utilize their guitars in a way that doesn’t shove them down the listener’s throats. But while Real Estate tend to smear the lens in vaseline and shoot straight into the sun so to speak, Surfer Blood take a more streamlined approach. Opener Floating Vibes is indicative, featuring interlocking riffs over a sturdy backbeat. While the guitars on this track do explode from time to time, it’s always in the guise of a tasteful solo. By the time the handclaps and “bah-bah” backing vocals come in, Surfer Blood have completely betrayed their power pop leanings and you can remark to yourself, “Man, it is so nice to hear Weezer sound like Weezer again.”
Elsewhere, such as on their buzz-bin (they’d appreciate that distinction) anthem, Swim, lead singer John Paul Pitts’ hoarse shouting tops a series of titanic riffs and stop-start drumming. The key to Surfer Blood’s appeal lies in the fact that behind the guitar heroics and shimmering textures, these are great pop songs. Lyrically is where Surfer Blood run the risk of falling into cliché, as a lot of their songs recall mid-90s emo poet laureate’s like The Promise Ring and Christy Front Drive. But this is a minor complaint on an album that ultimately serves its purpose as an enjoyable fist-pumping indie record. In a year where we’ve seen that term used and abused to the extent that all it takes is some facial hair to be indie, Surfer Blood seem proud to know on which side of the fence they stand.
Defeater – Lost Ground [Review]
Charlie Parker used to hang out in Charlie’s Tavern, a musician’s bar in midtown New York. To the dismay of his acolytes, he liked to play country records on the jukebox. There was reluctance to question the taste of mighty Bird, but finally a brave jazzman asked him. “How can you stand that stuff?” Bird looked at him and said, “The stories, man. Listen to the stories!”
I have a tough time with lyrics. I generally don’t care what an artist has to say, and I’m frequently disappointed when I focus in on the words in a song I love, only to find that the lyrics are slapdash, cliche, or try way too hard. It’s like finding out what someone’s symbolic tattoo means (dignity, obviously). You can’t unlearn the lyrics; you can’t bring it back to gibberish. In my mind, a truly great song, or album, is one that can tell a good story, evoking not just time-lapse Adamsesque landscapes (I’m looking at you, post-rock) or ubiquitous-yet-overworn interpersonal issues. It’s not easy, nor should it be.
Defeater, a Boston hardcore band, have two releases that stand apart from their peers based on their willingness to take chances with storytelling. In an interview, their guitarist has said, “[w]ith no disrespect to any bands out there I would say that hardcore has enough songs about straight edge / unity / family / etc.” Acting on this impulse, their first LP, Travels, recounted the life of a broken-down man from unwanted birth to church-steeple suicide. It was like Luke the Drifter gone hardcore, and it’s still one of my favorite albums from 2008. With Lost Ground, Defeater spins-off the story of a bit player in Travels, the homeless vet from “Prophet in Plain Clothes,” to great effect.
The Beets – Spit In The Face Of People Who Don’t Want To Be Cool [Review]
It’s understandable that in 2010, the idea of a band being lo-fi might ring a bit false. With the ascension of band’s like Vivian Girls, Wavves and No Age, to be in a band identified as lo-fi (or, even worse, “shit-gaze”) is in some circles equivalent to being in a dance-punk band in 2003 or Sebadoh in 1991. Not a good business decision so to speak. And while lo-fi will always rub some the wrong way, it will also always find an audience with those who value youthful enthusiasm over chops.
To that end, The Beets’ “Spit In The Face Of People Who Don’t Want To Be Cool” is a record that is bound to attract its fair share of admirers and detractors. Full of ramshackle stand up drumming, spare guitar, and an outlook that can best be summed up as “truculent,” Spit In The Face is at it’s best when the band’s carefree attitude doesn’t get in the way of the songs. In many ways, the Beets’ remind one of the Violent Femmes on their first record, or the Feelies without the Glenn Mercer guitar heroics. The songs are little more than playground chants about hating school, being confused, and hanging out with your friends.
Ludacris – A Hustler’s Spirit [Review]
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With his Conjure cognac about to hit the nationwide market, Ludacris dropped the A Hustler’s Spirit mixtape this week to help promote the liquor he has taken a strong personal investment in. If the yak is as good as the mixtape then definitely go grab a bottle when it hits the shelves.
As usual, the Atlanta-bred rapper spits some lyrical fire. Mixed in with some four “Conjure Commercials,” Ludacris’ main goal on this mixtape is to simply let know about his new liquor, but he does it with some clever rhymes as well.
When I get a remix Imma rip this song / I dedicate this flow to the conjure cognac that I’m sipping on/ Four fours Im tipping on/ Wood grain Im gripping on / If ya girl don’t like my music, tell her leave my dick alone, lone, lone, he raps on All The Way Turnt Up, a remix of the popular Travis Porter that has been making its waves around the internet.
Luda’s beat selection doesn’t disappoint, either. Mainly the tracks are taken from fellow ATL residents’ recent hits, such as Gucci Mane’s Wasted, Wacka Flocka’s O Let’s Do It, and Rich Kids’ Patna Dem, among others.
Ludacris included the single ATL, GA that he appears on with Shawty Lo and The Dream, which is worth the download itself.
DTP label mate Lil Scrappy appears on a number of tracks and sounds refreshed after essentially being out of the mainstream limelight since his Money In The Bank single in 2006. Scrap and Luda definitely made Addicted To Money a banging hit on this mixtape.
You should definitely go cop this mixtape and after listening, you’ll probably want to grab a bottle of Conjure (don’t worry, the retail price is around $30).
