Purchase | Netflix | HD Trailer
Keep Your Eye On The Ball
“Why is Congress saying one thing and doing nothing?” asks Joanne Herring, wealthy Texas socialite played by Julia Roberts in Charlie Wilson’s War. “Well, tradition mostly,” replies Tom Hanks in the lead role as the recently deceased Congressman Charles Wilson. Given the present political impasse on Capitol Hill you might think Ms. Herring is referring to current health care reform efforts, which will be the topic of discussion this Thursday during Obama’s big televised “summit” meeting. It seems like the line could also refer to just about anything, implied by Wilson’s response. In fact, the film is set in the 1980s and tells the true story of the most expensive covert operation by the American government (that we know of). Such incisive, poignant dialogue matched with solid, straightforward filmmaking and an all-star cast makes Charlie Wilson’s War the most dangerous political drama to come out of Hollywood in the last decade.
Charlie Wilson’s War is especially effective because it’s a subversive exposé on American politics wrapped in a pretty Hollywood package. It’s got sex, drugs and political intrigue, a minor reference to then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Rudolph Giuliani, not to mention Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and the always-awesome Philip Seymour Hoffman. Aaron Sorkin—well known for his careful handling of American politics in films like A Few Good Men and television series like The West Wing—excellently adapts the story from George Crile’s 2003 book. Director Mike Nichols brings Sorkin’s scintillating script to life with a modest yet skillful approach.
Read more ›
Photo by Laura Murray.
Standing toward the back, I watched Paramore-haired teenage girls and their bro-meets-lumberjack-cowboy male counterparts stream into the main hall of the Gramercy Theater in New York City. For a second I had that feeling you get when you visit your old high school. To think that many of the kids in the crowd were born in the same year that I picked up the first Punk-O-Rama, I felt distinctly “cooldadish.”
The first band on the lineup was Title Fight, who I regrettably missed. If you haven’t spent some time listening to “The Last Thing You Forget,” please do. It features gritty vocals over melodic but unrelenting technical hardcore. It internalizes the best of Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, and Latterman. For an up-and-coming band, Title Fight is one of the brightest spots in the scene today.
This Time Next Year, on the other hand, was wholly unimpressive. On appearance alone, they came off as the kind of ready-made band you’d see in a teen movie–you know, when the guy goes to find the girl at the punk show or whatever. The music isn’t too far off from this impression. Too clean cut, too predictable, too vacuous. Another Found Glory. “I’m sorry I’m not sorry.” Ucht.
Thankfully, the set was short, and when the lights went down on This Time Next Year, there was a palpable change in mood. The next band up was Strike Anywhere, whose new album, Iron Front, I’ve also reviewed for A&SB. Strike Anywhere is neither clean nor cut, but holy hell they were tight.
Read more ›
Purchase | Listen
The summer of 2009 will forever be remembered as the summer of fuzz. Blissed-out lo-fi was – and I suppose still is – all the rage. I’ve never been a fan of the most blatant offenders (see: Wavves), but I’ve also always known that beneath all that hazy distortion are usually some pretty great pop songs. Case in point: Dum Dum Girls.
At the height of the summer craze in July, Dee Dee aka Kristen Gundred played her first show as Dum Dum Girls with a makeshift lineup. By the middle of the next week, she was signed to Sub Pop Records. Now with a solidified lineup, the band put out their first single this week Jail La La, which you can find in the A&SB Jukebox to your right. The 7-inch comes with a cover of “Play With Fire” by the Rolling Stones on the B-side. This is all in anticipation of their full-length I Will Be, due out on March 30th.
In the meantime, you can catch the band tonight at the Mercury Lounge before they head overseas. Drummer Frankie Rose’s own band, Frankie and the Outs, will be one of the openers, along with Happy Birthday and Coasting.
WEBSITE | LISTEN | PURCHASE ON AMAZON
Strike Anywhere is a melodic hardcore band from Richmond, VA with over a decade under their collective (collectivist?) belts. Since 1999, they have been churning out records of aggressive music steeped in activism and political awareness.
On Iron Front, released late in 2009 on Bridge Nine Records, Strike Anywhere continue their tradition with an album that is musically pummeling, if a bit heavy on the platitude. The band is tight as you’d expect after ten years of playing in lockstep at 200 bpm, and the production has the signature Salad Days punch. Thomas Barnett’s vocals are as strong and passionate as ever, alternating between infectious melody and throat-shredding shouts.
The record starts off with “Invisible Colony,” a blistering track that decries the influence of organized religion, the media, and war in “a glamorous, divisible United States.” At barely over one minute, the song leaves a strong first impression, portending good things to come.
Next comes the album’s single, “I’m Your Opposite Number,” which is vigorously… anti-stuff. Barnett has said that this song is about voting and remaining on guard even in ostensibly good times (see the references to “change”). In other words, it’s “against” the “system,” man. Unfortunately, the message is overshadowed by a slowed-down tempo and awkward jumps between the anthemic intro/outro and the lukewarm verses and choruses. The song comes off as designedly “the single,” with an unnecessary solo and browbeating repetition of the song’s title. I could have–and the album could have–done without it.
Read more ›
MYSPACE | TWITTER
The Seams are releasing their first full length record, Spanish American, through A&SB on Tuesday, March 9! The NYC duo is made up of former members of Down To Earth Approach (Vagrant), and spent the past year self producing the songs in a Brooklyn bedroom. We’re extremely excited to have them as part of the A&SB family and will be posting more release information soon. Head over to their page for track listing.
Oh and by “releasing” we mean GIVING THE RECORDS AWAY FOR FREE.
Looking for a great alternative to Times? Or even just an awesome font for your copy or newspaper style? Consider Lido STF!
Lido STF is a beautiful serif font. Please keep in mind that while this font is freeware, you must purchase a license to use it for commercial purposes.
Your Weekly Free Font: Lido STF.
From Storm Type Foundry:
My task was to design a modification of the existing Times used in Lidové Noviny newspaper. The assignment, which was on the whole wisely formulated, was to design a typeface which would enable “a smooth flow of information in the reader’s eye”, therefore a typeface without any artistic ambitions, from which everything which obstructs legibility would be eliminated.
Click here to visit Storm Type Foundry and download Lido STF.
Late last year I was fortunate enough to travel to the Illosaarirock Music Festival in Turku, Finland. Besides all of the interesting food, saunas and really great people, one of the highlights of this trip was seeing the band Disco Ensemble play in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. Granted, I heard of the band before being I worked with their label Fullsteam Records, but not until that point did I fully grasp what the band was really capable of. Their last record, Magic Recoveries, was softly released and then buried here in the States by Universal, never really getting the attention it deserved… so yes, that is why you probably haven’t heard of them yet. The band since entered the studio in Helsinki and recorded a follow up that will take any At The Drive In fan and kick them in the teeth. A proper US release is eminent but for now you can hear their new single “White Flag For Peace” by visiting their MySpace. For those of you in Europe, I am jealous of you as you can order a copy on 7″ from their label… but for now I’ll settle for a stream. Check out video teaser after the jump.
“White Flag For Peace” – Disco Ensemble – LISTEN
Read more ›
Inglourious Basterds or The Giant Jewish Jerk-Fest Tarantino Made?
When I first saw the trailer for Inglourious Basterds my initial and admittedly bigoted response was, “A bunch of nerdy Jewish looking actors brutally killing Nazis… did Tarantino just set-up the ultimate Hollywood executive (read Jewish) circle jerk?” Needless to say, I didn’t bother to catch it in theatres. Reviews came in overwhelmingly positive from my pseudo film buff guy friends with a penchant for violence (fittingly). They promised stunning cinematography, a well-paced and cleverly written story, an Oscar worthy performance, another dope Tarantino soundtrack, and a healthy release of testosterone. After the easily foreseeable and overblown finale I was left with most of the aforementioned items matched by a serious case of blue balls. Historical revisionism has been employed here merely for the sake of another undeniably cool yet empty Tarantino film.
On the road to pointlessness there is a lot of fun to be had while watching Inglourious Basterds. Christopher Waltz deserves all the praise he has received for his performance as Colonel Hans Landa aka ‘The Jew Hunter,’ leading this impressive ensemble cast (with the exception of Brad Pitt’s rarely amusing, mostly annoying Aldo Raines and Hostel director Eli Roth’s awful acting turn as ‘The Bear Jew’). It’s a Tarantino movie so of course the dialogue is slick and absorbing and like I said before, the soundtrack kicks ass. The moving pictures are beautiful and major props are due to cinematographer Robert Richardson. The opening sequence is probably Tarantino’s best yet and the careful pacing and elegant visuals from a stationary camera (not handheld) are much appreciated.
Read more ›
