It shouldn't work. Soundtracks made for blockbusters featuring music "inspired by" the film are usually colossal disasters. Almost laughably so. And in many ways the Mockingjay soundtrack is kind of a hot mess. But it works, despite the clunky title. This is a dystopian soundtrack for a dystopian movie. And it's all curated by an 18 year old. Instead of force feeding music aimed at the kids, they just made one do the heavy lifting. Lorde is all over this album, showing up in some form or another in a half dozen of the songs. And the artists she's roped in are all very solid choices. Pusha T, Tove Lo, Bat For Lashes, Raury, Chvrches, Haim, Q-Tip(?) the list goes on and on. They shouldn't be on records together but here we are. It doesn't always work obviously but that's what keeps the album unpredictable. The Chemical Brothers with Miguel? Sure, why not? It worked for Mos Def and Massive Attack on the Blade 2 soundtrack. Major Lazer and Ariana Grande? I don't even care for either but I kinda dig it. Now will any of this music be in the actual movie? Probably a track or two during the credits. But it sounds like something those kids in District 13 would bump on their iPods, if they had them.
Movie Review - Interstellar
I waited nearly a week to write this review and I'm glad I did. Christopher Nolan's Interstellar is an ambitious yet frustrating film anchored by a fantastic performance by Matthew McConaughey and some truly awe inspiring space visuals that almost make you forget the problematic script and peculiar decisions. Visually and technically it's top notch. This is some of the most cinematic filmmaking about space since Gravity and 2001, so it's in good company. I personally saw it in true IMAX and was glad I did. The scenes shot on IMAX look fantastic, making you wish the whole thing was shot on the cameras. Yes, sometimes it cuts back and fourth inexplicably between IMAX and 35mm, which can be a bit jaring and head scratching, but for the most part it's forgivable. What isn't is some of the choices made by Nolan. The stuff on Earth, especially early on, is suppose to feel timeless yet for a movie which supposedly takes place in the future, it sure doesn't look like it, which pulled me out at times. Also the cast feels a little underused or straight of miscast besides McConaughey and Chastain. Luckily film rushes to get McConaughey's character into space, because when its among the stars, it truly is a special movie. It's just the more Earthbound stuff, that drag it down. And the final stretch of the film makes some pretty far fetch leaps that I wasn't able to both follow or accept wholeheartedly. But as time slips by since I've seen the film, I've becoming increasingly more forgiving of it. It's a great movie, even if I wanted so much more.
Grade: B+
Album Review - The Inevitable End by Röyksopp
Announced by the group as their final album (they will probably still continue releasing some music, just no longer in LP form), The Inevitable End is a fitting conclusion to the duo's career, even if it never unleashes anything truly breathtaking. The album, like the title, is mostly themed around endings, loss and longing and has a melancholy mood that permeates most the tracks, especially the instrumental ones. Yet it is never depressing or cold. In fact, it shows lots of life. For the most part the music is trance heavy and at times even a little jazzy. It's polished and every guest star brings their "A" game, especially Robin, who appears on a rework of a previously released track and a new one that stands out as the oddball on the record. In many ways the album is completely structured around the idea that this is it from the Norwegians, and it is laid out as an extended and rather fitting goodbye. It's no mistake that the last track is called "Thank You," obviously showing generosity to their loyal fan. The Inevitable End is by no means a classic, but it doesn't have to be. They've had a good run.
Grade: B
Album Review - Motion by Calvin Harris
I remember listening to I Created Disco and not knowing anything about Calvin Harris except that the album was super weird and I kinda dug it. Since then I haven't listened to him much but if Motion is any indiction, I haven't really missed much. It's very generic EDM, almost like it was made in lab or factor rather than a laptop. Hardly a single track really truly lifts off, although some get close. It's not terrible, it's just kinda boring and predictable. It feels like it's chasing trends rather than setting them. Maybe in some club among flashing lights at 2am on a Saturday night you will hardly care, but it's as deep as the shallow end of the pool. And at its worst it sounds like some of the crap you hear blaring from some crappy mall speaker while shopping at G by Guess. It's a shame, because Calvin Harris used to have some character and it feels like it's been sucked right out of him. Here, he sounds lifeless, and the only time Motion works is when there is a little estrogen in the room.
Grade: C
Album Review - Cadillactica by Big K.R.I.T.
I'm one of those. Those people who bemoan the state of rap and can't stand the proliferation of it coming from the "Dirty South." If it's not from a group called OutKast, it's not my taste. So I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to the newest from the self professed "King of the South" Big K.R.I.T. and enjoyed some of it. It's a surprisingly diverse record, with interesting cameos (E-40, Raphael Saadiq, Devin the Dude) and it shows some true ambition. Is it for everyone? Hardly. And it does suffer at times from the parts of southern rap that I can't stand, but Big K.R.I.T. shows some surprising range and his fans should really enjoy this. It may not be my type of music, but I can appreciate craft and while I think the overwhelming praise from critics feels a little inflated, it's not a bad LP and one of the better rap records to come out in this surprisingly lackluster year.
Grade: B-
Album Review - Seeds by TV on the Radio
I remember when I heard my first TV on the Radio song. It was off the excellent Return to Cookie Mountain and it was obviously "Wolf Like Me." That song shook me to my core. It was something I had never heard before, and I wanted more of that. TV on the Radio never truly gave me more of whatever "that" was but in the meantime introduced me to some truly excellent music. They are the reason the whole "alternative" title was created, as they are hard to classify. They are some weird dudes and they make good music. And remember when the lead singer Tunde was in that Ann Hathaway movie? Anyways, their newest LP Seeds is like the rest, very very good. But what is new? Well for one thing, it's surprisingly approachable. Now TVOTR will never get heavy play on KIIS FM but this is the kind of record that won't scare away new listeners not ready to make the heady heavy journey of albums past. Plus there is a emotional resonance, and not just happiness of listening to good music, but actual feels. Maybe it's the way Tunde screams "How much do I love you?" on album opener "Quartz." Or maybe it's the death of bass player Gerard Smith? Whatever the domino, the band has renewed both their bond in each other and in their listeners, and it shows.
Grade: B+
Album Review - Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters
There comes a time when your connection with a band ceases to exist. Maybe you mature and your taste change. Maybe the material they put out no longer resonates like it use to. And maybe they just stop making good music. I'm at that crossroads with Foo Fighters, who have released their second album in a row that I've received with mostly a yawn. It's not like it's a bad record, hell, most rock bands wish they could music like this, but I hold bands like this to a higher standard. I find their latest record mostly vanilla, a pleasant listen that I have trouble remembering songs seconds after they finish. Now the path to which this record was made doesn't help. It's material mostly from a self serving docu series. They travel to cities and make music on the spot, no doubt influenced and inspired by the moment. The music desperately needs the visual and feels incomplete without it. Or maybe it's just downright boring, no matter how much Grohl yells. So disappointing.
Grade: C
Album Review - Broke With Expensive Taste by Azealia Banks
Last night, Azealia Banks pulled a Beyonce and dropped her album out of nowhere. It's hard to believe that "212" came out 3 years ago and we have been waiting on this ever since. She isn't even the most popular Azealia anymore, as some white girl from Australia has stolen that moniker. While it might seem as a little bit of too little too late, I'm happy to report that this isn't the case. While some of the material may be dated, it doesn't sound like it, and much of the old stuff that does show up has been reworked for the better. Even the newer and more experimental stuff mostly works, sans "Nude Beach A Go-Go," which comes off more as a skit than an actual song. Yes the album is torn between the old direction and the new horizon, but it still shines. Azealia Banks still has a great rhythmic flow that is truly outstanding and she can sing, like actually sing unlike fellow female contemporaries. It reminds me of many ways of something Foxy Brown or Lil Kim would have dropped in the late 90s, and I mean that as the highest compliment. It's sexy, brash and most importantly promising. Hopefully we won't have to wait so long for the next one.
Grade: B
Album Review - Michael by Les Sins
It took me four tracks into Michael before a realized things sounded awfully familiar. I soon learned that Les Sins was a project of Chaz Bundick. In many ways, this could have been a Toro Y Moi album, but happily it is not. Instead it's a bit more versatile and experimental, for better or worse, but by in large, better. It features one actual song with vocals and lyrics, with the rest mostly a combination of samples and beats. It maybe mistake for a dance our house album, but that's selling it short. The closest comparison would be the latest by SBTRKT or even Flying Lotus, although it lacks the playfulness of the former and the downright difficulty of the latter. But I digress, because it really is a rather ambitious and versatile album, feature some truly awe inspiring moments, like on the end of standout track "Bother." And while it might not reach the highs of Toro Y Moi's own latest, it's a pleasant and rather scenic diversion. I dig it.
Grade: B+
Album Review - Super Critical by The Ting Tings
The Ting Tings may never again release a record half as good as We Started Nothing, a flawed album luckily packed with some of the best pop gems to come out in the 21st century. They weren't really ready for prime time. Luckily they didn't try to chase that light on their sophomore record and the trend continues on their latest, Super Critical. In many way the duo has always reminded me as a pop sensible version of The White Stripes, and it's obvious that they have a knack for earworms. It's never more present than on "Wrong Club", their Daft Punkish disco track that will make you shake your ass while you shake your fist at some terrible DJ. The rest of the album is short and sweet, and ultimately a little forgettable. There is some really good work here, no doubt, and you see signs of growth but it's nothing you'll be having on heavy rotation come the end of the year. But you can do much worse, so shut up and let it play.
Grade: B-
Album Review - Haerts by Haerts
Last year Haerts released a very promising EP, hot on the single "Wings", which made my top 100 favorite tracks of 2013. So I was very excited to hear that they finally released their debut LP, which for the most part is more of the same, for better or worse. The group channels 80s new wave and synth pop better than most. Fleetwood Mac and Berlin circa Top Gun would be proud. Yet while it keeps things very mellow and the embers keep burning and burning, it never really ignites. It's strange to say the biggest compliment is that this is very pleasant. Maybe next time around they'll spread those wings a little bit. A little ambition wouldn't kill them.
Grade: B-
Album Review - 1989 by Taylor Swift
I think we give Taylor Swift a bit too much credit. All the narratives proceeding this album have clouded its release, so when it dropped, all that pretense flung out the door. Let's be real. Taylor Swift has always been pop. And the influence of the 80s sound has been rather ubiquitous in pop music for the past few years. Also, when it does show up, it's rather half baked. Even Taylor's biggest strength and the one critics really can't dodge is the fact she is a rather good songwriter. So it's a shame that she mostly ditches that for hooks hooks hooks on 1989. It's not bad, but it's not very good either, and for someone who has never even listened to a Taylor Swift album before this, I'm pretty sure the pop highs on Red lap this by a mile. It feels like Coldplay circa X&Y, trying to hard not to fail, and built on a mountain of talent, money, publicity and a rabid fan base, it won't. This is your 8 year old daughters new favorite record.
Grade: C
Album Review - Run The Jewels 2 by Run The Jewels
It what has been a rather dry year for rap and hip-hop, Run The Jewels 2 is a tall glass of water. The duo's first real album is easily the best material both artist have ever created. Cementing Killer Mike's place as the third best member of the Dungeon Fam, Run The Jewels 2 is far superior to the surprisingly good solo trip R.A.P. Music. Plus his partner in crime, El-P, has clearly come into his own, no longer playing catch up and instead elevating his level of play. Plus it doesn't hurt the guest stars here aren't forgettable, even making Zack de la Rocha feel relevant again. The album is layered with thick grimey production in the best way possible, echoing the dearly missed Clipse records of the past. Yet sadly it loses most of its momentum halfway through, coasting on the strength of the earlier tracks. But backpackers will eat this album up as they should, especially since rap desperately needed this kick in the ass.
Grade: B+
The Beginning
Decided, what the hey, I should start blogging again, and why not on my website. Don't know exactly what but first real post will be coming soon. Thinking of using this to talk about movies, music, etc.