Meanwhile, here’s some goodness I’ve been into lately:
Mark Ronson’s “Version” - The young British DJ/turntablist/producer who helmed Amy Winehouse’s album, much of Lily Allen’s material, and various other acclaimed efforts, has put out an artist album of his own. “Version” is a collection of cover songs that turn the originals on their head, exploding with horn-filled, Motown-inspired, club-crazy madness. There is nary a sample in sight, as Ronson enlists a troupe of amazing musicians and vocalists to lend their talents to his reimagining of works by such varied artists as Radiohead, The Kaiser Chiefs, Britney Spears and The Smiths. It’s probably the most fun you’ll find in a disc all year. (You can find videos to a number of the singles here.)On a wholly different musical tip, Battles is deep, dark, intellectual weirdness. Heavy guitars and drums come together with samplers and keys to do for rock what IDM did for electronic music. It’s like taking the light, jammy smartness of the Disco Biscuits, infusing it with a healthy dose of Primus’ quirkiness, and finally stirring in some heavy-hitting slam-rock from Rage or Helmet (from where the drummer hails). Oh, and then there are those mind-melting vocals run through super-tweaked processors that lend that Three Little Pigs on Acid quality. Through all the strangeness, however, there is definite musical mastery and a push to make the listener actively think and process the music. Check out the video for their first single, "Atlas", from their new full-length album “Mirrored” (note that this is an abridged version of the song – their MySpace has the full 7-min. version, which is superior, imo):
Battles is playing this coming Saturday night at the Troubadour in L.A. Tix sold out immediately, but if you have a way of magically making it happen anyway, I suggest you do so.
On the movie tip, I’m really psyched for this summer’s fare. I think it’s one of the strongest mid-year line-ups in a while. We were fortunate enough to see an early screening of Angelina Jolie’s “A Mighty Heart” a few weeks ago – I’m not a big Jolie fan, but this true pic about the murder of WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl and the ordeal through which his widow endured, is simply remarkable. The acting, directing, editing - everything is first-class. It’s extremely powerful and eerily realistic. Not easy viewing, but very worthwhile. Jolie will surely get an Oscar nod, and may even deserve to take home the award next year, that’s how believable and moving her performance was. Same holds true for her supporting cast – everyone was great. On to lighter fare, though…
Caught “Die Hard 4” – I refuse to call it by its given name: “Live Free or Die Hard” (DUMB!!!) – last night and it did not disappoint. For the fourth installment of a series that began with one of the finest action films of all-time and then meandered through two sequels of varying but lesser value, this one is pretty tight. Willis kicks ass as McClane, in spite of (because of?!) his maturing age. There were thrills and laughs to keep any franchise devotee satisfied, and the acting/directing in general was surprisingly strong. Supporting actor Justin Long (of Mac commercial notoriety) was absolutely perfect as Willis’ brainy and hesitant, but ultimately heroic sidekick – he is somehow the unlikely yet perfect amalgamation of a young Keanu Reeves and the nerdboy from National Treasure. The baddies were bad and just asking for a licking in true Die Hard fashion. And some of the stunts/sequences were simply shocking. The 3rd act pretty much fell apart as far as I'm concerned, whereas the first two were great, but all-in-all it was good super cheesy fun.Next up: A taste of Ratatouille, then - BOOM! - Transformers, July 4 @ The Arclight Dome.
No comments:
Post a Comment