As election time looms upon us and what is left of Hurricane Sandy dissipates over the northeastern United States, I am reminded once more that our nation is truly an amazing place to live in. This topic, surely, would be easily debated by doomsayers and complainers, yet I ask you to let me entertain the thought.
I know you won't say no. Even if you did, you could just Alt+Tab me away. Is that what the kids are doing now? Or can I just be swiped away by a flick of the finger? Bah whatever.
Within hours of initial sight of storm clouds and tides, social media sites, news sites, news channels, radio stations, broadcasters of all kinds were giving detailed and up to date information to us all about Sandy and her progress. Days before she even made landfall, warnings were afoot and heeded. Thanks to how quickly information spreads these days many hundreds (and possibly thousands) of lives were spared a grisly fate. We are learning from history somewhat, and even if we're not, we're paying attention to the signs more closely now than we ever have. I look back at the tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean in 2004, Katrina in 05, even as recent as the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of early last year; we've come so far since then in social media. Everyone comes together during a crisis. Yes, in between those crises there is much to be desired of humanity (myself included). But it is nice to know that for the most part, we will have each other's backs if we're ever pinned against a wall.
We see so much vitriolic sludge spewed back and forth between candidates for office. Presidential hopeful, President, Congressmen, justices, soil and water conservation officials (?!). Everybody wants to get a piece of someone else's bigger pie. The highest positions are entangled in the highest form of payola, fraud and injustice that can be found in a democratic republic. Sadly, most of us will never see the extent of which they truly are embroiled in. After all that is said and done I still cannot think of a country where there is more opportunity to succeed. More opportunity to thrive. More opportunity to be known. More opportunity to prove yourself. To show yourself. To enjoy. To create. Yes, all of these things and their opposites too. There are governments with more transparency, sure. They have higher taxes, colder climates, stricter laws and far more population density. We hear and see the phrase 'first world problems' a lot these days. That phrase couldn't be further from the truth. At least we HAVE Facebook and Google. China doesn't even bother with such trivialities. At least we GET to complain about our government, organize events and share photos online. Some countries won't allow it at all. The rights and freedoms we have and take for granted astonish me constantly.
Speaking of freedom, I've realized something lately. We have a crap ton of choices in this country. Do you guys ever realize how many shows, movies, books, games, magazines, newspapers, albums and paraphernalia are all released simultaneously or close to the same time these days? It is literally impossible to catch up and do everything you want to do in this life anymore. Consider the timeline of a week in October. Given the amount of media available for consumption, the amount of time you have in your day after work/caring for family/caring for property/caring for self, the amount of time you have to sleep/eat/drink and all the time in between, there is no possible way we're ever going to get to experience everything we want. To some, this may be depressing. To me, this is exciting. It means that there are so many choices and so many niches to settle into that I can collect what I personally would like to do and execute. Within said niche we will also find others who like the same kinds of things and identify with us. If not, that's okay too. It all kinda falls together like a bubble chart, and I'm certain there are several people who meet with us somewhere in the middle. That's the beauty of choice. The beauty of the type of freedom that we enjoy here. The beauty of life. We weren't ever meant to all be the same, even if we are all meant to be equal.
Sorry for the long absence. It wasn't meant to be that way, but I'm back now. I hope this finds you well, and I will talk to you all again soon.
- Grant
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
What Killed Guitar Hero?
Music is the quintessential lifeblood for those of us who feel things, and make others feel things, through sound and words. It has been around for at least 40,000 years that we know of. The earliest instruments were flutes and strings, and the oldest arranged and notated songs were discovered to have been written as long as 3,400 years ago. Music might have co-developed with language or even have been a language at one point. It is now said to be the universal language. I suppose that it can be at times, but given there are so many different dialects, music might as well itself have been stricken at one point like the tower of Babel.
As it evolved, so have the players. Look at songs from a historical standpoint with me if you will. Truly thinking about it, music with words has been a remarkably exponential trend of merely the past 100 years. Indeed there were songs before the 20th century with words, and plenty of them; however before this time frame, the largest percentage of compositions were instrumental or largely so. Even the minstrels who sang tales through song would compose using simple chord structures and write songs 'by the numbers,' meaning that the couple of chords used to tell a rhythmic tale could very well be the same chords you hear in the next song with either a slight or no variation in meter. Rarely would any of the lute players or the string players that were popular possess the skills to play sets of scales or strangely tuned chords. The more experienced players reigned in their talents in search of coin and goods when the times would get hard, because it was never so much about skill as it was entertainment. Kinda sounds like music today huh?
Enter the 20th century. Radios are a part of nearly every home. Phonographic transference becomes easier to replicate and far more affordable. Then we have concert broadcasts. Then we minimize the size of the disc that our phonographs play. Then we create tape. Then we advance further, using this reel technology to record and write audio, even showing a film. Then we keep advancing. Video cassette recorders, tape recorders, eight-track players, beta max players, enhanced radios, boomboxes, loudspeakers, Walkmans, compact discs, laser discs, mini discs, mp3's. Here we are. We advanced exponentially in such a short time with the presentation of our mediums. With that, our population has doubled since the early 1980's. With that, so have our tastes, our instrumentation, our musical varieties and our own culture.
In 1998, a small developer named Bemani (Dance Dance Revolution, DrumMania) decided to try something off the wall. Off the wall tends to work well in one certain country: Japan, where Bemani was located. They wanted to create a game that would simulate the playing of a guitar, but be fully interactive within a game environment, tracking the notes played and rewarding you for following a rhythm. This went over well. The game was called GuitarFreaks and was backed by gaming giant Konami. By the time the series hit their stride, a publishing company named RedOctane started making peripherals for them, specifically starting off with pads for DDR and working their way to guitar peripherals for GuitarFreaks. Before Japan could try to import the game here, RedOctane did what any self-serving capitalist would do: copyright their peripheral and get a juggernaut publisher (Activision) and a big developer (Harmonix) behind them. Guitar Hero was born on the same premise of GuitarFreaks in 2005, around the same time the fifth iteration of GuitarFreaks was out in Japan. It hit big and it hit fast.
Activision has a history of cashing in on its opportunities, ignoring the principles of oversaturation and simply promising bigger and better and more with each iteration of its tentpole franchises (see: Call of Duty). By the time Japan knew what hit here, they decided to try and port over GuitarFreaks. There was just a slight problem. That little company who developed Guitar Hero using 'borrowed' ideas from their time spent on GuitarFreaks, RedOctane, had copyrighted their guitar controller and licensed it. Since Guitar Hero hit here and made mad money (unlike GuitarFreaks in Japan), they decided to block the import of Konami's game by suing them for using 'their' peripheral. Konami has had a history of lawsuits against other companies for using controllers and making games similar to DDR and other games like that, so while this may seem tit for tat (which it is, in my opinion), evidently this is business as usual in the gaming world. With GuitarFreaks officially blocked and out of the picture, Guitar Hero and everyone involved made their millions and had the market cornered. But, alliances shift and things change.
Harmonix decided to quit after GHII. Developers are paid percentages by publishers, and anybody who knows anything about Activision knows that they get their money first. So Harmonix teamed with EA and began making their own game. Guitar Hero thought nothing of it and brought in Neversoft (Tony Hawk: Pro Skater) and Vicarious Visions (also Tony Hawk and several others) to develop the next entry under the leadership of RedOctane. Guitar Hero III was received to rave reviews for stepping up the challenge aspect of the game and bringing more downloadable content. But then came Harmonix's game, Rock Band. Now you could sing, play guitar, play bass AND play drums. GH got played, and played hard.
This ignited an all-out war of the music games. So many came about during this time, from 2007 until 2010. The DJ Hero's, the Guitar Hero expansions, the Rock Band expansions, the crazy drum sets, the split-fingered bass, the ridiculous amount of songs, the Rock Band Network, the Guitar Hero exclusives, Rocksmith, Band Hero. The market had too much. I don't know about you, but when I'm presented with too many ways to actually do one simple thing, I become disinterested and disillusioned with it pretty quickly. All I ever wanted to do, as I'm sure was the case with most of you with Guitar Hero, was play songs I enjoyed. The competition aspect in the game was awesome. Excelling and actually learning the structure of your favorite songs without having to navigate strings was cool. Cheating and kinda foolish, but still cool. It meant we were all on the same level as long as we could press five buttons and strum the bar at the same time. Rock Band got it right because then we could all form a virtual band and never have to leave the house. But, therein lies the ultimate demise of all music games.
We don't all like to sit at home listlessly forever. Okay, well, I don't. I am a musician. In order to enjoy music, I have to be playing it, feeling it, seeing it, living it. Sometimes musicians don't enjoy music because it gets to be like a job, a product that you have to put out, a numbers game. Guitar Hero and all other things like it became EXACTLY that. An arms race with no clear winner and an idea that became polluted and ultimately diluted by oversaturation (I also hope the same thing happens to Call Of Duty, I'm so tired of FPS's right now I could scream). Guitar Hero is dead and so is Rock Band, DJ Hero and all other music games. You might pick it up every now and again if you get really bored, but probably not. I think the main reason you won't is not because of all the reasons listed, but mainly because you realize the real thing is so much better. When the fun is gone, it's gone. The only way to bring it back is to take it back to basics. But why would I do that when I can just try to actually learn my favorite band's songs on a real instrument? When I could buy a guitar, practice amp and effects pedal for the same price as a Rock Band bundle? Simply put, I won't go back to it.
I was a musician before this even was released to the public. It was fun while it lasted and it's gone now. Perhaps it will come back again one day when we've all forgotten what it became. As a matter of fact, I'm sure it will. That's what trends do. Come, go, come again when the time is right. I do hope, however, that when that time comes around, you'll encourage someone to pick up an instrument and learn the real thing. It's so much more fun to play a real pentatonic solo than slide your fingers across imaginary frets. But you don't need me to tell you all this, do you? In the end, Guitar Hero deserved to die because it was a product. It wasn't about music. Music isn't a product (despite what the industry might say), it's an emotion. You feel it or you don't. I think we're all in agreement that none of us feel like sitting through another barrage of ridiculousness like the music game wave.
... for now.
As it evolved, so have the players. Look at songs from a historical standpoint with me if you will. Truly thinking about it, music with words has been a remarkably exponential trend of merely the past 100 years. Indeed there were songs before the 20th century with words, and plenty of them; however before this time frame, the largest percentage of compositions were instrumental or largely so. Even the minstrels who sang tales through song would compose using simple chord structures and write songs 'by the numbers,' meaning that the couple of chords used to tell a rhythmic tale could very well be the same chords you hear in the next song with either a slight or no variation in meter. Rarely would any of the lute players or the string players that were popular possess the skills to play sets of scales or strangely tuned chords. The more experienced players reigned in their talents in search of coin and goods when the times would get hard, because it was never so much about skill as it was entertainment. Kinda sounds like music today huh?
Enter the 20th century. Radios are a part of nearly every home. Phonographic transference becomes easier to replicate and far more affordable. Then we have concert broadcasts. Then we minimize the size of the disc that our phonographs play. Then we create tape. Then we advance further, using this reel technology to record and write audio, even showing a film. Then we keep advancing. Video cassette recorders, tape recorders, eight-track players, beta max players, enhanced radios, boomboxes, loudspeakers, Walkmans, compact discs, laser discs, mini discs, mp3's. Here we are. We advanced exponentially in such a short time with the presentation of our mediums. With that, our population has doubled since the early 1980's. With that, so have our tastes, our instrumentation, our musical varieties and our own culture.
In 1998, a small developer named Bemani (Dance Dance Revolution, DrumMania) decided to try something off the wall. Off the wall tends to work well in one certain country: Japan, where Bemani was located. They wanted to create a game that would simulate the playing of a guitar, but be fully interactive within a game environment, tracking the notes played and rewarding you for following a rhythm. This went over well. The game was called GuitarFreaks and was backed by gaming giant Konami. By the time the series hit their stride, a publishing company named RedOctane started making peripherals for them, specifically starting off with pads for DDR and working their way to guitar peripherals for GuitarFreaks. Before Japan could try to import the game here, RedOctane did what any self-serving capitalist would do: copyright their peripheral and get a juggernaut publisher (Activision) and a big developer (Harmonix) behind them. Guitar Hero was born on the same premise of GuitarFreaks in 2005, around the same time the fifth iteration of GuitarFreaks was out in Japan. It hit big and it hit fast.
Activision has a history of cashing in on its opportunities, ignoring the principles of oversaturation and simply promising bigger and better and more with each iteration of its tentpole franchises (see: Call of Duty). By the time Japan knew what hit here, they decided to try and port over GuitarFreaks. There was just a slight problem. That little company who developed Guitar Hero using 'borrowed' ideas from their time spent on GuitarFreaks, RedOctane, had copyrighted their guitar controller and licensed it. Since Guitar Hero hit here and made mad money (unlike GuitarFreaks in Japan), they decided to block the import of Konami's game by suing them for using 'their' peripheral. Konami has had a history of lawsuits against other companies for using controllers and making games similar to DDR and other games like that, so while this may seem tit for tat (which it is, in my opinion), evidently this is business as usual in the gaming world. With GuitarFreaks officially blocked and out of the picture, Guitar Hero and everyone involved made their millions and had the market cornered. But, alliances shift and things change.
Harmonix decided to quit after GHII. Developers are paid percentages by publishers, and anybody who knows anything about Activision knows that they get their money first. So Harmonix teamed with EA and began making their own game. Guitar Hero thought nothing of it and brought in Neversoft (Tony Hawk: Pro Skater) and Vicarious Visions (also Tony Hawk and several others) to develop the next entry under the leadership of RedOctane. Guitar Hero III was received to rave reviews for stepping up the challenge aspect of the game and bringing more downloadable content. But then came Harmonix's game, Rock Band. Now you could sing, play guitar, play bass AND play drums. GH got played, and played hard.
This ignited an all-out war of the music games. So many came about during this time, from 2007 until 2010. The DJ Hero's, the Guitar Hero expansions, the Rock Band expansions, the crazy drum sets, the split-fingered bass, the ridiculous amount of songs, the Rock Band Network, the Guitar Hero exclusives, Rocksmith, Band Hero. The market had too much. I don't know about you, but when I'm presented with too many ways to actually do one simple thing, I become disinterested and disillusioned with it pretty quickly. All I ever wanted to do, as I'm sure was the case with most of you with Guitar Hero, was play songs I enjoyed. The competition aspect in the game was awesome. Excelling and actually learning the structure of your favorite songs without having to navigate strings was cool. Cheating and kinda foolish, but still cool. It meant we were all on the same level as long as we could press five buttons and strum the bar at the same time. Rock Band got it right because then we could all form a virtual band and never have to leave the house. But, therein lies the ultimate demise of all music games.
We don't all like to sit at home listlessly forever. Okay, well, I don't. I am a musician. In order to enjoy music, I have to be playing it, feeling it, seeing it, living it. Sometimes musicians don't enjoy music because it gets to be like a job, a product that you have to put out, a numbers game. Guitar Hero and all other things like it became EXACTLY that. An arms race with no clear winner and an idea that became polluted and ultimately diluted by oversaturation (I also hope the same thing happens to Call Of Duty, I'm so tired of FPS's right now I could scream). Guitar Hero is dead and so is Rock Band, DJ Hero and all other music games. You might pick it up every now and again if you get really bored, but probably not. I think the main reason you won't is not because of all the reasons listed, but mainly because you realize the real thing is so much better. When the fun is gone, it's gone. The only way to bring it back is to take it back to basics. But why would I do that when I can just try to actually learn my favorite band's songs on a real instrument? When I could buy a guitar, practice amp and effects pedal for the same price as a Rock Band bundle? Simply put, I won't go back to it.
I was a musician before this even was released to the public. It was fun while it lasted and it's gone now. Perhaps it will come back again one day when we've all forgotten what it became. As a matter of fact, I'm sure it will. That's what trends do. Come, go, come again when the time is right. I do hope, however, that when that time comes around, you'll encourage someone to pick up an instrument and learn the real thing. It's so much more fun to play a real pentatonic solo than slide your fingers across imaginary frets. But you don't need me to tell you all this, do you? In the end, Guitar Hero deserved to die because it was a product. It wasn't about music. Music isn't a product (despite what the industry might say), it's an emotion. You feel it or you don't. I think we're all in agreement that none of us feel like sitting through another barrage of ridiculousness like the music game wave.
... for now.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
We Were So Wrong: A (Spoiler-Free) Review Of Prometheus
PROMETHEUS
FIRST RELEASED May 30, 2012 (June 8 in the US)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox
GENRE: Science Fiction
DIRECTED BY: Ridley Scott
WRITTEN BY : Damon Lindelof/Jon Spaihts
PLAYERS:
Noomi Rapace - Elizabeth Shaw
Michael Fassbender - David
Idris Elba - Janek
Logan Marshall-Green - Charlie Holloway
Charlize Theron - Meredith Vickers
Rafe Spall - Millburn
Sean Harris - Fifield
Kate Dickie - Ford
Emun Elliot - Chance
Benedict Wong - Ravel
Guy Pearce - Peter Weyland
Patrick Wilson - Shaw's father
Charlie Holloway: What we hoped to achieve was to meet our makers, to get answers why they made us in the first place.
David: Why do you think your people made me?
Charlie Holloway: We made ya 'cause we could.
David: Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for you to hear the same thing from your creator?
I am not sure what I expected from Prometheus, as I don't think any of you were. For 124 minutes of my life, I barely moved, breathed or blinked as the scenes unfolded before me. I knew it was coming for the better part of the last decade. Not sure if it was going to be Alien 5, a brand new story, or a prequel. Finally as I read in 2009 that good ol' Ridley (Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Body Of Lies) had decided on a prequel, I got excited. The space jockey would be explained and the elephant in the room (pun intended) would finally be an approached topic. So, how does one approach the base questions that spur a film like Alien? Well, ultimately, the questions come from us in present day. Since we're not as advanced as we thought we'd be, he decided to go 77 years out from present day. When you have questions about the existence of a xenomorph, alien ships, other civilizations, what tends to happen is that you end up with far more questions than the original you started out with, although it does tend to rip straight back to the core at times. That question is: Why are we here?
Fans are slightly split. Some are in love. Some are in hate. Some are wondering what just happened to their franchise. Some are indifferent. There are several camps of thought for this film. What a wonderful notion, also. A film that makes every single person that went to see it think about not only it, but the rudimentary questions that rend our souls from time to time. As sensational as the ancient astronaut theory has become in recent history, it is no surprise that the Erich von Daniken novel "Chariots of the Gods?" was an influence for the scriptwriters and for Scott. The theory suggests that we have been visited in the past, several times perhaps, by beings from other worlds who have influenced our development in language, technology, culture, science, mathematics, religion and perhaps even our own creation as a species. After taking so many years to look for inspiration, bouncing ideas back and forth with other folks (namely Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron), Ridley ultimately decided to use this as a focal cornerstone.
Alien was released in 1979 to critical acclaim. It was more than just a science fiction film; it was a horror masterpiece. Not ever before on such a large screen was a spectacle seen such as this. The film has been preserved in the Library of Congress for cryin' out loud. If you haven't seen it, stop reading this right now. You should absolutely stop what you're doing and go see that film. I don't care if you see any of the oth... okay you should probably see Aliens, too. If you haven't seen that, shame on you as well. Not quite as brooding as Alien, but definitely a great action film. For the rest of this review, I'm going to assume you've seen Alien. Good? Good.
Alien was in its own right a stand-alone story that showed a working class ship (Nostromo) and crew, given orders by a company (Weyland-Yutani) who clearly had its own agenda which superseded that of either the captain or any of the crew members. Alongside that, it was a film about survival (Ripley). A film about fear (the xenomorph). A film about finding the truth (LV-426). A film about technology and whether or not we can trust it (Ash). It made many points and raised many hairs and minds, causing many imitations and having phenomenal success during the Star Wars era of sci-fi. After seeing the film, you give yourself a couple of options. You can decide if that is the end and Ripley is safe. You can ask if there are others. You can ask where it all began. Open-ended films leave tons of questions. In an age where sequels are ordered and required more frequently than not, Aliens answered the questions for us, but not entirely to Mr. Scott's liking. This is why we have Prometheus.
The planet is Earth and the year is 2089. Doctors and partners Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway find a marking in a cave in the Isle of Skye that is yet another similar among several they have found worldwide. Using this marking, which depicts several humans pointing to spheres akin to stars, they create a map using the means, technology and ancient clues they have to find out what destination this could possibly be. After so long, they discover that there is a moon orbiting a planet within this system of stars that could facilitate life. All they have to do is get there and track down whatever being landed here on earth so long ago and caused our ancestors to trace them down in hieroglyphs. The scientific spacecraft Prometheus is fitted with a crew and sent into space to navigate to this moon they've called LV-223.
They arrive in orbit after two years in cryostasis (hypersleep, however you'd like to say it). Shaw revels in the idea of finding what she calls Engineers, the beings who she believes created human life. Naturally, the crew around her all have different agendas. The ship's android, David, is the eighth iteration of his model, which is the first fully functional and self-aware synthetic humanoid (which we're not too far from today). He has been awake and monitoring the ship and crew's progress for the last two years of their voyage. Upon their arrival and awakening, the entire crew is assembled by Weyland corporation delegate Meredith Vickers to a holographic speech by the aged and dying Peter Weyland himself, dictating the importance of their mission and wishing them well, until the floor is handed to Shaw. Shaw explains the cave markings, her beliefs, the Engineers and what they're there to find. The entire crew is predictably and understandably skeptical in a whole sense. That is, until they land on the moon and find not only a landing strip but an entire base of operations that has been there for seemingly centuries.
I could continue and just give you the movie on a silver platter. But, I want you to see it for yourself. You need to, especially if you've read this far. Do yourself a favor and don't read too many reviews online that will spoil it. Don't read too many reviews at all. In fact only read mine, haha.
WHAT IT DID WRONG: The movie came out so far after the original that it almost seems like reconstructive surgery, yet it is supposed to be a prequel. Fans of the original are treated not to a Dan O'Bannon screenplay, but a Damon Lindelof one. This is a completely different style. Dan wrote a film that didn't ask far too many questions, and also didn't give far too many answers. It was more or less an experience. This film is an experience as well, but at the end of this film you will have three answers and fifty questions. If you watched Lost, you know what I mean (thanks again for that, Lindelof). A film like this with topics like these make it paramount that you ask questions. It is an esoteric existential masterpiece in terms of that fact. But when you realize that this is a film and also a prequel that runs the risk of not having any films in between it and Alien, you realize that the tangents of these questions you're asking take you so far out of the frame that it is now nearly impossible to return. When you do return, you have more questions. And when you keep asking, you get frustrated. If one thing is true of this film regardless of its scope, acting or point, it is absolutely frustrating in many degrees. I don't know many moviegoers who enjoy frustration (except sci-fi moviegoers, so maybe that will work itself out?). Another point of contention is the soundtrack. I am not sure the soundtrack fit the film, but I believe this to be my bias towards the ambiance of the original soundtrack and the overall weirdness and (pun intended) alien quality of it.
WHAT IT DID RIGHT: The acting, setting and execution of the pieces of the story. You won't want to get up because you have to see what's next. Whether it be to find out if David is up to something, what will become of the man who came in contact with the other species, what is going to happen to Shaw in the medical chamber or what is going to happen when they find the Engineers' lair, you will be glued to the movie. The setting is creepy. The actors and actresses are superb. I can't say enough for Rapace, Fassbender and the enigmatic Elba. The visuals are stunning. The sound and dialogue is wonderful.
SHOULD I SEE IT IN THEATERS?: If you're up for a challenging watch, yes. If you're an Alien enthusiast, absolutely. If you're a sci-fi fan, how come you haven't? Otherwise, I wouldn't try. You'll probably walk out or be disappointed.
For me, the film was worth the money. I will buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out because I'm a huge enthusiast. However, it wasn't what I expected at all. I guess I thought it was going to tie more directly into Alien somehow, but I was surprised. When I left, I was asking questions just like everyone else, and I'm still asking them. Not just about the movie though, about the universe, existence and everything. The answer definitely isn't 42, but was it necessarily this film either? At times this movie seems like it was created just to be created. That it might come off to some as pretentious, seeming to be more than it amounted to. I can see how you would think that after watching it. But, creating something just to create it, asking questions just to ask them, doing things just to do them; isn't that not only the allure of life but the very nature of it as well? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This is a venture indeed. If you walk into this experience of a movie with any notions about what you've seen or what you think it's going to be, you're going to find yourself quoting Dr. Shaw:
"We were so wrong."
FIRST RELEASED May 30, 2012 (June 8 in the US)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox
GENRE: Science Fiction
DIRECTED BY: Ridley Scott
WRITTEN BY : Damon Lindelof/Jon Spaihts
PLAYERS:
Noomi Rapace - Elizabeth Shaw
Michael Fassbender - David
Idris Elba - Janek
Logan Marshall-Green - Charlie Holloway
Charlize Theron - Meredith Vickers
Rafe Spall - Millburn
Sean Harris - Fifield
Kate Dickie - Ford
Emun Elliot - Chance
Benedict Wong - Ravel
Guy Pearce - Peter Weyland
Patrick Wilson - Shaw's father
Charlie Holloway: What we hoped to achieve was to meet our makers, to get answers why they made us in the first place.
David: Why do you think your people made me?
Charlie Holloway: We made ya 'cause we could.
David: Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for you to hear the same thing from your creator?
I am not sure what I expected from Prometheus, as I don't think any of you were. For 124 minutes of my life, I barely moved, breathed or blinked as the scenes unfolded before me. I knew it was coming for the better part of the last decade. Not sure if it was going to be Alien 5, a brand new story, or a prequel. Finally as I read in 2009 that good ol' Ridley (Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Body Of Lies) had decided on a prequel, I got excited. The space jockey would be explained and the elephant in the room (pun intended) would finally be an approached topic. So, how does one approach the base questions that spur a film like Alien? Well, ultimately, the questions come from us in present day. Since we're not as advanced as we thought we'd be, he decided to go 77 years out from present day. When you have questions about the existence of a xenomorph, alien ships, other civilizations, what tends to happen is that you end up with far more questions than the original you started out with, although it does tend to rip straight back to the core at times. That question is: Why are we here?
Fans are slightly split. Some are in love. Some are in hate. Some are wondering what just happened to their franchise. Some are indifferent. There are several camps of thought for this film. What a wonderful notion, also. A film that makes every single person that went to see it think about not only it, but the rudimentary questions that rend our souls from time to time. As sensational as the ancient astronaut theory has become in recent history, it is no surprise that the Erich von Daniken novel "Chariots of the Gods?" was an influence for the scriptwriters and for Scott. The theory suggests that we have been visited in the past, several times perhaps, by beings from other worlds who have influenced our development in language, technology, culture, science, mathematics, religion and perhaps even our own creation as a species. After taking so many years to look for inspiration, bouncing ideas back and forth with other folks (namely Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron), Ridley ultimately decided to use this as a focal cornerstone.
Alien was released in 1979 to critical acclaim. It was more than just a science fiction film; it was a horror masterpiece. Not ever before on such a large screen was a spectacle seen such as this. The film has been preserved in the Library of Congress for cryin' out loud. If you haven't seen it, stop reading this right now. You should absolutely stop what you're doing and go see that film. I don't care if you see any of the oth... okay you should probably see Aliens, too. If you haven't seen that, shame on you as well. Not quite as brooding as Alien, but definitely a great action film. For the rest of this review, I'm going to assume you've seen Alien. Good? Good.
Alien was in its own right a stand-alone story that showed a working class ship (Nostromo) and crew, given orders by a company (Weyland-Yutani) who clearly had its own agenda which superseded that of either the captain or any of the crew members. Alongside that, it was a film about survival (Ripley). A film about fear (the xenomorph). A film about finding the truth (LV-426). A film about technology and whether or not we can trust it (Ash). It made many points and raised many hairs and minds, causing many imitations and having phenomenal success during the Star Wars era of sci-fi. After seeing the film, you give yourself a couple of options. You can decide if that is the end and Ripley is safe. You can ask if there are others. You can ask where it all began. Open-ended films leave tons of questions. In an age where sequels are ordered and required more frequently than not, Aliens answered the questions for us, but not entirely to Mr. Scott's liking. This is why we have Prometheus.
The planet is Earth and the year is 2089. Doctors and partners Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway find a marking in a cave in the Isle of Skye that is yet another similar among several they have found worldwide. Using this marking, which depicts several humans pointing to spheres akin to stars, they create a map using the means, technology and ancient clues they have to find out what destination this could possibly be. After so long, they discover that there is a moon orbiting a planet within this system of stars that could facilitate life. All they have to do is get there and track down whatever being landed here on earth so long ago and caused our ancestors to trace them down in hieroglyphs. The scientific spacecraft Prometheus is fitted with a crew and sent into space to navigate to this moon they've called LV-223.
They arrive in orbit after two years in cryostasis (hypersleep, however you'd like to say it). Shaw revels in the idea of finding what she calls Engineers, the beings who she believes created human life. Naturally, the crew around her all have different agendas. The ship's android, David, is the eighth iteration of his model, which is the first fully functional and self-aware synthetic humanoid (which we're not too far from today). He has been awake and monitoring the ship and crew's progress for the last two years of their voyage. Upon their arrival and awakening, the entire crew is assembled by Weyland corporation delegate Meredith Vickers to a holographic speech by the aged and dying Peter Weyland himself, dictating the importance of their mission and wishing them well, until the floor is handed to Shaw. Shaw explains the cave markings, her beliefs, the Engineers and what they're there to find. The entire crew is predictably and understandably skeptical in a whole sense. That is, until they land on the moon and find not only a landing strip but an entire base of operations that has been there for seemingly centuries.
I could continue and just give you the movie on a silver platter. But, I want you to see it for yourself. You need to, especially if you've read this far. Do yourself a favor and don't read too many reviews online that will spoil it. Don't read too many reviews at all. In fact only read mine, haha.
WHAT IT DID WRONG: The movie came out so far after the original that it almost seems like reconstructive surgery, yet it is supposed to be a prequel. Fans of the original are treated not to a Dan O'Bannon screenplay, but a Damon Lindelof one. This is a completely different style. Dan wrote a film that didn't ask far too many questions, and also didn't give far too many answers. It was more or less an experience. This film is an experience as well, but at the end of this film you will have three answers and fifty questions. If you watched Lost, you know what I mean (thanks again for that, Lindelof). A film like this with topics like these make it paramount that you ask questions. It is an esoteric existential masterpiece in terms of that fact. But when you realize that this is a film and also a prequel that runs the risk of not having any films in between it and Alien, you realize that the tangents of these questions you're asking take you so far out of the frame that it is now nearly impossible to return. When you do return, you have more questions. And when you keep asking, you get frustrated. If one thing is true of this film regardless of its scope, acting or point, it is absolutely frustrating in many degrees. I don't know many moviegoers who enjoy frustration (except sci-fi moviegoers, so maybe that will work itself out?). Another point of contention is the soundtrack. I am not sure the soundtrack fit the film, but I believe this to be my bias towards the ambiance of the original soundtrack and the overall weirdness and (pun intended) alien quality of it.
WHAT IT DID RIGHT: The acting, setting and execution of the pieces of the story. You won't want to get up because you have to see what's next. Whether it be to find out if David is up to something, what will become of the man who came in contact with the other species, what is going to happen to Shaw in the medical chamber or what is going to happen when they find the Engineers' lair, you will be glued to the movie. The setting is creepy. The actors and actresses are superb. I can't say enough for Rapace, Fassbender and the enigmatic Elba. The visuals are stunning. The sound and dialogue is wonderful.
SHOULD I SEE IT IN THEATERS?: If you're up for a challenging watch, yes. If you're an Alien enthusiast, absolutely. If you're a sci-fi fan, how come you haven't? Otherwise, I wouldn't try. You'll probably walk out or be disappointed.
For me, the film was worth the money. I will buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out because I'm a huge enthusiast. However, it wasn't what I expected at all. I guess I thought it was going to tie more directly into Alien somehow, but I was surprised. When I left, I was asking questions just like everyone else, and I'm still asking them. Not just about the movie though, about the universe, existence and everything. The answer definitely isn't 42, but was it necessarily this film either? At times this movie seems like it was created just to be created. That it might come off to some as pretentious, seeming to be more than it amounted to. I can see how you would think that after watching it. But, creating something just to create it, asking questions just to ask them, doing things just to do them; isn't that not only the allure of life but the very nature of it as well? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This is a venture indeed. If you walk into this experience of a movie with any notions about what you've seen or what you think it's going to be, you're going to find yourself quoting Dr. Shaw:
"We were so wrong."
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Sacrifice To Survive
Disclaimer: Several people give things score marks, i.e. 6/10, 3 and a half stars. I want to stay away from that in my reviews. Instead, I will tell you from my point of view what happened right and what happened wrong. You can agree or disagree, but I do suggest you partake in what I'm reviewing and form your own opinion. Enjoy :)
SACRIFICE TO SURVIVE - SACRIFICE TO SURVIVE
FIRST RELEASED December 10, 2011
LABEL: None
GENRE: Metal
SUBGENRES: Progressive/Experimental
SINGLES: N/A
MEMBERS:
Emily Aldridge - vocals, synth
Matt Stoops - guitars, production
Cory Stewart - guitars, backing vocals
Ted Sisak - bass
Josh Hughes - drums
It's not everyday you just run into someone who connects abstract dots of your past to your present. Such was the case when I got myself on the guest list for All Shall Perish when they passed through Jacksonville back in August of 2011 opening for Suicide Silence. I brought a friend with me and we had a great time. Got to see some weird opening bands and wait for All Shall Perish, until I bumped into this woman who was standing on a bench behind me. This dark haired woman and I elbowed each other before apologizing, and I in my protective instinct knowing we were at a metal show told her if it got crazy to stay up there and I'd keep my eye out. I figured that was the end of the pleasantries for the evening. I was (delightfully) wrong.
During a break, we spoke about the bands being on Mayhem which we coincidentally both just got back from, myself in Tampa and she from West Palm. We talked about collective interests, and at first we were talking about progressive bands. I was stoked about a project I was starting, and she was also talking about this band called Artilect (more on them in their own entry soon) that I needed to check out. I asked her name, gave her mine, we exchanged information and said we'd meet up at some of these shows again sometime. Very friendly and awesome. She said she also fronted a band around here that was kinda progressive and she was excited to be a part of it. If I had known how modest she was being at the time, I would've kicked my own face. A few days later once the week gave way, I looked up her band online.
The lead guitarist was a guy named Matt, she had told me at the show. When I looked online and saw the members, I saw his name was not just Matt. It was Matt Stoops. It had to have been the same Matt Stoops I was thinking of. Two years prior, I sent a craigslist ad myself for a project I'd just begun. A Matt Stoops answered, keying in similar interests. This had to be the same guy; and it was. When the time came for me to even get around to Matt, I'd already had two guys (who ultimately both flamed out quicker than a high school romance). Disengaged and disillusioned after trying some other guys, I continued doing what I always did and wrote on my own, and didn't bother trying to get Matt or anyone else's attentions. Oh, history and its cruel twists of fate.
This was indeed Matt Stoops. He had formed the band Luminesce with primarily the same core group he had now, but later changed the name to Sacrifice To Survive. The band were in the process of recording their debut and ready to play some shows. Once I made the connection to Emily that I knew Matt, they invited me out to their house for Emily's birthday party. We all have been friends ever since. It wasn't long before clips of their album were made available and plans for a debut release show were in place. Now, let's talk music.
I heard a clip of the first song called It Dies With Winter. This song conjures the kind of talent and range that suggests Hayley Williams got to use Dream Theater as a backing band for a record. The rest of the album followed suit. What a welcome surprise to hear progressive songs that aren't full of themselves (none exceed five minutes), metal songs that don't have a lot of inaudible death growls (their guitarist Cory Stewart features amazing range in backing Emily, plus the occasional guttural scream), chugging riffs and churning solos that are clear as a bell (Matt outdid himself on the production which, for a debut, is near flawless), and a positive message throughout the lyrical details. You find yourself singing along after one listen. "When everybody's asking what's wrong with the world today, I'm telling you now this is the way it's always been." This is a band with an undeniable polish and a formidable knack for songwriting and delivery. The energy of their stage performance is also electrifying. I have to tell you that I'm not afraid to say my friends' bands suck. I am extremely lucky to be friends with these musicians who inspire me and awe me still. They deserve and command attention. Let's take a closer look.
WHAT THEY DID WRONG: They didn't deliver this immediately to a record label who had money to throw at them. But seriously. In assessing the album, there is nary a performance or audio quality to fault. Once again, given the fact this is a debut from an unsigned band, this is astoundingly great quality. Matt's production is fantastic and he will be sought after. This all aside, the thing they did most wrong in some points was reel in the adventurousness that the songs sometimes linger on the cusp of. It feels as though it is a consistent crescendo at times without a definitive point of release. If this is a fault within the music, it is a minor one. The other point of contention would be that Emily's voice could absolutely benefit from having more layered harmony. They were prevalent in It Dies With Winter, and the rest of the album could have used a lot more of it.
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: Everything else. The production, the performance, the sound, the quality, the writing, the mixing, the mastering, the delivery, the packaging. This album was done by people who put 85% of the signed artists they sound like to shame. It won't be long before they get a deal.
WHAT SONGS SHOULD I HEAR RIGHT NOW:
It Dies With Winter - this track is definitely their penultimate awesomeness so far, it is in essence what they are sonically about
Hallucinate/Exile/Awakening - these three tracks make up a trilogy of sorts in my mind, blending similarities and themes
As The Sky Breaks - this number is blistering, bringing to mind Periphery and the aforementioned Dream Theater
As I type this, they're not resting on their laurels. They are already writing and demoing their second record. Links to listen to or follow the band will be posted below. I encourage you, if you like metal or progressive music, or even a good rock song, you'll probably thoroughly enjoy this band; they could use all of our support in their journey onward and upward!
http://sacrificetosurvive.bandcamp.com - Buy the album here for $6 digitally, hard copy for $8
http://soundcloud.com/sacrificetosurvive - Listen to tracks before you buy
http://www.facebook.com/SacrificetoSurvive - Like the band and interact directly with them
Thanks for reading, and I will absolutely try to feature more locals and unsigned bands as I continue.
- Grant
SACRIFICE TO SURVIVE - SACRIFICE TO SURVIVE
FIRST RELEASED December 10, 2011
LABEL: None
GENRE: Metal
SUBGENRES: Progressive/Experimental
SINGLES: N/A
MEMBERS:
Emily Aldridge - vocals, synth
Matt Stoops - guitars, production
Cory Stewart - guitars, backing vocals
Ted Sisak - bass
Josh Hughes - drums
It's not everyday you just run into someone who connects abstract dots of your past to your present. Such was the case when I got myself on the guest list for All Shall Perish when they passed through Jacksonville back in August of 2011 opening for Suicide Silence. I brought a friend with me and we had a great time. Got to see some weird opening bands and wait for All Shall Perish, until I bumped into this woman who was standing on a bench behind me. This dark haired woman and I elbowed each other before apologizing, and I in my protective instinct knowing we were at a metal show told her if it got crazy to stay up there and I'd keep my eye out. I figured that was the end of the pleasantries for the evening. I was (delightfully) wrong.
During a break, we spoke about the bands being on Mayhem which we coincidentally both just got back from, myself in Tampa and she from West Palm. We talked about collective interests, and at first we were talking about progressive bands. I was stoked about a project I was starting, and she was also talking about this band called Artilect (more on them in their own entry soon) that I needed to check out. I asked her name, gave her mine, we exchanged information and said we'd meet up at some of these shows again sometime. Very friendly and awesome. She said she also fronted a band around here that was kinda progressive and she was excited to be a part of it. If I had known how modest she was being at the time, I would've kicked my own face. A few days later once the week gave way, I looked up her band online.
The lead guitarist was a guy named Matt, she had told me at the show. When I looked online and saw the members, I saw his name was not just Matt. It was Matt Stoops. It had to have been the same Matt Stoops I was thinking of. Two years prior, I sent a craigslist ad myself for a project I'd just begun. A Matt Stoops answered, keying in similar interests. This had to be the same guy; and it was. When the time came for me to even get around to Matt, I'd already had two guys (who ultimately both flamed out quicker than a high school romance). Disengaged and disillusioned after trying some other guys, I continued doing what I always did and wrote on my own, and didn't bother trying to get Matt or anyone else's attentions. Oh, history and its cruel twists of fate.
This was indeed Matt Stoops. He had formed the band Luminesce with primarily the same core group he had now, but later changed the name to Sacrifice To Survive. The band were in the process of recording their debut and ready to play some shows. Once I made the connection to Emily that I knew Matt, they invited me out to their house for Emily's birthday party. We all have been friends ever since. It wasn't long before clips of their album were made available and plans for a debut release show were in place. Now, let's talk music.
I heard a clip of the first song called It Dies With Winter. This song conjures the kind of talent and range that suggests Hayley Williams got to use Dream Theater as a backing band for a record. The rest of the album followed suit. What a welcome surprise to hear progressive songs that aren't full of themselves (none exceed five minutes), metal songs that don't have a lot of inaudible death growls (their guitarist Cory Stewart features amazing range in backing Emily, plus the occasional guttural scream), chugging riffs and churning solos that are clear as a bell (Matt outdid himself on the production which, for a debut, is near flawless), and a positive message throughout the lyrical details. You find yourself singing along after one listen. "When everybody's asking what's wrong with the world today, I'm telling you now this is the way it's always been." This is a band with an undeniable polish and a formidable knack for songwriting and delivery. The energy of their stage performance is also electrifying. I have to tell you that I'm not afraid to say my friends' bands suck. I am extremely lucky to be friends with these musicians who inspire me and awe me still. They deserve and command attention. Let's take a closer look.
WHAT THEY DID WRONG: They didn't deliver this immediately to a record label who had money to throw at them. But seriously. In assessing the album, there is nary a performance or audio quality to fault. Once again, given the fact this is a debut from an unsigned band, this is astoundingly great quality. Matt's production is fantastic and he will be sought after. This all aside, the thing they did most wrong in some points was reel in the adventurousness that the songs sometimes linger on the cusp of. It feels as though it is a consistent crescendo at times without a definitive point of release. If this is a fault within the music, it is a minor one. The other point of contention would be that Emily's voice could absolutely benefit from having more layered harmony. They were prevalent in It Dies With Winter, and the rest of the album could have used a lot more of it.
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: Everything else. The production, the performance, the sound, the quality, the writing, the mixing, the mastering, the delivery, the packaging. This album was done by people who put 85% of the signed artists they sound like to shame. It won't be long before they get a deal.
WHAT SONGS SHOULD I HEAR RIGHT NOW:
It Dies With Winter - this track is definitely their penultimate awesomeness so far, it is in essence what they are sonically about
Hallucinate/Exile/Awakening - these three tracks make up a trilogy of sorts in my mind, blending similarities and themes
As The Sky Breaks - this number is blistering, bringing to mind Periphery and the aforementioned Dream Theater
As I type this, they're not resting on their laurels. They are already writing and demoing their second record. Links to listen to or follow the band will be posted below. I encourage you, if you like metal or progressive music, or even a good rock song, you'll probably thoroughly enjoy this band; they could use all of our support in their journey onward and upward!
http://sacrificetosurvive.bandcamp.com - Buy the album here for $6 digitally, hard copy for $8
http://soundcloud.com/sacrificetosurvive - Listen to tracks before you buy
http://www.facebook.com/SacrificetoSurvive - Like the band and interact directly with them
Thanks for reading, and I will absolutely try to feature more locals and unsigned bands as I continue.
- Grant
Storm Corrosion
Disclaimer: Several people give things score marks, i.e. 6/10, 3 and a half stars. I want to stay away from that in my reviews. Instead, I will tell you from my point of view what happened right and what happened wrong. You can agree or disagree, but I do suggest you partake in what I'm reviewing and form your own opinion. Enjoy :)
STORM CORROSION - STORM CORROSION
FIRST RELEASED May 7, 2012
LABEL: Roadrunner
GENRE: Progressive
SUBGENRES: Folk/Ambient/Psychedelic/Experimental/Orchestral
SINGLES: N/A
MEMBERS:
Mikael Akerfeldt - vocals, guitars
Steven Wilson - vocals, keyboards
Growing up, I was always fascinated with the film Fantasia. This is far and wide my favorite Disney film of all time. One could say that it is even the catalyst for my musical endeavors, aside from the fact that I am nowhere near as talented as classical composers or the orchestral/symphonic players that have transcribed and perform these masterpieces countless times. The animation always got me, too. The visual aspect of music is one frequently used to give it more depth and purpose. It is sometimes as if the truest sound -> color synesthesia could be found in the Toccata and Fugue portion in the beginning of the film. The senses of terror, wonder, calm, amazement, bewilderment; you can find all these in the first 100 measures of this piece. The classical composers truly had a gift and a vision that few musicians possess today.
But most of this type of music was written and performed one and up to two hundred years ago.
Fast forward to 1967, the year of Sgt. Pepper and Are You Experienced? (if you get the reference, we're friends). Steven Wilson is born in England. Fast forward to 1974, the year of Kiss and Rush's self-titled albums. Mikael Akerfeldt is born in Sweden. Around the mid 90's, both of these musicians begin to take their craft seriously. They already have fledgling bands that aren't touring at all (Porcupine Tree and Opeth, respectively), but their studio records are gaining them a good following. Both polarized in sound, Wilson with his ambient/progressive/psychedelic rock outings and Akerfeldt with his progressive/folk/extreme death metal outings, but both drawn to one another's styles through the grapevine. Through channels of communication, Wilson (already a producer) discovers that Akerfeldt admired his album The Sky Moves Sideways as well as his production talents. The partnership is forged, and Wilson enters the studio with Akerfeldt and company for Opeth's fifth and subsequently breakthrough album, Blackwater Park.
Before this record, Opeth's songs were mainly concept based death metal folk minstrels comprising of several lengthy numbers. It wasn't until their third record where they got a steady line up and cemented their sound. This record called My Arms, Your Hearse got them noticed in the metal community. Their fourth record Still Life caught Wilson's eye and got them tour guarantees for the first time in their career. With Wilson came clarity in production, direction, diversity and an astoundingly complex haunting darkness to Opeth's sound. This was revisited in their next two records Wilson also produced. Deliverance was a by the numbers Opeth record where Damnation was a shock to the gut. With no growling or screamed vocals and no overdriven guitars, Damnation brought back a 70's progressive rock style reminiscent of Procol Harum, Yes, Gabriel-era Genesis, Deep Purple, Soft Machine, Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd. Though the metal never died out in Opeth and the folk was always there, when Wilson and Akerfeldt went fully collaborative on a song (Death Whispered A Lullaby) there was something different there.
They worked together several more times. Akerfeldt guested on four songs with Porcupine Tree's album Deadwing, Wilson mixed Opeth's album Heritage, and there was frequent discussion of collaboration in an exclusive setting, at the time including Mike Portnoy (pre-Avenged Sevenfold/Dream Theater midlife crisis meltdown). As the years went by, Portnoy was excluded from the project and the writing began in early 2010. Opeth became less heavy and Porcupine Tree more heavy as the years went on. When the name was announced, it was said to be called Storm Corrosion. It was described by Akerfeldt and Wilson as twisted, beautiful and cool. The music was said to have only 15% drums and was largely instrumental (the drums were performed by the mighty Gavin Harrison). The media and fans were told not to expect metal. Yet, this album is stocked in the metal section anyway. Which brings me to my album review.
WHAT THEY DID WRONG: Made any other music before this. Due to the fact that both artists have delivered glorious pieces of music before this point, entire albums that have withstood time and space and will continue to for years, this six-song, less than 50 minute album has press and fans worldwide scratching their heads wondering what they're listening to. This has been described by several online reviewers as 'very expensive background music,' 'the most disappointing debut ever,' 'not worth any wait of any kind,' 'offensive to fans and artists,' 'do they think just because their names are on it they can get away with releasing garbage?,' 'mediocre,' 'bar lowering' and 'unimaginative.' This album has divided everyone. I know of people who can't make it past the first three minutes of the album's opener Drag Ropes. I know of people who, due to the reviews, refuse to even try. This is not a good sign for any future collaborations between these two. The album is musically inexplicable and meandering, often times confusing and every time challenging.
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: The fact that the album is musically inexplicable and meandering, often times confusing and every time challenging. The last time I heard a piece of music like this was from a classical composer. This is like a soundtrack to a film that only Steven and Mike have seen in their heads. This shows me colors upon listening. The entire spectrum per song, to be exact and honest. From the building violins and rounds in Drag Ropes, the distorted howling at the end of the title track, the thumping C bassline in Hag that leads to the drum breakdown, the dislocation in the middle of Happy, the clapping in Lock Howl and the crooning of Ljudet Innan. What they did right was make music that makes you feel uncomfortable. Makes you challenge your perceptions of what music is and really listen. Once you make it past that stage of discomfort (which for me lasted for weeks), you truly have a somewhat Fantasia-like masterpiece in your hands.
WHAT SONGS SHOULD I HEAR NOW:
The whole album. Don't stop it. Let it play. And try to let it play more than once. If you can make it through, I think you'll understand what I'm saying. If not, then it just wasn't your bag.
All in all, this album probably would've been best never released or released with some sort of explanatory medium. But as progressive thinkers tend to do, they figure if you don't get it then it's on you. Why should they have to explain themselves to us lower forms of intelligence? Hah. This album is indeed a self-indulgent affair, full of hubris and pompousness. I won't deny that from the several other reviewers who've said it. But what I will deny is that this was unimaginative and lazy. It was far from that. It was, and still for the most part is, over our heads. You know who else was considered self-indulgent, crazy, arrogant, pompous and over the heads of others when they made music? Classical composers.
Thanks for reading this novel. I will publish it some day. Enjoy the album if you can,
- Grant
STORM CORROSION - STORM CORROSION
FIRST RELEASED May 7, 2012
LABEL: Roadrunner
GENRE: Progressive
SUBGENRES: Folk/Ambient/Psychedelic/Experimental/Orchestral
SINGLES: N/A
MEMBERS:
Mikael Akerfeldt - vocals, guitars
Steven Wilson - vocals, keyboards
Growing up, I was always fascinated with the film Fantasia. This is far and wide my favorite Disney film of all time. One could say that it is even the catalyst for my musical endeavors, aside from the fact that I am nowhere near as talented as classical composers or the orchestral/symphonic players that have transcribed and perform these masterpieces countless times. The animation always got me, too. The visual aspect of music is one frequently used to give it more depth and purpose. It is sometimes as if the truest sound -> color synesthesia could be found in the Toccata and Fugue portion in the beginning of the film. The senses of terror, wonder, calm, amazement, bewilderment; you can find all these in the first 100 measures of this piece. The classical composers truly had a gift and a vision that few musicians possess today.
But most of this type of music was written and performed one and up to two hundred years ago.
Fast forward to 1967, the year of Sgt. Pepper and Are You Experienced? (if you get the reference, we're friends). Steven Wilson is born in England. Fast forward to 1974, the year of Kiss and Rush's self-titled albums. Mikael Akerfeldt is born in Sweden. Around the mid 90's, both of these musicians begin to take their craft seriously. They already have fledgling bands that aren't touring at all (Porcupine Tree and Opeth, respectively), but their studio records are gaining them a good following. Both polarized in sound, Wilson with his ambient/progressive/psychedelic rock outings and Akerfeldt with his progressive/folk/extreme death metal outings, but both drawn to one another's styles through the grapevine. Through channels of communication, Wilson (already a producer) discovers that Akerfeldt admired his album The Sky Moves Sideways as well as his production talents. The partnership is forged, and Wilson enters the studio with Akerfeldt and company for Opeth's fifth and subsequently breakthrough album, Blackwater Park.
Before this record, Opeth's songs were mainly concept based death metal folk minstrels comprising of several lengthy numbers. It wasn't until their third record where they got a steady line up and cemented their sound. This record called My Arms, Your Hearse got them noticed in the metal community. Their fourth record Still Life caught Wilson's eye and got them tour guarantees for the first time in their career. With Wilson came clarity in production, direction, diversity and an astoundingly complex haunting darkness to Opeth's sound. This was revisited in their next two records Wilson also produced. Deliverance was a by the numbers Opeth record where Damnation was a shock to the gut. With no growling or screamed vocals and no overdriven guitars, Damnation brought back a 70's progressive rock style reminiscent of Procol Harum, Yes, Gabriel-era Genesis, Deep Purple, Soft Machine, Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd. Though the metal never died out in Opeth and the folk was always there, when Wilson and Akerfeldt went fully collaborative on a song (Death Whispered A Lullaby) there was something different there.
They worked together several more times. Akerfeldt guested on four songs with Porcupine Tree's album Deadwing, Wilson mixed Opeth's album Heritage, and there was frequent discussion of collaboration in an exclusive setting, at the time including Mike Portnoy (pre-Avenged Sevenfold/Dream Theater midlife crisis meltdown). As the years went by, Portnoy was excluded from the project and the writing began in early 2010. Opeth became less heavy and Porcupine Tree more heavy as the years went on. When the name was announced, it was said to be called Storm Corrosion. It was described by Akerfeldt and Wilson as twisted, beautiful and cool. The music was said to have only 15% drums and was largely instrumental (the drums were performed by the mighty Gavin Harrison). The media and fans were told not to expect metal. Yet, this album is stocked in the metal section anyway. Which brings me to my album review.
WHAT THEY DID WRONG: Made any other music before this. Due to the fact that both artists have delivered glorious pieces of music before this point, entire albums that have withstood time and space and will continue to for years, this six-song, less than 50 minute album has press and fans worldwide scratching their heads wondering what they're listening to. This has been described by several online reviewers as 'very expensive background music,' 'the most disappointing debut ever,' 'not worth any wait of any kind,' 'offensive to fans and artists,' 'do they think just because their names are on it they can get away with releasing garbage?,' 'mediocre,' 'bar lowering' and 'unimaginative.' This album has divided everyone. I know of people who can't make it past the first three minutes of the album's opener Drag Ropes. I know of people who, due to the reviews, refuse to even try. This is not a good sign for any future collaborations between these two. The album is musically inexplicable and meandering, often times confusing and every time challenging.
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: The fact that the album is musically inexplicable and meandering, often times confusing and every time challenging. The last time I heard a piece of music like this was from a classical composer. This is like a soundtrack to a film that only Steven and Mike have seen in their heads. This shows me colors upon listening. The entire spectrum per song, to be exact and honest. From the building violins and rounds in Drag Ropes, the distorted howling at the end of the title track, the thumping C bassline in Hag that leads to the drum breakdown, the dislocation in the middle of Happy, the clapping in Lock Howl and the crooning of Ljudet Innan. What they did right was make music that makes you feel uncomfortable. Makes you challenge your perceptions of what music is and really listen. Once you make it past that stage of discomfort (which for me lasted for weeks), you truly have a somewhat Fantasia-like masterpiece in your hands.
WHAT SONGS SHOULD I HEAR NOW:
The whole album. Don't stop it. Let it play. And try to let it play more than once. If you can make it through, I think you'll understand what I'm saying. If not, then it just wasn't your bag.
All in all, this album probably would've been best never released or released with some sort of explanatory medium. But as progressive thinkers tend to do, they figure if you don't get it then it's on you. Why should they have to explain themselves to us lower forms of intelligence? Hah. This album is indeed a self-indulgent affair, full of hubris and pompousness. I won't deny that from the several other reviewers who've said it. But what I will deny is that this was unimaginative and lazy. It was far from that. It was, and still for the most part is, over our heads. You know who else was considered self-indulgent, crazy, arrogant, pompous and over the heads of others when they made music? Classical composers.
Thanks for reading this novel. I will publish it some day. Enjoy the album if you can,
- Grant
Linkin Park - Living Things
Disclaimer: Several people give things scoremarks, i.e. 6/10, 3 and a half stars. I want to stay away from that in my reviews. Instead, I will tell you from my point of view what happened right and what happened wrong. You can agree or disagree, but I do suggest you partake in what I'm reviewing and form your own opinion. Enjoy :)
LINKIN PARK - LIVING THINGS
FIRST RELEASED June 20, 2012 (Japan; June 26 in US)
LABEL: Warner Bros.
GENRE: Alternative Rock
SUBGENRES: Hip-Hop/Electronic/Punk
SINGLES: Burn It Down, Lost In The Echo
MEMBERS:
Chester Bennington - vocals
Mike Shinoda - vocals, guitars, synths, arrangement, production
Brad Delson - guitars, synths, arrangement
Dave Farrell - bass, synths
Joe Hahn - turntables, gadgets, synths, arrangement
Rob Bourdon - drums
The internet started for some in the late eighties, early nineties. For most of us who didn't have a whole lot of money and time growing up (me included), the internet didn't start until Napster. You remember, that thing that killed off Tower Records and CD Warehouse and every music retailer and industry over the last decade? Ah, the domino effect. But before my digression continues into nostalgia, let's talk more about Napster. Thanks to that service, I heard of several bands. One of which was a band called Hybrid Theory.
This band floored me. At age 15/16, they spoke my language musically. The song Part Of Me was one of those that just stuck with me forever. "Heard of me the routine scar, new cuts cover where the old ones are." "You can live if you're willing to put a stop to just what's killing you. Cut myself free willingly stop just what's killing me." These lines broke through me. I had already been writing and playing music at a basic level, but these lines absolutely changed me, given things I'd been going through at the time. Then the band changed their name to Linkin Park and they released an album called Hybrid Theory. The rest is history.
Fast forward to this last few weeks. Five major label studio releases, a few EP's, one remix album, a few live outings, several singles, tens of millions of records sold and thousands of shows all over the world later, they stand taller than most of the rubble that crumbled during the time their genre got popular. And rather than stick with it and get comfortable, they adapted. Much to several of their fans' chagrin no less. If you began listening back then, by now you're either enraged at LP, supremely happy or somewhere right in the middle of indifferent. This week, they released their fifth studio release, "Living Things." So, where are they now?
Songwriting wise, Linkin Park has never once been stronger. They are not only mature, but witty about it. In the same record they channel the folk balladry that made Bob Dylan a highlight of rock society (Roads Untraveled), the high octane energy of punk rock that made bands like MC5 and Minor Threat stand apart from the mainstream (Victimized) and the formula that brought them to the top in the beginning which was the perfect blend of hip-hop, rock and emotive singing (Lost In The Echo). Music wise, they are the offspring of their major label debut and their last record, A Thousand Suns (the one that probably pissed you off).
WHAT THEY DID WRONG: Well this is an opinion, but what they did wrong on this one was make it too short. They definitely tapped into some good veins of writing and performance on here. A few more songs couldn't have hurt. These days a price of an album compared to the price of an unlimited service has buyers raising their eyebrows before they pick an album up. That did not stop this from going number 1 on the Billboard in the first week, but it may not keep it there for long. Length is not that important to a pop album listener, but to a rock album enthusiast the more the better. The only other gripe I have here is that Joe Hahn is much too busy in the mix still, as he was in A Thousand Suns, whereas in Meteora and Hybrid Theory he was sort of a highlighted afterthought (and in Minutes To Midnight you sometimes wondered if he was present). They are so close to a perfect mix of all instruments and all vocals. Just a touch away. A band who writes and performs so well, yet still has room to do more and better. This is a good sign.
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: They didn't wait three plus years. They delivered this album in 22 months, and it is strong. This is a sign that, if given too much time to meander, they lose focus and track. They even said themselves that they wrote two or three whole albums before getting Minutes To Midnight done (a four year wait between that and Meteora). There isn't a bad song on here; not really. They all have something for you to enjoy if you've enjoyed Linkin Park thus far.
WHAT SONGS SHOULD I HEAR NOW:
Lost In The Echo - classic Linkin Park
Until It Breaks - semi-progressive elements here, and Brad sings at the end, quite well I might add
Castle Of Glass - Mike and Chester really hit it off here vocally, and the lyrics are poignant
This album is worth each song on it; somewhere around 10-11 dollars. I would buy it if I had the money, and I probably will soon (in the meantime, thank you Spotify!). If you want a good introspective listen for close to 40 minutes with some solid rock grooves and dynamite lyrics, this album is for you. I suggest you give it a whirl.
I'm so proud of Linkin Park for growing up with the times. You're my boy, Blue!
Thanks for reading folks. Until next time,
- Grant
LINKIN PARK - LIVING THINGS
FIRST RELEASED June 20, 2012 (Japan; June 26 in US)
LABEL: Warner Bros.
GENRE: Alternative Rock
SUBGENRES: Hip-Hop/Electronic/Punk
SINGLES: Burn It Down, Lost In The Echo
MEMBERS:
Chester Bennington - vocals
Mike Shinoda - vocals, guitars, synths, arrangement, production
Brad Delson - guitars, synths, arrangement
Dave Farrell - bass, synths
Joe Hahn - turntables, gadgets, synths, arrangement
Rob Bourdon - drums
The internet started for some in the late eighties, early nineties. For most of us who didn't have a whole lot of money and time growing up (me included), the internet didn't start until Napster. You remember, that thing that killed off Tower Records and CD Warehouse and every music retailer and industry over the last decade? Ah, the domino effect. But before my digression continues into nostalgia, let's talk more about Napster. Thanks to that service, I heard of several bands. One of which was a band called Hybrid Theory.
This band floored me. At age 15/16, they spoke my language musically. The song Part Of Me was one of those that just stuck with me forever. "Heard of me the routine scar, new cuts cover where the old ones are." "You can live if you're willing to put a stop to just what's killing you. Cut myself free willingly stop just what's killing me." These lines broke through me. I had already been writing and playing music at a basic level, but these lines absolutely changed me, given things I'd been going through at the time. Then the band changed their name to Linkin Park and they released an album called Hybrid Theory. The rest is history.
Fast forward to this last few weeks. Five major label studio releases, a few EP's, one remix album, a few live outings, several singles, tens of millions of records sold and thousands of shows all over the world later, they stand taller than most of the rubble that crumbled during the time their genre got popular. And rather than stick with it and get comfortable, they adapted. Much to several of their fans' chagrin no less. If you began listening back then, by now you're either enraged at LP, supremely happy or somewhere right in the middle of indifferent. This week, they released their fifth studio release, "Living Things." So, where are they now?
Songwriting wise, Linkin Park has never once been stronger. They are not only mature, but witty about it. In the same record they channel the folk balladry that made Bob Dylan a highlight of rock society (Roads Untraveled), the high octane energy of punk rock that made bands like MC5 and Minor Threat stand apart from the mainstream (Victimized) and the formula that brought them to the top in the beginning which was the perfect blend of hip-hop, rock and emotive singing (Lost In The Echo). Music wise, they are the offspring of their major label debut and their last record, A Thousand Suns (the one that probably pissed you off).
WHAT THEY DID WRONG: Well this is an opinion, but what they did wrong on this one was make it too short. They definitely tapped into some good veins of writing and performance on here. A few more songs couldn't have hurt. These days a price of an album compared to the price of an unlimited service has buyers raising their eyebrows before they pick an album up. That did not stop this from going number 1 on the Billboard in the first week, but it may not keep it there for long. Length is not that important to a pop album listener, but to a rock album enthusiast the more the better. The only other gripe I have here is that Joe Hahn is much too busy in the mix still, as he was in A Thousand Suns, whereas in Meteora and Hybrid Theory he was sort of a highlighted afterthought (and in Minutes To Midnight you sometimes wondered if he was present). They are so close to a perfect mix of all instruments and all vocals. Just a touch away. A band who writes and performs so well, yet still has room to do more and better. This is a good sign.
WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: They didn't wait three plus years. They delivered this album in 22 months, and it is strong. This is a sign that, if given too much time to meander, they lose focus and track. They even said themselves that they wrote two or three whole albums before getting Minutes To Midnight done (a four year wait between that and Meteora). There isn't a bad song on here; not really. They all have something for you to enjoy if you've enjoyed Linkin Park thus far.
WHAT SONGS SHOULD I HEAR NOW:
Lost In The Echo - classic Linkin Park
Until It Breaks - semi-progressive elements here, and Brad sings at the end, quite well I might add
Castle Of Glass - Mike and Chester really hit it off here vocally, and the lyrics are poignant
This album is worth each song on it; somewhere around 10-11 dollars. I would buy it if I had the money, and I probably will soon (in the meantime, thank you Spotify!). If you want a good introspective listen for close to 40 minutes with some solid rock grooves and dynamite lyrics, this album is for you. I suggest you give it a whirl.
I'm so proud of Linkin Park for growing up with the times. You're my boy, Blue!
Thanks for reading folks. Until next time,
- Grant
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