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(04/19/18 8:05pm)
There were no duds at Frog Baby Film Festival 2018. From top to bottom, the lineup of short films was full of clever and enjoyable submissions in a wide range of genres and styles. The cowboy westerns, action and horror films, and dystopian comedies made it impossible to know what to expect next, and that’s not even to mention the categories for documentaries and music videos. The only thing these films had in common was that they all showcased the undeniable talent of Ball State’s own home-brewed filmmaking community.
(04/19/18 6:01pm)
by Ryan Fine, Joe Bursley, and Ben Sapet
There were no duds at Frog Baby Film Festival 2018. From top to bottom, the lineup of short films was full of clever and enjoyable submissions in a wide range of genres and styles. The cowboy westerns, action and horror films, and dystopian comedies made it impossible to know what to expect next, and that's not even to mention the categories for documentaries and music videos. The only thing these films had in common was that they all showcased the undeniable talent of Ball State's own home-brewed filmmaking community.
Note: This roundup does not include the two submissions in the brand-new Public Service Announcement category, "This Body is Mine" directed by Kate Young and "kNOw PSA" directed by Selena Webb. These PSAs were submitted as part of a contest by Know No, a non-profit organization that aims to spread awareness of the definition and boundaries of sexual consent. The winner, "kNOw PSA," will be used as the official commercial for Know No. - Ryan Fine
Forenoon of Woe
Directed by Jacob Guenin
Opening up the festival was "Forenoon of Woe," a succint piece of poetry whose medieval language contrasts with decidedly modern scenery. In the film, a dry protagonist responds with reliable apathy through increasingly dramatic situations. Buildings burst into flames, people get hit by cars, but the man just rolls his eyes and keeps moving. Carefully shot and brilliantly paced, "Forenoon of Woe" is a delightful piece of dark comedy whose simplicity of storytelling only makes it more effective. - Ryan Fine
Love: A Four-Legged Word
Winner:
Best Documentary
Directed by Max Harp
A short documentary about the local pet shelter and volunteering for the sake of helping animals. The film interviews different volunteers about their experiences with the animal shelter, including one volunteer who met her beloved pet through her volunteer work. This short documentary helps give the viewers a personal look at the world surrounding animal shelters and volunteering. - Joe Bursley
That Friday Night
Directed by Von Storm
“That Friday Night” tells the story of two friends who decides to prank a couple in a relationship that's on its last legs. The story thrives on a constant sense of escalating tension from the wrong-combination boredom, recklessness, and eventually unchecked anger and impulse. The script and performances do an excellent job dotting the growing tension with comedy that does little to convince the audience (and other characters) that everything will be alright. With stylish camera movement and well-crafted tension, “That Friday Night” is a small self-contained thriller worth watching. - Ben Sapet
In a Place, Together, Doing Something
Directed by Emily Fischer
A romantic comedy, a situational drama, and a psychological thriller all rolled into one, this film is a smart and well-crafted experiment. It shows three unrelated scenes with three unrelated pairs of people, all very different but all using the same dialogue. With a structure like this, "In a Place" could have easily slipped into jarring or confusing territory, so watching it hold together throughout its duration makes it fascinating to watch. - Ryan Fine
Unveiled
Directed by Quentin Basnaw
An unlikely action story filmed on Ball State’s campus, this dramatic film follows a woman who joins a mysterious secret group to help take down a maniacal corporation, whom she holds responsible for the loss of her spouse. Special effects and well-choreographed action makes this thriller exciting and suspenseful, doing its best to create a compelling action story with a limited scope and budget. This film succeeds in overcoming daunting circumstances and delivers an entertaining thriller with a chilling ending for all viewers. - Joe Bursley
Still Alone
Directed by Nevin Markitan
“Still Alone” is the music video for the song of the same name by Indianapolis rapper Keyze Arizona. With a strong sense of the song’s rhythm and progression, the music video feels almost as if it was developed alongside the song itself. The video translates the song’s sense of thoughtful loneliness with color grading that makes Keyze’s dark outfit stand out against bright spots of nature. - Ben Sapet
The Followed
Winner:
Best Drama
Directed by Nick Kinder
With a runtime of only about three minutes, "The Followed" is more an exercise in cinematography and mood-setting than a fleshed-out story. That makes it a very good thing that the cinematography is excellent. Wide shots of a lone vagabond filmed in middle-of-nowhere Idaho convey a real sense of solitude and desolation. The spaghetti western-style duel that occurs when that solitude is interrupted provides an expected but nonetheless thrilling ending. - Ryan Fine
Alexa 2.0
Winner:
Best Comedy
Directed by Elijah Brand
This comedic film takes place in the near future, where the Amazon Alexa personal assistant has been upgraded to have human-like artificial intelligence. However, this upgrade comes with some unintended side effects, with a conclusion that any sci-fi movie which has explored AI has ultimately come to. The story follows a man and his unsuccessful attempts at dating with an Alexa 2.0 in his house that develops some unfortunate behaviors. Great comedic timing and witty allusions to the sci-fi genre make this film an enjoyment for the audience, knowing that it is only fiction…for now. - Joe Bursley
Magic-Off: The Final Act
Winner:
Best Action
Directed by Blake Conner
The Magic-Off series returns for the third and final installment of its Charlie-Chaplin-meets-VFX slapstick comedy. This time, the dueling magicians must team up when they are confronted by a powerful newcomer with malice on his mind. “The Final Act” uses the series’ wordlessly expressive performances to deliver some outstanding moments of emotional authenticity—making this a wonderful send-off for the series. - Ben Sapet
Lightswitch
Winner:
Best Alternative/Experimental
Best Sound Design
Best Editing
Best Production Design
Best Screenplay
Best Actor (Alex Spalding)
Best Direction
Best of Festival
Directed by Nick Kinder
The premise of "Lightswitch" is abstract and cryptic. The protagonist enters a warehouse to find a switch that reads "Not a Light Switch." With his curiosity piqued, he flips it on and off, discovering that it causes alternate timeline versions of himself to pop in and out of existence. Without a concrete story beyond this, the film focuses on creating a scene with biting intensity and a metallic industrial atmosphere. "Lightswitch" was by far the most decorated submission at the Frog Baby award ceremony, and it deserves every award it was given. - Ryan Fine
Alcohol: The False Culprit
Directed by Savonne Pearson
Another documentary that hits closer to home, this time surrounding the famous campus ban of fraternity events with alcohol. This film examines the impact, or lack thereof, this ban had on reducing the sexual assault epidemic on campus. The film interviews many students, from the creator of the infamous “Ball State Truth Redefined” comic showing Charlie Cardinal arresting a bottle of alcohol while ignoring an actual assault case, to the students of the Progressive Student Association, as well as man-on-the-street interviews of student opinions on the ban while it was in place. Covering a controversial subject matter for many students on campus, the film took a hard look at the issue of sexual assault and the official campus response. - Joe Bursley
Light the City Up
Winner:
Best Music Video
Directed by Von Storm
This music video for Keyze Arizona’s song of the same name follows Keyze and his friends through a breathless night wandering the city. The video captures the feeling of being young and on top of the world. Keyze’s raps about his ambitious journey to stardom feel right at home with the images of him feeling at home with the skyline. - Ben Sapet
The Midnight Man
Winner:
Best Actress (Taylorann Smith)
Directed by Will House
In "The Midnight Man," a writer who moves from New York to Indiana for a simpler life finds anything but simplicity. Upon finding an ominous metal case in her kitchen, she realizes that a short story she wrote in the big city is coming to life yet again. When skepticism leads to instructions unfollowed, the film becomes much more straight-up horror. Tense performances and a horrifying masked villain make "The Midnight Man" a legitimately unnerving experience. - Ryan Fine
You Are the Universe
Directed by Lilly Hunchman
This beautifully composed visual poem takes a look at the idea of living on Earth for all living organisms, not just for humans. This film composes stark contrasts of brightly colored natural scenes with shots of grim and gloomy city urbanization, tied together with prose about respecting all life on Earth and promoting environmentally conscious ideas from the perspective of the human race. - Joe Bursley
Billie & the Man
Winner:
Best Color Grading
Best Cinematography
Directed by Ashley Mullen
“Billie & The Man” has a remarkably simple setup: Billie is being chased by a man who cut the leg off her dog and wants to kill her. Slick editing and professional-quality cinematography make every second of the film’s three-minute runtime a treat. The film’s wry take on the western genre feels free to pause the action and deliver asides straight to the camera—playing not only with genre conventions, but general film conventions. “Billie & The Man” packs a heap of fun and voice into three delightful minutes. - Ben Sapet
Featured image from Facebook
(04/17/18 1:00pm)
There may be no major indie rock act today who is quite as well suited to a cozy small venue as Lucy Dacus. At her Indianapolis debut in Fountain Square, the singer-songwriter proved that she is worth every ounce of hype her new record has brought. The two wonderfully fun, high-energy opening sets from Adult Mom and And the Kids would have made for a perfectly good concert on their own, and the crowd seemed to be satisfied even before getting any sight of the headliner. But as it neared 11:00p.m., Lucy Dacus and her band emerged from backstage in a single-file line with uniformly greyscale apparel and were met with warm applause.
(04/15/18 3:59pm)
By Ryan Fine
There may be no major indie rock act today who is quite as well suited to a cozy small venue as Lucy Dacus. At her Indianapolis debut in Fountain Square, the singer-songwriter proved that she is worth every ounce of hype her new record has brought. The two wonderfully fun, high-energy opening sets from Adult Mom and And the Kids would have made for a perfectly good concert on their own, and the crowd seemed to be satisfied even before getting any sight of the headliner. But as it neared 11:00p.m., Lucy Dacus and her band emerged from backstage in a single-file line with uniformly greyscale apparel and were met with warm applause.
Dacus arrived at the Hi-Fi in support of her near-flawless sophomore album Historian: a patient, sugar-sweet record released just over a month before the concert. She opened her set by playing eight songs from the album in a row, beginning with its most upbeat rock single “Addictions” and progressing almost sequentially through its tracklist.
This effectively put several slower tracks together in the setlist, taking the already-intimate barroom venue and making it feel more like a coffee shop. By the time she got to the blues-tinted ballad “Yours & Mine,” each audience member was fully focused on the performance as if she were singing directly to them. She introduced the song as being about things in the world that suck, and thanked the crowd for singing along and creating a “healing moment” for her.
The energy picked up a little bit after that with a transition to the quicker guitars of “Body to Flame,” a beautiful track about the ongoing mystery of getting to know other peoples’ internal struggles. “Timefighter,” which filled the next slot, was one of the clear highlights of the night. One of the show’s loudest and most intense moments, the song brought a boomy, disgusting bass tone to a night that risked sounding a bit too uniformly pretty.
Once Dacus finished her Historian run with the tragic and stunning “Pillar of Truth,” she announced that she would shift to play some older songs from her first album No Burden. Tuning her guitar by playing a chord that could have pointed to any number of songs from that album, she eventually began playing “Map on a Wall.” This song, along with the companion songs “Dream State…” and “...Familiar Place,” led to a segment that leaned heavily on the quieter moments of No Burden. Though it was nice to hear those songs, it would have also been nice to hear some of the more upbeat songs as well.
But even with the absence of “Troublemaker Doppelganger” and “Strange Torpedo,” she did have time to include her first mini-hit “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore.” Unsurprisingly, this was one of the best singalong moments of the show, only topped by the next song on the list. After the song’s final trailing moments, Dacus said that her next song would be the last one (but acknowledged with air quotes that she likely had an encore planned).
Every good musical artist needs a song that can turn their live shows into a warm community experience, and for Lucy Dacus, that song is “Night Shift.” Sprawling and emotional, “Night Shift” is the first and best song from Historian, and in the context of the album it pulls the listener in right from the beginning and guarantees a gorgeous album to come. At her Indianapolis show, she closed her main set with this song, and by the time the climactic chorus came around there was hardly a mouth in the room that was not full of its words. When it was over, Lucy Dacus and her band thanked the crowd and walked offstage to an applause thunderous enough to carry through to the encore set.
The song she chose to bring the show to its genuine conclusion was “Historians,” the final track from the album of a similar name. This is maybe the mellowest song in her catalogue, and for the first time that night, hardly anyone in the audience even attempted to sing along. Instead, Dacus was greeted with a deserved wide-eyed reverence as the audience absorbed the reserved atmosphere for the last time. Though in many ways it was different from the rest of her set, it made for the perfect epilogue to an impeccably crafted, well-told story.
Featured image from The 405
(03/27/18 3:53pm)
By Ryan Fine
With each new wave of social progressivism in America comes a wave of new movies to back it up. This year, we’re seeing a number of underrepresented groups finally come into a well-deserved spotlight on the big screen. Now with Love, Simon, we finally have a film from a mainstream studio that focuses on a same-sex teen romance. As noted by many, the fact that we’re finally living in a time where a movie like this can get a wide release is exciting but, of course, inclusion alone does not a good film make. Could its actual content live up to its social significance and its otherwise lofty hype?
It turns out, there’s no real easy answer to that question, and this movie is going to resonate differently with different audiences. If you’re looking for a deep dive into the issues of LGBT people in America today, you’re not going to find it in Love, Simon. But for those who just want a cheesy romantic coming-of-age story that happens to have a gay main character, this movie hits all the sweet spots.
A familiar story in a new light
There aren’t a whole lot of innovative ways to do a teenage rom-com in 2018, but Love, Simon does pretty well at working within the confines of its genre. The first act deals with Simon Spier, a typical high school student from Atlanta, going through his absolutely ideal life. He has good friends, a tight-knit family, and a fulfilling extracurricular home in the school drama club. Which is to say, the basic setting is indiscernible from just about any other movie of its kind. The only difference? Simon is secretly gay.
The trailers would have you believe that this is where the entire plot of the movie ends, but thankfully this is not the case. Someone from Simon’s high school posts on an anonymous online chat board that he is gay, and Simon, being a desperate closeted high school kid, of course decides to start messaging him. One small accident in leaving a web browser unattended leads Martin, an annoying fellow theatre kid, to put the pieces together. Martin has a crush on Simon’s friend Abby and decides to blackmail Simon into convincing her to hang out with him and the story moves forward based on this fiasco.
The good news is that this baseline provides real tension. Watching Simon wrestle with how far he’s willing to go to keep his secret safe is engaging and sometimes even hilarious, though it sometimes gets a little too cringy for my taste – I won’t spoil the scene that’s the worst offender, but it involves a bear, the National Anthem, and the phrase “Go big or go home.” And if Martin ever seems too embarrassing to handle as a character, at least it makes Simon’s plight feel much more sympathetic. All of his actions are based on appeasing the throwaway comic relief character, and it feels like there is real risk for him if he doesn’t do it right.
A fleeting suspension of disbelief
Even though this movie isn’t supposed to be that deep, there are a few moments where I had to try really hard to believe what was going on. Let’s take that moment where Martin first realizes that Simon is going back and forth with the mysterious Blue character. Up until this point, we see Simon bending over backwards to get chances to talk to Blue. Whenever he gets a new message from him, he excuses himself from the situation so he can respond immediately. But when the goofy vice principal shows up mid-message at the library computer, he suddenly forgets about it? I’m not really buying it.
Also, for how mad his friends rightfully are when they realize that he was intentionally trying to sabotage their love lives, they sure do forgive him quickly. All he has to do is mention his own stupidity and Leah is back on board. His other friends, who have arguably received the brunt of the effects of the blackmail, are quick to follow suit. Once everyone has made up, it’s never really mentioned again that Simon was actually kind of a serious jerk. And even while I’m very happy with how the movie ends, the nitpicky part of me still wishes that certain elements were re-introduced better. Depending on how you look at it, that ending comes dangerously close to deus ex machina, or just straight-up retconning earlier events.
Will this actually make a difference?
It’s clear that Love, Simon is aware that it’s a movie with a role to play. This is the first gay teen love story to come from a studio as big as Fox, and it matters whether its representation was done right. If it had gone about this subject the wrong way, it could have been shunned as a lazy cash grab at best or disrespectful to an entire community at worst.
The film’s biggest omission is the relative lack of homophobia that Simon has to deal with. The other gay kid at his school, the much more stereotypical Ethan, gets a bit more ridicule, but he is shown gracefully deflecting it at every turn. When the levee breaks, Simon must deal with one immature incident for a couple minutes, then he is defended so passionately that no one dares confront him about it again.
But let’s face it, this is not a movie of scare tactics and that’s not the kind of movie the world needs right now. With the amount of pushback we’re still seeing against progress made for minority groups in the United States, it’s actually really nice to see that this movie doesn’t play up the sad parts of the real world. When Jennifer Garner makes her speech to Simon near the end of the movie, it’s easy to see that she’s directing it toward every LGBT person in the nation who still needs to hear her words. So even though Love, Simon may not end up as the be-all, end-all of LGBT romance movies, it sure is a nice place to start.
Featured image from Fox Movies
(03/21/18 1:27pm)
In 2010, Titus Andronicus achieved a breakthrough with their towering Civil War concept album The Monitor, a record featuring wildly raucous vocals, bagpipe soloists, and a host of outside collaborators. After calming down with the relatively normal Local Business, the band established their reputation for reckless ambition with The Most Lamentable Tragedy in 2015. This five-act rock opera, which clocked in at over 90 minutes long, was so dense and expansive that some critics thought it pushed the boundaries too much for its own good.
(03/15/18 9:37pm)
By Ryan Fine
In 2010, Titus Andronicus achieved a breakthrough with their towering Civil War concept album The Monitor, a record featuring wildly raucous vocals, bagpipe soloists, and a host of outside collaborators. After calming down with the relatively normal Local Business, the band established their reputation for reckless ambition with The Most Lamentable Tragedy in 2015. This five-act rock opera, which clocked in at over 90 minutes long, was so dense and expansive that some critics thought it pushed the boundaries too much for its own good.
To follow up this monolith, Titus Andronicus has returned with a concise effort that excludes many of the bells and whistles found in their previous work. Though several tracks on A Productive Cough exceed the seven-minute mark, the band’s vision is ultimately simpler and more focused than at any other point in their career.
Zooming in
A Productive Cough is Titus Andronicus’ smallest album, if not in duration then certainly in scope. Instead of trying to make some grand statement as they normally do, the boys have come back with the singular purpose of making a good rock album. The raspy and dramatic opening track, “Number One (In New York),” is one of the only real soft spots on the album and even this song ends up sharpening to a point by the end.
The real main vein of this album lies somewhere closer to its Springsteen-esque second single, “Above the Bodega (Local Business).” With its upbeat instrumentation and marked gospel flair, complete with unabashed backing “sha la las," this track represents the rowdy carelessness shared by most other tracks on this album, including “Real Talk,” “(I’m) Like a Rolling Stone,” and “Home Alone.”
Though, in some respects, it’s nice for Titus Andronicus to be a little bit more cohesive, the album does suffer a little bit in its tunnel vision. While this is easily the most fun Titus Andronicus album to date, it’s hard not to miss the days when they took themselves a bit more seriously and pushed themselves into further reaches of artistry than they do now. For this reason, A Productive Cough is best enjoyed as a mindless good time without remembering the reasons why you used to listen to them.
A nod to the past
As New Jersey natives, Titus Andronicus have never been able to escape comparison to Bruce Springsteen, nor has their sound ever hinted at any real effort to avoid his influence. Local Business relied heavily on the guidance of The Boss, but A Productive Cough may give even that album a run for its money. In fact, I’d be fairly easily convinced if you told me “Above the Bodega” was an unreleased outtake from Born in the U.S.A. While it doesn’t win the band a ton of originality points, this sound does sound natural when accompanied by the sandpaper voice of Patrick Stickles.
Of course, as Titus Andronicus has proven many times before, it’s not necessarily a problem to wear your influences on your sleeve. Stickles does this literally – the “Crass Tattoo” of this album is an actual tattoo of the early punk band Crass that he has on his arm. In fact, the most daring moment of A Productive Cough is also its most naked tribute. “(I’m) Like a Rolling Stone” is a cover of the famous Bob Dylan song of the same name, in which Stickles changes the lyrics to make the entire song first person and shout out actual members of The Rolling Stones. To mess with one of the most revolutionary songs of all time and literally make it about himself is a bold move from Patrick Stickles that pays off well in context.
We’re in for a real big war!
One of the defining qualities of this album according to Patrick Stickles is the absence of typical Titus Andronicus “punk bangers.” With all respect to Mr. Stickles, I’m not sure how he classifies “Home Alone” as anything but a banger. This track brings up the energy to a level rarely seen on A Productive Cough and becomes something of a climactic moment of the record as “Mass Transit Madness” plays it out quietly. As a song almost entirely motored by loud guitar chords, it will be interesting to note whether he attempts to play “Home Alone” on his upcoming semi-acoustic tour.
The only other moment with nearly this much raw vigor is the early cut “Real Talk.” This song takes on a repetitive old-time folksy verse style, recalling the barroom chant vibe of certain tracks from The Monitor (as well as Titus’ Irish punk heroes The Pogues). But if the music makes the sentiment feel old, the lyrics are certainly applicable to the modern age. “If things are as bad as the newspaper says / We’re in for a real big war,” proclaims Stickles, noting the near-apocalyptic headlines of this moment in American history. While the horns and guitars join the shouted vocals and make it all feel like something to sing about.
It’s this sense of fun in the face of adversity that really makes A Productive Cough worth a listen. It feels like anything that one could possibly be worried about is happening in the world today, from geopolitical tension to climate change and looming debt crises. It’s easy to cower into hopelessness and fear at a time like this, but Titus Andronicus has a different solution: if this is the end of the world, let’s at least have a good time while we watch it all burn.
Top tracks:
“Number One (In New York)”
“Real Talk”
“(I’m) Like a Rolling Stone”
Recommended if you like:
Bruce Springsteen
Frank Turner
Against Me!
Featured image from Trend Privé
(02/23/18 7:52pm)
MGMT, the indie pop superstars who burst out of the gate in 2007 with the beloved Oracular Spectacular, may never have as much commercial success as they did with “Kids” or “Time to Pretend” or “Electric Feel.” But even knowing this, they’ve never allowed themselves to take that as an excuse to stagnate or play it safe. With Congratulations they followed up their debut with a strangely experimental but mostly successful ode to the past. Their 2013 self-titled album took a much bigger risk, removing the band’s signature pop hooks and replacing it with much more demanding left-field music. It didn’t land on most ears. Not even a little bit. In fact, with such a clear decline in quality between their second and third albums, no one really expected MGMT to be able to come back with nearly the same addictive strangeness they used to make.
(02/19/18 3:51pm)
by Ryan Fine
MGMT, the indie pop superstars who burst out of the gate in 2007 with the beloved Oracular Spectacular, may never have as much commercial success as they did with “Kids” or “Time to Pretend” or “Electric Feel.” But even knowing this, they’ve never allowed themselves to take that as an excuse to stagnate or play it safe. With Congratulations they followed up their debut with a strangely experimental but mostly successful ode to the past. Their 2013 self-titled album took a much bigger risk, removing the band’s signature pop hooks and replacing it with much more demanding left-field music. It didn’t land on most ears. Not even a little bit. In fact, with such a clear decline in quality between their second and third albums, no one really expected MGMT to be able to come back with nearly the same addictive strangeness they used to make.
Which is to say, no one expected Little Dark Age.
The title track and lead single from Little Dark Age is a bit of a misleading teaser. As one of the more serious and “normal” songs on the album, it occupies the niche of being a more straightforward song that’s heavily influenced by The Cure. But further singles like “When You Die” and “Hand It Over” have been much better signals of the absolute madness that defines this record, even in comparison to previous albums by MGMT. It brings back the strong choruses and hooks that define great pop music, but it also adds a near cabaret-level element of dramatic darkness to the mix. Little Dark Age is truly a head-scratching album, but only in the best possible ways.
Playing it for laughs
The premise of the opening song “She Works Out Too Much” is pretty simple. It documents the start of a beautiful Tinder relationship and its tragic downfall because “he didn’t work out enough.” It’s full of muddy synthesizers and melodies that could get stuck in anyone’s head for a week, interspersed with the artificially energetic voice of a workout video coach. It is the first example of a trend that continues throughout the rest of the album: When this album picks a concept, it goes all out on it.
The rest of the album is no less unabashedly “get off my lawn”-like, which works surprisingly to its credit. A similar theme is tackled later on “TSLAMP,” a midtempo jam that turns out to stand for “time spent looking at my phone”. It seems like it should be hokey, but it’s actually hilarious. Andrew VanWyngarden is only 35 years old, but that’s old enough to make him feel like he’s genuinely out of touch with the youth, and he’s making fun of himself more than he’s making fun of “those damn Millennials.”
MGMT has dabbled in satire and dramatization before (see “Brian Eno” from Congratulations), but these techniques are really the entire engine behind Little Dark Age. See Andrew VanWyngarden’s over-the-top tough guy act on the jangly “When You Die,” whose narration of “I’m mean and I’m evil / Don’t call me nice” feels far more defensive than genuine.
“Me and Michael” takes the opposite approach. Lyrically it feels like it should be one of those silly songs that says “hey everyone, look at how awesome my best friend is,” but the ‘80s synthpop sound combined with VanWyngarden’s cold Robert Smith delivery makes it feel almost edgy. He sounds like an emotionless, cynical husk of a man who has finally found someone he’s willing to call his friend, and it’s probably the happiest song on the album for this exact reason.
A circus tent on fire
Much of the sound that MGMT is working with on Little Dark Age (and for that matter, the sound they’ve been working with since the beginning) is indebted to the pop music of the ‘80s. The bright pianos and background vocals of songs like “Me and Michael” and “James” are some of the most extreme examples. Later on in the album, this is taken to entirely new heights with the booming, reverberant percussion of the mighty “One Thing Left to Try.”
But even on an anthemic pop song like this one, the instrumentation is populated by a little bit of grossness. The overpowering bass in the backdrop of this song gives it a kind of ghostliness akin to older groups like Soft Cell and Depeche Mode. Even this is no match for the slimy synthesizers of “Days That Got Away” and “She Works Out Too Much,” the latter of which is one of the densest soundscapes on the entire record.
The overall production style that pervades the majority of this album is a thing of carnivalesque beauty. There’s at least a hint of noir wherever you turn, sometimes buckets of it. For a band whose bread and butter was once light, fluffy singalong tunes, this sound is a bold change of pace. With such an expert combination of light and darkness together in the same songs, Little Dark Age feels like a masterful work of musical black comedy.
“When You’re Small”, the somewhat Beatlesque turn for the slow, is maybe the starkest exception to all the above rules. This penultimate track is the truest ballad on the record, and like “Little Dark Age,” it’s one of the more serious songs here. It seems to use physical size as a stand-in for feeling powerless and trying to find the silver lining in a situation. The closer “Hand It Over” is hardly less gentle, and it’s a great way to end an intense album on a lighter note.
Something borrowed
“When You Die,” the second single from Little Dark Age, has a co-writer credit from a prolific artist known as Ariel Pink. Pink is a fairly influential musician, and as one of the flagship artists of the hypnagogic pop genre, MGMT has probably always been influenced by him. But even apart from the song he helped to write, his footprints seem to be all over this album. The closing track “Hand It Over” almost sounds like it could have been pulled directly from one of his earlier releases.
Does this ruin the album? I don’t think so. Ariel Pink, innovator though he is, has always been an ‘80s musician at heart. Like MGMT, he has always realized that the secret to success is not to be entirely original, but rather to revive the right thing at the right time. This is why The Strokes and LCD Soundsystem have come to be revered as great bands, and it’s definitely what made MGMT so popular in the first place.
While “Days That Got Away” could have maybe been more effective as a condensed interlude track, it may be a treat for fans of Currents, the most recent album from MGMT’s fellow psych-rock revivalists Tame Impala. Meanwhile some of the colder and more calculated moments of vocal delivery feel reminiscent of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
But all of these sounds are chopped up, puréed, and blended into one big MGMT-ified new sound. Somehow on Little Dark Age, MGMT sets itself apart from all other artists in a wholly oversaturated genre and bounds ahead of nearly all of them. At this moment in music where countless ‘80s-inspired bands are flying deservedly under the radar, MGMT has gone back to those same roots and once again managed to make a decades-old style feel dark, exciting, and new.
Top tracks:
“She Works Out Too Much”
“When You Die”
“Me and Michael”
“One Thing Left to Try”
Recommended if you like:
Tame Impala
Alex Cameron
Dan Deacon
Featured image from American Songwriter
(02/10/18 5:27pm)
The clock has chimed on 10 Feb. 2018, which means it has officially been two decades since the poster child of hipster music was released.
(02/10/18 5:08pm)
by Ryan Fine
The clock has chimed on 10 Feb. 2018, which means it has officially been two decades since the poster child of hipster music was released.
Neutral Milk Hotel’s second album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea occupies a unique space in the musical consciousness. If you don’t consider yourself a fan of indie music, then as the band’s most stereotypical fans would tell you, “you’ve probably never heard of it.” But anyone who’s spent any length of time in their local record store or on many of the Internet’s most popular music sites is likely to recognize the album cover immediately. Even those who have never listened to the album themselves could probably quote several of its most outlandish lines.
Things weren’t always like this. Back when the folk rock quartet released the album back in 1998, there was little real buzz to be heard. Sure, it got some good reviews – great ones, even – but there were some notable dissenters as well. In a 3-star Rolling Stone review, Ben Ratliff said that “The King of Carrot Flowers” with its abundant instrumental layers “mask[ed] the absence of a decent melody.” He then derided the album as “thin-blooded, woolgathering stuff.” Dele Fadele’s 6/10 review for NME started by calling vocalist Jeff Mangum “a sick and demented fellow,” but ultimately conceding that the album was a “convoluted musical journey worth embarking on.”
For a fledgling band from Ruston, Louisiana, mixed publicity was still publicity worth having. It was certainly more than could be said for the project’s highly underrated first album On Avery Island, which was released two years earlier essentially as a Jeff Mangum solo record. (The four-person lineup was assembled mostly for the purpose of touring for On Avery Island.) So with a relatively successful release cycle behind them and a small but devoted following, Neutral Milk Hotel took its Aeroplane to the masses.
The issue for Jeff Mangum was that it took a lot of effort and time away from home to reach those masses, and the payoff was not always worth it. At a certain point, he could only bear to explain the same unconventional lyric to so many interviewers. For a man who preferred to have some privacy, the constant attention that came from a full-scale tour quickly became too much to handle, and by the time the band returned to their new home in Athens, Georgia, Jeff was out of energy. Though he tried to write new music to please his friends and bandmates, soon it was official: Neutral Milk Hotel was no more.
And in some ways, that’s where the real story began.
When Jeff Mangum quit, he quit cold turkey. He helped out some of his friends by playing and singing on their albums, but he stopped writing his own music entirely. He has turned down almost every interview request for the past 20 years and even a support slot for R.E.M., much to the chagrin of the band’s other three members. Essentially, he disappeared, and his new status as a mysterious shadowy figure made him a much more legitimate artist in the eyes of the public.
Suddenly the independent music world was enamored with In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, a newly thrilling masterpiece about Anne Frank, two-headed boys and Jesus Christ. It eventually caught the attention of those who would start bands like Arcade Fire, The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes, all of whom are indebted in some way or another to the sound of this album. Even Franz Ferdinand, whose wild dance-punk grooves seem to have nothing in common with Aeroplane at first glance, have cited Neutral Milk Hotel as an influence.
But as it happens with all good things, the Internet got a hold of Aeroplane and ruthlessly turned it into music’s longest-running meme. Emphatic but awkward lyrics like “I love you, Jesus Christ!” and “Semen stains the mountaintops” have been made fun of countless times, and the album cover has taken on a life of its own. What the heck is that thing where that lady’s head is supposed to be, anyway? Some say it’s a potato. Most others land on some percussion instrument or another.
“It’s a tambourine.” Corey Halbert and Jacob Harding, who both discovered Neutral Milk Hotel in high school through the Internet, agree on this. It may seem like watching an album get made fun of repeatedly on the Internet is a strange way to end up loving it, but this is how an increasing number of young music enthusiasts are learning about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
“I heard all of the memes and the jokes about it and how it’s the ultimate hipster album,” says Halbert, “and I thought, if this many people are talking about it to the point where it’s become a meme, I should probably listen to it just so I’m informed.”
It turned out to be a good investment of his time, though it was a slow grower. “I came across it my sophomore year of high school, and I didn’t love it at first. But then my senior year when I actually sat down and really tried to digest it and analyze it, I realized the nuance of the lyrics and the concept behind the album. That’s when I really started loving it.”
The tracks that stood out the most to him on first listen were the three right at the beginning: the multi-part “King of Carrot Flowers” suite and “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” He mentions a lyric from “The King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1” as one of his favorites: “Your mom would stick a fork right into Daddy’s shoulder / And Dad would throw the garbage all across the floor / As we would lay and learn what each other’s bodies were for.”
The album was much more immediate for Harding. “I thought it was amazing the first time I heard it,” he says. “People on the Internet wouldn’t shut up about it. I liked the cover, it looked cool, so I listened to it and it was really good. I listened to ‘Holland, 1945’ and ‘The King of Carrot Flowers’ before I actually listened to the album, so I knew what I was getting into.”
“Holland, 1945” is the only true certified banger on this album, and as one of several songs inspired by Jeff Mangum’s fascination with Anne Frank’s diary, it houses a number of lyrical gems. The opening lines are one of them: “The only girl I’ve ever loved / Was born with roses in her eyes / But then they buried her alive, one evening 1945.” And of course one of the most vivid images on the album, “Now she’s a little boy in Spain / Playing pianos filled with flames.” Stephen Colbert, whose favorite band is Neutral Milk Hotel, used this as the ending song on the last episode of The Colbert Report.
So if there’s so much genuine love for Neutral Milk Hotel, why do we turn them into a joke? Is it some roundabout way to respect them or get the word out to more people?
“I just think it’s annoying, honestly,” says Harding.
“I think it definitely skewed my first listen,” says Halbert. “I think going into it knowing it was a legendary cult album kind of tainted it.”
Jeff Mangum will probably never tell the public whether he finds the memes funny or not, but I’m sure it wouldn’t stop anyone if he didn’t. For over a decade, there has been a constant barrage of edited Aeroplane album covers, stupid rage comics featuring Jeff Mangum, and entire parody albums including In the Aeroskank Over the Checkered Pattern by Skanktral Ska Hotel and In My G4 Over Da Sea by Neutral Bling Hotel.
But in some cheesy sentiment of “music brings people together” or something, maybe the ridiculous meme culture does too. On some level, we all want to Photoshop the circle-face lady so it looks like she’s dabbing, but there’s a genuine appreciation for the music underneath the surface. I bet if you get a bunch of these shy Internet nerds in a room together and start strumming the chords for “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” they would all sing loud and proud and have a grand old time.
Before we’ve even finished our interview, Corey Halbert is picking up his acoustic guitar and doing just that. He forgets a couple of words in the first verse, so we start on the second one together:
“And one day we will die
And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young
Let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see”
Man, who cares if it’s cliché? Music does bring people together. And if there’s one band who can teach us that, it’s Neutral Milk Hotel.
I still think it’s a potato.
Sources: Google Books, All Music, Rolling Stone, Bandcamp
Images: Imgur, YouTube, Encyclopedia Dramatica, Know Your Meme, Odyssey
(01/26/18 2:00pm)
David Letterman and Barack Obama have both kept relatively low profiles since leaving the posts they were best known for. Though the former Late Show host (and Ball State alum!) has made limited appearances at sporting events and in climate change documentaries, the same is not true of the former president. With My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Obama makes his first television appearance since leaving the White House.
(01/25/18 5:00pm)
by Ryan Fine
David Letterman and Barack Obama have both kept relatively low profiles since leaving the posts they were best known for. Though the former Late Show host (and Ball State alum!) has made limited appearances at sporting events and in climate change documentaries, the same is not true of the former president. With My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Obama makes his first television appearance since leaving the White House.
This was a complete surprise to the audience at the City University of New York, who had only been told that David Letterman would be there with a special guest. Most had come for the surprise. One confident audience member guessed Bill Clinton. But Letterman needed only say “44th president” before the crowd had already jumped to its feet, verifying his new show's title right from the beginning.
What follows this lighthearted introduction is decidedly one of the most serious things Letterman has ever attempted. Over the course of an hour, he touches upon Obama’s life post-presidency and the historical implications of the past eight years, with surprisingly little direct analysis of a certain big red elephant in the room…but let’s get back to that in a bit.
Letterman begins with a question of sheer curiosity: What was it like to wake up one day and not be president anymore? This leads into a discussion of going on vacation, getting used to the old way of doing things, and deciding to stay in Washington, D.C. until both Obama daughters have graduated. Later, it dives a bit deeper into the historical significance of the first black president and how social media affected the 2016 election.
The problem is that for anyone who has read any major news outlets for the past year, this interview does not come packed with a whole lot of new information. This was a great chance for Letterman to come back into the spotlight in a whole new way. In enlisting Obama for a rare public appearance, he put himself in a prime position to prove that he could go beyond his funnyman persona and truly dig deep. But overall, this special is much more notable for its novelty than its actual content.
A lot has happened since the last time Obama gave a TV interview. One of the most divisive presidents in American history took office, a Republican-led House and Senate have put a new Supreme Court justice on the bench, Obamacare has narrowly avoided several repeal attempts and net neutrality is currently on extremely thin ice. All of these things have had a visible effect on the man’s legacy and they would have been at least worth mentioning. And yet, Donald Trump is not mentioned by name even once during the program.
The best moment of this episode is the one that doesn’t take place at the university. One of the landmark speeches of Obama’s presidency was an address at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on the 50th anniversary of the famous 1965 march that took place there. The march in Selma was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, and without it a black president in 2008 would have been a much more distant possibility. When the camera cuts away from New York, we see Letterman walk across the bridge with Representative John Lewis, who was arrested at the original march. Lewis explains the progression of the march to him, describing the progress that resulted and his hopes and fears about the present and future.
Despite its shortcomings, this interview remains reasonably entertaining. Supporters and opponents alike will at least agree that Obama is a gifted speaker, and his half of the conversation is engaging more often than not. However, the main takeaway from the first installation of My Next Guest is that David Letterman likes Obama a lot. Most of his contribution is simply to bring the former president back onto the public stage and shower him with praise. For anyone who just wants to see more of Obama, this show is perfect. Just don’t go into it expecting any new viewpoints or learning experiences.
Featured image from IMDb
(01/15/18 6:37am)
(12/29/17 11:00pm)
Every year produces a relentless heaping of blockbuster films that sell fantastically, but how many of them are actually good is another question entirely. Though the major circuit may have been a little bit short on masterpieces this year, it was by no means empty. We got another great Pixar movie, a beautiful shoutout to The Room, and the best M. Night Shyamalan film in a long time. We also caught a whole host of independent films at Heartland Film Festival this year, some of which were made in our own backyard. So as it turns out, the year of The Disaster Artist wasn’t such a disaster after all.
(12/29/17 10:00pm)
by Daley Wilhelm, Sarah James, Conner Tighe, Michael Robb, Emily Reuben, Ryan Fine and Jeremy Rogers
Every year produces a relentless heaping of blockbuster films that sell fantastically, but how many of them are actually good is another question entirely. Though the major circuit may have been a little bit short on masterpieces this year, it was by no means empty. We got another great Pixar movie, a beautiful shoutout to The Room, and the best M. Night Shyamalan film in a long time. We also caught a whole host of independent films at Heartland Film Festival this year, some of which were made in our own backyard. So as it turns out, the year of The Disaster Artist wasn't such a disaster after all.
Split
2017 showed that M. Night Shyamalan is back to being a master at the plot twist after his past critical stumbles with After Earth and The Visit. While visually and aurally enthralling, it’s really the acting that makes Split one of 2017’s most memorable. James McAvoy plays Kevin, whose dissociative identity disorder has splintered him into 24 unique personalities, and his embodiment of these individual identities is nothing short of impressively terrifying. There’s a subtle physical shift as each personality emerges that is not always inherently creepy, but there’s just something unsettling about the ease in which McAvoy can switch from a gruff germaphobe with a Jersey accent, to a manipulative matron with plush cardigans, to a young British Eminem-wannabe named Hedwig.
McAvoy’s performance does not eclipse the satisfying writing of the film. It’s a horror film without the frustration of characters that lack common sense. The kidnapped girls at the center of the narrative are smart, sharp and apt to survive. Whether or not they do would be spoilers, but there’s no telling what might happen in an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Split was no exception, and was a refreshingly original concept in a year filled with sequels and remakes. - Daley Wilhelm
Click here to read our original review of Split.
Get Out
Perhaps the best movie to be released in 2017, Get Out is an excellent film full of great writing, superb acting and a plot that is sure to keep viewers at the edge of their seats. This film still boasts a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s pretty easy to see why; comic icon Jordan Peele did not disappoint with his directorial debut. Get Out is full of subtle details, and begs to be watched again and again. With excellent pacing and a fantastic cast, Get Out is a film that stands out in an oversaturated horror genre, tackling racism in an inventive and thought-provoking way. - Sarah James
Click here to read our original review of Get Out.
Logan
Ending Wolverine’s story on a high note, Logan introduced a different take on the claw-wielding hero. The film is the darkest of the series, featuring its first-ever R rating. It has been nominated for Best Action Movie at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, with Patrick Stewart also picking up a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film has already claimed Best Music at the Golden Trailer Awards and Best Duo between Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen at the MTV Movie and TV Awards. Wolverine fans will enjoy the familiar action and adrenaline flow Logan has to offer. - Conner Tighe
Click here to read our original review of Logan.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Marvel kicked off the summer of 2017 with its long-awaited sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy. Full of bright colors and the same quippy characters from the first film, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 has a lot of what made the first film great, even though it ultimately falls short to its predecessor due to its heavy-handedness. It’s true that Vol. 2 is very funny, and has plenty of quality jokes as well as another kicking soundtrack, but in the end, some of the jokes were a little too ham-fisted and took away from the more dramatic plot elements. Still, overall it’s definitely a fun movie, and if you were a fan of the first one, then you’ll enjoy this adventure as the Guardians save the galaxy once again. - Sarah James
Click here to read our original review of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Out of all the Marvel movies released this year, Spider-Man: Homecoming was one the greatest. For the first time on the big screen, Spidey was convincingly shown the way he was supposed to be: a young kid trying to find his place in this world, both as a student and a hero. Tom Holland does an incredible job of capturing the quirkiness of Peter’s personality, and his performance has cemented him as the face of Spider-Man for many movies to come.
This film stands head and shoulders above other Marvel films due in large part to Michael Keaton’s character, the Vulture. Other than Loki, no villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had really stood out in any memorable way, but the twist that occurs in the middle of the film - and the tense conversation between him and Peter shortly after - cement Vulture as one of the top villains in the MCU. Let's hope Thanos can keep this trend going into Infinity War. - Michael Robb
Click here to read our original review of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Best of Heartland Film Festival
This year Byte had the wonderful privilege of covering Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis for the first time. Several of our writers were in attendance at the nearly two-week event, meeting with various casts and crews and covering a dozen great films in a short span of time.
Life Itself
Life Itself isn’t one of this year’s new releases, however it remains exceedingly powerful and emotionally rewarding years following its release. The story of film critic Roger Ebert’s life is filled with ups and downs, but ultimately this documentary is an incredibly uplifting experience. Showcasing Ebert’s immense love of cinema and remarkable writing skills amongst his ailing health, Life Itself offers a very sincere, human look into a man who simply loved going to the movies. - Emily Reuben
Click here to read our original review of Life Itself.
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
Usually when raving about the success of a film, all we hear about are the efforts of the directors and cast. Producers are largely background figures operating outside of the spotlight. This is definitely true for Alan Ladd Jr., though he has garnered fame for his involvement in getting Star Wars off the ground. Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies gives some insight into Ladd’s movie career and the movie industry as a whole. Anyone remotely interested in cinema should know Ladd’s name and should certainly see this film! - Emily Reuben
Click here to read our original review of Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies.
The Best of All Worlds
Die beste aller Welten (The Best of All Worlds) is a stunning debut from fledgling Austrian director Adrian Goiginger. Almost completely autobiographical in nature, the film documents the daily life of 7-year-old Adrian, who in general has a fantastic childhood. The only thing that may put a damper on it is his mother Helga's drug addiction and her like-minded friends who frequently hang out around their house. The premise of watching Helga's internal battle between her dependency and her unconditional love for Adrian alone makes this a story worth watching. The intermittent, perfectly shot fantasy-adventure scenes that appear throughout the movie are incorporated delicately and with a stroke of genius, taking the experience to a new level entirely. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of The Best of All Worlds.
Dealt
Luke Korem's energetic documentary feature Dealt is a magic trick in and of itself. Following renowned card magician (or rather, card mechanic) Richard Turner through performances across the country and around the globe, the primary conflict of Dealt is that of Turner's hardline no-weakness philosophy versus his unavoidable identity as a blind man. With its stellar representation of all sides of a complicated issue and ASMR-like card shuffling imagery, it's no wonder this film ended up on Heartland Film Festival's documentary finalist shortlist. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of Dealt.
The New Fire
The New Fire is a captivating documentary that does just about everything right. It tackles an issue that is taboo at worst and fringe at best with stunning clarity and good humor. It’s hard to imagine a profession with more technical skill and higher stakes than a nuclear physicist; however, The New Fire succinctly makes its case for embracing a new generation of entrepreneurs who are trying to reinvent how we interact with nuclear energy in the United States. Not content with having an opinion, the documentary crew showcase the opinions of world renowned climatologists and other scientists to demonstrate just how out of touch the common perception is from the scientific reality of nuclear power. The presentation in the documentary is simple and clear but never in a condescending way; the audience is never talked down to while learning about complex subjects. Clear visuals and snappy editing make understanding the complicated subject matter easy and enjoyable.
Unlike other environmental or true crime documentaries that captivate an audience through a feeling of despair, shock, and awe, The New Fire oozes a warm, thoroughly grounded optimism. This is one of the documentary’s greatest strengths. It takes what could have easily been a film full of despair and angry hand wringing, and instead crafts a narrative line about hope, innovation, and opportunity. It even manages to work in a surprise musical number into the mix. The New Fire shows that decades of prejudice and an indifferent political climate cannot stop the millennial generation from solving complex societal issues and lighting the way for the rest of the world with the new, nuclear fire of progress. - Jeremy Rogers
Click here to read our original review of The New Fire.
(12/29/17 10:20pm)
Music reviews were a new endeavor for Byte this year, but it was a great first year to cover. We saw some disappointments from previously loved artists like Arcade Fire and Blondie, to be sure, but we also saw some pleasant comebacks and changeups from the likes of Lorde, Aimee Mann and Paramore. Some of these albums made us smile and others made us cry, but they all left some sort of indelible mark on us, and that’s why they’re the best albums of 2017.
(12/29/17 8:18pm)
by Preston Radtke, Ryan Fine, Sarah James and Phil Akin
Music reviews were a new endeavor for Byte this year, but it was a great first year to cover. We saw some disappointments from previously loved artists like Arcade Fire and Blondie, to be sure, but we also saw some pleasant comebacks and changeups from the likes of Lorde, Aimee Mann and Paramore. Some of these albums made us smile and others made us cry, but they all left some sort of indelible mark on us, and that's why they're the best albums of 2017.
Blanck Mass - World Eater
World Eater is rough, a musical kick to the eardrums that makes most pieces from Benjamin Powers' original band quiver. There are naturally no lyrics to this record, but the implications of the textures are all too apparent: domination and apocalypse. If everything in 2017 is a political statement as some have said, then World Eater is the part of the statement where the Chicago-sized robots from that other galaxy come in and play tennis with school buses filled with children and play hopscotch on Manhattan. - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of World Eater.
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
To even attempt to quantify A Crow Looked at Me with a slot on some year-end list is in some ways to take away from its unique solemnity and rawness as a work of art. Born in the aftermath of one of the most paralyzing tragedies that could possibly strike a person, this album has been described by its creator Phil Elverum as "barely music". And that's not really an arguable statement: the lyrics, if they can be called that, are so unfiltered that they read more like a therapy session than any conventional verse or chorus. By measures that far outweigh its minimal instrumentation, A Crow Looked at Me is one of the heaviest albums to be released this year, and it's possibly one of the most naked expressions of grief ever released for the public. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of A Crow Looked at Me.
Aimee Mann - Mental Illness
Aimee Mann was one of those periphery musicians that many people knew of and respected, yet didn’t really know. It was getting late for Ms. Mann; her diehards had fallen off the bandwagon with 2012’s Charmer and her cameo on that one Portlandia episode was becoming more and more relevant: a songstress that people knew of, name dropped on occasion, and yes, confused with Sarah McLachlan. Mental Illness was her sort-of comeback record, the battering ram that smashed her back into the sort-of mainstream.
The record itself is kind of what you’d expect a Mann record to be. Acoustic guitar-driven, pastoral and simple. In an industry that rewards musicianship centering on youth, Mann produced a capsule of an aging but still relevant standout, bemoaning the past while acknowledging her place in the world. - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of Mental Illness.
Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
If To Pimp a Butterfly was Kendrick Lamar's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, then DAMN. certainly follows through as his Yeezus. His previous full-length album, a politically and racially charged epic full of countless guest appearances, brought him to new levels of reverence in the hip-hop universe. Fans wondered how he would make an even more grandiose statement now that the era of Trump had officially been ushered in, and the short answer is, he didn't.
DAMN., Kendrick Lamar's most personalized statement by far, serves mostly as a snapshot of himself as an artist and a chronicle of how he got to this point. It's a powerful record, but it gets its power from a much more reflective and restrained place than we've come to expect. We've heard enough of Kendrick Lamar the orator for the time being; now is the time to hear from Kendrick Lamar the person. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of DAMN.
Perfume Genius - No Shape
Up to this point in his career, every new album from Perfume Genius has been much louder and grander than the previous one, which is no accident. On tracks like "Alan", he recounts a time when his lyrics were much more cryptic and indirect, when he sang about being afraid and in pain. Now he's getting bolder and expanding his atmosphere with huge walls of sound, his lyrics now unapologetic exclamations of sexuality and self-love. It's a beautiful affirmation that in a world where the tortured artist is lauded, it's possible to get to a better place and not sacrifice an ounce of quality. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of No Shape.
Paramore - After Laughter
The newest album from pop-punk staple Paramore is decidedly less punk and more retro '80s synthpop. After Laughter is a layered album; it’s funky and easy to dance to on the surface, but upon closer listening you realize it’s about life’s struggles. This juxtaposition of down lyrics and an up beat is exactly what brought Twenty One Pilots to the forefront in 2016, and with Paramore’s alternative roots, songs about Hayley Williams' struggles aren’t new, they’re just wrapped in a new sound. Fans of the “old Paramore” may be hyper-critical of this album, but while it is a very different genre from what they’ve done in the past, After Laughter is still authentically Paramore. - Sarah James
Click here to read our original review of After Laughter.
Big Thief - Capacity
Where 2016’s Masterpiece is grandiose, Capacity is basic. Where Masterpiece is gritty, Capacity is folksy. And where Masterpiece is majestic, Capacity is far more down-to-earth. Though these records stand at near opposite ends in the Big Thief catalog, they both share an eternal bond of overarching beauty and fragility. It is almost unfair to compare the two; such a practice would imply that one is greater than the other. But as much of a cop-out as it may be, both the 2016 and the 2017 Big Thief products are awe-inspiring in their own unique ways.
Capacity is a tightly morose exposé of friendship, love and upbringing. Adrianne Lenker’s docile delivery is tear-jerking at some points (“Mary”) and empowering at others (Mythological Beauty”). - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of Capacity.
Lorde - Melodrama
Though a second Lorde album has been rumored to be right around the corner for at least a couple years, its eventual release this summer was heralded by no significant bitterness. This was due in no small part to the diverse sounds of lead singles "Green Light" and "Liability", which promised an album full of surprises and delivered on that promise in spades. Between unhinged emotional ballads like "Writer in the Dark" and nihilistic party anthems like "Perfect Places", Melodrama is easily one of the moodiest pop albums to be released this decade. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of Melodrama.
LCD Soundsystem - American Dream
The year 2017 could be dubbed “the year of the Indie comeback”, with groups like Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and Gorillaz putting out releases after extended absences. Perhaps the most anticipated return was LCD Soundsystem, the brainchild of DFA wunderkind James Murphy. Murphy’s latest LCD iteration is much more blatantly gloomy and dark than previous ones; these songs don’t hide their broodings behind accessible beats and synths. Tracks like “How Do You Sleep?” and “American Dream” force a sense of despair and forgotten rebellion upon the listener. This is by no means LCD’s finest creation, but it might be its most expressive. - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of American Dream.
Night Runner - Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a great next step for Night Runner. The duo incorporated many new sounds into their established 80’s synthwave music, including more guitar solos and vocals in a collaboration with Danny Sexbang of Ninja Sex Party. Despite a few misses here and there, the album is overall a hit. Their sophomore album is a welcome change from their debut album, and after all, they’re two guys just trying to make rad music. - Phil Akin
Click here to read our original review of Thunderbird.
(12/21/17 2:00pm)
by Ryan Fine
What makes Tommy Wiseau’s The Room such a brilliant film is that from an objective standpoint, it’s one of the worst movies anyone has ever made. You can dissect and analyze what makes The Room bad in exactly the same way you can analyze what makes The Godfather good. In the 15 years since it was first released, its spectacular failure has turned it into a cult classic and a shining pinnacle of so-bad-it’s-good media.
Now, in an attempt to answer some of the many questions surrounding the film, James Franco has concocted The Disaster Artist, an unconventional movie-about-a-movie based on Greg Sestero’s book of the same name. Not only does The Disaster Artist manage to pull off a coherent story based on one of the least coherent stories of all time, but this is actually the first great movie James Franco and Seth Rogen have ever made.
Playing the impossible character
Where is Tommy Wiseau from? How did he get the money to make The Room? How old is he? All of these questions and more are asked of Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, but he answers none of them and hasn’t done so in the real world either. Considering that Wiseau is one of the most mysterious figures on the planet, James Franco had his work cut out for him trying to portray him on the big screen.
But man, did he pull it off.
In The Disaster Artist, James Franco focuses on the bare essentials of Tommy Wiseau. His character is aloof but good-humored, and passionate but certainly not talented. He even does a pretty good job at catching the nuances of Wiseau’s infamous accent from God-knows-where. It’s tough to call him a natural fit for the role, but then again, who would be? He does as good of a job as anyone could have when playing a real-life alien creature.
James Franco is not the only star of this show. The Disaster Artist serves as the first collaboration between James and Dave Franco, the latter of whom plays opposite his brother as Greg Sestero (Mark in The Room). Though Dave Franco usually avoids working with James on principle, it’s easy to see why he had to break that rule to co-star in this movie. Based on both his looks and his demeanor, he is a prime choice to fill the shoes of Sestero.
The supporting characters are equally well cast. Cameo roles from Hannibal Buress, Bob Odenkirk and Bryan Cranston are a delight to watch, and none of them even compare to the performances from those playing actors from The Room. The on-set scenes feature countless shot-for-shot remakes of moments from the original movie, with Josh Hutcherson as Philip Haldiman (Denny), Zac Efron as Dan Janjigian (Chris-R), Nathan Fielder as Kyle Vogt (Peter) and Ari Graynor as Juliette Danielle (Lisa). Graynor in particular is an expert at replicating her original role and all of its quirks, to the point where sometimes I couldn’t believe she wasn’t the original Lisa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZSAf47IGUk
The story and the story within the story
There’s a reason this movie’s title refers to its source material openly as a disaster. Tommy Wiseau, bent on trying to present The Room as a “real Hollywood movie”, forgot to make sure that it was actually a coherent work of art first and foremost. Its countless sins include repeating lines far more times than necessary, introducing an entire cancer plot and immediately abandoning it, and even planting an entire new character into the last act with no introduction and expecting us not to notice.
But The Disaster Artist isn’t The Room, it’s just a documentation of how The Room happened. And that’s an important distinction, because there are two levels of storytelling going on here at any given time. The marriage of the real-world story of Tommy and Greg with the cinematic story of Johnny and Mark is one of the strong points of The Disaster Artist.
The problem? Anyone who hasn’t seen The Room is immediately going to miss out on half of that narrative. It’s not that it’s impossible to enjoy it without an in-and-out knowledge of the original movie, but considering its nature as a celebration of terrible filmmaking, it works much better as a companion piece than as a standalone movie. Sure, it’s a story of friendship, but on a surface level, it's tricky to assert how well that friendship works for people who are just now experiencing it for the first time.
“If a lot of people love each other, the world would be a better place to live”
Some of the strongest areas of The Disaster Artist are its personality and its faithfulness. It’s a hilarious movie, and although well-deserved credit should be given to the writers and actors, much of that humor comes directly from the fact that it’s a movie about Tommy Wiseau. And that’s not to mock him; Tommy Wiseau is a legitimately interesting person and he’s a lot of fun to watch on screen. The heart that he puts into his work is unmatched by just about anyone else in the industry, regardless of how it turns out.
The chemistry between Tommy and Greg is bizarre but magnificent. Tommy’s early interactions with Greg’s mother as the two are about to move in together are hysterical, as is Tommy’s attempt to make up for his mistakes by injecting them into his screenplay. The Disaster Artist is James Franco’s most critically successful film to date, and that’s because he didn’t have to try to make it funny. He just told the story as it happened, and if it turned out to be funny all the better. Most of the re-shot scenes from The Room are stunningly faithful to the original, done with the same care and respect you would expect from a remake of a movie leagues better. By the end of the movie, it’s hard to avoid laughing at the simple fact that a story like this could possibly be so heartwarming.
Featured image from AnyGoodFilms
(12/06/17 9:56pm)
Pop Tabs returns along with Matt and the gang! On this episode, the conversation turns to Johnny Depp remaining on the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald despite the allegations that he assaulted his wife. We then delve into the controversy surrounding EA’s newest cash grab video game Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Finally, Gal Gadot stood up to Brett Ratner by refusing to star in Wonder Woman 2 if he was involved in the production. This episode was recorded on November 17, 2017.
