Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
It’s too bad that Todd Phillips’s new film Joker has to be about DC Comics character The Joker. Within a fairly conventional origin story, albeit a super-villain origin story, a wrenchingly bleak portrait of unrelenting pain and anguish strains to emerge.
Remember the controversy back in 2013 because a bunch of Australians had dominated the new screen adaptation of The Great Gatsby, that most quintessential of American stories? Fast forward six years, and now we’ve got Brits helming a new biopic of one of America’s most beloved — and troubled — stars, Judy Garland. Fortunately, Judy fares a bit better than Gatsby, thanks in large part to a dazzling performance by Renée Zellweger in the title role.
The Roots were far ahead of their time. When they first came out onto the scene, mainstream hip hop was very sample driven. Live hip hop was practically unheard of, and generally relegated to 15 minute sets at radio festivals, performed to a backing track. The Roots, however, are a band, and live musicians making hip hop in front of you didn’t really become the norm for another decade and a half after the release of their groundbreaking record Things Fall Apart.
To honor the 20th Anniversary of this record, The Roots are reissuing the album with a bunch of bonus material from the era, including the original mix of “You Got Me,” their first significant single. The “hit” version featured Erykah Badu, but the song was written with Jill Scott, and really was the heart and soul of the record. Finally, after 20 years, this is the way this song was intended on being heard. There is a TON of other hidden treasures on this release, and the vinyl can be found in stores today, or can be purchased online. It’s also available in all the usual streaming sources.
Also coming out next year will be deluxe reissues of classic Roots records Illadelph Halflife and Do You Want More?!!!??!. Two other groundbreaking hip hop classics that deserve your attention.
At the top of many published lists of anticipated films for 2019 was James Gray’s Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt as an astronaut sent out into space to solve a mystery involving his father (Tommy Lee Jones), who had been a legendary astronaut himself before disappearing years ago while commanding a mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. Coming from respected director James Gray with a stellar cast and crew, many were dismayed when the movie was delayed, supposedly to work on “visual effects.” Is this the case, or were the more nefarious “studio notes” in play?
September 2019 may go down as one of the greatest “comeback” months in pop music history. After both Missy Elliot and Tool both released their first records in a decade and a half, out of nowhere comes a brand new single from Mandy Moore. This is her first true single since her ex husband, Ryan Adams, basically manipulated her into quitting music.
And what did she come back with? A stunning, potent song that seems to directly confront Adams’ abuse. It’s also backed by some vibrant electric piano, and some classic Laurel Canyon production that’s “soft rock” but hardly soft at all. Mandy Moore’s comeback single shows signs that she could easily join the league of great LA songwriters like Jenny Lewis and Carole King.
Word on the street is Moore will have a full length out next year. If it’s on par with this track, it’s going to be great.
Maybe I don’t get out enough. When I think multiple local bands on a single bill, I think of Noise Pop Fest, or maybe Phono Del Sol. Certainly something of a local festival flavor, or maybe a tiny bar. That’s why I was excited to hear about Andrew St James pulling together some friends and fellow local musicians at The Chapel for an event billed as FAST TIMES. Continue reading “Show Review: Fast Times: Holy Spirit, Sandy’s, French Cassettes at The Chapel, 9/14/19”
This week’s single of the week comes from Sweden’s Sløtface. Their latest single, “Stuff,” is a subtle departure from their previous releases, adding some thick, fuzzy bass to the mix. It’s a great pop single, and something nice for the end of Summer blues.
Stuff can be streamed in all the usual places. More new music should be coming soon!
As a film critic, I try to ignore early buzz on films I’m going to review so I can form my own unbiased opinion when I see the picture. But this month, it was hard to ignore the vitriol that poured on to social media after The Goldfinch premiered at the Toronto Film Festival; hate for the movie was prolific and fierce. So, naturally, going into Monday’s reviewer screening, I was apprehensive: could the picture really be as bad as all that!? I’m here to tell you that, thankfully, it is not. Is it the year’s best film? Far from it, but it’s not nearly as awful as Twitter would have you believe. If you’re a cinema fan — and/or a fan of Donna Tartt’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning novel on which the film is based — you will find enough here to keep you interested.
Monster changed my life. It came out right in the middle of high school, and it opened my ears and eyes to exactly what music could sound like. The thick, fuzzy guitar styling of Peter Buck opened me up to so much music that I never thought I’d listen to before, giving me bands like Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, and, weirdly Motorhead. It’s also the REM record you are most likely to find in the dollar bin at a used CD store. Continue reading “Single Of The Week: What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? (Remix) by R.E.M.”
Adelaide, South Australia gives us this week’s single of the week, a hyper catchy pop song from Wing Defence. A song so catchy and joyful that it’s easy to miss that there are three different tempo changes in two and a half minutes. We are still waiting for Wing Defence to make their way across the pond to join Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala, Camp Cope, Alex Lahey, and all of the other amazing Australian acts to take over the US in the last few years.
Until they make it over here, you can buy the new single and all of their other singles at Bandcamp!
