bip-bip.

The Rumors Are True... Avoid The Book of Eli

2010-01-19T15:56:00.002-05:00

Simply put, The Book of Eli is just not very good. The general idea of the movie actually lends itself to the possibility of a pretty cool film. It tells the story of a man (Denzel Washington's Eli) traveling west through post-acopalyptic America, and he carries with him the last Bible in existence. The world has been scorched by the sun due to holes in our atmosphere. Water is scarce, and simple things like chap stick and wet naps are incredibly valuable. As the man travels, he encounters roaming bands of thugs but is able to easily dispatch them because he's basically the baddest mother still living. He eventually comes across a makeshift town (led by Gary Oldman's Carnegie) where he ends up fighting with the locals to protect his Bible and picks up a girl (Mila Kunis) to journey with him and run from the rest of the locals who will stop at nothing to get the book.

You might hear that and think, "Hey. That could be a pretty cool movie." I did (even though most critics had bashed it). And I guess a couple of the fight scenes were pretty cool. But, other than that, the final product is very flawed in many areas. I won't go into a lengthy review of this one because there really isn't that much to say. To start with, the Hughes brothers (directors of the movie) really need to take their foot off the slow-motion-intro-gas-pedal. Within about ten to fifteen minutes of the movie, Denzel had already made about four or five slow motion entrances. And they continued to the point where it actually became annoying. The dialogue was pretty dull and lacked any real creativity or wit. I can actually only think of one conversation in the entire movie (between Denzel and a shopkeeper pretty early on in the film) that made me chuckle or smile at all.

Gary Oldman, an actor I generally like, was not a very good villain. One of the few people alive who can still read, his obsession with obtaining the Bible to help his people seemed very odd considering his character basically stood for everything the Bible preaches against. Mila Kunis was just alright. And Denzel was only average at best. Nobody in the movie really stood out as giving a great performance. You won't find yourself invested in any of the characters. And, by the end, the movie feels as if it has dragged on for about fifteen or twenty minutes too long. The ending, by the way, has a pretty hilariously absurd twist to it. You may find it shocking and cool, but you'll probably just think it's stupid.

Bottom line: I've definitely seen worse movies, but I still can't recommend that anyone go see this. (D+)

Here's the trailer:

Youth In Revolt (Plus bip-bip. Turns 100)

2010-01-15T10:50:00.003-05:00

Before we get to the review, bip-bip. would like to thank its readers for continuing to visit (and hopefully read) our little blog over the past few months. This post actually marks the blog's 100th, and, while that is a relatively small number in the world of blogging, we're still pretty excited about hitting the milestone and about the blog's progress to this point. Hopefully this is just the beginning. Now on to more important matters...

Youth in Revolt was much better than I expected it to be. I really didn't have high expectations. I didn't think director Miguel Arteta's The Good Girl was very good, and I've never seen any of his other work. I also had doubts that Michael Cera would be able to carry a movie on his own. Even though I can't really fault those who don't like him because he basically plays the same shy-and-insecure-yet-awkwardly-charming-and-secretly-cool character in everything he does, I still really like Cera. But he's always been part of a leading duo (i.e., with Jonah Hill in Superbad and with Jack Black in Year One) instead of the sole leading man.

But I was wrong. Michael Cera was more than capable of carrying the movie. Maybe it's because there was more than one of him (the movie's premise revolves around him creating an alter ego, Francois) or maybe it's because he had such a great supporting cast helping him out. But he definitely delivered. He plays 16-year-old Nick Twisp, an outcast and a virgin. When Nick goes with his mother (Jean Smart) and her boyfriend (Zach Galifianakis) on a trip to her boyfriend's "lake cabin" (it is actually just a trailer in a trailer park by the lake), he meets and instantly falls in love with Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), a local girl whose interests and personality would seem likely to maker her an outcast as well but who has somehow managed to become popular and win the heart of the most popular guy in school. But after they get to know each other, Nick is able to steal Sheeni's heart as well. And, although they've only known each other for a week when Nick has to go back home with his mom, they decide they must be together again.

To facilitate their reunion, the two hatch a plan whereby Sheeni will find a way to get Nick's dad (Steve Buscemi) a job close to her home. In the meantime, Nick will misbehave as much as possible to get himself thrown out of his mom's home and sent to live with his dad. We're not talking about simply misbehaving at home -- Nick, by creating an the alternate personality Francois that I mentioned earlier, does some pretty outrageous stuff. And, although Nick ends up getting sent to live with his father, things don't end up going exactly as planned. Nick/Francois's actions end up making him a wanted criminal, and things really get out of hand.

As I said earlier, Cera really delivers. His early narration in the movie sets the tone, and he continues to constantly provide laughs throughout the whole film. The supporting cast was also great -- especially Fred Willard as Nick's weird immigrant-smuggling neighbor Mr. Ferguson and Adhir Kalyan as Vijay Joshi, a friend of Nick's from school who tags along with Nick on a pretty crazy adventure to go see Sheeni and her "loose" friend Taggarty (Rooney Mara). There is one scene in particular, where the three characters (Cera, Willard, and Kalyan) are all together, that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Of course, a lot of the credit belongs to the writing. Even though the movie dealt with subjects audiences have seen time and again (teen wants to lose virgnity, teen rebelling against parents, etc.), it somehow manages to make its jokes seem very fresh and original. It made me want to check out the source material, C.D. Payne's novel of the same name. The soundtrack was also pretty good. There were a couple of scenes where the movie switched from real life to different styles of animation that I didn't really like or think were worth anyone's time. But other than that, I have no real complaints.

Bottom line: This was a solid comedy. Cera and his supporting cast were much better than I expected. Check it out. (B)

Here's the preview:

Sometimes A Book Is Just Meant To Be A Book...

2010-01-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

Several months ago, I posted about The Road. It's an adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy (author of No Country For Old Men) novel, one of my favorite books of all-time. Needless to say, I was excited about the movie's release. It actually came out back in October through a limited release but only recently expanded its theater count. Its release was accompanied by very minimal fanfare and very mediocre ratings. But I still had faith. This was largely because the adaptation of McCarthy's No Country For Old Men (an inferior book to The Road in this blogger's opinion) was so good. But, as I found out, better books don't always make better movies. And some books are really just meant to be books.

The movie tells the story of a father (Viggo Mortenson) and his son (newcomer Kodi Smit-Mcphee) in post-apocalyptic America. The world has essentially turned to rubble. There are no more cities, no governments, no hope. Gangs of cannibals patrol the streets looking for some of the few remaining humans left alive to feast on. After being abandoned by their wife/mother (Charlize Theron), the father and son are heading for the southeastern coast. Along the way, they run into trouble (escaping the cannibalistic gangs, finding food, staying warm, etc.). And that's really all there is to it.

Now, in Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, this makes for a fascinating tale. It's full of suspense, and as Bookforum said of the novel, "[it is] nearly impossible to put down; it is as if you must keep reading in order for the characters to stay alive." But when the book becomes a movie (and, to be fair, the movie is very accurate in adapting the novel to the big screen), much of the story's appeal is lost. Without McCarthy's words to guide us, we're left watching a pretty boring tale of a couple of characters that are underdeveloped and generally uninteresting. And events that were packed with suspense in the novel were very much lacking it in the film. The movie does have a few positives -- the wasteland that director John Hilcoat created is really well done, and Viggo does a pretty admirable job as the unnamed father. He's almost exactly what I imagine from the book. And Robert Duvall is also very good in a supporting role. But there really is just not enough good things about the film to warrant seeing this.

Bottom line: Even if you are a huge fan of the book, wait until you can get the DVD from Netflix. (C-)

For those still interested, here's the trailer:

Finally... Vampire Weekend's Contra Coming Out Tuesday

2010-01-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

Well -- we don't have to wait too long for one of the most talked about albums of 2010 to hit stores. Tomorrow (1/12/2010), Vampire Weekend's new album, Contra, will be released nationwide. If you haven't already pre-ordered the album, you should -- because your vinyl or cd purchase will come along with a bonus cd containing a couple of album mega-mixes and a remix of Cousins. Pre-order the album HERE. If you're worried that shipping will take a few days, and you can't wait until then -- worry no more. Embedded below is the entire album streaming. That should hold you over until you can get your hands on the hard copy.

Enjoy.

Stereogum and Team9 Release MySplice 4 (plus free download)

2010-01-07T09:31:00.001-05:00

Stereogum, one of the web's most popular music blogs, has once again collaborated with Team9 to release another original mash-up mixtape featuring some of 2009's most popular songs. Nothing groundbreaking here, but with a $0.00 price-tag, it's definitely worth a listen. The mixtape also incorporates some cool throwback songs that you might not have heard in a while. Play the songs on the embedded player below, or download it in full. Enjoy.

(MP3): DOWNLOAD Stereogum's Mysplice 4 (click here).

All Time Top 5 (Best and Worst Movies of the Year)

2010-01-05T19:57:00.002-05:00

It's the end of the year (well it was a few days ago). Blogs everywhere are releasing best/worst lists at a torrid pace. In fact, bip-bip. has already released our list of the ten best albums of the year. And, as you'd expect, we're bringing you our favorite movies of the year as well. You'll have to forgive the fact that we're not posting it until 2010, but I wanted to wait until I saw Up In The Air because I had a feeling it might make the list (and sure enough it did). We're also bringing you our most hated movies of the year. Now, to be fair to the movies on that list, there were probably worse movies made, but these were the movies that actually had a chance to be good (as opposed to films that were doomed from the start -- think Old Dogs).

Here's the All Time Top 5 (Best Movies of the Year)

Zombieland/Adventureland (tie) -- I decided to put both of these at number 5 for two reasons. First, they are both great movies that deserve to be on this list (even though most readers probably never saw either of these). Second, they both star Jesse Eisenberg, an actor who had an absolute breakout 2009.

Avatar -- At this point, I feel like there's not much left to say about Avatar. The movie was an absolute smash hit (it's tally is now up to over $1B worldwide) and belongs on a pedestal along with some of James Cameron's other hits.

The Hangover -- The highest-grossing R-rated comedy in American history was this year's best comedy by far. I couldn't be more excited for the sequel (scheduled to come out around October 2010). I'd join Alan's wolfpack any day.

Up In The Air -- As I said earlier, I specifically waited to make this list because I thought Up In The Air would have a shot to make it. That being said, I still didn't expect it to be as good as it was. Even though this was Clooney's best film ever, the real story to me was a new star being born in Anna Kendrick.

Inglourious Basterds -- Perhaps the most polarizing movie on my list, Tarantino's WWII gorefest was an absolutely brilliant piece of filmmaking in this blogger's opinion. Christoph Waltz is almost a guarantee to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. And I really hope Tarantino wins Best Director.

All Time Top 5 (Worst Movies of the Year)

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen -- Sure, the special effects were what we expected. Sure, I'll go see the next one. But the storyline was one of the dumbest things ever. Don't believe me? Read this FAQ on the film (warning: some foul language).

Observe and Report -- Seth Rogen had been in a series of really funny movies, but this mall cop comedy was just plain stupid. I expected bad things from Paul Blart: Mall Cop (I never saw it, but apparently a lot of you did) but had higher hopes for this one.

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell -- As a fellow Duke Law alum, I was hoping for a movie that would at least do some justice to Tucker Max's hilarious stories. Unfortunately, the movie was just plain garbage.

The Informant -- How the combination of Matt Damon and Steven Soderbergh resulted in this terribly boring (yet surprisingly well received by most critics) film is beyond me.

My Sister's Keeper -- Honestly the worst book adaptation I've ever seen. It's essentially a collection of scenes with sad songs playing that are intended to make women cry but never really develops any characters or a plot that would give them a reason to.

What's In Your Backpack?

2010-01-03T14:22:00.014-05:00

The much-hyped Up In The Air lives up to its billing and is worthy of its spot in its two-horse race against Avatar as the front-runner for the Best Picture Oscar (although I'd probably give it to Inglourious Basterds). Jason Reitman's movie is really the total package -- a great story, great writing, and some great performances. It's really quite funny -- the script has a good bit of one-liners and humorous events that had this blogger chuckling pretty often and smiling for much of the movie. But it's also very emotionally charged and not afraid to tackle difficult questions on life and the relationships that define it. Although not a particularly sad movie, there were a few scenes where people cried, and you'll find that you actually care about the fate of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) and his friends and family by the end of it.

The movie tells the story of Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer that spends his life on the road. He has no real friends, no woman in his life, and his family barely knows him. When he's not firing people from random companies, he spends his days traveling around giving "inspirational" talks that are titled, "What's In Your Backpack?" The message is that we should try to keep the relationships of our lives (the things that would fill our metaphorical backpack) to a minimum so we don't have anything weighing us down and can stay on the move (to Ryan, moving is living).

He meets fellow traveler Alex (Vera Farmiga), and the two start a casual relationship that essentially consists of the two meeting whenever they are in the same city. But shortly thereafter, his company then decides to follow the advice of rising star Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) and start operating via webcams instead of in person (effectively grounding Bingham). But first, Bingham must take Keener along to show her the ropes. During their travels, Keener begins to question Bingham's lifestyle and ultimately gets to Bingham to reevaluate his life, culminating in him asking Alex to join him at his sister's wedding. I know this plot might sound like a corny love story between Bingham and Alex, but I assure you it's far from it. In fact, the movie is just as much about Bingham's relationship with Keener and to a lesser extent, his family.

As I previously mentioned, many of the parts were written specifically for the actors in the film. And it really shows. This movie is wonderfully cast. Clooney is terrific, Farmiga is perfect for her part, and smaller parts played by Danny McBride, Zach Galifianakis, and Jason Bateman are also very good. But, to me, the real star of this film was Anna Kendrick (if you've never heard of her, don't feel bad -- her big screen resume is pretty much Twilight and nothing else). She was absolutely fantastic. Despite being beautiful and humorously charming, Kendrick really shows her range by playing a fiery young businesswoman determined to prove she belongs but who is also a bit of a softie, dreaming about the perfect man and crying over failed relationships. She was far and away my favorite character of the movie and, in this blogger's opinion, should take home this year's Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (yes, even over Mo'nique's performance in Precious).

Bottom line: Believe the hype. This one is worthy of its praise. Go check it out. (A-)

Ellie Goulding Among the Highly Anticipated Albums of 2010 (plus downloads)

2009-12-31T18:15:00.010-05:00

If 2009 was any indication of the kind of music that 2010 will bring, we can predict a couple things. First, female artists are becoming dominant in terms of popular music -- with the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Beyonce (among others) crushing their male counterparts in record sales. Second, we have seen that pop music currently favors upbeat, electronic, dance-styled sounds.

With this said, the last post of 2009 will be a preview of Ellie Goulding, who (I hope) can ride these trends to stardom. Ellie's distinct voice, collaborations with top-notch electronic producers such as Starsmith and Frankmusik, and a style that is completely unique has literally got the entire music world buzzing.

She has already released two EPs -- Under the Sheets and An Introduction to Ellie Goulding. Unfortunately, almost all of her music is unavailable in the US (she's from the UK) -- so I have posted a starter pack of her demos, covers, and remixes below. Be sure to download them and enjoy.

Ellie Goulding Starter Pack
The End (demo)
Every Time You Go (demo)
Guns and Horses (demo)
Swimming Pool (demo)
The End (demo)
The Writer (demo)
Wish I Stayed (demo)
Be Mine (Robyn cover w/ Erik Hassle)
Roscoe (Midlake cover)
StarryEyed (Jabwok Remix)

(MP3) DOWNLOAD: the Ellie Goulding Starter Pack (click here)

Third Time's A Charm

2009-12-29T11:33:00.003-05:00

I'm from a small town in South Carolina. Unless you go to a neighboring city, there is literally one movie theater for you to go to, and it only has 8 screens. Now I'm not complaining. In fact, I generally like going to smaller theaters. But trying to go to go see Sherlock Holmes was a bit of a pain over the Christmas holiday -- I ended up having to try the theater on three different occasions before I finally made a showing that wasn't sold out. Apparently, everyone else in town also wanted to go to the movies this weekend. This was, of course, good for Hollywood, but bad for me. But I digress. Back to the point of this post -- Sherlock Holmes (preview post here).

The movie itself was decent. The soundtrack was pretty cool, a sort of mix between Irish and Eastern Eurpoean music (I know that sounds weird, but it's the only way I know to describe it). And the set of London in 1891 was pretty masterfully done. Predictably, Robert Downey Jr. was very good as Sherlock Holmes. He was by far the funniest character in the movie, full of witty comebacks to much of the rest of the cast. But he wasn’t exactly what I expected. Despite his brilliance and superior fighting skills (there are a few scenes where Holmes plans out how he will engage an opponent in battle that are really pretty cool), Holmes was a drunken, disheveled mess for much of the film. And without the help of the more composed Watson (Jude Law), one can’t help but think that Holmes would not have done much, if any, criminal investigation. Watson, by the way, is very much Holmes’s equal (and arguably a better fighter) in the film. The two have a constant internal struggle concerning Watson’s engagement (and subsequent resignation from crime investigation) to the beautiful Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly).

The dynamic duo is joined by Rachel McAdams’ Irene Adler, a cunning thief in her own right and Holmes’ love interest. McAdams’ Adler is really only an average character. She doesn’t add much to this movie (despite being nice to look at) as her character is really never given a chance to develop, and I hope her role gets expanded if any sequels are made. She is employed by Moriarty (who does not play much of a role in this film either, but his presence leaves the door open for sequels – he is Holmes’ chief rival in the book series) to assist Holmes in stopping the sinister Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Through the use of chemistry and other clever tricks, Lord Blackwood has convinced the world that he is the risen dead and has dark magical powers. It’s up to Holmes and company to stop Blackwood and expose him as a fraud. I won’t lie to you. Blackwood is one of the least intimidating villains of any superhero movie of recent memory (I suppose you may not consider Holmes a superhero, but he really is when you think about it).

Despite some pretty solid performances in the film (especially Downey, Jr.), I say that this was only a decent film because the plot itself was somewhat lacking. Most of the movie is just strange events happening that make Lord Blackwood seem supernatural and Holmes and Watson fighting various Blackwood henchmen. Then, Holmes spends about five minutes at the end of the film explaining to Lord Blackwood (and the audience) that he’s figured out how Blackwood has managed to pull off his tricks. It feels very much like watching a cartoon episode of Scooby-Doo and having Velma explain everything at the end. I know that Guy Ritchie fans might have expected just such an ending (consider the ending of Snatch, for example, where we learn that a “pikey” reaction is “quite a f**king thing”). But there is a notable difference between a twist ending and watching a film where you know that truths will ultimately be revealed, only to have them done so in a seemingly arbitrary fashion at the end of the film.

Bottom line: This was a decent movie anchored by some good acting. But it wasn't really a great one. Guy Ritchie's career definitely needed a blockbuster like this, and I think a sequel could be much better than the first. (B-).

Here's the preview:

All Time Top 5 (Christmas Movies)

2009-12-25T13:12:00.001-05:00

First and foremost, we at bip-bip. would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (or the more politically correct, "happy holidays"). We hope everyone gets at least a couple days away from the daily grind and can spend some quality time with your family and friends. If you're like my family, Christmas Eve usually involves dinner, everyone getting to open one present (yes it's cheating, but I know we're far from being the only ones who do this), and a Christmas movie (thanks to my Grandma, it's usually It's A Wonderful Life).

Christmas, more so than any other holiday, has a plethora of great movies devoted to it. Think about it. Try and name your favorite Thanksgiving movie (for the record, I'd have to go Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and it's not even close). It's hard to even think of any. The same cannot be said for Christmas. The list just goes on an on. And it made narrowing down that list to just five incredibly difficult.

So, without further ado, here's the All Time Top 5 Christmas Movies:

Love Actually -- From Billy Mack's (Bill Nighy) "Christmas is All Around Us" to Joanna's (a.k.a. "the one," played by Olivia Olson) rendition of "All I Want for Christmas," this movie is loaded with Christmas spirit. I find it quite odd that it has somehow managed to be the first film to make its way to two top 5 lists (see the other here). And I even thought about leaving it off for just that reason. But, as the movie constantly reminds us, "at Christmas, you tell the truth" and any list of great Christmas movies without this gem on it would just seem like a lie.

It's A Wonderful Life -- As I mentioned above, this is a Christmas Eve favorite with my family, and for good reason. This 1946 classic is probably watched by more families during Christmas than any other out there, and it's been that way for a very long time. Watching goodhearted George Bailey learn just how good his life has been is a wonderful tale for the whole family. And the title is a message I find myself telling others quite often (just ask my fellow bip-bip. contributor). Let's all be glad it didn't end like this.

Home Alone -- Maybe it's just because I was part of the key demographic for this movie when it came out, but it always makes me think of sitting around with my brothers and cousins (when we were much younger) at my grandparents house watching Kevin outsmart the Wet Bandits while my mom and the rest of the "grown-ups" got Christmas dinner ready. Some might argue that this movie doesn't belong on the list, but when it comes to Christmas movies, this one belongs purely for nostalgia's sake.

Christmas Vacation -- Probably my favorite Chevy Chase (by the way, if you aren't watching it yet, his new show Community is actually pretty decent) movie of all time, Christmas Vacation is likely the first movie that most people think of when it comes to funny Christmas movies. Watching Uncle Eddie (Randy Quaid) and the gang invade the Griswold family Christmas is always a treat. And Clark taught us all what the standard in home decor for the holidays should be.

Elf -- I assume that this selection for the top spot will receive a good deal of criticism. No, it's not a timeless classic that families have been enjoying forever. But outside of that, what more could you want from a Christmas movie? Will Ferrell and company really outdid themselves with this brilliant Christmas comedy that I believe will eventually become a classic that gets the same respect as some of the other names on this list. Anyone who disagrees is just a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.

bip-bip presents... (includes download)

2009-12-24T16:36:00.016-05:00

After much deliberation, bip-bip. has compiled our very own "Best Albums of '09" list. With so many great albums being released this year, there are certainly noteworthy albums that didn't make the cut. A few of the most deserving honorable mentions include: The Avett Brothers' I and Love and You, Neko Case's Middle Cyclone, White Rabbits' It's Frightening, Major Lazer's Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz, Islands' Vapours... to name a few. Still, if we had to recommend just ten albums to buy this whole year... these would be it. Enjoy.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Best Track: Young Adult Friction) -- Take some washed out vocals mixed with a little melancholy and a sound that is eerily reminiscent of The Smiths, and you have a debut album worthy of the repeat button.

Basement Jaxx - Scars (Best Track: Feelings Gone) -- This London duo has put together another addictive electronic album that features distinct sounds from track to track (as well as great contributors such as Santigold and Sam Sparro).

Regina Spektor - Far (Best Track: Eet) -- Imaginative lyrics and innovation song construction makes Far possibly the best Regina Spektor album to date... which is saying something.

Discovery - LP (Best Track: So Insane) -- It's no shock that an experimental side-project between members of two the best modern indie rock bands, Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, created a musical gem.

The Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (Best Track: Two Doves) -- Strangeness and unfamiliarity of the first listen quickly turns to genius and obsession by the third or fourth listen.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir (Best Track: Finish Line) -- A sure to be staple of chamber-pop, this band which has been heavily compared to Arcade Fire has put together a Funeral of its own.

Miike Snow - Miike Snow (Best Track: Song for No One) -- Perfectly executed pop-music that simultaneously sounds familiar and completely original. For such a heavily produced album, they can pull it off live as well.

We Were Promised Jetpacks- These Four Walls (Best Track: Moving Clocks Run Slow) -- How this Scottish band fell completely off the radar for most popular "best albums" lists is beyond me. Similar to Frightened Rabbit-- with just as much promise.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Best Track: Girlfriend) -- The no-brainer number one for most lists. Phoenix has finally broken through to the mainstream in a big-way, creating a cd that finally reflected their long-standing potential.

Passion Pit - Manners (Best Track: all great... but start with Sleepyhead) -- Who knew that the combination of weird falsetto vocals, a children's choir, and some of the most unique sampling and synths could create the best album of the year. Give it a try -- it is musical perfection.

MP3: DOWNLOAD Passion Pit's Myspace Transmissions Live (click here).

Avatar: The Next Step in Filmmaking?

2009-12-23T18:32:00.001-05:00

Probably later than most readers of this blog, I finally got around to seeing James Cameron's Avatar (you can find the preview post here) today at my hometown IMAX theater. The much anticipated, much publicized (I'm not sure how many fans of The Tonight Show are out there, but Ben Stiller actually went on and promoted the movie even though he was not a part of it in any way -- never seen anyone do that before) movie did not disappoint. I'm not ready to give it best picture or anything, but the special effects are pretty incredible, and the story itself is a pretty good one.

Simply put, Avatar is the most technologically advanced movie that you've ever seen. Aside from the fact that it's in entirely in 3-D (although, to be honest, there really weren't that many scenes in the movie where things were "coming out of the screen" like you'd expect) on special stereoscopic cameras that were specially designed for Cameron's vision, the computer generated characters were created via a brand new type of motion capture technology. I won't get bogged down in the details of how it works, but it essentially allowed Cameron to watch the digital creation of his film in real-time, as his actors were actually acting (as opposed to other motion capture technologies where the digital world are created after the actor's motions are captured). The end result is a fantastic computer-generated world (Pandora) that is full of awesomely imaginative vegetation, creatures, and the Na'vi (the natives of the land).

The story itself is also very well done. Markedly similar to the classic tales of Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai (and, as one of my friends said after he saw it -- it's "basically FernGully on steroids"), the movie tells the story of Jack Skully (Sam Worthington), a crippled former marine chosen to help a mining company explore Pandora by entering the world remotely through the control of a genetically created Na'vi. Skully also secretly agrees to provide intel to Colonel Quaritich (Stephen Lang), the head of the company's security detail (basically an army), on how to defeat the Na'vi. But after spending time with the Na'vi and learning their ways, Skully finds that he feels he belongs more with them than the human race, siding with the natives he originally set out to destroy (just like Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise's characters did in their respective movies). I won't go in to further detail, but trust me that the plot is both simple enough for young children to enjoy and complex enough that any seasoned movie-goer will not be disappointed. This is, after all, a James Cameron production, and this blogger has always thought that he is a master of drawing in audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

I was honestly a little bit underwhelmed with the acting performances of most of the cast, but they weren't bad enough to really put a dent in the armor that the rest of the movie's positives have created. Giovanni Ribisi's Parker Selfridge (the "suit" from the mining company in charge of the project) is really just not believable in his role (despite the fact that I actually think Ribisi is a pretty good actor in general). Worthington, Sigourney Weaver (who plays head researcher and fellow lover of the Na'vi , Dr. Grace Augustine), and Michelle Rodriguez (who plays fighter pilot Trudy Chacon -- and whose work I've honestly never really appreciated) were all average at best. And Stephen Lang's Quaritich is a little bit cliched and doesn't really contribute much to the film. I actually thought the best work of the film came from Zoe Saldana (who we never actually see, but whose voice work was very well done) as the Na'vi princess and Skully love interest, Neytiri. She is very believable as a tribal princess who is both proud and passionate in her love of all living creatures.

But don't let me lead you to believe these are reasons not to go see this movie. Aside from Ribisi, I really wouldn't complain about any actor in the film. I'm only emphasizing the fact that no performance really jumped out at me as anything close to Oscar worthy. The movie is still an absolute spectacle that is definitely worth the two and a half hours (as well as the increased ticket costs for IMAX or 3-D) that you'll need to devote to it.

Bottom line: As expected, Cameron strikes again. Let's hope the movie is successful enough to warrant the two sequels that he has planned. (B+)

I won't insult you with a trailer -- if you had any contact with the world in the last month, you've seen it.

Flavorwire's "Stereotyping People By Their Favorite Indie Bands"

2009-12-23T09:52:00.003-05:00

Being stuck in a snowstorm in NYC for the past 4-5 days has seriously hindered my ability to make any recent posts. More bip-bip. posts are certainly in the works -- but, to prevent perpetual boredom on your part, I thought I would share a pretty cool post by Flavorwire that my friend just sent me. I think they are probably largely inaccurate, as stereotypes usually are, but funny nonetheless. Enjoy.

The XX
Blog enthusiasts who thought wearing a keffiyeha was awesome.

Passion Pit
Bros vaguely interested in listening to music and very interested in having sex with their girlfriend.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Girls who bought checkered sneakers in the 8th grade.

Fleet Foxes
Hopelessly patchy beard growers.

TV On The Radio
Politically-correct hipsters.

Grizzly Bear
People who think that world hunger could be assuaged with four part harmonies.

Micachu and the Shapes
Chicks with bad teeth.

Wavves
Dudes who think low production value is “authentic” and would go down on Todd P.

Steve Aoki
Alts who don’t “get” Hipster Runoff.

Joanna Newsom
People who have considered befriending a squirrel.

Devendra Banhart
People who have considered becoming a squirrel.

Animal Collective
Guys who make “Best of the Year” lists in January based predominantly on “feeling.”

The Antlers
Boys who enjoy crying more than their girlfriend.

Vivian Girls
Girls who purchase a guitar, buy flannel from the Salvation Army, wear glasses that they don’t actually need, and still can’t get the guy.

Vampire Weekend
Bros who try to make out with girls at concerts by relating to them via old Nickelodeon shows. “Remember Pete & Pete??”

Death Cab for Cutie
Girls who quote lyrics as their Facebook status.

Neon Indian
Gorilla Vs. Bear readers.

She & Him
People who hate Ben Gibbard.

Bon Iver
People with self-esteem issues and probably hate Ben Gibbard.

Washed Out
Those who comfortably accept chillwave as a genre.

Memory Tapes
Those who comfortably accept chillwave as a lifestyle.

The Shins
Premature alts who considered Garden State a life-altering viewing experience.

Radiohead
Everyone.

Tegan & Sara
Lesbians and guys who firmly believe that when there are two girls on stage together, there is a 63% chance of them making out.

St. Vincent
Feminists.

Drake
Indie rap fans who thought Tha Carter III was too mainstream.

Ra Ra Riot
Girls who got their boyfriends to watch Me and You and Everyone We Know.

Bat for Lashes
Girls who wear leggings outside of ’80s-themed parties.

Japandroids
Guys who only read Pitchfork for the ratings and haven’t showered in at least two days.

Kimya Dawson
Chicks who are described by their girlfriends as “sweet” and “really nice” when guys ask if their friend is hot.

Girls
Anyone who thinks The Catcher in Rye is the greatest book of all time.

Kid Cudi
Blipsters who still wear neon shoes and smoke pot.

The Flaming Lips
Self-actualized bros who grow pot.

Antony and the Johnsons
Guys who still cry every time they watch Bambi.

Matt and Kim
Closeted Blink-182 enthusiasts.

Here We Go Magic
Guys who are ‘over’ Gizzly Bear.

Phoenix
People who don’t listen to enough music.

Sufjan Stevens
People who believe in two things: Jesus and Juno.

M.I.A.
Girls who don’t understand politics.

Regina Spektor
Girls who don’t understand boys.

Justice
Bros who, at one point in their lives, have tried to grow a mustache.

Arcade Fire
Frequent transcendental experience havers.

Deerhunter
Avid doodlers.

Wilco
Guys who go to concerts to relax.

YACHT
Someone who, if presented with the opportunity to join a cult, would most definitely join that cult.

Ratatat
Boys who think Ocarina of Time is the greatest game ever made.

Patrick Wolf
Gay guys.

CSS
Girls who throw up at every party.

Woods
Indie dudes who wear beanies and you can see the front of their hair pulled back beneath it.

Spoon
Bros who drink shitty beer without ironic intentions.

Dirty Projectors
People who like way too many toppings on their pizza.

Living Life One Flight at a Time

2009-12-20T11:35:00.002-05:00

I recently posted about the Christmas day opening of the much anticipated Sherlock Holmes. For those who have no interest in Holmes but are still looking for something to see, you probably won't be too disappointed with Paramount's Up In The Air. To be honest, I'm not sure which to recommend, but if you went by the recently released Golden Globe nominations, Up In The Air would be your winner -- it received the most nominations of any movie this year. And it's already won best picture from a couple of lesser known awards associations.

Written and directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking), the movie is an adaptation of a 2001 Walter Kim novel of the same name. It's the coming-of-age story of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) who is a corporate downsizer (a consultant who basically goes from struggling company to struggling company and fires people) that spends the majority of his life on the road. He doesn't really have any friends or a personal life to speak of. But things change once his company decides to have him located at their headquarters in Omaha for good.

Reitman had a vision of exactly what he wanted the movie to be as he wrote it. He wrote the part of Ryan Bingham specifically for Clooney. But more than that, he wrote parts specifically for much of the rest of the cast (and this movie boasts a damn good cast) as well -- Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Nothing but the Truth), Anna Kendrick (Twilight), Jason Bateman, Danny McBride (Kenny Powers from HBO's East Bound & Down), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men), Amy Morton, and the legendary Sam Elliot (if you think you don't know who he is, click here). I suppose that in reality most writers have specific actors or actresses in mind when they write certain parts, but I can't recall another time where so many of them ended up actually being in the movie. It's hard not to be excited for this one.

Here's the trailer:

The Cardinals' Chris Feinstein Passes Away (download final RA/Cardinals show)

2009-12-18T09:20:00.005-05:00

Chris Feinstein, bassist for The Cardinals (who played extensively with Ryan Adams), passed away on December 15, 2009 in his NYC home. He was 42 and no further details have been released.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals is undoubtedly one of my favorite all-time bands -- and Chris Feinstein was a huge addition to this talented musical group (after joining in 2006). Feinstein contributed to Easy Tiger, Follow the Lights, and Cardinology. A talented musician and, by all accounts, a great guy. His other work included: producing the I Am Sam soundtrack, appearing on Gin Wigmore's Holy Smoke, contributing songs to Santigold's debut album, and performing alongside The Strokes' Albert Hammond, Jr..

As a special tribute to Feinstein, I have posted the full bootleg of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' last show -- on March 20, 2009 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA. I was fortunate enough to be at that show, and it was an instant classic. He will be greatly missed.

(MP3): DOWNLOAD the entire Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' Final Live Performance (3/20/2009) (here).

Spin's 40 Best Albums of 2009

2009-12-17T07:59:00.009-05:00

While bip-bip. is in the process of creating our very own Best Albums/Tracks of 2009, I thought I'd give you a little preview of what other outlets are dubbing the "Year's Best." Spin just released their 40 Best Albums of the Year last week -- with Animal Collective taking the top honor.

As with all subjective lists of this nature, it's always easier to criticize a list (especially the order) than make one. I do think there are some serious sins of omission; but,it's a solid list that will get you mentally primed for our own countdown. Enjoy.

40 Kiss - Sonic Boom
39 Wilco - Wilco (Wilco The Album
38 Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap
37 Gallows - Grey Britain
36 Brakesbrakesbrakes - Touchdown
35 Miike Snow - Miike Snow
34 Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx
33 The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
32 U2 - No Line On The Horizon
31 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
30 Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
29 Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
28 The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
27 Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
26 The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come
25 The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
24 Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
23 St. Vincent - Actor
22 Tegan And Sara - Sainthood
21 Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II
20 Paramore - Brand New Eyes
19 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
18 Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light
17 Mastodon - Crack The Skye
16 Japandroids - Post-Nothing
15 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
14 Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali
13 Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
12 Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Summer Of Fear
10 The Dead Weather - Horehound
09 Drake - So Far Gone
08 Florence And The Machine - Lungs
07 Mos Def - The Ecstatic
06 Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
05 Girls - Album
04 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
03 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
01 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Keep The Boat Rockin'

2009-12-15T16:47:00.003-05:00

Objectively, Pirate Radio is really not that great of a movie. There's really not that much to the plot. The characters aren't really developed all that well (probably because there are so many of them). The writing is average. It's probably a little too long. And no acting performance really jumped out at me (sure, Philip Seymour Hoffman was good in the movie, but I don't know if he was Philip-Seymour-Hoffman-good). But, subjectively, I was really glad I went. The movie is funny and entertaining, if nothing else. And I really think that anyone who loves rock music should see this thing.

The movie is loosely based on real life (I love that phrase by the way -- I feel like any movie can be "loosely" based on real life). Back in the 1960's, the British government controlled the radio airwaves and would rarely play any rock or pop (it's weird to think of bands that we consider classic rock today as pop bands back in their day, but that's what a lot of them were). To combat this, pirate radio stations were set up on boats off the coast of Britain (in international waters). One of these stations was Radio Rock (loosely based on Radio Caroline -- a station that still exists today).

Carl (played by relative unknown Tom Sturridge) is sent by his mother to join the crew on board Radio Rock after getting in a bit of trouble (his grandfather, played by the legendary Bill Nighy, is the manager of the station). His arrival leads to some new revelations among the crew and its past that make up a good chunk of the movie's plot. The rest concerns the struggle between the station and British government minister Dormandy who is played by Kenneth Branagh (anyone who has ever watched TNT on a Sunday afternoon probably knows him better as Dr. Loveless from Wild Wild West). But don't try and concern yourself with the plot too much. The best way to enjoy the movie is to sit back and laugh at the shenanigans of the various DJ's. I think my favorite was definitely Rhys Darby's (Murray from Flight of the Conchords) Angus. But Philip Seymour Hoffman's The Count and Nick Frost's (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) Dave were also really good.

And, as any of these fictional DJ's would tell you, it's all about the music. The soundtrack is terrific and might be the best part of the movie (especially for fellow classic rock lovers). The song selection is great and really goes with the movie pretty seamlessly. It's loaded with great classics (I'm no expert, but I assume they're all 60's rocks songs) and can be found here. And the end of the movie (one of my favorite parts -- but not because it meant it was over) also shows a pretty cool montage of famous album covers (as proof that rock has survived despite the British government's best efforts).

Bottom line: This movie won't blow you away -- not by a longshot. But any fan of rock 'n' roll who wants to sit back and be entertained for a couple of hours will surely enjoy it. (B-)

Here's the preview:

This Week In Movies

2009-12-14T19:18:00.003-05:00

Here's this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

Avatar -- Unless you haven't watched a TV in the past month, you've seen the preview. And I also blogged about it here. James Cameron's 3D adventure could possibly be the first ever $500 million dollar film, and it better be good.

Crazy Heart (Limited Release) -- Bip-bip. favorite Jeff Bridges stars as a washed up country star in this Fox Searchlight production. He's supposed to give a pretty awesome performance and has already been nominated for an Oscar.

Movies I Would Go See:

Nine (Limited) -- I'm a little confused how a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, and Marion Cotillard (A Good Year, Public Enemies) isn't getting more publicity than it is. Yes, it's an adaptation of a Broadway show, but that's a stellar cast. You can find the trailer here.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

Did You Hear About The Morgans? -- I've never really liked anything that Sarah Jessica Parker has done, and the preview doesn't make me think this one will be any different.

A couple of sidenotes:

It's a great week for DVD's too. The highest rated movie of this young blog's life, Inglourious Basterds, comes out on DVD Tuesday. And so does the funniest movie of the year, The Hangover.

A long overdue Pirate Radio review will be coming soon...

Vinyl Sales Up: A Happy Coexistence for Digital and Physical Media?

2009-12-10T11:29:00.006-05:00

Even though we are in the midst of an increasingly digitalized age, there are encouraging signs that people still have some nostalgia for physical media. While the cd is undoubtedly losing ground to digital albums -- which, I think, is a travesty -- there is a glimmer of hope that vinyls will be around for a while.

According to a recent New York Times article, more than 2.1 million vinyls have been sold in 2009 thusfar -- which is a 35% increase from last year. This is much more modest than the growth from 2007 to 2008, in which vinyl sales went up 90%, but its still growth. Obviously, CD sales and digital music still dominate. Through June of this year, 121.8 million CDs were sold, versus 33.2 million digital albums, and just over 1 million vinyls.

Yet, even though vinyl sales only account for less than 1% of overall album sales, there is reason to optimistic. CD sales are falling dramatically (20% compared to digital albums this year), while vinyl sales have continually been on the rise. This means that even though 99% of people might eventually buy digital albums, there is a solidifying niche market of 1% or more to keep vinyls alive.

As a commenter in the NY Times article said: “It is absolutely easy to say vinyl doesn’t make sense when you look at convenience, portability, all those things . . . But all the really great stuff in our lives comes from a root of passion or love.”

Well put.

Guy Ritchie's Last Chance

2009-12-08T14:24:00.003-05:00

On Christmas day, Warner Bros. will release Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. And this blogger really hopes that it gets the writer/director back on track to earning all the hype and much-deserved praise he received after Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch (two really excellent films -- Snatch especially -- for anyone who hasn't seen these) came out at the turn of the millenium. Since then, the 21st Century has been disappointing (to put it kindly) for those expecting good things from Ritchie. His 2002 film Swept Away (starring his then-wife Madonna) won five "Razzies" (basically the Oscars but for bad films) including Worst Picture and Worst Director. And 2005's Revolver is really one of the stupidest movies I've ever watched in its entirety. 2008's RocknRolla was definitely a step in the right direction from those two disasters, but it still wasn't on his par with his earlier work.

Enter Robert Downey Jr. (who seems to be currently immune from making anything but good movies over the last few years) to save the day. He'll star as a new-and-improved (and if the previews are any indication, ass-kicking) Sherlock Holmes. Of course, he'll be joined by his sidekick Watson (whose first name is actually John for those who are curious) who'll be played by Jude Law. As the casting of Law would suggest, Watson won't be the goofy, bumbling sidekick most probably envision, but he'll instead be much more of an asset (and equal) to Holmes in their attempt at stopping the destruction of Britain. Everyone's favorite girl next door (well maybe second favorite to the actual Girl Next Door, Elisha Cuthbert), Rachel McAdams, (Wedding Crashers, The Notebook) will also tag along to help the duo and play Holmes's love interest, Irene Adler.

Based on Ritchie's recent work, there's no guarantee that this is going to be a good movie. And if this ends up being a bust, I'm pretty sure we can all stick a fork in him. But the cast is great, and the preview looks really good. If you're someone who traditionally goes to a movie on Christmas afternoon, you probably won't be disappointed if you pick this one (assuming you haven't seen Avatar yet).

Here's the preview:

Songs Worth Reading: Josh Ritter's The Temptation of Adam

2009-12-07T19:29:00.008-05:00

The modern practice of having artists perform songs written by professional song-writers has greatly affected the orginality and authenticity of song-writing. Lyrical quality has taken an even greater hit than the music -- as introspection and personal experience has been replaced by generic sentiment. Fortunately, there are a few musicians out there, such as Josh Ritter, who still take lyric-writing seriously.

Josh Ritter is a singer-songwriter from Idaho, who was influenced by artists like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, as well as writers such as Mark Twain. He has released 5 studio albums to date -- as well as several more EPs and live shows -- and a new album is slated for release in 2010. Here is one example of his remarkable lyrical ability.

The Temptation of Adam
"If this was a cold war we could keep each other warm," I said
On the first occasion that I met Marie
We were crawling through the hatch that was
The missile silo door
And I don't think that she really thought that much of me
I never had to learn to love her
Like I learned to love the bomb
She just came along and started to ignore me
But as we waited for the big one
I started singing her my songs
And I think she started feeling something for me

We passed the time with crosswords
That she thought to bring inside
"What five letters spell apocalypse?" she asked me
I won her over singing "WWIII"
She smiled and we both knew that she misjudged me
Oh Marie it was so easy to fall in love with you
It felt almost like a home of sorts or something
And you would keep the warhead missle silo good as new
And I'd watch you with my thumb above the button

Then one night you found me in my army issue cot
You told me of your flash of inspiration
You said "Fusion was the broken heart that's lonely's only thought"
And all night long you drove me wild with your equations
Oh Marie do you remember all the time we used to take
Making love and then ransack the rations
I think of you leaving now in the avalanche cascades
My eyes get washed away in chain reactions

Oh Marie if you would stay we could stick pins in the map
Of all the places you thought that love would be found
But I would only need one pin to show where my love is at
In a top secret location 300 feet under the ground

We could hold each other close
We'd stay up every night
Look up into the dark like it's the night sky
Pretend this giant missile is a old oak tree instead
And I'd carve your name in hearts into the warhead
Oh Marie something tells me things just won't
Work out above
That our love would live a half-life on the surface
So at night while you are sleeping
I hold you closer just because
As our time grows short I grow a little nervous

So I think about the big one
WWIII
Would we ever really care the world had ended?
You could hold me here forever
Like you're holding me tonight
I think about that great big button and I'm tempted

Indie Christmas Mixtape

2009-12-05T00:25:00.003-05:00

I'm not one to criticize the christmas classics, but every now and again a little update is needed. I mean how many times can you honestly listen to The Carpenters without going at least slightly crazy. Once in a blue moon, a new song can even turn into an christmas classic. Just think about Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You -- which is now a staple for christmas radio stations. Did I mention it's also the best selling ringtone of all time?

While none of the songs off this playlist will likely become the next christmas smash, if you're looking to add a little spice to your otherwise overplayed and outdated christmas playlist -- look no further.

Indie Christmas Mixtape:
Sufjan Stevens -- Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!
Rooney -- Merry Xmas Everybody
44.1k - The Christmas Sound
Badly Drawn Boy - Donna and Blitzen
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Santa Claus Is Smoking the Reefer
Ron Sexsmith - Maybe this Christmas
Guster - Donde Esta Stanta Claus
The Weepies - All That I Want
Low - Just Like Christmas

MP3: DOWNLOAD the entire Indie Christmas Mixtape (click here).

Want a preview before you commit?

Come on! Let's Boogey to the E...

All That I Want - The Weepies

MOG All Access -- Better than Rhapsody, Itunes, and Pandora Combined?

2009-12-04T08:15:00.009-05:00

For the most part... yea.

So this might seem like a bit of self-promotion, since we are affiliates for MOG... but for anyone that wants to experience the best online music -- this is for you. MOG just launched MOG All Access, and its similar to Pandora, in that you can discover new artists, listen to similar artists/bands, all without any mental exertion. It is also a lot better than Pandora, and more like itunes, in that you can create playlists, share them with friends, and (oh I almost forgot) -- listen to any track to any album at anytime. No more time spent clicking thumbs up and thumbs down to move on to the next song.

There are a couple kickers though. First, this service isn't free. It's $5 bucks a month, which will be a deal-breaker for most people. Second, you don't own the music (unlike itunes).

In all honesty, its a top-notch service. I only fear that it won't take over the business because of the price-tag (even though it's dirt cheap). Check it out though. Everyone gets a free hour.

Did I mention that MOG gives you the most up-to-date music news as well (including bipbip. posts)? And thats free!

(Mostly) Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009-12-02T11:07:00.008-05:00

Anyone who read my preview post about Fantastic Mr. Fox knows that I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson. And I was pretty excited about the movie. And for good reason -- aside from Wes Anderson's direction, the movie had a lot going for it: the voice cast was great, it was done in very cool and underused stop animation style, and the movie had been getting great reviews (including a nearly unheard of 100% rating on rottentomatoes). But, much to my chagrin, despite having been released for two weeks, the movie was not playing anywhere near me (Charlotte, NC) until the last few days.

To say I was disappointed would be misleading. I liked the movie. I really did. I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would. It was definitely enjoyable, and there were many things about it that were vintage Anderson. Despite being an adaptation of a children's book, it was certainly geared towards adults. It was full of the dark, humorous, and awkward one liners we've come to love from Anderson. I think my favorite character of the movie was actually Jason Schwartzman's "Ash," Mr. Fox's insecure son who is obsessed with proving himself to his father as being an athlete (the sport they play in the movie, called "whackbat," is pretty hilarious). His approval-seeking (and yet rebellious at the same time) attitude leads to some pretty funny moments. And George Clooney's "Mr. Fox" also had some pretty funny lines as well.

The stop animation was very well done and made me realize that more movies should be done this way. As I watched, I thought about how long it must take to produce a stop animation film -- according to WikiAnswers, it probably takes about 1 to 2 hours for every 30 seconds of animating; if you extrapolate that out to 90 minutes of movie, you're looking at about 180 to 360 hours. Keep in mind that this is only to shoot the movie and doesn't factor in all the prep time it takes to actually create the scenes. It's no small time commitment. And the voice work (especially Jason Schwartzman and Michael Gambon as "Mr. Bean") was also pretty good. Most of the movie was George Clooney's "Mr. Fox" talking, but his voice fit the part well. And Streep sounded like a natural as the supportive, yet frustrated, "Mrs. Fox."

But there seemed to be certain things that were lost in translation -- things that I would've appreciated and enjoyed much more if the movie had real people in it. I think it made various parts less funny than they otherwise could have been if real actors were on screen (i.e., I would've laughed much more if Bill Murray the man was on screen as opposed to Bill Murray the badger). It's really not anyone's fault -- pretty much all animated (especially stop animation) movies suffer from a similar fate. It's hard to convey certain facial expressions through animated characters, and, for the most part, real people are just funnier than animated characters (in this blogger's opinion anyway). Don't get me wrong -- I completely understand that this movie needed to be animated (it is, after all, about a group of talking animals), and, truthfully, many of the movie's strengths stem from the fact that it was. But I'm still much more of a fan of "real life" Wes Anderson movies. And I probably always will be.

Bottom line: Wes Anderson loyalists might be slightly disappointed with the film, but it is still a quality piece of work with many things you'd typically expect from him. The stop animation is pretty cool, and I'd recommend it to moviegoers of all ages. (B)

Here's the trailer:

Albums We Missed, Because We Weren't Born Yet -- Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life (plus live download)

2009-11-30T22:44:00.001-05:00

Last month I posted about Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline (click here) -- highlighting a poem, of sorts, about Bob Dylan as written by Johnny Cash (who was also featured on the album). With that poem in mind, I tried to scan through my vinyls to discover other gems which you may have missed if you bought the album off itunes.

What I found was the opening passage to a 24-page lyric booklet for Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. The album was listed as the 56th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone, and I am convinced it is the greatest album name ever conceived. I have the collector's album from 1976, and I'm not sure if this opening passage was included in the standard release; but, since the standard album did not contain the lyric booklet, I'm guessing not.

If you didn't already know, Stevie Wonder's birth name was Stevland Hardaway Judkins (later changed to Morris), and this opening passage, written by Stevland, gives nice insight into his Stevie Wonder alter-ego.

Opening Remarks to Songs in the Key of Life (an excerpt):
"I've never considered myself an orator nor a politician, only a person who is fortunate enough, thanks to all of you, to become an artist given a change to express the way he feels and hopefully the feelings of may other people. It is to me a fact that Stevie Wonder is that temporary someone of myself even though we have come to know each other very well and realized because of who he is, the many doors that have been opened may have been closed to myself, Stevland Morris. It is important that you do note permanently in your mind that I do take not a second for granted. For I do believe it is that Stevie Wonder is the necessary vehicle on which Stevland Morris must be carried on his mission to spread love mentalism. In every album that I have and shall do, it is not my goal for that to be better than that and the next to succeed the others, but only that I do and give the best I can at the time of my doing and giving and that only happens because of the dis- or satisfaction that made me want to be a better someone..."
-- Stevland

MP3: DOWNLOAD Stevie Wonder -- Live in London (1/31/1974) (click here).

This solid bootleg includes: Intro-Contusion, Higher Ground, Mary Wants to be a Superwoman, To Know You is to Love You, Signed Sealed and Delivered, Visions, Dont You Worry 'Bout a Thing, Living for the City, You are the Sunshine of my Life, Superstition, Encore Jam.

Sometimes Casting Is Easy...

2009-11-27T14:12:00.000-05:00

When the makers of Invictus were trying to decide who they wanted to play Nelson Mandela, I bet it took them all of about 2 seconds to arrive at Morgan Freeman. Not only do the two look alike, but Freeman is one of the few actors in Hollywood with the presence and ability to deliver a speech that is even capable of playing the part. Unquestionably my favorite narrator in movie history (i.e., The Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby), I'm excited to see how well Freeman does at pulling off the difficult role.

For those not familiar, the movie will tell the true story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa. Apartheid had ended, Mandela was president, and South Africa was in desperate need of a unifying force. Mandela thought hosting the World Cup would be a way to unite his people. Matt Damon will play the captain of the South African team that went on to the World Cup and united the country.

I've actually seen a few documentaries on this already, and I can tell you that it's really a great story. But if Freeman and Damon aren't a big enough draw, the movie is also directed by Clint Eastwood. I'm sure I'll touch on this subject more in future posts, but Eastwood's move to directing has really been one of the biggest blessings to American cinema, especially his work of the last decade or so. Although I didn't really care much for Flags of our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, and Gran Torino are all flat-out terrific films, and Changeling and Blood Work were also decent. Hopefully the Eastwood-Freeman-Damon combo is a recipe for a great film.

Here's the preview:

Thanksgiving Turkey with a Side of Mash-ups

2009-11-25T21:12:00.013-05:00

If you aren't a fan of mash-potatoes this Thanksgiving, try out these mashups instead -- brought to you courtesy of Super Mash Brothers. The duo, consisting of Nick Fenmore and Dick Fink, have dubbed themselves "Girl-Talk's Hot Cousin," -- and described their work as "taking all of your favorite hits from the 90's and combining them with todays chart topping rap hits in ways scientifically proven to make you shake your ass."

In my opinion, their albums are amateurish compared to Girl Talk -- utilizing far less creative sampling and far fewer songs. Still if you like Girl Talk and continuous track-style mashup albums, you'll definitely like these guys. As always, it's a surefire way to kick off any party.

MP3: Download their latest album, All About the Scrilion (click here).
MP3: Download their first album, Fuck Bitches. Get Euros. (click here).

Lost Treasures: A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

2009-11-25T09:56:00.001-05:00

As I scrolled through the "Watch Instantly" feature on my Netflix account, I stumbled across a 2006 film that I had never heard of, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. I noticed that it starred Robert Downey Jr. (just before his big breakout) so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did. It turns out the movie is actually pretty good. It's just that nobody has heard of it (well, nobody except the higher-ups at Sundance who gave it the Director's Award and Special Jury Prize in 2006). The film is a well-paced 100 minutes full of terrific acting (actually done by some very famous actors that would make for a huge movie if it was coming out today) and scenes of life in Queens, NY during the 1980's that seemed very genuine, but often heartbreaking and terrible at the same time.

I won't go into the details of the plot too much because, honestly, there isn't a lot to it. The movie is essentially a myriad of flashbacks from the real life of Dito Montiel (played in present day by Robert Downey Jr. and played in the past by Transformers star Shia Labeouf), and the events that led up to him leaving his hometown behind on a bus to California. Dito's day-to-day basically consists of hanging out with his friends, especially his best friend Antonio (basically the thug of the group; played really well by an actor I generally don't care for -- G.I. Joe and Fighting's Channing Tatum), during the day and getting into minor trouble here and there. They often spend time at Dito's house, talking to his father (played by Chaz Plaminteri from The Usual Suspects) and mother (played by Dianne West). And their nights are generally filled hanging out with a group of neighborhood girls, including Dito's high school girlfriend, Laurie (played in present day by Rosario Dawsome and in the past by relative unknown Melonie Diaz).

But, as the film progresses, tragedy strikes in various ways, including a conflict with group of neighborhood grafiti artists that really escalates in large part to Antonio. As things get worse and Dito's relationship with outsider Mike O'Shea (Martin Compston) begins to influence his thinking, Dito realizes he wants out of New York and wants to escape his troubles to flee to California. It is there that he becomes a famous writer before finally returning home 15 years later.

As I said before, the movie honestly doesn't have a great or powerful plot. It really is just a series of memories from Dito's life. But most of the scenes are compelling in their own way, and you aren't left feeling shortchanged at all. On top of that, the acting is really very good. Despite my opinion that he is usually not a very good actor, Channing Tatum may have had the best performance of the movie. And Labeouf does an admirable job as well.

The movie also used a couple of unique effects that I really liked. For one, it highlighted important dialogue between Dito and Mike as well as Dito and his father by silencing out all background noises so you only heard the two talking. That may not be the best way to describe it, but you'll see what I'm talking about if you ever see it. Another unique thing that the movie did was have its characters periodically look into the camera and say simple things that really define their characters (for example, Antonio looks into the camera and says, "I'm Antonio. I'm a piece of shit, and everyone knows it"), and, for reasons I can't explain, these seemed to resonate with me as I watched.

Bottom line: It's hard for me to understand why a movie packed with so many stars and so well received by critics flew under the radar like this one did. It's definitely worth checking out. (B)

Here's the preview:

Judd Apatow's Attempt at Dramatic Comedy

2009-11-24T11:24:00.003-05:00

Judd Apatow's Funny People comes out on DVD today and, despite the film's title, is actually just as much of a drama as it is a comedy. The movie isn't just fun and games and that wonderful brand of raunchy comedy that we've come to expect (and love) from Apatow. Instead, it tries to be a lot more and actually enjoys modest success for its efforts.

It tells the story of superstar comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler, Apatow's real life ex-roommate) who is somewhat of a self-important ass. Simmons is diagnosed with leukemia and given a very small chance to live. Facing this news, Simmons decides he wants to spend his remaining days doing stand-up, his first love. And he hires struggling comedian Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to help him write jokes for his act and basically work as his personal assistant. As the two get closer, Ira convinces George to tell others about his illness.

George contacts his ex-wife Laura (played by Apatow's real life wife, Leslie Mann) who is now married with two daughters. She tells George that she misses him and is unhappy with her marriage. Eventually, George overcomes his illness. And events transpire that force Laura to really make a decision between George and her husband (played by Eric Bana). I won't ruin the rest of the movie for anyone, but, if you can't tell so far, the plot is much more developed and serious than your average Apatow film. Dealing with life threatening illnesses and lost loves, the film is as much a coming-of-age tale about both Ira and George as it is anything else. Although not as emotionally compelling as a really good drama, I still found myself actually caring what happened to our characters (really one of the key ways that I judge whether a drama is good or not).

For as much as I've talked about the drama in this movie, there is still some comedy in it. The stand-up bits (by the way, the stars of the movie actually traveled across the country doing live stand-up at various comedy spots for the footage in the movie) are moderately funny, but they actually would've been much funnier if the film had included more of the work of Aziz Ansari (you might know him from Scrubs or Parks & Recreation) whose work as "Raaaaaandy" has actually developed somewhat of a cult following. You can check out some of his stuff that was left out here. Jonah Hill (Superbad, Knocked Up) and Jason Schwartzman are both somewhat funny in supporting roles. And I'm also really starting to fall in love with Apatow's newest stars, his daughters Maude and Iris (also the daughters from Knocked Up). They're actually really funny. But, all in all, the comedy is somewhat lacking compared to Apatow's other films. And if you have no interest in anything but laughing, you will probably be disappointed. There is just too much time devoted to more serious matters.

Bottom Line: The movie is sort of a combination of an average comedy and an average drama. But for whatever reason, I actually thought it was pretty decent. Be warned that it is rather long, but I think it's definitely worth a watch. But maybe not a buy. (B-)

Here's the preview:

Other movies coming out on DVD:

Angels & Demons -- This was a very average thriller that had some pretty entertaining parts but seemed relatively uninspired. Unless you have to own it because of the book, I wouldn't bother. (C)

This Week In Movies

2009-11-22T19:13:00.003-05:00

Here's this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

The Road -- I posted about this a long time ago. I absolutely loved this book. Hopefully, the movie will do Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece justice.

Movies I Would Go See:

Ninja Assassin -- Despite one of the more ridiculous titles in a while, I'd go see this if I was looking for a good action movie.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

Old Dogs -- Memo to John Travolta and Robin Williams: What has happened to you guys? Please stop taking every shitty script that gets tossed your way. Some actors get better with age (e.g., George Clooney, Alec Baldwin). You guys are clearly not in this category.

Female Covers Mixtape... plus Eric Prydz "Call on Me" Live

2009-11-19T11:00:00.003-05:00

This, you could say, is a completely inadvertent mixtape. I was just skimming through my music and came to the realization that I have tons of covers by female artists. I tried to siphon out the covers that sound like they should be background for some bad romcom, instead chosing to to pick, what I think, are at least minimally interesting covers that put a unique spin on the songs. Some will probably enjoy it, others will not. I guess that's the nature of the beast ("the beast" being music).

Just in case you listen to this mixtape and feel like you have an increased sensitivity to the feelings of others and/or crave dark chocolate.... I have also posted a live version of Eric Prydz's "Call on Me" -- which should snap you out of it and bring you back to manhood.

Noisettes - When You Were Young (Killers cover)
Sky Ferreira - Animal (Miike Snow Cover)
Ellie Goulding – The Wolves (Act I and II) (Bon Iver Cover)
Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover)
Sara Lov - My Body Is A Cage (Arcade Fire cover)
Jonna Lee - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Postal Service Cover)
Run Toto Run - Sleepyhead (Passion Pit Cover)
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like (T.I. Cover)
Dirty Mittens - White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes cover)

MP3: Download the full Female Covers Mixtape (click here).

USA v. World (Round 3): Clash of the Titans -- Billy Joel v. Elton John

2009-11-17T17:52:00.012-05:00

Tied at one a piece entering Round 3 of USA v. World, I decided to finally showcase the match-up that got me started on this whole idea -- Elton John (UK) v. Billy Joel (USA). This is one seems particularly strange, considering that the two musicians are not only friends, but they have been longtime touring partners since 1994 -- creating, literally, the "most successful concert tandem in pop music history."

If we go straight by the numbers, there is no question that Elton John edges out Billy Joel. Even though both musicians kicked off their careers right around the same time (the early '70s), Elton John has sold over 200 million records worldwide -- nearly doubling Billy Joel's 100 million records sold. Both have picked up five Grammys, which I actually found to be surprisingly low; however, John has also picked up an Academy Award, a Tony, and a Golden Globe. Joel's thirty-three Top-40 hits are also a far-cry from John's impressive fifty-six.

While the numbers may be skewed, music is an art... not a science. Being such, quantifiable comparisons (such as records sold) perhaps pale in comparison to unquantifiable artistic accomplishment. Let's consider this single fact: all thirty-three of Billy Joel's top 40 hits were apparently written by him single-handedly. Compare this to Elton John, who has famously collaborated with Bernie Taupin for the past 40 years. In fact, Taupin helped John write lyrics for several (verging on most) of his biggest hits, such as Your Song, Candle in the Wind, Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Sad Songs (Say So Much)... among others. This is a big mark on Elton John's undeniably impressive resume -- because, last time I checked, lyrics, and the ability to form them, is one of the key components of songwriting. (scroll down past video to see winner)

Winner: Elton John. USA 1, World 2.

Even with the lyrical assistance of Bernie Taupin, no sane person would try to claim Elton John lacks genuine talent -- as compared to modern manufactured pop acts who can simultaneously lack any cognizable level of talent and sell millions of records.

Instead, Elton John can bask in the knowledge that he is both a commercial success and artistic genius. He has also penetrated pop-culture in a way that most artists couldn't comprehend. Everyone knows he wrote The Lion King's Can You Feel the Love Tonight and most people were appauled at Tim McGraw's remake of Tiny Dancer... but this fact remains. His work touches on every aspect of our culture. If you're a girl, you probably own a copy of Moulin Rouge's version of Your Song and, if your a guy, you probably remember Rocket Man serving as ironic background music during one of The Rock's best scenes.

Oh yea.... and he also wrote "Candle in the Wind" -- which, following Princess Diana's death, became the best single of all time.

Live Long and Prosper (In an Alternate Reality...)

2009-11-17T09:44:00.003-05:00

It's Tuesday so we've got another fresh batch of DVD's coming out. This week is highlighted by Star Trek. I've got to admit from the start -- I don't know anything about Star Trek culture. I've never once watched an old episode or movie. I have no clue who any of these characters are based off of or what the original actors who played them were like. But, nonetheless, I found the movie to be relatively entertaining.

The movie itself is essentially set up to provide a springboard for future films while giving audiences an explanation of why the characters are different. The plot is basically this: Nero (played by Eric Bana) travels back in time to destroy the world and the crew of the USS Enterprise before they become the well oiled machine they are in the old television series. To prevent him from succeeding, the Spock from the television series (Leonard Nimoy) travels back in time to warn his future friends (as well as himself). Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), the new Spock (Heroes' Zachary Quinto), and the rest of the crew finally get it together to save the day.

I know that the plot sounds sort of absurd, but I actually think it was sort of a genius way to provide an avenue for new movies to be made without erasing what happened in the television series. Now, the new guys are just living in alternate reality, forever changed by Nero's time travel. Then again, maybe I'm just a gigantic nerd, and we should all really just make fun of J.J. Abrams' dumb movie. Who knows? Either way, if you can embrace the plot for what it is and watch with an open mind, you'll probably find you enjoy the movie. The new members are pretty well cast. The writing is above average. And the special effects are top notch.

Bottom line: It's not as good as critics thought. But it's really entertaining and definitely worth seeing, if not owning, regardless of your Star Trek knowledge. (B)

Here's the trailer:

Other movies coming out on DVD:

Bruno -- It has its moments, but it's greatly inferior to Borat. (B-)

My Sister's Keeper --- This was just a horrible piece of film making, full of terrible dialogue and entirely too many three minute scenes set to some sad song to try and elicit tears from middle-aged women. It's one of the worst book adaptations I've ever seen. (D-)

James Cameron's Latest Sci-Fi Epic

2009-11-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

On December 16, 20th Century Fox will release James Cameron's 3-D epic Avatar. To say that Avatar is going to be (or better be) a big movie is to state the obvious. The movie was written and directed by one the most famous and powerful filmmakers of all time, cost over $200 million to make, and was viewed by the largest live audience of a trailer ever (a bit of an unnecessary stunt in this blogger's opinion) at Cowboy Stadium a few Sundays ago.

The movie tells the story of a war in the future on a planet called Pandora. The natives of Pandora, called the Na'vi, are incredible warriors that live in peace and harmony with the rest of the life on their planet. And they are at war with the human race who is trying to take over their land (as I write this, I realize the story sadly parallels that of Native Americans -- minus the superhuman warriors). To aid in their conquest, the humans have developed a way to create human-Na'vi hybrids called Avatars (pictured above).

The story's main character Jack Sully, played by Sam Worthington (from Terminator: Salvation and a name you definitely want to remember because he is a fast-rising star) becomes one of these Avatars. But once he enters their world, he begins to fall for one of the Na'vi (played by the beautiful Zoe Saldana -- you may know her from Star Trek and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) and can't decide which side to join (sounds quite similar to the plot of The Last Samurai, a movie I really liked).

I've got to admit. The previews don't really look as awesome as I'd like, but I've got high hopes for this one nonetheless. Cameron usually doesn't disappoint.

Here's the trailer:

This Week In Movies

2009-11-15T18:31:00.001-05:00

Here's this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

None this week. Sorry.

Movies I Would Go See:

The Blind Side -- I already posted about this here. I'm intrigued by the story. But I bet it's not going to be that great.

Planet 51 -- The Rock (I will never call him Dwayne Johnson) as a cartoon astronaut who winds up on a planet full of aliens? Eh, ok.

Twilight Saga: New Moon -- I've never seen the first one. But, hell, why not?

Red Cliff (Limited) -- John Woo's latest work has been getting great reviews.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

None this week.

Unreleased Spotlight: Ray Lamontagne's Acre Of Land

2009-11-13T11:30:00.005-05:00

Accessibility to good music has never been easier, but it's a shame that unreleased album downloads still require hoop-jumping and diligence (i.e. to ensure the album is accurately labeled, without viruses, etc). Hopefully our Unreleased Spotlight, which will feature both live shows and unreleased albums, will make this process a little easier.

Our first feature is Ray Lamontagne's Acre of Land. This album, recorded in 2001, is full of acoustic, stripped-down gems that you would expect from Ray Lamontagne. I can promise you that the songs are better than the album art.

Here's the tracklist:
1- Acre of Land - 3:14
2- Big Boned Woman - 3:22
3- Get Me A Buzz - 2:51
4- Hobo Blues - 4:12
5- Roadhouse Girl - 3:36
6- Skinny Dippin' -3:31
7- Thinkin' About You - 4:28
8- Back On The Mountain - 3:07
9- Change Your Mind - 2:06
10- Still Can't Feel The Gin - 5:43
11- My Weakness - 2:48

Enjoy.

Download Acre of Land here.

I Hate Bonus Tracks, And So Should You.

2009-11-12T08:04:00.003-05:00

At first glance, when you buy an album and notice that it has bonus tracks, you probably think to yourself "niiice -- the record company and/or band has decided to give me free music! Instead of getting 10 songs for $9.99, I'm getting 12!" As you may remember from an earlier post this week, I love free music as much as the next guy. However, while some may argue that the JFK assassination, global warming, or even the moon landing is "The Great Deception," the existence of the bonus track, in my mind, is truly the greatest deception of all. Bonus tracks are evil creations. I hate them, and so should you. Here's why.

Bonus tracks, by their very nature, are not meant to reward fans. Instead, they are literally created to screw fans-- or at least the good ones. They are a marketing ploy, carried out in various ways, to entice casual fans and punish loyal fans. By loyal fans-- I mean loyal fans of any artist -- even pop-superstars like Lady Gaga or Rihanna.

For starters, if you happen to buy CDs or Vinyls, then you almost never get bonus tracks, even though you often shell out considerably more cash than the people buying the album on itunes. Sure, there are manufacturing costs-- but shouldn't we at least get the same album that someone would get on itunes (since we did, after all, pay the extra $5 bucks to cover those manufacturing costs... plus some)?

I hesitate to even call it an "album" because bonus tracks also distort the ancient principle that an album is a completed, well-deliberated piece of artistic work. Take Weezer's The Red Album for example. The Red Album technically has 10 tracks... but wait! Depending if you bought it in the US, UK, or Japan (and depending if you got the "Deluxe Edition") you might get a staggering 4-5 bonus tracks. If you bought it off itunes, you would get 2 completely different bonus tracks. Fan A, B, and C are all listening to albums with not only different flow, but also different substantive content. Again, there is a reason for this. Companies want to add bonus tracks to releases in foreign countries so fans there will buy from their distributors instead of cheaper western distributors. Of course, this means that even the most casual Australian fan will be listening to songs that the most die-hard American fan didn't even know existed.

By far the worst scenario is when a band releases an album... only to re-release it weeks or months later with bonus tracks. This is a direct slap in the face to all the fans who bought the album as soon as it came out. Not only do they not have the new songs-- but they often have to chose between repurchasing the entire album for a few more tracks or never hearing those tracks at all. I can't even think of any other reason to justify this one-- as I don't believe that creates wider appeal. For example, I don't believe some casual fan, who happened to buy an album 11 months after its release, was really that enticed by a bonus track for a band they were indifferent to anyways.

To alleviate this problem, bands should just release the same album for everyone. That way, no one is punished for buying a specific medium, living in a particular country, or buying it at a certain time. More importantly, the album would keep its artistic integrity. If bands have 1 or 2 tracks that didn't make the cut, they should just give it away on their website. If they have more, they can always release some form of b-sider album or EP (free or otherwise). Bands do this all the time anyways -- e.g. Ryan Adams' Demolition or The Format's B-Sides and Rarities.

Under this practice, the loyalty of fans would directly correlate with the music they get. Everyone, die-hard and casual, would get the same basic album. If there are free tracks on the website, the more die-hard fans will find it and get it (casual fans might also). If the band decides to cut a whole new album with b-siders, then the die-hard fan will gladly pay for it (since it is all new material), while the casual fan won't.

This makes a lot more sense to me at least.

All Time Top 5 (Movies Where Things Aren't Always What They Appear)

2009-11-11T11:52:00.000-05:00

After watching Oldboy recently, I began to think about movies that have great surprise endings. There really isn't anything like a shocking twist to end a movie. One minute you think you know what's going on. The next, some clever writer pulls the rug out right from under you with a killer twist to the plot (even though -- if you're like this blogger anyway -- you usually think to yourself that you should've seen it coming all along). The ability to come up with unpredictable surprise endings isn't easy. And some people (see Shyamalan, M. Night) can make a lot of money off the ability to write good twist endings even if their movies aren't very good (sorry to any M. Night fans, but nothing he's done after The Sixth Sense was really anything special). It truly is an art form. And, when used effectively, a great twist can really turn a good movie into great one.

Here are the All Time Top 5 Movies Where Things Aren't Always What They Appear:

SPOILER ALERT: All readers should note that I've discussed the surprise endings in this post. Feel free to scroll over these spoilers if you haven't seen these movies and don't want to ruin it for yourself.

Primal Fear -- I'm guessing not everyone has seen this one, but Richard Gere is actually pretty good as a defense attorney trying to defend a schizophrenic altar boy (who is played pretty brilliantly by Ed Norton) accused of murder. This movie really got Ed Norton's career going.

SPOILER:

Ed Norton was actually lying the entire time about his schizophrenia to trick everyone (including Gere).

The Sixth Sense -- I imagine that pretty much everyone knows the plot twist to this one. I have to give M. Night credit. I definitely didn't see it coming.

SPOILER:

As Haley Joel Osmet told us from the start, he could see dead people -- including Bruce Willis's character.

Fight Club -- I know soap salesman Tyler Durden would probably kick my ass because I'm breaking the first rule of Fight Club by talking about the movie, but this one is awesome. Sidenote: As I make this list, I realize Ed Norton has been in some movies with pretty good twists (check out The Illusionist and The Score for other examples).

SPOILER:

Tyler Durden (Pitt) and Norton's unnamed character are one in the same. So, Norton shoots himself to get rid of Durden (makes sense, right?).

Fallen -- I'm guessing this is the least watched movie on the list. For those who haven't seen it, check it out. Denzel Washington plays detective John Hobbes, who discovers that a serial killer he devoted much of his career to tracking down was actually possessed by a demon named Azazel. Hobbes then turns his attention to taking down the demon in this really underrated sci-fi thriller.

SPOILER:

The movie's narrator (voiced by Denzel) turns out to be Azazel the entire time. And, as he reminds us, this is the story of the time he almost died...

The Usual Suspects -- A lot of people probably guessed that this one would be at the top the list. It's one of my favorite movies of all time and has such a great ending. How could it not be number 1?

SPOILER:

Cripple Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey, who actually won an Oscar for his performance) is actually the notorious Keyzer Soze. His greatest trick? Convincing the world he didn't exist...

Album Review: Fanfarlo Debuts a sure-to-be Fanpleaser (A)

2009-11-10T18:03:00.008-05:00

Fanfarlo released their debut album, Reservoir, earlier this year; and, if this album is an even remotely accurate portrayal of their musicianship, then we will be hearing about them for quite some time. The 5 person, multi-instrument band (which even features a Melodica... that can be yours for a mere $33.00) recorded Reservoir in Connecticut late last year.

The band will undoubtedly be compared to Arcade Fire, since the first couple tracks -- especially the intro to its opening track, I'm a Pilot -- sound reminiscent of Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. Alternative Track even ran a review that stated "the album runs out of steam toward the end, but the first few tracks are gold." I couldn't disagree more.

The opening tracks are quality, without question, but it's the last couple tracks that subtly moved this debut album from "above-average" to "exceptional" in my mind. The final track, Good Morning Midnight, is a simple instrumental song that embodies the album's magnetism. It is unpretentious, unassuming, but powerful. Likewise, the second to last track, Finish Line, is probably my favorite song which, like Good Morning Midnight, will be a staple on your ipod-- even though it will likely never be one on the radio.

There are no bells and whistles for Fanfarlo. There aren't any looping samples, autotune vocals, or any other signs of overproduction (in fact, Reservoir was produced by Peter Katis who has worked with The National). This is just good music, plain and simple. You're definitely going to want to buy this album.

Fanfarlo's Reservoir: A

I'm assuming you can't get enough, so here are a few more of songs, including a video, which you should check out.

Up, Up, Up and Away

2009-11-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

Disney Pixar's Up comes out on DVD today. And if you're going out to buy a new release, I suggest you make this one your choice. I know, I know. It's an animated film, and you may usually avoid these. But Up is not your average animated film. You don't have to believe me. I'm not the only one. The movie has a 98% rating on the well respected critic database Rotten Tomatoes -- the highest ranking for any wide release movie of 2009.

Directed by Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), the movie tells the story of Carl Fredricksen, voiced by the legendary Ed Asner, a grumpy old man who decides to honor the memory of his dead wife by moving their home to a place known as Paradise Falls. To accomplish the feat, he ties about a million helium balloons to his house that lift it up off the ground (hence the name Up). A local boy, Russell, accidentally gets dragged along with Carl and his house. The two end up on quite an unusual adventure -- full of massive exotic birds, talking dogs, and even Carl's lifelong hero, famed explorer Charles F. Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer whose filmography is practically endless, but you may remember him best as Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music).

Up may very well be the funniest computer animated movie of all time (I would actually probably pick A Bug's Life as my personal choice, but I realize I'm in in a very small minority). The talking dogs and Russell are especially funny. But the reason Up stands apart from its peers isn't the fact that it's a funny movie. It's the fact that, unlike most animated movies, its plot is so emotionally mature. It's not just for kids. The movie actually develops its characters, and the relationships between Carl and Russell and Carl and his dead wife are very well done. There were actually several people crying in the theater at points. And if the movie doesn't touch you, maybe the story of Pixar fulfilling a dying girl's last wish to see the movie will.

Bottom line: I know that my praise for this movie may seem like a little much. But trust me when I say that it's an animated movie that isn't just worth seeing but is actually really good. (B+)

Here's the preview:

UP trailer

Trailer Park MySpace Video

Nothing's Cheaper than Free! The Pixies, The Kicks, and Coldplay

2009-11-09T20:04:00.012-05:00

Most bands will rant and rave about how great their fans are, but in my opinion nothing quite says "thank you" like giving the fans the one thing they love (their music) for the right price (free).

Earlier this year, Coldplay showed their appreciation by releasing Left Right Left Right Left. Just under 4 million people downloaded it in its first week. The Pixies have also recently released a free EP to show gratitude to their fans. Coldplay's album takes live performances from its Viva La Vida tour, and The Pixies' EP contains live songs from their Doolittle tour.

Just for kicks (pun intended), I thought I'd also throw in a link for The Kicks' album, entitled The Rise of King Richie. One of my buddy's sent this along, and to be honest, I haven't given it a full listen yet... but what the heck? It's free.

Download away, and enjoy.

To download The Kicks' The Rise of King Richie (click here).
To download Coldplay's Left Right Left Right Left (click here).

George Clooney, Jedi Warrior

2009-11-09T10:55:00.004-05:00

The Men Who Stare at Goats was barely worth seeing. If you read my preview post, you know that I had pretty high hopes for it. It didn't meet them. But it wasn't as big of a disappointment as some of the reviews I've been reading have said it would be. And it wasn't bad enough to actually walk out of the theater about an hour into the movie (as two people did when I saw it).

The movie is definitely lacking when it comes to anything resembling a cohesive plot. Most of the film is simply Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) following around George Clooney's character, Lyn Cassaday, in Iraq as Cassaday tells Wilton the history of a top secret sector of the military called the "New Earth Army." The New Earth Army was started by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), basically a huge hippie that convinced the higher-ups in the military to give him approval for the team, and focused their training on psychic powers (for example, the group focuses on the ability to "remotely view" anywhere in the world by simply going there in their mind). Cassaday was the all-star of the group and considered himself a true Jedi warrior (and the only one ever portrayed as actually successful in any remote viewing).

But when another group member Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) convinces the military to start using the New Earth Army for "the dark side," Cassaday quits the team. Now, years later, Cassaday is going to reunite with Django at Hooper's facility in Iraq in an effort to stop him from psychic experiments torturing prisoners (using methods such as playing the Barney and Friends theme song for 24 hours straight in their prison cells).

That's all there is to it, really. You'll definitely be disappointed if you go expecting anything more. And the movie's climax (if it even really has one) and ending are such an insignificant and honestly stupid part of the movie that I won't even bother mentioning them.

But the movie still has its positives. You will definitely laugh more than a few times. Clooney has a bunch of great one liners and does a great job convincing you that his character really believes in everything he's saying. It's really funny to hear him describe some abilities that his psychic training has given him (for example, he says he can become "invisible," but he really just means hiding himself). The nerd in me also found it humorously ironic to watch McGregor (best known as Obi-Won Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy) ask Clooney explain to him what a Jedi warrior was. And Bridges has his moments as well. But Spacey's character and performance are really not very good. And, as a friend of mine said, the movie is essentially an SNL skit that would've been hilarious for 4 minutes stretched out into an hour and a half movie.

Bottom line: The movie has a few laughs but not much else. If there's anything else you'd rather see, don't feel like your missing out by avoiding this one. (C-)

Here's the trailer:

This Week In Movies

2009-11-08T20:11:00.007-05:00

Here is this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

Fantastic Mr. Fox -- Wes Anderson going animated should be interesting. For more on this one, click here.

Pirate Radio -- At bip-bip., we generally applaud those efforts where cinema and music come together. This should be one of those. And having Philip Seymour Hoffman never hurts.

Movies I Would Go See:

2012 -- I'm a big John Cusack fan, and Roland Emmerich usually gives us entertaining movies. Here's the preview post.

Oh My God (Limited) -- I'm not really to what to expect from this one. For those who've never heard of it, the movie is essentially a documentary of famous people giving their various opinions on God and religion. It could be interesting. Here's the trailer.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

None this week.

Album Review: The Misstep of Volcano Choir's Unmap (C+)

2009-11-08T10:09:00.004-05:00

In case you weren't aware, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon teamed up with Collections of Colonies of Bees to form a new gig known as Volcano Choir. Volcano Choir released its debut album, Unmap, only a few weeks ago... and, with a such a strange/experimental sound, I tried to postpone this review several days just to make sure I could fully absorb it.

After listening to the album in full several times, and in pieces, I can't bring myself to giving this album a favorable review (even though I really do want to). Vernon's falsetto vocals are the same -- always unusual and mostly brilliant; however, Unmap lacks the warmth which made Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago ("Emma") one of the best albums of the past couple years. Bon Iver's follow-up EP, Blood Bank, showed a natural progression in Vernon's songwriting. The track Blood Bank showed good maturation and remains his best stand-alone song (in my opinon) -- with cleaner form and more developed lyrics than most of the tracks on Emma.

Unfortunately, Unmap is one step forward and ten steps back.

The main problem I have with Unmap is that it feels like it was intentionally created to be experimental, hard to digest, and unappreciated by the masses but revered by a select few. Emma, on the hand, felt completely genuine -- which added to its charm. Obviously, I don't know the actual motivation behind these albums, but I can tell you this. Unmap can be a frustrating listen -- even for the most opened-minded fans.

Where Emma created a free-flowing album that often sounded as if it was one track (think Van Morrison's Astral Weeks or Marvin Gaye's What's Going On); this album is brutally disjointed at parts. This album has received good reviews-- so some people clearly like it. I will admit that there are good songs, such as Still -- which takes Bon Iver's a capella track, Woods, and fills it out with percussion and musical undertones. Other tracks, however, such as Mbira in the Morass (posted-below), ruins any flow that starts to accumulate and, honestly, makes me want to throw the entire album out the window (it really is that bad).

Volcano Choir Unmap: C+

Mbira In The Morass - Volcano ...

Still - Volcano Choir

Click here to buy Unmap... but you were warned.

Albums We Missed, Because We Weren't Born Yet -- Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline

2009-11-07T09:40:00.011-05:00

I just bought a vinyl this week, and it contained an insert that said "Long Live Physical Media!" -- which got me thinking. As a way to incorporate physical media into this other-wise mp3/video-laden website, I thought I'd occasionally write about some old vinyls of mine which have cool characteristics that people who bought the album on itunes may not know.

This week's selection is Bob Dylan's 1969 masterpiece, Nashville Skyline. The album features Johnny Cash, on what I consider to be the album's best song, Girl From the North Country. What you might not know if you bought this album off itunes, however, is that the back of album has some kind words (really a poem) about Bob Dylan -- written by Johnny Cash. People just don't write like this anymore.

"Of Bob Dylan" (an excerpt)

This man can rhyme the tick of time
The edge of pain, the what of sane
And comprehend the good in men, the bad in men
Can feel the hate of fight, the love of right
And the creep of blight at the speed of light
The pain of dawn, the gone of gone
The end of friend, the end of end
By math of trend
What grip to hold what he is told
How long to hold, how strong to hold
How much to hold of what is told.
And Know
The yield of rend; the break of bend
The scar of mend
I'm proud to say that I know it,
Here-in is a hell of a poet.
And lots of other things
And lots of other things.
-- Johnny Cash

Girl From The North Country - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash

I Threw It All Away - Bob Dylan

The Ties That Bind

2009-11-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

On December 4, Lionsgate will release Brothers. The plot of the movie is pretty simple. It tells the story of two brothers, Sam (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). Sam is a marine who married his high school sweetheart Grace (played by love-of-my-life-though-she-doesn't-know-it Natalie Portman). Sam goes missing in Afghanistan and is presumed dead. As Tommy tries to help Grace get through everything, the two end up falling for each other. As it turns out, Sam wasn't dead. And when he returns, things get rocky.

I've got to admit the movie basically sounds like a rip-off of Pearl Harbor. I'm hoping that isn't the case. And, in the movie's defense, the preview looks like the movie takes the situation much more seriously. But it definitely could be. The movie is also directed by Jim Sheridan. For those who have never heard of the director, his older work is relatively decent (In the Name of the Father, In America, The Boxer), but his latest efforts have been far less impressive. Anyone see 50 Cents' Get Rich or Die Tryin'? That was Sheridan. When you put it all together, I really don't have high hopes for this one. But I'll probably go see it anyway solely because of Natalie Portman.

Here's the preview:

Taking A Serious Man Seriously

2009-11-05T09:15:00.002-05:00

Odds are, if you were going to see the Coen brothers' A Serious Man, you would've already done so (it's been out in a limited release since early October). But I didn't see it until recently so I figured I'd put in my $.02. I should preface my post by saying that I'm not a blind follower of all things Coen brothers like many movie fans. They have definitely put out some good movies. O Brother, Where Art Thou? and No Country For Old Men were both great. Fargo and Intolerable Cruelty were decent. And The Big Lebowski is an all-time classic. But I wasn't really a fan of The Hudsucker Proxy, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Ladykillers, or Burn After Reading. And I honestly think they are slightly over hyped.

This being said, there is one constant through all their films. The Coen brothers know how to write some of the best dialogue you can find. And they don't just have one particular style. They have the ability to use dark and laconic language like that found in No Country as well as more playful, fast paced banter like that found in O Brother. They've actually won 3 Oscars for their screenplay efforts. But great dialogue can only take you so far. You need a good story and compelling characters -- two things I think the Coen brothers occasionally fail to develop. And that's why I'm sometimes not a fan.

A Serious Man falls under the "decent" category in this blogger's opinion. It's not a great movie, but I enjoyed it. It tells the story of Larry Gopnik (played by Michael Stuhlarg -- think an older looking Elijah Woods that has the demeanor and delivery of most every Jason Bateman character ever), a Jewish physics professor in the late 1960's (approximately). He is also a pretty big pushover and going through a rough time in his life. His wife is divorcing him for another man, his brother's life is falling apart, and he's having money and work problems as well. Facing all this, he ponders his place in the world and why things are the way they are. He seeks advice in a variety of places -- his lawyer, his neighbor's wife, and different rabbi. And as the title suggests, it's probably their most "serious" and "grown up" movie to date. It focuses on real questions like faith and mortality, even when there aren't real answers.

The movie doesn't have much of a plot other than that. There are a couple of stories on the side involving Larry's son's bat mitzvah and a South Korean student trying to bribe Larry for better grades (which is actually pretty funny). I'm guessing many viewers will want more from the plot (which, as I said before, is often a problem with the Coen brothers' work) and will feel a little letdown by the ending. But Larry is a strong and compelling character, and his story is oddly engrossing even if it's not necessarily a great one.

Bottom line: I would say it's worth a watch. Any Coen brothers fan will obviously want to check it out. And those who aren't may want to give it a shot. (C+)

Here's the preview:

Push Off Fall for Another Night -- Listen to Pictures and Sounds

2009-11-04T17:59:00.006-05:00

November is here, as is the total 6 o'clock darkness that comes along with it. If you aren't feeling like pumpkin bread and hot cider just yet, then give Pictures and Sound a listen.

Pictures and Sound is fronted by Luke Reynolds -- who has dabbled in a little of everything. Even though you might not recognize his name, he was the lead singer for the Nashville based-group Blue Merle, has collaborated with artists such as Bela Fleck, and even got a Grammy nomination for his work on the movie August Rush (talk about random).

The band is rounded out by Pete McNeal on Drums and Dave Wilder on bass (who apparently played with Macy Gray?). As the title of this post suggests, their self-titled debut album (2008) is replete with warm-weather guitar riffs and summer soundscapes.

If, on the other hand, you're actually in the fall mood -- then I recommend brewing some tea and watching August Rush. Either way, Luke Reynolds has your back.

Enjoy.

The Last Ocean - Pictures and Sound

Forever To Reach - Pictures and Sound

This Week In Movies

2009-11-04T10:35:00.001-05:00

Here is this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

The Men Who Stare At Goats -- I already posted about this here. I have high hopes for this one.

Precious (Limited) -- I already posted about this one, too. It's only a limited release this week. But it should be expanding soon.

Movies I Would Go See:

Disney's A Christmas Carol -- I'm not usually dying to see any animated movie, but Jim Carrey as Scrooge should be good.

Fourth Kind -- If I was into scary movies, this would be high on my list. The alien abduction tale is supposedly based on a true story, and the movie claims that it is mostly reenacting videos of documented studies done in Nome, Alaska.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

The Box -- I can't recommend this to anyone with a straight face. It's supposed to be awful. And the preview doesn't help matters. It looks pretty dumb.

How to Make a Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Music Video

2009-11-03T19:55:00.005-05:00

Since MTV doesn't play them anymore, I figured I'd post a couple noteworthy music videos every so often. Today's selections are Frightened Rabbit's Swim Until You Can't See Land and Bat for Lashes' Daniel (no, it's not a cover of Elton John's 1973 hit). Both are cool videos, with Frightened Rabbit taking a minimalistic approach, primarily showcasing the band surrounded by fans with flashlights, and Bat for Lashes' taking a more artistic (and kind of creepy) approach. Still-- both fit well for their respective songs.

Swim Until You Can't See Land is a 7' single to hold us over until the band's 3rd studio effort, The Winter of Mixed Drinks hits stores in March 2010. Daniel was nominated for MTVs Best Breakthrough Video this year, and is featured on Bat for Lashes' Two Suns.

Check em out.

The Boat That Rocked

2009-11-03T16:30:00.000-05:00

On November 13, Focus Features will release Pirate Radio. It's a foreign film that was actually released back in April in the UK (its original title was The Boat That Rocked). Directed by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually), it tells the story of a renegade group of DJ's that start broadcasting music on the radio from a ship off the coast of the UK (in international waters) during the 1960's, when BBC was the only licensed radio station and would only play about 2 hours of music a week. The movie isn't based off of any specific radio stations, but it does have some basis in reality.

Anchoring the cast is superb actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (I generally like his movies but will never forgive him for making me sit through Synecdoche, New York) as a DJ nicknamed "The Count." Joining him is one of this blogger's favorites, Bill Nighy (Underworld, Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean) as the boss of the radio station. Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) and Rhys Darby (Murray, the manager from HBO's Flight of the Conchords) will also star.

The movie received mix reviews back in the UK. But hopefully it won't disappoint. I think it's one I'll be seeing. Here's the preview:

USA v. World (Round 2): TV On the Radio v. Bloc Party

2009-11-02T19:34:00.003-05:00

Last week, Regina Spektor edged out Kate Nash in Round 1 of bip-bip.'s USA v. World competition. This week's competition is between TV on the Radio (Brooklyn, NY) and Bloc Party (UK) (seen above); and just as last week was a close call, this week is likely to engender an ever greater split of opinion. In fact, I'm guessing most people might disagree with me on this one.

For starters, I decided to compare these bands because both, I think, are raw-sounding indie-bands that have garnered widespread, and mostly deserved, critical acclaim for their best albums. Sure, TV on the Radio is slightly more experimental -- but I think both bands often sound like they are forging similar musical paths (just take a listen to the two songs posted -- TV on the Radio's Wolf Like Me and Bloc Party's Like Eating Glass).

In my opinion, Bloc Party's best album to date was their 2005 debut album, Silent Alarm. The album was named NME Album of the Year, which is an obviously huge accomplishment in the U.K. It also won the PLUG Awards' Indie Rock Album of the Year (2006). Likewise, TV on the Radio's best album, I think, was their 2006 album entitled Return to Cookie Mountain. It was named Album of the Year by SPIN, along with numerous other accolades such as being named 4th Best Album of the Year by Rolling Stone.

Like Eating Glass - Bloc Party

Wolf Like Me - TV On The Radio

WINNER: Bloc Party. US - 1. World - 1.

As I said, this was a close call. I love both bands, but the game-breaker for me was the reception of some of their follow-up albums. Bloc Party's latest release Intimacy was a solid album, that generally got solid reviews. TV on the Radio's latest album Dear Science was also a great album, but it seemed like everyone gave it a free pass. The fact that it won Best Album of 2008 by Rolling Stone, SPIN, MTV, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, and Pitchfork's Reader's Poll literally baffles me. I thought 2008 was one of the strongest musical years we've had in a while, with new (really good) albums from: Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Ryan Adams, Vampire Weekend, Blitzen Trapper, Of Montreal, Ra Ra Riot, The Black Keys, Girl Talk... and that doesn't even include more popular acts like Coldplay and Kings of Leon.

I'm not saying the album isn't good-- but with that many great albums... it shouldn't have been so dominant. You might argue that their critical success in no way supports TV on the Radio from being ranked worse than Bloc Party. You might be right-- but I'm still a little bitter about Bon Iver not picking up a few more awards.

The Terrifying Tale of Oldboy

2009-11-01T21:33:00.018-05:00

A friend of mine recently told me about a South Korean film he watched called Oldboy. I did a little research and found out that he wasn't the only one raving about it. It won the Grand Prix at Cannes (in 2004 -- this is an older film). And CNN has called it one of the best Asian movies ever made. So I decided to check it out for myself (using the awesome "Instant Watch" feature on Netflix).

The movie tells the horrific tale of Oh Dae-su (played by Choi Min-sik). Oh Dae-su is kidnapped and held prisoner for 15 years without any clue as to who has kidnapped him or why. Eventually, he is mysteriously released. Having no explanation to any questions about his imprisonment (or why he was released), Oh Dae-su sets out to find answers and exact his revenge. The tale that follows is truly terrifying and tragic. There are lots of pretty gruesome events and pretty twisted plot developments. But I'll leave out much of the plot because I don't want to ruin surprises for potential viewers.

My only real beef with the movie is that it was dubbed over with English voice actors instead of subtitles. I can't stand dubbing. I generally feel it makes a movie worse. The voice actors picked never really seems to match up with the characters, and it's really distracting watching someone's lips move when they're obviously not saying the words you're hearing. Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy subtitles much more.

Despite the dubbing, the movie is still pretty good. The story itself is really unique and really powerful. It's sort of a mix between Man on Fire and Hostel (don't worry though -- no scene in Oldboy can rival the more grotesque stuff in Hostel). It has great action scenes and has a really great score. There are a few lines of dialogue where things are definitely lost in translation, but that's to be expected with any foreign film. Overall, I don't know if it matched the unfairly high expectations I had for it, but I'm definitely not mad I watched.

Bottom line: Definitely worth a watch. Check it out if you can. (B)

Here's the preview:

The Constellations -- It's not Xmas, but here's a present anyways

2009-10-31T10:39:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween. It would seem logical to do a Halloween post today, but I already did a Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart a few days ago. Chalk this anti-climaxicism (it's a word, but don't look it up) to mixture of lack of forethought and poor time management.

Fortunately, I've been waiting for the right time to write about The Constellations. Spoiler alert: that time is now.

The Constellations have been described as Southern Psychedelic Soul-Rock -- which is accurate, but it might not be too helpful until after you've heard them. Now, sometimes when I'm describing a band's musical style, I like to fall back on the ol' adage that "this band is really hard to categorize." Occasionally this is due to the fact that I truly can't articulate their sound, but often it also has to do with the fact that it's 1 AM on a Tuesday and I'm tired. Let me just say this: The Constellations' sound really is hard to classify. Even itunes agrees-- automatically inserting "unclassifiable" in their genre section. True story. Simply put, they probably don't sound like anything else you've ever heard.

According to their website, the band was formed when front-man, Elijah Jones, teamed up with Grammy-winning producer Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley) to create their debut album, Southern Gothic. Now the band is running full steam with eight members, including a "clap squad." Tonight they are also wrapping up a month-long nationwide tour, in promotion of their album. If you haven't heard them on the radio or seen their album in stores yet, let's hope that you will soon. The band just signed a 4-record deal with Virgin Records.

Check out these tunes. They will be a great addition to your Halloween party mix tonight... and to your music library in general. If they ever come to your area, you need to check them out. They put on the sickest live show-- which my friends and I can't ever resist.

The Constellations - A Perfect Day
The Constellations - Felicia

Buy the album here.

Roland Emmerich's Next Special Effects Bonanza

2009-10-30T09:28:00.003-04:00

Director and disaster movie specialist Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 B.C.) is back. His newest project, 2012, comes out on November 13 and promises to offer us more of the same. The film will basically be about the end of the world, and the title refers to the Mayan belief that doomsday (and the end of their calendar) is December 21, 2012. One of this blogger's all-time favorite actors, John Cusack, will star. Amanda Peet (The Whole Nine Yards, Saving Silverman, The Ex) will play his wife. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually, American Gangster, Children of Men) will play the scientific advisor to the President. Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible II, Crash, The Chronicles of Riddick) also star.

Viewers can expect some pretty bad dialogue, and pretty poor character development. But, in Emmerich's defense, those aren't the reasons that you go to an Emmerich film. He's not trying to win an Oscar. He's trying to entertain you. And we can bet that we'll get some pretty high class special effects of the world falling apart (and Cusack and company narrowly escaping doom). It should be some mindless fun for the whole family. Just don't expect anything Oscar worthy.

Here's the preview:

Law Abiding Citizen (Or Nonsensical Maniac)

2009-10-29T13:35:00.006-04:00

Law Abiding Citizen is a pretty disappointing movie. It actually had the potential for the first 15 minutes or so to be a good, but it eventually unravels into a poorly written mess. The movie is billed as the story of Clyde Shelton (played by Gerard Butler of 300 fame) who lost his wife and daughter to murder getting revenge on those who did it and the people of the justice system (including the District Attorney Nick Rice, played by Jamie Foxx) that struck a deal to let one of the murderers out after only five years of jail. I went in expecting a story of righteousness similar to A Time to Kill, but the movie ends up being pretty far from it.

The problem is that Butler's Shelton ends up killing a ton of innocent people to prove his point, the flaws that he tries to point out in the justice system make no sense, and by the end of the movie, you really feel no pity for him at all anymore. That'd be fine if the movie was the story of some psycho killer like Silence of the Lambs, but that's not what it's meant to be. The movie also suffers from bad and cliched writing. A lot of parts don't make any sense, and Foxx's Rice is full of one liners that no real lawyer says except for in the movies (i. e., "It's not what's true. It's not what you can prove."). And the mayor, played by Viola Davis (Antwone Fisher, Syriana), really has nothing but over-the-top lines that will make you roll your eyes.

All this being said, the movie still has some entertainment value. Shelton comes up with some pretty crazy ways to kill people. And the movie keeps a nice quick pace. But it really had the potential to be much better than it was.

Bottom line: I wouldn't bother. (D)

Here's the preview:

Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart

2009-10-28T20:20:00.008-04:00

I'm not sure if this is ironic, paradoxical, or neither -- but when I was a kid I loved the beach but hated sand. This clearly doesn't make a whole lot of sense, considering that one of (if not the) distinguishing factor between a beach and, say, a river, lake, or pool... is sand.

Flash-forward 15 years. This past week, when I tried to talk my friends into seeing Paranormal Activity (a new, apparently scary, movie) with me, I realized that they all seemed to love Halloween but hate scary things. Like a beach without sand, what is Halloween without a little fright? -- whether it's in the form of watching scary movies, going to haunted houses, telling ghost stories, dabbling with the ol' Ouija Board, or otherwise.

Since, however, there is clearly a contingent of people who would rather have babies dressed as pumpkins than teenagers dressed as zombies knocking on their doors this Halloween... I decided to make this Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart.

Don't be fooled by their names, there's nothing scary about these tracks.

Enjoy.
Ryan Adams - Halloween
Frightened Rabbit – Heads Will Roll
Fanfarlo - Ghosts
Elliott Smith – Son of Sam
Cloud Cult – The Ghost Inside Our House
Au Revoir Simone - Shadows
White Lies - Death
The Temper Trap – Science of Fear
Paloalto - Bones
Joe Dolce – Thriller (MJ Cover)

MP3: DOWNLOAD the entire Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart Mixtape (click here).

All Time Top 5 (Movies for Real Men...and Their Women)

2009-10-28T09:36:00.010-04:00

There's an old adage that real men aren't afraid to cry. I'm not sure I can totally back that theory. But I do completely back another -- real men aren't afraid of "chick flicks." Now I'm not saying that the average chick flick is as good as your average drama or comedy. But I will say that we men should try and be a little more objective when we watch them. There's nothing unmanly about watching (and enjoying) a love story. After all, tons of movies that men like are love stories -- isn't Braveheart, a very manly movie by any measure, really a love story when you think about it? And your significant other will definitely appreciate it if you're willing to sit through a chick flick without complaining. She might even be willing to sit through the next ridiculous Jason Statham movie you want to see. Better yet, you might just find that you actually liked the movie (if you aren't afraid to admit it). So be a man and watch a chick flick. Because real men aren't afraid of chick flicks. Nay, real men actually enjoy chick flicks (some of them anyway).

Here are the All Time Top 5 Movies for Real Mean... and Their Women:

Pride and Prejudice -- The least manly movie on the list. Get over the fact that you're watching the adaptation of a Jane Austen novel and enjoy it.

When Harry Met Sally -- One of the most famous chick flicks of all time is also one of the best. Aside from the movie's main story, you'll think the clips of older couples telling how they met and fell in love are pretty entertaining.

Jerry Maguire -- Make fun of it all you want for "you had me at hello." But it's a good movie (and any man will appreciate the large role that football plays in the film).

Love Actually -- One of bip-bip.'s good friends, Wyatt, actually watches this movie at least once a week. I'm not saying you should follow his lead, but give it a shot -- could easily have been number 1 on this list if it wasn't for...

Serendipity -- One of the most underrated movies (and that includes all movies, not just chick flicks) of all time. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Nothing but the Truth -- and recently anointed "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire) are phenomenal. Jeremy Piven (Ari from Entourage) is great in a supporting role. But writer Marc Klein's story (which is all about the interaction between love and fate) is where the real genius of the movie lies. You can't watch it without actually hoping John and Kate's characters end up together. Give it a shot. You won't regret it.

This Week In Movies

2009-10-27T10:05:00.003-04:00

There aren't too many movies coming out this week, but luckily those that are have at least the potential to be good. Here's this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (Limited Release) -- It's the under-the-radar sequel to Boondock Saints, which actually has a huge cult following (and this blogger thought was really good). I'm sort of surprised this movie wasn't better promoted; hopefully it's not because the movie sucks.

Messenger (Limited Release) -- Ben Foster (Hostage, Alpha Dog, 3:10 to Yuma) takes a shot at being the leading man in this tale of a soldier assigned with casualty duty (telling families that their soldiers have died). Woody Harrelson also stars. You can check out the trailer here.

Movies I Would Go See:

Michael Jackson's This Is It -- I'm not really excited to see this, but it'd be an interesting watch I'm sure (for those unfamiliar, it's basically a documentary-type film of Michael preparing for his tour that would've happened this summer).

Movies I Would Never Go See:

None this week.

Electric Tickle Machine -- funny name, seriously good music. (B-)

2009-10-26T20:34:00.015-04:00

A buddy of mine asked me to go see "Electric Tickle Machine" sometime mid-last week and, as you can imagine, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into. As it turns out, this New York band not only puts on quite a show, but they also put out a rock-solid debut album (entitled Blew It Again).

For starters, they have a pretty unique band composition that notably lacks a bassist. Yet, even without a bassist, the band doesn't suffer from overwhelming tremble and mid-range tones. Their synth-player, Ryan Renn, (who also maybe dabbles with samples?) amply fills the void. Half of the four-piece band was also committed to percussion, featuring Adam Kautz as their main drummer and percussion-specialist Clark Phillips. Phillips also served as informal pump-up-the-crowd man, with his dancing and free-flying tambourine. Sounds strange, but it was strangely effective.

Obviously, every legit band, almost by definition, also features a good guitarist and singer. Thomas Laplaige, who serves in both capacities for Electric Tickle Machine, rounds out their sound. His talent is also evident on Blew it Again, which was recorded just this year. As a record, Blew it Again is a rather short (under 28 minutes) album that sounds like an upbeat mix of garage, indie, and psychedelic rock. All and all, the band was able to put out an album that sounds both raw and cleanly produced.

Definitely check out these tunes ("Part of Me" and "Bones").

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://electricticklemachine.bandcamp.com/album/blew-it-again-sampler"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;gt;Part Of Me by Electric Tickle Machine&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;gt;

Like what you hear? Buy the album here.

Wes Anderson Like We've Never Seen Before

2009-10-26T09:02:00.000-04:00

Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors. I know that his work can be pretty polarizing, and most people either love him or hate him. But I think the guy's a genius. The Royal Tennenbaums is pretty high on my all-time movie list. And Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited are all quality pieces of work. But his new movie, coming out November 25, is going to assuredly be something a little different.

Fantastic Mr. Fox will be Anderson's first animated (stop animation, actually) film. It's tough to know what to really expect from this film. No director I've ever liked so much has ever done anything animated, and I really wonder how different the film will be from the rest of his work. But, despite the guaranteed differences due to the film being animated, any Wes Anderson fan will be pretty excited about all the old Wes Anderson favorites joining the film for voice work: Bill Murray (Life Aquatic, Royal Tennenbaums, Darjeeling Limited), Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Darjeeling Limited), Owen Wilson (Darjeeling Limited, Royal Tennenbaums, Life Aquatic, Bottle Rocket), Anjelica Huston (Royal Tennenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited), Adrien Brody (Darjeeling Limited), Willem Dafoe (Life Aquatic), and even Wes Anderson himself.

And if those names don't excite you, there are some really big names joining the usual Wes Anderson crew: George Clooney (who will play Mr. Fox), Meryl Streep (Mrs. Fox), and Michael Gambon (you know him better as Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies). With one hell of a director and such a great voice cast, it should be interesting to see what the final product looks like.

Here's the preview:

What's new in popular music: U2 youtube concert tonight, new albums from The Killers and John Mayer

2009-10-25T10:02:00.021-04:00

At bip-bip., we try to conserve most of our time and effort to covering bands that don't get air time on Ryan Seacrest's American's Top 40. Every now and then, however, there are newsworthy events.

For starters, if you are a U2 fan, Bono and company will be streaming an entire show TONIGHT (10/25/2009) on Youtube. The show will be streaming from the Rose Bowl in California -- in front a of sell-out crowd of 96,000. If this sounds up your alley, the show starts at 11:30 eastern (8:30 pacific).

Other news includes new albums from The Killers and John Mayer. The Killers' album should definitely be worthy of checking out-- as it is their first live album release (and DVD). The album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall, will have 17 songs (22 for the DVD), including pretty much all of their hits such as: Human, Somebody Told Me, Mr. Brightside, When You Were Young, etc... Mark your calendar for November 10, 2009.

Finally, on November 17, 2009 John Mayer will release his 4th studio effort-- entitled Battle Studies. While I'm sure there are many John Mayer haters out there, I think it will be well worth the $12 price tag. While I usually defer comments on cinematography to my fellow bip-bip. contributor, I think Mayer's new video for Who Says, his first single, is pretty smooth. Even though this album is purported to be more experimental in nature (he even gave a shoutout to passion pit on his blog), Who Says is completely standard John Mayer. Check it out.

Pre-order the albums here:

USA v. World (Round 1): Regina Spektor v. Kate Nash

2009-10-24T17:43:00.007-04:00

There are few things that I love more than watching the USA compete with other countries, in virtually any context. For the most part, all bias aside, we're pretty damn good at whatever we do. Our two most obvious strengths are (1) winning wars and (2) women's beach volleyball. Misty May and Kerri Walsh aren't the only Americans with talent though. With this in mind, bip-bip. will be featuring a "US v. World" segment that pits American artists against their foreign counterpart.

Round 1 is the classic showdown between Regina Spektor (USA) and Kate Nash (UK). I'm sure a few of you would be quick to point out that Spektor was born in Russia, not the U.S.... but come on. This is America-- literally a country of immigrants. Don't be that guy.

Personally, I think both of these artists have a lot in common. Both are female artists with a knack for unusual melodies, classical training in their craft, and excellent vocals. Both also have tons of edge. Ultimately, however, only one can be the victor. Give these tunes a listen.

Mouthwash - Kate Nash

The Calculation - Regina Spektor

WINNER: Regina Spektor. Advantage home-team.

Despite both artists being loaded with talent, round 1 has to go to Spektor. First, Spektor, in my opinion, is capable of writing extremely insightful lyrics. Commenting on religion, as in Laughing With and Samson, or relationships, as in Two Birds, she is definitely an example of the consummate singer-songwriter.

Second, Spektor's fifth studio album, Far, was a rock-solid release... along with every other album she's ever touched. Nash has huge upside potential, but with only one album, Made of Bricks, we just don't have as much to judge her on.

Bottom line. Spektor helped paved the way for this genre, with Nash shaping its direction.

Could Mo'Nique Really Win an Oscar?

2009-10-23T14:50:00.008-04:00

On November 6, LionsGate will release Precious. The movie promises to be worth a watch and almost definitely a tear-jerker. It tells the story of Clareece "Precious" Jones (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe). Precious's life is bad news: overweight, illiterate, a terrible relationship with her mother (played by Mo'Nique), and raped by her father multiple times (and impregnated twice). Things do not look good for her. But she eventually attends an alternative school in hopes of changing her life (and I'm guessing that it probably works).

The movie actually won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for best drama, and Mo'Nique won a Special Jury Prize. And, as EW and others are reporting, Mo'Nique (who plays Precious's mother) has been getting quite a bit of Oscar hype for her performance in the movie. We'll see what happens. But it's hard to imagine the same Mo'Nique from Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and Beerfest actually winning an Oscar. Then again....

Sean Penn was the legendary Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High before he did Mystic River and Milk.

Jamie Foxx was Bunz in Booty Call before he did Ray.

Halle Berry was Nisi in B*A*P*S before Monster's Ball.

Hilary Swank was The Next Karate Kid before Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby.

And those are just a few examples. Maybe Mo'Nique does have a shot.

Anyway, here's the trailer:

This Week In Movies

2009-10-22T21:15:00.001-04:00

This is a new segment that bip-bip. will be bringing you every week letting you know what movies are coming out every weekend and what we recommend you go see/avoid. It'll be mostly limited to higher profile films that readers of this blog might actually go see, but I'll occasionally throw in some of the "little guys." I have to admit that I mostly ignore what critics think of movies and really like to judge for myself (and I recommend that you all do the same), but I'll still go ahead and give you my thoughts on whatever movies are opening on a given week. Here's this week's edition:

Movies I Want to See:

Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning -- I already posted about this here.

Movies I Would Go See:

The Vampire's Assistant -- I don't know why I continue to believe in John C. Reilly, but I do...

Amelia -- Ever since Million Dollar Baby, I keep waiting for another good Hilary Swank movie. I don't have high hopes for this one either, but I'd give it a shot...

Astroboy -- I don't have kids, but if I did, I'd take 'em to see this. Otherwise you'll end up sitting through Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Movies I Would Never Go See:

Saw VI -- Memo to Hollywood: Please, please, please do not make Saw VII.

Stan Helsing -- I'm generally not a fan of crappy spoof movies (the exception that proves the rule is Not Another Teen Movie -- infinitely funnier than its peers).

Islands: What's not to love about drum machines, synths, and electric sitars? (B)

2009-10-21T23:24:00.012-04:00

Maybe the third time really is the charm. Canadian indie-rockers Islands released their third album, Vapours, only a few weeks ago and it not only packs quite a punch, but it has also garnered widespread acclaim that it is their best album to date.

It's pretty much what you might expect from the band. Islands' drummer Jamie Thompson returned to work on this album, and the band apparently decided to keep the tracks shorter and tighter than their previous album (with the tracks typically clocking in around 3 minutes each). Like Portugal the Man, they are hard to pin down to one genre-- infusing aspects of rock, 80's synth, vampire weekend styled baroque-pop, dreamwave, and others into their creative sound. There's really only one way begin appreciating Islands. Take a listen. It won't take long.

Switched On - Islands

Vapours - Islands

Staring at Goats?

2009-10-20T09:45:00.003-04:00

On November 6, Overture Films will release its adaptation of Jon Ronson's The Men Who Stare at Goats. Directed by Grant Heslov (writer of Good Night, and Good Luck), the movie packs some serious star power: Ewen McGregor will play Bob Wilton, a reporter who stumbles upon the story of Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a special forces operator involved in top secret military experiments (among these experiments, and where the story gets its title, is trying to kill goats through psychokinesis -- basically blowing them up with your mind). Wilton tags along with Cassady until they discover the founder of the unit, Bill Django, played by Jeff Bridges, has been kidnapped by a rebel group led by a former member of the unit, Larry Hopper (played by Kevin Spacey).

With such a strong cast, I've got to admit I'm pretty excited to see how funny this movie is. It'll be interesting to see how well Clooney, Bridges, and Spacey can pull off lunatics believing they have psychokinetic powers . My guess is that we won't be disappointed.

Here's the trailer:

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's -- because you don't always want to dance (B+)

2009-10-19T21:25:00.018-04:00

Let's be honest. There's a reason that radio stations play Lady Gaga over Morrissey at a rate of about 10,000 to 1. People would rather listen to upbeat, albeit lyrically lacking songs, than be reminded, quite poetically, about how awful their lives are. This is one of the reasons remixes and mashups even exist. Take a song we already like, inject it with a harder bassline and more persistent drum-kick... and we can make it something we love even more.

Sometimes, however, I feel like relaxing a bit... and I wouldn't be surprised if you do too. If you find yourself in this latter sort of mood, give Margot & the Nuclear So and So's a listen. They have been likened to Arcade Fire and The Decemberists... but I think these comparisons are largely flawed.

Unlike Arcade Fire's occasional grandeur, Margot's music sounds extremely stripped down, even where it is relatively complex and layered. Richard Edwards, Margot's lead vocalist, is also much less crass than the Decemberist's Colin Meloy. While Meloy reminds me more of Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum vocally, Edwards is more reminiscent of a mix between Death Cab's Ben Gibbard and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst (in my opinion).

Here are a couple tracks from the band's 2008 album Not Animal -- which are songs preferred by their record label Epic. The band also released Animal! -- only available on vinyl -- which included the tracks the band preferred.

Enjoy these tunes.

As Tall As Cliffs - Margot & t...

Broadripple Is Burning - Margo...

Once (More) Upon a Time...

2009-10-19T19:30:00.003-04:00

I already posted about Where the Wild Things Are here so I'll try and keep this as short as I can. The movie was not really what I expected, but I don't think that was such a bad thing. Spike Jonze (Adaptation and the newly released short film starring Kanye West that goes from annoying to very strange in about 10 minutes, We Were Once A Fairy Tale) definitely made a darker and more adult adaptation of the book than I expected. But it is also oddly hypnotizing. You can definitely find yourself lost in the beauty of the film's scenery and cinematography at various times throughout the film. And don't be surprised if you sort of start to watch the movie as if you were looking out through Max's (played by youngster Max Records) eyes. The majority of the story does, after all, take place in Max's imagination.

Like I said, Spike Jonze's version of the book is a little bit different than what I would have written. One of the subplots (involving a couple of random white owls) could particularly have been left out of the movie. But, ultimately, Jonze does an admirable job of a very difficult task -- creating a 90+ minute movie based on a 10 sentence story. He gives the beasts names and different personalities (each very different and representative of the different parts of Max's psyche). He creates a relatively simple story revolving around Max convincing the wild things that he is an all-powerful king and his failed attempts to make them happy. And, for all the simplicity of the movie, Jonze still manages to create a story full of emotions that is capable of reaching audience members of all ages.

Among the film's stars, a couple of performances jumped out at me. James Galdolfini is the voice for the "main" wild thing (or at least the one that plays the biggest part in the movie), Carol, representing the much more impulsive and violent of the beasts, and there really could not have been a better choice for the role. But I think the best voice work of the movie came from Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) as KW, the more motherly and caring of the beasts. She ultimately comes to be Max's protector during the movie's climax, and her voice really does have a soothing quality to it that would make almost anyone feel safe when hearing it.

Last, Karen O and the Kids deserve some recognition for the wonderful original soundtrack they created for this movie. It fits beautifully with the movie and is probably the best that I can remember since Eddie Veder's masterpiece from Into the Wild. Anyway, check it out here.

Bottom line: Don't go expecting a little kid's story. The movie is emotionally charged and both visually and audially beautiful. But you might be a little disappointed with the simplicity of the story itself. I'd still say it's worth seeing. (B-)

Here's the preview again:

A nice dish of Coldplay and Jay-Z mashups.

2009-10-18T11:36:00.010-04:00

As most people already know, Jay-Z and Coldplay's Chris Martin have a widely acknowledged friendship that apparently transcends the stark differences in their musical styles. They have collaborated on Coldplay's Prospekt's March, which was their strong follow-up EP to Viva La Vida. Likewise, Chris Martin has contributed to Jay-Z's Kingdom Come.

After hearing some of the collaborative work by the two artists, two DJ/Mixtapers, Mike Boogie and Terry Urban (with the help of fellow producers), decided to cut an entire mixtape that mashed-up Jay-Z's vocals with Martin's music. Hence, Viva La Hova was born. Even though the DJs did not get the artists' blessings beforehand, both Jay-Z and Chris Martin have given it praise.

Since the weather (at least by me) has turned from mild to cold this past weekend, it is only appropriate I post a few tracks from an album, which Mike Boogie has described as "darkly organic fall -music." While the album uses several lesser known tracks from both artists, here are a few that you should recognize.

Enjoy.
Mike Boogie and Terry Urban - Science is Ignorant
Mike Boogie and Terry Urban - The Reverse Fix

Vincent Frank (aka Frankmusik)

2009-10-17T18:31:00.006-04:00

Frankmusik's debut album Complete Me hit stores this past summer-- and even though he made a moderate splash over in the UK and Ireland, we haven't really felt the ripples here. Frankmusik, whose real name is Vincent Frank, is an electro-pop musician from England who has opened for such acts as Keane and Pet Shop Boys. If you had to compare to him to the two headliners he opened for, he's certainly more like Keane in terms of his smoother vocals (he uses much fewer vocal effects than Pet Shop Boys); but musically he clearly favors Pet Shop Boys, since he remains rooted in the electronica/electropop genre.

If you've been a reader of bip-bip, you might also remember that he has collaborated with Ellie Goulding. Here's one of his tracks off Complete Me. If you like his stuff, also be sure to check out his debut EP, Frankisum, which was released on Apparent Records in 2007.

Let's capitalize on that paycheck.

2009-10-16T18:53:00.015-04:00

Assuming you aren't a billionaire who keeps his money in jars and lives in a cave, then you've probably noticed we are in the midst of, what those academic elites refer to as, an "economic recession." Being such, you might not be able to afford every new movie and album that hits the stores each Tuesday. Because we feel you're pain, I thought it might be useful to list a few older albums that you can grab for super-cheap.

Here is our handy guide:

Weekend Type: Straight-chilling, reading a good book, red wine
Buy: Ray LaMontagne Trouble
Cost: $6.98 on amazon.com
Description: slow-paced acoustic feats of genius that leads to introspection

Weekend Type: Psuedo-chilling, having friends over, cheap beer
Buy: Belle & Sebastian The Life Pursuit
Cost: $5.76 on amazon.com
Description: Mostly upbeat songs -- friends with an ear for music will appreciate belle and sebastian, friends without an ear will think its pleasant background music

Weekend Type: Not-chilling, going out with friends, liquor!
Buy: Girl Talk Feed the Animals
Cost: FREE on Girl Talk's myspace page (you can "donate 0.00")
Description: Mashups galore-- 60 minutes of continuous party music

Marcel's Island Therapy

2009-10-14T18:06:00.031-04:00

Couples Retreat is just ok. It's definitely not nearly as good as some of Vince Vaughn's other classics. But that's really an unfair standard. They can't all be Wedding Crashers. And you could do worse if you're looking for a comedy -- especially if you want it to be a date movie. Just be warned that you aren't going to laugh as much as you probably expect (and possibly not at all in the last 20 minutes or so).

It stars eight actors playing four couples: Vince Vaughn with Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid, Watchmen), Jason Bateman (star of probably the funniest show-that-nobody-ever-watched Arrested Development) with Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Jon Favreau (who was so money he didn't even know it in Swingers with Vaughn) with Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), and Faizon Love (Elf, Idlewild) with Kali Hawk (basically unknown and really annoying in the movie as 20 year old trying to help Love get over his ex-wife). It is actually the first feature directed by Peter Billingsley (who you know as "Ralphie" from A Christmas Story). And Vaughn and Favreau wrote it. The title pretty much tells the plot of the movie -- the couples take a vacation to an all-inclusive resort, "Eden" to reignite the flames in their marriages. Hilarity ensues, etc., etc.

Despite the big names and beautiful women, the four couples themselves are really not that hilarious. And I found the staff on Eden delivered just as many laughs. Jean Reno (The Professional, Ronin) plays "Marcel," the owner of Eden. And he was probably my favorite character in the movie. John Michael Higgins (The Break Up, Best in Show) and Ken Jeong (Role Models, The Hangover) are also pretty good as therapists. Youngster Colin Baiocchi plays Vaughn and Akerman's youngest son and steals the show for much of the movie when the couples aren't on the island.

Bottom line: The movie reminds me a lot of Four Christmases. It's got some laughs, but you can't help but think that Vaughn and company could have done better. (C)

Here's the preview:

All Time Top 5 (Movies for a Sunday Morning/Afternoon)

2009-10-13T19:36:00.021-04:00

In honor of one of our favorite movies (that actually revolves around a music store), High Fidelity, we'll occasionally be bringing you what we like to call "All Time Top 5's." For those who haven't seen the movie, here's a sample. But you should really see the whole thing. And start making your own lists. Anyway, here's the first one of the bunch...

It's Sunday. You're struggling to wake up. Last night was a blast. But now you're paying for it. We've all been there. While a hangover is never a great time, having a good movie on to distract you can certainly make it easier to bear. What makes a movie great for such an occasion? First, it can't be too complicated. You want something straight forward that doesn't require you to pay constant attention out of fear of missing important plot twists (you don't want to try and keep up with Memento or something like it). After all, you might be tempted to shut your eyes for a minute or two. Second, you don't want something with any scenes that could make your stomach turn (think Ray Liota eating his own brain in Hannibal or the Ed Norton curb stomp in American History X). Third, you want something that'll make you feel a little better about any bad decisions you made the night before (for example, at least you didn't go streaking through the quad and then to the gymnasium). Fourth, you want something that is a flat-out good movie. Why waste your precious Sunday watching anything less?

Here are the All Time Top 5 Movies for a Sunday Morning/Afternoon:

The Princess Bride -- That's right. Make fun all you want. But I'm guessing you wish you were watching it right now. And you can't pretend that you can't finish the following sentence: "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya..."

Office Space -- Even better if you're hungover on a Monday (your own personal "case of the Mondays").

Forrest Gump -- Try watching the whole movie and not feeling better by the time it's over. You can't do it.

Old School -- Think you partied hard last night? "Frank the Tank" begs to differ.

(Sidenote: I'd probably put more of the Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn, etc. comedies on my list if I didn't think it was poor form.)

The Big Lebowski -- The Dude abides. And so should you.

Down the Rabbit Hole...

2009-10-08T23:05:00.002-04:00

In case you haven't heard (unlikely), Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are teaming up again to make their version of Alice in Wonderland (note that it's not going to be the same story as the cartoon version you probably saw as a kid -- the movie is actually a combination of the Lewis Carroll novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass). The movie doesn't come out for a while (set for March 5, 2010), but many are excited over the reunion. The two have come along way since they first teamed up almost 20 years ago in Edward Scissorhands (they would later reunite in Ed Wood in 1994). But while those two will get most of the hype, this blogger is much more excited to see the movie because of the rest of the cast. It's so deep and so talented (with an especially strong presence of British actors) that I'll not bother trying to mention them all. Do yourself a favor and check out the cast list on IMDb.

Here are a some highlights:

- Anne Hathaway (who, even with her Oscar nomination, is an underrated actress in this blogger's opinion) as The White Queen

- Michael Sheen (Frost from Frost/Nixon) as The White Rabbit

- Alan Rickman (Snape from the Harry Potter movies, but I liked him most as Metatron inDogma) as The Caterpillar

- Christopher Lee (Saruman from The Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku from Star Wars) as The Jabberwock

- Stephen Fry (who was terrific as Deitrich in V for Vendetta) as The Cheshire Cat

- Noah Taylor (Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but I remember him best as Edmund Ventura a.k.a. "Tech Support" in Vanilla Sky) as The March Hare

It'll be interesting to see who (if anyone) steals the show.

Here's the trailer:

More Jams from Across the Pond... Thanks to Athlete and Erik Hassle

2009-10-07T21:17:00.010-04:00

Admittedly, there hasn't been, and probably never will be, another band like the Beatles... but that doesn't mean that Europe has failed to provide a steady stream of good music. In fact, one of the hottest indie bands this year -- Phoenix -- hails from France. You can barely turn on the tv without hearing one of their songs serving as background music for some random commercial.

Yet, even though Phoenix has literally blown-up this year (ok, well not literally literally), I thought I'd post a few songs from other European bands you might not have heard from. First off, Athlete (pictured above) has put out several above-average albums. Their latest album, entitled Black Swan, is no exception. This album's first single, Superhuman Touch, topped the UK charts at #71... but it's worthy of climbing much higher.

Like Athlete, Erik Hassle is another London based musician-- even though he is originally from Sweden. His 2008 single, Hurtful, is quite a jam in its own right... but I'm even a bigger fan of the Penguin Prison Remix. Hope you enjoy it.

For some weird reason, our server is messed up, so I can't upload songs (temporarily)... so here are some youtube videos of the songs.

Ong Bak Again

2009-10-05T19:49:00.008-04:00

On October 23, Magnolia will release Ong Bak 2: The Beginning. For those who have seen Ong Bak and know about Tony Jaa, there's not much to say here. I'm sure we can expect more of the same unreal non-cgi stunts that made Ong Bak such a cool movie and turned Tony Jaa into a star. For those who haven't, do yourself a favor and buy/netflix Ongbak. Yes, all those stunts were actually done by Jaa.

Here's the preview:

The United States of Zombieland

2009-10-04T21:51:00.029-04:00

Comedy/horror movie Zombieland is really good. I saw it expecting something along the lines of Shaun of the Dead, but what I saw was much better. Be warned that it's more than a little gory, but the movie boasts a great cast, great writing, and pretty good special effects (it really does a nice job of using slow motion -- I know that sounds weird, but trust me). It also finds a way to actually develop the characters like most comedies struggle to do. Put all this together and you've got the ultimate zombie flick and comedy combo.

The story revolves around four main characters all trying to survive in a US that has been overrun with zombies. It stars Jessie Eisenberg, an actor who has had a fantastic year in this blogger's opinion with both Adventureland and Zombieland. Granted, he plays basically the same awkward-and-constantly-nervous-yet-somehow-still-cool character (think the character that Michael Cera always plays) in both movies, but they were exactly what the role called for, and neither would have been great movies without his performance. Eisenberg's "Columbus" (the characters all just call themselves by the towns they were born in) narrates the story, and his narration really adds to the film's humor. He starts the movie off on a high note by filling in audience members on some of the rules of his "Survival Guide to Zombieland." And these constantly come up throughout the movie. Trust me when I say you'll laugh more than once when a rule pops up.

Columbus teams up with zombie-slaying, twinkie-obsessed badass "Tallahassee," played by Woody Harrelson. I've never been a huge Harrelson fan (aside from his role as Roy Munson in Kingpin), but he's probably the funniest guy in the movie. The two eventually team up with two girls, "Wichita" and "Little Rock." Wichita, played by Emma Stone (Superbad, The Rocker), plays Columbus's love interest, and it's pretty funny when he finally gets the girl. And increasingly popular Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Definitely, Maybe, My Sister's Keeper) plays Little Rock.

Audience members are given a real treat when Bill Murray (reuniting with Harrelson after his turn as "Big Ern McCracken" in Kingpin) cameos as himself. It's not quite on the level of Matt Damon in Eurotrip or Val Kilmer in Entourage, but it's pretty damn good.

Bottom line: If you go to this movies this week, go see Zombieland; just good old fashioned family fun (for families where everyone is 17+). (B+)

Here's the preview:

Sidenote: I saw the preview for Saw VI before movie. Can we please stop making these?

Tucker Max (Duke's Chosen Son)

2009-10-02T18:54:00.010-04:00

Really? This sounded like a good idea? Don't get me wrong. Tucker Max has some funny stories. And the book that I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell was based off actually made me laugh out loud at certain points. But turning those stories into a movie may not have been a great idea. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Tucker Max is a former Duke Law student (and grad sadly) who spent most of his time in school getting himself into absurd situations by drinking heavily, treating women like shit, and pretty much doing what he pleased. And then he decided to tell the world about it. He started a blog, wrote a book, and now has a movie out.

The problem is that his book is comprised of a lot of shorter (only a few pages or so) stories that, hilarious as they may be, lack enough material to make a movie about. And it's pretty obvious. The movie basically takes one of Max's stories, The Austin Road Trip, and stretches and adds to it in a feeble attempt to make a good story. A lot of it just seems forced, and I also thought the movie was poorly cast. Matt Czuchry just doesn't seem like he would ever actually be the true asshole that Tucker Max really is. And I've never been a fan of Jesse Bradford (Swimfan, Flags of our Fathers) who plays Drew (known as "Slingblade" in Max's stories). But it's really not fair to blame the cast though. I don't think any combination of actors could've made this a great movie.

Bottom line: Don't go expecting to see anything close to as funny as The Hangover. You'll be disappointed. Just read the stories on his blog. (D)

Here's the preview:

Concert Review: Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line.... Live in ATL. (A-)

2009-10-02T00:35:00.028-04:00

Continuing a great week of music for me, I was able to see Ra Ra Riot live a couple nights ago. I'll preface this by saying Ra Ra Riot has been a favorite band of mine since their album The Rhumb Line hit stores. The band's unique string driven sound, led by violinist Rebecca Zeller and cellist Alexandra Lawn, certainly sets this band apart from similar indie-acts. Frontman Wes Miles also brings a great voice to the table... which is why Discovery's LP has also been a recent favorite of mine as well.

The overall concert was awesome... but a couple aspects of their live show really stuck out to me. First, I realized that Rebecca Zeller and Wes Miles (both pictured above) essentially make the band great. The whole band, as a unit, is quite cohesive; but, after watching Ra Ra Riot live, it became utterly obvious that Rebecca's musicianship carried virtually every song. Not to sell the other band mates short... but Rebecca's violin part was, and is, literally what you hum to yourself when you're walking down the street. Listen to the album again and see if you don't agree.

Second, they executed their songs so perfectly that it sounded almost identical to the album... which was a little frustrating. I kept wanting some sort of solo, new riff, or any type of extended jam. For the most part, this never happened. The live versions were even timed almost identically to their album's counterpart. With this said, if you liked the album, you will definitely like the show. Their lack of innovation live (with the exception of a few new songs), however, kept them from being a truly great breakout live band.

Here are some live tunes -- these are chill versions though. They were much more upbeat when I saw them.
Ra Ra Riot - Each Year (Live at the Pop Machine)
Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell (Live at the Pop Machine)

Buy The Rhumb Line here.

Special thanks to bipbip photographer A.S. for the pics.
(click them to get full size)