The Dailies 3/31/11: No One Who Speaks German Could be an Evil Man!

Once (2006) – B

· Directed by John Carney

· Starring Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová

· Awards: Won – Best Original Song

· Once is a charming romance-musical, with main characters Glen Hansard (guitarist and vocalist of real-life Irish rock band the Frames) and Markéta Irglová falling for each other in Dublin, helped in no small part to their mutual love of music. The songs they create undoubtedly mark the high points of Once, and the storyline sometimes feels like a device to simply get us to the next musical number. It’s not the characters or their budding romance we’re attracted to, but the songs that come as a result of their relationship. Once is a pleasant time, but sometimes it feels more like an elongated music video than a real film.

Death Proof (2007) – C-

· Directed by Quentin Tarantino

· Starring Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson

· Snappy, lengthy dialogue is a hallmark of Quentin Tarantino, but there are some instances where a verbose approach is not the right one to take. Death Proof is about a maniacal stuntcar driver (Russell) who enjoys killing young, beautiful women. Yet it spends most of its almost two-hour runtime in bars or around a breakfast table listening to those same young women talk, and talk, and talk, about God knows what. When Russell appears in the film, things work, but the film spends way too much time dilly-dallying and not enough time delivering on what it claims to be. It’s a real slog.

The King's Speech (2010) – A-

· Directed by Tom Hooper

· Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

· Awards: Won – Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor (Firth), Best Original Screenplay; Nominated – Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Supporting Actor (Rush), Best Supporting Actress (Carter)

· Though people might be sick of hearing about it, The King’s Speech is a truly terrific film and deserved to win last year’s Best Picture Academy Award. For those who don’t know the story, Firth plays Britain’s King George VI, a man expected to be a shining example to his subjects in all facets of life, but who is afflicted with a speech disorder that prevents him from even talking to his people without stuttering. He enlists the help of a commoner speech therapist (Rush) to help him with his problem, and the growth of their relationship throughout the film is one of its many joys. For those who are repelled by the hype, it’s well worth checking out.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – B

· Directed by David Lean

· Starring William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa

· Awards: Won – Best Actor (Guinness), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music (Scoring), Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay; Nominated – Best Supporting Actor (Hayakawa)

· David Lean, also the director of other epic films such as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, is one of my favorite directors. I had heard fantastic things about The Bridge on the River Kwai, and while I’m not disappointed, it fails to live up to the levels of those aforementioned films. The Bridge on the River Kwai follows two stories; in one, Alec Guinness is a British colonel trying to maintain control of his men within a Japanese POW camp during World War II, and he is eventually tasked with leading them to build a railroad bridge over a Thai river. The other story follows William Holden, an American soldier, and a group of British officers trying to thwart its construction. Guinness is fantastic, but the film feels too conventional compared to some of Lean’s other output. Lawrence of Arabia is a journey. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a movie.

Feature Presentation

Das Boot (1981)

· Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

· Starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann

· Awards: Nominated – Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Adapted Screenplay

Life on a U-boat during World War II was difficult, dangerous, and cramped. The likelihood of U-boat sailors surviving the war was not high; the very nature of a U-boat submarine means near certain death should it be sunk. U-boats danced in and out of danger, attempting to clandestinely attack Allied ships and slink back down into the depths before the inevitable counterattack. Surviving a U-boat mission required nerves of steel and perennial efficiency and teamwork from the crew. Any slip-up meant death.

Das Boot follows the voyage of the U-96, a German U-boat on a mission in the Atlantic. The nerves of steel on the boat are supplied by Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (Prochnow), who leads the men on the boat by example and never loses his cool. While under depth charge bombardment and with the ship being violently rocked and lights and alarms going on and off, he forcefully directs his subordinates. The captain holds the ship together in many ways; he not only attempts to steer the boat out of danger, but his presence maintains and safeguards the morale of his men.

It would be easy to lose one’s morale on a U-boat. Director Wolfgang Petersen expertly displays the ship’s narrow, unfriendly confines. His camera work follows men as they run though the boat, crawling through hatches, climbing ladders, avoiding obstacles piled up in their way. Through this perspective we get a feel of how tight the quarters are and the effort required simply to get from one place on the ship to another. A U-boat is no place for the claustrophobic.

There is a sense of dread palpable throughout Das Boot. The damp aura of the ship provides some of that, to be sure, but it’s the vulnerability the men feel throughout their journey that causes it. There are stretches in Das Boot where the men on the ship are waiting to die. Much of the movie consists of pulse-pounding scenes of the men gasping and praying through depth charge attacks. Any moment could be their last, and there are no prisoners of war taken from a submerged submarine.

Being in such tight quarters and sharing such experiences leads to the crew’s (and the film’s) ultimate triumph. Sunk to the ocean floor, and facing a multitude of crises, the crew works together and relies on one another to fix the boat and miraculously raise it from the depths. The ship’s second-in-command, Chief Engineer Fritz Grade (Wennemann), has one of the best scenes in the movie, when after countless hours spent fixing the boat, he reads off the ship’s rising depth meter in jubilant disbelief.

There are other strong performances in Das Boot as well, including that of narrator Lt. Werner (Grönemeyer) and the ship’s only fervent Nazi, played by Hubertus Bengsch. But it’s the ship that stars in the film, providing shelter and life to its occupants but filling their every moment with worry. It’s Petersen’s understanding of this that makes Das Boot such a one-of-a-kind experience.

A-

Braveheart (1995)

· Directed by Mel Gibson

· Starring Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen

· Awards: Won – Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Makeup, Best Picture; Nominated – Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound, Best Original Screenplay

Braveheart is the film at least partially responsible for bombastic, stylistic and sappy blockbusters winning Best Picture Oscars. Sure, before Braveheart, epic films like Ben-Hur and the aforementioned The Bridge on the River Kwai won that award, but those films had substance, strong acting, and heart (pun intended). Recent Best Picture winners like Titanic and Gladiator have their merits, but they’re depthless. They’re enormous enterprises that look impressive but don’t really do anything. Much like Braveheart.

Braveheart certainly has the look and scope of an epic film. It follows William Wallace (Gibson), the famous Scottish crusader who rebelled against British injustices in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Braveheart follows Wallace’s life, beginning with the killing of his father and brother at British hands, then the killing of his wife at British hands, and you get the idea. Wallace seeks revenge, not unlike Steven Seagal, and his charisma and determination spark a full scale rebellion against British authority in Scotland.

The storyline is effective in its simplicity, but the film plays just like every other Mel revenge film, except this time he’s in a kilt. It ain’t Shakespeare, and little in terms of Braveheart’s story truly differentiates itself from Ransom or Payback. It’s a revenge fantasy that stops periodically to dabble into romance or political squabbling. That the direction Braveheart takes is couched in historical legend doesn’t elevate it, but rather cheapens it.

Braveheart would be truly abysmal were it not for its amazing battle scenes, which provide the unquestioned highlights of the film. They are tremendously choreographed, and Gibson (acting as director) does well to depict the maelstrom of chaos that was medieval combat. I found myself anxiously awaiting the battle scenes and suffering through the other slop, and perhaps that’s a part of Braveheart’s problem. The showdowns between the Scottish and the British serve to punctuate how mundane the rest of the film is.

Braveheart isn’t a bad film, but its mythic elevation and Best Picture win remain puzzling. It’s entertaining, and nothing more, which is still more than a lot of films can say. It’s just that when the next bloated, overexposed “epic” blockbuster wins a major Academy Award, we’ll know what to blame.

C

John Lacey

Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots

Drive-By Truckers
Go-Go Boots
2011 ATO

Since July of 2009, the Drive-By Truckers have issued four releases. One was a live album, another a rarities/B-sides album, the third the 2010 studio album The Big To-Do, and now another studio album entitled Go-Go Boots. There’s only so much melancholy and depravity a band can write about in such a short period of time, which may explain the inclusion of “Everybody Needs Love”, an Eddie Hinton cover with a shiny and happy chorus that stands in stark contrast to the usual subject matter of the band.

Not to worry, however. Though “Everybody Needs Love” may find the band taking a quick detour, they quickly u-turn back to the lyrical areas they’re most comfortable with. Go-Go Boots tells stories of hit men-hiring and sexually deviant priests (in different songs), a former policeman at the end of his personal and professional rope, brutally depressing family holiday dinners, and more topics of the downtrodden and morally bankrupt. The Truckers haven’t lost any of their lyrical abilities; all three songwriters are sharp as a tack throughout Go-Go Boots, and tracks like “Cartoon Gold” and “The Thanksgiving Filter” present some of the finest wordsmithing the band has yet produced.

Go-Go Boots was recorded concurrently with The Big To-Do, with songs from the recording sessions being split between the two records. Since The Big To-Do was released first, about a year ago now, it would make sense to think that the songs on Go-Go Boots are leftovers that didn’t make the cut for the previous album. That isn’t necessarily true (the band apparently recorded enough album-quality tracks at the time to give them the luxury of splitting the songs up into the two albums), but the result still feels a tad haphazard and unbalanced.

De facto bandleader and lead songwriter/guitarist Patterson Hood tackles most of the writing and singing duties on Go-Go Boots, and he has many shining moments, particularly during the chilling “The Fireplace Poker” and the soaring chorus of the aforementioned “The Thanksgiving Filter”. As always, however, the best songs are contributed by guitarist Mike Cooley, who penned its two best tracks, “Cartoon Gold” and “Pulaski”. The tone of Cooley’s songs, heavy on banjos and aided by his sweet Southern drawl, are musically lighter than most of Hood’s tracks, but don’t spare any of the angst and restlessness found elsewhere on the album. They provide depth to Go-Go Boots and albums previous, and the record would have benefitted from their increased presence.

Hood is largely responsible for a lot of the methodical muscle of the band’s previous albums, but Go-Go Boots finds him lightening things up somewhat. Missing are many of the booming guitar riffs and raucous rock songs that peppered those old records. They’ve been replaced on Go-Go Boots by a softer touch, maintaining their straightforwardness but taking the volume down a tad. This results in some fine songs, but the sameness begins to stand out about three-quarters through the listen.

Go-Go Boots is a solid collection. Little is outstanding, but each song is at the very least pleasant, and added together they make for an enjoyable listen. Often times the “we had these songs left over from the last album, so we might as well put them out” records are miserably boring and stale; Go-Go Boots avoids that pitfall with its inspired songwriting and its differences from the album recorded alongside it.

B

John Lacey

From the Library #2: The Roots - Rising Down

The Roots
Rising Down
2008 Def Jam Recordings

Hello, and welcome to the second installment of “From the Library”, where I discuss in-depth a record I’ve taken out of one of my local libraries. In the column’s debut, we took a closer look at Neil Young’s This Note’s for You album. Today, our subject is Rising Down, the 2008 album from rap-rock combo and Jimmy Fallon house band The Roots.

The Roots had been on quite a tear when Rising Down was released towards the beginning of 2008. Since their major label debut, Do You Want More?!!!??!, was released in 1995, the group had released a string of critical and commercial hits, their popularity continuing to grow with each album. 1996’s Illadelph Halflife, 1999’s Things Fall Apart, 2002’s Phrenology and 2004’s The Tipping Point each built upon the last with continued infectious beats, inventive rhyming, and a growing footprint of a rap group with something to actually say and the talent to back it up.

In 2006, Game Theory was released, which was universally beloved by critics but lacked the head-nodders of those previous records. Instead, it replaced them with a significantly darker and more methodical tone. The music remained strong, but Game Theory threw a curveball to those fans expecting more of what the group had done in the late 90s and early 00s. It wasn’t inviting as those earlier albums had been, and to me, the record was stale in its bleak poignancy and rather unmemorable overall, tempering my excitement for their follow-up, Rising Down.

Rising Down picks up where Game Theory left off, with dark, forceful and direct beats creating an aural minefield towards the beginning of the album. The tone is set by opening track “The Pow Wow”, consisting of audio from a recorded call between group members in which they scream and swear at each other. The title track and “Get Busy” follow, both suggesting that The Roots have not adjusted their attitude from Game Theory; these are angry and urgent songs. Some of the movements suggest music from monster movies, particularly the beat on “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)”.

Rays of light do break through the murkiness occasionally. “Criminal” has terrific moments, boasting an airy beat that mixes well with the unchanged, perennially straightforward rapping. “I Will Not Apologize” continues the slightly lightened mood, and “Unwritten” strikes most similar to the classic atmospheric Roots beats of old.

But those moments are few and far between. Rising Down presents a very gloomy look at the world, and though much of the music is quite good, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by that. Though the entire album is solidly constructed and filled with good music, it becomes difficult to tell one muscularly downtrodden song apart from the others that surround it. I may have been spoiled by those earlier records, whose vibrancy in both music and message radiated from my speakers. Rising Down, for all of its strengths, doesn’t do that.

C+

John Lacey

The Biltmores - Providence

The Biltmores - Providence (2011)

It’s good to be back on the Musicarium. I’ve been pretty busy these last few months, so I apologize for my lack of contribution to this wonderful blog. Luckily, John and company have been picking up the slack. John sent me over an assignment recently, and I was excited for it. The assignment? Reviewing the new Biltmores record, entitled Providence.

(Note: I was given a brief list of some of the band members, so if I get any of that information wrong in the review, blame John.)

Opening with “We’re Home,” Providence starts with a laid back, melancholic guitar riff. Anybody who’s read my Random Ten entries knows I tend to veer towards the heavier side of things when it comes to my musical tastes, but every now and then I like to expand my horizons. “We’re Home” is definitely a track that I can see myself returning to again in the future. I love the verse riffs, and the refrain of “You should get over it,” stuck with me long after I first listened to it. At only 3:17, this was a song that left me wanting more.

Second track, “Static,” was not really my cup of tea, but at 2:16, it’s a good bridge between the first and third songs. It reminded me a little of Snow Patrol, and it was a little too laid back and mellow for my tastes. The instrumentation is top-notch, though. One thing that struck me during this track was that the production of this record is fantastic. The guitar tones are crisp but have a great dirty sound, and the drum sound is huge. All too often, modern rock records have an over-compressed, air-tight sound to the drums, which I usually hate (and it happens even more frequently in the metal scene). These guys went back to the John Bonham style of recording drums, in a big room, where there’s ambiance and room to breathe, or at least they did a great job of making it sound that way.

“Bonebridge” picks up the pace a little, which was needed after the mellow “Static.” The guitar break that starts at 1:12 is one of my favorite moments from the whole album. Also, the horns (or what sound like horns) during the last chorus add a great atmosphere to bring the track to a close. Very good song, and another one I wished was a little longer, which is definitely a good thing.

“Wasn’t It Funny?” is one song that grabbed me instantly from the lyrics, which begin with, “And no I just can’t get that song out of my head,” an appropriate line for a song as catchy as this. This track also features the first real guitar solo of the record, which reminded me a lot of Edge from U2 and how he uses few notes to maximum effect.

“Like You Do” follows, and it finds singer/guitarist Dan Baxter singing in his upper register, and on this track he reminds me a little of Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon. I know most people only remember them for the video for “No Rain,” but Hoon was a great vocalist, and Baxter’s expressive vocals are really solid throughout the album, and they shine on “Like You Do.” The piano also adds a great build-up to the end of the track.

“Always There” begins with some nice arpeggiated guitar work, and contains some nice dynamics throughout. The slow build-up of the drums throughout the verses really makes the loud choruses have a great impact.

“Jason” begins with another great two guitar riff, and drummer Brendan Leonard’s snare work is fantastic. You can tell this is a band who are all great at their instruments, yet they’re never flashy for the sake of being flashy. After about a minute into the song, I realized this was an instrumental, and it takes a lot for an instrumental song to a) not be boring, and b) be catchy, and this song manages to do both. Instrumentals on rock records are far from common these days, and all-too common on metal records (and are usually wanky and horrible), but “Jason” deserves its place on Providence.

“Ocean State” is a bluesy number, which is only appropriate for a song about Rhode Island; I mean, who wouldn’t get the blues being in such a shitty state? (Thanks, I’ll be here all week.) But seriously, after a bluesy and quiet first verse and chorus, the song adds layers of keyboards and vocals to its second half, and ends up rocking pretty hard by the end. Another winner on an album full of them.

Speaking of shitty states, here’s “Delaware”! “Hello. I’m in Delaware” – Wayne’s World. A more somber track than its predecessor, this song has some strings accompanying the electric and acoustic guitars, and it’s one of the more emotional efforts on the album. The end of the track with the quiet drums, guitars and strings is a beautiful piece of music.

Next song, “Right The Ship” starts off sounding like an introspective singer-songwriter ballad, but the rest of the band kicks in after about a minute, and the end of the song builds to a great crescendo of guitars and drums. It’s followed by “Day Old Newspapers,” which features another nice two-guitar intro. This is another one where the chorus sticks with you. The repetition of “I am unattached again” is a great accompaniment to the quiet guitar parts underneath. This song again ends with some nice loud guitar work, and some great lead guitar melodies.

“Clowns” closes the album with some melodic piano and guitar interplay throughout. Another strong track, the album closes on a fairly mellow note, but with no songs over 4 minutes in length, it’s a record that demands to be listened to again.

This was my first experience listening to The Biltmores, but I’m glad John sent this album over to me to review, because I can see it entering my current rotation of albums really quickly. Highly recommended for fans of great songwriting and well-played, laid-back rock.

Matt Steele

The Dailies 1/27/11: Who’s Harry Crumb and why is His Movie So Awful?

Trailerz

Metropolis (1927) – A-
· Directed by Fritz Lang
· Starring Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Brigitte Helm
· A monumental silent action-drama that still features some of the most memorable set pieces in movie history

True Grit (2010) – B+
· Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
· Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld
· Awards: Nominated – Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Picture, Best Actor (Bridges), Best Supporting Actress (Steinfeld), Best Adapted Screenplay (True Grit is nominated for these awards for the upcoming Academy Awards)
· A sharp and fun remake that is nearly as strong as the original.

Gangs of New York (2002) – B-
· Directed by Martin Scorsese
· Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
· Awards: Nominated – Best Actor (Day-Lewis), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Original Song, Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Original Screenplay
· An epic film about rival gangs in late 1800s New York City is derailed by a busy and confusing ending.

American Gangster (2007) – B
· Directed by Ridley Scott
· Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin
· Awards: Nominated – Best Art Direction, Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee)
· A sleek dramatic thriller with an engaging story and strong performances all around.

Features

The 400 Blows (1959)
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy
Awards: Nominated – Best Original Screenplay

We all knew those kids when we were growing up who were always in trouble. Maybe some of them ended up straightening themselves out, but many were forever lost, continuing to find themselves in compromising situations. For those of us who stayed the course and didn’t get into trouble very often, we saw those kids more and more sparingly as we grew older, only catching wind of their latest tribulation from the gossip of random acquaintances.

But how did those kids get that way? Could they have been good kids with real potential, who were never given a real chance? The 400 Blows looks at these types of situations from the point of view of Antoine, a French boy living in Paris in a cramped apartment with his parents. His parents share a loveless marriage, and Antoine receives little affection from either of them. To his parents, he’s a cute diversion at best, and a hopeless terror at worst. Antoine’s troubles are exacerbated by his demeanor in school, where he goofs off and talks back to his stuffy schoolteacher.

Antoine, no older than twelve, can never seem to do the right thing. With every misstep, his parents throw up their hands and wonder what’s to be done with him rather than provide any positive reinforcement. He is expelled from school and leaves home, and soon after he takes to theft as a way to eat and provide for himself. In one heartbreaking scene, Antoine is loaded into a paddy wagon full of thieves and prostitutes after being caught having stolen a typewriter. He peers through the bars of the wagon as they wind through the city streets, crying, but stoically accepting his punishment and his fate.

The 400 Blows is supposedly a semi-autobiographical account of director Francois Truffaut’s childhood; he was in and out of trouble throughout his youth and the cinema was the only thing that saved him from prison. Truffaut is one of the lucky ones, but how many children do we lose to loveless parenting and a lack of understanding? A.

Who’s Harry Crumb? (1989)
Director: Paul Flaherty
Starring John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts, Shawnee Smith

I recently went through an SCTV kick, where I watched a couple of full seasons of that influential Canadian sketch comedy show. It first ran on Canadian television, and later aired on NBC and Cinemax in the US. SCTV helped launch the careers of Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, Dave Thomas, Catherine O’Hara (the mom from Home Alone), and John Candy. I don’t think anyone can dislike John Candy, and I’ve long loved his work in films like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck and Stripes. So after watching some SCTV I thought I’d delve a little deeper into the Candy catalogue with the 1989 film Who’s Harry Crumb?

Holy shit. John Candy always struck me as a guy who could make any film tolerable simply by being on screen. Who’s Harry Crumb? taught me that this is not the case. Candy plays Crumb, a bumbling detective brought in by his boss (played by pederast Jeffrey Jones) to solve a kidnapping case. You see (spoilers!), Jones is implicit in the crime, and he knows Candy is such a boob that he’ll never figure things out. Haha!

So we get an hour and fifteen minutes or so of pratfalls, car accidents, Candy in various idiotic and unfunny disguises and general “fat guy buffoonery”. Not a bit of it is funny. Even Candy seems disinterested, with a perennial empty smile on his face as the straight-man shitty detective who doesn’t realize what a fucking dope he is.

In one particular soul crushing scene, Candy is dressed as a Turkish/Russian air conditioner repairman to gain entrance to a hotel room. He encounters fellow SCTV alum Joe Flaherty (the “You will not make this putt!” guy from Happy Gilmore), who plays the security guard for the complex. They have a hilariously unfunny exchange, and soon Candy is in the vents, eavesdropping on a suspect in the case. But SHE TURNS THE AIR CONDITIONING ON, causing Candy to fly back through the vent, landing on the security guard. This gag required 10 minutes of build up. Oy.

A bunch of stupid stuff happens and none of it matters. Who’s Harry Crumb? lacks a story, it lacks care, it lacks heart, and most importantly, it lacks laughs. It’s a testament to Candy that not even this pile of shit can tarnish his legacy. F.

John Lacey

The Random Ten #21

#1) Atlas Sound – “An Orchid” – Logos (2009)

Atlas Sound is the solo project of Brandford Cox, better known for his work as the guitarist and lead vocalist of Deerhunter. “An Orchid” is very much a structurally sound psychedelic song, keeping a basic beat and acoustic guitar melody but distorting the vocals, causing them to ebb and flow with the music. This phenomenon is interesting, but much of the track is dull, pseudo-psychedelic fluff. The final third of the track introduces some changes to the melody, but “An Orchid” sounds more like an experiment than a song.

#2) Nick Drake – “Day Is Done” – Family Tree (2007; song was originally released on Five Leaves Left [1969])

“Day Is Done” originally appeared on Drake’s debut album Five Leaves Left and was subsequently included on this greatest hits/odds and ends compilation from a few years ago. This is an alternate take of the song and not the original studio version.

“Day Is Done” is an acoustic track with a melancholy tone, with Drake’s low singing voice helping to punctuate his sorrowful lyrics. Drake had a way of singing that hardly sounds like singing at all; his voice gently bends over the guitar and blends in with the music beautifully. This is an obvious outtake, with Drake flubbing his lines at one point and laughing at himself. It’s a nice addition to the collection, however, because it exposes a little of Drake’s humanity. When he was alive, he tried to hide it, and since his early passing, excessive mythologizing has robbed us of the rest of it.

#3) Led Zeppelin – “The Rover” – Physical Graffiti (1975)

YES. This is perhaps the best Led Zeppelin song ever. When I first heard “The Rover”, probably back in 1999 or so, I immediately decided that Physical Graffiti was my favorite Led Zeppelin album and that this was the best band of all time. Yes, I went through this phase.

“The Rover” is just so infectious. The guitar riff rules. The vocals rule. The drumming is great. The chorus kicks ass. Everything about it sounds so big; it’s a monolithic rock song on a monolithic rock album. Along with opening track “Custard Pie”, “The Rover” gets Physical Graffiti off to a legendary start and the album never lets up. Arguably Led Zeppelin’s finest hour.

#4) De La Soul – “Me Myself And I” – 3 Feet High And Rising (1989)

I don’t remember where I got 3 Feet High And Rising, but I can tell you that I’ve never listened to it. Travesty, I know. I’m aware that it is considered one of the finest hip-hop albums of all time and I should have given it due recognition years ago.

“Me Myself And I” is perhaps the biggest hit De La Soul ever had. It features one of those late 80s beats that immediately spring to mind when you think of a Jheri-curled Deion Sanders; I think Sega used a variation of this beat for most of the levels on the first Sonic the Hedgehog game.

But that’s not De La Soul’s fault. This is a legitimate hip-hop hit, and represents part of a mainstream movement away from the early days of hip-hop and over to a newer and more thoughtful (lyrically and musically) kind of rap. The sound is somewhat old-school, but the advancement between De La Soul and much of what came before them is more than evident.

#5) Ben Folds – “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You” – Sunny 16 (2003)

Ben Folds will not stop appearing on the Random Ten. Comparatively speaking, I don’t have that much of his music, and yet he’s on here every other time. I long held out hope that he’d ditch the ridiculous hairstyle and make a triumphant comeback, but his recent appearances as a judge on NBC’s The Sing-Off have tempered those expectations.

Before his music pencil dived into the shitter, he released a series of EP’s between 2003 and 2004, with “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You” coming from the second. The song is right in Folds’ wheelhouse, discussing the plight of someone being made fun of and wishing they were cooler (I think; I guess it could be about anything). Folds has made a living on being a sarcastic observer of youth culture and attitude, something that has failed him recently as he’s, you know, gotten old. But here he still has some teeth, and the melodies, though drenched in Foldsian childishness, are memorable.

#6) Radiohead – “Thinking About You” – Pablo Honey (1993)

We discussed Pablo Honey-era Radiohead here, when “Prove Yourself” was featured on the Random Ten. It’s still strange to hear standard pop-rock radio songs being played by this band. The song doesn’t bob and weave much, sticking to acoustic guitars that follow a simple and enjoyable melody.

It’s hard not to think of Pink Floyd when I hear Pablo Honey. Just like no one knew what Pink Floyd was capable of when they were noodling around on their guitars in acid dens in England, how could anyone know what Radiohead would go on to become from hearing this?

#7) Oasis – “Roll It Over” – Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (2000)

Oasis recently split up again, with perennial dickhead vocalist Liam Gallagher being a dickhead and fighting his brother and guitarist Noel, causing the breakup. It’s too bad the band can’t keep their act together, and not just because of their music. Hearing the never-ending string of breakup/reuniting stories is getting incredibly boring and annoying in a Favre kinda way.

People compare Oasis to the Beatles, but they’re really more of a mash up of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, although not in the same league as either of those bands. Competent imitation, however, will lead to some good songs, “Roll It Over” being one. It’s big, dumb, and pompous, but it sounds good, and isn’t that what’s important?

#8) Brian Eno – “I’ll Come Running” – Eno Box II: Vocals (1993; song was originally released on Another Green World [1975])

“I’ll Come Running” is pulled from Brian Eno’s Another Green World album, a beautiful record on which only a few tracks actually have vocals, this included. Eno is considered the father of ambient music, and the early manifestations of that movement can be seen on the Another Green World album. “I’ll Come Running” might be the most poppy and straightforward number on that album, with a light piano and cheerfully detached vocals from Eno. In the context of the album, it provides a nice contrast to some of the more experimental things Eno was doing.

#9) The Clash – “White Riot” – The Clash (original U.K. version released 1977, this is from the U.S. version released 1979)

The Clash had it right. When you listen to them now, they don’t sound particularly threatening or heavy. But at the time, I’d imagine “White Riot”, from their debut record, was a revelation. Other punk bands certainly existed and some even had mainstream support, but few could write a song that seemed loud and dangerous but made you tap your feet.

That the Clash were able to write hit singles and endless catchy songs in a style of music people by and large deemed inaccessible is a tremendous feat. I guess it’s easy to figure out; the music and the hooks are really good.

#10) Wire – “Ex Lion Tamer” – Pink Flag (1977)

Somewhat similarly to the Clash, Wire created poppy punk songs with infectious hooks. Their music was a little looser and perhaps not as bright as some of the Clash’s work, but the result is often the same. Snarling, British vocals rasped over energetic and forceful instrumentation, repeated for 1:27 over and over until the album is complete. We’ve discussed this phenomenon with bands like Sebadoh in the past; if your songs are going to pass by quickly, you better include something memorable in them. Wire were experts at this and Pink Flag rivals anything the Clash ever did.

John Lacey

Nintend'oh! #2: Jackal!

Jackal
Developer: Konami
Release Date: June 1986 (arcade); September 1988 (NES)
“You've been chosen to be one of the few, the proud, the Jackals.”

Welcome to the second installment of Nintend’oh, the column that provides fresh perspectives on the finest entertainment of yesteryear – The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)!

It’s been 19 months since I reviewed Paperboy and a lot has changed: the name of this blog is considerably better (shorter), the Knicks seem like they may not be totally and unfathomably awful, I’ve moved to a new state, I’ve gotten a new job, I am now a hunter, I wear glasses, I married my beautiful wife Erin over the summer, I have two new nieces Elizabeth and Keira…the list goes on and on. The most notable and important change, however, is that I will be getting a new gaming console, the Xbox 360. But, to quote Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Let me put this in perspective for some readers. This is the first time in 10 years that I’ll be getting a new system with new games. New games in that they are actually new; they're currently being made and released in present day. This is a momentous occasion. It’s a daunting task, really, because there is so much out there that I know so little about. I find the unknown simultaneously arousing and frightful. The term “fear-boner” has found itself in regular rotation. I’ve taken to researching various titles for the Xbox and the result is, well…interesting. No matter what game title I enter into Google, no matter what YouTube search query I use, and no matter what Gamespot review I read, I always arrive at the same conclusion. Let’s just say that if I were a character on Lost, Jackal would be my constant. To illustrate my point, here are snippets of my stream of conscious as I search out new games to buy for Xbox:

- Wow! A new Bond game – is it money!? Will it be as money as Goldeneye? It’s a first/third person shooter, but it has some driving levels…Shooter…Driving…JACKAL

- EA’s Madden 2011 looked pretty money. The Jets are stacked in it. Stacked Jets…throwing bombs…Jets and Bombs…War…Wait, doesn’t EA make those Medal of Honor games too? Are those money? I heard the newest one takes place in Afghanistan…Afghanistan borders Iran…Iran Contra…Iran borders Iraq… Saddam…Desert …Kicking ass …Kicking ass in the desert? … JACKAL

- NHL 2011 looks incredible. It’s almost as fun as NHL 94 for Genesis or Blades of Steel for NES. Blades…Of steel. Awesome game…cool graphics…all your friends will want it…JACKAL.

Jackal, or as I like to call it, 特殊部隊ジャッカル, is a fantastic game for the NES. It is the NES port of the popular arcade game Top Gunner (which certainly tried to play off the popularity of Top Gun which also came out in 1986). Jackal is an overhead run and gun game that can be played single player or multiplayer (simultaneous). The player controls an armored jeep with the dual objectives of rescuing POWs and defeating the boss at the end of each of the eight levels. The player is awarded points when POWs are transferred to rescue helicopters at several pick up locations interspersed throughout each level. If a player earns enough points, an extra life will be granted. If the player catches a POW that is blinking, that player's weaponry will be upgraded. Any collision or contact with an enemy will cause the jeep to spontaneously combust and costs a life.

Jackal is a tremendously fun game. For those familiar with the classic game Choplifter, Jackal is essentially Choplifter-in-a-Jeep. Combining rescue missions with a run ‘n gun arcade style game was not only awesome but considerably ahead of its time. There’s something inherently fun about driving games, but driving games that employ fighting and/or shooting are even better (remember Road Rash or Skitchin' for Sega Genesis?) There are several aspects of the game that make it incredibly enjoyable even 22 years later. The mechanics of the game are spot on; players can quickly adapt to the controls of the vehicle and the shooting, but mastery requires repeated play. The pacing of the game is perfect. Like most games, it starts out easy and gets progressively difficult as the player gets further along in the game. However, there is no sudden or drastic shift in difficulty. This makes Jackal uniquely engaging from the beginning of the first level to whenever-it-is-that-your-game-ends. The weaponry in Jackal is extremely fun to play and manipulate. Each weapon brings its own dynamic to the style of play used by the player. Honestly, it’s also just fun to run people over and flatten them. Especially foreign people!

The best aspect of Jackal is the multiplayer option. In my opinion, playing Jackal in two player mode is one of the highlights of the playing the NES altogether. Aside from Contra or Double Dragon II, Jackal is the best tandem two player game ever made for the NES. The ebb and flow of the game is so effortless in Jackal. Jackal’s maps are quite large and don’t fit on one screen (known in inner geek circles as being a “push-scroller”) and this works perfectly. The “push-scroller” nature of the maps and simultaneous management of the increasing difficulty and varying landscapes provides for much strategizing on the part of the players. For example, one player can stick with the original weapons and be aggressive on the front lines, while player two hangs back and retains the upgraded weapons and is more defensive minded to minimize unnecessary deaths and loss of weaponry. This strategizing on two player mode is what makes Jackal one of the top NES games of all time.

Jackal is also awesome because of its unintentional humor. Think about it; you are essentially given a map of different parts of the world (the Middle East, Rome, Europe) and you basically obliterate every area to shreds in the name of saving American POWs, should you so choose. You don’t even have to save anyone. You can just scorch the non-American earth and leave the POWs if you want. There are heat-seeking missiles firing out of moving Medusa busts, you get to run people over with your jeep, you get to mow people down with heavy artillery, you get to ruin the ruins. It’s awesome. Take a look at this story and try to tell me that you’re not fired up about kicking some foreign ass and saving some American tail. By the way, if you aren’t fired up, then you’re either a terrorist or a communist (probably both):

The characters that you can choose from are Colonel Decker, Lieutenant Bob, Sergeant Quint (my personal favorite) and Corporal Grey. Who you choose has no impact on the game play whatsoever.

If you dominate a level you get this screenshot:

If you get dominated on the level you get this screenshot:

Wait a minute. Is that Saddam Hussein? In our jeep? Is he on our side? If not, then why do the bad guys look befuddled when I just had an awful round? What the hell? IS THAT SADDAM HUSSEIN?

All in all, Jackal has everything; fun game-play (especially multiplayer), intuitive controls, funny enough story line, funny characters, challenging maps, awesome music, great weaponry and the replay value is essentially never-ending. The game does not have any glaring flaws.

Look out for the next installment of Nintend’oh coming soon (if by soon I mean 19 months).

A

Dan Baxter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGkctaM43w (Jackal NES game play)