Lollapalooza: an enthralling and accessible music festival just outside the Ann Arbor Loop

by Ellis Hamburger

Originally published in LEAD Magazine

Every August, 95,000 music fans from around the country make a mass exodus to Chicago to hear their favorite bands play at the Lollapalooza Music Festival. You’d be hard pressed to find anything quite like the eccentric three-day event, with its astounding variety of acts from Hip-Hop to Indie Rock to Folk to Rap. Located in Grant Park alongside Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago, the festival is only a few short hours’ drive, Amtrak train, or MegaBus trip away from Michigan students staying in Ann Arbor for the summer. The Magnificent Mile shopping area, as well as the towering John Hancock building, are steps away from the music, and you can often hear the steady thump of a band’s kick drum from several blocks away. This is exactly what makes Lollapalooza such a unique experience—the hipsters brushing shoulders with the highbrow, and the synthesis that takes place between a modern city like Chicago and 95,000 music fanatics nestled in its most famous park.

Lollapalooza Lawn, photo credit: Ellis Hamburger

Lollapalooza 101

Many different facets of Chicago culture seem to have their place at Lollapalooza, from the vibrant music culture to green energy innovation and organic food (which you can find on the “Green Street” area of the park), to incredibly hot and humid summers (bring a tank top and sunscreen to survive the 100-degree weather). What began as a traveling road show, Lollapalooza finally settled in Chicago in 2005 and has since become a landmark event each summer. Our neighbors to the Southwest provide a homey Midwestern sense of hospitality—and while there is violent moshing aplenty at the more hardcore band performances, as well as an aggressively priced general admission ticket (at 200 dollars), the atmosphere is almost always friendly and benevolent.

The festival boasts eight stages and 95 bands, as well as 36 DJ’s who take turns spinning all day at Perry’s Stage—a rave of sorts where people of all ages go to dance and sometimes, even, cover themselves in paint. The contagiously energetic tribal dances and rituals that seem to be transpiring at Perry’s always draw a large crowd and are worth checking out.

Lollapalooza Crowd, photo credit: Ellis Hamburger

Advice From a Four-Year Lolla Veteran

It is not uncommon to hang out on a patch of grass waiting for your favorite band for a few hours, where you may come to meet an incredible variety of people. There is no formal “seating” available at Lollapalooza besides in the astronomically expensive VIP area, so prepare to sit and stand on the grass for the entirety of your time in the park. I’ve met music fans from China, California, and many other corners of the world that have all made the mecca to Chicago for the music festival. The more open you are to talking to strangers, the more fun you’re bound to have at the festival, and the less distracting the omnipresent stench of wet socks and body odor will be.

One nagging predicament for festival-goers each year is deciding which bands to see. The festival schedule is published a month or so beforehand, so you have some time to ruminate about your priorities and cry over the fact that two of your most beloved bands are playing during the same time slot at two opposite ends of the park. Accept it—it is impossible to see everyone. Get close to the stage for your favorite bands and those bands you haven’t seen before, and you will not regret it. While it was a disappointment to have missed Hot Chip and The Dirty Projectors, seeing The Strokes for the first time (and from fifteen feet away) is a memory that will be impossible to forget.

Phoenix at Lollapalooza, photo credit: Ellis Hamburger

Over the last four years that I’ve attended the festival, I’ve noticed that the festival organizers have steadily increased the capacity of the park, causing shoulder-bumping and a mild form of claustrophobia at every turn. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, because it made me realize that Lollapalooza isn’t as much about the “festival” as it is about the co-mingling of the bands and the people attending. I found myself having a sort of spiritual experience during Arcade Fire’s performance, dancing and bobbing jubilantly, covered in my own sweat and the sweat of twenty others around me. The sense of camaraderie is what the festival is about—nearly a hundred thousand people all rejoicing in the love of music, singing along in unison to Arcade Fire’s song, “Wake Up.” Considering that the festival is so close to Ann Arbor, it is an American experience too good to pass up for Michigan students.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” a huge hit with UM students as well as gamers worldwide

By Ellis Hamburger

Originally published in LEAD Magazine

Ten years ago, if anybody had used “video game profits” and “360 million dollars” in the same sentence, they probably would’ve been dubbed a raving lunatic. But times have changed, and today, Activision Blizzard Inc. announced that their newest title, “Call of Duty: Black Ops” has become the fastest selling (and one of the most profitable) games in history, grossing over 360 million dollars in the United States and in the United Kingdom on its launch day, November 9th.

“Black Ops” comes as the most recent iteration in a long line of critically acclaimed “Call of Duty” titles, which have been lauded for their big-budget action set pieces and incredibly addictive online multiplayer. The multiplayer online aspect of the game has put a spell on teenagers around the country, including students at the University of Michigan. Last year’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” is by all means still a very popular title online for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3, and all fans of that game seem to have gone out and purchased the new one without even needing to consult reviewers around the Web. Video game developer Treyarch took the reins from developer Infinity Ward for this title, and seem to have done the series justice, judging from its 87/100 rating on review aggregating website Metacritic.

On November 11th, Stu Parnes, a salesperson at Get Your Game On on Packard and State said that “Modern Warfare 2” was a huge seller for the store, but the demand for “Black Ops” has been unprecedented. The store’s customers are almost exclusively students, according to Parnes, and the store sold out of the game almost immediately for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. “Probably one person comes in every hour looking for the game, and one to two people call in every hour looking for it, but we’ve sold out both our first and second shipments.” Get Your Game On has been trying to order more copies of the game as soon as possible, but the store’s suppliers are even having trouble meeting demand. “We sold almost 70 copies of the game, and we can’t even get our hands on any more right now. Our supplier is completely sold out of the title for Xbox 360.”

A big budget movie such as “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” cost around 200 million dollars to make, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, and grossed 400 million in the United States over the months it was in theatres, with 495 million dollar opening weekend. In comparison, “Black Ops” cost about 50 million to produce, and managed to rake in 360 million in a mere matter of hours. Not even the opening weekend of “Avatar” could hope to achieve this kind of milestone. “Black Ops” serves as a testament to the fact that video games are quickly becoming an elemental part of the media industry alongside TV, movies, and music, and might even surpass these industries in gross revenue in the near future. But don’t forget—it only costs ten dollars to see “Transformers” and nearly sixty dollars to secure your own copy of “Black Ops.”

Update – November 18th, 2010: Internal estimates put current “Call of Duty: Black Ops” earnings at over 650 million dollars worldwide.

Sources:

BusinessWeek

Venture Beat

BoxOfficeMojo

Metacritic

USA Today

Facebook Announces New Messaging Platform

By Ellis Hamburger

Originally published in LEAD Magazine

November 15th, 2010

At 1PM Eastern Time today, Facebook announced a brand new messaging platform that “is not an email killer,” according to CEO and Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg, but is a “messaging system that includes email as a part of it.” Internet media sources speculated that Facebook would simply give users an @facebook.com email address, but instead, Facebook decided to create a new platform that blends texting, instant messaging, Facebook messaging, and email into one cohesive package. Zuckerberg hypothesized that today, he sees “a subtle shift towards real time, simpler communication,” and the new platform enables you to get in touch with your friends, no matter where they are, and no matter what service they’re currently logged in to (such as Facebook, Gmail, or another email account). The “big problem with email,” according to Zuckerberg, is that you get a lot of things you don’t want. The new platform has one simple goal: to reach your friends as quickly as possible without having to sift through the things that aren’t as important that often get mixed into your email inbox.

Zuckerberg views the new platform in terms of “conversations” with your friends, similar to the way Gmail threads messages into conversations with your contacts, except the new Facebook platform also has some traits in common with texting on mobile phones. You will use an @facebook.com address to communicate using the platform. You view your conversations in a “social inbox,” which only includes messages from people you are friends with; other messages “such as bank statements,” Zuckerberg says, are reserved for another inbox within the platform. This other inbox is for things you “care less about,” and for things you might only care to check on once a day, whereas you’d probably check your social inbox very frequently. The new platform puts a very high priority on communications with the people you care about the most, not dissimilar to Gmail’s new “priority inbox” feature.

The platform boasts several enticing features, such as the ability to receive messages on whichever device you are currently using. If you are logged into Facebook and are chatting with somebody, you will receive the messages on Facebook, but once you leave the website, you can opt to receive these messages on your phone. Another feature is the platform’s ability to integrate with other messaging systems such as Jabber (AIM, Adium, etc.), IMAP email accounts, and more (although IMAP support will not be immediately available). It seems that the walls between instant messaging and email are slowly falling down, but “there is no need to shut down any of your other email accounts,” Zuckberg noted. He hopes that the new platform will not necessarily replace email, but will become a pioneer in a movement towards a new kind of digital communication that revolves around the people you care most about.

Facebook engineers have spent more than a year scaling up their messaging systems, and Facebook plans to roll out the new platform “over the new few months.” Facebook is releasing the platform on an invite system, as Gmail originally did a few years ago, but will eventually invite the public to jump in. The company plans to give users a “genuine control” over how they communicate with each other, and only time will tell if they can succeed in launching a new platform in the midst of so many other compelling communication solutions.

Milo and Otis - Animal Rights Video Remix

Something I made for my ENG 420 class that I'm very proud of. I hope you enjoy it!

Milo and Otis - Animal Rights Video Remix from Ellis Hamburger on Vimeo.

Sigur Ros - Untitled 4 (Njosnavelin) Acoustic Version

After annoyingly visiting YouTube on occasion to listen to this song, I decided to try and export the audio to my computer--lo and behold, there are a million ways to do this if you only go so far as searching Google. And now, I have an acoustic version of this song that I haven't been able to find anywhere else on the internet. And the quality is surprisingly very decent, considering it's been extracted from a YouTube video.

I like this version of Untitled 4 much better than the original album version, and if you are a fan of Sigur Ros, or even of acoustic music, I dare you to check it out--because it's truly hauntingly terrific.

Click Here (right click and Save Target As...) to download Untitled 4 (Acoustic), from Sigur Ros' album entitled ( )

Fanfarlo:

A band I've been listening to as of late that are definitely worth checking out. Their infectious trumpets sound like Beirut, their orchestral arrangements channel the Arcade Fire, and their handclaps and general attitude remind me of Belle and Sebastian. So what's not to like, right?

Their new album "Reservoir" is one of my favorites of this year, but it is undoubtedly a grower... A few songs on the album such as "The Walls Are Coming Down" and "Harold T. Wilkins" are excellent on their own merit, but it seems like a little too much of Fanfarlo comes directly from these three bands I referenced earlier. "Ghosts" is one of my favorites on the album, but only because "Wake Up" by the Arcade Fire is also one of my favorite songs. The two songs do not sound alike from the get-go, but the transformation to upbeat-ness that occurs towards the end of each song is almost exactly the same. Same beat, same little nuances and progression. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think Fanfarlo's lack of real originality keeps them from being truly terrific.

One more notable detail is that there really isn't a bad song on the album; each song has its own quirks and catchy melody lines to keep you coming back for more.

Despite the lack of originality, I think there is a ton of potential for them; They are clearly all skillful musicians, and this is clearly their debut album. You can discredit them for imitating the Arcade Fire and Beirut, or you can commend them for doing it so well. Either way, this album is definitely worth a listen. And I'm looking forward to seeing them Dec 14th at the Magic Stick. Should be a great show.

Here is a link to their Myspace - definitely check out "The Walls Are Coming Down"

And for your viewing pleasure, here is a video of them covering "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel. Enjoy!

"Crickets" by Ellis Hamburger

PLEASE LISTEN ON HEADPHONES.

it makes a huge difference

I made this song the other day with my voice, my ukulele, GarageBand (I still can't figure out how this comes free with Macs), and a drum kit from GarageBand. I also used the music typing to make a piano riff to loop in the background.

I'm going for an Animal Collective feel circa their Sung Tongs album (albeit a little cheerier and more conventional). "Winter's Love" in particular sparked my interest, with its mix of interesting percussion, acoustic guitar strumming, and ooh's and ahh's in the background.

This is my first attempt at creating a song of any sort, so considering that, I'm pretty proud of it. The second half is certainly better than the first, so at least bear with me until the uke picking comes in. Once again, please listen on headphones. My goal was to have a cohesive sound where despite the several layers, it would sound like one sound. A sound that sounds good.

Reflecting on technology in the last ten years

It boggles me how much technology has changed in the past ten years. Moore's law seems to be holding to form, and gadgets/computers seem to be getting better and better, and smaller too. It makes me wonder, where does it all end?

I just purchased the new iPhone 3GS and I started to think about how much more people could ask of the tech companies. Obviously, the processors are going to get faster, and the hard disks are going to get bigger (solid state is next). Megapixels are not going to matter anymore. Internet will be lightning fast, everywhere you go. Any information you desire will finally be at your fingertips no matter where you are in the world.

Coming from a Blackberry, I'm astounded by the accessibility of internet on the iPhone. I didn't expect it to change my life the way it did: I barely use my computer anymore, save for typing extended pieces of writing. It automatically synchronized all my bookmarks so I have everything I need with me, whenever I have a free minute on a bus or on the couch. Given, the iPhone does not have Flash yet, but it is only a small matter of time.

The addition of the Compass app this time around makes me think that maybe things are already beginning to slow down. Maybe the swiss army knife of phones does not have anything left to invent or innovate. How many more features can they add? I can think of a few, but for God's sake the thing has only been around for three years. I can only imagine where we will be in ten years.

With only 5 months left in this decade, I've embedded an old Apple press conference video for your perusal. I hope to god Steve has a speedy recovery from his transplant and sticks around indefinitely. He may not give the Apple keynotes any more, but in my opinion, he is the driving force of the technology industry right now. I just have trouble believing this was less than ten years ago.

A Nice Video by Peter Bjorn & John / Living Thing

One of my favorite videos of the year so far, "Nothing To Worry About" is definitely worth a look. I can't tell if PB&J are mocking, admiring, or merely observing the Japanese Rockabilly revival scene, but I know that I like whatever it is they are doing. "Living Thing," their new album, was somewhat of a letdown for me, but I appreciate the creativity and bravery PB&J have demonstrated in crafting their own 808's and Heartbreaks. More low-key, fewer guitars, more minor-key singing.

One of the most underrated songs on this album is "Stay This Way". It starts off much like some of the other tracks on the album. Minimalism, bizarre percussion clanks and finger snaps. But towards the end of the song, Peter Moren once again demonstrates his neck for creating ear-worms that won't leave you, despite your direst efforts to get the tune out of your head.

"Stay This Way" is a prime example that PB&J are capable of such a transformation [away from "Writer's Block," their stellar previous record]. If only "Lay It Down" was the blueprint for the rest of the album.

Anyways, below there is a video for "Nothing To Worry About" that I really like. But wait, there is more. Below that video, is another of the Japanese Rockabilly scene that I hope you find interesting. I don't know how they found these guys.



vs.

M. Ward - Hold Time - The DEFINITIVE Review on the Whole Internet

by Ellis Hamburger

In Hold Time, M. Ward channels feelings from some of his earlier records, as well as something entirely new. Many of the themes he sings about remain the same, but one thing that all of his records have had in common is the amount of effort Matt pours into every single song. You'd be hard pressed to find an M. Ward track that is offensive to the ears, and Hold Time is no exception.

M. Ward's first record in three years seems to be composed of various jumbled parts of a timeline, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. The title of the album implies a sense of surrealism within the structure of the album; each song stems from a particular part of Matt's musical career from his old lo-fi days to newer pop songs with a bit more production.

Hold Time begins (naturally) with "For Beginners," a track that could've fit in anywhere on 2005's Transistor Radio. The hand claps and guitar twang are nothing but the perfect re-introduction to Ward's music after a long three years. "Never Had Nobody Like You" is the perfect example of the reinvention of Ward's music: more rock and roll, more production, and more A-List guests. Ward's pal Zooey Deschanel contributes backup vocals to this track, giving it an uplifting sing-a-long quality to it.

"Jailbird," my favorite song on the album, harkens back to the glorious days of "Vincent O'Brien". At around 50 seconds in, there is near M. Ward bliss. A soulful guitar riff joins together with background strings (also arranged by Ward) to create a moment that transcends Ward's career, binding his old desires to his new ones. In this way, "Jailbird" I think best embodies the spirit of this album.

The title track comes it at number 4 almost too predictably after 2006's "Post War". The title track of "Post War" also comes in at number 4, and the two songs might have too much in common. Fortunately for me, "Post War" is one of my favorite songs of all time. Its down-tempo rhythm and electric piano/violins (?) are mimicked on "Hold Time" in the best way possible. My only complaint about the new album's title track is that it's just a bit too short; I know Matt could've elaborated on the feelings this track evokes the way he did for "Post War". Nevertheless, the haunting melody of "Hold Time" is perfect, filling the same role "Post War" did in slowing down the album a little bit and encouraging a little introspection.

"Rave On" and "To Save Me" show that Ward has no intent of slowing down. The first track, a Buddy Holly cover, is upbeat M. Ward goodness once again, also containing abundant hand clapping and twanging guitars. Ward has a knack for covers, it seems. His cover of Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home" is flawless, and "Rave On" I think will hold a similar place in my heart. Interestingly enough, "To Save Me" channels some of the same emotions, pacing, and instruments as "To Go Home" with its piano and background vocals during parts of the chorus. The guitar on this track is also notably masterful, especially towards the end.

The second half of the album takes a little bit longer to sink in, but is almost as equally compelling as the first half. "One Hundred Millions Years" begins with a segment that could almost be named "Duet for Guitars #4" but then transforms into a more typical acoustic Ward track that could've fit right in with "Post War". "Stars of Leo" is one of the weaker tracks on the album in my opinion, but still decent. When I heard it for the first time, I thought of "Headed for a Fall" off of the "To Go Home EP". It has a rise and fall, but the arc of action in this song isn't quite up to par with the development in some of the others. "Fisher of Men," an instant classic for any M. Ward fan, finds Ward in "Transfiguration of Vincent" mode. Ward re-invents Wes King's song/tale/life-metaphor creatively, making it his own. The opening piano riff on "Oh Lonesome Me" is spot on and immediately memorable. The rest of the song plays out like a duet, Lucinda Williams chiming in (?) with her equally unique and bizarre voice. Surely, it is "heart wrenching," (as so many people are eager to call it) but I'm still not sure if I'm feeling it or not. However, the second half of the song reaches an impressive climax of vocal harmony, truly making it the second half of the album's standout.

An interesting thing about Hold Time is that it is 14 tracks long, but almost feels too short. I realized that within the album there are so many great moments that you wish would be a little longer. Ward is no stranger to short songs, but never have any songs felt like they should've been longer or required more elaboration until a few of the tracks on this new album. This is my biggest complaint with the album--each song is incredibly sweet but so many of them are a bit too short. "Oh Lonesome Me" seems to be the only song on the album that was completely fleshed out (at six minutes in length).

As a whole, Hold Time is the moment in Ward's career where he reflects on the past, but looks forward to the future with fresh ideas. The album seems to contain fragments that could've been a part of his past albums (as I referenced specifically earlier on) and add up to a whole timeline illustrating Ward's influences and mastery of music. However, this quality lends to the fact that the album is not as cohesive as some of Ward's previous works. I could sit down and listen to "Transfiguration" or "Transistor Radio" the whole way through, feeling each song as a piece to a bigger puzzle. But on Hold Time, the pieces do not make something very much bigger than the whole. Lucky for us, the whole is one sweet and enthusiastic adventure through Ward's career and potential--nostalgic, but also optimistic towards the future.

Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

Wow... the passion of two adolescent females playing Fleet Foxes. The first time I saw this I was very impressed, and had no idea that these girls were about to hit it big over the pond. It ends up their name is First Aid Kit, and I might even like their version of the song even more than the original somehow. The original was one of my favorite tracks off their debut album this (last) year, and I've been messing around with it on ukulele. The chords are the same as guitar, but it is infinitely hard to hit some of the high notes in this song singing. Maybe I'm not made for it. But surely, I am skilled.

Language Instinct

Their Lonely Betters

by W.H. Auden

As I listened from a beach-chair in the shade
To all the noises that my garden made,
It seemed to me only proper that words
Should be withheld from vegetables and birds.

A robin with no Christian name ran through
The Robin-Anthem which was all it knew,
And rustling flowers for some third party waited
To say which pairs, if any, should get mated.

Not one of them was capable of lying,
There was not one which knew that it was dying
Or could have with a rhythm or a rhyme
Assumed responsibility for time.

Let them leave language to their lonely betters
Who count some days and long for certain letters;
We, too, make noises when we laugh or weep:
Words are for those with promises to keep.

A Thought Provoking Poem

The Hand That Signed The Paper

By Dylan Thomas, 1936

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
The finger joints are cramped with chalk;
A goose's quill has put an end to murder
That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor pat the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;
Hands have no tears to flow.

Lollapalooza 2008 In Pictures

Radiohead

Among the best concerts I've ever seen, even though I was not all that close. Their lighting effects were stellar and really enhanced the performance that much. Thom Yorke's falsetto echoed off the buildings of Chicago, and my expectations were exceeded on every level.

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The Go! Team

Another show I wasn't too close for, but still was incredible. The Go! Team's energy was instantly contagious and they had everyone dancing in minutes. Their 8-some members played every instrument you could imagine, and they even had two drummers. Definitely a Team I'll want to catch next time they come to Michigan.

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Rogue Wave

Having seen them before and known their shtick, I wasn't expecting a ton from Rogue Wave. I really enjoyed the performance, but nothing about it was memorable enough to warrant any kind of real excitement. There is nothing like hearing "Lake Michigan" when you're 30 feet from the water yourself.

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Kanye West

I'm not the biggest Kanye West fan, but his showmanship was outstanding and his songs were all expanded in every way you can imagine. A backup band enhanced the sound of every song, and the smoke and dramatic lighting made it that much better.

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Broken Social Scene

I only caught the tail end of BSS' set (to my regret), but of what I saw I was very impressed. Having seen them earlier this year at the Michigan Theater playing Kevin Drew's songs, I wasn't sure how they'd fare performing their own music, let alone Brendan Canning's. The high point was 7/4 Shoreline which Amy Milan sang. It was great to hear one of my favorite female vocalists again.

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Bloc Party (see Kele on right of screen)

Bloc Party was mediocre, but don't get me wrong. I love Bloc Party, but the only person who seemed enthused about their set was drummer Matt Tong. I've seen Bloc Party before, and they were incredible, but something big was missing from this performance. Their set was very short, with their 8 or 9 songs they performed ending them up 15 minutes earlier than they were scheduled to. Maybe it got to them that everyone in the first 40 rows was in the first 40 rows to see Radiohead, and they happened to be just a bonus.

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Mates of State

Kori and Jason sounded great, and it was great to see that they'd brought a violinist and upright-bassist with them. The string arrangements brought out some of the nuances of each song that I'd learned to love, but wasn't expecting live.

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The National

Just as they were when I saw them two months ago, The National were incredible. They started off battling a bass problem on the speakers. The kick-drum literally made my eyeballs vibrate every time it was hit, and I'm a big bass drum fan. Regardless, their set was great, Abel being a standout, and the trumpeteers had improved their skill a ton since the Crofoot Ballroom. This time, the trumpet was used instead of the violin I'd heard during the last show. I kinda missed the violinist from the last show. He was insane, and I don't know where he went, but he will be missed.

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Okkervil River

I was really looking forward to Will Sheff and Okkervil River, and they did not disappoint. I really just got into them earlier this year, and I couldn't wait to hear them play. The band was much bigger than I expected, and the keyboardist they had delivered all the background intricacies of each song perfectly. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe, one of my favorite Okkervil River songs, was out of this world. The song was lengthened by a few minutes, and lots of details were added. They really killed it.

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Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog was pretty good, and they sounded even better in person. To my dismay, however, they didn't play The Breeze, my favorite song of theirs. However, their set was varied between new and old material and just made me that much more interested in them. Come October, I'll be seeing them again in Ann Arbor!

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Hellboy II: The Golden Rehash

• Huge monster squirming around New York wreaking havok? Check
• Invincible army that's been locked away for a bajillion years and now someone is gonna use it? Check
• Little monsters that fly around and appear cute until some nobody comes up and says "Oh look, he's cute, he's not gonna hurt us" then the little monster bares its teeth and rips the guy's head off? Check
• Underground black market with all sorts of colorful characters and bizarre goods? Check
• White skinned elf types with white contact lenses just like the characters from Guillermo's Blade movies? Check
• Misanthropic smartass main character who is impervious to verbal attacks by damsels or physcial ones by villains, and uses big guns like Will Smith and acts like him too [in Men In Black]? Check
• Tin Man type character who just wants someone to love and relate to? Check

I enjoyed Hellboy II: The Golden Army. It was a lot of fun and exciting and beautiful to look at, but it had almost nothing I hadn't seen before. Whether it be rips from Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, National Treasure, The Mummy, Cloverfield/The Host, or Guillermo's previous endeavors, I just found myself yawning at the scenes I'd seen before again and again.

Many people will credit Guillermo Del Toro with his visionary creativity and inspired art direction in movies like Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, but this in it of itself does not equate to a good film. The creatures of Hellboy II were unique and refreshing, but put those creatures in environments and plots I've seen a hundred times before, and it adds up to nothing for me. I'll give credit where credit is due (in the art department), but the story department was surely lacking.

All the reviews I'm reading say "ooh la la look at lil Guillermo I haven't seen creatures like that since the Cantina scene from Star Wars a while back". Yes, the creatures were very original, but thats exactly what I expected from Del Toro. After seeing Pan's Labyrinth, I was disgusted [in a good way] at some of the creatures he cooked up. Among them the "skin man" with the eyes on his hands. I found the lack of eyes on the facial area very cool, and terrifiying, and it definitely challenged the way I think about animals and evolution. Ok, interesting. But then here comes Guillermo's next movie. I thought the Angel of Death (pictured above) in Hellboy II looked awesome, but I'm starting to think that among other things, the "eyes on the hands/wings" trick is all Guillermo's got. He invents weird shaped creatures and apparently expects that the sum of all his bizarre creatures will add up to a solid film. Apparently the critics agree. Del Toro's directing is excellent, but without a real story I'm not sold.

The funniest part about all of it is that before Hellboy, a trailer rolled for the new Mummy movie and sure enough in it too there is some crazy millenia-old army that is going to be revived by Jet Li. The special effects look stunning, but that's where the depth of it ends, it appears.

Los Campesinos! and The National

So it's been a pretty busy summer so far... It has mostly just consisted of taking a philosophy class, working, and relaxing in Ann Arbor, but I have no problem with that. I can already tell it's going to be one of the best summers I've ever had. As far as concerts go, I've been lucky enough to be in the first row at Los Campesinos and The National. Both concerts were incredible, and the musicianship was astounding at both venues for the most part.

To begin, The National were exceptional. They are far from one of my favorite bands, but I must say that their live performance exceeded any expectations I had and secured them a position (temporarily) in my top three concerts I've ever been to. Matt Berninger, The National's lead singer, has go to be one of the coolest people ever. He cradled the mic in his hands like it was a baby he was whispering to; it really added just that much more to his performance. Also, the violinist was absolutely insane. For half the concert at least, the guy was flipping out doing backflips while playing  violin. It was actually quite amusing.  The two twin brother guitarists were extremely skilled as well, and the sound was almost ethereal. Especially during Abel. I'd only heard it a few times before, but it instantly became a favorite. From the way Berninger screamed his baritone crooning into the microphone to the way the electric guitar echoed off the the walls of the atrium at the Crofoot Ballroom, the experience was unparalleled. I expected the concert to be just like the Apartment Story music video, but it was really so much more.

Apparently Los Campesinos are not as big as I thought they were. I was in line an hour before doors opened, and I received funny looks. No one even showed up until like 10 minutes before doors. When I bought a tshirt later on, their merch guy even commented "Why have you been here so long?" Apparently now I am officially their biggest fan in Michigan. And they rocked in person. It's very obvious that they are young and relatively inexperienced with playing live, but still their skills showed through and their sound was almost identical to that on the record. Hold On Now Youngster grew on me tenfold during the month before the concert, so it just heightened my experience that much more. Anyways, Garreth and Aleksandra were very charming in person. Their tongue-in-cheek style was a spectacle in person, I just wish Aleks would've spoke up a little bit while she was singing; I could barely hear her half the time. The funny thing was, I think she realized that her voice could not overcome the seven other odd instruments in the band, so she started yelling almost towards the end of the concert. 

I AM LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION

Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge

Once in a blue moon I stumble upon something truly extraordinary that makes me wonder how easy it seems to make great music. Devonte Hynes of Test Icicles just makes it look so easy oin his debut LP. Sure it's a few months old, but most people haven't even heard of him anyway so I thought I'd write a short post about him.

Lightspeed Champion, a fictitious childhood hero created by Hynes, is the name for his band. Produced by Mike Mogis, the man also behind Tilly and the Wall and Bright Eyes, Falling Off Lavender Bridge sounds familiar, but is just original enough that it doesn't blend in with all of the genres it borrows from in creating its own unique sound. With a mix of indie pop, orchestral pop a-la-Vampire-Weekend, and country tinges similar to Bright Eyes, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge is truly one of my favorite records this year so far.

Hynes' voice is similar to Kele Okereke's of Bloc Party, and I find that it meshes perfectly with the background violins, acoustic guitar, and other instruments in ways I didn't think a voice like that would be able to. Also, the record is very accessible, but not so much so that its corny. With gems like "Dry Lips," "Everyone I Know I Listening to Crunk," and "Midnight Surprise," I immediately loved the album, something that rarely happens with me. Take a listen to Dry Lips for free on his last.fm page. As soon as I heard the drum beat kick in, I knew it was going to be a memorable experience.

As you can see in the picture, Hynes appears to don a ukulele but it's nowhere to be found on the album! At least he holds the thing.

Stars Concert

The Stars concert tonight was absolutely ridiculous. From Torq taking a blunt from a member of the audience, to Torq yelling at the stagehands trying to get his headphones to work. And the music was incredible. Chamber Pop at its finest-when it's live. Anyways, I thought I'd share a few pictures from the night-I've rarely seen so much emotion on stage from one person. Torq and Amy couldn't take their eyes off each other, and Torq even had some sort of piano horn device. I'm particularly proud of the bottom picture I put on here, I think it's great. This concert is the first of so many good ones this spring and summer.

Vampire Weekend....?!

Youch! A month with no posts.....and my it has been a busy month I'll say. But I stumbled upon an incredible new band who constructed their first record with seemingly little effort and somehow managed to produce one of the best pop albums of the year. I won't say too much about it, because the hype machine is already piping hot with all of the rumors and speculation about Vampire Weekend. All I'll say is that regardless of what type of music you are interested in, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to find at least a song or two on the record that you like. Not only that, but I'm even seeing them when they come to Ann Arbor in a few weeks. I'll post pictures, don't worry. Standout Tracks: Oxford Comma, A-Punk, Walcott, M79, Campus. All of the tracks manage to be inspired, original, yet simple. All of the tracks are smart and eclectic with a mix of pop, classical themes, and indie prep pretentiousness[?...they go to Columbia and write songs about Cape Cod]. Check them out. Oh! And I'll write more soon, I promise. Go Football Giants.

Juno - I Really Liked It

So I saw "Juno" the other night, and it was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. And that's a good thing! A feelgood movie with some depth, some humor, and some great music. Acting was also pretty good too. It was very interesting to see J.K. Simmons playing somebody else besides the protagonists' jackass boss. Instead this time he was a compassionate father with a love for heating and cooling, and he got the job done surprisingly effectively. Ellen Page and Michael Cera were equally compelling, even though Cera is already flirting with the line of becoming a innocent white-boy character actor. Also, any movie with a pubescent indian kid saying "I think I'm gonna stop wearing underwear so I can raise my sperm count" is gonna float my boat.The real reason I wanted to write this post though, was because of the music in this movie. Juno's soundtrack is similarly indie in the vein of Garden State or Little Miss Sunshine but without as much variety or mainstream sound (like a song that could be on the radio but just isn't discovered yet), and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Moldy Peaches set the pace with some great songs that really make it seem like the movie could not survive without them. I was also very pleasantly surprised to hear a few Belle and Sebastian hits. While not my favorites, they got the job done and showed some real thought had gone into the soundtrack. At several points in the movie I felt that a Tilly And The Wall song would've fit PERFECTLY into the mood and feelings of the movie. All of their songs are about teenagers touching and doing scandalous things like that. Especially on their first album, Wild Like Children, which is incredible by the way. That album probably could've stood on its own as the soundtrack for this movie, but I'm happy they put some effort into the soundtrack.The songs in the movie are weird in a good kind of way, especially the first one during the opening sequence, but as the movie goes on you really start to feel like you're living the moments they're living in high school all over again (although high school was only last year). All in all, I was impressed by the movie, and Diablo Cody's incredibly quick, witty, and slang-ridden screenplay really represented teenager-dom with the kind of accuracy Superbad did, although obviously with much less vulgarity and profanity. When I got home, I quickly ran to the computer so I could find some ukulele chords or a tab for Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches. All I found were guitar chords, but they work just fine. The lines go G  C  G  C  G  C  and on and on its very easy and fun to play. "You're a part time lover and a full time friend," the first line of the song, so perfectly fits this movie. Go see this movie!