Amy Winehouse was a British soul singer who shone super bright for a few years, then unfortunately died young. A new documentary takes a look at her early life, the beginnings of her career, and the apex of her popularity, while also exploring the roots of her issues with alcohol and drug addiction.
In exploring her demons, the movie has garnered some controversy from some in her inner circle, mainly her father, Mitch, and ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. That may be because, in large part, the film-makers and others in the documentary placed much of the blame for her issues on them.
I don't know the more intimate details of her life or relationships, but still feel that I gained some insight from the film. Amy Winehouse was an artist whose work I already loved. The film made me more critical of her life, but also more understanding and respecting of what she dealt with.
Director: Tom Berninger Stars: The National, Tom Berninger
On its face, Mistaken for Strangers, seems like it will be your standard rock documentary. The film, filmed and directed by lead singer Matt Berninger's younger brother Tom, follows the band on their 2010 tour for the album High Violet, on which he was hired as a roadie. It soon becomes clear that the movie is more about Tom himself than it is about his brother's band. Although he's hired as a roadie, he devotes his time while on the tour to filming and partying, eventually leading to him getting fired. He returns to his parents' home in Cincinnati, intent on discovering himself and finishing the film.
The film was, naturally, screened in the band's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio at the Esquire Theatre. I had a chance to attend a showing last night, which included a Q&A with Tom and Matt Berninger, and Bryan Devendorf, drummer for the band. The session was, of course, very enlightening and offered some perspective on the film and the circumstances surrounding it.
Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen Writers: Joel & Ethan Coen Stars: Oscar Isaac (Llewyn Davis),
Justin Timberlake (Jim),
Carey Mulligan (Jean),
John Goodman (Roland Turner)
In Inside Llewyn Davis, the titular character, played by Oscar Isaac, struggles to find his footing in the Greenwich Village folk scene. His singing partner has recently committed suicide and his first solo record isn't selling so hot. He's resorted to sleeping on friends' (and sometimes, acquaintances') couches, but he's wearing his welcome thin with many of them. It seems like everything is against him; his record label's manager isn't really trying, one of his good friends is beyond pissed at him and he can only sometimes get gigs at a local club. As the movie progresses, however, it becomes clear that many of his problems are of his own making. While he is truly talented, he's also rude, impulsive and selfish.
With their fifth album, 2010's Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter had started going more in a pop direction and began gaining more mainstream attention, like many indie artists before them; the album was their highest charting in their career. While I can't predict how this album will chart, they're returning to the more experimental noise rock sound that the started with. Regardless of the the direction of their sound, though, the music is always great!
For their debut album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, Fitz & The Tantrums took on a decidedly retro sound, taking inspiration from 1960s soul. For their follow-up, they're moving up a few decades to the 1980s. While any change in sound can be a risky undertaking for a band, many retro-inspired bands have become easily pigeon-holed by that sound. It's great that Fitz is exploring the different eras of soul music.
Sometimes, it's the artists that a band has collaborated with that prods me into checking them out. Such was the case with Noah & The Whale. Although I had heard their name floating around, it wasn't until I got really into Laura Marling (and discovered that she had been an early member of the band) that I decided to check them out. I was not disappointed, whereas in her solo career, Marling has had a folk sound more evocative of older sounds, The Whale bring in a much more modern rock element.
This album came out of nowhere! I only found out on Tuesday (the day it was released) that Rivers Cuomo of Weezer was releasing a new album. Though most of more visible work has been with his band, Cuomo is no stranger to solo work, having released three "Home Recordings" albums and a live EP. This go-around sees him working with Scott Murphy of Allister on an album sung partially in Japanese.
If you find a good formula, stick with it, at least that seems to be the approach of Zooey Deschanel. It's been present in her look (she pretty much created the manic-pixie dream girl) and in her music...country-tinged indie pop. For her third album with M. Ward, she's also showing that the approach works when naming albums. This is their third album (not counting last year's Christmas album) and, as you can probably guess, the first two are Volume 1 and Volume 2.
Talib Kweli has struggled with his music being labeled "conscious hip hop," the album title seems to allude to a feeling of being trapped by the label. Despite their issues with labels placed on them, the best artists (this includes Kweli) manage to make music that feels like something more than that label. They can be important though, where many established hip hop artists focus on their excesses and many new artists on partying and girls, music like Kweli's seems to demand to be called something different.
The Cartoon Network block of adult-oriented television, Adult Swim, has had an impressive group of music collaborations in recent years, releasing exclusive singles from Wavves, Odd Future and Liars, among many others. Now, they seem to be doing a little bit more with those collaborations. Garage Swim is a free collection of garage rock songs recorded exclusively for Adult Swim. Artists include Jeff the Brotherhood, Black Lips and Thee Oh Sees.
It's rare for a soundtrack to actually include all new songs, even rarer for those songs to feel like they could exist outside the compilation. Jay-Z has proven himself time and again as a great artist and producer. Although a hip hop artist seems like a strange choice to curate a soundtrack for a movie set in the 1920s, he's proven adept here as well. The album does call to mind certain sounds of the era, but does so in a remarkably modern way.
Access All Arenas is Justice's second live album. It was recorded at the Arena of Nîmes, a Roman ampitheater in Nîmes, France, last summer. It includes songs from both of the band's studio albums, † and Audio, Video, Disco.
Another live album this week, this one from English band Los Campesinos! (the exclamation point is a part of their name). This is their first live album; it was recorded at Islington Assembly Hall in London on December 15 of last year.
While the rumored follow-up to 2009's Blakroc turned out to be little more than a hoax, that doesn't mean that The Black Keys have stopped teaming up with hip-hop artists. Here, they collaborate with The Wu-Tang Clan's RZA for a song to promote his upcoming directorial debut, The Man with the Iron Fists. In true Black Keys style, there is an awesome video to go with it.
I'm pretty excited for both the movie, to be released November 2; and the soundtrack, also featuring Kanye West, Idle Warship and Corinne Bailey Rae, released this coming Tuesday!
Video albums have become really popular over the past couple of years. I profiled a few them (from Bon Iver, PJ Harvey and TV on the Radio) and a few months back. Currently, Sigur Rós, is mounting a similar project, though some songs from their recent Valtari release are getting multiple videos.
Dirty Projectors are taking a slightly different approach to the video album. For their Hi Custodian mini-movie, they are not making distinct videos for each song on the Swing Lo Magellan album. Rather, they are incorporating the songs, broken into clips and pieces into a larger storyline. The movie was directed by Dirty Projectors frontman, David Longstreth.
I'm not 100% what the storyline is meant to be exactly. There's a man on his deathbed, hot girls in bikinis, and a group of religious leaders. It's about as weird as your average music video these days, but is still pretty interesting.
The film debuted in NYC on September 6, and was released online the next day.
Although the film itself doesn't play any songs from the album in full, a couple of the songs have gotten their own videos, including parts of the visuals used in the film. Watch them both below!
I recently paid homage to a much beloved and recently departed band, LCD Soundsystem.
The movie follows the band, and primarily lead singer James Murphy, on the night of and day after their final show at Madison Square Garden in April of last year. The movie was half concert film, half documentary, showing many of the songs played at the sold-out show in full, which had me and many of the others at the screening tapping our feet and singing along. Interspersed among the concert footage, the film followed James Murphy as he went about his day following the show, including walking his dog, checking in on DFA (his record label), giving interviews and collecting the band's equipment.
When LCD Soundsystem first announced the end, it was a little hard to comprehend. They had just released their third album, This Is Happening, and their visibility was growing with each release. The movie made it a lot easier to understand and appreciate why the end came when it did. Still, it had some very sad moments. The first tear-jerk moment came they showed Murphy back at MSG to collect the band's gear from the storage room. Faced with the realization that this was the last show, the last time he would be doing this, he broke down and cried (and I think the rest of us did, as well). At the end of the film, the cameras focused on a young fan still lingering, almost alone, on the floor of the venue, still looking at the stage and letting the emotion come over him. The band had an effect that went far beyond that which most indie, and even mainstream, acts may never be able to capture. I seemed an honor to be able to be a part of that, even if in such a tangential way.
Andrew Bird - Norman score Norman is a movie about a young man faking cancer in order to deal with his own father's terminal illness. The movie's been making the film festival rounds for more than a year now and will be getting an official (albeit limited) release later this month. Tomorrow, the film's score, created by Andrew Bird, will be released. I'll try to wait to pass judgment on the score until I can hear it in the context of the film. Hopefully, it will be showing at my local theater!
Trailer
Björk - Biophilia
Björk is known for having a more...interesting...song-writing process, and a more interesting style of music than most of what's out there. She was inspired to create this album after hearing of the concept of 'musicophilia,' the mind's empathy for music. Biophilia is, therefore, the mind's empathy for nature. Each of the songs touch on some aspect of nature. The album's also been released as a series of apps. That may be the first thing I download to my new iPhone this weekend!
"Crystalline"
Paley & Francis - Paley & Francis
Black Francis (Frank Black) was the frontman for legendary alternative rock band Pixies. Reid Paley was frontman for the "blues rock band from hell" The Five. This isn't their first foray together, Francis produced Paley's debut solo album and Paley often supported Francis on tours. This is their first duo album, though. It should be a promising mix of great punk and alternative rock, through a fairly more mature set of eyes.
"Curse" (live)
James Blake - Enough Thunder EP
Blake is having a pretty decent year. His music is at an intersection of two of very popular styles of music; dubstep and folky, soulful, minimalist music. He released an incredible full-length earlier this year to much well-deserved hype. I had the chance to listen to the new EP yesterday and it is certainly a great (if not frustratingly short) followup. It includes one of the best collaborations I've ever heard, with Bon Iver.
"Fall Creek Boys Choir" (with Bon Iver)
Radiohead - TKOL RMX 1234567
Radiohead's most recent album, The King of Limbs, can be considered fairly divisive among fans. Regardless of whether the album's your favorite, though, they are one of the few bands that manages to be original and surprising, even after considerable commercial success. This remix album has artists such as SBTRKT, Caribou and Jamie xx putting their own spins on the songs from the album. Remixes are always a mixed bag for me, some seem to enhance the original music, while others degrade it. Hopefully, the group of artists here have done right by Radiohead.
"Lotus Flower" (SBTRKT Remix)
Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
Ryan Adams is a bit of an anomaly. He seems to be able to transition seamlessly between multiple genres of music. He's built his name on alt-country, but has several releases with a more traditional rock feel to them. Just last year, he released a heavy metal album, Orion, that somehow didn't seem out of place. Ashes & Fire sees him going back for more of the alt-country style he started with. Although he's made great music in several genres, this seems to be what fits him best.
"Chains of Love"
Tim Hecker - Dropped Pianos
The music on Dropped Pianos actually precedes Hecker's most recent album, Ravedeath, 1972. The recordings here were the "piano sketches" that went into the final product of that album. Being an early prototype of the music, it has been described as having a much different, darker mood. We don't often get to see the early work that goes into the final albums released by musicians (usually just in the form of demos that show up on b-sides releases), so it will be interesting to compare and contrast this to the final product of his earlier release.
"Sketch 5"
Yuck - Yuck (Deluxe Edition)
Yuck became the poster-children of the new wave of early-90s indie rock. They definitely seemed to have ushered in a new era, even seeming to preempt the re-emergence of many of the artists that they were influenced by. I kinda despise deluxe editions of albums, though. There's a lot of music that I love, but not much that I'm willing to buy twice. It is nice, however, to see bands get big enough to warrant a re-release of an album. If I'm able, I'll just try to get my hands on the extra songs this is being released with.
"Milkshake"
I've been a fan of the rapper Q-Tip for a little while now, but hadn't yet really gotten into the group that got him started in the music business, A Tribe Called Quest (probably blasphemous of me, I know).
Last week, my local independent movie theater was showing the recently released documentary about the rap group, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, directed by Michael Rapaport (who you may remember as the loud-mouthed teacher on "Boston Public").
There had been some controversy, especially criticism from members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad over who should be telling the story of hip hop. were portrayed in the film. While I agree that he doesn't exactly come out smelling like roses, I appreciated the chance to learn about the group's start, collaborations, break-up and recent reunification.
I'm not sure many theaters will still be showing this, but if you love hip hop or even just music in general, I would definitely check this out if you ever get the chance.
Thanks to the doc, I have also been obsessed with their music for the past week or so! Favorite track...probably "Push it Along" (so far, at least!)
I mentioned Alex Turner's excellent soundtrack for the independent film, Submarine a few months ago. Last week, I decided to see the movie at a local theater that specialized in independent and foreign films.
The movie is excellent! It's a "coming of age" film about a young man, Oliver, whose has dual goals of losing his virginity and keeping his mother from sleeping with the creepy new neighbor. He succeeds at one and only half succeeds at the other; I'll let you guess which (or see the movie, which you should).
The movie stars Noah Taylor, the dad from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, looking surprisingly haggard, Paddy Considine as the creepy neighbor and amazing early starts from Craig Roberts as Oliver and Yasmin Paige as the object of his affections.
Definitely a must see! And get the soundtrack, too!
After a teasing post from Pitchfork, which led to a site that was streaming the short, just not to anyone in the US, the short film based on Arcade Fire's Grammy-winning The Suburbs is available for all to watch online.
^That's the opener I was going to have for this post, before realizing the You-Tube video of the film had been removed. Thankfully, I've had the chance to watch it before it was removed, though I would like to watch it again.
The film will be released along with the deluxe edition of the album at the end of this month.
