Dark Knight Fans: Why So Serious?

Wearing this costume inexplicably causes me to overact.

Well, I was one of those insane folks who stayed up until 3 AM this past Thursday night partaking in the two and a half hours of darkness and gloom that was The Dark Knight. The film, once seemingly a hapless victim of its own hype, is now apparently being considered one of the cinematic masterpieces of our time.

Where do I begin with this one? Comic books have long had the reputation of being mediocre escapist entertainment for teen boys. While not necessarily true (as evidenced by the works of Frank Miller, Alan Moore, etc.), this is a stigma that lingers. With Batman Begins, and now The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan has taken a medium commonly known for its absurdity and attempted to root it in reality.

His efforts in Batman Begins were that of a mixed bag. Marred by shoddy pacing, terrible action sequences, and a weak conclusion, Begins was a film that could have been so much more. With The Dark Knight, Nolan looked to correct his mistakes by delivering a high intensity experience with a formidable (and far more memorable) Batman villain. The results, although generally pleasing, in no way stand up to the excessive hyperbole being dumped upon the film.

The Dark Knight is an intense affair. It’s an almost exasperatingly long film that still struggles to fit all of its details into the mix. From the moment the film begins, to the moment the credits roll, The Dark Knight punches you in the face relentlessly with its nihilistic brutality. This is probably the darkest and most menacing PG-13 film I have ever seen, and it certainly is without peer in its genre. When the Joker gruesomely impales a thug’s face with a pencil, you wonder exactly how this film managed to avoid an R rating.

Speaking of the Joker, I would be remiss if I were not to touch on such an apparently legendary performance. I was unaware that the Academy Awards were decided in mid-July. Make no mistake though, Ledger’s Joker is very intense and dangerous, and steals nearly every scene he appears in. This is a far cry from Jack Nicholson in face paint dancing around to Prince. Ledger’s final performance is a strong and lasting one, but his relative lack of on screen time in a jam-packed film means that this deranged vision was sadly never given enough time to truly shine.

This film simply has too much content. All of the explosions, hostage situations, and beatdowns punctuating the interrogations, character turns, and police procedure ends up being a bit too much. Nolan was too ambitious for his own good. The Dark Knight tries to do too much and thus stumbles attempting to solidify its position in any regard, really. The film plays like it wants to be a thought-provoking procedural crime drama and a big budget blockbuster action film simultaneously. The Dark Knight’s breakneck pace never allows characters like Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent to fully develop and never gives one enough time to react to the weight of the events transpiring on screen.

The Dark Knight aspires to transcend all other comic book adaptations, and in this respect I don’t think it is unreasonable to say Nolan has succeeded. The film, despite all of its issues, does indeed surpass much of the brainless slop that populates the superhero film genre. This does not however, mean it is a great modern crime drama. Despite Nolan’s best wishes, The Dark Knight is still a prisoner to its own source material. He has to fit this action-packed crime thriller into a mold with face-painting psychopaths and billionaire vigilantes in bat suits. Nolan’s attempt to bring absurd fantasy to life is to be lauded for sure, but it is not one to be taken so… seriously.

Wow. This a really good year for hardcore music.

The hits just keep on coming. If you love hardcore music like me, then you’re probably rejoicing on a monthly basis these days. Killing the Dream’s latest album Fractures drops today, and it’s real fucking talk. In the works for over a year, Fractures is a passionate expression of artistic maturity from one of Deathwish’s brightest stars.

This album is raw. Although sporting cleaner production than the self-titled or In Place, Apart, Fractures still packs a vicious punch that wastes no time in demonstrating its power. When “Part II (Motel Art)” explodes from the speakers like a runaway freight train of anguished screams and ten ton guitars, the listener quickly learns that Killing the Dream has no intention of dulling their attack on Fractures. The title track injects some melody into the caustic mix in the form of cleanly sung vocals and somber guitar riffs.

“Thirty Four Seconds” is less about melody and more about kicking your teeth in. The most relentless hardcore track I’ve heard thus far in 2008. This is a disgusted, scathing indictment of betrayal. Vocalist Eli Horner begins the song by screeching forth “I should have fucking known/ you are who you fuck.” The finale of this track is a stark and epic statement of bitterness:

“I never thought this would be your song.
Fuck, i never thought this would be my song.
But thieves don’t write songs, their victims write for them.
I’ve never fucking said it before.
I’ve never fucking meant it more.
Fuck you.
Fuck all of you.”

Lyrical content continues to be a strong area for Killing the Dream. Fractures contains some of their most pointed, hard-hitting, and heartfelt words ever committed to a notepad. This is perhaps evident in no clearer fashion than on the closing track, “Resolution.” The cathartic end to Fractures’ bubbling anger, this track might be the band’s best to date.  Wrought with emotion and crafted with careful precision, “Resolution” is a track so powerful that it sends chills up my spine. Horner screams with lament “Remember when this was everything/ In a way it still is/ I just want to feel that way again” as jagged guitars engulf him for one last gasp of desperation.

Fractures is a gut-wrenching, emotionally-draining listen. It’s contrived to talk about how not enough bands in any given genre display enough emotion in their music these days, so I’ll avoid that line of thought. However, Killing the Dream emit an overwhelming feeling of sincerity in everything they do. Fractures is the type of album that forms a symbiotic bond with the listener. When you’re spinning this record, you share these feelings of loss, bitterness, and inner strength. It’s quite comforting, really.

• Buy it at the Deathwish Store
• http://www.myspace.com/killingthedream
  

Random Thoughts or Holy Shit I Need to Update

So yeah, it has been quite awhile since I updated this thing, huh?  Well, instead of letting May fall into the abyss reserved for months with no blahg posting love, I’ve decided to pack this post with pointless shit to help create the illusion of content. Yeah I know, I’m a genius.

I’ve been listening to a lot of hardcore punk lately.  Everything from Discharge to Killing the Dream.  Minor Threat, Chain of Strength; just lots of angry stuff.  The main point here is that the new Verse album Aggression kicks serious ass.  The sprawling buzzsaw attack of “Story of a Free Man” will implore you to grit your teeth and bloody your knuckles on the nearest wall (or face).  This shit crushes.  Bridge 9 has a sweet preorder deal for the album going on over at their online store, which will allow you to legally download the album right now.  Don’t wait on this.  GO.  I’ll wait.

Did you buy it? Next up is the weirded out experimental act Indian Jewelry.  Their latest album Free Gold! is deserving of many adjectives used to describe the best of music.  It’s droney! And poppy! And yes, it’s even psyche-y.  If I may throw around some absurd genre distinctions– this is some supremely interesting neo-psyche drone pop.  Free Gold! is pop music for people who like to unwind from a hard day at work by throwing on an Acid Mothers Temple album.  You’d do well to give this one a shot.

Lastly, some ramblings from the world of my beloved southern rap.  I know Weezy’s Carter 3 is set to tear shit up in a few weeks, but it’s gonna be hard to top the monster of an album that Bun B dropped last week.  Bun should probably just retire now, because I don’t think he’s gonna top this.  Tremendous production all around, strong guest spots, and a nice variety of songs (including a heartfelt song dedicated to Pimp C).  Southern rap fans should be banging this one out of the slab all summer long.

Well now, I guess this wasn’t so hard after all.  See you in about four weeks.

Pocahaunted goes pop… sorta.

If by “pop” you mean “delightfully danceable in a completely fucked out of your gourd on psychotropics” kind of way. Yes, Pocahaunted has finally created the album we all knew they had in them. Island Diamonds is a deeply spiritual dance party for those who do not dance. It’s an introspective mystical journey for the bearded. Lace up those Chuck Taylors and lace that joint with acid– we’re about to go on a trip with Pocahaunted.

Island Diamonds is Pocahaunted like you’ve never heard them before. No longer are the girls beating the drums of war or indulging in sprawling monuments to the gods. This is Pocahaunted skulking through alleyways at the witching hour, peering through windows into the depths of your psyche. Their silhouettes dance intoxicatingly against a graffiti-tagged brick wall illuminated by a nearby barrel fire.

These songs abandon the creeping fog of previous Pocahaunted releases in favor of a more focused sound. Every song still contains the incomprehensible chants and wails we have come to expect from this group, but they are now backed by pulsing bass lines and other percussive elements. These aspects really tie the sound together and make it spring forth with a vibrancy never before witnessed from a Pocahaunted release. It’s actually kind of… groovy?

“Riddim Queen” is without a doubt one of the finest songs I have heard all year up to this point. Featuring a murky riff that sounds like it slithered its way out of a manhole cover, this song is the perfect audio companion to the decayed nighttime urban sprawl. “Gehetto Ballet” slinks with an air of mystique along a slippery bass line, pushed along by powerful wails sang from the corners of the grimiest streets.

Island Diamonds is already being referring to as the penultimate Pocahaunted release. This group has continued to put out quality material, but Island Diamonds is a phenomenal step that should please many who were perhaps growing tired of their previous direction. This album establishes Pocahaunted as a dynamic and fearless act who are more than deserving of all the attention they have been receiving in the experimental scene. Through burnt out streetlights and cracked, black asphalt, Island Diamonds comes highly recommended.

• Buy it from Not Not Fun
• http://www.myspace.com/pocahaunted

Spring Time = Drone Time.

Ah, it’s such a lovely day outside. The sun is blanketing the Earth with its slow death rays. The birds are chirping and flying about, waiting to smash into a window and kill themselves. It’s a lovely day for the soothing sounds of dense guitar drone. And the drone will be provided by that beloved purveyor of galaxy annihilating star explosions, Campbell Kneale, aka Birchville Cat Motel.

Four Freckle Constellation is Kneale’s second BCM album so far this year. On his recent Gunpowder Temple of Heaven album Kneale painstakingly churned out one monolithic track of shimmering drone, but Four Freckle sees him return to a more conventional approach with multiple movements as opposed to one titanic surface-destroying piece.

Kneale has also shifted his sound back to something relatively similar to his material on Astro Catastrophes and Her Anger Is Limitless. Once again, percussion is in play, and Kneale’s massive metamorphosing drone has settled into a place where the echoes of traditional song structure can be heard.

“Damn Infinity Hairtie” opens the album like a supernova, reducing planets to cosmic dust in its wake. Kneale kicks out monstrous riffs drenched in feedback and distortion while being backed by simplistic percussion that pushes the piece along hypnotically. The title track is a less ferocious affair. The eradication of a distant planet in slow motion as witnessed through the body of the tiniest organism. Watching the flames rip slowly across the ground, toppling buildings like a child topples a stack of blocks. Lush, apocalyptic drone for the indifferent generation.

“Stories of Fallen Aristocrats” is of an even more subdued nature. This somber piece floats along with an accompanying wash of screeches and light brass-like instrumentation. Chimes and off-signal chatter can be heard as the track fades. Simply haunting.

Four Freckle Constellation is yet another impressive step in Kneale’s already overwhelmingly great discography. Never content to stay in one place too long, and disinterested in taking time off, Kneale has once again proven why he is at the forefront of the experimental music scene.

• Buy it from Conspiracy Records
• http://www.myspace.com/birchvillecatmotel

“Only Hours Ago, I Was Laughing”

 

What a vile record we have here. Okay, so I’m sure anyone that cares about noise music has heard Prurient’s latest album And Still, Wanting by this point, but that won’t stop me from gushing over it. It is to good for me not to blog about it. A slab of noise this dynamic and nasty must be talked about by as many people as possible. I’m here to do my part.

Dominick Fernow’s Prurient act has become known as one of the most interesting in the noise scene. His harsh sonic warfare is much more than wave after wave of disgusting, eardrum-raping sound collages. Fernow manages to create compelling and downright terrifying sheets of sound that ripple and change, nuances creeping through every pore.

And Still, Wanting is an extremely focused effort. Immaculately sequenced, this album is a nightmarish death trip that flows cohesively from start to finish. Opener “Memory Repeating” let’s us know that one harrowing journey lies before us. Fernow calmy states “Only hours ago, I was laughing,” before slamming us in the face repeatedly with a gigantic sledgehammer of noise. Tension rises and falls without warning, but this is only the beginning.

Personal favorite “Lust End,” like many tracks on Wanting, shows heavy black metal influence.  Fernow’s distortion-mangled howls sound purely demonic.  His guttural growls are engulfed in a thick hellfire of guitar riffage and noise that burn with such fury I think I suffered third degree burns while listening.

Once And Still, Wanting reaches its conclusion, the listener is left with the imagery of charred corpses and rubble that extends infinitely into the blackened horizon.  There is no light here.  No joy.  This is the soundtrack to night terrors.  And it is fucking beautiful.

• Buy the album from No Fun Productions
• Prurient Myspace

I Return! And I Bring Ambient!

Sorry for the recent lack of updates. I had been in the process of moving, and then shortly after that I got sick. So that fails. Anyways, I’m here today to discuss a damn fine album by a group of Californians known as Thuja.

Thuja operates in the worlds of experimental and ambient. A world where peculiar sound textures can feel as warm and familiar as an old friend. A world where complexity can be broken down into the most simplistic terms. Their latest self-titled effort is a collection of live recordings that conjure up imagery of rustic abandoned cabins hidden deep within the thickest of forests, fog covered horizons on the dawn of a new day, and forgotten spirits shambling about– their destination unknown to even themselves.

Opening track “Oaklandish” drifts on a stream of gentle guitar drones before reaching its conclusion with sparsely picked notes. “Pehr Space” sounds like a group of undead prison escapees shuffling about a campfire in the dark wilderness, their ankle chains rattling ever so slightly. Thuja incorporates a lot of different sounds into their unique brand of ambient music. On any given track, string instruments, woodwinds, synths, and a myriad of found sounds can be heard. Thuja’s music takes on a very organic feel, almost as if it was something that grew from the soil as opposed to growing from the minds of men.

This is the first ambient record to really catch my attention in 2008. These gentle sound collages paint portraits awash with rich imagery that allow the album to serve perfectly not only as background music for ones’ activities, but also as an engrossing, focused listening experience. Beautiful earth toned ambient music. Give it a listen.

Listen to The Goslings, Damn You

I’m pissed off, you see. Why am I pissed? Well, it’s because The Goslings continue to be quite possibly the most underrated band out there right now. If you were one of the two other people aside from myself that bought Grandeur of Hair in 2006, then you are privileged to know that you own the very best album to be released in that year. Despite receiving a “eureka!” from Tiny Mix Tapes for Grandeur (albeit months after it was already out), the husband-wife duo of Max and Leslie Soren still tend to be largely overlooked. This displeases me.

Well, The Goslings have a new album out, and goddammit I’m going to blog my little heart out about it. Occasion is the follow-up to Granduer of Hair, and sees The Goslings continuing to hone their unmercifully blunt cacophony of beauty and devastation. Very similar to Grandeur in overall feel, Occasion features tons of heavily distorted and suffocatingly dense guitar sludge, mortar fire percussion, and those sweetly melodic vocals. This isn’t wimpy “dream doom” or “doomgaze” like Justin Broadrick peddles, this is furious, tightly compressed noise that would love nothing more than to spontaneously combust your speakers and burn your house to the ground.

Listening to Occasion is like having your skull slowly crushed with a vice grip, while a hundred sawblades cut at sheet metal and a beautiful woman sings lullabies to you just before your head pops like zits on the face of an adolescent. That sounds gruesome, but it accurately describes The Gosling’s penchant for seamlessly melding tenacity with emotional rawness.

“Vitium” is a nasty march of death that would make Michael Gira and Jarboe cower in fear. Disconsolate riffs rain down without respite, crashing to the ground with a high gravity force while Leslie Soren sings with great desperation to the satellites orbiting Earth. Much like the work of Gira and Jarboe, there is no tension release to be found here.

The Goslings rarely lift their weight from the listener’s chest on Occasion. “Motorcade” is a classic Goslings doom epic. An aural assault so thick that you might choke while listening to it. This track begins its life as ugly and corrosive as anything we’ve heard from the band, but brilliant black wings eventually sprout from the back of the mysterious, lumbering juggernaut, taking flight with an extended passage of uplifting guitar before dissolving into a beautiful showcase for Leslie’s vocals.

This is one of the most interesting bands making music at the moment. Many bands out there right now like to marry sludge/noise/shoegaze to make pretty little indie tunes for soppy vaginas that like to say they listen to noise, when in reality they would be butt hurt if they ever tried to listen to a Whitehouse or Brighter Death Now record. The Goslings marry these influences with authority. They do not fuck around. Occasion is another blissfully ugly chapter that easily stands up to their other works. Buy it.

• http://www.myspace.com/thegoslings
• Buy it from Not Not Fun

Listening to Music is Fun.

Hello there. It is that time of the week where I share the songs that have been making sweet love to my ears recently. This past week has been a fantastic week for me in terms of music discovery, so let’s jump right into things.

Thomas Brinkmann - “Words”

Wow. This song is simply stunning. And the album that it’s on is sure to make appearances on many electronic music lovers’ year-end lists. “Words” is a downright chilling ballad, and a fantastic start to When Horses Die. Minimal piano keys resonate and Brinkmann bellows hauntingly. This is what Nick Cave would sound like if those Bad Seeds had grown into Apple computers.

Download “Words”

Ikonika - “Please” [Original Mix]

Hyperdub’s newest shining star, Ikonika totally kills it with this energetic two-stepper. Many of the blips and boops on “Please” sound like they could’ve been taken from a NES game, but the sequencing here is impeccable. It’s all very cute and playful, and it never stays in one place too long. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I’ve heard a better electronic song so far this year. If I ever host a dance party in the Horsehead Nebula this is most definitely going to be on the playlist.

Download “Please”

Olga Kouklaki - “Right Shot”

This dark wave of minimal electro pop comes to us courtesy of sexy Greek siren, Olga Kouklaki. “Right Shot” has a thick bassline interspersed with moody synths that delicately weave their way around Kouklaki’s sensual vocals. And here I thought the French had a lock on good electronic pop music.

Download “Right Shot”

Have a Nice Life - “Deep, Deep”

This band is catching on rapidly with indie music nerds everywhere. And for good reason. Have a Nice Life’s mammoth Deathconsciousness album is a brilliant statement. Their melancholy sound draws heavily upon the shoegaze movement and the post-punk stylings of bands like Joy Division. “Deep, Deep” is from the second disc of the album, and is a driving, rock-your-face-off kind of song. Pounding drums and angular guitars again recall the era where punk began to branch out and become influenced by other genres. The vocals are mostly obscured in the mix (a characteristic of shoegaze acts like My Bloody Valentine), but are delivered with great passion. Urgent and invigorating. This is one hell of a rock track, people.

Download “Deep, Deep”

“If I Say I’m an Oil Man, You Will Agree”

Well I finally got to witness PT Anderson’s latest, and holy shit was it good.

Watch out, this man WILL drink your milkshake. 

There Will Be Blood is many things. Far more than just a simple story of an oil tycoon’s rise to prominence, There Will Be Blood has many complex themes at work.  It can be construed as a commentary on capitalism.  Or perhaps a religious allegory?  How about an intricate familial drama?  Dark comedy?  There’s a whole ocean of possibilities under our feet!  No one can get at it except for me!

It just wouldn’t be right if someone wrote about this film without throwing in a lame play on the title. So with that in mind, be careful as you read ahead, because “There Will Be Spoilers.”

Much has been made about monstrous evil residing in Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), but really Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) is every bit as malicious. Both characters exhibit an extreme desire for power. Both men have the will to dominate and control those who surround them. Daniel deceives, makes shady deals, and shows little to no concern for the well-being of his workers– all in the name of greed.  He is a cold and callous reminder of the very foundation of capitalism.

Eli on the other hand, is a man of God. However, much like Daniel, he lusts for power. Although he doesn’t deal in pipelines and oil derricks, Eli preys upon others using one of the most powerful mind control tools of all– blind faith. The desperate era of early 1900s rural America saw many people with nowhere to turn. Eli’s conviction and flair for passionate theatrics allowed him to have total control over his small town. The Eli Sunday character is a colorful demonstration of the absurdity of faith and religion.

The only truly virtuous individual to be found in There Will Be Blood’s twisted tale of deceit and destruction was Daniel’s son, HW. While the film first suggested that young HW may in fact grow up to be just like his father, Daniel’s reckless ways eventually took their toll. Towards the end of the film, we see that HW has created his own life and is really nothing like his father at all. The moment where HW walks out on Daniel is a pivotal moment in the film.

The disintegration of Daniel once HW bids him farewell is harrowing. Daniel’s response to HW’s statements suggested he never did care for this “bastard in a basket,” when in reality HW was the last stabilizing force in Daniel’s life. Throughout the film, HW is among the only people that can crack the cruel exterior of Daniel.  Once HW has made it clear that he is leaving to start his own oil business, he becomes a competitor to Daniel– and we all know how much Daniel hates his competitors.  Afterwards, in one of my favorite scenes from the film, we see an inebriated Daniel passed out in the gutter of his indoor bowling alley.  A lovely visual metaphor telling us that even though Daniel is by all means a successful man, he truly has nothing.  The empty rewards of a capitalist society.

In any event, I believe this film to be more or less a study of capitalism and Christianity.  Observe the conflict between Daniel and Eli.  Both men are extremely proud men. Men that “have a competition” in them.  One worships the dollar, the other worships a god.  It’s the evils of capitalism versus the evils of religion.  We see Daniel slap Eli around early on in the film, tossing him into the oil and ridiculing his faith.  Eli later enacts a small measure of revenge by humiliating Daniel in the middle of his church.  But it would be Daniel who has the last laugh.

In There Will Be Blood, Daniel’s capitalistic ways are triumphant.  When Eli comes crawling back to the greedy, godless oilman asking for money, Daniel becomes more sure than ever before that there can be no salvation through faith in God.  A man must create his own destiny.  Daniel gets Eli to admit that he is a false prophet and that God does not exist.  Daniel then brutally murders Eli using one of his superfluous material possessions gained through his cut throat capitalistic means– a bowling pin.  Capitalism has triumphed over religion and has now established itself as the driving force behind American society.

Whew.  That was a lot– and this is but one interpretation.  There Will Be Blood is a richly layered film stacked with gorgeous shots, a haunting score, and knock-out performances. I think the vicious oil man can best sum up the experience of There Will Be Blood– as he nonchalantly states after witnessing Eli’s animated performance at the church, “That was one goddamn helluva show.” Indeed.