Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Album Review: Bring Back Love



Glide & Swerve's debut album, Bring Back Love, sounds much like their name. It's sleek, easy listening and feels like it's the perfect thing to zone out to while watching one of those Apple visualizers. The result is a fantastic down-tempo album that is perfect listening for a slow moment. Moreover, the album as a whole sounds 'cool'.
The group has been compared to Zero 7, but I think it sounds far more along the lines of Ivy, with their album In The Clear, which was released back in 2005. Both albums have the same airy feel with a good bass beat. There is a good mix of fast and slow with this album, enough to prevent it from being too redative. Tracks such as Healing Overture, And I Smile, The Last Stand Of Mr Dann, Falling and Pure (Stoneboy), stand out for their variety as much as their ability to fit in well with one another. Starting with Healing Overture and ending with This Is Yours - Finale, there's a gradual build in the tone and feel of each song, and the overall assembly works well together.
I really enjoyed this album - I found it to be a pleasant listen in the evening while puttering around my apartment, winding down for the night.

And I Smile - Glide & Swerve

Friday, October 16, 2009

Stargate Universe


On Friday, the SyFy channel unveiled its latest addition from the Stargatefranchise, Stargate: Universe to high ratings, showing that the third series has a good potential at life for the newly relaunched channel. This new version is an enormous leap forward for the series, evolving characters, storylines and the entire universe in which the show is set to bring about what looks to be a very promising addition to both the franchise and the genre.

Stargate: Universe opens quietly, with several location shots of space and the Destiny, the ship on which the show will be taking place, with an eventual cut to the familiar image of an active Stargate. A single soldier flies through the opening (Lt. Matthew Scott), falling and quickly checking his surroundings. What happens next is a mad rush of people and equipment. There is no explanation, no introduction of characters or their situation. It proves to be one of the most compelling moments in the franchise to date, and is so out of character for the Stargate Universe that this could very well be a different show, unrelated to the Stargate franchise, one that utilizes only one of the elements of the original show to any large degree, the titular Stargate.

The rest of the episode is shown through alternating scenes, the frantic scenes onboard the Ancient ship and the moments leading up to their predicament. Notable characters, such as Daniel Jackson, Jack O’Neill andSamantha Carter all make short cameos, which helps transition this universe from the familiar world of SG-1. I was happy to see that the characters got their moments, (they did the same for Atlantis), but I was equally happy that these appearances were just placeholders, showing that the franchise and storylines moved on after SG-1, and that there were other things to explore. The episode storyline is also very different from what longtime viewers of SG-1or Atlantis might expect, both in story and execution. With the unconventional start to the episode, we go back to see Eli Wallace, a typical geek-type, solves a puzzle on an MMORPG and is visited by O’Neill and Dr. Rush, who tell him that the puzzle was to help solve a problem that the SGC was having off world. Eli is brought to a spaceship (where we see Daniel Jackson at his best, explaining things in long form) and brought to Icarus Base, where Rush is working out an equation to uncover the meaning behind the 9th chevron of the Stargate. Because of the planet’s unique properties, this is the ideal place to study, for power reasons. Shortly after the delegation’s arrival, the planet is attacked and the team, with Eli’s help, is able to dial the new address with the 9th Chevron, bringing the storyline to The Destiny, an Ancient ship designed to explore, but that is also falling apart.

Thus, the series begins, not with the very typical elements that defined the earlier shows, but with even more basic ones – air supply (the first three episodes are called Air, Parts 1, 2 and 3, with 3 airing next Friday) food and water, with the very survival of the people, all unprepared for this unexpected journey. This is a huge change from the two prior series – the characters were laid out, the story generally involved a new planet or technology, and everyone was home by supper. This changed over the evolution of the shows, but by and large, this formula didn’t change all that much. This, on the other hand, takes the formula and throws it through the Stargate. While this isn’t BattlestarGate like a lot of people had thought, it’s clear that SyFy has realized that the method of storytelling that Battlestar Galactica utilized would work well for this show, and from all appearances, it’s been utilized very well.

What I liked most of all was that this isn’t a rehash of SG-1 like Stargate Atlantis was. SG-1 was a very fun show, one that really grew with time, but a show that really held to many of the same conventions throughout. Thus, it was consistent, but as viewers tastes in shows matures, the show did not.Atlantis was essentially a rehash of SG-1, just with different characters in a different galaxy, but with many of the same stories and even situations carrying over. This show, on the other hand, seems to seek out a very different path with the overall intent of the storyline, going over some new territory and retreading some very basic older ground.

What the show does to the franchise is that it removes many of the assumptions that the earlier shows held. Travelling to another planet, after a while, became very routine and as such, much of that energy and enthusiasm vanished in the first couple seasons, and were aptly replaced by the major storylines that developed. This is in no way a bad thing, but it was a noticeable thing. With Universe, that sense is back, but with it is much of the danger and feeling of the unknown. Where SG-1 sprinted through stories, Universe is taking the slower and more deliberate route, which should be more realistic, but more interesting to the modern viewer.

Like in SG-1, the core of the story is exploration; really capturing what I believe is the central essence of Science Fiction, exploration. This is demonstrated after the refugees from the base find themselves on the ship, and it is explained that they can fulfill something important while onboard, exploring the universe around them, essentially making the best of what is a really terrible situation. This is where the show delves into new territory, with a race for survival for basics – security and air. This was explored a bit in Atlantis, but not nearly with as much urgency as here. SGC members tread around the ship, almost getting killed when they open the wrong doors, and they race to repair the atmospheric conditions on board by plugging a couple of leaks that they find and fixing the air scrubbers. This is something that never seemed to happen in the original shows, and to some extent, it feels a little more like the original film upon which the shows are based. This is something that will most likely continue with the rest of the series, as the characters begin to inventory what they have – tape, paper, but not much when it comes to necessities. Hugo Award winning author John Scalzi has been brought in as a consultant, and noted that the crew has a finite number of resources, such as bullets and food, and that this figures into the style of the show.

What is also very promising for the rest of the series is the characters. While initially reading over the early plots and character descriptions, I wasn’t very hopeful for how the show looked. Fortunately, SyFy has assembled a very promising cast of characters, each with their own moments in the limelight as the story progressed in the first episode. There is enough background hinted at for each character for a whole multitude of upcoming stories, somewhat along the lines of what was done in LOST, which is good. We have a number of characters that really aren’t the cut and dry, good and bad sort of characters. Rather, we’re treated to numerous shades of gray, and I’m not sure where these characters will end up by the end of Season 1. Of the entire cast, however, Dr. Nicholas Rush, played by Robert Carlyle is the most intriguing, with a hinted tragic past and unclear motivations, and will clearly be a person to watch during future episodes. A number of the other characters are also quite interesting, and I am eager to see what they do with a couple of them.

Universe, when it was first announced, was not a show that I was looking forward to. Early news reports did not look good, and even with the first trailers, I wasn’t won over by the premise. It was not until I began to hear that this show would be different, not only in how it was shot, but how it was structured, that I began to take more of an interest, and watching the results, I was amazed at how the franchise had grown up to what I saw before me. This is a good move for SyFy and the Stargate franchise, because it shows that the story can move onto different story models and styles, rather than essentially rehashing much of the same, as Atlantis did with SG-1. Atlantisfailed after only five seasons, compared to SG-1’s massive run of ten seasons. Indeed, the eventual failure of SG-1 is most likely the same as Atlantis’s - the show simply did not change enough from the original model, even with a fairly new cast and set of storylines that would have carried it into future seasons. Universe seems to be that change that the franchise has so desperately needed, one that retains the familiar aspects of the shows that we know and love, but with newer elements that have been shown to work very well in a number of newer shows.

Air, Parts 1 and 2, are a fantastic start to the new show, and if they are any indication of how this season will fare, it will be very interesting indeed. Already, it is amongst the best two hours in the entire franchise, and I have a feeling that the rest of the show will put Universe as one of the better shows in the franchise, if not the best of the three. I am now eagerly awaiting the rest of the season.


Breathe - Alexi Murdoch


Hype - Watch - Look

Sia Covers The Church


Sia recently recorded a cover of The Church's fantastic song, Under The Milky Way, for a Lincoln car commercial, the same ones who got Cat Power to do her fantastic cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity. This song was up for a free download on their website. It's a pity CP's song wasn't up there as well, but give this version a listen - it's just as good as the original song.


Thursday, October 15, 2009

Pink


I saw Carbon Leaf earlier this week, with a fun lineup with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, along with Dawn Landes. I didn't take down a set list, because I've done that quite a few times already, but there is one part of the concert that I wanted to pass along to the greater internet population.

One of the new songs on their latest album, Nothing Rhymes With Woman, is called Pink. As Barry Privet prepared for the song, he related a story:

Along with some friends we've known who have struggled to overcome breast cancer, 'Pink' was inspired by the story of a fan of ours who developed breast cancer at a particularly young age. We were touched by her strength in documenting her own journey, and the amazing outpouring of support from her family, friends and community.

As a result, this week, the band has joined with The Breast Cancer Site and National Breat Cancer Foundation, and are offering their song, Pink, as a free download. To recieve the song, visit this link.

For each download of the song, Vanguard Records will donate $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Please download the song. In fact, tell a friend and get them to do the same.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Chasing Pirates


Chasing Pirates, the latest song from Norah Jones, is a bit of a change from her normal sound, and will be coming with her next album, The Fall. Due out in November, this album is touted as holding a new sound for Jones, who's breakout album, Come Away With Me has really yet to be matched by her followup albums, Feels Like Home and Not Too Late. Both were fine albums, but neither came anywhere close to that first, fantastic disc.

If
Chasing Pirates is anything to go by, Jones is toning down the jazz angle that was so heavily featured on her first three albums, going instead with more of a modern rock and roll sound. This first track has a much heavier beat, with no piano. Jones' vocals are angled differently for this song - the sound is not so much silky jazz, but more laid back rock and pop than anything else. While this will undoubtably alienate some of her fans, I'm sold on the change. I've thought that Jones' needed to really change up something after Come Away With Me, and while this isn't the change that I would have pegged her at, the results sound promising.

Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Review: Born Again


Over the past couple of years, blues/folk/rock has become a bit more popular through the radio and listeners, partially due to an influx of artists such as Amos Lee and Ray LaMontagnge, who have released a number of fantastic albums in the past five years that have blended country-folk with rock and roll. The results are a series of better-than-average rock and roll songs that take the best of both worlds - storytelling with the energy and sound of rock. While this isn't universally true, there is quite a bit to suggest that folk-rock is a bit on the rise, with the aforementioned artists, but also with such acts as Alexi Murdoch and Iron & Wine, covering the loud to the softer sides of this genre.


Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons are no different on this list. Hailing from Wisconsin, the group, headed by frontman Cory Chisel, has released their first full length album entitled Death Won't Send A Letter, a remarkable album that comes after several smaller EPs (Darken Your Door, Little Bird and Cabin Ghosts).

This album is a joy to listen to - The Wandering Sons have a diverse range of sound, starting the album off with a bang with Born Again, before settling down, ironically, Calm Down. This range is a healthy one for the entire album, because they seem so effortlessly to move from song to son. The faster songs on the album are well paced, rythmic and above all, interesting. But beyond just the range of speed at which the band can play, they shift around the sounds quite a bit - Death Won't Send a Letter, has a dynamic and rich sound, one that far surpasses most albums that I've heard yet this year. Where a number of bands have adapted a sound to suit a change, The Wandering Sons are the real deal, and if you aren't tapping your foot or getting into the sound, you're doing something wrong.

Born Again - Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Concert Review: Jonathan Coulton


A couple weeks ago, I got to see a favorite singer of mine, Jonathan Coulton. Coulton is one of the leading singers in the small geek-folk/rock field. Like nerdcore music, this isn't any different than the overall genre, but he sings with a number of themes that fall within geek/nerd fandom. His concert, opened by Paul and Storm (who were in and of themselves quite funny), was a fun and highly entertaining evening. I can't say that he's the best stage presence that I've seen - a bit more preperation would have been nice, but his songs superseed that by quite a bit. If you get a chance to check him out, I recommend it.

Here's the set list:

Betty and Me
Skullcusher mountain
Code Monkey
Shop Vac
Curl
Big Bad World One
Space Doggity
Little Birdhouse In Your Soul (They Might Be Giants)
Creepy Doll
Drinking With You
Mr. Fancy Pants
I Crush Everything
The Future Soon
Still Alive
Re: Brains
Encore
I Feel Fantastic

Skullcrusher Mountain - Jonathan Coulton
Curl - Jonathan Coulton

Monday, October 5, 2009

Horchata - New Song by Vampire Weekend


Vampire Weekend, the indie-darlings of 2008, have announced their upcoming album in recent weeks, entitled Contra, which will be avaliable January 11th in the UK and the 12th in the US. I'm moderately interested to see if these guys can follow up with the same success with their first album. While they have a fairly unique sound, I've always been moderately turned off by the amount of critical praise heaped upon them, as well as the widespread adoption of the hipster-demographic. At the end, it never really matters what others think of anything, and they have sounded pretty good. This new track, Horchata (which, according to wikipedia, is: the name for several kinds of traditional beverages, made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley or tigernuts) sounds quite good. They have retained much of the light, fun sound that was prevalent throughout their first album, and that is an indication of how the album will sound, they should be pretty well off next year.

Here's the track listing:
01 Horchata
02 White Sky
03 Holiday
04 California English
05 Taxi Cab
06 Run
07 Cousins
08 Giving Up the Gun
09 Diplomat's Son
10 I Think Ur a Contra



Horchata - Vampire Weekend

Friday, October 2, 2009

Duet: Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking.

When I first started this blog, I never thought that I'd these two up for a song. Today's duet is about the universe, a very fun remix with Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking.





Glorious Dawn (Cosmos Remix) - Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking