We're celebrating Charlize Theron before Atomic Blonde opens this week! Here's Chris Feil's weekly series on music in the movies...
Young Adult begins with a near ten minute stretch of almost silence before its recurring song choice bursts in and becomes one of the film’s most illuminating crutches of its antihero Mavis Gary, played with utter genius by Charlize Theron.
At the news that her high school sweetheart Buddy is a new father, Mavis departs her depressing life on a cringe-inducing quest to win him back, armed with tunes from their love that she keeps in a memory box in her closet. The keepsake mixtape “Mad Love, Buddy” begins with “The Concept” by Teenage Fanclub, quite the apropos band name for Mavis’s frozen disposition. After several instant rewinds it becomes clear this isn’t just a favorite road trip singalong, but the one she remembers Buddy by. Their song.
Young Adult begins with a near ten minute stretch of almost silence before its recurring song choice bursts in and becomes one of the film’s most illuminating crutches of its antihero Mavis Gary, played with utter genius by Charlize Theron.
At the news that her high school sweetheart Buddy is a new father, Mavis departs her depressing life on a cringe-inducing quest to win him back, armed with tunes from their love that she keeps in a memory box in her closet. The keepsake mixtape “Mad Love, Buddy” begins with “The Concept” by Teenage Fanclub, quite the apropos band name for Mavis’s frozen disposition. After several instant rewinds it becomes clear this isn’t just a favorite road trip singalong, but the one she remembers Buddy by. Their song.
- 7/26/2017
- by Chris Feil
- FilmExperience
Mark Harrison Jul 3, 2017
Music is a vital part of Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End. We take a look in more detail right here...
This feature contains major spoilers for Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End.
Edgar Wright's films are often likened to musicals, with his precise use of editing and shot choices giving us some of the most stylish comedy films of the century. His latest, Baby Driver, isn't a comedy per se, but “a musical with car chases”, or “An American In Paris on wheels and crack smoke”, as an elated Guillermo del Toro described it on Twitter.
Centring around Ansel Elgort's Baby, a getaway driver who does his best work while listening to a personal soundtrack, it seems like the film Wright was born to make. He had the idea for the film after making his first feature,...
Music is a vital part of Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End. We take a look in more detail right here...
This feature contains major spoilers for Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End.
Edgar Wright's films are often likened to musicals, with his precise use of editing and shot choices giving us some of the most stylish comedy films of the century. His latest, Baby Driver, isn't a comedy per se, but “a musical with car chases”, or “An American In Paris on wheels and crack smoke”, as an elated Guillermo del Toro described it on Twitter.
Centring around Ansel Elgort's Baby, a getaway driver who does his best work while listening to a personal soundtrack, it seems like the film Wright was born to make. He had the idea for the film after making his first feature,...
- 6/29/2017
- Den of Geek
This is where I'm supposed to summarize the past year, find some overaching theme or thread running through my choices, spot trends, or something along those lines. Instead it's just another mea culpa for my continuing and accelerating estrangement from mainstream pop music. Don't mind me, I'm just a grumpy old fart. But these twenty new albums made me less grumpy.
1. Diiv: Is the Is Are (Captured Tracks)
I enjoyed their first album, and far from a sophomore slump, their second is even better. Sure, I'm heavily predisposed to love bands that conjure a moody '80s vibe with thrumming bass, chiming guitar jangle, and submerged vocals, but this is greater than the sum of those parts, simultaneously updating the sound while tapping into a new level of melodicism for this band.
2. David Bowie: Black Star (Sony)
I wrote about this at length. What can I add now that...
1. Diiv: Is the Is Are (Captured Tracks)
I enjoyed their first album, and far from a sophomore slump, their second is even better. Sure, I'm heavily predisposed to love bands that conjure a moody '80s vibe with thrumming bass, chiming guitar jangle, and submerged vocals, but this is greater than the sum of those parts, simultaneously updating the sound while tapping into a new level of melodicism for this band.
2. David Bowie: Black Star (Sony)
I wrote about this at length. What can I add now that...
- 1/18/2017
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
While (some) filmmakers will certainly open up to journalists, there’s the sense that they are more willing to greater discuss their process with a fellow colleague in the field. The smart folks over at Empire went all-out with this idea and recruited Spectre director Sam Mendes to reach out to a wide array of friends to get their tidbits when it comes to their specific filmmaking process.
Including Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee, Edgar Wright, Alfonso Cuarón, Joe Wright, Paul Greengrass, Joss Whedon, Steven Soderbergh, Susanne Bier, Alexander Payne, George Clooney, and more, the full Q&A’s are in Empire’s latest issue, but we’ve selected some of the best responses below for your viewing pleasure. Let us know your favorites answers in the comments and pick up the full issue here.
Have You Ever Walked Off A Set In A Temper?
Ang Lee: I only Hulked out once.
Including Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee, Edgar Wright, Alfonso Cuarón, Joe Wright, Paul Greengrass, Joss Whedon, Steven Soderbergh, Susanne Bier, Alexander Payne, George Clooney, and more, the full Q&A’s are in Empire’s latest issue, but we’ve selected some of the best responses below for your viewing pleasure. Let us know your favorites answers in the comments and pick up the full issue here.
Have You Ever Walked Off A Set In A Temper?
Ang Lee: I only Hulked out once.
- 10/13/2015
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
As many of you readers know, I've been a fan of Cineplexx for years. Their latest single -- "Te Quiero"-- is an infectious "afrofunk" tune lifted from their new album Florianopolis. Cineplexx is actually the Argentina-born, London-based Sebastian Litmanovich. His smart indie pop-rock features collaborations with Jad Fair (Half Japanese), Duglas Stewart & BMX Bandits, Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Nigel Baillie (Camera Obscura), Cathy Claret, Lilies on Mars, Ally Kerr, Federico Aubele, Natalia Clavier, Daniel Melero, Wechsel Garland, Montag, Lupe Nuñez (Amor de Dias), Yushimi, to name but a few. Buy it today!
- 5/16/2014
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
The World’s End
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine
Running Time: 1 hrs 49 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: August 23, 2013
Plot: An alcoholic stuck in the past (Pegg) reunites his old friends to complete the pub crawl they botched back in 1990. During this second attempt, they realize the town they left behind is a bit different years and years later.
Who’S It For? Adorers of Shaun of the Dead or even Hot Fuzz are already standing in line, and they certainly shouldn’t be stopped. But for whatever high expectations they may have, they should all be forewarned that this isn’t the ultimately satisfying reunion one may hope it to be. A fun night out with familiar faces? That it is indeed.
Expectations: While I didn’t enjoy a previous pairing from Frost & Pegg (Paul) I was curious...
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine
Running Time: 1 hrs 49 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: August 23, 2013
Plot: An alcoholic stuck in the past (Pegg) reunites his old friends to complete the pub crawl they botched back in 1990. During this second attempt, they realize the town they left behind is a bit different years and years later.
Who’S It For? Adorers of Shaun of the Dead or even Hot Fuzz are already standing in line, and they certainly shouldn’t be stopped. But for whatever high expectations they may have, they should all be forewarned that this isn’t the ultimately satisfying reunion one may hope it to be. A fun night out with familiar faces? That it is indeed.
Expectations: While I didn’t enjoy a previous pairing from Frost & Pegg (Paul) I was curious...
- 8/23/2013
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
It's been more than a decade since the 1990s ended, yet the Internet can't seem to go a day without a reminder of the neon slap bracelets that may have been banned from your school.
Yes, we get it. Times are tough and there's comfort in reflection, but enough is enough.
Below, a final goodbye to the 90s to end the nostalgia once and for all. (We're not kidding. There are 1990 items below.)
1. Scrunchies
2. "The Wild Thornberries"
3. Dawson and Joey
4. "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"
5. Mr. Feeny
7. MTV playing music videos
8. Snick
9. The premiere of "Freaks and Geeks"
10. Levar Burton
11. "Daria"
12. "Arthur"
13. "The Powerpuff Girls"
14. "Smart Guy"
15. Comedy Central globe logo with buildings
16. "The X-Files"
17. Rosie O'Donnell
18. Bill Nye
19. "Dawson's Creek"
20. The Mighty Ducks"
21. "Are You Afraid of the Dark"
22. Cornholio
23. Rachel Green
24. Tim Allen
25. "All That"
26. "Beverly Hills 90210"
27. "Step by Step"
28. "The Ren & Stimpy Show"
29. "The Famous Jett Jackson"
30. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
Yes, we get it. Times are tough and there's comfort in reflection, but enough is enough.
Below, a final goodbye to the 90s to end the nostalgia once and for all. (We're not kidding. There are 1990 items below.)
1. Scrunchies
2. "The Wild Thornberries"
3. Dawson and Joey
4. "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"
5. Mr. Feeny
7. MTV playing music videos
8. Snick
9. The premiere of "Freaks and Geeks"
10. Levar Burton
11. "Daria"
12. "Arthur"
13. "The Powerpuff Girls"
14. "Smart Guy"
15. Comedy Central globe logo with buildings
16. "The X-Files"
17. Rosie O'Donnell
18. Bill Nye
19. "Dawson's Creek"
20. The Mighty Ducks"
21. "Are You Afraid of the Dark"
22. Cornholio
23. Rachel Green
24. Tim Allen
25. "All That"
26. "Beverly Hills 90210"
27. "Step by Step"
28. "The Ren & Stimpy Show"
29. "The Famous Jett Jackson"
30. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
- 7/29/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
These past few months, I've grown weary trying to find albums that engage me from start to finish. In fact, I've yet to find one album in the past few months I can listen to top to bottom. I truly believe that we are back in the land of "singles." Not saying that a Blood on the Tracks, Dark Side of the Moon, Ok Computer, or (What's The Story) Morning Glory? isn't lurking in the shadows, but.... I'm old enough to have bought 45s back in the '60s when I was a young pup; my first was The Beatles' "Rain"/"Paperback Writer." In the land of digital, I'm happy to download one song from some new noteworthy act and let it fall into my enormous random shuffle playlist (over 8,700 songs and counting). And that "single" is not always the band or label's choice; in the age of iTunes, we...
- 7/3/2013
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
It may seem that I'm diggin' in the dirt. Gettin' back to my punk rock roots. Well, some of my favorite new music does seem a wee bit primal, oui? And some of it is even out this world. But all of this music is party playlist-worthy for any weekend getaway. Proceed with caution....
"Back to the Way I Was" Emily Bell: In Technicolor (One-Eyed George)
Love the retro-girl bop rockabilly trip of this Austin-based ginger-haired flamethrower. She's got plenty of sass, snarl, and sex appeal. And her roots-rockin' band rips it up all the while she shakes and struts her stuff. This will keep any party swingin' all night long. Don't move your lips, just shake those hips....
"Signal 30" Public Service Broadcasting: Inform - Educate - Entertain (Test Card)
Driving, Relentless. Dangerous. Watch out for that speeding vehicle! Throbbing bass, guitar, and drums, played live. Signal 30 was truly a 1959 U.
"Back to the Way I Was" Emily Bell: In Technicolor (One-Eyed George)
Love the retro-girl bop rockabilly trip of this Austin-based ginger-haired flamethrower. She's got plenty of sass, snarl, and sex appeal. And her roots-rockin' band rips it up all the while she shakes and struts her stuff. This will keep any party swingin' all night long. Don't move your lips, just shake those hips....
"Signal 30" Public Service Broadcasting: Inform - Educate - Entertain (Test Card)
Driving, Relentless. Dangerous. Watch out for that speeding vehicle! Throbbing bass, guitar, and drums, played live. Signal 30 was truly a 1959 U.
- 5/23/2013
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
Writers often worry about the dangers of outside influence, but what about the non-literary inspirations they are far more comfortable admitting to? Andrew O'Hagan talks to six novelists about their passion for a second artform
The divine counsels decided, once upon a time, that influence is bad and that too much agency is the enemy of invention. Harold Bloom can't be blamed for that: he certainly pointed to the danse macabre of influence and anxiety, but to him the association was perfectly creative. Elsewhere, writers have always been blamed for being too much like other writers, or too much like themselves, and even now, in the crisis of late postmodernism, we find it hard to believe that writers might live happily in a state of influence and cross-reference. Yet anybody who knows anything about writers knows that they love their sweet influences.
What I've noticed, though, is that the influences...
The divine counsels decided, once upon a time, that influence is bad and that too much agency is the enemy of invention. Harold Bloom can't be blamed for that: he certainly pointed to the danse macabre of influence and anxiety, but to him the association was perfectly creative. Elsewhere, writers have always been blamed for being too much like other writers, or too much like themselves, and even now, in the crisis of late postmodernism, we find it hard to believe that writers might live happily in a state of influence and cross-reference. Yet anybody who knows anything about writers knows that they love their sweet influences.
What I've noticed, though, is that the influences...
- 4/27/2013
- by Andrew O'Hagan, Lavinia Greenlaw, John Lanchester, Alan Warner, Sarah Hall, Colm Tóibín
- The Guardian - Film News
Dreamers, like the worlds they inhabit, come and go, leaving a profoundly vague impression in their wake. Kevin Ayers was never a major star. His songs were simply too idiosyncratic to garner mass appeal, but like many for whom fame was largely an irritant of the creative process, he exerted a greater influence than he imagined or really cared for.
Morrissey is now viewed as the quintessential English pop icon, but the soil he sprang from was gritty, working class, and Northern. The product of an inner city education system, his brand of Britishness is not as universal as it might appear to outsiders. There are many variations of the national characteristic, and Ayers had a colonial, distractedly comfortable middle-class one. sullied by his public school incarceration, and the memory of distant sunshine from a childhood spent abroad. A slightly surreal confection of Nick Drake, Noel Coward, and country house fop,...
Morrissey is now viewed as the quintessential English pop icon, but the soil he sprang from was gritty, working class, and Northern. The product of an inner city education system, his brand of Britishness is not as universal as it might appear to outsiders. There are many variations of the national characteristic, and Ayers had a colonial, distractedly comfortable middle-class one. sullied by his public school incarceration, and the memory of distant sunshine from a childhood spent abroad. A slightly surreal confection of Nick Drake, Noel Coward, and country house fop,...
- 2/21/2013
- by robert cochrane
- www.culturecatch.com
HMV went into administration today (January 15), in news described by many as not a surprise, but still a shock. Gift cards are no longer accepted, 4,000 jobs are at risk and the future of HMV-owned Fopp is also unclear. On Twitter and elsewhere, musicians and other stars from the world of entertainment have expressed their thoughts on the news. Paloma Faith
"I'm devastated that HMV is closing down! I have been buying music in there for years.Going to the shops to buy an album is over." Trevor Nelson
"Horrible to hear about the state of HMV going in to administration.The death of the record store is sad. My 1st job in the industry was working in music retail.Downloading is convenient but nothing beats the record shop banter." Paul Smith (Maximo Park)
"I made a pilgrimage to Newcastle on the x10 bus from Norton to see Teenage Fanclub do...
"I'm devastated that HMV is closing down! I have been buying music in there for years.Going to the shops to buy an album is over." Trevor Nelson
"Horrible to hear about the state of HMV going in to administration.The death of the record store is sad. My 1st job in the industry was working in music retail.Downloading is convenient but nothing beats the record shop banter." Paul Smith (Maximo Park)
"I made a pilgrimage to Newcastle on the x10 bus from Norton to see Teenage Fanclub do...
- 1/15/2013
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
HMV went into administration today (January 15), in news described by many as not a surprise, but still a shock. Gift cards are no longer accepted, 4,000 jobs are at risk and the future of HMV-owned Fopp is also unclear. On Twitter and elsewhere, musicians and other stars from the world of entertainment have expressed their thoughts on the news. Paloma Faith
"I'm devastated that HMV is closing down! I have been buying music in there for years.Going to the shops to buy an album is over." Trevor Nelson
"Horrible to hear about the state of HMV going in to administration.The death of the record store is sad. My 1st job in the industry was working in music retail.Downloading is convenient but nothing beats the record shop banter." Paul Smith (Maximo Park)
"I made a pilgrimage to Newcastle on the x10 bus from Norton to see Teenage Fanclub do...
"I'm devastated that HMV is closing down! I have been buying music in there for years.Going to the shops to buy an album is over." Trevor Nelson
"Horrible to hear about the state of HMV going in to administration.The death of the record store is sad. My 1st job in the industry was working in music retail.Downloading is convenient but nothing beats the record shop banter." Paul Smith (Maximo Park)
"I made a pilgrimage to Newcastle on the x10 bus from Norton to see Teenage Fanclub do...
- 1/15/2013
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Release Date: 9th April 2012
Rating
So after leaving long term label Geffen, releasing a wonderfully nostalgic live recording of their first album August and Everything After (on both audio and video formats), Counting Crows are finally back with something new. Well kinda. Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) is a covers album, largely of songs the band have done in their live shows and even more underwhelmingly a number of tracks that have been on B-sides or bonus tracks on their albums over the years. Anyway, I’m not going to dwell on the feeling that a covers album is always a signifier of a band on the brink of disappearing forever because I don’t want to think that of a band I’ve loved for a long while, so I’ll dive straight into the album instead.
‘(Untitled) Love Song’ (a Romany Rye cover...
Rating
So after leaving long term label Geffen, releasing a wonderfully nostalgic live recording of their first album August and Everything After (on both audio and video formats), Counting Crows are finally back with something new. Well kinda. Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) is a covers album, largely of songs the band have done in their live shows and even more underwhelmingly a number of tracks that have been on B-sides or bonus tracks on their albums over the years. Anyway, I’m not going to dwell on the feeling that a covers album is always a signifier of a band on the brink of disappearing forever because I don’t want to think that of a band I’ve loved for a long while, so I’ll dive straight into the album instead.
‘(Untitled) Love Song’ (a Romany Rye cover...
- 4/10/2012
- by Marcus Doidge
- Obsessed with Film
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
The Master and Margarita
Bulgakov's poetic maelstrom is transferred from page to stage by Simon McBurney and Complicite. The devil is abroad in a godless Ussr. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7550), to 7 April.
Anne Boleyn
The Globe goes out on tour with Howard Brenton's delightful and intelligent look at English Protestantism and the woman who furthered its cause. New Alexandra, Birmingham (0844 871 3011), 20-24 March, then touring.
Filumena
Samantha Spiro stars as the canny Neapolitan woman who has been a mistress for 25 years but is determined to be a wife. Michael Attenborough directs this new version of Eduardo de Filippo's lively comedy. Almeida, London N1 (012 7359 4404), to 12 May.
Film
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan...
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this weekTheatre
The Master and Margarita
Bulgakov's poetic maelstrom is transferred from page to stage by Simon McBurney and Complicite. The devil is abroad in a godless Ussr. Barbican, London EC2 (0845 120 7550), to 7 April.
Anne Boleyn
The Globe goes out on tour with Howard Brenton's delightful and intelligent look at English Protestantism and the woman who furthered its cause. New Alexandra, Birmingham (0844 871 3011), 20-24 March, then touring.
Filumena
Samantha Spiro stars as the canny Neapolitan woman who has been a mistress for 25 years but is determined to be a wife. Michael Attenborough directs this new version of Eduardo de Filippo's lively comedy. Almeida, London N1 (012 7359 4404), to 12 May.
Film
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan...
- 3/18/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
In 2007, Jason Reitman directed Juno, about a young girl who talks like a 30-year-old. Four years later, he and screenwriter Diablo Cody re-teamed for a movie about an adult who acts like a child. Young Adult, the scorchingly caustic comedy about a teen-lit author (Charlize Theron) who returns to her hometown, hits DVD and Blu-ray today, so we spoke with Reitman about making the film, casting Theron and co-star Patton Oswalt, and that more-bitter-than-sweet ending.
Entertainment Weekly: When did Diablo Cody first show you the script?
Jason Reitman: We finished the movie a year ago, and she showed me...
Entertainment Weekly: When did Diablo Cody first show you the script?
Jason Reitman: We finished the movie a year ago, and she showed me...
- 3/13/2012
- by Keith Staskiewicz
- EW - Inside Movies
It seemed appropriate to kick off Sound on Sight’s third year of podcasting with a Montreal-born filmmaker – even if he’s more or less associated with Toronto. Jason Reitman’s been slowly getting more serious over the years, progressing from 2005′s light DC-centric satire Thank You For Smoking, all the way to his latest, the pitch-black sorta-comedy Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron as a successful-but-bitter writer. Ricky D, Justine Smith and Simon Howell are here to talk about both films, and Reitman’s career as a whole.
listen now
Download the show in a new window
Music playlist
Teenage Fanclub – “Concept”
Tex Williams – “Smoke Smoke Smoke”
- Listen on iTunes RSS feeds Twitter Facebook Tumblr...
listen now
Download the show in a new window
Music playlist
Teenage Fanclub – “Concept”
Tex Williams – “Smoke Smoke Smoke”
- Listen on iTunes RSS feeds Twitter Facebook Tumblr...
- 1/10/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
To start off 2012, Wamg has more fun movie stuff to give away to you. You can win the Young Adult Soundtrack Available From Rhino. The fifteen-track disc features Diana Ross, Mateo Messina, The Replacements, Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, Cracker, 4 Non Blondes,Veruca Salt, Diana Ross, Suicidal Tendencies, and a score by Rolfe Kent.
“Young Adult” soundtrack tracklist
1. When We Grow Up . Diana Ross
2. What.s Up . 4 Non Blondes
3. Achin. To Be . The Replacements
4. It.s A Shame About Ray (Remastered Album Version) . Lemonheads
5. Seether . Veruca Salt
6. The Concept . Teenage Fanclub
7. Pledge Your Allegiance . Suicidal Tendencies
8. Feel The Pain (2007 Remastered LP Version) . Dinosaur Jr.
9. Low . Cracker
10. Why Buddy? . Rolfe Kent
11. Epic . Mateo Messina
12. Even Flow . Mateo Messina
13. Where It.s At . Mateo Messina
14. Big Me . Mateo Messina
15. Black Hole Sun . Mateo Messina
Official Rules: 1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. 2. Fill Out...
“Young Adult” soundtrack tracklist
1. When We Grow Up . Diana Ross
2. What.s Up . 4 Non Blondes
3. Achin. To Be . The Replacements
4. It.s A Shame About Ray (Remastered Album Version) . Lemonheads
5. Seether . Veruca Salt
6. The Concept . Teenage Fanclub
7. Pledge Your Allegiance . Suicidal Tendencies
8. Feel The Pain (2007 Remastered LP Version) . Dinosaur Jr.
9. Low . Cracker
10. Why Buddy? . Rolfe Kent
11. Epic . Mateo Messina
12. Even Flow . Mateo Messina
13. Where It.s At . Mateo Messina
14. Big Me . Mateo Messina
15. Black Hole Sun . Mateo Messina
Official Rules: 1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. 2. Fill Out...
- 1/2/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
2011 was the year of synths and techno artists coming out to make a movie soundtrack. After Tron: Legacy’s soundtrack was such a hit, The Chemical Brothers, The Basement Jaxx, and Cliff Martinez created their own soundtracks for their respective movies. But it wasn’t all about the synths. There was also song and dance, and very notable orchestral work being conducted by Howard Shore, Trent Renzor & Atticus Ross, and yes Michael Giachinno. So below are my 10 favorite soundtracks of 2011.
Attack the Block – Basement Jaxx
This one-hundred percent electronic soundtrack came from the Basement Jaxx. The duo (Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe) with some assistance by Steve Price, is something of a throwback. The soundtrack was a fun listen has our hero fought off aliens, and was backed up by a very fun hiphop song that no one was afraid to bump in their cars. Overall the movie was great and so was the soundtrack.
Attack the Block – Basement Jaxx
This one-hundred percent electronic soundtrack came from the Basement Jaxx. The duo (Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe) with some assistance by Steve Price, is something of a throwback. The soundtrack was a fun listen has our hero fought off aliens, and was backed up by a very fun hiphop song that no one was afraid to bump in their cars. Overall the movie was great and so was the soundtrack.
- 12/27/2011
- by Mike Lee
- FusedFilm
Young Adult
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
USA, 2011
Four years later, is there any doubt that Juno is now a dirty word? Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s first collaboration, which turned the latter into a household name thanks to her unlikely career path, can also retrospectively seen as presaging a particular kind of loathsome indie-quirk comedy, the likes of which still manifests itself a half-dozen times a year, often nabbing some semi-significant Sundance prize. Their second movie together, Young Adult, is not only emphatically not of a piece with that film, it sometimes feels like its antimirror, a bitter, sometimes shockingly brusque character study with hardly an inch of wasted celluloid.
Eager to rip it up and start again, young-adult-lit novelist Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron, utterly convincing as a different sort of Monster), who’s been toiling away at an overdue draft of the last installment...
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
USA, 2011
Four years later, is there any doubt that Juno is now a dirty word? Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s first collaboration, which turned the latter into a household name thanks to her unlikely career path, can also retrospectively seen as presaging a particular kind of loathsome indie-quirk comedy, the likes of which still manifests itself a half-dozen times a year, often nabbing some semi-significant Sundance prize. Their second movie together, Young Adult, is not only emphatically not of a piece with that film, it sometimes feels like its antimirror, a bitter, sometimes shockingly brusque character study with hardly an inch of wasted celluloid.
Eager to rip it up and start again, young-adult-lit novelist Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron, utterly convincing as a different sort of Monster), who’s been toiling away at an overdue draft of the last installment...
- 12/23/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Jason Reitman's Young Adult is darkly comic and wholly honest. It doesn't pander to audience expectations, which is to say it concerns itself with telling a story rather than making sure it conforms to any standard set of Hollywood storytelling rules. At one point you'll be laughing while only a few minutes later you may be cringing uncomfortably, but films aren't always meant to be safe, warm bath soothers. The trick is occasionally getting the audience out of their comfort zone while also being able to bring them back and never miss a beat. Reitman does this with seeming ease coupled with performances and a script deserving recognition.
Young Adult is an original script from Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody and it happily proves she's not all about hamburger phones and quirky one-liners. However, those one-liners that served her well with Juno still come in handy here, though they're not...
Young Adult is an original script from Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody and it happily proves she's not all about hamburger phones and quirky one-liners. However, those one-liners that served her well with Juno still come in handy here, though they're not...
- 12/9/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Young Adult
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson
Running Time: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: December 9, 2011
Plot: Former prom queen turned ghostwriter Mavis (Theron) returns to her quaint homeland of Mercury, Minnesota to win back the high school sweetheart who got away and then got married, Buddy Slade (Wilson).
Who’S It For?: Teenagers of the ’90s, and fans of either Reitman or writer Diablo Cody. Seniors in high school now should especially see this in order to get a sense of what their social status really adds up to after graduation. How wonderful it would be if Young Adult could cure a few Mavis Gary’s before this becomes a variation on their inevitable autobiography.
Expectations: Considering this is the reuniting of the duo that made Juno, I was curious as to what kind of attitude Young Adult would have. Was it going to be snarky?...
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson
Running Time: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: December 9, 2011
Plot: Former prom queen turned ghostwriter Mavis (Theron) returns to her quaint homeland of Mercury, Minnesota to win back the high school sweetheart who got away and then got married, Buddy Slade (Wilson).
Who’S It For?: Teenagers of the ’90s, and fans of either Reitman or writer Diablo Cody. Seniors in high school now should especially see this in order to get a sense of what their social status really adds up to after graduation. How wonderful it would be if Young Adult could cure a few Mavis Gary’s before this becomes a variation on their inevitable autobiography.
Expectations: Considering this is the reuniting of the duo that made Juno, I was curious as to what kind of attitude Young Adult would have. Was it going to be snarky?...
- 12/9/2011
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: The last time Jason Reitman directed a Diablo Cody script, audiences were treated to the goofily hip “Juno,” and the Academy was charmed. They went in different directions afterward – he to direct George Clooney through “Up In the Air,” and she to flex her inner demons for “Jennifer’s Body” – but are back together this month with a brutally honest and deceptively funny adult comedy with a teenage-friendly name.
“Young Adult” stars Charlize Theron as a bitchy Ya ghost writer knocked off her axis by the announcement that her old flame (Patrick Wilson), now happily married, had a baby. She heads back to her tiny home town to win the poor sap back, and goes toe-to-toe with an ex-classmate (Patton Oswalt) who sees her for who she really is.
With the film preparing to open on Dec. 9 (before going wider a week later), Reitman...
Hollywoodnews.com: The last time Jason Reitman directed a Diablo Cody script, audiences were treated to the goofily hip “Juno,” and the Academy was charmed. They went in different directions afterward – he to direct George Clooney through “Up In the Air,” and she to flex her inner demons for “Jennifer’s Body” – but are back together this month with a brutally honest and deceptively funny adult comedy with a teenage-friendly name.
“Young Adult” stars Charlize Theron as a bitchy Ya ghost writer knocked off her axis by the announcement that her old flame (Patrick Wilson), now happily married, had a baby. She heads back to her tiny home town to win the poor sap back, and goes toe-to-toe with an ex-classmate (Patton Oswalt) who sees her for who she really is.
With the film preparing to open on Dec. 9 (before going wider a week later), Reitman...
- 12/7/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
The opening credits sequence of Dec. 9′s Young Adult is suffused with ’90s nostalgia. Charlize Theron plays a writer of a young-adult literary franchise that sounds quite a bit like Sweet Valley High. She finds a mix tape created for her by her high school boyfriend — and is there anything that more precisely defines everything we are supposed to love about the pre-digital era than The Mix Tape? Because she apparently lives in a bizarro universe, Theron’s car still has a tape deck. So she puts in the mix tape and starts singing along to Teenage Fanclub’s “The Concept,...
- 12/6/2011
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is having problems with her printer. She pulls out the cartridge and rubs a touch of spit across the contacts before popping it back in. As a result of her efforts, the expected picture of a former flame’s newborn baby ends up coming out distorted… and distorted it shall remain as Mavis packs her bags, ignores the deadlines on her latest young adult novel and takes off from Minneapolis for Mercury, Mn, hellbent on saving Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) from his apparent domestic bliss. As if the title, "Young Adult," weren’t indication enough that our anti-heroine is severely stuck in her adolescent ways, the brilliantly repetitive opening credits sequence – in which Mavis listens to the same Teenage Fanclub track ad nauseum, and on cassette no less – makes it perfectly clear that the recently divorced Mavis isn’t quite over her high-school heyday. As such,...
- 12/5/2011
- The Playlist
I didn’t think I would have to insult the intelligence of our readers by pointing out a very simple fact, but based on the first comment we received, I guess I should make something clear. This is a list of our favourite soundtracks of 2011. We are currently working on a list of the best original scores, which should be posted sometime within the week. Let us know if you think we left out any soundtracks you would recommend. Enjoy!
10 – Young Adult
One of the themes of Jason Reitman’s upcoming film Young Adult, is the idea of being stuck in the past, and trying to relive your glory days, and so it’s no surprise that the soundtrack to the film is loathed with 1990s alt-rock cuts. Due December 6th via Rhino Records, the fifteen-track disc features the Replacements, the Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, Cracker, 4 Non Blondes, Veruca Salt and many more.
10 – Young Adult
One of the themes of Jason Reitman’s upcoming film Young Adult, is the idea of being stuck in the past, and trying to relive your glory days, and so it’s no surprise that the soundtrack to the film is loathed with 1990s alt-rock cuts. Due December 6th via Rhino Records, the fifteen-track disc features the Replacements, the Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, Cracker, 4 Non Blondes, Veruca Salt and many more.
- 11/30/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
For his work in Teenage Fanclub, Scotland's Norman Blake is an indie rock icon. The same goes for Welsh songwriter Euros Childs, the former leader of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. But the legacies they've built during the last two decades apparently don't satisfy the artistic drives that made them musicians in the first place; Jonny, their casual duo affair the two convened in order to write enough songs for a self-made single, recently released its self-titled debut through Merge Records. Full of inescapable melodies, humor and elliptical lyrics, Jonny is a 40-minute spree meant for a spring drive and, at times, the dance party you find at the end of it.
Download the new single, "You Was Me," here, and watch the nature-day video above. We spoke with Blake in Japan just before the start of Jonny's first tour there and after a 36-hour whirlwind of travel for two Teenage Fanclub shows in Brazil.
Download the new single, "You Was Me," here, and watch the nature-day video above. We spoke with Blake in Japan just before the start of Jonny's first tour there and after a 36-hour whirlwind of travel for two Teenage Fanclub shows in Brazil.
- 5/18/2011
- by Grayson Currin
- ifc.com
Director: Danny O'Connor In my humble opinion, Creation Records is one of the most important record labels in the history of British rock music (alongside the likes of Rough Trade and Factory). Founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green and Joe Foster, Creation's premiere release was the "'73 in '83" single by The Legend! for which Creation acquired a £1,000 bank loan to fund. Creation went on to release albums by countless seminal bands of the British indie scene, including: Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Pastels, Television Personalities, Primal Scream, The Loft, Super Furry Animals, Teenage Fanclub, Saint Etienne, The Boo Radleys, 3 Colours Red, Ride, Swervedriver, Slowdive, BMX Bandits, The House of Love, The Weather Prophets, Felt, The Telescopes, The Jazz Butcher, Momus, Sugar, and Teenage Filmstars. Creation's roster forever redefined music and -- according to Danny O'Connor's Upside Down: The Creation Records Story --...
- 4/23/2011
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
AudioPlayer.setup("http://www.nerve.com/files/players/audio/player.swf", { width: 350 }); Five Albums You Should Be Listening To Right Now Great new records chosen by J. Edward Keyes, editor-in-chief of eMusic. Every week, titans of the mediasphere give Nerve their music recommendations. This week: J. Edward Keyes, editor-in-chief of eMusic and 17 dots. 1. Yuck, Yuck At my heart, I'm a hopeless nostalgic, so bands like Yuck really trip my pleasure sensors. There is nothing about this band I dislike: they fuse the raggedness of prime Dinosaur Jr. with the honey-sweet harmonies of Teenage Fanclub. They manage all of this without ever sounding hopelessly retro, or sacrificing their own charming, naive identity. They sound like what they are: kids just out of their teens, making music that sounds like the music they love. The chorus of "Georgia" is Buzz Bin material, boy/girl vocals harmonizing [...]...
- 3/29/2011
- by J. Edward Keyes
- Nerve
On March 26, several musicians will come together to pay tribute to Alex Chilton of Big Star roughly one year after his death. Among the artists performing Third/Sister Lovers will be Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake, Big Star’s Jody Stephens, Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, db’s Chris Stamey and others. The show, which will take place at Baruch College’s Mason Hall, will follow up a performance of the record last December in Carrboro, N.C....
- 3/25/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
AudioPlayer.setup("http://nerve.com/files/players/audio/player.swf", { width: 350 }); Five Albums You Should Be Listening To Right Now Every week, titans of the mediasphere give Nerve their album recommendations. This week: the illustrious staff of The Music Slut. 1. Teenage Fanclub, Songs from Northern Britain A Catholic Education, Bandwagonesque, and Grand Prix may be the most celebrated Teenage Fanclub albums, but it's 1997's Songs from Northern Britain that I return to most frequently. Even if the whole record isn't a wonder, it features two of the Fanclub's strongest songs, "I Don't Want Control of You" and "Ain't That Enough." Teenage Fanclub is a literate band, but these songs are striking in their lyrical simplicity, combined with the group's trademark harmonies. I'll take that affirmation of life's simple pleasures any day. — Jamie McIntyre, [...]...
- 2/9/2011
- by The Music Slut
- Nerve
Upside Down relates the rise and fall of Creation Records, arguably the most important British record label of the 1980s and ’90s, as told by those who were there and lived to tell the tale.
Eschewing voice over narration or gushing on camera tributes from well known admirers and critics, the filmmakers do an exemplary job of telling the happily sordid story of Alan McGee and his band of merry men (and women, although the label was very much a boy’s club) and their largely exultant romp through the music industry during its last burst of glory.
Launched in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green and Joe Foster with profits from their successful Tottenham Court Road hipster club The Living Room (or a £1,000 bank loan, depending on which version of the story one believes), Creation initially released 7″ singles, including The Jesus & Mary Chain’s ‘Upside Down,’ one of the biggest...
Eschewing voice over narration or gushing on camera tributes from well known admirers and critics, the filmmakers do an exemplary job of telling the happily sordid story of Alan McGee and his band of merry men (and women, although the label was very much a boy’s club) and their largely exultant romp through the music industry during its last burst of glory.
Launched in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green and Joe Foster with profits from their successful Tottenham Court Road hipster club The Living Room (or a £1,000 bank loan, depending on which version of the story one believes), Creation initially released 7″ singles, including The Jesus & Mary Chain’s ‘Upside Down,’ one of the biggest...
- 10/28/2010
- by Ian Gilchrist
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Tonight's the Britney Spears episode of "Glee!" so all of us who were teenagers in the late 90's can feel nostalgic and fuzzy, or something. I'll confess that I find more than a few of Ms.Spears's singles to be pretty damn catchy, and "...Baby One More Time" is a spectacular pop song. And whatever else you can say about the woman (and there's a lot, and most of it has already been said somewhere at some point in time) she's put out six albums since 1999 and with all the shit she's gone through on a very public stage, she has yet to hit 30. She's a remarkable person, in every sense of that word. Of course, I also understand that tonight's episode will be focusing on everyone's favorite Cheerio, Brittany, which will either be awesome or render the character completely irritating. Here's Tuesday night's TV:
8:00pm: "30 for 30" on Espn...
8:00pm: "30 for 30" on Espn...
- 9/28/2010
- by Intern Rusty
First, a bit of business: After not getting very much information for a while, we now know a whole lot more about Conan O'Brien's upcoming return to late night. A few weeks ago we learned the title of his new show ("Conan" or "Conaw," depending on your sense of humor) and over the weekend it was confirmed that Max Weinberg will not in fact be coming back as the band leader (that job will fall to guitarist Jimmy Vivino, who regularly filled in for Weinberg whenever he was on vacation or touring with the E Street Band).
Of course, we still have to wait until its November premiere before we know what "Conan" will be like, which is why we must make do with the hosts we have now until then. Luckily, this week is a fine stretch to lose sleep over late night laughs. It all begins on...
Of course, we still have to wait until its November premiere before we know what "Conan" will be like, which is why we must make do with the hosts we have now until then. Luckily, this week is a fine stretch to lose sleep over late night laughs. It all begins on...
- 9/27/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
After years of hits, trials and tribulations, Cleveland's own Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have managed to retain a hardcore following in the hip-hop world. Now it appears as though one of its key players is trying to branch out. Bizzy Bone has signed on to the roster of Sumerian Records, a small Washington, D.C.-based imprint known best for hardcore and post-hardcore bands like Asking Alexandria, Veil of Maya and the Faceless. Bizzy is about to release his latest album Crossroads 2010 (a reference to his group's 1996 smash hit "Tha Crossroads") via the label, and the album is a fusion of rap and rock styles featuring a number of players from the Sumerian roster contributing music. (You can check out samples of the music at Bizzy's official MySpace page.)
Bizzy Bone isn't the first rapper to dip his toe into the world of hard rock and metal. What other hip-hop denizens have...
Bizzy Bone isn't the first rapper to dip his toe into the world of hard rock and metal. What other hip-hop denizens have...
- 7/23/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
Musician lost a two-year battle with cancer.
By Kara Warner
Big Star's Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton in 1972
Photo: Charlie Gillett/ Redferns
More sad news for Big Star fans. Almost four months to the day since Alex Chilton's sudden death comes the loss of original bassist Andy Hummel. According to Dallas website Dfw.com, Hummel died Monday (July 19) after a two-year battle with cancer.
Current bassist Ken Stringfellow broke the news, tweeting: "Another sad loss for Big Star fans as Andy Hummel passes away after long illness."
Jason Elzy, a representative with Big Star's label, Rhino Records, confirmed the report to MTV News: "Sadly, I can confirm this is true. Andy has passed away."
The Memphis-born Hummel, along with singer/songwriter Chilton, guitarist Chris Bell and drummer Jody Stephens (who is the only living original member), formed the rock band in 1971, and their uniquely layered...
By Kara Warner
Big Star's Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton in 1972
Photo: Charlie Gillett/ Redferns
More sad news for Big Star fans. Almost four months to the day since Alex Chilton's sudden death comes the loss of original bassist Andy Hummel. According to Dallas website Dfw.com, Hummel died Monday (July 19) after a two-year battle with cancer.
Current bassist Ken Stringfellow broke the news, tweeting: "Another sad loss for Big Star fans as Andy Hummel passes away after long illness."
Jason Elzy, a representative with Big Star's label, Rhino Records, confirmed the report to MTV News: "Sadly, I can confirm this is true. Andy has passed away."
The Memphis-born Hummel, along with singer/songwriter Chilton, guitarist Chris Bell and drummer Jody Stephens (who is the only living original member), formed the rock band in 1971, and their uniquely layered...
- 7/19/2010
- MTV Music News
Long-running Scots deliver more pop purity Even after two decades as a band, it has to be intimidating when Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake brings in another hook-laden pop masterpiece, and then Gerard Love or Raymond McGinley have to offer something that matches up. Like a world-class pitching rotation, nobody wants to be the guy to give up all the runs and blow a winning streak. And so nothing about Shadows, the band’s 10th outing (and eighth since Bandwagonesque, the grunge-era classic that briefly turned the Big Star-loving Scots into flavors-of-the-month), should surprise longtime fans of their impeccable craftsmanship. If the...
- 6/8/2010
- Pastemagazine.com
Few modern rock bands have ventured as far from their original sound as successfully as Teenage Fanclub, which started out as a gloriously sloppy pop-grunge act, then embraced the room-filling dazzle of Big Star and The Byrds, and lately has been forging a hard-to-classify style that combines the sweetness of ’70s soft-rock, the loveable fuzziness of early-’90s Amerindie, and just a hint of the old abrasion. The band’s scattered influences coalesce beautifully on “Sometimes I Don’t Need To Believe In Anything,” the opening track of Shadows, Tfc’s first album since 2005’s superb Man-Made. Written by ...
- 6/8/2010
- avclub.com
Ah, finally. One of my favorite Scottish rock bands returns! Teenage Fanclub will release a brand new album on June 8, 2010 and launch a UK tour. Only 5 long years since Man-Made was released to universal acclaim, so it is no overstatement to say the new album is keenly anticipated. While most bands are lucky to have one great songwriter, Teenage Fanclub boasts three, hence Shadows is overflowing with the kind of gorgeous, harmony-driven classics you’d expect to find on a greatest hits album. For those of you who love jangle pop rock, Download "Baby Lee" for Free now!
read more...
read more...
- 3/23/2010
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
Alex Chilton 1950-2010
Great influence in the creative lives of others isn't always the result of major commercial success. Alex Chilton tasted both, but his true legacy isn't rooted in his moments of '60s teenybop chart placements with the Box Tops, best known for "The Letter," and later "Neon Rainbow," but in his three albums with the band he followed them with, Big Star. Their records sold poorly, despite reaping excellent reviews, but fell into the right hands, heads, and ears -- The Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, and R.E.M., to name but three. They continue to reap much-deserved plaudits and respect, and their "September Gurls" provided The Bangles with one of their finest moments and Chilton with an early pension plan.
read more...
Great influence in the creative lives of others isn't always the result of major commercial success. Alex Chilton tasted both, but his true legacy isn't rooted in his moments of '60s teenybop chart placements with the Box Tops, best known for "The Letter," and later "Neon Rainbow," but in his three albums with the band he followed them with, Big Star. Their records sold poorly, despite reaping excellent reviews, but fell into the right hands, heads, and ears -- The Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, and R.E.M., to name but three. They continue to reap much-deserved plaudits and respect, and their "September Gurls" provided The Bangles with one of their finest moments and Chilton with an early pension plan.
read more...
- 3/21/2010
- by robert cochrane
- www.culturecatch.com
Influential rock musician was scheduled to play at SXSW this week.
By Gil Kaufman
Alex Chilton
Photo: Frank Mullen/ Wireimage
Cult rock icon Alex Chilton, leader of the influential 1970s power-pop band Big Star, died on Wednesday in a New Orleans hospital at age 59.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Chilton, who was also a member of the 1960s pop-soul group the Box Tops ("The Letter"), had been complaining about feeling unwell earlier in the day and was taken by paramedics to an emergency room, where doctors could not revive him after he suffered a suspected heart attack.
"I'm crushed. We're all just crushed," said John Fry, a longtime friend of Chilton's and owner of Memphis' Ardent Studios, the legendary recording studio whose label, Ardent Records, released the first two Big Star albums. "This sudden death experience is never something that you're prepared for. And yet it occurs."
Chilton's death...
By Gil Kaufman
Alex Chilton
Photo: Frank Mullen/ Wireimage
Cult rock icon Alex Chilton, leader of the influential 1970s power-pop band Big Star, died on Wednesday in a New Orleans hospital at age 59.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Chilton, who was also a member of the 1960s pop-soul group the Box Tops ("The Letter"), had been complaining about feeling unwell earlier in the day and was taken by paramedics to an emergency room, where doctors could not revive him after he suffered a suspected heart attack.
"I'm crushed. We're all just crushed," said John Fry, a longtime friend of Chilton's and owner of Memphis' Ardent Studios, the legendary recording studio whose label, Ardent Records, released the first two Big Star albums. "This sudden death experience is never something that you're prepared for. And yet it occurs."
Chilton's death...
- 3/18/2010
- MTV Music News
Two influential power-pop classics for the price of one
It’s ironic that Cheap Trick’s cover of Big Star’s “In The Street” became the theme song for That '70s Show, since Alex Chilton’s outfit was far from a typical ’70s band. In a time when proggy excess (Yes, Elp), weighty concepts (Pink Floyd) and blooze rawk (Led Zep) ruled the airwaves, Big Star’s concise guitar pop sounded hopelessly square. Like appreciating Citizen Kane’s advances in cinematic storytelling, it requires mental time travel to understand what this Memphis outfit accomplished in its short, commercially unsuccessful career. Fortunately, Concord has unearthed its 1992 reissue of Big Star’s first two albums, tacking on alternate mixes of two songs (one of which features—yes—more cowbell). To listeners raised on similar strains of guitar pop, from Teenage Fanclub to The Long Winters, the sound won’t be revolutionary but the crystalline mixes,...
It’s ironic that Cheap Trick’s cover of Big Star’s “In The Street” became the theme song for That '70s Show, since Alex Chilton’s outfit was far from a typical ’70s band. In a time when proggy excess (Yes, Elp), weighty concepts (Pink Floyd) and blooze rawk (Led Zep) ruled the airwaves, Big Star’s concise guitar pop sounded hopelessly square. Like appreciating Citizen Kane’s advances in cinematic storytelling, it requires mental time travel to understand what this Memphis outfit accomplished in its short, commercially unsuccessful career. Fortunately, Concord has unearthed its 1992 reissue of Big Star’s first two albums, tacking on alternate mixes of two songs (one of which features—yes—more cowbell). To listeners raised on similar strains of guitar pop, from Teenage Fanclub to The Long Winters, the sound won’t be revolutionary but the crystalline mixes,...
- 8/26/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
I haven't really followed the Norwegian music scene. From a distance, it appears to be split equally between doom metal bands in Viking gear and bookish, sensitive wimps like Kings of Convenience, who mash Simon and Garfunkel impressions with electronica blips and beeps.
So a Norwegian band called I Was a King didn't really inspire much confidence. Yeah, well, we were all once kings, Olaf. I myself used to dress up as Sigurd the Nearsighted, and slew several dragons menacing central Ohio. Then I started third grade.
I was fully expecting guys with food in their beards and rotting teeth who growled songs about nuclear warheads and Armageddon. What I got was fifteen short tunes high on the bubblegum content and the guitar distortion, a sort of psychedelic Archies. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. Unlike fellow Scandinavians Dungen, who employ a similar sonic palette, I Was...
So a Norwegian band called I Was a King didn't really inspire much confidence. Yeah, well, we were all once kings, Olaf. I myself used to dress up as Sigurd the Nearsighted, and slew several dragons menacing central Ohio. Then I started third grade.
I was fully expecting guys with food in their beards and rotting teeth who growled songs about nuclear warheads and Armageddon. What I got was fifteen short tunes high on the bubblegum content and the guitar distortion, a sort of psychedelic Archies. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. Unlike fellow Scandinavians Dungen, who employ a similar sonic palette, I Was...
- 1/26/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
The musical capital of the world? It's not even close in my mind.
Glasvegas, who are Glasgow natives (see Camera Obscura, The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, Lloyd Cole, Teenage Fanclub, Belle and Sebastian, Paolo Nutini, Amy MacDonald, Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand and a host of others who have considerably brightened the musical landscape over the past ten years), have released a very, very fine self-titled debut album.
NME has dubbed them "the best new band in Britain," which is usually a sure sign of the Hype Machine in Overdrive. But this time they could be right. This is a surprisingly bracing combination of Jesus and Mary Chain guitar buzz, Proclaimers vocal bluster (complete with sometimes almost impenetrable Scots brogue), and, incredibly, impossibly, romantic '50s doo-wop. I like it a lot. The subject matter -- aimless violence, ennui, football yobs, endless pints, chasing skirts -- might be the best rock 'n...
Glasvegas, who are Glasgow natives (see Camera Obscura, The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, Lloyd Cole, Teenage Fanclub, Belle and Sebastian, Paolo Nutini, Amy MacDonald, Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand and a host of others who have considerably brightened the musical landscape over the past ten years), have released a very, very fine self-titled debut album.
NME has dubbed them "the best new band in Britain," which is usually a sure sign of the Hype Machine in Overdrive. But this time they could be right. This is a surprisingly bracing combination of Jesus and Mary Chain guitar buzz, Proclaimers vocal bluster (complete with sometimes almost impenetrable Scots brogue), and, incredibly, impossibly, romantic '50s doo-wop. I like it a lot. The subject matter -- aimless violence, ennui, football yobs, endless pints, chasing skirts -- might be the best rock 'n...
- 1/3/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.