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22 December 2023
CDS
AIR - LATENIGHTTALES (Thrive Records)
I\'ve loved everything this French duo has ever produced, but this eighteen-track mix of some of the band\'s favorite songs is-- at best-- dull and slow-paced, and features what is quite possibly the worst song ever created: The Troggs\' \"Cousin Jane\".
RATING: ONE STAR
ANTIMC - IT\'S FREE, BUT IT\'S NOT CHEAP (Mush Records)
The L.A. born and bred Antimc\'s musical spectrum is vast on this solo outing, dipping in and out of hip-hop, electro, punk, and everything in between. But while showcasing a wide range of vocalists (including Clue To Kalo\'s Mark Mitchell) and emcees (including Saafir and Cadence Weapon) is interesting, the result sometimes dips into the schizophrenic, not really knowing what it wants to be. And while I\'m all for not sticking to any one thing, a bit more cohesiveness would have been appreciated.
RATING: THREE STARS
A>AVE
- FOLLOW YOUR SAINT (Self-Released)
A sticker on the front of this six-song EP from the Denmark-based quartet known as Ave tells me they sound like Radiohead, Portishead, and Danny Elfman, and I couldn\'t help but agree, even if their sound does at times become cliched and too similar of the aforementioned artists.
RATING: THREE STARS
HTTP://http://www.blacksheeponline.com\' target=_blank>BLACK SHEEP - 8WM/NOVAKANE (Bumrush Records)
Dres and Mister Lawgne are back with a digital-only release that harkens back to the glory days of old hip-hop-- when the sound was fly and the lyrics were both smart and light-hearted-- bringing fifteen years of hip-hop knowledge back to an audience of old friends and (deservedly) new fans.
RATING: FOUR STARS
JOHNNY CASH - JOHNNY CASH AT SAN QUENTIN (Columbia Records)
For those of us who hold The Man In Black up to messianic standards, this two-CD/one-DVD set can easily be defined from here on out as The Holy Grail of Cash merchandise. Collecting the entire San Quentin performance-- some thirty-one tracks and an hour-long documentary with film scratches and fuzzy sound to boot-- this is the closest some of us youngens will ever get to the legendary performance.
RATING: FIVE STARS
BOOTSY COLLINS - CHRISTMAS IS 4 EVER (Shout! Factory)
What is more Christmasy than a baker\'s dozen of yuletide classics redone by the always-funky Bootsy Collins and friends (like Snoop, Bernie Worrell, Charlie Daniels, Buckethead, etc.)? That\'s right, everything. Truth be told, I\'m not big on Christmas music except for on the actual day, so I really have no use for an album like this 364 days out of the year. Still, I wish there were a song titled \"Deez Chestnutz Roasting In Yo Open Mouth\".
RATING: TWO STARS
http://www.curseovdialect.com/\' target=_blank>CURSE OV DIALECT
These five white boys from Australia make some of the best (and most bizarre) hip-hop to come out in months with this, a sophomore release collecting beats of the world, samples of multiple media, and hyper-intelligent lyrics and rhymestyles.
RATING: FIVE STARS
HTTP://http://www.myspace.com/double\' target=_blank>DOUBLE
- THE INTERNET FILES: VOLUME 1 (Self-Released)The music-making machine that is Double has released yet another mixtape, and this one is just as well-produced, smart, and heavy in bass and beats as his previous (and exceptionally numerous) outings.
RATING: FOUR STARS
HTTP://http://www.hybridsoundsystem.com\' target=_blank>HYBRID - I CHOOSE NOISE (Distinct\'ive Records)
This duo\'s sophomore release is electronica reminiscent of the classic years of the genre, featuring all the great hooks and repetitions that made artists like The Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, and Fatboy Slim big back in the day, as well as the fantastic track \"Dogstar\" which features guest vocals by the incomparable Perry Farrell.
RATING: FOUR STARS
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - 45:33: NIKE+ ORIGINAL RUN (EMI Records)
Just like its predecessor from The Crystal Method, this second disc from Nike\'s + Original Run series gives us one 45-minute-long song (created this time around by LCD Soundsystem) to accompany a workout run of the same length. Sadly, just like running, I found it to be a little boring, very repetitive, and something I don\'t want to partake in often. I mean, maybe it is great for running, but I wouldn\'t know anything about that, because running is for suckers.
RATING: TWO STARS
GILLES PETERSON & PATRICK FORGE - SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT DINGWALLS (Ether Records)
For twenty years, musicians played live every Sunday at the famous Dingwalls in the United Kingdom. From soul and jazz to blues and hip-hop, Dingwalls featured it all, and this two-disc set collects over two dozen of the best performances throughout the years. From A Tribe Called Quest\'s \"Luck Of Lucien\" to the funk of Bobby Montez\'s \"Kon-Tiki\", this set\'s diversity in both acts and quality in live sound is unmatched.
RATING: FOUR STARS
PLAIN WHITE T\'S - EVERY SECOND COUNTS (Hollywood Records)
If it were possible for just one\'s ears to get AIDS, mine would now be living an HIV-positive lifestyle after the audible rapefest that just took place.
RATING: NO STARS
HTTP://http://www.patternismovement.com\' target=_blank>http://www.patternismovement.com\' target=_blank>http://www.patternismovement.com/\" target=_blank>HTTP://http://www.patternismovement.com\' target=_blank>SCOTT SOLTER PLAYS PATTERN IS MOVEMENT
- CANONIC (Hometapes)
With sensibilities reminiscent of The Beta Band, production as thick as an Aphex Twin outting, and a range of instrumentation that would make a full-blown orchestra cower in fear, Scott Solter\'s audible attack on Pattern Is Movement is nothing short of brilliant, and about as appropriate music as one could ask for on a cold, autumn day.
RATING: FOUR STARS
\' target=_blank>THAT HANDSOME DEVIL - THAT HANDSOME DEVIL E.P. (Stardust Records)
Boston-based That Handsome Devil is songwriter Godforbid and producer Jeremy Page, and they sound exactly like: Tom Waits, every David Lynch movie ever made, long drives through the mountains at night, lung cancer, getting extreme pleasure out of scaring your friends, cheap vodka, and date rape... on crack.
RATING: FOUR STARS
http://www.tooshortworld.com\' target=_blank>TOO $HORT
- BLOW THE WHISTLE (Jive Records)
Too $hort should\'ve changed his name to \"Too Fucking Old To Still Be Making This Music\" for this, his sixteenth record in nearly two decades, which sounds exactly like what you would think it would sound like: your grandfather rapping (poorly) about bitches and hos.
RATING: ONE STAR
VARIOUS ARTISTS - FAST FOOD NATION SOUNDTRACK (Park The Van Records)
I have to admit that I don\'t know what I expect the movie adaptation of Fast Food Nation to be like, but if it\'s anything like the soundtrack then it\'s gonna be fucking sweet. An eclectic mix of a handful of bands make for one of my more pleasant and diverse listening sessions this year. Keep an ear out for Friends of Dean Martinez (who are responsible for a number of tracks on the disc) and Robbers On High Street.
RATING: FOUR STARS
DVDS:
BLACKALICIOUS - 4/20 LIVE IN SEATTLE (Music Video Distributors)
One group I\'ve still never been able to see live is Blackalicious. But after checking out this fourteen-track live performance from Seattle earlier this year, it is now my mission to do so. Yeah, the live performances of \"Blazing Arrow\" and \"Chemical Calisthenics\" are hot, and the video work and sound quality are great. But what\'s really great about the disc are the documentary-style clips interspersed between songs, which delves into everything from how Gab and Chief met, to how they record, to what their inspiration is for their work. From the standpoint of a creative person, the insight they spit about their creative process far outshines the show. Add to that some guest appearances from Fat Lip, Lateef, and Pigeon John, and you\'ve got a star-studded lineup captured forever on DVD.
RATING: FOUR STARS
EXTREME CHICKFIGHTS (Demolition Pictures)
Don\'t dig too deep here, folks, as the title says it all: this DVD features nearly an hour and a half of chicks kicking the shit out of each other. (And I use the term \"chicks\" loosely.) It is as dumb as it sounds, if not worse. Yet I can\'t seem to look away as these skanks bleed all over the place, or as their tits fall out of their shirts. It must be the intoxicating three-beat jam their shitty DJ keeps playing over and over and over while the dudes in drag claw and scratch their way to fame. Or a free sandwich.
RATING: ONE STAR
THE FIRST 48: THE MOST INTENSE INVESTIGATIONS (A&E)
Easily one of my favorite shows on TV today, The First 48 documents exactly that: detectives as they push through the first forty-eight hours after a homicide. Collected here are a dozen classic cases, all of which are captured in a style that never ceases to amaze me with its straighforward storytelling and harsh realism. Fuck all that other shit on the boob tube: The First 48 is true reality television.
RATING: FIVE STARS
http://www.bravotv.com/Inside_the_Actors_Studio/index.shtml\' target=_blank>INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO: DAVE CHAPPELLE (Shout! Factory)
Diving headfirst into the mind of the creative genius that is Dave Chappelle, this two-hour-plus interview with James Lipton goes from hilarious anecdotes to serious subject matter (like Dave\'s recent departure from his hugely-popular TV show), all the while serving as an inside-the-brain bible of sorts for each and every aspiring creative person out there.
RATING: FIVE STARS
http://www.bravotv.com/Inside_the_Actors_Studio/index.shtml\' target=_blank>INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO: ICONS (PAUL NEWMAN, ROBERT REDFORD, BARBRA STREISAND, CLINT EASTWOOD) (Shout! Factory)
Over the span of twelve years now, James Lipton has conducted some of the most in-depth interviews to date, and collected here are four of them that are so good that you don\'t need to be in love with the interviewees to be drawn in by the fact that each and every one of them makes for on hell of an interesting one-on-one.
RATING: FOUR STARS
JOHNNY CASH - LIVE IN IRELAND 1993 (Mercury/Universal)
Since Johnny Cash\'s career spanned so many decades he was bound to have some dark periods. Apparently, the early Nineties were one of them. Long after his badass rebellious days, but also before his final years of reclaimed glory and legendary status, was a time in which Johnny just seemed to be going through the motions of years past. This live performance from Ireland in 1993 appears as if it were one of those times. Yes, the quality is good, there are some great songs captured, and he\'s joined onstage by his wife June, Kris Kristofferson, and the rest of the Carter Family. Still, there is something almost depressing about the performance, as no one really seems to be that into it, seemingly pushing through the evening for a paycheck. It\'s not bad Cash. It\'s just not classic Cash. That, and it only clocks in at a little over an hour, and there are no other features on the disc to be found. So if you\'re a blind Cash fan and have to own everything from him, you\'re going to want to pick it up. But if you can tell the difference between what\'s good and what\'s true genius, save your cash. No pun intended.
RATING: TWO STARS
MARSHALL UNIVERSITY: FROM ASHES TO GLORY (Docurama)
Leave it to Docurama to take a subject I have zero interest in (football) and make it as interesting to me as German porn. Marshall University tells the tale of the tragic 1970 airplane crash that wiped out an entire college football team-- players, coaches, fans, and all. Collected here is archive footage of the doomed team, interviews with those close to the tragedy, and news footage of the event as the story unfolded. The result is an emotional tale of loss and a community\'s ability to push past it and finally claim victory. This is the real story behind the Hollywood studio-produced We Are Marshall. And even though I haven\'t seen the other version, I\'m betting this documentary is probably better. I mean, come on! The studio version stars Professor Weird Beard (Matthew McConaughey)! Blech!
RATING: THREE STARS
\' target=_blank>WONDER SHOWZEN: SEASON 2
Wonder Showzen never fails to make me recoil in horror, look on in shock as they get away with some of the most repugnant and sickest skits ever, moan and groan in pain as they manage to cross every moral boundary known to man, and feel guilty for loving every fucking second of it.
RATING: FOUR STARS
BOOKS:
\' target=_blank>SOUTH PARK AND PHILOSOPHY: YOU KNOW, I LEARNED SOMETHING TODAY (Blackwell Publishing)
Comparing South Park to Socrates, this collection of twenty-two different political essays attempts to illustrate the idea that society could learn a lot about itself by exploring the fictional world of four cartoon kids, yet it\'s still cautiously aware to never take itself too seriously (in true South Park fashion).
RATING: FOUR STARS
Never mind the fact that yours truly wrote a two-page piece for this anthology of all things scary (a story that is beautifully illustrated by the amazingly talented J. Chris Campbell), but this book is seriously one of the best gatherings of writers and illustrators-- and most beautifully designed books-- to hit store shelves in a long time, with not one weak bone in its skeletal frame.
RATING: FIVE STARS
artid
3730
Old Image
9_4_reviews_wayne.jpg
issue
vol 9 - issue 04 (dec 2006)
section
entertainmental