ALIENS -- ALIENS (Misc Music)
It\'s true: aliens are among us. I know this because this album just probed me.
RATING: ONE STAR
BOCKMAN -- CHASING DRAGONS (Co-opt Records)
Why is it that every band who primary uses a piano in their set always compares themselves to early Ben Folds? Are musicians so inherently lazy that, instead of coming up with something original and new, they have to compare themselves to other musicians, whether they sound alike or not? Did early cavemen musicians say, \"Yeah, on my new album, I bang the stick on a rock just like Grog does, but with some heavier Rak influences.\" Yes, Bockman uses a piano; but they lack the wit and humor that made Folds famous and, while I\'m that not much of a Folds fan, he at least had enough talent to make his songs fun and somewhat interesting to listen to.
RATING: TWO STARS
PROTEST HILL -- THE CITY ECHOES OUR HEARTS (Latest Flame Records)
Listening to System and Station singer/songwriter RFK Heise\'s blues-injected solo album is kind of like eating a seven course meal when you have a cold: you have a potentially flavorsome feast right in front of you – appetizers, entree, sides, desserts -- but it all tastes just a little bland.
RATING: THREE STARS
SNATCHES OF PINK -- LOVE IS DEAD (8th House Records)
You know that feeling you got when you found out that your dad and his goofy friends were in some Rolling Stones-wannabe rock band -- whose name giddily alludes to a woman\'s vagina -- that no one\'s ever heard of, like, twenty-some years ago and they\'ve decided, during one of their mid-life crises, to get the band back together and perform in front of all of your friends and then tried to sleep with your girlfriend afterwards? Feel kinda skeasy and uncomfortable? Yeah, that\'s kind of how I felt listening to this album.
RATING: ONE STAR
DVDS:
MURIEL (Koch Lorber Films)
Muriel is the story of four emotionally damaged people, living in a small French city recovering from the devastation of WWII, each of them trying to cope with their own feelings, memories, and guilt of past personal decisions. I felt absolutely disoriented while viewing this dizzying French film; it is a very challenging picture to watch. The plot is pretty simple, but lacks any kind of amusement for the audience or hope for the characters; the eerie, haunting soundtrack seems to be designed to leave you ill at ease at all times; and the quick-cutting editing techniques – jumping from day to night, one location to another, all in the same scene – are so rapid and jarring that it leaves you feeling semi-schizophrenic halfway through the film. Every review of Muriel I\'ve read online states that this film demands multiple viewings to fully appreciate its cinematic value, and I can attest to this, although I only had the time and patience for one. To be completely honest, if you\'re an art kid or a film student or even a fan of French cinema, you\'d like this film. But if you only read this magazine for the dick and fart jokes, you\'re probably better off skipping this one and watching Clerks II again.
RATING: FOUR STARS
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