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MUSIC
A dwindling voice
Recent music trends show a definite loss of
vocal emphasis. If you've heard late 50s or early
60s rock and roll, guitars were prominent but
not dominant; strong emphasis was still placed
on vocals.
Since then and even more frequently nowa
days, we are seeing a huge wave of "band"
music. By that, 1 mean all members of a band
focusing their talents to the best of their abili
ties, essentially making the best of the music.
In my opinion, the vocals “fall” with these deci
sions, or aren't were.
modifican(*rWwf|Mek
vocal soundings because the artist inherently
distorts their voice to make a new and original
sound. An example of this would be T-Pain’s ca
reer, as well as several other recent hip-hop
artists and the slightly lesser known Modest
Mouse or Tom Waits. It isn't that these artists
aren't good at what they do. They are just cre
ating a new trend of voice modification.
Simply put, the band no longer looks to em
phasize the singer, but downplays him or her in
most cases. Folk and "Indie," what I listen to
most, are great genres that are showcasing this.
Low-fi recording is one way that I can think of
off-hand that seems to be coming up a lot. The
Mountain Goats built the majority of their
rather prolific, early recording career on low-fi
sound, most notably with the album All Hail
West Texas. That album sounds a lot like if you
combined a CB radio with their vocalist John
Darnielle's pattern of amazing lyrics.
Fleet Foxes, recently in the folk spotlight, cre
ate what has come to be called a "gentle wooze"
in their harmonic folk, which sounds rather
slow and rigid in a loose composition.
Iron and Wine, on the other hand, battles this
The famous tale of Alice’s Adven
tures in Wonderland has been adapted
many times. This year, though, we see
a whole new side to Wonderland: Tim
Burton’s side.
Anyone who is familiar with Tim
Burton knows that his imaginative ge
nius clearly sets him apart from other
directors and artists, and his movies
are more memorable than the numer
ous blunders that continue to occupy
the screen. Unlike some of the other
trash, Burton’s films have fantastical
and dark elements that put viewers in
a different world.
People who see his movies and can
appreciate them rarely leave the the
ater disappointed. Those who are dis
appointed will have just cause to be.
The actors and actresses cast to
play or voice Burton’s characters are
integral to making his productions a
success. It is no wonder that Johnny
Depp and Helena Bonham Carter
continually appear in Burton’s films.
Alice In Wonderland is proving to
be another success (ticket sales wise)
in Burton’s long list of successful
films. Still holding the No. 1 spot at
fbe bOX office, Alice appeals to mostly,,.
NAT-A
WOIMUinD: HOT 50
everyone, but whether or not it can
?live up to Burton’s other films and the
hype that has been built around it is
still in question.
SHANNON EHRIN
calture editor
Burton’s adaptation takes place
many years after Alice’s first trip to
Underland, or as she calls it “Wonder
land.” Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is
grown up and in a stage of her life
when she is to become engaged to a
horribly needy man with all kinds of
problems.
At what is supposed to be a surprise
engagement party, Alice spots the
White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) hop
ping through bushes. Confused by his
appearance, she tries to chase after
him, but quickly loses track and
leaves her search.
'When proposed to, Alice looks out
into an intimidating sea of white that
is her mother, sister, and a hundred
others, waiting for her response. In-*
stead of answering, she awkwardly
excuses herself and runs away, fol
lowing the White Rabbit down into
the rabbit hole.
Once in Underland, Alice learns
that she must defeat the Jabberwocky
to restore Underlain} to a better state.
After she goes all around Underland
and finishes off the Jabberwocky,
ysSS'®'-- ' '
belief of declining vocals considering the singer,
Sam Beam, is the main focus of that music. It
shows on their album Shepherd’s Dog, released
in 2007, which marked their gradual shift to a
style that’s less "folky” and more "indie” in its
focus on voice.
However, even with this trend in “band as a
whole" movement, the instruments are becom
ing great windows into the lives of their players.
Dead Confederate, who I’m calling a modern
day Nirvana, has a grunge-folk song called
Wrecking Ball. It has simple day-in-the-life
lyrics with a ballad-type chorus. In my opinion,
it shows the true heart of Hardy Morris from his
Seattle upbringing to the project he started
JW [battles Nftvana’s shadow. The simple
in a song that grinds so orig
inally at points is a work of genius.
Contrarily, you have artists that are strictly in
strumental, as in Andy McKee. McKee works to
bind acoustic slaps with well-timed picking to
create an amazing and relaxing sound, where
you are literally left with the name of the song
for guidance. Since he has titles like When She
Cries and For My Father, his audience receives
the notion of hardship. Yet the majority of his
songs end on peaceful tones.
The point I’m getting at is that music is ex
panding. In the "mainstream" sense, music is
slacking, creating simple words and power
chords that bands like blinder, Nickelback, and
Three Days Grace pounce all over and throw
rather unfairly into the teenage ears of their lis
teners.
However, when music is devoured by truth
and stands with real meaning, I am forced to
look at folk and indie. They stand as the most
personal genres and whether they utilize types
of voice modification or not, they are carving a
new niche and 1 feel everyone should be a part
of it.
It took 10 years for a sequel to Boondock
Saints to get made, and it only took me six
minutes to nearly want to gauge my eyes out
and slice my ears off.
It may very well have the single worst
opening to a film in the history of cinema:
gratuitous ass-shots, terribly stilted acting,
a forceful attempt at writing badass dia
logue, and iftusie.
Boondqck Saints 253R1l Samf£ Diffimay be
the trashiest movie #ftr ‘
This is the new Bret Michaels solo album
of film. This is the Buckcherry of film. Any
one who could like a movie like this might
as well be wearing a t-shirt sporting a large
rooster labeled “I love my cock” and a sign
on their forehead that reads 'T think I’m a
badass, want to see my sweet tribal tattoo?”
The “characters" are painfully over-the
top to the point of annoying ridiculousness.
If random dick jokes and f-bombs are what
makes good characters nowadays, then di
rector screenwriter Troy Duffy is the new
Shakespeare.
If you wear a backwards white hat and
cut-off T-shirts to the gym to work out, and
LOVE beer pong then stop reading immedi
ately and go out and see this movie. It is
made for you. It was made to rip someone
like you off and to make you wish you were
as totally “badass" as the lead characters
are.
I wish there weren’t people like you out
there, but sadly there are. If there wasn’t an
audience out there for a movie like this, the
Alice decides to return to the above
world.
Alice in Wonderland is nothing
spectacular. No doubt the visual ef
fects live up to all the hype, but the
plotline is a bit rushed and anti-cli
matic. Obviously, Alice would not be
killed and good wois triumph oveV
evil, but there a*e hotßXciting twists-'
and turns. Even though this was an
entirely new Alice, albeit with the
same characters, you can see where
everything is goingftbd how it will
turn out in the end. : ' r
Wasikowska’s
her British accent
vincing, but sh*
which is more thi
actresses. I was 1
would finally givt
good name, const
past actresses ha'
worthy performai
was just annoyinj
was probably su)
some sort of >
change, but the o\
ably changed was
Johnny Depp‘s'
Mad Hatter w%5
green eyes were
but he was dewoi
BOONDOCK SAINTS 2:
TRASHIER THAN FIRST
WOHD
safe and she goes and leaves him in
Underland. ‘ ./ v ,
Meanwhile, the Caterpillar
solem (Alao Rickman), is prottyolh
tached from everything, as he usually
is, but this time it’s not in a good way. h
His role in particular film iejrind th<
of silly, but Wouldn’t be thi
Svithout
abuse. < ' '
The only time that hi
world would be a much better place.
This takes place eight years after the first
abomination ended. In this time the charac
ters have become more generic, terribly
acted and plain boring.
DAN KINEM
If that wasn't the nail on the coffin, then
the loss of Willem Dafoe (who played Paul
Smecker in the original film) is. At some
points this felt like a Three Stooges episode
ripping off the films of Quentin Tarantino
and written by Soulja Boy. The shots and
shootouts in the film are 20-time rip-offs,
sh6ts lap shoptouts from the
rWn *rifr'tloii?g ! them even worse to
boot, but tTTeyTvere'ail rip-offs to begin with
of every action movie before it.
If the documentary Overnight, which re
vealed the director Duffy to be a drunken
self-congratulatory hack and semi-mentally
retarded buffoon, didn’t scare away any pro
duction company from financing this, actu
ally watching the first film should have.
Troy Duffy is more than just a talentless
hack, he is a brainwasher corrupting the
heads of 16-year-old boys (or 20-somethings
that still think they are 16) into thinking
saying cool lines before they imagine killing
someone is what makes them a real man.
Anyone who cites either this or the first
film as "the best movie EVAR” can immedi
ately be written off as a mindless drone
without a brain. This isn’t entertaining. This
isn't funny. This isn’t good art. This is mind
numbing drivel that should never have seen
the light of day. If a third film ever comes to
fruition I will have lost all faith in mankind.
or ti
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REVIEW