Category: reviews

audio review : 7 ( album ) … Paula Cole

audio review : 7 ( album ) ... Paula Cole

Paula Cole is still going, albeit not so strong, with album number 7. It’s been a long time since her Harbinger debut, though most fans didn’t discover her until This Fire; her boiling point in terms of popularity and artistic zest. Since then, the songstress has settled into a zone of soft folky campfire music, which is particularly disappointing (boring) in comparison to the striking biographical odes presented on the aforementioned set.

Tiger, Where Have All The Cowboys Gone; every song on This Fire has its merits. Even her previous album, Raven, includes a naughty banger entitled Secretary. 7, as the unimaginative title suggests, sort of coasts along… pleasantly enough to play as background music but with no major highlights. Part of the problem is that she never really bawls here; Paula Cole is best when she’s bawling; but it’s mostly simply a lack of good melodies.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : Morning Solitude ( album ) … Steven Bergman

audio review : Morning Solitude ( album ) ... Steven Bergman

This album begins beautifully enough. Peaceful Thoughts conjures just that as songman Steven Bergman plays an array of new-age melodies tranquil enough to drift a baby to sleep. It’s the best of the bunch. Perhaps that’s why it begins the set.

My Morning would begin with Dreams and I’d awake at Day Break; changes that, with some title trimming, would make for a conceptual improvement. The music is nice though. Play it in the morning when you’re alone and feeling Enchanted.

my rating : 4 of 5

1995

video review : The Survivalist

video review : The Survivalist

Never trust a ho. A supposed survivalist foolishly breaks this vital rule of the game. It’s a blunder that, in a story less inclined to political correctness, could’ve made for some interesting conflict. Instead cliché romance develops. There’s a third person in the mix; the woman’s pimp mom; but she’s disposed of in a most unconventional way. This is a movie that’s merely endurable. The best part is when Mia Goth shows her tits.

my rating : 2 of 5

2015

audio review : The Life Of Pablo ( album ) … Kanye West

audio review : The Life Of Pablo ( album ) ... Kanye West

Max B is in prison for life, so, instead of coming to the Good Music studio, he gives a shoutout over the phone. That’s too bad. His catchy hooks might work wonders for this album. Maybe not. The Weeknd sings a hook that, over a minimalist synth, sounds marvelous and Kanye West can barely make a good song out of it. The problem with FML isn’t the verses; West actually does a notable job there; it’s the jarring minute-long coda tacked onto the end. It seems to be there for no reason other than random change. Those of us who consider it a change for the worse are left distracted and disappointed. Scatterbrained artistic decisions like that are what’s troubling in The Life Of Pablo.

It’s presented as another Kanye West album, but it sounds more like a collection of demos. There are simply too few songs to justify the amount of interludes and the like. Of 18 tracks, little more than half pass the three-minute mark and some of those don’t quality as proper songs. Not that an album has to have songs, but since there are; No More Parties In LA would’ve easily fit My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; it makes for an awkward mix. Worst of all is that not much of what’s going on sounds good anyway; let alone beautiful. West, as musically talented as he may be, hasn’t put his skills on display since 2010. That’s about six years ago. At that point, he’d been making good albums for about six years.

I forgot about 808s And Heartbreak, his first downward spiral, but he’s hit a new low with this Pablo set, which begins enchantingly enough. He’s always allowed his Christian views to seep into his music, but Ultralight Beam, featuring a monologue by Kirk Franklin, takes things into full gospel mode. It’s one of the best tracks though, one of only a few; Real Friends and the aforementioned FML included; that stand-out among all the messiness. The old Kanye wouldn’t have made a wack song like Facts or included a wack Freestyle on one of his albums. The old Kanye didn’t rap to kick/snare drums this basic. Dare I say the old Kanye would never make music this soulless; no stupid religious puns intended.

No, I’m not one of the people he’s mocking on the Love Kanye bit. I don’t “miss” the old Kanye. I like most of his albums, four of seven, but I was never a big enough fan to miss him. The old Kanye; the one who apparently died not long after the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, probably his best album; was a lot better than the new one though, at least when it comes to songs and albums. If his previous release, Yeezus, wasn’t almost as bad, which it is, I’d have a hard time even accepting The Life Of Pablo as a Kanye West album. That’s how far he’s fallen aesthetically. Even his rap skills have taken a dive. Perhaps it’s time for him to consider going back to school. They say it’s never too late.

my rating : 2 of 5

2016

Naked : Kale Blazer

Naked : Kale Blazer

“Nutrition is delicious by Nature”? I say it can be but usually isn’t. It never is when it comes to vegetables and this is a mixture of pure vegetable juice; mostly kale, which tastes nasty on its own; along with fruit juice for sweetness.

The fruit (orange/apple/lemon) part does wonders for the taste, but it’s nowhere near delicious. Neither is it disgusting, despite the presence of green pulp. Drink this as a healthy alternative to unhealthy sugar drinks that taste a lot better.

my rating : 3 of 5

video review : The Revenant

video review : The Revenant

The revenant the title refers to is a pelt hunter named Glass, the story’s most important and most annoying character. After being attacked and almost killed by a bear, an early peak as far as memorable scenes go, he’s left injured for most of the movie. His constant grunting and sighing is what irks to the point of nearly ruining an otherwise thrilling adventure.

The cinematography and choreography of the first ten minutes or so, the Indian ambush, are particularly engaging. There are underlying themes of love and war; nostalgic endearment and bitter revenge are more like it; but The Revenant is mainly a tale of survival as protagonist Hugh Glass, left for dead in the cold and snowy wilderness, fights to survive.

my rating : 4 of 5

2015

audio review : Now Hear This ( album ) … KRS-One

audio review : Now Hear This ( album ) ... KRS-One

It’s 2015 and KRS-One is still putting out albums. Why not? The MC still has a lot to say and he’s still dope enough to make me want to hear it. Listen to the Intro. Even at 50 years old, he’s above your average rapper. He’s below average when it comes to the breaks; making the melody of the hook the same as the beat is almost always a wack idea; and that’s why he hasn’t made a satisfactory album since the one he named after himself twenty years ago, but hip-hop fans should Hear This.

I’m not saying it’s good; he’ll probably never make another album that’s anything better than decent; but the verses, spit atop rugged boom-bap beats, are worth a listen. American Flag, for example, has The Teacha at the front of a History class, giving an Edutainment-style lecture on homeland racism. Invaders, a surprisingly catchy reggae tune, exposes the hypocrisy of US immigration laws. Conceptually all that’s missing from this album is a crime story and a “fresh” for 2015 shout.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

video review : Straight Outta Compton

video review : Straight Outta Compton

I would’ve preferred a documentary, but here it is; the story of NWA in Hollywood movie form. I was never a fan of the group, but two of its members, Dr Dre and Ice Cube, went on to become megastars in their own right. The same might’ve been said for leader Eazy-E if this story didn’t end the way it did. His dying of HIV, hardly a spoiler, is only one of many highlights the bouncy script touches upon. It’s a straight rundown of the group’s career, from low class teenagers in crime-ridden Compton to famous rap stars, with more focus on the behind-the-scenes drama than the music.

Straight Outta Compton, crudely named after the title of their debut album, isn’t anything special on the whole. Its individual parts; director F Gary Gray has a knack for glamorizing life thru movie scenes; are what keep things interesting. The prologue sequence of Eazy-E getting caught in a dope house raid and a funny bit involving a groupie named Felicia are prime examples. The actors tend to overact; you get the sense that the characters know they’re in a movie; but such flaws are basically forgiven to watch the story, which hints at a sequel focused on Dr Dre’s solo career, unfold.

my rating : 4 of 5

2015

video review : Bridge Of Spies

video review : Bridge Of Spies

Bridge Of Spies, based on the real-life incident of a US spy plane being shot down by Soviet Armed Forces during The Cold War in 1960, is a case of style over substance. It’s an elegant and polished production; expect no less from Steven Spielberg; plagued by tedious storytelling. There is tension at parts, but it’s mostly a middling affair as those of us who slept in Political History class wonder, but don’t care much one way or the other, if protagonist Rudolf Abel will be set free.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

audio review : Let The Groove Get In ( song ) … Justin Timberlake

This dance anthem is built around an annoying chant that is abandoned about three-fourths in. Just before it ends, the music, starting at about the five-minute mark, makes its grand transformation into a 1970s-style disco floater to which Justin Timberlake adds a beautiful harmonized falsetto chorus. “All night long,” it goes. That coda, when the groove finally does get in, is exhilarating. It’s a damn shame the whole song doesn’t sound like that.

my rating : 3 of 5

2013

audio review : The 20-20 Experience ( album ) … Justin Timberlake

video review : Victoria

video review : Victoria

Victoria is the name of the girl the plot revolves around, but that isn’t enough to justify the banal title. It’s not the story of her life, just two hours and thirteen minutes of it. I can say that because the movie is shot in and presented as a single take. That means everything happens in real time, no cuts whatsoever, a marvelous feat rarely accomplished before in the history of pop cinema. Of course, it wouldn’t mean much without a story that’s at least interesting. This one is poignant and thoroughly engaging.

It helps a lot that Victoria, played by Laia Costa, is both cute and charming. It takes almost an hour for the plot; she’s on an escapade with a small group of guys she just met in Berlin; to kick into gear, but it’s never boring. That’s mostly because the characters, improvised from a general outline, don’t talk or act like they’re in a movie. Though the underlying theme of romantic attraction is cliché, thus disappointing, the charming chemistry between Victoria and one of the guys (Sonne) seems genuine.

Whether or not the potential couple would do in real life what they do during the second half of this movie is another question. It seems unlikely for the reasons given, especially for Victoria, who seems to have nothing to gain in comparison to the risks she takes. But the foolhardy personality she displays early on; the initial set-up suggests her naivety will lead to gang rape; makes it a realistic possibility. With that, you’re along for the ride as a suspenseful crime drama unfolds before your eyes.

my rating : 4 of 5

2015

audio review : BB Talk ( song ) … Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus may have a cute face and sexy personality, but damn her voice is annoying. She sings okay enough; it’s her talking voice that’s a boner kill. The vulgar monologues presented here, addressed to a dude she’s in romantic “love” with, are a welcomed addition; that is to say they add stylistic value to the song; but you (I) wish it were a girlier-sounding girl talking.

The pop icon and chronic smoker, age 22, sounds 44 as she blathers about burying her head in his armpit, “which weirdly smells good”, and licking his teeth. Those disturbing images are soon replaced by a chorus that instantly catches the ear. “Fuck me so you’ll stop baby-talking,” it goes, as if he couldn’t do both, and it goes down like sweet tit milk over a funky hip-hop beat.

my rating : 4 of 5

2015