So, life happens....

So, just after I recommitted to writing more post, I agreed to teach 6 classes with 3 plans--- so it goes! In any case, next semester I'm only teaching 4 courses (one of which is online) so, hopefully, I'll be a little less busy, but I'll try to start geeking out some more and soon!

On the 50th Anniversary of the Help! and the Beatles Shea Stadium Concert!

Help! is often quite maligned as far as Beatles projects go. As a film, the movie doesn't stumble into the accidental genius of A Hard Day's Night (which also serves as a definitive document of 'Beatlemania'), however, that makes it no less enjoyable as a fun little romp with the Fab Four; if nothing else, it works as a kids film (I'd rather watch this than Yellow Submarine).

The accompanying album is also, sometimes, categorized as one of their worst. In fact, according to Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time it is their lowest ranking album aside from Let It Be, an album that was, essentially, made as the band was falling apart (the only two Beatles albums to not be included on the list at all are Beatles for Sale and Magical Mystery Tour--- the former is still a pretty great album--- "No Reply", "I'm a Loser", "Eight Days a Week"--- but is, perhaps, weighed down by some of their weaker covers. While the latter is pretty much universally--- alongside the accompanying film--- considered the worst thing the band did but, hey, it did give us "I am the Walrus").  Now, if we are discussing the original US, United Artist Soundtrack, it is a pretty terrible listening experience.  The songs from the film are inter-cut with incidental music from the score.

However, if we are talking about the original UK album (which for cataloging purposes has been the most widely released on CD--- and can be considered the band's 'intended' version) it can hardly be considered terrible by anyone's standards and, most likely, it is only because  it has to stand next to four or five of the best albums ever made by any band, that it is so often panned.  Sure, it is not as brilliant as Rubber Soul (which would follow only 4 short months later) or Revolver, nor does it have the historical importance of Meet The Beatles (really the American version of With The Beatles) or Please Please Me, and it doesn't stand as a perfect summation of everything that was great about those early, mop top years of the band like A Hard Day's Night but it still contains some of the best music ever recorded.

Remember, in addition to Lennon's brilliant title track the album also contains "Ticket to Ride", (and while Lennon's assertion that this song invented heavy metal seems dubious at best, it was one of the band's most sonically adventurous tunes at that point--- hints of eastern influence can be detected in the song's pulse) and  "Yesterday", the most covered Lennon/McCartney composition.  So, while it might not encapsulate the mop top years the way earlier albums did and it was not as groundbreaking as the work from the 'studio years', the album does serve as an important bridge between the two eras.

The first 'side' of the album is, basically, the songs from the film.  While none of the other songs can compete with "Help!" or "Ticket to Ride", when listened to on their own, they are not without their charm.  The band was growing.  These were very different from the songs of a year earlier--- there was a bit more soul here, a little more country there.  And we also get "I Need You": a nice early songwriting contribution from George Harrison that almost serves as a sort of prototype to his first great song, "If I Needed Someone".

The second half of the album, aside from a couple of throwaway covers, serves as a kind of proto-Rubber Soul.  The folksier, acoustic numbers (also represented on the first side with "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away") not only gave us "Yesterday" but also the delightful "I've Just Seen A Face" which, in fact, was pulled (along with "It's Only Love") and used to open the American version of Rubber Soul (I'm with Little Steven on this one; the song just makes more sense there).

This might be one of the Beatles' 'worst' albums but it certainly isn't bad. In fact, I prefer not to think of it so much as one of their worst as much as I think of it as my least favorite.

Another thing I really like about the album is the fact that it was, really, the last album where they were just a rock and roll band.  "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" might have been a throwaway cover, but it still showcased the group's ability to tear through an old school rock tune.  Which leads me to this week's second 50th Beatles anniversary: The Shea Stadium concert.

The Beatles have often been accused of being 'a terrible live band'. There is some truth to this; most of the surviving recordings from the height of 'Beatlemania' are pretty unlistenable.  However, this has less to do with the band than the audience and the technology. Not only did the screams of thousands of teenage girls drown out much of sound of the band but, remember, the Beatles were probably the first band to play arenas and stadiums.  Most acts were still playing theaters and clubs. The technology simply wasn't there to accommodate the terrible acoustics of these venues; they weren't made to play music in.  Along the same lines, the technology for recording live (especially over all those screaming girls) had not yet evolved to record this type of concert act.  If you doubt me, listen to some of the live recordings (most of them available on the Anthology collections) where the band was playing under more 'ideal' conditions (see also the Live at the BBC collections--- technically most of these were 'live in the studio' but, still, most songs were captured in one or two takes without overdubs).

So, that brings us to Shea Stadium; the performance has never been given a proper, official release (apart from about 4 or five of the songs being featured on the DVD release of The Beatles Anthology; seriously, if you're a Beatles fan and don't own this you need to rethink your life). But, in the days of the internets, full recordings can be found quite easily online.  Sure, the vocals are raw and the harmonies aren't as tight as they are on the album (considering the fact that they couldn't hear themselves, it's a minor miracle they weren't much, much worse), but their playing is tight, on point, yet, also filled with energy and abandon (especially on the show's closer "I'm Down", where Lennon just goes nuts on the electric piano). So, at the end of the day, this is Beatles being what I really most love about them: a good little rock band.

A Silver Lining to the Cancellation of Hannibal

I'll admit that I was slow to warm up to Bryan Fuller's Hannibal; I found it difficult to accept the show's interpretation of a character that I felt had already been adequately immortalized by Anthony Hopkins in three films (of admittedly varying quality).  This was mostly due to the fact that the Hannibal I was used to was, more or less, depicted in a realistic/naturalistic world. Fuller and company opted for a far more operatic environment to explore the character. Rather than taking the suspense/thriller route of the films, the show goes more for horror. It is romantic, not realistic.

 Once I finally came around, I fell in love with the show:  It is one of the most visually breathtaking shows on television (I really should get it on blu-ray). The plots are more far-fetched and convoluted than what we see in the original films and novels but, that's ok, this is high opera (seriously, look up the plots to some of those things). It's smart--- probably too smart for its own good; I still feel it takes itself a little to seriously from time to time myself.

And, like most shows that are a little too intellectually challenging for the average viewer, it had difficulty finding its viewership and, ultimately, found itself cancelled by NBC. However, this might not be as bad as it seems.

This was, more or less, Fuller's original plan for the show: seasons 1 -3 would be a 'prequel' to Red Dragon, 4 would have adapted Red Dragon itself, 5 would have taken on Silence of the Lambs, 6 would be Hannibal, and then the 7th season would have gone beyond Hannibal to resolve the fate of the titular character.

However, MGM would not release the rights to certain characters that they, somehow, hold exlusive rights to--- namely, Silence of the Lambs characters Clarice Starling, Jamie "Buffalo Bill" Gumb, and Barney Matthews (the orderly who manages to stay on Hannibal's good side). And, it would seem, the show sort of invented their own versions of these characters with Anna Chlumsky playing a 'Silence of the Lambs-era Clarice-like' character in Miriam Lass and with Gilian Anderson's Dr. Du Maurier filling the Hannibal/post-Hannibal role of the character.

Additionally, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising (the only novels that they have the total rights to) have both been mined heavily for plot throughout the 2nd and 3rd seasons.  The first half of season 3 was, in fact, very much this show's version of Hannibal; it covers Hannibal's escape to Italy, his pursuit by a corrupt police officer, and his capture by and escape from Mason Verger (in a twist, it is an unconscious Will Graham that Hannibal carries in his arms,  as he flees from the Verger estate--- in place of Clarice Starling; the show is kind of a really twisted bromance).

So, if the final episodes of this season are adapting Red Dragon, they will have effectively exhausted their source material. And, as much as it sucks that the show will be cut short, it is a good way to end the series.  The story of Red Dragon has always been about how Will Graham, traumatized by his previous experiences as a profiler and, in particular, his near death at the hands of Lecter, comes out of retirement confronts Lecter and his own Demons, and emerges triumphant and lives happily ever after (and, when one considers what the character has been through on the show, this resolution will be all the more poignant). Will's story is finished and, to continue it beyond this, would feel forced.

If nothing else, perhaps the additional time off will allow them to secure the rights to Clarice and Silence of the Lambs and return in a couple of years with a couple of new principals and a new sense of purpose on, presumably, a new medium....

Heroescon 2015: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Comics Again

ABOVE: The famous Heroes Aren't Hard To Find; the tiny store that puts on the biggest private comic convention in the country.

This is the first post in a while and I hope to start doing 2 things: 1) Post more regularly 2) be more geeky.... I tended to concentrate too much on music and, while someone can certainly be a music geek, it is not considered as much a geeky pursuit as other things.

As hard as it is for many to believe, I attended my first major comic book convention this year (I had been to a couple of smaller, more local cons over the years). My choice was mostly Geographical; Heroescon is based out of Charlotte which is just a little over two hours from me.  It also just happens to be the biggest convention put on privately and one of the few comic conventions that manages to, more or less, focus on comics (rather than movies, TV shows, video games, etc.).

And, it is that latter feature, which has managed to have the most significant effect on me: I have fallen in love with comics again. So haven't I always loved comics?  Well, I have always liked comics but I don't always love them.  However, the experience of the convention, the opportunity to meet so many creators who are doing so much creative and interesting work has renewed my love for the art form and my admiration for those who practice it.

One of the coolest things about comics: everyone is so nice!  Sure, these are people whose names are renowned throughout the industry but they are hardly celebrities.  As a result, they are just as likely to be as enthusiastic about their work as you are!  They haven't heard it a millions times and done exhausting press junkets where they're sick of questions about their work; they actually want to talk to you about it. Along the same lines, they're also fans of comics themselves.  Comics is still not the most profitable of creative outlets (in comparison to,say, TV or movies).  These people work in the medium because they love it.

Another result was learning to appreciate the physical objects themselves:  the covers, the interior art, the layout of the pages (I had Klaus Janson sign one of his favorite pages from TDKR). I learned to love just flipping through the pages and looking at the art again. I learned to appreciate vintage comics and the work of artists past. The technique required to create an engaging cover that would fly off the shelves.  

Most important of all was this: hope for the future of comics.  First of all, the crowd itself was quite diverse with women easily representing 50% of the attendees--- not only that, but they were some of the most enthusiastic!  More ladies did cosplay than the gentlemen and their character choices were more esoteric and showed an even greater dedication and attention to detain than the guys.

Secondly, comics themselves have never been better; just as television has increased in its quality over the last few years so have comics.  Never have people been buzzing more about creator owned properties than right now; the hottest book of the con was Jason Aaron and Jason Latour's  Southern Bastards (the best way I can describe it is Southern Fried-Sopranos-meets-Friday-Night-Lights)--- there was nary a cape to be found and I'm not even sure much of anyone you could call a 'hero' in any traditional sense of the word.  Much like the recent televolution, people simply want stories that are well told--- and brilliant art doesn't hurt either.

And it's not just the indies that are tearing it up right now, the big boys seem to have finally found the balance between massive crossover events and just telling solid stand alone, character-driven stories.  They're more willing to let writers and artist flex their creative muscle on these properties and allow them to both make them their own and create great iconic representations of classic characters. Snyder has been killing it with Batman for four years now but Pak's current Superman story is finally delivering on the promise of Morrison's failed attempt to both strip the character to his basic/original form as well as reinvent him for a new era. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Waid's Daredevil and Fraction's Hawkeye along the same lines and  Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr have done the best thing that anyone has done with Batgirl in about 40 years.

On top of that, up and coming artist are taking up and coming characters and creating a whole new fan-base: Wilsons's Ms. Marvel, Latour and Rodriguez's Spider-Gwen, and North and Hendersons The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl are managing to appeal, not only to more women, also people who are tired of the 'muscles n' boobs in tights as usual' and are looking for something different (it's worth mentioning that, while guys all lined up for the old pros like Stan Lee, Klaus Janson, and Tim Sale; it was the ladies who were lining up for people like Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue Deconnick, and Babs Tarr). For the first time in years, I truly think comics has a chance of gaining a newer, younger, hipper, more diverse audience rather than the same old 'nerdy white dudes'.

I also have to give props to the guys from Heroes Aren't Hard to Find and its staff for creating one of the most open and inviting atmospheres for both the con and the store itself.  We're all familiar with the snooty, condescending type of comic store patron best represented by The Simpsons Comic Book Guy.  These types often create an intimidating atmosphere for the uninitiated, particularly women, that makes it difficult for them to feel comfortable even venturing into a comic shop.  The Heroes staff were some of the most friendly and welcoming  people at the con (which is a small miracle considering how stressful the whole operation must be for them to manage over the weekend); they didn't care if you wanted to read Squirrel-Girl, Southern Bastards, Teen Titans, Go! or Archie--- they were just glad you wanted to read comics and were always happy to help and offer suggestions. 

I have also found my collector's drive reinvigorated--- for the last ten years or so, I have been content with trades, only buying single issues when I felt like getting a sampling of what was going on at the moment (or, if someone was doing something really awesome---stuff like All Star Superman). Now, I find myself wanting to buy the comics, issue by issue to experience them 'live' so to speak, not to mention seeking out vintage back issues.... this might not be good for my wallet....

February Album of the Month: Bob Dylan's Self Potrait, Another Self Potrait and The Complete Basement Tapes

It's been a while since I've done one of these so I figured I'd make up for lost time by doing 2 double albums and a 6 disc boxed set!

I had a friend from high school who had a four track cassette recorder.   Every six months or so he would have a new 'album' that was a collection of his most recent recordings.  He actually got pretty good at it and many of the recordings were almost professional in their quality (pretty damn miraculous if you consider the technology--- this wasn't Pro-Tools).  In any case, the recordings were often documents of what he was into at the time:  he dated a girl who played flute, so there would be some songs with flutes on them; he dug up his dad's old Hank Williams records, so there would be a country songs; he'd be really into classic rock one week so there would be an attempt at a Zeppelin/Aerosmith type song. Some of them were recorded with other friends and musicians, various band incarnations, some were all him. Now, he was pretty talented so these were all distinctly him but it was clear that he was wearing many of his influences on his sleeve on many of the recordings.

And that's what I feel we get with these three Dylan projects: the sound of a guy messing around.  A very talented guy.... but messing around nonetheless.  Sometimes he'd mess around with some friends, sometimes he'd mess around on his own. He'd play around with different styles and sounds, play old favorites, popular songs of the time, and originals. Sometimes he'd do his 'Country Crooner' voice, sometimes his old 'Nasaly' one (on his version of  "The Boxer" he duets using each of them). Sometimes the results would be brilliant, sometimes they would be ... interesting. But, they would always be Dylan. These recordings, most of which were never intended for commercial release (even the original Self-Portrait is ambiguous on this), are the sound of an artists trying to find a new voice (after already establishing a good 2 or 3 for himself in the previous decade).

Key Tracks: Basement Tapes: "Folsom Prison Blues", "I'm Not There", "Going to Alcapoco", "It Ain't Me, Babe", "Odds and Ends", "One Kind Favor", "Lo and Behold", Self-Portrait: "Like a Rolling Stone" (Live), "The Boxer" Another Self-Portrait: "Highway 61 Revisited" (Live), "Days of '49", "If Not For You", "Working on a Guru", "New Morning (with horns)"

Favorite Movies 2014

First of all, let me say that I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while (for the 2 of you who are regular readers) but I'm hoping to remedy that. That being said, here is my list of my favorite movies of 2014(note: this is a list of my favorite movies; not an objective best of 2014 list which, I will readily admit, would look very different. These are simply the movies that most tickled my fancy this year.

10. Big Hero 6

Admittedly, this wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be but Beymax still gave me all the feels.  If nothing else, I enjoyed the unique east meets west designs of the characters and their world.


9. 22 Jump Street

This was probably the best comedy that I saw all year.  Yes, it is a big budget sequel but it is fully aware of that fact and plays off of it nicely with clever meta-humor.  Also, how can you not love a movie that opens with and then calls back to an homage to Annie Hall.

8. Rise of the Planet of  the Apes

Imagine every action movie cliche you can think of:  jumping through fire with machine guns blazing on horseback, a high-stakes, rooftop confrontation between protagonist and antagonist, etc.  Now, imagine it with monkeys. Yes, it is incredibly awesome.


7. Gone Girl

On another list this would probably be much higher and, admittedly, it is probably better than just about everything else on this list. But, this is my list, not yours so.... *sticks out tongue*  Seriously though, Gone Girl is a taught thriller and Affleck and Pike both give brilliant performances.  In fact, Affleck's performance gives me hope that he might not be such a bad choice for the Dark Knight after all (it's interesting how his casting has gone from being disappointing to being the most promising thing I've heard about Batman Vs. Superman--- seriously, it's going to be a train wreck). Added bonus: as I wasn't familiar with the book and had heard very little about the film before I saw it, the twist was that much more of a revelation for me.

6. The Lego Movie

I feel like this movie was made for me on many levels.  Particularly in its embrace of its own blatant commercialism. It was fun, funny, clever and, occasionally, touching.  Also.... SPACESHIP!!!!!!

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

This movie is not better than Gone Girl; it's not really better than the Lego Movie either but, quite frankly, it's the X-men movie I've been wanting to see since I was 15.  Sure, there are plot holes and elements that could be improved upon but what makes this and First Class the best of the franchise is that they keep the story grounded in the very human (or should I say Mutant) relationship between Charles Xavier and Magneto (Eric) and, even though these are hardly Oscar worthy films, we do get Oscar worthy performances from MacAvoy and Fassbender. Oh, and Blink! How cool was she? And let's not forget about this:

4. Interstellar

Again, objectively speaking, this is probably better than everything else on this list.  It is brilliant science fiction of the kind that we see precious little of these days (that is to say hard Sci-Fi that actually speculates upon actual science).  Kubrick's 2001 is clearly in its DNA but it succeeds on its own terms with a story that is as moving as it is awe-inspiring and mind-bending.  It only loses a few points because, like all of Nolan's films, it takes itself a bit too seriously and, when they do attempt a bit of humor here and there, it usually falls flat.  That being said, this is  probably Nolan's best film to date.


3. Birdman (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

If I were doing a legit best of list, this would be my top pick.  In many ways, I'm required to like it: absurdists, surrealist/magical realist comedy that features superheroes and one of my favorite short stories ("What We Talk About When We Talk About Love") as the backdrop to a man's simultaneous descent into madness and attempt at redemption, both on a personal and professional level. In many ways, the film itself could be seen as a sort of indictment of most of the rest of this list.  However, I'm not quite sure that's the side the film necessarily comes down on.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Leaps and bounds beyond its predecessor (which was actually pretty good), Cap 2 thrust the titular hero into the 21st century with a bang and greatest generation morality clashes with post-9/11 ambiguity for what is, perhaps, the most culturally relevant plot yet to emerge from the Marvel Cinematic  Universe.  And that's really what this is: an MCU film; Black Widow and Nick Fury deserve top billing just as much the man himself.  Thus far, the phase 2 sequels (Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Cap 2) have managed to elevate everything in terms of plot and depth of character, something I'm sure Joss Whedon will only build on in Avengers 2.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the better movie but this was just more fun. In fact, it was the most fun I have had at any movie in a long time. The soundtrack, the visuals, everything.  Further, it proves that Marvel is willing to take some major risk with its properties both in terms of putting major muscle behind lesser known brands and in their choice of creative talent to bring those ideas to the screen.  Added bonus: it had the best trailer (in some ways I think I may still like the trailer MORE than the movie).

2014 Favorites: Music

Well, it's been awhile but I've been pretty busy so, to begin wrapping up the year, here is my list of musical favorites for 2014.  Once again, I want to emphasize that this is my favorites, it is not an objective best of the year.  For example, Get Hurt was by no means a groundbreaking, earth shaking record; I just really happened to like it.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- Hypnotic Eye 

Just a good rock album by a good rock band.  Sometimes simple works.

Weird Al Yankovic- Mandatory Fun

Sure,  All has done more ingenius sets of comedy songs, even in recent years, but the ambitious promotion of 'a video a day for a week' combined with his first ever number one album (sure, it's with an * due to generally sluggish record sales... but still...) makes this well worth noting.



 

10.  Jack White - Lazzaretto

I wasn't feeling this one as much as previous Jack White projects, but it is still one of the musically more interesting albums of the year.  

9. Future Islands - Singles

These guys came out of nowhere.... it's pop music for grown-ups. 



8. Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes

For what is basically an odds and ends collection, this manages to sound fresh and hold together nicely.  The rocked out version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "American Skin" had both been around as live versions for years but the proper studio recordings serve them well. 


7. Tweedy- Sukierae

A pleasant surprise for old-school Wilco fans.  Jeff Tweedy makes an album that harkens back to the days of Being There and Summerteeth.


6. U2 - Songs of Innocence 

Despite the controversy of its release, it's still a pretty good album.  Far from their best but still pretty far from terrible.  "Raised By Wolves" and "The Troubles" make up for the mediocrity of the lesser tracks. (seriously, though, that cover is totally creepy)


5. The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams

An early contender for my favorite album this year, the early-Springsteen lyrics/vocals over Alt-rock/metal guitars delivers a unique punch.  They might be the world's best bar band.

4. The Black Keys - Turn Blue

New Wave and Disco infused Blues Rock?  Sure! Why Not!  I'm not a big Black Keys fan in general but this is my favorite thing they've done so far. 

3. Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright In the End

Is it as good as The Blue Album? No. Of course not. Is it as bad as The Red Album? No. Far from it. It might actually be the best album they've done since regrouping in 2001.... it's as least as good as The Green Album. And the "Return to Ithaca" guitar-symphony might be my favorite musical moment of 2014. 


2. The Gaslight Anthem- Get Hurt
 
Sure, Brian Fallon might be a hokey lyricist but, like his idol Bruce Springsteen (no stranger to the occasional bit of hokiness himself) he sings with enough conviction that it's mostly forgivable.


1. Foo Fighters- Sonic Highways

Some people complained that after the city-to-city roots exploration of the accompanying documentary series, Dave Grohl simply went and made another Foo Fighters album.... and that's kind of what I most want when I buy a Foo Fighters album.  Sure, while the album might not be filled with the local flavors that many were expecting, the journey did provide a certain amount of inspiration for the band in delivering a kick-ass set of tunes.


Top Tunes:

 5. "The Troubles"- U2
4. "What Did I Do?/God As My Witness"- Foo Fighters
3. "Rollin' and Tumblin" - The Gaslight Anthem
2. "Seasons (Waiting On You)"- Future Islands
1. "Low Key"- Tweedy