Another Playlist!!

1. Life - Modern Hut
2. Black Books - Salem Wolves
3. Circle One - The Germs
4. Giant Steps - John Coltrane
5. Green Eyes - Coldplay
6. Tiny Dancer - Elton John
7. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 - The Flaming Lips
8. Waiting for a Girl Like You - Foreigner
9. Region of Fire - JEFF the Brotherhood
10. Carnival - Bikini Kill

Whiplash Was a Violently Emotional Film

        Everyone I spoke to about the musical drama Whiplash had nothing but good things to say about the film.  That is was brilliantly acted, deeply emotional, and all around captivating in its intensity were just a few of the glowing remarks I’d heard about this seemingly random film which gained momentum after its premier at Sundance and eventually won several academy awards including a nom for Best Picture.           

       Based on the high school experiences of director Damien Chazelle, the films protagonist Andrew Neiman played by Miles Teller aspires to be one of the best jazz drummers of all time.  Idolizing the greats like Buddy Rich, Miles’ entire life revolves around his drum kit.  After Terrence Fletcher, an infamous teacher and conductor overhears Andrew practicing, he invites him to join his prestigious jazz band made up of the best musicians at the school.  Starting as alternate drummer, Andrew moves up and down the proverbial ladder jumping from core to alternate several times as he struggles to live up to the ridiculously high expectations of Fletcher who is constantly verbally and physically abusive.  J.K. Simmons deserved the Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor without a doubt.  His anger and rage is palpable and the response it evokes in the viewer is at times unsettling.  The way he treats his students is unacceptable, but it’s done in the interest of pushing the few who have the potential to become legends to the limits.  While you sympathize with Andrew has he struggles to be the best and to impress Fletcher, you can’t help but feel that the two were meant to work with each other.  Andrew wants history to remember him alongside his idols like Rich, and Fletcher is the kind of person who will help him achieve that.  After they have a falling out, Fletcher and Andrew meet at a jazz club where Fletcher explains his methodology by stating that the worst thing anyone can ever say to someone is “good job” implying that it only convinces the person to not push themselves further and the only way to become great is to never stop pushing yourself to be better. 

      While I agree the acting was top of the line and the drumming is other worldly, I wanted a little more from the film.  Andrew’s love interest is barely even relevant and felt like a wasted storyline.  The same goes for his father.  We find out almost nothing about Andrew’s past and his absent mother and while his father fills the roll of emotional support system, their relationship with each other is barely touched on leaving you feeling like the possibility for added emotional weight was missed.  The film clearly intended to focus solely on the relationship between Andrew and his teacher so the other “half storylines” feel unnecessary.  In the end if you like jazz music, Whiplash was a good movie.  If you like drumming, it was a superb movie.

The Strypes Shove 60's Garage Rock in Your Face

The Strypes are bringing 60’s garage rock back into the mainstream in a charismatic and enthralling way,  combining elements of jazz, blues rock, and some minor undertones of the New York post-punk revival scene of the early 2000’s to create an original sound all their own.  The Ireland based four-piece recently released their debut album Snapshot on March 18^th and the albums 12 songs are rock and roll at its grittiest, earliest, most gut punching best.  The bands mature sound is made all the more exceptional by the member’s respective ages.  None are out of their teens yet they sound like they’ve been a band for decades.  Lead singer Ross Farrelly’s howling snarl has the same earnestness as early Mick Jagger and the harmonica, brought to the table by both Farrelly and bass guitarist Pete O'Hanlon adds a bluesy southern feel which feels right at home with lead guitarist Josh McClorey’s classic riffs.  Touching on 50’s swing in tracks like “Mystery Man”, pure southern rock bliss on songs like “Blue Collar Jane”, and the folk rocky sound of “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover” The Strypes display a wide and eclectic knowledge of the many forms of roots rock.  The band brings their youthful energy and power to every track which makes for enthusiastic performances and exuberant recordings.  Classic suits, leather jackets, and dark sunglasses give each band member that feeling of quintessential cool (despite somewhat ripping off Julian Casablancas) and make you do a double take as you wonder if it is 2014 or 1966.  I expect The Strypes to do many more great things and with so much time to go before they even finish puberty, I’m excited to see where the band takes things in the near future.

George Winston - Classical Jazz for Anybody

      Unless you’re a real fan of classical or jazz music, it’s usually something you have to be in the mood for.  But if you enjoy the piano, George Winston is a composer who must be on your radar.  I first heard George Winston’s Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi when I was 10 or 11 and fell in love with it.  If you grew up watching the Peanuts holiday specials this album will definitely resonate with you.  But as I expanded and listed to some of his other work I was blown away.  His piano playing is part classical, part jazz, and part something completely different.  His album Night Divides the Day: The Music of the Doors covers some of their greatest hits and would make a diehard Doors fan proud.  Each of his solo seasonal albums transport you from a cold wintery mountain to a spring meadow and back to a crisp evening in the fall.  Albums like Forest almost feel as though they are telling a story, with each track propelling you forward to the next.  If you’re someone who traditionally has stayed away from this kind of music I highly recommend giving George Winston a chance.