Fall Movie Preview!!

      The Summer is such an awful time for movies.  With all the kids on Summer vacation, the warmest months of the year have historically been reserved for the big blockbusters which sacrifice filmography and subtlety for explosions and big budget, instantly forgettable garbage.  But the Fall is always the harbinger of good things to come as directors and producers look ahead to the Academy Awards in just a few shorts months.  Now is the time to head to the theater and this year has some truly exciting flicks to get in line for.  From Johnny Depp's portrayal of Whitey Bulger in Black Mass, to Ellen Page's powerful lesbian rights film Freeheld there is something for everyone and plenty in between.  I'm very excited to see Matt Damon in The Martian AND Hugh Jackman at the helm in the new Neverland film Pan.  Of course there is yet another Steve Jobs biopic coming out, this time with Michael Fassbender in the titular role and Tom Hanks is back on the big screen in a spy thriller that looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  Last but not least, let us not forget that STAR WARS comes out in December!!!!  So excited. PLUS new James Bond AND new Hunger Games?!  What isn't coming out this season?!  Check out Rolling Stone's list below and read about all these films and MORE as we all get excited to overpay for popcorn and sit next to a bunch of people we don't know just to say we saw it first.

RS Fall Movie Preview!

Ted and I are BACK with another episode of our podcast where we discuss the movies and music we experienced over the summer.  Films we loved (Ex-Machina, Kingsman), films we hated (Jupiter Ascending, Mission Impossible 4) and music we saw live (Pile, Tim McGraw, J. Cole).  We also talk about music festivals and rumors of a new Northeast festival in talks for next year PLUS what we're looking forward to in the coming months (Ted's going to see Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky!).  Keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks and check out this episode below!

Music and Movies with Mike and Ted - What We Did Over the Summer

Songs From This Morning

1. TV - Colleen Green
2. Listed MIA - Rancid
3. Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin
4. Hey Baby - No Doubt
5. M&M's - Blink 182
6. Running with the Devil - Van Halen
7. Rock and Roll Community College - Ben Katzman's Degreaser
8. Who's Gonna Be My Babe? - Free Pizza
9. Jungle Love - Ex Breathers
10. Sangwich - Gnarwhal

Colleen Green Just Get's It...And You Should Listen

Some people may say my tastes are limited; that I only review rock and alternative bands (and the like).  However, in today’s music landscape it’s near impossible to find decent rock and roll and thus I feel it is my responsibility to share my findings.  Namely, bands and artists writing and performing KILLER rock music and not getting the attention they deserve.  This is a perfect way to describe Boston ex-pat Colleen Green who now calls sunny LA home.  Green’s 2015 LP I Want To Grow Up perfectly captures the anxiety, fear, and excitement everyone in their 20’s goes through as they leave college and school behind and realize that it is time to get serious (just not too serious). 

The record, which is out on Hardly Art and is the third full length for Green shows tremendous artistic and lyrical growth as she explores a multitude of millennial themes and feelings.  The album opens with the titular track “I Want to Grow Up” in which Green sings “sick of being young, sick of being dumb” over a fuzzy, distorted alt riff and her simple drum machine back beat.  Colleen’s drum machine is a staple of her sound and though she has graduated to bringing a drummer on tour with her, the drum machine on her records contributes heavily to her lo-fi aesthetic.  “Wild One” brings her vocals to the forefront and makes you realize, this girl can sing!  Poppier than the first track, “Wild One” gives way to “TV” one of my favorites on the album.  A chunky riff and faster tempo give the song a pop punk feel a la Blink 182 and you suddenly realize why she covered the bands classic hit “M&M’s” years ago.  She sings “TV is my friend, and it has been, with me every day…from an early age” something millennials who grew up with Nickelodeon feel all too well.  “Pay Attention” brings things back to a pop leaning sound with a dance beat that gets your feet moving and smoothly transitions into the darker, 80’s tinged “Deeper than Love” as Green leaves behind the 90’s for the sounds of her birth decade. 

A highlight of the album is back to back tracks “Things That Are Bad for Me” part I and II.  The first sees Green happily singing “I’ve gotta stop doing things that are bad for me” as she adopts the mentality we all have as we try to grow up and be more mature.  No more late nights, no more partying every weekend, eating healthier, all things everyone must come face to face with.  However, part two is the contradiction.  Adopting a significantly heavier sound (the heaviest on the album) Green employs a driving, tonal riff and steady beat as she talks about how anxiety and a little voice inside her head make her keep doing things that she KNOWS are bad for her and yet she can’t seem to stop.  Something everyone in their 20’s can relate to. 

The following track “Some People” brings love back as the central theme as Green sings of envying those around her who find love so easily while she sits in a loveless, relationship void.  Here we see the themes from “TV” showing up again towards the end of the album.  The idea of loneliness, lack of a love life, and all this depressing negativity while still feeling like it’s time to be an adult and be mature is ever present throughout each song.  The album closes with a bang and a breeze.  “Grind My Teeth” is the punkiest on the album and brings to mind Southern California punk gods The Descendents.  The album then finishes calmly with the positive, uplifting indie pop of “Whatever I Want” which sees Green realizing that despite all the negativity and contradictions associated with growing up, the best part of being an adult is the freedom of being able to do whatever you want. 

Colleen Green has hit the nail on the head when it comes to getting older.  Often times you’re caught up in a whirlwind of confusion and mostly feel like you’re just faking your way through each day/month/year.  Luckily for the rest of us, Green is here to put our minds at ease and let us know we’re not alone.

A Most Wanted Man Makes Me Miss Philip Seymour Hoffman

When it comes to spy thrillers, John le Carre knows what he’s doing.  His enormously popular series The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been made into two film trilogies and a successful British TV series.  Fewer people noticed another film adapted from one of his novels which came out last year after the death of its lead actor.  A Most Wanted Man starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Defoe, and Robin Wright details covert anti-terrorism operations in post 9/11 Hamburg, Germany.  Hoffman plays covert agent Gunther Bachmann who heads a small, government run, technically illegal group of operatives whose mission is to locate, contact, and turn lower to mid-level individuals with ties to terrorist organizations operating inside Germany.  Specializing in Islamic terrorism, Bachmann has been spending years trying to ensnare a local millionaire philanthropist named Dr. Abdullah whom he suspects has been funneling legal money through his legitimate charities to Al Qaeda.  After the recent arrival of Issa Karpov, an Islamic Chechen national with ties to Russia, Bachmann sees an opportunity to not only entrap Abdullah, but perhaps use him to gain access to the real threat; the terrorist leaders he is funneling money to.  That is if the local German authorities and CIA reps don’t get to him first.  While the film has its exciting moments, its strength is in its subtleties.  The characters are all attempting to stay hidden from the authorities and while Bachmann is trying to secure Abdullah as an asset, he is also trying to look out for Karpov who is seemingly innocent and caught up in this mess because of his Russian mafia connected father.  The dialogue and cinematography reflect the espionage in that everything feels subtle, quiet, and in the shadows – just where Bachmann’s team operates.  Performances by Rachel McAdams and Philip Seymour Hoffman are stunning and while Defoe’s portrayal of the banker is good, it takes a backseat to the other stellar performances.  In the end, your adrenaline is rushing and your hope is high for the success of an operation which has taken years to put together and is so near completion.  All the chess pieces are necessary and in play as the finale approaches and it is one that leaves you both wide eyed and confused whilst leaving you to exhale as the credits roll. 

Today's Playlist

1. Chips in the Moonlight - NICE GUYS
2. Polyamory - Slothrust
3. Who's Gonna Be My Babe? - Free Pizza
4. Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse
5. Came as a Glow - Pile
6. Taboo Tattoo - Midriffs
7. Right Home - The Julie Ruin
8. Adderall Nighter - Tacocat
9. Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Frey
10. Saturday Morning - The Eels

The Innkeepers Was a Breath of Fresh Air in the Horror Genre

Every once and awhile you watch a horror film that stands out as being more akin to the classics.  There are so many low budget “indie” horror flicks that after awhile you start to loose hope that classic horror is no longer a reality.  Films like It Follows and The Babadook remind us that there are still those who have an appreciation for the cinematic side of horror; directors that understand less is often more when it comes to fright films.  This is the way I felt when watching The Innkeepers a 2011 horror film by Ti West, an up and coming horror director.  The film stars two relatively unknown actors as Claire and Luke, the last two employees of a once palatial hotel which is now set to close.  Luke runs an amateur ghost hunting website which chronicles the varied paranormal experiences many quests have had at the hotel which is supposedly haunted by a variety of apparitions including the suicidal Madeline O’Malley whose ghostly figure is said to appear in the old stately building.  Recruiting Claire to assist him with his ghost hunting, Luke comes to realize that the paranormal happenings inside the Yankee Pedlar Inn are more real than he ever truly believed.  The arrival of several eccentric guests and a series of rapid fire paranormal experiences catapult Luke and Claire into the middle of terror and certain doom as the inn’s final weekend winds down.  While I felt the film was a little slow on the upstart, lighthearted jokes and the occasional startling moment keep you entertained as you await the scary parts later on.  In addition, the waiting adds to the sense of unease and emptiness which reflects the nearly vacant status of the hotel.  The films filter creates an eerie glow to each scene which when coupled with an incredible original soundtrack gives the movie and almost Hitchcock like vibe which contributes to the overall “classic” feeling of the entire film.  Receiving mostly positive reviews, The Innkeepers was a breath of fresh air in an overly saturated genre.  PLUS the hotel is still open in real life, so you can visit and get your paranormal investigator on by seeing if you can find your own evidence of life after death.

Ex Machina Is Science Fiction At Its Best

It’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of what I’ve in the past called “classy science fiction”.  That is to say, sci-fi which tackles broader, more serious topics and how they relate to the human experience.  Alex Garland’s Ex Machina fits this description perfectly and captures the imagination whilst simultaneously offering a frightening and realistic example of the future of artificial intelligence. 

The movie stars Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb, a talented young programmer working for Bluebook, the world largest search engine.  After being selected for a secret weekend at a remote compound owned by the company’s founder Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) Caleb learns he is to administer the Turing Test to an exciting new humanoid robot with astounding AI.  Caleb learns his task is to see how he relates to “Ava” despite knowing she is a machine.  Over the course of the week, Caleb finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper into Ava’s psyche and begins to empathize with her situation.  Ava’s imprisonment inside the compound coupled with her apparent human like intelligence causes some profound moral questions in both the viewer and Caleb.   Particularly when Ava manages to short circuit the facilities security system and speak candidly with Caleb, where she reveals that all is not what it seems. 

Calling into question humanities right to create such life, Ex Machina crafts a beautiful reality; one which we as a species are fast approaching.  AI has long been a deep rooted human fascination and the film manages to capture the love and fear we are certain to have for these intelligent machines when we do in fact create them.  As is said by Nathan in the film, it was not a matter of if, but a matter of when. 

As you watch Caleb interact with Ava you begin to question how you would feel in the same situation.  Simultaneously, you’re left thinking about the broader question of whether or not you consider Ava to be a human equivalent.  If she looks, acts, and feels like a human both internally and externally, does that make her human?  Touching upon a multitude of these themes, the film does what any great sci-fi film should in that causes you to question the very essence of what it means to be alive while managing to avoid cliché.  After many great moments, the film’s ending is both surprising and exciting making Ex Machina one of the best sci-fi films I’ve ever seen. 

Songs from this Morning

1. Just a Girl - No Doubt
2. Grip - Jawbox
3. Misery Over Dispute - Waxahatchee
4. White Fire - Angel Olsen
5. Froot - Marina and the Diamonds
6. The Graduates - Speedy Ortiz
7. Nadine - DENT
8. Just My Luck - Laughing Stock
9. Targets Of Men - G.L.O.S.S.
10. Mulch - Gnards

Apple Music Enters the Streaming Game

There's no question that streaming services are here to stay.  Just like they did when the MP3 revolution occurred, the music industry has been forced to adapt to the ever changing and constantly evolving technological landscape.  Services like Spotify and Pandora have been around for some time now and as more and more people have come around to their convenience and accesibility, it's becoming harder and harder for other platforms to compete.  While there has been some artist backlash against the current trends, most notably Taylor Swifts refusal to put her music on streaming services, most musicians are doing what they've always done, going with the flow.  The newest player is Apple who after being the one to usher in the digital music age, is rather late to the streaming game.  Their new service Apple Music offers the same type of streaming service people have come to expect: curated playlists, access to a massive online digital library, algorithms that determine new artists you'll like.  But where they differ is most notably in their incorporation of Beats 1 Radio, a radio station with shows by artists for fans.  Similar to Sirius XM radio, Beats 1 will feature programs by artists like Dr. Dre and St. Vincent alongside other programming. Personally, I think streaming services are destroying the personal relationship music has always had with people.  Much like everything else in our constantly updating technological world, it only serves to create a disconnect between fans and music while giving the user the illusion of increased connectivity.  More access and more content is not always a good thing. But that is a discussion for another day. Rolling Stone breaks down the new Apple service and lists it's pros and cons.  You can read their report below.

Apple Music: The Ins and Outs