Month: May 2007

Who the heck are The Himalayans?

More importantly, who knows Adam Duritz?

Of course everyone knows the name Adam Duritz as the singer from Counting Crows. Counting Crows are the best band ever (except for the Smashing Pumpkins). They aren’t even on the same scale, but there. It’s been said. Much of my guitar playing is credited to the great songs of Counting Crows.

So before Counting Crows got together, Adam was bumming around looking for something exciting to do and he answered an ad in the paper asking for a singer of a band. This band became The Himalayans and I never knew about them until now as they re-released a remastered first (and only) album.

Turns out that the band was going to make it big but then Adam left to create Counting Crows. While this gets a little muddy in my brain, I guess there are some musicians out there that are in multiple bands and then decide to focus on one at a time. This is what happened here. Adam left for Counting Crows.

Now, what really piqued my curiosity about this album was the fact that it has turned out that Counting Crows Round Here was actually a COVER of the original which was recorded by The Himalayans! Imagine! So I picked up this album (only available from Adam’s new record label Tyrannosaurus Records if you want it) and am plesantly impressed with it.

I must admit that I have come a long way in my music tastes. I am more into the classic rock styles so this low-key alternative music isn’t exactly my thing anymore. But I managed to but my 1991 ballcap on my head and listen to the album as it should be listened to – with your frame of mind back then, and not in the year 2007.

In that, I find a great album with some great tracks intermixed with radio interviews. Essentially they wish to collect everything that the band was at this moment in time. It is strange to hear Adam sing to different songs and especially strange (yet cool) to hear the original Round Here. It’s rolling bass line holds the song in familiar territory. The album is worth picking up for this reason alone!

So there you have it. If you’re a Counting Crows fan and enjoy Adam’s great vocals, and won’t mind a different style of music from Counting Crows (but still clearly from the early 90s), then pick this album up.

Iplaying: Angels in American – The Himlayans (She Likes The Weather)

Is this a Linkin Park album or something else? Gone are the days of their hybrid of rap and rock (or nu-metal for those of you in the know). They have revamped their music entirely which I was a little scared of at first. Can a band still survive when they change their direction? I was hearing strange things from the studio – listening to a lot of Pink Floyd during the recording. How can Linkin Park survive an uprising from metal-esque screaming music to some laid back riffs?

Well, they managed to pull it off. This is definitely NOT the Linkin Park of old. Forget everything you know about them. Just appreciate this as a good album and you will love it. I cannot get this out of my stereo right now. There are some key tracks which I come back to (Valentine’s Day, Bleed It Out (which, coincidentally I heard on Saturday Night Live last week and thought it was the most horrible song ever. Clearly their live versino of the song doesn’t do it justice). They have the classic Chester vocals all over the place and a lot less of Mike Shinoda. Some of the tracks remind me of old Linkin Park (ala My December-like).

I thoroughly enjoy this album but prepare yourself for something entirely different from the Linkin Park you know and love. But you will enjoy this album if you enjoy some good music.

iplaying: Diamonds and Babies and Cars – The Himalayans (She Likes The Weather)

Hey, hey! A new Megadeth album is out! I’m sure my faithful readers know my love of Megadeth as the kings of heavy metal. I dig them more than Metallica, that’s a fer sure.

This is a follow-up to their The System Has Failed album which brought Megadeth back from the dead when there were fears that Dave Mustaine had put the beast to slumber due to him losing mobility in his arm. But he fought back and he is back with a vengeance with both his last album and this one.

I have listened to it a few times and I must say it may become one of my faves. As always, Megadeth have politicized lyrics and this album is no exception as we enter the atrocity of the current state of affairs. Their tunes Washington Is Next is reminiscent of Holy Wars (but not as good, of course!). They also re-record one of my favourite tunes – A Tout Le Monde featuring Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil on co-vocals. An excellent re-recording of the track although I prefer the solo from the original. It’s interesting to note that for the longest time everyone thought this was a song about suicide but it was really about a person facing their death – like an older person sitting there realizing that death is upon them. It’s an interesting note.

Overall, an excellent Megadeth album and I can see the new lineup in the band may become one of the better ones (alongside the classic lineup of Marty Friedman, Nick Menza and David Ellefson).

iplaying: She Likes The Weather – The Himalayans (She Likes The Weather)

I was introduced to Ted Leo and the Pharmacists by my co-worker Rob a few years ago with the Shake the Sheets album. It was a rocking album and I tend to listen to it while I’m out on a jog. Ever listen to the Strokes and it makes you feel like running? This is what this album makes you feel like. So when I heard there was a new album out from Ted Leo I scoured the entire city for it. Finally stumbling upon Music World in Orleans, I ended up with the copy with the limited edition EP along with it! Beauty!

It has some excellent tunes on it and I can see he is honing his songwriting ability. There are some good rocking tunes for the most part, and mixed up with a reggae tune and some sombre tunes makes for a decent album. I would have to say tht I enjoy Shake the Sheets better but if you are a fan of Ted Leo, I would recommend you pick up the album. I feel this will be my summer album as it has the feeling of hanging out on that porch with your friends on a sunny afternoon.

iplaying: Jaded – The Himalayans (She Likes The Weather)

Whew! I caught up on all my things I wanted to talk to you about so I could get to the real juicy review of Spider-Man 3 which I saw last night with Chris, Sara and Krista.

We headed to the SilverCity to capture the magic which is Spider-Man. I love Spider-Man. He’s my favourite of them all. Sure, X-Men are cool also. I enjoy the stories more in X-Men (well, maybe not lately…actually I haven’t read a new X-Men story since 10 years ago but I heard it’s going awful), but Spider-Man is a character that I can relate with. He’s goofy, but cool at the same time. Enough about the character.

We had the entire theater to ourselves which was nice. This was the first time I had seen a Spidey movie with friends as I had seen it alone the other 2 times. Some people find that strange, but I say you don’t really talk during a movie so if you want to go see a flick and no one feels like going with you, go on your own anyhow!

***spoiler warning*** I will not be revealing anything that hasn’t been in the movie trailers. I will be speaking about various characters and how I felt about them in the movie, but I won’t give away any plot points. If you feel that me talking about the characters and the general story are too much for you, then you should stop reading now. I would also disregard the comments section as you never know when someone may write in “I can’t believe Darth Vader is Luke’s father!!!”

The film picks up with Peter Parker still in college but at least in this time period, everyone loves the Spider-Man. New York City embraces this cool superhero and there is Spidey merchandise everywhere (much like around our own world!). He is still with Mary-Jane Watson and life looks pretty good.

The story revolves around three main villains – Harry “Green Goblin” Osbourne, The Sandman and everyone’s fave…Venom! When hearing about three main villains I was assuming that Harry would enter the film early on and then somehow leave the film early on to make way for the other two new villains. I was also worried about having three main villains. Seemed a little extreme for me. This reminds me the old Batman films which got out of hand with two villains fighting for screen time.

My fears were fully realized when the film is pulled in too many directions with trying to follow all three villains stories, as well as following the Peter Parker story. I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the Peter/Harry storyline and it had a twist that left me satisfied (although it may not be satisfying to many others). I am glad that they had an emphasis on Harry Osbourne as I had fears that with Sandman and Venom showing up, he would take the back burner.

However, that being said, this took away from Sandman and Venom. Venom could have his own entire film dedicated to him – as should be! He is an excellent villain. Plus, he’s a fan favourite and rightly so! So I was disappointed in his screen time in the film. They should have just focussed on Sandman and Harry this time around. Sandman fell into the same bad scenario where he only had a little background story and then was all action. I loved how Spider-Man 2 really looked at Otto Octavius’s soul and really got into what the character was about. Sandman…not so much. However, maybe there’s really nothing to go on with Sandman…I can’t remember reading too many stories with him in it 10 years ago.

The other critique of the film was the whole ‘Superman 3’ vibe that was given. You know the film where Superman has an evil twin…god, it was a horrible film. Well, Peter Parker gets a mean streak in him during the movie and styles his hair differently and acts like an ass to everyone. It was too cheesy. It really was. He wasn’t a dark, twisted Peter Parker…he was the macho, suave, jock-like Parker which is the opposite of what he is. At this point in the film, I analyzed Sam Raimi’s other trilogy – The Evil Dead Trilogy, and realized that Spider-Man 3 was his Army of Darkness as it was very high in the cheese factor. VERY HIGH. Maybe he can’t hold it back once he hits the third movie stride? Anyhow, I found it really took away from the film. I like the little points of humour in the first two films. The wink and the nod if you will. But Spidey 3 really goes overboard to the point where you really are groaning at the things that are happening to Peter Parker.

Action was pretty cool for the film although as Krista pointed out, it’s sometimes impossible to focus on as it moves way too fast on the big screen and all you see is a blur. I can only imagine what it’s like on the IMAX. Are films supposed to overwhelm you? I suppose so.

My favourite part was when Sandman first is created and he tries to walk. It was a beautiful moment in both special effects and emotion. Very cool scene.

Wanna talk about Venom? Hmm…what to say. Not enough screen time. Was it meant to be this way? Was this a teaser for a film in the future? I’m sure they will eventually bring him back along with his cohort in crime – Carnage. But where is the Venom we love in the comics where he wants to protect the innocents and only wants to kill Spidey? That would have been a great take on Venom. Also, no offence to Topher Grace but it was hard watching the kid from That 70s Show play the coolest villain ever. They should have used an unknown actor and I now know why George Lucas does so in his Star Wars films. His origin was well told though as it would have been hard for Peter Parker to end up on another planet during the Secret Wars (lik in the comics).

The future is interesting for Spider-Man. There is still the possibility of The Lizard appearing as every film has some cameos by Doctor Curt Connors. I personally would like to see Mysterio show up sometime soon and maybe the Vulture? The Vulture is an old man though and isn’t the best villain. Doctor Octopus is my favourite Spidey villain and that was covered well in Spider-Man 2.

Final Verdict: Very high on the cheese factor, plus being pulled in too many directions makes this installment of Spider-Man the least appealing of the three of them. It’s still a decent flick though…heck, it’s Spider-Man. You have to remember that he IS cheesy in the comics. But it was just a little too much.

On Tuesday, I surprised Vero with a night at the National Arts Center for a play called 7 Important Things. I really didn’t know much about it other than it had to do with rebellious/counterculture elements which intrigued me after reading The Rebel Sell. Sara and Chris went to see it and they had a 50/50 split on liking/not liking it.

After getting a bowl of chili at Tim Horton’s (warning: this may not be a good idea on a date), we got to the NAC and stood in line for awhile and then found out a seat in the Theatrical Studio.

At first I thought the stage was extremely minimalist. A chair here, a podium there. But my thoughts changed throughout the course of the play.

The play follows the character of George and his life in becoming a hippie, to the destruction of hippie living and more responsible living (aka working) and then the punk movement of the 80s and then now. It follows his path through life and how he feels that he is searching for happiness through these movements, but in the end, he isn’t really that happy at all with the way his life has been lived.

The play bounces from the past and present at many points and uses first and third person narratives frequently. There is also the breaking of the fourth wall when they speak with the audience at various points. I loved the use of music – contemporary music; as well as the use of different forms of media; the lighting, the projectors with images from their past. I loved how if an image was being projected, one person moved the projector while the other held up a giant white placard and followed the image. Very cool. The set became a multi-purpose set as different areas were lit differently and represented different periods in George’s life.

There were also discussions on marketing and counterculture and the art of rebeling agasint something. Nothing new to hear but it was interesting to see it on stage.

I have now started to realize what sort of theatre I enjoy. After being cultured for the past two years, I feel that the modern/contemporary plays really hit the spot in my heart. I love the use of music and various other technologies and not just people on a stage using their emotions. Extreme uses of music and lighthing are a personal favourite of mine which has transitioned nicely over to the theatrical rock concerts that I’ve seen: Nine Inch Nails, Tool, U2…I enjoy a good spectacle. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music, but the visual is an equally important piece.

I would recommend going to see this play. I think it’s here for the remainder of the week here in Ottawa.

Krista lent me The Rebel Sell which lays out a critique on mass consumerism and counterculture which occurs in our society today. I really enjoyed this book as it touched upon a lot of thoughts I’ve had on society but have never been able to articulate in such a coherent matter.

It took a look at how life has changed since the 60s and how progress has affected our lives. It also takes a look at how culture can’t be jammed as the culture becomes the counterculture. Let me explain if you don’t understand what I’m talking about.

Ever see those funny advertisements that mock an organization? Let’s take the Nike picture posted above which I found on Google. This is an example of culture jamming. Where someone mocks something about our culture and misrepresents the original image of the organization. So I’m assuming that they are either talking about how we are slaves to buying Nike shoes just because of the brand name, or maybe they are talking about sweat shops that are used to create the shoe. I’m really grasping at that one as I don’t really have any information leading to whether or not that’s true. Anyhow, this isn’t the point. I’m trying to show you what culture jamming is.

So if you think about the original culture jammers, we’re looking at the hippies. They were against the way the world was. They wished to rebel. They grew their hair long (gasp!) and listened to awesome music. Let’s fast forward to the punk movement – wild hair, piercings here and there, mish-mash of clothing. This was the way to counter the culture which was upon us.

Thing is, culture then catches onto this underground movement and commodifies it. Instead of buying safety pins from your local pharmacy store which has been done since they were created, you can now buy a box of ‘PUNK STYLE SAFETY PINS!!!” or something to that effect. The punk style can now be bought at your local Wal-Mart. The concept of counter-culture has been turned on its head and now the counter-culture movement has to move elsewhere.

This is what Kurt Cobain had a problem with (amongst other things). Here was the underground alternative movement. We were tired of the glam which was the 80s. We wished for a simpler time where we could just haul on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt over a t-shirt and that’s that. No glam, no fuss. Grow our hair long and that’s that. But then out of nowhere – whammo! It became popular culture. What the heck? How did that happen? Somehow in the middle of this, he (unfortunately) became the figurehead of a movement. The alternative movement. It killed him. It tore him up inside. He didn’t want to be this person that people looked up to. He just wanted to make music and have fun. Look at the album In Utero. Let’s all be honest…is this not a cry against the masses who loved Nevermind? I digress…

So there you have it. There’s a lot more to this book than just the counterculture movement. They have some fascinating looks at consumerism. Let’s take the free-range chickens. They are more expensive to buy but you get the peace of mind knowing that they had vast fields to roam inside of instead of being kept in cages. It was interesting to point out that on a nice warm day they would rather stay in the shade in a corner of the barn anyhow. So, why do we pay more? For peace of mind? Come on. So they take a look at a lot of these examples and infuse the book with amusing anecdotes about child life and good thought-provoking theories. I think Uncle Gerry would enjoy this book (if you’re reading this entry right now, pick up this book!)

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It definitely is a thinking book and not your average Star Wars novel. There were a few chapters where I had to really hunker down to get through, but for the most part, it was a fascinating look at how we live our lives today and how we feed the machine which is our society.