tv: Way back in season one of Dexter certain things about the show were made clear that continued to hold true. As his character is laid out there was a clear division. There was the man lead by his dark passenger to kill. And in killing he followed a code: only kill bad people. There was also his other life. Where he had his job as a blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro homicide, his sister Deb, and his girlfriend Rita. These two lives were separate and never equal. While Dexter was willing to fight to save Deb or Rita if their lives were ever in danger, he was doing it more because they were good people who didn't deserve to die rather than because he loved them or cared about their actual fate.
The template for how fans would come to describe the show was laid out from the beginning as well. The show would be described in terms of its villains. From season to season the descriptions were always in that vain; the ice truck killer, the bay harbor butcher, Jimmy Smitts (sorry I can never remember his characters name), trinity, Jordan Chase, and the doomsday killer. As these villains were introduced and dispatched of, they all offered Dexter something he could learn about his two separate lives and how he could live within in them on their own separate terms.
In season seven the show broke format. There were bad guys, but none of them were the central focus of the season. Ray Stevenson's Russian gangster out for revenge was a bad ass to be sure, but was not the goal of the year. Instead the show decided, off the heals of their awesome season six cliffhanger where Deb finds out the truth about her brother, to do a lot more examination than they have before. And in doing that all of the walls around the show and its main character began to crumble.
Now that Deb knows who her step brother really is, the facade of a relationship between the two of them is gone and her promotion to lieutenant at their work means that his killer self will now bleed (sorry I couldn't avoid that pun) into that fake space of his as well. Then something even more remarkable happens. Dexter meets Hannah McKay, a femme fetale poisoner with whom he forms a relationship As time goes by Dexter and Hannah become familiar with what each is capable of. The honesty and acceptance of that for both of them turns into a genuinely sweet, albeit twisted and untrusting, relationship and even to real love that is born out or that ability to be able to not have to lie and still be cared about. As these scenarios compound, Dexter is forced out into the open by these two people he truly cares for, we see the division of his two worlds, the killer and the "regular guy" start to begin to crumble.
Then Dexter has an internal revelation. He tries to describe his dark passenger, the name of his urge to kill we have come to know throughout the years, to Hannah and she literally laughs. Over the course of time Dexter finds the acceptance within himself that he found in Hannah and Deb. That there is only one person or thing pulling his strings. He is one man. There is no Dexter by day and dark passenger by night, only him.
It is in the season finale that all of this came to a head. As Dexter is trying to thwart the threat of his past coming back to haunt him, he has a talk with Harry, the final wall yet to crumble between conscience and the father he hopes is still telling him what to do. Harry advises him to run. Take his son and Deb and run. Dexter says he can't. He can't do that to Deb. But he also doesn't want to. He says that his life has come to mean something. His job, his relationship with his sister, he fell in love. The lie is no longer a lie. It is as real as the killer who may have to leave and built all of those other things in order to lie about who he really is.
And in that moment everything changes. The two lives merge into one. There is no by day or by night. No one can be spared, his two selves or those around him. The damage of his own actions is collateral and not just his own. The evolution towards this moment may have seemed apparent over the years, but to actually get there is a different story. The walls are not crumbling. They have now come down.
And that is what we may have to define this season as. Not the name of a villain, but Dexter merging all into one. The relationships closest to him are where that is most on display. But in the transpiring of the season final, we are given flashbacks of his interactions with Doakes where he allowed too much of his different worlds to bleed into one another, showing why Doakes always thought something was off with Dexter, and that Dexter couldn't hide his two worlds from themselves forever. Then, after seeing him reject the notion of his dark passenger, we see him kill for survival, leaving his code behind. Dexter is told by his victim in that moment that he is finally killing for "normal reasons". Dexter replies that he has never done that. As the flashbacks represented a past that was a display of the self-evident present, those "normal reasons" were Dexter's acceptance of present in the way he saw himself and his rejecting of the past. He was in that moment just a killer. No code, no passenger, nothing but who he really was. Letting truth knock down more walls.
What we now have to look forward to is summed up in Dexter's final words of the season: "Is this a new beginning or the beginning of the end?" The answer is both. Dexter may be approaching its final season, but it certainly is doing it in a way that is new for the show. It has stepped outside itself. Gotten away from the simplicity of its anti-hero allowing his dark passenger to rid the world of worse evils. Now we are left with Dexter, killer, man, lover and brother all wrapped into one and dealing with the fact that being all of those things at once is very messy. And that level of messiness almost never leads to a clean answer. Dexter dies or gets caught and goes to jail. Those are the clean thoughts of a simpler show that has since succumbed to the show it has become as Deb did making her choice in the shipping yard. Now we face a messier ending, a new beginning right at the end. And that end I have no doubt echo the title of this seasons finale: Surprise Motherfucker!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
homeland season 2 finale
tv: Coming off it's Emmy winning first season, I don't think anyone could have expected what was going to happen to Homeland this year. As the season wore on it went through some serious ups and downs. It was like watching a high wire act as it tried to balance the action it had the potential to produce and the intimacy that was ultimately what allowed it the success it gained. And as those two opposing forces played havoc with viewers and the quality of the show, the debates and conspiracy theories and picking apart of implausibility brought about a level of scrutiny that thanks to the immediacy of the internet was pretty unprecedented. Homeland pushed the envelope by turning over plots and forcing itself to continue to find what was next. The show almost became lost within itself in the process.
But they had one last twist both in terms of its plot and its storytelling left for its season finale, The Choice. Just when it was thought that the show had officially turned into 24, they pulled back. The Choice began with Carrie and Brody going back to the place where their love affair truly began. That cabin they got away to in the shows best episode, The Weekend. From then on the episode was more or less framed as the series most intimate story. Focusing on what was to come almost purely through the actions of our two main characters. Having left his family for real this time, Brody follows Carrie to the cabin to try and figure out what the next step is. We see the two of them open up to each other in a new way, not sexually while in the midst of their agendas but was two people trying to figure out if it is possible to have a future together. Carrie discusses her parents as she tries to explain the hardships Brody will have to deal with given Carrie's severe bipolar disorder. But as we saw at the end of their last weekend together, the real world called them back. And with that call came a sense that nothing could ever be so simple for the two of them as croissants for breakfast.
Carrie returns to the agency before heading off to a memorial for the now deceased V.P. Walden while Brody heads home to get a suit for the same occasion. Both seem to be given a chance to re-enter their former lives. And yet their opportunities to so blow up in their faces. Then the real bomb goes off.
When Carrie comes to her senses she lunges for a gun to point at Brody. She then decides to trust in her man and help him to run, knowing that all eyes will now be on Brody after it was his car that was the bomb. Carrie helps him to escape to the Canadian border.
It is at this point that we begin to remember why Homeland was recognized as it was. While Brody convinces Carrie that he had nothing to do with the explosion at the memorial, it is hard to be convinced as a viewer. Carrie has not been the brilliant agent she was last year, making mistakes at almost every possible turn. Her love for Brody beginning to cloud her judgement as much as her lithium regiment. But after watching their relationship blossom if only in the moment where they could escape everything, it is hard not to wonder if a total escape could be the answer.
Then the suicide tape Brody made in season one gets leaked to the press. With the nation believing that this was his admission of guilt for what happened in the season two finale, the viewer knows better. Or do we? Just because we know the tape and the bombing have nothing to do with each other doesn't prove Brody's innocence just as we know that the tape doesn't actually prove his guilt either.
But for all of the uncertainty surrounding Brody, we saw two moments where he wasn't lying. When he realized the suicide tape got leaked, there is a long shot of him in Carrie's car. It is not the look of fear. But he now knows the ramifications of his actions. His life, for all intents and purposes, is over. And his family is going to be the most direct casualty of his actions when they see who he really is, or at least was. I can't say I saw regret on his face, but to watch Damian Lewis portray that "What have I done?" moment was nothing short of heartbreaking as he accepts that there is no going back to his former life. There was always talk of Brody eventually being killed. In that moment we saw his death. Whether or not we see him again in seasons to come, Brody's life as we knew it was over. His other moment of honesty was when he finally walked away. He looked at Carrie and said "It really was love." For all the games and manipulation between the two, that was no lie.
Looking ahead to season three, the show will certainly have a new leaf to turn over. Saul appears to be in position to take over the CIA directorship, with Carrie presumably getting the promotion the two of them discussed. There are still a ton of unanswered questions about the events of the season finale though. Brody's guilt or innocence is up for question. And no matter what side of lady justice he falls on, the nation believes he is a terrorist, the terrorist. And Carrie just helped him escape. I have a feeling the show now intends to turn inwards and look closer at the CIA. With all these questions needing to be answered and pointing the investigation into those questions right at Saul and Carrie seems as interesting a place to start as any. Saul's unconditional love and support of Carrie would have to then be called into question. Testing that would seem a great place to start with so many of the major players taken off the board. Quinn and his handler Der Adal will certainly play a role in that.
One thing is for certain though, as we turn a page in the story of Homeland ready to begin a new chapter, it was nice to say goodbye to so many aspects of the show, be it plots or characters, while seeing the show do what it is best at. They let go of the huge plots that weighed down their season and passed that weight to its most intimate moments of the characters we are most deeply invested in, capped by a smile, justt like we began twelve weeks ago.
But they had one last twist both in terms of its plot and its storytelling left for its season finale, The Choice. Just when it was thought that the show had officially turned into 24, they pulled back. The Choice began with Carrie and Brody going back to the place where their love affair truly began. That cabin they got away to in the shows best episode, The Weekend. From then on the episode was more or less framed as the series most intimate story. Focusing on what was to come almost purely through the actions of our two main characters. Having left his family for real this time, Brody follows Carrie to the cabin to try and figure out what the next step is. We see the two of them open up to each other in a new way, not sexually while in the midst of their agendas but was two people trying to figure out if it is possible to have a future together. Carrie discusses her parents as she tries to explain the hardships Brody will have to deal with given Carrie's severe bipolar disorder. But as we saw at the end of their last weekend together, the real world called them back. And with that call came a sense that nothing could ever be so simple for the two of them as croissants for breakfast.
Carrie returns to the agency before heading off to a memorial for the now deceased V.P. Walden while Brody heads home to get a suit for the same occasion. Both seem to be given a chance to re-enter their former lives. And yet their opportunities to so blow up in their faces. Then the real bomb goes off.
When Carrie comes to her senses she lunges for a gun to point at Brody. She then decides to trust in her man and help him to run, knowing that all eyes will now be on Brody after it was his car that was the bomb. Carrie helps him to escape to the Canadian border.
It is at this point that we begin to remember why Homeland was recognized as it was. While Brody convinces Carrie that he had nothing to do with the explosion at the memorial, it is hard to be convinced as a viewer. Carrie has not been the brilliant agent she was last year, making mistakes at almost every possible turn. Her love for Brody beginning to cloud her judgement as much as her lithium regiment. But after watching their relationship blossom if only in the moment where they could escape everything, it is hard not to wonder if a total escape could be the answer.
Then the suicide tape Brody made in season one gets leaked to the press. With the nation believing that this was his admission of guilt for what happened in the season two finale, the viewer knows better. Or do we? Just because we know the tape and the bombing have nothing to do with each other doesn't prove Brody's innocence just as we know that the tape doesn't actually prove his guilt either.
But for all of the uncertainty surrounding Brody, we saw two moments where he wasn't lying. When he realized the suicide tape got leaked, there is a long shot of him in Carrie's car. It is not the look of fear. But he now knows the ramifications of his actions. His life, for all intents and purposes, is over. And his family is going to be the most direct casualty of his actions when they see who he really is, or at least was. I can't say I saw regret on his face, but to watch Damian Lewis portray that "What have I done?" moment was nothing short of heartbreaking as he accepts that there is no going back to his former life. There was always talk of Brody eventually being killed. In that moment we saw his death. Whether or not we see him again in seasons to come, Brody's life as we knew it was over. His other moment of honesty was when he finally walked away. He looked at Carrie and said "It really was love." For all the games and manipulation between the two, that was no lie.
Looking ahead to season three, the show will certainly have a new leaf to turn over. Saul appears to be in position to take over the CIA directorship, with Carrie presumably getting the promotion the two of them discussed. There are still a ton of unanswered questions about the events of the season finale though. Brody's guilt or innocence is up for question. And no matter what side of lady justice he falls on, the nation believes he is a terrorist, the terrorist. And Carrie just helped him escape. I have a feeling the show now intends to turn inwards and look closer at the CIA. With all these questions needing to be answered and pointing the investigation into those questions right at Saul and Carrie seems as interesting a place to start as any. Saul's unconditional love and support of Carrie would have to then be called into question. Testing that would seem a great place to start with so many of the major players taken off the board. Quinn and his handler Der Adal will certainly play a role in that.
One thing is for certain though, as we turn a page in the story of Homeland ready to begin a new chapter, it was nice to say goodbye to so many aspects of the show, be it plots or characters, while seeing the show do what it is best at. They let go of the huge plots that weighed down their season and passed that weight to its most intimate moments of the characters we are most deeply invested in, capped by a smile, justt like we began twelve weeks ago.
Monday, December 17, 2012
the hobbits unexpected journey
movies: The first installment of The Hobbit that was released on Friday has come under much scrutiny from hardcore fans of the story (like me). The story has been turned into a trilogy. The question of how that was possible was up for debate. Unlike the The Lord Of The Rings, which was tailor made for a trilogy given its in book format, The Hobbit not only is one, book but a simple streamlined story that is often classified in the children's section of your local book store. Word began to get out that the story was going to be flushed out to fill in that time by adding in sections of the appendices at the end of Lord Of The Rings in order to represent The Hobbit as more of a prequel than what it truly is; the simple story of one hobbit's adventures.
It was hard not to give Peter Jackson a level of unconditional trust going into the movie based on his track record when visiting Middle Earth. But questions still were out there. While at least in this first movie, The Unexpected Journey, he certainly did use the appendices to fill in holes in the story to create a more coherent binding of the worlds between the one he had previously in inhabited and the one in which he was now telling a story, there was much more to what he had in mind than simply to fill in some gaps between the two worlds.
When one looks at the the two different stories on their own merits, The Hobbit is a rather simple adventure story without much context as it is told by Tolkien. It is simply the story of Bilbo Baggins leaving his home despite himself to see what the larger world has to offer. The Lord Of The Rings is Tolkien's complete flushing out of that world as he created a dense landscape and history so complete that it could only be matched by that of our own, as we learn the specific geography and history of different lands and people we encountered.
In the movies this concept has almost been flipped. In order to keep the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy succinct and from getting totally out of control (the extended editions still come in at just under twelve total hours), he streamlined the story by making about two concepts. The destruction of the ring by Frodo and the rise Aragorn as the king, leaving much of the very dense history that made up the books.
In the Hobbit Jackson chose to go the opposite way. He has filled the movie with a rich and often dense history of the members involved. He gets into the history of the dwarves under the mountain, found in Tolkien's various writings on Middle Earth. He even begins the story with what is actually the opening scene of Lord Of The Rings, where Bilbo and Frodo are talking about the various relations that will be coming to his party, ending with Frodo saying he is going to the hill at East Farthing, where we find him meeting Gandolf at the beginning of the Fellowship movie.
The other thing that maybe even more so lead to the movies being a trilogy though was its astounding detail. Jackson was at times taking scenes that were simple one paragraph descriptions and turning them into epic sequences. The scene of the giants on the side of the Misty Mountains in the books is a one paragraph description of something seen off in the distance that in the movie is turned in to a spectacular visual moment and immediate threat to our heroes. The scene other scene of note in what I call the epicizing of the story is the dwarves escape from the goblins under that vary mountain. Because it is not something that happens directly to our Mr. Baggins, it is told in brief flash back in the book. Jackson tells it in a gigantic battle scene.
His detail is also found in his faithfulness too though. The telling of the unexpected party at Bilbo's home where he first meets the dwarves is basically a word for word retelling. Also the moment when he discovers the ring in his game of riddles with Gollum could not have held more true to the text from which it is derived Also as we saw the more intimate "battle" between Bilbo and Gollum that was set up to mirror the insane battle between the dwarves and goblins, we saw that the movie did operate at its best in that more intimate moment that the point of view of the book was centered on.
I know I have spent a lot of time talking about what made this movie so long. But it is worth saying given its origins. But let me say that it was totally worth it. All of the history and detail gave The Hobbit a level or richness worthy or it being a true prequel to The Lord Of The Rings.
The movie also saw Middle Earth's best acting performance. Martin Freeman assumed the role of Bilbo in a way one could have only hoped. He was bashful and silly and unassuming as a possible hero. He didn't believe in himself. I didn't believe in him either. But yet he still found ways to survive his adventure and even prove himself worthy of it. He showed the hobbit we were expecting to see, one who was capable of great things while genuinely not knowing either that he was or that those great things were happening around him.
In the end though it was Peter Jackson that made this movie most enjoyable. His innate understanding of that universe is without match. While going back to the world he captured en-route to Oscar dominance, he was able to change it to reflect that he is not filming as history but an adventure. It was brighter and funner. Even the campy looking makeup gave the majestic world a more childlike sense tha t was actually worthy of the story he was telling. He made it the kids story it was supposed to be while giving it the gravity it needed as a prequel to his previous epic.
But what it really was about Jackson's The Hobbit that touched me was that I found myself feeling the contentment our main character longs for throughout the tail. In the end our hero is out of his depth as he fights trolls and goblins and dragons and even Gollum. But in the end he just wants to go home to the life he left behind. And with Jackson being able to create what the minds eye of so many readers has seen in the world of Middle Earth, it really did feel like home. The comfortable place of my bravest imagination.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
rush is in the rock and roll hall of fame
music: I have to admit that this is a post that may be filled with a bit of irrational love. I have been a Rush fan, well not since the beginning since I wasn't alive, but for about as long as I have been interested in music. Certainly since the moment I first heard of them. Their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been well overdue. With bands only needing to be twenty-five years old to be eligible and Rush about to enter their thirty-ninth year, this is a nomination that has been a long time coming for fans and I can't help but allow myself to revel in this moment.
I also have to say that I am hoping that this post will truly display why this is such a deserving band. I have no interest in talking about songwriting or the quality of specific songs. I have no interest as well in discussing the power rankings of musicians at their specific crafts. Rush has proven their worth in a different way (although in my opinion you could talk about those things as they apply to Rush and their worthiness in the highest regard).
Rush deserves nomination based on what they represent to the musical community. OK, feel free to cue all the jokes about their representing dorkiness and helium ingesting vocalists and sci-fi conventions. But they really do represent a lot of what is the best of music. The easiest place to begin is longevity. This is a band that has been around since 1974 and has been the same three guys since 1975, when Neil Peart replaced John Rutsey as their drummer. Being that there are only three members of the band I suppose you could make the argument that with less people in the band there are less opportunities for things to happen to members of the band because there are less of them. But still, they have been the same three guys for nearly forty years with only one substantial break in their work that was cause for uncertainty. And even that uncertainty was a far greater source of empathy than your typical "Behind the Music" story. When Peart lost his daughter and wife in the span of less than a year the future of the band was put on hold. But that level of tragedy has got to be understood. Otherwise they have been out there working together without a break all that time. That kind of commitment and bond has to be worth recognizing, especially in an industry so over-wrought with vice filled drama based on pure temptation that is excused because it is "part of the lifestyle".
Artistic integrity is another thing Rush epitomizes in the music industry. I truly hate that term. But when you look at the way their career unfolded, it actually is an apt phrase. On the brink of extinction back in the 70's, they decided that they would rather go down making the music they wanted than give in and be miserable for the rest of their lives pumping out singles they could not have any interest in playing for the rest of their lives. Thanks to the word of mouth success of 2112 (lets face it, that 20 minute song was not getting radio play), they won the battle and were from then on free to do as they pleased. And they took advantage of it. Rush has evolved over time, changing their sound from album to album and era to era, always being the band they wanted to be at the time. Sometimes those evolutions, see the oft dismayed keyboard era at the end of the 80's as a great example, would go too far. But then they would correct and try something new again. The kind of musical freedom with which Rush has operated is something most bands fight their whole careers for, Rush was given that freedom early on and decided to take full advantage of it, never giving into the glittering prizes and endless compromises that Peart talked about in Spirit of Radio and thus giving the state of integrity that surely has always helped music along.
The third thing that Rush has cultivated that is as important to their legacy as their music is their fan base. The Rush fan base is a very different breed. Being a part of that breed I feel I can expertly talk about it. Rush fans are more or less insanely devoted(and generally just insane). As was said on the documentary made about them, Beyond The Lighted Stage, "Rush has brand loyalty, its like NASCAR, those fans are going nowhere." And its 100% true. But what is it that makes it that way? Sure people talk about how they are a musicians band and that because they are "Prog" only musicians love Rush. While I have not done an extensive study, I am sure that there are a lot of musicians in the crowd at a Rush concert. But it goes further than that. And the place it goes is into Peart's lyric writing. Peart is a rather unique writer. His being so literate, combined with his interest in tackling very specific themes through their albums and songs has made him both revered and criticized. Those who criticize him call him pretentious. They claim he is trying too hard to appear smart. But really is he pretending to be anything other than who he is? Fans of his however find the universality in his writing that he sought to achieve. And in that universality they find music that has a much more direct relation to their lives than a simple pop love song, whether it be in Peart's description of life in the suburbs, his description of that first car and ones nearly romantic love of it, or an intimate look at personal loss. In an interview Peart once said, "Lyrically it's always been a reflection of my times and the times I observe. But everyone is a reflection of me." As much as that may be the way he views his writing, I would argue that almost the opposite ends up occurring. We are not a reflection of him. We instead find that his words are a reflection of our own lives and times and not just his. And that connection, beyond the music, but into the words that is so deeply personal, is why the fans stick around. It doesn't matter what song from what era, all Rush fans have a song that they feel deeply connected to.
And it is that very connection that is why they are hall of fame worthy. Not because of hit singles or Grammys. The radio largely rejected them and the critics hated them. But their fans always stuck around. And as a result Rush stuck around. Cult band yes. Prog band yes. Nerds yes. But also the ultimate peoples band. Let's face it. Without people, relating to them as far back as the debut of Working Man in then factory town Cleveland, they would have not been able to carry on. And for us all they continue to.
I also have to say that I am hoping that this post will truly display why this is such a deserving band. I have no interest in talking about songwriting or the quality of specific songs. I have no interest as well in discussing the power rankings of musicians at their specific crafts. Rush has proven their worth in a different way (although in my opinion you could talk about those things as they apply to Rush and their worthiness in the highest regard).
Rush deserves nomination based on what they represent to the musical community. OK, feel free to cue all the jokes about their representing dorkiness and helium ingesting vocalists and sci-fi conventions. But they really do represent a lot of what is the best of music. The easiest place to begin is longevity. This is a band that has been around since 1974 and has been the same three guys since 1975, when Neil Peart replaced John Rutsey as their drummer. Being that there are only three members of the band I suppose you could make the argument that with less people in the band there are less opportunities for things to happen to members of the band because there are less of them. But still, they have been the same three guys for nearly forty years with only one substantial break in their work that was cause for uncertainty. And even that uncertainty was a far greater source of empathy than your typical "Behind the Music" story. When Peart lost his daughter and wife in the span of less than a year the future of the band was put on hold. But that level of tragedy has got to be understood. Otherwise they have been out there working together without a break all that time. That kind of commitment and bond has to be worth recognizing, especially in an industry so over-wrought with vice filled drama based on pure temptation that is excused because it is "part of the lifestyle".
Artistic integrity is another thing Rush epitomizes in the music industry. I truly hate that term. But when you look at the way their career unfolded, it actually is an apt phrase. On the brink of extinction back in the 70's, they decided that they would rather go down making the music they wanted than give in and be miserable for the rest of their lives pumping out singles they could not have any interest in playing for the rest of their lives. Thanks to the word of mouth success of 2112 (lets face it, that 20 minute song was not getting radio play), they won the battle and were from then on free to do as they pleased. And they took advantage of it. Rush has evolved over time, changing their sound from album to album and era to era, always being the band they wanted to be at the time. Sometimes those evolutions, see the oft dismayed keyboard era at the end of the 80's as a great example, would go too far. But then they would correct and try something new again. The kind of musical freedom with which Rush has operated is something most bands fight their whole careers for, Rush was given that freedom early on and decided to take full advantage of it, never giving into the glittering prizes and endless compromises that Peart talked about in Spirit of Radio and thus giving the state of integrity that surely has always helped music along.
The third thing that Rush has cultivated that is as important to their legacy as their music is their fan base. The Rush fan base is a very different breed. Being a part of that breed I feel I can expertly talk about it. Rush fans are more or less insanely devoted(and generally just insane). As was said on the documentary made about them, Beyond The Lighted Stage, "Rush has brand loyalty, its like NASCAR, those fans are going nowhere." And its 100% true. But what is it that makes it that way? Sure people talk about how they are a musicians band and that because they are "Prog" only musicians love Rush. While I have not done an extensive study, I am sure that there are a lot of musicians in the crowd at a Rush concert. But it goes further than that. And the place it goes is into Peart's lyric writing. Peart is a rather unique writer. His being so literate, combined with his interest in tackling very specific themes through their albums and songs has made him both revered and criticized. Those who criticize him call him pretentious. They claim he is trying too hard to appear smart. But really is he pretending to be anything other than who he is? Fans of his however find the universality in his writing that he sought to achieve. And in that universality they find music that has a much more direct relation to their lives than a simple pop love song, whether it be in Peart's description of life in the suburbs, his description of that first car and ones nearly romantic love of it, or an intimate look at personal loss. In an interview Peart once said, "Lyrically it's always been a reflection of my times and the times I observe. But everyone is a reflection of me." As much as that may be the way he views his writing, I would argue that almost the opposite ends up occurring. We are not a reflection of him. We instead find that his words are a reflection of our own lives and times and not just his. And that connection, beyond the music, but into the words that is so deeply personal, is why the fans stick around. It doesn't matter what song from what era, all Rush fans have a song that they feel deeply connected to.
And it is that very connection that is why they are hall of fame worthy. Not because of hit singles or Grammys. The radio largely rejected them and the critics hated them. But their fans always stuck around. And as a result Rush stuck around. Cult band yes. Prog band yes. Nerds yes. But also the ultimate peoples band. Let's face it. Without people, relating to them as far back as the debut of Working Man in then factory town Cleveland, they would have not been able to carry on. And for us all they continue to.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors
music: Today Big Boi dropped his second solo album, Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors. He has an awful lot to live up to after Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son Of Chico Dusty. That album was nothing short of a tour de force. Every song felt like a revelation, realizing that I was not only hearing something thoroughly enjoyable but something I was pretty sure I had never heard before. That ambition, while amazing, lent itself to a certain amount of inaccessibility On Vicious Lies, Big Boi instead seems to have turned his innovation from the completely new to the very familiar.
Most of the album sounds like exactly the opposite of the one it follows. Instead of being overwhelmed by the new, I found myself feeling very at homes in the sounds of Vicioius Lies. The two most accessible songs, CPU and the single Mama Told Me, are songs that have synth heavy eighties dance groves that are reminiscent of Prince and Morris Day and the Time. With a fast beat to rap over, Big Boi keeps that vibe alive while his female counterparts, Phontogram in CPU and Kelly Rowland in Mama Told Me, act as pop princesses making everyone just want to dance while taking a break from marveling at the lead artists mastery of his craft.
The song In The A is a traditional anthem. With an aggressive beat pounding, three of Atlanta's best, Big Boi TI and Ludacris, spit four plus minutes of love for the city from which they all came. Despite the fun of the two previous songs mentioned, this one may be the best of the album. The beat, the aggression, the quality of the artists all lend themselves to an instant classic.
I couldn't help but be amazed throughout the album how well the other rappers worked with Big Boi and how well they fit into his style. In The A was probably the one exception to that. While listening to TI and Big Boi was a perfect blending of styles, Ludacris was the one who decided to stand out. I was truly amazed that a guy with the skill and speed to keep up with Big Boi, one of our quickest rappers, chose instead to with just pure unadulterated aggression as he just screamed his love of his hometown into the mic. And wow was that scream powerful. With Ludacris focusing more on acting these days it was just a breath of fresh air to hear him, and to hear him stake his claim along side two of the best in the game, with that aggression no less, is exactly what is to be expected and exactly the reason to love it.
The album ends with a handful of slow jams, showing Big Boi not only can rip through a blazing beat but can also make some of the best R&B in the game. The highlight of that was the albums finale She Said Ok. It was slick and smooth and sexy and contains a chorus that should be the theme of all men who have ever lusted after a pretty girl. No, I am not going to quote it hear. Just listen and marvel and love him saying all the things we are really thinking.
I had an interesting thought when trying to describe Vicious Lies and the music of Big Boi in general. I have a tendency to get lost in his music; listening to it over and over again until I have to drag myself kicking and screaming on to something else. While I could say that that is a testament to how great an artist he is, I think it goes further than that. Listening to him, whether now or when he was with Outkast, is a truly singular experience that you cannot get from anything else. And in realizing that I compared him to System Of A Down, another band that I can't find my way out of once I am in the middle of their music. There just is no good transition. You find what you were looking for and then realize there is no one else that can give you the same thing.
While Big Boi didn't step nearly as far outside the box on his current record as he did on his last, his individuality still stands out as much as anybody's. His perfect mixture of old school hyper-percussive delivery and innovate tones in his music are a combination that provides a nearly unmatched quality. And while I can't necessarily listen to Vicious Lies and feel my life changing the way it did listening to Sir Lucious Left Foot, I can't help but wonder if that is the point. Maybe Vicious Lies is just meant to be enjoyed. Its like he said, "I showed you everything I have, now I just want you to kick back and have fun." And that will be all too easy.
Most of the album sounds like exactly the opposite of the one it follows. Instead of being overwhelmed by the new, I found myself feeling very at homes in the sounds of Vicioius Lies. The two most accessible songs, CPU and the single Mama Told Me, are songs that have synth heavy eighties dance groves that are reminiscent of Prince and Morris Day and the Time. With a fast beat to rap over, Big Boi keeps that vibe alive while his female counterparts, Phontogram in CPU and Kelly Rowland in Mama Told Me, act as pop princesses making everyone just want to dance while taking a break from marveling at the lead artists mastery of his craft.
The song In The A is a traditional anthem. With an aggressive beat pounding, three of Atlanta's best, Big Boi TI and Ludacris, spit four plus minutes of love for the city from which they all came. Despite the fun of the two previous songs mentioned, this one may be the best of the album. The beat, the aggression, the quality of the artists all lend themselves to an instant classic.
I couldn't help but be amazed throughout the album how well the other rappers worked with Big Boi and how well they fit into his style. In The A was probably the one exception to that. While listening to TI and Big Boi was a perfect blending of styles, Ludacris was the one who decided to stand out. I was truly amazed that a guy with the skill and speed to keep up with Big Boi, one of our quickest rappers, chose instead to with just pure unadulterated aggression as he just screamed his love of his hometown into the mic. And wow was that scream powerful. With Ludacris focusing more on acting these days it was just a breath of fresh air to hear him, and to hear him stake his claim along side two of the best in the game, with that aggression no less, is exactly what is to be expected and exactly the reason to love it.
The album ends with a handful of slow jams, showing Big Boi not only can rip through a blazing beat but can also make some of the best R&B in the game. The highlight of that was the albums finale She Said Ok. It was slick and smooth and sexy and contains a chorus that should be the theme of all men who have ever lusted after a pretty girl. No, I am not going to quote it hear. Just listen and marvel and love him saying all the things we are really thinking.
I had an interesting thought when trying to describe Vicious Lies and the music of Big Boi in general. I have a tendency to get lost in his music; listening to it over and over again until I have to drag myself kicking and screaming on to something else. While I could say that that is a testament to how great an artist he is, I think it goes further than that. Listening to him, whether now or when he was with Outkast, is a truly singular experience that you cannot get from anything else. And in realizing that I compared him to System Of A Down, another band that I can't find my way out of once I am in the middle of their music. There just is no good transition. You find what you were looking for and then realize there is no one else that can give you the same thing.
While Big Boi didn't step nearly as far outside the box on his current record as he did on his last, his individuality still stands out as much as anybody's. His perfect mixture of old school hyper-percussive delivery and innovate tones in his music are a combination that provides a nearly unmatched quality. And while I can't necessarily listen to Vicious Lies and feel my life changing the way it did listening to Sir Lucious Left Foot, I can't help but wonder if that is the point. Maybe Vicious Lies is just meant to be enjoyed. Its like he said, "I showed you everything I have, now I just want you to kick back and have fun." And that will be all too easy.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
killing them softly
movies: Killing Them Softly is the new movie collaboration between director Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt. They had previously worked together on The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, a sweeping three hour western epic whose length was only matched by the beauty of its scenery. This is a much different story. It is the concise tale (under two hours) of a group of men from a nondescript rundown American town who have turned to crime at the height of the recession in 2008 as a way to make ends meet. Some are more professional criminals and some are more just average down on their luck guys who got in over their heads.
In the movie Brad Pitt plays a hit man named Jackie who is brought into town to clean up a mess after a poker game run by the mob has been robbed. His job is to kill the four people involved in the robbery of the game. Two of them are the robbers, Frankie (played by Scoot McNairy who is having a sneaking good year between this and his fantastic role in Argo) and Russel, Ben Mendelsohn's goofy Austrailian sidekick. These are two down on their luck guys. Frankie is an out of work ex-con in need of a dollar and willing to take on illegal work to make it. Russel seems like he may just be too dumb to get a real job since his other criminal enterprise is smuggling pure bread dogs to Florida in a station wagon twenty at a time. Their boss, Johnny, is another man on Pitt's list. Johnny is one of the more odd characters I've ever watched. He is played by Vincent Curatola, most famously known for his role as Johnny Sacrimone on the Sopranos. Watching the movie I almost couldn't help but wonder if the two Johnnys were the same character given the similarities in Curatola's acting of the two combined with the fact that at one point in the movie to being thrown in prison seven years ago. If you line that up with the timeline of the Sopranos given when it went off the air, that is frighteningly close in real time to when we saw Johnny Sac get picked up by the Feds. But I digress. Killing Them Softly's Johnny forces a change in Jackie's plans when Jackie realizes that they have met, forcing him to call in some help. But we'll get back to the help later. The final man on the hit list is the guy who runs the poker game, Markie Trattman. After Trattman's involvement in the robbery of the game comes under suspicion by the mob, Jackie decides he has to go. This is done furthering the theme of the movie when Jackie explains to his employer that Markie has to go to get people back to the game. For if the game stops, the ability to make money will stop. And in these tough times that is just an unacceptable state of living.
The greatest moments of the movies portrayal of the recession came not in its moments of criminal activity, but in the quiet moments spent between Jackie and the help he calls in to take care of Johnny. His help is Mickey, played by James Ganodlfini, an older hit man who seems like he is not getting the work he once might have thanks to younger more able men like Jackie. When Mickey arrives, the two go out to lunch to talk about the job they are there to do. While catching up Mickey explains that his life isn't exactly roses these days, facing a nasty divorce while not getting the steady work he once did, and now needs given the alimony he knows he is facing. With multiple men in need of killing, Mickey is saddened to here that he is only brought in to kill one, thus limiting his income. As if he is a manager looking sympathetically at an assembly line worker, Jackie says to Mickey, hey you can have a double(shift/hit) if you want. If you need the money, that's fine. Mickey pridefully declines. Later Jackie shows up at Mickey's hotel room so they can go to work only to find him drunk and having not slept for days, not to mention with a hooker in his room. As Mickey woefully talks of a brighter time in his life, Jackie realizes that his friend is just not up to doing the job required of him and does the only thing he can, step and do the whole job because in times like these he can't leave work undone and unpaid for, in times like these it would be un-American.
By the time the movie ended I felt thoroughly satisfied. The come thriller moments of the movie were fantastic. The heists were fun. The violence was quite artfully shot at times. There was some great dialogue that hearkened back to Tarentino's Like A Virgin monologue in Reservior Dogs. The acting was fantastic. Pitt was able to straddle the line between menacing hit man and counselor to an old friend fallen on hard times. McNairy and Gandolfini turned in two of the better supporting performances of the year. I even enjoyed the allegory. The world of criminal enterprise and the greed that is inherent in it mirroring a time in our country where most people were willing to just say yes to jobs to keep paychecks coming to pay the bills rather than chasing things that made them happy because we were finding that the most American thing we could do in those times was go to work.
If there is one major criticism though it would have to be Dominik's lack of subtlety in portraying this image. While the scene's between Pitt and Gandolfini were perfectly executed, the movie was also littered with moments where it felt like the recession was being shoved a little too much to the forefront. As I stated earlier the movie takes place during the election of 2008, at the height of the recession, and the movie is littered with speeches and news clips of McCain, Obama, and Bush talking about the difficult times we were in and how they were going to get better. The movie also ends with Pitt making a cynical speech about the state of America that can only be compared to some of his moments in Fight Club and Ed Norton's big "New York" speech in 25th Hour. While Pitt delivers it stirringly, it is the final moment of the movie. The point has already been made, and very clearly at that. Being that I am admittedly a fan of the more subtle portrayals of ideas in film, I can't help but feel that a summation isn't always necessary.
In summation, the movie was absolutely satisfying and nothing more. It was fun and entertaining and even had something interesting to say despite the fact that I had occasional problems with how it was said. Pitt, McNairy, and Gandolfini were excellent. See what I mean.
In the movie Brad Pitt plays a hit man named Jackie who is brought into town to clean up a mess after a poker game run by the mob has been robbed. His job is to kill the four people involved in the robbery of the game. Two of them are the robbers, Frankie (played by Scoot McNairy who is having a sneaking good year between this and his fantastic role in Argo) and Russel, Ben Mendelsohn's goofy Austrailian sidekick. These are two down on their luck guys. Frankie is an out of work ex-con in need of a dollar and willing to take on illegal work to make it. Russel seems like he may just be too dumb to get a real job since his other criminal enterprise is smuggling pure bread dogs to Florida in a station wagon twenty at a time. Their boss, Johnny, is another man on Pitt's list. Johnny is one of the more odd characters I've ever watched. He is played by Vincent Curatola, most famously known for his role as Johnny Sacrimone on the Sopranos. Watching the movie I almost couldn't help but wonder if the two Johnnys were the same character given the similarities in Curatola's acting of the two combined with the fact that at one point in the movie to being thrown in prison seven years ago. If you line that up with the timeline of the Sopranos given when it went off the air, that is frighteningly close in real time to when we saw Johnny Sac get picked up by the Feds. But I digress. Killing Them Softly's Johnny forces a change in Jackie's plans when Jackie realizes that they have met, forcing him to call in some help. But we'll get back to the help later. The final man on the hit list is the guy who runs the poker game, Markie Trattman. After Trattman's involvement in the robbery of the game comes under suspicion by the mob, Jackie decides he has to go. This is done furthering the theme of the movie when Jackie explains to his employer that Markie has to go to get people back to the game. For if the game stops, the ability to make money will stop. And in these tough times that is just an unacceptable state of living.
The greatest moments of the movies portrayal of the recession came not in its moments of criminal activity, but in the quiet moments spent between Jackie and the help he calls in to take care of Johnny. His help is Mickey, played by James Ganodlfini, an older hit man who seems like he is not getting the work he once might have thanks to younger more able men like Jackie. When Mickey arrives, the two go out to lunch to talk about the job they are there to do. While catching up Mickey explains that his life isn't exactly roses these days, facing a nasty divorce while not getting the steady work he once did, and now needs given the alimony he knows he is facing. With multiple men in need of killing, Mickey is saddened to here that he is only brought in to kill one, thus limiting his income. As if he is a manager looking sympathetically at an assembly line worker, Jackie says to Mickey, hey you can have a double(shift/hit) if you want. If you need the money, that's fine. Mickey pridefully declines. Later Jackie shows up at Mickey's hotel room so they can go to work only to find him drunk and having not slept for days, not to mention with a hooker in his room. As Mickey woefully talks of a brighter time in his life, Jackie realizes that his friend is just not up to doing the job required of him and does the only thing he can, step and do the whole job because in times like these he can't leave work undone and unpaid for, in times like these it would be un-American.
By the time the movie ended I felt thoroughly satisfied. The come thriller moments of the movie were fantastic. The heists were fun. The violence was quite artfully shot at times. There was some great dialogue that hearkened back to Tarentino's Like A Virgin monologue in Reservior Dogs. The acting was fantastic. Pitt was able to straddle the line between menacing hit man and counselor to an old friend fallen on hard times. McNairy and Gandolfini turned in two of the better supporting performances of the year. I even enjoyed the allegory. The world of criminal enterprise and the greed that is inherent in it mirroring a time in our country where most people were willing to just say yes to jobs to keep paychecks coming to pay the bills rather than chasing things that made them happy because we were finding that the most American thing we could do in those times was go to work.
If there is one major criticism though it would have to be Dominik's lack of subtlety in portraying this image. While the scene's between Pitt and Gandolfini were perfectly executed, the movie was also littered with moments where it felt like the recession was being shoved a little too much to the forefront. As I stated earlier the movie takes place during the election of 2008, at the height of the recession, and the movie is littered with speeches and news clips of McCain, Obama, and Bush talking about the difficult times we were in and how they were going to get better. The movie also ends with Pitt making a cynical speech about the state of America that can only be compared to some of his moments in Fight Club and Ed Norton's big "New York" speech in 25th Hour. While Pitt delivers it stirringly, it is the final moment of the movie. The point has already been made, and very clearly at that. Being that I am admittedly a fan of the more subtle portrayals of ideas in film, I can't help but feel that a summation isn't always necessary.
In summation, the movie was absolutely satisfying and nothing more. It was fun and entertaining and even had something interesting to say despite the fact that I had occasional problems with how it was said. Pitt, McNairy, and Gandolfini were excellent. See what I mean.
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