Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Loosen up those pants


I'm insanely way behind on all my reviews of film, music, arts and what-have-you. Frankly I have not been paying much attention to the blogging world, and probably I've lost all of my readers because of it. But that's okay, I'll just email the two of you and let you know that I'm back!

No time for chit-chat though, let's just get into the reviews-

Pictured above are Kings of Leon, who have released an album entitled Only by the Night. It's quite awful. Really bad. Laughably bad. I mean I literally laughed as I was listening to it.
I believe the moment came when one of the songs started with the line "oooooohhhhh, she's only seventeeeeeeeen!". Seriously. The first track, okay, kind of along the lines of their last album...stuff that I enjoyed, very mainstream indie rock but pretty and reasonable...the 2nd song, not terrible....I think it was the 3rd song, that suddenly the album started sounding like an 80 pop-rock covers album. Maybe a bit Cheap Trick, except not good Cheap Trick, like really bad Cheap Trick. Like if Cheap Trick were covering Britney Spears, or more like if Britney Spears were writing Cheap Tricks songs, then got the guy from the Black Crows to sing it by telling him "thing Hootie and the Blowfish". (no disrespect to the Black Crows).

I thought, maybe, for a minute, they were being ironic. Hipster ironic. But there's no way. It's too serious-they are being serious. I really used to enjoy this band too-they've made some great music before. Oh well. Probably, it's the pants. 1.5 Molos

Another recent titian of the indie music scene, The Walkmen, came out with an new record You and Me that is far more successful. It's quite good, actually. A bit mellow, and not much in the way of groundbreaking, but a really great record. One of the best of the year and one that I'll enjoy listening to for years to come. 4 Molos

You have probably heard mixed reviews for the latest Coen Brother's film, Burn After Reading, and I suggest not paying any attention to them and just seeing this movie. It's so fully of amusing, wonderful, creepy, silly performances that you can't help but be entertained. I think it's a movie that benefits knowing very little about it going in... so stop reading this now if you are going to go see it....

...but if you are still on the fence, or figure what the hell, i'm going to rent it any how, I just have a few things to ad. The movie has such a strange feel to it...in parts I thought the Coen's were spoofing thier own, previous work, in other parts, just parodying spy/spook CIA intrigue films...it's an uneven and odd treatment. Lots of people have been baffled a bit, feel like the Coen missed the mark. But I think they were so damn great at getting these silly performances out of Clooney, Malkovich, Pitt, and others (Francis McDormick was a bit off) that the film is wonderful just for that.....and now for an even further plot spoiler....

....and the use of the ax to kill someone, comic-violently, just as they did in Fargo, what was that about? Were they just referencing themselves? Do you think they might try to kill someone with an ax in all their coming films? Frankly, that would be awesome. Any who I enjoyed the film. 4 Molos



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This made me laugh considering that Scott just bought the new "Kings of Leon" CD. I think he likes it, so I send a link to this post. He'll be amused.

I'm not a huge Coen brothers fan but I think you might be onto something with the ax idea.

Cousins dinner in November?

Love ya

p.s. perfectly stated about Mr. Newman.

Molo said...

Well, crap, I would have given him my copy!