Favorite Film of 2009 at the Halfway Point

The wild, blue yonder…

As of very recently, this blog has begun covering film and television (though the primary focus will still remain on music) and to kick things off in the film department, I decided to present my favorite films of 2009 at the half-way point. Sadly, I’ve only seen a handful of films in theaters this year (however, my Netflix account has been smoking, see my Viewing Diary for proof) and so I’ve decided just to devote this space to my favorite film of the year (so far) which is, by a landslide, PIXAR’s Up (dir. Peter Docter). (And the way things are going, this very well may top my list in December.)

PIXAR, aka the best filmmaking company in the biz today, takes joy in choosing unlikely heroes for their films and they do it like no one else; they’ve introduced us to toys, bugs, monsters, fish, super heroes, cars, rats, and robots and miraculously we’ve cared about them all. For their tenth film, they select what is perhaps their most unexpected hero to date, an ornery, old widower with a walker.

We first meet Carl Fredricksen as a child in a movie house in the 1940s, and I can think of no better place for the adventure depicted in Up to begin. On the silver screen, Carl sees his hero, the explorer Charles Muntz, and wants to venture to faraway lands just like him. Carl soon meets a young girl, Ellie, who shares his passion for Muntz and seeking adventures in exotic lands. Carl is quickly smitten with Ellie and what follows on screen is one of the purest, most touching segments in recent cinema. We see Carl and Ellie’s life from marriage until they are parted by death in a wordless montage that captures the highs and lows, the exciting and the boring, and the pure joy that is possible in marital life.

M.Ward: “Hold Time”

(out of 5)

M.Ward has always had a penchant for older music. He claims his favorite song is the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” his albums have always had a certain AM radio vibe to them, and his collaboration last year with Zooey Deschanel as She&Him was as great a throwback to sunny 1960s pop and country as we’ve heard in recent years. However, the last time we heard from him on a solo album, 2006’s Post-War, he had his mind set on the future as he was crafting a set of songs to be used and sung after the War in Iraq. While we are still waiting to be able to spin Post-War as it was intended, M.Ward has given us a new album, Hold Time, which points us backward in time, both with its AM radio folk-rock and its lyrics which take us all the way back to the Garden of Eden in the opening track.

So effective is Ward in this back-in-time movement that Hold Time feels stuck in time and timeless at the same time. Though released in 2009, it sounds as though it could just as easily been released any time in the last several decades. And The Garden of Eden is not the only biblical reference found here. Ward drops them all over the place in this record including references to the Apostle Paul, Mount Zion, and a song about the “Fisher of Men.” Whether this is indicative of a personal faith in Ward is difficult to tell but it does provide Hold Time with a certain context, a certain language that makes its timelessness all the more believable. This religious lingo sounds somewhat out of place in 21st century pop music but it builds a nostalgic feel to the record that provides a breath of fresh air to the arid wastelands of most of the 2009 releases.

Favorite Music of 2009 at the Halfway Point

A couple days late is better than never. Here are my favorite records of 2009 that were released between January 1 and June 30. To see some startling changes check this list after the first quarter.

1. Mos Def — The Ecstatic
Hip-hop at its finest. This is a great comeback for Mos Def. I won’t say any more here, just read my lengthy review.

2. Allen Toussaint — The Bright Mississippi
Terrific set of old jazz standards by one of the elder statesmen of R&B/pop. This record never gets old even after tons of plays.

3. Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavilion
The buzz has died down about this album, but its still a terrific listen. I pulled it out a few days ago and I’m still entranced by its bizarre concoctions and its domestic subject matter.

4. Jarvis Cocker — Further Complications
There isn’t really anyone else out there like Jarvis Cocker. Someone who combines nerdy sex appeal with witty lyrics and terrific pop hooks. He does it here just as well as he’s done it anywhere else. This is also the hardest rocking set of his career.

5. M.Ward — Hold Time
Have I still not reviewed this one yet? Wow, that’s lame. This is a great record from the AM-radio obsessed M.Ward. I’ll say more in my forthcoming review, I promise. UPDATE: Here’s my review.

6. Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest
One of my favorite records of this decade is Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House. I’m not convinced that this is as good as that record. This one is perhaps more meticulously crafted, but is more difficult to connect with emotionally. Still a fine record and a happy addition to this list. Review coming eventually.

7. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society — Infernal Machines
Is it big band music? Is it jazz? Is it punk? It’s all three and it’s terrific. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever listened to. Review coming eventually.

8. Aaron Strumpel — Elephants
The Psalms as they were meant to be played– full of desperation, wailing, and pain. A moving and startling record. Review coming eventually.

9. Dirty Projectors — Bitte Orca
I’m still getting into this one. I’m not in love with every song yet, but most of it is just plain wonderful. “Stillness is the Move” is in the running for my favorite song of the year. Review coming eventually.

10. P.O.S. — Never Better
Why didn’t anyone combine punk rock and hip-hop this well before now? This record is energetic and angry– so angry that I can’t listen to it every day. But if you’re in the mood for it, there’s just about nothing better to scratch that itch. Review coming eventually.

(NOTE: I’ve already heard Joe Henry’s Blood from Stars (released on Anti- on August 18) and were I to make this list based on what I’ve heard rather than release dates, that one would be #1 with a bullet. Just letting you know. Much more on that record in August.)

Mos Def: “The Ecstatic”

(out of 5)

In 1999, Mos Def took the hip-hop world by storm with his debut solo album, Black on Both Sides. The power of this record was not too surprising since Mos Def had already proved himself to be one of the most important voices in late 90’s hip-hop as one-half of the brilliant duo, Black Star, along with Talib Kweli. Black on Both Sides is likely a hip-hop masterpiece– it celebrates being black in America and its a love letter to African-American music including hip-hop (”We are hip-hop” he declares) and rock’n'roll. Yet, that record wasn’t all a party, Mos Def took some time to unpack some of the difficulties that the African-American community still faced at the turn of the century. It was an album that took seriously the problems of the past and the present but was also bursting with hope for the future and as a result it was truly the perfect album to sum up the 1990s and propel hip-hop music into a new decade, a new century, and a new millennium.

Yet, Mos Def was as unaware as everyone else about the events that would occur throughout the first decade of the new century. Def’s beloved hometown of NYC was flipped upside down in 2001, the Middle East which birthed his Islamic faith spiraled deeper into turmoil, and the United States slowly filled with distrust and paranoia of its government before finally teetering on economic collapse in 2008. During this time, Mos Def’s music career also suffered while he spent more time and energy focusing on his acting career in which he earned both critical praise and (at times) disdain for his performances. He didn’t altogether leave the music biz though, he released two mildly received albums (probably in an effort to fulfill and get released from his contract) under Geffen who had absorbed Rawkus Records, the label that released Black on Both Sides. His music career reached an all-time low with 2006’s True Magic which prompted Allmusic’s Andy Kellman to end his review with: “It’s unthinkable that Mos has nothing left in the tank for hip-hop. He must be saving his strength for the next release.”

So in the middle of 2009, now that we finally get to hear Def’s new album, The Ecstatic (which he’s been talking about since 2007), we can agree with Kellman’s prophetic assessment, Mos Def has just been saving up his creative abilities. Appearing on a brand new label, Downtown, Mos Def sounds brighter and looser than he has in years. He’s created an album that flows together as well as any hip-hop album of recent years. Each song bleeds and runs right into the next one, but that’s only half the album’s genius. The other half lies in the variety of musical styles and instruments that are showcased here. The opener, “Supermagic” plays on the role of African-Americans’ contributions in developing rock’n'roll (a subject he treated on Black on Both Sides) by placing a searing rock guitar as the backbone of the song, the guitar drops out and the funky, jazzy horns of “Twilite Speedball” take center stage. He also builds a song around handclaps on the terrific “Quiet Dog Bite Hard” and includes plenty of Eastern instruments and rhythms throughout the record. The Ecstatic carefully combines live instruments with samples and beats and displays clear influences from jazz, funk, soul, and rock at every turn– all while sounding like a completely new and original recording.

Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

It’s literally impossible to imagine pop music without Michael Jackson and that in itself is a testament to the importance of the role he’s played in music. He has influenced so many artists and genres that the music world would be a completely different place without albums like 1979’s Off the Wall and 1982’s Thriller and 1987’s Bad. Even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of his music, if you listen to pop music at all you have been impacted by Michael Jackson.  He was the King of Pop and he’ll likely remain unmatched as a recording artist and performer for many years to come. Sadly, he’ll always be remembered (and possibly unmatched) in his downfall as well. His entire adult life was a tragic monument to a lost childhood. Yet, out of this pain Michael Jackson gave us some of the best pop music of all time. He is (and should be) ranked among the greatest recording artists of the twentieth century along with Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and others.

The following video comes from Jackson’s legendary performance of “Billie Jean” on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special on March 25, 1983. This performance, which includes one of the first widely seen performances of his patented “moonwalk,” would be on a short list of most important music moments of the twentieth century. It ranks right up there with Elvis Presley’s appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, The Beatles’ performance on the same show in 1963, and Bob Dylan’s first electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in the summer of 1965.

This video shows one of the many things that made Michael Jackson great, he holds this audience (and the 47 million people who watched on television during its original airing) in the middle of his gloved hand. He was a natural performer. He could take a song about disputing a pregnant girl’s claim that he is the father of her child and turn it into a timeless drama with raw emotions and a compelling sense of tragedy. It’s this tragedy which marked many of his best songs, his rise and fall in the public eye, and his all-too-short life. His contributions to popular music are immense and he’ll be greatly missed.

UPDATE:

Many writers are posting their thoughts on Michael Jackson’s legacy.

Jim DeRogatis

Greg Kot

Nathan Rabin of AV Club

Roger Ebert

Various Artists react at Pitchfork

Various Artists react at Stereogum

NPR Music

AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes a terrific tribute

Pitchfork’s Mark Richardson

Pop Matters’ Evan Sawdey

Johnny Pate: “Outrageous”

(out of 5)

It’s almost impossible to listen to Johnny Pate’s 1970 album, Outrageous, without thinking of the cinema. There are two reasons for this: First, Pate himself is probably best known as composer for the 1973 blaxploitation films, Brother on the Run and Shaft in Africa, as well as the brief television series based on the latter’s movie franchise. Second, Outrageous, contains ten tracks that each bring to mind many movies of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Pate’s slow jams and funky grooves here would probably be enough to thrill even 1970s aficionado, Quentin Tarantino. In fact, many of these songs would have fit perfectly fit in his homage to ’70s cinema, Jackie Brown.

Johnny Pate’s contract with MGM/Verve required him to release one record under his own name and in 1970 he fulfilled that obligation with this terrific set on Outrageous. One of the most impressive aspects of Outrageous is how effectively it bridges the gap between the late ’60s music trends (i.e. the organ and flute combo on “Constant Wind”) and the funky horns and electric guitars of the early ’70s (played to perfection here on the title track). Pate combines organs, flutes, guitars, congas, and horns into a melting pot of rock, soul, funk, and jazz. There are heavy doses of the jazz fusion that Miles Davis and others had been birthing at the end of the 1960s and also an undeniable Latin flavor to Outrageous. All of this serves to make this record a surprising and intriguing record that boasts ten great songs.

Bill Callahan: “Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle”

(out of 5)

For his second post-Smog record, Bill Callahan returns to the dark and moody style of his records under that moniker. In fact, the oddly named Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle sounds more like Smog than much of his recent output. These nine brooding songs revolve around Callahan’s deep voice and acoustic guitar while string arrangements, drums, and other instruments are built around them to provide a cocoon from which Callahan reflects on himself, lost love, and God.

The key to this album, and probably all of Callahan’s work, is his voice. His deep baritone has about as much emotional depth as it does range–that’s to say not very much. At first, this cavalier delivery can be a bit off-putting, but after a while it can become the best thing about the record. It seems as if everything Callahan is saying is some dry, dark joke. And so, during certain serious moments you don’t know whether you should laugh or cry. It adds a certain mystery and intrigue to the songs.

Bosque Brown: “Baby”

(out of 5)

When I learned that Bosque Brown’s new record, Baby, had been recorded over a period of fifteen months, I feared that its songs may be so bloated and stuffed with ideas that they would collapse under their own weight. But when I finally gave the disc a spin, I was shocked to find just the opposite to be true. Baby is a record of sparsity to say the least. Simple melodies are presented in quiet arrangements of scarce instrumentation.Yet, Bosque Brown treads mostly the same territory of their 2005 debut, Bosque Brown Plays Mara Lee Miller, and just as on that recording, there is a undeniable beauty to the stripped down guitars and piano folk of Mara Lee Miller and friends.

Jarvis Cocker: “Further Complications”

(out of 5)

Former Pulp front man and tweed-jacket wearing, rock’n'roll professor, Jarvis Cocker, is back on the music scene with his sophomore solo effort, Further Complications. This album follows his terrific 2006 solo debut, Jarvis (aka The Jarvis Cocker Record). Further Complications reveals Cocker doing what he does best: crafting pop hooks that dig deep into the listener’s mind, and serving up lyrics which are as witty as they are intelligent. It’s been a long time since Cocker put out a middling record and this one is no different; teamed up with producer Steve Albini, Cocker turns in the hardest rocking set of his career in these eleven songs.

Cocker opens the record up with the title track in which he sets an existential tone for the entire album as he declares his need for complicating his life. And his life may seem a little more complicated since we last heard from him. Jarvis Cocker’s debut saw a slight change of subject matter for Cocker since he was a new family man at the time. Three years later, Jarvis is in the process of divorce and back to singing about his favorite subject: seducing women. However, Cocker isn’t the young man he once was and this certainly affects his approach.

Patience is a Virtue

Hello Tone Marrow Readers…

It’s been a while. However, I’ve survived grad school final exams and a kidney stone and now I’m back to catch up on some reviews. I heard a whole heap of good music while I was away and I’ll be reviewing lots of it here in coming weeks. Regular posts will begin tomorrow.

Just a reminder: when life gets crazy and I don’t review as much, I still update my Twitter. Check it out: https://twitter.com/gavinbreeden

Thank you for you patience,

Gavin