Point - Counter - Point on Metro Station’s “Shake It”
Posted on August 25, 2008
Filed Under Music Review | 1 Comment
Music Review: Metro Station’s “Shake It”
Tuesday Night Reviewers: Linsey and Wes
Watch Metro Station’s “Shake It” video on You Tube…
Linsey: You know that scene in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion when at the very end they are so moved by the music [cue uplifting 1987 track] that they break out in dance? Fast forward 20 years and apply that same feeling to Metro Station’s hit “Shake It,” trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
As simple as the lyrics may be, the beat and energy is overwhelming to the point that I will at 8:30 a.m. in my commute to work, shake it like I am at [enter awesomely bad dance club here], parents cover your child’s eyes. The breaks are in the perfect places, allowing the shake it participant to recover just in time so not to incur any head bobbing injuries. Thrown in a pair of jorts, a v-neck shirt, bandana and you’ve got a dance party on your hands folks.
In an era where innocence is questioned, the refreshing beats aren’t raunchy like Soldar Boyz “Superman that Hoe,” nor does it have controversial subject matter like Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl.” It might not be original, but it’s fun and come on, isn’t originality so 2003? This is just the song that every sexually confused 14-year-old needs in their iPod.
In case you needed any more convincing, Metro Station features Trace Cyrus. Yes, Miley’s older half brother and son to THE Billy Ray Cyrus, achy breaky anyone?
My vote is two thumbs way up not only do they bring it in the chorus…they bring it all the way home and that is why “Shake It” is the shit [applaud here].
Enjoy!
Wes: “If one was to make a musical time capsule of 2007 – a collection of sounds and lyrics reflecting the energy of our moment – it might be a good idea to drop in a copy of Metro Station’s eponymous debut record. Sure, the band is young (ok, still in fake ID territory), but Metro Station’s brazenly catchy dance hooks and yearning lyrics perfectly capture what it feels like to be a teenager in today’s culture.” (Metro Station website bio)
Man, if the above is true we are in a world of hurt! If this song is what it is like to be a teenager these days I am so glad I was a teen of the 90’s. I cannot even fathom a world where a song like this “captures what it feels like to be a teen.” However I cannot fault teenagers who listen to this. I think the problem is rooted much deeper.
You see my musical journey started with my Mother’s vinyl and 8 track collection. I cut my teeth listening to anything from Waylon Jennings to Miles Davis, which I think gave me a more discerning pallet at a young age. Today most parents don’t really care about sharing their musical styling’s with their children. Granted I know most kids are not gonna sit down and jam out to the Mama’s and the Papa’s with their old lame parents, but at least make it available to them unless you grew up listening to disco. Then by all means keep it hidden and far, far away from your kids. All this to say, kids stop listening to Metro Station it will make you sterile. Parents if you want grandkids start sharing the gift of music.
So which side are you on?
Music Review - Viva la Broken Glass
Posted on July 19, 2008
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Music Review: Coldplay - “Viva la Vida”, Annie Lennox - “Walking on Broken Glass”
Rating: uncanny similarities
Tuesday Night Reviewer: Mark Schoenfeld
I’ve been walking around on broken glass these past few weeks, and it’s entirely Chris Martin’s fault. No, not the Chris Martin who I went to West Ridge Middle School with, although I could probably pin a few of my current troubles on him. I’m talking about Chris Martin of the English alt-rock band Coldplay. There’s no doubt you’ve heard the band’s single “Viva la Vida.” The song reached number one on both UK and US charts, was performed live at the MTV Movie Awards, and, achieving a distinction reserved for only the most catchy modern music, was featured in an iTunes commercial. Receiving its toe-tapping appeal from the rhythmic string section and driving bass drum, the song draws a stark contrast to the band’s past piano and guitar-driven hits. But it works, and just like that, Coldplay is once again the biggest band in the world.
It’s been about a month since “Viva La Vida” was released. Like countless other radio listeners, I’ve been intrigued every time the song comes on my local station. Stopped at a traffic light, I turn up the stereo, waiting for an early nineties flash back. Yes! I think to myself, maybe they’ll play Ace of Bass next… What on Earth am I talking about, you wonder? Just wait.
It’s been nearly 16 years since self-proclaimed “Diva” Annie Lennox released “Walking on Broken Glass,” so perhaps you can forgive me if I have forgotten the exact tune to her hit. Forgive me, too, for failing to remember that Lennox’ symphony-driven piece actually starts with a little ditty on the toy piano. I can’t help it, though. Every time “Viva la Vida” comes on the radio, I think I’m about to hear “Walking on Broken Glass.” Needless to say, I’ve suffered considerable disappointment these last few weeks.
Think me a fool? Before you jest, give both songs a listen. Thanks to the wonders of the modern Internet, both songs can be heard immediately and for free.
Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida”
Annie Lennox’ “Walking on Broken Glass”(click here to link… youtube does not allow embedding this one… )
I know, it’s creepy. If you’re anything like me, maybe you’ll try playing both songs at the same time, or try singing walking on, walking on broken glass to the Coldplay song. Either way, point proven. And this explains why half of America has been walking on broken glass with me, and had absolutely no idea why.
But it’s not all for loss. Thanks to Coldplay, I have come to realize that John Malcovich is in fact the breaker of said glass, and the object of Annie’s affection in the song’s video. Maybe you have known this all along, but to me, it makes me wonder how Mr. Malcovich didn’t learn his lesson from this video and allowed himself to be cast in Eragon. Really John? Victorian make-up AND dragons? Silly actor.
Book Review - ‘When You Are Engulfed in Flames,’ by David Sedaris
Posted on July 9, 2008
Filed Under Book Review | 1 Comment
Book Review: When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Tuesday Night Reviewer: Ryan Gibbs
In a bookstore laughing out loud is a lot like farting. You receive the same mildly disapproving looks, and before long everyone within five yards is scanning the room for another place to sit. So I try to avoid it whenever possible, or, when the urge is too strong to suppress completely, let it out in short bursts of air from the nostrils, a technique I’ve found effective around 95% of the time.
There are some occasions, however—that other 5%—when an audible laugh simply can’t be prevented. In such event, rather than letting it run its course, I usually find myself trying desperately to contain it. This seldom works as intended and results instead in a noise akin to what I imagine a duck might sound like slowly choking to death on a plastic bottle cap. Sitting in a crowded reading area at the local Hastings, I made these noises, more or less continuously, for the hour and a half it took me to finish “The Smoking Section,” the last—and, at 83 pages, longest—piece in David Sedaris’s new book of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames.
Sedaris is considered by many as one of the preeminent humor writers of his generation. He has written multiple New York Times bestsellers and was named “Humorist of the Year” by Time Magazine in 2001. His rise to popularity began in 1992 with an eight-minute essay reading on NPR, “SantaLand Diaries,” in which he described his experience working as an elf at Macy’s over the Christmas holidays.
In When You Are Engulfed in Flames, his sixth non-fiction collection, Sedaris discusses everything from his childhood attachment to a concrete lawn ornament to the drawbacks of using an external catheter for long book readings. In “Old Faithful” he details the lancing of a boil on his lower back by his oft-mentioned boyfriend, Hugh, and he devotes an entire piece—“April in Paris”—to his affection for a spider he discovered living in a window frame at his house in Normandy.
His voice is dry, witty and often self-deprecating, and although he comes from a Greek family his sense of humor is unmistakably Jewish. Imagine a gay Woody Allen, only not as overtly cerebral and about twice as funny.
Sedaris has been criticized by some for his use of hyperbole, which they argue makes his work something less than authentic non-fiction. While it’s true that some of the pieces are clearly exaggerated for comic effect, he doesn’t make any attempt to hide this—even going so far as to label it “non-fiction-ish” on the copyright page—and the savvy reader will pick up on the motif right away. It’s the same method comedians use on a routine basis, like when Zach Galifinianakis claims he auditioned for the lead in the Disney show, That’s So Raven, or Dave Chappelle talks about the time he saw a baby selling weed in the ghetto.
“The Smoking Section,” by far the best essay in the collection, starts with a sequence of twelve mini-chapters in which Sedaris summarizes his life as a smoker and shares various insights he gained along the way.
“For people who don’t smoke, a mild or light cigarette is like a regular one with a pinhole in it. With Kools it’s the difference between being kicked by a donkey and being kicked by a donkey that has socks on.”
He then moves into in a series of journal entries chronicling his three-month trip to Japan to try and kick the habit. His descriptions of Japanese culture are some of the best passages in the book and often reminded me of David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” an in-depth investigation into the strange, synthetically blissful world of luxury cruise liners.
If I have one complaint about the collection it’s that this final piece stands out too much. Not that the other twenty-one aren’t entertaining (they are), but they didn’t leave me with quite the same level of satisfaction.
Overall, When You Are Engulfed in Flames is an excellent book, and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to anyone who likes to laugh, or read, or even do both at the same time.
We Are Here to Rock You
Posted on June 29, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Someone has to go first. Sitting at the big table, which you’ll quickly learn more about later on — we decided that Megan and Ty’s reception party was as good a time as any to get this shindig started.