Posts Tagged ‘film’

October 22, 2009 0

Nirvana – Reading 1992

By in Musical Murmurings

In 1992, I was 17, on the dole and dressed in a hideous tie-dye, longsleeve Nirvana top. Unable to afford a ticket to Reading, I bathed in the partly misguided knowledge that all festivals were filthy places filled with idiots who were nowhere near as unique as I. Now, aged 34, I’ve finally seen Nirvana’s headline set at Reading and I can confirm that the 17-year-old me didn’t miss a great deal. The fully restored footage and remastered sound does little to enhance the reputation of the iconic rock band, beset as it is by Kurt Cobain’s ramshackle performance.

With his elevated status as frontman powered by the multi-million selling ‘Nevermind’, Cobain’s deep discomfort on stage becomes apparent as the band launch into ‘In Bloom’, a mere six songs in. It’s easy, with hindsight, to analyse every second of this posthumous release and search for meaning in each grimace, scowl and chemical jerk, but it would be more accurate to acknowledge that this was simply not a great performance by the band. The set’s material is pretty much faultless with tracks from ‘Nevermind’ absorbing a bulk of the allotted time, but it’s the raucous tracks from debut album, ‘Bleach’, that are delivered with the greatest visceral conviction.

The pop Nirvana gets stuck in Cobain’s craw, choking his larynx so harmonies normally sweetened by Dave Grohl’s precision are lost in embarrassment. Both Grohl and Krist Novoselic perform well and Novoselic comes over as the most charismatic member as he engages the audience whilst a bemused Cobain disappears off stage in search of a new guitar. Cobain’s basic Jaguar guitar seems sabotaged from the start and he is quick to replace it with an even less reliable Stratocaster that just refuses to stay in tune.

The stage implodes on ‘Territorial Pissings’, with the destruction borne out of frustration rather than showmanship. Cobain emulates Hendrix’s ‘Star Spangled Banner’, but as it seems to be neither homage nor ribald principal  – it would simply appear to be something Cobain felt he might as well do.

For any 17-year-olds born or conceived in 1992, this is not the Nirvana you should be looking for. For the rest of us; one below average Nirvana concert is infinitely more watchable than 1 million by the bloody Pigeon Detectives.

 1. “Breed”

2. “Drain You”

3. “Aneurysm”

4. “School”

5. “Sliver”

6. “In Bloom”

7. “Come As You Are”

8. “Lithium”

9. “About A Girl”

10. “Tourette’s”

11. “Polly”

12. “Lounge Act”

13. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

14. “On A Plain”

15. “Negative Creep”

16. “Been A Son”

17. “All Apologies”

18. “Blew”

19. “Dumb”

20. “Stay Away”

21. “Spank Thru”

22. “Love Buzz”

23. “The Money Will Roll Right In”

24. “D-7?

25. “Territorial Pissings”

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October 6, 2009 0

Peter Kay – Britain’s Got the Pop Factor

By in Movie Reviews, Music Reviews

X-factoring pop idolatry into the equation, Peter Kay’s ‘Britain’s Got the Pop Factor and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice’ is a hilarious, heavily sugared parody of reality pop show, X-Factor. From the credits right down to the key-changes, Kay’s Pop Factor is delivered with the style and precision of the show it so accurately apes. Watched by an audience of almost 6m earning Channel 4 its largest audience at the tail end of 2008, this DVD arrives in plenty of time before 2009’s X-Factor winner consumes the Christmas number 1 spot.

Kay’s ability to attract stars seems boundless, not only pulling in Neil Fox, Nicki Chapman and Pete Waterman to effortlessly overact as the judges, but also Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Rick Astley and Rustie Lee. Yes, OK – the pecking order falls off a little there, but nevertheless Astley and Lee throw in solid performances to nostalgic effect. The show (split into two segments – the results and the finals, all ably presented by the stunning Cat Deeley) succeeds mostly by appealing to different age groups. The 30-somethings who, like me, despise X-Factor will appreciate the kitsch additions of children’s stars from the ‘80s along with the genre mocking, and though younger audiences may not get these deft comic, cultural references, it’s the accurate competitor portraits that will sweep them along.

The young, northern R Wayne has less in common with R Kelly, and more with the the comic character Oor Wullie; 2 up 2 down features the singing talents of two couples – who each have a wheelchair bound partner; and then there’s Geraldine. Played by Kay, Geraldine is post-op, piano-playing Irish transsexual Gerald. Sounds preposterous? It is. And that’s precisely why it works so well.

Charting the adventures of all three artists, ‘Britain’s Got the Pop Factor and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice’ is an enjoyable 120 minutes of entertainment. Extras include a ‘Where are they now?’ feature that links nicely with some of the contestants who didn’t quite make the cut. Could X-Factor have to battle Geraldine for this year’s Christmas number 1? Don’t bet against it.

Britain’s Got the Pop Factor

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June 16, 2009 4

The Beatles are Killing Music

By in Musical Murmurings


Nice piece in the Guardian technology blog debating the contribution of downloading to the alleged ‘death’ of the music industry. You don’t have to be a genius to know that physical music sales on the high street are down: walk into any media outlet and you’ll be confronted with reams of DVDs, while CDs are mostly relegated to an area that is impossible to navigate by anyone over 20. Ultimately, people’s interest in music has waned, with overall single sales and album sales down on figures from, say, 10 years ago.

But that doesn’t matter. Maybe there’s not as much good music; maybe people enjoy films more or find games better value for money. As Charles Arthur argues “The reality is that nowadays, one can choose between a game costing £40 that will last weeks, or a £10 CD with two great tracks and eight dud ones. I think a lot of people are choosing the game – and downloading the two tracks.”

Sure. Why not? When we’re being told there’s some kind of credit crunch, what better way to spend your money than on something that’s going to last 40 hours and not two. Of course, that argument presupposes the buyer is simply purchasing shit music. With computers becoming entertainment hubs, programs like Spotify and Last FM allow people access to music without the need to purchase it. Brilliant! But only if you like listening to MP3s, and that is indeed the format that people prefer these days. Though I’m frequently guilty of making generalisations, there is some evidence to support this. Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford University, tests his incoming students each year and has discovered that students prefer the sound of MP3s to CDs, including the ‘sizzle’ (distortion). Sounds nuts to me (you can read more here).

So, we love our DVDs, LCD HD TVs, Blue Ray players and consoles. What’s wrong with that? They all provide art and entertainment, why should we be so concerned about this ‘music industry’ that’s had its glory days and made a mint from the public in the ’80s? I don’t know. Artists? Perhaps. Is it really possible to make a living from art any more? The trouble with the internet is that while it makes it easier to make money or gain exposure for some, it also makes it harder as  billions of voices scream “LOOK AT ME!”

How else can we explain the rise and popularity of reality TV? Big Brother, X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent have all made their creators a fortune and made a few of its supporting cast (the public) stars. Hell, just look at the success of YouTube. It’s not just gaming killing music and it’s not downloads. It’s not just one simple thing that is crushing small labels, independent record stores and upcoming bands / artists: it’s a cultural shift, an electronic evolution.

Anyway, with games like Rock Band and the Guitar Hero franchise, music and gaming have never been so closely related. I can’t imagine how the licensing options for those games work, but with the demand for interactivity increasing and bands releasing albums practically mastered for games (e.g. the massively over-compressed Death Magnetic by Metallica), I suspect that music and gaming relationship has just begun. 

The ultimate tie-in is on its way: The Beatles Rock Band. Released on the same day as the entire remastered Beatles catalogue on 09.09.09 (Lennon‘s favourite number), I can guarantee it will be the biggest selling game this year; if not of all time. Check out its sexiness.

We’re on a turbulent ride through uncharted territory and though there will be casualties, there must eventually be a steer. Though I doubt it will be entirely ethical (as business is forever business) I suspect it will favour the artists more than before and that is surely something good to come from all this.

Until then, the remainder of this golden era will be spent lining up to buy *insert classic band here* box sets and games. Cor, it’ll be like ’66 all over again!

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June 6, 2009 1

Notorious – DVD

By in Movie Reviews, Musical Murmurings

The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls; aka Christopher Wallace; aka Frank White; aka one of the best rappers the world has ever seen) biopic will soon be arriving on DVD for home consumption. Rarely has the world seen such public bickering, the likes of which that raged between two musical icons in 1995: hyped by the media, the tragic climax of their dispute lives on, forever a scar on the history of hip-hop.

Directed by George Tillman, Jr. who previously tackled the Barbershop series and the dramatic Men of Honour, anyone who’s heard Biggie’s iconic ‘Ready to Die’ will immediately recognise Notorious as simply a poorly handled, heavily biased, lacklustre and deeply flawed piece of work.

Starting somewhat predictably with the shooting of Smalls the rap star, Notorious attempts to recreate and retrace the major steps in Wallace the person’s life and career. Coming up in Brooklyn a chubby boy at school to a single mother, he is a smart child before the drug trade takes hold of him at 17. After a spell in jail, he returns to the streets to up his game and earn more ‘paper’ while incidentally entertaining fellow crack pushers, users and the public on the corners of New York with his raps. Before long he is brought to the attention of producer Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, who is thereafter fired from his position at Uptown Records. Puffy starts Bad Boy Records, Biggie makes his debut record which is a huge smash, he beefs with West Coast ally Tupac Shakur, and after 2Pac is first shot -  both artists end up dying violent deaths on the streets.

There are a few seconds spent on the bad-boy Biggie, but that amounts to nothing more than non-actor and rapper Jamal “Gravy” Woolard pushing drugs and shouting menacingly at beau, Lil Kim (played by singer Naturi Naughton). There is no record of any actual violence perpetrated by Biggie which is at the very least what one might expect when your debut album features tracks like ‘Things done changed’, ‘Warning’, ‘Who shot ya’ and ‘Gimme the loot’.

Producers on Notorious include Biggie’s mother Voletta Wallace and Sean Combs which should immediately alert the viewer that they will not be getting a true picture of this rap icon, which is a shame. A missed opportunity, Notorious plays out with all the sheen and class of an R n’ B video on MTV: the grittier ‘coming up hard’ scenes are given the same treatment as when Biggie hits stardom, and practically all extras on the disc reveal a subservient, obsessive obsequiousness to seeking a true Biggie Smalls when, in reality, that never happens.

In fact, the only actual footage of the man himself comes from the ‘Bullshit and Party’ video which though grainy, reveals more in its few minutes than this DVD does over its entire course. If you want an introduction to the real Biggie Smalls, buy both albums and then maybe watch this. Just make sure you’ve a fistful of salt on standby.

2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. freestyle

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