http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Wed, 12 Nov 2003 11:09:47 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. 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Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/12/110947.php Vivian St.GeorgeI work as a college rep for a company called Cornerstone Promotions, which is affiliated with Ben Lee's new record label, F2 Music, so of course I was a little biased towards him, since I'm promoting his record and all. But it's actually quite good. He puts on a good live show as well. To some people he still is and always will be Claire Danes' boyfriend, but you really should check out his CD. It's produced by Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Del the Funky Homosapien), so it contains a lot of acoustic as well as eletropop and chamberpop elements. A few of my favorites from Hey You Yes You (his latest release): "Aftertaste," "Chills," "No Room to Bleed," "Still on the Line."Phantom Planet put on a good show as well. I was jaded, because when the song "California" came out, I was like, "Oh, that's nice," and then I bought the record for my little sister's thirteenth birthday. The thing I didn't really like about that album (the Guest) was that it was too polished, too clean, too shiny, exactly the type of record you'd buy for a thirteen year old girl. I really liked their song "Lisa" from a previous release, and "California" and "Turn Shift Smile Repeat" are both great songs, but the rest of it was too poppy for me. My opinion was changed at the show last night when I saw them playing live. Their material sounds much better live, when they can really rock out. It had more of an edge to it, definitely a little more hard core, even the sugary happy stuff. They have a new record coming out in February, which I heard is a lot better. Apparently they're going back to their indie roots, but what rock band doesn't say that these days? My boss says it's an excellent record, so I don't know, I guess for the meantime I'll have to take his word for it. Quite possibly my favorite moment of the night: "Welcome to the OC, Bitches."Another show tonight, but it might be sold out: Phantom Planet w/ Ben Lee @ Bowery Ballroom. Nov. 12, 8pm. 16 & up. Music10063@blogcritics.org Wed, 12 Nov 2003 11:09:47 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/06/103023.php Vivian St.GeorgeMatrix, Matrix, Matrix. We've been through so much. We've had some good times, and some not-so-good times. Remember that time everyone thought that you would be a dumb movie because Keanu Reeves was starring? But we proved them wrong, didn't we?See, the thing is, I'm just not in that place anymore. Things seem to have changed. You're discovering new things, which is wonderful, but I'm still the same. And I think we're two very different people now from the way we used to be.It's not you, it's me...I've loved every minute that we've spent together. I treasured every moment, every frame, every close-up of Agent Smith. You've been so good to me. But I think that it's tim we went our separate ways. This just isn't working out anymore.I'm really glad you found God. I am. I'm happy for you, honestly.But now that I have closure, I think I can move on. It's best this way.Goodbye, Matrix. I won't forget you, ever. Video9880@blogcritics.org Thu, 6 Nov 2003 10:30:23 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/19/002915.php Vivian St.GeorgeAh, I'm back. After a long NYU-induced hiatus, I have returned to Blogcritics.Oh my lord. Britney Spears is trying to be Janet Jackson.Which is weird, cos Justin Timberlake (you know, my boyfriend) is trying to be Michael Jackson. This is weird, and almost quasi-incestuous. Is that Madonna I hear in the background? Ah, it is. This must be that song they did together. Hmm. Weird. It's actually on okay song, given that one knows how to appreciate a good pop song.I also like how her corset is like 5 sizes to small, so she's wearing a wifebeater underneath. Innovative. Okay, I'll admit it. I have a crush on Britney Spears. I still think she's a total whore, but I would hook up with her given the opportunity.Oh my lord. Is SNL trying to be more funny by being more and more politically incorrect with each passing episode. Yeah, that'll save you. Although this Native American bit on Weekend Update is mildly funny. I thought the earlier skit with the ghetto black girls was a valiant effort, but somehow I think it was funnier to me because we totally have girls like that walking all over the place back home in Virginia. It was like, "Yo, I went to high school with a girl named Starkeisha!"Haha. "For those of you who don't know, Kabbalah is an ancient form of publicity invented by Madonna." Ah, Tina Fey. I only watch for you.Did Tracy Morgan leave? I don't remember seeing him on the open credits. Does this mean no more Brian Fellows? I actually liked the Brian Fellow skits. I especially liked how shiny and glossy his lips were.And yo, since when is Kenan Thompson (of Kenan & Kel, er, fame) on this show? Good for him, I guess. But I will absolutely cry if he starts doing Goodburger skits. Let's hope that Nickelodeon has some sort of copyright on that, which they probably do, so no worries there.Okay, SNL has officially been on for an hour, which means it's no longer worth watching. Haha. Video9308@blogcritics.org Sun, 19 Oct 2003 00:29:15 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/07/14/010614.php Vivian St.GeorgeAs a firm believer in downloading music off the internet (as I've mentioned in basically all of my CD reviews), I can proudly say that I've had in my possession New Sacred Cow by Ethiopian-born artist Kenna for well over a year, perhaps two. I've had it long enough to memorize all the words, establish myself as one of the original posters on the now-popular kennaonline.com message board, and connect myself personally to Kenna through a cousin of mine. Kenna, one of the first acts to be signed to Fred "How Limp is my Bizkit Now" Durst's Flawless label, had New Sacred Cow recorded in its entirety by January 2002, if my memory serves me correctly, but supposedly the record company had trouble releasing it for some reason or another. Whatever happened, this is an excellent CD, a Radiohead-meet-R&B tpye romp that is one of the first truly new-sounding records I've come across in a while.During his childhood, Kenna relocated to Cincinnati and then later on to my hometown of Virginia Beach, where he hooked up with Neptune Chad Hugo. Many of the tracks were cut before the Neptunes became known for more than just ODB's "Got Your Money," so the production sounds a little deviant from their now recognizable style, although that's probably due to the absence of Pharell Williams, which is definitely a good thing. Now don't get me wrong, I love Pharell, I think he's a true innovator, and I certainly wouldn't mind having him work on my album if I were recording a pop music album, but because Chad is at the helm and not him, the album has a more groovy vibe, more techno-funky and less bling-blinging hip-hop.Regardless of what people may say about all Neptunes tracks sounding the same, each track on this album maintains its individuality while staying true to the spirit of the album. "Hell Bent" is a soaring, driving ballad, starting off soft and pleading and polevaulting into an impressive spectacle of Kenna's vocal abilities. The video for this song was released on MTV2 about a year ago and got good feedback. The song was basically dubbed over a short animated flim called More. The video for "Freetime," the recent second single, is a live-action shot of just feet and follows a punky-looking pair of Converses away from his suburban home and suburan sister to a nightclub, where a bathroom tryst with a pair of stiletto heels lands him beat in the gutter. It's quite a novel, if simple idea, and allows the viewer to appreciate the track, rather than cluttering it with visuals.My personal favorite is "Sunday After You," the ultimate in breakup songs I've heard in the past year or so. It begins "I named Sunday after you/when this place was burning down/I swear this is the first time I ever lied to you" and drives quick and strong to the chorus, where Kenna laments that "Nothing's what it seems anymore." The rich harmonies over the slick production is the signature sound of the album, which manages to be truly musical (and not faux musical like much pop music today) and fresh at the same time.If you don't believe me yet, believe a usually-reliable source of reviews: New Sacred Cow garnered a 4-star review from Rolling Stone. Music6922@blogcritics.org Mon, 14 Jul 2003 01:06:14 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/07/10/151038.php Vivian St.GeorgeMy obsession with Lou Reed began when I first saw the movie High Fidelity, required viewing for all people who consider themselves true lovers of music, and was cemented when I saw the movie Trainspotting, required viewing for all people. Two Velvet Underground songs were included on the soundtrack to HF, "Who Loves the Sun" and "Oh, Sweet Nuthin'!," both from their last album, Loaded. Immediately after watching it, I jumped on to CDNOW.com (now owned by Amazon.com) and looked up the tracklisting for the soundtrack. It was great. I downloaded a few tester tracks, then decided to buy Loaded. I also decided to buy White Light/White Heat, because it was on Rob Gordon's list of Top 5 side 1, track 1's. But then Amazon told me that if I bought just one more VU album, I'd qualify for Super Saver Free Shipping! So I decided to buy the Banana LP. And I figured while I was at it, I may as well buy their third epynomous album.I first heard of the Velvet Underground when I was going through my punk phase. I've always been equally as interested in the history of various musical movements as the music itself. An article on the "Addicted to Noise" e-zine had said that the Velvet Underground was the true beginning of punk, but this was before Napster, before Audiogalaxy, before Kazaa, so I didn't really know anything. Later on, when I saw light ("Well, I'm beginning to see the light..."), I realized the true genius of the Velvet Undeground, especially on their first album. I'll admit that like many VU virgins, I was initially attracted to Loaded because it is more user-friendly, more accessible to your average, everyday music listener. At some point I decided that I may as well listen to those three other albums that I busted my cash on, and I discovered "The Black Angel's Death Song." True genius, that viola-playing.Anyways, my obession with Lou Reed was a combination of a number of factors. The first was the Strokes. I was always interested in the VU as a unit, but when Julian Casablancas (my fiancee, for those of you who didn't know:) started garnering a lot of comparisons to Lou Reed, I was curious, especially when critics started mentioning Reed's later solo work. The song "Perfect Day" from Reed's second solo album (but first good solo album, according to some), Transformer, was included on the soundtrack to Trainspotting. I swear, it's got to be the greatest pop song ever written. The best non-Fiona Apple use of a piano and/or string quartet in a pop song (excluding the Beatles, and yes, Vanessa Carlton and Alicia Keys can kiss my big yellow ass) I'd ever heard. I was addicted instantly.Then I started reading about Lou Reed. I was loitering in Barnes and Noble one day trying to pick a new book to buy, and I started flipping through some books on the history of the punk movement. They had some interesting things to say about Lou Reed, especially one particularly funny quote from Nico (listed as "chanteuse" on the VU's first album, but subsequently kicked out of the band due to Lou's superiority complex), said after she and Lou ended their torrid affair: "I cannot make love to Jews anymore." Haha. I mean, it didn't really relate to Lou himself, but I was fascinated.I went Amazon.com and chose from the many biographies about Lou Reed and the VU Victor Bockris' 1995 Transformer. I recognized Bockris' name from other books about punk, and figured he'd be a reliable source. It was immediately engaging, fascinating, and it made me fall in love with Lou. I'll admit that at times it felt like hero worship, but Bockris did a fair job of portraying Lou not as an icon, but a human being. He presented Lou wholly, brilliant and charismatic, as well as flawed and, let's be honest, evil. It was an excellent book, even if Bockris' fondness for reusing certain words over and over and over again (e.g., paean) got on my nerves. I loved it. I couldn't put it down. And now I'm obsessed with Lou Reed.Without Lou Reed, there would be no VU (although let's give John Cale his share of the credit as well), no glam-rock, no punk, and no "Perfect Day!" (I must say, that last one is the worst of all.) So if you're equally as enthralled with the history of things or you just want to read about a fascinating person, purchase any book about Lou Reed. I don't think it's possible to write a boring book about him. AND buy all of the VU's albums. (Except Squeeze, because that wasn't for real VU, it was just Doug Yule posing as VU.) Music6866@blogcritics.org Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:10:38 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/24/192113.php Vivian St.GeorgeAs a firm believer in downloading music off the internet (as I've mentioned in basically all of my CD reviews), I can proudly say that I've had in my possession New Sacred Cow by Ethiopian-born artist Kenna for well over a year, perhaps two. I've had it long enough to memorize all the words, establish myself as one of the original posters on the now-popular kennaonline.com message board, and connect myself personally to Kenna through a cousin of mine. Kenna, one of the first acts to be signed to Fred "How Limp is my Bizkit Now" Durst's Flawless label, had New Sacred Cow recorded in its entirety by January 2002, if my memory serves me correctly, but supposedly the record company had trouble releasing it for some reason or another. Whatever happened, this is an excellent CD, a Radiohead-meet-R&B tpye romp that is one of the first truly new-sounding records I've come across in a while.During his childhood, Kenna relocated to Cincinnati and then later on to my hometown of Virginia Beach, where he hooked up with Neptune Chad Hugo. Many of the tracks were cut before the Neptunes became known for more than just ODB's "Got Your Money," so the production sounds a little deviant from their now recognizable style, although that's probably due to the absence of Pharell Williams, which is definitely a good thing. Now don't get me wrong, I love Pharell, I think he's a true innovator, and I certainly wouldn't mind having him work on my album if I were recording a pop music album, but because Chad is at the helm and not him, the album has a more groovy vibe, more techno-funky and less bling-blinging hip-hop.Regardless of what people may say about all Neptunes tracks sounding the same, each track on this album maintains its individuality while staying true to the spirit of the album. "Hell Bent" is a soaring, driving ballad, starting off soft and pleading and polevaulting into an impressive spectacle of Kenna's vocal abilities. The video for this song was released on MTV2 about a year ago and got good feedback. The song was basically dubbed over a short animated flim called More. The video for "Freetime," the recent second single, is a live-action shot of just feet and follows a punky-looking pair of Converses away from his suburban home and suburan sister to a nightclub, where a bathroom tryst with a pair of stiletto heels lands him beat in the gutter. It's quite a novel, if simple idea, and allows the viewer to appreciate the track, rather than cluttering it with visuals.My personal favorite is "Sunday After You," the ultimate in breakup songs I've heard in the past year or so. It begins "I named Sunday after you/when this place was burning down/I swear this is the first time I ever lied to you" and drives quick and strong to the chorus, where Kenna laments that "Nothing's what it seems anymore." The rich harmonies over the slick production is the signature sound of the album, which manages to be truly musical (and not faux musical like much pop music today) and fresh at the same time.If you don't believe me yet, believe a usually-reliable source of reviews: New Sacred Cow garnered a 4-star review from Rolling Stone. Music6471@blogcritics.org Tue, 24 Jun 2003 19:21:13 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/15/101936.php Vivian St.GeorgeFrom MSNBC.com: "She's the Girl They Love to Hate."I'd post the damn article here, but it's just too long. It's the story of Blair Hornstine, a Harvard-bound member of this past year's graduating class Moorestown, an upper-middle class suburb of New Jersey. You may have heard of her already; she's the girl who successfully sued her school district's Board of Education after they tried to make her share her valedictorian spot with another student. The legal action made her "social pariah" at her high school, where she was already unpopular with students due to the facts that she spent half of her day being privately tutored at home because of an autoimmune disorder and the other students saw her as "goody-goody." She won't even be attending her graduation (or didn't attend her graduation) ceremony because of rumors that students were planning booing or otherwise disrupting her valedictory speech.Alright, my stance on this is that yes, she does deserve it, but I think that it is true that she has an unfair advantage over the other students. I only say this because the situation is somewhat similar at the high school I graduated from last spring. I went a math and science academy run by the public school system in my city that students had to apply to and be tested for in order to attend. The academy was housed inside the buildling of a regular high school, so I attended class with both advanced students and regular students. Out of the 500 in my graduating class, there were perhaps 40 or 50 of us "magnet" kids. The thing is, though, that our class had only one valedictorian.Let's examine why this is wrong: the position of valedictorian is determined by GPA, and GPAs can be raised by taking advanced classes with weighted credit; that's how students end up with GPAs above 4.0, what the reporter calls an A++ average. At my school, the magnet students had the opportunity to take weighted classes as soon as their sophomore year, and they had more opportunities to take them. Some of our magnet classes, which the regular kids weren't allowed to take because they weren't in the academy, were weighted. So obviously, the magnet students had more chances to raise their GPAs; we had an unfair advantage over the regular students. But our school only chose one valedictorian.This is wrong on so many levels. We were segregated from the regular kids on so many issues, but on the issue of valedictorian, schoolwide test scores, attendance rates, etc, we were counted as one school. Our principal boasted the highest standardized test scores in the citywide school district, which comprised of about 10 or 11 high schools. To anyone who had bothered to note that our scores were pretty good in all of the subjects except lower-level math courses like Algebra, it would have been obvious that the scores were so high only because 10% of the testing set were magnet students, students who had been conditioned to test and succeed. Our lower-level test scores were so low because no magnet students took these classes in high school; they had already taken them in middle school.Of course, none of this equates to an actual physical disability, as in Hornstine's case. What really bugs me is that her parents are refusing to disclose the details of her disease: what it's called, how exactly it works, some shred of evidence that will prove that it is in fact a real disease. They say that her chroic fatigue prevents her from normal schooling. But for all we know, it could be some imaginary disease, or worse yet, Bribing the School Board with Hard Cash Syndrome. (Hornstine is the daughter of a moderately wealthy state judge. What happened to the archetypical suffering yet humble disabled person? I disdain Hornstine's blind ambition, because she's unwilling to share the fruits of success. Isn't it enough that she is valedictorian? I suppose that it takes some of the sheen off the title to have to share it with someone, but hey, fucking get used to it. That's life. If I had it my way, my school would have chosen two valedictorians, one regular and one magnet, and Hornstine would have been honorary valedictorian, if anything. I mean, does she even qualify as a full-time student at her school? The article says that she spends half her day at home. She apparently participates in school activities, such as going on her senior class trip to Disney World, but otherwise, her situation smacks of home-schooling to me. Because of the negative attention Hornstine's been attracting, Harvard is supposedly reconsidering her admission.Damn overachievers. And I can only say that because I am one. Culture6197@blogcritics.org Sun, 15 Jun 2003 10:19:36 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/07/015010.php Vivian St.GeorgeI just wanted to begin by saying that I fully intend of becoming a resident of the U.K. before my thirtieth birthday. I don't remember who said this quote, but it went something like this: "The British love America for what they have, and the Americans love Britain for what they have not." Did that make sense? Anyways.Let's focus on the music, shall we?I'll start off by addressing Supergrass and the Libertines. First of all, Supergrass rocks. Second of all, the Libertines rock harder. Why oh why aren't they getting the press coverage they deserve here in the states? I'm not even going to bother to ask why they're not getting any radio play. Clear Channel would have my ass on a stick for even SUGGESTING the idea of playing good music on the radio. Pardon, o Clear Channel Gods. I did not mean to offend you with my rebellious ideas. Supergrass recently made an appearance on Carson Daly's late night show, and I almost shit in my pants (had I been wearing pants at that particular hour of the evening). Just the two guitarists, and it was great. I strongly reccomend that you all jump on your P2P networks right now and check out some tracks from their latest release, Life on Other Planets.I discovered the Libertines on nme.com, formerly my favorite source of new music, but now just a bunch of gossipy drivel. They're equally as rocking and yet in a different way. Look for tracks from their album Up the Bracket. I mean really, anything remotely related to the Clash (Mick Jones poduced it) is automatically good.You haven't even gotten me started on Idlewild yet. America, what the feck is wrong with you? Idlewild rocks almost as much hot monkey ass as the Matrix! And yes, I like Robbie Williams.PLUS, they even recognize American brilliance when they see it. I'll bet there's more people (proportionally speaking) in Britain who enjoy Spoon and Grandaddy than here in the states. I'm disappointed, guys. Whatever happened to patriotism? Support your music scene!More ranting later, kids. I'll be bitching about the State of the American Music Scene throughout the summer. Music5986@blogcritics.org Sat, 7 Jun 2003 01:50:10 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/07/011920.php Vivian St.GeorgeI was wandering around Best Buy the other day with my older sister whilst we waited for her boyfriend to go on his lunch break when I found that they carried Toshiba's Protege 3505 Tablet PC. I'd never seen a tablet PC before, at least not up close and in person. It was the first time I ever saw a laptop. I was amazed, charmed by its swiveling screen and left breathless by its weight (or lack thereof) and portability.I didn't get to play with it a lot because it was in demo mode, but I did get to see how the screen spins around and folds down over the keyboard to form a tablet, and locks back into the upright position to form a notebook. The display was pretty sharp, but I didn't get to see how fast it was. The over package was stunningly streamlined, impressive, well-designed, and in a word, pretty. My only complaints were that someone had stolen the stylus (they really should attach those things with metal chains), and the CD drive (DVD-ROM, actually) is external. I suppose when the body is that small and compact, you can't really fit much.The pluses, though, are that it comes with USB 2.0 connections (one step closer to FireWire. Go Microsoft, go.) and integrated WiFi. In time, they'll become more affordable (and I mean WAY more affordable than $2300), and we'll all have one. In the meantime, the few of you who do have oodles of cash can click on the link below and indulge yourselves right now. Sci/Tech5984@blogcritics.org Sat, 7 Jun 2003 01:19:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/07/005838.php Vivian St.GeorgeWhew. It's been a while since I've posted. Pardon me. My freshman year at NYU has ended, and I've already relocated back to home saccharine home, otherwise known as Virginia Beach, VA. On to the music.At first, I was apprehensive toward the White Stripes because I tend to go against the grain in style of a true non-conformist (that is, hypocrtically). The White Stripes' commercial success = no purchase on my part. I'm a champion of the unfamous (not infamous) Shortlist Music Prize, a poor-man's version (or rather, American man's version) of the U.K.'s Mercury Music Prize. An album can only be considered for the Shortlist if it hasn't yet been certified gold (sold 500,000 copies). This, to me, means that I am one of the less than one million people in America who not only have discovered such wonderful music, but have cared enough to purchase the album. In short, I am an elitist.Example: I was a big fan of the Strokes because they weren't, as I like to say, TRL-ified. I was immediately biased against the White Stripes because when they enjoyed commercial success. No, I wasn't jealous on behalf of the Strokes. Just elitist. Plus, they kinda seem to cater more to THAT type of audience. You know what I mean. THAT type. The video-watching, rock star wardrobe impersonating, cover band-forming type. Jack and Meg White are running around with Lego clones of themselves on TV while the Strokes are refusing to lipsynch for a video shoot. Oh, such artistic integrity hath thee, Julian Casablancas.But as always, the elitist must eventually be humbled. I stumbled upon the video for "Seven Nation Army" during one insomniatic night the week before finals and was like, "whoa, lots of triangles!" Plus, the song wasn't even that bad. Actually, it was the shit. I immediately downloaded the entire album off of Kazaa (with properly labeled tracks, just to let all of y'all know who remember my "Think Tank" posting fiasco). Sublimity right there, y'know?Even so, I'm more keen on their earlier stuff, the tracks from De Stijl. Similar to my distaste for any post-green album Weezer, I find the pre-TRL-ified music to be a little rawer, a little edgier, a little more to my taste. Whatever. They're all good. Elephant is officially on my list of CDs to purchase legit copies of. Music5983@blogcritics.org Sat, 7 Jun 2003 00:58:38 EDT