Yeeeee boy! I created a whole new song theme of the day for this ditty. Now dance your ass off! If you don’t like this, then you deserve to drown in the mainstream…
Chris
Category Archives: Art
Belated Film Review: District 9
Full Title: District 9
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Year: 2009
Grade: B
Comments: To begin, why am I reviewing this now? Well, originally I planned on seeing this film in theaters, but I was unable to make it. Now, for my Cultural Studies course, we are discussing it and its various themes. Thus, I recently viewed the picture and as always whenever we read, hear, or see a new piece of art (or some piece of work that does not deserve such a flattering label) we review it. Ok, so not being a huge Sci-fi/Action fan, I am biased in my somewhat lack of enthusisasm, considering how much praise this film has received. I liked it very much and thought it was a decent flick with more meaning and substance to it than most films in its genre. Such heady themes as racism, immigration, and xenophobia, etc. are carefully layered in this sea of madness. The film itself is conceptually unique: the first half (the far superior half) resembling a documentary, reality TV show, Office esque set up. The second half, on the other hand, is your blow shit up and fire endless rounds of ammo action movie. The latter makes the film drag on increasingly and totally loses my interest in the story. At the very end, my interest is salvaged for its remaining minutes. I’d say, this piece is solid and worth a watch, but definitely overrated, at least for my taste.
Chris
Strange Boys/Deerhunter/ Spoon H & E
Hopes: For Strange Boys, I hope they play all of their classics from the first album, like “Woe” and “MLKs” and several others as well as some newbies from the second album, like “Laugh At Sex, Not Her” and “Be Brave.” I hope it’s a great performance from one of my new favorite bands. For Deerhunter, I hope they play mostly tracks from Microcastle and Rainwater Casette Exchange. I also hope they play the classic “Fluorescent Grey.” Idealy, it will be one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. For Spoon, I just hope I like it, having never actually listened to their music.
Expectations: I expect Strange Boys to play a good number of my favorites from both records and put on a damn good show. For Deerhunter, I anticipate they play some of my faves, but also many of the overly spacy, Cryptograms tracks, that isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I imagine it will still sound sick live though. Lastly, with Spoon, I don’t expect anything, but at least a decent (if not better) performance, considering all their acclaim.
Chris
A Rant Stolen From A Rant
MUSICIANS DIDN’T MAKE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!
MUSICIANS ARE BECOMING TOOLS TO THE INDUSTRY!
MUSICIANS NEED TO WEED OUT THE PEOPLE WHO AREN’T DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF CREATING AND PLAYING TUNES.
Fucked Up’s sentiments expressed in three lines.
Black Lips/Box Elders H & E
As always, before a concert, I make two lists of hopes and expectations I have for said show. Having known that the Black Lips simply don’t play certain songs, my hopes are a bit more realistic than they would be for other performers.
Hopes:
The Black Lips play most of my favorite numbers, there’s far too many to mention. They play “Bad Kids,” my favorite BL song (I guess this is more of an expectation). A couple of new songs are performed, like “So, Long to Carolina.” A couple of cover songs that I am familiar with, chiefly “Too Much in Love” by King Khan/BBQ appears in the set. It would be fantastic if they didn’t get kicked out like last year and played a three song encore. Lastly, the concert is even better than last year’s (my favorite ever) and becomes the greatest concert I’ve ever experienced! For the Box Elders, I hope they play all my faves from Alice and Friends, including “Atlantis,” “Jackie Wood,” “Ronald Dean,” “Death of Me,” and “Hole In My Head,” amongst others. I hope funny man, Dave is just as funny with his aerobic antics as he was before.
Expectations:
The Black Lips play a set that closely resembles the one Glen posted the other day, playing mostly Let It Bloom songs, which is perfectly fine. I have a really, really, kickass time! The show is just as good if not close (either way) to the last one. If they are not given the boot, then they play a two song encore. For Box Elders, I expect them to crank out most of the above tunes. Knowing and loving the songs now, I will enjoy them more than when I saw them open for Jay Reatard (being the first time I ever heard of them); even then I found the ditties extremely catchy! They remain one of the finest opening acts I have ever seen.
Chris
Sunny-Young Mac and Charlie
High larious!
Chris
The Nightman Cometh!
It’s too bad I missed this on my birthday, ohh well, there’s always next time!
Chris
Film Review: Shutter Island
Matt “Bob Matthews” Ramsden post an image of the film to accompany his review of the novel, so I’ll do the opposite.
Full Title: Shutter Island
Director: Marty Scorcesse
Year: 2010
Grade: A-
Here’s Why:
!SPOILERS AHEAD!
COME TO SHUTTER ISLAND! Where there’s always something exciting to do. You will meet a cast of colorful characters. You may have so much fun, you never leave! You could say, you’ll discover you are not actually who you think you are…. ok scratch that one BOSS. Essentially, Matt’s review, sums up the plot real nice, here’s a link, https://klyam.com/2010/01/10/book-review-shutter-island/. So, Leonardo Dicrapio and Mark Rufalo play the leading detectives and perform the fuck out of ther dramatic roles; it’s too bad this flick was released so damn early in the year, because it is worthy of numerous awards, certainly for acting, with regards to the aforementioned actors as well as Ben Kingsley. Not to say that awards measure the substance of a film or any form of art, they don’t at all. But, credit should be given, where it is due and far too many average flicks receive awards. Enough of that rant for now! SI dishes out more than its share of suspense, action, thrills, shills, and skills in just about every area. As the story unravels, we’re just as quizzical as Leo’s character. And since he’s totally mad, fucked in the head :) as viewers we’re all the more left with a “WTF is going on feeling?” But, we never get lost in the bedlam, a key aspect of Shutter’s success. Since, most of these “everyone’s against me andeverythng I ever knew as true was a lie” brand of films get tangled up in their own webs of conspiracy to the point that not even the filmmakers know what they’re thinking. Our umbilical chords to the story are never severed and thus maitain the suspense and our concern for the characters. In the end, the plot twist is pretty damn sweet, but a bit overrated. It ain’t Bruce Willis is a ghost, Vader’s my daddy, Bates is his mommy material! In fact, I thought the ending woudl come sooner; it drags toward the end, not too much, but enough to note. I haven’t read Dennis Lehane’s novel of which the movie is based and Matt wrote his review of, but I hear this stays true to it. Perhaps. Overall, a highly enjoyable experience at one of my favorite pastimes and definitely a KLYAM Recommendation.
Chris
Song of the Day: Slushy
The weather reminded me of this sorta.
Chris
Classic Album Review: Lost Sounds
Artist: Lost Sounds
Full Title: Lost Sounds
Year: 2004
Label In the Red
Tracks:
1) There’s Nothing- 9
2) Destructo Comet- 9
3) I Get Nervous- 9
4) Clones Don’t Love- 9
5) I Sit I Watch I Wait- 8
6) Ophelia- 8
7) Your Looking Glass- 8
8) Let’s Get Sick- 8/9
9) And You Dance?- 8
10) We’re Just Living- 8
11) Mechanical Feelings- 9
12) Bombs Over M.O.M.- 9
Grade: A
Comments: I’m always glad to hear “new”- meaning music I’ve never heard before- material from my favorite artists. Being a massive Jay Retard fan, I had to check out his earlier, Synth Punk band, The Lost Sounds. This was their last record and it is simply a delight. Much of it sounds nothing like Jay’s previous and later works. This is obviously due in part to the excessive (in a good way!) use of keyboards and vocalist/guitarist/synthist lol, Alicja Trout. “There’s Nothing” is a solid opener and sets the mood for the rest of the album. In fact, the songs do not really vary in sound/presentation all that much, but I do not see that as a flaw, it works very well here. The songs nicely flow into one another, creating an entire experience, rather than simply some songs thrown together, which often happens with other records. With that being said, the best tracks are at the beginning and the end, as indicated above. Most of this record, as I mentioned before, to me, does not resemble other Reatarded music, but the track “Mechanical Feelings” really does, especially the lines “don’t count me out, don’t count me out, I’ll scream and shout, don’t count me out.” The “ohh no no no, they won’t get me, they won’t get me” in Jay’s “Waiting for Something,” but faster and more intense. Anyone? Well, for me they sound alike. The LP concludes with the triumphant, “Bombs Over M.O.M.” one cannot help but chant along to the impassioned chorous, “All the Walls are Falling, Falling DOWN!” Trout then continues to sing, “FALLING FALLING FALLING….” for what seems like an eternity. Excellent closer, one of the best I have ever heard. Most closers are weak, in my opinion, parce que, they make overly ambitious attempts to floor the listener with an EPIC! ending. BOM is just right. This record honestly sounds like it could be a follow-up to 2009’s Watch Me Fall , if Jay added synth and a feamle vocalist. In other words, it’s nothing like his earlier Reatards work and in some ways sounds futuristic, if you will. All in All, I recommend this to Jay fans and anyone else. It’s KLYAM RECOMMENDED, but I’m not grabbing that little logo lol.
Chris
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 