ALBUM REVIEW Smooth grooves from across the ocean Atakoglu’s new jazz fusion album takes you across continents
Of all the albums I’ve heard this year, Fahir Atakoglu’s Faces and Places certainly ranks as one of the most exciting. Not only is it special for carrying several international styles into the mainstream jazz market (Atakoglu was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and uses artists from Cuba, Brazil and New York in his ensemble), but as a standalone work it is a powerful addition to the jazz fusion library. Rather than passively creating an album that fuses several cultural voices together, Faces is a very blunt, intentional attempt at multiculturalism — its title and piece choices take geography as inspiration. Despite the diverse nature of the compositions, the album seamlessly weaves styles and moods, lending a greater sense of continuity; this is a cross-continental road trip, not your neighbor’s vacation slide show.
Robert Downey Jr. blows everyone else away, still can’t save this film ★★★✩✩
Watching Sherlock Holmes is a bit like going to the circus: loud noises, moving objects and bright colors — but no substance. Although fairly entertaining, Holmes relies too heavily on Robert Downey Jr., who singlehandedly elevates the film above mediocrity as if he were LeBron and Holmes the 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers. Holmes follows the hero (Robert Downey Jr.) and his sarcastic sidekick Dr. Watson (Jude Law) as they tackle a conspiracy to bring down the British government.
A fresh sound made for all people
“A stick, a stone/it’s the end of the road/ it’s the rest of a stump/it’s a little alone” Luciana Souza sings, choosing English over her native Portuguese. It’s also the birth language of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the quintessential Brazilian composer and the artist behind the song itself.
Sherlock Holmes reinvented: shorter, darker and a lot feistier ★★★★✩
This is Holmes as you have never seen him. Director Guy Ritchie took Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s celebated detective (Robert Downey Jr.) and warped him so much he very well could have been a brand new character. Nevertheless, Sherlock Holmes the movie is a brilliant production that will take you on a dark captivating adventure, with lots of relentless action, veiled mysteries and satisfying surprises.
2009 in Music
<b>Animal Collective</b> <i>Merriweather Post Pavilion</i> — Dropped in January, fans everywhere were calling <i>MPP</i> the “album of the year” as early as March. Despite the band losing its lead guitarist in 2008, <i>MPP</i> is structured similarly to previous Animal Collective albums only more so, displaying beautiful, elaborate-yet-repetitive melodies that enable listeners to either sit quietly and listen, or crank the volume and dance. This album provided two of my “most played” songs of 2009, including “Summertime Clothes” and “Brothersport.” <i>—MLF</i>
The Year in Arts: Taking Our Minds Off the Recession
The year 2009 was one of recuperation and recovery. The country was climbing its way out of economic recession but the crawl was slow and unsteady. The year was marked by several momentous events that showed promise of a brighter 2010 — the inaugaration of Barack Obama, the Dow closing above 10,000 points in October, and finally the markets closing on a good note in December. The S&P500 was up by 24.71 percent for the year and a 2.2 percent GDP growth in the third quarter. Despite all these signs of recovery, 2009’s entertainment scene was split between escaping reality and making the best of it.
SWIFT NATION
Only four years prior to his election as President of the United States in 2008, Barack Obama was a lowly state senator from Illinois. But stand back, Mr. President, because that’s nothing. From 2006 to 2008, American country-pop singer/songwriter/actress Taylor Swift catapulted from local-country gigs in Nashville to fielding two top-selling albums, <i>Taylor Swift</i> in ’06 and <i>Fearless</i> in ’08. Riding on their intense popularity, <i>Fearless</i>’s “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” were made into music videos, both ranking among the most successful of 2009 (yes, Kanye, even better than Beyoncé’s). Also last year, Swift fell into and out of love with Taylor Lautner, star of Twilight’s <i>New Moon</i>. But the Swift engine shows no signs of slowing down — her recent single, “Today Was a Fairytale,” topped the iTunes chart the day after release and Taylor’s silver-screen debut in <i>Valentine’s Day</i> is slated for February 12, 2010.
EXHIBIT REVIEW A Contemporary Outlook On the Role of Music
Music pervades our lives, but is it more than just an accessory? How do you know that it is anything more than a presence in your pocket, barrier to unwanted noise, or to make up for the expanse of empty wall space? The “Seeing Songs” exhibition at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts delves into the role of music as an integral part of our lives.
CONCERT REVIEW All Covers, All the Time
Sunday night at Somerville Theatre saw an eclectic pairing of the young Clare and the Reasons with the more experienced bossa-jukebox of Nouvelle Vague. In support of their second album <i>Arrow</i>, Clare Manchon, her co-collaborator husband Olivier Manchon and multi-instrumentalist Bob Hart opened the night with a set of mellow numbers. With Ms. Manchon’s voice the primary foundation for most songs, the backing “Reasons” shuffled between xylophones, violin, makeshift drumkits, keyboards, and even a bowed saw to fill in the gaps. Melodies, such as the chorus for “Ooh You Hurt Me So,” are easy to grasp, albeit due to its repetitive nature. While the songs were simplistic, Ms. Manchon’s lyrics are readily candid and conversational. She even sings a few songs in French, her husbands native language. The last three songs comprised what Ms. Manchon dubbed the “scientific portion of the spectacular,” a closing set which kicked off with the tongue-in-cheek “Pluto.” The song begins in French, addressing the late planet and its recent reconsideration-of-planethood as reported by the <i>New York Times</i>. The verse is then repeated, in English, fully clarifying the message of the song for the majority of the audience.
INTERVIEW Many Reasons to Love Boston
Clare Manchon, lead vocalist and songwriter of Clare and The Reasons, answered a few of <i>The Tech</i>’s questions after supporting Nouvelle Vague at Somerville Theatre on Sunday.
CD REVIEW Kid Cudi Represents New Wave of Hip Hop
I’m a big fan of hip hop. I mean real hip hop, not the buckets of factory-produced horse vomit that passes off as mainstream radio these days. In particular, the next time I hear Jason Derulo say his own name, I will strongly consider seceding from the U.S. But give me a good hip hop album, be it afrocentric, alternative, fusion, gangsta, or political, and I’ll be a happy camper for weeks. Good rappers like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Nas, and Lupe speak from the soul, and it’s always a treat to peer introspectively into their minds. But part of the pleasure comes from the fact that I’ve got almost nothing in common with the artist. I never grew up in the projects. I don’t know what it’s like to have a gun by my side at all times, and I’ve never gone hungry from lack of money. So what can I expect in an album by a middle-class, suburban hipster from Cleveland, Ohio?
MOVIE REVIEW ★★ ½ Originality is Key to New Gilliam Film
There’s been a fair amount of hype over the new Terry Gilliam film, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” Gilliam, a member of the classic Monty Python comedy troupe, is best known for his directorial pursuits of visionary plots and imaginative sequences. Early trailers promised such a classic Gilliam-style production, while Heath Ledger’s tragic passing generated significant buzz for the movie. And though the highly-anticipated film has its flaws, it presents a starkly original storyline coupled with some powerful performances.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ Cera Reveals His Smooth, Badass Side
It’s no surprise that in the opening moments of “Youth in Revolt,” the latest movie that relies on Michael Cera’s distinct charm, we are introduced to Cera as Nick Twisp, whose delicate last name is a testament to his obvious virgin status. You’ve probably at least heard of Michael Cera and the certain type of virginal adolescent he always portrays: gawky, soft-spoken and unintentionally witty. Like most teenage boys, Nick has only one thing on his mind and is constantly reminded of the lack of action he’s getting by everyone around him, including his divorced parents. Nick catches a break from the douchebag magnets who have previously rejected him when he meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), a beautiful and cultured young woman. Needless to say, it’s love at first sight. But to woo her, Nick needs to trump her “perfect” boyfriend by becoming the racy badboy of her dreams.
ARTS COLUMN MIT’s Spring Weekend
Filling out this year’s spring weekend poll, I was, yet again, disappointed with the selection. The class of 2010 has yet to see a rock band that writes new music. The Ying Yang Twins in 2007: no need to comment; Third Eye Blind in 2008: unoriginal power-rock; Ben Folds played in 2009: at least we hired a decent musician that year, but if it weren’t for copying Jeff Buckley, who somehow copied Elliott Smith, Ben Folds would still be opening for no-name bands in the East Village.
WHAT’S AHEAD
The French musical collective Nouvelle Vague creates irresistible bossa nova covers of unruly rock classics, sung by a revolving cast of chanteuses. Their latest, 2009’s 3, features another set of outstanding tracks and guest appearances by Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and Ian McCulloch of Echo And The Bunnymen. The groups earlier releases, 2004’s self-titled effort and 2006’s Bande a Part include memorable versions of “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Making Plans for Nigel,” “Dancing With Myself,” and “Heart of Glass,” all of which have been in concert rotation. On this tour, Nouvelle Vague continues to subvert cult classics by The Clash, Joy Division, The Specials and many others into sunny, wistful pieces of exotica. Nouvelle Vague will be at Somerville Theatre next Sunday January 24th - come join The Tech at the show and look out for Arts Editor S. Balaji Mani’s review next week. For tickets and information call World Music / CRASHarts at (617) 876-4275.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ ½ / 4 Disney’s ‘Princess and the Frog’
Fellow Disney fans, we have what we’ve been waiting for: the first classic Disney animated film of the decade. <i>The Princess and the Frog</i> is a genuinely funny, heart-felt, feel-good adventure worthy of carrying the revered title of Walt Disney Animation Studios, after a dry spell in successful hand-drawn films since 1999’s <i>Tarzan</i>.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ ½ / 4 A Modest Film that Succeeds in Subtlety
Hollywood has no modesty. Since Tinseltown’s earliest incarnations, the illustrious directors and actors that have graced the big screen have attacked their tasks with a ferocious desire for distinction. As such, our cinemas are saturated with brainchildren of Michael Bays and James Camerons, waving their hands feverishly about, spittle flying across the room, conjuring up massive explosions and lush CGI landscapes. And why not? We watch movies to escape our dreary realities, to fall into a more captivating world. But once in a while, Hollywood will surprise us with a film that is deceptively modest, and we marvel at its unique beauty.