Friday Mini-reviews
Take me out to the black.
Tell ‘em I ain’t comin’ back.
The Dixie Chicks’ new CD, Taking the Long Way, is good stuff. It’s classic Dixie Chicks, but with a glimpse into their new musical direction, and more than a nod to the fact that things have changed. Musically, it is a defiant stand, mixed with some sadness and a little hope. It’s possibly their best work to date, although don’t look to the country charts for confirmation. Apparently the country music industry aren’t ready to forgive either, but they’re being nastier about it. Despite the fact that Taking the Long Way is topping the iTunes Top Album downloads and the Amazon Bestseller List, country radio stations are taking the low way by continuing to refuse the Dixie Chicks airtime. Something about compassionate conservatism I suppose.
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Hellbound Angels also has a review.
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Why did nobody tell me how fucking awesome Firefly is? I kid. Everyone told me, but I’m a big fat hwoon dahn. I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks watching the new-to-me series on DVD, and I can’t stop wondering why in the hell it was canceled. Stargate–which, sorry fans, does not do it for me–has not only been running for years, but spawned an additional series which does even less for me. Star Trek…Jesus Christ on a deflector array, do not get me started on Star Trek. My point is that the scifi space is so crowded with mediocre crap that somehow manages to be renewed season after season. So when something comes along that is so goddamned shiny like Firefly, and it’s canceled even before a complete first season run…wtfbbq?
If you like your scifi gritty, darkly humorous, and chock full of interesting characters, put Firefly at the top of your Netflix queue. Add Serenity while you’re at it. Despite a poor performance at the box office, it’s really a nice capstone to the series. And keep your fingers crossed, Browncoats, that SciFi picks up the rumored Serenity sequel.
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Want to experience the pain of gouging your eyes out with a rusty tuning fork, but dread the thought of changing your eyeglass prescription? Then see High Tension, a French horror film that makes Freddy vs Jason look downright feasible. I won’t spoil the (god I hate myself for using this term) “surprise ending,” except to say that it’s completely un-fucking-possible, not really a surprise, and such an insult to the audience that I feel like my honor needs defending. I just…dear god I hate this movie.
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Facing Future is a CD I’ve been meaning to buy for years, and I finally just did it. It’s widely regarded as one of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s best works, if not the best. If you don’t know of him, you certainly have heard his hauntingly spiritual rendition of Over The Rainbow/Wonderful World in any number of movies. You might have also heard his Hawaiian version of Take Me Home Country Road. During his short life, Israel gave the traditional island sounds of Hawaii a modern and pure voice. If you love clear vocals and simple accompaniment, you want this CD.
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Not a review, but I can’t just let you run off without your weekly Apple propoganda: Behold, the SmackBook Pro. Pimp.
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Edit: This is Memorial Day weekend for Americans. Please be safe, and take a few moments out of your day to reflect on the people who sacrificed their lives to make this country great.
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Have a great weekend. Peace out.
May 26th, 2006 at 10:18 am
Amber: “country radio stations are taking the low way by continuing to refuse the Dixie Chicks airtime”
You disappoint me. I would have thought that you would understand consumers flexing their muscles (wallets) and telling the powers that be what's what. Gamers should take a lesson from the country music industry. If we really want good (not broken) games being released we should stop buying the crap. Country fans don't want to be insulted by the musicians, so we stop buying the crap.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:27 am
It's actually a fairly well known fact that Firefly was cancelled due to an increase in the homicide and suicide rates across America. What happened is that too many people started using words like “shiny” and “hwoon dahn” in conversation, causing their friends to either gouge their own brains out with a spork or to simply crucify the offending individual out of sympathy. Based on how insufferable it is, I don't think the network really had a choice.
May 28th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
No offense BugHunter, but you have no idea how the radio industry works anymore. Stations no longer listen to the voices of their listeners. Instead, the music is piped in from corprate headquarters. Most stations no longer even have their own on air personalities. Those that do get syndicated and piped to the other corperate stations that play the same format. What gets played is decided by suits, not disk jockeys or even the on air personalities.
It's not what the people want to hear that decides what gets played. Clear Channel, for example, has a concert production arm and gives favorable air play to those artists that sign with them.
The radio corporations also have company philosophies. Clear Channel is very pro Bush and pro Iraq war. When the war started, Clear Channel owned talk stations in the major markets were given money from corporate to hold pro-war rallies. When the Dixie Chics came out against the war, it was Clear Channel, almost single handedly, that tried to bury them. It was decided at corporate that no Dixie Chics' songs would be played period. Since Clear Channel owns more than twice as many stations as their nearest competator, mostly in the major markets, it severily hurt the Dixie Chics playabliity.
You're misassumption Bughunter is that the corporations that control radio care what people think they want to hear. Instead, they are in the business of trying to make you think you want to hear what they are playing. Those that don't have a direct interest in another aspect of the music business, such as Clear Channel's production arm, have parent companies that also own recording labels, production companies, or another aspect of the biz.
How do I know this (and much more you probably don't care about) about radio? I work for a radio marketing company. We are part of the radio industry.
May 30th, 2006 at 3:57 am
I had to go out of town Saturday while my wife was working, and wouldn't be back until late Sunday. So I cleaned the house, put 5 DVDs in the changer, cooked a dinner and left it warming, and bought the Dixie Chicks CD for her. I left her a letter telling her that all the things that needed doing around the house were done, dinner was in the oven, wine in the fridge, DVDs in the player, and to play track 6 (Lullaby) on the CD.
Sunday night I got the best “Thank You” sex ever… I think the Dixie Chicks CD may have been my wisest purchase this year.
May 30th, 2006 at 8:24 am
It's interesting how quickly the conversations (arguments?) focus on everything except the actual musical merit and talent behind the CD. I don't listen to the Dixie Chicks, I didn't several years ago, and I still don't because I simply haven't taken the time to listen to them or buy their music. Bono speaks out against the war IN HIS SLEEP, but we don't really care because U2 is or at least was at one point or another a great band. Why do people care what the Dixie Chicks say? Just because they say it doesn't mean it's important, correct, or even well thought out. People buy music because in some way the enjoy listening to it. That also doesn't mean its good or has any merit to it.
Good review Amber because it actually focused primarily on the musical quality of the CD, rather then simply blasting other people's views.