New MIA

Danny Boyle's new film Slumdog Millionaire has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz lately,and the movie's soundtrack looks to be equally phenomenal.It features a new track by MIA (who is heavily pregnant at the moment), "O-saya".



An excerpt from MTV:

Renowned composer A.R. Rahman will release his critically beloved “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack online next week – and in stores next month – giving moviegoers the chance to take home his unique musical pastiche of what it feels like to grow up on the mean streets of Mumbai, India. In many early reviews of the recently opened Danny Boyle flick, critics (such as our own Kurt Loder) have praised the groundbreaking efforts of the music, which mixes the disparate worlds of Bollywood and hip-hop.

M.I.A.’s love for the Bollywood style had her recording inside A.R. Rahman’s studio in India, and she has referred to him as “the Indian Timbaland.” This new “Slumdog” soundtrack will make their collaboration “O…Saya” available for the first time, as well as a remix of her worldwide hit “Paper Planes.”

Other songs on the soundtrack include “Gangsta Blues” featuring hip-hop artist BlaaZe and “Jai Ho,” which closes out the film with a rousing sing-a-long that has reportedly caused some audiences to burst into applause. “The energy of the film takes you through a roller coaster,” Rahman, one of the world’s top 25 all-time selling recording artists, recently told Variety. “And that’s one of the main inspirations for the whole music.”

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Viva La Vida Tour

Coldplay have graciously announced that they'll be bringing their Viva La Vida tour to Australia,and people here are already abuzz and I have no doubt tickets will be snapped up within minutes.They're available from Ticketek beginning 4 December,though the special presale opens tomorrow-click here for more details.If it were 2006,I'd be the first to get into gear and make it a matter of life or death to get those tickets,but alas its here/now and the band has changed significantly since their 2000 debut Parachutes-an album I consider perfect in every possible way,it was critically recieved and won a Grammy for the band.This is when they realized their enormous mainstream potential,began adapting to the times and changed their music as they see fit for charts.Its a band I once respected and admired,but they've grown portentous and I yearn for the day they become contented with the money they've made,and return to basics to produce something closer to Parachutes.

The tour announcement ties in with the release of their Viva La Vida - Prospekt’s March edition,an 8-track compilation available as an EP or in Viva La Vida's deluxe edition.The following review for it,copied from PITCHFORK (link to review here) echoes my sentiments about the band with perfect accuracy. (+vid for Lost-feat Jay-Z)

With this year's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay tried to be
cool. They brought in Brian Eno to refine their bombast. They tried Bowie-style
funk and shoegaze. They wore military duds that made them look like Arcade Fire.
Everything seemed to be in place. But there was a problem: Coldplay's idea of
cool and the cultural reality are two different things. This eight-track stopgap
EP-- which doubles as a bonus disc on the obligatory Viva fourth-quarter deluxe
edition-- allows for an assessment of Coldplay's 2008 "We Are Edgy" campaign.
Can one daffy Brit and his personality-averse band bring the notion of cool
closer to them?

Ostensibly, Coldplay know cool when they see it. They tapped
operatic indie-rockers Shearwater and L.E.S. revivalist Santogold to open their
world tour this year. Chris Martin is friends with Kanye West and Jay-Z, who
contributes a verse on the Prospekt's March remix, "Lost +". Still, they lack
the spontaneity, innovation, and effortlessness that usually accompanies
edge-cutting phenomena. Take their recent performance on "Saturday Night Live":
For a guy who's played to millions of fans at shows, festivals, and on TV,
Martin came off like a clutzy ham not unlike former "SNL" mainstay Mary
Katherine Gallagher. He was startlingly out of breath and made an effort to act
out each of his simple couplets, all while yipping and hooting like a man poking
fun at Tourette's syndrome. It was awkward, but kinda endearing. (Defamer:
Coldplay's 'SNL' Freak-Out: Easy-Listening Performance Art, Awful, Or Both?)

So when calm and collected artists like Jay-Z cite Coldplay as their favorite band,
they're subconsciously subverting the same untouchable aura that bolsters their
own coolness. It makes little sense, but it's worked for them thus far. On the
overall hipness scale, Coldplay isn't close to, say, TV on the Radio, but in a
weird way they're bringing a bumbling DIY aesthetic to emotional arena rock.
And, just as Viva did an admirable job of troubleshooting the band's lazy
weaknesses while expanding their sound, Prospekt's March offers a truncated
version of their svelte and marginally progressive new formula. If this is the
best Big Rock has to offer this year, we're doing okay.

As far as money-making mini-releases go, Prospekt's March is relatively noble, i.e., no quickie dance remixes, only one "single edit" ("Lovers in Japan") and one piddly 48-second nstrumental ("Postcards from Far Away"). All in all, half the EP is made up of completely new material that could've easily made the original Viva. Talking
about the EP a couple months ago, Martin quipped that the new songs "might be
considered too catchy or too heavy for Coldplay songs." The heavy Coldplay song
may seem like an oxymoronic concept, but "Glass of Water" makes a good case for
the band turning up the volume more often. Granted, the whole thing centers
around one of the very few Meaning of Life clichés Martin has yet to utilize
(bet you can't guess exactly how much water is in that glass!), but the hook's
brash guitars render his words unintelligible anyway.

With Eno behind the knobs, everything sounds pristine, impeccable. "Prospekt's March/Poppyfields" could pass for a latter-day Radiohead ballad (except Martin replaces Thom Yorke's doom with hopeful pleads of "I don't wanna die"). With its micro-funk verse and symphony chorus, "Rainy Day" feels stiched together, but it's uniquely humble. "I love it when you come over to my house," sings Martin, taking a break from explaining death and all his friends for a moment. Mostly instrumental Viva intro "Life in Technicolor" is morphed into a full-fledged song here-- and it in
turn exposes the main obstacle in the way of Coldplay's desire to replicate U2
at their height.

Simply: Chris Martin needs to consider his lyrics more. He's
smart; he can do better than "don't you wish your life could be as simple as
fish swimmin' 'round in a barrel when you've got the gun." While Bono hasn't
written an astounding lyric in ages, there was a time when his universal maxims
rang true and felt close. Martin has shown flashes of this type of talent, but
his consistency isn't where it needs to be in order for Coldplay to elevate to
the supreme stadium-filling, critic-salivating level they so desire. With their
revised sound and twitching energy, these sensitive lads are primed for
something even bigger than their current little-kid-in-a-big-arena shenanigans.
A few elegant, cringe-proof words couldn't hurt.

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Britney/Kanye

Two pop albums,due out sometime this week-leaked few days ago,and I've had time to listen to both of them and I think they're both quite fantastic.I'm not so much a genre bloke,I listen to pretty much everything and have gone through all sorts of phases to realize I just love music,regardless of its form.There have been a lot of albums I really looked forward to this year,but came out disappointing and the following two were part of the bunch I sought uncertainly and turned out good.


Britney Spears-Circus.Due december 2,her sixth studio album.I like the whole circus theme the album and her recent photoshoots have carried though the cover's a bummer.I've never been a big fan of hers but I'm glad she's cleaned up her shit,all her past albums have songs that all sound the same and could've been hits if it were still the 90s.Fortunately,Circus has enough variety and hiring a whole lot of different producers really pays off. Here's a quick track-by-track evaluation,with my /10 mark for each except for the slow songs/ballads all of which I don't like (just not her forte).

1. "Womanizer" K. Briscoe, The Outsyders – 6/10
   
2. "Circus" Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke – 9/10
   
3. "Out from Under" Guy Sigsworth
   
4. "Kill the Lights" Danja, Jim Beanz – 4/10
5. "Shattered Glass" Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly – 4/10
   
6. "If U Seek Amy" Max Martin – 8/10
   
7. "Unusual You" Bloodshy & Avant – 8/10
   
8. "Blur" Danja – 9/10
   
9. "Mmm Papi" Let's Go To War and Nicole Morier – 6/10
   
10. "Mannequin" The Underdogs – 5/10
    
11. "Lace and Leather" Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly – 7/10
12. "My Baby" Guy Sigsworth
    
13. "Rock Me In" Greg Kurstin, Nicole Morier – 10/10
14. "Phonography" Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch – 9/10

Kanye West-808s and Heartbreak.The album's excessive use of auto-tune (in place of the usual rap) and drastic change of style has garnered mixed responses,as rapper Common put it:

"I love it. Let me tell you, as an artist, you wanna be free. You gotta do what you feel. You can't just cater to the audience. You gotta say, 'Hey, y'all, this is where I'm at.' For him to do an album called 808s and Heartbreak, you know that's where he is at this moment. I heard some songs, and I think it's fresh. I think the people are ready for it".

Also,some have said the album's heavy emotional themes (ie separation,loneliness) reflect the personal aftermath from his break-up with his fiancee and his mom's passing in '07.All of that is BS to me,because the album's fantastic and thats all that matters.The last album was blown-up and too commercialized to be taken seriously (hello,there was duet with fucking Chris Martin),though Flashing Lights and that take on Daft Punk will forever have a warm place in my heart.808s and Heatbreak sounds radically different and is a major departure from typical Kanye (for one,don't his album covers usually have that big bear?),but its the first album that actually feels like his own.As the case with Britney Spears,I've never been a fan of his but this has made me a convert.

1.	"Say You Will" -3/10
2.	"Welcome to Heartbreak" (feat. Kid Cudi)-6/10
3.	"Heartless" -9/10
4.	"Amazing" (feat. Young Jeezy)-3/10
5.	"Love Lockdown" -9/10
6.	"Paranoid" (feat. Mr Hudson)-8/10
7.	"RoboCop" -10/10
8.	"Street Lights" -7/10
9.	"Bad News" -6/10
10.	"See You in My Nightmares" (feat. Lil Wayne)-5/10
11.	"Coldest Winter" -10/10

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Quatum of Solace-Ogling Olga

To start off,people were already grunting at having to hear the new Alicia Keys-Jack White theme song played in whole in the overlong opening credits.Now..to the review!I actually kind of liked it,especially because as a non-gambler I didn't understand the last one (Casino Royale),a movie also dampened by a sluggish pace and unmemorable characters.Helming the 22nd installment is director Marc Foster,whose previous work includes Finding Neverland and The Kite Runner-he's chosen to retain several "traditional'' elements of the Bond franchise I don't like,particularly the having of a distinctly harmless and Disney-like villian who has neither class nor presence,and the essential role of guns in the movie.On the upside,he's also dared to introduce a welcome change in many other areas.

The first few action scenes depict Bond as some kind of extreme circus performer-sure its fun seeing him jump roofs and drive a motorcycle into a boat-there's something to be enjoyed in the escapism,but I couldn't help feeling that some of the action scenarios were unecessary and too contrived.The bigger problem was the editing-its the frantic,hyperactive editing practiced with more skill in the Bourne flicks-we get only glimpses and major details are lost,the camera pausing only to show a car blowing up etc.The good part is that it gets better,fast.The later action scenes were more focused and there's a balanced trade-off between the action and exposition.Plus,I really like how they made vengeance a pivotal part of Bond's drive-I'm so sick of seeing him as the only the good guy in the room,always pouting and posing like a perfect gentleman and showing hardly a drop of sweat.This time he gets into trouble and surely,in the end he wins the upper hand and survives-but things still do fuck up in the process,he goes a bit mad and careless and in turn lives are lost.

Judi Dench is fantastic as usual-in fact most of the supporting characters play an individual role,unlike most action flicks where they're total tools who do nothing but wear uniforms and delegate sternly from the office.Olga Kurylenko was just absolutely perfect-she won't be winning Oscars anytime soon,but she makes a strong counterpart and is devastatingly stunning.Daniel Craig,it has to be said-is a huge improvement Pierce Brosnan,who had "Dumbass" written all over his face and is completely implausible as an action man-Craig's acting is a bit one-dimensional,but he carries the character's aura and sophistication confidently.

So why all the hate for Quantum of Solace?My take is that this piece doesn't cater to Bond fans-its a kickass flick,but on many levels feel stereotypical and is lacking that certain uniqueness a Bond film should have,some might argue.So,the thing completely missing here is Bond's identity.Not being a fan of the franchise,I found it to be a highly enjoyable action flick and whether it was Bond,Bourne or another "special agent" roving the globe for bad guys,I couldn't care less.

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Hunger-Hero/Human

Bobby Sands, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) member who led the 1981 Irish hunger strike and participated in the no wash protest (led by Brendan "The Dark" Hughes) in which Republican prisoners tried to win political status. It dramatises events in the Maze prison in the six weeks prior to Sands death. (from IMDB)

The imagery is naked,distressing to watch and at times layered with faraway sounds or soft visuals.Speech is extremely minimal,except one long discussion between the protagonist and a priest.This scene,during which the camera barely moves-really takes its time to lay down a very solid foundation for the movie.The second half focuses on one man's mission to starve himself-we go into detail the days leading to his demise,told physically through blood-tainted sheets and the deterioration of his body from the inside and out.A large part of the film deals with him (Bobby Sands) alone,but others from different sides of the story are briefly introduced and kept present-be it a prison guard and his bruised fist,or an unseen female narrator who offers political quips-all weaved into a neutral observation.

There were several things I didn't like though.The long scene with the priest will be the most memorable for some,for its testing length and there's an emotional part involving a panicky officer where slow-mo is used,in both instances an extra bit of editing would've done a whole lot of good.That said,what I like best was how the film chose to derive Bobby's decision to fully pull through a hunger strike,mainly from just one particular childhood incident,that comes back in the most subtle forms and wraps up everything beautifully.In someone else's hands,it might've been extended to a lifetime of unfortunate events but here both director Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbander (who plays Sands with a deep,effortless intensity) use the barest of tools and smallest of gestures to create a profound film about human strength and weakness,saying that both can be the same thing.

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Check back in a couple days for the Quantum of Solace review :)

Chuck

I think the people on morning shows literally have a hat full of random topics,from which they choose one and talk about pointlessly to sleepless hungovers who,like me,wonder why the hell they're talking about "the benefits of chocolate" this early.On Kerri-Anne (who I still loathe strongly),they played a clip of Papa Pitt on Oprah talking about his children's curiosity in dogs-then proceeded to talk about them canines for 30 minutes,with a panel of two men obviously informed in the area.And the infomercials,these freaks forever smiling and trying to lure us into buying that vacuum that works by itself,it even charges itself and is self-systemised to routinely clean your house at certain times.Or the ab workout machine that carries a whole gym's worth of exercise-they prey on the lazy and gullible,bum housewives and disorganized forty-something's who complain about "not having time for anything,with the kids and all" (you have two maids at home,and you don't work-get it together dumbass).The Morning show has added a segment called "Accidental Hero"-which is exactly what it sounds like-cheesy,presenters in sad-smiley mode as sentimental music plays descendo,but I like it for the unintended humor.They call up a mother who nominated some other mother who saved her child from drowning-its obviously too early for this woman,who stays in the coldest most monotonous voice "I think she is a great hero,risking her life for others" and they turn back to the presenters,one of whom blinks in shock for a moment before proceeding with their "Awh,shucks!" act.Ah,its just the not having my two cups of coffee or having my trans-species brainwave talk with my cat Hiro.I'm actually a man full of love to give,believe it or not-like Chuck (I wish),how amazing was Gossip Girl this week?I love the way its gone from a story about everyone (EVERYONE) scheming and deceiving to a more family-oriented plot,but Aaron & Vanessa need to get hitched and sent off on a rafter to an island where they can do their own spin-off about ugly teenagers who create artificial problems for themselves to make up for their physical deformities.Okay I lied,I had two cups of coffee,a cup of juice and milk-I feel healthy and beaming and full of life,I need to get out and lose some of this energy pronto!

Adieu Memozillas

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V Fest Line-up!

From Liveguide:

After months of speculation in the Liveguide forums, the line-up for the 2009 V Festival has been announced, with The Killers, Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs and Duffy among the headlining acts.

The third annual V Festival in Australia has a decidedly British theme this year, with many of the artists being 'NME darlings'. While there are no legendary reformed groups on this line-up (think Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins et al) most of the groups such as The Killers and Snow Patrol are known to sell out shows quick smart when they visit our shores.

The festival will take place in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast this March. Tickets go on sale November 28, while presale tickets will be available from Wednesday November 19 at Virgin Mobile stores.

The full line-up so far:

The Killers

Snow Patrol

Kaiser Chiefs

Elbow

Duffy

Louis XIV

The Dø

Tame Impala

The Temper Trap

Canyons

...

I don't know whether its the economy,or something else but '09 looks to be a shitty year for music festivals here.From last year's Smashing Pumpkins+Air,we've fallen into the hands of The Killers & Snow Patrol,both decent bands but simply too young to carry the weight of headlining.Kaiser Chiefs are so annoyingly loud and repititive I don't know how anyone can stand their music without feeling like their head's about to explode.I expected maybe one or at most two major names to headline-Radiohead or Oasis-with a few reputable supporters ie Adele,Beck.Van She is the cure for this plague,someone needs to wake the hell up and get them on board already.

Melbourne Showgrounds,April 4.Tickets priced at $140,worth $60-but keep track of the official site for new announcements,something good might come along.

+Have a popsicle,see ya at her *free* Sunday gig.
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BDO Sideshows

h the Big Day Out performers Ting Tings,Arctic Monkeys and Tv on the Radio have all just announced side gigs (click for respective links).Since I'm dropping by BDO,I don't feel the need to go to any of these-what more,recently disgraced+new mainstream pop converts Kings of Leon have announced an Australian Tour for '09.Here's hoping to having better gigs next year,I'm hopeful for the V Fest line-up and Karen O my sweet bowl-haired goddess please come.



Gorgeous song.

+I'm THIS close to impulsively buying a PS3 because of how much fun this game looks (a Forbes article on it).Until Jan 26,every purchase of the console comes with a free copy of LittleBigPlanet,though the thought of spending more time indoors doesn't sound right.

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Campus to Cactus

An article from the Weekend Australian,here.

We can't guess which one of "Melbourne's great universities" the writer's son attends,but as an undergraduate student myself I feel deeply let down by the way my own university is managed.I won't get into detail,but my own course breeds economists and accountants who might turn out academically gifted but too unbalanced to succeed in the long-run.The polarization is too great to describe,the lecturers are cold,disconnected and educate only in the most technical sense-student societies are provided very limited funding,yet offered to students as the main channel for social engagement.Others turn to their prestige on-campus colleges for which big money is paid for,and while we do spend most of our semester hours on-campus its merely a place of congregation-bricks and walls,you could never call this place home.

The idea of a modern university is a clever fraud,and plays no pivotal part in building its people.Probably too harsh,so I suggest reading the article for a more agreeable take.

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New Watchmen Trailer

click for it.

Amazing.

+Just a couple random thoughts-bought tickets for Bon Iver and Big Day Out,I'm still unimpressed with the latter.Second line-up announced not too long ago,the the Vines cancelled and though I'm sure TV on the Radio,Hot Chip (the song 'Ready for the Floor' should be encased in a crystal case and be in a special museum for valueble things somewhere),Arctic Monkeys (if they play less of My Favourite Worst Nightmare,and more of the Space Invaders shit) will be good live there's an abundance of filler bands noone would pay half a testicle to see and choosing Neil Young as headliner was extremely unwise.Tickets are not sold out yet (after the longest time on sale-last year's reception was vastly less unexciting)-and best thing they can do to revive this is to bring in Robyn & Friendly Fires.

So the sem's almost ended (technically,I still have two papers)-it was an up-down experience tainted with constant sleeping troubles and having to deal with too much within short time spans and deal with an aftermath of fatigue wherein lectures were unattended for weeks and a whole line of faulty excuses invented.I feel my creative side dying-went to a gallery opening with S & A the other night,A's a long-time photography enthusiast who has the courage of a middle-aged man with tattoos and a bazooka for a dick-on our way back from Brunswick,a couple dodge characters were on the tram doing their thing and A,went up to them to ask for a picture.And there I was clutching my own camera,unused for weeks-even when I do pick it up,we go back to boring macro stuff and everyday objects lacking in mystic.

And I've formed friendships I will now try to preserve-here's where I resolve to be a more patient and giving person,I feel my soul slowly rising again to the call of a loyal friend-a conversation for which I have no fear of confiding for,a new sense of closeness that lights me from inside.This is the new beginning I chased for since the year started,though a couple issues (aforementioned death of creative side) leave me yearning for more.I've got a mental checklist prepared for post-exams,for one this damn blog needs a fucking revamp.I've got a couple ideas in mind-not like I'm going "commercial" or anything-but a bit more focus would be good,more specifically on photos,music,and films-things I like,and you should too.

Be well,N.

*Bitter rant:What is up with these girls who always go "Oh no,what will my parents think?" for fuck's sake you're practically an adult,there's this thing called discretion goddamn google it and perhaps adopt a fucking half-brain for god's sake.It's like you're stuck being 14 as a whiny,annoying wannabe-a phase we all eventually past-I'll pray for your evolution,but for now crash one of our lunches again with your droopy love-calls I'll post an unedited picture of your face here as to reveal how hedious it is in its natural form.Now pick up your Target dancing shoes,and sew that mouth shout noone needs to hear about how you spent so much money and OMFG What will Mum Think.

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pockets full of nothing

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Kuik One

Bon Iver
Forum theatre
19th Jan
I'm there

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its that time of sem

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In-Flight

This week's 30 Rock was surprisingly one of the show's best.

Jack: Kenneth,I'm a good person.
Kenneth: If you say so sir.
..
Kenneth:Sir,sorry to disagree,but I'm also a white man.
Jack:No,you're not. Socio-economically speaking you're more of an inner-city latina.

I liked the Kenneth-Jack exchange bits best,and Liz Lemon as an uncontrollable Oprah fan was hysterical.But the funniest part (next to the Jenna-Tracy duet at the end) has got to be Lemon's dressing as Princess Leia to escape jury duty-the short clip you can watch here.

...

Ja'mie

Summer Heights High premiers in the US Sunday night,lets hope its big enough a hit to encourage creator/writer Chris Liley to do another season.Its one of the few tolerable local shows,and the characters are mind-blowingly offensive (the second clip of Mr. G says little of this),extremely self-absorbed and inappropriate,though also very hilarious.Maybe check out the preceding series We Can Be Heroes (from which the character Ja'mie-in the first video below-originally comes from),in which Liley plays four characters competing for the Australian of The Year award-I highly recommend buying the DVD,as for now I'm eagerly waiting to see what genius Liley has planned next.

*They showed this short clip of Duchess Sarah being part of this documentary about orphan abuse in Turkey,it was heartbreaking.I keep thinking that I should do something,but I don't know what or how.



...

Choose

picturesforsadchildren

Today America decides
we'll have our fingers crossed

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Perfect Boy

but I would love you to take my time

...

(two pretty Arab girls walk by)

I: They're very pretty.
A: I think Arabs are gifted,physically.
I: Yah,they're good-looking people.
A: Did you know I have Arab genes-from my dad's side?
I: Hmm..doesn't show.

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Daydreamer

He will feel like he’s been there for hours
and you can tell that he’ll be there for life

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