Let Me In The Sound

U2 – No Line On The Horizon

It’s definitely been a while since U2 released their last album in 2004, but I’d say it’s been worth the wait. It’s taken me a few listens to get into it, but I’m really diggin’ it now, and I’d say it’s just as good if not better than their last two seminal albums.

You can hear shades of the hard rock sound U2 displayed on the hit single “Vertigo” with songs like “Stand Up Comedy”, and the single “Get On Your Boots”. I really like the way that they incorporated this heavier sound with this sprawling, epic sound that shows U2 trying to make their sound just as enormous as ever. Where as their last two albums showed their more expansive, anthemic songs mixed with some more reflective ballads, it seems that on this album they’ve kept most of the album in a more anthemic vein.

The classic U2 production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, certainly help to give the album a very cohesive sound, while also playing off of U2’s strengths as a band. No Line On The Horizon features the same interesting guitar work that you’d come to expect from The Edge, and I like the fact that he emphases even more on a guitar rather than his heavy use of piano on their last few albums. And of course there’s plenty of Bono’s soaring vocals, but it’s nice to see him not taking himself too seriously with some of the lyrics.

U2 have always been at their best when they’ve been going for that grandiose sound that they pull off so well, and that’s definitely what they’ve accomplished here. No Line On The Horizon, certainly displays many of the attributes that make U2 a great band, but I’d say it’s also filled with plenty of surprises. And although it may not have any huge hit singles like “Vertigo” or “Beautiful Day”, I’d say it’s among their best work yet. Anyways, it looks like it’s shaping up to be a pretty good year for aging rock stars with this album in addition to the great album Bruce Springsteen released last month, and I guess Bob Dylan has a new album coming out in April.

Favorite Tracks: “Unknown Caller”, “Stand Up Comedy”, “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”

Blitz 2009

Hey, just thought I’d mention for those who are interested or haven’t heard, the Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs latest album It’s Blitz! has moved from it’s original release of mid april to today. I think it was due to some kind of leak back in February but as of March 9th it’s available on itunes and will be in stores tomorrow I believe. I’ve thus far only heard two tracks and it’s definitely an album that’s gonna have to win me over. If you haven’t been following the group they’ve adopted a synth/dance sound for their latest album and so far I’m kind of missing the raunchy edge that usually accompanies the trio’s music.

Looking ahead I can’t think of any really exciting album releases due out this spring. There’s Peter, Bjorn and John on March 30th and some other artists I’m not really big fans of like Iron and Wine and Green Day in May, but I’ll keep my ears peeled. That’s all I’ve got for today, now I just hope winter would end over here Kirkland.

…And I’ll Whisper, "Thumbs Up"

Watchmen

I had my initial doubts when I heard that 300 director Zak Snyder was at the helm of the Watchmen movie adaptation. But since that first trailer I’ve been anxiously awaiting this day. Now that I’ve seen it, I can say that it was worth the wait.

The story of Watchmen begins with the murder of The Comedian, an ex-super hero working for the government. This sparks the investigation of Rorschach, the only super hero left not working for the government or retired. Along the way we meet other ex-heroes Dr. Manhattan, the only man with real superpowers, his girlfriend Laurie Juspeczyk, Daniel Dreiberg and Adrian Veidt.

The film relies heavily on flashbacks and quickly moves between characters. This could be a little hard to follow for the uninitiated, but I think it helped keep the movie interesting over its epic duration. The story of course is engaging, and the action sequences are rightfully intense. Most of the cast is great, and the rest at least look the part. I’d like to give props to our man, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who was definitely a stand out. Even if people think he’s Robert Downey Jr.

My greatest regret going into Watchmen was that I was unable to reread the novel before seeing the feature. I would have loved to look through its legendary pages one last time so I could scrutinize every scene for what Snyder has changed. But I couldn’t, I left it at home. So I couldn’t really remember everything that didn’t make the cut. Nor do I know what it would be like to see the film without reading the book. But, you know what? From what I do remember, this adaptation was pretty faithful. There was a pretty big change at the end, but it worked for the film. Really, I can’t complain.

A lot of people are asking; is this the next best comic book movie? Is this the new Dark Knight? On one hand, yes, in that it is the most sophisticated super hero movie yet, with characters I don’t think most people have seen before. On the other hand, no, because this is not as good a movie as The Dark Knight. What it is, however, is a very stylish, edgy look into a fascinating world. One that I plan on revisiting again.

T3: Who Watches the Watchmen?

Ten reasons to see Watchmen
Well if it isn’t top ten thursday and just a day a way from the release of Watchmen one of the most anticipated movies of 2009. I was trying to think of Watchmen themed T3 when I decided “Why don’t I just do another top ten reasons to see list” like what I did for Indiana Jones last year. I always like to round it with two stupid ones, usually the last two, but I think it’s a suitable T3, why don’t you take a look?

10. Hometown Hero
Though I’m not that familiar with Jeffery Dean Morgan’s work, his role in Watchmen has the potential to make him the biggest celebrity to of ever lived in our hometown of Kirkland, WA (aside from maybe the lead singer of Alice in Chains). Jeffery was born in Seattle but just happened to go to Lake Washington High School, so we got to go give him our support by seeing Watchmen. One thing is for sure, if I ever meet Jeffery Dean Morgan I know exactly what I’d ask him “Did you have Mr. Mabbott and if you did, did you have to do that stupid rock assignment?”

9. The Final Frontier
Maybe you really don’t give a shit about Watchmen at all and you’re more looking forward to Star Trek. Well the word on the street is that there will be a new Star Trek trailer attached to some prints of Watchmen. I personally don’t care that much but I’m sure somebody does, plus I had to round out this list somehow. Am I right?

8. I Love the 80s!
It should be pretty cool seeing a flick set in a strange alternate 1985. Tensions between the Soviets and the U.S. are at an all time high, Nixon is still president and they even have some extra playing Ted Koppel, that’s some freaky stuff man.

7. It’s Epic!
It’s not often that you see a superhero movie come along that’s almost three hours long and it’s definitely intriguing. Seems to be a good indication that the film will be fairly loyal to it’s source material. Apparently the Director’s Cut is 191 minutes long, that blows my mind.

6. V is for Violence
If there’s one thing I like to see in superhero movies it’s guys exchanging blows and Watchmen’s R-rating is a good sign that it wont disappoint in the action department.

5. The Cast of Characters
It’s intriguing to see someone make a big budget Superhero movie with few big name actors. Though it seems likely that it could of been to keep down costs, I like to think it’s a rare opportunity to give some of these smaller character actors the spot light. Billy Crudup is probably the most recognizable of the bunch for his roles in Almost Famous and Big Fish but you also got Patrick Wilson from Hard Candy, Little Children and the classic Lakeview Terrace, former teenage bad boy Jackie Earle Haley known for his roles in Bad News Bears, Breaking Away and an oscar nominated performance in Little Children, English actor Matthew Goode, Malin Akerman from that terrible Ben Stiller movie, Jeffery Dean Morgan and more. It’s an unusual cast so let’s hope they all have something to bring to the table. Oh yeah and it’s got dwarf actor Danny Woodburn in it, you know he was Mickey on Seinfeld.

4. Movie Magic
From Nite Owl’s sweet air ship, to a glowing Billy Crudup, to that part in the trailer where Dr. Manhattan makes those dudes explode, this flick looks to be an incredible smorgasbord of special effects. Tie this together with the jaw dropping backdrops and settings and this film could be a cinch for some of the visual awards at next years Oscars.

3. In Living Color
Based off of what we’ve heard and seen in the trailers, the makers of Watchmen have made sure to make this adaptation of the legendary graphic novel as detailed and loyal to David Gibbon’s artwork as possible. I mean look at the all the elaborate sets and vibrant colors, it really looks amazing. Some scenes even look to be exact recreations of panels from the graphic novel so if anything this should be top notch eye candy.

2. From the Page to the Screen
Arguably the greatest graphic novel of all time, creepy comic writer Alan Moore’s legendary story of former super-heroes living in an alternate American 80s setting is one of the most impressive works to ever come out of the medium of comics. Even if this film doesn’t hit all the right marks, I’m sure that even on the screen you’ll be able to see a great story in all the fancy effects and imagery.

What I’m looking forward to the most is to see how the character of Rorschach is handled in the film. He’s a great, complex character and easily my favorite part of the graphic novel. If you ask me he’s definitely the breakout character of Watchmen and definitely has the potential to really rub off on audiences. Come ’round next October he could even take the Joker down a notch for the most popular Halloween costume.

1. The Hype
It took years to get this film off the ground and now that it’s finally coming out, so people have set some pretty high expectations. Chances are it wont be as beloved as it’s comic book counterpart but for anyone who’s ever read the graphic novel or had some kind of mild interest in Watchmen prior to knowing it would become a movie, this is a big deal so let’s see if it satisfies it’s legions of fan-boys. The reviews seem to be mostly positive thus far.

Give It a Shot

Say Hi – Oohs & Aahs

It seems like it’s been forever since I had something to review, damn this recession. But, in the past week or two, I’ve picked up a couple albums that I’ve been enjoying and I thought I’d share with y’all. The first comes from Say Hi (formerly Say Hi to Your Mom).

Say Hi is actually just one man, Seattle’s Eric Elbogen, and his collection of drum machines and synthesizers. He’s put out six albums since 2002. Oohs & Aahs is the first one I’ve had the pleasure to hear. So I don’t really know if this is a retread of familiar territory or a bold new step for Elbogen.

What I do know is that this is a very pleasant little album that really sticks with you. This lo-fi, laid-back style really works for me. The lyrics are simple musings on love and I wouldn’t call anything particularily pioneering, but tracks like “Hallie and Henry” are just too damned catchy to be ignored. If I had one complaint, it would be that you hear Elbogen breathe more often than I would like. Sometimes it works, sometimes I find it distracting. This is one of those albums I’ll be coming back to again and again.

The main reason I wanted to do this review is that there seems to be a lack of media around this album. I haven’t read any reviews anywhere nor have I heard anyone mention it. But I managed to find it and I think I’m better off for it. Why don’t you give it a try too? Spread the word.

Favorite Tracks: “Elouise,” “Hallie and Henry,” “November was White, December was Grey,”

C.A.T.: Boy

U2 – Boy (1980)

I had planned to do a retrospecticus in preparation for U2’s new album, No Line On the Horizon, but I’ve just been a little too busy lately so I guess this’ll have to do.

After a few years of playing gigs and recording a few singles in and around Dublin, U2 released their debut album, Boy. The album demonstrates their early post-punk sound while also showing them to be a band with a simple, but enormous sound that was destined to fill stadiums.

A lot of what gave U2 a unique sound early on was The Edge’s chiming, echo-laden guitar melodies. And though Bono’s lyrics weren’t terribly inspired on this album, his delivery has an incredible energy to at as he belts out songs like “An Cat Dubh” and “A Day Without Me” in an impressively high register.

Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton also display their ability to interlock rhythm and melody excellently. Boy shows a rougher, unpolished U2, still years away from achieving success in America, but Boy did provide them with their first UK hit, “I Will Follow”. It’s certainly not their best album, but it’s still one that established them as a force to be reconned with, and it displays that signature bare-bones U2 sound that they’ve been revisiting on their more recent albums.

Favorite Tracks: “I Will Follow”, “An Cat Dubh”, “The Electric Co.”

You can expect to see a review from me of U2’s new album within a couple days, I just picked it up a few hours ago. And oddly enough when I went to go pick it up at Virgin Megastore there was a local U2 tribute band that played a few songs in honor of the album’s release. They were alright I guess, but it was kind of annoying watching the lead singer trying to act like Bono, I couldn’t tell if he was actually Irish or just trying to seem authentic by talking with an accent.

Lame Night

I wasn’t sure if there was going to be a classic album segment today, but did anyone see NBC’s new Late Night? I’ve always found Jimmy Fallon pretty lame but I gave it a shot out of curiosity. What did I think? Ehh it didn’t do much for me. The opening monologue was pretty weak and Jimmy Fallon has absolutely no comedic presence. It’s always been a mystery to me how he even made it on to SNL with his all his uncontrollable laughter and insipid delivery. Some of his bits on his new show just didn’t make sense. “Lick it for Ten” where audience members licked objects like lawnmowers or printers for 10 bucks, but what’s funny about that? It’s not like those are really gross things, as a matter of fact they looked pretty damn clean. I wasn’t sure what was supposed to be funny about the showcase of “Blonde Mothers” either, not the most talented writing staff I suppose.

The interviews were a little bit better but it felt like a wasted opportunity with Robert De Niro. Jimmy Fallon jokes about all the questions he emailed De Niro beforehand but when the time came he didn’t really end up generating anything interesting to say anyways. Justin Timberlake was mildly amusing, though he’ll always be tarnished in my mind for his former boy band roots. Speaking of “roots’ what was the deal with The Roots being the house band? Is this going to be a permanent thing or what?

Well that’s all I got, things have been slow here at Cat Fancy but I assume everyone’s been pretty busy, I know have. I went ahead and got No Line on the Horizon today which definitely has it’s moments. I assume Colin will review that in time him being our “Go to U2 guy”. I’m pretty pumped for Watchmen this friday but even more so for Spring Break though it’s awhile from now, oh well Otteni out.