It seems like it has been awhile since I have enjoyed a Will Ferrell film...Although, I have to admit, somewhere along the line I stopped watching them. I have heard that Blades of Glory was decent, And I don't mean to blaspheme, but I could barely sit through Talladega Nights. I had to stop it half way through and finish it at another time. But where I though all of those films were lacking, Step Brothers comes through.
Step Brothers is the story of Dale (John C. Reilly) and Brennan (Will Ferrell), two forty-year-olds who still live with their parents. When Brennan's mom (played by Mary Steenburgen of Back to the Future III and Nixon) and Dale's dad (portrayed by Richard Jenkins...YES THE DAD FROM SIX FEET UNDER!), the two "children" are forced to move in together, bond over a hatred for Brennan's younger brother, and hilarity ensues.
While the film is over the top, silly, and sometimes just plain stupid, it harkens back to a time of Will Ferrell films that you wanted to quote ad nauseam. The childishness of the jokes is at first a little overbearing, but as the film progresses, and you get to see Reilly and Ferrell play off one another (man I bet the blooper real for this film is spectacular!), the true genius of the film begins to come through. It is one liner after another of pure gold. I'd give some examples, but I don't want to ruin the film for you! Sadly, the previews already give away too many of the jokes (although I do have to say that the jokes go even further than those that are shown in the preview).
Now, all of that being said, this isn't the best comedy you will ever see. It is no Superbad or Knocked Up, but it is a step up from TalladegaNights and Walk Hard (a film I somewhat enjoyed, but mainly because I had very low expectations going into it). So, if you are a sucker for comedies, or just plain love Will Ferrell, go check out Step Brothers...you won't be disappointed.
If you will recall, it was only a week ago that I reviewed Agony & Irony, the sixth studio album from everyone’s favorite pop-punk masters of the macabre, Alkaline Trio (which can be found here. While my review gave moderate praise to the record, it focused primarily on the fact that the album brought the band further away from the sound that had caused me to love the Trio in the first place. However, after going out and purchasing the deluxe edition of the album today, I have to say…Now I get it!!
Beyond the disc that comes along with the regular version of album, the deluxe edition of the album includes a 28 page booklet in a hardbound book and a second disc of acoustic tracks and a b-side. The track listing for the second disc is: 1. "Burned Is The House” 2. "Maybe I'll Catch Fire (Acoustic)" 3. "Live Young, Die Fast (Acoustic)" 4. "Into the Night (Acoustic)" 5. "Over and Out (Acoustic)" 6. "Lost and Rendered (Acoustic)"
The disc starts out with “Burned is the House,” another Dan opus that surely should have been included on the album. It stands out as one of the best overall tracks in the package. The label must have left it off simply to ensure that fans would purchase the deluxe edition of the album (not to mention the itunes version which includes the bonus track “In My Stomach” which is available nowhere else). However, it is the acoustic tracks (following the Trio standard, Maybe I’ll Catch Fire) that truly bring the album together.
For all my complaints about the overly polished output of Josh Abraham (who has also produced numerous bands I despise, including Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind, and Linkin Park), the pure genius of the new album comes out in the stripped down, acoustic versions available on this second disc. No longer am I focusing on the change in their sound, but instead I am obsessing over the macabre ballads. Without all the bells and whistles (save the accompaniment of what sounds like a French horn on “Live Young, Die Fast”), you can hear these tracks in their purest form. With each track comes another glimpse into the writing process for Alkaline Trio, as well as the realization that these tracks are as much the Trio as anything they have ever written. I found myself singing along with each one, haunted by their beauty. Even the lyrics are even more intelligent than I first thought, which is one of the aspects of the record I praised in my initial review.
Now, after listening to the acoustic tracks, I have gone back and listened to the album versions, and I realize that I now have a new appreciation for those tracks. While it is a much more mature sound that previous Alkaline Trio records, and I do have to admit I still want the good old days of Goddamnit and Maybe I’ll Catch Fire, I am happy with it and would recommend it to longtime Trio fans and new listeners alike. Just a word of advice…for you diehards, start with the second disc! That way you may enjoy your listening experience at the earliest opportunity.
People are always surprised when they find out I was born 9 weeks early. My response to this has always been that I was so excited about the Sonics winning the Championship (my mom took me to the Championship Parade inside her belly) that I just had to get out of that womb and into the real world. Little did I know that that would be the last time Seattle would celebrate a professional championship (yes yes, all you Storm fans, I know…they won the WNBA Championship. In fact, I was at both games that they won in the finals that year and celebrated their WNBA Championship with the crowd in Key Arena…BUT IT IS NOT THE SAME!). And today it was ensured that my beloved Sonics would not be winning another as they are on their way to Oklahoma City.
That’s right, the city of Seattle has settled its lawsuit with the Sonics and the team is now officially free to move. What does the city get in exchange? $45 Million… and another $30 million in 5 years if the state legislature does not authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate Key Arena or we don not get a new NBA franchise by then. Seattle also gets to keep the team name, history, and colors. According to the city, this put the pieces in place to regain a franchise, as the NBA has said a renovated Key Arena would be suitable to replace the team.
Now, those of you who know me well know how liberal I am. So how could I possibly support the sort of corporate handouts that comes along with professional sports? I am a man full of contradiction…I love my Seattle Sports teams. I have season tickets to the Seahawks. I split season tickets to the Mariners with 7 other people. I have season tickets to the Sounders FC and they don’t even start until 2009. I go to most Washington Huskies football games, and I attended every home game but one from 1986 through 1998. And last year I had a 25 game plan (over half a season) to the SEATTLE SUPERSONICS! So, when all the liberal groups I was a member of starting saying all those years ago how no money should go to the Sonics, I broke rank and talked back to them, igniting a flame war causing me to no longer associate myself with such groups.
For those liberal groups, it was as simple as corporate handouts. Why should we give this large corporation money? They would bring in evidence of the negative impact that bringing a team to a region had on the local economy. Although I repeatedly tried to point out to them that 1) the team was already here so these stats were meaningless, 2) what should be looked into is how many jobs would be lost and how many local businesses would be affected, 3) there are many monetary and intangible benefits of having a team including how much money is raised for charity and how the city can come together around sports franchises, and 4) the way the team sought to create this “corporate handout” was through the extension of a pre-existing tax.
First, like I said, they would constantly cite figures about the negative economic impact a new team coming to the region brings. When I tried to point out that these statistics were not relevant to the current discussion because the team was already here and we should instead focus on the economic and intangible benefits that the team brings and balance that against the investment that would be made, they were having none of it. Logic be damned, as long as the Sonics left, they didn’t care what route they would be takes.
Then came the discussion of the money that would leave along with the Sonics and the other monetary benefits of having the team in Seattle. The millions in charity work that the Sonics do (which is more than the Seahawks and Mariners combined, the $20 million in sales tax that was paid to the state each year that has ALREADY been figured into the state budget (and thus spent), the 1200 jobs that would be lost by those who work directly for the Sonics and events surrounding the team, and, as economist Lon Hatamiya, former Secretary of Commerce of the State of California, estimates, the direct impact of nearly $1 billion in the last five years that the Sonics have brought into King (and an adjoining) County. In short, A LOT OF REVENUE THAT THE CITY AND STATE WOULD BOTH DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY NOT BE SEEING. This isn't even considering such benefits to local business as detailed by the local business owner I heard on the radio today who talked about how Sonics games brought in an extra $1000 worth of sales those 41 days per year, something that does NOT happen for him during concerts at the Key...he is now going to have to lay off 10 employees and his business may just out right fail!
What this meant was that the money given should not outweigh that received. So how did the Sonics under then owner Howard Schultz want this handout? By extending a tax on hotel rooms, rental cars, and restaurants that already existed (yes the same thing that the city was against then but IS NOW IN FAVOR OF, or so Mayor Nickels would lead us to believe at his press conference this afternoon). Now, the people who argued against extending this tax said that it should go to schools, hospitals, and roads. Other than certain state constitutional restrictions that may preclude such a thing, I would support that. Fine, let’s extend this tax and use it for schools. Seattle Public schools could sure use the improvement. But you know what? It didn’t happen. It wasn’t going to happen. So as long as that is the case, why not use it to preserve the $1 billion in economic impact the Sonics have brought us over the last 5 years? Afterall, sometimes you have to invest money to get a return (as Tacoma surely knows, after investing $21 million in a new golf course that will translate into a total economic impact of at least $100 Million from the 60,000+ fans that will be attending the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.)
People ask me about the Key Arena, and why Seattle deserves a team if the Arena is so bad. Those of you who ask such things (mostly you folks down in the Bay Area) obviously have never been to a Sonics game. The Arena itself is one of the best possible places for a fan to watch a game. While you may be sitting way up in the rafters, you still have a great seat. The whole issue for it not being NBA friendly is that it doesn’t have good enough corporate boxes. I don’t know about you, but whether a stadium had great luxury suites has NEVER influenced my opinion of the stadium…you know why? Because I have probably been in one for one Sonics game, one Seahawks game, and a handful of Mariners games in my entire life.
And finally, for those of you who think that Seattle shouldn’t get a team because no one goes to games…the fan base is still here. People just didn’t want to support a lame duck franchise that is deliberately losing to try and leave town. Just listen to these chants at what has now officially become the final Sonics home game ever. Save Our Sonics!
Bennet Sucks! And here is the final minute of Sonics basketball at Key Arena. Somewhere in the stands I was weeping as Kevin Durant led the Save Our Sonics chant. Even my dad couldn’t hold back the tears.
Now, to the settlement itself…if the city was going to lose the lawsuit and the Sonics would leave anyway (which was unlikely), it was a good deal. If it would have prevented the NBA from working with us in the future, and the team was just going to leave after 2 years and we’d never get a franchise, it was a good deal as long as we get a team. But for me, nothing can replace the memories the team brought me. And I hold both the ownership group of Howard Schultz and the politicians across the board accountable for that.
From staying up past midnight in about 1986 and hiding under my covers listening to a triple overtime shootout against the Trailblazers to sitting in the very last row during an early 90s playoff game with my mom, the Seattle Supersonics were an important part of my life. Lest you forget…I was the fat kid growing up. Girls didn’t like me. So what did I have? Music and sports. While you were off going on dates, I was watching Big Smooth knock down threes in the Colisseum. I was watching GP steal the ball like it was nothing. And I was watching Squatch sail down from the rafters in front of sold out crowds. You had Sarah and Erin and Allison. I had Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Xavier McDaniel, Dale Ellis, Detlef Schrempf, Sam Perkins, and Steve Scheffler.
Maybe someday, when a team moves here, I will be sitting in the new Seattle Supersonics arena with my very own kids. In the meantime…Squatch and I will be here crying in our beers:
Let's hop in our delorians, crank it up to 88mph, and go back into time just for a second. It was 2000. Alkaline Trio had just released Maybe I'll Catch Fire and Alkaline Trio on Asian Man Records. They were clearly one of the best underground bands around. It was a time when, as the rumor goes, you could still get into Alkaline Trio shows for free if you had an Alkaline Trio tattoo. It was then, at the ripe age of 21, that I got the Alkaline Trio heart and skull tattooed on my arm. There was no blood pact. They weren't being played on corporate radio. And every little emo kid didn't have it tattooed on their body (although they are easy to pick up when they find out I have one haha).
Now fast forward to next week. July 1, 2008. Open your cd player, put in the new Alkaline Trio record Agony & Irony. If this is your first time hearing Alkaline Trio, you are probably pretty stoked. The driving intricately layered guitars leave you smiling. The intelligent and darkly cliched lyrics make the corner of your mouth snarl up into a grin for a second.
From the fast, almost ska-like cadence of "In Vein" to the slow ballad of "Live Young, Die Fast" and beyond, Alkaline Trio shows maturity from their older work. They have grown as musicians, lyricists, and image conscious individuals. No longer do they simply rely upon skulls and blood, but instead craft such images into stories of relationships and gloom. It is the same old story, just from someone who has learned to use an expanded vocabulary to create the story of doom.
For the die hard Alkaline Trio fan, someone who has been there from almost the beginning, the album is a bit too overproduced. When I listen to it, there are moments that I feel bored. There are moments where I feel the tracks are too polished and I long for the raw tales of crying in beer. That being said, I have only listened to the record once, and in it I can still hear some excellent songs that although they are not my favorite Alkaline Trio tracks, I can already tell they will grow on me.
As a huge Matt Skiba fan, I have to say that on Agony it is the Dan tracks that shine. From the first time I heard "In Vein," when the band released it on their myspace for 24 hours, I knew I loved the song. There are moments when the song dags on a little too long, but as a whole I think it is a great upbeat track. Oddly enough, although I find the Dan tracks to carry the record, but favorite track has to be "Into the Night," with Skiba crooning "So sing to me your darkest secrets/Time to leave behind your regrets/Before we get lost in the blink of an eye." This track is more of the traditional Alkaline Trio formula (harkening back to a time when you knew a song was the Trio as soon as you heard the opening notes strummed on Matt's guitar).
If this was my first exposure to the band, I would probably rave on and on about the record...but because I am stuck in the box of wanting the past Trio songs to be recreated in some new form, I can't help but be let down. This is no Goddamnit. There is no "Mr. Chainsaw" or "Radio." But, I do think that after a few listens I will consider it to be a strong record. It is an improvement upon the two or three tracks on Crimson that I enjoyed (although I feel as if those few tracks on liked on that record are pretty great). And as major label releases go these days, I do think it tops most of the other stuff out there.
In the end I am torn...do I want to like this record because it is Alkaline Trio? Or is it actually growing on me the more I think about it? Will it be like Against Me's major label debut that I absolutely hated at first, but which I now tolerate on some occasions, yet enjoy on most occasions? I think it is probably the latter. I hope it is. I'll give it another two or eight spins and update further.
On June 27, the long awaited film "Wanted" comes out in the theaters. I was lucky enough to see a sneak preview of the first english-language film from Russian director Timur Bekmambetov this past Wednesday, and I have to say, if you are somewhat into action flicks, it is certainly worth checking out!
Starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman, it is the story of Wesley Gibson (played by McAvoy), a 25-year-old self-proclaimed nobody who works in a cubicle, has a girlfriend who cheats on him with his supposed best friend, and whose father walked out on him when he was just a baby. In short, he thinks he is a loser and refuses to do anything about. Then one day Fox (played by Jolie) comes walking into his life and says she knows his father and that he was in fact an assassin. Fox recruits Wesley into The Fraternity, a secret assassins society, who seeks to train Welsey into the assassin he was born to be. From there, all hell breaks lose and McAvoy is transformed from a loser into a trained killer, seeking revenge upon the assassin who killed his father only days earlier.
Morgan Freeman plays the stoic character that you probably have come to expect from him. He is Sloan, the head of the assassins order that ensures order in the world. Sloan, however, is somehwat of a badass and has some Samuel Jackson-esque one liners that had me laughing with glee.
Angelina Jolie plays Fox as a cold hearted assassin, who is Sloan's right hand (wo)man and trains Wesley into a killer. She has an affection for Wesley, but does not let that get in the way of the code by which she lives...the Fraternity assassinates the names they are given because the death of one could save the lives of thousands.
The film is full of twists and tons of action, but for those that are squeamish, there is a ton of blood. It takes American action film to new levels...in the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon took martial arts films to a new level (thanks Pope!). For that reason I say that if you are into action films, go out and see it...you will not be disappointed.
So Alkaline Trio has announced that on June 27th (good date!) they will be releasing their new Nike Heart and Sole Air Zoom shoes. At first, although I thought nike and the trio were a weird pairing, but I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt...afterall they demanded that the shoes be vegan since they are vegetarians! However, once i saw the shoe, I was let down. Here is the video that they are using to promote including Matt Skiba talking about the shoe:
In the video Skiba says..."Dude, I can't believe this [the alkaline trio logo] and this [the nike swoosh] are on the same thing...It's like the best...It like makes my life." I can't tell if he is being serious or not. Being a successful musician where you can live off the money and be on a major label is okay...but being on a nike shoe means you can die happy?! Is he really hurting for money so bad they had to do this? Did the label push them into it? He's always been nice to me, and is best friends with Mike, so I will still give him the benefit of the doubt, but it just seems a little bit too much for me...I mean, I guess if i thought the shoe looked awesome i wouldn't care as much, but the original Londons that Macbeth release (both the suede which i rocked forever, and the full grain which came later) that had Trio lyrics in them were SO MUCH BETTER!! You decide:
vs.
(I wish I could find a pic of the suede ones...they are so much better.
I don't know...maybe they will grow on me. In the video they look thinner and more sleek. Maybe the picture they are using to promote it is just bad.
But I am still shocked...a pairing of Alkaline Trio and Nike? What's next...Against Me! and a major label? oh wait...!!!
In a 5-4 ruling today, SCOTUS said that in the case of Boumediene v. Bush that Habeas Corpus applied to detainees at GITMO. Although this does not expand their rights at all, it prevents the final death knell in what is one of our most important rights and what ensures we stay a democracy.
From Wikipedia:
Habeas Corpus is the name of a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from unlawful detention of themselves or another person. The writ of habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.
It was an amazing rebuke not only to the President, but to the Congress, and is something we don't see too often...the Supreme Court actually ruling the right way has been sparse recently. And, of course, the 4 dissenting judges were the quartet of the most dangerous men in America: Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito. Those 4 men have done more to set back civil rights than any other in Americas.
A few of the highlights from the 70+ page majority decision eloquently written by Justice Anthony Kennedy:
Security depends upon a sophisticated intelligence apparatus and the ability of our Armed Forces to act and to interdict. There are further considerations, however. Security subsists, too, in fidelity to freedom’s first principles. Chief among these are freedom from arbitrary and unlawful restraint and the personal liberty that is secured by adherence to the separation of powers. It is from these principles that the judicial authority to consider petitions for habeas corpus relief derives.
Within the Constitution’s separation-of-powers structure, few exercises of judicial power are as legitimate or as necessary as the responsibility to hear challenges to the authority of the Executive to imprison a person.
and
The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law. The Framers decided that habeas corpus, a right of first importance, must be a part of that framework, a part of that law.
And from Souter's concurrence:
After six years of sustained executive detentions in Guantanamo, subject to habeas jurisdiction but without any actual habeas scrutiny, today’s decision is no judicial victory, but an act of perseverance in trying to make habeas review, and the obligation of the courts to provide it, mean something of value both to prisoners and to the Nation.
On another note, Justice Antonin Scalia showed his true colors in this decision...Scalia's dissent is worth reading, even for you all that are not nerds like me, for such statements as "it will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed." Unbelievable.
Some of the other highlights from one of the worst opinions Scalia has written (generally, even when I disagree with him, which is 99.5% of the time, he at least comes off as intelligent...here he does not):
America is at war with radical Islamists. The enemy began by killing Americans and American allies abroad...
and
The Nation will live to regret what the Court has done today.
We have been living to regret Scalia opinions since he took his seat on the court in 1986. Thank god this is one we will not!
Attorney with an emphasis in entertainment law. College radio dj. Bassist. Keyboardist. Former college radio music director. Former show promoter. Former college radio general manager.
