Review: Maroon 5 - Hands All Over

****1/2
Maroon 5 is one of those bands whose music makes you feel like you’re cooler just for listening to it. When I heard the first few tracks on their third release I immediately pictured myself at a Hollywood party, looking to get laid, dressed in a black suit with a skinny tie, holding a scotch on the rocks on the rooftop of some swanky hotel. And if you want to feel as cool as I just described than pick up Maroon 5’s Hands All Over!

The CD Opens with Misery, the bands first single off of the album. I thought it was rather ballsy of them to put their first single as the first track on the album. Much like Levine and the band itself, this tracks placement exudes confidence, telling anybody that listens to the CD, “It only gets better.” And truthfully, it does! “Give a little more” is easily one of the best songs Maroon 5 has made. This upbeat party anthem features Levines classic alluring seductive lyrics that will in fact be making it onto my honeymoon soundtrack! “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” is another gem in this album and if you purchase the deluxe edition you get two versions of this amazing love ballad. Hands All Over, the title track for the album adds a little of Maroon 5’s classic rock funk over a head nodding beat. In all this album is classic Maroon 5.

They definitely did not disappoint and yet the album is missing that certain X-factor that would make it an instant classic (not quite 5 stars). Don’t get me wrong, the album is filled with great party anthems, a couple of instant classics, and some great ballads but it is not on the level of Maroon 5’s First album “Songs about Jane”. And yet I still think it was definitely money well spent. If you are a maroon 5 fan at all, this album will put a smile on your face and some dance in your step. A last bonus is at the end of the Deluxe album: you also get a cool cover of Alicia Keyes’ “If I ain’t Got you” so I think it’s better to spring for the deluxe edition.

Review: Anberlin - Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place

***1/2

At times my expectations of something that I have been anticipating can be way too high. But how can my expectations not be steep when you get quotes from Anberlins lead singer Stephen Christian, like this one: “this is the best record that we can ever accomplish…” So after two years of waiting, monumental Headlining shows, amazing b-sides and singles, Anberlin finally releases Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place.

The album boasts a 10 song collective, the shortest Anberlin Record to date, that makes it seem like an EP rather than an LP. The album was fueled by their hit single “Impossible” which has been getting much radio play and time on the Billboard rock charts. Dark is the way was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Brendan O'Brien. My only question is, what went wrong here?

As a fan since I first heard the “Blueprints” album, way back when they were nobodies opening up for now defunct acts, I guess I can say I know what I am expecting when I listen to an Anberlin Record and THIS isn’t it! Now don’t get me wrong, the album isn’t terrible! It definitely has its high points with songs such as “Impossible” the upbeat classic anberlin sounding masterpiece was chosen wisely as the first single; or perhaps even songs such as the sun tsung inspired, “The art of war” whose infectious beat and lyrics such as “there are songs I’ll never write, because of you walking out of my life” have you bobbing your head in agreement to the theme of the song. The album seems to take you on a roller coaster ride of rhythm and experimentation while showing obvious maturity in Christian’s lyric writing.

When I call the album a roller coaster that is not necessarily a good thing, especially not in a 10-song LP. The problem with the album is that it is good, not great. As an avid fan of the band for seven years, a purchaser of their albums promptly on their release dates, and a concert attendee for any Anberlin show in the Sacramento, San Francisco area, I expect nothing less from anberlin than what they have shown us to make us love them all these years, GREATNESS! So when I heard the album the first time, it didn’t immediately make me want to dance. It didn’t immediately make me wish I knew the lyrics so I could sing along. In fact, it was over before I could even get into it. Upon listening the second time I was able to pick out the jewels and the duds and I have to say that one or two duds (especially “Pray Tell”) in a ten song album, is tragic, especially for a band as talented as Anberlin. But I don’t want to end this review making everyone think that I didn’t like the album, I really did, it’s just that I expect nothing else but excellence from the Florida based band and for me, this wasn’t it!

Review: (500) Days of Summer

*****

“Tender Hearts Were Made to Be Broken” Athos from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

It’s like somebody broke open the heart of every over-emotional, over thinking, neurotic young person and plastered it across the big screen. 500 Days of summer is an ode to those of whom Dumas speaks in the quote above. To anybody that has ever been in a relationship where love felt unrequited and unequal, this is your story! This story is more than just a romance but a pattern of thought and a way of life condensed into a 95 minute film.

The film itself, thoughtful while simultaneously comedic, focuses on the relationship of Tom and Summer. This film shares the emotional side of men through the unaccomplished life of Tom, an architecture student by training but greeting card writer by profession. Tom, destined from childhood to be a hopeless romantic, meets Summer at work on her first day and convinces himself that they are meant to be together based on various mutual interests. As time progresses Tom and Summer have separate perspectives on the relationship, Tom believing that they were destined to be together, Summer becoming fed up with their romance. Summer eventually breaks up with him and so begins the path of self discovery, pain and eventual acceptance with a thrust towards a promising future that is 500 Days of summer! I definitely recommend this film to those tender hearts that are frequently being broken and yet recognize that that is characteristic of them.

Review: Say Anything - Say Anything

****

The neurotic and yet ingenious ramblings of prolific writer Max Bemis over the mixed tempo/style music of Say Anything makes for the bands best release to date. A return to their original sound, Say Anything’s self titled fourth album is true to their roots as well as to their fans.
Musically the band covers various genres and includes them into their hyper alternative punk rock sound which creatively separates the band from all others out there. Lyrically chief songwriter Max Bemis has matured nicely over his past few albums sounding more serious and yet playful as usual. Bemis has a gift at writing but also at putting himself out bare through his lyrics giving his fans a snapshot of his heart and intellect all in this hour-long listen.
Jems in this album would include the acoustic sounding intro with a great build up of Fed to Death; the first single of Hate Everyone which displays Max Bemis’ ability to appeal to outcast kids as well as those members of society that used to fit into this category at a younger age. Other milestones would include the semi-protest against hypocrisy and apathy in the music business Mara and me; the surprisingly positive Do better which includes the lyrics: “You can do better, you can be the greatest man in the world; the up beat Crush’d and the 50’s rock soundtrack to a possessive boyfriends anthem in Property.

Review: Sin Nombre

****1/2

I’m sort of biased in this movie considering the fact that my favorite types of movies are gang movies but this one really is great. Sin Nombre is one of the best gang movies I have seen since American Me. The movie however isn’t only a gang film; it also shows how the gang world intersects with the trial, tragedy and triumph of illegal immigrants coming to America. It opens your eyes to the inner workings of what has been dubbed as America’s most dangerous gang (MS-13), and to the world of illegal immigration through train hopping.

The movie follows “Casper” a teenage gang member who is having a teenage love affair with a middle class teenage girl and attempts to hide it from his gang to keep her out of trouble. Meanwhile a sub plot shows Sayra, a teenage Honduran girl heading to the US with her father and uncle. Due to a twist of events you find Casper boarding the train towards America and Sayra becoming fascinated with Casper and his story after he saves her from an attempted rape.

The way that the gang is depicted seems to be very realistic. Based on what I have heard, read and seen in El Salvador. One thing that really stood out were the hand signal tagging seen on the walls of the movie which a saw identically made on walls in El Salvador. Another thing that I noticed that was very authentic was the tattoos, types of tattoos and placement of their tattoos. In El Salvador it is not uncommon for gang members to tattoo their faces, heads, lips or anything else. Also their heartless politics stood out and reminded me of a cousin of mine that was killed in El Salvador due to gang involvement with MS-13 itself.

In all this movie is a must see in my book so I left out the ending since I didn’t want to spoil the ending for you. Rent it, folks!

Review: Anchor and Braille - Felt

*****

To listen to an album that can take you through wide range of emotions is a rare thing in today’s music scene. But Anchor & Braille’s “Felt” album contains an assortment of melodic masterpieces that craft this album into a work of art. A departure from his work with his emo/alternative rock band Anberlin, Anchor & Braille takes an acoustic approach to Christian’s emotional, nostalgic lyrics as opposed to the upbeat styling of Anberlin. Christian’s lyrics show growth throughout the entire album leaving his Blueprint days as a distant memory.
Usually when an album starts off on an exceptionally lofty peak it quickly plummets into a profound valley that makes it hard to return, but Felt accomplishes this feat with ease. The album starts off with one of the projects best tracks, Rust (The Story of Mary Agnosia), a smooth sounding seductive track that hooks you from the very start.
The album takes its true climax at Wedding/ Funeral which blends Christians melancholy and yet passion-filled lyrics with an evocative piano/ drum combination which will drill itself into your mind and have you trying to hit Christians high notes for the rest of the week if not longer.
Sleep When We Die, the albums first single, is a laid back track that leaves you with a smile on your face after listening it. The chorus is another catchy and romantic stanza that adds to this albums ability to remain as one of the best in your collection.
With many more songs to highlight in this already impressive album, The purchase of Anchor &Braille’s Felt is not only a good buy but a guaranteed classic that will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat until their next album comes out trying, almost impossibly, to top this classic. However don’t be surprised if their next release exceeds their current venture with the development and maturity that Christian brings to the table every time he comes out with a new project.

Review - Religulous

Religulous = a Portmanteau of two words, Religion and Ridiculous.
Its interesting to see the reaction of a person as the thing that they find most precious in this world is satirized and questioned by bill maher, a man whose face screams of condescension.
I watched Religulous with two of my friends from church (great crowd to watch it with, right?) And I made note of their every reaction to the subjects in question. At the end, after hearing everything that we heard, I immediately jumped to the forefront of the discussion I wanted to have by offering the suggestion that this movie was “great.” One of the guys looked at me like I had lost all faith in the lord jesus Christ, LOL. The other paused to hear my opinion.
You see Bill Maher takes a stance where he simply offers questions based on his perspective of world religions. Many times we take our faith to a level where we feel like it is above questioning. What I would like to understand is why we feel like we have to have all of the answers to questions about our religion? Why do we feel as if our belief is void if we question our faith…as if we sin by doubting certain things about our faith? And if somebody offers the same questions that we once had or continue having, why do we get offended?
To doubt and question is human. If you ask a person what they would say to God if they met him,99% of the time they will ask God a question based on something about life or their faith that they don’t understand. So why do we get angry when people ask the tough questions about our faith? Are we insecure? Does it make us feel stupid? Striking out and acting in an angry manner against the person that asks the questions only makes matter worse.
So here’s a thought. Why don’t we actually LEARN our religion, faith or belief…WELL!? Why not try to find an answer to the tough questions, that way when somebody comes with a tough question we won’t look like complete morons. We want to get away with the minimal amount of study of a belief that supposedly saved our lives or at the very least changed it.
When Maher asked the tough questions, I welcomed them. Answering the ones that I could and taking note of the difficult ones to study. Nothing that he asked came as a surprise to me because I’ve asked those and many more myself. I’m not afraid to say that I don’t know everything about my faith, but I am trying to find out as much as possible about the belief that changed my life. I do have questions about my faith but I’m trying to answer those questions, not only for others but also for myself. To keep the people from asking questions about their own belief is to keep them ignorant and naive about the answers which in turn makes us all look like idiots, which we are not.

Review: He's just not that into you.

I think that the best part about "He's just not that into you" is that you can relate, perhaps partially, to at least one of the various characters in the story. If you really look close you can see yourself going through one of the situations in the spectrum of relationship follies portrayed in this romantic comedy. From the person actively looking for clues to a potential love interest that doesn't truly exist, to the person being led on by another and trying to figure out what is going on in their situation; from the one that has completely given up trying to seek a relationship, to the one that is desperately desiring to get married, a vast array of situations leads to some of said situations being left at wayside while others are over analyzed. Either way this movie will have you laughing, empathizing, hating and simply loving the characters as they travel the dreaded waters of the dating world in a pursuit of the pinnacle of all relationships the possibility of finding true love.

Review: Blue like Jazz

"The most difficult lie I ever contended with is this: Life is a story about me."

i read this book a while ago but it has been on my mind lately so I thought i would share a little about it.

Blue Like Jazz ia an autobiographical book by Author Donald miller. In this writing Miller attempts to show a more humanistic point of view on topics such as God, the church, Politics, etc. The book, appropriately subtitled “Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality,” takes the reader through a series of experiences from childhood to adulthood that have challenged the writer to believe In God in an entirely different way that what he was originally taught. Failures on behalf of the church and Christians drove him away from the church only to return irresistibly drawn to the true love of God as discovered through various experiences mostly on the Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon, with friends Christian and unchristian alike. Miller tackles subjects such as social consciousness, romance, forgiveness, religion, self-involvement, and Jesus in a non-religious point of view that leaves only pure, benevolent love as the answer to our questions about the true meaning of life and the true nature of God. Miller asks the questions that sometimes Christians dare not and also finds appropriate, biblically accurate responses to said inquiries. I definitely recommend this book to everybody out there.

Review: The Wrestler

The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke is such a great movie. Mickey Rourke marks a great return starring as a Middle aged Wrestler that is well past his prime and yet continues to do what he knows best. His unconventional love interest a stripper played by Marisa Tomei that is beginning to realize that her stripping days are coming to an end and develops a relationship with Rourke As He frequents her club in an attempt to woo her. Rourke lives a rather depressing life working part time at a grocery store and wrestling on the weekends with his glory days well behind him.

Without a doubt the best scenes are those between Rourke and his daughter Stephanie played By Evan Rachel Wood whom he apparently abandoned a number of years prior to his current time. The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky who changes his work as compared to earlier films but still manages to capture a gritty and raw picture that adds to the credibility of the film. Rourke definitely outdid himself in this great movie that I recommend to all of you.

Review: Chinese Democracy

It has been 15 years since Guns N Roses Released “The Spaghetti Incident” and 17 years since Guns’ last official release “Use Your Illusion.” I grew up listening to “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, “Welcome to the Jungle”, and “Knockin On Heavens Door.” As a kid we often sang these American Rock anthems without knowing how much of an impact that they would have on Rock music all over the world.

Throughout the years I forgot about Guns and about their status as a band and just figured that they had broken up. Later on I had heard that Axl had started a new band by himself that still went by the name Guns N Roses. The worst part about that would be the departure of Slash, The bands Lead guitarist and the genius behind legendary guitar riffs such as those on Sweet child of Mine and Welcome to the Jungle.

Then recently I discovered that they were finally releasing a new album. Yesterday, I picked up Guns N Roses – Chinese Democracy. After 17 years hearing the first notes of a Guns N roses song was like experiencing Rock history! Their new lead guitarist is no slash but is damn good. Some of their songs have a heavy “new age rock” sound but a lot of them are still good. And then some of them have that old school Guns sound that simply rocks you!

Folks, go out and pick up Chinese Democracy and if not then just listen to their song “Better.” The song is amazing and it has that old school guns feel to it. Brilliant!

Review: Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist

****1/2

An adolescent love story about two kids that almost serendipitously find each other, start to like each other even considering all their circumstances, and end up falling in love all in one night. Given it isn't the most credible of stories for an adult, your inner adolescent slips out during this charming tale, to believe perhaps naively that a night and a romance like this could actually happen.

Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist appeals to your young and carefree side as the crew sets out on an unending moonlight tour of New York to find the fictional ( I think the band is fictional?) ever-evading, legendary, emo rock band “Where’s fluffy?” the connection between every person in the movie.

Nick, an over-emotional bass player for a band, is attempting to get over his recent heart breaking with his girlfriend, when he meets Norah, the rich yet easy going girl who is compassionate towards his heartbreak and yet wants him for herself. The two end up getting to know each other on a search for Where’s fluffy as well as her missing drunk friend who escapes from the bands van in the midst of the confusion of the night.

Aside from the fairly week soundtrack, Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist is a great movie. I definitely recommend it as a date movie or as a “friend night” movie alike. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist will have you laughing and also sappily smiling from ear to ear at the romantic moments between the two protagonists.

Review: Definitely Maybe

*****

So Last night I watched one of the best movies I've seen in a while. (Well actually, the best movie I saw before that was the Bucket List...What is it with great movies coming out lately?)

Definitely Maybe, starring The witty Ryan Reynolds and the quirky yet adorable Isla Fishers, Is a story about a 30-something year old dad that decides to share the path down his love story with his daughter. Reminiscing about a few past love interests, he and his daughter come to the conclusion that even after all this time, he had yet to find his one true love.

Reynolds plays a convincing role as a campaign worker turned businessman who hates his job and finds consolation only in seeing his daughter two days out of the week. Reynolds is confused about his past love life and doesn't see the clues that his past loves drop on him (as many guys can relate) and often has his young daughter reveal small details and clues to him.
My personal favorite parts of the movie include the acting skills of Reynolds and Fisher Themselves who did a phenomenal job on this movie, the music of Nirvana and Sinatra during their "early 90's" scenes, and the story line revolving around the '92 Bill Clinton Campaign. These were small things I liked about the movie aside from the storyline itself, which was exceptional.

Review: Radiohead - OK Computer.

*****

The year was 1997. I was young, depressed and searching for music artists that would sympathize with my pain. Little did I know that compassion would come from the lyrics and video of a British rock band named Radiohead. The video to "Paranoid android" caught my eye as it portrayed a young man who seemed to be lost and depressed venturing through a messed up and disgusting world. He eventually meets what seems to be his guardian angel that saves him from death. Somehow watching this video made me feel...better!

Fast-forward a decade and Radiohead releases "In Rainbows" which made a bad impression on me and left me thinking, "I know Radiohead was good at some point?"

This led me on a journey through three music stores to find Radiohead's "OK Computer, until finally finding it at the underground, a small independent music store.

OK computer not only satisfied my need for hearing classic melodramatic Radiohead but kept me wanting to hear more. "Paranoid android" sounded foreign at first but then brought back distant memories of watching the video. The song itself is 6 minutes long, but is worth listening to over and over again.

"Karma police” is another song that I heard before and that I completely fell in love with again. The eerie sound of the words "climb up the walls" on "Climbing up the walls" sealed the deal on what seemed to be one of the best rock albums of its time. Purchasing this album was the one thing that redeemed Radiohead in my mind as one of the best rockbands to ever grace a vinyl record.

Review: Radiohead - In Rainbows

*1/2

Now you wouldn't expect to see a Radiohead album with such a low rating considering that they are thought of to be one of the most popular bands of all time, but this critic is honest.

The band released their most current album "In Rainbows" this year. The album goes through a large departure from their earlier work. The eerie semi-depressed haunting classics of their earlier albums have now been transformed into up tempo anthems, dangerously close to becoming pop music. Most bands do grow and mature musically lyrically but Radiohead is a band that did so in a distasteful way. Lyrically the band is on point, maturing nicely.

"Nude" is one of the songs slow ballads that also happens to be the only song that sounds like "classic" Radiohead with a touch of maturity. Tracks worth mentioning would be "15 step" which is upbeat but decent. Another would be "bodysnatchers" which is good lyrically but when added to a beat that sounds like it was created in the hippie era while high on acid, It would take a while to grow onto a person.

A quick quote by Thom Yorke, Radiohead Front man - "it's similar to OK Computer in a way. It's much more terrifying."
Absolutely not! In all the album failed to make a good impression and led me on a search for classic Radiohead...

Review: The Orphaned Anythings

****1/2

The Orphaned Anythings is in the least a perfect portrayal of the life of today’s post-adolescent young adults. The book follows a young man, Ayden Kosacov, as he ventures through his mundane uneventful days. Ayden has no purpose and no real direction in his life. The motto of his existence seems to be “I’m up, what more do you want from me?” Ayden watches the world around him progressing and changing and yet he sees himself remaining in the same place. At first he seems content with his bland existence. Later, his realization of the empty life that he leads, drives him to the point of attempting suicide. How does Ayden get past this difficult moment in his life? My suggestion is read the book, it is a classic!

I found this story to be beautifully written by author Stephen Christian. Christian presents this character to be borderline depressed and slowly winding down to the brink of insanity. The book is depressing at times and yet takes a 180 after the first two thirds of the book. The book then turns into an uplifting depiction of a young man hitting rock bottom and receiving the strength to bounce back up.

The only real problems I had with the book was the lack of detail included in the characters lives and a description of the significance of each person. Each character seems to play some sort of involvement in Ayden’s state of mind and yet the level of their involvement is left to the imagination. The book itself is short. an addition to the pages could have included more description about characters and situations as well as providing more of a build up towards the dramatic climax. Aside from that I encountered a few spelling and grammatical errors in the writing which lead me to wonder if this book was edited before being released. Aside from that, I think this book is brilliant and I definitely reccomend that you take the time to read it.

Review: Punk Goes Crunk!

**1/2

I must admit hearing white kids try to rap, "Crunk" music, and the mere title could be deterring factors when looking at the album cover for Punk Goes Crunk. Nonetheless, one should look past this stereotype, especially if you are a fan of both rock and rap. The track selection is better than the title of the album leads to believe. Only two of the songs are actual "Crunk" songs. The rest of which are decent covers to groups ranging from Arrested Development to the Late Great 2Pac "Makaveli" Shakur.

After the initial crunk song, the album launches on a journey through various hip-hop classics. The best choice these album producers made was to Put Say Anything's cover to ol dirty's "Got your money" at the beginning of the album. This sets the tone for the rest of the album, which is both funny (men in black- Forever the sickest kids), and at times disappointing (Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" - The Escape Frame).

Nonetheless The album does have it's milestones such as 2Pac's "California Love" by My American Heart, "Gin and Juice" by Hot Rod Circuit and the surprisingly well done cover to a song that should be on "punk goes pop 2," All Time Low's "Umbrella."

Best song of the album undisputedly goes to The Devil Wears Prada who did a hardcore/screamo version to the dirty south classic, "Still Fly." The song keeps the original sound during the chorus but rocks out the verse with a blood curdling screams.

But, unless you are a huge fan of both hip-hop as well as rap (and if you don't mind a few cuss words), You might not enjoy this colorful cover album as much as Fearless Records intended. It is however a creative direction to take on behalf of the "Punk Goes..." series.

Review/ Update: The Glass Passenger

First off I would like to express the fact that I am completely disappointed in one of my Favorite bands, JACK'S MANNEQUIN, for pushing the release date of their sophomore album. The Glass Passenger, which previously had a release date, set for April 22nd, pushed their album release date to August or September of this year. Personally this fan is highly disappointed in the southern California band considering the band hasn't released an album since August of 2005. This is taking into full consideration that Andrew McMahon had a battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, from which he successfully recovered after a bone marrow transplant. But after nearly three years without an album release and almost a year of being in the studio, JM has left their "Passengers" wanting more. This puts an unfair weight on JM's shoulders to create an album that is expected to be of mythical proportion due to the length of time it has spent in talks, the idea of which honestly seems implausible. This especially when being compared to JM's first album "Everything in Transit" a classic that obtained both a steady following and great reviews. At this point, Jack's Mannequin would have to pull another classic out of their hat much like their first release in order to not dissapoint their fans. Does "The Glass Passenger" have the ability to leave fans in awe and completely forgetting the wait that they made to purchase this album? The answer to this question will be found in August or september, in hopes that the date isn't pushed back another time.