Writhaus took to the streets recently to get some insight into what people are thinking out there. We stood near the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. in Hollywood and asked people about politics.
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Written by David Yontz – Edited by Brian Woods
I absolutely cannot think of a more succinct way of phrasing the state of America in 2007 than Derek Balling of Hurley, N.Y., did Friday on the Daily Freeman Web site. I am envious for not having written it myself because he sums up my feelings on the matter entirely.
Here are his comments presented as they were on the morning of June 15:
The Terrorists Have Won
… and nothing we do in Iraq or Afghanistan can change that. Why? Because we live in “Terror”.When people are so scared of the possibility of a bomb-scare that they don’t just look at something like a record player themselves, then we are effectively “in terror”.
When the city of Boston can’t figure out that a bunch of LED screens depicting cartoon characters from an extremely popular grown-up-cartoon show are “viral marketing” and not “some crazed bomb plot”, we are effectively living in terror.
I guess some people enjoy living in fear and feeling “safe”. Here’s the thing, though, I *already* feel safe. Well, except when I fly overseas because we’ve made the world hate us, but around town, I don’t feel especially worried that a small suitcase with some old wires sticking out of it is a bomb or anything crazy like that. I’d be more curious to see what junk someone was throwing away that might have some useful parts for other projects.
To live in fear is not to live at all.
Derek Balling, Hurley, NY
2.5 stars
Wilco recorded my favorite album of the century so far, so it’s possible I may not be the most impartial critic of their music. 2002′s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a landmark album. It’s one of my favorite records ever, and since I heard it for the first time, I have been holding every record I hear up to it. That being said, I expect a lot from Wilco, and Sky Blue Sky is a big letdown, even with 2004′s also-disappointing A Ghost Is Born as a buffer.
Wilco has evolved a lot since their 1995 debut, A.M. They were considered an alt-country band back then, but they’ve lost a lot of both the alternative and the country. Similar to A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky features a lot of guitar solos. Although there’s some great guitar work in there, especially in “Side with the Seeds,” often it comes off sounding as if it belongs on the “smooth jazz” FM station. Other times, the music on this record resembles 1970s classic rock, especially The Allman Brothers Band. Jeff Tweedy’s vocals mostly retain that hard-to-describe intimate quality that made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot so great. The music, however, is too adult contemporary, and it features almost none of the experimental sounds and loops that make Yankee Hotel Foxtrot so deep and a modern classic.
Wilco produced Sky Blue Sky themselves. It’s always a good thing when a band has complete creative control. The songs on this record mostly deal with a yearning for acceptance and love, insecurity, and a desire to shut out the world. For the most part, Tweedy’s “content with being blue.” Unfortunately, the listener who desires the Wilco of the past must be, too. The best songs on the record are “Either Way,” “Impossible Germany,” “Leave Me (Like You Found Me),” and the uplifting “What Light.” You can miss “Shake It Off” and “Walken.”
Scale:
0. Shoot yourself
1. Poor
2. So-So
3. Good
4. Excellent
5. Instant classic
With the advent of high definition, nothing pleases me more than to watch a catalog title look better than it has any right to. Such is the joy of watching Smokey and the Bandit. The colors are crisp, and the print used to strike this HD DVD is in great condition, with none of the problems other movies from the ’70s exhibit.
Smokey and the Bandit tells the story of Bo “Bandit” Darville (Burt Reynolds) and Cledus “Snowman” Snow (Jerry Reed) as they try to win a bet made to transport a transfer truckload of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, to Atlanta, Ga., in 28 hours. It’s illegal to transport the beer across state lines, so Bandit runs cover for the truck driven by Snowman. Along the way, Bandit picks up a young lass named Carrie (Sally Field), which brings Hell upon him in the form of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), whose son was set to marry Carrie that very day.
The plot, as you can tell, is pretty thin, but that isn’t to say it isn’t enjoyable. Reynolds was a ’70s icon, and it’s easy to see why given the charisma exhibited. You never wonder how Carrie or Bandit could fall for each other, as it happens organically and expertly. The supporting cast is outstanding, too, as Jackie Gleason steals virtually every scene he is in. I wonder sometimes how he was persuaded to be in the film, but I am definitely glad he signed the contract. Jerry Reed provides a comic foil for Reynolds, as well as providing the film’s trademark theme, “East Bound and Down.”
If you haven’t seen the film, the HD DVD definitely is worth a rental. If you’ve seen the film and love it, it’s a no-brainer to buy. If you have seen the film and hated it, nothing I can say here likely will persuade you otherwise. Overall, though, the film is a great diversion and a lot of fun. Now bring on The Cannonball Run!
4 stars
Perry Farrell is back, and you should check out his latest band, Satellite Party. An alternative rock legend (Jane’s Addiction/Porno for Pyros/Lollapalooza creator), Farrell has never sounded better. Ultra Payloaded, Satellite Party’s debut album, fuses funk and rock and adds some orchestra here and there, too. The record is loosely based on a story provided in the record’s liner notes: “The Ultra-Payloaded Satellite Party, ‘The Solutionists,’ are an elite group who master the art of public assembly and demonstration.” The Chief Solutionist (presumably Farrell) is taken to a hospital after being beaten by police. He looks out the window and sees a cluster of stars in the sky. He tells the beautiful night nurse, “There is a party up there.” They fall asleep together, and “their souls transcend up high to ‘The Satellite Party,’” where they are reborn. When someone shows them a view of Earth from above, “they feel an overwhelming passion to return to Earth and design a future together.” Their motto: “Just try and stop us, we’re going to love!” The motto is a lyric featured in a lost Doors song. The song, “Woman in the Window,” closes the album. It features the late Jim Morrison on vocals around music composed by Farrell. It is amazing and one of the coolest surprises I have ever had while listening to a record.
Ultra Payloaded features a number of living guest stars, too. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea, co-wrote and is featured on “Hard Life Easy” and “Milky Ave,” which is one of my favorite songs on the record. Peppers guitarist, John Frusciante, plays on “Hard Life Easy,” too. The record’s opening track and first single, “Wish upon a Dog Star,” features Fergie on background vocals and Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order) on bass. Fergie also sings on “Ultra-Payloaded Satellite Party.”
This record is an exceptional one. It’s free and joyous. Give it a listen. You even may be inspired to take “whatever’s in your closet” and “set it free.”
Scale:
0. Shoot yourself
1. Poor
2. So-So
3. Good
4. Excellent
5. Instant classic
3.5 stars
Kaiser Chiefs‘ second album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, is an album full of unabashed catchiness. Unlike many current “catchy” bands, though, Kaiser Chiefs somehow avoid that saccharin quality that is so tiresome. Lead singer Ricky Wilson’s voice reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett‘s voice. This gives the band an early-Floyd feel, though they mostly have inherited British New Wave and post-punk revival genes.
The opening track and first single, “Ruby,” peaked at 14 on the U.S. charts. It’s a terrific song that’s gotten plenty of radio play, but I wonder why Kaiser Chiefs haven’t blown up more in this country. To me, Kaiser Chiefs are better than many alternative rock bands that have achieved mainstream success such as OK Go. Of course, OK Go exploded when the video for “Here It Goes Again” came out. Although MTV has seen the fall of its Golden Age and has ushered in an Age of Utter Crap, perhaps they still have some say as to what’s cool among non-tweens. Regardless of the hows and whys, Kaiser Chiefs deserve more exposure.
Nearly every song on Yours Truly, Angry Mob is great. “My Kind of Guy” and “Retirement” are not so great. And skip “Highroyds.” It’s atrocious. “Ruby” features my favorite lyric on the album: “Due to lack of interest, tomorrow is cancelled.” The refrain in “The Angry Mob” is another lyrical highlight: “We are the angry mob. We read the papers every day. We like who we like, we hate who we hate, but we’re also easily swayed.” Other than “Ruby,” my favorite track on the album is “Everything Is Average Nowadays.”
Scale:
0. Shoot yourself
1. Poor
2. So-So
3. Good
4. Excellent
5. Instant classic
3.5 stars
This is what dance-pop should be! LCD Soundsystem‘s second album, Sound of Silver, is the kind of music they should be playing in clubs here in the States. If they did, I might consider going to one. Unfortunately, Europe is the place this music will be appreciated, and we here in the States are forced to settle for manure such as Pussycat Dolls.
A mix of disco, electronica, and rock, Sound of Silver, is a must-own record for any hipster hosting a dance party. You can’t help but like the innocent and infectious grooves of LCD Soundsystem. The first track is “Get Innocuous!” It seems to come straight from Remain in Light by Talking Heads. “Someone Great” is another highlight and is electronic pop at its best. “All My Friends” is the very worthy second single off the album. The catchy title track repeats the funny lyric “Sound of Silver talk to me/Makes you want to feel like a teenager/Until you remember the feelings of/A real live emotional teenager/Then you think again.”
By far the coolest track on the record, though, is the first single, “North American Scum.” Be sure to give it a few listens before you make a judgment. Believe me, it grows on you. The lyrics are what make the song great. Singer James Murphy proudly claims to be a North American while acknowledging North Americans surely aren’t perfect. This certainly is one of the best singles of the year so far. If you are unfamiliar with LCD Soundsystem, you owe it to yourself to give them a try.
Scale:
0. Shoot yourself
1. Poor
2. So-So
3. Good
4. Excellent
5. Instant classic
From Wish to Fruit
This past week has brought us the fruition of one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of consumerism. iTunes 7.2 was released and proved to us that maybe (just maybe) Steve Jobs isn’t the devil.
I took a look at the new service, but for those who don’t know what in the world could have changed or why anyone could hate Steve Jobs, let me summarize the controversy.
The History
Even if you’re new to the controversy, you probably have heard that Apple had created a music player called the iPod and has been selling music on the Internet via their iTunes program. You also may have heard that those tracks were “protected” with DRM that not only prevented you from sharing your music with others but also had other restrictions such as controlling how many times you could burn a playlist to CD and, in practice, preventing music resale. If that wasn’t aggravating enough, Apple protected its DRM scheme by keeping a tight hold on the details of the implementation, which resulted in the largest complaint: Music bought via the iTunes store ONLY could be played on Apple’s iTunes software or the iPod.
Apple was credited with revolutionizing the music industry when they released the iTunes store in 2003, which seemed strange to many because they were hardly the first to sell music online. eMusic, presently the second-largest online music store, had been in the business since 1998 and even had been selling tracks without the aggravating DRM. Apple had two major selling points the others didn’t, though: a seamless, effortless, integrated method to get music from the store to the tremendously popular iPod and their trump card, popular music.
The DRM, aggravating as it was, was the insurance that enabled the major music labels to sell their content online.
And so for the past few years, iTunes has grown by leaps and bounds as people flocked to buy their music in a convenient way. There are those of us who watched from the sidelines, preferring to avoid DRM, choosing consumer rights over convenience.
Business continued that way until controversy started brewing. Several European nations had taken exception to the iTunes customer lock-in and demanded Apple license their DRM scheme (something Apple had refused to do in the past). Steve Jobs responded with an industry-shaking open letter that explained why licensing FairPlay was a bad idea and that the real solution was to do away with DRM entirely, something major music labels had by and large refused to do. Informed consumers had known this all along, but they were shocked that someone so far up the totem poll finally had said it.
Prominent industry commentators balked, calling his statement a bluff to avoid legal action and citing the probability that Apple was benefiting from consumer lock-in. The content and protection industry was in an uproar, considering such statements to be betrayal, and tried to dismiss the idea with ludicrous arguments that boiled down to “we refuse to be without DRM, so using DRM is in everyone’s favor, lest we take our toys and go home.”
The quibbling died down until Apple and EMI made a joint announcement: EMI’s entire music library (excepting the Beatles collection, which was held up in a court dispute) would be available on iTunes DRM-free and at higher quality. For just a moment, the world stood still.
Once the industry and attentive consumers had finished catching their collective breath, discussion began. This was not without a catch: Tracks bought individually without DRM would cost $0.30 more than with DRM, although album purchases would come without DRM by default. If it went as any previous publicized talk did, EMI and other labels would balk at the idea of offering DRM-free music without charging extra for it. One wondered what difference that would make when it came to the piracy DRM was supposed to prevent. Most took it as further evidence supporting the suspicion that DRM is actually about limiting consumer choice to increase duplicate sales as people buy the same thing multiple times to play on different devices. The higher quality was likely because of Steve Jobs’ refusal to charge more for simply leaving customer rights intact.
Some may complain that this is charging more for what should have been sold in the first place, but the higher quality shouldn’t be overlooked so quickly. Wherever possible, Apple already has encoded tracks not from CD masters, but from the original masters. At their former bitrate of 128kbps, this meant their tracks likely would be of higher quality than CDs you ripped yourself. At their new, higher bitrate of 256kbps, now tracks from iTunes may not just be more convenient than buying the CD at your local retail outlet, they may sound better, too.
iTunes Plus in Pratice
Now, with iTunes 7.2, we finally can purchase the promised DRM-free, higher-quality tracks. How does the store integrate the new choices? As would be expected from Apple’s (usual) reputation, “It just works.”
The iTunes store works as it always has until you come across some content available without DRM. It then asks you whether you would like to display “iTunes Plus” content. If you choose “yes,” the store will work as usual with the exception that content available DRM-free will have a small note that says “iTunes Plus,” and the prices are raised accordingly. If you decline, then the store will work as usual with the exception that some content will say, “Also available in iTunes Plus,” and offer you a link to learn more and toggle the display option.
Essentially, aside from setting that option once, the store operates as it always did. If you want to pick and choose what you want DRM-free, the convenience breaks down. The only way to choose between DRM tracks and DRM-free tracks is to toggle the option in your iTunes Store account settings. Apple bet that most people sit on one side of the issue or another: Either they believe it’s always worth the 30 cents, or they believe it never is.
People who opt to continue buying the cheaper tracks needn’t worry, though: If they change their minds, they can upgrade for only the difference in cost.
I’m thoroughly pleased with iTunes Plus. Though I still believe most albums are overpriced, the higher quality means that I finally have a real incentive to buy new instead of browsing used-CD shops and not to feel bad about being without a case and album book (although missing lyrics are still an issue). I still prefer the prices I’d find at a used-CD shop or at allofmp3.com, and nothing beats the zero cost of piracy, but I’m willing to spend my money to send the message that they’re doing things right.
Yes, finally I’m going to start buying from iTunes — just the DRM-free tracks, of course. And I feel pretty good about it. I just need to watch my pocketbook because the convenience makes it awfully easy to spend. That’s no complaint, mind you! It just means Apple is practicing capitalism the way it should be.