Over the summer my good friend Jonathan Clark wrote and directed a short film called On Clarity. This is the trailer for it. The full film will be put up eventually. The song used in the trailer is by the band Woods of Ypres, and the song is called "Outro: The End of August".
For being his first film and having no budget, it turned out pretty well. I hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Sparkling clarity
So, I've been thinking of what I want to use this blog for. I don't want this to end up like all my other ones. The whole use once and never return type shit. But, I think I've come to a conclusion. I'll use this for creative output. Poetry, rants, and just whatever else I may have on my mind. With that said...this blog was "identified as a potential spam blog" this afternoon. What the fuck is that!?! Before my first post I get reported for spamming. Bullshit, I say, bullshit!
I recently tried to get a job reviewing albums for a website. Part of the application was to review an album and send it into them. I was going to review a band called the Gaslight Anthem. A really good band, but I knew very little about. It was actually quite harder than I though it would be. So, I turned to a band that I've listened to since high school. Alkaline Trio. They recently released their new album. Unfortunately I was turned down by the website, but here is the review I gave it...if you're interested.
Alkaline Trio
Agony and Irony
Release date: July 1, 2008
Label: Epic Records
Alkaline Trio…what happened!?!? Agony and Irony, the sixth album from this Chicago band, is almost a task just to listen to. They only thing ironic about this album is all the agony they actually put their fans through by creating it (And this is coming from a die hard Alk3 fan!). The music is uninspired and the lyrics leave much to be desired. Lyrics that once seemed to have some kind of thought put into them like "So where are you my little needle/The stack's been burned away, but I'm so inebriated/That I cannot see three feet in front of me/Between the moon and you, lunacy is setting in", are now replaced with lyrics like "So live young, die fast/No one will last/So sit back and relax/Enjoy the crash/You're fading to black and you're gone". Both Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano have way too clean and pristine vocals on this record as well, it's almost sickening how sterile and clean cut it is. I miss Andriano's shaky, nervous voice and Skiba's sometimes raspy and powerful vocals.
Where did they go wrong? Oh yeah, with their previous album Crimson. So, if you enjoyed that album you will more than likely enjoy Agony and Irony. This record is just way too poppy, and don't get me wrong, I enjoy some pop from time to time. It just sounds like MTV had them by the balls and told them what to create. And obediently serving their masters they did so. They even appeared on an episode of The Hills!! But, hey, during the first week of sales for the album placed Alkaline Trio at number 13 on the Billboard, making it the highest the band has reached on the charts. I'm sorry, but this appalls me. I thought Crimson wasn't all that great, but I could forgive and forget. This is just unacceptable.
I guess one thing Agony and Irony has going for it, is that it is so damn catchy they're bound to make hundreds of new 15 year old fans. If you're a Goddamnit or From Here to Infirmary fan, I suggest to stay as far away from this album as possible. Unless of course you want to be blinded with rage. Oh, and with the deluxe addition you get an acoustic version of "Maybe I'll Catch Fire". Yay!
4 out of 10
I recently tried to get a job reviewing albums for a website. Part of the application was to review an album and send it into them. I was going to review a band called the Gaslight Anthem. A really good band, but I knew very little about. It was actually quite harder than I though it would be. So, I turned to a band that I've listened to since high school. Alkaline Trio. They recently released their new album. Unfortunately I was turned down by the website, but here is the review I gave it...if you're interested.
Alkaline Trio
Agony and Irony
Release date: July 1, 2008
Label: Epic Records
Alkaline Trio…what happened!?!? Agony and Irony, the sixth album from this Chicago band, is almost a task just to listen to. They only thing ironic about this album is all the agony they actually put their fans through by creating it (And this is coming from a die hard Alk3 fan!). The music is uninspired and the lyrics leave much to be desired. Lyrics that once seemed to have some kind of thought put into them like "So where are you my little needle/The stack's been burned away, but I'm so inebriated/That I cannot see three feet in front of me/Between the moon and you, lunacy is setting in", are now replaced with lyrics like "So live young, die fast/No one will last/So sit back and relax/Enjoy the crash/You're fading to black and you're gone". Both Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano have way too clean and pristine vocals on this record as well, it's almost sickening how sterile and clean cut it is. I miss Andriano's shaky, nervous voice and Skiba's sometimes raspy and powerful vocals.
Where did they go wrong? Oh yeah, with their previous album Crimson. So, if you enjoyed that album you will more than likely enjoy Agony and Irony. This record is just way too poppy, and don't get me wrong, I enjoy some pop from time to time. It just sounds like MTV had them by the balls and told them what to create. And obediently serving their masters they did so. They even appeared on an episode of The Hills!! But, hey, during the first week of sales for the album placed Alkaline Trio at number 13 on the Billboard, making it the highest the band has reached on the charts. I'm sorry, but this appalls me. I thought Crimson wasn't all that great, but I could forgive and forget. This is just unacceptable.
I guess one thing Agony and Irony has going for it, is that it is so damn catchy they're bound to make hundreds of new 15 year old fans. If you're a Goddamnit or From Here to Infirmary fan, I suggest to stay as far away from this album as possible. Unless of course you want to be blinded with rage. Oh, and with the deluxe addition you get an acoustic version of "Maybe I'll Catch Fire". Yay!
4 out of 10
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)