This Is Us

So today I was watching the film "Control" with centers on the life of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, and I realized that I do not own many "old" (or classical as many people would put it these days) albums. I checked my ITunes library and the oldest albums I have are The Get Up Kids "Four Minute Mile" released in 1997 and Foo Fighters "The Colour and The Shape" released the same year. I also have Styx and Journey's Greatest Hits. While I don't hate older music, I don't feel musically incomplete because I don't own Pink Floyd's "The Wall" or Led Zeppelin's self-titled album or Metallica's "Black" record, but after watching "Control," I am definitely going out and purchasing their two albums, along with giving New Order(Joy Division after Curtis' death) a listen.

So after pondering about how "classical" bands have been able to remain relevant to this day, I was thinking about what bands today in the many different sub-genres of rock will remain fresh in about 20 years and I originally came across a few, because I was thinking what the majority of the population will think. The problem with thinking like that is today's society has this uncontrollable love for Top 40 music these days. It is ridiculous and an insult to any REAL fan of music. "Artists" like The Jonas Brothers, Metro Station, Nickelback, and a good majority of rappers do not deserve the privilege to have their crap being blasted by car radio's and boom boxes. 

So I compiled a list of 20 bands (in no particular order) that should remain influential and heard 20 years from now:

1. Death Cab For Cutie - A no brainer here. They continually release strong records. I also am waiting patiently for a Postal Service follow-up.

2. Jimmy Eat World - Released the most influential album for this generation (Clarity) and show no signs of stopping. They are equally as good live as they are on record.

3. Minus The Bear - THE MOST UNDERRATED BAND EVER. 

4. Underoath - Their never-ending love and passion for music allows them to keep pushing the envelope of post-hardcore. 

5. Thursday - The pioneers of the genre post-hardcore continue to mature with each record. Unfortunately their latest release, "Common Existence," may be their last.

6. Alkaline Trio - While they are already legends in the punk world, their voices still need to be heard by the masses.

7. Band Of Horses - The music is just as beautiful as an ocean sunset. 

8. Every Time I Die - While their name is a little cliche, which is why I refer to them as ETID, they are everything that is good in the metal industry. Keith Buckley is a genius with the microphone.

9. Muse - If you didn't see this coming, then that rock you are under must be comfortable.

10. Portugal. The Man - It is only a matter of time before people start realizing this bands amazing work habit and commitment to their music.

11. The Shins - This is the band that will change your life.

12. Silversun Pickups - If "Carnavas" is any sign of where this band is headed, my ears are eagerly awaiting its newest release ("Swoon" is being released in April). 

13. Against Me! - After years of perfecting the punk sound, their first stab at pop-punk w/ "New Wave" should and will be a remembered forever.

14. Say Anything - What teenager can't relate to their lyrics. 

15. As I Lay Dying - They ARE the future of metal. 

16. Pelican - They may not use vocals, but they are better then most bands that do.

17. Motion City Soundtrack - How can you not have a good time when listening to this band? There quirkiness keeps this band fresh and original.

18. Modest Mouse - With more albums and ep's than you can count on two hands, Modest Mouse keeps influencing most of todays bands. 

19. mewithoutYou - Their poetic lyrics and sporadic instrumental parts is something that needs to be witnessed live. 

20. The Gaslight Anthem - They have been compared to Bruce Springsteen, and they have only released ONE album. 

Now of course these are my opinions and there are many other bands that should be listened to farther down the road. 

WATCHMEN REVIEW

Two days ago I wrote a review for this movie two days after I saw it. I had rated it a 9/10 but now that is has sunken more into me, I have to change it. I felt like I was just pointing out the obvious visual critiques. Here is my new review of it

10/10

Yes, I call this movie perfect. Not perfect as in The Dark Knight perfect or Godfather perfect, but perfect in its own being or right.

This movie has the tagline of being the "impossible" movie to make. And why wouldn't it. It has THE biggest following along with a storyline that is hard to comprehend and to follow. This project has been through many studios, countless directors and has had a laundry list of A-list actors attached to it. 

When Warner Bro's dropped Darren Arrenofsky off this project, he wanted to switch the Vietnam references to current Iraq war and make it more modern time, the studio approached 300 director Zack Snyder to helm the plagued project.

I can honestly say that Snyder gets this movie. Not only because he is a Watchmen-fanatic, but because he also understands how to adapt materials into the "Hollywood" perspective.

His trademark slo-mo action camera scenes once again never fails to show the awesomeness of ass kicking. He has stated that he isn't a fan of the shaky camera view and when you weigh the two against each other, Snyder's vision comes out victorious. The attention to detail in the sets and making sure each frame is a complete replica of the graphic novel is wonderful. Whether it is depicting the city streets to Veidts artic workshop, the sets are as much apart of the film then the actors. 

When one watches the film, they will probably be walking away, praising Jackie Earle Haley's portrayal of Rorschach. And why wouldn't you. His voice is a perfect depiction. His displaying of the commitment and forcefulness of the character is uncanny. You'd swear that Haley was born to play this role. I wouldn't be surprised that a year from now, he is a candidate for best supporting actor at the oscars.

But the true brilliance comes from Patrick Wilson playing Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II. Wilson completely embodies the role of Dreiberg. He masters the role of the unconfident, lonely 40 year old retired hero. His subtlety in his voice and the confusion in his eyes makes it all the better when you see him pummeling prisoners and breaking a guys arm. Throughout the film, Wilson has two breathtaking scenes. The first one comes when he is standing naked, looking through a glass door at this hero costume, stating to Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman) that he is sick of being afraid. One can't help but to feel that same pain in whatever complications they may have in their life. The other is when he is brutally assaulting Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), for reasons that have to be seen in the film. His anger and pure hatred that he evokes couldn't be portrayed any better in real life. Wilson's finished depiction ranks among the best of all hero portrayals, with Heath Ledger as the Joker, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, and Alfred Molina as Doc Ock.

The other actor's play they roles to key. Billy Crudup excels at playing the calm and sophisticated Dr. Manhattan. His soothing voice makes him appear as always being in control. Malin Akerman's depicting of a second generation crime fighter is flawless. Her beauty and ass-kicking ability can only go so far until her neurotic and resentful side comes out. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's ability to play a complete asshole is put to use to play the equally same asshole Edward Blake/The Comedian. Matthew Goode may appear a little young to play the world's smartest man Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, but what he lacks in appearance, he surely makes up for in just pure presence. His flawless fighting moves shows why a man of Goode's age was chosen to play a mid 40 year old millionaire. 

Many are going to write this movie off as too long and too much dialogue, only because they see this movie as a comic book movie. Well it is a comic book movie, but unfortunately comic book movie's are only seen as popcorn action blockbusters, which is a damn shame and is the sole reason why The Dark Knight wasn't nominated for Best Picture.

Some say that the movie doesn't allow the characters to open up and breathe, but it's pretty hard to when you're adapting material considered to be the best graphic novel EVER. Sure the actors don't really bring any freshness to the characters, but they strengthen their roles. I wonder if any of these so-called critics have even read the source material, let alone at least researched the roles by looking them up on Wikipedia. Probably not, they're too busy trying to bash this movie with their tongue in cheek remarks so they can seem original and insightful, yet they come off as pretentious and ignorant. 

This film is a piece of beautiful art. Thank you Zack Snyder, for having the balls to show the world that the impossible is indeed possible.