of religion, and
and frightening,
at points. For
mory deaths are
arpiece, and movie doesn't
outer special
relies on tradi-
The filmmaking
the set designs
look of the first
addition to the
urprisingly good ed in set design the making of a plywood-to-film set designs. You can also e director's comdebut album, using her experience with a war that has killed more than 50,000 people to create a more peaceful outcome. Her first single, "Galang," is a dance club
DVD that should requels.
Michael Boyd
M.I.A.
Arular
In 1983, civil war broke out in Sri Lanka
Maya Arulpragasam, or M.I.A, was 7 years old at the time and was a part of the Tamil minority that was fighting against the ruling Sinhala. Her father fought with the Tamil Tiger militants, eventually disappearing amidst the chaos. Maya and her remaining family were eventually forced to seek asylum in the United
Kingdom. Maya now lives in London, where she has been making some major noise with her unique guerrilla-style hip-hop, telling her story of surviving as a refugee.
Arular takes a multitude of influences that draw from Jamaican dancehall to American hip-hop, and centers them on the melody of consistent and minimalist beats that put this album above and beyond anything else that's out there. For a woman who has seen so much hardship, she's made one hell of an optimistic
track that bumps so hard you'll be begging the DJ to hit repeat.
M. I.A has an agenda that reaches deeper than making asses shake (though Arular certainly does the trick). She has an unavoidable amount of political baggage that comes through in her exotic sound and subtle lyrics. Maya's
voice has a confident swagger and natural spice that's so irresistible it's easy to see why she is quickly becoming an international force who may take over completely. Start stretching now. This thing is going to make the whole world want to bust a move.
Grade: A
—Ryan McBee
Motley Crue
Red, White & Crue
Most of us, myself included, are too young to remember Tommy Lee for anything other than his infamous home video opposite Pamela Anderson. The same holds true for Vince Neil and his stint on *The Surreal Life*. Now Lee and Neil are back along with Nikki Sixx and Mick
Mars to show the world once again what made them famous in the first place, Motley Crue.
"If I Die Tomorrow" was written with the help of Simple Plan so its sound and lyrics are very, well, youcan imagine. The other two songs, although not written
It has been more than six years since Motley Crue was last together, but they have recently reunited to release Red, White & Crime a two-disc greatest hits CD that features three new tracks in addition to their other hits.
The three new songs released are "If I Die Tomorrow," "Sick Love Song" and a cover of The Rolling Stones' song "Street Fighting Man." Unfortunately the song,
with the help of Simple Plan, still don't reflect the sound that the band is known for.
Red, White & Crue is a greatest hits CD of one of the last great rock bands so obviously it is going to be good. You have to admire them for trying to continue their success, but at the same time you
wonder how difficult it would've been for them to write three new songs reflective of their old style. Instead the listener is stuck with a Simple Plan song, a Rolling Stones' song and one mediocre Motley Crue song. At least it isn't an entirely new CD.
—Jonathan Millstein
Grade:A for old; C for new
Bright Eyes,
Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
The second act in Bright Eyes'recent dual album launch, the excellently titled Digital Ash in a Digital Urn.
Digital Ash in a Digital Orn,
is a departure from the acoustic mini-ballads of
front man Conor Oberst's
previous releases. Folk guitars thrown overboard,
Digital Ash is anchored instead by looped beats,
layers of lush, fluorescent keyboards and a technique
known only as "programming," courtesy of producer Mike Mogis' alter
ego, the Digital Audio Engine. And like I'm Wide Awake it's Morning, Digital Ash's countriified twin, there is no shortage of notable guests. Enigmatic art-rock weirdo Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs appears on a half-dozen tracks, and beatsmith Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel and Postal Service lends his digital wisdom to the album's first single, "Take it Easy (Love Nothing.)"
But even as the album explores its digitally encrypted self, vintage Bright Eyes remains at its core. Oberst is still a drunken romantic, cursing the government, perennially stuck — physically, mentally and emotionally — somewhere between Omaha and New York. Leaving the "sorrowful Midwest" for NYC on "Gold Mine Gutted," he returns a few tracks later claiming, "I need a break from the city again. I think I'll ship myself back west." Oberst's inability to commit geographically mirrors his inability to commit romantically. On "Take it Easy," he sings, "It isn't so hard to get close to me. There'll be no arguments, we will always agree. And I'll try and be kind when I ask you to leave; we'll both take it easy."
Images courtesy of amazon.com
As it stands now, the electronic pop of Digital Ash seems to be Bright Eyes' best shot at leaping from indie sainthood to the mainstream. Oberst has been putting out acoustic Bright Eyes records for years with relatively little mainstream notice, but the recent success of the Postal Service shows there may be a
niche market for "emotional" digital pop albums. Though I'm Wide Awake is the better of the two recent Bright Eyes releases — Oberst has been perfecting that sound for years — Digital Ash is more exciting. If it's a preview of future releases, Digital Ash will mark the point of departure. If it's merely a one-time experiment, it will become a Bright Eyes anomaly. Right now however, it stands as one of the young 2005's best records.
Try if you like: The Postal Service and Give it Up
Grade: B+
-Dave Ruigh