Things I'll Probably Be Wrong About Soon

On Sunday, Sky Ferreira performed her first of three shows at the Independent in San Francisco.  I unfortunately missed Cherry Glazer, but heard they were great.  This review is only about Sky Ferreira's performance, which exceeded all expectation.

It's hard to categorize Ferreira's music when listening to Night Time My Time, the 2013 album, that is her primary release.  One could say that she's electro-pop, because she uses synths and keyboards and has some tracks such as "I Blame Myself" and "You're Not The One" that are pretty straightforward, if quite interesting.  But electro-pop is a very production-centric style, and often does not put vocals at the forefront.  Ferreira's lyrics are not incidental to her music and her voice is at times quite strong on the record, live its even stronger.

Live, Ferreira's music gains even more texture and her voice is consistently powerful.  Dressed in an almost full length winter coat with a faux-fur lined hood, Ferreira and her band wasted no time once on stage, dimming the lights and immediately jumping into "24 Hours" followed by "Boys," which was sung with particular force.  The chorus was belted out and a particular accent was placed on the idea that the subject "put [her] faith back in boys."  

There is a paradox in Ferreira's music that's well illustrated in her performance of Boys and the song itself.  The song uses language, such as titling the person who you're writing a love song for a "boy" that suggests youth for all participants involved.  But the sincerity and the brooding, darkness of the track stands in stark contrast to the sometimes pop-star friendly lyrical ideas.

This paradox is at the heart of Ferreira's music, which makes her performance and album so interesting.  She has a keen sense of pop music and can engage the audience with a hook, or a singable section of the chorus, such as the one on "I Blame Myself."  But the darkness of the song production, the refusal to push the music to full on, radio friendly pop music, instead making it grungier and more new wave-y creates a very entertaining and formidable tension. 

Because she only has one album, the performance was brief.  But every song had life and added contours to the album versions of her songs. She performed a new song called "Guardian" and despite never hearing it previously, her powerful vocals and good arrangement, made the song stand out in one's memory,rather than recede when compared to the songs one already knew.

Other performance highlights included a stirring version of "Heavy Metal Heart."  A song that's more of a Pat Benatar style ballad, but has fuzzy guitar work and a pounding drumbeat.  Ferreira beautifully performed the song, engaging the entire audience in the emotion of the track.  Her two penultimate songs were a deft combination of the sad, slower "Lost in My Bedroom" into the more rousing, intense, and definitively loud "You're Not The One."  

The concert was really aided by Ferreira's band being really tight, which made the performance fuller and livelier, while still focusing the attention on Sky.  The lights were an added bonus, they varied a great deal from song to song, and the color schemes and brightness contributed to the concert experience. 

This is a new track by the band LVL UP off their forthcoming album Hoodwink'd.  The track has a distinctly 90s influenced guitar sound, with the music building and then the guitar shredding hard through the middle of the song.  However, the pop sensibilities of the song never leave the music remains hooky and cohesive throughout the track, which allows the lyrics to shine and the music to take the forefront, each in turn, without one swallowing the other up.

Yesterday, at about 2:30 in the afternoon on the West Coast, 11:30 in the evening in Berlin, most bars, restaurants, public parks with projection screens and Copacabana beach exploded in jubilation or agony.  

Two men, one holding his black jean clad knees, on two burgundy couches in an L shape also let out two simultaneous screams, a mix of wonder and relief.  And then, like a rubber band, they snapped back into tense, smoke filled silence for nine more minutes.  We'd seen matches slip away before. 

In the 113th minute of the 2014 World Cup final, Mario Goetze the 22 year old wunderkind, struck with his blessed, weaker left foot an exceptional cross goal strike off of a zippy, chest high pass from Andre Scheurrle.  Germany had escaped 3 good Argentine chances and had hit the post once, but all of a sudden, with their best opportunity arriving in an instant, they buried it.  Nine gut wrenching minutes later, the German National team had won the World Cup for the first time since 1990 and captured its first trophy since the 1996 Euro Cup.  The tactically rebuilt and youth infused soccer program that was first started by Jurgen Klinsman and seen through by current manager Jogi Loew had reached its apex and I had seen my first soccer cup victory.  (The 1996 Euro Cup was not shown in the U.S.)  

After it was over, the two men were euphoric.  I unbent my knees and heard them crack, my dad screamed a bassy, throaty yell.  Then, me and my dad hugged, tightly, our strongest union, strengthened further. My mom and dog came home and we had bagels, watching the goal that sealed it over and over, dissecting every contribution that led to the victory.  My dad said that he still thought Loew should have taken more strikers in the squad.  

I watch most sporting events in bars or at friend's houses, but not the German national team. Since I was 10 years old, I have watched almost every game of Die Mannschaft at my parent's house, whether in San Francisco or elsewhere.  My first sad sports memory is the 1994 World Cup, Germany losing to Bulgaria.  My dad and I have watched friendlies versus Azerbajan and Monaco, we have watched them play too tight against Spain and Italy and we saw them unable to find the net against Croatia. We know and love this team.  

Since 1998, when my parents moved to this house, I have watched soccer in the sunset.  I sit on the couch by the large window that's sticky with dog nose prints.  My dad sits behind me, smoking, on a nicer, older, leather burgundy couch.  The dog is sometimes on the floor next to us, and sometimes with my mom; who is either keeping track of the game at work or watching on her computer.  My pops and I rarely talk during the match, although we do exchange a few ideas and celebrate large moments.  But we often break down the games, the key moments and the little decisions, well after every game is over.  

Almost more importantly, the history of games watched, the defeats and victories witnessed either together or separately, have left a lot of impressions, memories and connections that crop up at the most surprising times.  

I frequently recall when I was on a senior trip in San Diego in 12th grade and Germany played Cameroon, and I watched with a bunch of Irish 20 somethings staying in the same hostel as me.   We flipped between Germany-Cameroon and Ireland-Saudi Arabia, the final games of group play, me the only non Ireland fan among them, demanding we go back to the other channel, both Germany and Ireland needing to win to go through.  

Or when Miroslav Klose scored against Turkey in the 2008 European championship, the transmission of the game went dark for a few minutes and all me and my dad could hear was the screaming of fans, who we had to hope were German.  And now, when I watch, there is the ever present awareness that the feed can just go dark at a critical moment so special attention must be paid.  

After flaming out in the group stages of the European Cup twice in 2000 and 2004, the entire national team philosophy had to be retooled.  From 2006 onward, when 5 of the current World Cup winners were part of the team that finished third in 2006.  The team that started it all.  The German national team has scratched and clawed to be not just a former soccer power, but a current one.

In 2006, Bastian Schweinsteiger the former German center forward turned midfielder, was 22, as was I.  Although we have no actual connection, this current generation of German talent, especially its veterans are mean more to me than most players because I have watched them grow up. When they first started playing for the national team, they were they same age as me.  They developed as players, as I developed into a fan of the team independent from my dad.  It's incredibly satisfying to watch the same group of players evolve, buttressed by additional components and work together to lead Die Mannschaft to this: their coronation ceremony. Their victory has a gravitas, and I am happy for Podolski, Schweiny, Klose and Lahm in a way that is likely never going to be repeated.

It's hard to convey through words the series of bizarre superstitions, habits, desires and irrational attachments that is fandom.  The fact of the matter is though, like with all things you really care about, it's out of your control after a certain point, you can ignore your caring or give in, but it's there.

It's even harder to convey the joy one feels when a group of strangers wins a magical game long after the sun set in Brazil.  But to me, it felt like the culmination.  The culmination of the journey the soccer team that I love has taken, certain players, who drowned out every whisper of their shortcomings and agonized over their painfully close losses.  Players, going from 18-20 year old children to 30 year old men, fighting 12 years to raise the trophy.  Fighting to be free of the past and be great in the present.

This is a tender, gorgeous cover of the best Chvrches song.  Lending the song the sensitivity and fragility that was previously masked by the pounding beats. 

It takes some time to get used to Samuel Herring's voice.  But this Baltimore based synth-pop band is absolutely captivating.  Once the longing and desire Herring's voice draws you in, the lyrics reverberate with the listener.  Herring's voice glides all over the place from tender to nearly metallic throaty rasp.   His voice gives the pretty standard lyrical content "spend my days just thinking of you" depth that accompanies vocals sung with feeling and conviction.  Much like 50s love songs are never called "trite."

However, on "Singles" the music doesn't leave Herring to do all the work on his own.  The arrangements are lush - transforming possibly cold sounding electronic music into atmospheric fullness.  The music resembles rock music both in arrangement and the way the synths and keyboards are intentionally produced to dial down their electronic sound. 

A energetic new track I got off pigeonsandplanes.com.  On "Bossy"  Young Thug sounds a little like Lil Wayne and the production has a lot of Wayne-like qualities as well.  There's the very Wayne-like shouting out of items to start out the song, such as "kush" and "saga."  Although Thug's verses are not full of word play, he is incredibly confident and he effectively raps very quickly.  Thug isn't particularly introspective, rapping about putting macks on people and traditional rap posturing.  But it comes off light-hearted, entertaining and never distracting.  Slug's guest verse is a great way to break the song up and stands out while not seeming like it's from a different song.  

I started this essay when I saw a film called "Nutty Naughty Chateau" directed by Roger Vadim (of Barbarella fame.)  One of the primary reasons I wanted to see the film was because it was rare.  It has classic European actors such as Monica Vitti and Trintignant, but I have never seen it discussed in any forum.  Upon seeing it, I can confirm that it its rarity is also its most redeeming quality.  The quality of the film I saw was very poor, but from what I could tell it was a tone deaf and manic comedy that doesn't have a lot of insight or jokes. 

As a consumer of art and culture, one often gets caught up in the chase for the rare. The album that has not been surveyed very often, by a band that just put out 1 or 2 records; the book that has not been re published, the movie that is not a "classic" rather, a forgotten old film.

Discovery and preservation is still very much up to the consumer. The internet gives a false sense of limitlessness, and because it has in fact increased the breadth of possible discoveries, the sense is pervasive. But there's more than just snobbery and geekery to digging through a crate of one dollar records to discover that which has been discounted by most;  It's a way to look back at and keep alive the past, be it recent or less so.

The goal is understandable. At its best the quest for the rare is a mix of wanting a more complete perspective, mixed with vanity and the opportunity to evaluate something that has not been culturally pre-processed for you. For instance, imagine how much better something like Led Zeppelin’s IV would be, if you had not heard about how great Zeppelin is before you ever listened to the album.

But rarity and its pursuit has another very valuable aspect, the pursuer and finder of the rare, regardless of medium, becomes the preserver of a piece of culture that may otherwise be lost to history.  The best part of it, is that one does not need to do so consciously, engaging with and sharing non-mainstream art is in of itself the act of preservation. 

Almost unconsciously we assume that art is permanent and static. But much like a language, art deteriorates when not used, and many things are lost because the proper channels of distribution were not available at the right time.

It’s tempting to see the internet as a means of providing access to undiscovered rarities. And that is arguably true for new works, but older works require effort to upload online and the only work that can reasonably be expected to be preserved by the internet is music. Films, fiction, to not even speak of fine art or poetry are all very difficult to keep alive. For instance, torrent streams feature a lot of films, and not only pirated mainstream films, but few users would keep the films uploaded if streaming become more penalized. The films would return to the users personal libraries never to be heard from again.

For another example, although there are a lot of projects that upload and scan books online, including most prominently Google Books, the library that needs to be uploaded far outweighs the interest and momentum behind getting texts online.

The Soft Pack

"Answer to Yourself"

I had never heard of this band, prior to hearing the song at a bar and asking the bartender what the song was.  I really enjoy it's basic rhythm, with the strong drum backbone.  The song is traditionally catchy and gets stuck ones head.  Its melding of punk song structure, with sufficient smoothness to appeal to people who like their rock a little less Ramones infused. 

A close listen to the song also demonstrates Matt Lamkin's clever songwriting.  At first espousing a great pep talk: "You got a talent don't you know? /You're more talented than you know /And you give it a shot /And give it the time /And be surprised how far it goes" And then adding contours to that upbeat message with the nearly screamed chorus: "But I think I'm gonna die/Before I see my time/But I think I'm gonna die/Trying anyway"

For most people, even successful ones, what the world allows us to do does not usually take advantage of the talents we hold dearest.  And rarely are all our abilities put to full use.  Every once in a while, you may have the opportunity to use your full abilities in the area that you are most gifted, but more often than not, we are just trying to get by and work hard to get to the next brief moment where we get to do what we love and are best at.

For Lake Bell, this idea is on display both in life of the character, she plays, Carol, and in the actual creation of her directorial and writing debut - “In A World.”

Lake Bell is known as an actress, she has been in countless films, including a lot of commercial romantic comedies, including "It’s Complicated," and "No Strings Attached;" she also played Rachel in the short lived but entertaining HBO show, "How To Make It in America." (In general the cast of that show is filled with actors that should be way more successful.)

I have never seen a film take advantage of the vast on screen talents, although in her roles, her comic timing and presence have always been readily apparent.  What is more suprising and disheartening is that a studio has never tapped her her excellent directorial and writing skills.  If nothing else, "In A World" makes one think about how much under exposed talent there is that has been ignored for the sake of convention.

“In A World” is the story of Carol, a mildly successful voice over artist and vocal coach; who happens to be the daughter of a famous VO artist. The film follows Carol as she tries to get a bigger break in the male dominated industry while negotiating her love life, her relationship with her dad and her sister. However, the films ambitions lie beyond the basic narrative. The film explores the power of voice, sexism and male expectations for women to settle for second best. “In A World” grazes over a lot of characters, giving them only slight context, but Bell develops Carol so well both on the page and in her comic performance, that Carol’s engagement with the other characters lends all their interactions depth and comedic value.

The film also benefits from Bell's restraint as a director. Bell successfully fits in a romance, an exploration of a father daughter and sibling relationship, touches on her sisters marriage and allows Carol to be surrounded by numerous other people all in an hour and a half. While a certain amount of depth is sacrificed for the sake of the numerous plot lines and at times the pacing of the film seems rushed, the film doesn’t get bogged down by any one story line and ably explores the numerous challenges and interactions Carol faces. By adding more storylines, the film gets richer and more engaging, not settling for being just a romantic comedy or just an exploration of one woman’s attempts to break through a glass ceiling.

Carol, is a striver, trying to make more of her career than her surroundings suggest that she should. Likewise Bell, is trying to break into an extremely male dominated industry. It is evident from her confident debut that her ambitions always lay beyond the boxes standard Hollywood fare tried to place on her.  Neither Carol, nor "In A World," are willing to settle, not for being one type of character or one type of movie. Bell’s abilities to have a fully realized comic performance, while directing and writing the film is indicative of the depths of her under- deployed talents. 

I'm Not Part of Me is the new track by the Cloud Nothings.  Their first album "Attack on Memory" was one of the better instances of the "punk revival" trend that's really taking hold in rock music right now.  Their new album Here and Nowhere Else, arrives in about a month.

I'm Not Part of Me sounds cleaner and better produced than anything on Attack On Memory.  Yet the song  doesn't lose the edge that makes their music arresting.  A lot of good punk music has a dancability and a limb flailing energy to it, that makes it infectious, without necessarily poppy.  Cloud Nothings embody that aesthetic, but their album music does bleed into pop-punk, whereas their shows are filled with a visceral, almost angry energy more in line with their major influences such as Suicidal Tendencies. 

The song is weightless, not overly laden with trying to be meaningful, yet is constantly propelling forward encouraging the listener to engage with the song. The lyrics are relatable,  mostly about trying to control only what you can, and developing a new perspective, it's not intentionally a "mature" song. 

Musically, the fuzzy, but not too fuzzy guitars hold the structure of the song together and give it a rhythmic framework, around which to enjoy Dylan Baldi's great voice and commanding presence. The drums are somewhat muted and letting the pop-punk melodies shine through. 

"Beyonce" has been a constant for me since she put out the new album, and I thought I would start with something easy to post, before I get back to trying to write new things.  I think this is a beautiful and powerful song.  It is both grand and intimate and fun all at the same time.  Like all great love songs, it conjures the feeling of love inside the listener, making them think of the people they love and how they match the feelings expressed in the song perfectly.

The album on the whole is very strong.  Particularly, songs such as Mine, Partition and Flawless show how many different faces Beyonce can carry through one album.  She is at different points, revelatory- when talking about postpartum issues on "MIne", sexualized and angry like on "Flawless. All the while, Beyonce maintains complete control over her product (for instance shooting videos that accompany the album without the complete knowledge of the guest stars who are on the album.)  Lending the album an element of mystery, because she only gives the listener as much as she seems to want to give.

"Beyonce" is also moody, particularly with regard to the darker slower beats that dominate the album and has a lot of a-rhythmic singing and some spoken word like sections.  Besides, "XO", there's no radio ready single.  Something, that's been very enjoyable throughout her career is Beyonce's mean streak, from Dangerously In Love onwards, Beyonce is not afraid to tell people to take a hike, resort to making people jealous and generally give off an air that she is not one to suffer fools. This quality is on full display here and it makes for compelling listening.  The threat level on, for instance, "Jealous" makes the song much more convincing.  Her evocations of how she will make someone jealous and her tone of voice while singing highlight that her threats should be heeded.

In the Way Way Back, Liam James plays Duncan, a 14 year old that is spending the summer with his mom and her new boyfriend, who he does not like.  Duncan, feeling alienated, starts to go on a lot of bike rides and eventually gets a job at a water park where Owen, the owner of the water park played by Sam Rockwell, befriends him and teaches him valuable life lessons.  Somewhere in the midst of this standard set of tropes, he meets and falls in love with a pretty girl; cracks the case that his mom's boyfriend really is an ass, because 14 year old intuition is up there with those of an FBI profiler; and generally becomes more of an adult over the course of what the film believes to be a very important summer.

This self-absorbed, wretched piece of cinema is made harder to criticize because the problems with it are similar to the problems of a lot of coming of age films.  But the Way Way Back's sappy nostalgia and misguided belief that Liam is a special flower that needs nurturing makes the film that much poorer than your average, poor coming of age story.

The main problem with The Way Way Back is that there is a laziness to the production.  The film makes the audience do too much of the internal work.  Coming of age stories are popular because they're virtually universally relatable and usually the viewer does some of the work in filling in the blank spaces that this type of film often leaves.  In a typical film, when watching a scene where a girl meets a boy and there's the spark of initial attraction, or when an older person gives a younger one a sage piece of wisdom, the character serves as a placeholder for the audience to think back on their own awkward or important moments that were part of growing up.  However, in this case, Duncan's lack of charisma strains the credulity of Owen wanting to teach Duncan the ways of the world and Susanna, the girl he falls in love with, actually liking him.  Ostensibly The Way Way Back posits that people should like and help this kid because he could use some guidance, and he's 14, but that's rarely a good enough reason in life or in film.

It's a particular shame that the film is so poor because it wastes a very capable cast.  Toni Collette is given the thankless role of bland mother of would-be rebellious teen, if rebellion constituted riding your bike at night.  Steve Carrell takes a possibly complex character and makes him an obvious and one-note jerk.  From the opening scene where he rates Duncan as a "3" on a scale of 1-10, he fails to demonstrate why exactly someone would want him as a boyfriend, much less go away for a summer with him.  Allison Janney's opening scene, where she plays Liam's charming and possibly alcoholic neighbor is so well acted that it gives one a lot of hope.  Then Janney, along with the rest of the cast, are wasted by being given flat characters who serve as narrative devices to lead Duncan along.

Even The Way Way Back's incongruent desire to have an 80's soundtrack and a water park that by the film's own admission is "stuck in the 80's" frustrates the film's intentions.  Directors Nat Faxon (who also acts in the film) and Jim Rash wish to demonstrate a more innocent time, where kids just wanted a girl to kiss and be employed at a water-park.  But because the film never entirely commits to being set in a different time and just casts an 1980ish feel over the film, their direction comes off as saccharine and pointless rather than wistful.