Tags: Picture of the day
There are a lot of chicks out there with cute voices that instantly make a listener want to get warm under blankets, so it seems important to say that Samantha Savage Smith isn’t just a pretty voice. She’s a terrific songwriter, composer, arranger, and guitar player. Bluesy, moody, indie folk for folks who can appreciate the craft of music.
A word about the production, by Lorrie Matheson: It is crisp and clean and nonintrusive–the perfect atmosphere to showcase this great talent.
You can stream the whole thing free at Bandcamp.
Or check out “Devilman” here (mp3).
Here’s a live vid of her on the title track:
Tags: Indie
It’s a damn shame when history gets in the way of a good story … Reagan is probably spinning in his grave.
If you aren’t watching Community, you’re an asshole.
Sometimes, it’s nice to hear some good old fashioned real music. The kind where some guys who are very good at what they do get together and play instruments and sing. Remember that stuff?
Will Currie and the Country French do. Real good stuff.
And here they are playing “City,” also off their new album.
The cello shredding, old-soul singing, bicycle touring, social activist ball-o-musician Mr. Ben Sollee is giving away his new album over the weekend at http://www.bensollee.com/
And in other free news….
Topshelf’s 2011 sampler is free here.
The new single Black Holes by Smoke Signals is free here.
Tags: Free Album!
“Out in the Light,” the debut album by Waters, made it really hard for me to read Joe Casey’s new comic book Butcher, Baker, Righteous Maker. See, I had a bunch of submissions on my iPod and was finishing up a dull one and readin’ my comics–as I love to do–when the new album by Van Pierszalowski’s new band came on…And all I could do was listen.
The former member of Port O’Brien, a well-respected band that’s never really moved me overmuch, has put together a great indie rock album. It’s fast moving rockers are catchy and cool, it’s slower numbers are compelling…And the lyrics will grab you and hold you and never let you go.
There will be those who say this isn’t breaking any new ground–that this is just standard, workaday indie–and I get that. There’s nothing here you haven’t heard before. But that’s kind of like saying that there was rock and roll before the Foo Fighters, and gangsta rap before Snoop: There was indie before Waters, that’s true. But when you’re like me, and you hear about 20 new records a month, you can really appreciate how amazing it is to find an album that you can listen to–really listen to–from start to end. One that can keep your attention in the slow songs and make your heart race through the fast ones. One that can make you think, listen, smile, and appreciate. Appreciate.
The song I’m offering to taste, Back to You, is as good as anything quick sensation Yuck produced this year. The difference is that with Waters, you get a whole album of good stuff–not just a single.
I love this record. I’m glad Port O’Brien broke up.
Now excuse me, I got a comic to go finish.
And here’s a cover:
Tags: Indie
At the break, you can read my thoughts about the best of the new 52 and what I think of Starfire’s boobs. But the headline has to be the new Avengers trailer, and related news…
First off, the trailer is awesome. Why is it awesome? Cap uses a gun! Avengers Tower! Updated costumes (except, strangely, for Iron Man)! We get to see Loki versus the U.S. Army, and of course they’re ineffective, so Nick Fury and Agent Coulson summon the team. The trailer then shows a fairly traditional “assemble” scene, with each of the heroes getting ready to answer the call, but then we flash ahead to Loki in custody. At least the heroes don’t all fight each other. (But Cap and Thor do, later in the trailer.) It makes me wonder how much screentime the heroes will actually share…But it’s extremely geek-out cool anyway. Next, we see Fury addressing the team. They’re getting ready for something; presumably, either Loki escaped or the rumors of a Skrull invasion were true and we get to see a little sub-story. I certainly hope there’s more than one major battle. No, I don’t hope it. I expect it. The trailer closes with the inevitable Hulk transformation, which looks pretty good as CGI. I wonder if there will be only one Hulk appearance? Frankly, one is probably enough. With so many interesting characters in the film, I don’t think you need more than one big Hulk scene.
Of course, there’s already controversy with several folks alleging that the preview used existing footage from Iron Man. Michael Bay recently recycled a sequence from his godawful “The Island” picture in his somewhat less godawful Tranformers 3, so movie nerds are on the watch for this stuff. I’m not all that worried—I wouldn’t expect Whedon to have a lot of completed FX shots available for a trailer for a movie that isn’t set to come out for over 6 months. It’s frankly too soon for a trailer, but in these days of instant rewards, I guess the studios feel like they have to keep the hype going. It’s kind of like holding a primary for a national election in January—too soon, and leaves too much time for doubt and negativity to damage the actual release date.
Bleeding Cool has a side-by-side comparison, if you’re curious.
Watch the trailer here:
Meanwhile, Hasbro previewed the toy tie-ins at NYCC, showing both 3- and 6-inch action figures of the main characters. You can find pix of all of them on the internet; Hawkeye has the most remarkable resemblance to the actor (Jeremy Renner), but of course he looks nothing like the actual comic character he’s based on. Black Widow, unfortunately, looks like a cheap sex doll. In the actual film trailer she looks completely different: Like an expensive sex doll. Iron Man is the coolest—but he’s got the circular unibeam, while the trailer shows the more modern one.
Now, hit the break for more comic news.
Tags: Captain America, Comic books, Superheroes, Superman, The Avengers, The Caped Crusader, Thor, Zombies
