Mos Def

The Ecstatic

Until now, my only experience with Mos Def has been seeing him as that supporting black guy in films. In each movie (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Italian Job, Be Kind Rewind, etc.) I have been 100% satisfied with his performance. His ability to satisfy remains strong in his music as well. While I have no desire to go buy the rest of his albums or join the Mos Def fan club I still enjoyed listening to his performance. My only problem is his voice. When rapping, A-OK. When he has to hit any note outside of his speaking range, ARRGH! It's bad. Thankfully he sticks mostly to the spoken word and lets other contributing artists handle the singing. Rap and Hip-hop fans: Go buy now. Other music fans: Go borrow now.

Bran Flakes

I Have Hands

This album is like that one odd friend that you love because he's so weird but that the rest of your friends can't stand. There are a lot of fun gems on the album and a fan of mash-up artists should definitely pick up a copy. However, an average listener may be a bit annoyed by some of the more repetitive or experimentally quirky tracks. I liked it for its upbeat and catchy mood, but don't want to put my full stamp of approval on something that I know isn't for everyone. I can say with confidence that I would love to see more from The Bran Flakes in the future.

Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton)

Recently (a couple weeks ago?) some new images came out of Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll classic "Alice in Wonderland" (see here: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=56475). Many, upon seeing these pictures, lost their shit and prematurely hailed it as the best movie of 2010.

Hey look! It's Johnny Depp! I've never seen him before in a Tim Burton movie...Oh look how dark and whimsical and kooky he looks! What a twisted take on a children's fairy tale character! Tim Burton has never done that before...

Oh wait! Who's this? It's Helena Bonham Carter! I sure am glad that Tim Burton likes to cast newcomers in his films, people who have never worked with him before in any other remotely similar film. Wow, look how dark and victorian and creepy she looks! Tim Burton has never done that before...

And look at those pictures of the landscape! See how everything is dark and curly? I'm glad that Tim Burton enjoys challenging himself stylistically in each of his films. Why look at those giant flowers! They have faces in them and they're giant! How creepy and kooky! Tim Burton has never made anything look so...so...kooky before! And all of the characters look so pale...I wonder if pale skin is going to be a new thing that Tim Burton likes to give his characters...

This movie is going to be a big jump for Tim Burton both artistically and musically (I heard he's collaborating with Danny Elfman or something. I don't know how the critics are going to react to that combination!). I just think it's going to be tough for Burton since he's never really done this kind of thing with his films...nope...never...

Grizzly Bear

Veckatimest

Here's a little trivia: Did you know that Veckatimest is not a word? Of course you did! You would think, however, that if a band was going to make up a word for themselves, a totally acceptable practice, they would at least make up a word that is easier to pronounce.

That being said, my quest to find a definition for Veckatimest was far more interesting than the album. I call it "sleepy rock." Not everything was bad, just really, really boring. Even the decent tracks weren't enjoyable enough to grab my attention. Don't you dare buy it. Hopefully slow sales will teach them to be more interesting.

It was terribly difficult to make it through the whole thing so I eased my boredom by exploring a much better use of my time: http://osocio.org/ Check it out. Socially conscious advertising that makes you feel good about yourself just for looking at it!