MusicGeek.org http://www.musicgeek.org/wp Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:08:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 en Movie Review: (2008) Made Of Honor http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/19/movie-review-2008-made-of-honor http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/19/movie-review-2008-made-of-honor#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:33:16 +0000 AlanRay Lloyd http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/19/movie-review-2008-made-of-honor Made Of HonorI must admit that I am biased towards this movie, I have a big crush on Michelle Monaghan. That being said, this is your standard romantic comedy. A guy drunkenly gets into bed with the wrong girl in college, they end up forming a friendship. Ten years later the girl goes to Europe for six weeks, during that time the guy realizes how much he loves her, she comes back engaged to be married to an Irishman. The guy of course accepts her request to be the maid of honor. The usual shenanigans take place over the next few weeks, at the last minute she changes her mind and decides that he’s the right guy. They apparently live happily ever after. Your standard fare romantic comedy. I’m not saying that there weren’t laughs, there were plenty of laughs. Patrick Dempsey is believable as the ladies man turned devoted friend. Michelle Monaghan is lovely as the confused bride to be. If you enjoy romantic comedies then you will probably enjoy this movie.

I’ll give it a B- Personally I enjoyed it quite a bit, because I have a thing for these sappy movies.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/19/movie-review-2008-made-of-honor/feed Movie Review: (2006) The Sasquatch Gang http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/movie-review-2006-the-sasquatch-gang http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/movie-review-2006-the-sasquatch-gang#comments Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:18:50 +0000 AlanRay Lloyd http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/movie-review-2006-the-sasquatch-gang The Sasquatch GangThe Sasquatch Gang is a comedy akin to Napoleon Dynamite in that it is quirky and awkward. The execution of such a comedy can be challenging, this group pulls it off well. The cast, composed mainly of unknown actors, does an excellent job selling their respective characters. The way the story is told is interesting, it unfolds somewhat like a comic book being told from the perspective of many characters. Each chapter is one character’s view of roughly the same time line. Justin Long is terrific as the prototypical redneck American with a wicked mullet drinking PBR and hanging out with his buddy that doesn’t wear a shirt. The movie centers around three nerdy friends who, among other things, participate in live role-playing with foam swords and other weapons. This results in some humorous moments between the protagonists and antagonists at various points in the movie. The portrayal of the teenage nerd coming of age is spot on, awkward romance and all. All of this makes for a pleasurable viewing experience, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Napoleon Dynamite and other similar films.

I give it an A-

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/movie-review-2006-the-sasquatch-gang/feed Released This Week: Salme Dahlstrom - The Acid Cowgirl Audio Trade http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/released-this-week-salme-dahlstrom-the-acid-cowgirl-audio-trade http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/released-this-week-salme-dahlstrom-the-acid-cowgirl-audio-trade#comments Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:37:10 +0000 Matthew Montgomery http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/released-this-week-salme-dahlstrom-the-acid-cowgirl-audio-trade Salme Dahlstrom - The Acid Cowgirl Audio TradeSalme Dahlstrom
The Acid Cowgirl Audio Trade
Kontainer Music, 2008

Salme Dahlstrom - “Superstar Crash” | download
[See post to listen to audio]

Electronically oriented pop music hits all the right spots for some people: Salme Dahlstrom, for those people, can’t be hitting too far off those. The Acid Cowgirl Audio Trade is full of interesting synthetic textures and sounds, but at some points, it lacks a bit of that important impact.

Other times, though, Dahlstrom demonstrates a nice understanding with the pop music she’s writing, and it’s those points that really define the record. While this certainly won’t be named electronic album of the year, it does feature some engaging tracks. Where Dahlstrom really succeeds is not her writing, though: Her vocals are straight from the style’s top shelf, shifting with some abandon between a sassy, in-your-face attitude and nicely harmonized standard modern pop.

Sure, The Acid Cowgirl Audio Trade isn’t the best album of the year, but Dahlstrom’s vocals will be enough for some to keep listening, and the writing, while fairly typical of pop-centric electronica, isn’t bad enough to drive away listeners.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/17/released-this-week-salme-dahlstrom-the-acid-cowgirl-audio-trade/feed Movie Review: (2004) Primer http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/16/2004-primer http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/16/2004-primer#comments Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:46:40 +0000 AlanRay Lloyd http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/16/2004-primer PrimerPrimer is an interesting independent film with a strange and hard to follow plot. After watching the first 10 minutes or so I found myself somewhat bored yet I couldn’t look away. There are very strange time-travel themes in the plot with many a paradox. Even now, after watching the entire film, I don’t completely understand everything that happened. I found the movie enjoyable because it made me think. At the same time I was left feeling unfulfilled at the ending. Without giving away too much of the plot I will try to outline things. Four friends help each other build machines in a garage, trying to invent something that will bring in some venture capital. Two of the friends decide to build something without the other two knowing and accidentally end up building some sort of time machine. From that point on the plot becomes fairly confusing and never entirely clears up. If you enjoy a movie without all of the flashy special effects of the standard sci-fi and/or a movie that will get your brain moving then this is a good choice.

Overall I will give it a C+ It was interesting, but in the end it didn’t make much sense and left me feeling like there was no reason to watch in the first place.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/16/2004-primer/feed Movie Review: (2008) What Happens In Vegas http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/15/2008-what-happens-in-vegas http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/15/2008-what-happens-in-vegas#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:51:37 +0000 AlanRay Lloyd http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/15/2008-what-happens-in-vegas What Happens In VegasI went into this movie not expecting much and in turn did not receive much. This is basically a prototypical Romantic Comedy, sans romance. The chemistry between Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher is pretty well non-existent. The whole story seems outlandish and highly unlikely. A couple of people get married in Las Vegas after an all night bender, the next day they decide to get an annulment. One of them wins 3 million dollar and the usual trail of carnage follows as they fight over who the money belongs to. This movie is really neither romantic nor comedic. The supporting cast far outshines the leads. Lake Bell playing Joy’s (Diaz) best friend is witty in her fleeting scenes. Zack Galifianakis is humorous, as is usual for him. And Rob Corddry is sufficient as Jack’s (Kutcher) buddy and lawyer Hater. All in all this movie is not very satisfying and I wouldn’t really recommend it to anyone who can’t take their brain out of their skull in order to watch it.

I give What Happens In Vegas a D.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/15/2008-what-happens-in-vegas/feed Track Review: Joel Plaskett Emergency - “Fashionable People” http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/track-review-joel-plaskett-emergency-fashionable-people http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/track-review-joel-plaskett-emergency-fashionable-people#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:40:49 +0000 Matthew Montgomery http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/track-review-joel-plaskett-emergency-fashionable-people Joel Plaskett EmergencyJoel Plaskett Emergency
Ashtray Rock
“Fashionable People”

Joel Plaskett Emergency - “Fashionable People” | download
[See post to listen to audio]

“Fashionable People,” named for the falsetto-inflected chorus line from this song, a track from 2007’s Ashtray Rock, is an entertaining romp in power pop that experiments with a variety of instrumentation styles to reach its easily listenable destination. Top it off with an entertaining video (embedded after the jump,) and you’ve got a song that sounds almost Weezerish (if I can coin a term, like all good music journalists) in its methods; however, there’s an unrestrained feel here that would place it above most recent efforts from the band Joel Plaskett undoubtedly drew some influence from.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/track-review-joel-plaskett-emergency-fashionable-people/feed Spotlight: Mokshya http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/spotlight-mokshya http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/spotlight-mokshya#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:33:44 +0000 Jared Montgomery http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/spotlight-mokshya mokshya_promoMökshya (Pronounced Moke-she-ah) is, simply put, a metal band. Hailing from Flagstaff, Arizona, they combine a message of acceptance and love with anger and disdain toward the core of this countries beliefs and systems. When I put their promo cd into my computer to listen to for the first time, I had no idea what I was in for. After hearing the first 10 seconds, I was forced crank my stereo up. I was absolutely delighted with what I got. Mökshya is not one of your run of the mill garage metal bands. These guys show real promise and real talent. They write intelligently, it’s not all guitar solos, and it’s not all thrashy, thrown together chords. All in all, I couldn’t be more pleased with Mökshya. I can only hope that I hear more music from here in Flag that shows as much promise as these talented musicians do. You can find more tracks by Mökshya on iTunes, where they have released their debut album, “?We the People!” They punch you in the face with their tunes and leave you begging for more.

Mökshya - “Blacklight”
[See post to listen to audio]

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/spotlight-mokshya/feed Video: Noah and the Whale - “5 Years Time” http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/video-noah-and-the-whale-5-years-time http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/video-noah-and-the-whale-5-years-time#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:52:09 +0000 Matthew Montgomery http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/video-noah-and-the-whale-5-years-time Noah and the WhaleNoah and the Whale, a nice little indie pop group from London, are releasing their latest, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, on Cherry Tree Records on September 16th; to promote it, they’ve released a video for “5 Years Time,” which I’ve embedded below. The track’s cute, happy, the works — in it’s own way, it fields a certain twee feel. I’m not complaining. Watch the video after the jump, or watch it on imeem.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/video-noah-and-the-whale-5-years-time/feed Sub Pop hits 20, shares anniversary with Microsoft’s Zune http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/sub-pop-hits-20-shares-anniversary-with-microsofts-zune http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/sub-pop-hits-20-shares-anniversary-with-microsofts-zune#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:32:47 +0000 Matthew Montgomery http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/sub-pop-hits-20-shares-anniversary-with-microsofts-zune So, Sub Pop, the infamous record label from Seattle, has hit 20 years old; to celebrate, they’ve released a number of exclusive items to the Zune Marketplace. Now, I don’t necessarily endorse the Zune (nor do I necessarily endorse the iPod,) but the content’s worth checking out if you’ve already got one of those neat devices. Plus, you can get $2 off each album from Sub Pop (for a limited time, of course) — so if you’ve been waiting to grab the latest from The Jesus and Mary Chain, wait no longer. Check out the video after the jump for a nice look at Sub Pop at 20.

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]]> http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/14/sub-pop-hits-20-shares-anniversary-with-microsofts-zune/feed Movie Review: (2008) Forgetting Sarah Marshall http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/13/2008-forgetting-sarah-marshall http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/13/2008-forgetting-sarah-marshall#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:25:04 +0000 AlanRay Lloyd http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/2008/08/13/2008-forgetting-sarah-marshall Forgetting Sarah MarshallForgetting Sarah Marshall isn’t exactly standard fare for the Apatow gang, but at the same time it is. Jason Segel both wrote and stars in this romantic comedy, with an emphasis on comedy. He shows his love for all things muppets in this movie, at one point even performing the opening theme song to The Muppet Show. He also shows his musical prowess by performing more than once on the piano and singing. Mila Kunis, the girl that you probably know as the annoying one from That ’70s Show, is all grown up and has turned out to be an exceptional actress, not to mention very sexy. Kristen Bell flexes her comedic muscles as she did so often on Veronica Mars. The movie is everything you have come to expect from an Apatow production and even more. Toward the end of the movie we get to see Peter Bretter’s dream of a Rock Opera about Dracula and eternal love come to life, using puppets made by the Jim Henson company no less. This has scored Segel a spot writing the script for the next Muppet movie, which he admits has been a dream of his. All in all this movie made for a very satisfying viewing experience, even the second time around only a few months after seeing it in the cinema.

Overall I would give this movie a B+. Here’s hoping that Apatow’s gang keeps bringing us funny, witty comedy for years to come.

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