Foster the People's Supermodel

Most of the songs on Foster the People’s new album, Supermodel, sound like they came from their debut, Torches. But this isn’t a bad thing.

There’s the same layering of different sounds – the electric synths, catchy guitar riffs, and most notably, lead singer Mark Foster’s trademark high-pitched falsetto. And just as the first album did, Supermodel puts all of these elements together to create a string of delightful, radio-friendly songs, most of which could serve as the album’s lead single. It’s also a concept album, which admittedly, I had no idea of before reading the Wikipedia article. Even so, Foster attempts to bring the sound of Torches to a more mature set of lyrics. These lyrics aren’t always audible, and there’s a lot of “Oooohs” and “Na Nas,” but that’s okay, because the songs all sound really good.

Supermodel begins with “Are You What You Want to Be,” which sets the tone for the songs to come. You can’t hear what he’s saying in the verses, but the noise around them is so catchy that this hardly matters. There’s layering of sound that all compliments the song – the acoustic riff, the synths, and the falsetto all come together to create a wonderful pop song.

Foster slows the pace a touch with “Ask Yourself” before arriving at the album’s actual lead single, the third song, “Coming of Age.” It’s a song that also uses the same template to build – starting with a brief, twenty-second introduction of a slowed electric riff, before exploding into a dance song. Foster sings, “my fear pulls me out to sea / and the stars are hidden by my pride and my enemies,” a rather cumbersome lyric. But you wouldn’t know it, because the music is pretty damn happy.

Foster’s falsetto glides through the next two tracks, “Nevermind” and “Pseudologia Fantastica,” before arriving at an interesting bridge track, “The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones.” It’s only thirty seconds, and it’s only a simple layering of vocals, but it reminds the listener that the album is, in fact, an album, and not just a collection of could-be radio singles.

It’s also well placed, because after the track comes the finest song on the album, “Best Friend.” Like “Coming of Age,” the song is rather dour in subject, discussing living and dealing with a drug addict. But again, it’s so catchy that you wouldn’t know it. There are a few bars of slower electric guitar riff (sensing a pattern, anyone?) and then the breakdown of the song into that great, familiar falsetto, on top of electric synths, and whistles, and horns.

And this is how the songs on Supermodel go. As much as a lot of them sound alike (as well as those on Torches), they still sound great. Mark Foster knows that he’s doing – he clearly knows the definition of “catchy” through and through, and his talent is undeniable. He covers about three octaves with his voice, and the album’s production is impeccable. There’s only three people in Foster the People, but the lead singer has the talent of five men, and sometimes, that’s all you need in the music business.

Pharrell Williams's Happy and it's Delightful Music Video

Why is the music video for Pharrell Williams’s “Happy” so great?

It’s not simply because the song accompanying it is undeniably catchy, or that it’s a revolutionary, mind-bending video which we’ve never before seen.

It’s a pretty simple premise – Pharrell’s song plays while the video cuts to a random person clapping and dancing, and lip syncing the words to the song. There’s plenty of people shown – white, black, men, women, short, tall, young, old. There’s a guy folding sheets and then there’s Jimmy Kimmel.

But the music video is great because it doesn’t actually tell us why any of the people depicted are happy. They just are. Pharrell isn’t telling anybody why they should be happy, or what to do to achieve this happiness. He’s just happy himself, and so are the rest of the people in the video.

And these people are all placed on the same level with each other. Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t get any more screen time than the non-celebrities in the video just because he happens to host a television show. He’s grouped in right along with everybody else, because being happy isn’t something that’s reserved just for celebrities or the rich and famous. Pharrell shows that anybody can be happy – it doesn’t matter how, or why, or even if this happiness is going to stay for a long period of time. He just shows that it exists, and when it comes, maybe it’s worth stopping for a little bit to smell the roses before going back to the grind.

On the Shocking Turn of Events in last week's Game of Thrones

The second episode of the fourth season of HBO’s flagship ensemble series, Game of Thrones, entitled “The Lion and the Rose,” was a classic example of the epic surprise that the show enjoys pulling on its viewers. The surprises in the previous seasons, however, almost always came in the ninth episode of the series rather than the second. This made the (SPOILERS from here on out) death of repugnant, hated King Joffrey all the more shocking in the context of the show itself.

We, the non-book readers, were expecting some sort of grand showdown in the latter seasons of the show – whether it be from a Stark challenger, or Daenerys from across the Narrow Sea. But the showrunners, who have proven time and time again that they refuse to bend to traditional television norms, pulled a fast one and knocked off the villain halfway from the show’s finish line. It’s a bold move, because Joffrey was one of those characters that viewers loved to hate.

But as much as the character was hated, he was still a fantastic character – a to-the-bone example of evil, sociopathy, and vanity all tied together effortlessly by Jack Gleeson. Yes, we all wanted him gone, but with his removal, a crucial element of the story is now gone. Who is left to moan about on social media on Sunday nights? The second most worthy character of hatred is Ramsay Snow, but as much as he has proven to be a complete psychopath, he isn’t the king, and he doesn’t directly affect the lives of the characters we love – at least not yet.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see where the show goes from this point forward. 

Going to a Jam Band Concert and Getting My Mind Blown - The moe. Experience

I’ve been going to concerts for a pretty long time. It’s interesting to look back at my concert progression over the course of my life to think about all the different kinds of shows I’ve been to, and all of the fantastic genres I’ve been able to experience live. I’ve seen mid-2000s ‘emo’ (A Fall Out Boy concert in seventh grade, my first live experience), progressive metal (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), 90’s music (Weezer) and much, much more.

Recently, since coming to college, I’ve tried to see the pantheon live bands that my friends profess as life-changing experiences, even if I’ve never heard a song by that band before. And, while hyperbolic, I can say that going to these shows has allowed me to enjoy genres that I never would have imagined finding interest in.

This past Wednesday was my first jam band show. There’s a lot of ‘jam band’ people in the world, and before last week, I would have said I was not one of them. I tend to think back to the “Die Hippies Die” episode of South Park – where Cartman piledrives through a massive amount of hippies who have converged on the town to have a jam festival. It always seemed like jam bands never went anywhere, and that they just played hours and hours of music with no narrative. The music happens, and it sounds nice, but there’s no progression to a musical climax .

It's the corporations, man

I am now happy to report that I was entirely wrong, after seeing the Buffalo, NY band moe. at Stage AE. The band holds many values of a traditional jam band – 45 minute songs, improvisational solos, very few lyrics. But within these long stretches of pure music were the rises and falls, and the climaxes that I had assumed were absent at a jam band concert. I had never even heard of the band before I went to the concert, only knowing what my friend Jason had told me regarding the last time he had seen the band: “They walk on, play three hours of music, and walk off.” And while the three-hour experience was broken up by a twenty minute set break, I can say that this statement totally encapsulates a moe. concert. There was very little interaction with the crowd, which I found interesting. Usually a lead singer will stop every so often and converse with the crowd, or talk about the lyrics in his song. But moe., with only a couple of exceptions, comes on the stage and plays music. They’re not reserved from the audience, but they seem to know there’s no need to entertain the people in the crowd in any other way other than their riveting and exciting musicianship.

moe. is a jam band of five – consisting of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a percussionist. The percussionist, Jim Loughlin, mostly stayed concentrated on his xylophone. It was a jarring sight to see before the concert – a huge xylophone at a rock show. But Loughlin’s xylophone solos were some of the best pieces of live music I’ve ever seen. 

An example of Laughlin's xylophone expertise

The two guitarists, Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier, were absolute maestros, dueling each other with longer and longer solos throughout the night. Each of these solos occurred inside a larger song, but were songs in their own right, with beginnings, middles, and ends.

The moe. concert wasn’t my favorite concert, because they weren’t my favorite band going in. But I can say that it was the show with the most musical expertise exhibited throughout the night. There was simply nothing to do after the show but admire the talent that the musicians in this band have. I’ll definitely be going to the concert the next time moe. comes to town. Next time, maybe I’ll know some of the words too.

Spike Jonze's Her Review

The story of Spike Jonze’s fourth feature film, Her, revolves around a man, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), who falls in love with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). The catch of their relationship is that Samantha is trapped inside a computer – she has no body, and exists only as a sentient operating system. Jonze sets out to create a deeply compelling love story in his film, and does so quite well. The problem with Her, though, is that the compelling love story is not the one between man and machine, but rather, Theodore and his ex-wife Catherine (Rooney Mara).

            Before Theodore begins his relationship with Samantha, he has ended his relationship with Catherine. Or rather, she left him, because, in her words, “he couldn’t put up with real emotions and tried to put me on Prozac.” But before the demise of their marriage, there was true, passionate love, which Jonze shows the audience in montage form interspersed throughout the film. These montages, both cinematically and emotionally, are the most beautiful moments of the film. In a film laden with lingering, awkward close-ups, the montages instead pull back the camera and show the two caressing each other, laughing, smiling, and sometimes, even fighting. And we see the relationship end, with Catherine, tears in her eyes, sitting at the kitchen table, and Theodore looking upon her with his hands on his hips, tired and hopeless. But it’s beautiful, visible love, regardless of its end.

            But of course, this relationship was not meant to be the emotional core of Her. This distinction falls to Theodore and Samantha. And unfortunately, it happens to be the weak link in a film that surrounds it with fantastic secondary elements. Too much screen time is devoted to Theodore, sitting in his bed, or lying on a beach, simply talking to Samantha. And while Jonze’s intent of having the viewer solely focus on their relationship in these scenes is evident, he goes overboard with awkward close-ups of Joaquin Phoenix’s face. The camera hovers, and a feeling of intrusiveness sweeps through the theater, and it becomes hard to maintain focus on the screen, as Theodore speaks in a high pitched, nasally squeak that matches the awkwardness of the cinematography. The awkwardness is not derived from the fact that a man is dating his computer, but rather, that Jonze forces this relationship to be observed from an angle much too uncomfortable. Theodore is an awkward person, and Phoenix capably shows this part of his personality. But his awkwardness is not enjoyable in these scenes from the perspective of the theater seat.

            It is saddening that these close-ups and minimalistic man-computer scenes do not fully convey the beauty that the rest of the film does. Awkwardness aside, Phoenix’s performance is a passionate one, and his emotion regarding his relationships is strong. His eyes are heavy when he is sad and starry when he is happy. Amy Adams, as Amy, delivers a fantastic performance in support. Amy’s relationship with Charles (Matt Letscher) takes a toll on her, and the tiredness is visible on her face. She too begins a relationship with her operating system, and though it is platonic, Amy’s face begins to show more life as the film moves towards the conclusion. Chris Pratt, playing Theodore’s work companion Paul, is happy-go-lucky, and his lively, passionate smiles clearly show his love for both his girlfriend Tatiana (Laura Kai Chen) and the world around him.

            The soundtrack of the film is also fantastic, and matches up extremely well with the themes of love, happiness, and compassion. The preeminent indie band of the new millennium, Arcade Fire, scored the film, and their music provides a quirky, post-modern sound to the film. The soundtrack, full of slow, melodic piano rhythms, occurs mostly in the enjoyable montage portions of the film, and strengthens the passionate emotion seen on screen. The final scene, one of the most emotional in the film, would not be so without the fantastic post-rock instrumental piano piece that accompanies it.

            Jonze’s postmodern visuals, long a trademark in his films, also helps to set the mood of the film. The mis en scene is almost never symmetrical, and each of the sets is filled with low furniture and bright, aesthetically pleasing colors. Jonze also pumps a large amount of red and white into his design, whether it is in the color of clothing or in the luscious, bright lighting. These colors, symbolizing the purity and passion of love, are strong visual motifs that carry a large amount of emotional weight on their own accord.

            So while the main focus of the film is lacking, the supporting elements stand strongly enough on their own and make Her an enjoyable film. Jonze is a talented filmmaker, and even though, at some moments, the awkwardness overpowers the surrounding features of the film, the visual and audial aesthetics show a true beauty and passion. These features may not be the main element of the film, but are the definitive reason for buying a ticket to the movie.

On the Developing Jameis Winston Sexual Assault Situation

In the past couple of weeks, various outlets have begun to report on the sexual assault situation going on in Tallahassee, Florida, which centers around football player Jameis Winston, quarterback for the #2 Ranked, undefeated Seminoles of Florida State University. A relatively non-biased timeline of events was published by Grantland's Patricia Lee earlier today. At present, Jameis Winston's DNA is a match, and, as reads in the timeline, evidence may suggest Tallahassee PD Detective Scott Angulo worked to pressure the alleged victim to halt her prosecution of Winston because of his celebrity as a football player. Only now, some 11 months after the crime allegedly took place, is the investigation continuing again, with the Seminoles in line to play for a championship and Winston solidly in contention for the Heisman trophy.

It's important to mention Winston's football pedigree here - not because he's "a star football player, good student, watching his life fall apart", but because I can only write this post with my own perspective, as a college football fan. I'm in no way connected to the events that December night in Tallahassee and as such, I have no right to comment on whether or not I think Winston is guilty or not, because, believe it or not, the accused are rightfully innocent until proven guilty in this country. That does not, however, change the notion that if the timeline is correct, Florida State police probably should have laid charges on Winston months before the football season even began. Winston would have been automatically suspended indefinitely, and his pedigree, which makes up a strong portion of the stories being written about him, wouldn't even exist. Maybe I wouldn't have watched a 41-13 demolition of my Pitt Panthers because he wouldn't have even been on the team in the first place, and maybe Florida State wouldn't be #2, three games away from a surely exciting championship game against Alabama. And now, this season, pending the investigation, may have an asterisk on it because Florida State police didn't want to risk a football player getting in trouble.

But the above paragraph is exactly the troubling thing about this case. I'm thinking about the repercussions towards the Vizio National Championship game, for God sakes. And in Tallahassee, there's a girl who's well on her way to being branded a liar and a villain for targeting a football player at a very volatile time in the Seminoles season. And that's why I have to talk about football - because if Scott Angulo actually did his job instead of protecting Winston, there probably wouldn't be this miraculous season in the first place, and maybe that girl could have had her privacy and well-being protected, instead of getting the label of "season-killing pariah".

It's sad, because this is going to keep happening. Celebrities and athletes will always be protected, regardless of their state of guilt, and an attack on the quarterback is an attack on the university the way things are right now. Until we finally grow up and treat everybody equally - men and women, football players and regular students, and give each and every person in this nation the true due process of law as both accusers and defendants, nothing will change. And again, this isn't a comment or accusation insinuating that Winston is guilty, or that he isn't - but he was looked at as Jameis Winston, Florida State quarterback, instead of Jameis Winston, suspect, and that's wrong. It's sad, because I love college football - I grew up on the belief behind alma mater and the players representing the university. And it sucks that the big dollars and the promise of the NFL have turned it into a pre-professional athlete mill. Until we all stop worrying about winning and the pressure, and college football returns to those values it championed for decades upon decades, this will be but one of many more morally troubling situations that will plague the game for years to come.