Avatar

I really had no intention of seeing the most expensive film of all time. For months, the world was saturated by the buzz, constantly in the ear, more annoying than sharing a tent with a rouge mosquito. I remembered this same kind of buzz for James Cameron's Titanic, another big-budget, special effects extravaganza that became the highest grossing film of that time. And of course, I did see Titanic at the cinema.

I had decided to boycott the quarter-million epic on mere principal sometime after I saw the trailer for the 900th time. This was especially amazing considering I don't even have television at home. Then the film came out. The reviews were as I expected, lukewarm. They hailed the effects, panned the film. I further felt justified in my boycott. Then, people started watching it. The talk, oh lord the talk. So many people were saying such great things. This further fueled my anti-Avatar fire. This was until the right person talked, my friend Brant. His tastes in film are pretty reliable. If he recommends a film, I watch it.

After he hailed it as an amazing experience, I reached the inevitable point that I had to see the film. My decision to watch the film had less to do with wanting to see it than not wanting to miss it. I mean, $250,000,000 is a lot of money; it had to go somewhere. Imagine what I'd say to my future children when they ask, "What was it like seeing Avatar when those effects were cutting edge, not just expected?" I'd hate to reply, "honestly children, I'm a crazy, pretentious asshole who overtly avoids anything that the corporate media deems worthwhile. I chose to boycott this film in an effort to advance my internal socialist struggle." Hardly a worthwhile story to tell a child.

On Sunday night, a couple of my friends, Cailin and I went to a late night showing of it at our local imax theater. It wasn't really much of an imax, just a big curved screen, but it must be cooler than a normal movie screen, since the tickets were $5 more expensive. We donned giant silly 3D glasses. The only difference from the red/blue silly 3D glasses of old, is that the colors are less extreme and they are made of plastic instead of cardboard. Hardly the "cutting-edge" I was expecting.

The film was simply put, an amazing experience. The money was well used to create a spectacle of the grandest kind. The alien planet was full of life and stunningly beautiful. The wildlife looked like real animals. The blue people, despite being a work of pure high-definition pixels were exceptionally human like and warm. Never has CGI looked better and more realistic than this. The 3D effects heightened the action of the film and added a depth that further immersed the viewer into the fictional world of the film. Sadly, this was the best aspect of the film.

The story was unoriginal; just combine together Dances with Wolves and Dune and you get Avatar. Every plot idea presented on the screen was rehashed from every other war epic ever done. The script was very non-cheesy, which was nice. The actors did a splendid job with the material that was there. The film lacked much needed depth, especially with the internal conflicts within the characters. They change without looking back, old prejudices die easily on Pandora apparently. This may not be a bad thing however. With the intense sensory overload of the film, more depth of plot may have hurt the film. Plus, when this much money is pumped into a movie, it needs to reach every possible viewer.

The most astounding aspect of the film are the overt socialist themes. The evil capitalist Americans are essentially destroying this alien planet for profit. The only people who stand in their way are the communal wildlife of the planet, who are all linked by a strange force and have literal bonds to each other. No creature is more important than any other. To see such ideas used in a film that was specifically calculated to make insane amounts of money, could potentially be hinting of some larger social movement of which may are not overtly aware.

This film won't win any non-technology related Oscars, but it will be loved by current and future generations for years. Calling it the Star Wars of our generation may not be long shot. I recommend that people get up and see the film immediately, because taken out of the context of the movie screen, it will probably just be a pretty, yet flawed film when viewed upon a television.

Music Monday: Powerslave by Iron Maiden

Powerslave by Iron Maiden

Here stands one of the magnum opus of 80's British Metal. This is an album of sheer beauty, epic wonder, and kick ass metal! For some strange reason, Iron Maiden get labeled as extreme satanic metal which is just odd. It is one of the nerdiest bands ever. I mean, who the hell writes a 14minute metal adaptation of Samuel Coleridge Taylor's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?

The music, much like the cover art has an Egyptian, mid-eastern quality to it that melds well with metal. This is especially effective on the title track, which contains one of the hardest-hitting, awesome, galloping guitar riffs of the 80's. The album starts with a one-two punch of two of the most popular, anthemic tracks, "Aces High" and "Two Minutes to Midnight." The instrumental, "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)", despite the terrible title shows off Maiden's chops like none other. Though it lack a lot of the punk influence that made their earlier albums classics of the genre. They fill this void with prog rock to great results. The epic closer, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" for better or worse, helped laid the tracks from future Prog-metal bands such as Dream Theater . An essential for any metal fan.

Music Monday: Top 10 Albums of 2000-2009

Here ya go, the final ten...I bet you are all dying of suspense.


10. Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R (2000)

Although they climbed the charts with their followup, Songs for the Deaf, it was it's predecessor that was their true achievement. Full of tight, catchy, kick ass stoner-metal, this stands as the best album of the entire genre. "Better Living Through Chemistry" could possibly be the greatest hard rock song of the decade.



9. Ataxia - Automatic Writing (2004)

This unnoticed album isn't making anyone's lists. This was one of the billion of albums the Red Hot Chili Pepper's John Fruciante made in 2004. A collaboration between him and Josh Klinghofer (his replacement in the RHCP), and Joe Lally, this is a droning album of sparse post-punk-like rock that stands as one of the most depressing albums of the decade. It features some great solos and amazing bass lines. Too bad they only came together for one session.



8. System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)

This stands as of the few Nu Metal albums that shouldn't be destroyed forever (oh yeah, that's another style of the decade I forgot to trash). Unlike their untalented peers, System of a Down managed to make complex experimental pop-metal. The songs change tempos suddenly without warning. Thrash becomes Armenian folk, then combines together. Dark and powerful, the lyrics in this album are either genius political satire or a bunch of nonsense. I can't really tell. All I know is that this album is awesome and stands the soundtrack to late teen years for many of my generation.



7. Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium (2002)

In late 2002, early 2003, everyone I know put this album into the CD player and it didn't leave until later that summer. This album was the musical equivalent to crack. Somehow, The Mars Volta combined, the prog-excess and soaring falsetto vocals of Rush, with the catchiness of Ramones style punk, the mystique of Led Zeppelin, and a little bit of Latin Jazz to make a album that is unlike no other. It featured some of the most kick-ass guitar solos of the decade, solid bass playing that proves that Flea is the great rock bassist ever, lyrics that were so pretentious, they had to be awesome. Mars Volta was shaping up to be the greatest band ever, then their prog excess imploded upon itself again and again with each successive release. All we have is this, their tightest album (running at only 60 minutes!).




6. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (2004)

Radiohead finally returned to rock with this moody masterpiece. Still laden with the electronic textures and tear-inducing harmonies that made previous Radiohead so great. The beefed up length softened its impact a bit, but this still stands up as another incredible release from the greatest band of my lifetime.



5. The Roots - Game Theory (2006)

The Roots finally cut out the sprawling excess and experimentation for their seventh studio album. ?love's grooves have never been tighter, Black Thought's lyrics have never been sharper, the songwriting has never been catchier. This is also the darkest the group has ever been. More proof that hip/hop deserves to be taken seriously as a musical style.




4. Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun (2000)

Yeah, this album does have some filler, but for the first eight tracks, it features some of the funkiest R&B made after the genre peaked in the late-1970's. Throw in the extended suite, "Green Eyes" and the tear-inducing, "Bag Lady" with ?love on drums, not to mention Erykah Badu's divine voice and you have neo-soul's ultimate achievement.



3. Beck - Sea Change (2002)

Somehow, Beck went from a super fun, country-funk hipster to a morose, weeping folk-rocker. The ultimate breakup album, this is a man crying through music. The album is made all the more incredible by the Beatles-style melodies throughout the album. I love to put this on when I feel sad; it always does the trick.




2. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)

So, how do you follow up a critical and popular smash hit album like, Stankonia...break up of course. Outkast's Big Boi and Andre 3000 didn't actually breakup, but they did record two solo albums and threw them together into a single package, highlighting the individual strengths. Not to say this isn't an Outkast album. Andre was present in much of Speakerboxx, exchanging verses here and there as if they are still a group, but Speakerboxx was obviously the work of Big Boi and the Love Below was obviously the work of Dre. Speakerboxxx is pop rap at its finest, funky, fun and above all danceable. The Love Below was the greatest album Prince never made. A sprawling, insane funk album with hints of club, hip/hop, lounge jazz, psychadelic rock, among other styles. The album went number one, spawned two number one hits, "The Way You Move" and "Hey Ya". It also won the Grammy for album of the year. Not bad.



1. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

Ok Computer is considered by many to be the greatest rock album of the 90s. It was an international smash hit that nearly unanimously praised by critics world wide. Suddenly, Radiohead went from being the band that did that one song "Creep" in the early 90's to superstars. So they did what any band would, abandoned their popular sound and release something completely different. Somehow, they got even better. Trading guitars for synthesizers and some boxes with cords, Radiohead made one of the greatest electronica albums ever and my personal favorite album of the decade. Despite the overt artiness of this album, it is still a collection of perfect pop songs, just well obscured by gorgeous sonic textures and other musically descriptive words that critics love to use. All I'll say is that it is an incredible album, a Sgt. Peppers of my generation.

Music Monday: Top 25 Albums of the Decade (25-11)

Well, to commemorate the end of this decade (I guess this depends on which school of decade counting one ascribes to. I'm a decade starts with 1 type person, since there is no year 0, so to me this is a silly list, but I'll stick with the popular trends here.) This was a special decade for me. Although I did pay attention to trends in the 90's, this decade was the first that I listened to new bands throughout the entire ten years. I often wonder how people will look back on the 2000's music wise. The 90's started with grunge and ended with the most bland, unoriginal crap-rock in music's history. This decade continued the trend, but the underground showed some promise. Electronica and hip/hop invade every aspect of popular music. Rock was officially buried as irrelevant (for the most part), leaving evolution to the hip/hop crowd. Indie rock became big, which was another word for more bland, rehashed crap that was a mostly major-label trend, despite the trendy name. Granted, this decade did have some of the greatest recordings of all time, but for the most part, this was another decade of CRAP!! Further proving my point that music has stopped evolving. We saw the return of the 80's, 60's, and 70's style wise, since nobody had any new ideas. After twenty years or so, we apparently forget what the music of that time was like. God help us when bands look back to 90's for some "new" ideas. Ok, enough bitching about how bad this decade of music was, now for some good!

Top 25 Albums of 2000-2009

25. Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way (2002)

By far the most relaxing album these guys have ever done. For once the Chili Peppers actually sound like 40 year olds. This is not a bad thing; they wear the hat well, dishing out some of their best songs in years, such as "Can't Stop", "Minor Thing", and "Venice Queen". Sadly, it is also twenty minutes too long and filled with boring, minor key ballads that became big hits for some stupid reason. Still one of their best efforts.

24. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

Hopefully, this album will be remembered as another great album in Radiohead's outstanding catalogue and not that one album that old band gave away for free online. I paid $15 for the album and it was worth every penny. For those used to the ridiculously dense soundscapes of Radiohead's past album ,this stripped down effort may seem a letdown. After a few listens, the songwriting reveals its rewards and further shows that Radiohead is The Beatles of now.

23. Flaming Lip - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

Let's not hate this album. Yeah, it may have been one of the big albums to usher in the whole "indie rock" phase, but this is too weird to be overtly pop. A modern psychedelic masterpiece with a keen ear for pop melodies.

22. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)

Opeth is extremely bad at two things, changing their sound and making bad albums. Although this sounds like a rehash of everything after My Arms, Your Hearse, they finally find the perfect mix of mellow prog rock and "kick-you-in-the-balls" death metal. Enlisting Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree was the best decision they've made in their career; his production style suits the band perfect on this, their strongest album.

21. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (2002)

Steve Wilson once again proves that it is possible to make relevant original prog-rock in the 2000's. As a bonus, he recorded a list of songs that could easily be radio hits as well.

20. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Lyre of Orpheus/Abbatoir Blues (2004)

Somehow, Nick Cave excels at two opposite things, hard rock and sad-bluesy ballads. He show both sides in this double album. This is my current musical addiction. Check out this crazy Aussie if you've not yet.

19. Medeski, Martin, and Wood - Uninivisible

After Combustication and the avant-garde The Dropper, MMW finally finds a way to combine electronica and the soul-jazz styles of Jimmy Smith with one of the catchiest jazz albums every made.

18. Air - Talkie Walkie (2004)

This may be a formulaic effort. This may be once again, another rehashing of their masterpiece Moon Safari, but I really don't care. This is catchy, beautiful, and relaxing. The French know how to do electronic music right.

17. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors (2002)

The only thing nerdier and more inaccessible than Scandinavian Metal is Avant-Garde Scandinavian Metal. Oddly enough, this is their most accessible. It is also awesome.

16. Kanye West - Graduation (2007)

Finally, Kanye West releases an album that isn't bloated or filled with skits that poison the minds of impressionable inner-city youths. Instead, he made a quick effort full of perfect pop songs where he shows that he is one of hip/hops most innovative producers. If only he rapped about things that didn't make him such an asshole.

15. Common - Be (2005)

Ah, Common is such a breathe of fresh air. He is a positive, intelligent rapper, who actually delivers poetry, like the father's of the genre intended. Throw in Kanye Wests ability to make a melody stuck in your head and you get one of the best hip/hop albums of the decade.

14. Tool - Lateralus (2001)

Just like Aenema, only more self-indulgent and long. Thank goodness Aenema was so amazing. Tool strikes again.

13. The Roots - Phrenology (2002)

Ah, The Roots go experimental! For the follow-up to their commericial breakthrough, Things Fall Apart, the live hip/hop band (god, I love saying hip/hop band) decided to make ambitious, progressive hip/hop, mixing club music, jazz, hard-core punk, and old-school rock and roll creating one of the most exciting hip/hop albums of all time. Oh yeah, it is also full of some great pop hooks.

12. Q-Tip - The Rennaissance (2008)

Here's a word to those younger, phoney rappers, Q-Tip always has been, still is, and always will be catchier, more intelligent, and in all ways better than you. Just deal with it.

11. Sigur Ros - Takk (2005)

Ok, this is a controversial choice over the also incredible album (), the sixty minute, untitled masterpiece of eight untitled songs all in a made up language based upon ancient Norse and Icelandic. The problem is, () is just too hard to digest as a whole. Takk is shorter, tighter, more accessible, yet just as powerful and beautiful. It is incredible to listen to Sigur Ros, knowing that this is the sound of the typical rock lineup, keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums (with some strings and horns for extra depth). They are either a band to love or hate; they are self-indulgent, pretentious, and their music is really too complex for its own good. That said, they also have created a sound that has never been done before. I also doubt too many people will choose to play a rock guitar with a cello bow anytime in the near future.