Get me Ricky Gervais and a muppet, right now!
Thank you, Internet.
(another Sullivan steal)
3.12.2009
Why Would I Save A World I No Longer Have Any Stake In?
I saw Watchmen over the weekend. All things considered, I thought it was great. It's fantastic that a major studio released such a dense, challenging piece of work. While the cinematography and special effects were impressive, I was more engaged by the film's philosophical themes (which are undoubtedly carried-over from the source material).
Dr. Manhattan is especially fascinating. He's practically a god and illustrates just how problematic that proposition is (see title of post). He serves as a counterbalance to the other costumed "heroes" who are driven to crime fighting by emotional needs. Silk Spectre II is trying to live up to her mother's expectations. Nite Owl II can't get it up without a little caped crusading first. The most extreme is Rorschach, who's so dependant on his mask for a sense of identity that he calls it his face. Dr. Manhattan, meanwhile, doesn't seem to have any desires at all. He is a wholly logical being whose humanity has all but vanished.
This paradigm reminded me of a book I've been reading called "How We Decide." Jonah Lehrer, the author, details the neurological process of decision making. He explains that the brain is in a constant argument with itself. This is simplifying it a bit, but there are basically two parties in the debate, the emotional brain and the rational brain. The emotional brain is the sum of a person's experiences. Through the regulation of dopamine, it learns patterns and behaviors that inform our visceral reactions. The rational brain is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. It's our consciousness.
Rorschach personifies the emotional brain. He reacts to everything on a gut level. His experiences have ingrained in him a moral code that he can't bear to deviate from. This leads him to commit acts of horrible violence, but to him it's all about justice. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Dr. Manhattan. His power-endowing accident removes his emotional brain almost entirely. As a result, he is coldly calculated. This also leads him to unspeakable violence (we win Vietnam), but not because of a moral imperative. Instead, it is out of apathy for suffering. He has lost the ability to empathize with others (a problem also associated with autism).
Typically, we think of acting only out of rationality as a good thing. But the film's end takes this idea to a conclusion that's difficult to swallow. I won't go into details, but the trade-off our "heroes" face is similar to one of Lehrer's thought experiments (paraphrased):
Imagine you are in the driver's seat of a runaway train that's approaching a switch track. On it's present course, the train will hit five railway workers on the track ahead. If you activate the switch, the train will be diverted to the side track where it will hit one railway worker. Do you hit the switch?
Now consider this same senario but slightly altered. Instead of sitting in the driver's seat, you are on a bridge above the tracks in between the runaway train and the five workers. Standing next to you is a man with enough girth to halt the train if it struck him. Do you push him onto the tracks?
3.05.2009
3.04.2009
Beatlesque: The Invasion
***THIS POST IS PART OF MY BEATLESQUE SERIES, IN WHICH I DISCUSS MUSIC THAT WEARS IT'S BEATLES INFLUENCE SO WELL YOU COULD ALMOST MISTAKE IT FOR THE LADS THEMSELVES***
In 1962, Decca Records declined to sign a young group of rock n'roll playing, long-haired Liverpudlians. The executive A&R man, Dick Rowe, told their manager that "guitar groups are on the way out." He is now famous as "the man who turned down The Beatles" and his prediction concerning music trends of the 1960's couldn't have been more boneheaded.
When The Beatles burst into national (and quickly international) popularity, it didn't take long for Dick Rowe's colleagues to realize that there were gobs of money to be made. And luckily for producers and promoters, young men with guitars were roaming the countryside in groups of four or five just waiting to be crowned the new hitmakers! The result was a tidal wave of Beatlesque music, to use the term more generously. Most of these groups are long forgotten. And after listening to many, many of their songs, I'm sorry to report that the vast majority do not fit my definition of Beatlesque. Some are still great tracks; they just don't capture that distinctive sound. For instance...
That's the Knickerbockers with "Lies." While many considered this at the time to be a dead-on Beatles knock-off, I don't think I'd ever be fooled by it. That weird guitar bend is rather unsophisticated. Overall, it's just too choppy. The songs various parts (verse, chorus, bridge) don't really fit with one another. One thing the Beatles were masters of was song structure. Their songs sometimes went in unexpected directions, but it always came off sounding like the next logical step. Even when they changed time signatures during a song, it flowed naturally. I'll admit the voice is a great Lennon impersonation. But for me, the craft just isn't there.
Now, on to two tracks from this era that DO make the cut.
Track title: Promise You'll Tell Her
Could Have Been On: Please Please Me
This song, from The Swinging Blue Jeans, sounds a lot like an early Lennon/McCartney composition. Stylistically, it reminds me of "There's a Place." Indeed, the plodding bass line and tight harmonies make it a perfect fit for Please Please Me (The Beatles' first album). The lead vocal sounds like George, as does the clean guiatar solo. It wouldn't have been their next single, but then most of these band's best songs were comparable to a solid Beatles album cut.
Track Title: Because
Could Have Been On: Please Please Me
"Because," by The Dave Clark Five, is another great example of tight Beatlesque harmonies. It's got a great melody. If I had to compare it to a specific song, it would probably be "P.S. I Love You." The chord progression is simple but engaging, lots of augmented fifths. Ending on a major 6th is very Beatley as well. I definitely see it as the B-Side of some uptempo single like "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
In 1962, Decca Records declined to sign a young group of rock n'roll playing, long-haired Liverpudlians. The executive A&R man, Dick Rowe, told their manager that "guitar groups are on the way out." He is now famous as "the man who turned down The Beatles" and his prediction concerning music trends of the 1960's couldn't have been more boneheaded.
When The Beatles burst into national (and quickly international) popularity, it didn't take long for Dick Rowe's colleagues to realize that there were gobs of money to be made. And luckily for producers and promoters, young men with guitars were roaming the countryside in groups of four or five just waiting to be crowned the new hitmakers! The result was a tidal wave of Beatlesque music, to use the term more generously. Most of these groups are long forgotten. And after listening to many, many of their songs, I'm sorry to report that the vast majority do not fit my definition of Beatlesque. Some are still great tracks; they just don't capture that distinctive sound. For instance...
That's the Knickerbockers with "Lies." While many considered this at the time to be a dead-on Beatles knock-off, I don't think I'd ever be fooled by it. That weird guitar bend is rather unsophisticated. Overall, it's just too choppy. The songs various parts (verse, chorus, bridge) don't really fit with one another. One thing the Beatles were masters of was song structure. Their songs sometimes went in unexpected directions, but it always came off sounding like the next logical step. Even when they changed time signatures during a song, it flowed naturally. I'll admit the voice is a great Lennon impersonation. But for me, the craft just isn't there.
Now, on to two tracks from this era that DO make the cut.
Track title: Promise You'll Tell Her
Could Have Been On: Please Please Me
This song, from The Swinging Blue Jeans, sounds a lot like an early Lennon/McCartney composition. Stylistically, it reminds me of "There's a Place." Indeed, the plodding bass line and tight harmonies make it a perfect fit for Please Please Me (The Beatles' first album). The lead vocal sounds like George, as does the clean guiatar solo. It wouldn't have been their next single, but then most of these band's best songs were comparable to a solid Beatles album cut.
Track Title: Because
Could Have Been On: Please Please Me
"Because," by The Dave Clark Five, is another great example of tight Beatlesque harmonies. It's got a great melody. If I had to compare it to a specific song, it would probably be "P.S. I Love You." The chord progression is simple but engaging, lots of augmented fifths. Ending on a major 6th is very Beatley as well. I definitely see it as the B-Side of some uptempo single like "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
An Inbound Train Toward the Loop Will Be Arriving Shortly
The Chicago Transit Authority as a new voice, Carolyn Hopkins. I haven't noticed the change yet. According to the Chicago Tribune, her announcements began airing at certain stations in mid-February.
"I love Chicago," said Hopkins, who traces her affection for the city to a mid-1960s Beatles concert she attended at the old Comiskey Park...
I like her already! She can only be an improvement over the vaguely Midwestern accented women who over-enunciates the phrase "an inbound train... tWARD the loop... will be arriving shortly."
ALSO, this article answered a mystery I've pondered on many an "L" ride.
The sound bites played on CTA buses and trains are still rendered by a male voice-over announcer from Milwaukee who insists on remaining anonymous for fear of being typecast as a performer incapable of handling a script more demanding than "Doors closing."
I've often wondered if the dude who's told me countless times that "the next stop is... Damen" lived in Chicago. Can you imagine listening to yourself everyday during your commute? I suppose for an incredibly narcissistic person it would be great.
His friends that live in Chicago have probably learned to hate him over the years. He's constantly ruining their day with delay announcements. And then he has the nerve to say "We expect to be moving shortly." LIAR!
"Your attention, please. We are standing momentarily, waiting for signal clearance."
"Shut up, Ted."
No wonder he wants to remain anonymous.
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