When people think of Zooey Deschanel, they remember the big, blue, staring eyes of an actress known for her off-beat, humorous performances in films such as "Yes Man," "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "(500) Days of Summer." They might not know anything at all about her career on the side as one half of the accomplished indie folk band, She & Him.
After a two year hiatus, rapper turned actor Chris Bridges, better known as Ludacris, has finally resurfaced with his eigth studio album entitled "Battle of the Sexes," reminding his fans and critics alike why he is still the self proclaimed "King of the South." The album was originally to be a duo featuring his former Disturbing The Peace recording artist Shawna. But with her recent split from the label, the album, thankfully, moved forth as a solo album, turning its attention toward the ladies that generally get neglected in rap albums. With an array of cameos from heavy hitter artist ranging from Monica to Nicki Minaj, Battle of the Sexes is already panning out to be one of Ludacris' best albums in at least the past four years.
There have been many movies about music and the incredible musicians behind it. The latest movie to embrace this trend is "The Runaways," which tells the story of the all-girl, teenage rock band of the ‘70s and features Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. While the critical and commerical success of "The Runaways" can only be determined after its March 19 release, these other films have achieved this and are recommended for music and film lovers alike.
The latest record by the Georgian band The Whigs, "In the Dark," comes as a big release to follow a tour with breakthrough festival band, Kings of Leon. Coming from an area of the country that has produced so many amazing southern rock groups, The Whigs don't exactly measure up to par in this reach and miss of an album. While filled with catchy riffs and choruses that try to grab souls and encourage sing-a-long anthems like the hits of Kings of Leon and The Killers, "In the Dark" instead seems to embody that "try the next song" feeling. Like these other bands, The Whigs take the most obvious musical elements, like effortless lyrics about love or sex and a charismatic lead vocal, and apply them to every song.
The dorky-guy-gets-hot-girl premise of "She's Out Of My League" is simple yet completely overused, with Woody Allen even making an entire career out of it — deduct a point. Almost every funny moment in the film can be found in the trailer or in its commercials — deduct a point. There's a concert scene featuring a Hall and Oates cover band — add a point.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are just one of those bands that never seem to age. Churning out punk infused pop songs for over a decade, the often politically charged band seems fixed in their technique: catchy guitar hooks, sing-a-long choruses and ebullient vocals. Despite their simplistic approach, the band has tackled large issues over the years, including failed politics, war, mental illness and religion. Ted Leo's political awareness has made him one of the good guys of indie rock. Sincerity has never been a fault of the band, but by their fifth full-length release, "The Brutalist Bricks," questions have been raised. Can the guys can still produce with the same fervor heard over a decade ago?
You're likely to find more experimentation and original thought in a fourth grade science fair project than Lifehouse's latest album "Smoke & Mirrors." For all intents and purposes, the album is simply an older Lifehouse album with a new title. There are no new tricks, no sense of innovation and nothing that can really excite the listener and make them actually want to listen to the songs.
The rise of predominantly instrumental music during the new millennium was a pleasant but unexpected change. Wordless music, which often entails seven-plus minute songs with much musical repetition, droning and rapid changes in dynamics, isn't exactly easy listening material. However, there is something very visceral and emotionally compelling about this music that makes it appealing to large audiences: its lack of lyrics allows listeners to build their own narrative to the sounds, rather than have a story imposed on them, and the music's guitars and keyboards often elicit universal reactions of melancholic nostalgia.
Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer has colossal talent. Not only does he have a top-notch voice but he also plays the various core instruments that are found in his albums.
Despite his almost 20-year career, Leonardo DiCaprio scored his best ever box office debut with the psycho-thriller "Shutter Island," which opened with over $41 million during the weekend of Feb. 19.
The video game industry has enjoyed a surge of excellent video game sequels for many of their smash hits. The recent release of "Bioshock 2" proves that great games can have a sequel that improves upon the original. Out of all the games, though, there are five that really stand out as the best video game sequels of all time: "Resident Evil 4," "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," "Mario Kart Wii," "God of War II" and "Super Mario Bros." for the Nintendo DS.
Alkaline Trio has made and remade punky pop records over their 14-year career, only recently expanding their sound to newer levels. The band's seventh studio release, "This Addiction," goes back to basics, returning to the low production and endearing punk that is entrenched in the band's roots. The formula brings a group of successful songs, though overall it proves that the band has not survived the test of time, sounding like a group nostalgic for the past rather than optimistic for the future.
"Valentine's Day," as implied, takes on the look of humorizing one of the most contentiously debated holiday of all time.
Remember when MTV used to play music? Apparently they don't.
In their latest album, "The Constant," Story of the Year, the hard rock band from St. Louis, mixes different sounds in their music ranging from punk-rock, punk-pop, hard rock and screamo.
The Finnish, goth-emo five-piece, HIM, have probably made a living less on the merits of their music and more on the symbols that define their music: mounds of eyeliner, a wardrobe straight out of Hot Topic and that dangerously jagged heart-meets-triangle necklace, which is referred to as a "heartagram." Knowing this, the band's newest album, "Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice," seems destined to adhere to the stereotypes associated with goth-emo music: insipid instrumentation and painfully obvious lyrics about self-loathing and suffering.
Solutions by The State News