New Release: Depart From Me by Cage

Track Listing:

Nothing Left To Say

Beat Kids

Dr. Strong

I Found My Head In Connecticut

I Lost It In Haverton

Teenage Hands

Eating It’s Way Out Of Me

Kick Rocks

Captian Bumout

Strain

Fat Kids Need An Anthem

Look At What You Did

Depart From Me

I Never Knew You

“When you grow tired of lying on the ground, people walking on you: If you get to your feet and struggle to stand and people you know withdraw their hands and you don’t know why. I know why.” - “Nothing Left To Say”

Most rappers need songwriters to create something for them to spit out, but all Cage needs to do is write about his life and it is far more interesting. New York City rapper Cage was born Chris Palko in Würzburg, Germany where his father, Bill Murray, was a member of the Military Police Command stationed in Western Germany. The family was later relocated to New York because of his father’s heroin addiction, where he was abused by his father and after the age of eight, his stepfathers. Chris was put into a mental facility at age sixteen, originally for two weeks to escape jail time, for almost eighteen months.

Depart From Me is a series of well-written confessions from his time on Lithium and pre-FDA approved Prozac to cigarettes coated in embalming fluid. The album is Cage’s second full length since getting off hardcore drugs and shows a more progressive style of rap.

F. Sean Martin produced most of the album which caused Depart From Me to fulfill a sound all of its own; there are more experimental rock beats than on any of his previous work which caused some fans to feel skeptical about the direction Cage’s music is going. His first album, Movies For The Blind, is a raw cut of his lyrical talent and clearly shows his rapping style. Due to his drug use, the production of his first full length suffered but hardly detracted from its success.

Following his first album, in 2005 Cage released Hell’s Winter, which introduced the freshly cleaned-up rapper and his new perspective on music. While this album revolutionized the style of Cage’s lyrics, it wasn’t until Depart From Me that the musical aspect of the songs was innovated.

Intricately woven together, the album holds a strong and steady trio of guitar, synth and drums throughout almost every song which allows easy listening, but causes some songs to run into each other. The starting track, “Nothing Left To Say”, leads in with a strong crescendo and even stronger verses. “I Never Knew You”, his first single off the album, is one of his most musically diverse songs but also one of his strongest; the dance-beat “Captain Bumout” is also a new sound for Cage that shows his strength in songcrafting. Straying from autobiographical stories, “Look At What You Did” is probably the only song about vampires that has legitimate credibility and great production. Cage experiments to provide a break in his otherwise heavier material, “Kick Rocks” successfully gives two middle fingers to anyone in his way while “Fat Kids Need An Anthem” seems to only be present for comic relief.

It appears as if Cage is reinventing rap again, as his debut album set the largely unnoticed precedent for acts like Eminem, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock and other rappers in the late ’90’s. There are perks to being an underground rap star, though; Cage frequently collaborates with Daryl Palumbo, Aesop Rock, El-P, and collaborated with the late Camu Tao. He also fronts the Weathermen with Aesop Rock, Tame One, Yak Ballz, El-P, and Breeze Brewin.

The success of Depart From Me is largely due to Cage’s animated and unconventional rapping style that has only matured with the years. Collaborations with his producers result in layered material that is not only catchy and clever, but actually has significant meaning which is increasingly rare for music in general. Ambitious and out to get what he can, Cage’s next album will most likely explore more musically varied tracks with more attention to production. For now, Depart From Me still trumps all rap artists that are more concerned with being single, being on a boat, getting laid or making money.

Envy On The Coast's Lowcountry

Track Listing:

Death March On Two, Ready

The Devil's Tongue

Headfirst In The River

Puritan Dirt Song

Laugh Ourselves To Death

The Great American T-Shirt Racket

Southern Comfort

*

Like I Do

Numb

Made Of Stone

Clean Of You

Hidden Track

Although Long Island is far from the South, Envy On The Coast’s sophmore full-length captures the essence of dirty vibes throughout their matured sound. After a line-up change, the renewed chemistry of the four original members brought together an album that showcases the strength of each musician as well as their developed, collective sound. The complexity of each guitar weave together a textured sound with a strong bass groove in which Ryan Hunter’s voice obviously thrives.

The album is laden with multiple singles,

(see: “Southern Comfort,” “The Great American T-Shirt Racket,” “Headfirst In The River,” “Clean Of You,” and my personal favorite “Laugh Ourselves To Death.”)

that explore slower, grinding songs as well as their signature rapid tempo changes. The raw passion of their live shows is finally captured in Lowcountry and shows the progression of the band which is what makes this album their best yet.

Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange

Old Ludwig Van’s Ninth Symphony plays loudly on the record player as a young chelloveck, Alex, wraps a snake around his arm. The treament Our Humble Narrator agrees to get out of prison early, after tolchocking a woman to death, left him with a great pain in his gulliver, nausea and other mental discomforts whenever he exhibits agressive behavoir.

This young veck is the anti-hero of Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s novel and while the unique costumes and powerful acting performance are a pivotal part of the film, the culture created by the story lives a life of its own.

And Beethoven plays in the background.

Charles Bukowski's Ham On Rye

Crack open a beer and be prepared to drink towards alcoholism, sexual perversion, lonliness and the Great Depression.

Ham On Rye is a fictional memoir that follows Bukowski’s alter-ego, Henry Chinaski, as he recounts the events and people that shaped his life. The minimalist prose that Bukowski is known for is sewn together, chronicling his childhood days of abuse and exile.

Henry Chinaski’s unapologetic narrative is one of the most powerful devices Bukowski uses in many of his novels. The years he spent billigerently drunk, wasting money at the racetrack and with women, are not blamed on hardships in his past which spares Bukowski from creating a cliche story about a troubled man leading an empty life.

Instead, Chinaski marvels at the “shitting and pissing glory of humanity” while nursing a warm beer, half naked in his bed.

Cheers.

Bookforum.com

The pellucid navigation of bookforum.com is really what drives the success of the website that features all styles of writing and related news. The front page of the website is comprised of small features of their additional pages: The Daily Review, Omnivore, Paper Trail, Outposts, Reviews, and The Archive. These provide an extensive archive for newly published works (The Daily Review), all reviewed works (Reviews), events (Outposts), and news updates on authors and the literary world (Paper Trail).

While navigating the site is relatively effortless due to the style and layout of the pages, the content isn’t always as easy to follow. Omnivore’s focus is entirely unclear until a glace to the web address reveals that it is a blog from Bookforum. The blog has no running theme and the typography clutters the page with bold letters linking an average of 20 additional sites per post. Paper Trail consists of a few short sentences leading into a story or event involved in the literary world. It is effective because it comprehensively shows small snippets of important information pertaining to authors and their works.

The reviews currently posted for the April and May edition are well-written and display a variety of novels with different subject matter. The lack of categories to search, however, means wading through reviews of books that are majorly disinteresting and the search engine provided through Bookforum is almost useless. Readers just wanting to browse or search for popular titles will find that the information piled into Bookforum is especially interesting, but for those who have a distinct and rigid taste for novels will find trouble finding exactly what they desire. Ultimately, Bookforum is an effective website with an innovative layout design meant to bring all things literary to the general public. But the next time you’re looking for a specific genre, head to a bookstore instead.

Family Guy April in Quahog April 11, 2010

With the threat of a black hole enclosing the solar system in 24 hours, the Griffins, along with the rest of Quahog, prepare for their last day on Earth. What turns out to be an April Fool’s joke from Channel 5, (“And with only 87 suicides and widespread looting, we think this was a pretty successful practical joke.”) gives the town an excuse for complete freedom one ordinary Tuesday.

As usual, the episode is filled with humorous cutaways and tangents distantly related to the situations. Each scene directs the focus to another punchline, keeping the fast-paced tempo commonly found on Family Guy. The hilarity wasn’t missed between jumping from the citizens of Quahog and the Griffin’s adventures, and though it might have been appropriate to end the episode at the April’s Fool joke, the conflict introduced just after was simple enough to resolve while adding more layers to the story.

Peter Griffin had been called into jury duty the day before, and after he realized that everyone gets called, his enthusiasm disappeared. Overjoyed that the last day on Earth meant that he didn’t have jury duty anymore, Peter neglects his family for the entirety of the day in order to do the things he never accomplished in his life. Stolen from the zoo, Peter rides in the living room with a lion and just as proud as one. “Hello everybody, this is Montecoy. He’s my lion. I have a lion now.” Later, he scampers off into an all black neighborhood and yells the “you-know-what word,” returning crowned and robed.

Quagmire convinces Joe that he is actually a virgin and wants permission to sleep with his wife. Joe allows him and when he asks Quagmire how it went, Quagmire replies, “Oh, I’ve had lots of sex. I just wanted to have it again!” Then he proceeds to skip and sing away, finishing with a convicted “Screw you!” at the end. The camera slides back to Joe, whose only reply is an equally enthusiastic, “That’s Quagmire for you!”

Lois and the kids spend the day on the couch watching the Channel 5 news cover of the black hole. When Peter finally returns from his escapades, Lois yells at him just seconds before the count down finishes. Spared for a few seconds while Channel 5 reveals their spoof, Peter is later shunned for not taking interest in Meg, Chris or Stewie’s lives. Lois tells Peter to try harder since he is obviously failing, which leads to his buying a new XBOX for the kids. Predictably, the children forgive him and all is resolved within the Griffin family again.

The humor found in Family Guy normally rides on the use of irrelevant and somewhat absurd occurrences happening to regular people in a boring town, and yet, the jokes haven’t lost their zing. Familiar plays on the characters and their relationships connect this episode to the running seasons, and show Seth McFarlane’s signature comedic devices. After another solid episode and relieved that the town of Quahog stands strong for another day, the impatience grows for the next episode of the never ordinary lives of the Griffin’s.

Film Review

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Starring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Shwartzman, Owen Wilson

A lean female fox walks uphill towards a male fox in a suit and as he embraces her, George Clooney says, “You look glowing.” A spotlight shines upon Felicity Fox’s face and Mr. Fox shields the light and then starts off downhill towards a fenced farm. Agile and young, Mr. Fox and Felicity Fox deftly steal chickens but were nearly captured when Mr. Fox couldn’t resist springing a trap before escape. Sworn to stop his sneaky outings due to Felicity’s pregnancy, Mr. Fox lives a life as a quiet reporter raising his quirky son, Ash. After some fox years have passed, Mr. Fox’s nephew, Kristofferson, comes for an extended stay due to his brother-in-law’s illness and an unyielding urge to steal chickens returns when Mr. Fox desires to live more comfortably. The animated release of Ronald Dahl’s children’s classic captures a nostalgic feeling of humanity as Mr. Fox wrecks havok while salvaging what is left of his rebellious youth. What results from an escalated fight between angry farmers and Mr. Fox and the animal community personifies both the glorified and shameful qualities.

The puppets used by Wes Anderson are crafted so realistically, at times it is hard to remember that they are not the actor’s voices. Juxtaposed to scenes in which Mr. Fox stiffly turns and walks away from Badger, a whimsical feeling of drifting in and out of consciousness is created during the story. Anderson worm holes a shot as a dirt wall caves in after quickly switching from Mr. Fox to a close up of Kristofferson’s blank expression. His fast-paced scenes frequently switch angles as often as the human eye which contributes to its honesty.

The dialouge shows an artistry of wit through snippy conversations and dry humor. Each character’s personal mannerisms shine briefly but distinctly and despite the large cast and necessary verbage, the script evenly places pauses and silences that let the natural qualities flow from each actor’s words. The overall sound created the polishing touch over the film and accurately exentuated the candid moments of each character. The detail placed in the choice of tracks is apparent in the contrast between strikingly natural sounds and embellished transition that help to seamlessly connect each frame.

While the animals are busy digging tunnels underneath the angry farmer’s land, there is a comical music break that contains nonsense choruses sung over guitar at a campfire in the worker’s camp. One of the farmers cuts off the song that was documenting Mr. Fox’s raid of their livestock and reprimands the singer for bad songwriting. It is with this style that Anderson expresses the multiple messages of the children’s book through a fresh adaptation of the book. During Mr. Fox’s fits of frustration, expletives are exchanged for the word “cuss” though the phrases they are substitued are still as mature and uncensorsed. Fantastic Mr. Fox portrays a children’s book in the natural way; intended to express complex human behavoirs to children in a way that is easily understood and slightly amusing.

Music Review

A Rocket to the Moon’s On Your Side

Track Listing:

Annabelle

Mr. Right

She’s Killing Me

On A Lonely Night

Dakota

Life Of The Party

Like We Used To

Where Did You Go?

Sometimes

Baby Blue Eyes

Give A Damn

On Your Side

As Valentine’s Day comes and goes the chocolates and roses will as well, but something just as sweet won’t be so easily passed over. A Rocket to the Moon’s latest album On Your Side expresses their love through electronica pop with melodic lyrics and a penchant for the romantic. Nick Santino, the creater of A Rocket to the Moon, sings to two girls, tenderly towards “Dakota” and bitterly for “Annabelle.” He collaborates with guitarist Justin Richards, bassist Eric Halvorsen and former The Receiving End Of Sirens drummer Andrew Cook and also enlisted Matt Squire to produce the full-length. While most consider radio rock to be a limiting factor with the quality of the music, Santino expresses that the radio only serves as an opportunity to produce anything heartfelt.

What develops shows both the maturity of the band and their craftsmanship of honest love songs. “Sometimes” juxtaposes a solid electronic beat to the chant of “Everybody needs somebody sometimes” while “Like We Used To” slows down to let the sincerity ring out. The starting track, “Annabelle”, sets a fast pace and shows A Rocket to the Moon’s confidence as a collaboration.

On Your Side’s sweet romance with pop and electronic rock is a sweet trade and refreshingly so. What started as a solo project (Santino) has quickly grown into the strong quartet that recently graced the Chicago House of Blues on the Take Action Tour alongside We The Kings, Mayday Parade, Therefore Tomorrow and Call the Cops. Santino has gathered a strong following and now A Rocket to the Moon is satisfying sweet teeth everywhere.

Music Review

Be Your Own Pet’s Get Awkward

Track Listing:

Black Hole

Hearthrob

Becky

The Kelly Affair

Twisted Nerve

Blow Your Mind

Blummer Time

Bitches Leave

You’re A Waste

Food Fight

Zombie Graveyard Party

What’s Your Damage

Creepy Crawl

The Beast Within

The familar female fronted punk pop band, Be Your Own Pet, returns with Get Awkward and a stronger, more convicted soud. Though nonsensical punked out melodies are what Be Your Own Pet are known for, their second album brings less anthems to the stage. Songs like “You’re A Waste” and “Bitches Leave” are filled with more passion than theatrics with better crafted songs. Be Your Own Pet have significantly grown in sound largely due to their experiences touring and it shows through the full melody and rhythum. Jemina Pearl’s vocals are consistently raw but confident through slow songs, “Becky”, or fast-paced songs, “Twisted Nerve.” Familar songs showed the energy found on their self-titled, but overall there was a distinct lack of resonating singles on Get Awkward.

Although Get Awkward was released March 2008 and Be Your Own Pet broke up August of that year, there was a great potential in Get Awkward that the band could have taken in any direction. The variance in song structure and instrumentation from their second release show a growth in craftsmanship from the members and a general cohesiveness throughout the album.

While their new album doesn’t start a revolutionary sound, it is obvious that the band has selected their strengths and chosen to play songs that accentuate them. Pearl’s vocal range hasn’t left her signature sound, but the composition of each song is much more varied from the simple form of Be Your Own Pet. The self titled held true to a steady stream of musical punches accented at a steady beat while Get Awkward holds more tempo changes and musical flexibility. The humor isn’t lost on Get Awkward, either; “Food Fight” is reminiscent of the absurd lyrics of bored school kids found in their self-titled but now provoked to rebel in a more frenzied fight. The album is layered between slow melodic and fast paced songs, charged by short stuccato lyrics and a driving rhythm. And even though Be Your Own Pet settles nicely in between; they never had to get awkward.