the Color of Context

Apr 29

Portishead
Third: Not quite the charm, but still charming!
Mercury Records, Release date: 29 April 2008

By Joe DeRosa

By today’s record industry standards, 10 years can be a lifetime. Yet that’s how long it’s been since we’ve heard from Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley and Jeff Geoff Barrow, the once holy trip-hop trinity collectively known as Portishead. In 1998, the group’s stellar live album from NYC not only highlighted the best moments from the previous year’s self-titled album and 1994’s Dummy, but showed us what this U.K. trio was truly made of. Live: Roseland NYC really captured Portishead’s essence, from the haunting vocals to the sweeping symphonic song structures to the scratching and sampling of the DJ, which was such an interesting contrast against the often hypnotic melodies. Alas, gone is the DJ from the group’s latest release, Third. But the band’s overall mood and tone has remained in tact and is sure to be pleasantly familiar for fans who’ve remained loyal despite the inexplicably long hiatus.

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Apr 25

Deception

Deception: No one sees it coming but the viewer
Release date: 25 April 2008

By Jerilyn Covert

“Intimacy without intricacy.” That’s how one character in the film Deception explains The List, an anonymous sex club for wealthy, high-powered New York businesspeople. Unfortunately, the description aptly sums up the movie, as well. Deception is 108 minutes of hard entertainment, but the plot’s as transparent as lingerie. As the title would suggest, the story hangs upon the elaborate lies of conmen. But by now, we moviegoers have seen just about every twist ending imaginable, and we’ve become pretty savvy. It takes a lot to surprise us, and this movie just isn’t all that tricky. The only trick, perhaps, is that the movie promises to trick us. And it–you know–doesn’t.

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Apr 22

Ashlee Simpson

Ashlee Simpson: Just bein’ herself?
Bittersweet World, Geffen Records
Release date: 22 April 2008

By Joe DeRosa

Let’s face it. There are three things that come to everyone’s mind when you mention Ashlee Simpson: one, that embarrassing lip-syncing fiasco on SNL; two, all the pretty pictures of her lovely new nose in the ragtag mags; and three, she’s Jessica’s little sister. Now, in Simpson’s defense, she has been trying desperately to overcome all that rigmarole and establish herself as a solid artist. Adopting a slightly edgier tone than her sister, Simpson’s first two releases in just the names alone – Autobiography and I Am Me — were attempts to plead her case. Now with her newest and most versatile release to date, Bittersweet World, Simpson proudly steps out from behind her more-famous sister’s shadow. Still, the album comes off as more of a Gwen Stefani retrospect, rather than a breakthrough in self definition. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 18

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Another memorable comedy from JA and co.
Release date: 18 April 2008

By Jerilyn Covert

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” the latest addition to the Judd Apatow canon, pretty much follows the same formula responsible for such hits as “Knocked Up” and “40 Year Old Virgin.” Cast a smokin’ hot actress (or, in this case, two smokin’ hot actresses) opposite a cuddly, beta-male lead. Write some no-holds-barred, incredibly raunchy, raw and explicitly sexual dialogue. Throw in a little slapstick. And don’t forget to veer into sincere, relevant and heartwarming territory a la the chic flick. And, unlike so many lesser comedies, you’re left with a solid plotline adorned with unpretentious, often downright low-brow jokes that nonetheless add to the story, rather than become it. Oh, and it’s really funny, too. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 15

Cloud Cult

Cloud Cult: Eco-friendly band uses its most natural resource–talent
Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes), Earthology Records
Release date: 8 April 2008

By Jerilyn Covert

Writing can be a powerful catharsis, especially for a talented singer-songwriter such as Craig Minowa. In 2002, the Cloud Cult founder spent half the year secluded and alone on his Minnesota farm and, there, driven by all the desperation of a broken soul in need of healing, he penned 100 songs. Just months before, his two-year-old son, Kaidin, had drifted off to sleep one fateful night and, quite unexpectedly, never woke up. Unable to cope with the strain of grief, his marriage to his high-school sweetheart, Connie, fell apart. Indeed, a tragedy of these proportions would be enough to drag anyone into the depths of despair–or insanity. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 13

Smart People

Smart People: Intellectual dramedy, good. Ellen Page, freaking awesome
Release date: 11 April 2008

By Jerilyn Covert

Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn. So goes the tagline for the new comedy Smart People. But perhaps we should append “about themselves” to that line. Within the film’s opening sequence, we the viewers learn more about Lawrence Wetherhold than he knows–or, at least, would admit–about himself. Arrogant, stuffy, uptight, insecure, frustrated, contentious, self-involved and, most of all, sad, the curmudgeonly Carnegie Mellon professor is the type of man who wears corduroy blazers and pleated pants, who refuses to devote his precious time to help students after class, much less make an effort to get to know them or remember their names, who’s consumed by his latest book project, which has yet to impress a publisher. Wetherhold, played by a scruffy, pudgy Dennis Quaid, is as ignorant about proper social interaction as he is, apparently, of the fact that a tucked-in shirt does not a protruding belly flatter. Indeed, he may be bright in the world of theory, but when it comes to real life, he hasn’t got a clue. “Do you think I’m self absorbed?” he asks his high-school-aged daughter, played by the insanely brilliant Ellen Page. “I think self absorption is underrated,” she cleverly replies. If Juno McGuff had uttered this same dialogue, it would be perceived as sarcasm. As Vanessa Wetherhold, Page’s performance has all the well-timed comedic earmarks of a pastiche. Her character is both Vanessa, the overachieving young Republican and straight-A student, and, at the same time, the unknowing parody of herself. In fact, she or any of these characters could easily translate into reality–the commitment-phobic, work-focused doctor, the developmentally-stunted freeloading brother, the sexually-active liberal collegiate son. Let’s face it, we know them all. Hell, we are them all. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 10

Leona Lewis

Leona Lewis: Spiritless is more like it
Spirit, J Records
Release date: 8 April 2008

By Joe DeRosa

There can be no argument: Leona Lewis can sing. The 23-year-old Londoner has been perfecting her craft since the age of six and has a voice that will knock you on your ass. The problem? With this lackluster debut, will anyone listen?

In 2006, Leona Lewis was the devastatingly-talented winner of series three of The X Factor, the British equivalent of American Idol. During the course of the show, producer Simon Cowell exclaimed that Lewis was one of the best singers he had ever heard. She won the talent competition with 60 percent of the 8 million votes cast in the finale. She sang iconic pop songs like Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and Celine Dion’s “All By Myself,” always to a chorus of laud and praise from the judges. When she won, Cowell announced that they would take their time to put together the best album possible. He enlisted the help of an all-star lineup, including writers and producers Akon, Avril Lavigne, Ne-Yo, Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and, of course, the legendary Clive Davis. One would think that, with a crew like this, the album would go on to sell millions. And it has. Since its November release in the U.K., sales have surpassed the 2.5 million mark. Driven by the powerful single “Bleeding Love,” written by Grammy nominee Ryan Tedder and American pop singer Jesse McCartney, Spirit continues to dominate the British charts, and has become the fastest selling British debut album of all time. I assure you, this is where the excitement ends.

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Apr 5

The Ruins

The Ruins: A true horror that gets under your skin
Release date: 4 April 2008

By Joe DeRosa

Have you ever found a bug crawling up your arm and then for the rest of the day you feel like there are bugs all over you? Now imagine the bug is a vine crawling up your arm. And imagine that you’ve just watched this vine devour your best friend. You’d probably be pretty creeped out. And there you have the premise for The Ruins–an extremely well-acted adaptation of the Scott Smith novel that Stephen King called, “The best horror novel of the decade.” The Ruins, rated R, tells the story of four friends on vacation in Mexico who meet up with Mathias, a fellow tourist from Germany. It seems Mathias’s brother, Heinrich, disappeared a few days ago with a young woman, and Mathias convinces his new friends to embark on a journey to find him. The adventure leads them to an ancient Mayan temple, way off the beaten path, that, for reasons unbeknownst to them, the locals wish the young travelers to steer clear from. Unfortunately, it’s already too late. Now that the group has entered the temple, the Mayans will not let them leave, even taking violent precautions to block any chance of escape. And so, life on the temple begins. The group soon discovers that they are not alone, but the only other inhabitant of the temple is a suspiciously animated vine. Things go from bad to worse when they find themselves trapped for days with little food or water, and as injuries occur, the vine reveals a taste for human blood. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 3

Sun Kil Moon

Sun Kil Moon: A wandering soul rises for the light
April, Caldo Verde
Release date: 1 April 2008

By Jerilyn Covert

“A lot of the songs I write are very personal and introspective. But others are observational. I wrote a song recently about my cat … I was down in Mexico and I was missing my cat, so I wrote a song. That one, obviously, would have to be considered very personal.”

¾ Mark Kozelek, in a 1998 interview for The Press, in Atlantic City

Does a song have to be long to express longing? In this case, yes, it does, because this particular kind of longing¾ the Mark Kozelek kind¾ is one that lingers over a lifetime besotted with regret, long-lost friends, and the death of loved ones. Part of him wishes to return to childhood innocence, the other tries to move forward, and the tension in between creates a space where Kozelek can dwell, in more ways than one. His is a tale of love lost and spiritual renewal, told against the well-lit backdrop of his vast classic rock collection. In the past, Kozelek, formerly of Red House Painters, currently of Sun Kil Moon, has earned critical acclaim interpreting the likes of rockers who would surely be found in that collection: Neil Diamond, John Denver, Kiss, Yes, and AC/DC. (“Kozelek doesn’t cover tunes,” wrote one reviewer for the Winnipeg Sun, “he recovers them.”) Three years ago, he started his own label, Caldo Verde, so he could release an entire album of Modest Mouse covers, which other record companies refused to touch. But for all his recognition as a cover artist, his own songs, with such heart and sincerity, are that much more emotionally wrenching. “A lot of the songs I write are very personal and introspective,” he has said. Indeed, his pain and his solace shine through in descriptions of sunlit meadows and starry skies almost as poignantly as he must have felt them. The hypnotic reprisals echo back a longing and desire that is as massive as the song lengths themselves. And as the mood begins to set, we can see why some of his tracks verge on 10 minutes long. In any case, a man obsessed does not pen three-minute ditties. Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 1

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue: X hits the mark
X, EMI Records
Release date: 1 April 2008

By Joe DeRosa
When Lindsay Lohan was asked what she wanted her new album to sound like, she said she wanted it dance-y, like Kylie Minogue. If X is any indication, she has but one place to turn for inspiration: the 1980s. Just one look at the album cover is enough to bring back memories of the gone-but-not-forgotten decade. This translates to the music, as well. The opening track, “2 Hearts,” has a piano-driven chorus, which sets the tone for the entire album that follows: Get up, have fun, and dance. Read the rest of this entry »

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