New Old Content!

New content coming soon. Until then, here's a review I posted on Myspace a while back.

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CD Review:
The Starrs - Silhouette.
8/16/06

The Starrs (Derek Rice, Jon Tyler, Ryan Matthias) emerged out of the ashes of the breakup of Kung Fu Record's Antifreeze. Originating as an Antifreeze side project, the members began concentrating heavily on The Starrs after the untimely demise of Antifreeze. Since then, this group from Appleton, WI has slowly emerged as one of the Midwest's premier up and coming acts. Signed to Snapdragon Records, a Wisconsin indie label, The Starrs released their debut LP, Silhouette in July, 2006.

From the beginning, this album evokes memories of blink-182, mostly due to the vocal work of lead singer Jon Tyler. Tyler's vocals nicely compliment the groups instrumental work, which in itself is a well-constructed blend of punk, pop, and alt-rock melodies. Although this album seems destined for mass consumption, it doesn't come off as forced or fake, as so much of todays music does, and the pop stylings contained within the record blend quite well with the slow, melodic alternative rock stylings carefully crafted by Tyler and co.

At first listen, some may walk away feeling that the album comes off as monotonous. However, the congruity and cohesiveness of the album is actually one of its strong points. It only further helps to set this work apart from those who would strive to write similar music. Often times in modern punk/alt-rock music, an album will seem to shift from one sound to another between every song, and often times this may disorient a listener, or worse yet, prevent an artist or group from developing their own, unique signature sound. By shying away from quick time signature and tempo changes often found in modern punk music, The Starrs have come that much closer to developing their own unique sound, one easily recognizable by both friend and foe alike.

Those who would be quick to directly compare The Starrs to Antifreeze would be wise to reconsider. It is quite obvious that Tyler and cohorts have matured quite a bit since the (admittedly abrupt and arguably premature) demise of Antifreeze. Is it enough of a difference in sound to deter fans of Antifreeze from checking out Silhouette? Hopefully not. It is, however, enough to set The Starrs apart from their prior work, and place them in a category all their own.

Silhouette is an excellent debut album, and only speaks volumes about this act's talent. The future holds bright things for The Starrs, so jump aboard the bandwagon early.

(****)
Four out of five stars.

Content! Content!

It's about time for finals. So, until I have time to write more original content, here's a review I wrote last year on my old blog. It's the first "real" movie review I ever wrote, and I still like it.

So...enjoy. And look here after the first of the year for regular updates and new content! :D

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Dark City - Proya's Pinnacle of Excellence

Dark City
Dir: Alex Proyas
1998 - 100 min. - R (Violence, Language)

***/****
Price paid: $6.95
Max. Recommended price: $18.95

Everything "The Matrix" wanted to be, a year before it. That just about sums up "Dark City", where no one is what they seem to be, and the life you remember may be nothing more than a labratory concoction pumped into your veins. John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) finds himself waking up in a cold bathup of water with a headache and no recollection of who he is, where he's been, or what exactly is going on in the city he inhabits. Soon after waking, he receives from a man known as Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) promising to help John understand exactly what is going on. As the movie progresses, John finds that the entire city seems to be against him. Framed for a series of murders he did not commit, John must race to find out who he is, why he's framed, and why it is that no one can explain the way to Shell Beach.

Proyas takes us on a fast-paced, frenetic journey through a futuristic film-noir world which we are lead to believe is the possible future of society. Having one of the shortest average shot lengths in modern narrative cinema keeps "Dark City" moving at break-neck speed, and adds suspense to a movie already brimming to the lid with action and intrigue. Add to this Proyas' ability to meld live-action camerawork seamlessly with computer-generated cityscapes and his knack for visually stunning (but not overbearing) special effects, and you have yourself a formula for success.

"Dark City" is not a movie for the weak of heart. It's tough to digest (it took me three viewings to sit through the whole thing.) But, considering that it's available in the bargain bins at almost any Wal-Mart store in the country for under $7, it's hard NOT to recommend this movie. Give it a shot. It just may change your outlook on existence...


-Ryan Murray
10/09/05

Column-ness!

For lack of any other content, I'm going to post a copy of my last JMC-201 assignment. My TA liked it - he said it had a strong and unique voice. So...here it is. Criticize, fawn over it, do what you wish.

Just don't ever mention AP style to me. I can't find my damn stylebook.

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Punishing Sins of the Past…or Wasting Money?

In this time of uncertainty and fear in American daily life, it’s a great feeling knowing that our United States Department of Justice is doing its best to combat the so-called “enemies” of our countries.

Who is this enemy, you ask? Apparently, Josias Kumpf, age 75 years…a retired sausage-maker living in Racine, Wisconsin, and former Nazi guard. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have opened a criminal investigation into Mr. Kumpf’s alleged past, and are seeking to revoke his citizenship because he may have been involved in the massacre of innocents at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, near Berlin, in 1943.

Eli Rosenbaum, Director of the Office of Special Investigations, believes this case is vital. “No person who participated in such a shocking act of brutality should enjoy the privilege of U.S. citizenship” he states.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your tax dollars at work. Instead of fighting terrorism, we’re deporting senior citizens. But the apparent waste of tax dollars isn’t even the biggest issue at stake here. The big issue here is whether or not we should be concentrating so much time and effort on crimes of the past when we can’t even solve crimes of the present.

Take the recent case of Edgar Ray Killen. Killen, a former Ku Klux Klan organizer, was arrested initially in 1965 for the murder of three civil rights activists. Killen was not convicted, and was released. Yet, in 2004, new evidence came to light, and Killen was arrested in 2005. Killen was convicted in 2006, and sentenced to three 20-year sentences, served concurrently. By this time, Killen was an infirm old man, confined to a wheelchair, barely able to lift his right arm to be sworn in during his trial. Yet, this trial against an elderly man was considered one of Mississippi’s highest priority cases.

The case of Byron De La Beckwith also comes to light. Another former Ku Klux Klan member, he was arrested in 1964 and tried twice for the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Both juries were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and Beckwith was released; however, new evidence was uncovered, and in 1994, was convicted of the crime.

These cases both have something in common with the Kumpf case: both cases are coming forward over thirty years after the alleged crime. (In the case of Killen and Kumpf, over forty years had elapsed.) But why are these cases so important to justify spending so much money on, especially in this time of uncertainty in Homeland Security? I have to assume that there is something more important for our government to be protecting us from.

Or, perhaps our government is making an attempt to clues in on a blinding new fact: are the elderly, infirm, and disabled the new terrorist threat? Who knows? The U.S. Government may know something we, as ordinary citizens, do not.

One thing’s for certain: I’ll never look at bingo gatherings the same again. Because, if Kumpf is as dangerous as the government makes him seem to be…I can’t imagine the atrocities that could happen there.

My First Feature!

I'm pretty proud of my last JMC-201 assignment. My TA liked it, as well. So, here it is.

Enjoy it. But feel free to critique, as well. I can use all the advice I can get.

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One Man Finds Purpose in a Land of Chaos.
By Ryan Murray.

War-torn Iraq is a difficult place to be stationed much of the time. Surrounded by pain and suffering, and in the midst of horrific danger, it takes much physical, mental, and spiritual strength to even make it through the day.

Yet, despite all the chaos, it’s still possible for a man to find his true purpose in life. Some people find solace in the written word. Some people find religion. But Scott Southworth found his purpose in an entirely different fashion: He found a son.

It’s September, 2003. Capt. Southworth commands the Wisconsin National Guard 32^nd Military Police Company. He is serving a 14-month tour instructing and training Iraqi police officers in the ways of proper law enforcement. But this is a difficult time to be in Iraq, and the soldiers need a way in which to escape the violence and bloodshed inherent to their everyday lives.

Southworth and company find this peace in their visits to an Iraqi orphanage. The home, run by the Catholic Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa, is an oasis to the men…a small pocket of hope in an otherwise dark city. It was here that Captain Southworth would meet his purpose in life: a ten-year old boy with cerebral palsy named Ala’a.
"People ask me how I chose him, but I didn't. He chose me," explained Southworth as he describes the meeting. Ala’a could not walk, but somehow found the strength to crawl across the room over to near where Southworth was sitting and pull himself up to sit beside him. Yet, this simple act of friendship was only the beginning of what could only be described as a miracle for Ala’a.

As Southworth’s tour continued, he and Ala’a grew closer and closer, forming a strong bond that one normally only sees between a father and son. Ala’a began to make attempts to walk. At night, he would pray not for himself, but for the safety of Scott, who he now referred to as “Baba”…or “father.” And, it was not one sided, either, as Southworth began to realize that his friendship with this child was making an incredible difference. "Everybody on the planet needs to feel special to somebody,” explained Southworth. “And I could see that happening for him."

But as time passed, things began to take a turn for the worse. As Christmas approached, the children of the Baghdad orphanage were treated to a Christmas party by the soldiers. And, as Ala’a laughed, and played with the blocks brought to him by “Baba Noel,” or Father Christmas, Southworth began to talk with one of the doctors at the orphanage about the boy’s future…a future which was beginning to not look so good for Ala’a, who had been through so much and come so far.

The doctor explained to Southworth that Ala’a was becoming too old to stay at the orphanage. Soon, he would have to be moved to a new home, a home for the disabled run by the Iraqi government. Southworth had heard of this home, and became frightened. The doctor confirmed his worst fears. "If he goes there, his life is over." Southworth, on the verge of losing his small glimmer of hope, blurted out "Then I'll adopt him." And, immediately after saying these words, Southworth began to think, and wondered if there was any possible way he could follow through on that offer.

Southworth, a man raised in a family with a strong love of God, began to pray that night, hoping for guidance. Southworth was looking for a sign, any sign, to guide him to a decision, one that he knew he could not make on his own. And soon enough, that sign came, in the form of a DVD mailed to his company from home: Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” It was then that Southworth knew what he believed in his heart to be true was, in fact, true: He would adopt this boy and bring him home.

Southworth soon began to realize the difficulties inherent in his decision. Under Iraqi law, foreign adoptions were not allowed. Bribing Iraqi officials was always an option, but Southworth, being a man of law and honor, was not willing to break the law…not even to save a life. “I had to show them that if you really wanted something, there was a (legitimate) way," he said. The way Southworth was looking for was no picnic, either: Southworth had to write a letter to the Iraqi Minister of Labor (the governmental figure officially recognized as the boy’s guardian) asking permission to take the boy from Iraq for medical care. In addition, Southworth would have to acquire a passport for the boy; something he knew was an impossibility in the current political climate.

By the time Southworth’s tour of duty had ended in July, 2004, permission had come back from the Minister of Labor, giving Southworth to bring the Ala’a home with him. However, Southworth knew he could not. He had not gotten permission from the U.S. government to bring the boy home, and without that, Ala’a could not enter the United States legally. Southworth would have to come back for the boy.

Southworth made one last visit to the orphanage as he prepared to leave Iraq. He knew he would have to tell the boy something, but feared what he would say; for he knew he would not be able to make a promise to the boy he could not keep. Southworth simply told the boy that he would come visit him again. Ala’a did not cry. "He had made a decision that I was his daddy and he had absolute faith that God was going to make it happen," Southworth said.

Southworth returned home to Juneau County, and was relieved of active duty. Southworth began to campaign heavily to become Juneau County district administrator. Yet throughout the campaign, Southworth kept looking for a way to bring Ala’a back. During the campaign, his network of attorney friends brought his attention to Laura Danielson of Fredrikson & Byron, a law firm out of Minneapolis, MN. Danielson, an immigration lawyer, and her firm were up for the task. “They have a real heart for the disadvantaged…but they had never dealt with Iraq before” explained Southworth. “It was a real challenge for them."

Danielson was able to bring the boy home. So, in September 2005, Ala’a entered the country under humanitarian parole, an opportunity granted in only the most extraordinary circumstances. And, so far, both Scott and Ala’a have adjusted to their new lives together. So far, on this Friday, Southworth has enrolled Ala’a in school and arranged for the boy’s medical care, while still finding time to see “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” together. And, Southworth hasn’t given up hope that one day he will legally be able to become the boy’s father. Nor, Southworth believes, has Ala’a.

"He has the true faith of a child," explains Southworth. I think he knew what was going to happen."

More on Music Videos...
...and why Anton Corbjin isn't as much of a hack as I let on.

I was a little harsh on Mr. Corbijn on my last post. Let me backtrack a bit and say that he is one of the most influential rock photographers/videographers of all time, and that bands like Green Day, U2, Depeche Mode, and Metallica wouldn't be where they are today without him.

...With that said, i'm kind of sick of music videos. i've been watching so many of them for the last week or so (I'm shooting one as my final project in my digital distribution class, so I've been looking for concepts to steal), and I can safely say that there are simply a lot of BAD music videos out there. However, I've run across a few that I had forgotten how good they are:

• Madonna - Express Yourself (dir. David Fincher)
• Madonna - Like a Prayer (dir. Mary Lambert)
• Madonna - I'll Remember (dir. Alek Keshishian) ...she made my list three times? Damn.
  
• Jimmy Eat World - Pain (dir. Paul Fedor)
• Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice (dir. Spike Jonze)
• Foo Fighters - Everlong (dir. Michel Gondry ...the man who invented the "bullet time" from The Matrix...and don't forget it!)
• Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science (dir. unknown)

....and of course...the grandaddy of them all...

• Aha - Take on Me (animated by Michael Patterson)

Youtube for those, as well as the two Depeche Mode videos I mentioned in my last post. It's good watchin's...

Anton Corbjin is a HACK.

Ok, not really. But I can safely say that at least _two_ of the videos he shot for Depeche Mode are not nearly as good as he (or the rest of the world, for that matter) would have you think. Those videos? Enjoy The Silence and Strangelove.

Enjoy The Silence is a hell of a song. In fact, it's one of the best singles Depeche Mode has released, period. But the video? Boring. It features "king" Dave Gahan wandering around mountains and hillsides with a folding chair, so he can "enjoy the silence." Um...ok? And this is visually stimulating...how? (In defense of the video, there are occasional black and white shots of the band and a rose. But they're sparse.)

Strangelove....one of the first videos banned from MTV. Corbijn gets credit for letting his girlfriend dance around the stage in her underwear. And, yes, a video featuring scantily-clad models would seem to fit damn well with a song about sexual fetishes. Except for one thing...the Strangelove '88 video, which is simply much better done. And who cares if it completely rips off Fritz Lang's Metropolis? It wouldn't be the first time.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Depeche Mode. And, most of their videos are excellent. But give me Clive Richardson's Blasphemous Rumours or D.A. Pennebaker's Everything Counts (101) over anything Corbjin's done any day.

Rainy Day Ollie – Killing Two Birds With One Car.
Rough around the edges, yet still showing promise.
Andrew Ryan // 11/20/06

In my eyes, the Ozaukee County punk scene died in 2002 with the breakup of Sand!. The handful of bands left simply weren't talented enough to hold my attention or drive me to come to shows.

Part of me wonders exactly why I was so short-sighted. Maybe my standards were too high from years of being spoiled by bands like I Belong, No Direction, and the like. Or, maybe I let my personal distaste for the people in the bands affect my perception of the bands themselves.

Either way, I was wrong. Apparently, the Ozaukee scene isn't dead…it's just waiting for a savior. Unfortunately, Rainy Day Ollie isn't the savior the scene needs…at least not yet, anyways.

At first listen, Rainy Day Ollie comes off as a second-rate Alkaline Trio or blink-182. On second listen…nothing improves. The band seems to take cues from every pop-punk band in the last 10 years, but can't seem to improve on the formula at all.

That's not to say the band is bad. In fact, the musicianship is fairly solid for the genre, and shows glimpses of what the band could become, with the right producer. (Local musical genius Justin Perkins, who has worked with Molitor, The Starrs, and The Obsoletes comes to mind.) Much of my problem with this album stems from the vocals, which are entirely uneven and shaky. While this may be another example of my standards being a bit high, they just sound too nasal-ly and whiny, and don't seem to fit with the instrumentation well. The mixing could use some work, as well…bringing out the drums and bass a little more might help the music flow better.

There are highlights to this album, though. The band successfully channels mid-life MxPx in the song "Not Tonight," a song that could easily fit into WLUM's local music rotation. (Why the band refuses to send in a copy is beyond me.) "Suck At Life" and "Believe" show off the tremendous talent of guitarist Ben Pitsch, who can shred with the best of them. And "Suffocate," the closing track of the album balances out hardcore and pop influences quite nicely.

Rainy Day Ollie simply needs to find a way to separate themselves form the crowd. Although they can pull off the pop-punk sound convincingly….so can everyone else. I look forward to the day where this group is able to rescue the local scene.

(**.5)

Two and a half out of five stars.

United Artists to be revived...
...by Tom Cruise??

(Cross-posted to my JMC-262 class blog.)

Sometime last week, it was reported that Tom Cruise and MGM had come to an agreement to revive United Artists, the studio originally founded by Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Charles Chaplin.

My original reaction to this? Well, my original comments aren't suitable for print. However, after curling up (or in this case sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair in the basement of the UWM library) with the latest issue of Variety, I've come to a rather odd comclusion for me:

This may actually work. And, it may not suck too badly.

Don't get me wrong, I still hate Tom Cruise with all the loathing I can muster up from the darkest regions of my soul. But, as bad as some of his more recent films have been ("War Of The Worlds," anyone?), as a producer, Cruise does have a somewhat-impressive track record of success. Take for example, a small snippit of his work (as a producer) between 1996 and today:

• Elizabethtown
• The Last Samurai
• Shattered Glass
• Narc
• Vanilla Sky

Not a shabby lineup, by any means.

Also, Variety has brought to my attention a fact that I was previously unaware of. Apparently, Cruise is not contractually obligated to star in any of these films, only to produce them. This lessens my disgust greatly, as I am generally opposed to much of what Cruise has starred in during the past 5-6 years. Not only that, without Cruise starring in these films, they may be more likely to live up to the legacy of United Artists and what the studio stood for so many years ago in Hollywood.

So, I'll wait to reserve judgement. Until I see UA release Battlefield Earth II.

At that point, all bets are off.

Radio Singles Suck.
Labels simply can not pick them anymore.

I've just about had it with record labels.

Now, this isn't one of those generic "OMG THE RECORD LABELS SUCK CUZ THEY RIP OFF ARTIST" rants. No, my reason for hating the labels is much more simple and basic than that.

Labels these days simply can not select "good" radio singles. This summer has definitely proved that.

Let's look at three examples of poorly picked singles, shall we?

• Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.
• Cobra Starship - Bring It (Snakes On A Plane)
• Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko

First, Panic! At The Disco. Everyone remembers that song, right? The song that you simply could not escape this summer, P!ATD took the radio wave by storm and got stuck in everyone's head. But, many people won't even know that there was a single out before I Write Sins, Not Tragedies. Unfortunately, Decaydance screwed up, and released a video for I Write Sins while at the same time promoting an entirely different single for radio air (that single being The Only Difference Between Suicide and Martyrdom is Press Coverage...by all accounts a much better song to promote the album with.) They then realized their mistake, and...poof. Gone is the current radio single, replaced by I Write Sins overnight.

Cobra Starship...everyone here remembers Snakes On A Plane, right? Well, the single (Bring It (Snakes On A Plane) from the soundtrack album was released to radio at the same time. There's one small issue with this, however:

No one played it and the song was...pretty bad.

Has Decaydance released a followup? No. Should they have? Yes. It's Amateur Night At The Appollo Creed! not only better reflects the sound of the album, but it's much better, as well.

[update-january, 2006: The follow-up single has been released. And, again, it ("The Church of Hot Addiction") is a fairly irritating single. Apparently, Decaydance doesn't learn from its mistakes.]

Shiny Toy Guns. Heard the new single? It's irritating. In fact, it's so irritating that I almost didn't buy the album. But, it was on sale for seven bucks, so I tried it. Know what I found?

It's pretty good. In fact, it's very good. Except for that single.

Hey, Universal: Shut up and release Don't Cry Out. If you have the hottest new-wave band since Devo, why not release a single that actually reflects what they sound like?

Labels: You are terrible at picking singles. Start doing a better job...for your own sake. You'll sell more albums, and anger less radio employees.

..Uncensored, my A**!

I've got a bone to pick with some television producers, specifically MTV.

When you have a television show that you release to DVD (aka Jackass), and you have a disclaimer stating that it's for "Mature Audiences Only"...why do you keep the bad language bleeped out? And, if you're going to consistently bleep out any occurrance of the F-Word on your commentary track, WHY do you insist on labeling it as an "uncensored" commentary track? Why do you tease me with wonderous promises and then promptly proceed to pull them away like an old man teasing a young kid with candy?

What, exactly, DOES the word "Uncensored" mean these days? Because, if "Uncensored" now means "We bleep the F-word", then I must have missed the memo. And, it pisses me off.

"the path to 9-11."

So a co-worker burned me DVDs of the ABC special "The Path to 9-11" to watch (I, and nearly all other Americans was tuned in to the "Manning Bowl" that evening on NBC, and was unable to watch.) I've only gotten about an hour or so in, and so far, it's been really a great watch.

Now, we've all heard the hullabaloo from the "left" how this work is biased towards the "right." Clinton administration members and congresspersons from both sides complained about supposed inaccuracies, and the work was apparently edited by ABC at the 13th hour. In other words, the work has been a political mess, with both sides being rather unhappy. However, I think this is crap. Frankly, I don't care about the political leanings of the filmmakers, and I don't care about any purported inaccuracies....this work isn't labeled as a "documentary", so who cares?

What's stood out to me so far is exactly how large-scale this special was. With an estimated $40 million budget, this is one of the most expensive projects I've ever seen on the small screen. And, it shows. This work plays like an extended-length movie...one which is rather engrossing in scale. What I noticed most is how much this movie really sucked me in...really made me feel for both the informants risking their necks for love of their country, and even for the terrorists. The filmmakers have really done a good job depicting BOTH SIDES as people...not just blindly depicting the terrorists as "monsters." You really get a good sense of why the terrorists do what they do....their motivations, justifications, hopes for success, and even their fears of failure and sense of paranoia.

So far, it looks like it's going to be a good watch. I'm hoping to finish it sometime this week. But at 5 hours, it's not a quick digest.