2K7 in Review: My Favorite Albums, #7
Well, put me in overshoes and call me a duck! A few weeks ago, I sat through "Made of Honor," one of those atrocious rom-coms that always used to make me feel a little better about not having a girlfriend, because the alternative might have meant I had to watch such an odious thing. Yet, although my Sassy Frassy Lassie and I recently celebrated one entire year of tight lovin', I am glad to say that she hasn't subjected me to a single Kate Hudson vehicle. No, "Made of Honor" was viewed of my own volition, and she wasn't even with me. Here's what I thought. Scroll down for dumb analysis of another great 2007 record.
7. Menomena, Friend and Foe (Barsuk)
Why does so much "experimental rock" sound like mentally imbalanced art school dropouts farting into microphones? Insert your favorite euphemism for masturbation here and you’ll receive no counterargument from me. I don't give two shits about experimental music if there's nothing to grab onto. I'm not a music school graduate, so you could be flouting all sorts of accepted theory and whatnot, but I need a melody, a rhythm, at least something resembling a song. I at least need to feel the joy of creation, because the breaking of boundaries should ideally sound like a pleasurable undertaking, not a grueling chore to stave off much-desired sleep. Give me a fun, interesting, tuneful band like Tomahawk or Man Man over any frustrated jazzbos subjecting adventurous listeners to self-serious, abstruse plinking and banging. Populated with Christians but not a "Christian band," Portland, Oregon's Menomena has the potential to be that kind of shittily pedantic project: they write their songs with the help of a computer looping program and their last CD was a soundtrack to three modern dance performances they accompanied in 2004. Yet the trio’s third album balances artsy impulses with solid indie pop songcraft which breathes convincingly enough to obscure their obsessively nerdy origins. In doing so, Menomena guarantees that whatever surprise waits around each corner, it will eventually become lodged in the listener's head. Friend and Foe is my kind of experimental album, even alluding to its dual nature in its title. It's certainly catchy at first, yet encourages and rewards repeat listens to the point that it becomes an obsession.
On the oddball side of the spectrum is Danny Seim's percussive complexity, transposed from the band’s digitally rejiggered jam sessions. He kicks the disc off with a few seconds of Bonham bombast, crashing and bashing his way through the sonorous lope of opener "Muscle’n Flo" until his bandmates catch up with him for a chiming finale. Seim’s loosely mechanical beats turn a lilting little piano-and-acoustic tune like single "Wet and Rusting" or a lumbering mood piece like closer “West” into nervously rousing adventures. On the more approachable side, you have Brent Knopf's rich keyboard melodies, blending with bassist Justin Harris' saxophones and brass in a majestic, sun-dappled bed for the trio's commingled vocals. From the off time anthem “Weird” to the ethereal/funky "Evil Bee," the horn accents provide a number of the album’s most memorable hooks. Piano-spiked scorcher "The Pelican" evokes Genesis’ wide-eyed erudition and King Crimson’s discordant stomp without sounding expressly like either prog rock touchstone. Contrast this with the spacy "My My," which coasts on an soft organ tone until it cracks open in regal splendor. The songs here are more impressive and affecting the more that goes into them. While the mellow trifle "Ghostship" seems almost dull outside of album context, the group whistling that flavors the mini-epic "Boyscout'n" and the electronic squiggles that sneak into the addictive shuffle of "Air Aid" only add another rich dollop of audio glory to already-entrancing tunes. I assume fans of quirkily cadenced indie stars such as Modest Mouse or TV on the Radio would enjoy Friend and Foe, because as the experimental end of the indie rock pool becomes friendlier to mainstream listeners, it's not hard to imagine Menomena's intricate weirdo pop catching on.
Three videos were made for Menomena's Friend and Foe... see below.
"Wet and Rusting"
"Rotten Hell"
"Evil Bee"
7. Menomena, Friend and Foe (Barsuk)Why does so much "experimental rock" sound like mentally imbalanced art school dropouts farting into microphones? Insert your favorite euphemism for masturbation here and you’ll receive no counterargument from me. I don't give two shits about experimental music if there's nothing to grab onto. I'm not a music school graduate, so you could be flouting all sorts of accepted theory and whatnot, but I need a melody, a rhythm, at least something resembling a song. I at least need to feel the joy of creation, because the breaking of boundaries should ideally sound like a pleasurable undertaking, not a grueling chore to stave off much-desired sleep. Give me a fun, interesting, tuneful band like Tomahawk or Man Man over any frustrated jazzbos subjecting adventurous listeners to self-serious, abstruse plinking and banging. Populated with Christians but not a "Christian band," Portland, Oregon's Menomena has the potential to be that kind of shittily pedantic project: they write their songs with the help of a computer looping program and their last CD was a soundtrack to three modern dance performances they accompanied in 2004. Yet the trio’s third album balances artsy impulses with solid indie pop songcraft which breathes convincingly enough to obscure their obsessively nerdy origins. In doing so, Menomena guarantees that whatever surprise waits around each corner, it will eventually become lodged in the listener's head. Friend and Foe is my kind of experimental album, even alluding to its dual nature in its title. It's certainly catchy at first, yet encourages and rewards repeat listens to the point that it becomes an obsession.
On the oddball side of the spectrum is Danny Seim's percussive complexity, transposed from the band’s digitally rejiggered jam sessions. He kicks the disc off with a few seconds of Bonham bombast, crashing and bashing his way through the sonorous lope of opener "Muscle’n Flo" until his bandmates catch up with him for a chiming finale. Seim’s loosely mechanical beats turn a lilting little piano-and-acoustic tune like single "Wet and Rusting" or a lumbering mood piece like closer “West” into nervously rousing adventures. On the more approachable side, you have Brent Knopf's rich keyboard melodies, blending with bassist Justin Harris' saxophones and brass in a majestic, sun-dappled bed for the trio's commingled vocals. From the off time anthem “Weird” to the ethereal/funky "Evil Bee," the horn accents provide a number of the album’s most memorable hooks. Piano-spiked scorcher "The Pelican" evokes Genesis’ wide-eyed erudition and King Crimson’s discordant stomp without sounding expressly like either prog rock touchstone. Contrast this with the spacy "My My," which coasts on an soft organ tone until it cracks open in regal splendor. The songs here are more impressive and affecting the more that goes into them. While the mellow trifle "Ghostship" seems almost dull outside of album context, the group whistling that flavors the mini-epic "Boyscout'n" and the electronic squiggles that sneak into the addictive shuffle of "Air Aid" only add another rich dollop of audio glory to already-entrancing tunes. I assume fans of quirkily cadenced indie stars such as Modest Mouse or TV on the Radio would enjoy Friend and Foe, because as the experimental end of the indie rock pool becomes friendlier to mainstream listeners, it's not hard to imagine Menomena's intricate weirdo pop catching on.
Three videos were made for Menomena's Friend and Foe... see below.
"Wet and Rusting"
"Rotten Hell"
"Evil Bee"
posted by SoulReaper at 4:07 PM
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"Made of Honor"
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd
Directed by: Paul Weiland
A Columbia Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. 101 minutes.
The title's pedestrian pun signals that "Made of Honor" isn't the highest-concept romantic comedy out there.
Then there's its plot, wherein someone realizes they're in love with their best friend as soon as said friend becomes engaged. If it sounds suspiciously similar to that of a certain 1997 Julia Roberts hit, don't worry. This is a completely different movie.
See, the genders are reversed.
Thanks to ABC's doctors-playing-grabass-and-crying hit "Grey’s Anatomy," Patrick Dempsey has finally crawled out of the TV movie-of-the-week mire and reclaimed his cinematic heritage, the sort of implausible boy/girl puffball on which he cut his teeth during the 1980s ("Can't Buy Me Love," "Loverboy," "Happy Together"). Here, Dr. McDreamy plays Tom, a rich, white NYC dude whose dedication to sleeping around is so great that he has his own elaborate set of rules, just like that mid-'90s book that coached women on how to play hard-to-get.
Tom's women are playthings. We see a few of them, but never hear their names. The lone exception is his pal Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), a rich, white NYC gal who Tom met in college when he was trying to hook up with her roommate. Tom actually converses with Hannah. He knows her obnoxiously elaborate Starbuck's order. They play games while waiting in line at the bakery. In other words, they're made for each other.
This is quickly established, but British director Paul Weiland ("Leonard Part 6," "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold") has to make sure we get it. At the same time Hannah is complaining to a department store clerk about the cruelty of carrying an alligator handbag, Tom is in another part of the store, proving his affinity for animals by petting a dog. OMG! He's SO perfect for her!
Of course, Tom doesn't even think about this until Hannah takes a six-week business trip to Scotland. He decides he like-likes her, but just as he's about to spring this news on Hannah upon her return, she shows up with a guy. While away, Hannah's gotten engaged to Colin (Kevin McKidd), a rich, white duke whose family owns Scotland's oldest whiskey distillery.
To deal with this sudden threat to his relationship with Hannah, Tom takes his basketball pals' advice and accepts her offer to be her maid of honor. He has to deal with girly rituals like dress shopping and planning a bridal shower. He has to contend with the other jealous bridesmaids at posh restaurants that serve tiny pastries on elaborate trays as a harpist performs (how rich are these people?). All the while, Tom must try to prove he's a better catch than Colin. Yes, you've seen this film before.
Admittedly, "Made of Honor" has two things over its rom-com peers. For one, Colin is not depicted as psycho or possessive or involved with shady international intrigue. He's actually a decent guy. In fact, the only strikes the movie can level against him are that he's from another culture, he hunts and he's not Tom. Consider McKidd's role more like the type Ralph Bellamy used to play: not a villain, but not deserving of the girl, either. Sorry, bro!
Its other plus is that it keeps scenes of manly Patrick Dempsey doing non-butch things like wrapping gift baskets for a wedding reception or getting quizzed about appropriate dress lengths to a minimum. You'd think that a comedy of this sort (and length - Christ, is it long) would be stuffed with "you're the maid of whaaa?" gags, but these thankfully only pop up a handful of times.
In the end, all that distinguishes "Made of Honor" is its stars. Dempsey seems stiff when it comes to the broad comedy bits, but overall he's on the likable side of wooden. Monaghan, who was so magnetic in the underrated "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," is an equally bland but pleasant tomboy, although she ultimately comes off as not much more considerate than ol' sex-machine Tom.
Their characters have chemistry, and hooray for them. Still, did they really need to take so long and spend so much of other people's money to figure it out for themselves?
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