Monday, July 26, 2010

Quick 'N Dirty Review: Gigi | Maintenant

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 


Now... onto the review:


Gigi | Maintenant

There’s comfort in examining the past. We get so caught up in the latest gadgets and in the newest advances that make our lives easier while simultaneously creating more problems for ourselves that it’s often comforting to think of a simpler time, even if you yourself never personally experienced that actual era. Speaking as a thirtysomething who grew up during the transition from Gen X to Gen Y, I wasn’t alive during the 60s but I’ll admit that I have at times wondered what my life would have been like had I lived during that decade. Gigi’s debut record, Maintenant, thoroughly re-creates the sound what I imagine this bygone era to be with stunning precision. Unlike many of the other notable releases of the retro-60s pop genre (Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black, Duffy’s Rockferry, Adele’s 19) that were solely sung from the ladies' perspective, Maintenant mixes both male and female voices, giving it a fresh take on the re-examination of classic pop. The nature of a 40-member (really… 40 MEMBER!) project likely leads to the disparity of sounds found on the record. The Brill Building sound of the first single, “No, My Heart Will Go On” stands next to the bossa nova of Parenthetical Girls leader Zac Pennington’s “Dreams Of Romance,” which shares space with the airy French pop of Katie Eastburn’s “The Marquee.” Maintenant runs the gamut of 60s pop styles yet manages to feel fresh. True, there’s nothing that can really be considered “new” on the record but the sound is pitch perfect for what Gigi was targeting. Maintenant creates atmosphere more than anything else – it’s easy to imagine any one of these songs playing over Mad Men’s closing credits, for example – but the lyrics are just as noteworthy for how they create a striking visual palette. You can almost feel the orange shag carpet under your feet and see the art deco walls as Pennington laments, “I showed up early to your costume party/ Dressed up like a pharaoh/ I really should have come as Robin Hood/ And done myself in with the arrow,” over skittering bossa nova on “Dreams Of Romance.” “Some Second Best” conjures an image of a trio of girls in poodle skirts cooing outside an ice cream shop while the lonely nature of “I’m Not Coming Out Tonight” and “Alone At The Pier” also shine. Maintenant is the sound of a band not really attempting to challenge its listeners per se, but instead providing them with a thoroughly accurate means for a comfortable escape to a simpler time.

Standout Tracks: “No, My Heart Will Go On;” “I’m Not Coming Out Tonight;” “Won’t Someone Tell Me?” “Alone At The Pier;” “The Marquee"

Dirty Rating: 88/100

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Quick 'N Dirty Review: Deftones | Diamond Eyes

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 


Now... onto the review:




Deftones | Diamond Eyes

There’s no way to sugarcoat it – the Deftones’ Saturday Night Wrist was a bad album. Like, really bad. Like girls talking about poo and um... other things bad (seriously, listen closely to “Pink Cellphone”… or better yet don’t). Not only was it bad but it was the kind of record that calls a band’s right to exist into question. Should the Deftones even bother continuing if an effort like that was the best they could muster? This is why it’s heartening to see Chino & Co. headed back in the right direction with their latest record and first in four years, Diamond Eyes. The Deftones have always been smarter than your average meathead hard rock band and that’s long been their calling card. Their willingness to take risks and challenge the norm has always worked to their benefit, but that ethos failed them on their last go-round. Whereas the risks didn’t necessarily pay off on Saturday Night Wrist, it’s a return to basics on Diamond Eyes that has them balanced back on their axis. “Diamond Eyes” is immediately stronger than anything on the last record with its catchier chorus and self-titled record feel. Not far behind is “Rocket Skates” which is so heavy and so good as vocalist Chino Moreno screams, “Guns, razors, knives/ Fuck with me” over granite strength guitars. It’s four minutes of raw and naked emotion and energy and it’s an impressive thing that they have a track like this in them over twenty years into their careers. To anyone who’s hoping that the Deftones might be stashing White Pony II somewhere in the back of their collective subconscious, it’s probably time to give up that dream and just embrace what the Deftones have become – simply put, one of the most solid hard rock bands in the music business. That’s not to say flashes of White Pony brilliance aren’t still present. Albeit less experimental than their high water mark, “Beauty School” shares elements in common with “Passenger” or “Digital Bath” as Moreno howls, “You’re shooting stars/ From the barrel of your eyes/ And it drives me crazy/ Just drives me wild.” Another standout is “Sextape,” the record’s prettiest track (and yes, it’s more than a little strange describing a Deftones track that way) that piles layers of atmosphere on a steady build to a great chorus. Really, it’s easy to make a case that Moreno himself had become a metaphor for the band. He’d allowed himself to bloat (I mean, Jesus… dude was effing fat during the videos off of Saturday Night Wrist) but now he’s leaner and meaner, much like the band as a whole on Diamond Eyes. After hearing the band drop the fat and put out likely their hardest record since Around The Fur, clearly the Deftones should consider sticking around for at least another few records. And that’s a great thing. A really great thing.

Standout Tracks: “Rocket Skates;” “Sextape;” “Diamond Eyes;” “Beauty School”

Dirty Rating: 77/100

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Quick 'N Dirty Review: Broken Social Scene | Forgiveness Rock Record

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 


Now... onto the review:

Broken Social Scene | Forgiveness Rock Record

No band in Canadian indie rock has a bigger profile than Broken Social Scene and I mean that both figuratively and literally (the band has included up to 19 members at various points). Due to the collective nature of the group, almost anyone who’s been involved in the Canadian indie scene has at least some tenuous connection to BSS over the years. After releasing a number of records by members of the band in the past few years that were de facto BSS records (including Kevin Drew’s Spirit Is, Brendan Canning’s Something For All Of Us) not to mention records by other members of the collective (Feist, Stars, Amy Millan, k-os, Jason Collett), Forgiveness Rock Record is the first one in five years to actually be a labeled as a proper BSS record. Was it worth the wait? Results are mixed. At this point in their career it’s becoming painfully obvious that the career heights of You Forgot It In People will never again be scaled by the band. And that can be fine, so long as the band is still producing quality tracks at a high level. And true, there are highs on Forgiveness Rock Record, but not enough to sustain the album. “World Sickis a strong opening salvo from the record that speaks to the collective nature of the band as Drew sings; “We got a minefield of crippled affection/ All for the borrowed mirror connection/ That’s why I’m leaving this spoken protection/ I’m a romance addict so I can confess that” before what feels like the entirety of the 19 person membership chiming in for the chorus. “Texico Bitches” is very upbeat and lively and is definitely one of the stronger efforts here while the moody “Sweetest Kill” and the Eastern influenced “Ungrateful Little Father” also stand a cut above. However, it’s never a good sign when you’re constantly checking the tracklist to see how far into the record you are and I did that more than once through the record’s one hour running time. “Chase Scene” is appropriately titled as it sounds like it could be backing a 70s cop show chase scene and the track’s OK but it feels oddly lifeless, and that’s not the worst of it. “Art House Director” is too cutesy by half, “Forced To Love” feels like a limp rehash of Canning’s “Hit The Wall,” and “Meet Me In The Basement” and “Romance To The Grave” are just straight boring. Maybe everyone in BSS is so preoccupied with their own shit that, even though this is the first group record in a half decade, they don’t care as much about the band as a whole anymore. It wouldn’t be the first time that a band, even one as talented as BSS, fell prey to this kind of trap. But still, with the collective talent involved, it’s hard to call Forgiveness Rock Record anything other than a mild to medium disappointment.

Standout Tracks: “Sweetest Kill;” “World Sick;” “Texico Bitches;” “Ungrateful Little Father”

Dirty Rating: 74/100

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Weekend News Dump



It's the Weekend News Dump. Because it's the weekend. And we're dumping news. The Weekend News Dump.


  • In surprising yet highly welcome news, Daniel Tosh has officially become the most-watched host on Comedy Central as the ratings for the summer season of Tosh.0 have eclipsed those of both Jon Stewart's Daily Show and Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report. Clearly the reason is that Tosh.0 features more puke. Never doubt the ratings power of puke. Oh, and also because it's damn funny. That's probably part of it, too.
  • HBO has ordered Luck to series, which seemed to be a mere formality given the Milch/Mann/Hoffman/Nolte core of the show. Alan Sepinwall raises a good point, however. What will the show's shelf life be once the notoriously overprepared Dustin Hoffman begins receiving new pages of dialogue from series creator David Milch in the midst of shooting a scene, a stunt that Milch is legendary for pulling on a regular basis? Maybe we should enjoy the first season while we can when it premieres in early 2011.
  • My fifteen-year-old self loves this. MTV has announced that Mike Judge is at work on new episodes of Beavis And Butt-head that will air on the cable outlet sometime in the near future. The structure will stay the same as the show's 90s heyday -- scripted episodes that also include the characters commenting on contemporary music videos. The biggest news here, surprisingly, isn't the resurrection of the series but that, shit, MTV IS GOING TO BE PLAYING VIDEOS AGAIN. Kinda.
  • Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch attracted a whopping 8.5 million viewers (without question a record for the network) for its season premiere on Tuesday night which dealt with the death of Captain Phil Harris. Not to be crass but we'd venture to guess that those numbers will stay as a series high seeing as the show's star is, to put it delicately, an ex-human.
  • Community is the latest series to get into the Betty White business. And by latest we mean the 268th.
  • Sharktopus. Just saying.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Quick 'N Dirty Review: The Radio Dept. | Clinging To A Scheme

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 


Now... onto the review:


The Radio Dept. | Clinging To A Scheme

Like a lone daisy springing from inner city concrete, the soundtrack from the entirely forgettable 2006 film Marie Antoinette was the one highlight of an ill-advised look at the child Queen Of France. Its soundtrack (because Sofia Coppola for some reason chose to back 1700s France with 80s new wave and post-punk) likely served as the iPod generation’s introduction to acts like The Cure, New Order, and Siouxie And The Banshees, while also highlighting lesser known bands like Windsor For The Derby and Sweden’s The Radio Dept. On an obviously stellar collection, The Radio Dept. stood apart with shoegazey pop tracks like “I Don’t Like It Like That” and “Pulling Our Weight.” (Side note: Say what you will about Sofia Coppola’s filmmaking talent but damn, does she ever have good taste in music. From getting Air to score her debut film, The Virgin Suicides, to using The Jesus And Mary Chain’s classic “Just Like Honey” to close Lost In Translation to hell… even dating Thomas Mars from Phoenix and now introducing the masses to The Radio Dept. through their use in Marie Antoinette, she deserves major props.) Returning with Clinging To A Scheme, their first long-player since the soundtrack’s release, The Radio Dept. expands on the promise that they showed on the Marie Antoinette collection. They hop from genre to genre but they really know what they’re doing and they incorporate all of the sounds (using dream pop/shoegaze as their base) to create something truly remarkable. “Domestic Scene” is a natural progression from the Marie Antoinette tracks and it sets the table for what’s to come on the rest of Clinging To A Scheme – very lazy (in a good way) and breezy vocals from Johan Duncanson with an airy dream pop/shoegaze bent to the instrumentation. The bouncy and summery “Heaven’s On Fire” follows and hearkens back more than a little to British Invasion pop while it grows more with each listen. It sounds like a paradoxical statement but The Radio Dept.’s sound can really be described as a cool warmth. This feel is heard best on tracks like “A Token Of Gratitude,” (without question one of the record’s standouts) where Duncanson coolly sings, “Do I love you?/ Yes I love you/ But easy come easy go/ Don’t let me down,” as the track evolves into ambient beauty that would have been at home on David Bowie’s Low, or on the absolutely gorgeous “You Stopped Making Sense.” Clinging To A Scheme is all about the creation of mood and atmosphere through incredibly lush instrumentals. “David” is more synth-heavy than most of the record and turns into almost an Enigma-esque track that closes with a guitar break that sounds like birds soaring into the sky, “The Video Dept.” morphs from its post-punk influences into a Smiths-like 80s alternative jangle, and the skittering pace and production choices on “This Time Around” recall Faith-era Cure. The results are mindblowingly good. The Radio Dept. utilizes many of the conventions of dream pop and shoegaze to create not just an unbelievably enjoyable album, but one of 2010’s very best as well.

Standout Tracks: “You Stopped Making Sense;” “A Token Of Gratitude;” “Heaven’s On Fire;” “David”

Dirty Rating: 94/100


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Jon Benjamin Has A Van. Not Sure If It's Down By The River.

This is certainly welcome news. Comedy Central has ordered a sketch comedy series from H. Jon Benjamin... excuse me, EMMY NOMINEE* H. Jon Benjamin (that's right, bitches, nominated for the funniest show on TV that you're not watching, Archer) called Jon Benjamin Has A Van that will premiere next summer. The show will see Benjamin travel in a van to do newsmagazine-style interviews (think Daily Show field pieces). Between the new animated Bob's Burgers midseason on Fox, the second season of Archer in early 2011, and now this Benjamin is officially all over the tube. And that's a very, very good thing.


*And yes, we realize the Emmys are a farce (for example, the just cancelled Flash Forward received three nominations which is more than the entire five season run of The Wire combined) but the fact remains that they gave Breaking Bad a chunk of noms, Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights were both nominated (finally) for the first time, and fucking Archer got a nod. Credit where credit's due. But you still suck, Emmys.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Quick 'N Dirty Review: The Good Guys

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:


100-95 - Classic Show; (In best Bill O'Reilly voice) "WE'LL DO IT LIVE!!"
94-85 - Upper Echelon Show; You Should DVR This And Watch It The Same Night
84-75 - Very, Very Good; You Should Make An Effort To Watch This Within A Few Days Of Airing
74-65 - Not Bad At All; Let These Shows Pile Up On Your DVR But Watch 'Em Eventually
64-55 - Fold The Laundry While You Watch These
54-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably)


Now... onto the review:




The Good Guys | Season 1

 “The work we’re doing here could save someone’s life. Maybe a woman. Maybe even a hot one.”

The landscape of summer TV has undergone a sea change in recent years. For eons, summer had been a dumping ground for failed pilots and reruns of police procedurals. It’s still that, in large part, but the success of Survivor upon its debut in 2000 proved that first-run programming did have a place during the calendar’s hottest months. During the following half-decade, networks were content to air cheap (albeit fresh) reality shows in order to attract eyeballs during a time when viewership was traditionally down. This summer, however, Fox has taken the approach one step further and has begun airing The Good Guys (a series already given a place on the network's fall schedule) this summer in hopes of building an audience before the crucible of September commences.

From creator Matt Nix (Burn Notice), The Good Guys stars Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) and Colin Hanks (Orange County) as mismatched Dallas police detectives assigned to the property crimes unit who somehow always seem to stumble onto bigger cases. The series’ hook is that Hanks’s Jack Bailey is a by-the-book detective who hopes for some upward mobility but who’s saddled with Whitford’s Dan Stark, an old school cop perpetually stuck in the early 1980’s (read: Stark’s lack of tech knowledge leads him to scream at a computer, “Tell me where my partner is!!;” Stark infects his department issue laptop with a porn virus) who's stuck on his glory days with his old partner, Frank (who’s mentioned so many times that he’s surely going to pop up in a future episode in a key spot). Hilarity sometimes ensues.

The Good Guys is not deep television, but that’s about what you’d expect from the creator of Burn Notice, the television equivalent of a beach read. It has a very tongue-in-cheek summer sensibility and, while it’s currently airing on Monday nights, Fox has made the savvy decision to air it on Friday nights paired with Human Target (another lighthearted 80s throwback actioner) in the fall, so not only does it have a tonal partner but also lowered expectations when it comes to ratings. It will probably have to start drawing more than its current four million viewers if it’s to even make it to September because Fox probably has yet another cooking show where Gordon Ramsay screams at people in a kitchen just waiting in the wings somewhere.

That said, the concept of a modern detective saddled with a comedic relic does have its potential but the trick is to make sure that the Dan Stark character is not treated as a complete joke (see Michael Scott in The Office or Leslie Knope in Parks And Recreation – both of those series excelled when they decided to humanize their leads instead of treating them as total farces). It does seem (at least in the five episodes we’ve seen) that The Good Guys is heading in that direction, which is a good start. For example, Dan does seem to be a bit of a savant with the ladies, however inexplicable that may be.

On the downside, the series does subscribe to too many TV cop show tropes and its self-contained nature is limiting (basically, if you don’t buy into the case of the week there’s really nothing for you here) but the tangential approach to its storytelling that sees a scene play out only to have a title card appear, taking you chronologically back to a previous viewpoint that explains the future scene, all the while punctuated by a gunshot sound effect is different and mildly interesting. Early on at least, much of the comedy is not that funny and if the series wants to stick with that kind of lighter tone, it’s going to have to have more luck in finding its comedic voice. Also, the developing trend of Whitford and Hanks working a menial case that somehow ends up tying into a much larger one is already contrived and tired. The writers need to find a better way of tying the characters into the more important cases.

As far as the cast is concerned, Whitford, early on, seems to be struggling to find the right balance between comedy and pathos (he’s good in half of the episodes and less than good in the other half) even while clearly slumming on a show like this, while Hanks is more than competent playing the straight man. They do seem to be building a decent dynamic, for example the scene in “Broken Door Theory” where Whitford wildly tries to kick a door open only to have Hanks calmly open it since it’s unlocked is one of the funnier moments thus far. Dan’s cryogenic freezing in the 80s also allows the creative team to pack the soundtrack with late 70s/early 80s rock (“Rock You Like A Hurricane,” “Barracuda”) which adds to the fun of the series.

The Good Guys is much more lighthearted than what I normally go for, particularly in a cop series, but it often feels like there’s a good show in there somewhere that’s just struggling to get out once the writing staff finds its voice. It has Friday nights written all over it so, if it can strike the right tonal balance between its comedic elements and dramatic moments, it could ultimately prove to be a halfway decent way to cap off the week assuming its ratings allow it the chance.

What’s Good: Tangential storytelling; Potential of the Dan Stark character; Lighthearted nature; Soundtrack
What’s Not So Good: Self-contained storylines; Inorganic storytelling; Whitford’s balance thus far with the Dan Stark character

Dirty Rating: 57/100

The Good Guys airs Monday nights at 9PM on Fox before moving to Fridays at 9PM in the fall.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Quick 'N Dirty Review: Adam Green | Minor Love

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 


Now... onto the review:

Adam Green | Minor Love

After seeing Kimya Dawson, his former partner in freak folk duo The Moldy Peaches, break into the mainstream with her work on the acclaimed 2008 film Juno, Adam Green returns with his bid for success in the form of his sixth solo record, Minor Love. While the poop jokes and songs about Jessica Simpson from previous records are largely gone, a large part of Minor Love suffers from Green’s insistence on emulating Lou Reed but ending up sounding like Reed if he was less of a musical genius and more like some dude who just decided to put out a record. He’s a storyteller pitching a tale that no one really wants nor needs to hear. “Breaking Locks” is the most successful Reed-influenced track with Green’s loping voice singing, “Breaking locks and getting shocked/ No one should ever hold me up/ I’ve been too awful to ever be thoughtful/ To ever be nice.” Another highlight is the Strokes on Quaaludes sound of “What Makes Him Act So Bad” but too much of Minor Love is a messy detour from the road that Reed tries to pave. “Goblin” doesn’t fit at all with the late night NYC vibe of the majority of the record, “Boss Inside” borrows much too liberally from Johnny Cash, and “Castles And Tassels”… well, I don’t really know what to make of that one with lyrics that include “Castles and tassels/ And flatulent assholes/ I love you/ Always.” Uh, yeah. That unpleasantness aside, Minor Love is pleasant enough at times but it’s fair to describe it as (pardon the word choice) a minor album. There’s nothing really special or dynamic about it. It’s Lou Reed For Dummies and it looks like Green’s going to have to find some measure of satisfaction in his old partner’s success ‘cause he ain’t seeing much of his own after a record like this.

Standout Tracks: “Breaking Locks;” “What Makes Him Act So Bad;” “You Blacken My Stay”

Dirty Rating: 45/100