Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

There's been a little bit of buzz in the indie community due to the recent release of Sufjan Steven's followup to 2005's acclaimed Illinoise, Paste Magazine's best album of the decade. Despite fans' cries for a new album based on one of the fifty states of the union (a goal announced by Stevens back in the day after the release of Michigan), we instead have ourselves an incredibly divisive album that all but abandons Sufjan's previous banjo-pluckin' style. And although Age of Adz sounds completely new and fresh for the now-veteran artist, one of Steven's earlier albums, A Sun Came, utilized much of the same glitchy, blippy sound that dominates this new piece of work.

Take a listen to hear for yourself what kind of sound I'm talking about. With the exception of the first track and the last part of the final track, the entire album sounds pretty similar. There may be a slump of disappointment from some of Stevens' fans who only jumped on the bandwagon after hearing Illinoise, but if there's one thing we learn from delving into the entirety of Stevens' catalogue it's this: he's going to compose the music that pleases him. Indie royalty typically own this privilege.

I really like the album, but I'm not sure I'm ready to love it. I'll have to give it some time, but I definitely recommend this album to indie music fans and especially fans of his prior works. Pitchfork was a little more gracious and detailed in their review, and you can check out what they had to say about it here. I won't be offended if you implicitly trust their judgment over mine. In the end it's a great album that you should check out. It's also incredibly inexpensive over at Bandcamp.


7/10

Following

"Following" is a British indie film, released in 1998, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. I watched it for the first time the other day, marking a personal milestone I had set to watch every one of Nolan's excellent films. Among people making films today, I think Nolan is perhaps the most consistent and original. Following is an interesting glimpse at what Nolan would one day become. It's a film with a dark, neo-noir story, entirely in black and white, with an unsurprisingly competent script and excellent pacing and plot. The story jumps back and forth along the film's time-line constantly (not unlike Ink), yet the editing is silky and crisp and keeps the audience perfectly in-tune with what's going on.

It isn't Nolan's best film, but it's the embodiment of his talent in embryonic form. The idea behind the movie is powerful and interesting, yet simple. One of the reasons I love indie films is they aren't vehicles for bloated, mediocre ideas. They're just creative interpretations of usually simple ideas. The kind of thing that comes to you when you're bored in class or at work. There's something pure about one person's raw, unfettered idea that creates a special kind of cinema magic that's unseen in Hollywood these days.

Here's a trailer that provides a small taste of the film's unique style and presentation.

"Ink"

As I was perusing the bare selection of Netflix movies available to stream directly to my TV through my Wii, I stumbled upon a movie in the Sci-fi section I had never heard of. The poster was intriguing and sort of rad, and the user rating was relatively high, yet when I looked up the film at rotten tomatoes there were only three critics who had even heard of the film. The three reviewers had given the film near-perfect reviews, so I decided to risk a couple hours of my life and watch it despite knowing nearly nothing about it.

Here's a Small Musical Miracle for you

It's four year-old news, but long-time Radiohead collaborator and "Scott Pilgrim" composer Nigel Godrich created what I consider to be one of the better DVD concert series' of all-time. The project began back in 2006 when Godrich began shooting the series in London's Maida Vale Studios. Since then, some incredibly top-notch indie musicians have performed and been recorded, including The White Stripes, Beck, Fleet Foxes, and Radiohead.

The Social Network and Other OSTs

There was a whole lot of buzz leading up to the release of The Social Network, and for good reason. It's a great film, but that's already old news. In other circles, namely the modern music publications of the day who ride the waves of every new and potentially world-shaking trend, the original soundtrack was as equally buzz-worthy as the film itself. The score, created by Trent Reznor and longtime collaborator and friend, Atticus Ross, lent a sizable dose of sexy to an already seedy film. It isn't too unusual for artists to step out of their typecast and dabble in composing film scores, but this has been a good year for said trend. Most people who follow music and were alive in the 90s are probably already aware of this lovely bit of movie history in the making:

It's gonna be epic, if the music from the trailer is any indication.

Deerhunter - Halycon Digest

Deerhunter recently released a new opus entitled Halycon Digest. Pitchfork gave it a 9.2, which immediately called my attention given the rarity of said score (the last time was the newest Big Boi album, released months ago). I picked it up and I can agree with Pitchfork on this one. Even Metacritic (meaning the rest of the critical world) seems to concur this time around, and it seems as though Deerhunter have crafted one of the years best.

I can vouch. Give it a listen and you’ll be entreated to some of the most dreamy, ambient indie this side of Atlas Sound. It’s trippy and textured as can be, but it’s an instantly pleasurable listen with plenty of subtle hooks and achingly gorgeous melodies.

9/10

Have a listen to "Revival" to see what I mean.