already?

putting college-ruled notebook paper into a blue three-ring binder.

making sure I've got spare lead for my .5mm mechanical pencil.

check and check - now if only I could realize the fact that classes do, indeed, start to-morrow.

and here we... go.

OK so here I am. I was planning to do posts on this about once a week this summer, but as you can see that hasn't happened.  Life interferes yet again with my plans.

But anyway I have one long overdue review and another not-so-overdue review for you to digest. Hope you like them / take into consideration my thoughts / or something .

Viva La Vida • Coldplay

I'm sure you've all heard it by now - especially considering it's been one of the top 5 bestselling US albums since its release. 

To be honest, I haven't been a very big Coldplay fan for a while now. I'm always somewhat wary about mentioning this, because I don't want to be lumped in the same category as the indie-poser-elitist types who automatically hate Coldplay because they're so popular. I have no problems with coldplay's popularity, I just tired of them several years ago and haven't come back to them since.

But Viva La Vida is decidedly different. It's obvious that Coldplay tired of their formulaic approach to music making and decided to mix things up a bit. This album is full of new sounds that, frankly, are quite unexpected from these four boys.

One of the instances in which this is most evident is the first track. "Life in Technicolor" boldly proclaims 'we have a new producer.' Brian Eno is great, and his influence is welcome. The underlying beat of this track simply screams of his touch.

Joining him is the producer from Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible", whose name is Markus Dravs.

The following track, "Cemeteries of London", is one of the best on the album. It's darker than Coldplay's older music, and serves as a perfect introduction to their new feel.  "Lost!" and "42" are mostly harmless, but they don't do anything new. They're tolerable enough that they belong on the album, but not good enough to belong next to "Cemeteries" or "Lovers". "Lovers in Japan" is my favorite song from the album. It's got a distinct U2 sound, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. Unfortunately, directly following it is the album's worst misstep. On the very same track as "Lovers in Japan" is an incredibly bland three minute piano disaster. "Reign of Love" completely disrupts the flow of the album. "Yes" is somewhat gimmicky, employing what sounds like the violinist from Fiddler on the Roof for its main theme. You've all heard "Viva La Vida", but it's very good - the lyrics are almost enjoyable, and the church bell adds an enormous amount to its catchy beat. "Violet Hill" is also good. To be perfectly honest, I think this track would have been a much better opener than "Life in Technicolor". It perfectly exemplifies Coldplay's new tone. "Strawberry Swing" takes a break from the gloom of the prior three songs with a relaxed beat and leisurely vocals. "Death and All His Friends" brings back a bit of the anthemic Coldplay that everybody knows, and the album ends with a reprise of "Life in Technicolor."

All in all, it's a solid album. However, I feel that Coldplay is still playing it safe. They're wary of trying anything too out of the ordinary. This likely comes from wanting to keep their enormous fanbase. Chris Martin's lyrics are still horrendously dull, and even embarrassing at times. This problem pervades the entire album, to a certain extent. "Viva La Vida" is promising, and it bodes well for the band's future, but if they do not keep striving for originality then they will become irrelevent. The next album will likely skyrocket Coldplay to even more fame, or completely destroy their reputation.

6.8 / 10

The Dark Knight • Christopher Nolan.

This isn't exactly going to be a full review, but I have to implore you all to see it while it's still in theaters. Of course, considering its popularity it'll be in theaters for quite a long time, but you really shouldn't miss this.

Christopher Nolan has proven that he is capable of making a film that can speak on several different levels. Whether you buy a ticket for the action, for the philosophical musings, or for the performance of the actors, it's extremely unlikely that you'll be disappointed.

The cinematography is excellent, and the writing is excellent. The direction is incredible. The soundtrack is much better than the first movie, and fits very well with the film. The acting is very good on all accounts - but especially with Heath Ledger, who played The Joker. This role easily ranks among the best performances I've ever seen on film.

This movie isn't perfect, but it might come as close to a perfect rating as is possible for a batman movie.

9 / 10

The Road [ by Cormac McCarthy ]

I think I'm becoming a big fan of Mr. McCarthy.

     I really liked No Country For Old Men - it was an expertly written book, and it had some excellent points to make about human morality. I noticed that his most recent book, The Road, has received glowing reviews from critics, and there is an upcoming movie adaptation. My interest was piqued, so I got a copy from the library.

     Cormac McCarthy has an intriguing style of writing - he recalls James Joyce in several aspects, most obviously with his somewhat relaxed use of punctuation. Conversations go back and forth with very little grammatical indication of who is talking. However, very rarely does this become noticeable - in fact, it only serves to increase the reader's immersion.

    Another notable trademark of McCarthy's is his pacing. To some it may seem boring, but he keeps a consistent pace throughout the entire book. Because of this, it's practically impossible to find a 'climax' in the story. McCarthy uses this to his advantage, and instead of keeping you focused only on the moving plot (which, incidentally, is completely focus-worthy,) he creates a landscape. This landscape is detailed enough to give the reader a vivid mental picture of what the world looks like, but the descriptions are also free enough that readers can put in small details according to their own imaginations. This landscape has the same amount of attention given to it throughout the entire book.

    However, while a reader would be satisfied reading this book just for the scenery, it usually is just a background to the relationship between the main characters. This relationship is portrayed in a way that feels more honest and more realistic than almost every other piece of literature. The methodical story centers completely around this connection.

    Many people would say that Cormac McCarthy is quickly proving himself to be one of the greatest living authors. Only time will tell for sure whether or not he deserves to be remembered, but for now I have yet to be disappointed with his writing.

j

[ p.s. The last paragraph of the book was my favorite. ]

nude

You may have seen this on my facebook, but I can't let anyone miss this, radiohead fan or otherwise.

Big Ideas (Don't get any) from 1030 on Vimeo.

testing the water

How many of you would be interested in participating in a short story contest?

I don't know who I would get to judge it... (maybe make a public poll?) but right now I'm imagining that a bunch of people would submit stories, with illustrations if they like, and we could gather them all on one website so people could see them. Then we could even have seperate award categories, like most original, best illustrations, best overall, etc.

Would you be interested in that sort of thing? You could even submit music to go along with it.

I think it would be sweet. Post in the comments below if you want to be notified if/when I start it.

j

question:

If you're of the opinion that a person is the product of their environment, then can any idea be truly labelled "original"?

On a separate note, I'm reading my first Pynchon novel - Against the Day - and I like it so far. Considering the author's reputation, it's surprisingly approachable.

eh

April fool's joke removed because it wasn't funny.