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(03/02/05 4:51am)
The perfectionists at Polyphony Digital are known for their obsessive attention to detail and utter worship of the automobile, and it shows more than ever in their latest offering, "Gran Turismo 4." In 1998, Polyphony redefined video game racing with the first "GT," and the sequel that followed quickly after was simply an extension of the original. Polyphony reinvented the wheel, quite literally, in 2001 with "GT3: A-Spec." Now, after countless missed release dates and months of fine-tuning, "GT4" has finally arrived.\nAs always, at the heart of "GT4" lies its massive car selection. The Polyphony design team has recreated, in staggering detail down to their individual engine purr and realistic handling, everything from an 1886 Daimler Motor Carriage (classic cars from the early 20th century through the early 1990s are in great supply this time around) to the most advanced prototype concept cars you never knew existed. Each can be modified down to the port polishing as you strive to create the ultimate racing machine. It'll cost you, though, and earning credits to buy and mod cars in the absence of a money cheat code can be frustrating when all you want to do is drive each and every one of the damn things (an urge that the Arcade Mode only slightly satisfies). Yet, even that aspect of the game is ultra-realistic, since you actually put much thought into which cars you buy and great care into every aspect of their modification.\nThe selection of tracks has been considerably beefed up as well, with new and exact recreations of real tracks like California's Laguna Seca Raceway and Germany's slenderly treacherous Nurburgring Nordschleife, as well as several ice and mud-covered tracks for an extra challenge. A new breed of city courses including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Seattle and New York offer excellent scenery and extremely difficult corners, yet the most impressive tracks, like the new El Capitan at Yosemite National Park and the gorgeous Cote d'Azur and Costa di Amalfi, showcase the beauty of racing amidst nature while successfully pushing the PS2's graphical limitations to the breaking point.\nSome gamers will gripe at the lack of once-promised online capability in "GT4," but with this kind of realism at their fingertips, I would argue against the need for online play, as it would only serve to muddy up the graphics and curb the frame rate. My only legitimate complaint with "GT4" is that the computer opponent drivers are still, while formidable, ultimately unresponsive to players' actions as they insist on carving out the same racing line every time.\nWhile "GT4" is not so much a quantum leap in the series as it is a brilliant refinement on the tried and true "GT" style, it still delivers everything a racing simulator should deliver on a grand scale. With more than 650 cars and over 100 unique tracks to traverse with them, "GT4" will keep discerning racing game fans and meticulous automobile enthusiasts busy for months.
(02/24/05 5:00am)
Originally released in late 2001 to almost no fanfare outside the film festival circuit, Richard Kelly's "Donnie Darko" has since developed quite the cult following, which in turn necessitates a DVD rerelease in extended director's cut form. This cut adds 20 minutes to the original, mostly in the form of extended scenes that were featured in the first DVD incarnation as deleted scenes. These scenes work to flesh out the complicated bits, of which there are many, and to add closure to parts of the original cut that left many fans baffled.\n"Donnie Darko" itself concerns but is in no way limited to the story of the mentally-burdened and often psychiatrically-aided Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal), his quirky, loveable family and Donnie's encounters with both the new girl at school and a 6-foot tall, evil-looking rabbit named Frank. There's also concerns of tangent universes, time travel, free-falling jet engines and the impending end of the world as we know it. Many would think it pointless to trivialize or scrutinize any of these things -- they simply exist, whether it be in Donnie's own mind or the world at large. Upon further viewings all these facets begin to place themselves logically, and that's the key to "Donnie Darko;" allowing all the pieces to fit.\nSoundtrack-wise, given my distaste for most '80s music, the film being set in 1988 could have been a detriment. Instead, excellent songs by Tears for Fears, Duran Duran and INXS are trotted out with obvious glee. The original cut's more obscure opening song has been replaced with great effectiveness by INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart," and the closer, a cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" by Gary Jules, is at once calming, haunting and note-perfect in terms of the events that take place in the film.\nExtras alongside this extended cut include the generous making-of doc, "They Made Me Do It Too: The Cult of Donnie Darko;" the fan contest winner doc, "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary" and most importantly a feature-length commentary track by first-time director Richard Kelly along with special guest and hilarious commentary track guru Kevin Smith, who appears simply because of his respect and enthusiasm for the film.\nWhile "Donnie Darko" initially comes off as overly dense, complicated and self-important, repeated DVD viewings render it quite scrutable and ultimately very satisfying. What better reason to take a look at one of the budding 21st century's few dozen most interesting and refreshingly original films.
(02/23/05 4:53am)
Originally released in late 2001 to almost no fanfare outside the film festival circuit, Richard Kelly's "Donnie Darko" has since developed quite the cult following, which in turn necessitates a DVD rerelease in extended director's cut form. This cut adds 20 minutes to the original, mostly in the form of extended scenes that were featured in the first DVD incarnation as deleted scenes. These scenes work to flesh out the complicated bits, of which there are many, and to add closure to parts of the original cut that left many fans baffled.\n"Donnie Darko" itself concerns but is in no way limited to the story of the mentally-burdened and often psychiatrically-aided Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal), his quirky, loveable family and Donnie's encounters with both the new girl at school and a 6-foot tall, evil-looking rabbit named Frank. There's also concerns of tangent universes, time travel, free-falling jet engines and the impending end of the world as we know it. Many would think it pointless to trivialize or scrutinize any of these things -- they simply exist, whether it be in Donnie's own mind or the world at large. Upon further viewings all these facets begin to place themselves logically, and that's the key to "Donnie Darko;" allowing all the pieces to fit.\nSoundtrack-wise, given my distaste for most '80s music, the film being set in 1988 could have been a detriment. Instead, excellent songs by Tears for Fears, Duran Duran and INXS are trotted out with obvious glee. The original cut's more obscure opening song has been replaced with great effectiveness by INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart," and the closer, a cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" by Gary Jules, is at once calming, haunting and note-perfect in terms of the events that take place in the film.\nExtras alongside this extended cut include the generous making-of doc, "They Made Me Do It Too: The Cult of Donnie Darko;" the fan contest winner doc, "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary" and most importantly a feature-length commentary track by first-time director Richard Kelly along with special guest and hilarious commentary track guru Kevin Smith, who appears simply because of his respect and enthusiasm for the film.\nWhile "Donnie Darko" initially comes off as overly dense, complicated and self-important, repeated DVD viewings render it quite scrutable and ultimately very satisfying. What better reason to take a look at one of the budding 21st century's few dozen most interesting and refreshingly original films.
(02/17/05 5:00am)
With three hit songs and multiple music award nominations under their belt thanks to their last two radio-friendly LPs, Escatawpa, Miss. quartet 3 Doors Down continues to record rock for the working man on their latest release, Seventeen Days; an album as pedestrian as it is superficially earnest.\nBetween gigs buttering up Bush supporters this past autumn alongside the likes of Hilary Duff and JoJo, lead singer Brad Arnold and his bandmates took the time to pen such trite lines as "despite of all this weather, I know why we are together" and "I'll use your light to guide the way, 'cause all I think about is you" and accompany them with the typically stalwart Southern-rock-meets-post-grunge sound that made them radio, if not critical, darlings back in early 2000.\nThe album's title refers literally to how long it took the band to write the 13 songs on it, and for some reason, they seem proud of this fact. The preordained hits "Landing in London" and "Let Me Go" will stick in your brain as unrelentingly as "Kryptonite" did back in the old days, but most of the other tracks come off as ham-fisted, one-note love letters or empty hard knock life laments aimed, Skynyrd-style, directly at the blue-collar masses.\nSeventeen Days suffers primarily because it feels like a set list from a band going through the motions in terms of songwriting. Due to their uniform similarity, many of the tracks bleed into one another until they are often nearly indistinguishable. The band certainly has a formula that works in terms of corporate rock radio play and pick-up truck playability, but said formula seems to have worn out its welcome among the post-grunge set.\nEndless comparisons to bands like Creed and Matchbox Twenty have always been pervasive, but 3 Doors Down are neither as flamboyantly pious as Scott Stapp and company nor do they employ a songwriter as accomplished as Rob Thomas. \nUltimately, Seventeen Days is radio-friendly corporate rock that's sure to propel 3 Doors Down into once again filling Clear Channel amphitheaters nationwide, yet some of us can't help but wish bands like this would show at least a glimmer of creative maturity, especially over a period of five years. When a band admits to rushing their own record, can that really be expected?
(02/16/05 4:55am)
With three hit songs and multiple music award nominations under their belt thanks to their last two radio-friendly LPs, Escatawpa, Miss. quartet 3 Doors Down continues to record rock for the working man on their latest release, Seventeen Days; an album as pedestrian as it is superficially earnest.\nBetween gigs buttering up Bush supporters this past autumn alongside the likes of Hilary Duff and JoJo, lead singer Brad Arnold and his bandmates took the time to pen such trite lines as "despite of all this weather, I know why we are together" and "I'll use your light to guide the way, 'cause all I think about is you" and accompany them with the typically stalwart Southern-rock-meets-post-grunge sound that made them radio, if not critical, darlings back in early 2000.\nThe album's title refers literally to how long it took the band to write the 13 songs on it, and for some reason, they seem proud of this fact. The preordained hits "Landing in London" and "Let Me Go" will stick in your brain as unrelentingly as "Kryptonite" did back in the old days, but most of the other tracks come off as ham-fisted, one-note love letters or empty hard knock life laments aimed, Skynyrd-style, directly at the blue-collar masses.\nSeventeen Days suffers primarily because it feels like a set list from a band going through the motions in terms of songwriting. Due to their uniform similarity, many of the tracks bleed into one another until they are often nearly indistinguishable. The band certainly has a formula that works in terms of corporate rock radio play and pick-up truck playability, but said formula seems to have worn out its welcome among the post-grunge set.\nEndless comparisons to bands like Creed and Matchbox Twenty have always been pervasive, but 3 Doors Down are neither as flamboyantly pious as Scott Stapp and company nor do they employ a songwriter as accomplished as Rob Thomas. \nUltimately, Seventeen Days is radio-friendly corporate rock that's sure to propel 3 Doors Down into once again filling Clear Channel amphitheaters nationwide, yet some of us can't help but wish bands like this would show at least a glimmer of creative maturity, especially over a period of five years. When a band admits to rushing their own record, can that really be expected?
(02/10/05 5:00am)
Japanese filmmaker Takashi Shimizu has built somewhat of a franchise out of the concept of cursed homes and ghosts who, once you've entered their domain, won't leave you alone and want nothing more than to see you dead as disco. Originally incarnated as "Ju-On" and "Ju-On 2" on Japanese television and direct-to-video in 2000, then redone for theatrical release as "Ju-On: The Grudge" in 2003, Shimizu's originals are sufficiently creepy and atmospheric, and filled with enough gore to keep horror purists happy.\nRemakes of Japanese films are all the rage these days, especially after the bloated success of "The Ring" (whose Japanese version, "Ringu," was superior), we had to expect a U.S. version of "Ju-On" at some point, and we have it with "The Grudge," starring "Buffy" stunner Sarah Michelle Gellar and directed, rather uncommonly, by the same man who made the originals.\nGellar plays social worker Karen Davis, sent to the aid of an elderly woman living in a creepy, malevolence-infested home in which a man once slaughtered his wife and son, with the standard horror leading lady reactions of muted curiosity and bewilderment. The rest of the cast does a satisfactory job with the material they're fed, which is mostly moment after moment of overwrought, "what's-around-the-corner?" suspense. There's also Bill Pullman as a college professor we really never find out anything about, and who dies in the first scene but apparently comes back to life later and then disappears with no explanation; just one of the film's many components made confusing by the sheer lack of information we're given.\nExtras include a cast and crew commentary with producer Sam Raimi, Gellar and a few random others; a laborious, five-part making-of doc and "Under the Skin," a mildly interesting medical explanation of fear in response to film, i.e. what makes guys jump slightly in their seats and girls cling to their dates' arms until all circulation is lost.\nIn the end, true horror fans who can handle subtitles would be far better off checking out Shimizu's original feature film, "Ju-On: The Grudge," since the U.S. remake is essentially the same flick de-gored, less spooky and with a modicum of star power to fuel it towards box office profit.
(02/09/05 5:23am)
Japanese filmmaker Takashi Shimizu has built somewhat of a franchise out of the concept of cursed homes and ghosts who, once you've entered their domain, won't leave you alone and want nothing more than to see you dead as disco. Originally incarnated as "Ju-On" and "Ju-On 2" on Japanese television and direct-to-video in 2000, then redone for theatrical release as "Ju-On: The Grudge" in 2003, Shimizu's originals are sufficiently creepy and atmospheric, and filled with enough gore to keep horror purists happy.\nRemakes of Japanese films are all the rage these days, especially after the bloated success of "The Ring" (whose Japanese version, "Ringu," was superior), we had to expect a U.S. version of "Ju-On" at some point, and we have it with "The Grudge," starring "Buffy" stunner Sarah Michelle Gellar and directed, rather uncommonly, by the same man who made the originals.\nGellar plays social worker Karen Davis, sent to the aid of an elderly woman living in a creepy, malevolence-infested home in which a man once slaughtered his wife and son, with the standard horror leading lady reactions of muted curiosity and bewilderment. The rest of the cast does a satisfactory job with the material they're fed, which is mostly moment after moment of overwrought, "what's-around-the-corner?" suspense. There's also Bill Pullman as a college professor we really never find out anything about, and who dies in the first scene but apparently comes back to life later and then disappears with no explanation; just one of the film's many components made confusing by the sheer lack of information we're given.\nExtras include a cast and crew commentary with producer Sam Raimi, Gellar and a few random others; a laborious, five-part making-of doc and "Under the Skin," a mildly interesting medical explanation of fear in response to film, i.e. what makes guys jump slightly in their seats and girls cling to their dates' arms until all circulation is lost.\nIn the end, true horror fans who can handle subtitles would be far better off checking out Shimizu's original feature film, "Ju-On: The Grudge," since the U.S. remake is essentially the same flick de-gored, less spooky and with a modicum of star power to fuel it towards box office profit.
(02/03/05 5:00am)
Each of the past three decades has had its own Dylan heir apparent; someone the critics call a 'boy genius,' 'lyrical mastermind,' or the far more intimidating 'voice of their generation.' Springsteen carried that burden in the '70s, a number of since forgotten New Wave frontmen held the position in the '80s and Kurt Cobain held the title all the way down both barrels of a shotgun in the '90s. Now we have Conor Oberst, the creative force behind Bright Eyes, garnering such praise, as well as teeming throngs of rabid fans known as "Conorites" for better or for worse.\nOberst, who at 24 (the age at which Dylan recorded Highway 61 Revisited, Springsteen recorded his major label debut and Cobain recorded Nevermind) has already been formally recording for 11 years and has three acclaimed LPs under his belt on the Nebraska-based indie label Saddle Creek, for which he still records, and by now pretty much owns. His latest efforts, the simultaneously released I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn are two completely different and complex animals.\nWide Awake, an acoustic, alt-country affair featuring guest harmonies by Emmylou Harris, is Oberst's finest album to date. The somber "Lua" chronicles the ups and downs of a dismal chemical romance, while "Land Locked Blues" soberly laments the Bush era as Oberst and Harris sing about making love in order to drown out the deafening noise of a televised war. Combining equal parts lovelorn longing, subtly vitriolic political banter and haunting Americana imagery, Wide Awake shows off Oberst's ability at intermingling witty and often biting turns of phrase, intoned with naked emotion and hooks that aren't so catchy as to be grating over time.\nDigital Ash is a somewhat mesmerizing electronic outing on which Oberst lets his excesses flap freely in the wind, resulting in a record that includes several classics, a few misfires, generous amounts of wistful wordplay and Kid A-esque soundscapes. The nightmarish opener "Time Code" sets the stage for what's to come, followed soon after by "Arc of Time," which weaves a tapestry of life, death and fruitless hope. The closer "Easy/Lucky/Free," Digital Ash's standout track, warns not to be a "criminal in this police state," as Oberst sets his watch by the atomic clock and waits for the bombs to drop.\nWhether or not Oberst deserves the praise he so often receives is better left up to his individual listeners. Personally, I've found the hype to be lived up to depending on which particular song is held up to the microscope. His earlier material is often hit-or-miss, as is a fair portion of the otherwise exciting Digital Ash. Yet with Wide Awake, Oberst fully lives up to his own buzz for an uncompromising 50 minutes, keeping alive the possibility that he could well become a passionate voice of reason for our generally apathetic generation.
(02/02/05 4:29am)
Each of the past three decades has had its own Dylan heir apparent; someone the critics call a 'boy genius,' 'lyrical mastermind,' or the far more intimidating 'voice of their generation.' Springsteen carried that burden in the '70s, a number of since forgotten New Wave frontmen held the position in the '80s and Kurt Cobain held the title all the way down both barrels of a shotgun in the '90s. Now we have Conor Oberst, the creative force behind Bright Eyes, garnering such praise, as well as teeming throngs of rabid fans known as "Conorites" for better or for worse.\nOberst, who at 24 (the age at which Dylan recorded Highway 61 Revisited, Springsteen recorded his major label debut and Cobain recorded Nevermind) has already been formally recording for 11 years and has three acclaimed LPs under his belt on the Nebraska-based indie label Saddle Creek, for which he still records, and by now pretty much owns. His latest efforts, the simultaneously released I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn are two completely different and complex animals.\nWide Awake, an acoustic, alt-country affair featuring guest harmonies by Emmylou Harris, is Oberst's finest album to date. The somber "Lua" chronicles the ups and downs of a dismal chemical romance, while "Land Locked Blues" soberly laments the Bush era as Oberst and Harris sing about making love in order to drown out the deafening noise of a televised war. Combining equal parts lovelorn longing, subtly vitriolic political banter and haunting Americana imagery, Wide Awake shows off Oberst's ability at intermingling witty and often biting turns of phrase, intoned with naked emotion and hooks that aren't so catchy as to be grating over time.\nDigital Ash is a somewhat mesmerizing electronic outing on which Oberst lets his excesses flap freely in the wind, resulting in a record that includes several classics, a few misfires, generous amounts of wistful wordplay and Kid A-esque soundscapes. The nightmarish opener "Time Code" sets the stage for what's to come, followed soon after by "Arc of Time," which weaves a tapestry of life, death and fruitless hope. The closer "Easy/Lucky/Free," Digital Ash's standout track, warns not to be a "criminal in this police state," as Oberst sets his watch by the atomic clock and waits for the bombs to drop.\nWhether or not Oberst deserves the praise he so often receives is better left up to his individual listeners. Personally, I've found the hype to be lived up to depending on which particular song is held up to the microscope. His earlier material is often hit-or-miss, as is a fair portion of the otherwise exciting Digital Ash. Yet with Wide Awake, Oberst fully lives up to his own buzz for an uncompromising 50 minutes, keeping alive the possibility that he could well become a passionate voice of reason for our generally apathetic generation.
(01/27/05 5:00am)
My television and I have always had a rock-solid, mutually beneficial relationship. It keeps me company when I'm lonely or bored and I try and make sure it stays healthy and happy by never forcing it to play competitive poker programs or hour-long, crime-solving serials. For the past four months or so, my television and I have made a special point to rendezvous every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. for a meeting with our newfound love, ABC's "Lost."\nI am compelled to clue everyone in to the wonder that is "Lost" primarily because ever since the first season of CBS' "Survivor," the only television programs I've ever found myself truly wrapped up in (aside from the blinding brilliance of "The Sopranos," which I can hardly find myself even placing in the category of television) were the so-called "reality" shows. I once tried to enjoy "CSI" and its ilk, but if its one thing I can't stand in real life or on television, it's the grossly extrapolated process of law enforcement, criminal justice and forensics. I even recently tried watching the much-hyped "Desperate Housewives," only to find that it was essentially "Sex and the City" with a tame dose of murder and no gratuitous nudity or saucy curse words.\nBack when the $10 million "Lost" pilot aired on September 22, 2004, I expected just another overblown drama series with poor writing and even poorer acting. My fears were amplified because, let's face it, when was the last time ABC ever had a decent scripted program? Fourteen out of 24 episodes later, I can look back at my early apprehension and chuckle. Rarely have I ever been so appreciative of the efforts of a single group of television producers and writers. Chief among those creators is J.J. Abrams, who, amusingly enough, also created "Alias," a show whose single, perfunctory purpose is to package Jennifer Garner in as many outfits and hairdos a week as possible, and Damon Lindelof, long-suffering scribe of such upstanding programs as MTV's let's-watch-high-school-and-college-students-ALMOST-have-sex-but-not-quite dramedy "Undressed."\nI suppose anyone who's never seen "Lost" yet somehow made it this far down the column deserves a brief description of the show. Forty or so people miraculously survive a violent plane crash only to find themselves stranded on a mysterious desert island seemingly inhabited by strange animals; a giant, predatory beast of some sort; and quite possibly the survivors of a past plane crash. No one in the outside world knows where the survivors are and no communication equipment is available. Now before thoughts of "Cast Away" meets "Jurassic Park" start swimming about inside your head, rest assured that "Lost" has a whole lot more going on than that.\nOf the 40 castaways on the island, there are 14 main characters. Each of the 24 episodes in season one takes place during the course of one day on the island. Each episode provides the absorbing back story of one of the main characters, with some characters receiving two full episodes of back story. The show's writers, aspiring sociologists all, deftly weave each character's past with his or her present situation, and show how their progression through life reveals itself by way of their actions on the island. The threat of an extended stay on the island proves to be even more menacing when the characters begin to realize that this bump in the road of their lives could well turn out to be an extended and dangerous exercise in personal karma.\nAt the existential heart of the series is the island's own often heard (to everyone) but unseen (to the audience) beast, who few characters have seen and even fewer have survived. Those who've seen it and lived regarded it with amazement and awe. What this beast and its actions tell us about the very nature of life on the island, as well as the very lives of those stranded there, is the key to "Lost" and the very aspect that raises it up above most of the rest of today's television drama. If more audiences and demographics could accept the fact that the crime isn't always solved at the end of the episode and the twists and turns don't always come with a wink and a nod, more networks might be in the process of developing better drama programs. As it stands, we must subsist on what we've got.\nAnti-TV snobs, as I like to call them, or those who turn their nose up at television as a worthless medium which succeeds only in rotting brains, will no doubt scoff at the concept of a show like "Lost" trying to be something more socially significant than your run-of-the-mill weekly hour-long series. As far as I'm concerned, those folks can stick their faces back in their Ayn Rand books (even though "Lost" represents objectivism at its most pure), or even sadder, the notion that they don't have TIME for television. Meanwhile, the rest of us are free to enjoy what "Lost" provides, which is a wealth of characters we can actually care about stuck in a situation they're all trying in their own unique way to free themselves from.\n"Lost" is a series that will work far better on DVD, and I can't wait to get my hands on the boxset whenever it may be released. ABC packs their airings with overly long commercial breaks, which have their way of detracting from the overall experience for those of us with even medium-length attention spans. Even still, if you've found yourself flipping through the channel lineup lately and lamenting that you're actually paying a monthly fee for it, don't hesitate to give "Lost" a shot. You might struggle at first to catch up on what's happened so far, but just like the island's disparate but equal castaways, your effort reflects your reward.
(01/26/05 5:11am)
My television and I have always had a rock-solid, mutually beneficial relationship. It keeps me company when I'm lonely or bored and I try and make sure it stays healthy and happy by never forcing it to play competitive poker programs or hour-long, crime-solving serials. For the past four months or so, my television and I have made a special point to rendezvous every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. for a meeting with our newfound love, ABC's "Lost."\nI am compelled to clue everyone in to the wonder that is "Lost" primarily because ever since the first season of CBS' "Survivor," the only television programs I've ever found myself truly wrapped up in (aside from the blinding brilliance of "The Sopranos," which I can hardly find myself even placing in the category of television) were the so-called "reality" shows. I once tried to enjoy "CSI" and its ilk, but if its one thing I can't stand in real life or on television, it's the grossly extrapolated process of law enforcement, criminal justice and forensics. I even recently tried watching the much-hyped "Desperate Housewives," only to find that it was essentially "Sex and the City" with a tame dose of murder and no gratuitous nudity or saucy curse words.\nBack when the $10 million "Lost" pilot aired on September 22, 2004, I expected just another overblown drama series with poor writing and even poorer acting. My fears were amplified because, let's face it, when was the last time ABC ever had a decent scripted program? Fourteen out of 24 episodes later, I can look back at my early apprehension and chuckle. Rarely have I ever been so appreciative of the efforts of a single group of television producers and writers. Chief among those creators is J.J. Abrams, who, amusingly enough, also created "Alias," a show whose single, perfunctory purpose is to package Jennifer Garner in as many outfits and hairdos a week as possible, and Damon Lindelof, long-suffering scribe of such upstanding programs as MTV's let's-watch-high-school-and-college-students-ALMOST-have-sex-but-not-quite dramedy "Undressed."\nI suppose anyone who's never seen "Lost" yet somehow made it this far down the column deserves a brief description of the show. Forty or so people miraculously survive a violent plane crash only to find themselves stranded on a mysterious desert island seemingly inhabited by strange animals; a giant, predatory beast of some sort; and quite possibly the survivors of a past plane crash. No one in the outside world knows where the survivors are and no communication equipment is available. Now before thoughts of "Cast Away" meets "Jurassic Park" start swimming about inside your head, rest assured that "Lost" has a whole lot more going on than that.\nOf the 40 castaways on the island, there are 14 main characters. Each of the 24 episodes in season one takes place during the course of one day on the island. Each episode provides the absorbing back story of one of the main characters, with some characters receiving two full episodes of back story. The show's writers, aspiring sociologists all, deftly weave each character's past with his or her present situation, and show how their progression through life reveals itself by way of their actions on the island. The threat of an extended stay on the island proves to be even more menacing when the characters begin to realize that this bump in the road of their lives could well turn out to be an extended and dangerous exercise in personal karma.\nAt the existential heart of the series is the island's own often heard (to everyone) but unseen (to the audience) beast, who few characters have seen and even fewer have survived. Those who've seen it and lived regarded it with amazement and awe. What this beast and its actions tell us about the very nature of life on the island, as well as the very lives of those stranded there, is the key to "Lost" and the very aspect that raises it up above most of the rest of today's television drama. If more audiences and demographics could accept the fact that the crime isn't always solved at the end of the episode and the twists and turns don't always come with a wink and a nod, more networks might be in the process of developing better drama programs. As it stands, we must subsist on what we've got.\nAnti-TV snobs, as I like to call them, or those who turn their nose up at television as a worthless medium which succeeds only in rotting brains, will no doubt scoff at the concept of a show like "Lost" trying to be something more socially significant than your run-of-the-mill weekly hour-long series. As far as I'm concerned, those folks can stick their faces back in their Ayn Rand books (even though "Lost" represents objectivism at its most pure), or even sadder, the notion that they don't have TIME for television. Meanwhile, the rest of us are free to enjoy what "Lost" provides, which is a wealth of characters we can actually care about stuck in a situation they're all trying in their own unique way to free themselves from.\n"Lost" is a series that will work far better on DVD, and I can't wait to get my hands on the boxset whenever it may be released. ABC packs their airings with overly long commercial breaks, which have their way of detracting from the overall experience for those of us with even medium-length attention spans. Even still, if you've found yourself flipping through the channel lineup lately and lamenting that you're actually paying a monthly fee for it, don't hesitate to give "Lost" a shot. You might struggle at first to catch up on what's happened so far, but just like the island's disparate but equal castaways, your effort reflects your reward.
(01/20/05 5:00am)
I'm an admitted survival horror junkie. The eerie atmosphere and deliberate pacing of a "Resident Evil" or a "Silent Hill" has always held me hostage in front of the console longer than any other style of game. That being said, I was amazed to find myself completely enthralled with Capcom's latest "Resident Evil" gem since it essentially turns the survival horror genre on its head and blasts it off on an entirely new and exciting path.\nAfter the first of many well done cut scenes, we're off and controlling Leon Kennedy, hero of "Resident Evil 2," on a search-and-rescue mission to recover the daughter of the President of the United States, who was apparently kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult somewhere in desolate Eastern Europe. No zombies in this one folks, just a constant onslaught of rabid, bloodthirsty cultists and primitive, ill-meaning biological mishaps.\nLong gone are the fixed and sometimes awkward camera angles, door-opening load times, 2-D gunplay, frustratingly small inventory sizes and those pesky ink ribbons. Saving now takes place at periodic, ink-free typewriters and occasional, convenient autosave points. The camera is now perched over our protagonist's right shoulder and is able to glance in any direction with cinematic ease. Movement and action are also far freer than before, with the ability to move from room to room and area to area with little to no load time, as well as interacting in different ways with almost all obstacles and surroundings using the new "Action" button. All guns are now complete with laser sights and 360-degree 3-D firing capability, rendering the dispatching of enemies far more exciting.\nHow Capcom packed this 24-plus hour (if you RUSH through it) experience onto two tiny GameCube discs is, outside of an iPod, the wildest feat of data compression that I'm aware of. The vibrant graphics and realistic, often unsettling sound are as good as anything that can be expected from any next-gen console, and better than 99% of all games out there. Yet the true draw of "Resident Evil 4" is the pure sense of adrenalized fear it heaps upon its players. Enemies no longer lumber forward aimlessly. They attack quickly, often in packs and more often than not wielding weapons. There are few if any "safe" places to be found and the only ray of hope amidst a sea of enemies is that, unlike past installments, guns and ammo are in no short supply. Believe me when I say you'll need as much as you can get your paws on.\nAs Leon explores environments ranging from rural to industrial to eerily dreamlike, players experience what, at least in my mind, could well be one of the top 10 video games ever created. "Resident Evil 4" is an adventure all at once beautiful, terrifying and essential.
(01/19/05 2:31pm)
I'm an admitted survival horror junkie. The eerie atmosphere and deliberate pacing of a "Resident Evil" or a "Silent Hill" has always held me hostage in front of the console longer than any other style of game. That being said, I was amazed to find myself completely enthralled with Capcom's latest "Resident Evil" gem since it essentially turns the survival horror genre on its head and blasts it off on an entirely new and exciting path.\nAfter the first of many well done cut scenes, we're off and controlling Leon Kennedy, hero of "Resident Evil 2," on a search-and-rescue mission to recover the daughter of the President of the United States, who was apparently kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult somewhere in desolate Eastern Europe. No zombies in this one folks, just a constant onslaught of rabid, bloodthirsty cultists and primitive, ill-meaning biological mishaps.\nLong gone are the fixed and sometimes awkward camera angles, door-opening load times, 2-D gunplay, frustratingly small inventory sizes and those pesky ink ribbons. Saving now takes place at periodic, ink-free typewriters and occasional, convenient autosave points. The camera is now perched over our protagonist's right shoulder and is able to glance in any direction with cinematic ease. Movement and action are also far freer than before, with the ability to move from room to room and area to area with little to no load time, as well as interacting in different ways with almost all obstacles and surroundings using the new "Action" button. All guns are now complete with laser sights and 360-degree 3-D firing capability, rendering the dispatching of enemies far more exciting.\nHow Capcom packed this 24-plus hour (if you RUSH through it) experience onto two tiny GameCube discs is, outside of an iPod, the wildest feat of data compression that I'm aware of. The vibrant graphics and realistic, often unsettling sound are as good as anything that can be expected from any next-gen console, and better than 99% of all games out there. Yet the true draw of "Resident Evil 4" is the pure sense of adrenalized fear it heaps upon its players. Enemies no longer lumber forward aimlessly. They attack quickly, often in packs and more often than not wielding weapons. There are few if any "safe" places to be found and the only ray of hope amidst a sea of enemies is that, unlike past installments, guns and ammo are in no short supply. Believe me when I say you'll need as much as you can get your paws on.\nAs Leon explores environments ranging from rural to industrial to eerily dreamlike, players experience what, at least in my mind, could well be one of the top 10 video games ever created. "Resident Evil 4" is an adventure all at once beautiful, terrifying and essential.
(12/02/04 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What do a trio of punk-pop elder statesmen, an aging country songbird, two white rappers, a former Beach Boy and a recently deceased singer/songwriter have in common? They all recorded and released some of the best music of 2004 in my opinion. Because of theirs and a few others' efforts, the best music of 2004 was born. Here are my picks for the best records of the year.
1. GREEN DAY - AMERICAN IDIOTWho knew Green Day had it in them? 2004's best album springs from the mind of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and is given life via his power chord crunch, Mike Dirnt's sprinting bass lines and Tre Cool's frantic percussion. Green Day wears its influences on its sleeve, whether it be rocking Ramones-style on "St. Jimmy" and "She's a Rebel" or aping The Clash on "Are We Waiting" and "Letterbomb," yet those forays are trumped by the sheer audacity of the operatic five-parters "Jesus of Suburbia" and "We're Coming Home Again." All told, American Idiot is the year's best and bravest record, not to mention the most relevant punk album since the early '80s.
2. WILCO - A GHOST IS BORNFollowing up an album as sprawling, messy and downright genius as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would prove an almost impossible task for most bands, but Jeff Tweedy and company are no mere band. With Ghost, Wilco has created a record as heartfelt and fragile as any band today is capable and managed to make it nearly as fascinating as Foxtrot. The record evens itself out beautifully, combining extended guitar solos and whisper thin vocals with impressive deftness. Early on in Ghost, Tweedy beckons in a soft tone, "Come with me." Unlike any other band working today, Wilco is fearlessly leading us all into fresh, uncharted territory.
3. BRIAN WILSON - SMILEIt took him 38 years, but the former Beach Boy finally completed his long-awaited masterwork. The final product is no Pet Sounds, but the songs that drove Wilson mad in the mid-'60s sound vibrant and exciting here. One can't help but imagine what a massive creative rift this album would've caused if it had been released in early 1967, beating Sgt. Pepper out of the gate as the first rock album to rise to the level of pure art. Wilson's voice might not pack the same glorious punch as it did in the '60s, but that doesn't keep SMiLE from fully realizing Wilson's original, brilliant vision.
4. LORETTA LYNN - VAN LEAR ROSEFor her first album since 2000 (her 48th since her 1963 debut), Kentuckian songstress Loretta Lynn teams with Jack White of the White Stripes to create the best country album of the 21st century so far. Lynn's honest and deep songwriting, combined with White's nostalgic production, renders an album filled with a meaningful resonance which transcends genre. Tracks like "Trouble On the Line" and "Miss Being Mrs." are among the year's most affecting.
5. THE STREETS - A GRANT DON'T COME FOR FREEChronicling a week or so in the life of a disenchanted young man in London, Mike Skinner's second effort as The Streets (maybe the wittiest and most genuine rapper/storyteller recording today) is a concept record of the highest order. As we follow our hero through his usual travails with women, friends and drugs, as well as a lost 1,000 quid, Skinner's homemade beats ring as down to earth and true as his words. Grand's final two tracks make for the best album closers of the year and prove Skinner's strength at forcing his listeners to reflect on their own lives, a talent few rappers in history can claim.
6. U2 - HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMBBono and the boys have come one hell of a long way since they got together in 1976. When their anthemic arena rock phase of the '80s gave way to an experimental, electronica inspired period in the '90s, it left many of its casual fans feeling alienated. In 2000, it dropped an album of amazing depth and resonance with All That You Can't Leave Behind, on which the band rejoiced in its classic sound, all shimmering guitar and celestial vocals. Bomb continues that push with 11 solid songs that, while not breaking down barriers or pushing the boundaries of rock forward, sure sound awesome blasting from a good set of speakers.
7. EMINEM - ENCOREAfter two ultra-busy years, what with turning 50 Cent into a superstar, being embattled in various feuds and starring in an acclaimed film, Eminem still managed to piece together a fascinating album showcasing his many personas. Slim Shady shows up on the hilarious "Ass Like That," and Marshall Mathers surfaces on the confessional "Like Toy Soldiers." Eminem charges things up politically, challenging the moral authority as well as the president on "Mosh" and "Rain Man." A smattering of critics have blasted Encore as immature, but those people clearly aren't in on the joke.
8. MOS DEF - THE NEW DANGERAspiring actor and better half of the once influential hip-hop team Black Star, Mos Def is somewhat of a renaissance man. On his sophomore solo album, the mighty Mos, with help from his backing band Black Jack Johnson, displays his prowess in the fields of rock, rap, and earnest blues. Mos engineers Danger like a drug-induced thrill ride from genre to genre, and while its cohesiveness may be questionable, there's no denying the heft of Danger's socially relevant grooves.
9. ELLIOTT SMITH - FROM A BASEMENT ON THE HILLBefore his apparent suicide in the fall of 2003, Elliott Smith wrote, recorded and produced this set of mostly somber yet occasionally uplifting songs. Instead of letting the already somewhat polished material stagnate and fade into obscurity, Smith's family and friends layered the songs with a few final bits of production and organized the track list based on Elliott's final notebook scrawls. The result is an unknowing farewell from a tortured, tragic and elegant songwriter.
10. DIZZEE RASCAL - BOY IN DA CORNER/SHOWTIMEReleased in America seven months apart, this duo from London rapper Dizzee Rascal is an invigorating one-two punch to the genre. Some of the best and most inventive hip-hop is leaking out of the London underground now, and along with Mike Skinner, Dizzee is on the front lines of the movement. Other than the skittering breakbeats and trip-hop flourishes, the real star of these records is Rascal's voice, at first awkward, yet growing on the listener with startling immediacy.
Honorable mentions: Beastie Boys -- To the 5 Boroughs; Kanye West --College Dropout; Velvet Revolver -- Contraband; The Roots -- The Tipping Point; Interpol -- Antics
(12/02/04 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What do a trio of punk-pop elder statesmen, an aging country songbird, two white rappers, a former Beach Boy and a recently deceased singer/songwriter have in common? They all recorded and released some of the best music of 2004 in my opinion. Because of theirs and a few others' efforts, the best music of 2004 was born. Here are my picks for the best records of the year.
1. GREEN DAY - AMERICAN IDIOTWho knew Green Day had it in them? 2004's best album springs from the mind of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and is given life via his power chord crunch, Mike Dirnt's sprinting bass lines and Tre Cool's frantic percussion. Green Day wears its influences on its sleeve, whether it be rocking Ramones-style on "St. Jimmy" and "She's a Rebel" or aping The Clash on "Are We Waiting" and "Letterbomb," yet those forays are trumped by the sheer audacity of the operatic five-parters "Jesus of Suburbia" and "We're Coming Home Again." All told, American Idiot is the year's best and bravest record, not to mention the most relevant punk album since the early '80s.
2. WILCO - A GHOST IS BORNFollowing up an album as sprawling, messy and downright genius as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would prove an almost impossible task for most bands, but Jeff Tweedy and company are no mere band. With Ghost, Wilco has created a record as heartfelt and fragile as any band today is capable and managed to make it nearly as fascinating as Foxtrot. The record evens itself out beautifully, combining extended guitar solos and whisper thin vocals with impressive deftness. Early on in Ghost, Tweedy beckons in a soft tone, "Come with me." Unlike any other band working today, Wilco is fearlessly leading us all into fresh, uncharted territory.
3. BRIAN WILSON - SMILEIt took him 38 years, but the former Beach Boy finally completed his long-awaited masterwork. The final product is no Pet Sounds, but the songs that drove Wilson mad in the mid-'60s sound vibrant and exciting here. One can't help but imagine what a massive creative rift this album would've caused if it had been released in early 1967, beating Sgt. Pepper out of the gate as the first rock album to rise to the level of pure art. Wilson's voice might not pack the same glorious punch as it did in the '60s, but that doesn't keep SMiLE from fully realizing Wilson's original, brilliant vision.
4. LORETTA LYNN - VAN LEAR ROSEFor her first album since 2000 (her 48th since her 1963 debut), Kentuckian songstress Loretta Lynn teams with Jack White of the White Stripes to create the best country album of the 21st century so far. Lynn's honest and deep songwriting, combined with White's nostalgic production, renders an album filled with a meaningful resonance which transcends genre. Tracks like "Trouble On the Line" and "Miss Being Mrs." are among the year's most affecting.
5. THE STREETS - A GRANT DON'T COME FOR FREEChronicling a week or so in the life of a disenchanted young man in London, Mike Skinner's second effort as The Streets (maybe the wittiest and most genuine rapper/storyteller recording today) is a concept record of the highest order. As we follow our hero through his usual travails with women, friends and drugs, as well as a lost 1,000 quid, Skinner's homemade beats ring as down to earth and true as his words. Grand's final two tracks make for the best album closers of the year and prove Skinner's strength at forcing his listeners to reflect on their own lives, a talent few rappers in history can claim.
6. U2 - HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMBBono and the boys have come one hell of a long way since they got together in 1976. When their anthemic arena rock phase of the '80s gave way to an experimental, electronica inspired period in the '90s, it left many of its casual fans feeling alienated. In 2000, it dropped an album of amazing depth and resonance with All That You Can't Leave Behind, on which the band rejoiced in its classic sound, all shimmering guitar and celestial vocals. Bomb continues that push with 11 solid songs that, while not breaking down barriers or pushing the boundaries of rock forward, sure sound awesome blasting from a good set of speakers.
7. EMINEM - ENCOREAfter two ultra-busy years, what with turning 50 Cent into a superstar, being embattled in various feuds and starring in an acclaimed film, Eminem still managed to piece together a fascinating album showcasing his many personas. Slim Shady shows up on the hilarious "Ass Like That," and Marshall Mathers surfaces on the confessional "Like Toy Soldiers." Eminem charges things up politically, challenging the moral authority as well as the president on "Mosh" and "Rain Man." A smattering of critics have blasted Encore as immature, but those people clearly aren't in on the joke.
8. MOS DEF - THE NEW DANGERAspiring actor and better half of the once influential hip-hop team Black Star, Mos Def is somewhat of a renaissance man. On his sophomore solo album, the mighty Mos, with help from his backing band Black Jack Johnson, displays his prowess in the fields of rock, rap, and earnest blues. Mos engineers Danger like a drug-induced thrill ride from genre to genre, and while its cohesiveness may be questionable, there's no denying the heft of Danger's socially relevant grooves.
9. ELLIOTT SMITH - FROM A BASEMENT ON THE HILLBefore his apparent suicide in the fall of 2003, Elliott Smith wrote, recorded and produced this set of mostly somber yet occasionally uplifting songs. Instead of letting the already somewhat polished material stagnate and fade into obscurity, Smith's family and friends layered the songs with a few final bits of production and organized the track list based on Elliott's final notebook scrawls. The result is an unknowing farewell from a tortured, tragic and elegant songwriter.
10. DIZZEE RASCAL - BOY IN DA CORNER/SHOWTIMEReleased in America seven months apart, this duo from London rapper Dizzee Rascal is an invigorating one-two punch to the genre. Some of the best and most inventive hip-hop is leaking out of the London underground now, and along with Mike Skinner, Dizzee is on the front lines of the movement. Other than the skittering breakbeats and trip-hop flourishes, the real star of these records is Rascal's voice, at first awkward, yet growing on the listener with startling immediacy.
Honorable mentions: Beastie Boys -- To the 5 Boroughs; Kanye West --College Dropout; Velvet Revolver -- Contraband; The Roots -- The Tipping Point; Interpol -- Antics
(11/18/04 5:00am)
Eminem's major label debut, The Slim Shady LP, showcased Slim Shady, his manic and often twisted alter ego. His sophomore stunner, The Marshall Mathers LP, presented Marshall Mathers, a complex man with a dark past and a dysfunctional family. 2002's The Eminem Show shed light on Eminem the doting father and cynical celebrity. Em's latest, the multifaceted Encore, fully utilizes all three shades of Shady, resulting in the year's most engrossing, and best, rap record.\nA lot has happened to Eminem since his last solo record dropped. His acting skills were lauded in "8 Mile," he morphed 50 Cent and Obie Trice from unknowns into industry heavyweights, he became embroiled in a volatile feud with Source Magazine owner Benzino, as well as the entire Murder Inc. crew and he recorded and produced enough thumping, vitriolic mix tape tracks to fill up several discs of their own. Amidst all that, Eminem was piecing together the tracks that would eventually become Encore, a record that nearly equals his finest, The Marshall Mathers LP, in scope and execution.\nAs with all previous Eminem efforts, the overall flow and consistency of Encore renders all cuts first-rate and ushers no clear standout tracks to the forefront. A possible exception is "My 1st Single," on which Mr. Mathers, over a frenetic dance club beat, spits rhymes with the speed of Twista, the precision of Jay-Z and the humorous sensibility that's purely and unmistakably Eminem. "Like Toy Soldiers" samples an obscure snippet of late '80s power pop (Martika, anyone?) as it weaves a cautionary tale about the perils of the rapper lifestyle. A sort of lullaby for his daughter Hailie, "Mockingbird" proves that Em's soft side is just as potent as his thug persona. In "Rain Man," Em lampoons the Bible Belt and its innate fear of homosexuality in a mocking drawl that locks in flawlessly with his diverse rhyme scheme.\nFirst shipments of Encore include a bonus disc featuring three previously unreleased tracks. "Ricky Tick Tock" and "Love You More" are fine cuts but wisely left on the B-side, though "We As Americans" is one of Eminem's best tracks ever, and why it was left off the album is a mystery.\nEncore's final track, combined with a curtain call on the album cover, seems to hint that Eminem might be considering early retirement. If this is the case, the rap game will lose one of its very few living superstars, along with a large chunk of its sense of humor, danger and adventure. Em brings Encore to a close by stating, "I don't ever wanna leave the game without at least saying goodbye" in a track featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent that sounds more like a solid mix tape cut than a proper farewell. We get a strong sense he's just fuckin' with us. He knows full well the game still needs him.
(11/18/04 5:00am)
The other night I jacked a biplane and flew low over the Las Vegas strip strafing the cars below with gunfire. After that, I helped a buddy of mine torch his marijuana crop before the Feds arrived, but when they arrived earlier than expected he and I took most of 'em out with our M16s before speeding off in a VW bus. This, of course, took place within the confines of my PS2 and TV screen. Man, oh man, was it cathartic.\nAccording to a review of the glorious video game I was playing, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," by a fellow IDS Weekend writer, these onscreen actions will "breed poor decision-making and illegal behavior" in me and will be "looked drastically down upon by family interest and church groups nationwide." So far, I haven't jacked anyone's car or come under fire from any local militant religious factions, but maybe that's because I'm 22, and the label on my game says it's meant for people age 17 and over.\nOf course, I suppose parents and guardians pay about as much attention to game ratings as they do to movie ratings. If they take their kids to see "Team America" and the youngsters aren't that shaken up by it, the parents probably won't bat an eyelash at buying those same kids "San Andreas," regardless of the ability to stealth-kill prostitutes and organize and participate in frequent and random drive-by shootings. This certainly won't concern the parents of middle America, who, for the most part, condone the obscenely unjust war in Iraq while STILL speaking out virulently against Janet Jackson's tit.\nThe place most of these security moms and NASCAR dads shop should clue us in to their relative mentality. America's own Mecca, Wal-Mart, has the most bizarrely discriminatory policy of entertainment sales of which I'm immediately aware. They do not carry parental advisory labeled CDs, but they DO carry R-rated films. They carry Mature rated video games, but only conditionally. Many Wal-Marts in Indiana refuse to carry "San Andreas," while all Wal-Marts carry "Halo 2." Both games are rated Mature, but apparently "Halo 2" has greater sales potential amongst Wal-Mart shoppers, and therefore it's sellable. Why expect more from a chain of stores that openly endorses Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" books on its Web site as "important works of modern literature"? I guess the supposedly impending apocalypse is less of a threat to the fragile minds of kiddies than fake nude pictures of Supreme Court justices in the Daily Show's banned-from-Wal-Mart "America: The Book."\nOne has to look no further than the FCC, this era's own SS, to see why so many folks are spooked. Last week, in honor of Veteran's Day, ABC showed "Saving Private Ryan" uncut. The network had done this for the previous two years with no backlash. This year, 35 percent of the nation's ABC affiliates refused to show the film for fear the FCC would fine them. We've entered an era where veterans of the great war can't even be honored with a film screening because of a few curse words and a couple bullets to the head, but as the death toll on both sides rises in Fallujah, the flags come out a wavin.'\nOf course, all of these things fit nicely within this newly wrought four years of Bush's America. The air of selective discrimination and censorship in this country now is as heavy as I've heard it was in the late '60s, a time period seen as the low point in American history by Bush and his ilk, while the more historically savvy among us recognize it as a period of sticking a middle finger up to those in charge with only the best intentions.\nHoward Stern, long a bastion of liberal talk radio, has been virtually forced onto satellite pay radio due to excessive FCC fines and crackdowns. Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, the fuhrer of the airwaves, is free to saturate hundreds of AM radio stations with his own brand of conservative hate speech.\nSince my last state of the nation address, I've seen no improvement in this country as far as what is deemed offensive versus what is deemed safe for family friendly consumption. I'm not saying that whomever the sitting president happens to be is a determining factor on setting national tolerance levels, but in this case, I think a statement like that would have credence.\nSo as I drive around in my low rider with guns blazing and hydraulics bouncing, heading to one of my five girlfriends' houses for a date and subsequent screw, I realize young children should not be playing the same game I am. Later, when I turn on the news only to see our soldiers firing their rifles and Iraqis firing rockets back at them, I get a clearer perspective on what should truly be deemed offensive.
(11/18/04 2:33am)
The other night I jacked a biplane and flew low over the Las Vegas strip strafing the cars below with gunfire. After that, I helped a buddy of mine torch his marijuana crop before the Feds arrived, but when they arrived earlier than expected he and I took most of 'em out with our M16s before speeding off in a VW bus. This, of course, took place within the confines of my PS2 and TV screen. Man, oh man, was it cathartic.\nAccording to a review of the glorious video game I was playing, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," by a fellow IDS Weekend writer, these onscreen actions will "breed poor decision-making and illegal behavior" in me and will be "looked drastically down upon by family interest and church groups nationwide." So far, I haven't jacked anyone's car or come under fire from any local militant religious factions, but maybe that's because I'm 22, and the label on my game says it's meant for people age 17 and over.\nOf course, I suppose parents and guardians pay about as much attention to game ratings as they do to movie ratings. If they take their kids to see "Team America" and the youngsters aren't that shaken up by it, the parents probably won't bat an eyelash at buying those same kids "San Andreas," regardless of the ability to stealth-kill prostitutes and organize and participate in frequent and random drive-by shootings. This certainly won't concern the parents of middle America, who, for the most part, condone the obscenely unjust war in Iraq while STILL speaking out virulently against Janet Jackson's tit.\nThe place most of these security moms and NASCAR dads shop should clue us in to their relative mentality. America's own Mecca, Wal-Mart, has the most bizarrely discriminatory policy of entertainment sales of which I'm immediately aware. They do not carry parental advisory labeled CDs, but they DO carry R-rated films. They carry Mature rated video games, but only conditionally. Many Wal-Marts in Indiana refuse to carry "San Andreas," while all Wal-Marts carry "Halo 2." Both games are rated Mature, but apparently "Halo 2" has greater sales potential amongst Wal-Mart shoppers, and therefore it's sellable. Why expect more from a chain of stores that openly endorses Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" books on its Web site as "important works of modern literature"? I guess the supposedly impending apocalypse is less of a threat to the fragile minds of kiddies than fake nude pictures of Supreme Court justices in the Daily Show's banned-from-Wal-Mart "America: The Book."\nOne has to look no further than the FCC, this era's own SS, to see why so many folks are spooked. Last week, in honor of Veteran's Day, ABC showed "Saving Private Ryan" uncut. The network had done this for the previous two years with no backlash. This year, 35 percent of the nation's ABC affiliates refused to show the film for fear the FCC would fine them. We've entered an era where veterans of the great war can't even be honored with a film screening because of a few curse words and a couple bullets to the head, but as the death toll on both sides rises in Fallujah, the flags come out a wavin.'\nOf course, all of these things fit nicely within this newly wrought four years of Bush's America. The air of selective discrimination and censorship in this country now is as heavy as I've heard it was in the late '60s, a time period seen as the low point in American history by Bush and his ilk, while the more historically savvy among us recognize it as a period of sticking a middle finger up to those in charge with only the best intentions.\nHoward Stern, long a bastion of liberal talk radio, has been virtually forced onto satellite pay radio due to excessive FCC fines and crackdowns. Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, the fuhrer of the airwaves, is free to saturate hundreds of AM radio stations with his own brand of conservative hate speech.\nSince my last state of the nation address, I've seen no improvement in this country as far as what is deemed offensive versus what is deemed safe for family friendly consumption. I'm not saying that whomever the sitting president happens to be is a determining factor on setting national tolerance levels, but in this case, I think a statement like that would have credence.\nSo as I drive around in my low rider with guns blazing and hydraulics bouncing, heading to one of my five girlfriends' houses for a date and subsequent screw, I realize young children should not be playing the same game I am. Later, when I turn on the news only to see our soldiers firing their rifles and Iraqis firing rockets back at them, I get a clearer perspective on what should truly be deemed offensive.
(11/18/04 2:20am)
Eminem's major label debut, The Slim Shady LP, showcased Slim Shady, his manic and often twisted alter ego. His sophomore stunner, The Marshall Mathers LP, presented Marshall Mathers, a complex man with a dark past and a dysfunctional family. 2002's The Eminem Show shed light on Eminem the doting father and cynical celebrity. Em's latest, the multifaceted Encore, fully utilizes all three shades of Shady, resulting in the year's most engrossing, and best, rap record.\nA lot has happened to Eminem since his last solo record dropped. His acting skills were lauded in "8 Mile," he morphed 50 Cent and Obie Trice from unknowns into industry heavyweights, he became embroiled in a volatile feud with Source Magazine owner Benzino, as well as the entire Murder Inc. crew and he recorded and produced enough thumping, vitriolic mix tape tracks to fill up several discs of their own. Amidst all that, Eminem was piecing together the tracks that would eventually become Encore, a record that nearly equals his finest, The Marshall Mathers LP, in scope and execution.\nAs with all previous Eminem efforts, the overall flow and consistency of Encore renders all cuts first-rate and ushers no clear standout tracks to the forefront. A possible exception is "My 1st Single," on which Mr. Mathers, over a frenetic dance club beat, spits rhymes with the speed of Twista, the precision of Jay-Z and the humorous sensibility that's purely and unmistakably Eminem. "Like Toy Soldiers" samples an obscure snippet of late '80s power pop (Martika, anyone?) as it weaves a cautionary tale about the perils of the rapper lifestyle. A sort of lullaby for his daughter Hailie, "Mockingbird" proves that Em's soft side is just as potent as his thug persona. In "Rain Man," Em lampoons the Bible Belt and its innate fear of homosexuality in a mocking drawl that locks in flawlessly with his diverse rhyme scheme.\nFirst shipments of Encore include a bonus disc featuring three previously unreleased tracks. "Ricky Tick Tock" and "Love You More" are fine cuts but wisely left on the B-side, though "We As Americans" is one of Eminem's best tracks ever, and why it was left off the album is a mystery.\nEncore's final track, combined with a curtain call on the album cover, seems to hint that Eminem might be considering early retirement. If this is the case, the rap game will lose one of its very few living superstars, along with a large chunk of its sense of humor, danger and adventure. Em brings Encore to a close by stating, "I don't ever wanna leave the game without at least saying goodbye" in a track featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent that sounds more like a solid mix tape cut than a proper farewell. We get a strong sense he's just fuckin' with us. He knows full well the game still needs him.
(11/11/04 5:00am)
I'm not immediately aware of any other comedies concerning the imminent destruction of the world via nuclear power, so I suppose it's safe to call "Dr. Strangelove" the best of that bunch. Not only that, but it's one of the best comedies, regardless of how dark it may be, in film history.\nFilm master Stanley Kubrick's first true masterpiece still holds up today as not only an effective and hilarious satire of high-level political and diplomatic policy, but a damn fine cautionary tale as well. Comic legend Peter Sellers portrays not one but three of the central characters (a British military officer, the President of the United States and a mad German scientist), and George C. Scott delivers an ingenious performance primarily by way of his pronounced vocal and facial expressions. Perhaps the most notable performance, given our world today, is that of Slim Pickens as an gleeful Texan pilot who's convinced that the Russkies are out to get America. His exit from a plane atop a nuclear warhead is the defining visual of the film.\nFor the 40th Anniversary DVD, Columbia Pictures has produced a fitting documentary called "Best Sellers: Peter Sellers Remembered," which showcases the comedian's finest moments. Most importantly, though, the documentary "No Fighting in the War Room" or "Dr. Strangelove and the Nuclear Threat," a piece on the realities of the film including interviews with Bob Woodward, Roger Ebert, Spike Lee and U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson years Robert McNamara, is as effective as any DVD documentary to date.\nGiven the fragile state of the union today and the constant barrage of fearmongering that we can be assured will continue for the next four years, "Dr. Strangelove" is more essential viewing now than it was when originally released during the height of the Cold War.