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Blogapalooza: In lolla land

By C. Warner Sills and Rob O'Connor · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Well I have decided to end my pun hunt when it came to my attention that most of the puns on the name of the festival were actually coming from me.

It's never to early to start drinking

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Green · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Well, it's kind of difficult to review live albums. Personally, I'm not really a fan of live albums. I would much rather go to the show personally and experience the band firsthand. But I realize that this isn't always possibly, especially with bands that aren't around anymore (like the Clash). Anyway, I'm rambling. I haven't even told you what's being reviewed yet. Flogging Molly have been on the top of their game for several years now, and they don't plan on stopping anytime soon. The band has followed up their brilliant 2004 release Within A Mile Of Home with a new album entitled Whiskey on a Sunday. Four acoustic tracks, five live tracks, and a brand spanking new studio track.

J5's 4th a good time, but not their best

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Green · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Jurassic 5 is a stunning array of talent. Take five MC's (each with their own distinct sound) and two DJ's putting out honest, raw and catchy hip-hop reminiscent of the old-school days of NWA and the Wu-Tang Clan (when ODB was still alive and not in jail). This is the boys' 4th release, entitled Feedback. Party people, get ready for some old-school party rap here. Unfortunately, this release is a bit disappointing for a J5 fan. First off, the production is weak. This can be explained by the departure of DJ Cut Chemist, who is pursuing a solo career. Gone are the goofy samples and speedy cutting and crossing that Chemist brought to the distinct J5 sound.

Drinking games: Serious Bizness

By Alyson Brodsy and Zack Teibloom · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

From the moment the bouncer asks you your middle name and birth sign at the door, the drinking games are on. The earliest known drinking game in literature is from Plato's Symposium in which players fill a bowl with wine, drink it, and pass it on. Games have gotten more advanced, and the rules differ from town to town, even within Bloomington, but the idea is the same: Why not play a game to show off your ping pong ball throwing, cup flipping, and beer pouring skills with a little peer pressure?

Powell and Pressburger's pilgrimage

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Wisner · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

For too long I've only seen Powell and Pressburger's Technicolor epics such as "The Red Shoes" and "The Tales of Hoffmann" and while they are fun to watch, ultimately they come off very dated and awkward in places. I had begun to think all of the Brit directing duo's films were like this, but then "A Canterbury Tale" came my way. Taking Chaucer's story and adapting it for the then modern times of England, Powell and Pressburger place three journeyers -- an American soldier, a British officer and village girl -- on a quest from Kent to Canterbury during World War II. When they reach Kent though, the chances of them making it to the fabled destination seems grim as they're hopelessly caught up in a series of village crimes that, while not murders, are far from normal criminal activity.

Chappelle gets the last laugh

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Mellini · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Dave Chappelle is an idiot. No, his comedy isn't stupid; in fact it's quite intelligent. But, $50 million?!? Come on man, how do you pass that up? On the other hand Comedy Central is quite smart for releasing "Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes" and milking the Chappelle teat for all it's worth. It seems production on the show's third season didn't get very far before Dave took off, so the disc only contains three episodes. And they're measly at that. Without commercials there's about only an hour's worth of footage, but what's there is damn funny. Chappelle has said that one of the main reasons he bailed was the pressure (yeah $50 mil is a lot of pressure) to maintain the show's quality. And while these episodes don't quite measure up to the first two seasons, if they had aired with a full season, viewers probably wouldn't be outraged in disappointment. Several times throughout the first episode Chappelle references his situation and the giant amount of money (and jokes about getting his own cereal and attempting to turn the L'il Jon sketch into a full length movie), so at least the audience is aware that he realizes what rests on his shoulders.

An evolutionary documentary

By Alyson Brodsy and John Barnett · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

By the end of Barbet Schroeder's brief 1978 documentary on Koko, a female gorilla being taught sign language and other aspects of human communication on the campus of Stanford University from her birth in 1971 to this very day, I had fallen in love with the noble beast. Filmed in secret as to avoid legal troubles with the San Francisco Zoo (which technically owned Koko at the time of filming), Schroeder's chronicle asks many tough questions, such as if a gorilla being raised in a humanistic environment has any significant rights, or if raising a creature in such a way is ethical.

Another teen flick to add to the collection

By Alyson Brodsky and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

I know what you're thinking, we don't need anymore teen flicks. But the future generations need one for their time and "John Tucker Must Die" is it. Although it is the first teen flick for writer Jeff Lowell ("Just Shoot Me!"), it is, for the most part, a success. Now whether that is because of the actual movie itself or the cast, I don't know. The whole movie is a cliché. Kate (Brittany Snow) is the new girl at school, and being quite the wallflower, she finds it hard to get herself noticed. Kate takes on a job as a waitress at a local restaurant and that is where she first meets Mr. Popular, John Tucker ("Desperate Housewive's" Jesse Metcalfe).

Not mind-blowing

By Alyson Brodsy and Sam Nissen · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

I guess maybe I expect too much from Pharrell. His new album, In My Mind, is full of good beats, great raps and electrifying falsetto singing. Too often, though, these highlights do not occur at the same time. In my mind, Pharrell is the fashionista of our time -- like Madonna, except not annoying -- which might be why In My Mind seems tepid sometimes. Fans should expect every song to be as well crafted as the $200 Ice Cream shoes or $100 Billionaire Boys Club hoodies he crafts when not tending to rap.

They ain't no joke

By Alyson Brodsy and John Barnett · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Old school rap took a giant leap towards rolling with the new when Eric B. and Rakim's Paid in Full began vibrating dorm room walls and Brooklyn sidewalks in the fall of 1987. Showcasing both DJ Eric Barrier's genre-defining turntable skills and production and William Griffin's nearly unmatched rhyming prowess, the New York City duo's debut hit big upon it's initial release, and was recently named the greatest hip hop album of all time by MTV. Greatest hip hop album of all time is stretching it a little, but Paid in Full certainly belongs in the top 20. Unlike most groundbreaking rap albums of the early-to-mid 80's, it's just as aesthetically pleasing as it is exponentially influential. Countless rappers and hip hop beatmakers owe Eric B. and Rakim for a large portion of their sound. Rakim's vocal style and multi-syllabic rhymes gave birth to everyone from Eminem and Black Thought of the Roots to Tupac and Mos Def. Eric B's soundscapes sketched the blueprint for post-Paul's Boutique Beastie Boys and occasionally seemed to encapsulate what would eventually become rap-rock. Nearly all 10 tracks on the record are primed to blow your speakers (and your mind if you'll let them). "I Ain't No Joke," "My Melody" and "I Know You Got Soul" were the hits, but "As the Rhyme Goes On" and the title track are Barrier and Griffin at their best.

Sign O' The Times

By Alyson Brodsy and Warner Sills · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

What crazy times we live in. 'Tis a time of accidental, "whoops, my bad," international wars, soccer superstars head butting opponents (then again in the game of fútbol hands shall not be used), sniper assholes shooting up pick-up trucks and (if you believe Mr. Gore) a planet that is dying as fast as kooky Tom Cruise's reputation. With politics and the globe aside, the world of entertainment and pop culture is also important to pay attention to. With that said I thought it would be fitting to give you the current state of pop as we venture into the latter half of the '00s.

The ambassadors of musical perfection

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

During their zenith Steely Dan was a pioneer of highly polished and perfected music that somehow managed to dodge one specific genre. While some might liken the unique group to fellow rock bands like The Doobie Brothers or Chicago, Steely Dan stands out as innovators of a sound and style that can only be described by listening to its music. It's not quite rock, not quite jazz. It's riddled with subtle laid-back R&B and soul flavors, but only below the surface. Dan is poppy when it wants to be but gives straight pop a twist. Above all, the band has always relied on the best musicians around to create the slickest of the slick.

The perfect murder. The perfect movie.

By Alyson Brodsky and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Woody Allen seems to have finally gotten things right with last year's "Match Point", and now "Scoop." It looks like he might be making a comeback after all. Its one thing for me to get into the movie and really like it; that's my personal taste, but you could tell that the entire audience (a semi-full theatre) felt the same way. "Scoop," a fast paced murder-mystery, has a little bit of Woody's "Manhattan Murder Mystery" and "Match Point" mixed together. Scarlett Johansson (who starred in Allen's "Match Point") stars as Sondra, a young American journalist who has a habit of sleeping with the people she interviews without ever getting the scoop. While in London she feels compelled to solve the mystery of the "Tarot Card Killer."

Blogapalooza: What the hell am I doing on a computer when they are still playing music?

By C. Warner Sills and Rob O'Connor · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

So I have decided that over the course of this weekend I will try and keep track of all of the lame -palooza puns that I see.

Something to hold you over

By Fryburg 84 · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Meet Tommy, the most stereotypical and borderline offensive video game character since Mario. He's a Cherokee who lives on a reservation, hates the old ways of his ancestors and spends his day at a bar playing video poker. But one night his routine of getting hammered and blowing his paycheck gets interrupted when aliens abduct him, his girlfriend and apparently half of Texas. This puts Tommy on a course save the world and rediscover his heritage while kicking approximately 32 different kinds of alien ass (at least I think these things have asses).

Get down with the Boogie

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Reschke · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

Plastic inflatable penises were plentiful throughout the camp ground, as were signs that requested passers by to expose their breasts. Bike engines revved at all hours of the day and night. Clothing was optional, even for those people whose bodies were fighting a losing battle against gravity. Random and crazy were two words that could be used to describe many of the people in attendance, such as Don Berndt. "Fuck you Bob!" is what he and his T-shirt said. "There's so many fuckin' Bobs in the world you gotta say fuck you Bob," Berndt said. These are the kinds of things that happen when people sentenced to 40 hours of weekly work until the age of 65 are allowed to get down, let loose, and let it all (yes ALL) hang out. This weekend of freedom is called The Boogie.

One 'Bully' you wouldn't mind knowing

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Mellini · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

With "The Ant Bully," "Monster House" and "Barnyard" all in theaters, how's an 8-year-old supposed to choose what movie to beg their parents into submission to take them to see. Well, uh, if you were an 8-year-old, "The Ant Bully" would be a decent choice. Sick of being picked on by the neighborhood bully, nerdy Lucas takes his anger out on the helpless ant colony in his lawn. Fed up with the destruction to his society that Lucas causes, Zoc (Nicolas Cage,) the wizard ant (yes, a wizard ant, sounds dumb, but the plot needs to start somehow) creates a potion that shrinks Lucas to ant size. Put on trial for his crimes, the Ant Queen (an underused Meryl Streep, how do you underuse Meryl?!?) orders Lucas to work amongst the ants to learn and appreciate their ways.

Sex in the City

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Freiberg and David A. Nosko · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

There are clubs and then there are strip clubs. Bloomington offers Hoosiers many choices for basking in brews and hearty ha-ha's, but where can community members go if they seek half-naked human beings sliding down poles or sex toys to bring home to share with their partner? Also known as "adult entertainment," the city offers most forms of sensual self-indulgence and perverted pleasure, including topless dance clubs, bookstores with XXX video arcades, and lingerie boutiques offering everything from fluffy handcuffs to nipple clamps.

Lollapalooza's new home

By Alyson Brodsy and Rob O'Connor · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

One of the summer's biggest concerts is right around the corner and just a short jaunt away. The three day music festival, Lollapalooza, kicks off Aug. 4 in Chicago's Grant Park. This is the second year that the festival has made The Windy City the back drop for their three day party. Last year many people were hesitant to accept the third largest American city as a good location to hold an outdoor music festival, especially one which hopes to host 75,000 concert-goers. However, after last year's success the festival organizers have high hopes for this second time around.

Exceptions to the rule

By Alyson Brodsy and Ty Schrock · Thursday, Aug. 3,2006 12 a.m.

The 80s sucked. Greed was supposedly good, Reagan was in the White House and bands known more for their hairstyles than their music ruled the airwaves. So, in a time when Duran Duran and A Flock of Seagulls were the big thing, it was a little far fetched that an unassuming folk-rock quartet from Athens, Georgia would be able to become America's premier rock band. But that's exactly what did happen. That band, of course, was R.E.M. Owing equally to the Byrds, Patti Smith and Wire, R.E.M. was a mishmash of musical ideas and personalities featuring a guitar player (Peter Buck) who favored arpeggio-style chording over soloing, a drummer (Bill Berry) who knew restraint, and a multi-talented, McCartney-esque bassman (Mike Mills) who was the glue that held it all together. Add to this an incomparable and wonderfully weird frontman in Michael Stipe, and you have the unlikely, but winning formula.