Movie Review: Robin Hood

After watching Ridley Scott’s new film “Robin Hood” one word stuck in my head, ‘timeless’. The problem is however that the ‘timeless’ I have been thinking about is much different than the ‘timeless’ of other critics, that is how they use the term. The ‘timeless’ in my mind is not of praise but rather of criticism. By saying that Ridley Scott has made a ‘timeless’ film I mean the movie is such that it could have been made at any time in the past. If I was told that the movie was made 20 years ago I would have nothing to prove whoever told me that wrong. It isn’t to say that “Robin Hood” was directed poorly necessarily, but rather that Ridley Scott really didn’t do anything new with his film.

Sometimes ‘nothing special’ directing in a film can be saved by innovation and outstanding work in other areas; unfortunately this isn’t the case in “Robin Hood”. Like the directing, there really isn’t anything horrible about plot but once again there really isn’t anything good about the plot either. The majority of the film is just people riding around on horses, not really doing anything; mix this with failed cinematography and the film falls short on two more levels. As I remember, Robin Hood, or Robin of the Hood, was a young common man who lived in the woods and stole from the evil rich to give to the deserving poor. Russell Crowe’s Robin is Robin Longstride, army archer turned drifter, turned knight, turned farmer, turned knight again and then turned war hero. Although Robin’s hatred of ‘the man’ is prominent in the movie there is very little of the ‘green suit guy’ who ‘robs king’s men’ and helps the poor. The movie strays from the classic story of Robin Hood to more of deflated and annoying version of Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” (with more of a PG feel). The cinematography isn’t bad but the visuals come off as if they are in the 21st century rather than in the 12th century.

The actors in “Robin Hood” are given very little to work with, yet somehow Russell Crowe manages to mess his parts up. All this week Crowe has been criticized for his poor English accent (I think the critique I heard was that it sounded like an Australian who frequently visits Ireland). The rest of the actors are suffice but about 30 minutes into the film a regular movie goer is caught asking themselves, “Why is Cate Blanchett in this movie?” The very talented actress really takes a limiting role in this movie. I don’t recommend watching this movie... in the theatre. Rent “Braveheart” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and the pair should replace this movie for a fraction of the cost. For those of you that don’t believe me, if you do decide to go see the movie below are a list of things to watch for.

- The children with the masks at the start of the movie are never explained, you just sort of forget about them (something that Ridley Scott has done as well)
- It might seem like a confusing plot at first, usually a sign that there is a complicated twist, there isn’t! Just keep watching and you’ll see that was just really poorly set up.
- This movie has the plot of TV series jammed into about 2.5 hours.
- Yes, Robin Hood was involved in the Crusades and even admits in the movie to butchering innocent people; he truly is the hero of the movie.
- Why do flashbacks always get better with time? Memory doesn’t really work like that.
- It is clear that the writers of the French parts in the movie were a grade 1 French class. You will notice that all the French people in the film speak in one word sentences.
- Why is Robin like 50 years old? Back at the turn of the century (not this turn the last) people lived until they were like 25 years old. Also I have always pictured Robin Hood as a young man.
- It does not really become clear why others are so in love with Robin. Director Scott just wants you to assume there is a lot more that he hasn’t shown I guess.
- Don’t hold your breath for an explanation of the ‘Hood’ title in Robin Hood, it never comes.

New Black Keys!!

Everyone’s favorite Akron, Ohio duo has a new album in stores today, May 18th. “Brothers” is The Black Keys’s eighth album in as many years, and is just as strong as anything they have put out to date.
The Keys have such a consistency that is rare in any band or solo act these days. From their debut album “The Big Come Up” which features one of my favorite Black Keys songs, “Run Me Down”, to their most recent single “Tighten Up” and all the gems found in between, the Black Keys show an unrivaled ability to produce hit record after hit record. All this without even mentioning their side project “Blakroc” which features collaborations with some hip-hop heavy weights. Add that to their amazing live show and you have one of my favorite bands around today. Listen to any of their albums or see them live and you will have a hard time disagreeing with me.
So do yourself a favor, pick up a copy of “Brothers” on sale this week for only $8. And, maybe go see the Keys in action this summer in a city near you.
Check out their new video for "Tighten Up" at our weebly site.

Declan

Top 7 Reasons Why I Miss George W. Bush

In my opinion George W. was the Kenny Powers of politics, the badass of politics; for this reason I truly miss the guy. Recently (see the first clip) Boy George wiped his hand off on Clinton's jacket after shaking hands with a poor person, pretty classic move in my opinion. Sure he put the United States into a couple wars but he also did some pretty badass things. The following are a list of badass things about George Bush/reasons why he I wish he was still more prominent.


Classic Move:




1) He said some really funny things:

Example:

- "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
- "They misunderestimated me."
- "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?"
- "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

2) Him and his vice president were 'Bush' and 'Dick'






































3) Old videos of him doing crazy stuff would come out

Middle Finger





4) He has a better arm than Obama





5) He landed a plane on a fucking aircraft carrier






6) Will Ferrell Impressions of George Bush





7) Awesome photoshopped pictures








- Aaron

You Are What You Listen To

Famous comedian/rapper Bill Cosby once said, “Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes.” (http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/musictoob/24358/bill-cosby-releases-hip-hop-album-state-of-emergency/) Cosby was certainly correct about the power of music, but he may have failed to recognize that characteristics youth become ‘passionate’ about may not actually be separate from their musical affiliations.

Recent studies have made numerous conclusions regarding the influence and power of music, more specifically the large amount of power music has over youth identity. A 2009 paper entitled “Musical Taste and Ingroup Favouritism” explains how musical taste can be seen as a social ‘badge’ or a means for individuals to categorize themselves within society; for youth, “the distinctiveness of young people’s musical affiliations appears to contribute to their social identity,” as Dominc Abrams puts it in his article Social Identity on a National Scale: Optimal Distinctiveness and Young People's Self-Expression Through Musical Preference. One theory explaining the tendency of youth to self-identify based on their musical preferences focuses on the stages of human development. The term self-schema describes the internal cognitive portrait of one’s self, in other words the “who I am” part of the human psyche; as a youth passes through the various stages of childhood, his or her self-schema is developed. During the development of one’s self, youth use musical subcultures as role models and guides to determine how they should create their own self-schema.

Not only do we use music to define our own identities, but we often use musical tastes as a key to how we see others, stereotyping fans of different musical genres to social categories or labeling them with particular psychological characteristics. This can sharpen the importance of our own musical tastes in defining our identities: see what happens when a 14-year-old “punk” is referred to as “emo,” a mistake any musically literate teen or tween can tell you would be considered identification blasphemy.

What is the difference between “punk” and “emo” music, and how did these subcultures of music evolve? Out of the undifferentiated “rock and roll” of the 1950s – which was itself an offshoot of Blues music – came a dizzying array of subgenres, each of which valued some different aspect of the music. The earliest example of this was the division of rock fans into “rockers” and “mods” (though the Beatles attempted to bridge this schism by declaring themselves “mockers.”) In the 1970s, in reaction to the perceived excesses of disco and “prog rock,” the “punk” genre presented itself as a return to the basic values of homemade rock, with “hardcore punk” as one of its own subgenres. This too divided into multiple genres, with one being called “emotional hardcore” – later shortened to “emo”, the term it is referred to today. (Similar subgenres of punk include “Screamo”, “Skate punk” and even “Christian Hardcore Punk.”) Nearly all genres of popular music have a similar spectrum of subgenres: rap, for instance, can be divided into “Gangsta Rap” to “East Coast Hip-Hop” to “Dirty South Chopped-N-Screwed” among many others, and like punk music each subgenre has its own self-identified fans who belong to related subcultures.

Author Daniel J. Levitin helps explain how we as a culture discriminate between the different subgenres of music in his 2006 book “This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession”. As Levitin explains, categories are formed around prototypes, cases or examples we consider to be the fundamental specimens of a particular thing. (For instance, researchers found a particular shade of red that all their subjects agreed was the “most red red”; this was the prototype of the colour red.) New forms of music, then, are judged in comparison to the prototypical band or example of the genre. The catch however is that there need not be any attribute that is the same amongst all the bands in the genre; rather, they only need to be comparable to the prototype. Surprisingly enough, in Levitin’s studies “people appear to agree as to what are prototypical songs for musical categories, such as ‘country music,’ ‘skate punk,’ and ‘baroque music.’” An unusual example of a music prototype that has created its own categorization is the band Insane Clown Posse. Unlike most subcultures, which self-identify based on their preference for a genre of music, the term “Juggalos” refers specifically to those loyal to this particular group, which has inspired a subculture that is recognizable based on similar interests, attire, and the slang language used.

Musical subcultures have the power to bring individuals together, set fashion trends, influence language and, as seen recently in Ohio (http://www.switched.com/2009/12/11/emo-teen-uses-youtube-to-fight-back-against-juggalo-bully/), inspire hatred. As Bill Cosby explained, musical interests are powerfully developed at a young age; they can explain both how youth are viewed by society, and how individuals view themselves, both of which can influence a person’s behaviour. As musical genres continue to proliferate, and the lines between them continue to blur, so too will the lines between musical subcultures become less distinct. It is hard to say what implications further distortion may have towards youth; perhaps as musical groups reposition and redefine themselves within the different genres listeners will have trouble self-identifying, abandoning the process entirely – or perhaps listeners will embrace this distortion simply create more and more new subcultures.


- Aaron Bawn

Music Review - B.o.B - B.o.B Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray

B.o.B Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray is the first L.P. from rapper, singer, producer B.o.B. Until last week I was very unfamiliar with the Atlanta artist; however, while compiling the Absurd & Unheard Music Festival Guide (TM) I saw ‘B.o.B’ on a number of line-ups and I began researching. After a couple of ‘googles’ I realized that I had already heard B.o.B’s “Nothing on You”, a track that when I first heard I asked myself (in an impressed voice) “who is this rapping?” After listening to the ‘adventurous’ album from cover to cover it becomes clear why rapper T.I. signed the talented Bobby Ray to his Grand Hustle record label.

The album is one of those ‘sit on the deck and have a cold from the cooler while you enjoy the aroma of barbequed hamburgers’/summer albums. From a deep and though provoking Vampire Weekend remake of “The Kids Don't Stand A Chance” called “The Kids” to a catchy April Wine sample in “Fame”, B.o.B creates a debut album that can be compared to Kanye’s “College Dropout”. B.o.B effectively demonstrates his ability to collaborate as well as work in different genres with this release. The Adventures of Bobby Ray features “Magic” a song with a catchy and upbeat hook by Weezer’s own Rivers Cuomo, “Airplanes” a song that brings together the style of Paramore’s Hayley Williams, who sings the chorus, and the aggressively brilliant lyrics of Eminem, who drops an amazing last verse on the song. Other collabs include a song with Lupe Fiasco and a southern sounding T.I. track called “Bet I”. Bobby Ray makes a comment in “Airplanes, Part II” about how he is often compared to Outkast’s Andre 3000; by the time you hear this line (in track 12) the comparison should already be in your mind. B.o.B replicates Andre’s rapping flow while also showing that he is able to emulate Andre’s singing voice, many times rivalling the Outkast member’s abilities. B.o.B also shows that he is able to change up his style, rapping like follow Atlanta artist Ludacris on his song “Fame”; the opening verse of this song is so similar that I think it could be added to Ludacris’ next album and fans would have a hard time distinguishing the two rappers. Finally, B.o.B sounds like a young Trick Daddy on his “Bet I” track, the least impressive of the three impersonations. B.o.B Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray is a very catchy album that sets the stage for a prosperous career for the A-town musician.

The only real criticism with the album is that B.o.B sometimes seems as though he can get lost in his impersonations, something that can take away from the creativity of his work. It will be interesting to see if Bobby has the talent and originality to make a follow up album that can compete with his debut; until that time B.o.B Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray will be a great summer album.