New Jersey Band Showing Good Rock Music Can Still be Made

Well, this is odd—for the first time in a long time I am actually saying something good about something that came out of New Jersey.

First impressions with rock groups mean a lot to me. I can still remember the first song I listened to of every major rock group that I love today. For Neil Young and Crazyhorse it was “Southern Man”, a song that took me to the deep south, with overtones alluding to post-Civil War life in America, a topic that I am fascinated with. As for the name of their band, Young is an unabashed supporter of Native Americans and their history, and Crazy Horse was no doubt one of the more  famous chiefs in America, so I love that name he chose.

For this local rock band, their name is what instantly drew me to them. Everyone loves nostalgia, and the days of opening up the top of a turntable and pulling out a massive vinyl record of your favorite band, placing the needle on the edge, and hearing that initial faint crackling sound before the music starts blasting through the speaker. There probably could not be a better name for a new band than by taking something old, something that The Vinyls have done. It is actually a surprise that no one had chosen the name prior, because without even listening to them, it just reeks of yesteryear.

Those who read this blog know of my distaste for new age music. Personally, nothing good came after the 1980′s ended, or so that was my opinion until I discovered Streetlight Manifesto, a combination of rock and ska that finally had me interested in something new. I could listen to Mozart, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Offenbach all day, but every once in a while I need some rock music.

The Vinyls are another band that has come onto the scene, and to put it bluntly, not sounding like crap. They have a very professional sound, with great vocals (Drew Duddy, Dave Ryan), guitar (Ryan), and bass (Dan Szpakowski). The drums (Rick Szpakowski) are also there, but they are not the driving force, which is good because too many new bands emphasize the drums, and it becomes tacky and annoying. For a person who knows their share of people who have created bands, I can honestly say this is the best of such bands that I have ever heard.

The first song of theirs that I listened to, after joining their Facebook Group (and learning of them through their bass player who is in one of my classes) was “Drifter”. The first thing that caught my attention was the subtlety of the bass, and then the vocals. Here, I was listening to a professional group, not some crudely constructed garage band. They have released many singles, including “Extended Play” and “American Dream”, all of which I have enjoyed.

They have a CD coming out this Saturday, and a big release party at the Freehold VFW, where it will be released. Other local bands will also join them, including The Riverwinds, Hot in the City, Little Devil Dance Again, Love Isla, and Skylines & Valor. It is sure to be a night of fun, and if you have an interest in rock music, I highly recommend you check them out and even attend if you are so inclined.

As you can see, out of the 245 posts I have made on this blog, only ten have been about music, so if I am making mention of it here, then it must be good. With the help of The Vinyls, rock enthusiasts should not be alarmed at the end of great music being made, for if more bands like this come around, we should be in store for some solid music in the many years to come.

Please visit their website on Pure Volume here. Also, follow them on Twitter.

Classical Music Experiencing a Resurgence…in TV Commercials

There are certain pieces of music that are instantly recognizable to almost everybody. You hear the first few notes and realize it is something that you have heard over and over again. But then there comes a time when someone asks you if you have ever heard that piece of music that you have recognized your entire life. You are confused at the question and shake your head no, because you know absolutely nothing about classical music…or so you think.

The fact is, the music written by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and countless others is music that has survived for hundreds of years. It outlived its composers, and it will outlive every single generation on earth until the end of time. In this new-age where music is getting worse instead of better, people tend to forget the classics as new pop-garbage, such as the likes of Justin Bieber and 95% of everyone else that came after the 1980′s, emerge into popularity.

But this classical music has always been here, and just when I thought it would go all but forgotten in mainstream media, three commercials released in what seemed like a week apart from one another feature three of the most well known “tunes” ever written.

First off, we have a commercial advertising Direct TV Cinema, in which the “Lacrimosa” from Mozart’s Requiem is being played. At first I loved the commercial, but now that it has been played to excess, it is more annoying than soothing. Still, I don’t mind the music, just the idiot who gets hit in the neck with a dart.

Secondly, we have the Windows Phone 7 with Edward Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” which is apart of the Peer Gynt Suite. Out of the three commercials mentioned here, this one was used the most uniquely and was highly fitting of what the images were on-screen.

And lastly, how can we go through classical music without Richard Wagner coming up in some way? Though the first two mentioned are beyond famous, Wagner’s “The Ride of the Valkyries” or “Die Walkure” are recognized by everyone, and I mean everyone, even upon hearing just the first note. This is used to advertise the new Nissan Juke, and although I would never buy a car like that, I enjoyed the music.

I think everyone should go out there and give classical music a shot. Sure I like my rock music and could listen to Neil Young, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin all day, but these pieces that have stood the test of time are something very special and important. Give it a try; you won’t believe what you already know.

The Top Ten Movie Soundtracks: #5- Fellini’s 8 1/2

It would not be a top ten list of any kind involving movies without having at least one foreign film in there. Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 makes it in at number five, for its classical, yet jazzy theme, composed by none other than Nino Rota.

Many do not recognize Rota by name, which is a shame, because he is a legend, now posthumously, in his native Italy and was very much the same here in the United States back in the 1970′s, when he composed the soundtrack for another Italian related film called The Godfather. The “main theme” of that film is instantly recognizable.

8 1/2 is Fellini’s most personal and highly regarded work, coming in just ahead of Satyricon for me personally, and for the students of film, La Dolce Vita, La Strada, and Nights of Cabiria. For each of those films, along with the majority of Fellini’s and the entire Godfather trilogy, it was Rota’s music that was used.

His distinct jazzy style can be heard right in the “main theme” of 8 1/2 and repeated in different variations throughout.

“Otto E Mezzo” also is comprised of this, but changed pace near the end, becoming a lot more quicker, and really befitting of the scene towards the final minutes of the movie, an ending that not even film experts can explain what it means.

Among the many different emotions flowing through this film, including confusion, anger, frustration, happiness, and comedy, there is a piece of music that accompanies every one. “Carlott’a Gallop” reflects the playful side of Fellini, “Guido E Luisa Nostalgisco Swing” is more relaxing, while “Concertino Alle Terme” is more tense and fast paced.

My favorite piece out of the soundtrack is “Rivolta Nell Harem” which begins with an alteration of Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” before returning to Rota’s signature jazz style.

This is a film that is perhaps not meant to be understood by anyone other than Fellini himself, because this is almost an auto-biography of himself and the struggles he was undergoing while making films. There are several scenes that are entirely dreams and make no sense, all intertwined with a very simple story of a husband cheating on his wife with a mistress, and not trying to hide it from her one bit.

Unfortunately, Youtube, where I get my sound clips from for lists like this only has two of the songs mentioned in this article. Please see Grooveshark and other free play-sites to check out the music mentioned here.

Previous Films on this List

10. A Clockwork Orange

9. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

8. Schindler’s List

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey

6. Gods and Generals

Movie Review: Valkyrie (2008)

Just when I thought that Hollywood could no longer deliver an entertaining and historically accurate movie all in the same billing, Brian Singer’s Valkyrie proved me wrong. This story is quite intriguing, as it is unheard of by most people and is left out of history publications, first and foremost excluding textbooks.

Valkyrie tells a very simple story, whose inner workings are anything but. This is the story of one of the forty separate attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler, by his own men. This plot, which in German is called Wulkure, was the closest anyone ever came to killing the Fuhrer.

Tom Cruise, who I really did not like beforehand, showed how much he matured as an actor by nailing the role of Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg, the man in charge of Operation Valkyrie. He delivered a straightforward, and honest performance, as the man who loves Germany, and will even risk death for high treason to try to save it from the destructive Nazi regime.

This movie is also loaded with excellent supporting characters. Tom Wilkinson, who I loved in The Patriot and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, was perfect for the job of General Fromm, the ultra-important commanding general of the German Reserve Army, which the plot depends upon mightily.

Terence Stamp and Bill Nighy also fit in nicely with their roles, and this was a bit of a reunion for the cast of the 2002 A & E miniseries Shackleton, as Kenneth Branagh, Kevin McNally, Danny Webb, and Chris Larkin appear in both films. Branagh and McNally also each appeared in another film as Nazis in the Holocaust themed HBO production Conspiracy, in which another Valkyrie star, Ian McNiece also appeared (read my review of that here).

Christian Berkel, of Der Untergang, also appears, as does Eddie Izzard and Carice Van Houten.

The one thing that this film executed really well was the absence of accents. Most historical dramas often find the actors trying to put on foreign accents that end up sounding downright horrible. This film had the actors using their normal accents, and in the beginning of the film, established German as the vernacular, by having Tom Cruise begin in German with English subtitles at the bottom, before it slowly transforms into plain English.

I also enjoyed seeing, or rather, hearing, Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries find its way into the film, as Wagner was a favorite composer of Hitler and was the reason for the name of the plot. I have watched this movie with two people, and upon hearing this music, they both asked, “Isn’t that the music from Apocalypse Now?” Yes it is.

The real Valkyrie Plot was very complex, and this movie, although it did a terrific job, really rushed it along. In order to tell the story fully, a miniseries would have been better, because at least four hours would probably have been needed. However, for less than two hours, the film did try to include everything, but it may have been confusing to people with no prior knowledge of the event.

Overall, I will give this movie a 8 out of 10 because of the attention paid to historical accuracy and because the movie is quite intense and the final half will keep you on the edge of your seat. Also, it must be brought up how much Cruise and the real Stauffenberg resembled one another.

If you notice, Stauffenberg is in the left and center, while Cruise is on the right.

I highly recommend that if you love history, or just want to see a good action film, to give this a shot. I imagine it will be shown in more history classes as well, because it deserves more attention. This film finally shows a group of Germans standing up to the mighty Hitler, unlike what we read in textbooks, where they are all shown to be mindless drones.