Going ape for ‘Plastic Beach’

“Plastic Beach” is a perfect spring break soundtrack. It may have arrived with less fanfare than the Gorillaz’s 2005 release “Demon Days,” but the new album — released March 9 — is full of auditory treats and random surprises.

Collaboration is the name of the game with this album. De La Soul returns from “Feel Good Inc.” to appear with Gruff Rhys on “Superfast Jellyfish”— a prime track for heading down to the beach. It’s rich, cheeky and just plain fun. Mos Def lends his talents to two songs on the album. Snoop Dogg shows up on “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach,” which serves as a welcome mellow start to the album.

Then there are other oddities that end up right at home among the rest of the mix. “White Flag” starts off with an Bollywood-esque tabla interlude — courtesy of the Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.

Later on the album Lou Reed and Bobby Womack appear, and the title track reunites Paul Simonon and Mick Jones from The Clash. But the undertones from the Gorillaz are woven throughout the album, despite the joint influences.

“Stylo,” the first single from “Plastic Beach,” is a curious melding of a slowed-down grubby, funky beat, paired with Bobby Womack’s random spoken-word chorus. The video fittingly echoes this; we see the band speeding down a desert road in a muscle car riddled with bullet holes. The band members look just as haggard and run-down as the car. Bruce Willis makes a cameo in the music video.

The real treat in the video, though, is when band members Noodle, Murdoc and 2D transform into 3D. This is the first time we’ve been able to experience the virtual band interact with our reality and not just in holographic or cartoon form. The fourth member, Russel, is absent from the video and Noodle is an android.

But this is the Gorillaz, and it’ll all make sense eventually. Since the band is made up of fictional characters, the added enjoyment is in its dramatic and quirky storylines. It’s amusing to watch it all play out.

Eclecticism has always been the Gorillaz forte, and “Plastic Beach” is no exception. At times, the album seems a bit distracted, but each track is solid and unquestionably theirs. Despite the collaborative fingerprints throughout, they don’t smudge the gestalt of the album.

So regardless of where you’re headed for spring break, take a vacation, relax, and bask in the light of “Plastic Beach.”

Silent voices from secret places

The SCAD community witnessed two moving performances of “The Vagina Monologues” Feb. 18-19. Read more

Final Performance of “The Vagina Monologues” Tonight

Tonight is the final showing of “The Vagina Monologues”, an award-winning play by Eve Ensler based on the anecdotes and stories of over 200 women, as performed by SCAD students. The show starts at 8 p.m. in the 4C Events Space and the cost is $5 for students and $7 for staff and faculty. All proceeds benefit Innocence Atlanta. Don’t miss it!

Smart V-dates for the cheapskate

For everything cliché that can be said about Valentine’s Day, it’s still a great opportunity to spend time with that special someone. Read more

‘IRM’ has magnetic resonance

After collaborating with Air on her previous album, Charlotte Gainsbourg’s Francophone dream-pop has since undergone a darker transformation. Musical experimentation with Beck and medical procedures following a waterskiing accident gave birth to Gainsbourg’s most recent brainchild, “IRM” (the French acronym for MRI).

Gone are the tender, hesitant vocals; they’ve been replaced by odd assertions, dark whispers and in-your-face eccentric thoughts that harbor unsettling elements on every track. “IRM” wanders heedlessly on the line of the surreal. And while Beck’s hand is detectable throughout the album, it serves primarily as a ground for her otherwise day-dreamy cloud walk through clear and stormy.

Beck and Gainsbourg collaborate on “Heaven Can Wait,” but the nature of this track is most fully revealed in the jarring, yet inviting, bizarreness of the music video. The song poses a carefree and upbeat attitude, yet the video speaks of everyday instances misshapen and malformed, so they are alien and familiar at once. Its brevity belies its impact, as the collection of scenes is the equivalent of experiencing an entire art gallery in less than three minutes. The real disconnect is the abruptness and lack of resolution. As a cinematic device, it develops a yearning for more. A yearning that is never fulfilled.

In a later track, “La Collectionneuse”, Gainsbourg strikes this chord again, but in a more subtle, meditative way than the video’s abusive push-pull. Lyrics like, “I add up all these moments/In a long narrow ledger/Decimals of pain/Integers of pleasure,” add to the album’s essence — little bits of otherworldly thoughts that are recognizable yet irresolvable.

Even though “IRM” seems trapped in this emotional, dream-like netherworld, it meshes and plays well, just as Beck and Gainsbourg’s collaboration does. It sounds both candid and elegant. “Time of the Assassins” demonstrates this the most. In it, Gainsbourg muses, “And can something change/And still feel the same/The beginning’s the end/I start all over again.”

“IRM” was released Jan. 28 and is available streaming on Charlotte Gainsbourg’s Web site.

Give it a try. You’ll feel right at home in a place you’ve never been.

Rise from your grave: Vampire Weekend, Take 2

Vampire Weekend’s 2007’s self-titled album received polarized responses with very few left in the middle ground. It was either detested with hipster-hating rage or embraced as quirky indie-rock. Whichever side of the battle you found yourself on, a general consensus was that the album seemed more of an in-process wordplay than the result of a progressive exploration.

But even among the band’s dissidents, Vampire Weekend’s latest album, “Contra,” is seen as a significant step up from its first attempt. The gestalt of the album seems appropriately engineered for both the intent musical analyst — as it’s lyrically rich — and likewise workable as mindless white noise.

The tracks incorporate random elements and blend clever, careful wordplay with pseudo-intellectual namechecking. The lyrics cover everything from feudal Japan (“Your Tokugawa smile/And your garbage style/Used to save the night”) to a typeface (“She’d never seen the word BOMBS blown up/To 96 point Futura”) and natural toothpaste (“But she use real toothpaste/Cuz if that Tom’s don’t work/If it just makes you worse/Would you loose all of you faith in the good Earth?”).

“Horchata” starts the album with mellow Caribbean-inspired electro beats that layer and evolve as the song progresses. The drumbeats that follow the chorus provide a pleasant contrast with both the toy piano accompaniments and the beat drop-off after it ends. It makes it a prime opening track to set the album’s pace.

“White Sky” initiates with a curious Tetris-like beat — appropriate, given the retro-gaming title of the album. It also successfully blends musical elements. “Holiday” is audibly more tame in comparison, but it is still chock-full of brilliant wording.

In a word, “California English” is weird, but in the best of ways. Never would it seem that the contrast of Auto-Tuned lyrics and orchestral melodies would mesh, but it synthesizes for an enjoyable sound fused with a rolling, playful drumbeat woven throughout the track.

“Taxi Cab” is a cooldown from the anxious, playful pace of the previous track, and the toy piano returns with a vengeance. Despite the subdued pace, the lyrics reveal something significantly less childlike and naive: “You’re not a victim/But neither am I/Nostalgic for garbage/Desperate for time/I could blame it on your mother’s head/Or the colors that you father wears/But I know that I was never fair/You were always fine.” The words come like moments-too-late-thoughts — the sort of familiar mind fodder that only comes once a relationship has crumbled.

“Run” seems like a continuation of this same runaway train of thought, but bends itself into a slightly more upbeat theme.

The rest of the album is just as solid. And although VW’s cunning lyrics seem compulsory — like they’re trying a bit too hard to come up with another word for one they’ve already used — “Contra” demonstrates a polished, clever charm. Vampire Weekend still possesses a sharp delineation between the lovers and haters, but both may admit “Contra” is a tuned and developed composition of musical and lyrical fun. It stays true to the band’s unique quirky and playful sound.

The album was released Jan. 12, and is available streaming for free at the band’s Web site (http://www.vampireweekend.com).

Nine hot ways to defrost your mind

Don’t let those seasonal blues get you down. Even with new classes, the biting cold wind and snow (well, sort of), there are still plenty of ways to turn up the heat. Put those cold-weather boots to work dancing, stamping and stomping yourself into a fever with the latest beats, film, art and spoken word that even a groundhog would turn out early to see.

Sounds

Vampire Weekend’s much-anticipated second album “Contra” drops Jan. 12. Check out the band’s tasty first single (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0u11rgd9Q) as a warm-up for its April 8 show in Atlanta.

Brave the cold before winter and class work really start coming down, and see RJD2 as he brings his instrumental hip-hop beats to The Masquerade on Jan 16 ($17, 8 p.m., 695 N. Ave., 404-577-8178).

February 9 brings the release of Hot Chip’s new album “One Life Stand.” And if the group’s single “Take It In” is a litmus test, Hot Chip’s signature layered, swelling beats have been refined (this time with a little less disco behind them).

Sights

“Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” — a film adaptation of a variety of relationships men have with women — is coming to Midtown Art Cinema for one week only (January 22-29). It is directed by John Krasinski who plays Jim on “The Office” (Cost varies, but before 6 p.m. is cheaper, 931 Monroe Dr., 678-495-1424).

For that rich local flavor, treat yourself to “Satryitown: A Short Film About Cabbagetown,” playing at Eyedrum on February 5 (Free, but donations accepted, 7:30 p.m., 290 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive S.E., Suite 8, 404-522-0655).

For something a little less provincial, catch Tim Burton’s take on “Alice in Wonderland,” out March 5. Sure to be an avant-garde delight, the film stars the always-crazy Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice.

Events

Take shelter with the works of one of the most influential architects and furniture designers at the Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture exhibit, but catch it quickly before it departs January 16 ($5, with your student I.D., 11 a.m.-5 p.m., The Museum of Design, Marquis II Tower, 285 Peachtree Center Ave., 404-979-6455).

Thaw yourself out with a steamy cup of organic coffee at Java Monkey’s Open Mic Poetry event held every Sunday night (free, 8pm, 205 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, 404-378-5002). Or drop in any other day of the week for the delicious snacks, free Wi-Fi and its prime studying spots.

To really get your blood boiling, experience Henry Rollins, former Black Flag lead singer and peerless rant-and-rave humorist on February 28 at the Variety Playhouse. His unique blend of stand-up and spoken word is a must-see ($25, 8pm, 1099 Euclid Ave. NE., Atlanta, 404-524-1923).

‘Love 2′ is in the Air

The French tech-pop duo Air is back with its sixth album, “Love 2.”

Despite the burgeoning of other French artists in the 11 years since Air’s debut, the duo is still among the crème de la crème of French beats. The playful and experimental tunes put Air ahead of the pack, and “Love 2″ shines as a prime example of its eclectic style.

The highlight of “Love 2″ is the album’s ninth track, which is also its first single. “Sing Sang Sung” vibrates with carefree sensitivity, pairing restrained, upbeat guitar riffs with a lush, downtempo melody. Wedged between the cotton-candy weight of the melody and the fluffy chorus are melancholy lyrics: “What are we doing here my friend?/Take a breath push your pain away/Nothing lasts it’s better that way/It’s better that way.”

Despite this, the sound is overall fun. This is also captured in the music video, which offers is ethereal, trippy and, at times, downright weird. Throughout the animated video, a black dot travels through scenes similar to levels of a Super Mario Brothers Game. The dot bounces off oddly shaped mushrooms and winds through a repeating set of women’s legs. (Check out the video here.)

“Eat My Beat” follows “Sing Sang Sung” with a bit more auditory variation and substance. It serves as the feisty, uptempo second wind of the album before it winds down with “You Can Tell Everybody,” the pleasant afterglow that features a lilting, melodious beat layered atop a rolling drum line. Air also mixes a harp with its signature androgynous vocals in that song.

Following “You Can Tell Everybody” is  “African Velvet,” with a hint of rock and a smooth finish.

However, the album isn’t perfect. “Do the Joy” lacks the umph apropos for a leading track and falls flat under the grogginess of its fuzzy undertone. The song “Love” is heavy with repetition and sparse in lyrical diversity but it catches up in pace with a catchy hook.

“Heaven’s Light” follows a couple tracks later with a piece more true to Air’s musical style, which melds a rising cadence with a sense of emotion and urgency as it progresses. It’s a nice beat to chill to.

“Love 2″ feels a bit domesticated when compared to the untamed “Moon Safari,” Air’s 1998 debut album, which is rich in sexy, quirky dance beats perfect for any Parisian nightclub. Even the band’s 2007 album, “Pocket Symphony,” incorporated the use of traditional Japanese instruments amidst an introspective, electro-pop exploration.

But the tracks on “Love 2″ are varied enough to suffice. Some of the tracks are enjoyable as weightless background music and others are memorable enough to get stuck in your head.

Air has always successfully taken inspiration from a variety of musical styles to create something different and fresh. A sprinkling of synthpop, a bit of bossanova, a pinch of psychedelic ambient — whatever the flavor, “Love 2″ is littered with countless auditory morsels.

Fall preview: Entertainment in threes

Fall is here, and that means cooler weather, the turning of the leaves and new classes. It also signals the arrival of entertainment — lots of new books, movies and music. Here’s a snapshot of what’s new and soon to come this fall. Read more

A stitch(punk) in time saves “9”

Life as we know it has ceased to exist. At least not in the new film “9.” What remains of humanity, besides the heaps of metal and scrap mementos from the abandoned past, is not truly human. All that has survived in this post-apocalyptic world is a group of ragdoll-like beings, also described as “stitchpunk” characters. The term “stitchpunk” is the latest addition to a genre of terms with the “-punk” suffix, including “cyberpunk” and “steampunk.” Read more

Next Page »