Reviews in Real-Time: Tusk

So the “real-time” that it took me to watch this movie was ’til opening day. I purchased the tickets (ok, the wife did), got my drum of soda, sat down and proceeded to watch about 15 minutes of previews for horror movies that i will not see because i don’t like scary movies. So why am I here to watch this “horror” movie? Because it’s the new film “Tusk” by Kevin Smith and somehow I knew i would end up loving this movie.

Quick Back Story: The story is taken from Kevin Smith’s podcast (SModcast #259), Kevin and Scott Mosier pretty much create the plot of the story out of a Canadian story Kevin read about an old man looking to rent out a room in his home in exchange, the renter must for a certain amount of time each day wear Walrus suit and act like a Walrus so the old man can relive a time when he was stranded with a Walrus and befriended him. The movie is about a podcaster, played by Justin Long, who is in search of the weird and the interesting for his show. A failed guest opportunity in Canada takes him to find a lonely old man, played by Michael Parks, with a lot of amazing stories to tell but quickly things take a turn.

Back to the Review: I came to watch this movie because as a fellow podcaster, I love how stories and ideas can come out of conversations and this conversation resurrected the movie making career of Kevin Smith who had just retired from moving making. The film is another Kevin Smith classic but with a horror-ish twist. For those who listen to the SModcast, there any many references to the podcast and to the SModcast universe such as Kevin’s other podcast hosted by Ralph Garman, “Hollywood Babble-On“. It has a lot of inside jokes for the true SModcast fan!

On a Side Note: I am a BIG fan of Ralph Garman starting off with his comedic talent on the Kevin & Bean Morning show on KROQ 106.7FM in L.A. He is a great character actor and i’m sure you’ve seen or heard him in a bunch of movies and TV shows such as.. Red State, A Million Ways To Die in the West, The Joe Schmoe Show, voices on the Family Guy and a bunch more. Check out his iMDb page if you don’t believe me.

Back to the Review: I can babble-on all day about the movie and Kevin and Ralph because i’m a Smod-Geek. Kevin is one of my many inspirations for starting my own podcast and just letting my creativity and “whimsy” fly.

So in Closing: I loved this movie!! The actors were great! Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez, Ralph Garman.. they all made this movie come to life! Not to mention the writing and directing of Kevin Smith was awesome. I truly enjoyed this film and the fun adventure it took me on. It’s a fun, engaging, at times weird, horror-comedy film and it will make me stay tuned for Kevin’s next feature! “Babble-On” and “Have a week“.

Oh by the way….. GUY LAPOINTE IS MY NEW FAVORITE CHARACTER OF ALL TIME!!! Want to know what i mean? Who is he? What does he do? See the movie!

5/5 speakers (which means it’s great!)

Written by Eduardo Gomez
Airspeaker Podcast

Reviews In Real-Time: The Shane Song by Belle Rousse

A good mark of a successful song, no matter the level of success, is the “catchiness” of the song and the ability to be embedded in your head for a long period of time, making it seemingly impossible to get out. That is what the upcoming single by Belle Rousse, “The Shane Song”, does. We here at the Airspeaker Podcast were given the honor and opportunity to preview the track before it’s official release on September 10th, 2014 and so far it has not left my head.

With it’s infectious and poppy beats, this is a fun summer tune for your summer parties or cruising down the coast. It does have a certain Weezer-esc quality to it in which it has a simplistic approach lyrically but musically it still delivers a fun time. Included in the song is a question asking what it is about this boy Shane that makes him “so mother-fucking cool”. Leave it to a girl from Alabama to make California style tune.

Belle is a past, and hopefully a returning, guest on the Airspeaker Podcast who made her debut with an interview and with the song “IDKU” from the E.P. “Expressionate” on Episode #36 of the podcast.

So in summary, I was already a fan of her music – discovering her music through her Twitter – and her inventive versions of cover songs, so I wasn’t surprised that i would like this song. With “Speakers” being our version of stars, I give this song 4 out of 5 speakers. I gave this track a few listens and after every listen it just grew and grew on me. I’m interested to see what you all think of this song. I am also interested to see what more she has in store for us in the form of an upcoming album and beyond.

Written by Ed Gomez
Airspeaker Podcast
Twitter: @egomez277 / @airspeaker
Facebook: /airspeakerpod

“The Shane Song” will make it’s debut September 10th on www.belleroussemusic.com

Reviews in Real-Time: Capital Cities

Artist: Capital Cities
Album: Tidal Wave of Mystery
Released: June 4, 2013
http://www.capitalcitiesmusic.com

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy

Capital Cities is a dynamic duo (not of the Batman/Robin variety), a musical dynamic duo, reigning from Los Angeles. It’s members Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian have been collaborating musically since early 2008 when they initially found and met one another through a Craig’s List ad!!! They initially composed “jingles” for various advertisements and commercials. After approximately 3 years of success with jingle writing they decided to venture and create a musical collaborative, Capital Cities.

As Capital Cities they released their first album “Tidal Wave of Mystery” which includes their first hit single, “Safe and Sound”.
Their second single “One Minute More” (my favorite of their songs and the reason why I was ever compelled for my writing this review) arrived on the airwaves shortly after as yet another hit single. I feel that Merchant and Simonion found the perfect balance between a U2 style epic stadium rock and married it with an emotional and inspiring dance music. It truly is a beautiful piece. Simple and never forced, it flows naturally and gracefully.

With at least 2 hit singles in their pockets, two things are certain (listening to their other material):
1) these guys certainly are having fun with their music…
2) they truly have a feel for writing some catchy ass tunes…

I look forward to hearing what they create next? Check these guys out if you are looking for some fun heartfelt music.
“polluting the airwaves”…
RLeon-
MVH/Airspeaker Cabezon(es)

R.I.R.T.: Palosanto by Enrique Bunbury

Artist: Enrique Bunbury
Album: Palosanto
Released: October 29, 2013
http://www.enriquebunbury.com

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 3.5 out of 5 speakers

ENRIQUE BUNBURY…
In light of his latest album release Palosanto, I thought I’d take a few paragraphs to review the spanish lion man, singer-song writer, uber performer, Enrique Bunbury.

Enrique Bunbury, born Enrique Ortiz de Landázuri Yzarduy on August 11, 1967 in Zaragosa Spain has been gracing the world wide masses with his music and live performances since the early 80’s. After playing with a few initial early band incarnations Bunbury ultimately wound up being the front man to the historic spanish rock band Heroes del Silencio. From approximately 1984-1996 Heroes del Silencio earned world wide recognition and fame with massive album sales and massive world tours.

(In Rocktober of 1996 the Heroes del Silencio played their last show in Los Angeles until they would later reunite to play a greatest hits tour approximately 20 years later.)

HEROES DE SILENCIO
Enrique Bunbury’s solo career was born in 1997 when he recorded and released his first solo album Radical Sonora. This first attempt at solo creativity was a complete antithesis of the Enrique Bunbury the world had come to recognize while the front man for Heroes del Silencio. It was evident Bunbury made a conscious effort to clean his creative slate as he completely changed his physical appearance and went in a complete opposite direction with his musical efforts. Radical Sonora was a strong attempt at a fusion between Electronica and loud guitars. Radical Sonora though not very well received by the public (especially ALL the die hard Heroes fanatics),in my opinion, DID produce a few memorable tracks such as Alicia, Encadenados, and Alfa.

REVIEWERS NOTE
I was at one of the album signings for Enrique Bunbury’s solo album debut of Radical Sonora. Bunbury was very warm and thoughtful in his approach as a person. In retrospect, I suspect, although he fully believed in his attempt at a solo career and this NEW direction in music, he must have been scared shitless in the actualization that HE alone had to bear the weight of either his music’s success or utter dissapointment.

Two full years after his initial debut album, Bunbury released his follow up album Pequeno in 1999. The course of Bunbury’s solo career would change forever as this creative incarnation would catapult his career and music into a bonafide success. Bunbury, creatively reincarnated, was born and here to stay.

DISCOGRAPHY
Bunbury has released several albums since, in chronological order they are as follows: Radical Sonora, Pequeno, Pequeno Cabaret Ambulante (live), Flamingos, Una Cita en Flamingos (Live), El Viaje a Ninguna Parte, FreakShow (live), Hellville Deluxe, Las Consequencias, Gran Rex (Las Consequencias LIVE), Licenciado Cantinas, AND NOW PaloSanto.

Some memorable tracks off these albums include:
Algo en Comun, El Viento a Favor, Infinito, El Club de Los Imposibles, El Extranjero, Frente a Frente, Lady Blue, El Solitario, De Mayor, and Bailando con el Enemigo.

IN CONCLUSION
From Bunbury’s latest album, PaloSanto, I have thoroughly been enjoying the title track and first single Despierta, the celestial Mas Alto que Nosotros solo el Cielo, and the nostalgic El Cambio y la Celebracion. PaloSanto is an easy listening album with great accents in musical creativity and especially lyric content with Bunbury’s always recognizable and distinctive baritone roar. It’s an honest work, and sounds like an album that came very naturally to it’s creator. For the fans, it’s an album to fall in love with many times over. If you haven’t listened to much of Bunbury’s previous material, this album would be a good starting point as it captures the essence of Bunbury’s inexhaustible facets to his music. I simply admire the fact that this guy keeps putting out such quality work, time after time. In closing, quoting the Spanish Lion himself, “Hasta Siempre, que les vaya bien bonito!”

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 3.5 out of 5 speakers

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS REVIEW?? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.

R.I.R.T.: Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars

Artist: Bruno Mars
Album: Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Released: July 19, 2010
http://www.brunomars.com

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

QUESTION…
Is there a single that Bruno Mars has released that has NOT been an absolute smash hit!!!?
Bruno Mars (born Peter Gene Hernandez from Hawaii, from parents of Puerto Rican/Jewish/Phillipine, and Spanish descent) was officially introduced to US with his first single “Just the Way You Are”
in the Summer of 2010 (July 19,2010) from his astronomical debut album “Doo-Wop and Hooligans”.

“Her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining…”

Damnnnnnnn… C’mon, it’s so good, it ain’t fair!!!
Following the success of his first single, shortly thereafter, Mars released his second single “Grenade” (an ode to love martyrdom) in the Fall of 2010 (September 8th, 2010).

“You know I’d catch a grenade for you, throw my hand on a blade for you, jump in front of a train for you, do ANYTHING for you…”

Obvious crazy stupid love, the REAL shit! Both of these initial singles along with Mar’s debut album eventually helped him earn his first Grammy Award on February 13, 2011.

“It Will Rain” (my personal favorite Mars jam) was released on September 22,2011 as a single on the Twilight: Breaking Dawn soundtrack. Oops! Sorry Twilight junkies…Breaking Dawn, PART 1. Duhhh!!! Mars’ use of universal imagery and subtle dark undertones referencing narcotic hallucinogenic substances are perfectly balanced anologies which make for a beautiful haunting symphony of a song.

“If you ever leave me baby, leave some morphine at my door, cuz it would take a whole lot of medication, to realize what we used to have, we don’t have it anymore…if you walk away, everyday it will rain”

OKAY, SO PERKING THINGS UP…
Bruno Mars released the first single “Locked Out of Heaven” on October 1, 2012 from his second mammoth album “Unorthodox Jukebox” which debuted on December 11, 2012. Needless to say, “Locked Out of Heaven” reached #1 on various music charts. Bruno released other phenom hit singles shortly thereafter, the piano ballad “When I was your Man”, the funky “Treasure”, and the sexually driven “Gorilla”.

Bruno’s early success hasn’t only won him noteriety with a whole world full of devout Bruno Mars fans but also amongst other huge entertainers of which he has collaborated, such as, Snoop Dogg (Snoop Lion, etc.) and Wiz Khalifa.

All in all it’s very difficult to wrap my head around the simple fact that this guy has REALLY only been on the music scene since 2010. Incredible! I’m gonna go ahead and put out there that my gut and passionate ears foresee Bruno Mars being the “Prince” of what I’m affectionately calling The Now Generation. (And yes by Prince, I mean that mean musician of a man who partied like it was 1999). Prince to the 1999 Generation. Bruno to the Now Generation.

Look! Bruno can dance his ass off. Bruno plays a mean guitar and piano, along with other instruments. Bruno writes all of his own music. Bruno can sing. And Bruno is short. Yes, a tiny man just like Prince! The Biggest of things out of smallest of packages. I rest my case!!!

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS REVIEW?? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.

Reviews in Real-Time: Pure Heroine by Lorde

Artist: Lorde
Album: Pure Heroine
Released: September 27th, 2013
http://www.lorde.co.nz

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

LORDE
finally released her highly anticipated debut album Pure Heroine following up her enormous smash hit single Royals from her, The Love Club EP (2012). Pure Heroine on the whole is a great musical extension and continuance of what Lorde already demonstrated with her hit single Royals. This girl can flat out write a song and sing her ass off!!! John Little the other music/instrumental collaborator on the project needs only to offer a simple sound effect and old school hip hop drum track to give Lorde a instrumental foundation to lay down her melodic harmonizing vocal explosions.

ELLA MARIA LANI YELICH O’CONNOR
On tracks like 400 LUX, Team, and Glory and Gore, Lorde’s haunting vocal style and very personal lyrical content is reminiscent of Tori Amos (minus piano) and that’s not mentioning that Ella Maria Lani Yelich O’Connor AKA Lorde is only 17 years old. My only constructive critism is that I would accuse Lorde at times of being too comfortable in her voice. By this I mean that Lorde, in moments, demonstrates that she possesses quite the vocal range (from her vocal harmonies on Royals and Glory and Gore) yet throughout the entire Pure Heroine album she remains in her signature vocal range.

Now, whether or not this is a deliberate attempt on Lorde’s behalf to capture the essence of her album (as this signature vocal tone has certainly paid her millions to where she can say, Fuck it, why not!!!?) may only be evident to the listener through her future musical endeavors? If Lorde can continue to challenge herself as an artist, continue to astonish us with her creativity, and beautifully haunting musical expression I suspect that she will continue to impact artists and influence the future of musical expression especially for those of US that truly “will never be Royals”…

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

DO YOU AGREE OR DIASGREE WITH THE REVIEW?? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!!

Reviews in Real-Time: High Rise by Stone Temple Pilots

Artist: Stone Temple Pilots
Album: High Rise
Released: October 8th, 2013
http://www.stonetemplepilots.com

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

Listening to the new EP, High Rise by S.T.P. with Chester Bennington…

fills my ears with a freshness that I vividly recollect, coincidentially, (listening for the first time) to S.T.P.’s second untitled album otherwise known as “Purple”.

Writer’s note: First off, I will spare this review from contemplating and comparing the likes of two different vocal power houses such as Chester Bennington and Scott Weiland. Simply put, Weiland was fired from Stone Temple Pilots and if any other vocalist/front man could fit the S.T.P. mold (in my opinion) it HAD to be Chester.

One of my favorite things about the S.T.P. line up is how it’s always been THAT of a complete musical collaboration. A true band, in that, it is NOT limited to the presence of solely just one front man/lead singer. The DeLeo brothers and Kretz remain musical poets in their own right. With their signature STP sound, R. DeLeo constantly taking his bass for a walk, D. DeLeo thrashing solos, and E. Kretz banging percussions as they never stray from their dynamic sound. It’s fun creative music.

This is why I love and was so excited to hear about the musical collaboration between these two, already great entities, STP with Chester Bennington.

Out of Time, the band’s debut single, from their High Rise EP captures the embodiment of the perfect marriage between Stone Temple Pilots and Chester. I have reason to believe that this phenomenal pairing couldn’t have come at a better time. Please allow me to elaborate…

Chester Bennington, I’ve recently argued, seems to be at a crossroads in his vocal stylings. It seems evident to me that Chester is taking big strides and making huge attempts at being a more “complete” and “all around” singer/vocalist. One needs only to reference Linkin Park’s vulnerably expressed, Waiting for the End, and Castle of Glass where Chester does not scream his vocals, not once. That being said, all in all, it seems pretty obvious that Chester is quickly (and successfully in my opinion) transitioning, as a genuine vocalist, from SCREAMS of passion to SINGS of passion! Obviously on the High Rise EP you can still witness some of Chester’s signature screams but I’d say that 90% of Chester’s vocals are that of him singing the songs.

Other songs featured on this EP are Black Heart, Same on the Inside, Cry Cry, Tomorrow, along with their debut single Out of Time. So to all you Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots fans, yes, it happend, and with continued success this great collaboration of talented and creative performers may very well sustain the test of time as have their predecessors.

Damn!

S.T.P. has been around approximately 20 years!!! In listening to the EP, the band’s chemistry is undeniable and it’s difficult to fathom that this lineup has only existed for the better part of only one year. This collaboration seems born to play together. Chester’s unmistakeable and uncomparable vocals along with S.T.P.’s musical creativity is a MUST HAVE, so go out and GET SOME High Rise!

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

Reviews in Real-Time: Lightning Bolt by Pearl Jam

Introducing a new feature to the Airspeaker website… music reviews. Well technically, we will review more than just music but this is where we are starting. We here (the Airspeaker staff) are combining forces to write reviews to albums we feel you should take a listen to, if not for the first maybe to rediscover one you may have missed the first time. Why “in Real-Time”? Not everyone has a full day to listen to new music and frankly neither do we. Each Tuesday there are tons of new music being released out into the world. We may choose to buy an album but it may takes us days if not weeks to get through it all to make a valid opinion on whether or not we liked it or not. At times, there just may be more music that there is time to listen to. So we go back and listen to music that in some cases may have been released years ago that may have slipped by us and we may not be aware of it. That’s where we come in. Not only do we review some of the latest music being released, but we go back and review some albums you may have missed. We will use a rating system of “Speakers” from 5 to 1, 5 being the best rating. Even with our “speaker icons” not ready for this review, lets get started with our first album review.

Artist: Pearl Jam
Album: Lightning Bolt
Year: 2013
http://www.pearljam.com

Written by Will Rendon – @willrendon77
Airspeaker Album Rating: 3/5 speakers

Before I review Pearl Jam’s 10th studio album Lighting Bolt I must come clean.

I have been a devoted Pearl Jam fan since the release of their now classic debut album Ten in 1991. In the intervening 20+ years, Pearl Jam have continued to create solid rock music that may not be garnering lead singer Eddie Vedder the cover of Time Magazine anymore but they’re still here, still creating, still playing to sold out venues across the globe. My process for listening to a new Pearl Jam changed after 1998 when I saw them perform live for the first time. Now, when I listen to a new Pearl Jam I’m constantly asking myself.. “How is this song going to sound live?”. It’s usually the songs I feel will provide the better live experience that I like the most.

First and foremost the band sound great. The recording is dynamic and sounds like five guys in a room playing their hearts out. Pearl Jam can be accused of many things, but one thing they have not done is release an album that sounds like a band “going through the motions.” Lighting Bolt may not be the greatest album in PJ’s catalog but it’s not a phoned in mess a là The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels or Stone Temple Pilots No. 4.

These are the songs I am most excited to hear in the live setting:

Mind Your Manners – An infectious blast of surf/punk rock that has Vedder decrying the simplicity of unnamed conservative/religious groups in the face of today’s increasingly complex problems.

Lightning Bolt – The title track speaks of that woman that must be held on to no matter what the consequences are. Currently, this is my favorite song of the entire record.

Infallible – Sirens, was the second single released for this record but I think Infallible is the better version of this type of ballad that Pearl Jam does so well. Sirens is not a bad song, but I feel PJ have done this type of song before (I’m looking at you Light Years, Wash, Release, Better Man).

Sirens – What?!?! Didn’t he just diss this song? Well, kinda, but getting to hear Mike McCready play a 12 string acoustic guitar and do that beautiful solo is sure to make me love this song no matter how much I protest.

Swallowed Whole – This song sounds the most “Pearl Jam” to me of any on the record. A great up tempo rocker that is sure to sound great while the five boys thrash on their instruments.

Let The Records Play – I imagine the lights going dark and then out of Stone Gossard’s signature Les Paul this songs crunchy blues riff blasts through the arena. PJ have been champions of the vinyl platform way before it came into fashion again and have written songs about it before, most notably Spin the Black Circle. I would love to hear these two songs played back to back.

Overall,

I’m happy that I have new Pearl Jam music to blast through speakers but I do not believe this album will expand their fan base much. For those fans who haven’t heard anything past Vitology I urge you to try some of Pearl Jam’s later catalog. Their self-titled album from 2006 has been the best expression thus far, of how Pearl Jam continues to evolve and why they are still thriving so many years after many of their counterparts are now only parts of history. Pearl Jam continues to be a great band that puts out good records, but even more important to me they are a band that continue to put on explosive live performance. I’ll take an amazing concert over a great record any day.

Written by Will Rendon – @willrendon77
Airspeaker Album Rating: 3/5 speakers