Janet Jackson Discipline

Fuzzy Bits:

Released February 26, 2008

Last Album: 20 Y.O. (2006)

Sounds Like: A return to form at first, then the whole album derails right before your eyes.

Overall Rating: 73

  

Discipline is a decidedly misleading title for Janet Jackson’s latest release. Oh sure, the first half is promising, but quickly Jackson’s creative wheels begin to spin and apparently she just didn’t know when to stop. As we all know, "Feedback," "Luv," and to a lesser extent "Rock With U" are all very solid tracks but after "Can’t B Good" the album just loses it. "Never Letchu Go" and "Greatest X" are dismally boring, while "So Much Betta" wastes a perfectly good Daft Punk loop on generic lyrics that never culminate into any substantial piece of music. Jackson almost redeems herself on "What’s Ur Name" until she starts talking about putting some dude’s name on her Sidekick and hitting them up– and that’s probably the lyrical highlight. The title track, on the other hand, is another problem altogether. As the packaging suggests, "Discipline" certainly is sizzling, but not in any pleasant way. Lyrically, it sounds as if she had been spending the night perusing porn stories and decided to turn one of them into an inane, digitized, five minute fantasy that would make Jenna Jameson want to cover her ears and take a cold shower. The final track "Curtains" was probably thrown in as an attempt to diffuse the sour taste a listener would have in their mouth after wasting their last twenty minutes listening to the sexual frustrations of a 41 year old woman. It almost works, but most people– and even the most dedicated of Janet fans– certainly know better.

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New Roots: “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)”

And now for something completely different. Yes, guys and gals, the Roots are back with a vengeance. With their new album Rising Down coming out on April 29, they have unveiled a surprisingly edgy music video for "75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)." Directed by Rik Cordero, the vid looks a bit like Reservoir Dogs, with Tariq, ?uestlove, and the rest of the crew looking rather hardcore. Click here to check out the video, and for those that just want to stick only to aural pleasure, you can listen in below.

Note: Both video and audio are unedited versions of the song and contain explicit lyrics.

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Britt Daniel of Spoon on Black Cab Sessions

If you haven’t checked them out before, the episodes of Black Cab Sessions are always very entertaining and this chapter is no different. Spoon frontman Britt Daniel plays an acoustic version of "I Summon You" from their album Gimme Fiction and sounds quite good as the intimate setting seems to be Daniel’s favor. Video embedded below:

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BSotW: Air “Alpha Beta Gaga” (Mark Ronson Remix feat. Rhymefest)

Here’s a fun one for you guys. The b-side for this week is a very nicely done remix by Mark Ronson of Air’s "Alpha Beta Gaga" that also features Chicago native Rhymefest. Ronson brings his traditional percussive-heavy sound to the original blueprint, while Rhymefest is incredibly sharp and unobtrusive with his rhymes which works really well with Ronson’s production skills. A thoroughly enjoyable take on the original, this remix can be found on the Surfing on a Rocket EP.

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New LCD Soundsystem: “Big Ideas”

You might remember that earlier I mentioned that LCD Soundsystem had a new song ready for the soundtrack to the film 21 and for those of you that were curious and hadn’t heard it yet, here it is. It feels like something that could’ve easily been found on their workout 45:33 release, with the driving rhythm and guitars building up to the vocals that finally crack through at around the two and a half minute mark. A pretty fun track all in all, give a listen and see what you think. The soundtrack will be released on March 18.

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New Jim Noir: “Don’t You Worry”

The ever charming artist that brought you the TV commercial ready tunes "Eanie Meanie" and "My Patch" is back with a new album. Jim Noir’s self-titled sophomore release will hit stores on April 8, and from the sounds of "Don’t You Worry" it looks pretty promising. It’s not as immediately addicting as some of his other work, but it’s also a bit more interesting musically. Have a listen:

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New Jamie Lidell: “Figured Me Out” (LA Garage Mix)

Because we can never get too much Jamie Lidell around these parts, here’s something new direct from his website (click link for download). The LA Garage Mix is deliciously groovy with a supremely clever production that hopefully signifies a maturation on Lidell’s part. Lidell’s new album JIM will be released on April 29 with "Little Bit of Feel Good" serving as the lead single (release date April 14).

Full tracklist below:
1. Another Day
2. Wait For Me
3. Out Of My System
4. All I Wanna Do
5. Little Bit of Feel Good
6. Figured Me Out
7. Hurricane
8. Green Light
9. Where D’You Go?
10. Rope Of Sand

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Sasquatch! 2008 Music Festival takes the cake so far

While there are still some other music festivals that are currently unaccounted for in regards to lineup announcements, Sasquatch! 2008 boasts the most impressive lineup seen so far this year. Daring to be different from the other festivals, which are bordering on cookie-cutter, Sasquatch! 2008 have The Cure, R.E.M., The Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, and M.I.A. as their top billing artists. It doesn’t end there, however, as everyone’s favorite Kiwis, The Flight of the Conchords, will be present in addition to The Breeders, Built to Spill, The Hives, and many, many more. The Sasquatch! festival runs from May 24-26 at the beautiful Gorge Ampitheatre in Washington. For more info, go to sasquatchfestival.com.

Full lineup listed below:

R.E.M.
The Cure
The Flaming Lips
U.F.O. Show
Death Cab For Cutie
Modest Mouse
M.I.A.
Flight Of The Conchords
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Michael Franti & Spearhead
The Breeders
Built To Spill
The Hives
Tegan & Sara
The Presidents
Ghostland Observatory
Ozomatli
The New Pornographers
Blue Scholars
The National
The Kooks
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Cold War Kids
Beirut
Rogue Wave
Okkervil River
Fleet Foxes
Kinski
Mates Of State
Crudo (featuring Mike Patton & Dan The Automator)
Sera Cahoone
Battles
Destroyer
Dyme Def
The Blakes
Pela
Jamie Lidell
The Cops
Dengue Fever
Siberian
Say Hi
White Rabbits
David Bazan
The Little Ones
"Awesome"
Dead Confederate
The Heavenly States
65daysofstatic
Grand Archives
Vince Mira with the Roy Kay Trio
Joshua Morrison
Throw Me The Statue
J. Tillman
Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down
The Cave Singers
Matt Costa
The Shaky Hands

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Oscar Awards Recap

While Jon Stewart proved much better this time around, the show offered few surprises as it was pretty much dominated by No Country For Old Men. Apparently that wasn’t enough to draw in the TV audience however, as initial reports show that this years installment will, in fact, go down as the least watched Oscars show ever (ratings thus far are 14% lower than the previous least-watched ceremony). Something of a disappointment for me personally was that Paul Thomas Anderson was shut out altogether, with only best actor and best cinematographer going to There Will Be Blood. For those keeping score, my predictions came in at 67% correct– that’d be pretty good if I was a weatherman. Anyway, here is a full list of the winners:

Best Motion Picture
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men"
· "Atonement"
· "Juno"
· "Michael Clayton"
· "There Will Be Blood"

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"
· George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"
· Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
· Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"
· Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
WINNER: Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose"
· Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
· Julie Christie in "Away From Her"
· Laura Linney in "The Savages"
· Ellen Page in "Juno"

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"
· Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
· Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson’s War"
· Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"
· Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"
· Cate Blanchett in "I’m Not There"
· Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"
· Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement"
· Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"

Achievement In Directing
WINNER: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for "No Country for Old Men"
· Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
· Jason Reitman for "Juno"
· Tony Gilroy for "Michael Clayton"
· Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will Be Blood"

Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men" by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
· "Atonement" by Christopher Hampton
· "Away From Her" by Sarah Polley
· "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Ronald Harwood
· "There Will Be Blood" by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original Screenplay
WINNER: "Juno" by Diablo Cody
· "Lars and the Real Girl" by Nancy Oliver
· "Michael Clayton" by Tony Gilroy
· "Ratatouille" by Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco
· "The Savages" by Tamara Jenkins

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song)
WINNER: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for "Falling Slowly" from "Once"
· Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"
· Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas for "Raise It Up" from "August Rush"
· Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "So Close" from "Enchanted"
· Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "That’s How You Know" from "Enchanted"

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Score)
WINNER: Dario Marianelli for "Atonement"
· Alberto Iglesias for "The Kite Runner"
· James Newton Howard for "Michael Clayton"
· Michael Giacchino for "Ratatouille"
· Marco Beltrami for "3:10 to Yuma"

Achievement In Cinematography
WINNER: Robert Elswit for "There Will Be Blood"
· Roger Deakins for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
· Seamus McGarvey for "Atonement"
· Janusz Kaminski for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
· Roger Deakins for "No Country for Old Men"

Achievement In Film Editing
WINNER: Christopher Rouse for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
· Juliette Welfling for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
· Jay Cassidy for "Into the Wild"
· Roderick Jaynes for "No Country for Old Men"
· Dylan Tichenor for "There Will Be Blood"

Achievement In Costume Design
WINNER: Alexandra Byrne for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
· Albert Wolsky for "Across the Universe"
· Jacqueline Durran for "Atonement"
· Marit Allen for "La Vie en Rose"
· Colleen Atwood for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Achievement In Art Direction
WINNER: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
· Arthur Max and Beth A. Rubino for "American Gangster"
· Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer for "Atonement"
· Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock for "The Golden Compass"
· Jack Fisk and Jim Erickson for "There Will Be Blood"

Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER: "Ratatouille"
· "Persepolis"
· "Surf’s Up"

Best Animated Short Film
WINNER: "Peter & the Wolf"
· "I Met the Walrus"
· "Madame Tutli-Putli"
· "Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
· "My Love (Moya Lyubov)"

Best Live Action Short Film
WINNER: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)"
· "At Night"
· "Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
· "Tanghi Argentini"
· "The Tonto Woman"

Best Documentary Feature
WINNER: "Taxi to the Dark Side"
· "No End in Sight"
· "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
· "Sicko"
· "War/Dance"

Best Documentary Short Subject
WINNER: "Freeheld"
· "La Corona (The Crown)"
· "Salim Baba"
· "Sari’s Mother"

Best Foreign Language Film
WINNER: "The Counterfeiters" (Austria)
· "Beaufort" (Israel)
· "Katyn" (Poland)
· "Mongol" (Kazakhstan)
· "12" (Russia)

Achievement In Visual Effects
WINNER: Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood for "The Golden Compass"
· John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End"
· Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier for "Transformers"

Achievement In Makeup
WINNER: Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for "La Vie en Rose"
· Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji for "Norbit"
· Ve Neill and Martin Samuel for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End"

Achievement In Sound Editing
WINNER: Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
· Skip Lievsay for "No Country for Old Men"
· Randy Thom and Michael Silvers for "Ratatouille"
· Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood for "There Will Be Blood"
· Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins for "Transformers"

Achievement In Sound Mixing
WINNER: Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
· Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland for "No Country for Old Men"
· Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kanefor "Ratatouille"
· Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe for "3:10 to Yuma"
· Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin for "Transformers"

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Fuzzy Live: St. Vincent @ Schuba’s (2.23.08) [Early Show]

In front of a near sold out crowd (a sold-out second show came later that evening), St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) and her multifaceted band put on an outstanding hour long performance. I have a feeling her concert was cut short as the band got started over a half hour late, but despite that Clark and company made the most of it. Her vocals were just as solid live as they are in studio and the arrangements were incredibly varied, managing to incorporate choir bells, melodicas and other nuance instruments. Equally intriguing was seeing Annie Clark’s interactions with the audience, as she often seemed to be caught off guard by the random exclamations from the crowd (most telling was her deer in headlights response to someone yelling out "I love you Annie!"). What was most surprising about Annie Clark was her stage presence. as her generally sweet natured personality takes a back seat once she starts performing, especially when it comes to her wickedly edgy guitar solos. Her cover of the Beatles "Dig a Pony" was as effortless as it was gritty, and despite performing the song solo, she never appeared overwhelmed. She also debuted a new song, which was highly impressive despite it’s odd carnivalesque tendencies.  St. Vincent made the most of a wonderfully intimate environment, giving fans something to cheer for and relative newcomers a reason to want to see her once again.

Setlist:
01. Now, Now
02. Jesus Saves, I Spend
03. All My Stars Aligned
04. Human Racing
05. Landmines
06. Dig A Pony
07. Marry Me
08. New Song
09. Paris Is Burning
10. Your Lips Are Red

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