I got this in an email from my minister. He’s a blogger too, his site is Monkey Mind Online. I’m posting this in the best tradition of putting it out there.

Some might be surprised I go to church. Yeah, I know that Ann Coulter wrote a book called, ‘Faithless’. She wrote it about people like us. We don’t rate, on the spiritual rankings.

A few years ago, a clerk in Texas decided to rush in where philosophers, theologians and constitutional scholars fear to tread and decided that Unitarianism isn’t a religion–therefore not tax exempt.

Well, as a fundamentalist Unitarian, I declare that it has been revealed to me that the Texas clerk is going to Heck. Heck is a place where you listen to an interminable lecture about Ralph Waldo Emerson that rambles endlessly and never gets to the point, and then you have to drink coffee that is watery, with non-dairy creamer, and no one talks to you. And there are folding chairs that are even less comfortable than the pews. And you’ll spend eternity there, bwa ha ha, while those you persecuted eat bagels and read the New York Times. And they might drop a section on you, but it’s last week’s.

Texas clerk, don’t go to Heck. Repent today.

After all, who is a mere clerk to say whom God has welcomed or cast out? That’s for more important people, like Bishops. Bishops don’t get put on hold when they call God. They don’t get put on hold when they call the Governor, either. I don’t know what happens when they arrive at the velvet rope in front of the Gates of Heaven, and meet a rowdy group of Evangelicals who think Catholics aren’t real Christians. I won’t be anywhere near that brawl anyway.

Anyway, I do belong to a church, and I have a minister. This is what my minister wrote about Patrick Kennedy…

Dear Representative Kennedy,

I am under the impression you may be church shopping.

On behalf of the First Unitarian Church of Providence, I would like to invite you to consider visiting with us to see if this might not be your spiritual home.

I am a longtime admirer of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly its traditions of a profound spirituality and, by its best lights, a commitment to human dignity and justice.

Our liberal religious spirituality is based upon a profound respect for the individual while also knowing we are all woven out of each other and the world in a wondrous web of interdependence.

Based upon this insight we are also committed to human dignity and justice.

We share with the Catholic Church a commitment to racial justice and to the defense of immigrants, the homeless, the poor and others who suffer at the hands of the powerful and indifferent.

However, by our best lights, we have engaged some the great questions in somewhat different ways. We fiercely uphold the rights of women; in fact we have ordained women to our ministry since the middle of the nineteenth century. And even knowing there is a tragic element involved, as an Association we defend a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a fetus to term. Similarly, as an Association, we uphold the worth and dignity of bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgendered people, seeking full civil rights for BGLT people, including marriage equality.

The First Unitarian Church in Providence is the third oldest congregation in the city. It has a long history of seeking a spirituality grounded within our lived lives, and manifested through acts of mercy and justice.

We are located at the corner of Benefit and Benevolent streets. I’ve loved that since I came to serve among these good people and saw the signs. ‘Benefit’ and ‘Benevolent’ speaks of what our hope to be is, and often of who we are.

We welcome you and your family to visit us at any time, and to see if we might not be your spiritual home.

Yours, standing on the side of Love,

James

The Reverend James Ishmael Ford

Una de las bandas más interesantes que ha salido del Reino Unido en los últimos 5 años, ha alcanzado su popularidad gracias a los sencillos de sus dos primeros discos: Dancing Shoes, I bet you look good on the dancefloor, Fluorescent Adolescent o Teddy Picker, que además de pegajozos, sin duda son unos temazos. Ahora los chicos de Sheffield acuden al genio Josh Homme para grabar su tercer disco y los resultados son muy gratificantes.

Comenzando con My propeller, inmediatamente llama la atención que la banda se distancia del sonido del disco anterior, Favourite Worst Nightmare. Ahora no parecen estar apurados o necesitados de hacer las canciones más rápidas que puedan componer, lo que les permite experimentar con nuevas propuestas. Así, el cuarteto se americaniza y sustituye el frat rock por una ambientación lúgubre con un sonido ligeramente sucio, que recuerdan de cierta manera la propuesta stoner del desierto de California, que el productor Homme ayudó a forjar desde los noventa con bandas como Kyuss o Queens of the Stone Age.

En conclusión, Humbug termina siendo un disco que como nieto lejano del Mojave Desert, tiene un compendio de canciones muy parecidas entre sí, donde a pesar de que no hay temas que puedan reventar en la radio o que vayamos a escuchar en una fiesta, dejan claro que la banda liderada por Alex Turner no se conforma con escribir himnos para los borrachos de Inglaterra, y han comenzado a madurar su sonido. El resultado: uno de los mejores discos de este año.

torrent.

Video del primer sencillo: Crying Lightning

Segundo sencillo: Cornerstone

I was staying up way too late the other night and caught the Season 3 episode ” The Brig” on HD ( Why do I do this? I own all the seasons and can watch them at anytime! I guess there’s just something special about stumbling onto a program. ) Maybe because of the hour I started deducing this theory that can account for its ridiculousness. And yet, here I am, writing about it anyway.

In this episode, Sawyer finally does in the elusive “original recipe” Sawyer, Anthony Cooper… the man he sees as the one who ruined his life, by strangling him with a chain. This is because Cooper’s son, John Locke, cannot. But it’s assumed, Locke would if he could. Benjamin Linus, kills Mr. Cooper’s son, John Locke… the man he perceives who ruined his life, in a similar manner with an extension cord ( Season 5, ” The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”) . In turn, will Ben die, like Roger Linus, in an incident much like ” The Purge” ?

In the Season 3 finale, Jack Shephard is just about to make a suicidal move by throwing himself off a bridge in a drunken stupor, when he is stopped short by an accident on the road behind him. Christian Shephard, died in a suicidal drunken binge and threw himself into a fight he probably knew he couldn’t win (or at least, that’s what we were told).

So, this got me thinking… is this how things will end for the Losties? Will each of their demises ( if they take place) mirror those of their fathers/parents? Will Sawyer end up in a murder/suicide, possibly with Kate as his wife ? And will she die the same way as she killed her father i.e. in some kind of premeditated explosion?

There is another side to this scenario…

We saw Charlie’s mom in one episode but in ” Greatest Hits” she wasn’t there, especially noticeable absence during The Paces holiday/swimming lesson. Liam named his baby girl after Charlie and his mom in ” Fire + Water”. The way they spoke it sounded like she was no longer alive. Had Megan Pace given her life, possibly even in a sacrificial way, for her son(s) ? ( This is purely speculative…but it would be cool if we found that to be true somehow in Season Six).

David and Carmen are still around. So, does this bode well for Hugo?

Pierre Chang sent his son and wife away knowing that they would despise him, if it would save their lives. Miles finds out who his dad is and what he did for him. Miles, in turn, puts himself in a place of rejection by telling Pierre he is a time traveler to save his life ( and later, physically does rescue his father).

Does this work in reverse? Will Eloise get shot like she shot Daniel?

In this respect, is it fate or living by example?

I know… I know… I need to get more sleep.

Primeiramente existiu o grupo alternativo e independente de rock chamado Simian que se extinguiu em 2oo5. De seus membros, os remanescentes James Ford e James Anthony Shaw formaram o novíssimo Simian Mobile Disco que toca um som eletrônico e diferente da demanda. Já produziram bastantes trabalhos e hits, além de tocarem em certos lugares bem disputados.

Aqui para download Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release     Download

1 – Sleep Deprivation

Yes, I’m back with more nickname origins and this one’s from, who else….Sawyer.

In the Season One episode ” Whatever the Case May Be”, Kate is walking through the jungle alone…or at least she thinks she is.

Kate picks up a rock to defend herself against whatever is rustling in the jungle. She pitches at what she thinks might be a boar or worse. Instead, it is Mr. James Ford ( although no one knew that was his name yet.) To which, Sawyer jokingly grunts ” Me Kate! Me throw rock!”

Now, this nickname is a bit tricky. “Me Kate” is reflective of similar “branding” coming from the fictional quintessential Ape Man, Edgar Rice Burrows’ leading character from the classic tale ” Tarzan and the Apes” . ( ” Me Tarzan! You Jane! “)

Essentially, it is the story of a child who lost his parents during a violent animal attack in the jungle home they built after they were marooned in a shipwreck. He was raised by apes into his young adulthood but eventually was found several years later by some English explorers. Tarzan becomes ” civilized” but longs to be back in the wild with Jane, a woman who accompanied the team on their expedition of Tarzan’s homeland of Africa.

Orphaned boy… raised by another… needed to learn to be part of civilized society…” Me?! I’m in the wiiiild!” ? Nope…no similarities there!

And here’s a video just for fun to bring home the point.

( LOST -Toybox ” Tarzan and Jane” Posted by LexusLuthorus for youtube)

Cambios (oscuros) en la música de Arctic Monkeys.

Ya está aquí el tercer trabajo de la banda más exitosa de la era de internet:  Arctic Monkeys. Publican su tercer trabajo “Humbug”, diez canciones producidas entre Josh Homme, de Queens Of The Stone Age, quien ha dejado su impronta en la música del grupo, y de nuevo repiten también con James Ford, de Simian Mobile Disco, quien les produjo su segundo trabajo, “Favourite Worst Nightmare”.

Lo cierto es que el grupo le ha vuelto a dar una vuelta de tuerca a su sonido. Si empezaron con ese rock adolescente típico de la escena británica, en su siguiente trabajo se pusieron más maduros, aunque seguían teniendo ese espíritu adolescente, ahora, apagan las luces y se ven envueltos de oscuridad. Las canciones  no son tan instantáneas como en entregas anteriores que una vez escuchadas se quedaban en la cabeza para siempre.

“Humbug” rompe bruscamente con los dos discos anteriores, poco queda de “Whatever People Say I Am That´s What I´m Not” en este disco, parece como si hubieran perdido la energía que destilaban en cada segundo en los otros dos álbumes, en base, quizás a que los ritmos se han relajado. Las guitarras también suenan distinto, más americanas, con efectos diferentes, y cambiantes también en cada canción. Pero sin duda, en la voz es donde más cambio se nota, más oscura, más fuerte y en un primer plano.

Ante una primera escucha de absoluta incredulidad, las canciones se van quedando y quedando y poco a poco se van haciendo familiares, aunque no con la facilidad con que lo hacían en “Favourite Worst Nightmare”, hay que darles tiempo.

Desde la potencia del single de adelanto, “Crying Lightning”, el bajo es el que lleva los estribos en esta canción, y es que hay mucho de “cabalgar” en “Humbug” si no que se lo digan al ritmo propio de un western de “Secret Doors”. Fuego ardiente del desierto donde fue grabado el disco también queda presente en el disco, la muestra perfecta son las guitarras de “Potion Aproaching”. Pero sin duda lo mejor de este disco en “Cornerstone”, que le da un aire al Richard Haywley mas eléctrico, y también sin duda, lo peor es “Pretty Visitors” demasiado predecible y trillada.

Lo más interesante de este disco es que funciona, precisamente, como álbum. No se trata de un largo que contiene un single capaz de llegar al top 1 de las listas mundiales, como ocurría en los dos anteriores trabajos (“When The Sun Goes Down” y “Fluorescent Adolescent”). Aquí es necesario escuchar el disco al completo para llegar a entender que camino han tomado Arctic Monkeys, que no es otro que hacer lo que les ha dado la gana.

D’emblée… récapitulons : lancé en janvier 2006, le premier album de Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, les propulsa instantannément au firmament de l’indie-rock. Surfant sur la hype qui l’entourait, le groupe continua sur sa lancée en jettant sur les tablettes dans l’année qui suivi, coup sur coup, un EP – Who the Fuck are the Arctic Monkeys? - ainsi qu’un single hors-album – Leave Before the Lights Come on - pour enfin sortir, un an et demi après le premier, en avril 2007, un second long-jeu, Favourite Worst Nightmare, tout aussi bien accueilli. Si le groupe prit ensuite une petite pause, ce ne fut toutefois pas le cas du chanteur, Alex Turner, qui tabla sur un groupe parrallèle – The Last Shadow Puppets – qui nous offrit une très bonne galette en avril 2008. Et nous voilà, en août 2009, avec un quatrième album en moins de 4 ans pour Mr. Turner avec le Humbug des singes. Un rythme digne des années ‘60, quoi. (Pendant ce temps, The Strokes, qui a lancé son dernier album – First Impressions of Earth – avant le premier album des Arctic Monkeys n’a rien sorti depuis et est en principe encore en activité…)

 Dès la première écoute, l’on remarque que les gars de Sheffield (Grande-Bretagne, évidemment) ont ralenti quelque peu la cadence par rapport aux deux précédents albums. Néanmoins, le son est plus lourd. Lourd comme les premiers enregistrements métal - on y décèle quelques traits du Black Sabbath sale des débuts, celui encore teinté de psychédélisme, ou même celui de Queens of the Stone Age… normal son chanteur, Josh Homme, réalise 7 des 10 pièces (James Ford reprend du service pour les 3 autres).

Ainsi donc, guitares, batterie et basse ralentissent la cadence et sonnent un peu plus rond dans l’ensemble. La voix d’Alex Turner se fait aussi un peu plus basse et plus patiente, elle a un peu plus de soul même, elle excelle de plus en plus dans les moments les plus doux. Dans le même registre, des choeurs très bien arrangés (et non des réponses criardes comme auparavant) viennent agrémenter quelques uns des titres.

 L’ouverture, My Proppeler qui agence claviers et guitare acoustique avec un riff que ne renierait pas Metallica, table d’emblée sur les changements que j’ai déjà énoncés. Si elle démare en trombe, elle se calme rapidement pour évoluer tranquillement avec des choeurs et une certaine texture inédite au groupe. Suit le premier simple Crying Lightning, avec sa basse lourde et où on retrouve le son de guitare western spaghetti déjà travaillé sur Favourite Worst Nightmare.  Même chose avec Dangerous Animals, qui aurait certainement trouvé sa place sur ce dernier, mais qui symbolise tout de même à merveille la lourdeur nouvellement empruntée avec un riff relativement headbanger tout comme plus tard Pretty Visitors, qui rappelle The Horrors.

Puis avec Secret Door les Monkeys adoucissent le pas, sans nécessairement ralentir la cadence, et signent ici selon moi l’un de leurs meilleurs titres et l’un des plus émouvants. Bien travaillée, se développant tranquillement, elle aboutit à une finale tout en choeurs magistrale. Les relents de The Last Shadow Puppets y sont certes évidents, mais après l’expérimentation, la maîtrise est faite.

L’album reprend son cours avec Potion Approaching toujours lourd (particulièrement au pont) et salaud. Sur Fire and the Thud, Arctic Monkeys prend résolumment une tournure plus psyché, on se croirait dans un désert du western américain – la signature Josh Homme porte donc ses fruits tout comme Dance Little Liar où le groupe fait l’honneur à Alison Mosshart, de The Kills aux choeurs, d’être la première voix féminine sur un album du groupe. Ensuite, avec Cornestone, on retourne à une sonorité déjà travaillée sur des b-sides tels que No Buses ou The Bakery, Alex Turner s’y fait très lover. La finale, The Jeweller’s Hands, quant à elle, surprend par la richesse de sa texture et ouvre une nouvelle porte pour les prochains soubresauts du groupe…

Tout de même, je ne sens pas que Humbug soit une cassure, l’évolution qu’on y retrouve est tout à fait logique et bienvenue. Il est clair que l’épisode de The Last Shadow Puppets a marqué le travail du groupe, qui en a retenu d’excellentes leçon. Le canon de Arctic Monkeys s’en trouve donc plus qu’enrichi.

Enfin… Meilleur que les deux précédents? Je n’irais pas jusqu’à affirmer ceci, puisque l’album ne contient pas selon moi autant de hits que ceux-ci, mais il pourrait peut-être mieux vieillir que avec ses arrangements plus texturés ainsi que ses paroles plus réfléchies.

O que podíamos esperar do terceiro disco do Arctic Monkeys? Confesso que, mesmo considerando-os uma das melhores bandas da década, eu não sabia se Alex Turner e cia. teriam muito mais a nos apresentar. Em seus dois primeiros discos, eles haviam encontrado uma fórmula perfeita – com canções rápidas, dançantes e melódicas – mas que já não parecia oferecer novas formas de ser explorada. E numa época em que tendências e modismos envelhecem da noite para o dia, render-se ao “mais do mesmo” nunca soou tão démodé.

Os Monkeys tinham então um grande desafio pela frente, o de provar que não eram apenas mais uma ótima banda, com prazo de validade curto. E não podemos dizer que eles não se prepararam. Foram lá no deserto californiano buscar a ajuda de Josh Homme, trouxeram de volta James Ford (produtor do Favourite Worst Nightmare e do Last Shadow Puppets) e trabalharam por cerca de um ano em cima das novas canções. O resultado é Humbug – termo que pode ser traduzido como “fraude” –, lançado oficialmente no final de agosto.

A primeira impressão causada pelo álbum é de certa desconfiança. O som está bastante mudado, o ritmo desacelerou e as músicas adquiriram uma feição mais séria e um clima retrô, meio sessentista – como se vê claramente em faixas como “Secret Door” e “Fire And The Thud”. Mas ao final da última música, a sensação é de que algo está faltando. Talvez aquele arrebatamento que Whatever People Say I Am… causava. Ou aquela vontade de escutar o disco inteiro novamente que Favourite Worst Nightmare fazia você sentir.

Mas se Humbug está longe de ser fantástico como seus antecessores, ele também possui seus méritos. E méritos capazes de justificá-lo e fazê-lo valer a pena. A começar pelas próprias mudanças citadas anteriormente. Afinal, elas vêm responder exatamente à questão colocada lá na primeira linha do texto. Com um estilo renovado, o quarteto inglês mostra que tem ainda fôlego para buscar alternativas que levem o som da banda adiante – ao contrário de bandas como o Strokes, que optaram por um caminho aparentemente mais cômodo, mas que acabou se revelando uma rua sem saída.

A empreitada de Alex Turner com seu amigo Miles Kane já havia sido uma indicação de que cair na mesmice não era com ele. O Last Shadow Puppets nasceu exatamente da vontade de fazer um som diferente do que havia na época. E as influências que eles buscaram em bandas como Love e The Animals voltam a dar as caras em Humbug, ainda que de forma menos explícita. Até mesmo músicas do próprio Arctic, presentes em Favourite Worst Nightmare, já sugeriam pistas, involuntárias ou não, do que viria a seguir. “Only Ones Who Knows” e “505″, por exemplo, não se distanciam muito do que vemos nesse novo disco. E em Humbug, são justamente as faixas mais calmas, como “Cornerstone” e a já citada “Secret Door”, que proporcionam os melhores momentos.

Passado o choque inicial, dá até para reconhecer certas marcas da identidade sonora do grupo que se mantiveram. As linhas de baixo acentuadas de Nick O’Malley ainda estão presentes na maioria das canções. Alex traz novamente ótimas letras, conservando o jeito alegórico de descrever as cenas de suas histórias (“With folded arms you occupy the bench like toothache / Saw them, puff your chest out like you never lost a war”). E no final do disco, temos até um pouco daquele ritmo frenético de volta na faixa “Pretty Visitors”.

Assim, Humbug cumpre seu discreto papel de abrir novas possibilidades para o som da banda, sem descaracterizá-los completamente. Se não é este disco que fará os Monkeys serem lembrados num futuro distante, é ele que ao menos os levará até a próxima década. Pois com Humbug, esses quatro ingleses nos dão uma consistente prova de que “fraude” é algo do qual eles definitivamente não podem ser chamados.

artista: Arctic Moneys
álbum: Humbug
lançamento: agosto de 2009

Nota: 6,5

I was looking super forward to Simian Mobile Disco (James Ford and Jas Shaw’s) new release, Temporary Pleasure, since the acclaimed Attack Decay Sustain Release infected electronic enthusiasts two years ago. Staying within familiar formulas, their first release “10 000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong” reminded me a lot of “Sleep Deprivation”, a track made for Ibiza. Temporary Pleasure as the name suggests, is a short 41 minute 10 track pithy album featuring Beth Ditto (The Gossip), Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), and Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals). More after the jump!

Unlike what we’ve heard on ADSR, where hard hitting pseudo disco and electro house channeled into a dance structure, Temporary Pleasure is an infusion of old school rave and 90’s Eurodisco into a pop structure. Songs like “Bad Blood” (a very Hot Chip-py song circa Coming On Strong), and “Cruel Intentions” are good examples of the clubbier, poppier tracks. Similar to their first LP, Temporary Pleasure holds rare gems like “Pinball” which really demonstrate SMD’s true predilection for avant-electronica (Telepathe’s participation in the making and recording of this song would also be a factor).

Overall, Temporary Pleasure is a pretty dece album. Short and sweet. All but a few songs I have put on repeat quite a bit. I prefer the first album to this one but it’s not a bad follow up! Buy it here!

B+

MP3: Simian Mobile Disco – Cruel Intentions

MP3: Simian Mobile Disco – Pinball

O melhor álbum da banda? Não. Alex Turner e a galera do Arctic Monkeys resolveram juntar suas experiências de Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) e Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) e ousar novas sonoridades nas 10 faixas que compõem Humbug. É o que esperávamos, lógico, mas não com tamanha qualidade. Não que eu seja pessimista, mas é que tudo parece novo e ótimo nesse terceiro, o que o torna um primeiro pois nem eu nem você conhecemos esse Arctic Monkeys.

My Propeller, a primeira faixa do álbum, trás um Turner de voz sombria unida a guitarra e bateria marcantes fazendo uma junção deliciosamente envolvente e nova para a banda que conhecemos. Na seqüência, Crying Lightning e Dangerous Animals mostram que Josh Homme, líder do Queens of The Stone Age que foi chamado por nossos amiguinhos londrinos para dar uma força no novo álbum, fez o trabalho direito.

O medo dessas novas bandas indies é o de não errar, e como conseqüência, cair no esquecimento. Arctic Monkeys ousa não usar a fórmula do primeiro no terceiro, assim como fizeram Franz Ferninand em seu álbum Tonight, onde assumem um tom obscuro e inovador, e até mesmo The Killers, que a cada álbum trás uma novidade sonora, nunca se repetindo, sempre inovando, e é isso que nossa geração quer. Ousadia é a palavra chave. Secret Door e Cornerstone tem um “q” de Favourite Worst Nightmare pois foram produzidas por James Ford. O que não quer dizer que sejam menos do que as outras faixas, apenas que destoam. Tirando a letra sem muito sentido (que amo) de Potion Approaching e falando sobre o som e a bela balada Dance Little Liar me fazem comparar esse como o álbum Smiths do grupo, já que a grande maioria compara os meninos ao Oasis, o que nunca vi.

Um fake do Arctic Monkeys que conhecemos? Um humbug? Talvez. A certeza que tenho é que esse álbum está muito ótimo e já grudou no meu ipod ao lado de seus irmãos mais velhos.

This week sees the return of the godfathers of the Brit remix, Simian Mobile Disco as they unleash their second LP proper, Temporary Pleasure, a record brimming with cameos from underground heroes, cold-shoulder strobing synths and their most mashed trash hit since Sleep Deprivation. Giving in to the commercialist ways of the world this ain’t but just how Temporary is the Pleasure this time around? Blasting off into orbit is opener Cream Dream, with its spiralling, surreal loops bouncing frenetically off of Gruff Rhys’ forever divine vocals. Lyrically, there’s not a golden retriever nor snow-tipped Japanese mountain in earshot but as collaborations go, it’s almost seamless. Breath is well and truly baited for a SMD-produced Super Furry Animals outing… Elsewhere, the subdued, vocoded disco destroyer in-waiting, Audacity of Huge is what Smash Hits was made for aeons back. Featuring Yeasayer’s Chris Keating, whether or not it’d have made as many covers as Ronan is about as dubious as the barking effects around 2 minutes in but it’s about as audacious a voyage as James Ford and Jas Shaw have dared to assume. Beth Ditto belts nostalgically and poignantly on Cruel Intentions, a retro heartbreaker in the vein of MSTRKRFT’s Legend-featuring slab of electro genius. The filthy, trashy keys of Off the Map are alluringly dangerous, as if they’d whisk you away into the dingiest SoHo corner and feed you mind-wrecking nameless substances whilst Synthesise follows on with darkly nostalgic 90s humming radar blips. Pinball pangs, tribal trips and the deadpan contribution of Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor transform the whirring circus madness of Bad Blood into the most uneasy full-blooded naughties track yet to be devoured by one more NBC/ Fox/ ABC/ CBS (delete as appropriate) vampire show. Leaving it late however, the understated Brooklyn charm of Telepathe batters closer Pinball into a hallucinatory state of submission, stars winding their way round confused charicatures before the memory of the duo’s darkest, dirtiest doings to date disintegrate into subconscious memory. Whilst Temporary Pleasure may not linger about for as long as The Lemonheads, it’s pure pleasurable ecstasy in parts, while it lasts…

Gladiator, de Lord of the Rings trilogie, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight en Slumdog Millionaire. Iedereen kent ze wel, deze blockbusters uit de 21e eeuw die de verwachtingen meer dan waarmaakte.

Er is echter veel meer. Sinds de eeuwwisseling zijn er namelijk ook heel wat prachtige films gemaakt die niet massaal in de bioscoop zijn verschenen en die nog steeds consequent over het hoofd worden gezien. De komende elf weken zal ik aftellen van 16 naar 1 voor de beste onbekende pareltjes van de 21e eeuw. Deze week de nummer 9: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Hij die stal van de rijken en gaf aan de armen. Nee, we hebben het niet over Robin Hood maar over een modernere held. Jesse James is zijn naam en The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is niet de eerste film die over deze westernheld is gemaakt. Wel is het met afstand de beste.

Jesse James, de mythevorming rond deze revolverheld uit het wilde westen is in de loop der jaren alleen maar groter geworden. De man, die het met zijn bende opnam tegen de grootgrondbezitters die het land van de armen afnamen, heeft in Amerika een absolute heldenstatus. En toch is het niet dit moderne sprookjesverhaal waar The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford zich op richt. Veel meer gaat de film over de laatste maanden van Jesse James en zijn bende. De maanden waarin de negatieve karaktertrekken van James de hoofdrol spelen. Zijn opvliegende, onvoorspelbare en wantrouwende karakter dat ervoor zorgt dat het allesbehalve makkelijk is om sympathie voor deze legende te krijgen. Deze zoektocht naar de man achter al die spectaculaire jongensboekverhalen zorgt voor een bijzondere film waar echter de liefhebbers van de klassieke westerns waarschijnlijk minder plezier aan zullen beleven.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is namelijk geen film waarin de spectaculaire overvallen of de klassieke shoot-outs je om de oren zullen vliegen. Veel meer is het een boeiende strijd, zonder wapens, tussen Jesse James en Robert Ford. De verhouding tussen James en Ford wordt op een briljante manier neergezet. De hele film voel je de spanning die tussen de twee in staat. Dat dit uiteindelijk fout af loopt spreekt voor zich voor wie de titel vertaalt.

Brad Pitt is de man die de rol van Jesse James speelt en hij doet dat met verve. Grootste compliment moet echter niet gemaakt worden aan Brad Pitt, maar aan zijn tegenspeler, de lafaard uit de titel, Casey Affleck. Affleck speelt in de vorm van Ford een man die idolaat is van Jesse James. Hij wil niets liever dan in het gevlei komen van en een leven leiden zoals zijn grote held Jesse James. Affleck weet dit met zoveel overtuiging en geloofwaardigheid neer te zetten dat het bijna eng is. Als Jesse James in de film op een gegeven moment dan ook aan Ford vraagt of hij ‘net zoals hem wil worden of dat hij Jesse James zelf wil zijn?’ blijft het dan ook niet alleen stil bij Ford maar moet je als kijker het antwoord ook schuldig blijven. De rol van Robert Ford is dan ook meer nog dan Jesse James de absolute sleutelrol in de film. Ook de metamorfose die Affleck doormaakt gedurende de film is een indrukwekkende. Langzamerhand zie je de tiener die niets liever wil dan een vriend van zijn held zijn, veranderen in een gefrustreerde man die er niet mee kan omgaan dat niemand ziet wat hij in zijn mars heeft.

De film is in de eerste plaats dan ook een fantastische karakterschets van deze twee tegenpolen die echter meer gemeen hebben dan op het eerste oog lijkt. Toch heeft de film wel één klein minpunt. Dat zit hem in de voorspelbaarheid. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford werkt namelijk op een geweldige wijze toe naar een climax waar de verrassing echter al volkomen af is door de titel van de film. Toch weet de film zelfs met deze titel de weg naar het zinderende einde toe bijzonder interessant te houden en dat is al een prestatie op zich.

Tot slot nog wat extra lof voor de werkelijk adembenemende mooie beelden in de film. De film ziet er uit om door een ringetje te halen en zeker de flashbacks zijn werkelijk betoverend. Deze moderne western heeft kortom alles wat een goede film behoort te hebben en hoort daarom eigenlijk veel hoger in deze lijst. Omdat de film echter minder onbekend en meer gezien is dan de meeste andere films in deze lijst blijft The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford steken op plek 9.

Eis om in deze lijst te komen was dat een film minder dat 50.000 stemmen op IMDB had. Vanwege deze regel heb ik helaas Mulholland Drive, Magnolia, Garden State, The Wrestler en The Fountain nipt buiten de lijst moeten houden. Deze pareltjes hier nog even noemen kan echter nooit kwaad. Ook staan er geen documentaires in de lijst waardoor Young @ Heart ontbreekt.

Episodes eleven through fourteen of season 2 of ABC’s hit television show Lost first aired from January 18, 2006 until February 15, 2006.

Plot Synopsis

After surviving on a mysterious Island for over a month after a plane crash, the search for rescue has taken a back seat. When the survivors discover an underground bunker built by an organization named The Dharma Initiative, the era of exploration and discovery begins. As it becomes increasingly clearer that there are other inhabitants on the Island, thoughts turn to defense rather than only survival.

Initial Reaction

Week 10 of my Lost Rewatch finds me reviewing the episodes “The Hunting Party,” “Fire + Water,” “The Long Con,” and “One of Them.” The first and last episodes of this block are phenomenal, but I really felt “Fire + Water” and “The Long Con” represent a kind of misstep for the Charlie and Sawyer characters. They sort of relapse back into their previous ways, even after all of the character growth they have undergone. Not to say this is a bad thing, but it’s just a little disappointing. Ultimately they do redeem themselves, but this is a dark time for both characters. “One of Them” introduces one of the show’s best characters, a man named Benjamin Linus. And so the fun begins.

In-Depth Discussion

In “The Hunting Party,” we get a Jack flashback in which he is asked to perform surgery on a man’s spine by his attractive daughter. Jack has gained a reputation as a “miracle” worker after Sarah’s amazing recovery. After getting involved in the case, he kisses the daughter. After confessing to Sarah, she reveals that she has been having an affair and they should be divorced, telling him, “You will always need something to fix.” On the Island, Michael locks Jack and Locke in the vault of the hatch, and runs off to save Walt. Needing his bandages changed, Sawyer goes with Kate to the hatch just in time to push the button and let them out. Sawyer, Locke, and Jack grab weapons and go after Michael, leaving Kate behind to tend to the button. By nightfall, they reach a spot in the jungle and are greeted by “Mr. Friendly,” aka “Zeke.” He tells them the Island is theirs, and Walt is a “special” boy. He uses Kate as a bargaining chip (because she snuck out to follow them all), and tells them to never cross the “line” to look for Michael, or it will mean war. Later, Jack approaches Ana Lucia and asks what it will take to train an army.

In “Fire + Water,” we get a Charlie flashback in which we witness the decline of Drive Shaft. Liam is in full-on druggie mode, misses the birth of his daughter, and collapses during a commercial shoot. Later, he sells Charlie’s piano without permission. On the Island, Hurley begins talking to Libby and strikes up a friendship with her. Charlie begins having vivid dreams that tell him Aaron is in danger. With his relationship recently on the rocks, he tries unsuccessfully to patch things up with Claire. As his dreams become more defined and surreal, he is convinced he must somehow save Aaron from danger by baptizing him. When he wakes up holding the baby in the middle of the night, everyone suspects that he has started using drugs again. Locke discovers Charlie’s stash of heroin statues and takes them away, storing them in the hatch vault. Later, Charlie starts a fire as a distraction and takes the baby to baptize it. At this point, everyone fully doubts Charlie’s sanity and shuns him, but Claire is convinced that he means well in spite of it all. She goes to Eko, and he performs the baptism for her.

In “The Long Con,” we get a Sawyer flashback. We meet Cassidy, the newest victim of the same con we saw Sawyer pull before in “Confidence Man.” She sees right through the con, however, and asks him to teach her everything he knows. After a long time getting to know her and teaching her, he eventually takes her for all her money and leaves her. On the Island, Locke and Jack decide to consolidate all valuables in the vault and keep the combination between the two of them, including guns and the medicine. Jack takes all the medicine from Sawyer’s stash, which angers him greatly. Meanwhile, Ana Lucia and Jack are still planning to start training people to fight. While in her garden, Sun is attacked, alarming everyone and fuelling the fire for Jack’s plans for war. Sawyer convinces Kate that the attack was staged to provide motivation for Jack’s army plans, and blames Ana Lucia. Locke, fearing escalation, listens to Sawyer and decides to hide the guns in the jungle. Later, Sawyer reveals that he has the entire stash of guns, claiming that “there’s a new sheriff in town.” We later see Sawyer and Charlie in the jungle, and it is revealed that Charlie helped Sawyer get the guns by following Locke to the hiding place. Charlie wanted to get back at Locke for embarrassing and punching him in “Fire + Water,” and was also responsible for the attack on Sun. When Charlie asks how anyone could think of a plan like that, Sawyer replies, “I’m not a good person, Charlie. Never did a good thing in my life.”

In “One of Them,” we get a Sayid flashback in which he is captured by American forces and used as a torturer to gain information. On the Island, Ana Lucia gets Sayid and tells him she has seen “one of them” in the jungle, but it turns out to be Russeau, who claims to have something important to show him. She reveals that she has captured one of the Others in a trap, and it is none other than Benjamin Linus, who currently claims to be a man named Henry Gale from Minnesota. He attempts to escape, but Russeau shoots him with an arrow. Sayid carries him back to the Swan, where they put him in the vault. He says he and his wife crashed on the Island while trying to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon. Jack takes the arrow out of his shoulder, and Sayid convinces Locke to change the combination in order to “get the truth out of him.” Sayid proceeds to torture “Henry,” to the protests of Jack. When the alarm sounds for the button, Jack stops Locke from pressing it before he opens the vault door. Locke barely gets to the button in time, causing hieroglyphics to appear in place of the countdown timer. Sayid is convinced that “Henry” is “one of them,” but Jack is not convinced.

Casual Observations

• By the time The Hunting Party rolls around, it’s clear that everyone has fully bought into the notion of “pushing the button.” I thoroughly enjoy the analogy created in season 2 of faith in regards to pushing this button, and Locke’s season-long test of faith.
• The scene of the first open confrontation between Jack, Locke, and Sawyer and the Others in the jungle is one of the most iconic images from the entire series. It is in this first conversation that we get a hint of some over-arching leader of the Others, when Tom mentions “somebody a whole lot smarter than anybody here.” Also, he says, “Bring her out, Alex.” We later find out he was speaking to Russeau’s daughter, who has been raised as an Other her whole life.
• Locke mentions to Sawyer that he knows his real name, James Ford. From this point forward in the series, Locke never calls him “Sawyer” again. He always calls him “James.”
• The “army” Jack proposes to start with Ana Lucia never really took form. None of the survivors were really interested in getting involved in physical confrontation.
• And so the legend of Geronimo Jackson begins when Hurley and Charlie find their record in the hatch. There are numerous mentions of the fabled band throughout the show.
• The commercial director says the band he really wanted for the shoot was “Dirt Spigot.” Fantastic name.
• Eko is making preparations to build his church in “Fire + Water” by marking trees. We find out later he is doing this to make amends to his brother Yemi, but the church is never completed before Eko loses his life.
• In “Fire + Water,” we get our very first reference to Widmore. In the background of one of the flashback scenes, there is a sign for Widmore Construction.
• Another “Scott / Steve” joke happens in “The Long Con” in a conversation between Ana Lucia and Jack.
• Cassidy is a big part of the show’s mythology. During the time of the flashback in “The Long Con,” she becomes pregnant with Sawyer’s child. At some point after this, she meets up with Kate and teaches her how to become a better thief, and also helps her see her mother. Even later, after they leave the Island, Kate strikes up a friendship with her again and brings Aaron over to play with Sawyer’s child Clementine.
• Hurley tries to cheer Sayid up in “The Long Con” by giving him the radio found by the “tailies.” Sayid fixes it, and they hear a radio station with a song named “Moonlight Serenade” playing, which was recorded in the late 30’s. Sayid says the signal could bounce off the Earth’s atmosphere, and could be coming from anywhere. Hurley jokes, “or any time.” The funny thing is, this could very well be true, as we saw radio transmissions travel through time in season 4 with Daniel Faraday and the freighter people.
• In “One of Them,” Sayid runs into two important figures in Lost mythology – Kate’s father Sam Austen and Kelvin Inman, the man who taught Desmond everything about the Swan hatch.
• In “One of Them,” we find out Hurley has a secret stash of Dharma food he has kept since the big party in “Everybody Hates Hugo.”
• A big question I’ve always had is this – did Ben accidentally get caught in Russeau’s net, or did he intentionally do it in order to infiltrate the survivors’ camp? I would believe either explanation.
• Fun Fact – “Henry Gale” is the father of Dorothy Gale, the main character in The Wizard of Oz. Lost has many similarities to this work of fiction, as it does with others such as Through the Looking Glass.
• The hieroglyphics on the countdown timer are the first hint at the ancient past of the Island. It is the Dharma Initiative’s way of paying homage to those who came before them. Later, the hieroglyphics were confirmed to spell “Underworld.”
• Sayid and Ben’s dark history begins in “One of Them” when Sayid tortures him for information. Much later, Ben will use Sayid to kill for him. Even later than this (from Sayid’s perspective), Sayid will travel back in time to a point when Ben is a child, and attempt to prevent all of this pain by killing him. In effect, Sayid will cause Ben to become the person he is, or at least play a part in his descent.

“I got that crank trippin’ baby shoe
I got that grape kool-aid filled swimming pool
I got those Roomba robots that clean the floor
I got that mother of pearl oyster fork for sure
I got that Tammy Faye milk money butterscotch
I got that Mama Cass you know I got that Peter Tosh”

It wasn’t that long ago when I first discussed our dance heroes, Simian Mobile Disco, when news first broke out of their long awaited return to the fold after a stunning debut record. Well, the time has come and the official first single has arrived and it couldn’t disappoint even if it tried. Presenting Audacity Of Huge taken from the duo’s second record entitled Temporary Pleasure due out Stateside on the 17th of August via Interscope.

Audacity features vocals by Chris Keating of Yeasayer and lyrically is a mish-mosh of pop culture references to sing along to. That said, leet’s be honest, Keating could be singing about contracting swine flu and it wouldn’t matter because the bounciness of the song itself is enough to ensure its repeat value ranging between “often” and “constant”.  I don’t think it’s enough to simply say that I love this band and I love this track. I must also say that it’s a testament to Messers Shaw and Ford that they’ve been able to what only the best of the best techno bands have been able to do:  ensuring pop sensibilty rests on an even plane with the danceability. From groups like Underworld,  the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers, it’s safe to say that SMD is about to enter that pantheon and dance music is all the better for it.

“Audacity Of Huge”, taken from the forthcoming Interscope release, “Temporary Pleasure”

With very little ado about something, Arctic Monkeys have quietly sent the world a five-song “Web Transmission”, offered as a preview of their forthcoming third album, entitled Humbug. With much-analysed trips to the Mojave Desert, and a length of time spent in the company of a certain Mr. Josh Homme, the band have certainly raised expectations a notch – whereas no-one realised what a change of style Favourite Worst Nightmare would herald, the general perception of Humbug is that it’s not exactly going to be eleven re-treads of “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”. Lead single “Crying Lightning” confirmed this: four minutes of eerie, muggy and fuzzy desert rock, with siren-like guitars wailing behind Alex Turner’s typically evocative lyrics (this time with added confectionery!).

The webcast, then. There’s nothing too spontaneous about this – Radiohead’s Scotch Mist this certainly is not. The band are silhouetted in a shadowy warehouse environment, with numerous video screens showing looped close-up footage of a woman’s eyes. Now blessed with an additional fifth musician on-stage, contributing additional guitar and keyboards, the band launch into “Pretty Visitors”, where a carnival organ collides with jagged guitars. The chorus locks into a loping waltz, before a second guitar kicks in halfway through with kind of Queens Of The Stone Age-style slide work that we have come to expect. Then it’s back to the spooky waltz for the outro. The song is sprawling in its ambition, and yet tight in its musicianship – the perfect opening salvo, I suppose.

Next, the band tackle “Crying Lightning”, with a rendition that is less dependent on that intense, brain-mashing bass, and more open to improvisation with the desert-y wailing guitar. My reactions so far to Turner’s vocals are that he’s not so much singing, as attempting a kind of lurching, viscous style of rapping. Throughout, he remains resolutely sombre and dark – one has to wonder how such a tortured and complex individual tessellates so well with Alexa Chung.

The third song, which is called “Potion Approaching”, begins in a simple manner, with a repetitive, chugging riff on both guitar and bass. This whining, strangled lead guitar sound shows no sign of abating, and it’s difficult to compare it to anything else except the majority of Lullabies To Paralyze. A sludgy, psych-y refrain boasting the portentous lyrics “Yours is the only ocean that I want to hang onto” leads into a slowed-down, glammy bridge, and then back to the original chug.

Now, here comes a real highlight, as Arctic Monkeys treat us to their cover of Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand”, with its Jarvis Cocker-esque lyrics that speak of viaducts, mills and stacks. The organ is mournful, and a humid middle section eventually explodes into an angry, angry outro.

The final song, for which I have no name, sadly, is a beauty. Beginning with a plinky piano intro, over which Alex Turner adds some wonderfully appropriate guitar, it alternates between a pretty, dance-y beat, and a half-speed Scott Walker ballad, with starry-eyed melodies and coo-ing backing vocals. And then, far too quickly, it’s all over, and the screen cuts to black.

First impressions? It’s not such a huge step away from the more sinister second half of Favourite Worst Nightmare as the Chinese whispers would have us believe. There’s a lot of organ, of a variety more akin to The Doors than The Horrors; the lead guitar tone appears to be fixed on a sound last heard wailing through Queens Of The Stone Age at their most tortured; and of course, Matt Helders’ drumming is characteristically enviable. The general ambition displayed in the songwriting is definitely a step forward, with sprawling song structures and a lot of effort being paid to making each minute of each song different from the last. Undoubtedly, Humbug is going to be more of a grower than its two predecessors – in all likelihood, it will alienate some of the band’s least intellectually-minded fans. Which is no bad thing, judging by the typical crowd at an Arctic Monkeys gig. I suppose the hope must be that some impressionable young people who got into Arctic Monkeys as a gateway into indie music will hear the sophisticated craft of Humbug and use it as a gateway into a whole host of interesting and challenging rock music, which the band is clearly locked into right now. I’m going to have to wait till August 24th, when the album is released, but I do think I’m going to like it, as a uniquely dark and turmoil-filled creature.

Logo depois da menção, no post anterior, do Simian Mobile Disco, um grupo inglês que toca remixes modernos, o pessoal da banda Labmusica, coincidentemente, indicou o vídeo abaixo.

Este tipo de vídeo, simples, de baixa resolução, que apela para o mídia viral, está no auge da evidência, contrapondo-se ao exibicionismo tecnológico que alguns videoclipes fazem questão de exibir. Cada um com o seu objetivo, em suas diparidades. Ainda bem.

Simian Mobile Disco – Hustler (2009)
 

Abaixo, outro vídeo que virou sucesso absoluto na rede.

Calma, tem tarjas.

Matt & Kim - Lessons Learned (2009)
 

post: Gustavo

Heath Solo from The LOST Revisited Now, recently had the unbelievable opportunity to sit in on an actors’ workshop with the one and only , Mr. Josh ” Sawyer/James Ford/LaFleur” Holloway!

Here’s the description of the episode…

Hosted by: Heath Solo
Title: Episode 64 – “Heath Solo’s night with Josh Holloway”
Time: 07/29/2009 04:28 PM EDT
Episode Notes: Heath Solo was one of 65 people who attended the Ardavany Approach actor series in Santa Monica, CA on Tuesday July 27th, 2009. The special guest was actor Josh Holloway, who of course plays Sawyer on the hit series Lost. Heath spent 2 hours listening to Josh talk about his craft and “The Incident” scene with Juliet. There was a Q and A and it was awesome! This is the first attempt not to record a podcast with Talkshoe. So enjoy Heath Solo’s account of the evening. ( Approximately 37 minutes)

www.heathsworld.wordpress.com

Thanks for sharing about this special night with us, Heath!
If you want to contact Heath, you can email him at : thelostrevisited@gmail.com

Finalmente, foi divulgada a data de lançamento do novo álbum do Arctic Monkeys. O “Humbug”, terceiro da banda, estará nas lojas dia 24 de agosto.

Mas, tecnológico e ansioso que o mundo é, eles apresentarão as novas músicas ao vivo pela internet, na próxima quinta-feira (30.07). O show poderá ser visto no site oficial da banda, às 17h horário da Brasília (9 p.m. in London).

As expectativas em cima deste disco são enormes. Além de ser o terceiro trabalho de uma das promessas que demostrou densidade capaz de superar a efemeridade habitual às bandas atuais, contou com dois produtores que estão na ponta da música: James Ford, que já tinha produzido o disco anterior “Favourite Worst Nightmares” (2007), e o requisitado Josh Homme, que levou a banda para gravar sob o clima marcante dos desertos da Califórnia.

James Ford é músico e produtor. Além de seu trabalho com os Arctic Monkeys, ele é um dos integrantes do Simian Mobile Disco, um time de produção de remixes, o baterista do The Last Shadow Puppets, banda de Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) e Miles Kane (The Rascals), e produtor de vários discos, como o premiado do The Klaxons, “Myths of the Near Future” (2006), além de um do Mystery Jets, Test Icicles e Peaches.

Josh Homme é o líder de uma das mais influentes bandas da atualidade, o Queens of The Stone Age, além de formador dos projetos paralelos Desert Sessions (com a PJ Harvey), e Eagles of Death Metal, ambos idolatrados. Homme é um dos nomes mais cobiçados atualmente, e uma parceria desta com o Arctic Monkeys, considerado hoje top do rock moderno, só pode ser aguardada com incontrolável ansiedade e apostas altíssimas. Que venha a apresentação na internet, e que venha o disco pra gente comprovar.
 

Abaixo, um single novo já liberado, Crying Lighting.

post: Gustavo

Az Arctic Monkeys az elmúlt hetekben több környező országban is koncertezett (Horvátország, Szerbia, Ausztria, Lengyelország, Csehország), és ezeken a fellépéseken már játszott dalokat az augusztus végén megjelenő, ‘Humbug‘ című albumáról is. Alex Turnerék úgy döntöttek, hogy az első “igazi” lemezbemutató koncertet a világon bárki megtekintheti, azt ugyanis streamelt változatban az interneten keresztül élőben követhetik figyelemmel a rajongók…

Az adás július 30-án, csütörtökön este 9 órától (brit idő szerint) lesz az Arctic Monkeys hivatalos honlapján. A Josh Homme és James Ford produceri segédletével felvett album augusztus 24-én jelenik meg, az első kislemezdal, a ‘Crying Lightning’ azonban már megvásárolható és klip formájában is megnézhető (lejjebb).

Az adás trailere és csütörtökön a koncert ITT érhető el.

-est-

‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ was written by Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of The Rascals, who together form The Last Shadow Puppets.  The two wanted to start a small side project but ended up releasing an album, The Age of Understatement in April of 2008. They have been noted as taking inspiration from early Bowie and Scott Walker.

Too bad the place where I live (just left of hell ) is devoid of any foreign music, or should I say it would be very difficult for me to find a copy. Also, half of the sweetness of this band and the Artic Monkeys comes from Alex Turner’s voice.

Endlich ist es soweit: Es gibt die erste Single “Crying Lightning” aus dem neuen Album “Humbug” der Arctic Monkeys zu hören!

“Crying Lightning” wird ab sofort auch deutschlandweit im Radio gespielt und ab dem 14.08.2009 ist die Single dann auch im Handel erhältlich.
Das Album “Humbug” erscheint eine Woche später am 21.08.2009 über Domino / Indigo.

I really do think Arctic Monkeys have always been a substantial step ahead of their British indie rock cousins, not just because of Alex Turner’s superior, witty social commentary, but because the band’s progression as musicians has been a joy to listen to. From the wiry post-Libertines indie of their debut, through the melancholy surf rock of Favourite Worst Nightmare, to the dramatic Scott Walker balladry of Turner’s Last Shadow Puppets side project, it’s clear that their influences are far-reaching and constantly in flux, and they’ve never been afraid of channelling other sounds through what could otherwise be a pretty typical British aesthetic.

August will see the release of their third album, entitled Humbug, but before then, we are now privvy to the forthcoming lead single, “Crying Lightning”. A brief approximation would suggest the following result: it sounds like a hybrid of much of the second album, crossed with the epic grandeur of The Age Of The Understatement. It’s presently unclear which of the two producers (James Ford, Josh Homme) is responsible for this particular cut, but there are certainly elements of both individuals’ œuvre. There’s a chilling, carnival, forest vibe that echoes Queens of the Stone Age circa-Lullabies to Paralyze, but this is complemented by the breathy sense of space that I so loved on older songs like “Do Me A Favour” and “Fluorescent Adolescent”. For certain, the drums are less crisp and more military than on their sophomore effort; meanwhile, the gnarled tone of the bass and the eerie Theremin-esque guitar solo are very reminiscent of the output of Josh Homme’s day job.

Predictably, the lyrics reveal plenty of nuanced details, from the references to “pick and mix” and “strawberry lace” (which immediately reminded me of Jarvis Cocker’s similarly creepy confectionery in “The Wickerman”), to the humidity of lines like “And your past times consisted of the strange / And twisted and deranged”. Turner is evidently frustrated about something, and the cracks in his armour are appropriated in his lavish descriptions of the subject of the song – who “puff[s] your chest out like you never lost a war”.

Only the rest of the album will tell to what extent Arctic Monkeys have let their travels of the last couple of years percolate into their music, but on the evidence of “Crying Lightning”, they’ve lost none of their knack for deriving catchy melodies from surprisingly tuneless chord changes; they’re still willing to pile on the drama and the frisson through Alex Turner’s developed and mature lyrics; and, in all honesty, I can’t really imagine Humbug leaving the charts this side of the apocalypse.