Category Archives: POP CULTURE

POP CULTURE

Benedict Cumberbatch on The Hobbit, Star Trek 2, and ‘Sherlock’ Season 3?

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Benedict Cumberbatch is becoming quite the commodity. He just appeared in the acclaimed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and he’s quickly becoming a phenomenon in the UK. with the success of Sherlock. In addition, he’ll show up later next year in the 2nd movie of The Hobbit series, which we’ll get back to in a minute. First let’s address the fact that it’s been recently reveled that he (along with Doctor Who’s Noel Clarke) will appear in J.J. Abrams’ next Star Trek movie.

Cumberbatch will play the villain in the much-anticipated sequel, and that’s about all we know. When he was asked about it by Collider at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, this is what he said:

There’s a lawyer standing here saying that I can’t say anything. I’m hugely, hugely excited and I’m very, very flattered. I’m very, very excited, but obviously I’m not here to talk about that. I will, in the future, I’m sure. I’m just getting my head around the fact that it’s happened. If you’ll forgive me, I’ll pass on that. But, my headline is that I’m over the moon.

Not a lot to go on there, but rumors have been flying for months that the secret villain will in fact be Kirk’s nemesis Kahn. This was compounded by all the previous casting news had revolved around Latino actors trying out for the part…

Concerning his involvement in The Hobbit (which stars his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman as the lead), Cumberbatch may have recently let something slip he wasn’t supossed to…

“I’m playing Smaug through motion-capture and voicing the Necromancer, which is a character in the Five Legions War or something which I’m meant to understand. He’s not actually in the original Hobbit. It’s something [Peter Jackson]’s taken from Lord Of The Rings that he wants to put in there.”

 

Now Empire had some thoughts on said quote, this is their theory…

Now those familiar with the book will notice immediately the big new piece of information here. Assuming that Cumberbatch does mean the Battle of Five Armies (which seems safe), then this points to one way that Peter Jackson and co. have expanded the book’s story to fill two films, and provide a more seamless link to The Lord Of The Rings.

Readers will know that the Necromancer is Sauron, and that Gandalf disappears halfway through (the book of) The Hobbit to lead a coalition force and drive the Necromancer out of his Mirkwood stronghold. But in the book they dispatch the Necromancer back to (as it turns out) Mordor well before the Battle of Five Armies. Here, however, it looks like he’s going to turn up to the finale in person, presumably at the head of the goblin and Warg army, and face Gandalf’s team there.

If that is the case, it’s a narratively neat way to combine the two story threads, that of Bilbo and the dwarves and the other following Gandalf and his team. It also gives the goblins a stronger motivation to suddenly turn up: in the book, they’re avenging the earlier death of one of their leaders and (like all the other armies present) hoping to get their grubby hands on the dragon’s hoard. If they’re incited or led by Sauron, however, their actions will hang more coherently with their behaviour later in Lord Of The Rings.

Interesting theory, and one I guess we will have confirmed or denied December 14th of this year. Anyhow, Benedict was also asked about a return for a 3rd Season of Sherlock, a question which he eluded and said only that he would ‘like’ to do another one, scared of what he could or could not confirm, but lucky for us one of his producers (Rebecca Eaton) stepped in and confirmed just moment later that we will get another dose of Holmes and Watson in the form of a 3rd season.

So appears to be good news all around as far as I’m concerned. Cumberbatch is owning…

POP CULTURE

Amy Winehouse’s Lioness: Hidden Treasures

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On July 23rd, the world lost Amy Winehouse. The millions of fans of her jazzy music and soulful lyrics were left to wonder if we would ever hear her beautiful bluesy voice again. On October 31st, the official Amy Winehouse website posted that a posthumous album of finished, yet previously unreleased music would be available for the public on December 2nd by Island Records.

Although clearly devastated by her untimely passing, this 45 minute CD was almost like a treasure she left for her fans. The CD was appropriately titled Lioness: Hidden Treasures.

I got the CD the day it was released. Not only has the album not left my CD player, but it has been constantly playing on loop. I have read her biographies and own every piece of music that she has been a part of. I would definitely consider myself a huge fan of hers. I must say that it is horribly depressing that Amy is now part of that dreaded club where everyone is 27, overly talented, and dead. At least she left us these 12 tracks to help ease the pain.

There are songs on the new CD which we have already heard, such as “Valerie” and “Wake Up Alone“. Although we had already heard them, these are different versions of these songs. In fact, the Lioness version of “Wake Up Alone” is much more emotional and literally brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. There are also songs that we have heard before, but not by Amy Winehouse. For instance the 60s and 70s hits “The Girl From Ipanema“, “Our Day Will Come”, “A Song For You” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” are redone with the Winehouse touch that not only displays immense talent, but also could choke up the most soulless listener. Also, there is a duet with Tony Bennett. And lastly, the new tracks which I absolutely love: “Between the Cheats”, “Half Time”, “Best Friends, Right?” and “Like Smoke”. I must say that this album shows more than the one-dimensional side of Amy Winehouse that the world tried to force on us. Yes, she sings about drug use. Yes, she sings about quarrels and falling outs. Yes, she sings about drinking. But listen closer, and you will get a beautiful life story. Listen to her first album, Frank, then her second “Back to Black” and this final compilation of treasures. She tells a tale of heartache, success, failure, disappointment, love, lust, and overcoming her own demons. A portion of every CD purchased goes to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which is a charity set up by Amy’s parents on what would have been her 28th birthday… so don’t download this one.

I am obviously giving this album a 5/5 rating. I hope that you will all listen to this gem. It is an instant classic.

POP CULTURE

Grizzly Album Review: “Mylo Xyloto” by Coldplay

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2011 has been a pretty good year for follow-up albums. Jay-Z and Kanye West dropped Watch The Throne to both critical and commercial success, as did Radiohead with their new LP King of Limbs. Now, later in the year, Coldplay is back with their follow-up to Viva La Vida. I’m not sure what the title means, but f*** it. It’s called Mylo Xyloto. Literally nobody knows what it means, not even the band knows. They said that naming this album was akin to “naming a child”, and that they thought it sounded cool. More power to them.

Alternate Cover…. Whammy.

All meaningless titles aside, Mylo Xyloto is a revelation in that this really is Coldplay’s best album. In fact, since the release of their 2005 dud X&Y, they’ve been doing nothing but rising to the top once again. Viva La Vida marked the beginning of their “edgy” rock band stage, and now Mylo Xyloto cements their status as one of the 2000s greatest bands.

A few years back, Coldplay was named as the number one band to make you fall asleep. Now they’re topping the “Party Hits” charts on Pandora and Music Choice. How did this transformation occur, you might ask? Well, it all started in 2008 when Coldplay discovered upbeat rock/pop hits. Now, you might be saying, “Wait a second there, Clocks is an upbeat rock/pop song!” My response? I call bullshit. You all know that there’s been one night in your life when you’ve fallen asleep to that song. Go ahead, admit, I’ll give you a second.

After a 43 second interlude entitled “Mylo Xyloto” the album begins with the track, “Hurts Like Heaven”. Instantly we’re propelled into radio friendly hits that remind us why we even started listening to Coldplay in the first place, another thing that Mylo Xyloto is frighteningly good at, putting the listener in a good mood. No matter what’s bothering you, Mylo Xyloto is guaranteed to make things feel at least a little better. As great as the fast songs on, Mylo Xyloto takes time to stop and smell the roses on tracks like “U.F.O” and “Up in Flames” only to once again shoot us back into the glorious joy dancing we were just doing.

If Mylo Xyloto does anything right, it’s a nice escape from a dark world. But it also takes a band that most critics thought were done being catchy, and makes them even catchier than ever before. Old fans will not be invited, and new fans are welcomed with open arms.

Best Track: Paradise

4/5 Bears

POP CULTURE

Grizzly Album Review: “Take Care” by Drake

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The radio sucks. Plain and simple. Most of the music that is on the radio is either overplayed, twenty years old, or very, very bad. That’s why in 2010 Drake was mainstream hip-hop’s saving grace. He brought back a smoothness that no one thought was even allowed on the radio anymore. His album, which was both a critical and commercial success, spawned several hits that received an endless amount of airplay. Drake was the best new rapper of 2010.

Now it’s 2011 and it’s time to see if his sophomore album will live up to the hype. Take Care, which was announced a few months back, has been able to generate a lot of buzz. In an era of constant pirating and hateful rambling in the internet community, this was a refreshing change of pace. Everything looked fine and dandy until the album was inevitably leaked a week before its initial release (which is how I heard it). Drake found out about the incident rather quickly, and in some ways I feel like her inadvertently advertised the fact that it was in fact leaked. Regardless, he was very understanding and mature about it, simply saying via Twitter, “Listen, enjoy it, buy it if you like it…and take care until next time.” The way that he so humbly addresses something so seriously is astounding in an industry of show-offs and prima donnas.

As for the album itself, in comparison to 2010’s Thank Me Later, Take Care takes a much more downbeat and almost R&B approach to rap, crafting hits that R. Kelly might have been pumping out in ’91. Much like its cover, Take Care is a sad album among many things, speaking to the inner hormonal child in all of us. Some of the problems that Drake speaks about come off as juvenile, but his clever wordplay and seductive voice hide the fact that it’s so damn whiny.

Lyrically, the album rambles on and seems to have literally no direction whatsoever, which is a shame considering how well crafted Thank Me Later was. Take Care is really just a well-crafted mixtape more than anything, the instrumentals sounding amateurish, and Drake himself sounding like he’s about to kill himself. At 18 tracks, Take Care seems like more of a chore than an experience. By the end of the first half I began to fall asleep, despite doing a lot of other things at the same time. I was hoping that some divine miracle may occur, and the second half would be the album I was expecting. But, alas, this was not the case. It turned out to be simply a larger compilation of more tales of submission and heartache.

Another thing I want to bring up is Drake’s borderline obsession with Nicki Minaj. He’s obviously crazy for her, and it’s starting to become a little childish. On the album’s second single, Make Me Proud, Drake basically raps more about how much he loves Nicki and how proud of her he is. After hearing an inspired performance of it on SNL, I simply just had to skip the track because I was sick of it after only hearing it once.

Take Care is an example of an artist who, in my opinion, doesn’t know where to go from here. As talented as Drake may be, the repetitive nature of his ways may at some point be the reason for his downfall as opposed to the reason for his rise to the top. There is some obvious attempts at creating a new sound, and they fail. Miserably. Maybe I’m just an asswipe and I’m completely missing the point of it, but at this point, I’m tired of listening to pseudo-intellectual radio rap that attempts to make me think, I just want to hear something worth listening to twice. Take Care will be released on November 15th.

Best Track: Lord Knows

Grade: 1.5/5 Bears

POP CULTURE

Grizzly Album Review: “Camp” by Childish Gambino

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Many actors become rappers if they have the talent. Many rappers also become actors if they have the talent. Will Smith, Ice Cube, Xzibit, Drake, and Common are some of the names that come to mind, but now I’ve got a new name to add to that list, Childish Gambino. You may recognize him as Troy on the NBC show Community, or the even more successful Derrick Comedy sketches, the film Mystery Team, and as an Emmy-winning writer for 30 Rock. Truth is, Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino, is one of the hardest working people in the industry right now, balancing both a music, acting, comedy, and writing career almost seamlessly.

Gambino first began releasing music in 2008 with his self-released debut album Sick Boi. The album was a success on the internet, which inspired five more releases (Poindexter, I Am Just A Rapper, I Am Just A Rapper 2, Culdesac, and EP) from 2009-2011 before he was able to release his debut studio release, Camp. Released on Glassnote records, Camp is not only a stylistic, but also a lyrical step forward for Gambino, whose raps consisted mostly of talking about his d***, his chicks, and his money. Personally I felt like his lyrics became much more relatable and interesting around the release of I Am Just A Rapper 2. He had fully taken on the responsibilities of his Childish Gambino personality, and he ran with it. Although d***s, chicks, and money is still extremely prevalent in his music, there’s a clever and usually wildly funny punchline to accompany it.


Earning a degree in Dramatic Writing at NYU, Glover is a skilled and able wordsmith, which is what makes Gambino’s raps not only smooth, but wickedly clever. One of my favorite lines on the whole album occurs on the album’s first single, “Bonfire”, and it goes, “You’re my favorite rapper now, yeah dude I better be, or you can f***ing kiss my ass, Human Centipede!” I mean, if you guys need any reason to go to college, let this be it. You can graduate, start working with Tina Fey on a daily basis, and then become a world famous rapper as a side-job.

Along with the great lyrics that are expected from Gambino come equally as engaging beats and rhythms. When performing live, Donald tends to use a live band as opposed to pre-recorded background. This may in some ways explain the layered and sometimes surprisingly alternative beats that come from him and his team. The result is not only one of the best releases of the year, but also Gambino’s best release ever. Even if you don’t like his voice, check out Camp just for the lyrics, they’re guaranteed to make you crack a smile or even burst out laughing.

Best Track: Bonfire and Backpackers

5/5 Bears

POP CULTURE

Grizzly Album Review: “Blue Slide Park” by Mac Miller

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Since 2007, 19 year old Mac Miller has been gaining a well-deserved following, releasing a steady amount of mixtapes since he was only 15. Now, four years later, he’s releasing his first studio album, Blue Slide Park. Garnering an insane amount of hype on Twitter due to Miller himself posting a constant stream of tweets about it, Blue Slide Park is finally here, and it doesn’t disappoint.

As a newer and sometimes skeptical fan of Mac Miller, Blue Slide Park has a miraculous balance of classic Miller, while also boasting his ability to carry an entire album on his own. That’s right, not one guest spot on this joint, just pure rap with some catchy hooks. I have to say this is a refreshing and much-needed change of pace in a day when some songs have as many as 15 guest stars on them (see: All of the Lights by Kanye West). It’s calming in some ways to know that one voice really can carry a whole album from front to back with no pit stops.

For non-Mac Miller fans, this album probably won’t change your mind, but for fans of the Pittsburgh native, you’ll fall even farther in love with him than you already have. A 16-track album with not one dud is a pretty amazing feat considering the state of hip-hop these days. Miller is a young voice that almost every teenager can relate to in some way or another. I remember on his mixtape Best Day Ever, he has a song entitled “She Said” and in the opening he says, “Yo, I’m feelin’ ill! And not like, cool or anything, like I’m coming down with a sickness.” At that point, I knew this white boy meant business.

The only drawback that I can’t think of at the moment is that Miller is known for rapping about three things: weed, parties, and girls. He hasn’t deviated much from this pattern on Blue Slide Park, and yet in some ways he has, thinking of more creative ways to let the listener visualize these things.

Overall, Blue Slide Park is an extremely solid release, as well as one of the best albums of the year. It’s available now wherever music is sold (iTunes is probably your best bet though).

Best Track: Frick Park Market and Smile Back

4.5/5 Bears