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Owen Pallett Drops Final Fantasy Moniker
18 December 2009 7:00 AM, PST
There’s an old southern saying: “Dance with the one what brung ya.” Owen Pallett, the bard of string and song who went by the stage name Final Fantasy, lives by no such code. Yes, the Japanese RPG nerds he brought with him to the dance are going to be left standing at the punchbowl, bitter tears spilling down their cheeks and onto their Dragon Quest t-shirts. Final Fantasy is Final Fantasy no more; he has gone back to name his mother gave him, Owen Pallett. …
Avatar Review
18 December 2009 5:52 AM, PST
Never before have so many cynics wanted to hate a movie, and never have they been so thoroughly thwarted, as with James Cameron’s Avatar. I had more than my share of doubts going into the screening. While Titanic was not without its merits, it hardly left me waiting with baited breath for the next Cameron epic. The years of promises about a groundbreaking movie were tiresome. Surely he had “King of the World” syndrome, a megalomania that pushed him to pursue record-breaking budgets as an end to themselves. Then, the Avatar trailer was released. I joined most of the movie-going …
Film Friday: Favorites of 2009
18 December 2009 5:40 AM, PST
When Chris Anderson used the phrase “long tail” in Wired, he was referring to the way information is gradually detaching from the physical world. Music no longer needs shelf space in stores, and books and movies will surely follow. For businesses who sell physical objects, it’s been helpful to have consumers who cluster around a few big titles. That way they know how many disks to make, how many books to print. But a world where shelf space doesn’t matter looks pretty different. There may still be big hits, but the demand for more obscure items from deep in the …
Favorite Albums of 2009
18 December 2009 5:08 AM, PST
The usual disclaimers apply. I’ve made no attempt to calibrate what I like against the rest of the culture. This is what I like. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. But if it doesn’t appear on the list, it either means a) I didn’t hear it, or b) I heard it, but didn’t like it better than the 100 or so albums that appear here.Oh, another thing: ten means ten. Yeah, I listed a bunch of Honorable Mention albums. That means I cheated a bit. But over and over again I’ve seen people pissed off at these kinds of …
Watch the Trailer for The Runaways
18 December 2009 3:25 AM, PST
A short trailer has been released for the provocative biopic about the short-lived ‘70s girl group The Runaways. They dubbed themselves purveyors of “jailbait rock”—due to their ages—and featured future music icons Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Micki Steele (The Bangles). Below is the trailer for The Runaways written and directed by music videomaker Floria Sigismondi. Take special note of Twilight alum Kristen Stewart, rocking a sweet mullet, and an almost unrecognizable Dakota Fanning sporting a hairdo that would’ve made the late Farrah Fawcett proud. The Runaways hits theaters in limited release on March 19. …
Up in the Air
18 December 2009 2:00 AM, PST
Release Date: Dec. 4 (limited), Dec. 25 (wide) Director: Jason Reitman Writers: Sheldon Turner, Reitman (novel by Walter Kim) Starring: George Clooney, Jason Bateman, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga Cinematographer: Eric Steelberg Studio/Run Time: Paramount Pictures, 109 mins. Despite some fine acting, young director’s third film is uneven and formulaic Jason Reitman has only made three feature films, but his work is already falling into familiar patterns. His first two films, Thank You for Smoking and Juno, were slickly produced, but the surface niceties were bolstered by sharp satire in the former and heartfelt emotion in the latter. His third, Up …
John Mayer: Battle Studies
18 December 2009 1:30 AM, PST
Mayer’s eclectic musicianship almost makes up for pensive poetry Battle Studies marks the fourth release for John Mayer, who enters an arena of high-riding hopes after the soul-spilling Contiuum that graduated him to the lofty ranks of someone who could shred a six-string alongside B.B. King or Eric Clapton. Mayer’s albums were maturing one after the other, combining electric blues and clever songwriting, but he takes a few steps back with the lovelorn Battle Studies, a superficial meditation on the jagged down-slope of a relationship—the romantic blitzkrieg that recalls, among other genres, his early acoustic sound on Room for Squares. …
Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection
18 December 2009 1:00 AM, PST
Seventy-one disc box set gives new meaning to the word “comprehensive” At the end of 1967’s Miles Smiles, the second great album from Miles Davis’ second great quintet, the trumpeter’s gravelly voice emerges from “Gingerbread Boy” like Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey: “Teo, play that,” he hisses to producer/saxophonist Teo Macero in a slight singsong. “Teo, Teo, Teo, Teo—play that.” Macero had produced Davis’ earlier classics, including 1959’s Kind of Blue, but by the late ’60s the trumpet giant and his new quintet—saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams—were entering a whole new …
Salute Your Shorts: James Cameron's Xenogenesis
17 December 2009 9:00 AM, PST
Salute Your Shorts is a weekly column that looks at short films, music videos, commercials or any other short form visual media that generally gets ignored.Before James Cameron became a fabulously successful feature-film director, and long before he inexplicably became a mediocre nature documentarian, and long, long before his triumphant return to feature filmmaking, he was a truck driver. This doesn’t have too much bearing on anything, but it’s good to keep some sense of perspective on things. Sure, the man’s movies have made well over a billion dollars in theaters alone, but his rags-to-riches tale is one of the …
The Not-So-Brief History of James Cameron's Avatar
17 December 2009 6:30 AM, PST
The marketing campaign for James Cameron’s Avatar is moving at a furious pace, now that we’re only one day away from the long-anticipated release. Of course, we’re definitely guilty of adding to that hype here at Paste, but the court intrigue surrounding a movie 14 years and half a billion dollars in the making is pure catnip to movie lovers. Positive buzz aside, there’s a pretty fascinating backstory behind Cameron’s promises to forever change the face of cinema. So come with us on a journey, dear reader, as we recount the story Avatar. …
Wolf Parade Working on New Album for 2010 Release
17 December 2009 4:45 AM, PST
Spencer Krug is a man on a mission. And that mission is to put out as many albums as possible. The prolific, multi-project, Canadian singer/keyboardist already put out Sunset Rubdown’s Dragonslayer and Swan Lake’s Enemy Mine and the Dreamland Ep: Marimba and Shit Drums from his solo project Moonface this year. And it appears, according to a recent interview with drummer Arlen Thompson, Krug’s main squeeze Wolf Parade may have a new album in early 2010. …
Watch the Iron Man 2 Trailer
17 December 2009 2:33 AM, PST
Until now, only hints and teasers have come out for Iron Man 2. But as of last night, the first full-length, plot-heavy trailer has been released for the much-anticipated film. Scarlett Johanssen joins for the sequel, playing seductress the Black Widow, and Oscar-nominated Mickey Rourke continues his comeback as a nemesis named Whiplash. Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard, reportedly because salary negotiations fell through. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, and Jon Favreau will both co-star and direct again. Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7. Watch the slick, convincing trailer …
Metacritic Crowns Spoon Artist of the Decade
17 December 2009 2:30 AM, PST
To celebrate a decade of gathering and organizing a vast ocean of music reviews, Metacritic has released its top artists and albums from 2000-2009 based on a hefty round-up of criticism from various publications. They’ve named Spoon, now on the verge of their seventh release, Transference, as #1 artist of the decade, followed by Sigur Rós and Super Furry Animals. …
The Young Victoria
17 December 2009 2:00 AM, PST
Release Date: Dec. 18 (limited) Director: Jean-Marc Vallée Writer: Julian Fellowes Cinematographer: Hagen Bogdanski Starring: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson Studio/Run Time: Sony Pictures Entertainment, 100 mins. Blunt dazzles as British royalty in well-executed period piece She was the snooty girl in The Devil Wears Prada, the hot date in Dan in Real Life, the funny sister in Sunshine Cleaning and the alluring daughter in Charlie Wilson’s War. Now Emily Blunt steps into her first major leading role, dazzling and delighting in period piece The Young Victoria. Mostly set in the 1830s and ’40s, this …
Harmonia & Eno '76: Tracks and Traces
17 December 2009 1:00 AM, PST
A few more relics excavated from the tomb of “lost” Krautrock classic Krautrock has become synonymous with a steady motorik pulse, but the German electronic-music vanguard of the 1970s was more diverse than that. Cluster, for instance, had more in common with Brian Eno than Kraftwerk—and, after Cluster became Harmonia, the band collaborated with Eno in an epic jam session that remains mostly mythical. The recordings weren’t released, and Eno’s masters were lost. But one Harmonia member, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, edited together an album from the plentiful four-track material and released it in 1997 as Tracks and Traces. This reconstituted version …
That Evening Sun
16 December 2009 9:00 AM, PST
Release Date: In Theaters Now Director: Scott Teems Writers: Teems, (short story by William Gay) Cinematographer: Rodney Taylor Starring: Hal Holbrook, Raymond McKinnon, Carrie Preston, Mia Wasikowska, Walton Goggins, Barry Corbin Studio/Run Time: Freestyle Releasing, 110 mins. Holbrook’s crowning moment comes in truly Southern film Scott Teems’ That Evening Sun is an exquisitely crafted adaptation of a William Gay short story that’s fundamentally rooted in the real-world South, a subtle little wonder in which every single element works. Music from Michael Penn and Drive-By Trucker Patterson Hood sets the portentous mood; character actors Raymond McKinnon, Walton Goggins and Barry Corbin …
Watch Stephen Colbert Rap Over Jay-z's "Empire State of Mind" With Help From Alicia Keys
16 December 2009 4:00 AM, PST
If Jay-z runs these streets, perhaps Stephen Colbert reigns over the suburbs. The host of "The Colbert Report filled in for Hova last night when Alicia Keys stopped by to perform the big-up to city living, “Empire State of Mind.” Colbert’s verse touted the benefits of living happily gated off in the suburbs: “Home theater system / 60-inch plasma / Clean suburban air much better for my asthma.” …
Start Press: Hey Mr. DJ
16 December 2009 2:15 AM, PST
Long before DJ Hero crashed the rhythm-game party, I itched to scratch. I can remember sitting by my stereo when I was just 12 years old, cutting my own straight-to-cassette custom remixes of pop songs off the radio. Ok, I admit: calling these experiments “remixes” gives them more legitimacy than they rightfully deserve. I simply pressed down three buttons on my stereo’s cassette deck—play, record and pause—and then released the pause button at strategic times while the radio played to create Frankenstein versions of my favorite Top-40 songs. …
El Perro Del Mar: Love Is Not Pop
16 December 2009 1:00 AM, PST
Sweden’s duchess of the doldrums contemplates our sour times El Perro Del Mar is the nom de triste of Swedish pop chanteuse Sarah Assbring, whose fourth LP is filled with an almost unbearably melancholic, lovelorn pop that wafts through chilly grey air. It also features a distinct modernization of Assbring’s sound—but when you listen to the album’s seven tracks (plus three club-minded remixes) and begin sifting through the musical lineage (Sundays, C86, Bettie Serveert) comprising low-key odes to heartache such as “Change of Heart” and “L is For Love,” it becomes apparent that she’s still a pretty far cry from …
Win the ultra-rare The Beatles: Rock Band Xbox 360 console and help Doctors Without Borders
15 December 2009 8:48 AM, PST
Paste has partnered with Microsoft and MTV Games to raise money for the international emergency medical humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders. Every dollar contributed earns the donor a change to win the limited edition The Beatles: Rock Band Xbox 360 console and other great prizes (details below). Donors may also play Paste’s Beatles Rock Band Scavenger Hunt to earn even more chances to win. …
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