redemption | timotheories

And He Kept On Preaching In The Synagogues (JAY-Z, 4:44 review)

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Tim Kuefler

If I owned a sports bar, clothing line, sports agency, and multi-millions in real estate and art investments, people would probably come running to hear me too.

JAY-Z – 4:44

released Jun 30, 2017
********** 10/10

Sean Corey Carter, bettter known by his stage name JAY-Z, which has also been written as Jay-Z, Jay Z, Jay:Z and Jaÿ-ZJay-Z, Jay Z, Jay:Z and Jaÿ-Z, is an American rapper and businessman. Or should I say, business, man? As it says directly on the album cover, this is his thirteenth studio album, and it’s probably one of this most mature efforts yet.

I mean yeah, Reasonable Doubt was groundbreaking, and The Blueprint a masterpiece, while The Black Album made us miss him, but 4:44 is his apologetic letter for being an asshole, and man does it sing with sincerity and truth. It’s personal, poetic, and poised to take the place of top hip hop record of the year, ironic given that his wife had a top charting album last year. JAY-Z is a legend, and 4:44 is his opportunity to put together an album for him. This is not a cool album, trying to keep up with current day hip hop, there are no singles here. If anything, it sounds like it was put together quickly and abruptly.

So yeah, this is and isn’t a response to Lemonade. It’s more about us getting to see JAY-Z as a fallible human. He raps about being black and racial inequalities, infidelity, his daughter, politics, his personal wealth, and a total dismissal of his ego. It’s fucking brilliant.

But it’s not for your average fan, it’s for those who appreciate his legacy and understand who he is and what he has done for the game.

Kill Jay-Z is a direct reference to the time that Solange Knowles attacked him in an elevator, and it brings up the degradation of his friendship with Kanye West. Also he apologizes for the first time officially to Beyonce, confirming that Lemonade is a true account. He later does that and more on title track 4:44, especially apologizing to all of the women in his life that he has played.

One of my favourites songs is The Stoy of O.J. and it features my favourite line of the album too. This comes when Hova raps “I’m not black, I’m OJ….OK” that sarcasm is a beautiful aftertaste to the cutting wine it was served with. But it’s not like Jay hasn’t rapped about his financial freedom before, nor the fact that black people won’t have security until they understand how Jewish people get rich off of credit. A bold statement within a real album.

Smile is another essential track about his mother Gloria Carter, who outs herself as a lesbian, but JAY-Z lovers her all the more, and encourages all of us to love who we love because life is ever-changing.

We get to see the classic dissing raps of older Jay on Caught Their Eyes and Marcy Me, going after Prince’s Estate on the first of these two tracks, respectively. Or should I say disrespectively?

Of course the middle of the record also features Family Feud which is a gold mine of lyrics and beats from the heart. It addresses the old schools and new of hip hop, with Jay-Z proving that he has still got it, after all, on track closer, Legacy, he proves family extends to all black people. He wants to leave something meaningful behind in his business work.

Pros: Absolutely essential tracks to this record are The Story of O.J., Smile, and Family Feud. But every song has an element of sincerity to it, making this the most intimate JAY-Z album to-date.

Cons: It’s somewhat awkward to listen to Bam and Caught Their Eyes, they aren’t the most flow friendly tracks. Also that awkward hook on Moonlight about the La La Land fiasco. Seriously?

Runtime: 36 minutes

Points of Interest: Featuring appearances from his daughter Blue Ivy, his mother Gloria Carter, Frank Ocean, The-Dream, and wife Beyonce, this stripped down album has a certain vulnerability to it which we’ve never seen before.

As I mentioned before, this is not your latest and greatest clubbing hip hop record. It is chock full of thoughtful and revealing songs, and deserves the attention of an alumni of JAY-Z’s work. To say that he is the greatest rapper of all time isn’t that big of a boast – the confessional nature of this record solidifies his reputation.

theories Summarized

If it hasn’t been made clear for you just yet, JAY-Z is a business, man. Him and Diddy are almost tied for the most financial successful rappers of all time . But that’s not what this album is about. It’s a testimonial to his screwups, him owning his coldness, and settling into middle age. Hova has worked with so many different arists over the years, but I find it fitting to mention his 2004 collaboration with Linkin Park before I close this post off. RIP Chester Bennington. Jazzy will hold it down for you from here on out.

Tim!

You Want It Darker (Sum 41, 13 Voices review)

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Tim Kuefler

Leonard Cohen left this world in both a dramatic and cheeky fashion with his final offering. He realized long ago that true music fans almost always want more from you, more emotion, more physicality, more spirituality, more presence, the list goes on. With his final album, You Want It Darker, Cohen gave us something quite visceral, but poked fun at our expectations.

This weeks album review is more of the same.

Sum 41 – 13 Voices
released October 7, 2016
******** 8/10

Sum 41 Is a Canadian band that makes punk, rock, and metal music, mostly of the alternative variety. What this means is that they are influenced by a number of musical genres and what that sounds like exactly has been heavily disputed by even their most committed fans.

What started as a predominantly pop and skate punk sound with their first effort slowly evolved to feature melodic hardcore on the second album and eventually stronger rock and metal treads with Chuck. After exploring those heavier themes, the group went back towards their pop punk roots for the fourth album Underclass Hero, and then dark again with Screaming Bloody Murder.

13 Voices is something altogether different. And I like it.

This is an album of recovery and reflection for lead vocalist and songwriter Deryck Whibley. After having had a brush with death from a battle with alcoholism, this is Whibley pushing back against the darkness. After all, the very first three tracks, A Murder of Crows, Goddman I’m Dead Again, and Fake My Own Death are all dialed right into that feeling of anger against himself and the drug that almost finished off the job.

This is a darker album, and while it does kind of feature a new direction, as already mentioned, Sum 41 DID try to do this back in 2011 with Screaming Bloody Mirror, though not very successfully. The reason why this is new is because it’s a return to form with the reintroduction to Dave “Brownsound” Bakash to the group, the metal backbone of Sum 41. He left after Chuck, and I don’t think the band has been nearly as good since that time. Some of my personal favourite tracks are 13 Voices, War, and The Fall and the Rise, but I think both older fans of the first three albums and current ones will be able to get behind this new Sum 41 machine.

This is a technically well made album, and while there might be some haters out there harping on Whibley for writing the songs with keyboards whilst listening to movies with the sound muted, these guys are not your typical punk group, nor your typical metal group, they managed to transcend that pop and skate punk sound. Don’t believe me? Give Breaking The Chain a listen or two and you’ll be on the Pain for Pleasure train once again (almost forgot about that alt-persona didn’t you?).

People, Sum 41 have introduced violins into their sound FINALLY after so many years, odd given that the punk group I associate with violins, Yellowcard, signed off this same year.

This album is a timeline of the redemption of Deryck Whibley after almost completely falling apart in the aftermath of the Steve Jocz quitting the band and the gruel of their last tour.

Is this album perfect? No, it isn’t. But it’s pretty goddamn good, and thankfully I’m not dead again.

This band finally did what they’ve been claiming they would do for years… ditch the pop from their sound and fully embrace the punk. Hell ,they might even be leaning more into metal for the first time since, well, ever. As someone who grow up with these guys, albeit a few years behind, this record demonstrates what was always behind the pop punk sounds and silly nicknames, a real message about dissatisfaction with society and being discounted before given a chance to do something. Empowering ourselves never felt more important than it does with 13 Voices. We may not have realized we wanted a darker Deryck Whibley, but I’m sure glad he gave it to us.

Tim!

Knight Time (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns review)

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Sometimes a person falls out of favour with their circle of friends, and sometimes they find a way back into social graces. Timing, humility, and quality of interaction all play into this result.

If you were to travel back in time to the mid-nineteen eighties, you wouldn’t have though much of The Batman. He wasn’t particularly cool and people weren’t that interested in what he was doing.

But today’s Theatrical Tuesday entry tells the story that got him back at the cool kids table? That’s right, you guessed it, we’re reviewing…

The Dark Knight Returns (2013)

Cast: Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, David Selby, Wade Williams, Michael Emerson, Mark Valley
Director: Jay Oliva
re-released on blu-ray w/graphic novel on February 24, 2016
********** 10/10

IMDB: 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%, Audience Score 94%
The Guardian: N/A

Jay Oliva is a Filipino-American artist, producer and animated film director; one who happens to work for Warner Brothers Animation.

He got his start on the FOX Spider-man series of the 1990s, and has been involved in animated versions of Ghostbusters, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, and He-Man. Since then he has worked on numerous animations for both DC and Marvel and numerous years before he was assigned the task of creating the two-part animated movie The Dark Knight Returns.

If it it isn’t clear by now, Oliva has a good track record when it comes to creating comic book inspired worlds or adapting already written stories like The Dark Knight Returns mini-series.

For the sake of the review, let’s go over the story, if somewhat briefly.

Taken from Wikipedia and edited,

Set in a dystopian near-future version of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne, at 55, has retired for ten years after the death of Jason Todd. Wayne has a breakdown and assumes the role of Batman again. He first confronts Harvey Dent, who was thought to be cured after therapy and plastic surgery (which Wayne financed).

Batman saves 13-year-old Carrie Kelley from an attack by a gang called the Mutants. Kelley buys herself an imitation Robin costume and searches for Batman, seeking to help him. She finds Batman at the city dump, where he fights an army of Mutants. Though Batman defeats the Mutant army with his weaponry, the Mutant leader beats him in combat. With the help of retiring Commissioner James Gordon and the new Robin, Batman defeats the Mutant leader on his own terms. The Mutants disband and some rename themselves the Sons of Batman.

At the White House, Superman and the president discuss the events in Gotham, with the latter suggesting that Superman may have to arrest Batman. Superman is then deployed by Washington to the Latin American country of Corto Maltese where he fights Soviet combat forces in a conflict that may ignite WWIII.

Batman’s return stimulates The Joker to awaken from catatonia at Arkham Asylum. With renewed purpose, The Joker manipulates his caretakers to allow him onto a television talk show, where he murders everyone with gas and escapes. Batman and Robin track him to a county fair, where he is already killing people. Batman defeats The Joker in a violent confrontation, nearly killing him. To incriminate Batman for murder, The Joker seemingly commits suicide by breaking his own neck. A citywide manhunt for Batman begins.

Superman diverts a Soviet nuclear warhead which detonates in a desert. The United States is hit by an electromagnetic pulse, and descends into chaos during the resulting blackout. In Gotham, Batman realizes what has happened, and he and Robin turn the remaining Mutants and Sons of the Batman into a non-lethal vigilante gang. He leads them against looters and ensures the flow of essential supplies. In the midst of electromagnetic pulse, Gotham becomes the safest city in the country. The U.S. government sees this as an embarrassment, and orders Superman to remove Batman. Superman demands to meet Batman.

Superman tries to reason with Batman, but Batman uses his technological inventions and mastery of hand-to-hand combat to fight him. During the battle, Superman compromises Batman’s exoframe, while Green Arrow shoots a kryptonite-tipped arrow to greatly weaken Superman. Batman reveals that he intentionally spared Superman’s life by not using a more powerful kryptonite mix; before he can finish his monologue, Batman suddenly has a heart attack, apparently dying. Alfred destroys the Batcave and Wayne Manor before dying of a stroke, exposing Batman as Bruce Wayne, whose fortune has disappeared. After Wayne’s funeral, it is revealed that his death was staged. Clark Kent attends the funeral and winks at Robin after hearing Wayne’s heartbeat resume. Some time afterward, Bruce Wayne leads Robin, Green Arrow, and the rest of his followers into the caverns beyond the Batcave and prepares to continue his war on crime.

I tried to edit that down as much as I could folks, but it was important to include all of those details for the next part of the review.

I will start by saying this, if you like animated films, but don’t know a lot about the Batman mythology, start here. The Dark Knight Returns is a great Batman story and because it is set in an alternate future, it won’t screw up or confuse you with subsequent readings of other books. The animation is well done, and echoes the source material as well.

That being said, it is an incredibly long story which includes what seems like almost every single detail of the original mini-series. So be prepared for a narrative which expects you to pay close attention.

Pros: As is the case with most of the DC line of animated films, it’s faithful to it’s source material and very entertaining. Peter Weller does a great job as Batman, as does Michael Emerson as The Joker. You have to follow the entire story through to appreciate everything, but it’s well worth it.

Cons: It is difficult to sit through 2 hours and 30 odd minutes of an animated feature. TBH, I blame Disney for conditioning us to expect animated films to wrap up in 90 minutes or less.

Runtime: 2 hours 32 minutes

Points of Interest: The Joker visits the David Endochrine Show which is based off the David Letterman Show. However the David of the animated movie is voiced by Conan O’Brien and as such resembles him. Though not explicitly stated, the POTUS in the film looks like and sounds like Ronald Reagan.

What I find most interesting about this story is not that we get to see how Batman would act if he returned to crimefighting after a hiatus, but that he is clearly themed around a fascist messiah, and most people who read the book, watched the animated film or went to see Batman v Superman didn’t really care to recognize that. Which says something about humanity even now in the wake of Batman v Superman.

This Batman is one who “realizes” the world is broken and that only he can judge it properly, so after cleaning up his city, he fakes his death, and builds an underground army while he waits for an opportunity. Almost 20 years later, Frank Miller wrote a follow up to this story titled The Dark Knight Strikes Again which details how Batman goes about “savining” the United States from rule by Lex Luthor. A third mini-series, The Dark Knight: The Master Race is also currently in the works, and makes me wonder about the conclusion of this Batman story.

You should definitely watch and/or read The Dark Knight Returns, IF you want to better understand how easily fascism can crop up in society; because we all want a hero to save us, but maybe that’s not the best solution. This story definitely helped drive Batman back into pop culture, and incidentally, tomorrow’s post has some wisdom about Buzzworthy content. I’m out of theories for now, please comment, subscribe, and share this post if you liked it!

Tim!

Cruisin’ California (Weezer, white album review)

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

The most interesting thing for many a youth is finding that coveted summer album they can play for the months ahead and be the cool kid, who knows what’s up.

Thankfully I can count myself among that crowd this summer. I may be giving away the results of this week’s album review a tad early, but dammit if I care. I am so happy to have this album review under my belt, so I can just get ahead with enjoying this record.

So here we go!

Weezer – Weezer (White Album)
released April 1, 2016
******** 9/10

Weezer is an American alternative rock band with emo, power pop, pop punk, and alt rock influences. They are originally from Los Angeles and consist of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards).

This is their fourth self-titled album, affectionately known as the white album, and is preceded by the red album (2008), then the green album (2001), and the blue album (1994). But in fact, this is their tenth studio album, so don’t be confused by the naming, IF you are a new fan to the band.

Weezer have an interesting history, as is often the case with well-established musical acts. I myself was introduced to them from a fairly very young age, around the time that I was early in my high school year and when the green album was making the rounds. This was also in an age before the internet and self-promotion was the norm. Artists still used the radio and MTV to get attention for airplay. Then kids would hit the record store for vinyl and/or CDs and fall in love proper with the band of the day.

However, in Canada we had something called Much Music instead and so I was listening to the Much Music Big Shiny Tunes compilation albums to learn about cool new music. My friends helped too, but to be honest, I liked to explore when it came to music AND I was also happy to follow the advice of mentors along the way, so I deviated from the rap game a bit and explored the rock genre too. At this time, Big Shiny Tunes 6 was THE hot new thing, and Hash Pipe was featured on the track list.

And boy was that ever a good song… Seriously though.

Which leads me back to this album. You see, a lot of people will agree that the blue album, and the green album were brilliant albums, definitely the career moments for Weezer, and they are finally starting to accept Pinkerton as genius too. Pinkerton came between those two albums.

Then they released a couple more albums, and finally the red album, which wasn’t as good, but had me convinced it would be because of the self-titled nature of it. Then they released four more albums between 2008-2014 and people started to pay attention again. Everything Will Be Alright In The End was a return to form and got people excited about the band again.

But is the white album any good?

Well in short, yes. And the reason is that Weezer made an album where every single song is just as good as the previous one. In exactly the same way that the blue album and the green album were constructed. You see, as I mentioned already, we are now in the era of self-promotion and a level playing field (for the most part), when it comes to airplay and exposure. When Weezer was phoning it in and releasing albums with 2 or 3 good singles and a lot of fill, other bands were playing local venues, sharing their music online, and interacting with their fan base through emerging social media.

The white album is a redemption album. And like the blue album, which was an opportunity for a Californian act to make a name for themselves, or like the green album, a place for a band to reform and reinvigorate after a break from the scene (and a supposed failure in Pinkerton), the white album is about Weezer caring through the entire effort to produce something of merit.

I can’t tell you which song is my favourite, because like any good album, I cannot single out one track on this record for you to listen to. You need to hear it all. It’s inspired by California and definitely has a surfer vibe, which is what Weezer is good at.

So check out these music videos (1 2 3 4 5) and pick up this album. As a long time Weezer fan, and a music fan in general, I’m telling you that it’s worth it!

I will say this about one track of the album in particular. Endless Bummer is a fitting ending song for the white album. Because you’ll know the album is closing out, and that’s kinda sad. But no so sad that you can’t just put the album on repeat and start it all over again.

As I said above, I was so happy when I put this album on, because it meet my expectations of an album, and it was a personal triumph because I’ve been hoping for this Weezer album for years now. It probably deserves that 9, and in my heart I want to give it a 10 because I’m just that happy with it, but I’ll keep it at a 9 for you fine folks. That’s how serious timotheories is about it’s theories on the arts.

Until tomorrow, when we review another return to form, via the movie route, I’m out of theories for now friends.

Tim!