Album Review: "Funeral" by Arcade Fire

Only very rarely does an album come along that hits you so hard that for several days after discovering it you don’t want to leave your bedroom/car/living room, or wherever you happen to immerse yourself in music. “Funeral” is one of those rare albums. It was recorded at a cost of only $10,000 in November 2004, picked up by a Montreal indie label, and has apparently been hailed by critics as a masterpiece. As soon as I bought this album, I found out, to my surprise, that countless other people had heard of it too. It was playing at coffee shops – Remedy, Muddy Waters. Damn it. I thought I got to this album first! (First in my immediate circle, anyway.)

No matter. I suppose music this good deserves to get recognized.

For the most part, the singing for Arcade Fire is done by Win Butler, and his voice is so raw that you think the emotions are going to bury him at any moment. It’s not for nothing that the album is called “Funeral.” Apparently, several of the band’s family members died during the album’s creation. This isn’t “happy” music. But the music takes its sorrowful themes and transforms them into melodies that are incredibly, almost inexplicably, uplifting. On the opening track, “Tunnels,” Butler starts softly, almost inaudibly – his voice nearly disappearing into the instruments. His emotional intensity slowly builds and builds, until he is yelling out crazy lines that may or may not be profound (still haven’t decided that yet, but they sure sound profound.) "And then, we tried to name our baby!" he nearly shrieks. "But we forgot the names/ all the names we used to know." By now the beat is truly hopping, and the song has become one of those rarities: it is able to move your passions and your pelvis. If the sound can be compared to anything, think of Jarvis Cocker from Pulp singing “Common People.” Only this is so much better.

When track two kicks in, Laiki, you really know you’re in for something different. An accordion kicks in during the opening guitar licks, and you’re thinking, an accordion? Do they just want to be weird? But like all the instruments they throw at the music (especially strings), Arcade Fire makes everything work. Everything fits. The accordion refrain later morphs into something that sounds vaguely East Indian, then Win Butler’s band-mate and wife, Regine Chassagne, joins in, also sounding Middle Eastern and exotic, and it’s one of those rare moments where music truly takes you out of the mundane.

Maybe it’s the fact of being Canadian, or more specifically, Montrealers, but Arcade Fire just don’t sound like any specific nationality at all. “Crown of Love,” which is a little more conventional, could easy be a mid-sixties British ballad. “Power Out” has Seattle angst written all over it, and would not have been at all out of place on a Modest Mouse album.

Sometimes chameleon-like bands have the problem of sounding like everyone except themselves. Not so with Arcade Fire. No matter what crazy directions the music goes in, the consistently raw, emotional edge of Butler, joined by the sweeter tones of Chassagne, keep you grounded in a sound that is uniquely theirs.

Apparently, the major record labels are desperate to sign this band and are offering $1 million up front for the next album. It seems inevitable that before long, everyone will have heard of them. The downside is that I won’t feel so special. The upside is that maybe, just maybe, Canada will become known for more than producing schlock like Nickelback and Celine Deline. That’s the dream.

DVD Review: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

In 1995 the Japanese feature-length anime Ghost in the Shell was released worldwide. Mamoru Oshii's adaptation of Masamune Shirow's popular manga did not spark the interest of the general North American public during its theatrical release, but it became a cult classic. It was one of the first films to combine CG effects and traditional cell animation, and if I remember correctly, it was one of the more costly animated films of its time. The story focuses on Motoko Kusanagi, essentially a human mind in a robot body; a secret operative built for combat, called out to handle technology-related crime. In Ghost in the Shell, she is involved in the hunt for "The Puppet Master," a criminal who commits his crimes by hacking into the conciousness of humans. To quote Wikipedia: The setting of Ghost in the Shell is distinctively cyberpunk, similar to that of William Gibson's sprawl trilogy, though Shirow's work is more focused on the ethical and philosophical ramifications of the widespread merging of humanity and technology, the development of artificial intelligence, and an omnipresent computer network, in particular related to human identity and uniqueness. The manga, in particular, tackles these questions head on, as Kusanagi and her colleagues face both external threats and puzzles, and internal conflict over their own nature, being more machines than humans.

Which brings us to 2004. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, both written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, is produced. It furthers the first film in just about every way. It features more CG, more emphasis on thematic elements, and cost a lot more to make. In fact, it took the financial backing of two major Japanese studios - Production IG (Jin-Roh, Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Sakura Wars) and Studio Gibli (Nausicaa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Laputa) - to bring the film to life.

Innocence takes place some time after the original story. Much more serious in tone, Innocence explores the themes of the first movie more fully as Batou asks himself many of the same questions that his former partner, Kusanagi - who has since gone missing - asked herself in the first film. The overarching themes related to the meshing of technology with organic life dominate Innocence: questions of what defines consciousness, life, and humanity. Batou finds these questions very relevant to the situation at hand as he investigates a series of grisly murders committed by gynoids (female robots) created for pleasure. More of a suspense/mystery/thriller set in a cyberpunk setting than an action movie, Innocence is thought-provoking and well-crafted.

The film suffers from a few flaws in its narrative, though. I personally feel that its 99-minute runtime could have easily been expanded to two hours. Extra time could have been spent fleshing out Batou's investigation, because as it stands, the plot becomes a bit lost in the midst of the abundant symbolism and philosophical discussion. I have no problem with the film being complicated and demanding of my attention, but I would have appreciated more time to absorb what was going on while I was watching the movie, rather than needing to mull it over after the fact. Having said that, I think this is a film that will get stronger over multiple viewings.

Even if you're not particularly interested in the philosophical side of Innocence, the film has plenty to offer. The visuals are absolutely jaw-dropping, as is the animation. It is a lush, well-designed piece of art. The score is also impressive, the haunting main theme in particular. Truly epic. There isn't an abundance of action sequences in the film (only two, I think - one at the middle and one at the end), so those expecting plenty of martial arts and gunplay should skip this movie in favour of something else. In any case, I really enjoyed Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, and since I'm still thinking about it two days after watching it, I'd definitely recommend it.

First Impressions: Devil May Cry 3 (PS2)

I picked up Devil May Cry 3 on the day I will label "yesterday" for the sake of convenience. It's at that late-night/early-morning stage of the day, so I have a hard time deciding if it's Saturday or Friday. As my state of mind might have you guess, I've been playing it for a while now; though I've been taking breaks to eat, let my nerve endings reconnect, and watch a bit of TV. Let my hands heal; help my brain regroup.

A little backstory here: The original DMC came out a few years ago. You played as the half-demon Dante, a wise-cracking, cocky bad-boy and son of the legendary demon Sparda. Sparda apparently fought alongside humans a good long time ago against his own kind during a big war; he knocked up some human lady and thus Dante was born. Present-day has Dante running a freelance business as a demon hunter, and one day he gets a job hunting the Big Evil from some chick that looks like his mom. Right. The game had you running around from a 3rd person point of view beating the crap out of demons with a variety of weapons; usually a sword and dual pistols (or another firearm of some kind). The thing that made this game unique was how stylish the action was, and how deep the battle system got as you became better at it. DMC was like a Badass Simulator; the controls were tight, and the action was awesome.

Then DMC2 came out. The story was both lame and underdeveloped, the controls were screwy, the graphics poorer, and the level designs boring. It introduced a second playable character whose name I've forgotten, and sucked the personality out of Dante completely (which, I was suprised to find, I missed).

Enter Devil May Cry 3.

This is a prequel to the first game. The story focuses on filling in the blank spots of the often obtuse plot of DMC1. Apparently, Dante has a twin brother named Virgil (whom we sort-of-meet in the first DMC). While Dante is hotheaded-but-kindhearted, Virgil is coldhearted and evil. Sibling rivalry is the story here, as Virgil is up to no good. As a younger, even more outspoken and reckless Dante than in the first game, you're treated to plenty of cheesy, ridiculous stunts and rudeness to authority figures (he openly mocks Cerebus, the three headed Hound of Hell, who stands a good twenty feet tall, by offering to take him for a walk, saying "here puppy!" and whistling). While being surprisingly story-based, the cutscenes are unintrusive, with generally pretty good voice acting. It should be noted that the action sequences in the cutscenes are spectacular, innovative, and amusing.

Which leads me to the gameplay itself. It plays very similar to the first game, yet it seems to pack in so much more. Like the first game, you can buy moves for your melee weapons with experience points (red orbs you collect from defeated enemies). Unlike the first game, you also have the choice of four "styles" (eventually six) that emphasize swordplay, gunplay, defense, or mobility. Each of these styles have different moves you can do with the circle button; these moves evolve as you gain experience with the style. You can switch styles at save points, so you're not stuck with one style for the whole game.

The combat is bar-none the fastest, most intense, and most stylish action to be found on the PS2. As with DMC1, you press triangle for your melee attack (i.e. sword) and square for your guns (i.e. twin pistols). Unlike DMC1, it's extremely fast and easy to switch weapons on the fly. Just press R2 or L2 to cycle through your melee or ranged weapons, respectively. So you can easily find yourself launching an enemy skyward with your two-handed sword, leaping up after him, ventilating him with your dual handguns, whipping out your shotgun while falling downwards, blasting him across the room - and finishing him off by bashing his skull in with your nunchuks.

DMC3's controls are precise, and they need to be, because the combat is insane. The fact that the game plays so well must have inspired an unearthly amount of confidence in the developers to assume that players would be having so much fun fighting for their goddamn lives that they wouldn't mind being so severely bootfucked by the enemies in this game. To put it simply, this game rewards attentiveness and skill by making you feel like an invincible badass; but it just as swiftly punishes weakness and ignorance by subjecting you to repeated severe ass-kickings until you learn your lesson. The real magic of the game is that balance right there.

Things I don't like about the game: The camera, while good enough, can be a problem at times. As with DMC1, you can save your stats at any time, but your progress is saved strictly on a beginning-of-stage basis. So that means if a boss kicks your ass (and it will), you'll have to go through the level again. On the bright side, if you save before you die each time, you can level up your abilities along the way. Still, it's easily the most frustrating part of the game. Speaking of frustrating, having an "Easy Mode" that was actually easy would be nice. The difference between "normal" and "easy" is pretty negligable, so far as I can tell, though "easy" is slightly more managable. The game's challenging nature is refreshing, but it would be nice to have the option available for people seeking a more relaxed experience.

*phew!* I think I'm done.
If I were to assign a score: 8.5/10, but only because it's a shade too tough (especially with the lack of checkpoints). Otherwise, a solid 9/10. Based on the first 4 hours or so of gameplay, that is.

Let's see if we're on the same page, Part 2

Well, following suit with Rendrag, here's my Top 5 favorite movies (at the moment):

1. Fight Club - From the screenplay down to the postproduction, an awesome film.
2. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - An awesome cast, epic score, and beautiful cinematography.
3. Spirited Away - Heartwarming and brilliant; my favorite animated film.
4. Lost in Translation - I find this movie beautiful, entertaining, and potent on an immensely intimate level.
5. The Crow - A guilty pleasure from my high school days. It's dark, melodramatic to a fault, and far from brilliant, but I'm still a sucker for it. I've seen it enough times that excluding it from the Top 5 would be ridiculous.

First post

Welcome to MediaBarn.