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Transcript of our Wolfman 2010 Podcast

Unknown Speaker 0:12 Welcome to Tentpole Trauma, the podcast where we look at movies that came with hype and high hopes, but left with crushing disappoint either critically at the box office are both. Free from the weight of expectations, we seek to examine these underperformers under a new light parsing through the good, the bad and everything in between the hopes of gaining a better understanding as to why they failed to find their audience.

Unknown Speaker 0:43 Warning, there will be spoilers. So if you haven't seen the movie that we're discussing today, I suggest you stop the podcast and go watch it. Then when you come back and listen, you'll get more out of the discussion. This episode we examine the 2010 remake of The Wolf Man.

Unknown Speaker 1:23 I've been a universal horror fan for as long as I can remember. So I was pretty excited back in 2010 when the Wolf Man remake got rooms I've been following the production I knew Benicio del Toro was playing the Wolf Man, which I thought was great. I knew the original director left and was replaced with Joe Johnston, who I liked but didn't think was that inspired of a choice. But still, I was really excited to see it even after numerous delays. The first signs of real trouble were the extremely tepid reviews and tepid is a kind descriptor, but I maintained my enthusiasm and on opening weekend dragged my pointedly disinterested girlfriend to see it. The movie started promisingly enough with a pretty cool werewolf attack. But as the stilted drama set in, I could feel the audience snickering and turning against the movie. And more importantly, I could feel my girlfriend turning against me for dragging her to see this thing. We didn't last much longer. Still, over the years, I've maintained a certain affection for the film, even buying it on blu ray to have it as a, as I call put on in the background kind of movie, something that's visually pleasing that you can just look at not really pay attention to it. Over the years, I've even tried to get friends and family to watch it with me and perhaps reevaluate the film. But usually I'm just met with a healthy serving of side eye and skepticism. So am I insane for liking this maligned movie? I guess that's a question we'll have to address today as we deep dive into the 2010 remake of the wolf, man.

Unknown Speaker 3:19 All right, this is Sebastian, and I'm here today with Jennifer Hello, and Chris.

Unknown Speaker 3:25 Hey, how's it going?

Unknown Speaker 3:26 And we're gonna be talking about the Wolf Man remake from 2010. Directed by Joe Johnston, who did Captain America The Winter Soldier, and he did the Rocketeer and Jurassic Park three, and written by Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote seven and some other stuff. So you know, there's kind of a pedigree there. I already in my intro talked about my experience with this film. Jennifer, do you have any previous experience with this film?

Unknown Speaker 3:57 Yes, I do. My first exposure to this film was through you insisting that I watched this film, I think it was probably around 2012 or 2013. Does that sound right?

Unknown Speaker 4:10 It sounds right.

Unknown Speaker 4:10 Yeah. And I remember just not really, not really getting that into it. I was just kind of I wasn't, I didn't hate it by any means. But I just was kind of like, okay, that's, it's that was fine. But then watching it for the podcast. I had a different experience this time, which we'll go into also watching, both theatrical and the unrated version made a big difference. So But yeah, I did not see it in the theater. I it's not really I'm a horror person but, and I like universal monsters. The creatures more my guy, but I'm not you know, not super

Unknown Speaker 4:58 Wolfie Okay, Chris.

Unknown Speaker 5:01 Um, yeah, so my experience with Wolf Man was, I saw Dracula in high school loved it thought it was great. I thought it was like a great goth movie that everybody seemed to be into. And goth was a big thing. And then Frankenstein came out, which was, I guess, and unofficial sequel to that it still had the same vibe had a good director and a bunch of golf production design. And that was not

Unknown Speaker 5:32 just to be clear, we're talking about the Coppola Dracula and the Kenneth brown a Frankenstein.

Unknown Speaker 5:37 Exactly. And so I was kind of following that thread. Because I love Dracula, even though I it's flawed. And then Frankenstein came out, which I didn't love as much, but it was still a good time. And then Wolf Man came out. And I believe it was touted as like the third of a trilogy of, you know, the same type of pedigree we're gonna make, we're gonna give this treatment to these three monsters. And I believe, I don't know why I didn't see it at the time that it came out. Maybe because the reviews were bad or I was busy or something like that. But it took until now that Sebastian was doing this podcast that I was like, Oh, I guess it's time to watch it. And, and I've seen it for the first time.

Unknown Speaker 6:22 All right. Well, before we get into your feelings on the movie, let's just kind of dig in. This movie had a troubled production. It was originally going to be directed by Mark Romanek, who's a pretty cool director. Yeah, one one hour photo. Mm hmm. And

Unknown Speaker 6:38 lots of great music videos, too.

Unknown Speaker 6:41 That's right. And I was working at cinephile at the time and Benny not to name drop but Benicio del Toro would come in. And he was a huge Wolf Man fan. And he was really excited that he was going to get to play the Wolf Man. And I'm a huge Wolf Man fan. I love the 1940s original, so I was excited for him to play it. But it took a long time for the movie to come out. Because there were just you know, Mark Romanek, ended up leaving at the last minute, and there were like delays, Joe Johnson took over and had to just work with whatever they had. And you know, then it ended up with the release ended up being delayed, for whatever reason, so it ended up like taking two years for you to come out. But that's a little background on the movie. So let's just get into it. It starts with the universal logo. So this is definitely they're setting it up that this is a universal monster movie. In the the theatrical version. Yeah, it's cool. And the theatrical version. It's pretty easy. It's just black and white, but in the unrated version, you get a sort of more old school like 1940s universal logo.

Unknown Speaker 7:51 Yeah, I love that. It's really up. It's updated, but feels old school and it's like, it's really the right way to go iPod.

Unknown Speaker 7:58 Yeah, it sets the tone. I don't know if they intended this to be the first of the quote unquote, dark universe that they were trying to do. A few years back, they would keep saying, you know, they, they I think they set it with this movie. Then they set it with Dracula Untold. Then they set it with the Tom Cruise mummy. They were really hoping to do a marvel universe of universal monsters, which I would have been game for. But they

Unknown Speaker 8:23 shouldn't that should have been the tagline.

Unknown Speaker 8:27 But they couldn't seem to get that going. Anyway. So this isn't really the beginning of the dark universe because there is no dark universe. It starts off with some Danny Elfman music, which reminded me a lot of the 1979 Dracula that came out in the disco era with Franklin gela Mm hmm. It really borrows some themes. for that.

Unknown Speaker 8:48 To me the score just sound doesn't sound like Danny Elfman at all it very it to me, it just sounds like they're ripping off the score of the Coppola Dracula, you know, with that sort of luxurious string arrangements. And it's a strange like, I remember thinking like didn't then I think he is he a Czech composer for the Coppola Dracula, and he had died. So I was like, who composes because it sounds exactly like him. So and I was shocked to see that it was Danny Elfman because it doesn't sound like his trademark, you know, score at all.

Unknown Speaker 9:22 It doesn't sound like a kooky circus.

Unknown Speaker 9:26 Not at all.

Unknown Speaker 9:27 No, I think he was intentionally trying to evoke that apparently, he was originally hired to do the score. And then they tried to go with another score, I think and then they went back to his score. Anyway, it just sort of typical of the sort of troubled production of this, this movie. And anyway, moving on, it opens with the quote from the original the, you know, man becomes a wolf when the wolf Bane bloons that's straight from the original and it's pretty stylish in a sort of computer generated way. Yeah which is a which is a thing I think this movie it can either be a plus or a minus to you like it's very you know they're going for that really God thing but it's pretty computer CG golf.

Unknown Speaker 10:14 Yeah, agreed 100% I think

Unknown Speaker 10:17 that's the problem. That's what that's something that makes the Bram Stoker Dracula standout is that they went with a lot of old school visual effects and just you know, the feel of the whole thing was purposely sort of antique whereas this the production design works but the filmmaking techniques are very modern and in their hidden Miss You know, sometimes they work and then sometimes you see Oh, that's just a Morph cut that just, they just put in there because they could.

Unknown Speaker 10:46 Okay, so we get the opening attack, which is, you know, we later find out is Larry Talbots. I'm gonna call him Larry just because I think that's funny. Larry Talbots brother getting attacked on the Moore's there's sort of a voiceover from Emily Blunt, which didn't feel added anything to it really. And you know, we get this whole attack, which is pretty cool, but I feel like it It feels very rushed.

Unknown Speaker 11:13 The whole beginning feels rushed. Like, well, the voiceover from Emily Blunt in the theatrical version is she's writing a letter to Larry. Right. Yeah. So she's and you know, we're getting this this backstory. And that was, like the beginning. I just felt like, Is it me? I don't know what, what just happened? What is going on here? Like is it just it felt it feels like we just, it zooms by and not in a good way. Just wait way too much too fast. And it just feels like it's just kind of thrown together. And that Yeah, I was completely just baffled at that some of the things that were going on,

Unknown Speaker 11:56 well, in the unrated cut, you get a little more of the attack, and we get this whole scene of Larry acting. He's supposedly on stage in London, he's performing Hamlet or something. And Gwen does not write a letter to him in this version, she actually comes to the theater and he's backstage and he sort of got a cool bathrobe on he sort of rock starring out and she floors him to come check because I think his brother is missing at that point. But he sort of puts her off but she kind of gives him a guilt trip. I felt like compared to the theatrical version, where all you get is this voiceover from Emily Blunt. And you're suddenly right at the right at Blackmore Manor, I felt like the unrated version was an improvement.

Unknown Speaker 12:49 Yeah, I see, having watched both of them, I definitely can see how the pendulum swung hard both ways. You know, like, the Extended Cut is way too long. There's way too much intro, you know, it'll take like half an hour before like that Gypsy attack happens. So I understand why they cut a lot of that stuff, because it's just needless exposition. But now hearing Jen's reaction to it, I think, you know, they obviously cut maybe too much, because they're, they're really just, you know, trying to keep it tight and compress everything so that it gets going. But I will say having watched the Extended Cut that man, it's kind of a slog and a drag to, to get to where the movies going,

Unknown Speaker 13:30 you're sort of coming at it from the opposite end of Gen where you felt like the extended was taking too long.

Unknown Speaker 13:35 Definitely. And in you saying that it's a troubled production and that the you know, the director got swapped out at the last minute totally makes sense, because this feels very, you know, made by committee where nobody had a strong vision. And they were like, Okay, well, it's too long. Well, now let's make it too short or whatever. And, you know, no one actually said I understand the story. We're gonna make this happen. This is you know exactly what it's gonna be like, it definitely feels that way where there's not a strong vision hand at the helm.

Unknown Speaker 14:06 I wouldn't want more. This was like, in this case, it just for me, I was like, I felt so much more like, Oh, this is what they're doing. Because I remember even being like, is Larry an actor? like is that what he was doing? Because it's like literally like just like a quick flash of him on the stage or something. And I'm like, wait, and setting up also with Emily Blunt. Like, because throughout the film, I was like, Okay, I know she's supposed to be you know, it's complicated, but she's, you know, supposed to be kind of a love interest. And I just wasn't really feeling it. But then with this at the beginning with her coming there, there was this more to their relationship, and I actually was more invested, so to speak, but yeah, so anyway, the the unrated worked worked for me, especially in the beginning.

Unknown Speaker 14:51 I wouldn't say that in any version, their relationship is is a strong point of the movie, but in the theatrical cut, you get nothing zero, you're like, I don't care at all, at least in the unrated cut you you have some reason to care. They've had some scenes that are meaningful. Yeah, in the in the theatrical, there's nothing.

Unknown Speaker 15:15 Um, well, this is just kind of a general note on just about the action and how the wolf, you know, plays out in his attacks. Like, it's something, there's movies like Jurassic Park, or, you know, other werewolf movies, which gives you that sense of, you know, a wild animal attack. And, you know, if you've ever been around, like, you know, an angry dog or anything like that, you get that sense, where it's like, oh, my God, like anything can happen. But when he attacks it, it feels more like a bus hit. And then an animal attack, you know, because he just comes in out of nowhere and just slams. It's like, half jumpscare, half bus hit. And it just, I don't know, I just feel like it doesn't, it doesn't work. It's not a unique way of, you know, having him attack and it just doesn't feel scary to me.

Unknown Speaker 16:02 It feels more like a superhero thing. Yeah. And I feel and I think that a lot of this movie has that kind of feel where it's almost more of a superhero movie, even though the superheroes, you know, killing people. It just has a more modern superhero vibe to it in a weird way. If that makes any sense.

Unknown Speaker 16:21 Absolutely. This is relates to a point that I have with just the story in general that I feel like they set up a lot of things that never pay off. Like, why haven't be an actor, why, you know, have the meet backstage at the beginning. It's just, there's, there's so many weird threads in this story that just don't seem to pay off. And, and I feel like I feel the story being stretched. And like we were saying, the right amount of information is somewhere in the middle between the theatrical and Extended Cut. But there's just so many ideas in this story that never pay off that they were trying to, like, give love to some and then not enough for the others. It's just kind of a mess. I think

Unknown Speaker 17:07 with the him being an actor, I totally know. There's definitely things I agree with you Chris that never come to fruition, but I feel like part of the him being an actor is like they're trying to paint this picture also, which I think again, is more represented in the unrated version, is that he is such an outsider to the town, as at this point, like he's totally like a fish out of water. Like, you know, and I think like even at one point Anthony Hopkins is this you know, kind of says something along the lines of like, oh, coming back to the you know, small town or something along the lines of that, you know, so I think they're trying to make him like just as uncomfortable they're like not wanted there you know, even without even before all the other stuff happens that that's I mean, but yes, there's so many things that are set up the door really pay off but that's that's all I could gather from from going into his acting career.

Unknown Speaker 18:02 Maybe it's also to say that his Mid Atlantic accent is because he's an actor and has been away for so long. That's right. Oh, he's in New York. That's where he picked up this weird accent. Like, I also

Unknown Speaker 18:12 think that's what it how it was in the original, which didn't really play into anything in the original film either. But I think they just that's why because that's the character gotcha as as known from the 1940s film, you know, in the unrated cut, we get a scene on a train with the great Max von seido like why do you cut Max von side obviously, Larry is looking at a picture of his mom and then Max von seido sitting across from him and Max von seido. Has this silver wolf cane, which to your point Chris doesn't end up paying out in any real way in the movie. And it's only in there and I think this might be the the overall answers your question as to why things don't pay out and why they're in there is because in the 1940s movie, he's the Wolf Man is killed by his father with a wolf head cane just like that. Okay, so it's

Unknown Speaker 19:13 a setup without payoff as like a twist to the old be the people who knew Okay,

Unknown Speaker 19:20 yeah, the cane is not the strongest point of this movie. Okay, so we get to Blackmore Manor, which is the Talbot estate, we find out at that point that his brother's dead. You know, I think the production value whatever you feel about this movie, I think the production value is pretty great. All the locations are really cool. I love the look of the manor. It looks like a you know, kind of like a rundown Downton Abbey. Yes. With lots of leaves in the interior and my squeaking, lots of squeaking. We get Anthony Hopkins and he's you know he's doing you're pretty much like standard late period Anthony Hopkins performance. But it's one of those cases where he's Anthony Hopkins and he, he's totally watchable. It's you know, it's he's not doing anything. He seems kind of half asleep in a way. And he's not doing anything spectacular, but he's just great because he's Anthony Hopkins.

Unknown Speaker 20:16 totally true. Totally agree. Yes. I just Yeah, he's just kind of being creepy and just yeah, doing doing his thing. And it's a great I think opening scene to having him come in there looked up. Definitely rundown Downton Abbey. Lots of spider webs just kind of in disarray. But yeah, it's that I was happy, happy just to spend some time with with Anthony.

Unknown Speaker 20:42 You know, Anthony Hopkins at 50% is still better than most people's on 100% Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 20:48 Yes. Yeah, the productions that design is definitely stellar. I mean, it's got that golf feel and it's definitely the I think the best thing about it, you know, I mean, the cinematography as well with the high contrast lighting and the smoke everywhere, everything looks right. You know, they they definitely spent the right amount of money and, and have the right fuel going. It's the other stuff. It's the story and the acting that to me don't work. And Anthony Hopkins can do no wrong. Of course, he's definitely phoning it in and like you said it, his phoning it in is already better than most people's full throttle. But can we talk about Benicio for a second? Like I feel like he is not giving me much of anything. And I'm also trying to think of what other lead roles he's had where he's knocked it out of the park. Like he's always great as the crazy sidekick. And I think maybe he's not capable of pulling off the lead in a movie like this where there's not a lot to Larry. I mean, he's just this mopey guy. He's supposed to be an actor, but like, I feel like I get nothing from his character.

Unknown Speaker 21:53 He's definitely trying to, I believe, especially with his haircut and everything, which is not terribly flattering on him. He's got a sort of like almost bowl cut,

Unknown Speaker 22:04 like a Caesar cut. Yeah, that was was that the style at the time? Was that cool?

Unknown Speaker 22:08 Or it was? I don't think so. He looks a little puffy. And he's kind of looks a little overweight. So I think he was trying to actually invoke Alon Chani Jr, who played the Wolf Man in the original. I mean, he was a huge, huge fan of that movie. But I also think he might be a little checked out because I think he was very supportive of Mark Romanek. And when I think he was a little upset that, you know, they switched out directors, and, you know, he may have been sort of checked out. We need

Unknown Speaker 22:45 to have a term for that, like, you know, like Marlon Brando with Island of Dr. Moreau when an actor gets ditched by the director, and then just phones in the movie, like, Can we call that something? Well, but I don't know.

Unknown Speaker 22:56 I don't I wouldn't compare those two because Brando and Island of Dr. Moreau is crazy. Right? Right. Like, does whatever

Unknown Speaker 23:04 you want. Well, he Benicio should have done that, you know, that would have been more interesting.

Unknown Speaker 23:08 Yeah. I think he's got his moments. I think we know when he's getting ready to change and stuff. I think he does good. But I agree, when we're doing the sort of straightforward stuff and he's just trying to be sort of, you know, mysterious romantic lead. It doesn't really work. And I don't think that that's his, his wheelhouse. No,

Unknown Speaker 23:28 I was fine with it. I just I think but also, I'm just like, such a fan of his I really like him a lot. So I'm, I'm just giving him a pass. Like, I don't know, I was fine with it. I wasn't looking at him and his performance that critically, especially once I got to see the unrated version and got to spend some more time with Larry lots and lots of more time with Larry so I knew what was uh, what was really going on with Larry. But yeah, I thought I thought his performance was was fine for for what it is.

Unknown Speaker 24:01 Okay, so moving on, he goes to the village to see his brother's body which is being kept in a slaughterhouse. I don't know if that was common for the time or if they just thought it would be a kind of a cool touch. But we get sort of a you know, quick shot of the body and I feel like the gore effects are good. Overall, in this movie, they make a real attempt to lean into the our rating, which I appreciate a lot of the times it's sort of CGI gore and violence, but you know, they don't hold back which I like about the movie.

Unknown Speaker 24:36 I thought that scene was gross like I in my notes I wrote yuck because it was just that's how I felt because I mean, it's our I yeah, I had the same question. I was like as this is how it was done. I was like are they just really hate Ben and they hate the tall but family and they just throw them in here and that the slaughterhouse because this is this is gross. I mean, and they're like you really feel it because it's like, Benicio is like just covering His face and I'm like buying it I'm like, this place stinks. This is this is nasty. And I thought also when they pull it back it was it was good good like it may be the first time it made me kind of jumps is like oh, like it wasn't ready for for that like, though there was some serious wolf chowing down on Ben.

Unknown Speaker 25:19 Well, and I think you might have a point about the town's folk, because in the next scene, we go to the pub, and the town's folk are sort of talking about the brother's death. And you know, Larry's there at the, in the corner at a table and he's, you know, hearing them talk. He looks a medallion that he found on his brother, which isn't very well explained. The townspeople are blaming the Gypsy, and we you know, we get a werewolf story. You know, a lot of this reminded me of the pub scene and American Werewolf in London. Absolutely. Now in the unrated version, one of the guy starts talking smack about the family, you know, talk smack about his mom going crazy. And Larry, the scene ends with Larry throwing a drink on the guy, which, again, I felt this made the scene better in the theatrical cut. It's just the scene. He doesn't interact with him at all. He's just sort of sitting there. So I felt like the unrated cut at least shows you Oh, he doesn't get it. He doesn't like the villagers. They don't like his family. This is probably why he left and puts a nice button on that point.

Unknown Speaker 26:26 Yes, I agree. Because Yeah, and the theatrical he's just sitting over there kind of just sulking and listening. And the townspeople are also alluding to the fact that it might you know, it might not have been a beast it could it like they're kind of talking about seems like they were I think they're talking kind of about like jack the Ripper or something like that. I do remember they're kind of talking about that there's there's a mentally unstable, you know, man that could have done this or something.

Unknown Speaker 26:52 Right. And wasn't a Hugo Weaving, like was his last case was the Ripper. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 26:57 yeah, he was. Yeah, he was on the Ripper case, which Yeah, Larry kind of needles him with because obviously, they never caught jack the Ripper. So

Unknown Speaker 27:06 and I think like they were also kind of alluding to Larry's mental state, which we learn more about later.

Unknown Speaker 27:13 So this this whole pub talk, and you reminding us that you know, this happened in American Werewolf in London. And how it's, it's pretty much the same scene, same beats, you know, beware don't go out and blah, blah, blah. And it's like, trying to be spooky warning. But I feel like it there's no twist on it. You know, in Frankenstein, and in Dracula, the mo was, let's go back to the book. Let's go back to the source. Let's let's do it really was in the book that in because it's never been done. beholden to the book, The way we're gonna do it. And that was what they were thinking. Whereas with Wolf, man, what was the mo here, you know, to be beholden to the old movie, because they're just retreading all these cliches without adding anything new to them. I feel like they're, they're just, you know, are here's the tip here, we're gonna do the Wolf Man story, the way it would be as if it were a cliche. And you're like, well, so why All right, I guess we get some better special effects. Get some good actors get some good lighting and production design, but there's no imagination, there's no umph to it to me.

Unknown Speaker 28:21 Well, they're I think they're just trying to update the whole thing for a modern audience who don't want to go back to the 1941 and watch it. But to your point, they're kind of taking from just werewolf movie history and kind of throwing it all throwing it all in there because they don't have a book source. They do. You know, there is no novel of the Wolf Man. The 1940s movie was the original version of it. So you know, I kind of see what they're doing. I feel like they're just trying to sort of update Yeah, Gothic werewolf movie as an abstract, not as a specific thing. Got it. Now in the unrated cut, we get a dinner scene with dad, Gwen, Larry and the Kim fail sheet See, doesn't get introduced at all, or he gets really barely introduced at all in the theatrical version. He's just sort of standing in the background. And they dine on baked eel, which is just about the grossest thing I can imagine. I can't think of anything that I'd like to eat less baked eel. And they talk about the superstitious villagers. And we get a real sense that there's tension between dad and Larry here, which I like and it gets really uncomfortable for Gwen and she leaves. I appreciated the scene because it set up more of the dynamics dramatically.

Unknown Speaker 29:46 Yes, I appreciated this as well. Also with his, I believe he called him his manservant, the Kim Valle. Seek. I that was another thing we're like in the future. conversion. I was like, when did we meet this guy like it happened so fast with him and that the electrical version I was like, Wait, what? What's going on here? And you

Unknown Speaker 30:09 want to know who he is yours that guy?

Unknown Speaker 30:11 Yeah, no, you definitely want to know who he is. So yeah, I appreciated more of him. The seek is another thread that just never pays off.

Unknown Speaker 30:20 Did you see in the unrated cut when he picks up the guitar and starts ripping on some Soundgarden,

Unknown Speaker 30:26 I would have loved to have seen that.

Unknown Speaker 30:28 Now, in the theatrical version, they cut right to the manor. And, you know, there's this sort of awkward scene where Larry goes to Gwen's door and he's like, Hey, I'm here. And I know, when you've seen the unrated, you can see that this is a scene they threw together to sort of set it up that they've met. Yeah, at this point, because, you know, she's in the theatrical she's only written him a letter. But there is this weird thing where the letter she wrote, keeps coming up, again, in the unrated version, which didn't happen in the unrated version. So when a mess, yeah, like as an editor, I think it's interesting to have you on this conversation specifically, Chris, because you are an editor. And you've probably been involved in some projects where they've had to sort of cobble things together from different versions definitely

Unknown Speaker 31:21 obviously just left in and they're like Foghat who cares. And you know, I'm sure it made sense in like, probably like, the first, you know, maybe two and a half hour cut of it, and then they just kept chopping away. And then who knows who they brought in to do a hack job, but I'm sure a lot of those threads were left in and they just, instead of, you know, in that in specifically in that scene, if you look where he meets, I think it's the theatrical cut where he meets her for the first time in the hallway. A lot of his dialogue is on her. So it's just ADR him saying, like, I got your letter, very nice to meet you. And you can totally tell that they just ADR, those lines into shoo in that he is meeting here for the first time there. So yeah, this, it's definitely a mess. And there's a lot of those things that I think people just wouldn't notice on our first viewing. But now we're analyzing it. Yeah, you're like, Oh,

Unknown Speaker 32:16 no, I wouldn't if I only watched the unrated cut, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. It's just because I'm familiar with both versions. What what I find kind of weird about it is that you would assume the unrated cut was closer to say the assembly directors of the assembly cut and then they whittled it down. But she talks about the letter in the later scenes in the unrated cut so it's almost as if they made the decision to cut it down while they were still filming

Unknown Speaker 32:47 it. Maybe it was like a bigger even bigger thing where she wrote him a letter then went to visit him then you know, like so it's probably a thing on the thing on the thing. And then they were just like, let's all just cut it out. And

Unknown Speaker 32:58 I think that would have made sense since actually Chris because it would have like that she could have written him first and then he didn't respond and then she went in person, because you know, he wasn't responding. The other thing that I wanted to point out about when she does when he goes to her door, is that her maid or lady and waiting or whatever you want to call her is Yara Greyjoy Did you notice that? No way from Game of Thrones? Yeah, I was like, Oh my God, that's the Greyjoy sister tiara,

Unknown Speaker 33:28 which was like can you miss her? She disappears I think

Unknown Speaker 33:31 you might get her on one more scene like but very very brief.

Unknown Speaker 33:34 That's like the only reason for me to go back and watch

Unknown Speaker 33:38 Yeah, we're giving away your hand Chris

Unknown Speaker 33:42 and just to touch upon Emily Blunt now you know i think you know she's well cast in this movie. I guess she does a really good job considering what she's been given which I think is a pretty thankless role. There's not a lot to it but I mean, she gets some moments to cry and stuff and I you know, I think she delivers I think a case could be made for the her being the best for sure in the movie. I agreed.

Unknown Speaker 34:08 Let me bring up one more point about just the brothers story in general like why I don't maybe this is originally in you know, in the original Wolf Man, but it just makes no sense to have this brother standing in the way of a the love story, all of it just like why doesn't Why don't they just give the story to Benicio and have him be in love with her. And it's like this trifecta between him and Anthony Hopkins. It just seems to be a step too far.

Unknown Speaker 34:34 The brother is just a plot device to get him

Unknown Speaker 34:37 but he's so important because it's like oh, that's Emily Blunt's you know, fiance and all this stuff where it just seems like they could have figured out a different way of doing it. You know, it seems like

Unknown Speaker 34:47 a gothic romance kind of thing. You told Oh, the dead brother, you know, okay. It adds a layer of you know, sadness to it.

Unknown Speaker 34:58 They just need to do it. It was I agree they just needed to get him as far as like the why why that's important is just like because it comes to you know, to light later about you know how much she hates his father and how much he hates this town and like wouldn't come back so it's like and and again if we you know if we do believe that there was a letter and then there was her going there and you know, I mean there could have always been some sort of kind of thing between them because yeah, it's the whole Gothic like, you know, longing and all that stuff. Yeah, but yeah, it's just I think it's totally just to get him back home and to just make it the most dysfunctional family ever. We pretty much and worst dad award of all time. Yeah, we'll come to find out later.

Unknown Speaker 35:47 And I will say this. I don't think that Benicio del Toro and Emily blonde have sizzling on screen chemistry. On speaking of worst dad award, we get another scene with Talbot and his dad and Anthony Hopkins looking out the telescope to the moon. Again, the telescope is a reference to the original film. His dad in the original film, who was played by Claude Rains is fascinated with his telescope, but the telescope never comes into play later. So it's yet another sort of reference that doesn't have a real point in the story.

Unknown Speaker 36:25 That scene I do love that Anthony Hopkins takes the time to blow out almost every single candle that he has in the room which I'm like you know what fucking a that's realistic you know like with the production design like this year like how many freakin candles does this guy have and they show him like you know what, it's time to go to bed this was a ritual we used to have I would you'd have to sit here open up this thing blow inside put it out and it's actually a fun callback when you see him in his sorry spoiler when if we just jump ahead to his little man cave or wolf cave thing? There's like 8 million candles there and I just kept thinking like how long is it gonna take him to blow these in his gave man it will take a long time.

Unknown Speaker 37:06 It was the family crypt I believe

Unknown Speaker 37:08 Okay, I'm surprised he didn't make his poor Kim fail manservant Yeah, blow out all these candles. But I thought also Chris I noticed the candles as well. And I was also really impressed with like, some of the cool like lantern type devices they have like candles as well like kind of these like kind of mini torch type things. I don't know what you would call it but I was like I thought that was really again with the production design. The attention to detail was was really cool.

Unknown Speaker 37:37 You know that blowing out all the candles thing was was all Hopkins I was like, I need to blow out all these.

Unknown Speaker 37:45 Okay, Anthony, go ahead.

Unknown Speaker 37:48 All right now in the unrated cut, we get Larry going to Gwen's room. But it's a different scene than in the theatrical and he apologizes for making her uncomfortable into over dinner and gives her items of her brothers. It's you know, it's not like a great scene or anything, but it definitely helps sort of, you know, you feel that her character is more endeared to him by it, as opposed to in the theatrical where you don't really understand why she would be endeared to him at all, because they don't even really have any real scene. So again, I feel like it's a better scene. Then we get to one of few sequences in the film where Larry is having a flashback. It plays like a dream sequence but he's not sleeping he's awake. And he's just sort of having these traumatic flashes of

Unknown Speaker 38:42 maybe he took the spice

Unknown Speaker 38:46 and he's playing with his brother and the mother's watching you know they wake up at night and something sinister is going on in the house like in the hallway This is

Unknown Speaker 38:54 where we see the blood come out of the sidewalk I remember that being a very cool image

Unknown Speaker 38:58 Yes, yes, I believe that's where we see that it's all done in this very stylish Gothic kind of look, but it feels a little like they're trying hard to be trippy and spooky and I don't know if it's they kind of go like a little too far I think with some of the techniques, but he goes out into the garden we get a cool topiary had some cool topiary hedges a gorilla which I appreciated the topiary a gorilla, for sure you know in the movie looks expensive. They didn't spare any expense, which is why it's appropriate to do for Tentpole Trauma because they spent a lot of money on this movie and it bombed so I feel that it's appropriate for this podcast no

Unknown Speaker 39:42 doubt and I will say that the night scenes all look like they're shot at night, you know, and the lighting is great. And you know, there's no Day for Night here at all. And kudos to those cinematography for making it look appropriately scary.

Unknown Speaker 39:56 Yeah, I mean, I think the cinematography is is impeccable. I forget who the cinematographer was. I feel that it fits in with the Coppola Dracula and the Kenneth brana. Frankenstein, at least in that regard where you know, you know, it's high high production value update.

Unknown Speaker 40:15 Interesting. The cinematographer is Shelley Johnson. And he was also the cinematographer for Captain America The First Avenger. Okay,

Unknown Speaker 40:25 yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Because that same director, right

Unknown Speaker 40:28 buddies with Joe, but also what to Chris's point about, you know, bringing up a new agreed with that as well bringing up the superhero feel to some of the film anyway.

Unknown Speaker 40:38 Yeah. And Joe Johnson also did the rocket tear, which was also sort of a throwback, superhero 1940s type of things. So it's kind of his wheelhouse. I can see why he was hired for this when Mark Romanek left the production.

Unknown Speaker 40:51 He was also a special effects guy, right? Did he work on Star Wars? Yeah, stuff. So

Unknown Speaker 40:57 yeah, he was like a Spielberg protege, a guy who came up through Spielberg. Yeah, we get to see a quick shot of a D aged Hopkins with a goatee and the dead mother and it's sort of framed to look like a suicide. She's got a straight razor in her hand, you know, but I think at this point, nobody's really thinking that that is a suicide. The mother having, you know, spoiler the fact that the mother was killed by Hopkins, is really not a surprise at all. You know, even on first viewing, you're like, she didn't kill herself. It's kind of one of those performances by Hopkins where, you know, immediately he's a bad guy, you know, sort of like the sort of like the jack nicholson shining, where you're like, yeah, of course, he's gonna go crazy. He's clearly crazy.

Unknown Speaker 41:49 Yeah, even if you don't know exactly what his deal is, you know, he killed her, like you don't even if you don't know how it went down, you know what I mean? Like, there's more more to be revealed, but you immediately know that he's, he's the villain.

Unknown Speaker 42:03 And in that scene, Benicio, I feel like gives nothing right after you see his mother dead. Like, that was one of my notes. When you see that happen? You think, you know, I'm, I'm reliving this childhood trauma, and it cuts to him. And he's just like, Oh, yeah, I remember that. And I'm like, Whoa, what's going on here? Why didn't anybody direct this guide? Or? I don't know. That's an example of my of a moment where he he failed to deliver for me,

Unknown Speaker 42:29 I feel like it's a little unfair to judge his performance. Totally. Because the the editing is so suspected it but I feel like a lot of the especially the scenes where he's having these flashbacks, they could have been, like, put together from something else. Like I would have to have read the script to know if this was all intended to be in there. From the beginning.

Unknown Speaker 42:50 Maybe I'm reading too much into Larry. And maybe I'm just too much of a Binney SEO defender. But I also think that, you know, as we find out more, you know, sorry, spoiler alert, that Larry spent some time in asylum. Yeah. And they did a lot of bad things to Larry, I don't know if he is even able to have the proper emotional responses at this point. Because I mean, you see what goes on in the asylum. It's bad news. So maybe Larry's just tapped out like this is, you know, like, this is all the reaction that he can muster. Or maybe he just saves it all for the stage.

Unknown Speaker 43:31 Alright, so then moving on, we go to the brother's funeral. There's, you know, more Gothic imagery, then Larry and Gwen haven't have a moment by the waterfall. He talks about his father's cruelty. And then that's, as you were mentioning, Jen, where we get our first mention that he was put in an asylum, and then after that sent to America, this sort of waterfall setting will also come back into play at the very end.

Unknown Speaker 43:58 Yeah, that's where he says, Gwen says, Ben said that you guys played here as children. And Larry says it was our refuge. So we

Unknown Speaker 44:05 find out that Glen is leaving. You know, whatever. This is all happening super fast. It just feels like the scenes are really cut to the quick here. Then we get Lawrence goes off to find the gypsies because he's learned that his brother was involved with them or something like that. And you know, I like the Gypsy camp. It's pretty cool. It's you know, it's about what you would expect from a big budget movie Gypsy camp. Geraldine Chaplin, the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, is the gypsy woman

Unknown Speaker 44:36 I know she's also I know her from Do you guys know the movie with Holly Hunter home for the holidays? Do you remember that at all with like, Claire, I've heard of her name. Well, I highly recommend it. It's really good Robert Downey Jr. and Holly Hunter. And anyway, it's a fun holiday film, but that's where that's where I reckon

Unknown Speaker 44:52 Downey Jr. was in Chaplin.

Unknown Speaker 44:55 Oh, interesting. Yeah, good connection.

Unknown Speaker 44:57 Also on this scene, we get a quick Rick Baker cameo Rick Baker's the famous makeup artist who did design the way he designed American Werewolf in London and lots of Famous Monsters he designed just did he work on this? He did. He designed the werewolf. We get a quick cameo of him here. He's the guy that's just kind of on lookout and he's watching and then he gets slammed by the werewolf really quickly.

Unknown Speaker 45:24 I also wanted to bring up that before we get Larry going to the Gypsy camp, which by the way, we all know is not a good word, but that's just how they use it. And the film. Yes, just disclaimer. I was it's a little puzzling that Larry's Dad, I made a note of this because he's like telling him me like, you know, yeah, you should stay inside because it's going to be a full moon. I don't want to lose you too. And then he says all of that and then it's like cut too. We see Larry riding off to the Gypsy camp like you know, whatever, dad, because he of course he's not going to listen to him. So I guess as I'm talking it through now I'm thinking like, maybe it was some sort of reverse psychology to like to get

Unknown Speaker 46:04 him to go out. It is weird though. The way it cuts right from him saying Don't go Don't go out and I don't

Unknown Speaker 46:11 want to lose you too. And then yeah, he's there he is galloping away another great cut.

Unknown Speaker 46:17 We get the prerequisite in a universal monster movie. We get villagers with torches they show up for the bear because they're they blame the gypsies bear for the attack on Larry's brother. The bear is very clearly not a real bear. It's a CG bear. But you know, we don't want them torturing. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 46:36 well, did you hear what he said? He says to somebody says like he doesn't all he does is dance. And I was like, Oh, that's sad to like dancing berry circuses.

Unknown Speaker 46:48 Yeah, but that's like

Unknown Speaker 46:49 somebody said that he's supposed to be an old like bear that's like about to be put out to pasture. Right? Like, I think the pub people are like, there's no way that bear could have done this. He's so old. And yeah, you feel a lot of sympathy for that bear even though he's CG.

Unknown Speaker 47:02 At least they don't have the bear fight the werewolf and get torn apart. Well, that would be more so I

Unknown Speaker 47:07 will say the claws through the policeman's mouth is pretty cool. That was one of the cool dads. I love that shot

Unknown Speaker 47:13 high. high praise for that, Chris. Yes, that that. I love that. I love that kill.

Unknown Speaker 47:19 Yeah, that's, you know, that's what happens the way the werewolf attacks that camp. And you know, we get that shot and a bunch of other pretty fun gore moments. This is when the movie really comes alive. For me these scenes. There's a lot of fair criticism to be had of the film when it's trying to be dramatic, but I feel like when we get to werewolf faction, it's pretty good werewolves. Action. I mean, yes, yes. Guilty of maybe being a little too CG at times. But you know, I don't know. I'm just happy to see a wolf man werewolf running around killing people. You know, I like the way the werewolves run on all fours. At some points. It's a little goofy, but I just like it.

Unknown Speaker 48:02 That's great. It's almost like, you know, in Transformers when they transform to the different mode to go faster. You know, it's like, yes, it's almost like a cheer moment. Like, you know, if the movie were better, you would definitely be cheering at that part. Because you're like, I need to go fast. I don't do this boop, boop. And then it's just great.

Unknown Speaker 48:19 I love it too. It's It's It's total chaos when when wolf wolf thing happens, but it's like chaos in the best way. It's like it's exactly it's like for all the the slow burning that's going along. It's like you really get a payoff. And I love this scene in particular, because you have people screaming, it's the devil. Yeah, the devil. And then yeah, it's just total chaos. And then like he, there's like the little boy or the little girl that like loses or mom or dad or the mom's looking for them and like the kid wanders off or there's just like, it's Yeah, just so much so much happening. And like it's really intense. And like, you're Yeah, you're just kind of on the edge of your seat, literally. Sure.

Unknown Speaker 48:57 But in the in the Extended Cut, it takes like, what 4050 minutes to get to this point. Is it Yes, definite reason why they cut it.

Unknown Speaker 49:06 At this point. You know, we get to sort of see that Larry has a hero in him. He grabs a gun and sort of goes to help people being attacked. There's this one kid who runs off he goes to help him the kid runs off into this like Stonehenge. Yes. Like I don't think it's literally supposed to be Stonehenge in

Unknown Speaker 49:27 England or there's just mini stone hedges like all around the corner in the countryside. I have the same

Unknown Speaker 49:32 exact same thought I was I just was like, is there just one that we know of here in the states are there there are many, many of these.

Unknown Speaker 49:40 Makes me want to live in England even more. I'm a druid No, you can just have a mini Stonehenge in your neighborhood. How cool would that be?

Unknown Speaker 49:49 You know the neighborhood stonehedge you know,

Unknown Speaker 49:51 and it's super foggy and gothy which I love. I'm a sucker for that kind of imagery. I don't care if a computer is doing it. I love it. That's the point where we get that Lawrence's attacked by the werewolf and bitten really savagely on the neck. So we know he's now bearing the mark of the wolf. And the villagers show up and drive the wolf away with their guns. And they bring Larry to the gypsy woman. And you know, everybody's basically telling her to kill him, but she won't do it. She tells them, he can only be released by someone who loves him. And we're all wondering who's

Unknown Speaker 50:33 this his dad doesn't love him let

Unknown Speaker 50:36 him fail. But stitching up of the wound was pretty gross in a good way. That was great. Like what she's stitching it up that was

Unknown Speaker 50:42 with one of those long curved needles.

Unknown Speaker 50:45 fishing hook. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 50:46 that was that was cringy. And a good way

Unknown Speaker 50:49 not to bring it back to Bram Stoker's Dracula again, but there's I feel like with Dracula, you almost get more bang for your buck. Because Dracula can be Dracula. He can be a bat and he also becomes a wolf. And the wolf in that is almost more interesting, because he can do way more things. Even as sex. Yeah. Which is more than you can say for this, you know, but I mean, I guess this is again, doing the classic wolf thing, but I would have liked a little bit even more craziness with with the wolf here, where, what else could he do? You know, but I know they're trying to keep it classic.

Unknown Speaker 51:24 Yeah, but then you'd be dealing with angry werewolf, right? Tell you what you can and can't do with a werewolf. And if you don't think that they'll do that, think again. Because horror fans can be really pedantic about what their movie monsters are allowed to do. If you ever want to find out go wander into a zombie conversation because there's a lot of strong feeling and a question

Unknown Speaker 51:47 Where did the term like isn't lichen, right, that lycanthrope? Like and throw? When did that become coming to use? Because I know what it was that underworld? Is that? Is that where they use it the most? But, you know, was it always around? Well, they call them lichens. Okay. Right.

Unknown Speaker 52:04 I think it's been around since the 1800s. I didn't research it. I don't know. But it's it's a term that's been around a while it's been around before,

Unknown Speaker 52:12 because it's in one of the books where she's researching. And I was like, oh, there's that word again. But like, when did pop culture? When did the movie start using it? Because I don't remember it from the 80s. It definitely

Unknown Speaker 52:22 no, it was definitely being used in the 80s. It was, it

Unknown Speaker 52:26 was it seems like instead, like you know how they go the Batman instead of Batman. They're like, let's say let's call them this. And so we don't have to call them werewolves now. And it just seems like like let's latch on to a new term.

Unknown Speaker 52:38 Yeah, it's a kind of it sounds sort of scientific. So it Yeah, sound smart. Right. When you say it?

Unknown Speaker 52:44 Well, it was first, the first mention of the word according to Wikipedia, was in 60. Ad.

Unknown Speaker 52:51 Whoa, wow.

Unknown Speaker 52:52 Yeah. Okay. So it's a it's a it's a Greek word, apparently. And it's translation. It's leukosis, which is Wolf and anthropos, which is man says Luke can throw pa or throw PA. That's where it comes from. The definition of it is that it's a form of madness involving the delusion of being an animal usually a wolf with corresponding altered behavior. But yeah, so it's been around for a long time. I don't know when it was, like, like subset I don't know when it was first mentioned in films, but it's it's a term that's been around a long, long time. It's used in movies and stuff earlier than you think. I wouldn't be surprised if it's used in the original Wolf Man or werewolf of London, which was the first official will universal were watching not American. Were right London, werewolf and of London. But um, yeah, good research. Interesting fact. So Lauren, Larry is brought back to the manor. When comes back, and like Glenn keeps coming and going. In the movie. It's like, just stay put, when

Unknown Speaker 54:02 the funeral is over. What is she doing? Like leaves?

Unknown Speaker 54:05 And then she comes, you know, it's just like, Why are Why are they moving her around so much in the story, just have her stay there. Who cares? It's a weird, baffling you know, sort of plot thing that keeps happening. You know, Larry's his head is swimming from I don't know, you know, being infected with lycanthropy. And we're getting these sort of dreamy, you know, heroine visions. You know, we get the sort of Gollum looking wolf boy,

Unknown Speaker 54:35 so Gollum. Yes. I wrote down the same thing.

Unknown Speaker 54:39 It looks like they just took the like, they took the Gollum model. Just through some, just, He really looks like Gollum. And you know, we'll later learn what that will boy is and it all it's, it's all fine, but it just seems kind of, you know, thrown together to add some scares or whatever.

Unknown Speaker 55:00 And then this is an again this is this is when Kim sale seek showed up and in the theatrical version, I was like wait, who is this guy again? It was just so like in the unrated. We get so much more of him. Anyway, so he shows up he comes in with a tray. And then you know Larry's like oh take when I thought you were leaving and Gwen's like this place is it's possible to escape. And this is, you know, this is Besides, this is the least I can do. Yeah. And then we see Larry, starting to heal.

Unknown Speaker 55:30 Then we pass over the spot where Anthony Hopkins and Emily blonde pass each other on the stairs. And he just I was just about to bring that up. I love I mean, talk about classic, awesome Anthony Hopkins where he's just eating the apple and just gives her the creepiest stare in the world. I love it.

Unknown Speaker 55:47 Well, that's only in the unrated cut. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 55:50 How could they cut that? But I mean, come on, like,

Unknown Speaker 55:53 yeah, I mean, in in the unrated cut. This whole section is much better because it's really montage in the theatrical and the unrated. They kind of let it breathe a little like, you know, we get that scene, like you said, where they pass each other on the stairs. And you can tell while he's eating the apple that he really doesn't want her there.

Unknown Speaker 56:11 Now, does that make sense with I'm sorry to skip to the end again. But he said, is he supposed to be in love with Emily Blunt? Okay, because there's a certain point where he's like, your brother was gonna take her away from me and blah, blah, blah, and I can't deal with her being away. I was like, wait a minute, what was was he into her the whole time? And I was totally confused.

Unknown Speaker 56:30 No, Chris, I felt the same way. But I think and maybe I'm wrong, but I think it was just because she kind of reminds him of Gen Y.

Unknown Speaker 56:40 Right? Because then the statue of his dead wife looks exactly like Emily Blunt too. Right. So yeah, okay. All right. I guess that makes but

Unknown Speaker 56:48 I had the I had the I had the same thing though, too. But then again, I was like, Okay, this is Gothic, like anything go right. Like the dad could be in love with her too as Emily Blunt. You know, it was like, damaged, you know, like that movie damaged.

Unknown Speaker 57:00 Yeah, you know, now that you're bringing it up, I think maybe you might have a point. And I've seen this movie more times than you guys. And I never that never really sunk in to me because it's so sort of thrown in there. But yeah, I think you know, he does have sort of some weird thing for her because she reminds him of his his dead wife.

Unknown Speaker 57:20 Maybe Anthony Hopkins was like remember legends of the fall? That's the only type of movie I'm going to do where everyone falls in love with the girl all three brothers.

Unknown Speaker 57:27 Well, yeah, it's a real crime against cinema that that Apple moment was cut out of the theatrical a great people needed to see that on the big screen. So Lawrence is better sort of miniseries just kind of seems like he's been on a like five day bender.

Unknown Speaker 57:45 Got a stiff neck right, that scene?

Unknown Speaker 57:47 Yeah, the doctor comes and checks him out. And you know he's healing miraculously which the doctor is clearly unnerved by Hopkins. Dad is kind of being nice to Gwen but it feels sort of threatening now that I'm thinking about it. Maybe he's attracted to her as you pointed out, just a basic like Okay, it looks like he's on the mend kind of part of the story. But we know better. He you know, he's looking at his wounds and he's seeing how how much healing he's gone through. And then Kim fail when they get the real scene with Kim fail seek. And Larry where he's the Sikh is in the dining room or something and he's like loading up

Unknown Speaker 58:33 cleaning the he's cleaning the gun or

Unknown Speaker 58:36 elephant gun or whatever it is.

Unknown Speaker 58:38 Yeah, he was cleaning guns

Unknown Speaker 58:40 and you'll we learn that he's been there. The Sikh has been there since Larry was a kid. His name is Singh. Yes. You know, he shows. Larry is the silver bullet that he's made. Well, he

Unknown Speaker 58:53 says, and then Larry says to sing now that you thank you for remembering his name. He says, Are you preparing for a war? And then sing says Do you believe in curses? Mm hmm.

Unknown Speaker 59:05 Yes. And that's it. This is when we really it's really driven home that sing is the man servant. And everybody needs a man servant. I think

Unknown Speaker 59:14 I need man's servant.

Unknown Speaker 59:16 Now incomes one of my favorite character actors, especially when he's playing a villain Hugo Weaving. He shows up as the inspector not really a villain in this case, but he is an antagonist. Weaving is just basically doing Agent Smith from the matrix here but he's doing like Agent Smith of Scotland Yard basically, it's pretty much the same performance. He goes to the manor to question Lawrence about the going the wolfy goings on. You know, Hopkins is sort of like gatekeeping but Larry's like no, go ahead, let them in. I'll talk to them. So they have the sort of scene in a in the park. Where we even starts off by saying, you know, I've been following your acting career, Mr. Anderson, and you know, starts off sort of ingratiating himself, and then the questioning becomes more pointed. You know, he's bringing up Larry's time in the asylum, and then he brings up how, oh, he's an actor, so maybe he's playing another role, you know, or, you know, this implication that, uh, you know, an actor would be more, you know, likely to be a murderer. And, you know, I think that's when Larry sort of needles him about not catching jack the Ripper.

Unknown Speaker 1:00:38 Yeah, but he's no, he's no Van Helsing from when actually when Anthony Hopkins played Van Helsing, he did bring a little bit more craziness to the role where it's like, everyone's kind of stuffy in this movie, and I feel like this would have been the opportunity for him to bump it up a notch and be like, a little bit different than this like stuffy straightlaced Scotland Yard guy, you know, in Anthony Hopkins, Van Helsing literally humps, Billy Campbell in Dracula, you know, and it's like, Yeah, he plays him totally crazy. And I feel like this movie could have used a little bit more like passionate melodrama over the top, you know, acting just to just to make it more a little bit entertaining. Yeah. Jen, like you're saying like, Alright, so if Benicio is, is a mopey guy who's like, all inward and whatever, you need something to balance that out. Like there needs to be a little bit of Yeah, agree. You know that other flavor?

Unknown Speaker 1:01:29 Yeah. And there's definitely no performance in this that goes, it's sort of in the crazy direction of, of Anthony Hopkins, and Dracula, or of Gary Oldman, and Dracula. Yeah, nobody's nobody's boring it on to that level. The movie could have benefited from a little more. Hey, agreed. Then now then there's some more hallucinations outside. There's another scene with Glenn, where he teaches her how to skip stones. Were you guys swept into the romance of this?

Unknown Speaker 1:01:59 Honestly, that's the one moment that they actually have that I feel like feels human. And I was like, I guess that's it. They're in love. That's it. That's all we get.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:07 That's all it takes Chris. That's all it takes.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:11 Stones a love that will stand the test of time, right?

Unknown Speaker 1:02:15 Oh, I think I might be skipping ahead. But there's that other moment where he she says something to him and then there's a big close up of her lips and he's just like losing control because she's so sexy and alluring and yeah, I feel like that's the one deep moment of sexuality in the movie that I feel like could have been threaded throughout the entire thing. Everybody is just driven crazy because of because they're Woolfson you know, tie it to sexuality and then this whole thing that peeked out for a moment there maybe that was from Roman x you know idea but like they didn't really go go there with it. It's just like this odd one moment where it's like oh, I got to get away from you Emily because you know you're driving me crazy.

Unknown Speaker 1:02:56 He sends her away again Yeah, right that point

Unknown Speaker 1:03:00 go skip some rocks.

Unknown Speaker 1:03:03 But no, he has like yeah, I think that is in the moment, Chris because it's like we're getting his Wolfie hearing and then I think he's like Wolfie horniness

Unknown Speaker 1:03:12 with it's, it's it's very, it's just a few See, it's like a another scene. Okay, it's right. It's right around that area. It's a different scene, but

Unknown Speaker 1:03:20 it's close by where he's like, yes, zooming in on her like her pouty lips and like, kind of, I think maybe even like her chest area or something like her neck

Unknown Speaker 1:03:28 or something. He's like, like the nape of her neck. And he's like, looking at her pulse.

Unknown Speaker 1:03:32 Yes. That's the point of the movie, as Anthony Hopkins will later say is like, it's so good to be the wolf. Let the wolf free. Like, you know, that should have been been nice to struggle the entire time has been like, well, like, it feels good to be the wolf. But no, I can't I know, I can't but where's that touched on in a second? But, you know, I feel like if that's your thesis of the movie, that's the reason why the main bad guy loves being the wolf. And I feel like that's an interesting concept, you know, and they touched on that in what Emily's Hulk. He knows like, the craziest things I like when I Hulk out and yeah, so I feel like that could have been explored and brought to, you know, a satisfying the Matic point.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:13 I think he's got a complicated relationship with his wolf Enos because he's like, I think, you know, he would maybe if he didn't have such the past that he did and the family issues that he did, he might be able to lean into it more, but I think it's because of all this family stuff that's happened and like all this, like, you know, all the stuff that happened to him or whatever, he doesn't really get to enjoy being a wolf. Like we just get, because usually I feel like with the wolf, man, there's usually some enjoyment and then there's remorse. Afterwards, you know, like when they come back down or whatever, it's like going on a bedroom, you know? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:50 But it's definitely while it's on and it's always been a sort of metaphor used in at least in movies. It's often been a metaphor for alcoholism. Yeah. You know drug addiction beat yeah yeah right and I think to Chris's point like a probably would have been strengthened better if we got some sense of being you know for for beneath CEOs care we get it from Hopkins but oh yeah like from beneath to his character that this is can be fun and exciting and exhilarating and you know you get a rush out of becoming this monster and killing

Unknown Speaker 1:05:26 I don't think he allows himself to have that

Unknown Speaker 1:05:29 so you know the villagers are sort of you know gathering up in there you know they've they they think they know what's going on here and they want to take Larry in they have this really creepy priest with them. They show up at the the manor we see them sort of in montage making silver bullets and stuff. We see that the full moon is coming so we know that you know, Larry is gonna wolf out soon. We get a quick sort of scene with Hugo Weaving at the time. Totally not buying into this werewolf shit. He keeps asking for a pint of bitter please.

Unknown Speaker 1:06:03 Right? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:06:05 And the lady in the pub is not having it because her husband was killed by the wolf. So she's like, you should be out there looking for this killer. And he says all he wants is his beer. Yeah. And yeah. And she's, she's like, so bent out of shape. He was like I you know, there, there are rules. I can't just hang around here, you know, rules that will keep us from a doggy dog world. And then he's just like, you know, where's my pint of better? I skipped today, the scene where the they show up at the manor with a priest. And Hopkins comes and fires at them with his his gun. And he's like, oh, sorry, I meant to hit you.

Unknown Speaker 1:06:41 He apologizes for missing. Right. It's pretty great. And it's sort of you know, you're it's a weird kind of moment, because he you know, you haven't really seen him sort of stick up for Larry. Yeah, but now he's like, he's sticking up for him. And you know, he's like, my men servant is hiding in the on the roof. And he's a crack shot. Yes. But he's not really there. Seek is not on the roof. It's a bluff. Right.

Unknown Speaker 1:07:03 And that's when he says to Larry, he's like, that's what he says. He goes, you're not the only actor in the family.

Unknown Speaker 1:07:09 Yeah. So it does pay off. It does pay off. So

Unknown Speaker 1:07:13 yeah, basically, we're all just heading towards Larry turning into the Wolf Man, which is what we sort of been waiting for. Basically, dad knows it's coming and he lures Larry out to the family mausoleum. He's got it all set up with candles and everything. And you know, the mom's sarcophagus is there, which is a pretty sweet sarcophagus. Later in a hallucination, we see it sort of, you know, it's this carved marble thing and we see it move and say something to me. It's

Unknown Speaker 1:07:42 technically a wife Kane, isn't it? Kind of Yeah, keep

Unknown Speaker 1:07:46 that's where he keeps his wife. Every good wife deserves a mausoleum. That's right. Anyway, so you know, they go down into the crypt, and we find out that and this is a little confusing, because he like closes a cage door. And you think that he's the dad is going to lock him in? Mm hmm. But I think it's just to separate them like he doesn't we don't see Larry breaking out of anything, so he's not locked in there.

Unknown Speaker 1:08:14 Oh, it's because he's gonna turn into a werewolf too. Yeah, right. That's where that's where he goes all the time to keep everyone safe, right?

Unknown Speaker 1:08:22 Yes, right. Yes. But usually thing has to come in a lot. I think he gets he has to lock it from the outside.

Unknown Speaker 1:08:28 Yes. That's you know, that's what he says is saying locks me he says that later. He says Singh locks me in every time I change. But you know, I don't want to be locked in anymore. The wolf must must outright and so it's just a little the way it's sort of blocked is a kind of confused, confusing to me, because we see him close a cage kind of door between them. But neither of them is actually trapped in there. Because then Larry starts to change. We get the first real werewolf transformation that we see. It's good. It's see again, it's very CG. You know, and I know I from what I know about the movie about the production. Originally they wanted to do practical transformations and Rick Baker was really excited to do that. But because Roman EC left under such short notice, Joe Johnston didn't feel he had the time and you know, I remember people who were fans of Wolf Man having a lot of problem with that at the time. Let's do CG needs to be needs to be practical and I mean, I agree it would have been better if it had been practical but

Unknown Speaker 1:09:43 absolutely i mean that's that's your money shot right there. That's why people come to see the movie is to see you know, the transformation and if then to that if you're going to make the Wolf Man update you got to do I'm not saying it shouldn't have been maybe it should have been a mix of CG and yeah and practical, but they should have, you know, it's like, oh, I don't have time to do that. Well then don't do the movie. Yeah. Like, I feel like that's, that's an important section of the movies is the transformation. Right? And if you can't be, you know, American Werewolf in London, right, then why bother

Unknown Speaker 1:10:14 here? Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get why it happened. It is a disappointment. And if they had pulled off something really spectacular, it would have been a selling point for the move. Yeah, yes. But, you know, and, and this is, you know, key. This is pertinent to the point of this podcast, I think, you know, the transformation was shown a lot in the trailers. And I think, you know, it was very clear from the trailers that it was CG, and I think that that turned a lot of people off. Yeah, they saw that and they were like, yeah, just looks like a CG mess.

Unknown Speaker 1:10:47 I'll give you the moaning sounds so painful, like waves like,

Unknown Speaker 1:10:52 just like, God Damn, that sounds painful, man. Like,

Unknown Speaker 1:10:56 he's bringing it there, Chris. He's bringing it. He's coming alive.

Unknown Speaker 1:11:01 And I and I like the things that they focus on in the transformation. I like they show his hand getting all gnarly. Yeah, they show his like, leg getting bent back like a wolf. scenary. Yeah. So it's like, I feel like they knew what to focus on.

Unknown Speaker 1:11:18 They just write the concepts there. Yeah, the

Unknown Speaker 1:11:20 concept was there. They just you didn't have the time to execute it in the way that would have been the most effective.

Unknown Speaker 1:11:27 And along with what Chris said, with the moaning I think the sound was really good for the transformation, too. There's a lot of the like the crack, you know, here the bone. Yeah, it's gross. And then yeah, like, I always love like, when the feet come out, like the shoes and stuff to like, just everything just busting out and just like, yeah, does gnarled and knuckled and, yeah, it's just a it would have been It's a shame. I agree with what you're both saying, if it could have been a mix of CG and practical, I think that would have really been been something that could have been a standout for the film, but, but I think also, yes, that's something that our fans want. But our fans also have, you know, set the bar high with like you're saying with like, American Werewolf in London, or the howling? Like you have, like, you know, these transformations. Can we talk about the way he looks though? Because, yeah, I think I think he looks great. And I know you love him to Sebastian because he looks like

Unknown Speaker 1:12:23 Hold on, though. When we first were watching it together. You said you didn't think that the the wolf man looked very good.

Unknown Speaker 1:12:31 I came around to it though. I came around to it. Well, because of

Unknown Speaker 1:12:35 why did you

Unknown Speaker 1:12:35 because because I think as we talked earlier about the effects, like there's certain times where it looks better than others. Like there's certain lighting, there's certain things like it just there's times where he looks better. there's times where he truly looks like our action figure, which is what I want him to look like, we have a wolf man action figure. And he looks I mean, I think he's identical to that. But then there was like, the first maybe it was the first shot of him. When we watched the theatrical version. I was just kind of like, I don't know. And it could also be just because like it was more of the the maybe the movement of him as well like being more like, like we said, like more superhero esque or something. I don't know, but later, I don't know. I grew to be like, Alright, no, I'm into this. Like, I like the way he looks now. But yes, you're right. In the beginning, I was like,

Unknown Speaker 1:13:26 Well, I mean, I brought it up. The reason why I brought it up and wanted you to restate your feelings on that is because you're not alone. There's a lot of people who don't like the look of it. I have friends in the horror community who weren't into the design, and I like the design the reason why I like the design is because it evokes the original Wolf Man. It's an update of the original Wolf Man. And it's also a sort of take on the Oliver read werewolf from

Unknown Speaker 1:13:57 Curse of the werewolf,

Unknown Speaker 1:13:58 right Curse of the werewolf the hammer werewolf movie it's sort of a combination of those two more the Oliver read werewolf and in his clothing,

Unknown Speaker 1:14:07 I love the clothing and for me that that kind of makes it I mean, I don't I'm not aware of you know, the various looks as you guys are but to me it feels like the correct way to update the classic werewolf you know, and when he's got bad vest and shirt on and just the the shape of his head and the way everything looks. Yes, it's, you're like, that's, that's perfect. You know that that? That's him?

Unknown Speaker 1:14:31 Yeah, I love that too. And it's that that sort of vest look is sort of similar to what Oliver Reed is wearing in the curse of the werewolf. Yeah, I love the costuming of it. I really like the look of it. I understand like at first glance it seems maybe a little awkward. But it works for me his he doesn't really have an extended snout like a lot of modern werewolves do it's sort of you know, more compact like the original Wolf Man.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:00 I think it's what I like about it.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:01 I like that too.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:02 Well, to me, there's a difference between just a werewolf and the wolf. Ah,

Unknown Speaker 1:15:06 wow. Okay,

Unknown Speaker 1:15:08 the Wolf Man looks more like a man. Yeah, he's a specific type of werewolf. He's

Unknown Speaker 1:15:14 right, man. You know, recently recently, I discovered I think I watched like on YouTube or something about special makeup effects for thriller, and they were mentioning how that is actually aware cat, right? Oh, because he's, you know, they got the long whiskers and it's a flat face as well. And I'm like, Oh, that's why that that stands out to me as well. Is that that? That look is very cool, too. And yeah, and I think I'm on your wavelength Sebastian, where I think it's cool. The design is always cooler when it's more man than wolf.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:46 Yeah. This is when we get the first Howl, which I think sounds pretty great. You know, who was involved in making the howl?

Unknown Speaker 1:15:54 I do. But I'll let you deliver x interior. No.

Unknown Speaker 1:15:58 You did the stuff for Dracula?

Unknown Speaker 1:16:00 No, it was David Lee Roth and Gene Simmons. The clap

Unknown Speaker 1:16:04 the two classiest people in the world. Yeah. I

Unknown Speaker 1:16:07 don't know. And you know, it's fitting that we're discussing this now because Eddie Van Halen just passed away the day before yesterday and was sad, really sad. super sad piece Eddie. So yeah, I mean, I don't know how much of David Lee Roth and Gene Simmons there is actually in the howl but they were apparently brought in to record some howling for the howl. So the villagers try to trap the Wolf Man with this like deer and that sort of dugout trap. But you know, it doesn't go well for them. One of the guys gets pulled into the trap and the Wolf Man messes him up pretty bad. There's some good slashing and gore

Unknown Speaker 1:16:49 we haven't talked about because I think this might notice is I don't know if this is the first one this might be the second one because there's there's definitely a couple throughout the film, the wonderful decapitations this film deliver? Yeah. And yeah, it definitely happens. I think it might happen also at the first Gypsy wolf out but it definitely happens during this time with the little pit or whatever. You totally the decapitation.

Unknown Speaker 1:17:13 No, it happens. One of the guys who is one of the river Yeah, no, he goes into like quicksand or something. Yes. Um, he's one of the guys. He's the guy in the Extended Cut that he throws the drink at

Unknown Speaker 1:17:25 that he has probably his beef with. Yes, yes. Yes. That's why I was talking about was so satisfactory because of now knowing what goes down in the pub. I'm like, Oh, that. That's why Paul had some meaning behind it.

Unknown Speaker 1:17:37 Yeah, that that guy runs into what looks like quicksand. And he gets stuck there and the Wolf Man, Wade's out to where he is and swipes off his head with a claw and it goes flying. And it's extremely satisfying. Yes, I really like this whole sequence. It's action packed and gory and fun. And this is basically why you come to a wolf man movie, in my opinion.

Unknown Speaker 1:18:02 Yeah. I mean, I always could use even more blood. Like when, you know, granted, there's a lot of killing and maiming. But like there's not a lot of splashing of blood like that's to nitpick. You know, I just would like a little bit more splashes

Unknown Speaker 1:18:17 more blood.

Unknown Speaker 1:18:18 Okay, so then we get the scene, but that's in every werewolf movie where the werewolf wakes up and the next day and he's all covered in blood and rags. He's a human again. I've all been there. Yeah, we've all been there. You know, he's sort of near the manor. I don't know. He's like out in the backyard. I don't know where he is. But he's

Unknown Speaker 1:18:36 inside a tree tree. He's He's in a tree like the trees like hollowed out and he's like, curled up in there.

Unknown Speaker 1:18:42 Yeah. And dad is there basically like laughing at him like, Oh, you did some terrible things.

Unknown Speaker 1:18:50 Yeah. reminded me of your two terrible Mariel

Unknown Speaker 1:18:57 these clearly delighting in the fact that like he's been on that Lawrence has been on a murder rampage.

Unknown Speaker 1:19:03 This movie had been more successful that you've done terrible things could have been like a classic line. Yeah, you know, if everybody knew this movie, people would be quoting that left and right, you know, after that, nyan that bachelor party you've done.

Unknown Speaker 1:19:17 But yeah, he basically dad basically gives him up to the villagers who knocks him out, then, you know, they they haul him to London to back to the old asylum. And you know, they've got the total cliche German doctor, clearly based on Freud. They put him in this chair, which is pretty amazing. I have no idea if this is based on anything real but they dunk him in a big pool of ice. And like what looks like an electric chair, but it's just an ice dunking chairs a

Unknown Speaker 1:19:47 great image though. Yeah, and like whoever Who cares if it works, it looks like straight up torture, but it looks so cool. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:19:54 we go back into sort of montage mode here which I'm not crazy about. It's you know, he's He's getting tortured. Like at one point he's got like a bit nice teeth and he's like, jabbering, like, I also think that we're supposed to pick up on the fact that time is passing here. Yeah. Which, Jen, I know you had a problem with it because you're like, there's this place is just got nothing but full moons.

Unknown Speaker 1:20:20 I said the same thing like they never show a not full moon. Like, here

Unknown Speaker 1:20:25 it is. I think the montage is are supposed to serve as a feeling of passing of time without like, you know, doing the cliche thing of showing like a calendar whipping by really sad. You know, I mean, it's

Unknown Speaker 1:20:38 a month goes by because he's got a turn at some point. And I believe that they're trying to set up the fact that they all do think that he's really legit crazy. Yes, because he's acting crazy. And so that you know, the payoff later will be everyone thinks he's crazy. And then he's not aware. Well, yes,

Unknown Speaker 1:20:53 Hopkins shows up to hang around his cell as Lawrence is sort of straitjacketed. And then we get the story of, you know, how dad became a werewolf, which was he was, you know, out in the Himalayas or something. And he went to a cave, and the Gollum werewolf boy was in the cave. And that werewolf boy bit him and that's, you know, how he became a werewolf. If you're wondering why that's the story. It is similar to the setup of the story in werewolf of London. The original werewolf movie from that was actually before the Wolf Man

Unknown Speaker 1:21:35 sounds vaguely racist.

Unknown Speaker 1:21:36 Yeah, probably.

Unknown Speaker 1:21:38 There's some feral Asian kid man. Goddamnit.

Unknown Speaker 1:21:42 Yeah, it was racist. We'll just assume it's racist if it's old. And this is when we get confirmation in a flashback that dad killed mom as a werewolf. which is surprising to no one. And, you know, we get to look at the Anthony Hopkins werewolf and the Anthony Hopkins Wolf, man, it's it's pretty good. It looks more like it's CG than makeup to me. I you know, it's just for a flash. So who knows? My guess is probably Anthony Hopkins was not keen to put on tons of makeup. So he's probably you know, they probably had to do it like that, because he wouldn't go for it.

Unknown Speaker 1:22:24 Well, it's also where we learn that this is when Larry says to dad, like you should just kill yourself. And he's like, I consider that but life is too good.

Unknown Speaker 1:22:34 Yeah. I like I like Wilson is awesome. Yeah, yeah. But he but he gives Larry a straight razor and it's like, yeah, kill yourself. And then, you know, so yeah, he gives Larry the razor and then he we see Hopkins leaving this the Siloam. And he's he's jamming down on the harmonica as he walks out.

Unknown Speaker 1:22:56 Yeah, I said to even said to you, I was like, Who is playing the harmonica in this asylum? And you're like, that's Hopkins like he's just like do to do on the little mouth harp going down the

Unknown Speaker 1:23:08 hallway. A little john popper?

Unknown Speaker 1:23:13 Yeah, the character is musical. He's always playing the piano. And I know that Anthony Hopkins always plays the piano and like, anytime he can put it in it, put it into a movie, you know, he even writes the the pieces and then so he'll play some noodle on the piano and there'll be like, leave it in. What is that? He's like, I wrote that. And then so though, he does that a lot, because he's pretty accomplished pianist. Oh,

Unknown Speaker 1:23:37 cool. So that's totally cool. Okay, yeah. Nice. All right, cool. Well, that's good to know. Then we go on to what may be the best scene in the movie, which is the very ill advised nighttime asylum lecture. I mean, at first I'm like, why are they doing it this this at night, but then the doctor says like, I'm doing this to show you He won't turn into a werewolf. Yeah. Oh, good. But yeah, so they're in like a you know, theater, operating theater or whatever. And they will and Bernice CEO, and he's in you know, like, it's strapped down chair. It definitely at this point, we're veering into sort of dark comedy, because the the doctor is, you know, lecturing with his back turn to Benicio about how he's not going to turn into a werewolf and how he's just crazy. And Benicio is like, you need to go get out of here. I'll kill all of you. And and nobody's listening. And then so the doctor is lecturing, and he starts to change behind him. And the guys in the theater are like pointing like like, Look, look behind you. And he just keeps talking. Oh, good. It's pretty funny.

Unknown Speaker 1:24:51 Best don't The only thing that bothers me is that he doesn't kill everyone. I want everybody in that room that it should have been a pile of bodies, man, like That was the only minor quibble with that. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. All those fuck all those guys.

Unknown Speaker 1:25:06 Yeah, I mean yeah, they did promise everyone would die and not everyone died

Unknown Speaker 1:25:10 and the transformation they do like show his like jaw like snapping and like eath rolling into weird place. Yeah, that was cool it like oh we'll save some weird transformation stuff for this time so that you know you see different anatomy changing

Unknown Speaker 1:25:26 yeah and the first transformation is done in that crypt and it's sort of dark and there's candlelight so you know yeah this is like bright You know, this is a brightly lit Yeah, nothing operating theater and he's, you know, they're really showing you the change.

Unknown Speaker 1:25:40 I think that change looks really good here. Actually, I was I was really like, I was super super into this and just really ready for Larry to fuck everybody up. And it just it looked so much the change. I just I liked it so much better in this in this scene. And I don't know if it was pot, you know, partially because it was leading up to something it was going to be very satisfying. You knew it was going to be

Unknown Speaker 1:26:02 just the sweetest plum. It's all about the scene and wanting to see him go apeshit on all these doctors it's it's a lot of fun. There's a funny moment where one of the one of the doctors is trying to get out and the guy's at the door and another guy's in the door and not letting him out. And meanwhile, Larry's carving through people left and right.

Unknown Speaker 1:26:25 The guy at the door is like like mopping the floors. Yes. Like I think it's locked. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:26:33 The most it's not my job.

Unknown Speaker 1:26:35 There's some like slightly poor wirework here where you can tell like when he actually throws the the main doctor out the window. Yeah. And it's just like there's no way to him at all. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:26:47 the gravity

Unknown Speaker 1:26:48 so it's out the window instead of actually being thrown. But you know, it's nitpicky, you know,

Unknown Speaker 1:26:54 it's this. It's the satisfying though. It's still all satisfying.

Unknown Speaker 1:26:57 Yes. Yeah. Oh, and I just love that one part where he I think he's got a big chunk of a guy in his mouth. Yeah. And he just he looks at it. That's when he spots the actual doctor. And then the piece of meat just drops and he's like raw.

Unknown Speaker 1:27:11 It looks like a liver.

Unknown Speaker 1:27:12 Yeah. Is that is a great shot, like that is so good.

Unknown Speaker 1:27:16 And they throws the doctor out the window and he lands on the Oh, yeah, that spiked fence, you know, which is always good.

Unknown Speaker 1:27:23 skewered.

Unknown Speaker 1:27:24 Yeah, somebody skewered on a spiked iron rod fence is always a winning proposition. So Larry escapes from the asylum, he basically goes on sort of a rooftop chase scene. They have the seat, they have, you know, the sort of prerequisite scene where he like, gets on a gargoyle and howls at the moon. You know, it's an easy lay moment. But I'm an easy lay for gargoyle perches, pretty much like that. whenever it's in a movie, we get Hugo Weaving has clued in to this and he's sort of chasing him on ground while the Wolf Man is running across the rooftop, we get a really, you know, this sequence really sort of highlights this running thing where he's running, you know, along the roofs, and then he drops into the onto all fours and starts around all fours. Again, this moment feels to me kind of like a superhero movie moment, you know, because he's going from rooftop to rooftop, you know, and I can see why maybe some people you know, who are expecting a more sort of straightforward, grounded horror movie might not like this stuff, but I like big budget spectacle. And this is where the movie is sort of delivering on that

Unknown Speaker 1:28:45 for sure. Why Why would you have an issue with this just because it's too CG and too fantastical. It's just

Unknown Speaker 1:28:50 not a horror movie thing. It's you know, it's it's like a like I said, it's like a big budget, it's more of a sci fi or superhero thing

Unknown Speaker 1:28:59 because to him like jumping off of rooftops, or just to be like a big sort of animal loose because me isn't that what American Werewolf in London ends like that. So,

Unknown Speaker 1:29:09 right, but not done with $100 million in computer. Right, right. Right facts. Okay, I didn't

Unknown Speaker 1:29:15 have a problem with it. I was enjoying it. And I just was like,

Unknown Speaker 1:29:19 you're kind of you know, you're more of a horror fan than a sci fi or superhero movie fan. So like, I

Unknown Speaker 1:29:25 was okay with that. Okay, no, didn't bother me at all. No, I was just like, like, it's been like, it's, it builds up so much to this moment, where I kind of feel like, you know, I know we talked about earlier that, you know, Larry doesn't get to fully enjoy his wolfing. But I feel like for a minute here when he's like going all around London and do I mean, I think he might might be enjoying this rooftops for a minute, you know, like being able to, like okay, maybe this isn't all bad. You know, like there's, you know, the superhuman strength that he has. But yeah, I just, I mean, it's such a such a climax that it comes to With everything that happens at the asylum, and then he's just like, you know, he's just he's just going balls out. So I think they deliver. They

Unknown Speaker 1:30:09 there's a fun sort of little bookend to the scene where he sort of jumps down and he's in, you know, I don't know, Piccadilly Circus or something like that. A train, there's a train car that gets derailed, and it like runs over a dude while it's getting derailed. And you see the guy like, pretty great and falls over on its side, and it's full of people. And the Wolf Man like jumps on top of it. And he looks in through one side window, and there's a really cool shot of him, like looking in through the glass, and then breaks through the glass and like falls into the train car and then start slashing away at people really messing them up. I think the action is pretty well done. Could it be a little better, maybe. But I think for the most part, and this might actually be one area where Joe Johnston was a pretty good choice to come in. Because I don't imagine Mark Romanek would have really cared very much about these action sequences, Drew and Johnston does. I mean, he's not like known for being a great action director, but he's solid, you know, he did Jurassic Park three, which has some fun sequences. So you know, he comes from the Spielberg camp, so he knows what he's doing with action.

Unknown Speaker 1:31:19 And the action is not the sticking point here for sure.

Unknown Speaker 1:31:23 Lawrence goes on his werewolf bender. And he ends up under a bridge as we all have been after a bender by London Bridge, in fact, and he drinks some wakes up in the morning and he's back in his tattered bloody clothes. And he like drinks some really gross water from a puddle. And then we learned that Gwen apparently owns an antique shop or something in London, which is not set up at all. No, but she's she's going to her open up her store for the day. And Larry has I guess, figured out I mean, it says her name on the if you look at the signage on her store,

Unknown Speaker 1:32:06 wait, wait, is this where we learned that? That Mary Poppins and Wolf men are in the same universe?

Unknown Speaker 1:32:10 God? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:32:13 Yeah, so she goes into her antique store that hasn't been set up. And he's like sleeping under something in their table or some table. And then, you know, they have a scene, he tells her that he knows his father was the original werewolf and she wants to help him. We get more sort of romance moments here, which don't necessarily

Unknown Speaker 1:32:36 that's in quotes, romance, right? No, but

Unknown Speaker 1:32:39 we get it, we get a kiss here.

Unknown Speaker 1:32:41 All right. It was so hot, I forgot.

Unknown Speaker 1:32:45 Anyway, Hugo Weaving shows up and, you know, he shows her the newspaper drawings of the wolf carnage. And, you know, he basically detains her, you know, they figure out that Larry's been in there and they they think he's hiding behind a mirror. And he like shoots the mirror and, but behind the mirrors like this pan's statue, like a statue of the god Pan. I'm a pan fan. Not a Peter Pan fan

Unknown Speaker 1:33:13 and pan Greek god Pan, one half goat the other half man.

Unknown Speaker 1:33:19 Yeah, so yeah, the mirror gag is cool. In the and now in the unrated cut. That's where we get the scene of Larry walking around London. And there's a paper boy selling papers like Wolf Man kills everyone. And Larry buys all the papers from him sort of weird comedic moment that doesn't really fit but you know, and we get this montage as both of them make their way back to the Blackmore mansion, cheese on a train and a horse and stuff. But poor Larry's, he's just hoofing it the whole way. That's right. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:33:55 I'm in through the Moore's looking very for Lorne.

Unknown Speaker 1:33:58 Yeah. And there's, there's like a solid five to 10 shots of him, depending on which version you watch it like just walking. If they didn't do that, everybody like would it just work? could look. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:34:12 yeah. You can't when Gwen is trying to find Geraldine Chaplin's gypsy woman. So she does eventually meet her in a barn. And you know, there's this whole sort of scene where she's talking about how much you know, she wants to save him. And it's kind of like uncomfortably anti feminist sort of moment. You know, where it's like I can change him that kind of thing. Like I can change the abusive boyfriend, right oh man, which was a little uncomfortable there.

Unknown Speaker 1:34:46 Also at this time, though, there's there's a total souped up scene going on with Hugo Weaving. Yes, it right in the carriage and loading up a silver bullets. Yeah, he's a believer now.

Unknown Speaker 1:34:57 Yes, he's turned turned a corner on This Wolf Man, this werewolf business and he's ready to like lay down some silver bullets.

Unknown Speaker 1:35:04 Wouldn't all of London have turned believers after a giant Wolf Man just came marauding like in Piccadilly square. I mean come on what's going on fake

Unknown Speaker 1:35:14 fake news Chris fake news.

Unknown Speaker 1:35:18 There were crazy urban myths going around London in that period there is a famous sort of monster called Spring Heeled jack that would like supposedly come jumping down from roofs and like attack people and then jump away into another roof doing impossible things so that kind of stuff actually happened in London and there was never any explanation for it. I'm sure I'm in all parts of the world but they're famous stories from London of crazy crazy stuff like that so so Larry makes it back to the manor just in time for the full moon but poor Kim fail seek manservant is dead. He's a corpse sort of hanging on the wall. So I guess we're to assume that a pop killed him didn't have any more use for me. Yeah, that was

Unknown Speaker 1:36:08 why I wanted to see what happened to him I mean what

Unknown Speaker 1:36:11 well they sort of set him up as a badass so

Unknown Speaker 1:36:14 yeah, he's a great shot and then like way he's just dead

Unknown Speaker 1:36:18 it is off screen and we don't get I mean we can only assume that it you know it was dad we'll find out when he did it you know Yeah, but it's Yeah, he deserved he deserved it on string screen kill if he was going to

Unknown Speaker 1:36:32 die He Larry gets the key off of the dead seek that unlocks his case full of his trunk full of silver bullets. The dog who we haven't mentioned I forget his name but he gets a nice sort of a big dog he gets a nice jumpscare here and one thing I appreciated there's a shit is about to go down in the manner but Larry lets the dog out Yeah, he lets him go

Unknown Speaker 1:36:57 this the wolf and also let the deer go at 1.2 and chase a man instead of a deer yeah

Unknown Speaker 1:37:02 the deer with when they first try to trap him with the deer he doesn't kill the dog

Unknown Speaker 1:37:06 is Samson By the way, Sam Samson Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:37:09 Nice. Larry. Here's dad in the parlor playing the piano laying it with bloody fingers. Yes. Little shot. Very Yes. It's the Sikhs blood on his fingers. I don't know. Somebody's blood.

Unknown Speaker 1:37:20 Well, there's a there's a dead guy on like the chair.

Unknown Speaker 1:37:23 All right. It's the it's like the inspectors pal.

Unknown Speaker 1:37:26 You go weavings right hand guy. Yeah, man. We get sort of Hopkins doing the supervillain speech. It's pretty great Hopkins ham. So yeah, they they kind of have their big confrontation moment. Hopkin hits him with the cane that point it's a little bit repetitive just because I feel like we already kind of got the supervillain speech from dad at the asylum and we're just kind of getting more of that Hopkins starts throwing shit around and this is I love

Unknown Speaker 1:37:54 when he throws that chair it's so badass

Unknown Speaker 1:37:57 but but it's totally what you were saying where the wire work is kind of like suspect like it just kind of flying off

Unknown Speaker 1:38:04 but Hopkins man just like the look on his face and the way he's so nonchalantly does it it's ridiculous but awesome at the same time

Unknown Speaker 1:38:11 I didn't I didn't have an issue with any like I just like buy in that these like wolf dudes have all the strings in the world so like anything is gonna be like just like nothing you know? It's like no, I like it in concept it's

Unknown Speaker 1:38:23 just like technically if you're if you're really paying attention to it yes, it looks a little like somebody yanking a wire and pulling a yeah pulling a piece of furniture off exactly right. So they both wolf out and they do the thing where they like charge at each other and like smash chests to definitely a host matrix C type of werewolf wire fight for for a minute, and it ends with Larry. decapitating dad just great good decapitation, it's you know kind of CG looking but it's it's a pretty good death. And doesn't he doesn't his head like fly into the fireplace?

Unknown Speaker 1:39:05 I know he kicks

Unknown Speaker 1:39:06 him into the fireplace okay yeah, he

Unknown Speaker 1:39:08 kicks him to the fireplace right but

Unknown Speaker 1:39:10 the head actually we see the head kind of de wolf Yeah, it starts like going back to dad but another thing about dad wolfing out and then having the big fight which I appreciated because I was able to differentiate as to who was who was the dad shirtless?

Unknown Speaker 1:39:26 Thankfully only as a werewolf Yeah, that's shirtless. So gwenan Hugo show up and yeah, the Wolf Man bites Hugo which is a setup for a sequel that'll never happen. I think they're you know, the sequel was gonna maybe be Hugo Weaving as inspector werewolf or whatever.

Unknown Speaker 1:39:46 I would have watched that.

Unknown Speaker 1:39:47 Yeah, me too. I totally would have watched that. We do get Hugo Weaving in Joe Johnston's next movie, Captain America because he plays the Red Skull. So I guess maybe they liked working together. Who knows. And you know, the manner burns down because that's what manners always have to do in our movies. The Wolf Man chases going out into the woods with the torch wielding villagers following after them because you got to have that universal monster movie. You know, the woods look cool. She's sort of hiding behind some trees and there's lots of fog. And he sort of, you know, chasing, chasing, you see him in the background. He chases or to the waterfall where they had that moment, but not the place where they skipped stones, the waterfall,

Unknown Speaker 1:40:31 where the where the brothers had there was a refuge

Unknown Speaker 1:40:33 refuge.

Unknown Speaker 1:40:35 Yes. He's sort of like, tackles or pushes her down to the ground. But she's like, No, me, you know, me good acting here from I mean, she's good. The whole movie. Oh, yeah. She's great, really good moment here, where she's sort of trying to convince him to kind of recognize who she is, even though he's in wearable form.

Unknown Speaker 1:40:55 I liked that. You could see her in his pupils, by the way that I thought it was. I mean, I know it's kind of hokey or whatever. But I appreciated that.

Unknown Speaker 1:41:02 Yeah, I mean, the whole thing is kind of hokey. But yeah, it's the scene you need to have, yes, the werewolf movie. villagers are coming, basically, you know, he's gonna kill her. But then he, she gets through to him, and then he, you know, he stops, then they hear the villagers coming. And then she shoots him because she's got a gun with her with silver bullets, presumably in it a little. I mean, I would have preferred the cane. But, I mean, why didn't she have the cane? And then, you know, pulled out the knife and stabbed him in the heart or something. And then he, you know, transforms back into Larry and dies in their arms. And they have this sort of, you know, sad, doomed love moment, which, you know, honestly, no one cares about.

Unknown Speaker 1:41:49 I cared. You care? Yeah, I did. Actually, I did. I did actually. Well, that that moment was like, I mean, it was because he, he like kind of he starts to after she shoots him, and then he kind of like turns over to a side. And then he kind of I think he grabs her arm, like a little, a little bit of a jumpscare. But then you can see he's coming back to being Larry. And then he says, that's when he was like, thank you. And he was like, it had to be this way. You know, it's like he was this, you know, now he's tortured guy and I don't know, I I actually didn't care.

Unknown Speaker 1:42:22 I cared. He dies, and Hugo shows up and we see that he's got the cane and you know, again, they're sort of I think it's sort of, you're supposed to sort of think, Oh, this this is he's going to be in the sequel. And then you know, they show the moon and there's more of Emily's voiceover and then we're out. And you know, we've got sort of horror movie style Wolf Man and credits, which are pretty cool. They're, you know, they're stylish and cool.

Unknown Speaker 1:42:50 I can't help but think of, you know, Dracula, where Amina chops Dracula's head off. And, you know, they're this sort of lovers souls that are always meant to be so that makes sense to me that, you know, she should be the one to kill them. But I just feel like they're trying to shoehorn that same story into this by by the Gypsy saying, it has to be someone who loved him. I'm like, Well, does she even say like, oh, for his soul to be fine, or I mean, like, what's the point of that? Like, would he have lived if anybody else shot him with silver bullets? Like, why does it have to be someone who loves him? It just it seems like they're just really forcing a story at this point.

Unknown Speaker 1:43:26 I think. I think they are sort of going to that. Well, they're, you know, I think there's figuring Hey, it worked for Dracula, you know, right. It'll work for the wolf. Man. I definitely think this movie is is trying to capture the magic of in some ways of that Coppola Dracula, that's definitely what it's aiming for. Right. I mean, some people hate the Cobo Dracula, so right. No, it's not like that movies universally loved either. Sure, sure. It's more people like it now than they used to. But I remember back in the day, nobody was hankering for more of that. Well, there's a lot of problems. You know, everybody was just like, Look, you know, sucked, you know, and like, actually, it's, it's not like it was that beloved at the time.

Unknown Speaker 1:44:08 It made money though. That's why they made so

Unknown Speaker 1:44:11 and this movie didn't. So on that note, you know, my sort of feelings about why this movie tanked. Like I said, I think that trailers unfortunately, by showing the CG transformation, I think turn some people off. I think that Benicio del Toro is not the kind of actor or leading man that brings in money, you know, like he's just not. If this had been Brad Pitt or somebody I think it would have probably stood a better chance even though like Benicio, and I know he was really passionate about doing this. I think that probably didn't help. And I think that, you know, when it came out, the reviews were pretty abysmal. And I think that is largely due to the sort of editing, I think that the editing is bad. And I think that sort of hurt the movie critically, I don't know if if they had released, the longer version in the theaters, if that would have been received any better probably wouldn't have been. Because I think like Chris fairly pointed out that I think a lot of the problems are in the script, unfortunately. Yeah. So you know, I don't think it was going to do that well with critics, either way, but if it had been more embraced by fans, then maybe there would have been some word of mouth and it wouldn't have tanked nearly as badly, but even a bigger sort of issue. And I think that we're seeing this with all of these universal these attempts at these universal monsters is that, I don't know if people care about them. You know, like, they've tried now with Wolf Man, they've tried with, you know, a new Dracula. They've tried with the mummy with Tom Cruise. And it's like, there, none of them are hitting it. It's too bad. Because obviously, I'm a fan. I love the universal monsters, but I just don't think that they're big money movies. Now, you know, the recent Invisible Man that just came out, did it smart, because it's a low budget movie. It's contemporary. It's not hinting on your love of the Invisible Man. To sell it. It's, it's just giving you a movie with an invisible man and calling it the Invisible Man. And it's like a, you know, whatever, a $5 million movie as opposed to 100 million dollar movie. So it's, you know, 150,

Unknown Speaker 1:46:32 right?

Unknown Speaker 1:46:34 Yeah, or whatever, if you bring the budgets of these things way down and do these sort of scaled back attempts at rebooting these series and do them, you know, in a modern setting, which isn't to my preference, because I like the cool Gothic setting, but you know, you could probably do Gothic for cheaper than 100 and 50 million How

Unknown Speaker 1:46:56 do you know how much it costs to make shape of water? Because that's, I mean, that's clearly got some creature going on.

Unknown Speaker 1:47:02 Yeah, I mean, but it was probably, you know, 50 million or something, but the shape of water wallet had a lot of design and really rich design and everything. It didn't have a lot of action. The action is what costs a lot of money. Yeah, for a lot of these things, you can have something look great and have it be period and stuff but as long as you're not throwing in like massive action sequences, you know, you're not going to reach that hundred million dollar mark or whatever.

Unknown Speaker 1:47:31 But also how much did Anthony Hopkins get walk away with here? I feel like he you know, he was commanding some money

Unknown Speaker 1:47:39 the costs were high you know, and I think something like shape of water, though it's not like cheap it's not you know, Michael Shannon isn't gonna demand $50 billion

Unknown Speaker 1:47:51 right felt like they weren't holding back on the budget on anything here. I feel like they were just like open the floodgates and just make the best movie we can and

Unknown Speaker 1:48:02 there's a lot of good things here though. I like it you know there was the It looks good like I mean it's just it's it's kind of it's it's a bummer and I you know I would love to see the the universal monsters live on I haven't seen an attempted a creature film and that's why I was thinking of shaper water but now I don't know it's it's it's it's weird because like I said, in the beginning my first watch I was kind of ambivalent about the whole thing and then watching closely, the theatrical and the unrated version. I just came to like to film a lot more

Unknown Speaker 1:48:39 Yeah, I think if you were to see this bar if you were to see this movie, you know at a bar with the sound off you'd probably be like this movie looks incredible. Oh my god the Wolf Man Anthony Hopkins is in this Emily Blunt you think this is the greatest movie and then you'd go home rented watch it with the sound and go wait this movie sucks like what what happened? You know because the production design the cinematography all there so so many of the elements are right but then the crucial elements like the story the editing and the direction fail and that's it's kind of like right down the middle where you got half good half bad and then it just doesn't come together and knowing that you know every everybody it went forward with last minute director change will pull the rug out from any production I think so. Just look at solo or and you know, like I mean, like they brought it into port it's not a terrible movie. I you know, it was watchable.

Unknown Speaker 1:49:39 You mean the Wolf Man or

Unknown Speaker 1:49:40 the wolf? No, the wolf sorry the Wolf Man was watchable and is a fine enough movie but especially with the watching the Extended Cut was a bit of a drag.

Unknown Speaker 1:49:50 So you prefer the you prefer I prefer

Unknown Speaker 1:49:52 the theatrical cut because it just gets to the point, you know, gets to the gore and gets to the but I understand why you would watch the Extended Cut, if you were just you want to luxuriate in the feel of the movie because the feel of the movie is, is good, you know, they got the gothic horror thing, you know, we've gone over it and yeah, I just I think that it's just too boring. And they needed to add some more interesting twists and add a little bit more, you know, modern lies juice to it, yeah, in order to in order to make it stand out.

Unknown Speaker 1:50:23 And then also, to piggyback on that Chris was, you know, I feel like, because, and you brought this up to Sebastian, it's like, Who is it really for? Because, like you said, it's not, like, there's elements of it that aren't something that a horror fan is going to really be into, you know, because of more of the action type. Like, the sequences and it's just, I don't know, I didn't I don't know if it was really defined for a person, so or it could have become like, I had a cult following. He other than, you know, having like, the basis of being the Wolf Man, but the actual film didn't have like that thing that it's like, oh, you know, this is what horror fans like, loves. I mean, you kind of have that because you love the way he looks. But like, if if, you know, if, like we said earlier, if like the transformation could have been kick ass, then like, that would have been something that people were talking about, you know, if it would have been at the transformation, or, like, if there would have been some real hamming it up, like, we would have got like full Hopkins, like, you know, being really Machiavellian, like over the top or something like that. there needed to be something that had people talking.

Unknown Speaker 1:51:40 Well, I think your point of, you know, who is this for? It's not quite, you know, hitting the target for horror fans. It's not quite hitting the target, because there's too much sort of slow drama scenes. Exactly. Or for fans of big spectacle action movies, or sci fi or whatever stuff with big money and big production designs not really hitting that target. And it's not really hitting, it's definitely not hitting the target for people who are into period dramas. If that's what you're going for, so ivory,

Unknown Speaker 1:52:17 it is not

Unknown Speaker 1:52:18 I think, you know, it's, you know, yes. They didn't know who they were making this for, which I think is going to be a theme that we find a lot in this podcast.

Unknown Speaker 1:52:29 They made their made it for podcasters in 2020

Unknown Speaker 1:52:33 to dissect

Unknown Speaker 1:52:35 this will be great for them.

Unknown Speaker 1:52:37 That's who this is made for. All right, well, um, that wraps up our discussion of the 2010. Wolf Man, thank you for joining me. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:52:47 yeah, thank you.

Unknown Speaker 1:53:01 That about does it today for Tentpole Trauma. If you like what you heard, check out our social media presence on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Just look for Tentpole Trauma. That was easy, wasn't it? If you like us, hit subscribe, and leave us a sterling review on iTunes. If you dare. If you really like us, head over to patreon.com and get involved in one of our fabulous tiers. You'll be glad you did. Want to communicate with Tentpole Trauma, send an email to Tentpole [email protected] we'd love to hear from you. And who knows, one day you may even get your email read on one of our shows. Well, thanks for listening, and we'll see you real soon.

#movie #unrated version #anthony hopkins #theatrical version #wolf #dracula #wolfman #emily blunt #benecio del toro #frankenstein #universal monsters

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tide-pod-swiftie · 5 years

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So. This is super random but I was listening to the first TS album and it honestly brought me back.

I was 9 years old, my room was princess themed handpainted by my mom. It looked like I was the princess in the tower, a castle in the distance. It was very purple, even my cd player was purple. But that’s beside the point.

My mom came home from target one day and showed me the cd (likely having already listened to it because thats what moms do.) she thought I would like it so she picked it up for me to listen to. 9 year old me was only acquainted with Disney and what my mother played on the radio so this was like the biggest thing to me, like I remember feeling super grown up because this was MY cd and to me there was this super pretty girl on the cover that reminded me of a princess with a huge mane of blonde curly hair with butterflies around her. Basically Taylor Swift was already the best thing ever and I hadn’t even turned on my cd player yet.

I didn’t know who Tim McGraw was but I wanted to, my 9 year old self didn’t know what it was like to be so mad at a boy like in Picture to Burn but I knew all the lyrics, A Place in This World became an anthem of mine as I got older and life got hard. Our Song became the kind of love I knew I wanted when grew up.

Taylor quickly became someone for me to look up to.

Fast forward and im 11 years old. Its 2008 and my mom and I go to target playing Taylor Swift the entire way there, theres a new album my favorite singer has new music and the first thing I do when I get it is put it in the car cd player to listen to on our way home.

And just like that. I had a new love to asipre to, I wanted it to be like Fearless and Love Story, my mom loved The Best Day so much it made her cry. Later on when kids got mean Change joined A Place in This World.

Then there was the Fearless tour. It was 2010 and we traveled to go see it having missed the show in my hometown for reasons I no longer remember. Mom and I made a it a girls trip. We stayed at the hilton and apparently so did either Taylor herself or somone who worked with her did too because in the parking lot was her tour bus. My mom made me stand in front of it for a photo while I was VERY concerned with disrupting anyone who might be inside (I mean a world tour must be tiring right? I didn’t want to impose.)

Also 2010, speak now. I had a new love I wanted to find one day in Mine and Enchanted. Long Live and Mean were added to my 13 year old selfs anthums. My mother and I listened to Taylor on her ipod in the car on the way to school.

Fast forward to 2012 and Im a 15 year old goth kid who has a love for both heavy metal and country as well as a slew of other music. Its no longer ‘cool’ to love Taylor Swift and lucky me, I wasnt cool anyways nor did I want to be. Red came out and it was a totally different sound than what I had ever heard from my favorite singer before, I had met a boy who made me understand picture to burn and 15 (altho ill never admit it out loud) because frankly he sucked and I was way too good for him. But I was dancing around my practically all black room in my all black clothes to State of Grace and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The Moment I Knew still makes my mother and I sad because no girl should have to feel that way. 22 gave me another new thing to look forward to. Strangely enough I wanted a love a bit like Stay Stay Stay.

Oh my god it 2015, im 17 turning 18 graduating highschool (still goth. still not cool. Still a Swiftie.) but I’m moving to new york, im making a playlist my life is just about to REALLY begin.

I sit on the plane by my mom, not entirely sure what I have gotten myself into, moving across the country. The year before around the time I decided my future destination 1989 came out and im listening to Welcome To New York on repeat in my seat, mentally prepared for those heartbeats under coats, Shake It Off had long since become another anthum for me along with New Romantics. I havent found love, but I want one like You Are In Love.

Its 2017, Im still in New York. Its long since become my home Im not always as dramatically dark as I was when I was 15 but its still there. I had JUST made an instagram in December of 2016 because frankly Im still not a fan of social media...but Taylor Swift is on instagram and I still love her. Taylors instagram went dark. I was BEYOND excited feeling my esthetic come out FINALLY people would stop being shocked that I love Taylor because girl is gonna make them all see she’s a powerhouse.

Look What You Made Me Do arrives and I am LIVING this era. Im buying up merch and playing it on repeat. When ticketmaster tells me i can score a place in line by watching videos, I have them playing 24/7 I haven’t been to a TS tour since I was a kid. time was always in my way. NOT THIS TIME! I wouldn’t allow it. My mom and I text endlessly about her new album. Mums favorite is New Years Day and I struggle to choose but land on I Did Something Bad. I want a love like King of My Heart and Delicate. She agrees that yes we should certainly go to the concert together, it’s exactly a month after my 21st birthday and Taylor has always been our thing.

July 21st, my mom and I go to New Jersy, VIP passes around our necks (her birthday gift to me) im in a snakeskin miniskirt and the concert is POURING rain. Its. Friggin. Magic. Were screaming all the lyrics and dancing around, not even realizing how soaked we are.

Its 2019 now, Im turning 22 this year, and obviously my birthday playlist holds that song in several places. ME! Has just been released. I joined tumblr this year to theorize with my fellow Swifties and Twitter to get updates from Taylor. I bought something pastel to wear for the first time in years and am slowly figuring out how to add it to my all dark wardrobe.

I wonder what my 9 year old self would say if she knew that I was here 13 years later informing my mother that we needed to go to another concert. If she knew the girl with all that curly hair on her CD would become her role model through life.

I have never believed in idolizing people because we are human and all make mistakes but Taylor Swift is the closest I have ever gotten to one.

I feel like although there’s an age gap, I grew up with her (mentally) her music in my head for the majority of my life making me want to be a better person and putting a smile on my face.

This isn’t something she will ever read, hell I would be surprised if anyone ever does because its long af and no one has time for this. But honestly I felt like it was worth putting out there because not many people ever get past simply screaming ‘OMG TAYLOR I LOVE YOU!!’

I just wanted to explain why on the off chance, she or someone else would see it and think ‘huh me too.’ Or put a smile on their face.

So basically, thank you @taylorswift for helping make me the person I am today and being there for me via song when lifes been hard as I grew up.

I love you not because of the insane theories and crazy detailed performances (although those are fun) but because you never let your fans forget that they are loved and that we all mean the world to you, because you have helped so many young girls find their place in this world.

#taylor swift #taylornation #swifties #taylor swift fan #i love you tay tay #thank you taylor swift

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spilledreality · 5 years

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Gaber, pay your respects, I said. Twenty years, mostly wasted but some well-spent, and Schreiber's fork is on its last legs of meaningful commentary. For a while we could pretend it was poptimism, but now we know it's just the Rolling Stone trajectory. "Of the two kinds of [little magazine], those founded on a certain aesthetic taste and those founded as a Weltanschauung, I pref on the whole the latter as I think it wears better. The former is too dependent on the editor who, except in rare cases, suffers the normal human fate of starting off in youth as avant-garde and ending up... as an old fuddy-duddy."(Auden via E.K.) Now Schreiber gone, Richardson gone— a bigger loss even given his middle-aged softness, the exploitation of his sentimentality and deep sincerity— and a looming paywall bad aster.

If you weren't around circa 2009-2013 you missed out. At the end of 2011, right before the new year, Tom Ewing quits his Poptimist column, the best music column of the modern era. By mid-2012, Nisuh Abebe has wrapped up his "Why We Fight" feature, that practiced a metacriticism impossible to find elsewhere in mainstream music journo, and Mark Richardson's Resonant Frequency column is effectively no longer publishing. Zoladz at Ordinary Machines will hang on a few years longer before moving to The Ringer. Questions have begun to be asked about the way critical conversation works, the ways our perception of music is influenced by non-musical factors, the role of criticism, but there isn't the complete & facile post-critical capitulation that will come in a few years.

Ewing's hitlist from the first half of 2011 alone includes choice as the essence of minimalism ("Everything's Gone Green," January 21), self-empowerment pop in the Obama era ("I'm So Fucking Special," February 18), the half-death of rock via a Philip K. Dick metaphor ("Joe Chip, What's On Your iPod?," March 18), cultural fragmentation via Paradise Lost ("The Milton Point," April 22)— in conjunction one of the all-time streaks of music writing. Freaky Trigger's Popular column has systematically moved through every #1 hit in England since the charts started, and it's a "rollicking" time to keep up with. I've been going steady since 2011 and "don't regret a thing." It's impossible to convey what a heavy-hitter this guy is.

Where Abebe was always playing the erisology role, Richardson was comfortable getting intensely personal, diaristic. Subtitles like "the strange power of sharing your favorite music," meditations on I-IV songs and the relationship between life/death ("I Wanna Live"), talking on the phone to his wife about a Winter Family song. The phenomenology of sound and listening are regular points of interest, his experience as a man listening to Grimes' Visions ("You Masculine You"). "For boys of a certain stripe, you grow up withdrawn and shy and you hope that people will see your shyness as evidence of something more profound."

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trbldyouth · 3 years

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Rewatching '80's Cinema In An Era Of #metoo & Cancel Culture

The interview was conducted with Samantha from the movie Sixteen Candles (1984).

Interviewer: Hello, Samantha?

Samantha: Hey, how are you?

Interviewer: I am good; you look stunning today must say life is treating you quite well.

(Soft chuckle) Sure I have been up and about since life keeps changing, and we all need to grow.

Interviewer: Mmhh. That is so true, and I relate because last I saw you, you were busy eyeing Jake. (Soft chuckles) So how is the romance?

Samantha: Well, honestly speaking. We all know those teenage crushes rarely lead to anything serious in the future. However, I am a happy mum of two and cannot complain.

Interviewer: How's Hollywood been treating you? I understand things can be rough at times when family comes into the picture?

Samantha: Honestly, life right now in Hollywood is more friendly compared to our times. Women have become more focused and are ready to step into the roles of leading characters and many significant roles as the need arises. During my heydays, it was simply difficult to get pregnant and keep your acting job. I see all the special effects and other forms of technology being used in the film industry at the moment and recognize how things have changed. A-list actors have become so phenomenal that they will engage in a project and have stunt doubles to play their role in case of mishaps. These simple pleasures really make it quite the era in the industry, and I feel blessed to have witnessed this transition.

Interviewer: I reckon since you were 16, you have seen so much significant change even in social stratification.

Samantha: That is true. People have developed so many eccentricities that were initially taboo. Simple pleasures like women smoking and engaging in frivolous activity were shunned, but people are becoming more liberal with ideas and how they view society. Standards that were set for relationships and marriage seem to have died overnight, and with the increasing drive for the LGBTQ, community change keeps coming. I must admit, I had a difficult time with the realization that I was different and how it kept affecting my life.

Interviewer: What do you mean by different?

Samantha: I have been in a fruitful and fulfilling relationship with my partner Sheila for 20 years. I was castigated for so long by my peers, family, and friends for my life choices. I was so lost in trying to live the fairy tale life I never took a moment to really evaluate my life. However, college life opened my eyes to endless possibilities and leaving home gave me a chance to really morph into the real me. Sheila has been my rock for so long and allowed me to see how there was so much more to life than I initially thought. It took time to convince my family, but with the evolution of the civil rights movement into other global movements, I am grateful that same-sex couples get a chance to live their lives in peace. I have always found it essential to advocate for happiness. That's why I make a point of living a modest life despite the allure of having a flashy life of glamour. Think with time priorities do change.

Interviewer: Speaking of priorities, what is your view on stereotypes in film associated with women?

Samantha: Well, this really takes me back to a time when women were considered ornamental, and there was not much substance used to quantify them beyond physique. Films in the 80s have glamorized issues that society frowns upon today that would make you cringe. Think about sexual harassment, adversity to the LGBTQ community, body shaming, social slurs, and body shaming. I have been at the receiving of all these, unfortunately, and have lived to tell the tale. I know so many of my friends and family who are mentally unwell or have lost their lives to these behaviors that society considered acceptable back then. Women are the recipients of so much hate and have always been considered as ornamental and as items to be objectified. Jake may have been in a bad relationship, but sadly I realized he had been the problem all along. His demeanor and approach to treating women opened up my eyes and made me realize I was not willing to put up with fake love if I may use the term.

Interviewer: Speaking of Jake and the issues of harassment. What is your take on the #Metoo movement?

Samantha: Tarana Burke, is God-sent and I pray that she understands how this world is a better place because of her decision to give a voice to the voiceless. I wish the #Metoo movement existed in time because so many people would have answered for so many of their heinous crimes. Alyssa Milano is quite the pioneer, and targeting Hollywood, and the film industry has given rise to so many positives. Men and women have actually come forward and shared stories of their suffering. It has been difficult for sexual violence victims to find a platform to share their experiences and have their perpetrators brought to justice.

Interviewer: I understand that. I have been following keenly as well. What do you believe has been the core of these problems?

Samantha: I firmly believe that systemic ills have been the core of the ills plaguing society. Essentially, people were allowed to be bigots, misogynists, and homophobes during my early days. The reason was that everyone was okay with it because the majority said so. However, people felt oppressed and fought back, and now we have so many issues that need correction. Admittedly, bringing attention to an issue does not guarantee justice and reprieve for all victims. However, it is a start, and, in the end, change will be evident. Consider the Black Lives Matter movement that has been championing the rights of African Americans. People are yet to meet them halfway, and with continued incidents of police brutality and discrimination, it is possible they have a long way to go to achieve their vision.

Interviewer: On that note, how has the rising Cancel Culture trend impacted you?

Samantha: Haha, I believe I will get crucified for this, but I find it quite refreshing and expedient in remodeling society. Don't get me wrong, the idea of censoring and denying someone their fundamental freedom is abhorrent. Still, people should learn to value morality as a society. Taking in just about anything that is produced as content for TV and film will only diminish the critical values that define society. I don't need to tell you to switch off the TV when content is inappropriate but recognize the value of choice. Cancel culture taken back to my time would be the end of so many films. I personally have TV shows that I would cancel, but we are all free to do as we see fit. I hope I don't get you canceled, too (loud laughter).

Interviewer: I believe we are safe; the evolution of social media uses keeps us visible to all. Moving on swiftly, tell me how is your social life, or rather how has it evolved?

Samantha: I bet you will laugh at me. I am still trying to figure out how to tweet and post on Facebook and seriously miss MySpace. I tend to avoid social media and have stuck to actually interacting with people in person rather than behind a screen. Sheila gets on my nerves because she insists I keep learning, but I am not interested in any of it. Life was really hectic in the 80s and has gotten much easier with technology. However, as I pointed out, content matters a lot, and from the extent, I have seen even presidents get to on social media, I better keep myself offline. I know it sounds sad, but I prefer it compared to the digital noise that is pushing so many to seek unattainable lives.

Interviewer: Well, to me, that sounds like an excuse to get stuck in an era that is already gone!

Samantha: As I said, it sounds crazy, but I am very picky with what I choose to adopt. I have a TV, but my kids know how strict I get with enforcing regulations with viewing. I am from an age where I understand the influence of toxicity, and I am not willing to see my children get engulfed in a superficial perception of reality. I thank God for my partner Sheila because she always supports me. She understands where I am coming from and has grown also to enjoy the liberty of embracing proper moderated content for our kids. If we are in the house, we need to be in the living watching something together without worrying about what might happen.

Interviewer: So, what have you been holding onto from your early days as a teen?

Samantha: I have some old mixtapes I listen to whenever I want to get into the groove. I also keep vinyl records of Luther Vandross because his music speaks to my soul in a unique way. Plus, I still own an iPod since my daughter broke my cd Walkman (giggles).

Interviewer: I must admit this has been quite the journey, and I understand you will be featuring in a short film showcasing societal prejudice?

Samantha: Actually, yes, it's a documentary feature, and it will be releasing in the summer of next year. I have come full circle and find myself in the spotlight, and all I hope is that my story will inspire someone else. I realize the world has so much noise, and it is essential to have some peace and quiet to ensure we remain on the right track.

Interviewer: Your life has been quite the movie of sorts, and I hope you have enjoyed the experiences and you will do more going forward. Any final words before we wind up this interview?

Samantha: Sure, I am looking forward to all life has to offer and what I can offer others. My final thoughts would be to urge those in power to recognize those they serve, let people respect the rights of others, and always consider yourself in a similar situation before engaging in that life-altering act.

Interviewer: Thank you so much for your time, Samantha. I wish you well in your endeavors.

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onestowatch · 4 years

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BLACKSTARKIDS on Harnessing 2000s Nostalgia, Comfort Food, and Debut Album ‘Whatever, Man’ [Q&A]

BLACKSTARKIDS’ music can best be described as forward-facing nostalgia. Born and raised in Raytown (a small suburb at the outskirts of Kansas City), tyfaizon, Deiondre, and TheBabeGabe of BLACKSTARKIDS grew up in the throes of a golden era for rap, bubblegum pop, and indie rock. All cultural phenoms in their own right, traces of these genres can be found spattered throughout BLACKSTARKIDS’ work.

Hot on the heels of their SURF mixtape, the Dirty Hit signees are hard at work on their debut studio album, Whatever, Man. I caught up with Ty, Gabe, and Deiondre over email to ask them about comfort food, their lead single “BRITNEY, BITCH,” and what it means to be a BLACKSTARKID.

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Ones To Watch: How would you describe BLACKSTARKIDS’ music in non-genre terms?

Ty: I’d say BLACKSTARKIDS is coming of age music. Nostalgia plays a large factor in what we do too. We try to make what sounds and feels good to us, but we still find ways to attack a lot of issues in the music too.

Gabe: I’d describe BLACKSTARKIDS music as very young and nostalgic. It’s always very fun and makes me feel like I’m in a completely different era.

Deiondre: I would say BLACKSTARKIDS music sounds like a day in a life but in a song, a lot of the songs sound nostalgic and bright and sounds like it would be be a soundtrack to our lives. “BRITNEY, BITCH” is so carefree and anthemic.

What was the inspiration for the single (besides the Princess of Pop herself)?

Ty: We were inspired by how bright and confident a lot of the pop music from the 2000s was, so we just thought it’d be fun to do a song where we fully indulged in that.

Gabe: The inspiration for “Britney Bitch” is us living out our wildest dreams. We talk about wanting to be iconic pop stars, winning the lottery, driving in Teslas, and becoming heartthrobs. The song feels so 2000s and I feel we really captured that with our lyrics.

Deiondre: The track was inspired by music that wasn’t afraid to be flashy and bold back in the 2000s. I think it’s pretty awesome and funny that we did a song like this because we’re some pretty nice kids. I would want anybody to feel great about themselves after listening to the song.

What music did you listen to growing up in Raytown?

Ty: I listened to every rap album I could get my hands on as a kid, I have an embarrassing amount of rap knowledge. From new to old, I always wanted to be able to have an opinion and I loved debating adults on rap when I was a kid. My favorite rap was Kanye West, Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest, Wayne, any Wu-Tang, Outkast, and then I found modern stuff like Cudi and eventually Odd Future and that changed everything. I started listening to rock when I was 10, Nirvana was my first band and I still love them and then I got really into bands like MGMT, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, etc. and went down a rabbit hole. Those are the two main genres I listened to as a young kid but now I like to give everything a try, I’ll probably find songs I love by almost every artist.

Gabe: I remember when I got my first iPod nano as kid and being so excited. Before I would just listen to music on the computer or through my Hello Kitty CD player. The first album I remember adding was Graduation by Kanye West. That album holds so many childhood memories in my heart and it’s absolutely one of my faves. I grew up listening to Missy Elliot, Madonna, Destiny's Child, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado, and so many more legends. The list can literally go on forever.

Deiondre: I was listening to a lot of Indie and rap. A lot of Childish Gambino, Alvvays, Mac Miller, and a lot of our close friends we made music with especially. Having music from our friends that I actually listened to consistently was super cool.

If you could Postmates anything right now, what would it be?

Ty: I can count on two hands how many times I’ve ever eaten this, but right now a philly cheesesteak sounds really good. My classic meal is buffalo wings and ranch though I eat that way too much, fries on the side and this drink called Green Goodness always helps too.

Gabe: If I could postmates anything right now it would be a slice of pizza from this called Sbarro. There isn’t one in Kansas City unfortunately. That’s probably in my top five pizza places.

Deiondre: I would definitely be getting some hot wings delivered to me ASAP. They’re like my favorite snack food of all time.

What can listeners expect for Whatever, Man? How does it differ from SURF?

Ty: Whatever, Man is happier than SURF, we were a lot happier when we made it. It’s brighter, and I think the production and songwriting have only developed. It’s a fun album, listening to it is a good time. The intro sounds like a theme song.

Gabe: Whatever, Man is a lot brighter than SURF. I feel like you’ll be able to really hear the band forming and us growing as artists. Whatever, Man is really special to us and I’m so excited to share it with the world.

Deiondre: Whatever, Man sounds more bigger and colorful than SURF and it sounds like we’re fully living out the life always we dream of. I’m super excited for everyone to hear it.

What is the first thing you’re doing once quarantine ends?

Ty: Going to a local show then the next day Matty Healy is gonna open his door and see me. He’s not going to expect it but it’s going to happen.

Gabe: When quarantine ends, I want to go to a theme park. I didn’t get to ride any roller coasters this summer and I really miss the thrill of it.

Deiondre: When quarantine ends, I’m for sure going to a show, it’s been too long since I’ve moshed and I’ve got tons of energy I wanna release for performances as well.

How do you define what it means to be a BLACKSTARKID?

Ty: Being a BLACKSTARKID is being black and being yourself, BLACKSTARKIDS is not exclusionary to any type of person that looks like us. We were sort of outcasted growing up, but I feel like too many “artsy black kids” grow up and outcast people themselves. That’s not the goal for us, we want to make life easier for everyone who looks like us.

Gabe: Being a BLACKSTARKID means you’re being your true self and not caring what others think. Growing up and kind of feeling like an outcast but not really giving a damn mindset. We want everyone to feel welcomed when listening to our music and when they get to see us on stage.

Deiondre: Being a BLACKSTARKID means fully accepting yourself for who you really are and never giving up on yourself as well. It can be hard sometimes being yourself whenever you need to, but I hope for people to feel a release through listening to our music and that it will make them feel good.

Who are your Ones To Watch?

Ty: There’s so many exciting artists right now. AG Club, Huron John, Hadji Gaviota, and then of course my close friends make great music too like Paris Williams, and Monogram.

Gabe: Paris Williams, AG CLUB, Vida, Huron John, Monogram, Medici, and Hadji Gaviota.

Deiondre: AG CLUB, Huron John, Paris Williams, Hadji Gaviota, Medici, Monogram.

#blackstarkids #interview #whatever man #pop #anti pop #alternative

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weareafuckingmess-blog · 7 years

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Song of the Day - November 14, 2017

DBSK - Dangerous Mind

[S] I had completely forgot about this song until it showed up on C’s ipod one day and It all came back to me. It was also an extremely hard one to find on youtube with somewhat decent audio but I did the best I could. XD I love LOVE LOVE this song!! I don’t honestly know how M will feel about this track since she has said she is not a fan of old school DBSK but honestly that is where My heart is. DBSK as 5 in the early 2000′s is my jam. ( I feel old saying this ^^;;) DBSK did do a lot of ballads but they also did songs like this, a mix of pop and rock that I really loved. I am disappointed I was unable to find this with english lyrics because I really like them but oh well. Highlights of the song for me are definitely Yoochun’s speed rap and Jaejoongs growly vocals at 1:36. let me tell you even baby Jae leaves me swooning XD

[M] My opinion on DBSK is quite different from S and C’s I really like the direction that DBSK went after the split and likewise what Jae Junsu and Yoochun did as JYJ but I’m not a huge fan of their sound when they were all 5. I want to like OT5 DBSK but its just not my cup of tea. Not to say that I dislike it because I love them all musically in later eras but early DBSK is just meh to me. Its nothing special and I find that upsetting because I WANT to love it but I just don’t. I listen to it when the other two play it but I don’t think it would ever be something I would choose to listen to on my own. I do appreciate that little guitar rock break in the song however it is a little out of place. Dangerous Mind is better than a lot of the other older DBSK the girls have shown me but I am still not crazy about it.

[C] The tracks like this are what make me miss DB5K. Given I got into Kpop when JYJ were just beginning to fight with SM I still got into a lot of their old tracks because of S and a couple old friends from high school so oddly even though I was extremely late I still love DB5K. I seem to always surprise S with the old track I have hiding in my iPod but every so often I’ll decide to go on a search for old tracks because old albums pop up sometimes. I love this song though, like S said they did a lot of ballads but this track screams DBSK between their vocals and the song itself it’s all just perfect. I love the turn in music Yunho and Changmin have taken DBSK but I think the original DBSK will always be where it’s at.

#song of the day #kpop song of the day #Dangerous Mind #DBSK #Jaejoong #Yoochun #Junsu #Changmin #Yunho

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disappearingground · 5 years

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Jenny Lewis Escapes the Void

Pitchfork March 21, 2019

After a turbulent childhood and two decades of brilliantly vulnerable songs, the L.A. idol has finally arrived at something like happiness.

By Jenn Pelly

Jenny Lewis and I are in her brown Volvo, idling outside her childhood home. On a Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, we are two blocks from Van Nuys Middle School, where Lewis once sang “Killing Me Softly” in a talent show and got suspended for flashing a peace sign in a class photo (it was mistaken for a gang symbol). We are walking distance from what used to be a Sam Goody record store on Van Nuys Boulevard, where Lewis once bought a life-changing tape of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, stoking her obsession with magnetic wordplay, as well as her first Bright Eyes CD, Fevers and Mirrors, which she quickly shared with the three men in her burgeoning indie band, Rilo Kiley, in the early 2000s.

We are not far from the bar where Lewis’ older sister, Leslie, sings in a cover band every Saturday, following in the tradition of their parents, who sang covers in a Las Vegas lounge act called Love’s Way in the 1970s. And that strip-mall pub is just across from the movie theater where Lewis and her mother once conspired to steal a cardboard cutout of Lewis’ 13-year-old self—a souvenir from when, as one of the busiest child actors of her generation, she starred alongside Fred Savage in the 1989 video game flick The Wizard.

Lewis left the Valley alone when she was 16 and vowed to never go back. “That was my number one goal: just to get out,” she tells me now, at 43. But on the occasion of her fourth solo record, On the Line, I asked for a tour of her past life, and here we are—Lewis in a royal blue jumpsuit, with electric blue sneakers and eyeliner to match; me, staring up at the rainbow of buttons fastened to the sun visor of her passenger seat, a collage that includes Bob Dylan, a peace sign, and a hot-orange sad face.

From the driver’s seat, behind her oversized shades, Lewis mentions the Bob Marley blacklight poster that once hung in her Van Nuys bedroom, and I imagine the scores of teenage bedroom walls that have made space for her own iconic image through the years. Lewis’ catalog of cleverly morbid, storytelling songs with Rilo Kiley and the Watson Twins ushered a generation of young listeners through suburban ennui and personal becoming—like a wise older sister we could visit on our iPods, offering an example of how to do something smart and cool with your sadness and your solitude.

In the mid-2000s, Lewis was like an indie rock Joni Mitchell for the soul-bearing Livejournal era, or an emo Dylan, the poet laureate of AIM away messages. Words—some cryptic, some elegant, some brutally, achingly direct—burst from the edges of her diaristic songs, with a dash of Didion-esque deadpan for good measure. It’s no surprise that Lewis’ earliest bedroom recordings were just Casio beats and what she describes as “raps.” Lewis was the first feminine voice I ever encountered leading a band outside the mainstream, with a sound that initially befuddled my ears because it was, in that overwhelmingly male indie era, so rare: a woman’s plainspoken voice.

Cruising around L.A. together, my mind maps the California of her lyrics. What does it mean for the palm trees to “bow their heads”? What becomes of the cheating, California-bound man in Rilo Kiley’s filmic “Does He Love You”—the soulful rave-up where Lewis belted the heroic mantra, “I am flawed if I’m not free!”? But my most pressing question, the one I must ask Lewis: Is California still “a recipe for a black hole,” as she sang on 2001’s “Pictures of Success”? “I guess it’s all the void,” she tells me straight. “It’s not really geographical. That’s what you find out on your adventures. It doesn’t really matter where you go. You accompany yourself there.”

The main destination of our Van Nuys excursion is the small ranch home of Lewis’ youth—or rather, homes, as there are two, practically adjacent. It’s a little complicated, I learn, as are many things with Lewis’ upbringing.

Lewis was born in Vegas on Elvis Presley’s birthday. In 1976, her parents and sister were living out of suitcases on the road, playing Carpenters and Sonny and Cher songs at casinos like the Sands, the Mint, and the Tropicana. “My mom was so pregnant but she would not miss a show,” recalls Leslie, who was 8 at the time. “Jenny would be kicking her on stage, and I remember seeing my mom flinch. I think that was Jenny saying, ‘Let me out, I want to sing!’”

Soon after Lewis was born, her parents divorced, and her father, Eddie Gordon, left the family and continued his career as one of the world’s leading harmonica virtuosos. Lewis’ mother, Linda, moved back to her native Los Angeles, working three jobs to rebuild a life with her daughters. At 2-and-a-half years old, Lewis was discovered by the powerful Hollywood agent Iris Burton (a young Drew Barrymore and the Olsen Twins were among her clients) after the toddler spontaneously wandered over to her table in a restaurant.

When Lewis was 5, she was already supporting Leslie and their mom with her commercial and TV acting, and they bought their humble first home, the one we’re visiting. “But we always used to dream about the house on the corner,” Lewis says, slowly circling the block, “so then my mom bought that house, too.” It’s two doors down, looks pretty similar—why dream of it? “Because it was right there,” Lewis says, “and it was nicer than the one we had!” (A 1992 L.A. Times headline dubbed Lewis “A Teen-Age Actress With 3 Mortgages”—she owned a townhouse in North Hollywood by then as well—calling her “the youngest member of the United Homeowners Association.”) “I know it’s confusing,” Lewis says. “This is part of the simulation; this is craziness. Why did we also want that house?” She erupts into a cackle. “None of this makes any fucking sense.”

In life as in her songs, Lewis is a consummate storyteller, mindful of how tiny details make a great tale. In the car, for instance, she tells me about the time she played Lucille Ball’s granddaughter on the notoriously bad 1986 sitcom “Life With Lucy.” It was the last show Lucy ever starred in, and it was canceled before the first season even finished. The mood was blue, but a wrap party was still planned, and Lewis’ mother convinced Lucy to have the gathering at their little house in Van Nuys. “So Lucy rolled up with her two dogs,” Lewis remembers. “She walked in the front door, looked around, and said, ‘What a dump!’”

Lewis’ mother typically attracted fascinating characters to the house—like the producers of the TV special “Circus of the Stars,” who trained Lewis in trapeze; or “Fantasy Island” star Hervé Villechaize, who came over for a scammy “Pyramid Party”; or The Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty. One year on Halloween, at the recommendation of the family’s illusionist friend—who, according to Leslie, levitated Jenny in their house—her mother invited over Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd’s brother Peter, who was himself a real-life ghost buster. Peter planned to “check out the levels” of the house.

Intrigued by the Lewis’ paranormal investigation, the local news showed up. Back then, Lewis was hanging out with fellow child actors Sarah Gilbert, Toby Maguire, and Leonardo DiCaprio—who also came through to scope things out. Recalling the ghost-busting scene, Lewis says, “They came over and set up their vague, infrared equipment and they captured some sort of reading coming down the hallway and going into my childhood bedroom.”

I ask Lewis if the ghostbusters’ findings felt accurate. “Well, totally,” she says. “Something was going on. We always had weird vibes in the house. Very dark vibes.”

In person, Lewis’ temperament is one of constant cheer. She radiates positivity, takes bong rips in her kitchen, says “dope” and “vibe” often. This sunny disposition is occasionally punctuated by looks of deep, welling concern for others—as if she is on the brink of tears for humanity. Still, she calls herself a “total skeptic,” and tells me that show business trained her, early on, to master the art of getting along. “I didn’t ever wanna be one of the dicks on set—like in a family situation, where one person can really fuck up Thanksgiving,” she says, before veering into more existential territory. “We all know we’re careening towards the end of humanity. I just wanna do my work and hang out with my people.”

It’s only later, while sipping Modelos at the dining room table of her quaint ranch house in the hills of Studio City, that Lewis reveals the source of her childhood home’s “dark vibes” was her mother’s lifelong heroin addiction. “It is painful to go back there,” Lewis tells me. “I get a weird feeling. I don’t know if the ghostbusters could have detected it, but there was some kind of energy that was not conducive to survival. So when I left, I left.”

“My mom was an addict my entire life, and it was a fucking rollercoaster,” she continues. “It lent itself to some amazing situations, but it was manic as fuck, and there were drugs constantly. It’s a lifestyle, and it’s a community to grow up around. I feel grateful for having been witness to some pretty outrageous human behavior from a young age. Nothing really shocks me.”

Leslie attests to their complicated home environment, and recalls “stepping over people trying to find my books to go to school.” She became a mother figure to Jenny, taking her little sister to school on her bicycle and making sure she did her homework. Leslie was just a teenager when she put it together that their mother was pushing Jenny’s acting money into buying drugs and, ultimately, selling them. “It was a terrible realization for both Jenny and I to have,” Leslie says. “I give our mom a lot of credit for being resourceful prior to that. We probably wouldn’t be talking to you today if she hadn’t been so inventive and so diligent. But it escalated.”

When Jenny quit acting in her early 20s, Leslie wasn’t surprised. “I remember her finally having the burden lifted off her shoulders, that she didn’t need to support our mom anymore, and she didn’t need to be told what to do anymore—she was free,” Leslie says. “Her agents were calling me, asking ‘What the hell’s going on? We’re booking her in all this stuff.’ It was a big deal for her to walk away. But she had to do it. I think she didn’t want to be saying other people’s words anymore.” Leslie recalls the bubbly dialogue Lewis would have to recite on screen and adds, “That’s just not where she was at in her life.”

Focusing on her own words, Lewis arrived instead at death, disease, loneliness, deflated dreams. Rilo Kiley’s 2002 breakthrough The Execution of All Things opens with a hushed monologue from Lewis about the melting ground. On the title track, she sings genially of a will to “murder what matters to you most and move on to your neighbors and kids.” Disguised by twee album art, Rilo Kiley created an indie rock uncanny valley, a sweet-sung pop moroseness of Morrissey-like proportions.

The centerpiece of Execution is a gritted-teeth fight song called “A Better Son/Daughter.” It bursts from a music-box twinkle to a monumental marching-band wallop, from a depressed paralysis to refurbished self-worth, from “your mother […] calling you insane and high, swearing it’s different this time” to “not giving in to the cries and wails of the Valley below.” In the past, Lewis has rarely discussed how her own biography fits into her songs, but the sense of hard-earned triumph and conviction powering this particular song is unequivocal. When I ask what might have inspired its climax—“But the lows are so extreme/That the good seems fucking cheap”—she simply remarks, “I mean everything I say.”

In 2006, Lewis wrote the fablistic title ballad of her solo masterpiece, Rabbit Fur Coat, to convey the feeling of her story—a mother waitressing on welfare in the Valley, the promise of a working child, a fortune that fades—if not the concrete details, which, she says, don’t really matter. But the haunting “Rabbit Fur Coat” laid her mythology bare. “I became a hundred-thousand-dollar kid/When I was old enough to realize/Wiped the dust from my mother’s eyes,” Lewis sings, the last line quivering into a moment of piercing a capella. “Is all this for that rabbit fur coat?”

I ask Lewis where she thinks her optimism comes from, and she just says “survival.” This summarizes an equation of emotional resilience that more women than not are tasked with solving young. “Jenny has basically been on her own her entire life,” says her best friend, the musician Morgan Nagler. “She’s the definition of buoyant.”

It’s hard to imagine rock in 2019 without Lewis’ radical honesty, without her hyper-lyrical mix of the sweet and the sinister. “In the early 2000s, the really big indie artists were Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie, and Jenny was one of the only women fronting that kind of music,” says Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee. “But in the next generation after that in indie music, there are so many women. How could she not have been a huge part of that?”

Crutchfield, now an indie figurehead in her own right, says no songwriter has directly influenced her more than Lewis. When she was still a 20-year-old punk living in Alabama, Crutchfield got the cover of The Execution of All Things tattooed prominently on her arm. Lewis’ odd, poppy, poetic songs had a musicality she hadn’t found in punk, but they still spoke to her as an outcast.

Seeing Rilo Kiley play for the first time—at a Birmingham venue she would go on to play herself—was a watershed moment. Crutchfield and her two sisters stood front row center, sang every word, and cried. “It was so huge to see a woman on stage holding a guitar, being powerful but still very feminine,” Crutchfield says. “That was my first foray into seeing that as a possibility for myself.” She recalls the exact outfit Lewis wore that night: red leather skirt, knee socks, T-shirt tucked in, and “a belt that was like a ruler—something you would see on a teacher.”

When Eva Hendricks, singer of sugarrushing New York pop-rock band Charly Bliss, was still in high school, she would spend days writing Lewis’ lyrics in her notebooks over and over, becoming attuned to the virtues of unsparing openness in songwriting. “Listening to that music unlocked something I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to understand about myself,” says Hendricks, who also appreciated how Lewis never downplayed her femininity. She distinctly recalls going to a Lewis record signing around 2014’s The Voyager: “I waited in line and when it got to be my turn, the only thing I could think to say was, ‘I can’t believe that your voice is coming out of a real human being.’”

Harmony Tividad, of Girlpool, was 12 the first time she heard Rilo Kiley, and calls Execution’s “The Good That Won’t Come Out” one of her favorite songs of all time. “That song is more like a diary entry, and vulnerable in this way that feels like a secret,” Tividad says. The unvarnished album opener peaks with Lewis speak-singing, “You say I choose sadness, that it never once has chosen me/Maybe you’re right.”

“I was a really emotional, awkward young person and felt kind of socially trapped,” Tividad, now 23, reflects. “I was a freak. And that song is about exploring all of this stuff inside of yourself that you can’t really show people. It’s about isolation, which I have felt a lot. This music was a soundtrack to that recalibration of personhood. It was very integral in me developing a sense of self.”

Lewis has resided in the quiet show-biz neighborhood of Studio City—which she refers to as “Stud City”—for 11 years. She mentions that her current home is still, technically, located in the Valley, and shoots me a conspiratorial look: “Don’t tell anyone.” There are retro-looking landlines all around the house (cell service is poor), and eye-catching vintage Christmas bulbs strung in the kitchen window. The house was previously owned by the late Disney animator Art Stevens, who worked on Fantasia and Peter Pan. Standing amid dozens of plants in the little green room at the heart of her home, sipping a coconut La Croix, Lewis enthuses about Mort Garson’s obscure 1976 electronic record, called Mother Earth’s Plantasia. The whole place has an air of magic.

Its infrastructure has been unchanged for decades, which stuck out to a location scout for Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Charles Manson film, who knocked on the door one day and asked to take some photos. He did not return, but his business card is on Lewis’ refrigerator, alongside one from legendary songwriter Van Dyke Parks, and a Bob Dylan backstage pass. The fridge is mostly covered with hospital stickers from when Lewis was visiting her mom, who died of cancer in 2017, and inspired her new song “Little White Dove.”

The other big change in Lewis’ life was the dissolution of her 12-year relationship with singer-songwriter Jonathan Rice—after which, to shake up the energy of the house, Lewis’ friend and photographer Autumn de Wilde painted the walls of her bedroom a striking shade of rose. Directly outside the door is a life-size photo of her best friend Morgan, and the window of her bedroom, spanning the right wall, looks out to a built-in pool. The sill holds carefully arranged objects: ruby slippers, her passport, a candle, a plethora of sunglasses, and a violet notebook labeled “Lewis homework for On the Line.”

Talking with Lewis, the despairing elephant in the room is Ryan Adams, who played on the album. Two weeks before we meet, Adams was accused of sexual misconduct and emotional manipulation from musician Phoebe Bridgers, his ex-wife Mandy Moore, and others, including a woman who was allegedly 14 at the time, prompting a criminal investigation by the FBI. “The allegations are so serious and shocking and really fucked up, and I was so sad on so many levels when I heard,” Lewis tells me. “I hate that he’s on this album, but you can’t rewrite how things went. We started the record together two years ago, and he worked on it—we were in the studio for five days. Then he pretty much bounced, and I had to finish the album by myself.”

“This is part of my lifelong catalog,” Lewis continues. “The album is an extension of that thing that started back at my mom’s house—I had to save myself and my music, and get away from the toxicity. Ultimately, it’s me and my songs. I began in my bedroom with a tape recorder, and it was like my own fantasy world. I’ve taken all these weird turns in my life—with mostly men, sometimes women—but I feel like I’m finally back to that place, which is autonomy.”

Though On the Line features an impressive array of players—Beck, Rolling Stones producer Don Was, Dylan drummer Jim Keltner, literally Ringo Starr—the album marks the first time Lewis has penned an album of songs solo, without co-writers, since Rabbit Fur Coat. “I’m not fully myself when I’m co-writing,” Lewis admits, describing a directness to the songs she’s penned with men, like Rilo Kiley’s “Portions for Foxes,” as opposed to songs she’s written alone, like “Silver Lining.” “With the songs I’ve co-written, it’s almost as if there’s a trimming of the emotional, rambling, poetic hysteria, which is where I live when I’m writing by myself,” Lewis says. “I don’t think of songs structurally. It’s a feeling, and I’m chasing the feeling.”

The cover of On the Line is a close-up of Lewis’ chest in an ornate blue gown. She chose the snapshot intuitively, from a pile of Polaroids taken by de Wilde, and only later recognized it as a deep homage to her mom, who once dressed similarly in Vegas and had an identical mole between her breasts. “Over the years I’ve become more comfortable in my skin,” Lewis says. “It’s funny to feel good in your skin when it’s not quite as tight as it used to be.”

With her voice sounding more refined than ever, On the Line finds Lewis singing about getting head in a black Corvette, feeling “wicked,” and—on the devastatingly delicate “Taffy”—sending nudes to a lover she knows will leave. “There’s a lot of fantasy in my songs,” Lewis tells me. “Sadly, I don’t get that much action. I should have gotten more.” She says she has always written about sex as “character projection,” but when she did so on Rilo Kiley’s final album, 2007’s Under the Black Light, it polarized fans. Lewis recalls one journalist who made a flow chart claiming to correlate the declining quality of the band’s music and the shrinking size of her hot pants. “It was so puritanical,” she says. But as the borders between the underground, mainstream, and genre have broken down, the artists who Lewis inspired are continuing to make space for more expansive expressions of sexuality.

The new record’s sound is warm and sleek, and when Lewis says she listened primarily to Kanye’s recent work while mixing it, I recall yet another wacky tale she shared with me at her house: Once, circa 2008, Lewis chanced upon Kanye at an airport. He played her a cut from 808s and Heartbreaks, and she played him her sprawling psych-rock triptych “The Next Messiah.”

Listening to On the Line, I find myself fixated on “Wasted Youth,” which uses a jaunty piano arrangement to deliver its neatly bleak refrain: “I wasted my youth on a poppy.” Lewis then slyly draws a line from the drugs to our numbing daily realities. When she sings, “Everybody knows we’re in trouble/Doo doo doo doo doo/Candy Crush,” I can feel my phone festering in my palm.

“I feel like that song is more about Candy Crush than heroin, if that’s even fucking possible,” Lewis says. “That’s the fuckin’ end: Candy Crush. It’s terrifying. I feel like my brain has been taken over by one of those weird fungi that grow out of the head of an ant in the rainforest. It’s like we’re spracked out on our Instagrams. It makes me feel like shit even talking about it.”

By the bridge, however, Lewis offers a blunt jolt of hope: “We’re all here, then we’re gone/Do something while your heart is thumping!” That’s a surprisingly heartening sentiment from a songwriter who has referred to herself as “a walking corpse,” who once made a springy emo anthem entitled “Jenny, You’re Barely Alive.”

“I’m in my 40s and something has shifted,” she says, when I ask what she does these days to help herself through. “Maybe you’re more aware of your own mortality, and have the balls to walk away from things, and be untethered, and do the reflection and the hard work—getting your ass out of bed and walking a couple miles, going to the gym, talking to a therapist.”

Lewis says her relationships with her female friends have deepened profoundly in recent years. “Maybe this is what we’re picking up on: the collective consciousness,” she says. “Women are talking to one another more. Reaching out to my girlfriends has helped me through these lessons that keep coming up. It’s the same lesson, where I’m like, ‘How am I in this situation with this fucking person that’s crazy… again? Why am I here and why have I stayed this long?’ And then my girlfriends are there to go: ‘Get the fuck out of there!’” (She is clear that this is not about her relationship with Rice, but rather about other romantic and working partnerships.)

I tell Lewis that these get-me-out predicaments remind me of her own song, “Godspeed,” from 2008’s Acid Tongue, which I had been revisiting quite a bit lately—a golden-hour piano ballad from one woman to another, a paean to “keep the lighthouse in sight,” to get “up and out of his house,” because “no man should treat you like he do.” “I wrote that for my friend,” Lewis says. “But maybe I wrote it for myself now.”

By the end of my time at Lewis’ house, the sun has set and we’re sitting in near total darkness, save for the neon pink glow of one of her many landlines. “You have to make a choice to be happy, or try to be,” Lewis insists. “Sometimes that involves moving away from people that you love, or that hurt you, or that are toxic. You have to find your bliss in life, right?”

I almost can’t believe that the same woman who provided me with my personal millennial-burnout anthems is asking me about unfettered joy—the artist who wrote the lyrics “I do this thing where I think I’m real sick, but I won’t go to the doctor to find out about it” and “I’m a modern girl but I fold in half so easily when I put myself in the picture of success” and “It must be nice to finish when you’re dead.” But I nod; it’s true.

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bnrobertson1 · 5 years

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The Unexpected Tutelage of Cuphead

Lot of Life Knowledge in those cups.

I am not a fan of horror movies. Sure, I almost always like them when I find myself watching them, but that usually takes a Herculean effort of an enthusiastic friend or a total lack of desire to drudge up an explanation why I don’t want to watch something called Happy Death Day 2U. The reason I don’t like them? Simple- life is terrifying enough as is, and seeing as I don’t like ruminating in fear with my precious free time, the idea of willingly being scared strikes me as preposterous.

While there are some “scary” games like the new Resident Evil*, for me the real parallel to scary movies in the video game world is difficult games. Most current video games are super user-friendly, oftentimes because the software developers want you to see the entirety of the thing they’ve spent hundreds of thousands of hours and hundreds of millions of dollars creating. In other words, they don’t want you to get pissed and bail without showing off what they spent a good chunk of their lives working on. And while I have played video games long enough to be pretty good at them (I’m not), I actually appreciate the lowering of the difficulty bar. Much like scary movies, I usually stray away from difficult games. Why? Again, simple- frustration ain’t welcome in my leisure time. I’m trying to enjoy myself, not get all red-faced and hurl hard plastic as a torrent of never-before-heard profanity gushes out of my mouth because I’m trying to defeat some recluse’s brainchild/ torture device.

*A stone cold modern classic for the first hour alone

But, many hardcore* gamers find modern games’ user- friendliness/ forgiveness to be insulting to their cheesy-dusted core. Many of this ilk were raised in the original Nintendo-era, where difficulty was praised and games like Ninja Gaiden and Battletoads were designed to be essentially impossible to defeat, thus making it a bragging-worthy accomplishment if you could.

*Bathe in the irony of me using a pornographic term to describe a gamer

But, as video games started to expand their audience, many of these Capital G Gamers who loved the feeling of accomplishment that accompanied victory over insanely hard games were kind of forgotten, given “Hard” modes on otherwise easy games to satiate their thirst for difficulty, but that’s about it. After being avoided for what to them must have felt like ions, things finally began to change when games like the rebooted Ninja Gaiden and the fetishized Dark Soul franchises started catering to those who those studs who think replacing l3tt3rs with numb3rs is cool and that the best games are the ones that only those with superhuman focus and tenacity can defeat.

Enter: Cuphead. A long-in-development indie game that looks like a gorgeously* animated WW 2-era cartoon a la Betty Boop or Woody Woodpecker yet is as difficult as finding a WiFi hotspot during the Great Depression. A simple shooter, the game does an excellent job of drawing you in with its eye-popping looks and catchy soundtrack before it intentionally overwhelms you. Because it’s you, a literal cup of coffee whose only offense is a finger-gun (seriously) and the ability to jump, fighting enemies so large their eyeballs fill the screen. To put it politely, you’re fucked.

*And buddy, it is one seriously gorgeous game. One of the things that keeps you playing is the desire to see all of the peerless art and monster design

Again, it’s you:

Versus (that’s you in the little red airplane- everything that’s glowing will kill you instantly, but that’s a good life lesson within itself):

Again, fucked. And that’s one of the earliest bosses. Just about everything on screen kills you, and there are no checkpoints from which you can start over. It often takes several consecutive minutes of flawless playing to even make a dent. But amongst all the gorgeous ass-kicking chaos, the game does something profound on the sly: it gives you hope.

I realize this sounds silly- hope, arguably existence’s sweetest gift, is given by a game where Asperger’s is almost a prerequisite to win? But it’s true.

At 35, I’m at the age where I doubt that most things can or will change. Sure, shoes look different, the popularity of some philosophies surge then retract, the younger get old who in turn die, but much of life is being reminded that real human change simply does not happen. Socially awkward at 15? Probably won’t be much different at 45. Addictive personality? Better find a healthy outlet because the addictive part probably ain’t going anywhere. Planning on writing the Great American Novel? Drinking like the other millions who tried that is much more likely. Want to pick up a language in your 30s? Maybe an instrument? Good luck, those parts of your brain stopped working while you were cursing at the iPod speaker because it wasn’t playing Master of Puppets loud enough after that gin bucket incident.

The more life’s inevitable stasis solidifies in the brain, the more harrowing it is- the more dangerous the feeling of defeat and despair become. Grand realizations and epiphanies start feeling like the stuff of fiction. Things perpetually prove pointless, because if you can’t change, what exactly is the point of existence? The one thing you know for sure that does change is our planet’s resources (they dwindle) as we march- or should I say sail- to our doom.

“Hold it right there, Mr. Goth McDowner,” Cuphead whispers at you after about an hour of play.

Because not being good at Cuphead is exactly what you should be once you start playing it. Failure is certain. You die all the time. Like within seconds, over and over and over. You’ve got a gnat’s chance against a windshield. Fail. Fail. Fail.

But while Cuphead first appears to be the masochist’s wet dream, you realize that why everything still overwhelms and doom as is certain as time itself, you’re- somehow- getting better. Slowly, sure. In most instances, you’re not even sure how. It’s almost imperceptible when it isn’t imperceptible. But, sure enough, keep at it, and you will improve.

And that is the direct result of Cuphead’s design. For while it is hard- easily one of the hardest games I actually enjoyed playing- it is never cheap. The game doesn’t want to defeat you with bullshit tactics like games from the 80s. Much like the loving, hardass parents everybody probably needs, It wants you to get better, and is more than willing to kick your ass to get you there. How does it do both? By subtly encouraging you through how it is made. Getting better boils down to two things: sharpening your hand-eye coordination and muscle memory*, and recognizing patterns that start simple but become supremely sophisticated, ranging from the speed of enemies to knowing the exact positions where the 12,000 objects flying at you will miss you by a millipixel. Nothing truly random ever occurs, so you won’t have to bear the true indignity of finding meaning in a game you’ve played for dozens of hours about coffee cups cheap deaths (or cheap wins) just when you’re about to see that sweet, sweet Victory! screen. The game also does something genius when it comes to letting you know you’re progressing: Every time you lose, a timeline appears where you see how close you were to victory.

*Sorry, A.I., but that one requires practice, which means dying. A lot.

Plus, it’s just funny to lose to characters from the 30′s who then insult you with Vaudevillian trash talk. None of them have voices, but I like to think they all sound like the Penguin from Adam West’s Batman.

At first this seems boisterous if not barbaric in the worst possible way- a na na nee boo boo for the Switch generation. It quickly proves to be just the thing you need to see that you are in fact making progress. Yes, it makes some of the frustrations sting a lot more (I was this close). But it also gives you hope (I was this close). It’s the first time I’ve seen such a mechanic in a game, and I will be amazed if it is the last.

Eventually, after you’ve beaten the Robot that has been giving you a headache for the better part of 10 hours, a weird feeling may hit you like it hit me: not accomplishment- although that is most certainly present- but hope. Hope that if you are willing to be persistent, you will get better. Sure, that’s not an guarantee, but one thing is for sure: you can’t improve- in this game, in life- if you quit. Persistence is the best quality a person can have, as it is pretty much the only one they can control. Why? Because hope- the beautiful thing that makes happy people happy- is the fruit of persistence. And the truly ingenious thing about Cuphead is that its design encourages such epiphanies. Not bad for $20.

Does constant failure suck? Speaking as an ad writer and more generally as a person I can tell you from experience that yes it indeed does. It’s humbling. It can be crippling. It’s demoralizing. But if you’re willing to fail with both feet, you will get better. At least sometimes. And if you don’t, just remember to not chuck your Switch in the lake.

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vex-bittys · 7 years

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Eldritch Reunion: It’s Not a Phase

Drabble request featuring the Old Ones from the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft and Black Hat from Villainos, a series of Cartoon Network shorts.

When your common moniker is “The Old Ones,” you tend not to rush. a disregard for the laws of nature and reality also leads to a disregard for terms such as “annual” and “do not eat.” I mean, if they don’t want you to eat the silica packets, maybe they shouldn’t make them so delicious, but I digress (because I can).

The time had come for our somewhat-annual-if-years-were-eons Eldritch family gathering. Some of the older Old Ones were eager to see what the youngsters had been up to since their own respective heydays. Auntie Cthylla hovered near the h’ors d’oeuvres, berating the shaggoth caterers for serving calamari. Pop-Pop didn’t have his hearing aides in, so he spoke far too loudly and kept interrupting people by bellowing “WHAT?” when they were in the middle of a sentence.

Imagine my relief when the younger crowd showed up. Slys and Chad were the youngest Old Ones, and by far the most in touch with our version of reality.

“Slys!” I screeched happily, rattling the fabric of time and space as I leaned forward to receive a crinkly paper bag kiss on each cheek. “Finally! You’re late... or early... or something,” I said with a laugh.

“Whenever I arrive, it becomes right on time,” said the saucy Eldritch creature with a wink. “And I brought Chad this... year... era... quadrangle?”

“Oh... um... good?” I laughed reluctantly. Times they were a-changing, and the Eldritch horror game wasn’t what it used to be, but Chad... Speak of the Old One, the little punk shoved Slys out of the way to steal the spotlight, which turned out to be a small piece of missing cosmos that one of our other cousins had burped up.

“What’s with the...uh..” I didn’t know how to describe the strange headpiece Slys had disguised himself with. The paper bag over the head schtick was so cliche, but he also wore goggles over it. He’d actually used the goggles to execute the wink.

“It’s my aesthetic,” he explained, possibly hiding a smile. “We’ve been in what passes for the modern human world... and I’m a doctor now. Not one of those slice-and-dice ones though,” he qualified as I processed why he would ever want to learn about silly human bodies. “Did you know that even with all of their ridiculous scientific laws and the confines of physics, humans still found a way to fly?”

I meant to ask some questions about strange flying humans, or perhaps ask why in the thirteen realities he’d want to be Dr. Flug, but someone interrupted our discussion.

Chad cleared his throat several times, doing a few sound checks to make sure his voice had that gravelly, evil undertone that absolutely nobody strives for anymore. “The Great Black Hat has arrived,” he announced regally before pausing, as if we should be applauding.

A loud snort exploded into the silence. Me, sorry. “Slys,” I stage-whispered, “What happened to him? Does he really think he’s a hat?”

Slys gently shushed me. “It’s his-” he coughed and lowered his voice to a barely audible murmur “-villain name.” I wanted to shriek with laughter, but unfortunately, I caught sight of my dad surreptitiously crunching the bones of the DJ when nobody was looking.

By the time I cleared things up at the sound booth (by plugging my iPod into the speakers and turning the volume up to a deafening level), our cousin, Black Hat. had cornered another Old One to brag.

“I own my own business,” bragged Hat-chan.

“We... build gadgets in his mom’s basement,” explained Slys. I giggled, summoning forth a plague upon whatever they called the Western World nowadays.

“We run our commercials under the cover of darkness.”

“He buys late night public television access time.”

“We even have our own catalog!” Chad the Hat stuck his chest out proudly.

“He actually found a Kinko’s to make photocopies at.”

“I think the real question on everyone’s mind is: Did Gomez Addams give him the suit, or did he steal it?” I howled with laughter. That got a reaction out of the Chad Hatter.

His flesh seemed to melt and peel, some sections forming spiked tentacles, others forming gaping maws. Hellish eyes glowed from inside his body, which writhed and folded in on itself. He hissed, a menacing and alarming sound fit for a proper Old One, and it even attracted Pop-Pop Lhu’s attention.

The air displaced by the huge abominations movements emitted a low buzzing sound that shook our bones. Peering down at Chad a.k.a. Black Hat through his bifocals, which he adjusted with an arthritic tentacle, he bellowed in what I’m sure he thought was normal volume.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH CHAD? IS HE GOING THROUGH AN EMU PHASE?

“It’s called an ‘emo phase,' Pop-Pop,” Slys shouted to him, receiving a probably-much-too-hard pat on the head for his assistance. I’m almost 100% positive that Slys is Pop-Pop’s favorite.

“It’s not a phase,” hissed Chad petulantly. “It’s who I am now!”

INDEX

#vexy writes #villainos #villainous #black hat #slys flug #dr flug #eldritch horros #eldritch abominations #cthulhu #cthylla #eldritch family reunion

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itsnofreakingway · 7 years

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I miss 2005...

I was feeling super nostalgic and going through all the old songs on my ipod. I got it for a gift back in 2005 and it felt like the most amazing technology in the whole damn world! I was suddenly given a giant brick where I could upload, literally, MILLIONS of songs! I still use it and have NEVER deleted a song from it - no matter how embarrassing. I’ve never needed to! I remember spending HOURS uploading all my favourite albums onto it so I could listen to it on the bus to school and be the coolest kid ever.

And what an era for music it was!! In the age where pop punk / emo rock was in its prime!! Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, 30 Seconds to Mars, Lostprophets, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Madina Lake, The All American Rejects.. My list could go on forever.

I miss that time. Music felt like it was so amazing. And now, every song just sounds the same.

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chorusfm · 7 years

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Today we’re happy to bring you part two of our “In the Spotlight” feature. We’ve got another group of 25 artists that we think are worthy of your time and ears. Our contributors have made their picks, put together blurbs, and pulled out recommended songs.

If you missed part one, you can find that here.

MUNA

by Jason Tate

MUNA are a three piece out of Los Angeles that craft a dark synth-pop sound right in my musical wheelhouse. They released their debut LP, About U, earlier this year and it’s been in constant rotation as the weather shifts in Rain City between annoyingly wet and cold to slightly less annoyingly cold. The pulsating percussion over well-weaved vocal melodies mixes perfectly with the season. It’s the kind of music that can sit in the background at a party and at one point or another you’ll find all of the guests nodding along, or it can be experienced between headphones alone in a dark room with a stiff drink.

Recommended Track: “Winterbreak”

RIYL: Lany, Banks, Fickle Friends

Mandolin Orange

by Craig Manning

Playful, tongue-in-cheek band name aside, Mandolin Orange write and perform some of the most beautifully understated and intimate music out there these days. A folk duo featuring singer/songwriters Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, Mandolin Orange have been around since 2010, but have really started to pick up steam in the past two years. Their most recent record, last year’s Blindfaller, was a socially-conscious set of folk tunes that rings even more true after what happened in November. But the band’s crowning achievement at this point is 2015’s Such Jubilee, a record that has sneakily become one of the most-played albums in my vinyl collection. Marlin and Frantz’s songs are gentle and pleasant enough to play in the background—whether you are working, chatting, or sleeping—but they also have the power to enchant and entrance when you listen closely. Case-in-point is “Blue Ruin,” a song about the Sandy Hook shootings that avoids self-righteous sloganeering in favor of tortured resignation, quiet rage, bottomless sadness, and unanswerable questions. It’s one of the most haunting songs written this decade.

Recommended Track: “Blue Ruin”

RIYL: The Lone Bellow, Nickel Creek, Field Report

Milkshakes

by Aj LaGambina

Milkshakes, hailing from Connecticut, are an alt-rock/power-pop powerhouse that released their first LP, Juvenilia, in November of last year. Focusing on huge, 90’s throwback instrumentation and relatable musical themes, the band stands out as one of the gems of the CT music scene.

Recommended Track: “Past Tragedies””

RIYL: Basement, Superheaven, Microwave

IDLES

by Kyle Huntington

Very rarely will a band be both tied to their influences in a way that allows them to exist on their own platform whilst simultaneously feeling very worthy amongst said classics and also come along at just. the. right. time. Bristol, England based band IDLES released their debut album Brutalism in March and it’s the most perfect call-to-arms, the rally-round, the gang mentality against the injustices and divisions so prevalent in the world lately. Spilling over with angry fuck yous, relentless rhythm sections and wired guitars whilst maintaining a sense of humour throughout, there’s few albums as directly raw sonically and as on-point culturally as this in 2017.

Recommended Track: “Mother”

RIYL: Pissed Jeans, Iceage, The Fall

Weller

by Deanna Chapman

Weller is a recent find for me. It’s the solo project of Harrison Nantz out of Philadelphia. He came around after I had already left the city, and it left me a bit bummed. Weller’s music, however, is well worth a listen. The Philadelphia music scene does not disappoint. Weller fits right in with the bands that have come out of there. Career Fair has bouncy melodies that you just want to jam out to. The music is well-crafted. The most recent release is a split with Rue from October 2016 and I’ll just be over here waiting for more.

Recommended Track: “Buck”

RIYL: Sorority Noise, Pinegrove, Modern Baseball

Post Modern

by Zac Djamoos

While the might have one of the least-Googleable band names ever, Post Modern’s music more than makes up for it. Their 2015 EP The Current was promising, displaying a knack for crafting hard-hitting post-hardcore. They’ve released a string of singles since which have only built on that promise. They’re gearing up to release a new record this year, and if it’s as good as the singles suggest, Post Modern is name we’ll be hearing for a long time.

Recommended Track: “Speak Soft”

RIYL: Thrice, Circa Survive, Have Mercy

Sonnder

by Craig Ismaili

This Philadelphia area band has drawn attention from alternative radio stations in the region, including Radio 104.5. This is in part because their music displays a boundless ear for melody that belies a pop act underneath the wall of sound of an alterntive act. It’s also in part because their live sets are at once filled unbridle exuberance and yet still remarkably polished. But perhaps the biggest asset Sonnder displays is their malleability. On their debut album Entanglement, released a little over a year ago, they display the ability to shape-shift to fit different perceptions of the band seamlessly, from the hard-charging “New Direction,” the opening track off Entanglement and also often the intro to their live performances, to the harmonic balladry of “Late October,” to the dance-pop of “Siren Calling.” In an era where the biggest single on the radio could be anything from a bubblegum pop song, to a piano ballad, to a folk-pop track, their ability to make an immediately captivating song in any genre will serve them well in the future. They are working on new music now which should be released later this year.

Recommended Track: “New Direction”

RIYL: Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups, Toyko Police Club

The New Respects

by Greg Robson

Nashville quartet The New Respects offer up a confident slice of soul-based rock with equal amounts of R&B, funk and even radio-ready pop. Vocalist Jasmine Mullen has a natural charisma and swagger but draws on the strength of her bandmates (drummer Darius Fitzgerald, guitarist Zandy Fitzgerald and bassist Alexis Fitzgerald) to do much of the heavy lifting. Their new EP Here Comes Trouble (Credential Recordings/Caroline Distribution) is sleek, sexy and scintillating. The strongest of the EP is the soon-to-be pop smash “Trouble” and the sultry ballad “Come As You Are.” The band’s youth is probably their greatest asset and their rise to larger stages seems almost inevitable.

Recommended Track: “Trouble”

RIYL: Alabama Shakes, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, St. Paul and the Broken Bones

King Neptune

by Becky Kovach

Singer/songwriter Ian Kenny has been a part of the New York scene for a while now – his previous band NGHBRS began in 2010 and made waves in 2013 with their album 21 Rooms – but it’s with his latest project King Neptune that Kenny seems to have finally found his footing. I was initially drawn to the band by “Black Hole,” the first song released under the new moniker. It’s dark and angry, fueled by static-y guitars and a volatile chorus about no longer knowing a person you once loved. Kenny’s voice is rich and gritty – the kind that can go from growling to smooth and back in a single measure. King Neptune’s debut EP A Place To Rest My Head has been out since last October and is still in constant rotation on my iPod/Spotify/stereo.

Recommended Track: “All Night”

RIYL: Envy On The Coast, Cage The Elephant, Heavy English

Crystal Clear

by Aj LaGambina

Crystal Clear are a six piece based out of West Haven, CT that focus on a bright and energetic indie-pop sound. Their debut EP, Rough Draft hit bandcamp at the end of March and provides a perfect soundtrack for the New England springtime. The three original songs, and a unique take on Britney Spears’ “Womanizer” make for a breezy listen, though there’s plenty of musical layers to dive in to if critical listening is more your thing. The title track especially, with it’s big chorus and bouncy, ukulele-driven instrumental begs for sing-alongs in the car.

Recommended Track: “Rough Draft”

Souvenirs

by Zac Djamoos

Souvenirs’ 2014 debut You, Fear, and Me was a pleasant slice of indie rock, but it’s their sophomore outing that’s really going to turn heads. Posture of Apology finds the Carpinteria, CA, band leaning more heavily on the indie than the rock, trading in the booming choruses and distorted guitars for sparkling keys and spurts of electronics. And, hell, it pays off. “Bend and Break” feels like a poppier take on latter-day Copeland, and “Proof” is proof (ha) that Souvenirs are just as good at writing subtle, slowburning pop songs as they are at writing massive, shout-your-lungs-out ones. Even still, you might want to shout your lungs out to a song like “4th and Holly” anyway.

Recommended Track: “Roman Candle”

RIYL: Death Cab for Cutie, The American Scene, Mansions, All the Day Holiday

Danny Black

by Jason Tate

Danny Black is the project name for Good Old War’s Daniel Schwartz. The music is instrumental and guitar based, but it inhabits an atmosphere of driving on a backroad in the middle of summer. Dream-like, carefree, and uninhibited. Danny Black’s debut (and perfectly titled) album, Adventure Soundtrack, came out earlier this year and is impossibly easy to get lost in.

Recommended Track: “High Tide”

RIYL: Days Away, Good Old War

Steve Moakler

by Craig Manning

What does Steve Moakler’s music sound like, you may ask? Like the greatest summertime soundtrack you’ve never heard. With his breakout 2017 album, Steel Town, Moakler is slinging the sunniest choruses in country music—and that’s saying something, for a genre whose mainstream stars really, really love their summertime. The songs on Steel Town range from wistful heartbreakers (“Summer without Her,” with a vibe reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional’s “Dusk and Summer”) to pure song-of-the-summer pop tunes (the undeniable “Suitcase,” which needs to be on your playlist come June). Moakler, like many of Nashville’s brightest talents, hasn’t yet broken through in his own right—though he has penned a few songs for major stars like Dierks Bentley. But between Steel Town and 2014’s Wide Open, Moakler’s got pop songs that will appeal to country fans, country songs that will appeal to pop fans, and enough heartfelt, nostalgic lyrics to fill any summer night. Check him out now—before he’s one of the biggest names in music.

Recommended Track: “Suitcase”

RIYL: Will Hoge, Matt Nathanson, Twin Forks

Black Foxxes

y Zac Djamoos

Sometimes you want to drop the pretenses and just rock, and that’s what Black Foxxes do best. The Exeter, England trio delivered one of the best no-frills rock albums of 2016 – a year that saw no shortage of great rock albums. I’m Not Well stood out due to the raw energy Back Foxxes bring to the table. Whether it’s an unexpected scream breaking through a quiet verse or the sudden drum fill that introduces the title track’s massive hook, there’s always a burst of energy to keep you on your toes. With Black Foxxes racking up festival dates left and right, they’re showing no signs of slowing down. Trust me, you’ll want to be able to say you were a fan before they take over the world.

Recommended Track: “River”

RIYL: Brand New, The Felix Culpa, Manchester Orchestra, Microwave

Phoebe Bridgers

by Craig Ismaili

“Smoke Signals,” the first song Bridgers released from her as of yet unfinished debut album is a remarkable achievement in a song transporting the listener to a specific place. You see, the world within “Smoke Signals” is lived in. This is not a love song in the abstract. The etching of the passage of time is written all over it, from the tragic passings of Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and David Bowie memorialized in song, to an entire verse about The Smiths’ “How Soon is Now.” The celebrity deaths speak to some innate desire to transform one’s life for the better, or just to escape the enormity of it while (“It’s been on my mind since Bowie died / Just checking out to hide from life / and all of our problems / I’m gonna solve them.”). So it’s not at all an escapism fantasy, as so many other songs are, no it’s a journal of a life “lived deliberately” as Thoreau would say in the name-checked Walden. It’s a remarkable testament to the power of Bridgers as a songwriter and a storyteller that she can paint a picture so vividly in just a few simple phrases. The singer/songwriter, who has recorded with Ryan Adams and is signed to his Pax Am label imprint, is a rare, once-or-twice-in-a-generation talent, and I urge you to get aboard the hype train with me before it has passed you by.

Recommended Track: “Smoke Signals”

RIYL: Julien Baker, Elliot Smith, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch

Hippo Campus

by Kyle Huntington

An early blueprint for this Minnesotan band’s music was seeing people having fun at their shows and continuing to create music that engaged a crowd into a sense of joy and elation. This serves as a great and inclusive foundation, but it’s on their debut album landmark where Hippo Campus evolve and flourish in the nuances and more sombre tones. These moments ice the top of every portion of the album and consequently deliver an outstanding debut. Each song is its own entity whilst remaining a part of a cohesive whole. Bon Iver collaborator BJ Burton handles production duties allowing transitions between tracks to be sequenced thoughtfully and there’s diverse soundscapes from piano-led tracks to more heavy guitar-driven songs that are relentless in their force – but nothing is ever confused or lacking in an identity, in fact landmark boasts a very authentic stamp. Lyrics, handled by guitarist/vocalist Nathan Stocker, are reminiscent of a young Morrissey in their self aware and often humorous ‘coping mechanism’ style and they’re delivered with the heartfelt, floaty vocal tones of frontman Jake Luppen for truly effective measure. landmark is an indie-rock album that doesn’t have a weak moment, consistently great from start to finish with some of the most memorable musical compositions I’ve heard in some time.

There’s that rare type of hype around the band, a non-claustrophobic buzz, which allows their unique breed of infectious, outrageously pop-sensible and intelligent indie music to bloom.

Recommended Track: “Way It Goes”

RIYL: Bombay Bicycle Club, Vampire Weekend, Bleachers

Creeper

by Becky Kovach

There’s no replacing My Chemical Romance. However, British newcomers (or at least new to me) Creeper are giving the kings of the goth scene a run for their money. The band’s debut Eternity, In Your Arms, is drenched in the same dark and theatrical nuances that MCR became known for. If you missed them on tour with Too Close To Touch and Waterparks, have no fear – they’ll be back this summer on the Vans Warped Tour. Time to break out the eyeliner.

Recommended Track: “Misery”

RIYL: My Chemical Romance, Alkaline Trio, AFI

Shallows

by Anna Acosta

You’d hardly know synth-pop duo Shallows are newer faces on the LA music scene to look at the year they’ve had. Marshall Gallagher’s meticulous production combined with front-woman Dani Poppitt’s hauntingly addictive vocals peppered 2016 with festival-ready singles. The lyrics dance around themes of longing with no shortage of clever wordplay, transmitting their message so effectively that the listener can’t help but want to hear more. With Poppitt at the helm, Shallows have achieved that ever-so-elusive feat: to embody everything current about the LA music scene, while feeling in no way derivative. The good news? They’ve got an EP coming out later this year. One thing is for sure: this band won’t be underground for long.

Recommended Track: “Matter”

RIYL: Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Halsey

White Reaper

by Craig Manning

White Reaper aren’t quite a hair metal band, but they sure sound like they could have been hustling up and down the Sunset Strip 35 years ago. Situated on the musical spectrum somewhere between Van Halen, KISS, and Japandroids, White Reaper tear through one party-ready rock song after another on this year’s (un)ironically named The World’s Best American Band. Loud, raucous, glammy to the nth degree, and loaded with arena rock signifiers—chugging guitars, ripping solos, pounding drums that reverberate through your entire chest, bellowed vocals, and sugar-rush melodies that double their enjoyment factor with every beer you drink—this record feels tailor-made for loud-as-hell car listens this summer. If you thought that Japandroids LP from earlier this year was too overproduced or too stuck in a mid-tempo rut, White Reaper have the antidote.

Recommended Track: “Judy French”

RIYL: ‘80s hair metal filtered through a modern alt-rock prism

Posture and the Grizzly

by Zac Djamoos

Posture and the Grizzly are a puzzling band. I Am Satan contains a nearly even split of pop-punk and post-rock, sometimes within the very same song (see opener “I Am Not a Real Doctor”). They manage to combine the best aspects of both genres to create an impressive and expansive album that’s also just fun as hell. There’s beauty and space in “Star Children,” there’s catharsis in “Acid Bomb,” there’s a monstrous earworm in “Kill Me,” and there’s a great record in I Am Satan.

Recommended Track: “I Am Not a Real Doctor”

RIYL: blink-182, Runaway Brother, The World Is…

Blaenavon

by Kyle Huntington

There’s a danger with debuts that are a long-time coming, a momentum can be lost. A spark can fade a little or fickle fans can just lose interest. The Hampshire, England band may have taken five years to produce their debut album That’s Your Lot, which was released in April, but it’s so self-assured in its brooding wonder and euphoria that any potentials pitfalls another band may encounter are bypassed without a second glance by Blaenavon. Produced by Jim Abbiss who has a masterful touch on so many staple indie-debuts (Arctic Monkeys, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Temper Trap and…Adele) the record is best summed up by frontman Ben Gregory himself: “That’s Your Lot is five years of our lives condensed into 59 minutes of yours. Youth, capriciousness, duality, duplicity, love, bitterness, fate. Songs from the human core: some malleable, long considered – others pure, direct, cruelly honest. An album to bathe in and appreciate the inevitable end.”

Recommended Track: “Orthodox Man”

RIYL: Bombay Bicycle Club, Foals, The Maccabees, The Temper Trap

Lindsay Ell

by Craig Manning

Lindsay Ell built her following on YouTube, covering songs by other artists. For the past few years, though, she’s been slowly making a name for herself in mainstream country music, releasing hooky one-off pop-country singles like the bubblegum kiss-off “By the Way” or the infectiously ebullient “All Alright.” It wasn’t until this spring, though, that Ell really showed the world what she was capable of. With the release of her debut EP, Worth the Wait, the 28-year-old Canadian country singer has cast off the usual constraints of pop country for a soulful, versatile set of songs. Her producer, Kristian Bush of the band Sugarland, encouraged her to pick her favorite album and record a cover version of the whole thing, to get a better sense of what makes the songs tick and what she wanted to accomplish with her own music. Ell, a whiz of a guitar player, chose John Mayer’s 2006 masterpiece Continuum. Unsurprisingly, the influence of that record is splashed all across the songs that make up Worth the Wait—and not just in the closing cover of “Stop This Train.” Still, the most intriguing moments here are all Ell’s, from the soulful blues-pop of “Waiting for You” to the kinetic “Criminal,” all the way to the goosebump-inducing title track. Trust me: this girl is one to watch.

Recommended Track: “Worth the Wait”

RIYL: John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Logan Brill

Sam Outlaw

by Craig Manning

A former ad executive turned country singer, Sam Outlaw sounded charming but somewhat limited two years ago when he released his first LP, 2015’s Angeleno. The songwriting was very solid, and Outlaw’s voice—not far removed from Jackson Browne—was butter. However, most of the songs were so old fashioned—with sweeping strings, mariachi horns, and more than a few hat tips to classic California country—that the record didn’t engage me quite as much as other more forward-thinking roots music records from that year. Outlaw’s second disc, this year’s Tenderheart sees the singer/songwriter breaking out of his traditionalist mode a bit, widening the palette for something that feels more his own. The highlight is lead-off track “Everyone’s Looking for Home,” an aching slow-burn that modernizes Outlaw’s sound a bit without sacrificing intimacy. But the whole record—from the title track, which calls back to the melody of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” to “Look at You Now,” the Ryan Adams-style ballad that sits in the closing slot—is the direct opposite of a sophomore slump.

Recommended Track: “Everyone’s Looking for Home”

RIYL: Dawes, Jackson Browne, other Laurel Canyon country/folk acts

For Everest

by Zac Djamoos

I think there’s a For Everest song for everything. Want something snappy and infectious? Listen to “Autonomy.” Something slow and building? “Vitamins.” Want to shout along to something angry? “I’m in a Boxcar Buried Inside a Quarry.” Their debut We Are at Home in the Body runs the whole gamut of human emotions in nine songs, and toys around with just about every style. The two songs they’re released on their upcoming split with Carb on Carb only have me more convinced that For Everest can do no wrong. They’re one of the most creative and refreshing new bands around, and they’re only one album in. Strap yourself in and start singing along.

Recommended Track: “Autonomy”

RIYL: The World Is…, Dowsing, Everyone Everywhere, Paramore

Nikita Karmen

by Craig Manning

If you’re looking for a “song of the summer” candidate, Nikita Karmen’s new self-titled EP has two of them. “First” is the most obvious pick, an instantly hummable song about the kind of vindictive, petty jealousy that sets in when your ex moves on before you do. But “Love in a Thrift Shop” is sunny and sugary-sweet, too, with a big hook that sounds exactly like something Nashville radio could latch onto. Karmen’s wheelhouse is pop-country, but her music is refreshingly bare, with sparser and more organic arrangements than what you’d hear from many of her (overproduced) contemporaries. “First” starts out with nothing more than a lightly picked guitar and Karmen’s voice. It’s reminiscent of Adele’s Max Martin co-write, “Send My Love to Your New Lover,” only way catchier. And Karmen’s ballads—wrenching girl-next-door tales like “Curfew” and “Nobody with Me”—are similarly understated, allowing her pleasant voice and impressive songcraft to shine through. Pairing the pop-country cuteness of early Taylor Swift with the take-no-shit attitude of Maren Morris, Karmen might just be the next big thing.

Recommended Track: “First”

RIYL: Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Colbie Caillat

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