In keeping with the vision I have for this blog, I've decided to write an entry focusing on an up-and-coming filmmaker whose creativity and do-it-yourself story inspires me.
David F. Sandberg is a Swedish director who, with his actress wife Lotta Losten, has made a series of short yet effective horror films. They can be found on his YouTube Channel under the moniker "Ponysmasher." One of these short films, "Lights Out," is the focus of this entry.
I discovered "Lights Out" a couple years back while I was aimlessly browsing YouTube for horror shorts. While not a horror fanatic I do enjoy a well-made horror movie, particularly if it is effectively scary. There is something that fascinates me about a truly creepy horror movie, especially one that manages it on a small budget. The first "Paranormal Activity" hit that chord with me, as does "Lights Out."
Plenty of horror films with big budgets fail to capture that genuine creepy atmosphere that this short nails so well. The short plays off fundamental fears, and I feel that the best horror movies often do the same.
I'm not the only one impressed by this short film. In fact, it went viral and has led to Sandberg being offered the chance to turn his film into a full length feature, produced by Hollywood director James Wan. The movie comes out next month. Now, based on the trailer it does seem a bit "Hollywoodized." In fact, I would be surprised if the movie is as creepy as the short film is. From what I can gather in the trailer, the movie gives the monster a back story. In my experience, the more I know about a monster the less scary it is. What makes the short version of "Lights Out" so terrifying is that we know nothing about the monster. We don't know its origin, its motivation, or what it does to its victims. Now, we also know nothing about the protagonist. But essentially the protagonist is a stand-in for ourselves. We have all been home alone, and we have all been spooked by strange shapes in the dark. What I fear for the feature length version is that much of this will be lost by over-explanation. However, it's possible that the movie will still be effective in its own way. Apparently James Wan has been impressed with Sandberg's performance thus far, as Sandberg is next lined up to direct "Annabelle 2," a sequel in a franchise which is also produced by Wan.
The most fascinating thing about Sandberg is how very rags-to-riches his story is. Before "Lights Out" exploded on the internet he was just a struggling filmmaker living with his wife in his native Sweden. Now the pair has moved to LA and he is making big-budget Hollywood movies, all because of a little low-budget short that he filmed in his own apartment.
I sincerely hope that the movie is well-received so Sandberg can continue making movies, which is clearly his passion.
Hands down, my favorite rock singer of all time is Chris Cornell. Chances are, I will cover various albums from his illustrious career over the course of this blog, but for now I'm going to talk about Cornell and his career in general.
Chris Cornell was born in Seattle in 1964. In 1984, 20 years later, he formed Soundgarden with friends Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto. This makes Soundgarden and I the same age. No wonder I love them so much. An interesting note: Chris Cornell started out as the drummer. Eventually Matt Cameron settled in and took over the drum kit; clearly the band recognized Cornell's vocal talent. Soundgarden signed to the famous indie label Sub Pop, which has a very strong association with the Seattle "grunge" sound. Several years later, they were the first band out of that scene to sign to a major label.
Soundgarden's early years were comprised of albums such as the dual EPs "Screaming Life" and "Fopp," their debut LP "Ultramega OK" (which was nominated for a Grammy), and "Louder Than Love" (their major label debut). It wasn't until "Badmotorfinger," however, that they began to attain truly notable mainstream success. That album, bolstered by hits like "Outshined," "Jesus Christ Pose," and "Rusty Cage," rocketed them into the limelight. That album happens to not only be my favorite Soundgarden album, but one of my favorite albums of all time. I will definitely cover it on this blog at some point, and talk about its influence on me.
Despite being the first to the major label party, Soundgarden's success was eclipsed in the early years by Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Indeed, while "Badmotorfinger" came out the same year, 1991, as "Nevermind" and "Ten," the latter two albums enjoyed success on a whole other level. Not to say that they were bitter rivals. In fact, Cornell collaborated with the members of Pearl Jam on the Temple of the Dog project, a tribute to their late friend, Andrew Wood of the band Mother Love Bone. This album resulted in the hit song "Hunger Strike," which is a duet between Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder. I still remember when I first heard that song on the radio: "Hey, that sounds like the guy from Soundgarden . . . and the guy from Pearl Jam. How can that be?" When I confirmed their identities my mind was just about blown. That song is still one of my favorites.
It wasn't until 1994 that Soundgarden truly took the charts by storm with "Superunknown." This is the album that cemented the band's status as rock royalty, particularly due to the smash hit "Black Hole Sun." Other hits like "Fell on Black Days" and "Spoonman" showed that Soundgarden weren't just a one-hit wonder. It was "Black Hole Sun" that first introduced me to the band and to Cornell's amazing voice. I was hooked from first listen.
Unfortunately, Soundgarden's follow-up to "Superunknown," titled "Down on the Upside," did not replicate the former album's success. Although it did give us the classic song, "Burden in My Hand," which is one of my absolute favorite songs. After that album Soundgarden broke up. By the time I actually discovered them in 1999, they'd already been broken up for three years or so (I was a bit late to rock music).
Chris Cornell pursued a solo career for a while, including the wonderful album "Euphoria Morning." "Can't Change Me," the single from that album, is another one of my all-time favorite songs (anyone seeing a pattern here?)
Cornell was pretty quiet for a few years, until a rumor started that he was possibly going to collaborate with the former members of Rage Against the Machine, who were without a singer since Zack de la Rocha left the band. This was practically too good to be true! I hadn't been much a fan of RATM at the time. While I loved their instrumentals, I wasn't that much a fan of the rap vocals (they've since grown on me). So pairing my favorite vocalist with them sounded like the makings of the best band ever!
When the supergroup finally came to fruition with Audioslave's first album, my expectations were more than met . . . it was an awesome album! While their second and third albums couldn't quite measure up, they were still solidly one of my favorite bands and I was able to see them live twice. To my pleasure, they tended to cover several Soundgarden songs, which was the second best thing to seeing Soundgarden live. Here's one of my favorite Audioslave songs, "Show Me How to Live."
Chris Cornell also had the honor of contributing the theme song for the movie that brought James Bond back into movie audiences' good graces: Casino Royale. The song, called "You Know My Name," did not disappoint. While it didn't quite dethrone "A View to a Kill" as my favorite James Bond theme, it's definitely up there!
Chris Cornell's solo career hasn't been quite as . . . consistently high-quality as his work with Soundgarden. None of his solo albums after "Euphoria Morning" really had the same magic, and he made the questionable decision to work with Timbaland for one of them. Fortunately, a few years ago Soundgarden reunited, and I was finally able to see them perform live. This was after I had already seen Audioslave twice and Chris Cornell solo twice. What an amazing show! The band later put out their first album since "Down on the Upside": "King Animal."
Chris Cornell is one of the greatest rock vocalists of his generation. From Temple of the Dog to Soundgarden to his solo work to Audioslave and back to Soundgarden again, Cornell's career has given rock music some of its most enduring classics. If you want to sample the best that the "Seattle Sound" had to offer, you can't go wrong with sampling any of Cornell's amazing work.
Today I found out that Jade Lemons, former guitarist for the band Injected, passed away this week of a drug overdose. In honor of Jade, I wanted to dedicate this entry to Injected's one and only album, "Burn it Black."
"Burn it Black" was released on February 26, 2002. 2002 was a big year for me. It was the year I graduated from high school and started college. Hence, I deeply associated the songs from that album with my year in the dorms.
Injected were composed of singer Danny Grady, guitarist Jade Lemons (RIP), bassist Steve Slovisky, and drummer Chris Wojtal. They were a group of high school friends from Atlanta that found success on the local scene and make their big move toward rock stardom in 2002 with their debut album. They scored a couple of minor hits on alternative rock radio with "Faithless" and "Bullet," as well as songs on the soundtracks for the movies "Spider-man," "The Fast and the Furious," and "The Scorpion King." They were also featured on the MTV Campus Invasion Tour. All the makings of success, right?
Well, for some reason that success was short lived. From what I've read, it sounds like there was a change in management at their record label, Island Records. The new management did not support them, and their second album (the tracks for which had already been recorded) went unreleased. They were dropped from their label and ended up breaking up and going their separate ways. The recorded tracks for the aborted second album, "The Truth About You," were eventually leaked online.
The original line-up of Injected reunited at least once for a charity show in Atlanta. They still have a dedicated following online, and I am one of their long time fans. I wish I could have seen them live! They ended up giving some of their songs from the second album for other bands to record. Butch Walker, who produced "Burn it Black," used the song "So At Last" on one of his albums. A band called Upside took "Monday" (one of my favorite songs) and "Daylight." Probably most notably, David Cook of American Idol fame made a minor hit out of "Barbasol" (also known as "Spun Again").
But back to where it all began, "Burn it Black." That album gets me revved up like few albums do. Injected were great at mixing super catchy, heavy guitar riffs with great, melodic singing.
Track 1, "When She Comes" gets the album going on a high note. I love the way the riff starts fairly quietly for a seconds before the rest of the band joins in and the song explodes into a high energy, head-bouncing good time. There's something about the way the spiraling guitar chugs along in this song that gets the heart pumping!
The album doesn't slow down as it moves into Track 2, the title track "Burn it Black." This is one of the most frequent songs on this album to get stuck in my head. It's a pretty straight forward rocker, with that special Injected magic that makes it both catchy and heavy. This song is also the one that made it onto the soundtrack for "The Scorpion King."
Track 3, "Bullet," is one of the singles from the album. However, I'd say it is one of the least representative-sounding songs on the album. As the loudest, most aggressive song on the album, I really think it was chosen as a single to try to cash in on the nu-metal fad. I think this was a miscalculation, as Injected really isn't a nu-metal band. They are a bit too traditional rock and roll to be lumped into the macho posturing and manufactured aggression that defined the nu-metal genre. Not to say that "Bullet" is a bad song. Far from it. It's got one of the album's catchiest choruses, and some ferocious guitar. But I think it hurt Injected's general appeal because it caused them to get lumped in with the hundreds of nu-metal wannabes clogging the music marketplace at the time. End rant.
Track 4, "Faithless," is the other single from the album. This one was a better choice for a single, and it also appeared on the soundtrack for "The Fast and the Furious." It's catchy as hell, with a great soft-loud verse-chorus dynamic. If any one song can be credited with getting me into Injected, I'd say it was either this one or Track 6. More on that song in a minute. But first . . .
Track 5, "It Only Hurts a While." Another highlight (the first half of this album is full of them), this could be called a power ballad of sorts. The emotion of this song really makes it stand out. It's loud and beautiful at the same time.
"Faithless" may have introduced me to Injected, but Track 6, "I IV V," was arguably the one to sell me on them. From the first seconds of the song when the drums fade in, to quickly be joined by the rhythmic pounding of the guitar riff, the listener is treated to the sweetest of rock and roll ear candy. The chorus is catchy and a bit more singable than that of "Faithless." Why this was not a single, I'll never understand. It at least made it onto the soundtrack of one of the biggest movies of the year, the very first "Spider-man."
The second half of the album isn't quite as strong as the first half, but that just means it's "great" instead of "amazing." Track 7, "Sherman" is a straight-forward heavy rocker. Track 8, "Used Up" is another one where the guitar riff and the chorus compete to dominate my head space. Tracks 9 and 10, "Ms. Fortune" and "Bloodstained," slow things down a bit, but still keep the music rocking. Track 11, "Lights Are Low," offers up one more fast-tempo rocker before the album slows down for the closing track, "Dawn."
Listeners who stick around for the hidden track, "Ride the Snake," will be pulverized by Injected's hardcore offering. Normally I can't stand screamed vocals, but somehow I like this song. Maybe because it's the only one on the album, and I can tell they boys are just doing it for fun. This isn't the genre they want to completely inhabit.
It's a shame that Injected weren't able to find more success from the music industry. In my humble opinion, the talent was there. Perhaps it was a matter of timing. They were playing a brand of rock that was out of style during the days of Nickelback and Limp Bizkit.
Now that Jade Lemons has unfortunately passed away, maybe more people will be introduced to the music that he and his band brought to life. Whatever the rest of the band is doing these days, I wish them much success. Please send warm wishes to them and to the rest of Jade's family and friends!
Another overdue entry for a late, great rock star. First off, I admit that I am not as familiar with David Bowie's work as I am that of Scott Weiland. I started listening to Bowie much later, after I began delving deeper into the back catalog of rock music. The only album I own is his greatest hits, and I've only begun listening to his full albums over the past year, as many of them came up on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die," which is a list I am gradually making my way through.
Even still, David Bowie holds a special place in my heart for several reasons, which I will discuss here.
My first exposure to David Bowie was not his musical works, but rather, as an actor in the movie "Labyrinth."
He played Jareth the goblin king in that movie, spending the entire film messing with a teenage Jennifer Connolly. The most memorable part for me was the song, "Magic Dance," particularly the first several lines, which became a long-standing inside joke between my cousin and me:
Jareth: "You remind me of the babe."
Goblin: "What babe?"
Jareth: "The babe with the power!"
Goblin: "What power?"
Jareth: "The power of voodoo."
Goblin: "Who do?"
Jareth: "You do. You remind me of the babe." (song commences)
If you haven't seen "Labyrinth," check it out, but be prepared for weirdness. It's full of Jim Henson puppets, with Connolly and Bowie being the only human actors (that I can recall).
Of course, David Bowie is most known for his music. The number of classic songs that he gifted us with during his long career is staggering. "Changes," "A Space Oddity", "Young Americans", "Modern Love," "Golden Years," "Fame", "Let's Dance", "Rebel Rebel" . . . the list goes on and on.
Being introduced to the music of an artist through a body of hits that already exists in its entirety is a much different experience from following the progression of an artist's career in real time (such as has been my experience with the band Incubus). It is easy to forget that the collection of songs are the result of years of progression, growth and change. This became apparent to me as I listened to several of Bowie's albums in chronological order this past year.
He started off as a teen-idol type of artist. Check this out:
Later on he became fascinated by the idea of performing as various characters, such as Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke.
He would go on to experiment with various musical styles, including music inspired by German "krautrock" during his so-called "Berlin trilogy" of albums. He continued to release music for the rest of his life. "Blackstar," his final album, was released just two days before he died last month.
Bowie's music, even though I began listening to it relatively recently, still has much personal significance to me. I associate it strongly with my first (and so far, only) romantic relationship. My ex and I discovered our shared appreciation for Bowie on our second date, and on several occasions we would sing along to Bowie songs in the car together. "Changes" on the freeway, "A Space Oddity" on Mulholland Drive. In addition, "Under Pressure" was our go-to karaoke song, with me always singing the Bowie part. Now that more than three years have passed since we parted ways, the pain of losing that relationship has diminished (though not disappeared, but does it ever?), so I feel like I can appreciate these memories once again.
David Bowie was, hands down, one of the most creative and interesting rock musicians of all time. I definitely plan to delve into his material even more now.
