Knee-jerk reaction: What the hell happened in a year? It’s been merely a year since Icelandic post-rock outfit Sigur Rós released the exquisite, shimmery, atmospheric Valtari, their first in a four-year period. Yet the mood between it and this year’s new release Kveikur could not be more different. Playing the two back to back is like listening to the brightest of days followed by the darkest of nights. The amazing [...]
Shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize with their 2011 debut, Feel It Break, Canadian synth-pop outfit Austra have since recruited Tasseomancy twins Sari and Romy Lightman and Ze & The Boyfriends’ keyboardist Ryan Wonsiak in order to give their crying-at-the-discotheque sound a bit more bite. But despite expanding from a trio to a sextet, it’s still frontwoman Katie Stelmanis, a classically-trained singer who began performing in the Canadian Children’s Opera [...]
Let’s face it: being a DIY musician is hard. Even with the many ways musicians now have (thanks to digital technology and the Internet) to reach an audience without having to be “discovered” or signed to a major label, the flip side is that there is no support system built into the process. Label artists have “people” who handle administration, promotion and marketing, while DIY musicians have to take care [...]
The prospect of a second Empire On The Sun album seemed highly unlikely when soon after they first unleashed their unashamedly flamboyant take on 80s synth-pop, Luke Steele admitted that he hadn’t spoken to Nick Littlemore in five months. However, after a five-year absence which saw the former contribute to records by Jay-Z, Beyonce and Usher (while the latter worked on Cirque Du Soleil production Zarkana and helped Elton John [...]
In the music business, there are inherent pitfalls in becoming too big, too quickly. This is something that bro-band Hanson know all too well. In the 1990s, these cute, long-haired Okie teens had a whole generation of tweens “MMBopp”-ing along, their posters plastered across the bedroom walls of almost every young girl in America. But eventually teen heartthrobs grow up, and when the Hanson boys outgrew their teen sensation persona, [...]
No matter how much he irks some people with his antics, Kanye West has made a solid living with his over-the-top persona. He’s the reached the level of being a spectacle and naturally, he’s taken that fact and run with it in his new album, fittingly titled Yeezus. At a compact 10 tracks with a total running time of just over 40 minutes, Kanye delivers a raw, uncompromising avant-garde work [...]
It hardly seems fair to classify Aoife (pronounced “EE-fah”) O’Donovan as an up-and-comer, seeing as she’s pretty much a veteran in the Americana/folk scene. Many fans will probably recognize her voice as the centerpiece of string band Crooked Still, and some will also remember her as a member of female folk-noir act Sometymes Why. In her time, she’s shared both stage and studio with the likes of Chris Thile, Sarah [...]
Released on the Achtung Baby album in 1991, U2’s “One” is considered by many to be the song that essentially saved the band’s career. One of their most heartfelt and emotional tunes, and one that has served as an anthem for several of the band’s social justice causes, the story behind its origins is just as personal and compelling. After the monumental success of The Joshua Tree, the members of [...]
Lots of interesting music news headlines this week—possibly more than you could keep up with. On weeks like this, as regular MIMO readers know, we like to give you a Saturday morning recap of some of the more noteworthy (and some not-so-noteworthy) music stories you might have missed. So here you go. You’re welcome. MUMFORD & SONS BASSIST TED DWAYNE RECOVERING FROM BRAIN SURGERY The Internet was abuzz this [...]
Late last year, 2 Chainz headlined a concert at the House of Blues Sunset Strip the same night that Compton rapper Problem performed down the street at the now-defunct Key Club. Conventional thinking would suggest that 2 Chainz would pull the crowd at Problem’s expense since the Def Jam rapper is a superstar while Problem, with a mere pair of charting hits to his name (“Toe Up” and E-40′s “Function”), [...]
Prometheus was Ridley Scott’s return to science fiction. The trailers looked beautiful, the cast was impressive, and the fact that it was a prequel to Alien got people even more excited. The movie was release and…. Well, it had some flaws. I love Prometheus. It’s not a movie for everyone. I understand that. It’s a complicated film that is at times deliberately obstinant. It forces the audience to connect the [...]
It seems like every other day there are new Star Wars Episode VII leaks or rumors. Last week we heard that the film would center around Han Solo and Princess Leia’s children Jason and Jana. This, of course, wasn’t true. It’s assumed that Abrams and company aren’t going to use any Extended Universe continuity within their new film, which is too bad. With memorable characters such as Anakin Solo, Ben [...]
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is one of my all time favorite comedies. From the stellar cast to the endearing and bizarre characters, It’s a non-stop roller coaster ride of hilarity. The iconic lines in the film are almost too many to count. It’s a wonderful film and the fact that it’s taken this long for a sequel to be made is a crime. A CRIME. Well, thank [...]
Someone give Adrian Paul a phone call and see if he’s interested in picking up the sword again because Summit Entertainment is going to need a new leading man. Ryan Reynolds has been attached to star in the long in-development remake/reboot of the Highlander franchise. This is essentially the death sentence for this reboot. After attached Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo left many were worried about the reboot. Well, now that [...]
The Amazing Spider-man franchise reboot was met with a somewhat warm reception. The film made money, and most critics liked it, but admitted that it was flawed. Well, Sony is going ahead and green lighting two more. Amazing Spider-man 2 is currently in production and filming in New York. Spider-man 3 will be released on June 10th 2016 and Spider-man 4 will be unleashed on May 4th 2018. The rumors [...]
The Man of Steel is the first non-Nolan fiscally successful DC movie in decades. That makes me happy. If only for the reason that we’ll hopefully get more DC characters that are brought to the big screen. Hopefully they will be treated with more grace and finesse than Superman. The Man of Steel is an interesting conundrum. It, from the get-go, jettisons everything that I hold dear about the [...]
Industry insiders are saying that Matt Damon is circling a long gestating catholic sex scandal film that Tom McCarthy and Dreamworks are attempting to put together. The circulating buzz would indicate that the film is: “The highly charged drama is aiming to be an “All The President’s Men”-style movie that will center on the journalists at the Boston Globe — Michael Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer and Matt Carroll, Spotlight Team Editor [...]
The Terminator just got a massive shot of adreniline. Arnold Schwarzenegger has just confirmed that he’s officially starring in the as yet untitled Terminator 5, and here’s the kicker, as the Terminator. Many had supposed that if Schwarzenegger was to return to the franchise it would be as the human counterpart that the original Terminators were based on due to his age…and the fact that Terminators don’t age. I’m hoping [...]
Computer Chess has been rumbling around the festival circut and I, for one, have only been hearing good things. People are excited about the film’s bizarrely accurate depiction of geek culture in the 80′s and the film’s interesting take on how humanity and technology intertwine. The film’s been generating a really big buzz lately. The trailer is so perfect it will have some wondering if it’s a found footage movie. [...]
With Angelina Jolie apparently out of the running and, honestly, probably not even interested in reprising her role, MGM has decided to give the Tomb Raider franchise another go at the silver screen. Part of me is extremely happy about this and part of me is really sad. The first two Tomb Raider movies were not good but they seemed like they’d eventually hit the right tone and nail it. [...]