Oscar Roundup 2012

56% accuracy this year. This is becoming a trend with me. I miscalculated Hugo's technical award chances, went out on some shakier limbs with my Best Actor/Actress picks (though I was fully aware of what I was doing), The Academy pulled a fast one on my by changing up the usually sure thing category of Costume Design and not giving the award to a Victorian/Elizabethan period piece, and no one saw Dragon Tattoo winning for editing ... I can't blame myself for that one at least.

New Music Acquisitions

Record stores are dangerous places for me, especially when I go already planning on making a couple purchases. Yesterday I ended up leaving Waterloo Records with 4 new albums, 1 more than I planned on when I entered:

Quiet Company - We Are All Where We Belong
A strange confluence of events led to my picking up this 2011 album today. The first event was last week's Chronicle cover article on the band. I don't always read articles on bands I've never heard before, but the story of this album and this band was too interesting to skim over. A local indie band with Christian leanings and following has a crisis of faith and releases an album largely about the internal struggle over making a spiritual 180. It's riveting stuff especially if you can relate to it, which after 12 years of Catholic school, I can. The second event was my friends at OVRLD doing one of their In-Time Interviews about this album. It quickly became obvious that I needed to listen to it. Thankfully we live in the age of Spotify where I can listen to an entire album before making a judgement on it, which is what I did and immediately decided that I needed to own it ... on vinyl even!

The Soldier Thread - The Bull EP
This was another Austin group that OVRLD introduced me to. In general, the more "pop" something sounds, the pickier I am with it and I could tell by the article that The Soldier Thread was more pop than not. The track OVRLD chose to accompany the write up caught my interest though and once again, Spotify helped me decide that this was another one I needed to pick up. It's tough to find pop music that doesn't make me feel dirty for having listened to it. This is an EP I don't think I'd feel bad about defending.

The Menzingers - On The Impossible Past
This is the third LP from this group and their first "major" label release with Epitaph. As always, I worry about small bands when they sign with a bigger label. Major labels have a way of bullying bands into producing the album that they think will sell instead of what the band wants to make. I know this is the kind of paranoid, elitist thing that every music snob says, but if you don't believe me just ask the guys from Cave In about their "Antenna" album. My other worry about The Menzingers is that while I loved their last LP "Chamberlain Waits", there has been a definite progression in their sound since they debuted and they're starting to remind me more and more of The Gaslight Anthem. It's not that The Gaslight Anthem are a bad band, but I always felt they would have been a kick-ass punk band had they not opted for a more approachable "roots rock" sound and lyrics. After streaming The Menzingers' latest release on Punknews.org I ultimately liked what I heard. It's more mellow and I still feel like their progressing in a more accessible, less punk direction, but I still dig it at the moment. I was going to pick this album up on vinyl, but Epitaph decided to do the kind of thing I HATE by having a vinyl release that also included a CD of the album, allowing them to charge $20 for the whole thing. If they had done a more traditional vinyl and mp3 packaging, I may have been able to pay closer to $15-17, which I would have considered much more reasonable. Instead I decided to purchase the $10 CD.

Honeyhoney - Billy Jack
This was the album I hadn't planned on buying today. I first heard this band a few years back after seeing them live with a friend in Virginia and I really liked what I heard. As much as I love my punk music, from time to time I likes me some stripped down banjo and fiddle jams. Honeyhoney showed potential back when I first hear them, but I never really kept track of them. They must have released a new album last year though because that's what I ended up purchasing today after seeing a posted among the constantly shifting mosaic at the Waterloo Record checkout counter. It certainly isn't your average impulse buy, but I'm looking forward to it.

So I left Waterloo with 4 new albums. Generally speaking this is nothing special for me except it probably brings the total of new albums I've purchased this month to something like 8, which for some people is more than they purchase in a year. This is the way I roll though. Depending on how I feel about these albums you may see some reviews here in the near future. Until then, check them out for yourself. There's definitely some winners in the bunch.

84th Oscar Awards Picks

It's that time of year again and after a couple years of less than stellar picks on my part I'm hoping to boost my average this year with a more accurate list of predictions. Let's get right to it then:

Best Picture
Three years in and I still find the expansion of this category to include 10 nominees to not only be a waste of time for consideration purposes, but for the audience as well. Even when there were only 5 nominees, chances were that 2 or 3 of them didn't have a shot anyway, now there's even more fluff to sort through. Let's boil this down to the 3 movies that have a chance: The Artist, Hugo, and The Descendants.  Both The Artist and The Descendants come into the fray with Golden Globe wins for Best Picture and while Hugo didn't win big, it came out of that awards show with some buzz as well, though it seems to have faded. Now I may have been expecting too much from The Descendants based on Alexander Payne's prior works, but I wasn't as taken with it as some. In my opinion he's much better at character pieces than the straighter sort of drama/comedy that The Descendants ended up being. The Artist on the other hand was a movie I had no expectations for other than what had been generated by the buzz surrounding the film and I was not only pleasantly surprised, but thoroughly entertained on several different levels. If I'm going to be honest however, neither of these films is my personal choice for Best Picture this year, but the film I chose wasn't nominated: Drive. Regardless, I have to go with The Artist in this category. It would be a bold move for the Academy to award a film that (being both black & white, and silent) doesn't have immediate appeal to a large segment of the movie-going public. The Academy is no stranger to bold moves however. Add to this the fact that the Oscars (like The Artist) are a celebration of the art and artistry of film throughout the ages and The Artist is a no-brainer.

Pick: The Artist

Actor in a Leading Role
Smart money in this category should be on Clooney and  Dujardin due to their Golden Globe wins, but adding Gary Oldman to the list of potentials would not be a bad move. Personally I think when you stack Clooney's performance in The Descendants up against Dujardin in The Artist there's no question that Dujardin wins, but once you consider Oldman, it becomes a much more interesting field. Something tells me to bet on Oldman for this one as much as I think Dujardin has a great shot. Oldman's performance was subtle and measured in Tinker, Tailor and while that makes it difficult to judge versus Dujardin's pitch-perfect silent era mugging, I think Oldman tips the scales due to his experience, lengthy career, and having been snubbed before. Giving Oldman the Oscar here is very much like giving Scosese the Oscar for The Departed. More an acknowledgement of a career than a specific role.

Pick: Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)

Actress in a Leading Role
Well damn. How the hell do you even begin to pick in this category. Even if you just boil it down to Streep, Mara, and Williams, it's still near impossible to pick. My personal pick is Rooney Mara, whose performance in Dragon Tattoo was both compelling and haunting, but I'm coming from a place where I was waved off from seeing The Iron Lady and never got around to My Week With Marilyn so I don't have first person accounts to work from. I think streep had good buzz going into the Golden Globes, but then audiences actually saw The Iron Lady and didn't really care. I'm going to throw my lot behind Williams here as much as I want Rooney Mara to win it, but I would not be surprised to see Viola Davis come out of what I personally perceive to be "nowhere" in this category either.

Pick: Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Actor in a Supporting Role
Why is it that the supporting actor and actress awards always seem to pick from movies I haven't seen? My problem in this specific category is that while I did see Moneyball, Jonah Hill doesn't have a chance. I almost get the feeling that this nomination is the Academy giving him a hint: reminding him that he's got broader range than dick jokes. If you take him out of the equation all I'm left with having seen is Christopher Plummer in Beginners. What makes it really tough for me to judge this (besides the fact that Plummer won the Globe in this category) is that I adored Beginners so I fear that there is some bias here on my part. Still, I have no reason not to pick him therefore Plummer it is.

Pick: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)


Actress in a Supporting Role
Traditionally this is one of my worst categories. Even more so than the men's category it seems that I never see any of the films that people get nominated from when it comes to Supporting Actress. I'm not even going to question it with this one though. With two actresses from The Help nominated it seems a fairly smart thing to pick one of them therefore I'm going with the one that won the Globe: Octavia Spencer

Pick: Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Animated Feature Film
Really? No Tintin? OK. Having seen none of these, I'm at a loss, especially given two films on the list I hadn't even heard of. I have to go with Rango though. Out of the 3 films on this list that I have heard of, this is the only one that seemed even remotely Oscar-worthy and that numerous people told me to see.

Pick: Rango

Cinematography
This is a loaded list this year. You can probably remove War Hose and Dragon Tattoo right away, but you're still left with 3 potential winners, each of them visually brilliant in their own way. I've heard decent buzz surrounding Hugo for this category, but personally I have to wonder if The Artist isn't actually a better achievement. Hugo is beautiful, but I think The Artist's faithful take on late 1920's/ early 1930's film technique is more alluring in the end. I think Hugo may have Art Direction tied up, but I have to give Cinematography to The Artist. Oh and Tree of Life loses simply for making me watch that same damn trailer for a year ... a trailer that screamed "give me an Oscar". Sorry ... no Oscar for you!

Pick: The Artist

Art Direction
As I said above, I think Hugo get this one. The Artist may be in a position to upset, but if things go the way I think they will, the split between Cinematography and Art Direction is going to go in my favor.

Pick: Hugo

Costume Design
NEVER BET AGAINST AN ELIZABETHAN OR VICTORIAN PERIOD PIECE! I've gone against my own advice once and that was the only time I didn't win this category. Not this time! Jane Eyre wins!

Pick: Jane Eyre

Directing
Well let's just get rid of Terrance Malick immediately. While pretentious excess certainly has it's place in the Oscars, I don't see Malick's Tree of Life winning him this category at all. I honestly think this may be between Michael Hazanavicious, Alexander Payne, and Scorsese. Personally I think it would be a shame to give it to either Payne or Scorsese though, mainly because they've previously made better films that deserved this award much more. I do however know that this did not stop the Academy from giving Scorsese the Directing award for the mess that was The Departed several years back. Given the above and with Hazanavicious having won the Director's Guild Award, I think he's got to be my front runner here.

Pick: Michael Hazanavicious (The Artist)

Documentary Feature
Documentary Short
Here's where we start getting into the categories based on films I didn't see at all and unlike some people, I simply don't pick in categories like this.

Film Editing
This is probably between Hugo and The Artist, but similar to the Cinematography category, I think The Artist is the bigger achievement here. Hugo may be well edited, but The Artist is well edited and accomplished the task of fitting an era-specific editing style as well. To me that is the greater achievement.

Pick: The Artist

Makeup
I know nothing about film makeup except that it's not easy making someone look natural under those lights, therefore I have no pick here.

Music (Original Score)
Oh come on! This has to go to The Artist. As a "silent" film the score is a HUGE part of the narrative and expressive element of the movie. Other films may have excellent scores in this category, but The Artist's score is the only one that could also have been nominated for Actor in a Supporting Role as well.

Pick: The Artist

Music (Original Song)
It's a 50/50 shot here, but when the chips are down I bet on Muppets every time.

Pick: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets

Short Film (Animated)
Short Film (Live Action)
Every year I mean to get out and see the Short film showcases and the various theaters in the cities in which I have lived, but I never manage to do so. I'm just lazy I guess. That being the case, I have no picks here.

Sound Editing
Sound Mixing
I'll just be honest and tell you that when it comes to sound editing and mixing in film, I have no idea what's good and what's not. When it comes to music I definitely have my opinions on what a well mixed album sounds like, but in film it's just an element I've never paid much attention to.

Visual Effects
Take a moment at let these nominees sink in. The first thing you want to do is get rid of any notion that Transformers will win. Sure, the robots may be technically impressive, but they work horribly for film on so many levels. You can drop Real Steel too, but it really is an honor just to be nominated. This leaves you with Hugo, Harry Potter, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Like most technical awards, it comes down to the challenge and the level of achievement. When you take that into account I think the most obvious choice is Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The film gave itself the task of creating believable CG primates that people could relate to and accomplished this goal brilliantly. If Harry or Hugo took this award instead, I wouldn't be surprised, but I would be disappointed. I think the apes have this one locked up. The lawgiver has spoken!

Pick: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
This is a tough one here. On one hand The Descendants was a better movie, but on the other Moneyball took a non-narrative book and adapted it for the screen in a way that was both compelling and still true to the source. My personal feeling is that Moneyball wins this and I know I'm going against some buzz by saying this. Ultimately I think it's the better choice and I'm willing to accept losing this category because of it. Also ... I can't vote against Sorkin, I just can't.


Pick: Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian & Stan Chervin (Moneyball)

Writing (Original Screenplay)
If Director goes to Hazanavicious, then it's hard not to give this one to Woody Allen and with the exception of a surprise rally for Bridesmaids, I don't see how this is not a two nominee category this year. I'm going to throw my weight behind Allen though. Even though there is a certain challenge in writing for silent film, I think Woody's pedigree and his Golden Globe win make him the better choice this year.

Pick: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)

So You Want to Get Into Post Rock?

I was just reading my buddy Carter's article on Austin's The Calm Blue Sea over at Ovrld and lamenting the fact that he still hasn't been able to really get into Post Rock. I know, it's one of those dumb genre names that doesn't make any sense, most don't. I could go on at length about genre names and my love/hate relationship with them. Simply put, "Post Rock" stands for "post modern rock" and music under this label can probably be most easily described as instrumental rock. The differences between most Post Rock and say ... a Joe Satriani album is that Post Rock generally features lengthy tracks and eschew the typical "verse-chorus-verse" format of most mainstream rock. Beyond that I've heard as much variation in bands given the Post Rock label as in any other genre.

In my capacity as a self-proclaimed guru of non-mainstream music I have decided to aid poor Carter and others who wish to know more about this genre called Post Rock and so have created a So You Want to Get Into Post Rock? Spotify playlist. This list features several bands and albums that I feel best represent the genre in its many forms:

Artist: Do Make Say Think
Album: You, You're a History in Rust
Easily one of my favorite Post Rock albums. Do Make Say Think is a band that seems to be constantly evolving. Often featuring a wide variety of instruments from banjos and horns to pianos and guitars, Do Make Say Think play multi-textured music that describes an undulating landscape of sound complete with serene valleys and challenging peaks. You, You're a History in Rust is in my opinion the most complete showcase of what this group is capable of.

Artist: And So I Watch You From Afar
Album: s/t
And So I Watch You From Afar might be Ireland's best kept secret. This album is simply too audacious to be a debut, it's too slick, too solid, too fucking brutal. While it has a decidedly more metal edge than most Post Rock and certainly more so than the band's second LP, And So I Watch You From Afar is still very much a Post Rock album and manages to be both epically brutal and quietly grandiose at the same time.

Artist: From Monument to Masses
Album: On Little Known Frequencies
Post Rock meets Post Hardcore meets politics. Featuring a brilliant blend of guitars, synthesizers, and often politically charged sound bites, From Monument to Masses always deliver incredibly powerful and moving music. On Little Known Frequencies may be my favorite of their releases thus far and "Beyond God and Elvis" and "An Ounce of Prevention" may be two of the bands best songs ever. The former provided the denouement for my 2009 epic year end mix "Citizen A in the Palace of Endless Waking" and the later prominently features an excerpt from Mario Savio's famous 1964 UC Berkley speech. Moving stuff.

Artist: Mogwai
Album: Young Team
Scotland's Mogwai tend to be one of the Post Rock bands that most people (in my day anyway) first got into the genre with and while I've become less interested in them over time, Young Team remains a watershed moment for both the band and the genre. Often seen as progenitors of the loud-quiet-loud sound found in so much Post Rock these days, on Young Team Mogwai show themselves to be true masters of the form and remain an influence in the genre to this day.

Artist: Ghosts and Vodka
Album: Addicts and Drunks
Along with Joan of Arc and Make Believe, Ghosts and Vodka are one of several bands made up of former members of the punk/emo oddity that was Cap'n Jazz. While featuring shorter, mathier songs than most Post Rock, they still manage to fit the requirements in their own unique fashion. From haunting and airy instrumental guitar ballads to more experimental noise jams, Ghosts and Vodka display an impressive range and a lot of talent while still remaining more or less punk in sound and execution.

Artist: Explosions in the Sky
Album: The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
There are plenty of decent albums to choose from when it comes to this Austin success story, but The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place has always been my favorite. As a primarily guitar-based group, Explosions in the Sky output a raw, angular sound that still manages to be both serene and soaring when required. The emotion telegraphed by this album is one of the reasons it resonates so much with me and also stands as a testament to one of the genre's core conceit's: the ability to relate to people and move them through rock and roll almost entirely devoid of lyrics.

NOTE: Of course, this is just a primer. There are plenty of other amazing Post Rock acts. These just happen to be a few of my favorites and hopefully a gateway drug for the uninitiated. For further listening see: Godspeed You Black Emperor, Dianogah, Maserati, Beware of Safety, The Octopus Project, and of course the further works of the bands listed above.

Good Cop, Dadaist Cop

From XKCD:

 

If there's such thing as a bad Dadaism joke, I haven't heard it.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy ...

My feelings about awards shows in the video game industry are no secret. Couple that with the fact that every magazine and web site has their own "best of" list and it's no wonder you see 10 games with a "Game of the Year" edition on the shelves every year. As far as I'm concerned there is only one award that matters, the Interactive Achievement Award present at the DICE summit each year for the past 15 years.

I've worked as a professional game developer over the last 12 years (roughly 7 studio years and 5 years "between jobs") and while I've worked on games that had previously won DICE awards (my very brief stint on Asheron's Call) and I've worked for studios that have won DICE awards (Mythic, for Dark Age of Camelot), I've never worked on a game and then had it win a DICE award. That changed last night when Star Wars: The Old Republic took the Interactive Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay.

As the one award given out by my peers in the game development community it means a great deal to be recognized in this fashion, especially given competition like Battlefield 3, Call of Duty, Gears of War 3, and Little Big Planet 2. Even without this award, I've been proud to be a part of this project from the start and continue to be as we support the live game. Winning this award is just a bit of extra recognition for an amazing team of developers making an amazing game.

The views expressed on Plenty For All are not affiliated with BioWare, EA, it's shareholders, partners, or subsidiaries and are purely the opinions of Brian J. Audette.

You Don't Know Shit About Emo

I'm sorry Andrew, but your post has allowed me to make one of my favorite points about the oft-maligned, always misunderstood genre we call "Emo"

It's important to note that even during what I consider to be the peak of "Emo" many bands never accepted the moniker, although I've found that a lot of bands (especially punks bands) tend to reject genre labels. Still, if you want my opinion on what's "Emo", this list is a good start:

You Don't Know Shit About Emo
Created by Brian Audette on Spotify