transition - AsiaLIFE Magazine

soundfixalbum reviewKanye WestMy Beautiful Dark,Twisted FantasyIt turns out Mr. West been upto more than Hennessy-fueledrants about MTV award showbias. His fifth studio albumharks back to the Chi-town hiphop, gospel and soul-tingedsound of his 2004 debut,‘The College Dropout’. Yetcontrary to his bratty publicpersona, Kanye's talents as botha rapper and producer havematured. It's harder to picka favourite track than to finddisappointment on this release,which is being heralded as aGrammy-insured masterpiece.His previous album drippedwith auto-tune, but this timeKanye has been less aggressivewith the pitch adjustments.Featuring an extravagant guestroster that includes Jay-Z, NickiMinaj, and Kid Cudi, he teamsup with some of the best andthe brightest for hands up inthe air anthems. Still, Kanyehas always enjoyed telling hisown stories and the best linesare usually his. As always, hislyrics are deft, offering silvertonguedsocial commentaryand personal musings. He’s stillgenerous with the arrogance,but that’s the Kanye we loveto hate and often end up justloving—at least musically.Blood Red ShoesFire Like ThisHip hop, electronica, and purepop dominated the soundcharts in 2010, but for the mostpart it's been a dull year forrock n'roll. Blood Red Shoes,the Brighton, England-basedtwo-piece, are bursting full ofenergy on this their second album,but they somehow fail tocreate really memorable music.The songs made my feet tap,although recalling the tunesafter the album played throughwas a struggle. The hooks arealmost too forced, with bothmembers chanting chorusesover ferocious drumming. Theywant so desperately to get intoyour head, it's a pity they don'tquite make it. Nevertheless, ayearning for some powered-uppost punk can be temporarilysated. ‘When We Wake’ takes abreak from the shouting, highlightinga muted, nimble guitarriff and gentle crooning, andis perhaps the closest thing tosomething that sticks. Namingthe final track ‘We Get Bored’was probably a little too apt forthe album, but it's one of themore interesting songs. Evenif Blood Red Shoes are stillfinding their feet, the albumshows enough promise to avoiddismissal.Daft PunkTron: LegacyOriginal SoundtrackTron is all over my Facebooknewsfeed. My friends aren’tbuzzing over the Disney followupto the 1982 sci-fi flick, theyare talking about the soundtrack.“Forget the movie, buythe soundtrack,” read one status.The news that Daft Punk wasgoing to create the score fuelledhopes for another hit of ‘Harder,Better, Faster, Strong’ proportions.Instead, the ‘Tron: LegacyOST’ is around 35 minutes of thetype of music that accompaniescrusades to save the universefrom evil forces. Someoneshould have deflated my highexpectations. But, it was a savvydecision to enlist Daft Punk,who have always been astronautsexploring the outer limitsof electronic music. The roboticvoices are missing from thesecompositions, but the Frenchduo get to play around with an85-piece orchestra. The minglingof symphony and synthesiserdoes make for some headyresults, perfect for cinematicescapades. Tracks ‘Derezzed’and ‘End of the Line’, whichhints at 2005's ‘Television Rulesthe Nation’, forecast gripping actionsequences. After imaginingall the scenarios supported bythe music, I’m becoming curiousabout the movie.by Mai Lynn Miller NguyenRobynBody TalkAfter rave reviews and a stinton the trendy TV show GossipGirl, Robyn's comebackis official. Her career spansback to the mid-90s, when hercrowd-pleasing ‘Show Me Love’earned her a name outside ofSweden. Though a chart topperearly on, she's been overlookedby the masses since she left amajor record label to start herown Konichiwa Records. However,she never stopped makingahead-of-its-time dance music.In June, Robyn released the firstof three EPs, which culminatedin this full-length album earningher the wide-scale attentionshe deserves. Robyn's rangeis remarkable, with a sugarysweet voice that thrives on pop,but also lends itself to saucyrhymes over hard-hitting electrobeats. The girl's got attitude,which propels the catchiness of‘None of Dem’ and ‘U ShouldKnow Better’, her collaborationwith Snoop Dogg. Acousticversions of ‘Indestructible’ and‘Hang With Me’ reveal Robyn'srarer delicate side. Workingonce again with Max Martin,who produced 'Time Machine’,Robyn may have come fullcircle, but this time she's done ither way.US Top 10this last title artistweek week12345678910NEW485311611NEWNEWGrenadeFireworkWhat's My Name?We R Who We RRaise Your GlassTonight (I'm Lovin' You)Black And YellowThe Time (Dirty Bit)Just The Way You AreOnly Girl (In The World)UK Top 10this last title artistweek week12345678910NEW514210273879GrenadeDo It Like A DudeWhat's My NameLights OnWhen We CollideWho's That ChickMake You Feel MyLoveThe Time (Dirty Bit)Like A G6Eyes Wide ShutUK Top 10this last title artistweek week12345678910xoneFM top ten5321413976NEWDirty TalkTonight (I'm Lovin'You)GrenadeWho's That GirlYeah X3HappinessWho's That ChickThe Time (Dirty Bit)FireworkHold It Against MeBruno MarsKaty PerryRihannaKe$haP!nkEnrique Iglesias FeaturingLudacris & DJFrank EWiz KhalifaThe Black Eyed PeasBruno MarsRihannaBruno MarsJessie JRihanna Ft DrakeKaty B Ft Ms DynamiteMatt CardleDavid Guetta FtRihannaAdeleBlack Eyed PeasFar East Movement/Cataracs/DevJlsWynter GordonEnrique Iglesias Feat.Ludacris & DJ Frank EBruno MarsGuy Sebastian Feat.EveChris BrownAlexis JordanDavid Guetta Feat.RihannaThe Black Eyed PeasKaty PerryBritney SpearsendorsedThe Big LebowskiBy Brett DavisAn aging hippy slacker andhis bowling buddies becomingembroiled in a case of kidnappingand mistaken identity isan unlikely scenario for a cultclassic. But since the releaseof the film by brothers Joeland Ethan Cohen in 1998, TheBig Lebowski has developeda dedicated, if somewhatoddball, following. Jeffrey ‘TheDude’ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges),is mistaken for a millionaireof the same name who owesa debt to some unsavorycharacters. When a couple ofthugs come to collect and endup urinating on The Dude’srug, he seeks compensationfrom his wealthy namesake.This sets in motion a chainof events that has The Dudeand his bowling buddies,Walter and Donnie, caught upin a kidnapping after the ‘Big’Lebowski offers The Dude aone-time job to deliver the ransomto his wife’s abductors.After the payoff goes wrong,the result is a bizarre odysseyinvolving German Nihilists,pornographers, aggrieved familymembers and a whole lot ofWhite Russian cocktails.The film contains the usualCohen brothers’ hallmarks ofsnappy dialogue, quirky andcircuitous storyline, and evenmore idiosyncratic yet beautifullydrawn characters. TheDude’s partner in his misadventures,Walter Sobchak(John Goodman), is a masterfulcreation full of repressedanger and quotable oneliners. Walter and The Dude’sdebates about the unfoldingevents form the heart of thefilm’s rapid but deceptively cutglassexchanges.The Dude: Walter, the chinamanwho peed on my rug,I can't go give him a bill, sowhat are you talking about?Walter: The chinaman is notthe issue here, Dude. I'm talkingabout drawing a line in thesand, Dude. Across this line,you DO NOT... Also, Dude,chinaman is not the preferrednomenclature. Asian-American,please.The Dude: Walter, this isn'ta guy who built the railroadshere.So why has this movieabout a doped-out hippiebowler become a cult classic?The Cohen Brothers have acknowledgedin interviews theynever imagined the enduringappeal of the characters andthe intense following the moviewould gather. Certainly, theywould never have dreamed themovie would spawn an annual‘Lebowskifest’, held on severalcontinents, where participantsdress as their favourite characters,drink White Russians andbowl for several days at a time.Perhaps it is just that TheDude strikes a deep-seatedchord in many people: a manjust trying to go about life in hisown quiet way, besieged on allsides by forces outside of hiscontrol. But then, despite all ofhis own ineptitude, he comesout on top.As the film’s narrator, SamShepard’s ‘The Stranger’, saysin closing, “The Dude abides.I don't know about you but Itake comfort in that. It's goodknowin' he's out there. TheDude. Takin' 'er easy for all ussinners.”100 asialife HCMC asialife HCMC 101