18 April 2021 – I Care a Lot

April 18, 2021 kevinisabastardi care a lot, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, rosamund pike2 Comments

Sometimes I have trouble watching things when I can’t figure out who the hero is meant to be. I Care a Lot was a real case of this. Having watched it and thought about it, it’s probably a bit more like a nature documentary. There are predators and prey. Sometimes predators prey on other predators and it gets ugly, but we probably don’t need to root for anyone in that conflict.

Rosamund Pike is very good. She has a very intense haircut and she plays a good bastard. She acts as a legal guardian for older people and runs a racket exploiting the laws around that. She is made to look slick and ruthless and I felt like we were supposed to be impressed, but her business is super unpleasant. Early on in the film we see her in court, where the son of one of her guardians is petitioning for visitation. We feel sorry for this man’s situation but then when his petition is denied, he gets very nasty and misogynistic. It’s all very grim. And that’s the tone for the film, people are bad to people and those people are bad back.

The film is a wild ride. The tone is a bit all over the place. Things just get mad goofy from about half way through the film. Then the ending feels like a double cop out. However, there is a great performance from Rosamund Pike and Chris Messina as the Mafia lawyer is a brilliant character. Ultimately that’s enough to make I Care a Lot worth watching.

16 April 2021 – Bad Boy by BIGBANG

April 16, 2021 kevinisabastardbad boy, bigbang, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.comLeave a comment

BIGBANG were probably the generation before K-Pop really went global. They all went to the military in 2017 and one of them got caught up in that night club scandal in South Korea. They seemed posed to return in 2020 but then covid happened. They’ll probably be back soon and take over the world.

Bad Boy is an incredible R&B/Hip Hop track and a real demonstration of BIGBANG’s talent. It’s like they studied classic hip hop ballads and they perfected them and then added the K-Pop elements to them. The video ties in perfectly. Chilled with laid back piano, each band member is an incredible singer and has a different style. An absolute gem.

You can listen to Bad Boy by BIGBANG here. Also check out the video here.

15 April 2021 – E-Pro by Beck

April 15, 2021 kevinisabastardbeck, e-pro, guero, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.comLeave a comment

E-Pro was the first time I had ever heard of Beck. For some reason, I had money to spend and I was getting an album and I was evaluating my options based on highlights from one of the big summer festivals that were on TV and I saw Beck perform E-Pro. I then, and this now seems like an insane thing to do, went on iTunes and listened to the short samples of all the songs on the album that E-Pro is from, Guero, and decided that it was a sound investment. I then went and bought a physical copy of the album, probably in HMV.

E-Pro is probably a perfect big crowd song so it makes sense that I was roped in by live footage. It’s a great guitar riff and a good old na na na football chant chorus with quieter verses for the crowd to catch their breath. It also has a lot of what you expect from Beck, mad lyrics that could be deep but could be nonsense and the beat sampled from the Beastie Boys hiding in plain site.

I’m not sure if it’s my favourite Beck song, or even my favourite song on the album, but E-Pro was my introduction and I’ll always have a soft spot for it. In these Covid times, I’d give anything to see it played live again and join in the sing-a-long.

You can listen to E-Pro by Beck here.

14 April 2021 – Might Not Make It Home by LPX

April 14, 2021April 14, 2021 kevinisabastardAmazon Prime, Invincible, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, LPX, Might Not Make It HomeLeave a comment

One of my favourite musical sensations, is when a song I know shows up somewhere unexpectedly. Sometimes that’s in an ad on TV or someone recommending a song you already know and like. It’s a familiar and nice feeling, with some added cool points depending on where it’s being played. I had one of those moments last night. I started watching Invincible on Amazon Prime and Might Not Make It Home featured. It’s a banger of a tune. It’s got a DIY garage rock feel and it was for a scene in episode two of the show where Invincible is practicing flying and it works well.

Soundtracks are a fascinating idea, because the team behind the production will often pick elements of a song that wouldn’t jump out at the listener at first. Sometimes, listening to the artist’s version, it can be hard to see how it was selected for a scene or as a theme song. This was a weird case of that because the Invincible snippet of the song actually missed my favourite part. There’s layered vocal in the post chorus that swells and grows coming out of the second chorus. Having heard the song before, the piece in the show felt like a teaser for the bit that I really wanted to hear. And as a result, it’s been on repeat all day today.

Listen to Might Not Make It Home by LPX here.

13 April 2021 – Worry A Lot by The Like Young

April 13, 2021 kevinisabastardkevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, the like young, worry a lotLeave a comment

Worry A Lot is a quintessential 2000s indie track. So quintessential in fact, that it was included as a preloaded MP3 on a Philips music player that appeared in my house around 2005. I love the element of randomness with which the track came into my life and that multiplies my enjoyment of it. The Like Young were a husband and wife combo. They both sang, she played the drums and he played everything else. There’s punk inspired singing and guitar and a droning keyboard. All the characteristics are there for a classic song of the time that it could almost have been created in a lab.

I don’t know what happened to The Like Young. There’s a very small internet footprint that trails off around 2006 with some fan posted Youtube lyric videos as late as 2012. I’ll always have a lot of time for this song though and the strange concept of preloaded MP3s.

You can listen to Worry A Lot by The Like Young here.

12 April 2021 – Two Bodies by Flight Facilities feat. Emma Louise

April 12, 2021 kevinisabastardemma louise, flight facilities, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, two bodiesLeave a comment

Flight Facilities are incredibly consistent group and have a history of great collaboration with and promotion of other artists. Down To Earth is a wonderful album. The beats are so clean and at times could be entire songs by themselves. Two Bodies is a great example, strip everything back and I’d listen to the beats on their own and vibe along to that.

The vocal sample at the beginning from an interview with the actor Rod Serling is a great quote but it’s also a stroke of genius to pick that quote as the opening to the track, in terms of sound and meaning. Rod Serling has a classic American Hollywood accent and a tremendous way with words. And the quote itself is a reminder to appreciate things for what they are, without worrying about public or critical perception. It’s also a classic Flight Facilities move and a throwback to their decade mixes.

Emma Louise’s vocals tie in perfectly with the sound of the track. The harmonies are used like instruments in adding weight. The echoing soft vocals give the song a fragility and then build to a powerful chorus.

Listen Two Bodies by Flight Facilities feat Emma Louise here.

11 April 2021 – Saving Private Ryan

April 11, 2021 kevinisabastardkevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, saving private ryanLeave a comment

Saving Private Ryan is a good film. I had never seen it before and I kinda felt like people who say that it’s their favourite film were dull. It felt like a plain, safe choice. In fairness, it is very good.

The opening scene is the bit that everyone talks about. It is brutal and a little upsetting when you think about the fact that it’s based on what actually happened. I think it was what I’d expected. It has been hyped up and I think I was prepared for it. What is impressive is there are probably at least three other equally powerful scenes. I would say the scene with the sniper in the tower when they meet the French family, the aftermath of charging the machine gun at the radar tower and the hand to hand/ knife fight towards the end are way up there in terms of well written and constructed scenes.

It’s a very solid film all the way through. The current day elements could have been edited out and it probably would have improved the film, and conceptually, I feel like films about war are always gross. I had a read online about the film and people talk about the portrayal of WWII as the “good war”. Watching these things, it’s hard not to think about them as propaganda films. The idea of dying for your country in a post-9/11 world seems strange when we’ve seen so clearly how wars are fought for businesses rather than any noble causes.

09 April 2021 – Me And My Friends by James Vincent McMorrow

April 9, 2021 kevinisabastardJames Vincent McMorrow, kevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, Me and My FriendsLeave a comment

I love Me And My Friends because the intro sounds like Nintendo Wii music. It’s a fun song with nice harmonies and when the chorus come in it has a marching band feel. It’s a song that will always make me happy. I know that TikTok is pretty indiscriminate in its music choices but I feel like if it came out today it would be massive on the app. That’s a really interesting concept to me – that music can be made and miss a window of opportunity for massive success. But maybe it’s for the best for the listener that Me And My Friends isn’t part of a viral trend. That way every time I hear it, it still feels like a little treat.

You can listen to Me And My Friends by James Vincent McMorrow here.

08 April 2021 – Trying Not To Think About You by Limón Limón

April 8, 2021April 8, 2021 kevinisabastardkevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, Limón Limón, trying not to think about youLeave a comment

“Tryin’ not to think about you is hard to do
Tryin’ not to think about you makes me so blue”

Trying Not To Think About You is one of my favourite songs because it’s sweet and simple. There aren’t a huge amount of lyrics and there’s lots of repetition. The repeated rhyming couplets of the chorus are almost child like. The singing is very gentle and there’s something in it that reminds me of French bands like Pony Pony Run Run or early Phoenix. It’s simple and kinda sad but at the same time it is a great summery dance track. You can imagine it being played it over a sun holiday montage.

You can listen to Trying Not To Think About You by Limón Limón here.

07 April 2021 -Mary by Scissor Sisters

April 7, 2021April 7, 2021 kevinisabastardkevinisabastard, kevinisabastard.com, mary, scissor sistersLeave a comment

Mary is a very profound song. I think sometimes lyrics are hidden by singing and I know that for some listeners and artists, they’re not that important. There is something very powerful about a song with very clear lyrics that are also beautifully sung. Probably the best example of how this applies in this case is the bridge in Mary:

‘Cause I’d give everything I have
Forget all the things that bring me joy
If you could have one day of pure and simple happiness
Until that moment comes
I’ll be here where I’ve always been
I’m gonna be your friend
Until the day I die

Jake Shears is great. The song is a work of art. The album is a classic and the band were fantastic.

Listen to Mary by Scissor Sisters here.