Two Words, One Answer.
der Maur
 Beyond Borders $9.98 I love this movie. It's really sad and could be depressing to some, but I love this movie. Clive Owen perfectly depicts the stressed out, stretched-two-thin, aid worker attitude. This movie shows real depictions of the mess that is refugee camps. They never have enough funds, workers, or food and are constantly stressing to help others. This movie is intense, tense and may be difficult to watch for some but it shows the real hardships of aid workers and the refugees. The end is sad but most of the movie is too. However, the sadness is expertly acted and not without reason. Very good movie.  Auf der Maur $46.98 In the modern music scene, too often female pop singers are relabelled "rock." Here's the real thing: Melissa Auf Der Maur -- formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins and Hole -- debuts with a blast in "Auf Der Maur," pushing aside popsters with her robust, bass-heavy fusion of metal and rock. It opens with a bang in the swoopy, searing, catchy "Lightning is My Girl," which adds a rather confusing spoken interlude before the sweeping buildup of "Followed the Waves." From there on, she gets into the cycling hard rocker "Real A Lie," the softer "Taste You," the bass-heaving "Beast of Honor," and the playful "I'll Be Anything You Want." It rounds off with the sprawling "I Need I Want I Will," which starts on an ominous gothic note, before falling into silence, and blossoming again. And the Japanese import has an extra track: "Good News," a low-key, passionate song with a strangely eerie sound. It doesn't really fit with the rest of the album, but taken alone it's outstanding. Listening to this album, it's not hard to see why Melissa Auf Der Maur was in the Smashing Pumpkins -- she has the heavy, roaring complexity that many other rockers could benefit from. There's an air of confidence around "Auf De Maur," which seems to come from Auf Der Maur's past experience, and her undeniable talent as a bassist and singer. Auf Der Maur has a solid voice that rises above her music. Don't expect her to do any vocal gymnastics, but her vocals are assured and confident, as if she's fully in tune with her music. Her songwriting needs lots of work ("Take one look at your cook/Feed yourself, I'm on a hook"), but it has some raw promise ("I'll see you in my dreams/Electrified and cherry red") and very evocative imagery. She was also the bassist in both the Smashing Pumpkins and Hole, so needless to say she plays a mean bass on her own album -- complex, dark, heavy, and sinuously flexible. Her old bandmate James Iha and Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme offer their own talents, with Homme cowriting and playing solid guitar, and Iha offering his talents to the solid "Head Unbound." Melissa Auf Der Maur's debut shows the polish of many years in other people's bands, but she's strong on her own two feet, in her own unique sound. An imperfect but solid debut, and one that promises good things yet to come.  Auf Der Maur $9.49 I wanted to like it. I play bass and love solo bass records. But this isn't a serious bass effort at all. It's buried and you can't hear it. She uses a pick! She just wants to play guitar. The songs are trashy and childish. High school goth girls might like this between their razor blades and Cure collection. If you haven't outgrown goth/ lite metal, then this is for you. The lyrics are embarrassing, the playing is simple, and the songs are very repetitive. I give it an extra star for the poppy hooks of "Real A Lie" and "Would if I Could"... well the first minute or so until they repeat. Too bad, because Mel is beautiful and has great style. Guess you can't have it all. |
|
