...A Summer Testimony

Only a couple new releases are worth noting this week. I am sure there a bunch of hidden treasures I am missed, so share if you got any suggestions!

Dashboard Confessional - Dusk & Summer: EMO heartthrob continues his journey into 80's hair metal stardom. The emotions get more lost in the arena rock sheen that covers this record. As you can tell, my jury is still out on this one.

India.Arie - Testinomy, Vol. 1, Life & Relationship: Despite an amazing talent, I.A kinda bored me with her last one. However, the lead single, "I Am Not My Hair," is very good (even the cameo verses by Akon are welcomed).

Yes, that's it for the muzz buzz. But don'r forget these two movies out this week that I am very much looking forward too. Since I cannot hype either of these two morte than they have been, I will let the images remind you why you need to hit the theater this weekend. Please note the sizes of these images should represent their comparative box office.

...Unkept Promises

So, finally here are the new DVD release this week...and last week (a little later than I implied).

Syriana: Any movie that can make George Clooney an Oscar winner must be worth seeing right? Apparently the movie is complicated but rewarding. Get it? "Rewarding?" HA!

Night Watch: An epic Russian horror film? I'm in. This Tarantino-approved flick one of the highest grossing films in its own country, only bested by its sequels.

Starting tomorrow you can catch these at your local viddie store...

Failure To Launch: This one seems vaguely appealing. In fact, I have not seen any of the movies in this post yet, so why the hell listen to me?

Cache (Hidden): Many movie enthuisiasts cried "Foul!" over this movies snub for Best Foreign Film. This widely praised movie deserves a look and apparently has a killer twist in its plot. Avoid those spoilers!

Okay music and movie posts coming right up. I promise...maybe...

...Telling Secrets, Cutting Loose

Hey everyone! Here is what is new in music this week...

Nelly Furtado - Loose: Most of my friends are Nelstar haters, but this album rules. Nelly took the Gwen Stefani route to the town of sell-out although Timbaland saves the day (as usual). Thanks to his production, this is one the best pop albums of the year and features the future massive hit, "Maneater". You have probably already heard the current smash, "Promiscuous". Now there's a song I cannot get outta my head!

Madonna - I'm Going To Tell You A Secret: This CD/DVD combo is a peculiar package. It is being marketed as Madonna's first live CD (perhaps because she only started to sing mostly live a couple years ago), but its real highlight is its Truth or Dare redux documentary. The surprise is that this documentary is feature length and even better than ToD in terms of interest and professionalism. The CD, however, is a strange package. Since it is merely a "soundtrack" to the doc, it features some songs that are not even live including a couple musical interludes set to remixes of pre-recordings that were featured during the concert to showcase the dancers and give Madge time to change. As with most of Madonna's releases, it is flawed but worth checking out.

Keane - Under The Iron Sea: After giving us their brand of Coldplay-style music, Keane has moved on to U2. Like any good group, they know where to cop their ideas and know that if executed well,the final product will be worthy of attention.

...Being Days Late & A Couple Nickels Short

I confess. I have been pretty bad about keeping up with the less mainstream releases this year. I have especially let down my Nickel Creek homies.

First, I completely missed a wonderful new solo album by Sean Watkins, Blinders On. Sean keeps getting better with every solo album. Although he was never a strong vocalist, his growing confidence serves him well on this effort. Of course, he has songwriting and other musical talents to back him up also.



Next, although a minor release, I missed the fact that Chris Thile teamed up with Mike Marshall again for a new instrumental album. This time they are live as indicated by the apt title, Live Duets. After examining the tracklisting, I determined that the live album is NOT just a re-hash of their terrific Into The Cauldron CD.



However, I am geting my mojo back. I am only a mere 2 days behind in letting you know that Chris will be releasing a new album on September 12th. CT is teasing us with tracks from the new opus, How To Grow A Woman From The Ground, at his Myspace site (Sorry Marcia). So far the tracks sound like a hard return to the Bluegrass sound although that does include a wicked White Stripes cover tune. And we have 12 more songs to be revealed yet!

Oh, I guess I promised some movie news. Well, Cars is still the number one movie this past week with Nacho Libre coming in at a strong second. Needless to say, The Lake House and the Garfield Sequel did not do so well. By the way, I saw Nacho Libre and liked it. However, I was not completely sober at the time and the humor is definately not for everyone.

That's all!>

...Kissing and Banging

Unfortch, this post is not as amoral as the title may suggest. However it does relate to this week's new releases!

Once again, music releases are not exciting at all. However, one may be worth mentioning:

Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped: Indie stalwarts SY offer up their latest. I haven't taken a listen yet, but I am sure the best Indie music blogs are a-titter with reviews.

Also, all you American Idol fans will be happy to know that Taylor Hick's showstopping single is out now.



The world of DVD offers up some missed opportunities and a camp clasic...

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: K2B2 is an oft praised release featuring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey, Jr. I am looking forward to seeing this one as I hear it is well written and well directed. Anyone out there seen it?

Dave Chappelle's Block Party: Fans of Dave and/or R&B should check out this concert DVD directed by Michelle Gondry (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) I am sure you have at least heard of the movie thanks to the publicity surrounding DC's return to the media and the reunion of the Fugees.



Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls: First off, you should know that Russ Meyer directed this. That means big boobs and bigger laughs (all unintentional however). Second, you need to know that Roger Ebert (yes, THAT one) wrote the laughably wonderful script. Sex, Drugs, Rock N' Roll & Transvestites - what else do you need for a camp clasic?

This week's movies are coming up soon!

...The Mark of the Beast!

Since I have been lax in my blogging duties of late, I decided to separate my monthly new releases by week. What better day to start than now!

Music has decided to avoid this day, so let's skip right to the big release of the day:

The Omen: Apparently we have run out of any true original horror ideas, so Hollywood now has pick titles out of two hats: American versions of Japanese horror or remakes of popular horror films of the '70' and '80's. I have heard terrible things about this movie the real horror is how a truly talented actor (Liev Shreiber, not Julia Styles, duh) got involved in this.

Later this week we have...

Cars: Pixar only seems to get better and better in my opinion. The sneak peeks at this film have not excited me yet, but neither did the previews to Finding Nemo and The Incredibles



The Prairie Home Companion: I love most Robert Altman films, so I am looking forward to seeing this one. The trailer is strong and the cast is also (remember, L. Lo was good in Mean Girls)

Seriously, just forget music unless you want a soundtrack to Cars. Let's move on to DVDs...










Mommy Dearest (Hollywood Royalty Edition): NO...WIRE...HANGERS!!!! In all seriousness, I believe the course came down to one night watching my uncle's HBO. My cousins argued over whether to watch this movie or Heavy Metal and this one won out. My whole life has been camptastic since. I could have been a hard rocker, but it was not in the cards.

Also of note...

Sarah Silverman's Jesus Is Magic
Dazed & Confused (Criterion Edition)

That's all for now. I would add images for the last couple listings, but eBlogger is being mean and not letting me add any more.

Later!