Shattercell

Last Week I made a decision to see as many free concerts as possible to open my eyes to new music and different things. The first band to be graced by my new vow is Shattercell. The are a local band to the Oshkosh area. They previously were in Seattle. I would classify the band as eletronic. They described themselves and advertised around campus as sounding like Radiohead or Coldplay. I would agree in the sense that they are electronic, but I was pleased not to hear a Radiohead or Coldplay rip-off. Shattercell's sound is unique and not quite as britpop as some electronic music tends to be. Shattercell hopes to get a chance to go to Europe, namely the UK, where electronic music is huge in the club scenes and all over the country.

I arrived at the concert about a half hour late and was skeptical walking toward the concert venue and hearing what sounded like bad television commercial music and a thunder storm. But I went and had a seat. The set up was really unique. Two people; a girl behind a huge keyboard (barely touching it except a few times to chance a beat here and there. ) and guy with nothing but a microphone. So my first impression was no band... no real instuments... basically just prerecorded melodies and beats and a lone vocalist.

It only took a few grooves into the first songs I heard for me to realize this was much more than just a beat machine and a singer. Someone spent alot of time recording all of the back up music and writing powerful songs.

The vocalist (Adam) was an energetic guy who talked between singing about different happenings, had people go to the front to do cartwheels, and let the audience listen to him drink water. I really appreciated that. A friendly front man is a must for any band and this guy took the cake. Adam was fun and funny, which seemed odd set against the somewhat somber music that they performed. Later, they also had some trippy handycam video piped onto the stage. You could tell that Adam really believed what he was singing. The emotion put into his performance was spectacular. All in all the stage presents was very good.

The music:
The music was quite impressive. The tracks were very well mixed and thought out and the mix wasn't just repeated through the whole song, which tends to be a problem with some electronic bands. I got a chance to talk to the girl (Shanna) behind the keyboard. "Adam can play everything you hear in real time, we've looked for other people to play the lines, but nobody can yet." I shouldn't compare bands, but I kept thinking in my head during the set the music sounded like something off of a Bjork album and the vocals sounded like Dave Matthews. So, if you can imagine those two things together you have a pretty good idea of what Shattercell sounds like. At first, I was ultimately unimpressed by the lyrics. They seemed repeated a bit much. I dismissed them all to fast. It was hard to understand what Adam was saying, due to his singing style; much like it is sometime hard to understand Thom Yorke or Billy Corgan. The lyrics are quite profound and important to any artist. Shanna added "The lyrics are our motivation to create music like this. That alone adds power to it."

Overall, I really enjoyed Shattercell's performance. I bought their album and cherish it. I think they are an amazing group and could very well end up becoming well known. If you are looking for a new group with a great sound. Check out Shattercell.

Listen: Shattercell - Start a War

Swift River

What It Takes To Pull Me Through

By: David L. Marcus

Why Teenagers Get in Trouble

And How Four of Them Got Out

Drugs, Alcohol, Sex, Rape, Truancy, Pyros, Fighting, those are all thing that Swift River, a school in the western hills of Massachusetts, takes care of. For trouble teens, and trouble parents, the $70,000 tuition is a small price to pay for a new start.

Journalist, David L. Marcus (U.S. News and World Report) tells the story of Group 23, a group of sixteen problemed teens, and how through strict rules and training, they make it to Graduation.

I thought that the book gave a good incite into the mind of trouble youth. Although the book is mostly meant for parents, it can also be enjoyed by teens. The smart, witty, enjoyable writing takes you on a long adventure into the minds and hearts of these teenagers.

Pages: 336

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Website: www.DavidMarcus.com

A Very Long Engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles)

This is the most recent film directed and co-wrote by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who is probably most known (at least by indie film lovers like me) for writing and directing Amelie (which I must note is my second favorite movie of all time). A Very Long Engagement is about a woman named Mathilde (played by Audrey Tautou) that gets news that her fiancée has died on the frontlines of World War I. Mathilde refuses to believe that the man she loves has died and goes on a search for him. She finds out he was one of five men who tryed to escape military service through self mutilation (getting rid of their trigger fingers). These men are condemned to face certain death between French and German lines. It is reported that all these men were killed, but Mathilde refuses to give up hope and contines uncovering clues on what really happened on the frontline.

Overall, I thought this movie was amazing. Jeunet once again stuns the viewer with his unique visual style and cinematography. I was a bit dissappointed that he used the same color wash visual that he used in Amelie; Where the dominate color shade is a greenish hue and the color red is brought out. But it is okay because few directors utilize things like color and clarity to enhance the attention of the viewers.

I absolutely love the way Jeunet tells a story. Although, he likes to drag the plot and mislead the viewer many times through out the film. But, he loves character development and that is something I really applaud. I feel like I have met these characters and am a part of their life. Only in books have I ever achieved this kind of intimacy with fictional people. It is really a refreshing kind of story-telling. It is quite character-driven. All of the characters personalities are unique and exaggerated. Alot of the humor comes out of these extreme characters.

...and the movie did have humor in it. Although it was mostly a dramtic love story, There was enough humor to possibly throw comedy into it's discription. I found myself laughing out loud at the absurd situations and clever quips. The humor keeps the dark and somewhat depressing movie light-hearted.

The music was good. It didn't stand out as extraordinary, but it was fitting.

The movie is very graphic. It is rated R for a reason. Some of the battle scenes are very bloody and the camera doesn't shy away when the each of the five men find clever ways of disposing of their fingers. The intimate love scene and blatent sex scenes are also quite graphic, keep in mind that it is french. Which reminds me I have to say that it is subtitled. I have gotten over my fear of reading subtitles years ago. But if you are one of those people that refuse to watch a movie with titles, give it a try. You get so used to reading them after the first five minutes you forget they are there.

Well, all in all, A Very Long Engagement is a fantastic movie. The story line is superb, acting is magnificent, cimatography is amazing. Go see this movie if you want to have a good laugh and a good cry or if you want to see a truly extraordinary and imaginative story come to life through the medium of film, watch A Very Long Engagement.