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Column 28: Die Antwoord Teaches a Robot How to “Enter the Ninja” in Chappie

For anyone who’s seen Neill Blomkamp’s previous films, it’s no secret that he has a strong affection for his home country of South Africa. While other directors after achieving blockbuster success with a film like District 9 might see it as their ticket out of such an impoverished nation, Blomkamp has displayed a commitment to showing the world his home rarely seen on film. In his latest, Chappie, Blomkamp once again continues his embrace of South Africa, this time with the risky casting of unique South African rap duo, Die Antwoord, in lead roles. I say with some degree of surprise, the risk kind of pays off, the duo that makes up Die Antwoord both deliver fairly solid performances. Lead rapper Ninja gives a complex performance as a gangster who’s often as funny as he is brutishly violent and intimidating. While female vocalist Yolandi delivers a charmingly unique twist on[...]

Column 27: 50 Shades of Problems and a Grey is One

Over the past month, 50 Shades of Grey has been a near inescapable pop culture phenomenon. The film broke all kinds of box office records, its cast has been everywhere in the media, and has been the subject of all kinds of controversy. The film also banked a lot of its marketing on the strength of its soundtrack. Each 50 Shades of Grey trailer teased that the film would feature a reworked version of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” and it seemed as if a single from the soundtrack was released every week leading up to the film’s release. So for a movie that promoted its soundtrack that heavily, does it live up to the hype? The answer to that question is a bit complicated. The soundtrack itself features a host of really beautiful songs from some of best upcoming names in contemporary pop music. British R&B singer, Laura Welsh, provides one[...]

Solidisco

Considering that both members of the funky dance duo, Solidisco, were born and raised – even recorded material – here, it’s pretty strange to hear their show tonight at Waiting Room is their debut home performance. But that is what it is. Though the disco house duo has played shows and festivals around the world in its three-year history, members Don Skotnicki and Matt McGurn have yet to play the Queen City. The reason: Buffalo is (arguably, of course) just too small a city for aspiring musicians to really get a career off the ground. Skotnicki explains that, while they have nothing but admiration for their hometown, it has neither the resources nor the venues you’d find in a larger city like New York or L.A. In New York, where they’re half-based, you have clubs that play dance music every night of the week. You also have thousands of talented[...]

Column 26: Kingsman: The Secret Service and the Changing British Identity

If you’ve seen early trailers for Kingsman: The Secret Service, you’ve no doubt seen what appears to be the most stereotypical British movie ever made. The film riffs on British cinema’s history of the gentlemen spy with Colin Firth, an actor who’s made a career out of playing characters of class and high society. The trailers project the idea of a film that will play note for note into the American image of British culture. Which is why the film’s soundtrack is a part of the larger surprise that Kingsman turns out to be. Contrary to the film advertised, the movie’s embrace of British culture is wholly contemporary. Our protagonist, Eggsy, comes not as the product of some prestigious university, but the council estates of Millwall, a character who spends his days rooting for his local football club and getting pissed up at the pub. While this doesn’t sound radically different,[...]

Jordan Hudkins of Rozwell Kid

Since its  2014 new record, Too Shabby, Rozwell Kid has been making waves in the music community. Fresh off of a tour with The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die,  Rozwell Kid is now hitting the road with You Blew It!, including a show with them tonight at the Studio at the Waiting Room.  I had a chance to ask vocalist Jordan Hudkins a couple questions about the band’s music, live show, hummus tendencies, and whats next for the band buffaBlog:  If you were going to explain your sound to someone who had never listened to Rozwell Kid before, how would you describe it? Jordan Hudkins: I guess Indie Rock is the most appropriate blanket term? Powerpop? It’s all Rock and Roll at the end of the day. bB: On first listen, many people would probably peg Weezer as your clearest influence. What are[...]

Column 25: Chris Rock asks “What’s your Top Five ?”

With the last few months being the Oscar-obsessed prestige movie season, it’s easy for a lot of films to get lost in the shuffle. And sadly. perhaps no film seemed to get more overlooked than Chris Rock’s Top Five. While other filmmakers were releasing their maudlin war dramas and period-era biopics, Chris Rock quietly released the best comedy of 2014. More than that though, Top Five is a film that passionately embraces music, in a way unseen since John Cusack looked a camera dead-on and channeled the words of Nick Hornby in High Fidelity. The film takes it’s name from a point of discussion that reappears throughout the film, “Who are your top five rappers of all-time?” There’s a sharpness and candor to the dialogue in these scenes that’s rare when music is discussed in film. As characters take shots at each others’ picks and passionately defend their own, I[...]

Zach Miller of Dr. Dog

Touring the US in support of their first live album, Live at Flamingo Hotel, Dr. Dog will bring their high-spirited folk rock to Buffalo again this year at the venerable Town Ballroom. After eight albums and a truckload of tours, the boys have undoubtedly hit a comfortable stride, and show no signs of slowing their roll. It seems fitting that Dr. Dog finally put out a live album; their electrifying live performances generate nothing but good vibes and an undying respect among their cult-like die-hards, first time attendees, and everyone in between. buffaBLOG caught up with keyboardist Zach Miller and talked touring tips, special memories, and the conception of their new live album, out now via Anti Records. buffaBLOG: Dr. Dog is about to hit the road for tour… Besides your gear and good attitudes, what are some essential items you bring along with you? Zach Miller: Folding bicycle, barbecue grill, DVDs,[...]

Column 24: The Oscars, Best Original Song, and Dreams of What Could’ve Been

And so Oscar season officially begins. With the announcement of last Thursday’s nominations, the annual awards campaign has kicked off. While there were notable surprises and snubs in every category, let’s get to the one that matters to readers of this blog though, Best Original Song. Lost Stars – Adam Levine (Begin Again) Grateful – Rita Ora (Beyond the Lights) Glory – Common & John Legend (Selma) I’m Not Gonna Miss You – Glen Campbell (Glen Campbell : I’ll Be Me) Everything is AWESOME!!! – Tegan & Sara and The Lonely Island (The LEGO Movie) That is the field for this year’s Best Original Song winner, which to me, could not be more depressing. In a year that was so uncommonly great for music in movie, to look at that crop as the “best” of the year seems so falsely representative of what the year was. There’s been a lot of[...]

Column 23: Jonny Greenwood and the Not So Groovy Tunes of Inherent Vice

Over the past few years, it seems filmmakers are increasingly turning to pop artists to score their films, leading to successful partnerships like that of David Fincher & Trent Reznor. Another fruitful collaboration that deserves mention is that of Paul Thomas Anderson and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. The two first teamed for Anderson’s 2007 film, There Will Be Blood, and created not only a masterwork of a film, but also one of the most original and powerful scores of the last decade. On Inherent Vice, Greenwood returns again for his third collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson. The film recalls an era of the past, the early 70s’, when the free-loving groovy hippie subculture was reaching it’s end in the shadow of the violent Manson family murders. The period also defined by the Nixon years when public officials came to be seen as paragons of corruption. This lead to a new time[...]

Cold Blood MMXV

Editor’s Note: Guest interviewer, Ian Wardynski, recently caught up with Melody Seymour and Joshua Smith, co-founders and co-conspirators of COLD BLOOD MMXV, the first annual punk and hardcore fest set to take place January 17th at the Polish Library in sunny Buffalo, NY. Wardynski discusses with the two how and why they went about booking the festival, vegan hot dogs, and how the pair originally met. Ian Wardynski: So, you two, why go to all the trouble of booking a fest? Melody Seymour: I think that Buffalo’s a great place, and bands need to come into the city and experience that. I also feel that Buffalo needs to experience more hardcore from outside of this area. That’s kinda the biggest thing. It’s hard to get out of your own ass, ya know? Joshua Smith: We do get a lot of really great touring bands coming through, but I think it’s[...]

Column 22: The Cotton-Candy Cultural Critique of Spring Breakers

(Warning: This article contains some spoilers) As I look through my Facebook feed, there’s two articles that seem to repeatedly pop up in my feed over the past month, the Vice article “This Sad Generation Doesn’t Know When the Party Stops” and articles about Iggy Azalea’s appropriation of black culture. And while one wouldn’t think the two could be related, the two keep bringing me back to perhaps the most divisive film in recent memory, Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers. To say that Harmony Korine’s film speaks the language of music is an understatement. Korine’s film not only understands the music it features, but also the culture that surround it. Music is intrinsic to the film’s very existence; and while there are moments of pop or rock music, there are two genres that provide the focal point for the film’s sonic soundscape: EDM and Trap Rap. In recent years, EDM music[...]

Cages

“Have you heard Cages?” Josh Smith asks. I shake my head no. “Oh they’re awesome. They are this weird…I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s this avant-garde noise, neo-folk fusion of sorts. The first time I saw them was at the Sugar City Metro Show.” When Smith talks about Cages, his eyes light up like a redneck showing off his new thirty-aught-six at his daughter’s wedding. With excitement like this, it’s no wonder that he decided to put out Cages new record, Vivpary, on his imprint Black Dots Records. Vivpary is Cages follow up studio release to 2009’s, Folding Space. It was written in 2011 and recorded in 2012 at GCR in Buffalo. “The sound is really amazing. It’s the closest picture of what we have been working on. Definitely different than anything else we have recorded,” guitarist David Bailey says, adding, “This is the most fully realized[...]

Column 21: A Look Back at the Music Related Films of 2014

While 2014 had it’s fair share of amazing films and music, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t exactly a classic year for either. Which is odd, because while both may have been lacking, the convergence between the two this year has been extraordinary. Whether it was great original songs, stellar soundtracks, or in the stories themselves, music has been everywhere this year. Most interesting this year has been the slew of films actually about music. While every year seems to bring along biopics or docs, this year has produced a host of films actually about music and it’s effects on interpersonal relationships. Films like We Are the Best and God Help the Girl acted as a celebration of the bonds created through music. These films explored the nature of relationships created on the foundation of a shared appreciation of music and how strong said foundation can be. Sometimes[...]

Column 20: Hunger Games – Inspiration for Rebellion and our Youth

While it might be tempting to ignore or write-off the soundtracks for recent mega-blockbuster young adult franchises, the last five years has made this increasingly hard to do. In an effort to both create a sonic landscape for their films and create brand identity, studios have been turning to the world of indie rock. It’s hardly a new idea, going back to the 90s it’s easy to forget that films like Romeo & Juliet and Great Expectations featured original music by bands like Radiohead and Pulp. It almost is a bit heartening listening to these soundtracks and imaging the pre-teens hearing many of these great artists for the first time to find an alternative to what the radio has fed them. That said, Lionsgate deserves special credit for handing the reigns of their entire soundtrack for their biggest franchise over to Lorde. The 18-year old artist is right in the[...]

December 12th

Giovanni Damico – “Break” With a loose, funky feel, this slice of smooth disco house from Italian producer Giovanni Damico lays down an infectious groove complete with a thick bass line and a playful synth melody. Making use of a nostalgic, full-bodied sound Damico provides an enticing dance floor filler that thrives on straightforward, purposeful production. Listen below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175641897″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] HNNY – “Noth…” Swedish DJ/producer HNNY delivers another soulful house cut, this time of the old-school sample based variety for Local Talk records. “Noth…” builds around several smooth, emotive samples to achieve a lush sound produced with a warm feel that relies on a familiar formula yet still feels fresh when put together with such precision. Listen below [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/180692671″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Howson’s Groove – “Can’t Explain” UK duo Howson’s Groove make their debut release for Love & Other records later this[...]