Media Junkie

...wsg Jason Lytle - Live at the Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI - 22 July 2009

With the release of his first solo album, the promotional machine is now in full gear for Jason Lytle as he plays a series of headlining shows and opening sets for artists like Explosions In The Sky and Neko Case.  I guess I shouldn't complain that Detroit was not one of the lucky cities picked for a headlining show.  After all, we did get the very special layover performance at Scrummage University, an intimate afternoon solo set that was set up in a matter of hours.  The Scrummage show was an experience I'll never forget, but I was still a little bummed I wouldn't get to see Jason perform with his new backing band.

As luck would have it, I still got my chance to see Lytle and his friends perform as an opening act for alt-country singer Neko Case.  While the experience taught me that I am most definitely not a Neko Case fan, I can at least thank her for giving Lytle an excuse to return to the Metro Detroit area for an excellent 45 minute set.

Along with friends Rusty Miller on guitar, Rob Murdoch on bass, and former Grandaddy drummer Aaron Burtch on drums, Lytle played a short, sweet set of mostly new material from Yours Truly, The Commuter, with a few old favorites peppered in.

Essential Albums: The Summer Pledge - You Are You

The Summer Pledge
You Are You
2009
Woodbridge Records

Buy This Album

I have a confession to make: I hate writing music reviews.  Obviously, it's a love/hate relationship because I enjoy writing for this blog.  I love getting responses to my posts or e-mails from record companies and bands thanking me for my kind words, but when it comes time to sit down and write a review I often struggle with what to say.

I often feel my reviews are too redundant and I reuse the same phrases over and over again.  I am by no means a music expert or a master linguist; I know what I like, and I try to describe it in an enticing way so that the reader may be intrigued enough to check out whatever it is I'm raving about.  Sometimes, however, I hate writing reviews because there simply is no way to describe the experience of listening to a CD.

There's no way to convey the power, the emotionality, the depth, or even the technical aspects such as the production or mixing.  Sometimes words just aren't enough.  Sometimes you just have to hear it for yourself.

Movie Review: Bruno

Bruno
Universal
R
88 Minutes
2009

Sacha Baron Cohen is either a madman or a genius.  Or perhaps he's both.

His "gotcha" style of comedy is anything but subtle, and though it can be crude and vulgar, it also works on a deeper level - highlighting the prejudices, fear, and downright stupidity of those he manages to trick into an interview.

One must admire his dedication to his work.  The British comedian rarely appears as himself for interviews, and when in character not even the film's director can coax the real man out.  He truly inhabits the over the top personas of three famous characters.

Though his first film, Ali G. Indahouse was largely panned, and never even received a theatrical release in the United States, his follow up with a smash success.  Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan not only earned more than triple its budget, it made numerous Top Ten lists and was even nominated for an Acamedy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.  After this success, a fierce bidding war ensued for the rights to Baron Cohen's one remaining character, the gay Austrian fashionista, Bruno.