1. The Social Network
There are so many things that made this movie brilliant, and no one who acted in this movie is undeserving of praise, to be sure, but ultimately, this movie is about a central iconoclastic figure, and its what Jesse Eisenberg, Aaron Sorkin, and David Fincher bring to his character that defines the movie. After all, this is a movie that takes place largely in front of a computer, yet the tension (brought brilliantly to life by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, hoorah!) remains palpable for the entirety of the movie. And I think its because we can't make up our mind about Zuckerberg. While it's clear that he is ruthless, whatever emotions we suspect lie under the surface range from haughty to childish to spurned to vindictive to needy to regretful without so much as an eyebrow furrow. Unsurprisingly, I think the New Yorker is right when they say that that tension is upheld by the the essential conflict between Fincher and Sorkin's worldview:
The portrait of Zuckerberg, I would guess, was produced by a happy tension, even an opposition, between the two men—a tug-of-war between Fincher’s gleeful appreciation of an outsider who overturns the social order and Sorkin’s old-fashioned, humanist distaste for electronic friend-making and a world of virtual emotion.I think different people will likely come down on different sides of the fence on the issue of Zuckerberg's ethics. On one hand, one could easily make an argument that his was the only moral code that was transparent (aka he respected only productivity) and that his all-consuming commitment to Facebook validates his desire to control the involvement of all other partners (notice how he was programming in virtually every scene in the movie and how he was content to let his associates take some marginal credit until the second that they compromised the integrity of the product). On the other hand...the job he pulled on Eduardo was cold, man. And that makes me wonder - does so-called social media like Facebook actually promote dehumanization by allowing people to only present to the world what they choose and not reform the parts of themselves that are petty, angry, vindictive, or otherwise damaging?
2. Cee-Lo
Let's switch gears from the razor-sharp, coldly perfect Social Network soundtrack (as mentioned before, by the incomparable Trent Reznor) to 70s soul-loving fun-fest that is Cee-Lo's newest album, The Lady Killer. It's almost unnecessary to review this album; just listen to and/or watch the video of his first single, "Fuck You." I mean, how can you get better than "I guess she's an X-Box, and I'm more Atari?" You can't. But for the record, almost equal to this song in quality is his transformative cover of Band of Horses' "No One's Gonna Love You." Video for "Fuck You" below.
3. The Arcade Fire
It's flown under the radar alot more than their previous albums, I really think that The Suburbs is equal in quality to Arcade Fire's past two albums. In terms of of range, they continue to feature uplifting, somewhat bombastic pieces like "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" and "Rococo," uptempo NYC-rock pieces like "Ready to Start" and "Month of May" and more pensive pieces like "City With No Children" or Modern Man."
Where the band has really taken a step forward is lyrically. After an ill-advised turn for the faux-political (no doubt Obama 'Yes We Can' inspired), they turn inward and deliver an album that is about getting old, giving up the dreams of your youth, and accepting a life that feels unfulfilled. Now, as a former suburbanite, and someone who has little tolerance for people who sneer at people from the suburbs, I would ordinarily hate on this hipsteresque superiority complex, but the album finds the hipster obsession with what is transiently 'cool' to be equally stupid (see their song "Rococo"). Ultimately, the album seems to be about themselves, as artists at an intermediate point, caught between two disappointing choices. Just some snippets from some of my favorite songs from the album:
"So can you understand/why I want a daughter while I'm still young?/I want to hold her hand/and show her some beauty/before this damage is done." - The Suburbs"They heard me singing and they told me to stop/quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock." - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"I feel like I've been living in/a city with no children in it/A garden left for ruin by/a billionaire inside of a private prison." - City with No Children"Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids./They will eat right out of your hand/using great big words that they don't understand" - Rococo
4. Kanye West's Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West also seems to be having a struggle with his identity, although it might just be between whether he has Narcissistic Personality Disorder or is full-on bipolar. I acutally think that Kanye is incredibly savvy, and realizes that acting out as he does is a way more effective marketing tactic than a music video is nowadays (and we all know how frustrated he is about his lack of music video recognition.) I happen to actually agree with him when it comes to his treatment on the Today show - as if people are going to listen to his explanation when they get to watch him yell at Taylor Swift again. Shut up, Matt Lauer. Meanwhile, his music continues be the absolute gold standard for hip-hop. The guy comes out with a sneering challenge to all of his critics with his first single, "Power," then issues a free remix in which he completely rewrites the song, and its even better than the original. His collabo with Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj, "Monster," is probably the strangest, coolest single since the era of Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes. For me, personally, it will be difficult to match Graduation in quality, but i certainly agree with Rolling Stone's opinion that he is one of the few artists in music with any interest in challenging us:
There’s a famous story about Queen making "Bohemian Rhapsody": Whenever the band thought the song was finished, Freddie Mercury would say, "I’ve added a few more ‘Galileos’ here, dear." But nobody can out-Galileo Kanye. With Fantasy, he makes everybody else on the radio sound laughably meek, but he’s also throwing down a challenge to the audience. Kanye West thinks you’re a moron if you settle for artists who don’t push as hard as he does. And that means pretty much everybody.
5. The Young Money Crew: Lil' Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj
My love for Lil' Wayne is well-established in this blog, so I'll just say that his assembly of the Young Money crew is yet another feather in his cap. Unlike other successful hip-hop artists who ascend to the level entrepreneurs (Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Master P, etc.) Wayne's hires reflect an eye for talented, unique young artists. Like Drake, a half-Jewish (and bar mitzvah-ed!) former teen soap actor who had released a mixtape in which he rapped over unconventional artists like Peter Bjorn & John. Or Nicki Minaj, a young, african/indonesian/trinidadian rapper who raps under multiple pseudonyms, sports a strange Barbie obsession, and a rapping style that morphs from British accents to reggaeton. Now, Drake is probably the most popular hip-hop artist on the charts, and Nicki Minaj's performance on Kanye's "Monster" is probably the best verse delivered all year. Also, they were both in the New York Times. Also, Nicki Minaj's single, "Check it Out," which samples "Video Killed the Radio Star" is one of the most clever things I've ever heard. And Wayne? Well, he just got out of prison, released a new album (which is apparently only a predecessor to the forthcoming Tha Carter IV), and will drop in on fellow Young Money albums to occasionally drop a few blistering verses (like his performance in Drake's "Miss Me" where he reminds us "I got so many styles - I am a group.")
I'll leave you with Nicki Minaj's video for "Check it Out." Haters, you can kill yourself.
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