Drive (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

It’s no secret that The Social Network was my favorite film of 2010. With one of the hottest casts (Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Justin Timberlake and Rooney Mara), helmed by one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed directors (David Fincher), an Academy Award winning script by my favorite screenwriter (Aaron Sorkin) and an Academy Award winning Best Original Score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, it’s easy to understand why The Social Network is one of my favorite films of the past decade. I mention this because I would like to discus Reznor’s and Ross’ score.

Earlier this year, my friend Adam and I were discussing the Cannes Film Festival when he brought up the film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks and Christina Hendricks. Besides The Rum Diary, Drive was the only other highly anticipated film I absolutely wanted to see this year. Before Adam could say anything I warned him to not reveal any details because I wanted to be completely surprised. What Adam said next lingered in my mind for the next couple of months.

“The soundtrack will blow your mind away,” Adam said. “My friend who went to the Cannes screening can’t stop talking about it. He says it’s as good as if not better than The Social Network.”

My only response, “Blasphemy!”

Prior to last year I couldn’t comprehend why anyone would own a film score unless it was by Enrico Morricone or John Williams. Then after I saw The Social Network it made complete sense. Not only did I finally see a movie whose soundtrack completely mesmerized me from beginning to end, but a score I found myself mimicking on a regular basis. So much so that for one month straight I always had The Social Network score in my truck and it took the #1 slot in my six CD changer. Certain friends mocked me for having a car filled with “nothing but soundtracks” (along with Scott Pilgrim and The Runaways), but most understood why- the music really moved me.

That’s exactly how I feel with Cliff Martinez’s score and the rest of the Drive soundtrack. From the moment I walked into the theater and saw Drive I knew I was in for a treat. Drive doesn’t disappoint on any level. Everything about Drive is fantastic, especially the soundtrack. The vibe and mood it creates is arguably the best reason to go see the film besides the terrific acting. DRIVE IS THE BEST SOUNDTRACK OF THE YEAR!

Drive captivates the eeriness and gloominess of Los Angeles perfectly with an 80’s synth friendly score. Once the film begins you feel transported back in time to the 1980s and it almost feels surreal until you realize it’s actually modern day. Martinez manipulates the music so effectively that you don’t even realize how emotional you are getting while watching the film. Even now as I listen to the music a surge of emotions overtake me and that’s when you know a soundtrack/score is successful. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Cliff Martinez has been capturing audiences ears for over two decades as a film composer starting with Steven Soderbergh’s critically acclaimed Sex, Lies, and Videotape and include Wonderland, Traffic and Contagion.

Usually when any member of RHCP, whether past or present, is involved with a project I’m always happy. It’s such a minor thing, but very true. Whether it’s Chickenfoot (Chad Smith) or members of the band acting (Flea and Anthony Kiedis), I definitely get my entertainment’s worth. Martinez miraculously captures what most modern day soundtracks fail to do- take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

At times the music feels reminiscent of Scarface and even Grand Theft Auto with all the synth sounds, but that’s okay. The first track “Nightcall” by Kavinsky & Lovefoxx is ridiculously good. No matter how many times I hear it I will always associate it with the film Drive. Every single second sounds so remarkable I don’t want it to end and for four minutes and twenty seconds it doesn’t disappoint. Even the other night I was watching The Lincoln Lawyer with one of my lady friends and heard the song (Cliff Martinez also did that soundtrack as well) during a club scene. Immediately I blurted out, “No way! They have my favorite song from Drive in here. Awesome!” while my lady friend just gave me a look.

What can I say? I’m a music nerd and I’m damn well proud of it. Drive is a slick, sexy soundtrack that gets better with each listen. Thus far I can easily say I have listened to the soundtrack about a dozen times already. No matter how high your expectations are with the soundtrack, somehow it manages to meet and exceed your wildest dreams.

The vintage keyboard sound captivates and catapults the listener from one track to the next. The surreal and sublime “Under Your Spell” by Desire continues the heavenly flow only to be surpassed by “A Real Hero” by College featuring Electric Youth. The more I listen to the first three tracks, the more compelled I feel to read early Brett Easton Ellis books like Less Than Zero and The Informers.

The incredible “Oh My Love” by Riz Ortolani featuring Katyna Ranieri consumes and overtakes my soul with this compelling orchestrated modern-day masterpiece. This is followed up by the wordless “Tick of the Clock” by The Chromatics, which continues stimulating your pulsating heart as tension continues escalating throughout the song.

The remaining tracks on Drive were all composed by Cliff Martinez and some of the notable ones to check out are “He Had a Good Time,” “Kick Your Teeth,” “Where’s the Deluxe Version,” and “See You in Four.” My three favorite tracks by Martinez are “Kick Your Teeth,” “After the Chase,” and “Bride of the Deluxe.”

If there is one soundtrack you’re thinking about buying, whether on iTunes or on CD, Drive is a must buy! Both the film and soundtrack are simply stunning masterpieces that need to be embraced.  And yes, a copy of Drive has earned it’s well deserved spot in the #1 slot in my six CD changer because nothing compares to it.



--Brownstone

Bang Tango - Psycho Cafe

One of the funnest things about this mysterious world that we call Ripple is that we don't always agree with each other.  Often times, I'll look at Pope's musical discoveries with a look of utter dismay, and Pope will return the favor by addressing my choices with pure boredom.  It's what makes the world revolve.  We all like different things.  We all dig different sounds.  The job of the Ripple is merely to tell you, our waveriders, what each one of us hears in a piece of music and how it gets us off.

Never is this dichotomy between the Pope and I made more clear than with Bang Tango.

I remember years ago when we first discussed these guys, Pope dismissed them completely with a brief wave of his hand, a shrug of his shoulders, and a look that closely approximated an acute onset of food poisoning.  I, on the other hand, found them oddly compelling with their massive bass heavy groove, dark glam, and sizzling guitars.  In truth, I understand exactly where Pope was coming from, and in many ways it represents the very problems that this LA quintet faced in making it big.  Pope was a metalhead.  He came from the point of view of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, even Guns and Roses.  When he heard Bang Tango his knee jerk response was, "this ain't metal."  And it ain't.

I came from a post punk world where bands like The Cult, Sisters of Mercy, Mission UK, and Specimen ruled my orgasmic listening times.  Yet, I'd been a metalhead, trouncing heads to the early NWOBHM terrors of Iron Maiden (Dianno years), Angelwitch, Witchfynde, Saxon, and Motorhead.  In Bang Tango I found the perfect mathematical union of two sets.  The aggression, riffing and searing leads of metal fused to that pulsating, dark post-punk glam of the early Cult.

And listening to this newly MetalMind re-issued disc, I still do.

Bang Tango never really had a chance to get the respect they deserved.  Being part of the LA Sunset Strip scene of the late '80's, they were immediately lumped in with the hair metal bands that ruled the streets.  And with the dual guitars of Mark Knight and Kyle Stevens and some serious Slash-esque riffing, they immediately did nothing to dispel that association.  But they weren't metal.  In singer Joe LeSte they had a shrieker of undefined tone.  He could belt out metal, he could scream out a post-punk frenzy.  He could harmonize some glam.  And in bass player Kyle Kyle and kit pounder Tigg Kelter they had a backing section that really wanted nothing more than to lay down some serious funk.  And they all had the look.  I mean, The Look, with chiseled cheekbones, dyed hair, and an image taken from The Cult's Love album.

Funk.  Glam.  Goth.  Metal.   That's Bang Tango.

And I dig it.

And maybe it's because Bang Tango were so many disparate things that they still sound so fucking good to my ears today.  Disclaimer.  I've had Psycho Cafe in my collection for years and I'd pulled it off the shelves not infrequently, as I have with Dancin' on Coals, their follow-up.  Having said that, to me, Bang Tango have aged much better than most of the Sunset Strip crap that came out in the late eighties.  Kyle's bass thuds and pulses with more unbridled sex than I ever heard before.  Joe's vocals screech and dive and seduce with more passion.  And the dual guitars shred with more metal velocity than I ever gave them credit.  Basically, this shit is just plain ol' good glam metal and definitely worth a revisit in 2011.

Psycho Cafe let's it all out right there on the first number.  From the muted guitar, bass, and effect opening of "Attack of Life," right into that throbbing post-gothic metal riff.  Both guitars blaze and steam through this baby.  When LeSte comes in, shrieking in full higher octave, we're in a full on glam blitzkrieg.  Some may not dig his voice.  Some may call if forced.  I dig it.  Full on dig it.   The song quickly locks into a comfortable groove that I'm sure tore it up live.  Then as LeSte drops his voice to a lower register for the kick-ass chorus, I realize who these guys really were.  It may sound strange but they were the American Billy Idol, marrying that image, that post punk vitality, that snotty sneer to some beefy metal riffs and serving that whole thing on a steaming platter of funky pop.  Maybe a touch of the Cult also.  Either way, they were much more Red Hot Chili Peppers than they were Metallica. 

"Someone Like You," is of course the piece de resistance on the album and probably the song the band is best remembered for.  With it's "Sweet Child of Mine" harmonic-laden intro to it's staggering build up beat, this certainly seemed to be metal at home on the Strip.  Then comes that breakdown, Kyle's massively funky bass and the chugging guitar riff that revs and soars like a charging locomotive.  LeSte's voice is all over the place here, shrieking and wailing like a siren, then bottoming out in Billy Idol baritone.   Guitar solos whip in and out like hornets buzzing from a hive under attack.  This is truly one of my favorite goth/glam/funk/metal tunes of all time.  A hands-over-the-head screamer.

"Wrap My Wings," seems to settle into a monstrously funky mid-tempo groove that just oozes sex appeal.  Again, Stevens and Knight prove that they were vastly under-rated axemen, sizzling their strings with wailing electric solos.   Too goth/funk for metal?  Too metal for the goth crowd?  Probably.  That's probably why the album never broke big.  I'd have liked to see these cats play this shit at the infamous London Batcave goth club and see how it would've been received.  Would they have got it?  Would it have been too metal?  Did the boys need a club scene all their own?  Who knows. All I know is that to this post-punk metalhead, this is some seriously fun stuff.

"Breaking Up a Heart of Stone," lays it all back on the line, with it's bass-laden groove.  The bridge brings in a touch of pop as the song roars to it's big chorus hook.  I'm sure back in the day, the chicks dug this one cause it rocked and you could move your ass to it.  "Shotgun Man," roars back with a hyped up metal guitar attack, but as always the funk is still there.  Percolating under LeSte's shrieking.   Bookending that chunky guitar-burst chorus.  Kyle really goes out of his skull on this one, popping and thumping that bass as if he was auditioning for Parliment or the Bar-Kays.   Other songs like the chugging "Don't Stop Now," the intensely funky "Love Injection" the somber "Just for You," and the frenzy-neo-metallic-Chili-Peppers funk freak of "Do What Your Told" keep the energy raving and explore all the aspects of this band.  In fact, "Do What Your Told" is such an ecstasy burst of fiery alt-funk metal that it's shocking the song wasn't bigger.

So where does this leave us?  In my mind, Bang Tango were a band that was vastly misunderstood.  Lumped in with the hair metal scene, it's no wonder many metalheads dismissed them.  They were too different.  Way too different.   Perhaps like another lost Sunset Strip casualty, Bang Bang, these cats were simply too many things for people to identify with.  They had a unique sound when every band sounded the same.  They had a unique look when the others all looked the same.  

But it's this difference that captivates me.  Glam, funk, goth, metal.  They were a little bit of it all and brewed their swirling fury into an intoxicating beverage that still goes down extremely easy today.

--Racer

buy here: Psycho Cafe

Global Music Effort Launches "Songs for Japan" Album on iTunes to Benefit Japan Disaster Relief - Proceeds from Star-Studded Album to Support Disaster Relief Efforts of Japanese Red Cross

 In what stands as a major global music relief effort to benefit those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, over 30 of the biggest names in contemporary music have joined together for the worldwide release of "Songs for Japan," an unprecedented compilation of 38 chart-topping hits and classic tracks, available worldwide on the iTunes Store for $9.99 starting today (www.itunes.com/songsforjapan). Proceeds from the album's sale will benefit the disaster relief efforts of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110325/LA71496)

The "Songs for Japan" track listing features an all-star lineup: 
1.        John Lennon "Imagine" (Remastered)
2.        U2 "Walk On" (Radio Edit)
3.        Bob Dylan "Shelter From The Storm"
4.        Red Hot Chili Peppers "Around The World" (Live)
5.        Lady Gaga "Born This Way" (Starsmith Remix)
6.        Beyonce "Irreplaceable"
7.        Bruno Mars "Talking To The Moon" (Acoustic Piano Version)
8.        Katy Perry "Firework"
9.        Rihanna "Only Girl (In The World)"
10.        Justin Timberlake "Like I Love You"
11.        Madonna "Miles Away" (Live)
12.        David Guetta "When Love Takes Over" (feat. Kelly Rowland)
13.        Eminem "Love The Way You Lie" (feat. Rihanna) [Clean Version}
14.        Bruce Springsteen "Human Touch"
15.        Josh Groban "Awake" (Live)
16.        Keith Urban "Better Life"
17.        Black Eyed Peas "One Tribe"  
18.        Pink "Sober"
19.        Cee Lo Green "It's Ok"
20.        Lady Antebellum "I Run To You"
21.        Bon Jovi "What Do You Got?"
22.        Foo Fighters "My Hero"
23.        R.E.M. "Man On The Moon"
24.        Nicki Minaj "Save Me" (Clean Version)
25.        Sade "By Your Side"
26.        Michael Buble "Hold On" (Radio Mix)
27.        Justin Bieber "Pray" (Acoustic)
28.        Adele "Make You Feel My Love"
29.        Enya "If I Could Be Where You Are"
30.        Elton John "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"
31.        John Mayer "Waiting On The World To Change"
32.        Queen "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" [Remastered]
33.        Kings Of Leon "Use Somebody"
34.        Sting "Fragile" (Live In Berlin)
35.        Leona Lewis "Better In Time"
36.        Ne-Yo "One In A Million"
37.        Shakira "Whenever, Wherever"
38.        Norah Jones "Sunrise" 

 
Proceeds from "Songs for Japan" will be directed to the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) to support its disaster relief efforts. The society will use the funds for the ongoing provision of immediate relief and for eventual recovery support to the affected population. The artists participating on "Songs for Japan," the music labels and music publishers have waived their royalties and proceeds from the worldwide sales of the album to ensure that the JRCS receives as much support as possible from this global initiative.  iTunes will also donate its proceeds from the album's worldwide sales to the benefit of the JRCS, and has prominently featured the project throughout its stores worldwide.

The 1-10’s – – Fighting for a Golden Age

“Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to join in holy matrimony the love of  rock and roll.  This is the Reverend Red Hot Chili Peppers Presiding.  Please rise as the wedding party approaches, grab both of your ass cheeks and shake that shit like you just don’t care no more!”

That’s the way I see it anyways.  What we got here is one balls-out jamfest of damn funky, gritty rock and roll that sounds like the result of a shotgun Tennessee nuptial of the quirk funk of Primus with the mid-American-rootsy twang rock of Blind Melon.  Throw in a big nod to the ass moving grooves of the presiding Reverend Red Hot Chili Peppers and a wedding party full of the dirty guitar work of Queens of the Stone Age and we got ourselves a wedding for the ages.

The Groom?  He’s all rock baby.  As on the scorching opening track “Run From Your Master," his guitars flame and fire over that rock steady rhythm section like hornets dive bombing a playground.  Screeching with some fuzz and feedback, his riffs are complex, heavy, yet tasteful.  His tone is rather light, not brutal, again reminding me of the scratch of Blind Melon.  He’s not afraid of time changes, neo-jazzy textures, deep bluesy riffs, or pure unadulterated stoner fuzz.  He brings a quality of serious musicianship to the proceedings.  I like him. He’s a good man.

The Bride?  She’s got booty for days!  One of those big, nice and round booties that just wants to shake and groove all night long.  She's sexy and hot and brimming with lust.  She loves her bass tight and funky. She likes her beat locked firmly in the ass-shaking vein.  No one stands like a wallflower at her wedding.  Just dig that Primus bass freakout of “Dyin’ Blues”.  And then when the stuttering guitar of her man joins her on the dancefloor, Reverend Chili Pepper just can’t be content at the podium. He’s got to jump down to the dancefloor and work his white collar into a hot and sticky mess.  This is southern groove funk/rock and it’s guaranteed to keep the hotties moving on the dancefloor.  Love to see this live.  She’s a true beauty.

The wedding party brings lots more to the party.  The best man sings like a combination of Shannon Hoon and Anthony Kiedis (except he actually knows how to carry a tune.)   He’s a countryboy through and through with a gentle twang to his voice, but not afraid to rough it up at times.  At others he’ll spit it out like a Keidis stuttered rap. (don’t worry, he never ruins things by actually rapping.)

The best man’s toast is given to “Religious Fervor”, just a terror of blistering, blues-fuzzed guitars with a backbone of pure funky delights.  Think Screaming Cheetah Wheelies here (who were a helluva lot better band than they ever got credit for).  Ballsy, kinda retro, dirty and rough. Blues with attitude and a dose of  pure rock. 

Every wedding needs a first dance, and “Eye for an Eye” slows things down enough for the bride and groom to lock bodies and sway in lustful delight.  Beautiful guitars brought by the groom marry seamlessly to the bride’s love of the funky in this slow-boiling number.  Off-kilter harmony vocals really bring this song to the highlight reel, as the two voices lock together in just off-time unison

Then the party’s got to get started and the 1-10’s blow the doors off with the mean-spirited blues-infected, heavy jam of “Crazy for You”.  Again, we got it all here, the whole wedding party losing themselves in a hedonistic delight of Blind Melon guitars, big funky bass runs.  This song builds and dips like some sexual event, perhaps bringing on the passion of the wedding night to follow.   A little Zeppelin influence here?  Sure, they shoulda been invited to the party.  They’re in the corner hanging with the Screaming Cheetahs.  Just digging this one.

Mr. Primus leads the party through another mid-american rock/funk workout with that amazing basswork of “Dragon Fly.”  Another mid-tempo burner with some lava-lamp guitar, this one ups the sexuality big time.  The bride is getting hot.  The groom is horny.  Together they weave their bodies through the undulating groove, back and forth.  This song is so hot, the entire wedding party can smell their sex.  It’s gonna be a helluva night. 

From there . . . I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.  Let’s just say that the 1-10’s really bring it here, rocking fast and heavy all the way til the last bottle of champagne is finished.  This is a wedding full of pure fun, damn fine funk, searing rock, Blind Melon mid-American roots, and a Primus excentricty.  I read a review where the writer felt the band was too “all over the place” for him to get into it.  Not me.  I’m into it.  Way into it.  I’m shaking my ass with the bride.  I’m jamming heavy rock air-guitar with the groom..  I’m giving the Rev Chili Pepper a big, wet one on the lips, and grabbing Mr Screaming Cheetah, hitting the keg and throwing back the whiskey.

And just look out.  Later on I’m planning on sneaking into the honeymoon suite.  I’m gonna be a part of that too.

--Racer