About 7 years ago, I was a young, impressionable girl with a love of angry, loud music. Through some random events, I won tickets to a huge music festival, which I was very excited for. I couldn’t go until later in the day, and just as I got there, it was announced that the rest of the festival had been cancelled. Apparently lightning had hit the stage while a band was playing, and they refused to go back out because of that (not that you can really blame them!). And that band was Kittie. So, with such fond memories on my mind, many years later, I decided to check out their new album, Funeral for Yesterday, which also happens to be their first album on their own label.

My reaction to this new album is a very mixed one. I think that Kittie has the potential to be very good, which may seem to be a strange thing to say about a band that’s been around for 10 years, but to be fair they have only existed in this incarnation for a few years. In addition to that, they have quite obviously undergone a lot of changes in the many years since I last listened to them, all of them for the better. I think the departure from screaming in so many songs is a good choice on their part, and it is a good album vocally. Musically, they are definitely talented. However, this is not a great album. For one, the vocals are mastered a little too quietly for me, which leaves me straining to hear them at some points, and generally leaves the listener feeling a little off kilter. I thought at first that this was just a fluke with one stereo, but it was noticable on multiple computers, with varied speaker sets ranging from cheap computer speakers to extensive 5.1 surround sound, plus an actual stereo and on an iPod. For another, this album is definitely not lyrically original. Some of the lyrics read exactly like some of the poetry I wrote as a teenager - exactly like some of the poetry EVERY teenaged girl writes. That may make for an easily relatable album, but it also makes for boredom for any more sophisticated listeners.

With all of that said, I don’t think this album should be disregarded at all. Some of the tracks are excellent, like the title track, Summer Dies, and Around Your Heart. That doesn’t entirely make up for the less than stellar ones, like Everything That Could Have Been, Never Again, and Flower of Flesh and Blood. My suggestion for pretty much anyone interested in this album is to take a listen to the samples on iTunes and buy only what you like. Your other option is to pay for the entire album and brave the not so good and the bad for the songs that are worth it. If you really love metal, or you are a very angry teenaged girl, then I would suggest the latter. If you are anyone outside of those two groups, I’d suggest the former. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them a chance at all.

Ladies and gents, the Shots in the Dark crew is happy to announce that our site is up and running! You can check it out here.  Or, if you prefer to do the typing yourself, it’s just www.ShotgunReviews.com/shots.  Only 8 more days until our first podcast is uploaded!  Keep your eyes open for more info about what we’ll be talking about, or tell us what you want us to talk about in the forums!

…this week at Every Day Is Like Wednesday.

And lest you think that I just took a random panel from a Golden Age Captain Marvel comic book out of context because I find it amusing to think of a superhero decking a sheep in the face, let me assure you, that is not (entirely) the case. In the very next panel of that story, Cap tosses that K.O.-ed ram into a pen, so that the other sheep will all follow after it. Because everyone knows that sheep will follow their flock’s knocked out alpha male wherever you fling it.

Wisdom of Solomon, baby.

Mentioning the word “Wrestlemania” is a big risk around here lately… behind the scenes, we’ve been inundated by a forum spammer to the tune of about 100 messages so far advertising about six different parked web sites. I tried personally to send every message to the company that registered the domains and let them know we were being spammed, but nothing has come of it. I finally gave up after last weekend when I had about 20 emails tracking back to me from my earlier Wrestlemania commentary from spammers. I just got tired of it and marked it as spam on our end, which doesn’t seem to be working either.

But, enough of my bitching… here’s some wrestling stuff I put on my blog from the past week:

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There’s wrong.

There’s wrong on an epic scale.

And then there’s this.

Chris Mancini is a comedian, writer and filmmaker. He’s recently put together a collection of his short film work entitled MYOPIC VISIONS.

(Note: though the DVD is already out, there will be a DVD release party and standup performance by Mr. Mancini:

WHEN: March 28th at 8PM – DVD Release party and performances

WHERE: Improv,8162 Melrose Ave,Los Angeles, CA 90046

Now back to the review)

The title is probably the only weak thing about the DVD. It is an obvious allusion to the name of his company, Myopic Productions, but it doesn’t do anything to hint at what you’re getting in this package. I certainly hope it doesn’t hold back this DVD from reaching its full potential audience, because it is truly an interesting and fun collection.

The older stuff on the DVD is pretty good, but one of the best functions is to show the growth. The Man Who Loved Doughnuts was definitely interesting, but tried to stretch the premise out for too long of a bit. Paul F. Thompkins is a very good bit of casting for it, though. The twist a little more than half way through the short was just bizarre enough to renew my interest after the humor of Thompkins’ overly enthused doughnut fan began to wear on me like it wore down the diner seated next to him.

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Just wanted to let everybody know that I’ve edited my latest post, I’d missed two CW nits. Go check the updated post here.

While fans anticipate the forthcoming release of animated movies based on DC Comics properties for direct DVD consumption, we can talk about two recent releases that connect back to a pair of much-loved series. The direct-to-DVD “Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo” is said to be the first in a line of DVD features that will be based on the knot of recent DC animated series, and “Justice League Unlimited: Season Two” collects the final episodes of that extremely entertaining series.

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We had to have the puddin’.

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I don’t have much to add…and in a new level of lacking-original-thought in link blogging, I’m actually presenting something Caleb from this very site turned me on to…Teen Titans #44 Remixed!

Enjoy! :)

Simply stated, I am disturbed by the small number of individuals who have not yet heard of the greatest cultural film of our time: “Idiocracy.” It’s lewd, crude, and frightening. It needs to be viewed by all and unfortunately has received little to no press, at least that I have seen. It’s been out on DVD for quite a while, but few people seem to have heard of it or seen it. Rent it at your local video store, watch it, and tell your friends. Please, dear mother of Abraham. For the sake of all mankind.

www.k-osmusic.com  - $$$$

Miscegenation Station

Review by - Angelica LeMinh

Yeah. So, I wonder what the hip hop purists might have to say about this one. For all intents and purposes, K-OS should be in that “Gnarls Barkley” category, but because he’s Canadian, I think the label has been trumped. He sings on damn near every track, there are reprieves on at least three (he leaves then comes back), and he’s playing with genres and instruments/vox like there’s no tomorrow. While I must argue against the statement that he’s Canada’s answer to Kanye West, his use of violins on “The Rain” (as well as chords and sustain in general on what is one of the album’s strongest tracks), his cross-over appeal (though he’s more Roots than Ye on this tip), and penchant for self-reflexive reflection (my only enemy’s inside me) could argue that case.

He differs though, as he doesn’t use a single sample, and for the most part, his tracks are audio adventures into space (broadcast from the Universe) and time (“Flypaper”-he’s loving that upright bass, though he’s really riding the motif of “Crabbukkit” on this one). He succeeds where Electric Circus and Phrenology confused folks, they just weren’t ready for it yet. That psychedelic, he musta been listening to some Beatles Revolver shit, a perfect example; “

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I’ve ranted and roared about Great Big Sea’s albums before, so it should come as no surprise that I had high expectations for Saturday’s live show at the Music Mill.

Ladies and gentlemen, I was not disappointed.

Saturday night was their last show of the tour, and they did not hold anything back, through two one-hour sets and two encores.  Both the band and the sold-out crowd were bouncing up and down by the end of the night; everyone in the room was obviously having a wonderful time. Every single member of the band was rock-solid, even if one or two were a bit rough around the edges after the long haul. Each one of them still managed a lot of eye contact and interaction with the crowd. Of course, in a venue when you can come right up to the edge of the stage, it’s hardly surprising, but I was far off to one side and near the back, and couldn’t have been more involved if I were front and center.

We got songs from almost every album, as well as “Walk on the Moon,” which will be on the next album. (And I assure you, I’ll be first in line at amazon to buy it.) We had songs about pirates (as Alan said, what concert is complete without a song about a pirate), dead horses, berry-picking, and nagging wives. We had slow love songs and fast drinking songs.

I can only hope that they’ll come back to Indy when the next album comes out. If they do, that’ll be my elbow in your ribs as I cut in line for tickets. 

Shotgun Reviews
by Troy Brownfield

Let’s knock another of these out.

Pefect Pitch: Never again shall there be a need for celebrities in commercials, for perfection has been attained. How, do you ask? Because Jennifer Love Hewitt is now doing bra ads for Hanes. Never before has there been such a perfect union of celebrity spokesperson and product. We can now dismiss all future attempts at celebrity shilling, because you won’t ever find a more appropriate pitch-person.

I will, however, allow exceptions in the following cases:

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Having forgotten to pick up Rick Vietch’s Army @ Love on Wednesday, I returned to a comic shop this weekend to correct that oversight, and ended up walking out with more and I’d intended, including John Romita Jr. 30th Anniversary Special.

I usually pass up these Marvel Spotlight-type things, which tend to be advertorial in nature, but after the first half of J. Michael Straczynski’s Amazing Spider-Manrun, Black Panther #1-#6 and Wolverine: Enemy of the State, JRJR’s stuff is pretty much buy on sight for me. And this is nothing but JRJR work, right?

I regretted the purchase almost immediately. There’s some worthwhile stuff in here, but I’m not sure it was worth $3.99, nor was it what I would have wanted, if I were allowed to design my own JRJR 30th anniversary special (I think I would have preferred something like a collection of covers and splashes, unencumbered by text like logos and UPC symbols and the like).

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