12 Bar Original

The Strokes New Album ‘Angles’ Streaming Free

BAJAMAN — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:37:45 +0000

New album from The Strokes streaming for free on their website. They said themselves that they hate it but who knows if they’re telling the truth. Hit it up!

Hometown Spotlight: L.A.N.K.

12BarOriginal — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:26:26 +0000

We got some hometown love today. Straight outta Princeton, NJ L.A.N.K. has been generating a ton of buzz up in UMASS including dropping his first official release entitled “The Roughest Draft” (datpiff). Here he provides us some impressive visuals for the track “Waitin So Long” of the mixtape. If your up in the Boston area be sure to check out L.A.N.K. opening for Curren$y on March 4th. To here more from the Jersey native click here and be sure to spread the word!

2011 Oscar Preview: Who Will Win?

BAJAMAN — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:25:44 +0000

We’re here boys and girls, finally. The 2011 Academy Awards are a hop skip and jump away and boy oh boy is it going to be juicy. We have James Franco and the lovely Anne Hathaway quarterbacking the show, as they should draw in some of the younger viewers while maintaing the class and etiquette that the Academy desires. On the surface it may seem like this year will feature relatively few surprises, but I promise you that you will be shocked multiple times. The big questions left on the table are as follows: Is The Social Network losing momentum, and with it Aaron Sorkin’s and David Fincher’s chances? Is the subtle and graceful performance put forth by Geoffrey Rush enough to hold off Christian Bale’s powerful and Oscar-ready presentation of a defeated man in search of retribution? Will Christopher Nolan snag Best Original Screenplay since he isn’t even nominated for Best Director? And finally, who in the world will win Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role? These questions and more answered after the break in 12 Bar Original’s exclusive preview of the 2011 Academy Awards.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: COLIN FIRTH

This should finally be the year Colin Firth gets the hardware he deserves. He was nominated last year for his fabulous performance in A Single Man, and lost, but this year he is by far one of the biggest locks to walk away with a little gold man. He’s won virtually every other award ceremony this year and is the main reason many people consider The King’s Speech as having the best all around cast. I congratulate you Mr. Firth, you were born for this role and delivered mightily.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: NATALIE PORTMAN

From one guaranteed thing to another, Natalie Portman will win the oscar for her tour-de-france performance in The Black Swan. She was shy, provocative, strong, self-deprecating, edgy, and oddly somehow always beautiful. The Academy will appreciate her tremendous dedication as she lost weight for the role, worked tremendously hard at perfecting her ballerina skills, and had to take a step back from portraying the strong woman that we are so accustomed to seeing her play. She brilliantly conveyed an innocent dancer sheltered by her mom who finally realizes that it is OK to show a little passion and let go. A moment that sticks with me is when her ballerina instructor, played by Vincent Cassel, tells her that the part of the black swan is hers if she can dance with provocation and passion, but she simply can’t do it. The array of emotions she displays while twirling around furiously, that of being a perfectionist afraid of letting go yet trying mightily to do so, is an amazing, almost gut-wrenching sight to watch. It reminded me of those dreams you have when you’re running but don’t get anywhere. Anyway, this is Portman’s first nomination since her 2004 performance in Closer and this Sunday she will finally get her first Oscar.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: WALLY PFISTER (INCEPTION)

Even though the odds-on favorite for Best Cinematography seems to be Roger Deakens for True Grit, I watched Inception the other day and realized that every single shot is absolutely perfect. Wally Pfister is Chistopher Nolan’s go-to-eye behind the camera and was previously nominated for Batman Begins,The Prestige, and Dark Knight, and this time I think he’ll get it. Inception is a visual masterpiece, and I think the fact that Christopher Nolan isn’t nominated for Best Director only helps Wally’s chances. The movie is up for Best Picture which means that the Academy must have loved something about it, and I’m putting my money on them digging the visuals (and story, but that comes later). The four-time nominee Wally Pfister is as good a bet as any to walk away with Best Cinematography, and I think the masterful job he did with such a unique story will finally put him in the winner’s circle.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: HAILEE STEINFELD

Welcome to the toss-up category. You could make a good case for almost anyone winning this one, but I’m going to go with the strong performance by newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. Let’s break it down: Nobody has heard of Jacki Weaver before and, although it’s a little pathetic, that matters in show business. Amy Adams is becoming a household name and would probably get my second vote of confidence for her role in The Fighter. Helena Bonham Carter is probably the most well-known of these nominees and that could certainly be the reason she wins, but I just don’t think she stood out enough or had enough screen time in The King’s Speech. She was good, as always, but good doesn’t win you oscars (especially when her co-stars could easily sweep their categories). Melissa Leo might have won if Amy Adams wasn’t also nominated, but I think Adams has the upper-hand here mainly because of recognition. That leaves us with Hailee Steinfeld who, in a rather dry category, seems to be the exciting and feel-good choice. Also, she had a huge role in True Grit which would only help her chances. The Academy likes to honor young and upcoming stars and I think Hailee made the biggest splash of all as a supporting actress.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: CHRISTIAN BALE

This is actually one of the tougher categories to predict, because although Christian Bale is the clear-cut favorite, Geoffrey Rush is as respected an actor as there is and it could be argued is just as important to The King’s Speech as Colin Firth. With that said I think it comes down to Christian Bale losing weight for his role in The Fighter, which the Academy always eats up, and the fact that his role was more demanding than Rush’s. This is Bale’s first Oscar nomination and I think that the Academy will award him based on the difficulty level of his role and the range of emotions he displays effortlessly. As I write this, though, I’m not even convinced myself. This is a toss-up folks and I’m curious to see what happens.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

Don’t get me wrong, The King’s Speech was beautifully written and crafted by David Seidler, a 73-year-old first-time nominee, but I just don’t see him winning. The magic in The King’s Speech is almost solely in the acting, while the brilliant and unique ideas put forth by Christopher Nolan is the reason Inception was one of the most talked about movies of the year. For a seemingly confusing premise, Nolan crafts a surprisingly simple story and his originality deserves an award. Many people, myself included, were surprised to find that Nolan wasn’t even nominated for Best Director, but after some thinking it became apparent that the brilliance of Inception lies in its cinematography, acting, and story-line. The fact that the Academy didn’t nominate Nolan for Best Director, yet the movie is still up for Best Picture, says to me that what grabbed their attention most was the production of the movie and its gripping story-line. I don’t think the same can be said for The King’s Speech, and I think Nolan will have to make due with an award for Original Screenplay even though he undoubtedly wanted to finally pull in a Best Director win.

BEST DIRECTOR: DAVID FINCHER

This one seems obvious to me because without the distinct styling of David Fincher I think The Social Network would merely be regarded as a well-written movie than one of the favorites for Best Picture. Fincher has an incredibly impressive track-record and has been nominated once before for Best Director for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He has asserted himself as one of the most accomplished Hollywood directors and I think that this time the Academy is going to acknowledge his status with a golden statue. He turned a fairly simple story about the emergence of Facebook, and the turbulence Zuckerberg faced along the way, into a modern-day Citizen Kane of sorts. I know, you’re tired of hearing the lofty comparison. But its true. Fincher ignited every actor on screen and turned a fairly random cast into an incredibly cohesive one. Every word each actor utters is consistent with his character’s tone, and this is always a sign of good direction. He had an immense weight on his shoulders as this is by far one of the most important topics to be tackled in recent memory just because it chronicles the birth of social-media’s biggest gem, and he delivered in full. I think the Academy is going to honor Fincher simply because he made an incredibly tightly-wound Hollywood movie. Key word here is Hollywood, as that is something that the largely British The King’s Speech lacks in comparison.

BEST PICTURE: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

If you haven’t already guessed it, my winner of Best Picture is The Social Network. Its pacing and weight are reminiscent of Citizen Kane, it features brilliant and cohesive acting, and it is incredibly pertinent to current times as we find ourselves living in an ever-increasingly social-media-crazed world. Aaron Sorkin wrote his head off for this movie and will definitely get the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay, and I also look for the movie to get Best Editing. It is flawless. I think an underrated point is that, compared to The King’s Speech, The Social Network is first and foremost an American movie portraying largely American ideals such as big business, dreaming big, and acquiring success through dreaming big. It is a movie that holds a mirror up to a lot of what modern-day America is about, and this certainly overshadows the not-so-pertinent retelling of a moment in British history. I’ve heard that The Social Network may be losing momentum, but I cannot see the Academy choosing a largely British picture over a Hollywood modern-day masterpiece. If there has ever been one consistent message of Hollywood, it is that great collaboration between great artists creates great success and great movies. If the Academy turns its back on The Social Network now, I think it needs to take a good hard look in the mirror and think about the meaning of the words identity crisis.

Watch the 2011 Academy Awards on ABC on February 27th at 8 PM and return here for the recap!

Bonnaroo Lineup Announced

12BarOriginal — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:15:33 +0000

That’s right folks, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has announced their 2011 Lineup that is headlined by none other then Grammy winning artists Eminem and Arcade Fire. If you’ve never been to Bonnaroo, your missing out. The festival not only features music but also has comedy acts, and awesome art scene and more importantly great food. Oh there is usually around 90-100,000 people there from all over the country and world! Other notable acts include The Black Keys, Buffalo Springfield, Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, The Strokes, Pretty Lights, Ratatat, Bassnectar, Gregg Allman, Big Boi, Wiz Khalifa & J. Cole. The festival takes place in Manchester, TN and runs from June 9-12, who’s in?

Check Out the full lineup at Bonnaroo.com

The Strokes Release Single from Upcoming Album “Angels”

BAJAMAN — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:58:27 +0000

The Strokes are releasing their new album Angels on March 22 in the US and have finally given us a sample to chew on. The catchy and upbeat single “Under Cover of Darkness” from the upcoming album is available for download on the band’s website for a limited time, but you can download and listen to it below. Glad they’re back!

The Bullitts – Close Your Eyes ft. Jay Electronica & Lucy Liu

12BarOriginal — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:21:56 +0000

We got a little music from overseas with this one. The Bullitts are a new group out of London that feature Jeymes Samuel and a slew of other guests. On this track they employ none other than recent Roc Nation signee Jay Electronica and Lucy Lui. The visuals they provide are also some old black and white footage that is kinda creepy but at the same time oddly fitting for this song. Their album is supposed to drop in the next couple months and will feature other hip-hop acts such as Mos Def. Sound off in the comments and tell us what you think!

ALSO check out their website here

Money Making Jam Boys – The Prestige: Jam Boy Magic (Mixtape)

12BarOriginal — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:14:18 +0000

Oh man do I have a treat for you guys. Money Making Jam Boys (Black Thought, Dice Raw, P.O.R.N. Truck North and STS) have finally put together a tape to for us and trust me when I say this that the absolutely kill it. If you like hip-hop download this tape. I got to see these guys open for The Roots at Highline last summer and they put on a great show. The tape is presented by 10.Deep and is mixed by none other then Mick Boogie & Terry Urban. Be on the look out for more music from the group put together by The Roots MC.

Download: Money Making Jam Boys – The Prestige: Jam Boy Magic

A Look Inside The Citigroup Takeover of EMI

12BarOriginal — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 01:14:30 +0000

Earlier this week Citigroup Inc. acquired EMI, one of the big four record labels (the other three being Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Musc Group). Although this may seem like a huge money making deal, its not. EMI has been in heavy debt to Citigroup ever since they loaned Terra Firma Capital Partners roughly 4.1 billion dollars to buy EMI back in 2007. Since then, EMI has struggled to stay competitive in an industry that is slowing dying. Cutting its losses, Citigroup essentially decided to acquire EMI and roughly 65% of it’s loses, reducing the overall debt to a workable $1.3 billion.

Now don’t get confused, Citigroup is not getting into the music business. They don’t plan on even keeping the company for more then a year. Although this deal might look like a surrender by EMI and Terra Firma’s Chairman Guy Hands, but it really benefits all parties. Guy Hands can essentially wipe his hands clean of the music industry, EMI can still move forward as a record label (or something else…more of that later) and Citigroup can write off 3 billion dollars in debt. With this deal, the reign of the big four may officially come to an end.

So now that this deal is done, what becomes of EMI? Well, funny you should ask. EMI CEO Roger Faxon answered that very same question in an article that appeared on billboard.biz on Tuesday. “It’s pretty clear that Citigroup will not sell CDS…In due course, we of course are going to get sold. But it will be an orderly and profitable process. Many other music businesses will also be sold in due course.” By “other music businesses” Faxon means their publishing catalogue as well as some of the labels under the EMI group. Labels, like historic Blue Note Records (Miles Davis) and Parlophone (The Beatles, Gorillaz, Queen) or even Astralwerks, which signed artists such as Phoenix, Empire of the Sun and Iggy Pop. Will they all be sold under the EMI name and later bought by another label? Maybe….? Like Warner Music Group that has been rumored to merge ever since the company hired Goldman Sachs to help facilitate a sale a couple months ago.

Unfortunately for Warner Music Group, they are in approximately 2.5b dollars of debt and last time I checked you can’t really buy a company when you’re in that kind of debt. The main thing to pay attention to is EMIs publishing catalogue. That, as well as recorded music department is enough to draw the attention of many buyers.

It’s almost certain that WMG and EMI will be sold simultaneously, if not together, to the same buyer. They could merge under one name, merge under another big four (or is it big three now?) or disappear completely. We know EMI’s goal is to stay present as an artist rights management company and if Dr. Luke continues to make hits for Katy Perry they might just survive.

This move has been anticipated for a while now. Everyone knows the music industry is changing, it just seems the big four have been the slowest to react. Maybe this is the change the industry needs. This could mark the end of their reign and open the door for tons of indie labels to now take over the industry. Indie labels that actually work hard for the artists they sign and actually sign good, talented artists. Labels already make artists sign ridiculous contracts (but that’s for a different time) and if the big four crumble in debt, it’s the indie labels, the artists, and the Internet that will shape the rest of the music industry.

Jay-Z and Will Smith form Film Partnership

12BarOriginal — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:30:57 +0000

Jay-Z just keeps finding ways to make money. After recently just striking a deal to get his 40/40 club into major airports across the U.S., Hov and Will Smith have formed a partnership that will produce and develop films. Their first project: Annie starring none other then Willow Smith. Jay-Z had this to say about the new venture:

“The Overbrook Entertainment family and I have a unified vision. We’ve already produced a Tony Award winning play and we’re developing a true superstar in Willow. This venture into film development and production is a perfect next step with teams that are accomplished, creative, and innovative.”

The 2011 Oscar Nominations Are Here

BAJAMAN — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:02:16 +0000

The 83rd Annual Academy Award nominations were announced early this morning and you would be hard-pressed to find any real surprises. The list reads mostly as expected with The King’s Speech raking in the most noms (12), followed by True Grit (10), The Social Network (8), Inception (8), and The Fighter (7). I’m glad to see the Academy honor Javier Bardem for his performance in Biutiful with his 3rd nomination (2nd for a leading role), although he’s not likely to win. The Coen Brothers have now garnered 13 Academy Award nominations to date, and if you’re surprised to not see Christopher Nolan up for Best Director for his mind-bending Inception I understand your sentiments. Check out the full list of Nominees below, (click here to see how they compare with Roger Ebert’s predictions) and be sure to look out for our very own Oscar predictions as we close in on February 27th. Let the guessing games begin.

Best Picture

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem in Biutiful
Jeff Bridges in True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The King’s Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours

Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale in The Fighter
John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

Directing

Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
David O. Russell – The Fighter
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
David Fincher – The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Danny Boyle – 127 Hours
Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network
Michael Arndt (screenplay) John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich (story) - Toy Story 3
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – True Grit
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini – Winter’s Bone

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Mike Leigh - Another Year
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (screenplay); Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (story) – The Fighter
Christopher Nolan - Inception
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg - The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler - The King’s Speech

Film Editing

Black Swan – Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter – Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech – Tariq Anwar
127 Hours - Jon Harris
The Social Network – Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Cinematography

Black Swan - Matthew Libatique
Inception – Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech - Danny Cohen
The Social Network - Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit - Roger Deakins

Foreign Language Film

Biutiful – Mexico
Dogtooth – Greece
In a Better World - Denmark
Incendies – Canada
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) – Algeria

Animated Feature Film

How to Train Your Dragon - Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
The Illusionist – Sylvain Chomet
Toy Story 3 - Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

Alice in Wonderland – Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Inception – Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
The King’s Speech – Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
True Grit – Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Costume Design

Alice in Wonderland – Colleen Atwood
I Am Love – Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech - Jenny Beavan
The Tempest – Sandy Powell
True Grit – Mary Zophres

Documentary (Feature)

Exit through the Gift Shop - Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
Gasland – Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
Inside Job – Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Restrepo - Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Waste Land – Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

Killing in the Name – Nominees to be determined
Poster Girl – Nominees to be determined
Strangers No More – Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Sun Come Up - Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
The Warriors of Qiugang – Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Makeup

Barney’s Version - Adrien Morot
The Way Back - Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
The Wolfman – Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)

How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
Inception - Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech – Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours - A.R. Rahman
The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)

Coming Home from Country Strong Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
I See the Light from Tangled Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
If I Rise from 127 Hours Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Short Film (Animated)

Day & Night - Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo - Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Let’s Pollute - Geefwee Boedoe
The Lost Thing – Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) – Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

The Confession – Tanel Toom
The Crush - Michael Creagh
God of Love – Luke Matheny
Na Wewe – Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143 – Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

Inception - Richard King
Toy Story 3 - Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
Tron: Legacy - Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
True Grit – Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
Unstoppable – Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

Inception – Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
The King’s Speech - Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
Salt – Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
The Social Network – Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
True Grit - Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects

Alice in Wonderland – Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter – Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception – Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Iron Man 2 – Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick