I’m sure I’ll hate what I’ve written tomorrow, but I’m tired of not having something out there, as I’ve been obsessed with this music for 3-1/2 weeks now. So here it is, and please forgive my appalling writing. Thank you very much.
Why, when discussing a group’s new album, do so many reviewers have the need to compare their sound to other bands? Is it that they wish to show off their musical pedigree and expertise by name-dropping the flavors of the day?
I count no less than 20 different groups that Airborne Toxic Event’s music has been compared to. They are as follows: The Smiths, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, Trash Can Sinatras, Blondie, The Jam, Psychedelic Furs, New Order, Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire, Rilo Kiley, Billy Corgan, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, U2, Marvelous 3, Maximo Park, Morrissey, and Echo & the Bunnymen. I’m sure there have been others, but that will do for now. Well, I’ll go ahead and toss one more on the pile, courtesy of my dad, who says they remind him of The Beatles. Yes, that’s right, The Beatles. Their latter work, I’m fairly certain, as “you want to be out on the street, crawling up the walls like a cat in heat” is quite a far cry from “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” But surely it’s no more bizarre than Blondie. Seriously… Blondie??
Perhaps it’s done innocently, as in “Gee, if you like any of these bands, you might like these guys too.” But being the type of person I am, I’m more inclined to see it as “Your band sucks, nothing you do is original, it’s all been done before. Yes, I’m writing about music instead of creating it myself because I’m a total loser with the need to show how knowledgeable I am to compensate.” Or even if not done with quite that level of hostility, it comes across to me as something of a put-down, not to mention pompous.
What that crazy list above says to me is that a lot of people have been turned on by Airborne’s music, they’ve been swept away in the surging tide, and now have this strange need to explain it, justify it, by grabbing wildly at passing branches. Release it. Admit you love them, and release it.
Do they have influences? Sure. All this proves is that they’ve been living and loving music as they move around on this planet, and they don’t reside in soundproof cardboard boxes. The truly great artists, while influenced by others, take those influences, add their own voice and vision, and make something uniquely theirs. Take David Bowie, for example, and his Ziggy Stardust persona. Not a whole lot of music fans in the early 1970s were familiar with Japanese Kabuki theatre, but if they had been, what Bowie was doing in his stage performances wouldn’t have been unusual at all. And yet, in a rock context, and especially at that time, it blew people away. And speaking of Bowie, I’m surprised he’s not in that list, if only for Mikel’s Heroes-like cry at the soaring crest of “Sometime Around Midnight.”
I think it’s cool when the ear picks out these little things. But what draws me in, ultimately, is the emotional response I have upon listening. These guys do that for me, in a major fucking way. Since the album came out on August 5, I literally haven’t stopped listening to it. It accompanies me on my way-too-early morning mile-long trek along Boston’s waterfront to work, and I find myself zooming past the other hapless commuters, tapping along with Darren’s punctuating percussive blasts on every passing surface along the way.
What may start as sadness and frustration slowly builds, both musically and lyrically, into proud anthems of defiance and survival. Stubborn hope overcoming what seems like the most impossible despair. The repeated phrases in Mikel’s prose take on a mantra-like quality. Propelled by Darren, Noah, Steven, Anna… they complement each other beautifully and seem to speak in one voice… the song elevates into a spiritual chant. Is their music a religious experience? For me, most definitely.
P.S. On the eve of their tour with the Fratellis, I’d like to wish them a fantastic time, lots of new fans… and I can’t wait to see you guys again!! If anyone out there doesn’t have their tickets yet, what on earth are you waiting for?
“Mirrors” – Regal Fenway Stadium 13, Boston, MA
Friday, August 15
Rather disheartening that a major city’s largest theatre on the opening night 7:15 showing was so sparsely attended, and included a drunken group laughing throughout the movie in the back. I was thinking, “This has to be a bad sign.” It was Fox’s decision not to have advance press screenings, which led to few reviews beforehand save for a couple of internet sites, and I don’t think that’s ever a good idea, regardless of what it seems like at the time. However, Kiefer was sent out on a dizzying round of promotion, so maybe it was just the “perfect storm” of a Red Sox game and other more blatantly hyped openings. It was unfortunate that I got such a lousy audience, because I’m seeing several reviews by people who really liked it, and reports of enthusiastic responses. Guess I was just unlucky. [eta: According to Variety, the movie came in 4th place in box office sales for its first night, so fortunately what I saw was not the norm. I will see it again this weekend with a more appreciative audience!]
Putting aside my audience experience, I’ll say that for me, it wasn’t as ethereal as I had hoped, but also not as bad as some of the reviewers are saying.
What’s frustrating to me is when Kiefer’s performance surpasses the quality of the storytelling. I certainly don’t fault him for that; I blame the filmmaker. Kiefer’s portrayal as Ben, the tormented ex-cop trying desperately to hold on to the one anchor left in his life – his family – was convincing and heartfelt. Has he played this role before? Yeah sure, “Dead Heat”. But so what? His fear and determination when weird stuff started happening with those mirrors was equally believable, not overdone but just enough, his swirling emotions conveyed with the gravitas I’ve come to expect from him.
Maybe it was the pacing; maybe there just wasn’t enough time for a proper telling of his personal story. But I wanted more drama, more of the characters, more of the suspenseful moments that were compelling, and less of the fantastical, over-the-top, more silly than frightening CGI. That bony arm reaching out of the doorway in the department store was pretty disturbing, as was the woman trying to escape from that mirror shortly afterwards. Angela (Amy Smart) ripping her jaw open was gruesome, sure, but it didn’t affect me quite the same way. Perhaps I’m just more a fan of the psychological thriller than the horror genre.
[So as not to get slammed by Alexandre Aja fans, I’ll admit that I’m not familiar with his other films but will definitely check out “The Hills Have Eyes” and “High Tension” before I say that this is just not up to par with his earlier work.]
The special effects were quite good, and I’ve certainly enjoyed CGI-laden flicks (the original Star Wars, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the darker Harry Potter films). But if Kiefer is involved, I want to be absorbed, body, mind and soul, into his character (which only a few select actors, Kiefer being at the top of that list, can do), and quite frankly… sometimes this shit just gets in my way.
Which is not to say I wasn’t frightened and didn’t jump in my seat a few times. What freaked me out? Those creepy mannequins in the burnt out remains of the cavernous department store, with pigeons disturbed from their roost and fluttering around. The aforementioned spirit trying to get out of that fucking mirror. Ben’s visit to the farmhouse basement where Anna was kept, and those punching flashbacks of her in that darkened room. The ghost in his rearview mirror and his subsequent panicked moment when he smashes it and nearly ends up in a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler. His confrontation with his evil self in that room of mirrors at the old hospital (beautifully shot, by the way).
The other performances were quite good in this, though clearly, the focus was on Ben, his battle with the mirror-challenged demons, and his quest to solve the mystery. Paula Patton was very genuine as Ben’s frustrated, then terrified wife Amy. Their two kids, played by Cameron Boyce and Erica Gluck, were great as well (the boy especially, who brought to mind two of my favorite thriller-genre films, “The Shining” and “Sixth Sense”) . And Amy Smart, as Ben’s sister Angela, was very convincing as a worried and caring sister, turned horribly sinister by her not so caring reflection. I mean, how on earth does one pull off a transformation like that which happens so quickly (in the movie’s timeline) in a believable way? Which makes it all the more impressive.
I’ve seen reviews that have said that Kiefer is just playing Jack Bauer. In one scene, Ben has found the nun who can save his loved ones from their almost certain demise, and she’s refusing to budge from her safe haven. He points his gun at her and yells “My family is NOT going to die tonight – you’re coming with me!!” Yes, it’s a classic Jack moment, and I couldn’t help but let loose with a delighted giggle, joining those people in the back. But Kiefer pointing his gun at someone and being angry and frustrated and yelling to make his point is going to sound like Kiefer being angry and frustrated, and by extension, Jack Bauer. How can it not? You can’t portray a character so utterly convincingly without injecting a part of yourself into it. By extension of that, if the emotions are the same, it is bound to have something of the same feel. Unless, perhaps, you try to get angry and yell in, oh I don’t know, a Scottish brogue? As iconic as Jack Bauer has become in our society, it is no surprise that his spirit will be summoned under such emotional and desperate circumstances. It’s only a testament as to how deeply woven into the fabric of our culture Kiefer’s brilliant work in “24” has become. I don’t think much of anything will change that, apart – of course – from doing a role with no guns and no beyond-evil enemy and no family in jeopardy… something very, very different. I hope someone will give him that opportunity, since anyone who has seen his earlier work is well aware of how capable he is.
It’s probably unreasonable to ask for a riveting, Oscar-worthy film for Kiefer that can be stuffed into that two-month hiatus from “24”… it’s astonishing to me that he has been able to do so much during its 6-season run. So we’ll have to wait until that wonderful show that has become a close family member has ended its run, and after the ‘how can it miss’ blockbuster film commemorating it. Only then will we get Mr. Sutherland in a wonderfully crafted dramatic work of art that’s truly worthy of him. And oh yeah, because I know he himself would want to (and it would be cool to see him in one), a really good romantic comedy.
