London Zoo
by: The Bug
Your Price: $15.98
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Sales Rank: 10823
Sales Rank: 10823
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Music : London Zoo |
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Rating: - * As someone new to this genre ... My wife and I listen to a lot of electronic indie pop, and we have very different standards though we both look for similar qualities of smart and exciting music. This CD was our introduction to the dubstep genre, and in fact we are not people who often gravitate towards any genre that could be considered post-reggae or related to world music. We agree on M.I.A. and Santogold, but we are not into The Clash or that whole side of punk devoted to skanking, etc. We disagree on this album. For her it was a little too much "rastafarian shouting" but for me I was blown away. I agree with her that this vocal accent and attitude is typically indicative of a very one-dimensional sound, but in this case I feel competely different about what I heard than my wife did. I could do without the first song and the last song, as well as the other song that had "normal singing," but in the center of the album something really awesome happens that is hard to explain. The music keeps deepening and the brooding mood of the musical compositions along with the menacing quality these masculine vocal styles is all very overwelming and quite intense no matter if you hear it on the dancefloor or in your recliner. It's dark, crude, and reasonably violent, but also extremely consistent (minus the missteps I mentioned). I will say that the American critics tend to be very clingy to anything that seems loyal to another country or any kind of indigenous flair. Basically tribal music or anything like that is worshiped by critics. This time however they got it VERY right. This is a serious record full of carfully moded details. Rating: - * Steppin' out ... 'London Zoo' could be the album to bring broad public awareness to the underground dubstep scene. Not that I myself feel that it's really necessary to commercialize it, but on the other hand, I am not one to whine about more people being introduced to the genres rumbling wobble-bass attack. Now, The Bug's interpretation of hard dub comes in a more hooky and easily digestible, jungle-like form (at least on this album), often heavily reliant on excellent guest vocalists, most notably Flowdan, Tippa Irie and Warrior Queen, and often following general song-patterns - not at all what we're used to from Rusko, Caspa, Skream, Benga, Cotti and Cluekid's 2-4 hour mixes. The tracks here are also less just about the BASS which might upset some of the more hardcore steppers, and I too feel that some heavier bass-hooks could have been beneficial for the album, as a form of introducing a more original dubstep-y feel. But as mentioned before, this album is probably intends to show a more accessible side of it all. And after listening to dubstep on and off for about 2 years, I have to admit that it _can_ get weary with the nearly constant reliance on wobbling bass, almost any artist (I've heard) have had for the entirety of the genres existence. Even though that, of course, what was got me into it, it's lovely to hear something a little different. And that small leaning towards a more pop-oriented audience paves the way for the tracks on 'London Zoo' to actually show something that, up to this point seemed alien to the dubstep scene: Hit potential. Tracks lasting your average 4-6 minutes, sporting memorable choruses and danceable rhythms. The first one that comes to mind as appealing to the broad club audience is "Poison Dart" featuring Warrior Queen, as well as the hysterical rant - the album opener "Angry" with Tippa Irie. And my personal favorite, the much remixed "Skeng", also simply have to bring some attention to 'London Zoo'. The pure awesomeness of this track is almost overwhelming. Flowdan's baritone Jamaican flow is such a pleasure to listen to backed up by a very neat, very slow-rolling beat, you just can't sit still, in fact Flowdan is probably what saves the album for me. I'm not totally into the jungle-dance stuff, although on a purely objective level I admit it's well done. All in all, I can highly recommend 'London Zoo' to folks who want to discover a lighter side of dubstep. But for a more old-school record, with equally manageable track lengths, check out Fabriclive.37 Rating: - * Bugged! ... The Bug's first release on the Wordsound label was well wicked. He made an alternative score to the movie the Conversation. No wonder he went with the name the Bug. That movie is F$%^ked Up! London Zoo drops us right in the middle of the dubstep scene. This album sounds best in a cloud of smoke. The track that will twist your noodle is Poison Dart feat. the Warrior Queen. The Bug and Warrior Queen need to do a full-length project. Their chemistry is aggressive, yet very calming. Don't Sleeeeeep! |
But don't worry, there's plenty of wizardry and action in Goblet of Fire. When the deadly Triwizard Tournament is hosted by Hogwarts, Harry finds his name mysteriously submitted (and chosen) to compete against wizards from two neighboring academies, as well as another Hogwarts student. The competition scenes are magnificently shot, with much-improved CGI effects (particularly the underwater challenge). And the climactic confrontation with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, in a brilliant bit of casting) is the most thrilling yet. Goblet, the first installment to get a PG-13 rating, contains some violence as well as disturbing images for kids and some barely shrouded references at sexual awakening (Harry's bath scene in particular). The 2 1/2-hour film, lean considering it came from a 734-page book, trims out subplots about house-elves (they're not missed) and gives little screen time to the standard crew of the other Potter films, but adds in more of Britain's finest actors to the cast, such as Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody and Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter. Michael Gambon, in his second round as Professor Dumbledore, still hasn't brought audiences around to his interpretation of the role he took over after Richard Harris died, but it's a small smudge in an otherwise spotless adaptation. --Ellen A. Kim
On the DVD
The highlight of the two-disc set is a half-hour conversation with actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. They discuss their reactions to the film and other topics with British writer Richard Curtis . Then they answer questions from contest-winning fans, such as what are their favorite kids' books (Watson bypasses the obvious answer in favor of Roald Dahl and Philip Pullman) and what scenes are they looking forward to in upcoming films. More routine extras include the "Reflections on the Fourth Film" featurette (14 min.), though it has comments from some of the other young cast members, and "Preparing for the Yule Ball" (9 min.). The 10 minutes of additional scenes are mostly skulking and skullduggery, plus a long musical number from the ball. The remaining material is grouped along the lines of the Triwizard Tournament, with behind-the-scenes looks at each of the competitions (about 22 min. total), two longer featurettes on He Who Must Not Be Named (11 min.) and the workday of the other contestants (Robert Pattinson, Stanislav Ianevski, and Clémence Poésy, 13 min.), and four games, playable with the directional arrows on the remote control, that can be frustrating to figure out. --David Horiuchi
