Album Review: THE WALL

Album Review: Pink Floyd’s THE WALL                                           

Just when you thought there was no way an album would ever top Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd delivers another tour-de force: their eleventh studio album, released on Columbia records, The Wall.  Like Dark Side Of The Moon, it was largely conceived and written by lyricist and bassist, Roger Waters, but this is anything but a copycat album.  The Wall is an ambitious rock opera, similar to the Who’s Tommy, which tells the story of Pink, a rock and roll musician who is at the end of his rope.  Tired, lonely, and strung out on drugs and despair, he begins to build an emotional wall that will isolate him from the rest of the world.  In the process, Pink revisits his painful past through memories and pieces together the events that brought him to build the wall.  Madness eventually overtakes him and Pink becomes a prisoner on trial in his own head, subjected to painful visits from a cast of volatile characters who aim to tear down his wall.

The story is told completely through the masterful musicianship of Pink Floyd, and is a feat to behold.  The band moved away from the more spacey, atmospheric moods they had on Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, and instead follow a heavier, bass driven sound that is full Pink’s deepest emotions, and is often quite theatrical without all the cheese.  Water’s gives some of the best vocal performances of his career, his voice taking on numerous roles to keep up with the wide range of songs, from in your face rockers, to slower, more sorrowful acoustic numbers that are bound to bring out even the most carefully hidden feelings.  Gilmore (Guitar) also delivers the performance of a lifetime throughout the album, with the hi-light being his final solo on Comfortably Numb.  Full of emotion and signature Gilmore style, the song presents a guitarist at the height of his career, and is a number that is sure to bring fans screaming to their feet when played live.

Not only is the musicianship something to drool over in the album, but the production as well.  Mixed with the same precision and attention to detail as Dark Side Of The Moon, the band effortlessly weaves sound effects and the spoken word into music creating an amazing layered sound that could only be found on a Pink Floyd album.  Each track fits seamlessly together, like pieces to a puzzle, and flows without ever seeming like one long, dragged out song.  A nice little touch to the album that most other bands would never even think to add, is that they mixed and wrote it in such a way that it is meant to be played in a continuous loop, with a spoken word bit at the very end of the album being suddenly cut off, but if you listen carefully to the beginning of the very first track, you’ll find that the same conversation continues right where it left off.  This fits in perfectly with the concept, as it is all about emotional walls that people continuously build and tear down, in a vicious cycle.  This truly shows the bands attention to detail, that is present in every single track, in every note, vocal, and riff.

All in all, Pink Floyd’s The Wall is an album of epic proportions, in every sense imaginable.  A genius concept/rock opera album that will surely follow in Dark Side of the Moon’s footsteps to become an instant classic, it’s one of the few albums that dares you to listen, and you will, finding it impossible to turn away from one of the greatest albums you will ever hear.   RANKED: 5/5

British Politician Sex

British Politician Sex

A scandal that rocked the British parliament in 1963, it involved the British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, and a 21 year old ‘working girl’ named Christine Keeler.

News of the affair began with rumors.  When these rumors reached Profumo, they were quickly denied.  This failed to relieve the media attention though, as he was still followed and questioned daily.  Pretty soon, British Parliament began to worry about this suspected relationship.   They worried that Profumo was feeding Keeler important information that she was then passing on to Soviet spies.  The world was in the midst of the Cold War, and Keeler was known for having an affair with Soviet spy, Eugene Ivanov. She also lived with Stephen Ward, a wealthy and well known doctor whose other business involved him stealing important information and texts and passing them off to Ivanov and the Soviet Union.   

Continually pressed, Profumo made a speech to the House of Commons, again denying the rumours, claiming that he and Keeler were simply on ‘friendly terms’.  Ten weeks later though, Profumo finally came clean about the affair and apologized for misleading the House.  He claimed to have lied to protect his wife and kids, and insisted that he and Keeler’s relationship had not been an inappropriate one.  After this, he resigned from his government position.

http://www2.mvusd.k12.ca.us/eett/syoung/WDSTF/bs.htm

Liston Beats Petterson

Liston Beats Petterson

21 year old Floyd Petterson, a former Olympic boxer, was the youngest person to ever hold the title of Heavy Weight Champion.  He defended his title with a series of successful fights, but lost his title in 1959 to Inegmar Johnson, but quickly regained his title only a year later.  This made Petterson the first boxer to ever regain his championship title.

Sonny Liston, an ex-con who had done time in Missouri State Penitentiary for armed robbery, was an aspiring boxer who was quickly building a name and reputation for himself.  He became a pro boxer in 1953 with his winning the National Golden Gloves title for that same year.  He was feared by many other boxers, as he was said to have a solid blow and an amazing ability to take hits.  By 1960, popular boxing journal, The Ring, ranked him the number one contender for heavy weight champ.

In 1962, Petterson and Liston met in the ring in Chicago.  The fight lasted a mere two minutes, with Liston coming out on top, completely destroying Petterson.  This sent sports writers of the time into a frenzy, and they all began to believe that the man who had taken down the two time heavy weight champ was unbeatable.  A re-match was scheduled for ten months later in Las Vegas.  This match was a repeat of the last, with Petterson lasting only four seconds longer than their previous fight.   

Just when the world was beginning to think that Liston truly was unbeatable, he was taken down nineteen months later in 1964 when he threw in the towel after seven rounds to a young Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2117576

Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in May of 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska.  His father was an advocate for black rights, and was a member and supporter of several pro- black groups and speakers. His father was found dead in 1931 under suspicious circumstances.

After his Father’s death, Malcolm moved to Boston where he turned to a life of crime and drugs.  He was arrested as a result of this lifestyle in 1946, and while I prison, converted to the Black Muslim faith and learned the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. 

When released in 1952, he moved to Chicago and met Elijah Muhammad who was the leader of the Nation of Islam sect. It was at this time in which he changed his name to Malcolm X (replacing ones last name with an X was common with Muhammad’s followers as they felt that their last names were simply names given by white slave owners).  Malcolm became a key figure in this sect, and became a minister for a New York mosque which he helped to establish.  Malcolm soon became interested in black power, as opposed to racial equality.

Malcolm X was expelled from the Nation of Islam Sect after he made some extremist speeches which insulted many subjects, including the assassination on JFK. Malcolm X took the as an opportunity to begin his own religious organization called the Organization of Afro-American Unity, where he now focused on world brotherhood instead of separatism, encouraging white-black relations.

Malcolm X was shot in Harlem at a party meeting on February 21^st, 1965 by three black Muslims who were members of the Nation of Islam.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmalcolmX.htm

JFK BLOWN AWAY

JFK BLOWN AWAY

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born into a wealthy Irish Catholic family with ties to the political world.  He became involved in politics early on in his career, and went on to become the youngest president of the United States. He was the thirty-fifth president of the United States of America and was sworn in as president in 1961. He was one of the most loved presidents because of his good looks and attractive personality. 

JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in his open top car by a gunman in Dallas, Texas. He was shot as he and his presidential convoy was driving from the Dallas airport to the city centre. Three shots were fired, one hitting him in the head and the other in the throat, but he was not killed instantly. Kennedy was rushed to hospital where he died shortly after admittance. Others, as well as Kennedy, were also shot. 

Kennedy was said to be shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, but many conspiracy theories and speculations have arisen since the shooting, and no one has ever been certain what really happened on that day in 1963.

http://www.biography.com/featured-biography/john-f-kennedy/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2451000/2451143.stm

The Deaf, Dumb & Blind Hero

My hero is Tommy from The Who's film version of their album with the same name.  The movie was released in 1975 and starred Roger Daltrey as Tommy.  The movie follows the life of a young boy, who, because of a tragic incident brought on by his parents early in his life, has grown up deaf, dumb and blind. Tommy throughout the movie tries to gain acceptance from his parents and wants to be freed from his 'prison'.  Along the way, he is abused by his relatives entrusted to babysit him, becomes a pin-ball wizard despite his obvious disabilities, and watches his mother fall into the grips of madness. He eventually becomes a sort of cult leader, and thousands of people flock to see him everyday. 

Tommy follows the hero pattern early on his childhood, with 'the birth'.  This occurs when Tommy witnesses his step father murder his biological father, and then is told by his parents that he never saw it, heard it, or will ever speak of it. This makes Tommy deaf, dumb and blind (silly yes) and his journey begins.  Tommy's impossible task is to get his parents to truly 'feel, see, and hear' him again, but they are too wrapped up in their own selves to do so.  Tommy's journey involves him being abused physically, emotionally, and sexually by others in his life and him becoming a 'pin-ball wizard'.  Tommy's impossible task is finally accomplished when his mother accidentaly throws him through a mirror into a pool in a fit of rage.  Doing so brings back Tommy's sight, hearing and voice, and his parents are now able to truly 'see, hear, and feel' him again

This is where the hero cycle is re-arranged though, as Tommy gets his reward first, and then experiences hardships on the way home. The reward for Tommy is that he has the acceptance of his parents, he has all his senses back, and people also flock to him believing that he is a miracle child, and he is adored and worshiped. 

The return home type hardships occur when all the people who had once followed Tommy in a cult like fashion, rebel against him, killing his parents and destroying his home.  Tommy remains optimistic though, and ends the movie happy.

Tommy to me is a hero becuase he had impossible odds to overcome.  Imagine being deaf, dumb and blind, and trying to overcome that and attempting make your parents notice you for who you really are?  Tommy is also very kind, becuase throughout his whole journey, he was thinking of others and how he could make them happy.  Where most people would be overwhelmed by fame and riches, Tommy was still very down to Earth and family was still all that he wanted.  Tommy also doesn't seek out revenge on those who made his life miserable.  Instead, he forgives and tries to help them to become better people.  And finally, throughout the film, Tommy always remains optimistic, and never once gave up hope, which to ne, is what makes a true hero.

Movie Review

Film: Haunted Highway

Directed By: Junichi Suzuki

Stars: Rand Gamble, Hinano Yoshikawa, Laura Putney

Rating: 1/10

Imagine the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen.  Now imagine it again with some of the worst acting ever seen, an extremely weak plot, a low budget, horrible effects, and a bucket load of cheese, and you get Haunted Highway.  Directed by Junichi Suzuki, it is a true disappointment for all horror fans.  It began with a promising enough storyline; A young man (Rand Gamble) who is having an affair with a Japanese model (Hinano Yoshikawa) is discovered by his wife (Laura Putney) , with a heated argument ensuing.  He kills her in a frenzy, and when he realizes what he has done, dumps the body in the trunk of his car and heads down the road to the lake where they were married to dump it.  As the night closes in on him, so do ‘horrifying’ apparitions and visions, which torment and haunt him the whole way, causing reality to be questioned.  While this may sound good on paper, it translates like a train wreck onto film.  To begin with, there was not one ounce of good acting in the entire film.  Stiff, wooden, and overacted seemed to be the standard if you wanted a role in this film.  It almost seemed like the actors were all playing a joke at times, feeling like a SCARY MOVIE mockery.  And then there’s the plot; it quickly turns into a predictable, boring, and uneventful show.  One scene blurs into another, and not one moment seems to stand out.  Finally, the effects were very poor, and it was quite apparent that it was a low budget film.  They were done cheesily and tried too hard to look like their big budget counterparts, giving the whole film a cheap, amateur feel.  The only good thing I have to say about Haunted Highway is that if you are looking for a good laugh with friends, this is defiantly one you should pick up.