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The CHIRP Blog
KSanders writesOscar Night Special: All the 2017 Best Picture Nominees Reviewed
by Kyle Sanders
Lights, camera, Oscars! It's time for the 90th Annual Academy Awards, highlighting and celebrating the best films 2017 had to offer. This year's nominees range from basketball legend Kobe Bryant to Mother of French New Wave Agnes Varda, and feature a diverse Best Director category, a first time nomination for a woman in Best Cinematography, and a record-breaking 21st nomination for Meryl Streep, the most nominated actor in the Academy's history.
And this year's list of Best Picture nominees is no different, representing a multitude of different genres and directed by a varied group of talented filmmakers. This year, I accomplished a goal I had previously been unable to complete: seeing ALL Best Picture nominees prior to the telecast. For those of you not as awesome as me, here's a rundown of all Best Picture contenders to catch you up before the awards are handed out!
Call Me By Your Name (aka The Sensitive Film)
Like its predecessor, Call Me By Your Name draws comparisons to Brokeback Mountain, as it is a literary adaptation about a budding romance between two men that screams Oscar gold. Substituting the cold Wyoming wilderness for the sweltering summer heat of Italy, Luca Guadagnino's direction highlights the palpable attraction between teenager Emilio and grad student Oliver, beginning as a friendship that gradually builds into something much more. The chemistry between Best Actor nominee Timothee Chalamat and co-star Armie Hammer is almost as smoldering as the sun drenched Italian countryside and the subject matter never falters into tragedy. The melancholic mood is set by the dreamy soundtrack composed by Sufjan Stevens (who scored a much deserved Best Original Song nomination). Like Brokeback Mountain, the tender love story is anchored well with the lead performances, but the "ick factor" regarding the forbidden love between a man and a teenage boy could hinder the film's chances of winning.
Pat Mac writesTop Five Songs I Want Played at My Funeral
by Patrick McMahon
Death, despite all the advances of modern witchcraft and wizardry, remains undefeated. It endures as one of the few certainties in life, on par only with taxes and people getting uncomfortable when you talk to them about death. It comes for us all, so we may as well prepare accordingly.
Setting aside the fun stuff, like completing a last will and testament or picking out your pine box, make sure to prioritize the funeral playlist. Your funeral will be the last party you attend and you have full creative control on the soundtrack. Music sets the mood. Music can take an otherwise sad event and temporarily inject joy and lightness into even the heaviest and most somber room.
I've attended (too many) funerals, and without fail the music is a bummer. If you play sad music at a sad party, people are gonna cry. The goal of my festivities will be to keep tears to a minimum, and happy music seems like the best way to ensure success. The other consideration is to pick songs that attendees won't often have to hear; if your happy songs take on an unintended sad-by-association connotation, you want to avoid one that randomly pops up on the radio to ruin someone's day.
With that, the top 5 songs I want played at my funeral:
"When I'm Dead and Gone" by McGuiness Flint
The debut single from English group McGuinness Flint serves as the guiding light for this audio mood board. Mandolin and kazoo, two instruments incapable of sadness, are heavily featured. Vocalist Graham Lyle pleads that when he's dead and gone, nobody mourn beside his grave. We should all be so lucky.
Craig Reptile: Your Sunday Sonic Sundowner writesThe Final World From Ultimate Painting
by Someone (not me!) should do a study on the commonalities in bands that break up before releasing their final album, and now we can add to that pool of relevant research subjects Ultimate Painting, the London-based duo comprised of Jack Cooper (Mazes) and James Hoare (Veronica Falls).
Originally, UP! was scheduled for an April release, but Cooper announced on February 12 that the group was breaking up and he had asked their current label, Bella Union (run by Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins fame) to not release it.
When announcing their “irreconcilable breakdown,” Cooper indicated that his partnership with Hoare (both of whom are songwriters, vocalists and guitarists), was always “a very fragile thing” and even on their three original releases, that delicate sense of fragility was an intangible, ineffable through-line that made all of their music something wonderful to hear.
Mike Nikolich writes15 Minutes with Superfyre
Ayme “Superfrye” Frye is a popular CHIRP DJ (Mondays 9am – noon) and an accomplished musician. Her trio will be playing with 8-bit crEEps at CHIRP Night at the Whistler this Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 8 pm.
We caught up Superfyre to ask her what’s in store for her upcoming performance.
Q Ayme, you’re a DJ, musician and podcaster. How do you manage to channel so many interests and do them so well?
A “I am an explorer and I have had the chance to live in cool places like Alaska, Costa Rica, Montana, Japan and Spain. I’ve been trained by exceptional musicians like Hamid Drake, Kelan Phil Cohran, Rockin’ Johnny Burgin, and Thomas De Utrera. I’m finally ready to focus on music full-time and I have put together a great band.”
Mike Nikolich writes8-bit crEEps Play New Sounds on Old Circuits
Chicago’s music scene is bursting with talented bands that deserve national attention, and 8-bit crEEps is no exception. Founded in 2016 after guitarist Mick Kong, bassist Jbird James and keyboardist Ginger Glitch dissolved The Van Goghs, they beefed up their sound and became the 8-bit crEEps when former Wedding Photography drummer Joey Charch joined the band.
“We were looking for a new drummer and put an ad on Craig’s List,” Mick says. “Joey’s drumming blew us away. He helped transform our sound and we’ve continued to refine it ever since.”
While 11 of The Van Gogh’s pop gems live in perpetuity on Soundcloud, the 8-bit crEEps have a harder-edged sound, featuring longer tracks that give the quartet plenty of opportunities to stretch out and show off.
“Our music definitely has a psych-surf/post-punk sound,” Jbird says, “but we have been influenced by so many artists and genres of music that we find it difficult to put a label on our music. We describe it as new sounds on old circuits.”