CDs: Flaming Lips; Various Artists; Leighton Meester
It’s not surprising the Flaming Lips would choose to tackle Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, given their own psychedelic aural history. This isn’t the first time they’ve covered albums in their entirety either: first Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, then King Crimson, then the Stone Roses. But Sgt Pepper’s is the most inventive of the bunch, and the most collaborative.
With a Little Help From My Fwends
Warner Bros
It’s not surprising the Flaming Lips would choose to tackle Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, given their own psychedelic aural history. This isn’t the first time they’ve covered albums in their entirety either: first Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, then King Crimson, then the Stone Roses. But Sgt Pepper’s is the most inventive of the bunch, and the most collaborative.
The band, who will perform at Clockenflap this year, pulled a wide range of musicians into the project: My Morning Jacket, Grace Potter, Phantogram, Moby, and Miley Cyrus, to name a few. The result sounds like one big karaoke party, voices rotating on the mic.
The album is weird, but never at the expense of the Beatles’ lovely melodies. Phantogram do a particularly wonderful job with She’s Leaving Home. The album is a cover in the best sense, reminding us why the original was so good and offering something new. Since the project began, Coyne has extolled Cyrus’ virtues to all who will listen. She gets the original album’s two strongest tracks (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and A Day in the Life) and makes the most of them.
Whiplash Original
Soundtrack
5 AM Music
may well be the best movie of the year. The story follows a young jazz drummer starting seminary and his demanding, abusive teacher; accordingly, music is quite literally the beating heart of the action. Jazz is everything here - plot, character, emotion, suspense. How does one effectively score a movie about music?
The centrepieces of the film are famous, virtuosic big band standards - Hank Levy's and Duke Ellington's . These pieces are performed with incredible power and panache; their cumulative effect is enough to convert new fans and wow old ones. The drum solo in (performed on camera by the movie's star, Miles Teller) is astonishing.
But between the big numbers runs an original score, composed by Justin Hurwitz.
The score is minimal, returning again and again to a single melody, manipulated to produce a wide range of emotion. The music builds a palpable tension with every note, like the turning of a screw. The release, when it comes, is phenomenal.
Heartstrings
Hotly Wanting
What do actresses do when they've hit a lull? Put out an album, of course. Jennifer Love Hewitt did it in 1996, Lindsay Lohan in 2006, and Scarlett Johansson in 2008. It's hardly proven an effective strategy. But now Leighton Meester has joined the ranks with her vocal debut, , a collection of lady ballads that tug on the ole heartstrings.
It's not a bad album per se, just generic. Her voice is pretty and natural - no autotune here. But there's little life either.
The timing is odd: Meester is about to release a movie, , that's by all accounts charming. She just made her Broadway debut in alongside James Franco. She's a talented actress. If she's looking for a comeback, she doesn't need this. And if music is her true passion, why does none of that come through?
There are some gently memorable moments: , , . But there's none of her in here - none of her onscreen humour or spunk. None of her interesting story: born in a halfway house, eclipsed on TV by co-star Blake Lively. Just … nothing.
