The Dark Knight

Ok, before I get too far into this, I have to admit that I've been a Batman fan (regardless of the incarnation) as long as I can remember, and being 35, that means the only pop culture phenomenon that has diverted significant attention from the Bat Guy is Star Wars.

Over the years, I've been enthtralled by the old 60's TV show, Saturday morning cartoons and countless Batman themed toys and games. Oddly enough, aside from the odd comic book my Dad would buy me at the drug store, I didn't really know Batman as he appeared in his monthly comic books. In the mid 80's (I can't remember the exact year), DC Comics relaunched several of their heroes after "Crisis on Infinite Earths." While I had some interest in comics at that time (most boys do at some point in their lives), I hadn't spent much time collecting any outside of some Star Wars comics, and also a woefull series based on the television show "V". The post-Crisis relaunch of Superman generated some awareness outside of the typical comic book world, and my Dad prompted me to buy the "Man Of Steel" mini-series that would retell the origin of Superman. Issue #3 of this series featured the first meeting of Superman and Batman. The Batman here was a little bit different from the more "super heroic" version I'd always known. He was darker, a bit more ruthless, and until the end seemed almost like a villain rather than a hero.

Well, I stuck with Superman after the mini series gave way to 3 monthly titles, and it wasn't long before I picked up a couple of issues of Batman. Ultimately, I found a trade paperback copy of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns". I wasn't at all prepared for what I found inside, but I was completely blown away. This story stuck with me the way few have in my life. All of a sudden, I was a "Bat Fan" again, and the Dark Knight was followed by "Batman: Year One", "Batman: Year Two", and finally both of his monthly books.

In 1989 (I think), Tim Burton's "Batman" hit theaters, and the movie was heavily influenced by the Millerized version. This was followed by 3 sequels, which I liked to some degree or another, until "Batman & Robin" came out and George Clooney pranced around like a modern day Adam West in a batsuit with nipples. Not a good movie, and this coming from a guy who still likes the 60's movie and TV show.

In 2005, Chris Nolan relaunched the franchise with "Batman Begins", which restored my faith in character, and incidently also rekindled my addiction to comics. That movie came the closest to portraying the character that I liked the best in the comics. The one that you could be under the right circumstances. The one who got by on sheer force of will and smarts rather than powers. I anxiously awaited the sequel.

Today, I saw the sequel, and while I think this version has strayed from the comics a bit more than I'd hoped, I don't mind because today I watched a truly amazing movie and I can honestly say that I have not been blown away by a Batman story to this degree since that day when I read "Dark Knight Returns." I won't pretend that it was a perfect movie, or that I liked every single second of it. But Christian Bale plays Batman the right way, the Nolan brothers write Batman the right way, and Chris Nolan directed the movie the right way. The cast is close to perfect -- top to bottom. Even the supporting characters ring true, and you do forget that this is a "comic book movie."

Everyone is talking about Heath Ledger's performance above all. Normally, I'm the guy who throws out a few "yeah, but..." lines at this point. "Dancing With Wolves" didn't feel like 3+ hours (yeah, but my butt thought it did). "40 Year Old Virgin" is one of the funniest movies every made (yeah, but while it had some great lines and bits, it was just too long for a comedy). You get the idea. Ledger's Joker was so much more amazing than I expected that I can't even begin to describe it. He is terrifying, funny, and for 152 minutes, I forgot I was watching an actor's final performance because I was watching a real life Batman fight the real life Joker. I guess the best words I can offer were those of my wife -- She was exhausted, and she didn't understand what he was all about. THAT'S the point of the Joker in this movie.

He is the ultimate flip side of the coin from Batman. He's always been that in the comics, and true to form, he is the flip side of Nolan's vision of Batman. We spent a 2+ hour movie exploring how and why Batman does what Batman does. For the Joker, he simply just is. We think we get an origin story of sorts early on in the movie, but he retells it a few times, and it's never the same story. The Joker here is pure anarchy, pure chaos and pure evil. He doesn't care about money, power -- none of that matters. As Michael Cain's Alfred puts it "Some men just want to watch the world burn."

The movie could stand some more humor -- "Begins" seems positively sunny in comparison -- but the story is so tightly knit and expertly executed that you don't feel cheated. The one caution I would give anyone is that if you have a child that wants to see the movie, especially if the child is under 13 -- read up on all you can, or even see the movie yourself before you let them see it. It is a violent, scary afair, and is clearly aimed at a more mature audience. This is not Adam West vs. Ceasar Romero, and it's not Michael Keaton vs. Jack Nicholson. It is a fascinating film filled with plenty of action and excitement, a great story and great acting.

New Adventures in Hi Fi - An Underrated Classic

So talking about Up in my previous post has me thinking that rather than move on to "Reveal" as I had intended, why not take a step back and look at Bill Berry's swan song with the band. After all, for as radical a departure as "Up" was for many fans, it was "New Adventures in Hi Fi" that really signalled that REM was no longer that rock band from Georgia that had conquered the charts.

By the time this album had come out, I think the mainstream was looking at "Monster", which was a hit album, and thinking "Ok, so now they are trying to sound grunge. Sellouts!" I don't really agree with that -- completely, that is -- and "Hi Fi" proved to me that the band I loved more than any other was still pushing their own boundaries and trying to make a record that challenged their fans.

Track 1 - How the West Was Won And Where It Got Us. A long title and a strange song. Sounds like something from a Clint Eastwood movie. I think this is one of the strongest songs on ANY of their albums, and a prime example of why it's criminal that so many people overlooked "Hi Fi."

Track 2 - A classic rocker. Much of this album was recorded 'live' during soundchecks and on the road. In some cases, it hurts what could be a great song, but here, it only adds to the vibe of the song. A great 2nd punch to the opener, and an essential track from the album. This one should have been a hit single.

Track 3 - New Test Leper. A pretty run-of-the-mill REM song. Not great, but good.

Track 4 - Undertow. Another song that benefits greatly from the 'live' atmosphere of the album. I think this is also one of their stronger tracks, and fit nicely when they played this on tour in support of "Monster". Like many of the better tracks here, it proves that REM can rock when they want to -- much better than any thing on "Monster" did.

Track 5 - E-Bow the Letter. One of the band's strangest singles ever. Choosing this as a first single is probably what killed interest for the album with the top 40 crowd. I know everyone in REM is a huge Patti Smith fan, so from that standpoint, it's kind of cool to hear her vocals. But, not being a fan of hers, it doesn't add much for me unless I'm in the mood for the song. I'd rank this as a 6.5/10. It is good, and I like the fact that it is not a typical REM song, but this one falls just short of essential in my book.

Track 6 - Leave. For a long time after I bought this CD, this was my least favorite track. It has grown on me over time, but clocking in over 7 minutes, it doesn't ever find that REM type groove that makes even their greatest departures good songs. Skipworthy when the ipod is on shuffle.

Track 7 - Departure. I like it, but sounds like a retread of track 4. This probably could have been trimmed from the album, but isn't exactly bad.

Track 8 - Bittersweet Me. A more classic sound, and also one of my favorites. As an aside, it is worth finding the CD single of this song to get the band's cover of "Witchita Lineman", which is fantastic. This is easily one of my favorite tracks from the album.

Track 9 - Be Mine. Many of my friends loved this song when we first heard the album. I don't hate it, but it's not a favorite. To me, this sounds like too obvious an attempt to write another "love" song that would make the crowd sway at a live show. This one merits a skip when the ipod's on shuffle.

Track 10 - Binky The Doormat. The title and Buck's guitar save this from the skipworthy pile. It's still far from essential, though.

Track 11 - Zither. I like this song, but it should have been a b-side.

Track 12 - So Fast, So Numb. A strong track, but does come off as extremely similar to Undertow and Departure. Fits the tone of the album well enough, though, that I'd rate it a bit higer on a scale of 1 to 10.

Track 13 - Low Desert. They went to the well one too many times and after track 12, this one just kind of fades into the mix and doesn't stand out. Much like "I Took Your Name" on "Monster", it's a rare REM track that is close to completely tuneless. Might have been better as a b-side as well.

Track 14 - Electrolite. My only real probablem with this song is that it does come off as a bit of a "Nightswimming" retread. It's a good song, and as I hear it on tour now, it does fit in well with the REM catalog.

Overall -- this is a much better album than it's given credit for. For a band that had produced 3 straight #1 albums, this is a gutsy move and you should tip your cap to them for trying to push in different directions rather than falling into a formula. My only real knock on this one is something that still stands out to me after 12 years....It was the first REM record I bought that just seemed too darn long. Trimming this one down to 12 tracks would have made it a classic. At 14 tracks and just over an hour long, it starts to lose you in the second half.

It's also hard to listen to now and not think of the fact that it seems to foreshadow a huge shift for the band. It's Berry's swan song, and as the band's "editor", you can already feel that his influence is slipping a bit. It is still well worth your time, but not the best of a great band.

More fun with R.E.M. albums -- Let's Talk About "Up"

I'm having fun with this whole track by track idea, and since no one is reading this anyway, might as well give myself an excuse to waste space until I can come up with something more important to write about.

So, I've spent some time looking at some recent albums, and going through them track by track and giving my thoughts. Now that we have Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" in our sweaty little hands, there's not much coming out in the next few weeks that I'm really excited about. I have continued to be on a bit of an R.E.M. kick, still think "Accelerate" is a good record, and find myself listening to some of their other recent outings in the 'aftermath' of their concert here in Chicago. So here is my track by track take on their first drummerless album, "Up", which hopefully will tell you a bit more about the album, given that it's now pushing 10 years old.

First off, I'd like to say that this is one of the more unfairly trashed albums they have released. No, it is not in a class with anything from the IRS years, much less the heyday of "Automatic..." and "Out of Time." It does have some interesting work, and unlike many of their releases since "Automatic", it does have a bit more cohesive sound.

Track 1 - Airport Man. This is/was the first signal that you were listening to a new REM. They had never put out something so atmospheric and synth heavy. On one hand, it's a nice way to set the mood for what follows, but at 4:14, it's a touch long. They used this to open the show as they took the stage when they toured for "Up", and from that point on, I liked it a bit more than I had just listening to it on album.

Track 2 - Lotus. The albums only rocker. It sounds REMish, but it doesn't. Initially, this was my favorite track. Over time, it has lost a little luster, but still holds up and fits in with my personal "Best of..." mix. There is a nice reference to "It's the End of the World..." in the lyrics, and has typically cryptic lyrics from Stipe. I feel a bit like this song morphed a bit after Berry's departure from the band, but probably would have wound up on this album in one form or another if the classic lineup had stayed in tact.

Track 3 - Suspicion. Aside from the electronic drums, I think this one fits in very well with the typical REM sound as well. From this track forward, the album takes a decidedly downbeat turn. The song structure here isn't a radical departure for the band, but the instrumentation gives it a unique feel. All in all, probably one of the stronger tracks on the album (at least in my opinion).

Track 4 - Hope. The first track on the album that feels like a Stipe solo effort. It is a bit peppier than many of the tracks, and not a terrible song, but the fact that it feels like a solo song hurts it a bit in the end.

Track 5 - At My Most Beautiful. Beautiful is a good way to describe this song. It's one of the few REM songs that is such an obvious 'Love Song'. Anyone who has read up on REM knows that Buck, Mills and Berry were huge Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fans, and that Stipe has never shared that passion. This was Stipe's way of tipping his cap to Brian Wilson sound, and he nails it head on. REM is not a band that is known for the vocal harmonies, but they sound fantastic on this track. To clarify that last comment, Mills's backing vocals have long been an integral part of the band's sound, but they've rarely taken the harmonies to this level.

Track 6 - The Apologist. The first track of the album that lets you know this one won't rank up there with most of their other work. It's an interesting song, but takes the downbeat mood a bit too far, and doesn't offer up the kind of interesting musical atmospherics to hold your interest. Skipworthy, unless you are in a specific mood for this album.

Track 7 - Sad Professor. This is Wendall Gee for a new age. Here, the vocals and music mix to create that kind of mood that REM conjures when they are at their best. Yeah, it's a slow, funeral dirge, but its a good one.

Track 8 - You're In The Air. I'd say this is the second occurrence of what I described for track 6. I do like this one a little bit better, but it's still not the high point of the album.

Track 9 - Walk Unafraid. I have mixed emotions on this track. Speaking purely of the track as it's heard here, I'd say it's a 5.5 on a scale of 10. It's just this side of leaning towards good. But, I've heard it live a few times, and it also appears on "REM Live", and hearing it sped up a bit and played by a full band gives it an urgency that shows it's a good song, but could have been better on album. I'd put this in the class of "Good if you're in the mood for 'Up', but not essential."

Track 10 - Why Not Smile. Another one that sounds like Stipe solo effort. Fits the ablum, but you'd skip it in any other context.

Track 11 - Daysleeper. It's easy to see why this was the choice for the first single. This one has great lyrics, too, once you get past the fact that it's an obvious nod to the days of "Automatic...". I'd say this one belongs on any "Best of" collection as well.

Track 12 - Diminished. The dark lyrics for this one give it a slight nudge to where it's also a 5.5 or 6 out of 10.

Track 13 - Parakeet. My least favorite on this disc, and by this point of the album, you're wishing that Lotus or Hope fit later in the track list.

Track 14 - Falls to Climb. Another forgettable track. Actually, it's not terrible, and might even fill a spot with some other classic album closers such as Wendall Gee, Find the River and Electrolite. Honestly, if they'd have trimmed this down to a 12 track album and made this track the closer following "Daysleeper", then the album would be much stronger, and this song would probably resonate with me more than it does. As it is, this is the "Oh yeah, this is the song where they say 'boney maroney' somewhere in the song."

So like I said -- this is an album that I think is panned a bit unfairly for what it isn't, rather than taken for what it is. I think there is some great stuff here, and this is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. But, with Bill Berry's departure and a melancholy sound to even the most cheerful tracks on the album, it's hard to look at this as anything but a step down from a band that has produced some great albums.