Mike’s girlfriend has recently dumped him. Lost and confused, he sets off on a journey up north to leave his life behind.
Renting a cabin located in isolation, the battle with his manipulative and destructive thoughts will soon commence.
You can run from everything, but can you run from yourself?
Attacked and left for dead in the desert by an unknown entity, a man awakens to find himself in an enigmatic new world brimming with unholy chaos.
Where every imaginable evil can and does exist, this desolate wilderness relishes in the destruction of humanity.
With little understanding, the man is forced to flee for his life as hundreds of anonymous assassins stalk him through this vast land.
With no one to trust, the man must rely on the little resources he possesses, and to come to some sort of understanding about many unknown questions.
Why is this happening to him?
Where and what is this place?
And who is in control of it?
The answers lie within The Alternative Wasteland…
In grade 9, no band captivated my fuzzed-out imagination quite like Green Day. 1994’s Dookie and 1995’s Insomniac were interconnected like the best of friends, bristling with electrifying sonic compositions and thematically-focused notions of self-destructive teen angst. To this day, both albums continue to resonate fondly within my soul, as most albums do when one “comes of age” during their teenage years.
But one tends to grow weary of the vanilla flavourings of familiarity. With music, a musician’s relevance tends to rely heavily on that musician’s willingness to alternate styles and texts throughout the duration of their career. Performers like U2, Madonna, David Bowie, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones (the list does continue) have had continued success over the years because of their ability to experiment and adapt to alternative modes of musicianship.
The same can be said for Green Day.
Though, as much as I’m inclined to loathe the “new and improved” Green Day (a Green Day concerned with the nature of politics, daring to write a song lasting over the pop-punk maximum of three minutes), I can’t fault them for their decision to do so.
During the mid 90s, alternative music seized control of the music scene, and all but guaranteed that any notion of music (no matter how experimentally obtuse) would find acceptance somewhere. But by the late 90s (and in regards to the Pop-Punk scene), society grew tired of bands like Green Day, The Offspring, and Rancid because their sound was frozen within the confines of a musical movement.
Arguably, Pop-Punk garnered worldwide recognition as a result of Green Day’s Dookie, which included hit tracks like Longview, Basket Case and When I Come Around. But musical movements have expiration dates, and tend to eventually wear out their welcome, thanks in large part to the exploitive nature of record labels.
Thus, by the end of the 90s, alternative rock began to reek of banality. Green Day’s musical niche was no longer captivating the eardrums of music fans now focused on boy bands (Backstreet Boys, N Sync) and Nu Metal (Korn, Limp Bizkit)*.
So Green Day went back to the drawing board, and made the decision to reinvent themselves with a new focus and drive dedicated to issues that were far more important than the selfish ideologies of a teenager. The days of mom and dad not understanding me were gone, substituted by social and national issues.
Republican politics became the subject of Green Day’s ire on the 2004 concept album American Idiot.
This transformation exposed Green Day to an entirely new fan base, but tended to ostracize many of the supporters that grew up listening to their 3-chord in-your-face sonic explosions. 21st century Green Day were now about issues affecting the world as a whole, and it was vividly displayed in their three minute-plus tracks. The songs no longer had that sense of urgency that helped to fuel their mid 90s success. Rather, these songs were the epitome of a mainstream rock n’ roll cliché**.
Now, here comes the contradiction. This “new and improved” Green Day does not satisfy me the way they once did. BUT, if they hadn’t altered their sonic styles, wouldn’t I be complaining about their need to grow up and create a new sound?
I make these complaints about Blink 182 all the time.
So here’s what it comes down to…I don’t like that Green Day changed, but I would be angry if they hadn’t changed.
So where is the solution to my problem?
The way I look at it is very simple. During my “coming of age” in grade 9, those two Green Day albums became examples of how important personal soundtracks would be on my journey towards personal growth. If American Idiot had been released when I was in grade 9, I’m almost positive that I would be looking back on that album as a soundtrack to my life, and viewing their current musical output as disappointingly lacklustre.
I truly believe that the music existent during your transformative years will always remain relevant within the deepest depths of your heart. The music of the 90s will continue to resonate with me (no matter how awful some of it may be) because it was present during those “awkward” years.
That’s why I tend to despise most modern-day music because it’s ‘just not the same’. I’m sure 80s kids fret over the same issues concerning the music of the 90s.
The cycle continues from there.
I have tremendous faith in my belief that the music from here on out in my life will never match the emotional connection I have with the music of the 90s.
Call me closed-minded.
But that’s not to say that modern music doesn’t have its moments… It just doesn’t have that compelling allure like music once did.
*Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins originally disbanded the band because they could no longer compete in a “Backstreet Boy” world.
**There is nothing necessarily wrong with the American Idiot or 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown material, but for me personally, there is no emotional connection to the material.
Hype is a manipulator of the heart, of the mind, and of the soul.
Hype is a seductress, a teaser, a conniver, a user.
Hype exists to dazzle the eye, to stimulate the brain, to salivate the mouth. Hype is there to provoke excitement, and to conjure up energetic murmurs about the “amazingness” of Hype itself.
Hype is a wanderer with a purpose. It walks amongst us in our everyday lives. It connects with us, and dares to remind us that life doesn’t always have to revolve around the banality of routine.
Hype is a drug, and we wilfully give into its tantalizing allure.
But Hype is a one night stand. It plays with us, takes us home, has its way with us and once it’s over, it slips out undetected, leaving us to ponder the question, “Was it worth it??
But Hype never remains undetected for too long. It always dares to show its face again, but of course, never embodying the same form as before.
And being blinded by the sexiness of Hype, we continue to commit the same foul again and again.
I have never really been a Superman fan. The character never really appealed to me, and I tended to ignore many of the films and television shows associated with his character.
That is, until the day Hype knocked on my door. Her scintillating and curvaceous features staggered me, and I knew I was in trouble.
I had fallen hard.
It began last year when I began to see small snippets of my new obsession appear on the internet. Not revealing the whole show, but enough of a wink to grab my attention.
But crushes only last so long, and I moved onto a slightly different (darker) version of Hype when I became obsessed with seeing the final instalment of The Dark Knight Trilogy.
But “new” Hype would not be deterred. Playing my emotions like a classic femme fatale, she revealed herself once again a few months later.
Though, if I wanted a date with her, I would have to wait until June.
JUNE????
“But I want to see you now!”
“No”, she said with smoky seductiveness. “You have to wait until June…trust me, I’m worth it”.
So I did.
I tried not to think about the day of my big “date”, but how could I not?
And if the situation wasn’t difficult already, Hype kept teasing me with new footage of herself as June got closer.
But after months of anticipation, I finally got my date with Hype on Monday, June 17.
She had played hard to get. Had teased and tempted me for months, but I held out (persevered you could say) and proved my dedication to her.
And I did things classy. I just didn’t show up in my pinto with my jogging suit on. I went all out for her because I knew she would be worth it.
So I drove almost an hour to see her in 3D and on the IMAX screen.
And then it happened, the lights went down, the sound erupted from all around me, and Hype appeared on the screen in all her glory.
Though there were many other people in the theatre, in my mind, this was OUR moment.
Two and a half hours later, I heard Hype sneak out on me, but I neglected to stop her.
You see, I was too preoccupied with the pondering of one important question.
“Was she worth it?”
“Not sure”.
But hey, I hear a new Batman film is in the works.
Welcome back, “Dark” Hype….
“We cherish the traditions of brewing history, while being creatively innovative about the future of it.”
Kevin Somerville
Brewmaster/Partner
BEER. A word that is simplistic in its pronunciation, but yet a word that elicits copious amounts of stereotypical connotations when spoken.
For most, it is a cheap and inexpensive alcoholic treat that appeals to university students and blue collar/working-class aficionados infatuated by the notion of sporting events, video games and social events devoid of any sort of hors d’oeuvres.
You can blame the marketing agenda of beer advertisements for this sort of hazy-eyed perspective.
In reality, beer is rarely discussed in conversation as a beverage that can compare with the alluring seductiveness of wine or spirits.
Beer is, to put it simply, a beverage marketed to mass amounts of people rather than to a specific demographic. This general understanding of what a beer is typically supposed to represent (anti-elitist) only helps to undermine the vastness of what it is actually capable of.
Niagara Oast House Brewers is looking to alter this perception of what a beer has incorrectly been defined as.
Having just recently opened their doors in November of 2012, the diminutive microbrewery (located in a beautifully renovated, century-old red barn on 2017 Niagara Stone Road in Niagara-On-The-Lake) is investing a great amount of time and effort into the composition of flavourful craft beers that are produced in innovative and quality-driven ways.
Typically, a craft beer is formulated by a brewer that is small, independent and traditional. In other words, it has no affiliations with any major chain of brewery.
Niagara Oast House Brewers ownership consists of three partners, Mike Berlis (Manager of Finance), Cian MacNeill (Marketing Manager) and Kevin Somerville (Brewmaster).
All three men have extensive knowledge and experience within the wine and beer industries. Mike and Cian are highly-educated/certified sommeliers (Cian is also a winemaker) while Kevin was trained for brewing in Germany and Chicago, and also helped found and write the curriculum for Niagara College’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program. He continues to teach for it, as well.
With this amount of educated intelligence circulating amongst the three of them, it’s easy to understand why the company takes great strides to incorporate quality-driven methods of production.
According to Somerville, “Our goal as a company is to create top of the line craft beers that simultaneously push the limits. Craft beer culture is exploding throughout North America at the present moment, and we wish to bring that sensibility here to Niagara. We brew in small batches, and use ingredients locally sourced by Niagara Farmers who work with us to produce the freshest ingredients possible. We’re attempting to embrace and to be highly representative of the Niagara region’s famous motto of ‘farm to table.”
Adds MacNeill, “We want to do everything the Niagara way. Our desire is to respect the roots of the region.”
The microbrewery initially launched with two beers in November. A Belgian-style Saison, which is the first in the Farmhouse Ale collection of bottle-conditioned beers (historically, Farmhouse Ales were produced during the cooler months so that they could be released during the summer work season on the farm), and a Barnraiser Country Ale, a hoppy and very citrusy beer that is aromatically strong.
In April, the group has plans to release the Biere de Garde. A member of the Farmhouse Ale family, it is darker than the Saison with more malt character stepping forward.
Niagara Oast House Brewers is dedicated to maintaining an aura of fresh and contemporary, and promises to consistently have something new and innovative lurking on the horizon. Thus the beer options will constantly be in a state of transition in an attempt to offer certain types of beer during particular points of the season.
With that being said, though, it still seems that opening any sort of business within the heart of wine country would be a stressful endeavour. But the company appears to be at ease with their positioning deep within the historical heart of wine country.
The fundamental reason being that the group believes they’re not in direct competition with the wineries, but rather are there to help compliment and exhibit how multifarious (in regards to agriculture) the Niagara Region truly is.
According to Somerville, “We are aiming to add further dimension to the Niagara-On-The-Lake community, and to provide the traveller lodging in the area with another option to experience. As well, we also wish to create a more diverse food and beverage industry in the region.”
At the present moment, the microbrewery currently offers tours, tastings, retail sales and event space for social outings.
In regards to the notion of culinary, Niagara Oast House Brewers will soon incorporate the use of local chefs to help prepare and pair food with particular beers.
Though the company is influenced by the winery model, they feel they provide an alternative experience.
“We may base our existing structure on that of the winery,” says MacNeill, “but we feel that we articulate a different sort of vibe. Our initiative is to provide an experience for our visitors that is both fun and upbeat. We wish to create an energetic environment for them to be a part of.”
As noted prior, they have also just recently formed a partnership with local farmers to supply the brewery with hops for their use (though, they do wish that more hops were grown since they believe the Niagara Region is a perfect climate for it), and for sourcing other key ingredients from nearby suppliers.
The importance of engaging with the local agriculture is of utmost importance to the microbrewery because it provides for them a label of genuine authenticity. To utilize elements from the surrounding area also helps to promote the perception that the region is brimming with unbridled possibilities in regards to cultivation.
Somerville notes, “The Niagara region is blessed with such a bountiful amount of components to play with that it would be a shame not to take advantage of what’s in our very own backyard.”
To note that the company is driven by a passionate thirst for success would be an understatement.
Says MacNeill, “Niagara Oast House Breweries will elevate the status of craft beer in Ontario through creating consistent top-quality artisan beers. We’ll be good environmental stewards and support our local communities through the creations of strategic partnerships.”
A company in its infancy, free to explore all the possibilities this area has to offer is a key ingredient in the invigorating pleasure of discovering something new.
Total Recall (1990)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside
Synopsis:
Doug Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a construction worker constantly haunted by dreams and memories of Mars. Against the best wishes of his wife, Quaid goes to Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories, so he can “remember” visiting the red planet. However, things do not go as planned, and Quaid is soon forced to fight for his life.
Analysis:
I have watched Total Recall many times over the years and still, to this day, struggle with whether or not the story is real or merely a fabrication of the mind. There are many hints and clues scattered throughout that seem to provide discernible answers but as soon as one believes they have it figured out, their sleuthing prowess is undermined by the narrative (and they are forced to rethink their decision).
In actuality, there is no definitive answer provided which, in all likelihood, is the entire point of the film. The lack of discerning of whether or not this is real or, in fact, merely a dream is simply a commentary about society and their inability to exist within the mindset of a fractured reality.
Total Recall is a film that has come to represent the notion of Postmodernism. Along with films such as Blade Runner (1982) and The Matrix (1999), these films strive to represent the nature of a fragmented identity. In addition, a Postmodern film grapples with issues such as reality, the image, media saturation and the loss of the natural.
In a basic sense, Postmodernism reflects the idea that meaning is no longer contained/explained within the confines of a single text. There are now many separate and conflicting ideas that may account for answers. Postmodernism is not about structure but rather about a confetti of thought. In terms of Total Recall, the film cannot easily be interpreted as it is an attempt to reflect an ever-changing existence.
Total Recall is based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick entitled “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale’. In typical Postmodern fashion, Dick’s stories typically focus on the fragile nature of what is “real” and its relation to identity. His stories often become surreal fantasies as his main characters slowly discover that their everyday world is actually a constructed illusion.
For instance, in Blade Runner (a film based on a Philip K. Dick story), Harrison Ford begins to doubt whether or not he is an actual human or, in fact, a replicant. In Total Recall, Arnold begins to wonder whether or not he is Doug Quaid (a construction worker) or Houser (a secret agent).
Conflicting duality is a key component of Dick’s stories, and his themes have helped to pave the way for postmodern theorists such as Jean Baudrillard and Frederic Jameson in their attempts to comprehend and dictate the vastness of this theory.
Though, for as much as the film strives to instruct, it is still an impressive piece of action entertainment. The film is relentless in its depiction of violence and gore, and outraged many censors in 1990 (it seems fairly tame, nowadays). It is fun-filled entertainment that is directed with flair from famed Dutch director Paul Verhoeven (who also directed 1987’s Robocop- a film very concerned with the nature of reality, technology and the deconstruction of the body). In a sense, this film is sort of a companion piece to Robocop. Both deal with many similar themes which may be why Verhoeven decided to helm this production.
In many ways, Total Recall is a structured analysis concerned with society’s inability to cope with the present-day reality of an ever-changing identity. We are but wandering souls who exist in a fractured culture of fear and paranoia. What is real? Who am I? These are but some of the questions that the world struggles with on a day to day basis, and which are greatly realized in this action extravaganza. This film is a rare example of a thinking man’s movie existing within mainstream culture.
When does intuitive creativity trespass into the realm of self-indulgent pretentiousness? A very thin line separates these two ideas, so how is anyone ever able to fully discern between the nature of the two?
In other words, how is one to discern whether a piece of art decrees for it to be defined as progressive/genius rather than ‘obtuse for obtuse sakes’?
Musical creativity has always been a subject I’ve been intrigued with (I’ve been writing about music for a few years now), and I always look forward to some sort of progression in how music is understood and digested.
Change is healthy for music. Stagnation is one of music’s greatest detractors, and it needs to Remain fresh in order to Remain understood as a relevant source of art.
I’ve been a fan of Radiohead for many years now, and their sonic transformation undertaken in between their debut album (the grunge-inspired) Pablo Honey (1993) and their latest EP (the experimental/electronic rock release) The King of Limbs (2011) is simply astounding.
Anyone who has been an avid listener of the group over the years understands their importance in groundbreaking/influential sonic evolution.
Many bands do undertake similar transitional periods in their musical endeavours, but none with the clout and mainstream presence of a band such as Radiohead. A band that alternates at will, introducing many outside musical influences into their realm of musical creativity.
Every album released is an exploration into an enigma that I fear has no set conclusion. The experimental use of beats, lyrics and overall musical structure has become a template for the band, and 9 times out of ten they are lauded for their progressive style.
But I always tend to ask myself the same question over and over again after listening to the band. Is their sound truly devoid of any sense of irony? Or, as Noel Gallagher of Oasis once said, simply a ‘gimmick’?
Because let’s face it…the band has achieved a notoriety for alternating the style of their sound constantly over the past twenty years. And it seems that whatever they release, it’s always deemed as “genius” or “transformative” or “revolutionary”.
Radiohead is one of the few bands in musical history to have ever consciously steered their sound away from the “mainstream way of things”, and still be regarded as influential groundbreakers in the mainstream market.
It just seems that Radiohead can do no wrong. They can create and release any particular style of music to the general public, and will rarely receive any sort of callous backlash as a result.
Now, I am in no way attempting to assassinate the good name of the band (they are one of my favourite acts), but I’m just curious as to whether or not Radiohead is still configuring their ever-changing identity around honest intentions.
I mean, with the mindset that they can commit no foul, are they still releasing music that is fuelled by some sort of innate desire to progress both creatively and passionately as a band? Or is the band at the point where they can be as self-indulgent as they want to be, because no matter what, their music will be accepted with countless praise and worship?
I guess whatever the truth may be, it lies within the hearts of the five members…
Album: Witchrock (EP)
Label: eOne Music Canada
Rating: 4/5
It’s one thing to be influenced by the likes of Joan Jett or Shirley Manson, but it’s another to actually capture (sonically) what made those women so strong in the first place…passionate expressiveness.
Magneta Lane’s (a female 3-piece from Toronto) latest release, a 4-track EP entitled Witchrock, is a volatile exploration into the realms of the human heart. Fuelled by dark, emotive instrumentation, and by angry, fervently realized vocalizations (by lead singer/guitarist/principal songwriter Lexi Valentine), Witchrock stings with the coldest of calculations.
But to guilelessly classify this album as emotionally rigid would be to undermine the many other sonic structures that populate throughout.
Yes, a melancholic tone does permeate throughout the duration of the EP, but it’s partially offset by vivid, electrifying hooks that help to identify an ongoing struggle between the light and dark of human emotion.
Burn, the opening track, bristles with unbridled angst that is propelled by driving, therapeutic lyricism. Whereas, Leave the Light On is haunting/tragic in structure and tone but yet never dares to trespass into the realm of the melodramatic.
Not perfect, but an album that brims with an intelligence that is sorely missing in today’s music scene.