Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' HUGE 28 song long double album "Stadium Arcadium" is full of classic Chili Peppers components: Anthony Kiedis' distinctive vocals, Flea's pumping bass, John Frusciate's creative riffs and awesome backing vocals. All these make up this masterpiece. Songs like"Dani California", "Snow (Hey Oh)", "Stadium Arcadium", "Desecration Smile", "Tell Me Baby" and many others make this one of their best. Even the record's more ridiculous songs like "Hump de Bump", "Charlie", and "Storm is a Teacup" are just so catchy. There are sad songs, hard songs and funky songs and the diversity makes it great.

8.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Tron

The 1982 film Tron is great. I loved it's corny dialogue and special effects.  Tron is about a computer programmer (Jeff Bridges) who goes inside a computer generated world to try and stop the MCU and retrieve the rights to all the games he created, none of which he has been paid any royalties.  The tail of Flynn is a very enjoyable one with him meeting various inhabitants of the computer generated world of which he is stuck in.  This was the first movie to feature fully computer generated environments and you can definitely see that here.  Though Tron's special effects are half it's charm.  Overall Tron is a great movie.

8/10

Tomm

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim vs. The world is pure awesome, Edgar Wright's adaptation of the much loved graphic novel is great.  It follows Scott Pilgrim (Micheal Cera) who leads a normal life and is in a relationship with a highschooler, then he meets delivery girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and starts dating her, but he learns in order to keep doing so he must defeat all seven of her evil exes.  This is where the awesomeness starts with each of Ramona's exes being wackier than the next and some of the best choreographed fight scenes ever, This turn of events is amazing to the eyes.  Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), Scott's gay roommate is one of the stars of this show with all of his remarks being witty and hilarious, but all of the characters in this film churn out a plethora of memorable lines.  Edgar Wright has really outdone himself here, I believe this was the best film of 2010.

9.5/10

Tomm

Review: Gotye - Making Mirrors

Wally De Backer is a musical genius. After watching the DVD in the deluxe edition of Making Mirrors, I realise just how hard that sort of stuff would be. He'd sample old records he finds at the op shop and record with ancient and foreign instruments... It just seems so complex. The instrumentals on this record are great, so original and catchy. But I found that he didn't use his vocal abilities like he could have. With a voice likened to Sting's, it seems he mumbles half the album and relies solely on the hits to get it to the top. Saying that, there are some hit-worthy songs on this album. The smash hit "Somebody That I Used to Know" featuring Kimbra is destined for No. 1 on the triple j's Hottest 100 of 2011 countdown. Songs like "In Your Light" and "I Feel Better" both had a gospel feel to me, but they were no less enjoyable and I just can't go passed "State of the Art", which has the best instrumental parts on the album and would nearlly be my favourite on there. So to conclude, "Making Mirrors" is a good album but was a little over-rated.

7.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Kasabian - Velociraptor

Kasabian's epic fourth album has to be one of my favorite albums of the year, It goes from heartfelt melodies (Goodbye Kiss) to downright bad assery 'Re-Wired, 'Switchblade Smiles'.  The Awesominator pointed out that the chorus of Days are Forgotten would be perfect for a Bond theme and the more I listen to it the more I have to agree. The psychedelic trip it takes about one third of the way through is great 'Le Fee Verte' and so is the epic Acid Turkish Bath. In summary this album is one of the best of 2011 and definitely deserves a listen.

9/10

Tomm

Review: Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch had potential. Directed by Zack Snyder (director of Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen), Sucker Punch is about a teenage girl who is sent to Lennox House for the Mentally Insane by her sexually-abusive step-father after being framed for her sister's death. The mental asylum feeds their girls to a brothel, where she finds out that she has a special talent. To suddenly appear in a war-zone surrounded by her friends dressed in tight leather and stockings. All while she dances. As I said: it had potential, but I feel it wasn't used.

5/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Wombats - This Modern Glitch

I have been looking forward to this review since Tomm and I made this blog, and now it's finally here. Liverpool trio The Wombats were back earlier this year with This Modern Glitch, after releasing the first single, Tokyo, to a good reception. It scored No. 8 position on triple j's Hottest 100 of 2010, beating the likes of Mark Ronson and Art vs. Science. Back to the album - I absolutely LOVE this album. It is the best album I have ever bought and any chance i got, I listened to it. The songs are written about a number of things including singer Matthew Murphy's addiction to antidepressant. It is a lot more electronic than A Guide to Love,  Loss and Desparation and there is not as much guitar but it is definitely a step up. The songs on this record seem to have a better...structure. I'm just running out of ways to describe how awesome this album is. The songs that make it awesome are 1996, Jump Into the Fog, Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves), Anti-D, Techno Fan, Walking Disasters, Our Perfect Disease plus i didn't mind a bit of Girls/Fast Cars. In case you were wondering, that's all but two songs on the album. Again, This is a wonderful album and is very enjoyable to listen to.

9/10

The Awesominator

Nirvana - Nevermind

Nirvana's seminal follow up to 1989's 'Bleach' turned 20 this year, and in that time if anything it has gotten better.  It starts with the one of the best album openers of all time 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and finishes with the chilling 'Something in  the Way', And along the way we get one of the best rock albums ever.  Cobain's intense lyrics and sick riffs are littered through out. It's no wonder why this album ushered in grunge to commercial music with great tracks like 'In Bloom', 'Come as You Are' and 'Lithium', but all of the tunes on the album are superb.

9.5/10

Tomm