In this 2-part episode of Retrospect Reviews, CC Lilford, Alice Oscura, Sommerleigh Pollonais, Julien Neaves and I review the seven Universal Studios horror classics that were recently made available for free viewing (only for a week though) on NBCUniversal’s YouTube channel, Fear: The Home of Horror: “Dracula” (1931), “Frankenstein” (1931), “The Mummy” (1932), “The Invisible Man” (1933), “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935), “The Wolf Man” (1941) and “Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein” (1948) (FOLLOWED BY A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT)
In this episode of Beers, Beats & Bailey, Ricardo shares his thoughts on the Martin Scorsese-directed docu-series “Pretend It’s a City” and we review Regina King’s debut feature “One Night in Miami” and the martial-arts themed Batman animated film “Batman: Soul of the Dragon”. Afterwards, special guest Ashton Menzies joins us for a review of both the Netflix sci-fi action flick “Outside the Wire” and the first two episodes of the highly-anticipated Disney Plus / Marvel Studios TV series “WandaVision”.
In the Season 7 premiere of the Beers, Beats & Bailey podcast, we pay respect to the late, great rapper/producer MF DOOM, share our thoughts on last week’s Capitol Hill insurrection and talk briefly about Ricardo’s EXTRA honourable mentions which he forgot to add to his Best of 2020 list. Afterwards, we review the dark comedy/thriller “Promising Young Woman”, the action horror “Shadow in the Cloud”, the first half of Season 1 of Netflix’s “Lupin”. the final season of Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and the third season of CBS All Access’ “Star Trek: Discovery”.
For my first-ever written music video review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on “Like Candy”, the latest visual from pop rock band Echo Strike’s sophomore record “Not Inside Your Mind”. With the more listens I gave their record since I reviewed it last year, I found myself truly appreciating its sonically pleasurable production, lyrical simplicity and sincerity and life-affirming messages of stepping out of one’s mental, physical (yes, taking the pandemic into consideration) and emotional comfort zones.
“Like Candy” was one of my favourite tracks from “Not Inside Your Mind”, thanks to its playful, marginally risqué lyrics, 80s-inspired synth-pop production and catchy-as-hell hook. I mentioned specifically in my review that it was “much deserving of a 80s-style music video”. And in its own distinct, creative way, that’s exactly what Echo Strike delivers. It certainly lives up to its title with its bright, vivid colours, usage of candy, cookies, donuts, chocolate and other sugary snacks as props, background imagery and transitions, and intentionally artificial, glossy visuals.
What I didn’t expect from this video was an actual narrative – and a surprisingly heartfelt one at that! In-between shots of the band, frontman Randy Van Gelder on vocals and a bevy of female models, we get a simple visual story of a blind date between a full-figured woman (Darya Peskova) and a geeky man (Mikail Antonov). Lacking in confidence and unprepared for the woman’s directness, the man is overwhelmed and perturbed by her gradual sexual advances (which begins with a plate of freshly-baked cookies) towards him. And while I won’t spoil how this situation plays out, I will say it involves both parties being reminded of their “love for sugar”.
This particular narrative serves two purposes to the video. Firstly, it’s a homage to the tried-and-true 80s-comedy movie trope where the nerdy guy who fails to get the physically attractive woman of his dreams winds up with someone who may not be attractive in the ‘traditional’ sense but possesses the inner confidence and sex appeal he lacks (expressed BRILLIANTLY by Darya). While watching the video, I couldn’t help but compare Mikail to actor Rick Moranis’ equally awkward and nerdy character Louis Tully from the “Ghostbusters” movies (blame it on his glasses and open-mouth expressions during Darya’s advances at him). Secondly, as the closing text written by Randy himself states, it presents a genuinely…..ahem….sweet message of being yourself without taking yourself seriously. You can be “like candy” in your own special way and hopefully the right person will show up for a…..ahem….taste.
As a whole, I really enjoyed the “Like Candy” music video! Of all the promotional videos for “Not Inside Your Mind”, this one is easily the most visually dynamic. Its sleek, stylish, ‘sugary’ visual palette alone is enough to keep your eyes glued to the screen, and you can literally feel the fun everyone’s having on-set in each and every shot. Echo Strike fans who’ve been enjoying the videos released for “Not Inside Your Mind” thus far will definitely LOVE “Like Candy”. As for newbies, I highly recommend giving this video a look before checking out the album. Word of caution: you may find yourself desiring something sweet to devour after watching it.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE (which includes THIS review in its description:
“Not Inside Your Mind” is available now on all streaming platforms!
For my first track review of 2021, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on “Morphing Time”, the first single off the debut album from 16-year-old Las Vegas-based producer Noah Mills a.k.a. Mr. MiLK entitled “Emergence”. And for those readers whose eyes kept going back to that “16”…. no, that’s not a typo! At age 12, Mr. MiLK began his music career as a double bassist for his school orchestra. Since then, he’s honed his craft in electronic and experimental music production, using a mixture of organic and electronic instruments, live electric/acoustic bass and guitars, live keyboards/synthesizers and DAWs like Ableton (with the Push 2 controller) and FL Studio.
To coincide with the release of “Morphing Time” on January 1st of this year, Mr. Milk self-released FIVE instrumental projects – including “Emergence” – onto his Soundcloud page, which by modern music standards is a hell of a way to make your name and talent known to the wider public. And while the title to this track is an obvious reference to the ICONIC catchphrase uttered by “teenagers with attitude” before using their respective Power Coins to “morph” into Power Rangers, its overall sound and vibe alludes to something strange, otherworldly and, dare I say, EXTRATERRESTRIAL.
What we get on “Morphing Time” is essentially a trap-based electronic beat which feels like the interpretation of trendy hip hop sounds by an alien intelligence. Its musical composition is equivalent to that of a trap instrumental, with its kicks and snares, periodic builds and drops and piano lead sound. But it’s the spacey, G-funk-esque synths sprinkled throughout the mix which truly give the song an intergalactic, 80s sci-fi movie, vibe to it. While listening to this track numerous times, I couldn’t help but picture a “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” scenario where an alien spaceship lands on Earth, uses this track as a means of communication and in the process, gets a party started with the human onlookers before flying off into the unknown within the song’s roughly 20-second fade out.
The beauty of “Morphing Time” lies in its sonic and thematic uncertainty. While the track has a relatively carefree sound compared to the dark, moody, trendy sounds of modern trap and electronica, you’re never quite sure how to ‘process’ it emotionally. Sure, I can lay back to it, nod my head to it or throw it onto an easy-listening playlist, but when those sci-fi synths come in, I keep going back to that alien theme I mentioned earlier. Yeah, these extraterrestrial beings can make dope music, but what are they REALLY here for? Their intentions are never made clear, which gives the instrumental a thematically insidious feel with its quirky, piano-driven trap beat, whiny-to-whistling synth bass lines and aforementioned builds and drops. And even if you forego the alien theme altogether (mind you, that’s MY interpretation) and read the song as someone’s deep, ‘dark’, personal metamorphosis set to music, there’s still something irresistibly sinister taking place.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed “Morphing Time”! It’s one of those instrumentals that gets better with each and every listen, especially from a production standpoint. With this being my official entry point into Mr. MiLK’s music, I can’t wait to explore the other sonic soundscapes present in his discography. And I recommend you do the same as well, but not before giving “Morphing Time” a listen because, yeah, it’s DEFINITELY worth your time!
BBB RADIO 