Interview: Paranormal Activity Dir. Oren Peli

24 Sep 2009, Posted by staff in Film, Playground, interview, 0 Comments

recess’ Sanette Tanaka recently spoke with Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli on a college conference call. The film, about a couple who moves into a new house only to find it haunted by a demonic spirit, has been hyped to be one of the scariest of the year. Read the full transcript of all the participants’ questions and Peli’s responses after the jump.

I’m good. Well, I know a little about the movie, but I don’t know much about the background and inspiration. Could you elaborate a little bit?

The expression specifically for the movie was, first of all, I’ve always been a fan of horror movies, but the kind of horror movies that play more on your psychology rather than the gore. And the movies like Blair Witch Project and The Others show that, you know, you can make a movie that will be very scary and creepy even without having to rely on kind of like over-the-top special effects. So I always thought it could be like very interesting to try to make a movie basically that I would enjoy.

And what ended up happening is that when I moved to my house, the first house that I owned, we started hearing all sorts of like weird noises during the night. Some of it was probably the house settling and neither — you know, we just don’t know.

I’m not saying specifically, you know, I think there was a ghost in the house, but just the fact that there were strange things happening and I couldn’t explain them logically kind of got me thinking, “What if I had a video camera and let it run and then if something happened here in the house, maybe I can capture it.”

So I never actually went and did it for my own sake, but I thought if I did it and something did, you know, we made something happen and, you know, that would actually make a pretty interesting movie.

I was wondering what sort of advice you have for filmmakers, you know, doing this low-budget, you know, one-camera-type film?

I would say the most important thing that I found is after Blair Witch, a lot of movies came out that were trying to, you know, mimic the success of Blair Witch. And the main reason that most of them failed was the acting. And when you make this kind of a movie, you can’t just get by with decent acting because you have to, you know, have so much credibility to the performances that it doesn’t even look like acting. It looks natural.

So I told myself I wasn’t even going to bother shooting the movie unless I found actors that can, you know, be convincing enough. And it wasn’t until I found and cast Katie and Micah that I really decided, “Okay, you know, I’m going to make the movie,” because without the right acting, you could just be wasting your time. So for that kind of a movie, I would say that’s the most important thing. You can’t compromise on the level of performance.

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Review: Monsters of Folk

24 Sep 2009, Posted by staff in Playground, Review, 0 Comments

When Aristotle decided that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, he must have been predicting Monsters of Folk’s self-titled debut album. The indie supergroup, comprised of Conor Oberst, M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and producer/musician Mike Mogis, shows evidence of each member’s musical input, but still manages to achieve its own unique sound.

Oberst’s influence is the one that is the most immediately obvious. He is musically the middle ground between Ward’s bluegrassy take on pop and James’ blues-affected folk-rock, so a blend of the three styles sounds consistent with Oberst’s past work. Despite the clear differences between songs like “The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me” and “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)”—the former a slice of Americana and the latter playful and experimental—Oberst’s presence can still be felt.

“His Master’s Voice” and “Man Named Truth” display M. Ward’s contribution to the group. The two artists fit seamlessly, matching a meaninful delivery with intriguing, reflective lyrics.

James lends his Southern-rock feel to “Whole Lotta Losin’,” and his presence shows in “Magic Marker,” which recalls 90s rocks, minus the cheesiness. That tackiness wasn’t wholly avoided on the catchy single “Say Please,” however. There’s a guitar solo halfway through, but in the context of the otherwise retro pop song, it just seems out of place. Mogis rounds out the quartet, playing instruments like the mandolin that are integral to the distinctly American feel of the album.

Although a few odd songs result when Monsters toys with the already loose definition of indie-folk-rock, the band’s formula simply works. Take “Temazcal” for example, which is a perfect synthesis of the musicians’ individual sounds. Even the occasional clashes of genre add to this character, and the album as a whole is likeable, playful and melancholic—like the band itself.
—Canon Brodar

Review: Pearl Jam

24 Sep 2009, Posted by staff in Playground, Review, 0 Comments

Let there be no doubt: Backspacer is a great Pearl Jam album. Everything the fans have come to expect over the years is here, from frontman Eddie Vedder’s trademark growl to Mike McCready’s expert lead guitar work.

Things are kicked off by the driving, in your face “Gonna See my Friend,” opening with an explosive riff that sets the stage for Vedder’s vocals. There is a range, though, demonstrated by the vulnerable “Just Breathe.” The ballad stands out as the record’s best track, but it doesn’t stray far from the softer fare Pearl Jam has attempted in the past.

Lyrically, Backspacer is an oddball compared to the band’s older material. Gone is the angst-filled subject matter of Pearl Jam’s early days, when Vedder used to sing about his daddy issues. Instead, the songs are full of optimism: for example, Vedder proudly declares on “Amongst the Waves,” “Up riding high amongst the waves/I can feel like I/Have a soul that has been saved,” and it only gets cheerier from there. It’s a relief that he’s not whining anymore, but the transition to sappiness is sudden and unnatural.

Backspacer also has a killer flow. It kicks off with four upbeat, hard-rocking songs, and then abruptly changes to a more subtle, introspective atmosphere for the next four or so tracks, with the last three ending up somewhere in between. As jarring as the transitions were, the pacing serves to keep the album from getting stale.

Despite all this, Backspacer is not perfect. Although the songs are effective, they aren’t distinctive; it’s hard to recall particular examples beyond the overall feel of the album. The record doesn’t push the envelope, but it’s still a satisfying rendition of the tried and true Pearl Jam formula.

—Jose Lamazares

Duke Gets Hip-Hop Track From Anthem

23 Sep 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Music, Playground, 6 Comments

Following Asher Roth’s general post-secondary hit “I Love College” and Mike Posner’s general success comes Duke’s very own hip-hop anthem from a mysterious Trinity ‘07 graduate by the name of Anthem. The track, titled “Dear Duke,” mentions every part of undergraduate life at the Gothic wasteland wonderland from Campus Dr. to Shooters II to drinking on Duke’s dry East Campus to Brodhead bobbing his head to Anthem’s very own track on the Quad. Anthem also serves up some shout-outs to successful Duke grads like Dan Abrams, Reggie White and J.J. Redick (OK, not all of them are successful). Check out the track here.

Rumor has it that Anthem will be handing out mixtapes at Tailgate this homecoming weekend. But one question remains: how did Duke get so into hip-hop?

UPDATE: Anthem is Anteneh Addisu, now living in New York.

Review: Owen's New Leaves

23 Sep 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Playground, Review, 0 Comments

Mike Kinsella could give Elliott Smith a run for his money. The middle Kinsella brother’s four Owen albums are beautiful if terribly sad solo works, dwelling on relationship failures. They are the one-artist soundtrack for the broken hearted.

And now, on his fifth album and first in three years, Kinsella is focusing on something new. New Leaves is, just as the title says, a new leaf for the singer/songwriter. More sonic in production, Kinsella’s is dealing with the same melancholy relationship songs. But here, he shows signs of moving on, forward-looking in his approach. On the titular opener, he sings, “I’m tired of painting over the past.” Indeed, this album is forward looking.

But the album is more than thematically different. Much as the Kinsella brothers various projects have barely sounded alike (OK, American Football sounds kind like Owen, but they’re both Mike Kinsella solo), New Leaves stands apart from earlier Owen albums. Working with the likes of Tim Iseler (whose resume boasts Wilco credits), Brian Deck (mid-Modest Mouse, the past two Iron & Wine albums), Graeme Gibson (Califone, Joan of Arc) and brother Nate, Owen’s latest sounds more collaborative. Less a man working it out alone and more a cohesive project.
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