Its time to get back to my annual review of the Album of the Year nominees. As before, I'll review each track, giving it either a "checkmark", and "O" (for a good, not great song), or an "X". To come up with a raw score, I'll multiply the "checkmark" percentage by 2, add it to the "O" %, and then subtract the "X" %. The best possible score is a 200.
(All video/audio rights go to Kendrick Lamar/Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope)
Parental Advisory (Audio contains obscenities)
1) "Wesley's Theory" ft/ George Clinton & Thundercat
Has a funky feel to start. The track changes its point of view with the industry and the artist. The 2nd verse is smooth; "What you want? You a house or a car? Forty acres and a mule, a piano, a guitar? Anythin' see, my name is Uncle Sam, I'm your dog". A hard hitting intro. (✔ )
2) "For Free?" (Interlude)
Starts with a funk intro featuring sax. It carriesover the message from "Wesley's Theory", and packs a lot into a little. (✔)
3) "King Kunta"
Backing instrumentals evolve throughout. The title of the track is in connection with Kunta Kinte from "Roots: The Saga of an American Family". Lamar uses the comparison to explain his rise, and also takes a look at the industry; "I can dig rappin', But a rapper with a ghost writer? What the f*ck happened? I swear I wouldn't tell, but most of y'all sharing bars, like you got the bottom of the bunk in a 2-man cell". Everything continues to mesh well. (✔)
4) "Institutionalized" ft/ Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg
Track gives off the message that in some way, we're all institutionalized. Snoop provides a nice narration to the track, but the backing of the track feels disconnected, and I'm not sire the other collaborators provide much. (X)
5) "These Walls" ft/ Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat
Features a cool instrumental break. The "about" call & forth towards the end of the 3rd verse is incredibly powerful. Very metaphorical track that puts the album back on the right path. (✔)
6) "U"
Starts with an intense opening. The backing almost feels like the "Homeland" theme. The 2nd verse and beyond takes a turn. Kendrick's cracking emotes the pain & grief that he dealt with. Really personal and moving. (✔)
7) "Alright"
Smooth intro and a really good hook. Its a track of hope & resurgence, but backed by a struggle, especially on-going police brutality. (✔) 8) "For Sale?" (Interlude) Intro shows a sense of temptation. We come to know that the "Lucy" Kendrick is mentioning is in fact Lucifer, explaining the temptations he faces with success. You'd think the instrumentals wouldn't fit this message, but it builds to the outro. (✔) 9) "Momma" Bit of a weak and disjointed hook, but the verses are solid. They show a self-analysis by Kendrick. It goes hard in the outro, enhancing the track. (O) 10) "Hood Politics" Starts off with a cool flow intro. The track focuses on survivor's guilt, but the 2nd & 3rd verses go deep into politics and the industry in general. (✔)
11) "How Much A Dolla Cost" ft/ Ron Isley & James Fauntleroy Features a cool hook. The verses are particularly strong as well; "Have you ever opened Exodus 14? A humble man is all that we ever need, tell me how much a dolla cost". The track follows down a path between Kendrick and a stranger that he meets who begs for a dollar. The message has a good build-up and everything clicks together in the end. (✔) 12) "Complexion (A Zulu Love)" ft/ Rapsody This is sending out a message about standards of beauty, especially when it comes to skin tone. This message doesn't become crystal clear until the 3rd verse by Rapsody however. (O) 13) "The Blacker The Berry" "The plot is bigger than me, it's generational hatred" - really emphasizes the message. The hook could be better, but Kendrick (as usual) just makes everything work. A solid track with a big message. (✔) 14) "You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)" Has a very fusion sound. The 3rd verse really pops. The track explains the pressure entertainers have, finding a balance with success & anonymity. The message does get a little cloudy at times. (O) 15) "i" A notably uptempo track, with strong verses; "Everybody lacks confidence, how many times my potential was anonymous? How many times the city making me promises? So I promise this...I love myself". The track shows redemption through societal struggles. (✔) 16) "Mortal Man" The 1st part is about Kendrick's visit to South Africa. His outro spoken word segments come full circle in a response to 2Pac in the back-half. The backing jazz theme enhances the 2nd half. I found one specific section of this to be the strongest, with the 2Pac sample; "Because the spirits, we ain't even really rappin', we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us". That's exactly what Kendrick is doing to close the album out, continuing a message.
An incredibly deep album. I couldn't listen to it in 1-sitting myself due to other time constraints, but I can see how it could be hard to. However, that doesn't take away from the album. We see Kendrick going on a self-exploratory path, dealing with his own struggles and depression. The album follows down a certain path that's concise and really moving at different points.
The awards season is starting to kick into gear, as the 73rd Golden Globes arrive on Sunday. Its always tough to gauge how they'll hand out awards in television, and unlike any year in recent memory, the Oscar's Best Picture race is a crowded field with several contenders. So how will that race look after the Golden Globes? I'll get into that and more with these predictions.
Best Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Motion Picture for TV:
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)
Damian Lewis (Wolf Hall)
Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline)
Tobias Menzies (Outlander)
Christian Slater (Mr. Robot)
The first of many awards that will be a pure guess for me. Its widely known that the Golden Globes like new TV, so with that being said, I'm going with Damian Lewis.
Best Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Motion Picture for TV:
Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black)
Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey)
Regina King (American Crime)
Judith Light (Transparent)
Maura Tierney (The Affair)
Pretty stacked field, with representatives from OITNB, Downton Abbey, and Transparent. This could go any number of ways, but I'm going with Transparent's Judith Light. I thought she was really underrated in Season 1, but think she'll get rewarded here for her continued work and presence.
Best Actor, Limited Series or Motion Picture made for TV:
Idris Elba (Luther)
Oscar Isaac (Show Me a Hero)
David Oyelowo (Nightengale)
Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall)
Patrick Wilson (Fargo)
Again, another field I know fairly little about....but I know enough (I hope). Fargo has gotten a lot of praise, and not just from critics alone (not merely a critic's darling...more on that later). With that being said, I think Patrick Wilson takes this one home.
Best Actress, Limited Series or Motion Picture made for TV:
Kirsten Dunst (Fargo)
Lady Gaga (American Horror Story: Hotel)
Sarah Hay (Flesh & Bone)
Felicity Huffman (American Crime)
Queen Latifah (Bessie)
With my reasoning for Best Actor (Limited/TV Movie), you'd think I'd be going with Kirsten Dunst, right? Well, for whatever reason, I'm going with Queen Latifah. Why? I have my reasons......(I have literally no reasons, just a hunch).
Best TV Limited Series or Motion Picture made for TV:
American Crime
American Horror Story: Hotel
Fargo
Flesh & Bone
Wolf Hall
This seems like a pretty open and shut pick, Fargo. I suppose Wolf Hall could sneak in, but I'm going with the current favorite.
Best Actor Television Series, Musical or Comedy:
Aziz Ansari (Master of None)
Gael G. Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle)
Rob Lowe (The Grinder)
Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk)
Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)
Given the Golden Globes' affinity for new TV, I could see Aziz Ansari winning this....but I'm putting my blinders on for Jeffrey Tambor. He just brings Transparent to life.
Best Actress Television Series, Musical or Comedy:
Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin)
Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie)
Gina Rodriguez took this award last year, and I think the Golden Globes will go with another CW rookie show this time around, with Rachel Bloom. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hasn't gotten good ratings (despite positive reviews), but the Golden Globes can be pretty out there when it comes to television, so that's why I'm predicting a Rachel Bloom upset.
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy:
Casual
Mozart in the Jungle
Orange is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Veep
First it was basic cable comedies getting left out, but look at this field of nominees. Besides Silicon Valley and Veep, every other nominee is from a streaming/online service (Amazon, Hulu or Netflix). Who knows if this is going to continue in the future. Anyways, onto my pick. I'm going with Transparent. It was able to build on its premiere season and develop fairly successfully. Its second season proved that its anything but a one-hit wonder.
Best Actor Television Series, Drama:
Jon Hamm (Madmen)
Rami Malek (Mr. Robot)
Wagner Moura (Narcos)
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan)
Probably sick of hearing this already, but........the Golden Globes like new TV. Not only that, but as I mentioned with Actress-TV Comedy, they also like to surprise. That's why I'm going not with Bob Odenkirk, but Rami Malek. Mr. Robot was a buzz-worthy show, but it didn't seem like a show merely made for critics.
Best Actress Television Series, Drama:
Caitriona Balfe (Outlander)
Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)
Eva Green (Penny Dreadful)
Taraji P. Henson (Empire)
Robin Wright (House of Cards)
What a loaded field of nominees. While Outlander is finally getting recognized, I'm going with a dangerous precedent when it comes to the Globes (The Emmy winner), and going with Viola Davis. Everything she does in HTGAWM is just brilliant, with her deception and scheming at every turn. This award could go any number of ways, but I'm going with the safe, and deserved route.
Best Television Series, Drama:
Empire
Game of Thrones
Mr. Robot
Narcos
Outlander
A mix of some new and familiar faces. Now, remember when I said Outlander finally got recognized? I think it gets a little more than that, it takes home this Golden Globe. Over the last couple of years, fans have been complaining, and rightfully so, about Outlander's constant snub from awards shows. I think the Globes will recognize that, and give it the top prize.
Best Original Song, Motion Picture:
"Love Me Like You Do" (Fifty Shades of Grey)
"One Kind of Love" (Love & Mercy)
"See You Again" (Furious 7)
"Simple Song #2" (Youth)
"Writing's on the Wall" (Spectre)
There's a good chance we could see a vastly different looking field once the Oscar's come around, but first its the Golden Globes. This appears to be between Brian Wilson's "One Kind of Love" and the Top 40 hit "Love Me Like You Do". I went back and forth, and while I think its highly possible "One Kind Of Love" could take it (and rightfully so), "Love Me Like You Do" is just such a beautiful and well-made song, that I think it takes Best Original Song. This was a scenario where the Fifty Shades soundtrack was vastly superior to the actual film.
Best Original Score, Motion Picture:
Carter Burwell (Carol)
Alexandre Desplat (The Danish Girl)
Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
Daniel Pemberton (Steve Jobs)
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alvaa Noto (The Revenant)
Much like Original Song, the Original Score Oscar picture could be vastly different if John Williams is included for Star Wars: Force Awakens (he could even be the current Oscar favorite). But with this field, I think it goes to Carter Burwell. His score for Carol is just so sublime.
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture:
Emma Donoghue (Room)
Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer (Spotlight)
Charles Randolph, Adam McKay (The Big Short)
Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)
Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight)
When it comes to Screenplay, Tarantino is usually a safe bet, but The Hateful Eight has gotten some lukewarm reviews (still mostly positive, but still). This could be between Spotlight and The Big Short, and I'm going with the Spotlight duo of Tom McCarthy/Josh Singer. The writing for Spotlight is what elevated it to its current status.
Best Director, Motion Picture:
Todd Haynes (Carol)
Alejandro Inarritu (The Revenant)
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Ridley Scott (The Martian)
Just how the ultimate Best Picture race looks crowded, so does the Best Director race. You could make a case for McCarthy and Haynes, but I think George Miller takes it for Mad Max:Fury Road. Much like J.J Abrams, Miller (who has been the director for prior Mad Max films, so not entirely similar situations), brought the franchise back to the forefront. He made it more than just a typical summer blockbuster.
Best Supporting Actor, any Motion Picture:
Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)
Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Michael Shannon (99 Homes)
Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
Another field that could look different once the Oscars roll around, but I think the frontrunner is right here. I'm going with Sylvester Stallone. Creed provided Stallone with a bit of a career renaissance. This would make for a nice comeback of sorts.
Best Supporting Actress, any Motion Picture:
Jane Fonda (Youth)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Depending on what the Oscars do, we very likely could see Rooney Mara go from Best Actress to Supporting Actress (where she'd be the presumptive favorite). But with this current field, its hard to really sort out. My pick is Alicia Vikander for Ex Machina. That's the kind of role that should be rewarded.
Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language:
The Brand New Testament
The Club
The Fencer
Mustang
Son of Saul
So this prediction is a pure shot in the dark. Literally, I just went on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes to see which film had the better reviews. With that being said, I'm going Mustang.
Best Motion Picture, Animated:
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie
There have been upsets before in Best Animated, but I don't see that happening here. Inside Out seems like the heavy favorite, and it gets the win.
Best Actor Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:
Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Steve Carell (The Big Short)
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Al Pacino (Danny Collins)
Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear)
This could ultimately be between the two Big Short actors. Narrowing it down to those two, I'm going with Steve Carell. This role is a continued trend where he's being seen as a more serious actor, from Foxcatcher last year, to The Big Short.
Best Actress Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:
Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)
Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)
Lily Tomlin (Grandma)
2015 was a great year for Amy Schumer, and I think it carries over. Trainwreck showed that not only can Amy do stand-up and TV, but she now has another lane where she can also dominate.
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:
The Big Short
Joy
The Martian
Spy
Trainwreck
There's a chance that 2 of these films will ultimately get a Best Picture nomination, but 1 has a legit chance at the ultimate prize, The Big Short. Its been gaining a considerable amount of buzz recently, and deservedly so. It takes a complicated, economical matter in the 2008 recession, and explains it while still being entertaining.
Best Actor Motion Picture, Drama:
Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
Will Smith (Concussion)
Field is certainly stacked with a lot of notable names, but this seems to finally be the year that Leonoard DiCaprio gets his awards circuit due (with dreams of an Oscar), and it starts right here.
Best Actress Motion Picture, Drama:
Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Brie Larson (Room)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
This race seems to be between Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan. In a pure toss-up, I'm going with Saoirse Ronan. I think Brooklyn will be fresher on voters' minds, plus more people have seen it (for whatever that's worth).
Best Motion Picture, Drama:
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Probably one of the toughest fields to judge (I've said that a lot, I know). You could make a case for every film here to come away the winner (besides The Revenant....famous last words). With all that being said, I'm going with the early "front-runner" (if you can even have a front-runner in this loaded field), Spotlight. Its been called the "All The President's Men" of today. A concise take on the Catholic Priest scandal.
Its time to get back to my annual review of the Album of the Year nominees. As before, I'll review each track, giving it either a "checkmark", and "O" (for a good, not great song), or an "X". To come up with a raw score, I'll multiply the "checkmark" percentage by 2, add it to the "O" %, and then subtract the "X" %. The best possible score is a 200.
(All video/audio rights go to Alabama Shakes/ATO records)
1) "Sound + Color"
It starts off with a very tranquil opening, but still with a lot going on in the backing instrumentals.Just a nice and simple introduction to the album of the same name. (✔)
2) "Don't Wanna Fight"
Starts off with a nice guitar intro. Has some really strong lyrics; "My hand into your hand, fruit of my grief". This track provides some big vocals for Brittany Howard to close out the song. Overall, this track quickly finds its groove and keeps it throughout. (✔)
3) "Dunes"
This song has a slow groove to it with an old-school sound. The guitar rift slide is a little jarring. I appreciate the blues sound they were going for here, but it feels disconnected at times. Just a little off-putting coming off of "Don't Wanna Fight". (O)
4) "Future People"
Has a nice fusion sound. This track uses the upper register of Brittany's voice. Just a big track where everything fits just right. (✔)
5) "Gimme All Your Love"
Track has a nice call & response instrumental opening. There's a good use of spacing in the vocals that helps to bring out the message of the song. Has a nice building guitar rift about mid-way in. This song really emotes what its conveying. (✔)
6) "This Feeling"
This feels like a continuation of "Gimme All Your Love". Its trying to give off a more tranquil sound in contrast from the more heavy tracks, but it just feels too sleepy. (X)
7) "Guess Who"
Starts off with an interesting bass intro. It has a bit of a disco-fusion sound. This has that same tranquil feel as "This Feeling", but with more conviction in the lyrics; "I didn't see the sky as blue as you do/ Should I fantasize? There must be some way to love again". (✔)
8) "The Greatest"
Has an old-school "Brit" rock feel. Shows off a different lighter side of Brittany's vocals. This is just a really fun track. (✔)
9) "Shoegaze"
Has a bit of a country feel. Nothing really stands out or differentiates itself with this track. (X)
10) "Miss You"
It has a real intimate intro. Lyrically, its a very personal song. Of all the tracks, you could make the case that this one has the best use of the blues theme featured throughout the album. (✔)
11) "Gemini"
Starts off with a slow-spaced intro. Has a new-age sound. A real personal song, on how a couple could truly see each other in their eyes. Lyrically its beautiful, but it tends to drag at times. Doesn't quite fit with the rest of the album. (O)
12) "Over My Head"
A rock-soul feel, this meshes some different sounds heard on the album. Its vocally similar to "Miss You", with soft vocals. A good closing track. (✔)
Alabama Shakes show real growth here, with more of a blues feel. All in all, that feel is a better use of Brittany Howard's vocals. I'd like to see them go for more of a "soul" feel next, much like "Over My Head".
