The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 — 5
Arts
RCA
Foo Fighters find a new
creative voice on ‘Gold’
Nine studio albums into
its tenure as a band, Foo
Fighters don’t have anything
to prove. On Concrete and
Gold, though, the band puts in
a valiant effort to
prove something
anyway.
The
initial
track, “T-Shirt,”
opens
with
a
gentle
sequence
of
acoustically
backed poetry that quickly
segues
into
an
explosive,
ethereal choral arrangement.
The song rips through a few
snappy
guitar
riffs
before
reverting back to a feeling of
calm at the end. All within the
span of less than a minute and
a half.
The variety here sets the
tone for the rest of the album:
it
careens
between
calm
acoustics
and
raging
rock,
often within a single song.
Everything seems to have a
place to fit. There are insistent
concert-rock performances like
“La Dee Da” and the endlessly
fun “Make It Right,” but also
softer moments like “Happy
Ever After (Zero Hour).” Yet
even the harder songs have
their quiet moments, and even
the calmer songs still have that
trademark Foo Fighters edge.
The variety here is appealing,
but it may take an extra listen
or two to fully understand
the draw. The switches at
times can feel a little jarring
— particularly on the front
half of the album, which is
more heated than the second
half. “Run” is a good example
of this; it’s full of galloping
drums and guitar parts and
screaming vocals, all of which
are a big part of what makes
the Foo Fighters so much fun,
but it also goes through a lot
of sudden shifts in both tempo
and mood.
The
album
reaches
a
definite
peak
in “The Sky is a
Neighborhood,”
released
in
August
as
the
album’s
second
single.
Enthrallingly
creative,
the
song
maps
a
fantastical
journey through a nightmarish
imagination full of worry and
angst. The beat of the chorus
alone is catchy enough, and
combined with the high-stakes
drive of the melody and the
inviting phrase “the sky is a
neighborhood” itself, it’s an all-
around complete and exciting
single. It also showcases Dave
Grohl’s
indomitable
energy
and spirit, a common thread
throughout the album due as
much to his powerful vocals as
to his skill as a songwriter.
Concrete and Gold is notable
because almost every song
brings something somewhat
new to the table. “Dirty Water”
is haunted and foreboding,
with lyrics like “You’re my
sea of poison flowers” and
a seething atmosphere that
evokes
seventies
rock.
On
the other hand, “Happy Ever
After
(Zero
Hour)”
is
all
dreamy acoustics, embodying
a softer, disillusioned side of
the album that is only seen
in brief snatches in some
of the other songs. These
varying
temperaments
are
brought together skillfully by
producer Greg Kurstin. Prior
to this album, Kurstin worked
primarily
with
pop
music,
but his work on Concrete
and Gold paid off, bringing
defined character and a sense
of purposefulness.
What’s
more,
Kurstin
isn’t the only distinguished
presence brought in for the
album. Foo Fighters pulled
out all the stops where famous
appearances were concerned,
featuring Justin Timberlake
on backup vocals for “Make
It Right” and Paul McCartney
on drums for “Sunday Rain.”
Of course, if you’re going to
bring in Paul McCartney for
anything, it has to feel earned,
and this does — the entire
album is classic-rock-inspired,
“Sunday Rain” arguably more
so than any other song. By the
time it comes up, McCartney’s
appearance feels both fitting
and deserved.
On first listen, Concrete and
Gold does suffer a bit from its
frequent shifts between highs
and lows. It accomplishes these
feelings most masterfully in
“The Sky is a Neighborhood” and
“Happy Ever After (Zero Hour),”
respectively, and the sounds that
are packed in around these form
an overall riotous and intelligent
album. More than anything
else, this is an album made with
the clear effort to do something
new and interesting, from the
appearances of McCartney and
Timberlake to the decision to try
out a collaboration with Kurstin.
It’s proof that not only do Grohl
and the band have the energy to
carry an album; they also have
the genuine drive to keep things
interesting and spirit to make
that album good.
LAURA DZUBAY
Daily Arts Writer
Concrete and
Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA
ALBUM REVIEW
NETFLIX
‘Strong Island’ a striking
narrative of loss, sorrow
“Strong Island” is like a
poetic tribute to the director
Yance Ford’s (“The Ballad
of
Esequiel
Hernández”)
departed brother William. He
simultaneously manages to
share the injustices William
faced
—
even
after his death
— as a man of
color in the legal
system,
while
also
capturing
the
emotional
turmoil he and
his family faced as a result
of the murder of their dear
brother.
What started as an innocent
fender-bender
quickly
escalates
to
the
eventual
murder of William Ford Jr.,
the mistreatment of his trial
by an entirely white jury and
a murderer walking free. Ford
navigates his family’s past
from growing up in the Jim
Crow south to moving to the
segregated black suburbs of
Long Island with dignity and
diligence. Ford’s narration is
soothing, almost jazz-like, as
he adds anecdotes about his
childhood
while
skillfully
placing
photographs
from
family photo albums before
the camera. The old polaroids
and sepia-tinted photos add
a level of intimacy to the
true
crime
documentary.
While the film does address
issues in the legal system
facing people of color and
the
horrifying
results
of
William’s case, the film also
documents a family — one
forever changed by a bullet.
Ford coming to terms with
his own grief
serves as the
crux of the film.
He
struggles
throughout the
documentary
searching
desperately for
answers that are not there
and hoping for one last chance
to tell his brother to turn
around. At the film’s start
the b-roll that fills the screen
is all blue skies and children
playing, but as the film turns
dark with the murder of
William, the b-roll begins
to wither into deep grays
and dying branches. It’s an
obvious yet skillful choice on
Ford’s part, creating a deep
sense of contrast between
a world with William and a
world without him.
Barbara Ford, the mother
of the director and William,
is
interviewed
exclusively
in the kitchen. The setting,
like the tea kettle on the
stove behind her and the
towel hanging from the oven
handle, creates a sense of
home in a film dense with dark
topics. Ford acts as narrator,
investigator,
brother
and
director. He speaks to the
camera as if it is a friend and
he is desperately seeking
advice. In addition to the
director’s personal accounts,
the
film
also
includes
interviews
with
William’s
friends
and
a
scattering
of his own personal diary
entries and poems. While
the film accomplishes many
impressive feats of balancing
the
narrative
with
the
factual, the balance nearly
becomes both awkward and
confusing.
Overall, the film is well-
executed and timely. Even
though William Ford Jr. was
murdered 25 long years ago,
his story is still remarkably
relevant today. A young black
man is killed in cold blood
and
the
murderer
walks
free, a story far too familiar
and far too frequent. Ford’s
documentary
is
personal
and political, current and
nostalgic, conversational and
visual. As a documentary,
it serves its purpose, and
it makes a statement about
grieving
families
coping
with a loss that remains
unacknowledged.
E-mail arts@michigandaily.com for an application to join our section.
BECKY PORTMAN
Daily Arts Writer
“Strong
Island”
Netflix
FILM REVIEW
On first listen,
Concrete and
Gold does suffer
a bit from its
frequent shifts
between highs
and lows
He struggles
throughout the
documentary
searching
desperately for
answers that are
not there
What started
as an innocent
fender-bender
quickly escalates
to the eventual
murder of
William Ford Jr.,
the mistreatment
of his trial by an
entirely white jury
and a murderer
walking free
The variety here
sets the tone for
the rest of the
album
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
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