Reexamine the brilliance of the dialogue in the movie "The Hustler."  Conversational and melodramatic, the script is ripe with eternally quotable goodies.  Listen to the truth behind the lines that come off as forced and theatrical.  Honesty comes through and the actors and actress deliver their lines with skill and conviction that leaves no question that they were the only ones who could have said the lines right.

 

     There has been some music that I have discovered of late that moves me in ways that men aren't supposed to be moved.  I get all emotional, brimming with all sorts of thoughts and abstract feelings that I cannot put my finger on.  I sip my water and let it wash over me in waves.  And I don't know why.  Many things are likely to be derived from these writings:

1) Andrew may have lost it.  What in tarnations is he talking about?

2) Andrew should not have said these things.  This is a movie site and the fact that music is taking center stage is too weird to embrace fully.

3) I can't agree with Andrew.  These songs don't mean anything to me and I can't see why they'd mean anything to anyone.

or

1) So true.

2) Better than not telling us what the ole fool is thinking.

3) I can't look at Andrew the same way again.  'Cause he's so much stranger now.

      Something Corporate is a band that should be experienced in a quiet, intimate way.  The band rocks and musically does things that more bands should at least attempt.  Still, the band's acoustic performances on Rollingstone.com are so good it hurts at times.  It really does.  The sweet melodies pouring over the acoustic piano, backed by earnest vocals and meaningful lyrics change the way I feel about music and writing and all sorts of preordained misconceptions.  It's something different from Something Corporate and I love it immensely.

     Madison East may sound like Thursday, that band at the forefront of "screamo," but they are special.  The band, made up of youngsters hailing from a Friends church in the Cleveland suburbs, resonates through Christian lyrics that are obviously heartfelt and honest.  I tried to fault the band for their youth and inexperience, but I found myself closing my eyes and letting them work for me at times.  The production of their "Three Dollar Burned EP" is nothing to laugh at.  It feels delightfully indie in the best ways.  When the rock quiets down and the harmony blasts over my headphones in the song "A Midwinter's Night's Dream," I feel so much.  Sometimes, I struggle to feel alive, to feel anything at all.  So, I thank the band for the rush of feeling I get from their words and their voices, unique and welcome.

 

links you need: www.rollingstone.com

                       www.madisoneastrock.com