Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
That title is a little deceiving. It seems to tip a hat to movies I saw at the cinema. “At The Movies” was the name of one of my favorite shows on PBS growing up in the 80s. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel loving and loathing new films together on a cheesy sound stage made […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : At The Movies in 2019We’ve arrived at the end of the decade. The 2010’s were filled with all kinds of good, bad, and the in-between. For me it was a transformative decade. I feel I’ve grown into the middle-aged man I feel I’ve been since the age of 10. Now, I look the part and feel the aches associated […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums of the DecadeGuys, until you’ve done a year end list you have no idea the amount of time, hand-wringing, second-guessing, and general beating yourself up goes along with it. I avoided these things for years until I realized I was missing out on scratching a serious OCD itch in compiling and re-visiting records. Sure, I’ve covered these […]
Read More Le Matos’ ‘Chronicles of the Wasteland/Turbo Kid S/T’, You Are Not ForgottenThe idea that we’ve come to the end of another decade is pretty unfathomable. Where did the 2010’s go? It was a decade of growth for me. The 1990s were a decade of figuring out how to be an adult and a partner to my wife, while the 2000s were me figuring out how to […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Soundtracks Of The DecadeI think the Safdie Brothers have found the perfect musical partner in Daniel Lopatin. His anxiety-driven score for their 2017 film Good Time was the perfect mix of trippy electronics and caffeinated jams. It felt perfectly tuned for the high anxieties Robert Pattinson dealt with during one long night in New York City. The working […]
Read More Daniel Lopatin : Uncut Gems S/TThis record is for Ty Brinneman. “Despite distance and season.” First and foremost, this new re-imagining of Metavari’s 2009 debut Be One of Us and Hear No Noise is a tribute to original band member Ty Brinneman. Bassist Ty Brinneman was diagnosed with a very rare but extremely dangerous form of cancer called pleural mesothelioma […]
Read More Metavari : Soft ContinuumWith every great film there needs to be a great film score. The right composer put with the right filmmaker can create a sort of aural/visual magic that can prove to be transportive. A lot goes into making a film score, and taking it from good to great. Mood, themes, subtle yet engrossing, and the […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Soundtracks of 2019Some of my most vivid memories of elementary school are of the educational films we’d watch in science, health, and art class. Sometimes they were film strips, sometimes shown on reel-to-reel projectors, and right at the end of elementary school we began watching them on VHS tapes. But the ones that made the most impression […]
Read More Graham Reznick Welcomes You To ‘The Aviary’Before Metavari became a one man operation, the Midwest band was a full-on post-rock outfit that consisted of five members. In 2009 the band released their debut Be One of Us and Hear No Noise, played SXSW, and shared the stage with bands as diverse as The Appleseed Cast, Maserati, This Will Destroy You, Tortoise, […]
Read More “An Exercise In Rediscovery” : Metavari Reimagines Debut Album As ‘Soft Continuum’As I’ve sat here for the last few days compiling a list of the albums I’ve listened to this year with the end result being a “favorite albums” compilation, I began wondering to myself “Why?” Why do I feel that my opinion is of any interest to all of you? I’m just some guy in […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums of 2019