Music Obsession: Lost in the Trees

Lost in the Trees is a lot like what you'd get if you combined a Danny Elfman soundtrack with an indie-folk group (and vocals that sound much like Death Cab for Cutie). According to their Facebook fan page, they're "classical folk". Whatever the label, the result is unique and beautiful music to listen to.

Leader Ari Picker provides the vocals in addition to composing the music. The other twelve members of the band supply a full orchestra. They remind me of Chicago, famous for combining rock with incredibly large trumpet sections. It's the same idea, only the soft sounds of folk are precluded by orchestral accompaniment. I started listening to their music in the fall, and their songs are perfect for colder days. Pensive "Walk Around the Lake" is definitely one of my favorite of their songs, as well as "Lost in the Snow" , and "Fireplace" (all of which come off of their newest album, "All Alone in an Empty House"). Their songs manage to be thoughtful, dramatic, and calming all at once.

It was the band's originality and creativity that ultimately captured my attention. Unlike much of the music I have recently come across, I don't feel like I've heard this one before (plus, I'm a sucker for violins and quiet singing). With the endless sea of indie bands out there, this one really stands out.

You can check out their music on Last.fm and purchase it on iTunes or Amazon. And be sure to check out their website.

photocredit: Last.fm

"Tyranny of the Majority": An Issue of Rights

Our founding fathers warned against tyranny of the majority, and safeguards against this concept are found everywhere in our country's infrastructure. Take, for example, the way our bicameral legislature is organized to avoid giving the biggest states the only power. Freedom of speech is protected for everyone, even such horrifying groups as the Ku Klux Klan.

But on Tuesday, Maine allowed the majority to take an already established right away from the minority. 52% of those who voted on the gay marriage issue chose to repeal the state's previous law, which allowed gay people to marry. In Maine, what is unarguably an minority rights issue was put to popular vote. Is this the American way?

What if, after the abolishment of slavery, the government gave U.S. citizens the option to repeal it? How much longer would it have taken to remove that scar from our country's history?

What about integration in the twentieth century? Think the majority would have voted to protect the black minority's rights? Certainly not. Our government had to forcefully implement integration laws amidst wide-spread protests from the white majority.

I know I'm not the first to argue this concept, nor will I be the last. And of course, this is not the first time that gay marriage rights have been banned by popular vote. But this time, it was to repeal an existing law. What kind of precedent does this set for the rest of the country? Five other states (Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Iowa) have legalized gay marriage. What if similar referendums were offered there? Our country would lose ground in the fight for gay rights and equality.

Many have tried to argue that this isn't a rights issue, it is simply that a marriage should be defined as between man and woman, and any other definition is immoral. Whatever your argument is about why gay people shouldn't be allowed to marry (it somehow makes your heterosexual marriage less "special", they can't procreate, it's just not natural!), the point is that once you vote against their right to marry, you are taking rights away from a minority that cannot possibly defend itself. You simply cannot argue that this isn't a rights issue.

And does it seem right to you that while we protect the civil rights of the KKK, Neo-Nazis, etc, we cannot bring ourselves to protect the rights of a group of people who simply want to love each other, be able to visit their husbands and wives in the hospital, have social security benefits, and have a say in what happens to their loved one after they die?

When we allow straight people, most of whom will never know what it is like to be treated as a second class citizen, to remove the rights of gay people, we are allowing for the tyranny over a minority that deserves protection.

Who You Should Know: Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell, who I'm embarrassed to admit I first noticed as the villain in Charlie's Angels, is a highly talented but quieter force in the entertainment industry. To many, his name is not nearly as recognizable as his face, which has appeared in everything from Galaxy Quest to The Green Mile. 

In The Green Mile, Rockwell plays "Wild Bill" Wharton, a despicable man who has committed horrible crimes.  In arguably one of the best roles of his career so far, the actor plays the character almost comically until we realize exactly how disgusting he really is. 

I recently watched Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a movie directed by George Clooney, written by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Sam Rockwell. Rockwell has a lead role as Chuck Barris, a real life TV producer who has claimed to kill thirty-three people while working for the CIA. Rockwell plays the character quirkily and effectively. He managed to make the character unlikeable and yet still make me care about what happens to him. 

You may recognize him in bigger films such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Matchstick Men. In recent years, the actor has made himself known in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Frost/Nixon, and as the sex obsessed lead role in Choke. 

Most recently he has starred in the highly rated film, Moon, for which he has gotten stellar reviews. Reviewer Peter Howell remarks, "The under-appreciated Rockwell finally gets a leading role – make that roles – worthy of his considerable talent. He's entirely believable as a man whose professional skills and discipline are pushed to the brink by fatigue and unexplained events." I have yet to see this film myself, but as soon as I find a theater close to me playing it (or as soon as it comes out on DVD) I will rush to see it. I suggest you do the same

To me, Rockwell's draw is his quirk, odd sex appeal, and the commitment he has to each of his characters. He's no Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp, but his enormous talent is just as worthy of attention.

Music Highlight: Everybody Else

Everybody Else, a band I first tuned in to earlier this summer, gets their name from a well known song by The Kinks (an old favorite of mine).  The band's formation in Los Angeles heavily influence their music, which is upbeat and energetic. That influence is also probably why they've become one of my favorite bands to listen to during the summertime. Their sound reminded me of Rooney, another California based band that is already well established in the music scene. 

Unlike many bands with a good beat, Everybody Else's lyrics are well thought-out. Songs like "Memoriam" contemplate childhood memories in detail, and "Rich Girls, Poor Girls" discuss the merits of  loving girls with money and without. I can honestly say that I enjoy every song on their self-titled album, but some of my favorites include "Faker", "Say Goodbye", and "Meat Market"

Listen to their entire album here on Last.fm, or here on Amazon

In TV: Green Wing Makes Hospitals Look Insanely Fun

I was recently introduced to a fantastic show called "Green Wing" (which you can view here on Hulu),  a British creation that ran from 2004 to 2006. Think "Scrubs" but with raunchier and, obviously, more British humor.

The series features doctors as well as administrators doing hilariously insane things. An ongoing "romance" between Alan (a radiologist) and Joanna (head of human resources), is among one of the funniest aspects of the show. While Alan struggles to win Joanna's affections, all she wants from him is an office romp. Other funny characters on the show include Guy (the hospital's jerk) and the insane Sue White (who is hired to listen to complaints of employees, but instead verbally abuses them).

One of the show's memorable lines occurs when Alan is taken to a restaurant by his colleague: "Joanna brought me here once... to discuss hospital employment policy. Surreptitiously however, I was bringing her to climax with a breadstick." In another banter, Alan says to Dr. Macartney "Most females find body piercing repugnant. Luckily, I am still intact". Dr. Macartney responds, "Yes, even I draw the line at piercing arseholes." 

Most of the show's humor revolves around sex and other awkward situations, and the straight delivery of such lines had me laughing hysterically.

I have started on the first season, which so far is great. I've read that it begins to go downhill during the second season, though I can't attest to that just yet. As of now just season one is on Hulu. So if you're bored this summer and looking for a quick laugh, Green Wing fits the bill.

In the News: A Man's Existence Denied in Immigration Case

On Saturday, while many of us were participating in the nation's most patriotic holiday, the New York Times was finishing a story about a man's life forgotten in the wake of 9/11. 

The story describes what little the NY Times could find on the life of Tanveer Ahmad, who died in a U.S. immigration jail after suffering a heart attack. Ahmad immigrated from Pakistan to the United States in 1993. He was arrested in 2005, and for what crime? After entering his apartment with intentions to charge his roommate with a violation, immigration agents instead detained Ahmad because of a misdemeanor he committed in 1997 (while working at a gas station, Ahmad pulled out the store's unlicensed gun to stop a robbery. He had already paid the fine for this misdemeanor). 

Before the arrest, Ahmad had paid taxes and immigration fees and held permits for his jobs. He committed no other infractions of the law. He did fail an immigration interview in 2002, however, when the interviewer doubted that his marriage to an American woman was genuine. His visa officially expired in 2005. According to the article, when Ahmad was arrested that year he chose not to challenge his deportation. All he wanted was to go back to Pakistan.

Three weeks after being detained, he died. According to the NY Times, pressure from Congress and the news media caused Ahmad's death not to be included in the immigration agency's 2007 list of deaths in immigration detention. But his arrest was included in the agency's anti-terrorism statistics. Only in March, three years after his death, would officials confirm the man even existed.

To some of us, a story like this isn't all that shocking. We all know the discrimination that occurred after 9/11, that is still occurring. But for a man who had no connections to terrorism and who had abided the law to be treated in such a way is pretty appalling. His 1997 infraction was already paid for, and that should have been the end of it. If a white person, even a white immigrant had committed the same crime, he would never have ended up the same way. Undoubtedly there are other men out there like Ahmad, whose existences have gone unacknowledged. I just believe this article is something to consider. The United States is a pretty lucky place to live in, but we should all be reminded every once and awhile of its shortcomings, and the price some pay to even attempt to live here.

Music Obsession of the Week: The Comas

The Comas, a band whose songs have been looping through my head the past week, can probably be best characterized as indie pop-rock. But it was the band's wide range of influences and sounds that caught my attention. Some of their songs are reminiscent of  '80s grunge, others are ambient, and some fit comfortably into the group of modern indies (of Montreal, the Shins, etc.). I also think the combination of a male vocalist (Matt Sumrow) with a female vocalist (Nicole Gehweiler) works well for the Comas and helps set them apart from other bands of their genre.

I've started on their 2007 album, Spells, and have been working my way back. Some of my favorites on the Spells album include "Red Microphones"and "Come My Sunshine"  which are both upbeat and catchy. Their 2004 album, Conductor, combines tranquil, more dream-like songs (listen to previews of songs like "Science of Your Mind" and "Moonrainbow" here) with edgier ones such as "Employment" (also featured on Amazon). 

Check them out on lastfm or their website.