MY MORNING JACKET-EVIL URGES

I had a vacation day on Tuesday, so I went by Waterloo Records to scout out some new tracks. I saw that My Morning Jacket`s new one “Evil Urges” was out, so I listened to a few passages from several tracks at their nifty sampler stations. The first few tracks were gentle and smooth and I really thought they had changed from their hard-rockin` presence when performing live. I immediately thought of “Workingman`s Dead” by Grateful Dead as possible reference to these fresh tracks spinning in the Apple Player. The record was $11.99 so I snatched it up along with a bunch of Radiohead that was also on sale. I nonchalantly spun the disc a few times at home, but only as background music for my reading. Much variety was present, I thought, and the production was smooth with shimmering guitar work, enunciated lyrics, and balances in bass and drums. A very big piece in the New York Times appeared on Friday, and I consumed this with relish and curiosity as I tried to further assess this new offering of My Morning Jacket. They haven`t really sold very many CDs in their past releases but their live shows sell out easily. Maybe this new release will produce a hit and “Evil Urges” will take off on the charts! I have a sneaking suspicion that it will do considerably better than previous records. I just listened to ‘Thank You Too!’ and that one could be a possible hit, from where I`m sittin`. ‘Sec Walkin’ is on now and it is relective and people conscious, hey that one could be a hit. The background female chorus is a nice touch. This CD has a lyric book too, and this is a big plus for me, since I can rarely tell what musicians are saying. “Two Halves’ is very catchy and reminds me of the Everly Brothers. The guitar flanges and the background harmonies give a full, Spectoresque production. ‘Librarian’ will listened to vastly by college students on their ipods as they amble across their campus. This is a minor key with a melancholy motif…it`s catchy, my friend! The line about Karen Carpenter is likely the hook in this one. Okay he is has a crutch on the Librarian; sounds like a good B movie too. My favorite song on the record, for right now, is ‘Aluminum Park’; this one sends me to the empty industrial wastelands of the deep South…I don`t know why really? I will continue to think about “Evil Urges”; I sure hope it`s not buried amongst the avalanche of releases this summer!

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

...Or Mama Don`t Ya Take My Kodachrome Away.......

I was very surprised by this new Errol Morris project as I was viewing it. It was much more subdued than I had expected, and wasn`t a sounding board for a not so hidden agenda. The Fog of War seemed to naturally cook the goose of Robert McNamara by his own admissions. The issues here at play were who is actually culpable for the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib? That is not really all that clear. The photographs are the specific evidence that Morris looks at to provide clues to what really happened. This would even include one of Donald Rumsfeld inspecting the facility one day. The talking head interviews are perfect for what they reveal about the characters and also what they tell us about what really occurred at Abu Ghraib.

The interviews of Lynndie England were the best for me. She has aged startling since 2003, no doubt because of the stress of all the bad stuff that happened to her. She seemed to be motivated by her love for Charles Graner, a staff sergeant who seems to be the main culprit behind some of the more heinous photos. Graner was setting her up by photographing her with the leash around the neck of the prisoner Gus. What Graner`s motive was in this is undetermined? He comes across as a sadist who just enjoined torturing and humiliating these Iraqis. Most of the prisoners, as is shown in the film, were not associated with al Quadi or with the Insurgency, for that matter.

Sabrina Harman is even more puzzling in her interviews; the letters she sent back to her girlfriend carefully document the sinister events at Abu Ghraib. She seems like a sweet enough girl on the exterior, but then why is she giving a thumbs-up to the camera as the prisoner is writhing in agony? This is the great thing about these interviews, are these people telling the truth or are they lieing? Sabrina`s nose doesn`t grow here, but it looks like she is rationalizing!

The photographs themselves are at the center of gravity in Standard Operating Procedure. Morris tries to probe what may have gone on before and after the single snapshot in time. He does come close to seeing the truth. The chief investigator is able to compile a timeline of events because there were three cameras involved, and all have a clock inside of them. This is immutable evidence that can not be denied. There are thousands of extant photos, but only a handful were popularized by the media. This again underscores the tragedy of Lynndie England-that is, the way she took the fall for the real perpetrators of abuse.

I just paused for a moment to purchase Paul Simon`s Kodachrome on itunes; I suddenly had a flash that that song should have been used on SOP, but of course that would have been heresy. Really, the motive for the taking of the photos is at the heart of this film. I believe it`s “Mama, don`t take my kodachrome away!” These low ranking soldiers, plopped in the middle of the fray of Iraq, were simply trying to amuse themselves by shooting photos of themselves with prisoners. They weren`t even trying to hide it, and freely passed these snaps around Abu Ghraib.

On another level, SOP is the technique used on this low-key, refreshing documentary. Systematic, detective-like research is employed in order to ascertain what really happened; in this case the media blew this up out of proportion. Sensationalized, if you will. I don`t believe that Errol ever actually exposed who the real villain is (or was)? Then the photo of Rumsfeld comes back to me. Recently I`ve seen photos of Himmler touring (okay, inspecting) Auschwitz. A little fuzzy light comes on by way of analogy.

Please read my review of Raising Sand on NewsBlaze!