REVIEW : R.E.M : Every Day is Yours to Win

.: R.E.M :. 

= EVERYDAY IS YOURS TO WIN =

R.E.M : "Who are they ?" - Biography : 

• Formed in : 1980
• Disbanded in : 2011
• Members : Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Berry.

"The name R.E.M. would imply music that is dreamy (or sleepy), but during the Bill Berry era this band's music was always vibrant and alive, even at its most self-consciously mysterious. During the early years it was the jangle of Peter Buck's guitar and the alleged non-enunciation of Michael Stipe that got most of the attention. As the years passed, critics started noticing Berry's propulsive drumming and Mike Mills' instrumental versatility (not to mention distinctively nasal backing vocals). More than anything else, though, it was their willingness to explore new sounds that turned them from cult darlings to superstars. They've gone from Murmur's murkiness to Document's crystal clarity, from the orchestral pop of Out of Time and Automatic for the People to the hard rocking glam of Monster and the grunginess of New Adventure in Hi-Fi. Through all of these changes, the thing that stayed constant was their unerring ear for good old fashioned pop hooks, developed during adolescences spent listening to the Velvet Underground, the Beach Boys, the Monkees and various 60s garage bands (and, at least in Stipe's case, 70s bubblegum). They've definitely lost a certain spirit since Berry retired, but any new R.E.M. offering is at least worth a listen or two. They are, after all, one of the very best bands that America has ever produced."

(Source : rateyourmusic )

R.E.M : Every Day is Yours to Win : Album Review :

Righting themselves via their long-awaited return to rock Accelerate, R.E.M. regrouped and rediscovered their core strengths as a band, strengths they build upon on its 2011 sequel, Collapse into Now. Cautiously moving forward from Accelerate’s Life's Rich Pageant blueprint, R.E.M. steer themselves toward the pastoral, acoustic moments of Out of Time and Automatic for the People without quite leaving behind the tight, punchy rockers that fueled Accelerate’s race to the end zone. This broadening of the palette is as deliberate as Accelerate’s reduction of R.E.M. to ringing Rickenbackers, and while it occasionally feels as if the bandmembers sifted through their past to find appropriate blueprints for new songs, there is merit to their madness. R.E.M. embrace their past to the extent that they disdain the modern, reveling in their comfortable middle age even if they sometimes slip into geezerhood, with Michael Stipe spending more than one song wondering about kids these days. He’s not griping; he’s merely accepting his age, which is kind of what R.E.M. do as a band here, too. Over a tight 41 minutes, they touch upon all the hallmarks from when Bill Berry still anchored the band, perhaps easing up on the jangle but devoting plenty of space to rough-hewn acoustics and mandolin, rushing rock & roll, and wide-open, eerie mood pieces that sound like rewrites of “E-Bow the Letter.” Any slight element of recycling is offset by craft so skilled it almost seems casual. This may impart a lack of urgency to Collapse into Now but it also means that it delivers R.E.M. sounding like R.E.M., something that has been in short supply since the departure of Berry. Every Day is Yours to Win is the 6th track of this album.

(By : Stephen Thomas Erlewine ; Source : allmusic )

Personal Review by Me :

I'm no specialist regarding music reviews or this particular song, but from what I've heard so far, this song by R.E.M actually deals about self-esteem and how we should trust ourselves no matter what. It is a physiological song and even the chorus and title say "Every Day is Yours to win". I think that the global meaning is that life has its ups and downs but even when we mess up and we're positive that we can't do something, we should always look on the bright side and continue to do the things that we love because we have the potential to achieve whatever we want if we put enough efforts. 
The other message that this song provides is also about how there's always someone who got your back during tough times, that you're not alone even if you think you are. This is definitely the type of songs you would like to listen to when you're feeling down and hopeless... and talking about hope, this song eventually tries to give hope to the lost souls out there, so they'd cheer up and stand up for what they love. They have a "bridge" ahead of them, and they just have to cross it to make their dreams come true.

Personal interpretation : The Music Video :

The music video was obviously homemade thanks to the webcams used. At first I was wondering if this was a fanmade video but apparently R.E.M did it for a reason. These clips of different people, show us some individuals doing really weird things by themselves in their rooms or living rooms and if we look at this video from an external point of view (without the song) we'd be seriously confused and we'd wonder "what did I just watch ?" but actually, behind all these weird people, there's a deep meaning to it all. 
These people we see are actually doing things they like. One of them likes to dress like a drag queen and have fun in his living room while another one finds contentment by doing magic tricks with some carts. 

The whole thing is that the people showed in this video are regular persons, just like you and me, but we can see the personal and more intimate side of their lives. We all have something that we enjoy doing, and this songs wants us to do the things we love with the best of our abilities so we can "win". In this video, no one is judging these people because they're doing it alone in their houses, and that's how we should all react : no matter what you like doing, you should do it with the best of your abilities and no one should judge you. And you shouldn't think of how others would react : That's how heroes are made.

Notion of Power : REDACTED by Brian de Palma

This movie directed by Brian De Palma in 2007 tries to sum up the events of the war in Iraq by the American soldiers in the Iraqi grounds. It deals with a really hard and strong subject and this movie denounces the gruesome acts of the American government by sending their soldiers to terrorize the Iraqi populations. They try to defend themselves by saying that all they did was right but thanks to this movie, we know what exactly happened and how horrible those soldiers were by behaving in a mortifying way with the population.

The way the movie was filmed makes us think that one of the American soldiers was filming the whole events with his camera which makes the scene look more real and striking to the viewers. It is supposed to be a movie based on real events and the director tried his best to make it look like they were shooting videos and pictures of archives. It is a critic of the US government and it enlightens the world about the events that happened in Iraq at that time. The US soldiers weren't "saviors" but monsters for those people (see video 2). It is a really hard movie because you can't believe such atrocities really happened and the way it was filmed makes it unbearable for the watchers to watch it with a straight face. 

This movie can be put in relation with the notion of power because the US government obviously uses the hard power in Iraq and the soldiers abuse of their power on the population without holding back, which makes them look like the lowest scums ever. Its an abuse of power and they won't stop because they know that their government wont judge them because they are "doing the right thing for America" and "Iraq is the enemy anyways."

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Synopsis : Rotten Tomatoes

Director Brian De Palma turns his lens on the Iraq War with this "fictional documentary" about the experience of U.S. soldiers involved in the conflict. Based on a news item about the rape of an Iraqi schoolgirl by wayward grunts assigned to patrol a checkpoint, the film depicts a scenario not unlike the one De Palma covered in Casualties of War. Shot on high-definition video, Redacted also addresses the ever-evolving manner in which war is covered by the media by focusing on such journalisticinnovations as blog coverage and web reporting. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Review by :  MesopotamicA from United Kingdom - IMDb

An IRAQI's Comment (Who witnessed the war) 

I would give this movie 10 stars for the courage that the producers had shown to reveal the truth about was going on there in Iraq.

First of all I am an Iraqi who witnessed everything that happened since the first moment the war took place. I am not an American who is in favour of certain political wing or party. And it is really frustrating to hear those voices picking holes in De Palma's movie and accusing him of being biased or not knowing how the army operates or..or ..or ..etc. You don't need to know anything to be human!! and to stop killing, supporting, or covering for the killing of the innocents.

It is not about elections and politics!! it is about hundreds of people getting killed daily by different groups whether Al-Qaeda, the militias, death squads, or the coalition forces themselves!! The movie was so touching in every single aspect for an Iraqi who had lived there and witnessed the war. The combination of bad and good soldiers is so true. And choosing Sammara rather than any other province or city was so wise since the pressure and threat that the soldiers are under there is not the same for soldiers who are in rather safer areas like the Northern part of Iraq. Also the psychological pressure that most of those soldiers are under has been made clear in this movie; as well as, the negativity, hostility and racism of some soldiers..If you are an Iraqi who understands English, you can understand what the American soldiers mumble or yell about every time an Iraqi approaches them. You can tell from the look whether that soldier is a good or a bad one. Something that has been successfully shown and well presented in that movie.

Like most of the people who support the American army there and consider every Iraqi or Muslim a terrorist or "desert nig**r" or "rag head", most of the Iraqis and Muslims consider every troop a thief, raper, and occupier who is after money, oil and damaging or destroying Islam. But does that mean that they are right? they are both wrong!! All the movie did is that it put the reality of what is going on in Iraq in to cinema cause not all people follow the news or know which media to be trusted; moreover, it didn't say that those stories or characters are true or ever existed. And you don't need De Palma or the Fox news to tell you that!! May be it is true that they might not know a lot about Iraq, but what makes you think that you know better than them about Iraq??!!..

Another true and clever thing about the movie were the videos posted on the internet whether for the insurgents, soldiers' wives, or the people who oppose such disgraceful crimes. Also how, in the end, the innocent soldiers were the ones who pay for the crimes that their teammates commit whether physically (Salazar) or psychologically (McCoy).

MADtv iRack Video

After watching this video, I think that the notion most fitting with its context has to be "Progress & Notion of Power" because we can definitely see the idea of power in this video.

Steves Jobs is presenting a new iProduct whose name is "iRack" and the first thing that we think about after hearing this name is Iraq, the country. We can immediately relate the events of this video with the actions George W Bush decided to make after the tragic events of 9/11, who were to fight terrorism and attack Iraq based of speculations like "Ben Laden is hiding there" and what not. Eventually, Steve Jobs represents W.Bush/America in this video and he keeps putting products on the iRack who, obvious, are soldiers, and the spectators are against it because they don't want to see Steve Jobs (aka America) invade the "poor iRack". Eventually, Steve Jobs doesn't hear their pleads and continues stuffing the iRack with objects until it blows up. The people who are against this "act of violence" can represent the European states against Iraq's invasion, or, the American within the american state who're against such violence. In other words, the Notion of Power can definitely be used in this case because "Steve Jobs" doesn't hear everyone's opinions and keeps doing whatever he wants thanks to brutal violence and his own and personal opinion.

POST 3: Individual Work on "The Idea Of Progress"

Facebook Home : "Airplane"

After a long time trying to figure out which document I should pick for my presentation, I ended up choosing one of the most cliché topics to ever bless our generation: Facebook.

Like I said previously, this document is a video I found on YouTube and it’s a Facebook add that promotes its qualities and characteristics. The main character has to be the gentleman boarding his plane and checking his profile before the plane launches in the air. It is a comical commercial because the man in question, after looking at his friend’s updates on his phone, feels like he is sharing those moments with them in real life even though they are apart. It’s funny how we see people randomly appearing out of nowhere in the plane. Obviously, no one seems to notice those visions because everything goes through the main character’s brain, and it feels like he is traveling twice because we can see him physically going somewhere through the plain and mentally swimming in his imagination thanks to his friend’s Facebook updates.

The video ends with a hostess who asks the man to stop using his phone so the plane could launch in the airs. Before doing so, he checks his profile for one last time before drifting in his passenger seat with his friends updates still in memory.

Thanks to our new technology, in this case, Facebook, we can get in touch with people we lost contact with and we can even chat and share memories together through a thin screen that can be our telephones or laptops/computers. Nowadays, talking to people who live miles away is extremely easy if we have internet or phones, so now we can even meet new people we never met in real life or talk to persons with lost contact with through the years. Finding said people is extremely easy when we just have to remember their names and enter it on our Facebook “search” page.

Facebook is used by almost everyone, and it has a lot of accounts. We can say that it’s a huge community and having someone in front of you doesn't seem to be a necessity ever since we have the internet. It can be used for a lot of things like sharing pictures, messing around with your friend’s profiles, playing online games and of course, talk to people.

Personally, I’m not a “Facebook addict”. I hardly get online. The only time I go there is probably about the homework is missed or I simply “stalk” my friend’s pictures (not like it would change my life, but it’s a good way to pass time). I might be skeptical towards Facebook but it can be pretty useful for people who can't talk to their friends because of geographical reasons. It’s always nice to see people reunited thanks to that mainstream social media, so I shouldn't spoil their fun even though I don’t agree with the statement “Facebook it’s the greatest thing ever”.

High technology is improving really quickly and it tries its best to make our life easier, and by easier, I mean:”not leaving your house just to talk to people.”

Post 2 : Videos

1. Mr. Too much Technology Gadget Guy

Description: 

This video is structured around two main narrative voices and a character illustrating what the voice-over says while a singer often simply repeats what's just been said.

The setting is a Christian home and church, so this particular context is particularly meaningful. We can notice on various occasions that the main character is addicted to high-tech products, mostly smartphones. He is shown as a family man unable to communicate with his wife, except through texting. He is also shown as a church-goer incapable of attending worship  without all his phones vibrating all the time, marking him look like he's full of the holy spirit.

Finally, he is depicted as a computer geek whose life has become extremely complicated instead of having been simplified.

Interpretation:

Basically, this video means that high technology has become a religion for many people, even Christians who are not supposed to be materialistic. 

=> Then, in a christian lifestyle, quite a few church goers and believers tend to focus more on materialistic issues rather than spiritual ones. 

=> We can add that technology reigns supreme for many people who revere it as a God enlightening his followers. 

The question is, is this a real progress for mankind ? 

2. When Technology is too much / OR : Missing SAT Question :

Description:

Two people are stuck on an elevator in a place that seems literally empty.

The man looks annoyed. He might be an office worker walking to his job.The woman claims that she is already late, so for her, this is the last straw. At one point, she's about to cry and asks for a phone. 

In short, they both look helpless and even hopeless.

Interpretation:

 We can relate this situation to a fairly common one in real life : getting stuck on/in an elevator. The difference is, however, that in this situation, people have the right to fell panicky whereas on an escalator, there is no reason whatsoever to be panic. 

This video points out the increasing dependence of human beings on technology. If it goes missing, it is as if a crutch had been taken away from, so these two people cannot even climb the stairs which would be the normal thing to do. We could think  that technological progress makes humans lazy or at least less prone to taking initiatives by themselves.