Mr. Struggan's Regards

Beta Love, 2013
Ra Ra Riot

Nico here, reporting from Mr. Struggan’s Possum Alley bureau in Washington, D.C. In keeping with our new schedule, Mr. Struggan has assigned me a review of Ra Ra Riot’s new album, Beta Love, this week. Tuesday morning, I stayed home with a fever of 100.8. Beta Love did not soothe my senses as well as other music could have; it sounds like a quarter life crisis.

The main problem with this release is that it does not offer much sonic or thematic breadth. Lack of lyrical ingenuity could be forgiven if the sounds were more convincing.

“Wilderness” shows me something, but then, the verse line’s cheesy, repetitive arpeggio drops in. It doesn’t give the listener much to work with. I can’t tell whether this is minimalist, or just bad. I’m leaning towards the latter. ”I Shut Off” is supposed to be some kind of final-track-of-the-album anthem, but it lacks instrumental backbone. Aside from a few tracks, this album is pretty flat. “When I Dream” showed a lot of promise as the album’s single. As lead vocalist Wes Miles switches between alto and falsetto, it creates interplay that is absent from the rest of the album. 

Synth rock can be a great genre from bands to tap into. Add some synths and beat, and your average rock group can fill arenas, get people moving, and reach a broader pool of listeners. This summer, Passion Pit’s sophomore album Gossamer attained a broader reach emotionally and musically than the group’s debut album, showing that the genre doesn’t result in being pigeonholed. Ra Ra Riot does not have the same success in their reinvention.

One might expect that after three albums, Ra Ra Riot would know a thing or two about restraint and focus. Many groups come to a point when they jump the shark in their creative direction. Perhaps Ra Ra Riot is there now.

Mr. Struggan sends his Low Regards.

Wilson here. Mr. Struggan has decided that, on occasional off-days, it would be alright for Nico and I to advertise some of our own projects. So for the first ever edition of Mr. Struggan’s Shameless Plug, I am pleased to announce that one of my pieces has been accepted to the Postcards From the Edge benefit exhibition hosted by Sikkema Jenkins & Co! 

Postcards From the Edge, now in its 15th year, is an art benefit sale conducted by Visual AIDS, an arts non-profit that works to promote AIDS awareness in the arts. Every year, their benefit sale draws submissions from some of the art world’s biggest names. All the artists in the show exhibit anonymously, and all the postcard sized pieces are $85, meaning if you show up opening night and have a discerning enough eye, you could snag yourself an $85 Baechler, Ruscha, Baldessari, Marclay, … or even a Duggan!

Consider stopping by and seeing the show if you are free this weekend.

Mr. Struggan sends his regards.  

Eugene Hyon: Fire Escapes, Waterfronts & Rooftops as Urban Landscape
A Gathering of the Tribes, New York
Jan 18 - Jan 25, 2013

Wilson here. Mr. Struggan sent me out last night to attend the opening of Eugene Hyon’s new photography exhibition at A Gathering of the Tribes in Alphabet City. Mr. Struggan first learned about Tribes and their reputation as a vital New York arts organization through his association with Exit Art (RIP) and their 2010 exhibition Alternative Histories. When he heard about the opening last night, he knew I’d be in for a treat. 

After hustling through the cold from the F train, I arrived at 285 East 3rd Street unsure whether I was in the right place. I had to check my directions a second time before I was bold enough to try the door of the unassuming building. Realizing it was open, I trekked up the stairs and into the gallery, a worn-in apartment that is the home of Tribes founder Dr. Steve Cannon and the home of his organization since its foundation in 1991. 

Eugene Hyon’s photos, as the title of the exhibition states, depict urban landscapes such as rooftop vistas, building facades, and sweeping waterfront views in a range of black and white, full color, and sepia tones. The 22 prints on view comunicate a quiet and tender concern for composition; Hyon, a native New Yorker, describes himself in his statement as a “patient witness,” interested in “stillness, elegance, and classical proportion” in his practice as an artist. 

The Eugene Hyon I met at the gallery, however, seemed to me much more than a patient witness. The mild-mannered, sweater-vested man I spoke to came across as Peter Parker, sans Spidey Suit. The man who took these photos, the one who casually recounts his adventures climbing on rooftops for his shots in the wall texts, must be an alter ego.

Hyon’s work conveys a certain timelessness in the way it depicts the city, especially where he works in black and white or in sepia. He by and large reaches his aim for classical compositions, but his incorporation of contemporary elements, sometimes subtle, sometimes not, are key to understanding his work. This was perhaps best illustrated in his explanation of one of his photographs, a wide riverfront cityscape in sepia taken in Moscow that does not appear in the show, but rather was printed on the business card he gave me. He described the piece as one of his favorites, pointing out that upon first glance the photo conveys the antique qualities he appreciates.  It is only when one notices a modern day traffic jam on the road running along the bank of the river that one can identify the piece as a contemporary image. The inclusion of these elements into his compositions is what sets his work apart. 

As a contemporary artist, then, Hyon is clearly an innovative player, even if he doesn’t seem to be pushing many envelopes too far. But why live on the cutting edge when you could be timeless instead? He seems quite content doing what he knows and loves, and lucky for us, he does it well.   

Mr. Struggan sends his High Regards. 

Rabbit, Run, 1960
John Updike

Nico here. As mentioned previously, Mr. Struggan is not terribly familiar with, nor fond of, twenty-first century literature. When I reviewed Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower last week, Mr. Struggan stated that it was “not the type of novel [I] should be wasting my time with.” This week, he assigned me John Updike’s “Rabbit, Run”, having read Paul Elie’s recent essay in the New York Times Book Review “Has Fiction Lost Its Faith?”. I have not read any of Updike’s work before, so I took the assignment. Plus, I didn’t really have a choice.

Note: Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, the protagonist in Rabbit, Run, is not to be confused with Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith of the 2002 film 8 Mile, although a comparison of the two characters might be an interesting assignment. Moving on…

Updike does a good job of potentially antagonizing readers with Rabbit’s general ideas about women and the way he treats them. Janice, his wife, is disregarded as stupid, Mrs. Eccles, the minister’s wife, is seen as pompous, and Ruth, Rabbit’s lover, is taken advantage of.

Christian elements emerge frequently in the story. Rabbit observes parishioners leaving Sunday service, goes golfing with a minister and contemplates beauty in his self-confident, short-sighted way. The way people talk about Updike’s writing, I was expecting something a little more thought-provoking.

Updike’s writing can be irritating to read. The humor is there, but I grimaced more than I laughed out loud. Upon review, the plot’s interesting parts are less then the sum of the story’s whole.

Mr. Struggan sends his Regards

Gangster Squad, 2013
Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Wilson here. Mr. Struggan sent me out to the cinema last weekend to see the new film Gangster Squad. Based on true events, the film centers on the rise of Mickey Cohen’s criminal empire in Los Angeles in the late 1940s and the secret task force of policemen charged with taking him down.

As director, Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) doesn’t hold any punches while laying on heavy doses of gritty pulp and comic book flair. Luckily, he does so without sacrificing substance. He avoids the traps of this type of period action film, which can often devolve the story into cheesy cliche, at times by subverting these elements with opportune moments of comic relief, but more often simply by executing them in a measured, authentic manner.

The headliners, Josh Brolin and Sean Penn, deliver strong performances. Sean Penn especially deserves praise; as Mickey Cohen, he brings gravity to his character’s menace without going over the top. This was a fine line to walk, and Penn pulls it off well where other actors might have failed. A supporting cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, and Nick Nolte similarly brought their best to their scenes.

The film was not, however, without its weak points. The plot felt rushed in places, especially in terms of character development. The core cast is introduced in a well executed “assemble the team” montage, yet past the introductions we aren’t given much more. This hurts one’s ability to identify with the characters later on, and the cast’s diversity risks coming across as cheap tokenism where it should have been a highlight.

All in all, though, Gangster Squad is definitely worth a visit to the theater, and is a welcome and downright fun break from the serious mood of Oscar season.

Mr. Struggan sends his High Regards.