A couple months back, Alabama Shakes were approached to contribute a new song to the fourth soundtrack for the hit HBO series True Blood. The show’s aesthetic is fitting of the group’s Southern-raised sound, so it should come as little-to-no surprise that their contribution is fitting for both the show and the group’s own catalog. You can stream the single, titled “Pocket Change,” at the end of this post.

The fourth soundtrack for True Blood hits stores May 28.

When Falling In Reverse released “Alone” a few weeks back, we thought our site was likely to crash. Only a year had passed since Falling In Reverse released their Epitaph debut, The Drug In Me Is You, but fans were already chomping at the bit for new music. Unfortunately, not many of those rabid followers ever expected to hear frontman Ronnie Radke rapping about how much more money he has than his fans, and the fallout that followed the premiere of “Alone” is still lingering in comment threads at this very hour. Some believed Radke was just testing the waters and welcomed the change of pace as a moment of experimentation, but most seemed to think Radke had simply lost his mind. I tend to think the real answer lies somewhere in the middle, but that song is not why we’ve gathered today.

Earlier this morning (or late last night, depending on who you ask), Falling In Reverse posted a stream of another new song entitled, “Fashionably Late.” The single, which is also the title track for the band’s album, features a return-to-form of sorts with plenty of sassy lyrics from the group’s ever-ridiculous frontman. This time, the focus moves from possessions to making out with your girlfriend’s best friends because she is late to a get together. It’s not exactly rocket science, but no one ever said Radke could work for NASA. Like most of the group’s catalog the song offers numerous tongue-in-cheek lyrics thrown together against a melody that’s too catchy for its own good. It’s the kind of well-structured song that gets stuck in your mind even when you can’t (or in our case, don’t want to) remember the lyrics, and anyone doubting this need only try to escape the final set of “na na na(s)” unscathed.

If you can manage to look beyond the lyrics and general unappealing egotistical flair of Ronnie Radke, the latest offering for Falling In Reverse is actually quite enjoyable. It’s catchy as a song in this scene can hope to be and its structure leads us to believe it’ll be an instant addition to FIR’s setlist. The band tapped into a melody with this track that is sure to strike a chord with fans and newcomers alike while still staying within the sound longtime followers have come to expect. That urban edge we heard on “Alone” is essentially absent here, which will likely please many, but I think it’s still too early to tell if that will be the case for the rest of the album. Radke is known for pushing the limits, and he has already gone on record saying he wanted something different with this release. “Fashionably Late” is the opposite of different, and I’m willing to admit that may be a contributing factor to why I enjoy it, but it doesn’t take a music philosopher to understand how superior this song is to its predecessor.

Fashionably Late arrives in stores June 18. Click here to pre-order the album.

Review written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)

The EP, entitled Red Light Juliet, features eight new songs from the group and marks the first release from the group since May 2011.

“Please support and share. We can’t do it with out you guys. Get the word out, and bump this awesome album. Best $5 you will ever spend, and it helps us tremendously,” the band posted to Facebook.

Check out the EP’s artwork to the left, stream all eight tracks on BandCamp, and pick up the EP for a mere $5.

The album will be released on May 28 on It’s Alive Records which feature bands such as The Dopamines, Teenage Bottlerocket, and The Creeps. You can stream the split below.

Vice is also going on tour this June, hitting up a bunch of Midwest and East Coast states. Having seen their live set, it’s not something to be missed.

You can check out “Since Birth” after the break, as well as Vice’s tour dates.

Taking to their Facebook today, the members of Blink-182 wrote a passionate letter to friends and fans about their feelings towards the events that occurred earlier this week. We want the full impact of the members’ words to come across, so instead of paraphrasing we’re just going to post their message in full. The band writes:

“As we watch the news again this morning from Oklahoma our hearts as we are sure yours are as well are just broken for the people effected by this devastating tornado. This is just heart wrenching to see what everyone has been through.

We have been to Oklahoma numerous times on tour including just last year. We see all of the people effected by this horrible tragedy as part of our blink-182 family.

In the next few days we will be rolling out some charity auctions and merchandise to raise money (100% of the funds) for the people that have lost everything. We only bring this up now before we have finished the artwork so that as many people possible are able to keep an eye out for this announcement.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Oklahoma.

blink-182″

We will be keeping an eye out for Blink’s efforts and will post an update as soon as new information can be confirmed.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Dan St. Germain’s comedy career. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Dan St. Germain is having one hell of a year. The Best Week Ever regular just debuted his first “The Half Hour” special on Comedy Central on May 17, and has recently announced a script deal with Comedy Central and a new radio series launching on Sirius XM radio next month based on his podcast “My Dumb Friends,” co-hosted by Sean Donnelly.

A truly self-aware comic, Dan St. Germain isn’t afraid to poke fun at the darker side of life as he turns to his own battle with bipolar disorder to create levity. In talking about his friends’ triumphant Facebook status updates, St. Germain bemoans his own attempts and painting his daily life in a prettier picture: “’Found an interesting rock on the way to the liquor store. Got through a whole night without crying.’ Then I have to like it two hours later because no one else will.”

In celebration of his new Comedy Central special and, well, generally kicking ass and taking names, Dan St. Germain recently took some time to chat with me about all of the wonderful things that are coming his way.

UTG: Congratulations! You have some really exciting news, eh? You’ve signed with Comedy Central on what, three projects?

DSG: Yeah, I sold a script to them, so we all eagerly await that as a pilot, and then we are doing six episodes of an animated web series with Dan Powell, who’s running Amy Schumer’s show. And I’m doing a podcast on Comedy Central Sirius with Sean Donnelly – ‘My Dumb Friends’, and my Half Hour special’s coming out. So Comedy Central has been great to me, and I love working with them. Nothing but good things to say about Comedy Central right now.

UTG: That is fantastic. And your new CD’s due out this year, too.

DSG: Hopefully around December. We’re doing some special things; Ryan is awesome; we recorded it in Boston, and we’re also going to record at Meltdown in September. Sometime around September 11th or 13th, but I’ll keep you guys posted.

UTG: Tell me a little bit about the pilot.

DSG: Well, I used to be an employee bartender at Yellowstone National Park, and I kind of went there to find myself. What I found was the most broken-down, crazy, drunks ever. So it’s kind of that feeling of going to escape and realizing you can’t escape the place that you were trying to escape to.

UTG: I read somewhere today that someone’s suing Yellowstone because of rat droppings.

DSG: Well, yeah. Yellowstone’s obviously gorgeous, but the area I was in – how can I legally say – the area was I was in was not exactly heaven on earth.

UTG: It was like nature’s restroom?

DSG: Yeah, that’s a pretty good way to put it.

UTG: I can’t wait to see that.

DSG: If it comes out! Let’s hope we both see it.

UTG: Yeah, fingers crossed. How’s your head right now? Is it just a whirlwind?

DSG: It’s pretty good. It’s stressful, but you know a lot of this stuff is out of your control. You just put the best foot forward. I mean, I did an open mic this week. You know what I mean? I don’t take anything for granted. I mean, of course when something like this happens, there’s a tendency to be like, ‘I AM COMEDY!’ But the truth is, I got a nice opportunity and hopefully it works – you kind of find that level thing of like, ‘Oh it’s not going to work out,’ or it’s going to be amazing and I’m going to be the male Lena Dunham or something. But the truth is, you kind of just put the work in and you hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

UTG: And you’ve definitely put the work in, that’s for sure.

DSG: Yeah, I mean always try to – like, I’m working on other stuff, now, besides that. I have ‘Best Week Ever’ every week and always trying to get a new late night set together. You work on other stuff. I just started headlining on the road which has been an awesome experience. Especially now, you never want to be the guy who puts the one thing in – I’ve heard so many horror stories of how Aspen and Montreal used to work. I heard one horror story from a guy who went to Aspen and beforehand he bought a fucking convertible, and he didn’t get one meeting while he was out there. The important thing for me is to just make it funny, you know? I’ve had to work on some stuff for money that I don’t love doing, and I’m trying to force a position now where everything I’m working on, whether it be my projects or ‘Best Week Ever’, the stand-up, its all stuff that I really like doing and that’s a real rare thing in this business. I’m very lucky.

UTG: Well it sure sounds like you’re keeping your feet on the ground throughout the process.

DSG: Right? Yeah. Nobody’s making Eddie Murphy money, you know what I mean? You kind of have to keep your feet on the ground.

UTG: But still, to be getting all of this done is still a huge accomplishment.

DSG: Yeah, you know it’s good…it’s one of these things – there’s that nerve-wracking thing of ‘All right, well you’ve been wanting your shot, here’s your shot!’ That doesn’t come around a lot, so if you’re not ready, you’d better get ready.

St. Germain has been seen on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Electric Company, MTV, MTV2, VH1, Fuse, and Spike TV. He’s written for the Onion Sports Network, Onion News Network, Hoppus on Music, Silent Library and has been featured on WTF with Marc Maron, Keith and the Girl, and Sirius Radio. Dan’s web series Kicking Dan Out can be seen on My Damn Channel. His shorts have appeared on the front page of Funny or Die, Best Week Ever, and The Huffington Post. He played right wing blogger Kane Phillips during Comedy Central’s Indecision 2010 as well as been featured on Jokes.com and College Humor Live’s standup showcase. He’s been in ad campaigns for Bushmills Whisky, Pre-play, and Fins. He appeared as a “New Face” at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival in 2011 and has also been part of the Eugene Mirman, Bridgetown, New York, UNC, Moontower and Boston Comedy Festivals. He’s a 2009 ECNY nominee for Best Emerging Comic, a 2010 ECNY nominee for Best Male Standup, a Finalist in the NY Comedy Contest, a Semi Finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival, and selected as part of the Young Playwrights Festival in 2002.

Check out Dan St. Germain on Best Week Ever, on his podcast “My Dumb Friends,” in the upcoming film Wifed Out where he plays a party bus driver featuring Meta World Peace (totally true), doing standup at SXSW and in John Oliver’s 2012 NY Standup Show on Comedy Central. If you didn’t happen to catch his Half Hour special, highlights from the episode can be viewed at Comedy Central’s website. Keep your eyes on Dan St. Germain as he is poised to take over stand-up in a huge way!

Growing up in a relatively conservative midwest home located in (no joke) the seed corn capitol of the world, my exposure to hip hop at a young age was limited to whatever top 40 songs on the radio my parents felt were okay for my young ears. I knew there was more obscene music out there, but I was never one to go against my parents’ wishes. That is, until I saw a video on MTV after school that made me fall in love with hip hop in a whole new way. You can view the same video, which excites me now as much as it did in 1998, below:

To this day whenever I hear this song my heart starts to race with a sense of excitement akin to embarking on a grand adventure. The urgency and passion laced within DMX’s vocals drill straight through your chest cavity and strike a chord in your heart you never knew you had. You feel rowdy instantaneously, like anything could happen at any moment and no one knows whether or not that is good thing but you forge ahead nonetheless. You want to start a riot, or at least make a scene, and further, you want to do it with your friends. “Ruff Ryders Anthem” is everything a great debut song should be, and it was only a piece of what to this day remains a remarkable debut album.

Due to the rules of my childhood home, It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot didn’t reach my ears in full until months after its release. A friend up the street told me he got a copy while we were sitting in sixth grade math one day, and starting that afternoon we were inseparable. His father kept a rather large home stereo system in their tiny living, complete with speakers a foot too tall for the amount of space their sound needed to fill, and it was in that very room that we spent hours enjoying the initial audio offerings of Earl Simmons. Tacks like “Fuckin’ Wit’ D,” “Get At Me Dog,” “X-Is Coming,” and “For My Dogs” became soundtracks for us, even though their lyrical content contained themes and ideas far beyond the grasp of our still somewhat innocent minds. Likewise, X’s signature growls and barks made their way into the vernacular of our friends, recited in bursts of momentary excitement and greeted with uproarious laughter. We were not fully aware of the messages we were receiving, or even the image we were attempted to duplicate, but even if we had I doubt we would have cared. This music was not only fun, but new and exciting, and it certainly didn’t help that our parents seemed less than thrilled about our newfound obsession.

As I grew older, my appreciation for It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot began to evolve along with my understanding of the album’s themes and the life of Earl “DMX” Simmons. X used his debut to open up about his views on love, rage, standing by your friends, and struggling with religion without once resorting to a cultural fad/trend in his music. He told his story his way and it is very unlikely such a release will ever see the light of day again. Even with his own follow-up releases X began to change, opting to focus on the present over the past, but those seeking the roots of the man can still find answers and plenty of entertainment on It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot.

I know DMX is no longer the great artist we all thought him to be, but putting on It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot this morning reminded me that without him it’s unlikely I would be as passionate about hip hop as I am today. His ferocity and sense of self changed the way I looked at an entire genre of music, and when I really think about it there are not many artists I can claim have done the same. Take some time today to revisit this release and I promise you will not have a single regret.

Written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)

They continued their role and we continued our coverage of their growth with a premiere of “Force of Nature,” one of two singles from The Wayside Sessions released in May of last year.

Now, as the band is rearing to release their full length album, Alive And On Your Own, we’re happy to host and offer a free download of the new song, “Never Wrong.”

Look below for the stream and hover over the player for the download button to appear at the bottom.

Related:

• Late In The Playoffs Plays Audio Tree Live
• Late In The Playoffs Premiere “Golden Years” Video
• Exclusive Video: Late In The Playoffs – “Living Proof” (Live and Acoustic)

“Burning Fight,” originally an Inside Out track, can be found on the brand new 7″ split record STYG is set to release with fellow California act The Story So Far. The record is due out June 18 via Pure Noise Records. Click “Read More” to  stream the new track and to view the track listing for the split.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HuaMIVFEEi8

01 – The Story So Far – “Clairvoyant“
02 – The Story So Far – “Loro” (Pinback cover)
03 – Stick To Your Guns – “We Still Believe“
04 – Stick To Your Guns – “Burning Fight” (Inside Out cover)

When not swatting away rumors that she is pregnant for the second time, Beyonce has been busy teasing fans with the promise of new music on the horizon. Back in March we were all knocked sideways when her Hit-Boy produced effort “Bow Down / I Been On” found its way online, and this morning (May 21) we’re once again sitting at our computers stunned at what Bey has been able to deliver.

“Grown Woman” was originally previewed for Beyonce’s devout followers when the songstress began appearing in her own series of Pepsi ads earlier this year. At the time we knew not whether the song in the video would be released as a single, but late last night the full Timbaland-produced effort arrived online complete with high-gloss artwork. The song itself is a kind of marvel, transition from generic pop hit, to something more tribal in nature. The drum work is bound to thrust your hips into motion, and as soon as the vocals hit you’re consumed with the knowledge no one can deliver a hit quite like Beyonce. You can stream “Grown Woman” below.

Bey’s camp is keeping quiet about where “Grown Woman” may end up, but for now it’s the soundtrack to our office parties for at least the next 4-5 days. Comment below and let us know what you think of Beyonce’s latest..

There haven’t been a ton of records I’ve been really excited about this year thus far. I’ve given some high marks in terms of “scoring,” and I think that is partially because there has been a lot of pretty mediocre records coming out of the scene these days, and I’ve lost sight of what truly great really means. Though it may seem strange to admit, some albums I’ve given high marks to earlier in the year may have deserved lower scores in hindsight. Why, you ask? Well, Have Mercy’s debut record, The Earth Pushed Back, is absolutely incredible, and it has reminded me what it’s like to hear a band for the first time and be blown away by their music.

Musically, The Earth Pushed Back is a gorgeous record. The music perfectly encapsulates the overall tone of the lyrics, and that’s a feat that a lot of bands try to accomplish but generally fall somewhat short with. The noodley, darker sounding alt-punk instrumentation has been a standard among bands in the scene these days, but Have Mercy show they know how to work dynamics to effectively create a feeling in their songs. When it needs to be quiet, it gets really soft, but then when that inner turmoil really boils up, the guitars turn up to 11. “This Old Ark” punches you right in the face with guitars, then quickly changes to a really subtle guitar part, then switches into a driving chug. It’s these changes in chord patterns that really keep all the songs dynamic, fresh, and interesting so that songs don’t all sound the same. Sure, there are songs I like more than others, but nothing ever feels lost in the context of the album. The drums do a really fantastic job holding everything together and keeping the record moving along. With this style of music it is really easy to get lost in the guitars, but the drums keep everything in check so you can follow along relatively easy. The single from this record, “Let’s Talk About Your Hair,” is easily one of the strongest tracks on The Earth Pushed Back musically, because of the way every instrument really lends to one another, weather it be the drums, the guitars, or the vocals. I think the production on the record could be a little better in places, but considering Have Mercy is a group relatively new to the scene and I’m sure they didn’t have access to the most world class studios, the record still soars as a debut.

When I first watched their music video for “Let’s Talk About Your Hair,” one of the things that struck me immediately was the absolutely gorgeous singing by Brian Swindle and the rest of the band. All of the vocals blend flawlessly between all the different parts of the songs, and I think that’s the main draw for me as a listener. Generally, really clean, polished singing in these types songs can come across very cheesy, at least to me. I generally like voices to sound a bit more raw because you can hear the feeling better in the songs. Brian moves between absolutely gorgeous clean vocals to more rough around the edges singing almost flawlessly. I can’t help but compare his vocal stylings to that of Jesse Lacey, and while I know it’s super cliché to make a Brand New comparison, I think Brian does a great job of delivering just the right amount of raw energy to specific parts of songs, similar to that of the iconic Brand New frontman. “The Gates” absolutely rips your heart with both lyrics about coming to grips with loss, and a range of vocal stylings that really shows off Brian’s singing abilities. While I can understand some people will get turned off by the fact that The Earth Pushed Back lyrically deals with only the theme of the loss of a loved one, I personally think this is one of the record’s strongest qualities. I think bands a lot of the time sacrifice real emotion to write a variety of different thematic elements into songs so that listeners always have a song that will fit their mood. The Earth Pushed Back dives head first into the complicated feelings of loss. We spend the entirety of the record extricating all the different thoughts that cloud one’s head when you lose someone or something you love. Don’t tell me you can boil down how you feel about someone you love into one song, because then you probably don’t love them as much as you think.

I’ve been a bit more verbose in my review of Have Mercy’s The Earth Pushed Back than I have in my previous reviews because frankly I think this record deserves every inch of praise. I find myself listening to The Earth Pushed Back and I’m still finding new things I love about it. In a scene where things are very surface level and you can digest a record pretty much to the fullest in one listen, Have Mercy is a reminder that you don’t have to be content with mediocrity, let alone praise it. I’m so happy I checked out this release, and right now, The Earth Pushed Back is my record to beat this year.

SCORE: 9.5/10

Written by: Tyler Osborne (Click his name and follow him on Twitter)

Order the record from Topshelf Records here.

This morning, a new trailer for The Wolverine found its way online. Unlike previous trailers, this one feels less spoiler-tastic due to its focus on story over sizzle, and in the big picture it’s probably the strongest preview for the film to date. We don’t need to be sold on Wolverine being a badass, we already know that. What we do need, however, is proof the film is going to offer more entertainment value than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and that is what this trailer accomplishes (in my opinion, anyways). You can view the trailer below.

The Wolverine opens in theaters nationwide on July 26.

Synopsis: Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality.

With the release of his forthcoming album Tetsuo & Youth inching closer by the week, Lupe Fiasco took to the internet late last night, May 20, to release a new (free) single entitled “Animal Pharm.” As you may expect, the song offers a modern reinterpretation of George Orwell’s allegorical novel Animal Farm, which reflected on events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. Fiasco’s verses have nothing to do with Stalin of course, but anyone following his actions over the past year can probably guess who his pen is aimed at in these bars. You can stream and download the song after the jump.

The way Lupe Fiasco has evolved from his early days never ceases to amaze our entire staff. To see a rapper not only recognize the power of the opportunity offered by his position in pop culture, but then to take it further and change the focus of his lyrics to almost always push a message of knowledge and enlightenment is truly one of a kind. I’m not sure if “Animal Pharm” will make Tetsuo & Youth, but it has definitely made me hungry for more.

The infectious indie-pop aspects of the original track were just begging to get reworked, and a handful of artists have taken advantage of that, but The Chainsmokers have done “Julian” justice by paying their respects to its best qualities and enhancing them with a club touch and a party caress. Leaving the source material’s beautiful vocals intact, TCS add a pulsating kick drum and playful synth work that builds into choruses that’ll make you want to jump around and flail your arms carelessly. This official remix made it just in time for Summer and it fits the season beautifully.

Let your hair down, move your furniture out of the way, turn up your speakers, and dance your ass off to The Chainsmokers’ remix of “Julian” after the break. You can download it for free, too!

This is a math equation that TCS have provided along with the official remix.

“We actually first heard the song via Monsieur Adi’s remix and thought it was awesome but were curious to hear the original, so we checked it out and loved Say Lou Lou’s original but thought there was still room for a really upbeat version with our progressive indie flare (we hate the word flare). What really appealed to us about Say Lou Lou was they have this renegade softness — it’s sorta punk but not. That makes no sense, right? But there is sort of care-free beautiful nature to their voices and we thought we could make a summer anthem with this baby, or die trying (side note: at no point were we close to death in the making of this remix). So we got the stems, and wanted to create something that really screams ‘let me in, I want to fucking dance, but I also brought my own beer.’” – Alex & Drew (The Chainsmokers)

According to an article on TMZ, Keef was taken into custody while in DeKalb County, Georgia yesterday on charges of “disorderly conduct.” The events leading up to police involvement remain unclear, but Keef was allowed to leave last night (presumably after paying a small fine). After he was free, Keef tweeted “Jus Got Out Of Dekalb County jail In Atlanta Mad As fuck.”

This isn’t the first time Keef has had a run in with the law. He has at least two additional arrests on his record, including a gun possession as well as a charge for violating probation that landed him in jail for three months at the beginning of 2013. Additionally, Keef is currently facing a paternity suit from a middle-school-aged girl who claims he fathered a child with her when he was only fifteen.

After months of teasing, Sleeping With Sirens took to YouTube last night to release their collaborative effort with rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

Taken from Sleeping With Sirens’ forthcoming June release, Feel, “Alone” kicks off with high-gloss production and an onslaught of whoa-ohs to entice listeners both at home and in a future live setting. This gives way to a more atmospheric verse that builds into a thunderous chorus, which carries a sound that falls perfectly in line with everything the band has released up to this point, but it is what lies ahead in the song that will have fans tweeting and tumbling (that’s a term now, right?) for days to come.

Starting with the second verse, vocalist Kellin Quinn goes from delivering his signature croon to offering listeners what can only be described as a hybrid of rapping and singing. Yes, rapping Kellin Quinn. Apparently this is going to be a recurring theme in the scene this year. Fortunately for Quinn and the hordes of girls awaiting his next tweet around the world, his quick-tongued switch works far better than anyone could imagine. He finds a perfect balance in his delivery, and that combined with his already powerful songwriting capabilities creates one of the most exciting surprises in music so far this year.

Machine Gun Kelly’s contribution comes in as the third verse. The Cleveland emcee showcases the full spectrum of his lyrical abilities by building from a steady pace to lightning-fast lines in a matter of seconds. His ever-present cockiness somehow manages to take a backseat to lyrics that pair well with Quinn’s without losing the abrasive vocalist’s style. I’m not sure how often MGK will be able to partner with SWS in a live setting, but if such a chance ever happens near you, this track will surely be worth the price of admission alone. You can stream the song below.

“Alone” features a pairing I would never have expected to work, but the end results are kind of outstanding in their own way. Collaborations are generally risky business, especially when genre cross-overs are involved, but Sleeping With Sirens and Machine Gun Kelly have pulled it off without resorting to commercial tricks. It’s not like fans needed another reason to be excited for Feel, but if they did, they certainly found their answer in this song.

Feel hits stores June 4 via Rise Records. Click here to pre-order the album.

Review written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)

If you know a film with major plot holes or those that make you scratch your eyes out, tell us! Email utgjames@gmail.com with the subject “What The Film” and we’ll try to get your suggestion featured on the site.

When I started dating my girlfriend, she told me she hated science fiction. Hated it. I couldn’t understand how someone could hate science fiction, as it’s such a blanket term for a million different things. Science Fiction isn’t so much a genre, as it is a story telling method. If you make the impossible and find a way to make it possible (example: cloning dinosaurs), you’ve made science fiction. Live Free or Die Hard had a computer/technology based plot line, and despite being Die Hard, it counts as science fiction. Even a movie like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a science fiction movie because at the core of the movie is a machine that allows the manipulation and removal of memories. Science fiction isn’t just William Shatner fighting a guy in a rubber suit, it’s almost everything. Science fiction isn’t a genre, it’s everywhere. 

Man, I made a Gorn reference last week too. I’m getting old.

To prove her wrong, the very first movie I ever made her watch was Back to the Future, which to be honest, is also one of the earliest movies I can remember seeing. My mom rented it for me on VHS when I was little and I loved it. It’s one of those movies that I loved as a child and here I am fifteen to twenty years later, still loving it. Back to the Future is one of the greatest adventure movies of all time and it doesn’t get enough credit. It’s fun for literally any age. There really isn’t anything else you can say about it. If you don’t like Back To The Future, then you seriously have some sort of emotional problems.

Unsurprisingly, Back to the Future did really well, becoming the highest grossing movie of 1985. The amount of money Back to the Future made was literally double what the second highest grossing movie of the year was. So, of course, a sequel was greenlit.

Back to the Future: Part II and Back to the Future: Part III were shot at the same time, similar to how Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End were shot. Doing so allowed them to save money on not having to rebuild sets or rehire/renegotiate cast and crew, but also to limit continuity errors across the franchise as it was being done at the same time. There wasn’t going to be a flub like how James Bond is ignorant of how to type in Chinese in Tomorrow Never Dies but stated that he studied Oriental languages at Oxford in You Only Live Twice, because damn it, they’d see a mistake like that by putting all out at the same time.

…Right?

You know that look on his face. Bond just got past the last level in Angry Birds: Star Wars

Now, you could look at how Back to the Future: Part II portrayed the then distant year of 2015 (it’s 2015, all those Photoshops are lying to you) and laugh at it, but there’s two reasons why you shouldn’t:

1. Past ideas of future technology always seems way too ambitious/intense and future events will almost always never match up to the fantastical on the timeline given. Star Trek: The Original Series speaks of a massive war that was basically mass genocide in the distant year of 1992. The most recent movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, makes references to this war, not changing any of the dates. Lost in Space as well as Escape from New York both took place in the distant future year of 1997. Guess what? The fact that we didn’t go to Jupiter twelve years ago doesn’t make 2001: A Space Odyssey any less of a classic. To pick apart what’s different from their future to now is silly and would make a bad What The Film!? Especially when you realize that:
2. Back to the Future trilogy director Robert Zemeckis didn’t even want to make an accurate 2015. He didn’t spend several years with scientists and professors like Steven Spielberg did for Minority Report, he decided to have fun with it. The scenes in 2015 were made to be intentionally silly with technology that he didn’t think would exist. Rather than make a future that would be dated or some bizarre retrofuturism mess, they made the decision to make their 2015 as funny as they could. Bob Gale, the writer of the franchise stated “We knew we weren’t going to have flying cars by the year 2015, but God we had to have those in our movie“.
3. It becomes even sillier to make fun of what they got wrong, when you realize what they got right. Putting cameras absolutely everywhere seems like a joke in 1985, but in 2013, that seems totally normal. Asia was portrayed as a superpower with reaching influence into the United States, flat panel televisions with picture-in-picture abilities are shown, as well as video chatting not unlike Skype. The largest leap in technology is in a joke where a child makes fun of an old arcade game for necessitating in having a controller. Microsoft didn’t even start on development on Kinect till 2005, sixteen years after Back to the Future: Part II came out.

Microsoft saw the world playing the Wii and thought “Man, I bet we can make people look even stupider while playing a game”

Long story short, the problem with Part II  is that it doesn’t follow its own logic. The movie begins with Marty and Doc traveling to 2015 to solve some small problem, but they unknowingly allow 2015 Biff to steal the time machine to get a future Sports Almanac to 1955 Biff. With this information, 1955 Biff bets on almost every game he can, growing a massive fortune. 2015 Biff returns the time machine back to 2015, with Marty and Doc unaware of what just occurred. It doesn’t hit them till they go back to 1985 and find that the small town they lived in is now a corrupt mess, run by a power hungry and very rich Biff.

Marty suggests that they go back to 2015, in order to stop 2015 Biff from stealing the time machine and almanac, but it’s not possible. When 2015 Biff brought the almanac back to 1955 Biff, he created a second timeline. There are now two timelines, one where 1955 Biff received the Almanac (that led to the 1985 mess), and the timeline where 1955 Biff never did, being the accurate timeline (as accurate as you can be after Marty changed his parents into completely different people and started to live a life that he had no memories of).

Since Marty and Doc were currently in the 1955 Biff-has-the-almanac-timeline, the 2015 that they would travel to would not be the 2015 they needed to go to in order to stop 2015 Biff. The only way to stop 2015 Biff’s plans is to go back to 1955 where the timeline originally split, and make sure the split never occurs, saving the day. In this now corrupted timeline, it’s impossible to return to the 3D Shark-heavy 2015 wonderland they originally went to. It just cannot happen.

Except 2015 Biff did.

2015 Biff took the almanac from 2015 and went back in time to 1955 and changed the course of history. Despite this, he managed to go back to the original unchanged 2015 to return the time machine to Doc and Marty. I’m fairly certain not even Doctor Who could have managed that one (not the BBC Timelord, my Indonesian dentist. I’m not sure why I felt the need to bring him up. He can’t rollerblade either. Cool guy, though).

He always bugs me about flossing. It’s like can we talk about something besides teeth, I mean COME ON.

Despite filming two movies at the same time to save money, time, and to maintain a consistency through the movies, they managed to negate themselves in the first sequel. The plot point that starts the plotline of Back to the Future: Part II and Back to the Future: Part III doesn’t make sense in the universe they’ve built. It’s like some weird cartoon universe where the laws of physics can be broken if it’s to create a plotline.

And despite that, the franchise is still wonderful though. 

Follow Dane on Twitter and Tumblr!