Taken purely as a musical documentary, Echotone can be likened to Dig! in the sense that the film spends much of its time examining the balance of integrity and success interspersed with live music performances. Comparatively I would say that it even does a better job of developing a relationship between the audience and the musicians and had the film stayed on this course, it could have reached an elite documentary status. However the film never develops a solid identity and ultimately we're left with a loud and visually striking piece that reminds of what could have been.

First let's look at the bands. If someone had asked me to film a collection of musicians that represent the best of what Austin has to offer, I don't think I could have made a better lineup choice. Echotone focuses primarily on the core of:

Belaire - The band struggles with commercial success and integrity
Black Joe Lewis - Signed to a major label deal and covered in critical praise, he still works his day job delivering fish
Dana Falconberry - The singer like many Austin musicians works at a coffee shop by day and plays music at night
Sunset - The new project of former Sound Team member Bill Baird whose experience with Capitol Music made him re-examine success

The film also features contributions from The Black Angels, Machine, The White White Lights and others. The core group of musicians each provide a different yet compelling look into the life of a musician. Each ultimately examines the question of success and each musician charts a different path as time elapses. The film shot in 2008-2009 could have provided an epilogue at the end for those who do not follow these musicians on a regular basis. By the way, the soundtrack is available for free from Paste Magazine. Download it here.

Their performances are amazing and are a great example of the film's visual storytelling which features incredible shots from construction cranes and buildings under construction. If everything was muted, its visuals are a standalone work of art.

The problem I have with the film is that they could have done so much more in examining the battle between downtown residents and music venues. The only time anyone who resides downtown speaks their point of view are two scenes from a city hall meeting where one resident compares terrorism to late night concerts and another says they like music but don't want someone else's taste forced upon them.

The dynamic between musicians, artists and downtown development is a very rich subject. One great opportunity would have been to interview residents who live next to Mohawk and Club de Ville and get their side of the story because it is the strongest physical reference to the dynamic of music and development. They feature the building but they don't feature it's stories.

They interview the developer of the now completed Spring Condominium project who approaches the subject of development with perhaps the most powerful quote of the movie (I'm paraphrasing here) "Everyone carps on the fact that Austin was so much better when they moved here. If you came in the 70s then should have been here during the 60s. If you came in the 80s you should have been here in the 70s"

I remember my favorite concert of all time was a 2007 unofficial SXSW show at Gallery Lombardi that featured IAMX. I still recall most of the concert and what it was like standing inches from Chris Corner and rocking out while they played an awesome set.

It was the last show at that venue and just weeks later it was torn down to build residences. I wanted that connection, I wanted them to show venues that no longer exist and examine how cultural destruction is leading to a loss of identity. At times the film approaches the subject but each time we're left with a hint but not an answer.

Towards the end, the film features a segment on SXSW showing its growth and commercialization and in light of this year's fiasco, its more relevant than ever. The film covers the original aims of SXSW and how its grown into this perceived must have for any unsigned band but with an opportunity to really present a strong point of view it simply shows striking visuals and fails to capitalize on the narrative of how its become so large that any one band is fighting against thousands of others for the supposed benefits of a major deal that at this point in the music industry are a moot point.

Overall the film gets high marks for being an amazing documentary about Austin's music scene. The beautiful visuals and live performances persuade viewers to see the film as a look into a musician's daily life which is ultimately what the filmmaker's total focus should have been.

Greg Maddux

Al Gore

Scary isn't it?

ODB > Shawn Colvin > Puff Daddy

- The Grammy's suck but let's be honest, ODB's famous interruption is a classic moment in the "Screw the dumbest awards show ever" highlight reel. My favorite quotes "I bought me a outfit today that costed a lot of money" "Wu-Tang is for the children" and "Puffy is good but Wu-Tang is the best"

ODB Picks up Welfare in a Limo

- True classic of American cinema

Baby I Got Your Money

- This song was actually one of the ways I bonded with one of my best friends back when we were in college. Chris and I would either recite the lyrics or make the clapping sound. I still love when I occasionally hear this song in the club. I will honestly go into Ranch and or JBlacks for this song (and maybe the first 20 seconds of Hypnotize by Notorious BIG)

ODB interview outtakes

I won't describe this with words, words are nothing compared to ODB

ODB's Freestyle

Whatever he says it sounds cool. Subtitles?

RZA and ODB at a high school talent show?

ODB Speaks His Mind in Brooklyn Without Shoes

- I see a lot of people in Downtown Austin that seem to say the exact same thing (no embedding, check it out here). "You ain't gotta tell your teacher off tell your teacher off with education you kno what im sayin BOMB his ass White devil motherfucker"

... if only ODB ran for president.

Avatar Internet > Earth Internet
On Pandora, if you want to get online and check emails from your ancestors, IM with animals or post on the Tree God's forum, all you have to do is plug your hair into their network. No router. No 404 errors. No network problems. No $30 in monthly fees. No unhelpful foreign tech support telling you to cycle the modem. No rickrolling. No trolling.

In fact the only bad part is that if someone with dirty hair also uses the same connection point you're going to get some nasty hair issues.

edit: Their internet doesn't have porn or torrents so its probably even

Avatar's Blue People > Blue Man Group > "Blue (ba da bee)" by Eiffel 65
Avatar's blue people are 10 feet tall, shoot poisonous arrows and can communicate with nature without the use of acid. The blue man group just bangs on stuff and Eiffel 65 still sucks.

Long and awkward crowd shots: Matrix Reloaded > Avatar
Avatar features some really out of place shots during the community prayer sequence at the magic tree (yes I did just say that). All the blue people swaying and praying made me feel awkward much in the way that the cave rave shots from Matrix Reloaded made that movie awkward. The only difference was the Matrix had some nips.

Avatar political preaching > Michael Moore
I know everyone has already covered this but rather than choose to be subtle in how he presented his message, James Cameron made it perfectly clear. The blue people are Democrats.

Use of black screens to cut scenes: Law and Order > Avatar
Avatar surprised me in that it featured multiple instances where a new scene was introduced by the previous scene fading to black. At least Law and Order puts some text to give you an idea of where they are.

Big budget lesser known actors: Sam Worthington > Elijah Wood
In order to play Frodo, Elijah Wood basically grew out his hair because he's already a small person. Sam Worthington either had the muscles removed from his legs or he rode a Segway for three months straight because when they did shots of his legs, they were sticks. I'll give him some respect for dedication.

Those things you sit in and shoot things with: Avatar > Matrix Revolutions
In Matrix reloaded the TTYSIASTW's were pretty lame (not to mention the cringeworthy Braveheart ripoff speech where the general rallies the TTYSIASTW operators and they all lift their left arm gun things in unison). In Avatar the TTYSIASTWs featured a cockpit w/HUD that protected them rather than the open cockpits of the machines in Matrix Revolutions. The TTYSIASTWs in Avatar allowed them to manipulate objects and hold different weapons and had a surprising amount of dexterity. In both movies however, the TTYSIASTWs are ultimately defeated by smaller and more nimble creatures.

More unlikely romance: Anna Nicole Smith and that rich old guy > Avatar
Both examples feature people that shouldn't really be together considering their circumstances but in each instance their romances were able to flourish despite criticism from close friends/family. In Avatar the fake blue guy is nearly killed by his future wife which tends to happen a lot in the real world. How often do we hear things like "My wife is gonna kill me when she finds out I bet on the Colts" or "My wife almost killed me with a golf club after discovering I cheated on her with 10 different women."

But the reason Anna Nicole Smith wins is because even blind people could see through that romance. Of course she's dead now so I guess her move didn't really pay off (yeah cruel joke but Haiti is much more tragic than a former Playboy model with drug problems)

Would an army of dragons, dinosaurs and archers actually beat a squad of gunships in real life?
Yes but only due to the fact that with current budget overruns and controversies over military contracts, these machines will probably never be built.

Blue-daism > RDAtheism
You'll only get that if you saw the movie.

I encourage you to watch the trailer first then read about all of the mistakes this film is making below:

- First of all KARATE IS FROM JAPAN. It was developed in Japan's Ryukyu Islands and was later brought to main land Japan. I'd like to take this opportunity to note that international relations between China and Japan are cordial but the countries are not close in any way. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Chinese people are mad that a Japanese martial art is featured in main land China.

- Second of all Jackie Chan is a master of Kung-Fu. Knowing Kung Fu is in no way akin to knowing Karate ... imagine driving an automatic transmission and thinking you don't need someone to teach you how to drive a semi-truck because you "know how to drive."

- Third the film is really negative in how it portrays Chinese life. The film portrays China as an ambivalent society that doesn't welcome foreigners but I would completely disagree ... if you look at the China's record on human rights, you'll see a loving inclusive society that encourages diversity. /sarcasm

- Fourth of all the film acts like all Chinese children know martial arts. That's bullshit. Most of the Chinese people I know can't bench press the bar at the gym (mainly because they are women) and the ones that are really strong would rather brag about their successful careers and basketball skills rather than any prowess in martial arts.

- Fifth of all Jackie Chan isn't a great choice for a lead character. If you want someone who knows how to kick some ass, cast someone from the UFC who uses karate to win championships (cough Lyoto Machida cough). With the emergence of mixed martial arts, it makes other martial arts actors (with the exception of Tony Jaa from Ong Bak fame) look like well ... actors.

- Sixth of all the film gives it a 2000s "Dance Movie" type feel. If you watched the trailer and felt like you were watching Save the Last Dance, you aren't alone.

- Seventh of all the film, if you're still reading, I did some research while writing this post and discovered that the film will indeed be about Kung Fu. So then why the hell call it The Karate Kid? WTF?

LOLOLOLOLOL

Content scraping FTW!