Music Review: Broken Bells

Broken Bells is two-man band made up of James Mercer of the Shins on vocals and guitar and Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), better known as half of Gnarls Barkley, doing most everything else including piano, drums, bass, and synthesizer. Their self-titled album was released in early 2010, after the release of a single, The High Road, in December 2009. The band has a unique, sometimes eerie, sound and their 10 track album is one of my favorites. It's rare that I buy a full album, and although not all the songs are equal, they are all good in their own way. Tied for my favorite are The High Road and October. Instead of me trying and failing to describe them, take a listen for yourself: The High Road, October. Close behind are Vaporize and The Ghost Inside. I imagine that this band has a lot of varied influences, which are really what make it unique. The vocals at the beginning of The Ghost Inside, in my opinion at least, are even Michael Jackson-esque. This is a quality album all around, and it deserves some recognition.

Frankl-y Speaking

Man's Search for Meaning is a unique account of the Holocaust. Unlike Elie Wiesel in Night, Frankl was an adult while in the camps and saw it through his background in psychiatry. This allowed him to analyze the mindset of the prisoner, and examine what made people persevere in the face of intense suffering. I was surprised by how much of a difference it made to have something to hope for, to look forward to. Frankl thought not only of his wife but of the manuscript of his book that was destroyed in Auschwitz. He credits his survival, besides some luck, with his determination to re-write the book. The importance of one's mental state was demonstrated in a story about of of Frankl's friends who had a dream they'd be liberated by March 30th. As the day approached, it was pretty obvious they weren't close to being liberated. The man became ill with typhus and died on the 30th. Frankl believes that the man was so set on being free that day, that when he realized he wouldn't be he lost the will to live. Sometimes the difference between life and death was just a mindset.