I went to their show last Tuesday at Webster Hall. The performance was just what I expected―chill music by a band that that's sophisticated enough to give a good show. Although it wasn't anything exciting I was able to enjoy the lead singer's amazingly sexy voice.
Unsurprisingly, the audience was full of a rather older crowd with packs of britons here and there. The set was short and sweet. The encore was welcomed by me, as they hadn't performed my favorite two songs, "Dakota" and "Maybe Tomorrow" until then. Kelly Jones performed an acousitc intepretation of "Maybe Tomorrow" and for a moment I felt pure bliss through my ears.
Anna Farris is a gem. Recently, there is no other actress in the genre of comedy who makes me laugh as much as she does. It's unfortunate that House Bunny has been the first opportunity for her to shine as the lead role. The movie ensued some hilarity, but its awkward transitions and cinematography ruined the rather smooth progression of the film.
It's still worth a watch because the entire female ensemble puts on a delightful performance.
My friend at madeablog has already been blogging forever about this underrated and relatively undiscovered band. I went to see them open for the Black Kids a while back. They were probably the most delightful surprise this summer. I was so satisfied by their performance that the friend and I just left immediately after the opening act to go watch Iron Man (terrible movie by the way).
I remember how before the show Caroline, the girl vocal, was complaining how she was denied a drink (for not having the wristband) from the bar and was constantly treated like shit at Bowery Ballroom. This was probably because they were only an opening act... but now with the exposure from the iPod nano commercial, I'm sure they're going to hit it big. I can tell that it's very imminent!
Dear readership (i.e. friends who I force to read my blog). I havn't posted in a while since I didn't rot at work as much as I did before. I promise to post more once since I got back to New York and I'll start watching live shows and movies in theaters.
But I do have one noteworthy movie that I've seen recently that I highly recommend:
This Israeli film won the Caméra d'Or (The Golden Camera award) at the Cannes Festival this year. It's another one of those "different people - same city - all intertwine" movies (examples being Crash, Love Actually, Heights). But the movie seems a bit more authetic than others; maybe because it's an international film devoid of all the hollywood commercialism. My favorite scene has to be when a newly wed woman reads, with a voice over, a poem that she previously wrote which was eventually finished by a writer, with whom they swapped hotel rooms. (Sorry for being so vague, otherwise I'd be spoiling the plot for you). Some of the plot lines and editing wasn't up to par, but the visuals and the enticing, magical realism of the movie makes up for it.
I tried to ponder on its thematic significance and I concluded that it's really a movie that portrays human relationships and self revelations. My friend made a good point that, as an Israeli film, the film makes a lot of references to death and rebirth. I'd have to watch this for a second time to make better conclusions.
P.S. I'm looking for that poem from the movie, please let me know if you find it anywhere online!
Disco Dust recently posted MSTRKRFT's newest remix and it's of Green Light by John Legend feat. Andre 300. I'm not too fond of the 'mixee' John Legend (maybe because he's ugly? I saw him perform live at school and it didn't do anything for me) but I'm still digging this track. However, the MSTRKRFT remix that I most shamelessly listened to was of Jesse McCartney's Leavin'.
I saw MSTRKRFT in Webster Hall back in May, and although it wasn't crazy packed like it was for Justice, it was equally amazing... I HAD SPACE TO DANCE. Towards the end, the crowd flooded the stage and I couldn't see them anymore :(. Although, I do remember this fat girl trying to get on stage for literally five minutes. I couldn't stop laughing, but a couple of nice lads gave her some help and pushed her up on stage. That was our cue for me and my friends to leave and get some scrumptious Yakitori in St. Marks.
I think most people agree that the Brooklyn based Canadian (thanks doinwork) duo's original tracks aren't as impressive as their remixes, but they aren't too shabby either. The single 'Easy Love' deserves a listen.
All music lovers are surprised when I tell them I don't like Radiohead. In fact, I only knew 'Creep' and 'High and Dry' by the band until they made the public stunt with giving out free digital copies of In Rainbows. I was intrigued. I listened to it, wasn't impressed and it was soon deleted.
Around the time they released the second CD for the album, my friend urged me to try them out again. This is when I tried to identify exactly why I don't like them. I can't say for sure, but I think it's Thom Yorke's voice that I find annoying. And their new experimental sound has this darkness that makes me feel uneasy - queasy almost.
You can't say that I didn't try. But honestly, they can stay as "the band that sings Creep" forever in my mind.
One of the most underrated movies of recent times, Heights closely follows the lives of five different New Yorkers in the span of twenty-four hours. It's loosely based on a short play by Amy Fox, who also penned the screenplay for the film.
There's just something really human about each character in the movie, and you would be able to identify with at least one of them. The cinematography and editing gracefully complements the intricate plot. Even if you don't like the whole drama aspect, it packs a few surprisingly funny moments that you shouldn't miss out on.
Trailer:
Did I also mention that it has an amazing cast? Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, Jesse Bradford and Glenn Close. It even has a cameo by Rufus Wainwright!
Last night, I went to see Justice perform at club a near where I live, and needless to say, it was amazing. Before the show, both Gaspard and Xavier were sitting at a table right next to ours. My friends and I shamelessly approached them to take a picture together and I managed to make some small talk with Xavier. I didn't get to say much, but they were probably too french for me to relate anyways.
Their DJ set was definitely a delight and they knew how to please the dance hungry crowd. The mixes weren't as distortion heavy as I expected it to be. May I call it rather mild? But they really kicked ass with their originals. I think the first track from Cross that they played was 'One Minute to Midnight.' It was just ten minutes of pure suspense and release... My memory is a bit hazy after that... I was suffocating in the crowd and probably way to drunk from one too many tequila shots. I left a little early, right after DVNO and D.A.N.C.E, because there was no space to dance or breath. This is also when I decided Justice is now too mainstream for my own good.
Due to a series of unfortunate events, I ended up watching the new Batman.
I rate it a negative 99 instead of the -100 that I predicted, because now I can genuinely make fun of Batman's retarded voice once again (if you don't remember, Christian Bale also had a chronic lugie in his throat in the previous installment).
Maybe I didn't like this movie because I'm shallow. I think Bale, Ledger, and Gyllenhaal are all pretty ugly. And I hate uglies :(. Also, I didn't know it was possible to cast someone who's even uglier than Katie Holmes.
I wasn't lying when I said I can't get enough of him. It's all I listen to on my dinky iriver these days. If anyone gets a hold of his track 'BEEP BEEP' or 'Gotta Boyfriend' please let me know.
The PEBL is seriously ancient (released originally in 2005), so I was confused when a phone with the same moniker was introduced in Korea a few days ago. But us hangookins never leave us disappointed. The new, updated PEBL, designed by the Korean team, has an external touch screen display that lights up through the glossy exterior. It's definitely targeted at female consumers, but everything else about it is so sexy that the I might not mind the color so much. Plus, it sports a standard 3.5mm headphone jack which is a HUGE PLUS. (One day I'm gonna go on a crusade to burn all cellphones with 2.5mm headphone jacks... maybe shove some up the asses of the people who decided to include them on phones in the first place.) You just might have to watch the video to understand.
Korea's most expensive film up to date (17 million USD), The Good, The Bad and The Weird, has been getting quite the buzz recently. Labeled as an oriental western (I came up with this term by myself while watching the movie, and I felt so proud... until I found out that it was already coined a long time ago), the film is set in 1930's Manchuria. It's not a great movie and I know most people hate it for its lack of a plot and unnecessary violence. In fact, I was one of the few who genuinely enjoyed the film in its entirety. I thought it's rather simple plot had an appropriate, quick pace and were accommodated by adrenalin pumping action scenes. The story could have been much more profound, had it attacked any of its underlying themes, ranging from 'revenge' to the' loss of one's motherland.'
However, I think the cinematography was pretty amazing. I'm not surprised since the director, Ji-Woon Kim, has proved his aesthetic prowess behind the camera with his summer horror flick 장화홍련 (A Tale of Two Sisters). I highly recommend both movies, but make sure to see The Good, The Bad and The Weird in theaters now in Korea or in early 2009 during the limited US release.
Probably one of my favorite up-and-coming DJ acts. Surprisingly, I like both his remixes and original works. It's a pity that he's only had a few EPs and collaborations released until now, because I just can't get enough of it. This English boy has developed an interesting sense of style. You can tell once you head over to his myspace page or website, and you should pick up some of his free samples while you're at it.
Video for '3 Little Words'
(Update: Apparently the video can't be played when embedded, but it opens up a new window to the Youtube page)
I saw Free Blood back in April when they opened for Hot Chip at Terminal 5. I'd never heard of the electro duo before, but really I enjoyed their performance. The dude in the pic is John Pugh, one time vocalist and drummer of !!! (ChkChkChk), and he seriously has a crazy stage persona. Towards the end he came off the stage and put his huge face RIGHT in front of mine. (We had momentary eye sex. I can't say if I was honored or scared... maybe both?) Their music is simply fun and full of energy... its like watching like kids singing in playground, only it's infused with instruments/electro beats.
Immediately that night I checked out their myspace page, but they only had two tracks streaming and no official album released. I have resorted to buying their EPs on iTunes with the free song credits I get from my ticketmaster purchases (free is always worth it). I'm looking forward to their album release, but it seems like it won't happen for a while.
This is their music video for "The Royal Family."
Imagine that giant on stage, but writhing even more viciously, like a worm.
Y Tu MamáTambién(literally 'and your mother too') is directed by Alfonso Cuaron and stars two of the most popular Latino actors, Gael GarcíaBernal and Diego Luna. I've been meaning to watch it since it was released in Korean theaters six years ago, but the fact that the bed scenes were was practically soft core pr0n didn't make it easily accessible for a fourteen-year-old.
Despite the long wait, the movie exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed its realistic portrayal of its characters and its subtle approach in covering so many social themes relevant to Latin America. What's interesting is its unusual use of narration. At certain points, the narrator interrupts the soundtrack to describe something that relates what's happening on screen. These tangents seem irrelevant to the plot at the time, but later it becomes clear that they advance the overarching themes of the film. Here's an article that might help you understand the movie even better.
Klein is known to photograph a lot of celebrities for magazine spreads, and that's exactly how I found out about him. It was an Oct 2007 issue of Details magazine with a section called "Brad Pitt by Steven Klein" (as shown above). I usually don't pay attention to these magazine spreads in general, but this one caught my attention with the heavy and colorful digital editing.
His other works are more conventional and not digitally raped so much. While I looked through his photo shoots of other celebrities, I also got a sense that his style fit fashion ads. And because I'm a genius, I was right. He's done ad shoots for Dolce and Gabanna, DSquared, and more girl brands that I don't care about. His website's definitely worth a look.
Click on the links provided below the embeddedplayer. Or you can also click on the 'divShare' logo on the player. Once it directs you to the new page, click on the 'Download Original' link. These are up for sampling purposes only. Please email me if you want them removed.
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