Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
...And Now For Something Completely Different....
Yeah, for the sake prolific-ness and to avoid major gaps in posting I've decided to post my reasoning to a certain ScoreKeeper at Ain't It Cool News why he should give in to the goodness that is the soundtrack to The Dark Knight. Maybe you guys will find it amusing in turn.
Caution: It's longwinded.
You will like The Dark Knight Soundtrack because.... of several factors.
One, we must consider the theatrical essence of the score that allows it to rise above the classic strings to sadness/brass to brawl scoring. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, in their infinite compositional wisdom, matched Christopher Nolan's stark, Hobbesian vision of Gotham with the surprising and poignant punch layers of orchestration that audibly remind us that Gotham is a living, breathing city that has many levels of social deviance and unique rhetoric. Many fans want to harken back to Danny Elfman's original scores on Tim Burton's Batman as the seminal aural conversion of comic aesthetics to film. In many ways it was, but it was strictly tailored to Burton's cartoonish, and uber-goth vision of Bruce Wayne's city. The Elfman score resides, note-perfect, in a place reserved for the bombastic tropes of a composer who is damn good at that kind of thing. A place where grand, ethereal composition streamlined with the richly polished mis-en-scene that the director provided. Granted, Burton is a dark mind that brought us a dark Gotham, but not a darkness that acknowledged black as the absence of color. Consequently, Burton saw black as a color as vibrant and complimentary as the white, red, green, and purple that served to distinguish it. And in this ballet of color, Elfman accordingly scored the film as a frosting to the visual overtness that is the 1989 Batman. I've always said that key lighting and Elfman go hand in hand- and this remains true. But in the absence of sharp blacks and sharp whites there is a gray that is not explored thematically or musically. Cue: James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer.
In Christopher Nolan's Batman, there is a lack of saturated color. There is mostly textual gray. This gray is the areas needing plunged for answers and insight. This is where Nolan received most of his praise, breaking with the surreal, and lensing the opaque, humanistic qualities of Batman's universe. The city streets sounded like city streets in Batman Begins. The pugulist assaults against Gotham's good citizens resonated not only with the sounds of cracking bones, but with the nuances of wounded psyches. This approach thirsted for a score that illuminated these idiosyncracies.
Zimmer and Howard provided a score that ambled through the trash of Gotham's streets, and not the skylines from which the view is much less defined. Their score on Batman Begins echoed Nolan's insistence on penetration at the floor level; at the deeply conflicted sociology of city inhabitants level. It is here that the brass and woodwind only kick in sparingly at the few moments in which our main characters see momentary glimpses of certainty in an uncertain world. Batman Begins was as much about the struggle of one pained soul trying to evaluate the nature of his existence as it was about laying the transparent foundations of his legacy as the iconoclastic Batman figure. Deep, lingering strings were needed to convey the tension and the quagmire of the very human mind of a very fictional character. The battle cries of the horns were needed as the harbingers of destruction; tangibly and existentially. Zimmer and Howard had us flounder with the drama their music created between the words, keeping us, the viewer, closer to the chest than the characters, but as unaware of the latent pitfalls as any of these on-screen characters could be. Cue: The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight brought with it an adversary as deeply wounded as Bruce Wayne. And this adversary's pain had the uncanny function of mobilizing the "id" dwelling within the Gotham collective. The Joker's bright and jagged face paint seems to have been a purposeful shield, or cloth, covering the gray, chortling viscera contained underneath. It is this "grey matter" that Howard and Zimmer were already in tune with with the previous film. And their orchestral foundations for Nolan's universe found a new playground in this foe. A playground with all the rattling of chain swing sets and popping of metal under the weight of children descending down tinny slides. There are the expected sounds in a playground- the surface sounds- that everyone quickly imagines. People imagine the cacaphony of yelps, giggles, the swish of frenetic action. Certainly, these are expected and immersive sounds, but they are only a component of the audible chaos. Zimmer and Howard understood this and decidedly "rattled the cage", as so to say. The composers brought The Dark Knight a stringy muscle prone to spasm and contraction under the weight of the character's actions; or, sometimes, inaction.
"Why So Serious" and "Like a Dog Chasing Cars" brought an audible suspension of manic tension. The one note hammer ons that jangled the spine of these tracks convey the vision of a piece of trash being blown down Gotham's side streets, collecting more and more refuse and momentum. The planetary physics apply here, as a rogue space matter gains more velocity with the "Aggressive Expansion" of mass. This trash is the Joker, obviously. Whereas the composition "Why So Serious" set the tone with nervous stutters and calamitous percussion, "Like a Dog Chasing Cars" smooths this propulsion into a siren of danger and runaway ambition.
Juxtapose these pieces with the refrained and cautious tracks, "I'm Not a Hero" and "A Dark Knight" and you have the optimal and dramatic collision course between two minds battling for soul of the city. Bruce Wayne's track are artfully scaled back and plodding in comparison to "Why So Serious" and "Like a Dog Chasing Cars", as to show the divergence of purpose between the hero and the villain... and the same end game. However, "I'm Not a Hero" and "A Dark Knight" thematically are more sullen, and prone to apprehension. The crying strings and murmuring brass aren't exploitive and allow the listener to extrapolate the most core themes from Bruce Wayne's covetously-kept, internal strife. Zimmer and Howard have the decency to provide character-specific scoring that acts as a guidepost to the consequences unfolding, and not a direct interpretation of such things. Here again, I should note, these composers have succeeded in streamlining their approach to Nolan's gritty, deep tragedy. Like any great tragedy, the chorus does not merely fill in the grey, but moreso it makes us re-examine these contradictions while the story moves dilligently onward.
Harvey Dent is an indisposable element to this story and has been treated thus. Zimmer and Howard use their most optimistic compositions in regards to his rise and fall. It is because a track like "Harvey Two Face" is so optimistic and lifting- with wide swathes of strings and sustained french horns- that his inevitable corruption is so poignant. The score in relationship to Harvey Dent's progression is the most obvious, but it has to be because that is what the character, undilluted, stands for. He was to be the only true civil servant, and was stripped of his virtues by the most craven of forces. Zimmer and Howard's choices for Harvey's character almost stand as their greatest prestidigitation on this soundtrack. The sleight of hand they pull when implementing such a commercial orchestration is one that can only be pulled off by the masters of musical composition for film. I know not to question its presence, because, in the end, it's the only audible jigsaw that can act as a cornerstone in an environment of crumbling morality. And isn't that what Harvey Dent was promised to be... once.
---------------------
My name is Damon Peoples and I go by "Damonster" when logged in to AICN. I hope this, at the least, adds some perspective to your opinions on the soundtrack. Keep up the good work, Scorekeeper.
Caution: It's longwinded.
You will like The Dark Knight Soundtrack because.... of several factors.
One, we must consider the theatrical essence of the score that allows it to rise above the classic strings to sadness/brass to brawl scoring. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, in their infinite compositional wisdom, matched Christopher Nolan's stark, Hobbesian vision of Gotham with the surprising and poignant punch layers of orchestration that audibly remind us that Gotham is a living, breathing city that has many levels of social deviance and unique rhetoric. Many fans want to harken back to Danny Elfman's original scores on Tim Burton's Batman as the seminal aural conversion of comic aesthetics to film. In many ways it was, but it was strictly tailored to Burton's cartoonish, and uber-goth vision of Bruce Wayne's city. The Elfman score resides, note-perfect, in a place reserved for the bombastic tropes of a composer who is damn good at that kind of thing. A place where grand, ethereal composition streamlined with the richly polished mis-en-scene that the director provided. Granted, Burton is a dark mind that brought us a dark Gotham, but not a darkness that acknowledged black as the absence of color. Consequently, Burton saw black as a color as vibrant and complimentary as the white, red, green, and purple that served to distinguish it. And in this ballet of color, Elfman accordingly scored the film as a frosting to the visual overtness that is the 1989 Batman. I've always said that key lighting and Elfman go hand in hand- and this remains true. But in the absence of sharp blacks and sharp whites there is a gray that is not explored thematically or musically. Cue: James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer.
In Christopher Nolan's Batman, there is a lack of saturated color. There is mostly textual gray. This gray is the areas needing plunged for answers and insight. This is where Nolan received most of his praise, breaking with the surreal, and lensing the opaque, humanistic qualities of Batman's universe. The city streets sounded like city streets in Batman Begins. The pugulist assaults against Gotham's good citizens resonated not only with the sounds of cracking bones, but with the nuances of wounded psyches. This approach thirsted for a score that illuminated these idiosyncracies.
Zimmer and Howard provided a score that ambled through the trash of Gotham's streets, and not the skylines from which the view is much less defined. Their score on Batman Begins echoed Nolan's insistence on penetration at the floor level; at the deeply conflicted sociology of city inhabitants level. It is here that the brass and woodwind only kick in sparingly at the few moments in which our main characters see momentary glimpses of certainty in an uncertain world. Batman Begins was as much about the struggle of one pained soul trying to evaluate the nature of his existence as it was about laying the transparent foundations of his legacy as the iconoclastic Batman figure. Deep, lingering strings were needed to convey the tension and the quagmire of the very human mind of a very fictional character. The battle cries of the horns were needed as the harbingers of destruction; tangibly and existentially. Zimmer and Howard had us flounder with the drama their music created between the words, keeping us, the viewer, closer to the chest than the characters, but as unaware of the latent pitfalls as any of these on-screen characters could be. Cue: The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight brought with it an adversary as deeply wounded as Bruce Wayne. And this adversary's pain had the uncanny function of mobilizing the "id" dwelling within the Gotham collective. The Joker's bright and jagged face paint seems to have been a purposeful shield, or cloth, covering the gray, chortling viscera contained underneath. It is this "grey matter" that Howard and Zimmer were already in tune with with the previous film. And their orchestral foundations for Nolan's universe found a new playground in this foe. A playground with all the rattling of chain swing sets and popping of metal under the weight of children descending down tinny slides. There are the expected sounds in a playground- the surface sounds- that everyone quickly imagines. People imagine the cacaphony of yelps, giggles, the swish of frenetic action. Certainly, these are expected and immersive sounds, but they are only a component of the audible chaos. Zimmer and Howard understood this and decidedly "rattled the cage", as so to say. The composers brought The Dark Knight a stringy muscle prone to spasm and contraction under the weight of the character's actions; or, sometimes, inaction.
"Why So Serious" and "Like a Dog Chasing Cars" brought an audible suspension of manic tension. The one note hammer ons that jangled the spine of these tracks convey the vision of a piece of trash being blown down Gotham's side streets, collecting more and more refuse and momentum. The planetary physics apply here, as a rogue space matter gains more velocity with the "Aggressive Expansion" of mass. This trash is the Joker, obviously. Whereas the composition "Why So Serious" set the tone with nervous stutters and calamitous percussion, "Like a Dog Chasing Cars" smooths this propulsion into a siren of danger and runaway ambition.
Juxtapose these pieces with the refrained and cautious tracks, "I'm Not a Hero" and "A Dark Knight" and you have the optimal and dramatic collision course between two minds battling for soul of the city. Bruce Wayne's track are artfully scaled back and plodding in comparison to "Why So Serious" and "Like a Dog Chasing Cars", as to show the divergence of purpose between the hero and the villain... and the same end game. However, "I'm Not a Hero" and "A Dark Knight" thematically are more sullen, and prone to apprehension. The crying strings and murmuring brass aren't exploitive and allow the listener to extrapolate the most core themes from Bruce Wayne's covetously-kept, internal strife. Zimmer and Howard have the decency to provide character-specific scoring that acts as a guidepost to the consequences unfolding, and not a direct interpretation of such things. Here again, I should note, these composers have succeeded in streamlining their approach to Nolan's gritty, deep tragedy. Like any great tragedy, the chorus does not merely fill in the grey, but moreso it makes us re-examine these contradictions while the story moves dilligently onward.
Harvey Dent is an indisposable element to this story and has been treated thus. Zimmer and Howard use their most optimistic compositions in regards to his rise and fall. It is because a track like "Harvey Two Face" is so optimistic and lifting- with wide swathes of strings and sustained french horns- that his inevitable corruption is so poignant. The score in relationship to Harvey Dent's progression is the most obvious, but it has to be because that is what the character, undilluted, stands for. He was to be the only true civil servant, and was stripped of his virtues by the most craven of forces. Zimmer and Howard's choices for Harvey's character almost stand as their greatest prestidigitation on this soundtrack. The sleight of hand they pull when implementing such a commercial orchestration is one that can only be pulled off by the masters of musical composition for film. I know not to question its presence, because, in the end, it's the only audible jigsaw that can act as a cornerstone in an environment of crumbling morality. And isn't that what Harvey Dent was promised to be... once.
---------------------
My name is Damon Peoples and I go by "Damonster" when logged in to AICN. I hope this, at the least, adds some perspective to your opinions on the soundtrack. Keep up the good work, Scorekeeper.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
National Celebrate Alli Balli Day!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy 24th Birthday to Alli from 3 corporate aliens!
Soooo, if you see this girl on the streets, tell her Happy Birthday for, like, weeks!
Soooo, if you see this girl on the streets, tell her Happy Birthday for, like, weeks!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Yay! Porn!
Amazing music festival ad...
XXX Diesel is going to be an awesome international live music show. You should check out the official site... http://www.diesel.com/xxx/. Pedro Winter, uffie, M.I.A., woop, woop!
Vintage robot porn...
XXX Diesel is going to be an awesome international live music show. You should check out the official site... http://www.diesel.com/xxx/. Pedro Winter, uffie, M.I.A., woop, woop!
Vintage robot porn...
An arbitrary moment dedicated to Licking
Juliette Lewis's band, Juliette and the Licks aren't half bad and I thought I'd share a video if you haven't heard them yet. She's sexy in a crazy Tonto type of way. And she's got a crazy growl.
Note: Juliette Lewis has provided vocals for a handful of Prodigy songs. Neato!
Note: Juliette Lewis has provided vocals for a handful of Prodigy songs. Neato!
I don't know how I let this commercial slip by....
Daft Punk...denim...Juliette Lewis. How did this contractual obligation come about? Still, it amuses me. I guess those are three bad ass elements. Too bad it was a GAP commercial. I'd bet the Creative Artist Agency was behind this.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Ghostbusters 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..... and not the video game!
Early confirmations of steps moving forward in the production of a new entry into the Ghostbusters series has been vocalized. Harold Ramis has submitted his screenplay (I believe co-written by Dan Akroyd) to vested parties. Word is Judd Apatow would produce with the the original director, Ivan Reitman, manning the cannons. Harold Ramis stated that Venkman would return in all his glory, even though Bill Murray has been not so accommodating in the past. However, he agreed to lend his voice to the forthcoming videogame! More than I can say for Sigourney Weaver, who thought it was blasphemous to be a part of a videogame mock-up. I guess she though Alien 4 was a serious Golden Globe contender.
The plot, from what Dan Akroyd described years ago for a third GB, deals with the team of guileless paranormal investigators going through a gate to Hell. Once in Hell they realize that they are just back in NYC again. Except.... everything that NYC grates on people with has been manifested to ridiculous proportions. Gridlock, hazardous cabbies, mystery meat venders, etc.,etc.
Now, keep in mind that that was years ago that he stated this. And they (Ramis and Akroyd) wrote a script specifically for the new videogame. And that this new story seems to be a tad different. Supposedly, the aged Ghostbusters might be training new recruits for the third outing. With Apatow on board, it could be assumed that anyone from Paul Rudd to Seth Rogen to Will Ferrell could be taking on the business of learning the trade. Who knows, but it sure is exciting for a guy who still has the Ghostbusters Firehouse in firm lock-up.
Wonder what some of your thoughts might be? I know I'm fucking excited they are going to have the original team return (yes, Ernie Hudson). Fuck Sigourney Weaver though. Actually, no, I'd like her to come back too. She's only essential for nostalgic sake.
"No Dana. There is only Zuel!"
"Viggo, the master of evil, trying to battle my boys; that's not legal!"
Look out for The Donald, SNL ladies, Superman, and....Downtown Julie Brown?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Zak and Miri Make a Porno Trailer
Kevin Smith is either hit or miss with me, and that probably is well shared sentiment. Dogma is the greatest offering of his even though it's a tad in love with it's verbosity. Clerks II just was too cheesy. Sorry everybody.
But here comes Zak and Miri Make a Porno! Kevin Smith's new movie was filmed in my favorite smokestack, Pittsburgh, and it looks like it'll score big. Seems that with Seth Rogen showing up Kevin Smith might've decided to relax his reigns on traditional scene blocking. Hopefully, it skirts the wave Apatow-esque comedy and falls in to it's own niche.
I don't know why the red band trailer is at AskMen.com but it is. Check it out, Star Whores!
Time to feel sad.......aaaaaahhhh......
Absolutely magnificent bender of a song here. Ignore the crazy bitch hoppin' around like she thinks she's entertaining. Thanks to SPIN for the heads up on hot MP3's section.
Close your eyes and enjoy the song. Forget Magnolia too.
Close your eyes and enjoy the song. Forget Magnolia too.
Time to feel good.....aaaaahhhhhh......
Hey, everybody!
I found an awesome new haircut and wardrobe for you guys that'll definitely get you noticed by the execs around the office.....
And here is a guy who really knows how to have good time in front of a blue screen...
If it wasn't for Jared Leto the sacred art of guy-liner would be lost amongst the embers of another imploded decade.
Hey, Courtney Cox!
I found an awesome new haircut and wardrobe for you guys that'll definitely get you noticed by the execs around the office.....
And here is a guy who really knows how to have good time in front of a blue screen...
If it wasn't for Jared Leto the sacred art of guy-liner would be lost amongst the embers of another imploded decade.
Hey, Courtney Cox!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Electro, simply
Electro (French specifically), simply is Trent Reznor's early 90's audible drill being shoved through a gauntlet of molestating, Solid-Gold era beats.
Mmmm, That's that.
-Damonster
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Black Kids are Vanilla
The Black Kids are alright. Saw them in NYC last Friday. They are heralded as the Hot Band/Buzz Band of 2008, but I'm not exactly buying it.They've got a killer recorded sound. The Black Kid's first full-length, "Partie Traumatic", acts like a sugary sweet lasso that pulls youngsters into the din of mind state where The Psychedelic Furs and The Cure inhabited during the 1980's. It's akin to this Jacksonville quintet lacing our post-9/11 Mojitos with saccharine rufinol held over from a 1986 marathon haze. I feel it's far more effective on the 18-21 age group, as it didn't catalyze any emotional overhaul when I stood before The Black Kids live set. As a 24 year old, I've aged grumpily above the mere composting of the happy-go-lucky, 80's new wave stylings. It just doesn't transport me as easily as it does with the "post-9/11 rosebudding of self awareness" going on with the the kids 5-8 years younger. They are more attuned to lapping up this well conceived, candy goodness. I won't deny that every song is damn catchy and pop-worthy.... it just bores me after a while. The record carries me a little farther than their live sound, which distorts the angular melodies into puddles of synth, reverb, muted bass, and sketchy vocals. This might've just been the acoustics at the venue, The Santos Party House in the lower eastside, but it might have just been a result of unrealistic expectations that plague these Buzz Bands. One minute they are Caesar standing before the Senate and delivering their virginal sounds to the masses, and the next they have been descended upon by hundreds of stab-hungry critics. Only time will tell. I guess I'm a pre-emptive stabber.
Let's not forget that the band manages good rock music that goes down real easy. Occasionally there are lyrical flourishes that I approve. Every once in a while there is the self reference made by singer, Reggie Youngblood, that he is a girl. That is very Lou Reed of you, thank you. There is also a moment in "Hit the Heartbrakes" that it is declared, "hot as balls". Now....that's just humorous. Not even in context. Just the phrase, "hot as balls", is damn funny. It's like saying some chick is a "major slut". Pondering the military hiearchy of peter-poundage and equating the temperature's abrasiveness with an amorphous mess that is the male ball sack keep me in step. It makes this guy grin. Not a real concrete critique, but, whatever.
The real winfall from this show going experience was the opening band, Zambri. Whoa, do those bitches rock the house or what. Unlike their recorded material, their live shit blew my mind. It sonically scratched my psyche and left me a-ga-ga. That's another story for another day.
And since a one Michael left a post berrating the lack of boobage and rock'n'roll material, I have answered his prayers
.
.Behold, rockin' boobyage....
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Mainstream Overload
I wandered around St. Marks in NYC this past weekend and I found a plethora of plaid fringed scarves. BEWARE! I am no stranger to this fad, but I want to forewarn all of our readers that very soon this trend will breach the line in the sands of coolness, and become yet another victim of over indulgence. I recommend trying a tartan plaid or silk scarf to stand out a bit more, but honestly I would give this trend a rest for the fall.
The next fruit born out of the horn of plenty is not a specific style, but a brand, Ed Hardy. I know the tattoo trend seems irresistible, but once you take a gander at the Ed Hardy energy drink, I think you will feel differently.
To further help you with your impulses I want to reveal that Ed Hardy fanatics are all being duped. Ed Hardy clothing is designed by Christian Audigier, who was formally known as the head designer of Von Dutch, and just like Von Dutch this brand is getting old and stale. Both Von Dutch and Ed Hardy employed the tactic (which has sadly succeeded) of handing out freebie merchandise to celebs in order to infiltrate the masses. Don't become another pawn in their twisted copy cat game.
Lastly I want to discuss colored jeans, a trend I myself employ. I predict that colored jeans will become a one trick pony. I love colors that pop and stand out, however when everyone is wearing a pair (and they will) you simply look like everyone else. They will loose their appeal once they become overplayed, but I suppose the decision to wear or not to wear is all yours.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Perfect Prepster
Get ready boys and girls, cardigans are heading our way. A recent influx of the traditional button down two pocket cardigan has hit almost every major mall in America. Often times I suggest ebay and other thrift stores for searching and this is no exception. But if you tend to a bit more reserved with your clothing you might want to go for a vintage Lacoste, or a fitted new cardigan. However, in this glamour girl's opinion the best thing about this old favorite are the D.I.Y. options.
Anyone can wear one of these trendy sweaters, but I recommend that you add your own bit of flare (and not like the Nazis). Try searching through your grandma's closet and asking to grab the buttons off an old dress. Funky lace, studs, and even patches can enable you to create your own look amongst the cardigans which will be hitting school halls this fall. Try it out. All you need to do is go to your local craft store and pick up the necessary items. Send us your best creations and we will post em up. Everyone needs a little fashion cred before the new semester begins.
*Keep in mind that if you are buying a vintage cardigan, it doesn't need to fit perfectly. Even if the sleeves are short (shown above right) it still gets the job done right, and may even allow you to be the first one to wear this winter trend.
Anyone can wear one of these trendy sweaters, but I recommend that you add your own bit of flare (and not like the Nazis). Try searching through your grandma's closet and asking to grab the buttons off an old dress. Funky lace, studs, and even patches can enable you to create your own look amongst the cardigans which will be hitting school halls this fall. Try it out. All you need to do is go to your local craft store and pick up the necessary items. Send us your best creations and we will post em up. Everyone needs a little fashion cred before the new semester begins.
*Keep in mind that if you are buying a vintage cardigan, it doesn't need to fit perfectly. Even if the sleeves are short (shown above right) it still gets the job done right, and may even allow you to be the first one to wear this winter trend.
Lets Do The Time Warp Again
A month ago or so I predicted that buffalo plaid and babydoll dresses would soon return to the fashion scene. Check out these images:
Photos couresty of Nordstroms and Urban Outfitters
Delias has also followed suit and added Dr. Martins to their website and current catalogue:
http://store.delias.com/item.do?categoryID=556&itemID=50154&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=
Now Onto New News:
I come bearing good fashion tidings for all of the rejects. Geek and punk stylings are hitting the streets and adding to the influx of grunge attire. Large horn rimmed glasses, studded bags, and motorcycle jackets have all been featured for this fall.
Photos couresty of Nordstroms and Urban Outfitters
Delias has also followed suit and added Dr. Martins to their website and current catalogue:
http://store.delias.com/item.do?categoryID=556&itemID=50154&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=
Now Onto New News:
I come bearing good fashion tidings for all of the rejects. Geek and punk stylings are hitting the streets and adding to the influx of grunge attire. Large horn rimmed glasses, studded bags, and motorcycle jackets have all been featured for this fall.
Photos courtesy of Betsey Johnson and Urban Outfitters
Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the biggest of these three trends will be eye wear. For although many have sported the 1970's style sunglasses, I think that the 1980's glasses (being a bit smaller) will reign supreme when it comes to fall/winter eye wear. I will even go as far as to predict that people who currently sport the 20/20 will attempt to get in on this glasses trend.
The images below are from ebay, and once again, Treasure Chest Vintage wins the race for forecasting. Check out their website: http://stores.ebay.com/Treasure-Chest-Vintage.
Even American Apparel has jumped on board: http://store.americanapparel.net/vintage-eyewear-glasses.html
Not only are the above trends "in," but so are graphic prints. Whoo Hoo isosceles triangles! Pick out shirts this fall with abstract prints and designs and you will sure to be in check with the coolest trends. Check out ebay for this look because mainstreams buyers have yet to catch on to this trend.
The images below are from ebay, and once again, Treasure Chest Vintage wins the race for forecasting. Check out their website: http://stores.ebay.com/Treasure-Chest-Vintage.
Even American Apparel has jumped on board: http://store.americanapparel.net/vintage-eyewear-glasses.html
Not only are the above trends "in," but so are graphic prints. Whoo Hoo isosceles triangles! Pick out shirts this fall with abstract prints and designs and you will sure to be in check with the coolest trends. Check out ebay for this look because mainstreams buyers have yet to catch on to this trend.
Friday, July 11, 2008
End of an Era Mixtape
Well its a sad time here in DC. Jeneric is left all alone without her fellow bloggers. What better reason to make a super sappy mixtape High Fidelity style.
I miss the fine art of mixtaping... So many people on the web are posting music, but often without critisism or endorsment. I propose, that bloggers should only post music they LOVE, or HATE, or have some freaking opinion about either way. This mixtape is guilty of a lot of new music, yes, but that doesn't mean I picked a random assortment of new releases. Music is a passion, not a passing fad. Love your music, hate your music, embrace your music and you're in for a better listening experience.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Wall-E
The environmental movement seems to have taken root amongst rich yuppies and the trickle down effect that Regan spoke so admiringly of is actually taking place. "Going green" is no longer a term solitarily used by hippies. Environmental consciousness seems to be swallowing the nation, like the rush of patriotism which ensued after the September 11th attacks, and I am proud that we are finally rising to the occation.
Wall-E is the perfect movie to root within a young child's mind the importance of recycling and planetary care. However, don't jump to the assumption that this movie will not transcend the age barrier which sometimes exists within kids movies, for it succeeds in making an impact on any viewer of any age. But unlike many of the movies we are used to Wall-E does not add in adult humor, or jokes specifically placed to capture an adult audience, it simply touches each audience member by getting to the crux of the issue with love and nurturing attention.
Watching this movie in digital light projection (DLP) also adds to the contrast and animation features of which Pixar has become so infamous. And the personification of Wall-E and his fellow robot counterparts appears crisp and lifelike across the big screen, adding to their human quaity. In order for the social commentary of this film to thrive, it was imperative that Wall-E was conveyed to the audience as a primarily emotive creature, and it succeeds.
When we begin to think with our hearts instead of our brains it becomes easier to protest drilling in ANWAR, the cutting of rainforest trees, and the destruction of nature. The movie also comments on the impact of technology on our interaction with nature, and it seems to push a return to wilderness in hopes of arising a newfound love of the planet. It even throws in a line of "Stay the course," which in an obvious manner harkens the current administration and its failure to push for a regime of change when the planet's health is in jeopardy.
I thoroughly recommend this movie. I have included a little trailer below and there are a bunch more on you-tube, but I didnt want to spoil the movie...
Wall-E is the perfect movie to root within a young child's mind the importance of recycling and planetary care. However, don't jump to the assumption that this movie will not transcend the age barrier which sometimes exists within kids movies, for it succeeds in making an impact on any viewer of any age. But unlike many of the movies we are used to Wall-E does not add in adult humor, or jokes specifically placed to capture an adult audience, it simply touches each audience member by getting to the crux of the issue with love and nurturing attention.
Watching this movie in digital light projection (DLP) also adds to the contrast and animation features of which Pixar has become so infamous. And the personification of Wall-E and his fellow robot counterparts appears crisp and lifelike across the big screen, adding to their human quaity. In order for the social commentary of this film to thrive, it was imperative that Wall-E was conveyed to the audience as a primarily emotive creature, and it succeeds.
When we begin to think with our hearts instead of our brains it becomes easier to protest drilling in ANWAR, the cutting of rainforest trees, and the destruction of nature. The movie also comments on the impact of technology on our interaction with nature, and it seems to push a return to wilderness in hopes of arising a newfound love of the planet. It even throws in a line of "Stay the course," which in an obvious manner harkens the current administration and its failure to push for a regime of change when the planet's health is in jeopardy.
I thoroughly recommend this movie. I have included a little trailer below and there are a bunch more on you-tube, but I didnt want to spoil the movie...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Streaming vs. Downloading
Okay, just to let you know, those of you who pay for cable are suckas! No one watches tv on tv anymore. Who wants to sit through all of those boring commertials or pay for TiVo service? Just do yourself a favor and stop watching the tube. If you went out and bought an expensive flat screen which you think was worth the money, think again. You will inevitably run into to this problem:
Now to the issue at hand. For a long time I was a bitTorrent junkie. How else was I going to get my weekly fix of BSG or My Name is Earl? I loved downloading because at the end of a season, I had the whole set I could burn to DVD. Who wouldn't want to watch all four seasons of The Office in one day?
Now I have learned the error of my ways. Almost all of my favorite tv shows can be found in streaming video on the web. All of the major networks have video players, and there are many other websites out there on the interweb that host these videos. What is the price of this instant gratification you ask? The viewer is subjected to 3-4 30sec ads. Sure beats the 7 mins of advertising you are forced to endure watching the tube. And I can pause, rewind, and rewatch the show whenever I want. Who minds ads when they are as entertaining as this?
So stop whining, get some new speakers for your computer, or one of those cables that links to your tv, and start streaming.
Check out:
http://www.hulu.com/
http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/
or any of your favorite network's websites.
~Jeneric
Now to the issue at hand. For a long time I was a bitTorrent junkie. How else was I going to get my weekly fix of BSG or My Name is Earl? I loved downloading because at the end of a season, I had the whole set I could burn to DVD. Who wouldn't want to watch all four seasons of The Office in one day?
Now I have learned the error of my ways. Almost all of my favorite tv shows can be found in streaming video on the web. All of the major networks have video players, and there are many other websites out there on the interweb that host these videos. What is the price of this instant gratification you ask? The viewer is subjected to 3-4 30sec ads. Sure beats the 7 mins of advertising you are forced to endure watching the tube. And I can pause, rewind, and rewatch the show whenever I want. Who minds ads when they are as entertaining as this?
So stop whining, get some new speakers for your computer, or one of those cables that links to your tv, and start streaming.
Check out:
http://www.hulu.com/
http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/
or any of your favorite network's websites.
~Jeneric
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Many of us loved Stone Temple Pilots, Silverchair, Sonic Youth, and Pearl Jam, but who knew that Seattle's rock sound could transcend the angst of the 1990's. However lately it's not only the sounds of this mosh culture which have continued to thrive, for fashion has picked up on the resonance of the grunge era.
Check it out: http://stores.ebay.com/Treasure-Chest-Vintage
As a vintage shopper, I often proclaim to spot up-and-coming trends within the vogue reading community. Recently I have noticed that babydoll dresses, flannel shirts, Dr Martins, and other punk/metal hyrbrid items have slowly been making their return to high fashion. Although such items may seem a far cry from couture, it appears as though this nostalgic period of my life has been reintroduced.
After surfing ebay for hours on end, I can assure you that there is a statistical rise in the seattle scene attire. Nevertheless many of you trend seekers will still be buying day glow leggings, and 1980's prom dresses, until you begin to realize you are mimicking the wrong decade. Just giving you the heads up...
Check it out: http://stores.ebay.com/Treasure-Chest-Vintage
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
1...2...Freddy Krueger Nike SB Dunks Not Yet For You
This is pretty much what passing the pulse is all about, letting everyone who graces our blog be in on the "in and in". Not that we proclaim to know all that is cool, but what we know to be cool we will pass along. Without further pause..... The Freddy Krueger Nike SB Dunks!!!!!!!!
I'm a huge Nightmare on Elm Street fan and moderately enlightened fan of the culture revolving around the custom and rare Nike Dunks. I'm not cool enough to rock highs or mids, so I keep with the lows; another reason I love these babies.
Unfortunately, because of a legal hijinx between New Line Cinema (parent company of all A Nightmare on Elm Street merchandise) and Nike there can be no way to procure these ripping bad boys as of yet. It has become my opinion that all personally invested in making these Dunks available should send emails to New Line as well as Nike to perpetuate a legal resolve. There is no reason these should be kept from our grasp. All horror cinephiles need this. I personally need this to complete my Freddy memorabilia. I got the entire DVD series, original poster, beach towel, pewter belt buckle, sweater, fedora, and glove.... I just need these damn shoes. It's not gravy enough to have the Halo dunks as a fan of both game and sneaker when there is a shoe with a design so near and dear to my heart. I grew up off an Elm Street and remember the first time I watched the original at my buddy Brandon's house a block over. I was 8 years old and that movie put the fear in me like no other. Walking, hell, running home that day through the wooded backyards is one of my most invigorating memories. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a childhood ear-marked with such an icon. And because of this I urge you guys to send shout outs to New Line and Nike. In the meanwhile, feel free to oggle. It's all that can be none.
If I don't wake up with these dunks on the market, I may not wake up at all.....
I'm a huge Nightmare on Elm Street fan and moderately enlightened fan of the culture revolving around the custom and rare Nike Dunks. I'm not cool enough to rock highs or mids, so I keep with the lows; another reason I love these babies.
Unfortunately, because of a legal hijinx between New Line Cinema (parent company of all A Nightmare on Elm Street merchandise) and Nike there can be no way to procure these ripping bad boys as of yet. It has become my opinion that all personally invested in making these Dunks available should send emails to New Line as well as Nike to perpetuate a legal resolve. There is no reason these should be kept from our grasp. All horror cinephiles need this. I personally need this to complete my Freddy memorabilia. I got the entire DVD series, original poster, beach towel, pewter belt buckle, sweater, fedora, and glove.... I just need these damn shoes. It's not gravy enough to have the Halo dunks as a fan of both game and sneaker when there is a shoe with a design so near and dear to my heart. I grew up off an Elm Street and remember the first time I watched the original at my buddy Brandon's house a block over. I was 8 years old and that movie put the fear in me like no other. Walking, hell, running home that day through the wooded backyards is one of my most invigorating memories. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a childhood ear-marked with such an icon. And because of this I urge you guys to send shout outs to New Line and Nike. In the meanwhile, feel free to oggle. It's all that can be none.
If I don't wake up with these dunks on the market, I may not wake up at all.....
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