Best. Movie. Trailer. EVER.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 10/13
I consider myself to be quite versed in the world of pop music, Madonna and Prince were the king and queen of my aural universe growing up, and I've been on the lookout for someone to pick up their mantle ever since. Britney and the others have been interesting but always seem to disappoint. So imagine my joy in getting a hot tip about a young lady from NYC named Lady GaGa that seems to have that hunger to make it that I haven't seen since Madonna proclaimed to us that she had found her Lucky Star. YouTube one of her many recent live performances to see that GaGa doesn't lip-sync, actually performs and creates something that's been missing from pop in a long time: a personality.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/13
Belgian artist Milow has gone and done quite a bit of help in reworking 50 Cent and JTs version of "Ayo (Technology)" and even made a sweet video for it. Why couldn't this have been a slam dunk on the first try? Some artists really need to think outside the box.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/2
Though the video isn't as cool as the one I directed in my head for it (picture french fries, bowling, Estelle in a high fashion Lady Liberty-esque frock and something involving an update of a scene from GREASE 2...for starters) I can't get Estelle's AMERICAN BOY out of my head these days. Chances are that when I drive by you on the street I'll be blasting this number. Now, this also begs the question, who wants to be MY American boy? Picture it: French fries, bowling, a Lady Liberty-esque suit for me, updates of scenes from GREASE 2, and that's just the first date.
Monday, August 25, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 8/25
It has been said that John Waters/drag paramour/80s disco icon DIVINE borrowed her persona from actress Isabel Sarli in FUEGO and I say that may have been one of the most incredible decisions of the 20th century.
Friday, July 11, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 7/11
My favorite new music video. Oh, just because...
Te quiero, Goldfrapp. Te quiero mucho.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Strawberry Letter 35
Hello my love,
I return, a little worse for the wear, from the past to let you know that time traveling is not all that it's cracked up to be. After receiving your last letter I found myself consumed with waiting for your return. I looked around every corner, studied every face. None of them were you. A friend imparted that old nugget of wisdom "If you keep looking, it's not going to happen". My spine spikes at that idea. Sure, I've found lost baubles and such weeks after ceasing a focused attempt (in an overstuffed drawer, behind a heavy couch, in a jacket pocket) but the things that really matter have only been found when I put my mind to it, retrace my steps and realize how fucked I am without what I'm looking for. Like losing my house keys I just can't get anywhere without you. This search, my love, is how I came to find that I had traveled all the way back to 1994.
Like Alice chasing the white rabbit I thought I saw you one night, that familiar scent of pine needles and honey stung me like a swarm of bees, and I took flight after the source. He looked like you from behind, your shape, a faint puff of breath, that sweet smell that I remember when I washed your hair, kissing your neck as the freshwater filled my senses with such an aroma! The shape of the small hairs just six inches from your shoulder moving in the drops the way that moss dances on a submerged rock with the flow of the river. I heard a crunch of twigs underfoot and came to. I was outside of a house, a bright light illuminating the yard full of teens, drinking and laughing. I thought I would feel older than them but catching my style of dress in a window's reflection I realized that I had Quantum Leaped into a scene I had so often experienced at 16 or 17. The wind shifted and I caught the scent again coming up behind me. My heart swelled to think that it would be you to quell my disorientation but as I turned I sputtered at the sight of someone who was most certainly from my present. Someone who has become a master of time travel himself, skipping across years and memories to reside in small moments of joy that had nothing to do with the here and now. I felt a little violated that he had brought me to a time and place that was of some comfort to me but just enough pain to make me turn and run. I'd had enough confrontations with the objects of my affection at these parties to make me know what this fellow wanted from me and it wasn't what I wanted to bring back to 2008. I had been on your trail (so close!) and getting stuck in this slip of time was only going to knock me further and further away from you. I could see words coming from his mouth in my direction and so I pulled a pair of headphones (94 style) from the pocket of my windbreaker and hit play on the Walkman they were attached to. A familiar bouncing beat wrapped in devastating longing filled my ears and the words racing towards me popped like bubbles on my fingertips. I turned and ran, turning onto a long dark road lit only by the yellow stripes that ran down its middle. The song moved faster in my head and I matched the beat to your heart and aimed my thoughts on the notion that I had not lost you in 1994 but knew that I could only find you in 2008. I watched the fresh paint on the road slowly fade and crack with each step as I shot forward in time, the young man from 08 that I left in the lurch back in 94 whizzed by around 07 where he seemed content in resting. I felt bad leaving him there but I knew that if I was going to find you I had to get back to the here and now. The air rose in temperature and the thick lines that had once run under my shoes had crackled into faint reminders of themselves. I had made it back. As I caught my breath I hoped that I would smell your scent again moving on the air. Sadly, I only caught the smell of rain.
Wanna hear something odd? It turns out that the song I played on the Walkman had been from 2008. Even weirder? It was made by someone that I knew in 1994. I listen to it now and can't believe how much that song moves my calender back 14 years. Like it has taken its own journey through time to remind me of the things I left behind and of the span of that time that stands ahead of me just waiting to be reached into. I play that song everyday now, sometimes just for a moment, I like to think that you slipped that tape in when I wasn't looking while I actually lived in 94 and that you've been there with me every step of the way. Maybe you needed to go back for something yourself, a memory that had shifted and fallen back behind some heavy boxes, and it was indeed you that I had caught on the wind. The tape in my player was your postcard saying that you missed me. Well my love, I'm sending you back a paper kiss from 2008. I wish you were here, where you belong.
I return, a little worse for the wear, from the past to let you know that time traveling is not all that it's cracked up to be. After receiving your last letter I found myself consumed with waiting for your return. I looked around every corner, studied every face. None of them were you. A friend imparted that old nugget of wisdom "If you keep looking, it's not going to happen". My spine spikes at that idea. Sure, I've found lost baubles and such weeks after ceasing a focused attempt (in an overstuffed drawer, behind a heavy couch, in a jacket pocket) but the things that really matter have only been found when I put my mind to it, retrace my steps and realize how fucked I am without what I'm looking for. Like losing my house keys I just can't get anywhere without you. This search, my love, is how I came to find that I had traveled all the way back to 1994.
Like Alice chasing the white rabbit I thought I saw you one night, that familiar scent of pine needles and honey stung me like a swarm of bees, and I took flight after the source. He looked like you from behind, your shape, a faint puff of breath, that sweet smell that I remember when I washed your hair, kissing your neck as the freshwater filled my senses with such an aroma! The shape of the small hairs just six inches from your shoulder moving in the drops the way that moss dances on a submerged rock with the flow of the river. I heard a crunch of twigs underfoot and came to. I was outside of a house, a bright light illuminating the yard full of teens, drinking and laughing. I thought I would feel older than them but catching my style of dress in a window's reflection I realized that I had Quantum Leaped into a scene I had so often experienced at 16 or 17. The wind shifted and I caught the scent again coming up behind me. My heart swelled to think that it would be you to quell my disorientation but as I turned I sputtered at the sight of someone who was most certainly from my present. Someone who has become a master of time travel himself, skipping across years and memories to reside in small moments of joy that had nothing to do with the here and now. I felt a little violated that he had brought me to a time and place that was of some comfort to me but just enough pain to make me turn and run. I'd had enough confrontations with the objects of my affection at these parties to make me know what this fellow wanted from me and it wasn't what I wanted to bring back to 2008. I had been on your trail (so close!) and getting stuck in this slip of time was only going to knock me further and further away from you. I could see words coming from his mouth in my direction and so I pulled a pair of headphones (94 style) from the pocket of my windbreaker and hit play on the Walkman they were attached to. A familiar bouncing beat wrapped in devastating longing filled my ears and the words racing towards me popped like bubbles on my fingertips. I turned and ran, turning onto a long dark road lit only by the yellow stripes that ran down its middle. The song moved faster in my head and I matched the beat to your heart and aimed my thoughts on the notion that I had not lost you in 1994 but knew that I could only find you in 2008. I watched the fresh paint on the road slowly fade and crack with each step as I shot forward in time, the young man from 08 that I left in the lurch back in 94 whizzed by around 07 where he seemed content in resting. I felt bad leaving him there but I knew that if I was going to find you I had to get back to the here and now. The air rose in temperature and the thick lines that had once run under my shoes had crackled into faint reminders of themselves. I had made it back. As I caught my breath I hoped that I would smell your scent again moving on the air. Sadly, I only caught the smell of rain.
Wanna hear something odd? It turns out that the song I played on the Walkman had been from 2008. Even weirder? It was made by someone that I knew in 1994. I listen to it now and can't believe how much that song moves my calender back 14 years. Like it has taken its own journey through time to remind me of the things I left behind and of the span of that time that stands ahead of me just waiting to be reached into. I play that song everyday now, sometimes just for a moment, I like to think that you slipped that tape in when I wasn't looking while I actually lived in 94 and that you've been there with me every step of the way. Maybe you needed to go back for something yourself, a memory that had shifted and fallen back behind some heavy boxes, and it was indeed you that I had caught on the wind. The tape in my player was your postcard saying that you missed me. Well my love, I'm sending you back a paper kiss from 2008. I wish you were here, where you belong.
Monday, June 9, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 06/09
Miranda July is a genius. Whether writing/directing/starring in the amazing film ME YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW or just writing period, she is smart, funny and a little off her nut. She recently released a collection of short stories which you can learn more about via her awesome website HERE. I just came to discover a couple of videos she made to publicize the release of the stories in paperback. Enjoy. There are three but note that one is a link. Seriously, enjoy.
THIS IS A LINK TO TAKE YOU TO THE SECOND VIDEO
THIS IS A LINK TO TAKE YOU TO THE SECOND VIDEO
Sunday, June 1, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 6/01
I went to high school with the musical mastermind of the new wall of sound that is HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR and I can't believe how great the songs are. Not that I didn't think Mr. Butler was capable of creating such well crafted booty shakers but that 13 years was how long it took to get a peek into his heart and hear the sweet sounds just waiting to bust out. Featured here is a video for "Blind" featuring the incomparable Antony on vocals.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 5/4
Often my favorite music videos are for songs that have little to no words in them. It's like watching a blank canvas come to life. Recently French electro-duo Justice have been pretty smart in selecting some top notch folk to direct videos based on their songs. Their latest video for their song "STRESS" is pretty great. Full of nail biting tension and visual discomfort. You want to turn it off but just can't. I've attached it below, followed by the cheerier graphic design-a-palooza vid to their song "DVNO". That one rocks too.
Monday, March 17, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 3/17
I’m a big lover of the music duo known as Goldfrapp. The sweet honey of Alison Goldfrapp’s voice and the electrifying heat of Will Gregory’s music make for a lovely remedy to the most broken ear. Their last two albums have been of the fast paced, sex-kitten variety (which I adore) but I’ve heard a lot of folks complaining of their new album, Seventh Tree, being a big, quiet downer. I choose not to listen to that rattle and just let the album, which is a great bridge back to their debut Felt Mountain, cover me like a pile of cool leaves. To that, I offer exhibit A&E.
Monday, March 3, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 3/03
Imagine one of those urban legends about a star-crossed couple from the late 50's that ends up driving off of a cliff on a dark and windy road near Lover's Lane. When the police find the car with their bodies inside the radio is still on and playing a song. I'd like to think that The Raveonettes are the music that's stuck on that radio station for eternity. I like these guys, even more since it's apparent that they have a sense of humor to go along with their spooky licks. Enjoy their new video.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 2/10
I watch a lot of television and I've always been intrigued by what it takes to deliver a product and message in 30 seconds AND make me pee my pants laughing. The following Orbitz Gum commercial has been out for at least a year but it makes me smile everytime I see it. What the french, toast?!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Strawberry Letter 33
As I woke up this morning through a lucidity that was the silky red of a cup of pomegranate tea I was reminded of the fact that you weren't lying next to me. I was also reminded of my sweet imagination lulling me to sleep with the make-believe that seemed so real of your beautiful arm around me. The warm sensation of your chest against my back and your light breath slowly blowing like a metal brush on a cymbal around my ear.
From your last short letter I culled some optimism that you may be making a visit soon. Even my close friends thought good of your notion. I hoped you were finally ready for things to happen the way we'd both once dreamt that they could. Yet this morning's rising left me with a hollow feeling in my gut and a crack in my heart. I've begun to feel lately that I'm like the ancient giant squid. Floating around deep in the cold recesses of the ocean, patient for your appearance. Should you come swimming by please don't mistake my arm's reach for an attack. I've merely got ten arms to hold you and I don't plan on letting you go, just return the embrace as a sign for "Yes."
Thursday, January 24, 2008
My Adventures In YouTube week of 1/24/08
Feist is simply wonderful. Like sharing a milkshake with someone you love, her music is indescribable. Sure, everyone got tired of her "1,2,3,4" after Apple stretched it thin but her new single "I Feel It All" and its accompanying visuals bust the gate wide open for great new videos in 2008. Enjoy a few minutes of bliss.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Keith's Favorite Music Videos of 2007
I'm a rather visually stimulated guy so I thought I'd give some kudos to a few music videos (and it really is a few, the art of the music video has taken a giant downfall in the last two years) that got me watching them over and over again in 2007. In no particular order:
BAT FOR LASHES - What's A Girl To Do?
Call her Donna Darko but this clip took all of the mood and dread of Richard Kelly's cult film and whisked it in a bowl with a little dark chocolate and champagne. The result is delicious.
KANYE WEST - Good Life
The rap video has evoloved into a very boring formula as of late. Gather your crew. Call up some hot chicks. Gather some bling and shiny cars. Get in real tight to the camera and just rap. Rinse. Repeat. Mr. West not only avoids those cliches (especially for a song about success) but he makes a point to keep things nice and colorful. Amid his penchant for Cosby sweaters and Sesame Street fun he's made the rap video vibrant again.
M.I.A. - Jimmy
Going low tech in a video can sometimes look like you're trying too hard but M.I.A.'s disco/ Bollywood cover just screams for a little eye candy. Some felt she was exploiting Indian culture with her vision I say she was giving it a tweak and a kiss at the same time.
PETER, BJORN & JOHN - Young Folks
There's nothing worse than hearing a catchy tune over and over again and then finding that the video lands with a dull thud. Thankfully this little animated gem gives the song even more of a bubble-gum pop sheen than it already had.
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Hustler
I love when a video has two versions because one was a little more "out there". This was the more disturbing but far more brilliant version. I always enjoy a video for a dance song that makes me uncomfortable in ways that I haven't felt since Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin were making nightmares come true.
CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY - Behave
I've already praised this video this week but for good reason. The video just succeeds in being more than an illustration (literally) for a tune but ends up becoming a complete short film, with a vison, story and characters, which the best music videos of yesterday were so successful in doing.
RIHANNA - Umbrella
Not just the single of the year but also one of the best videos too. It's got singing, dancing, sex appeal and visual power. If "Singing In The Rain" were ever to get a worthy update, this would be it.
KID SISTER - ProNails
Truthfully, I'm a sucker for a cute gimmick. Walking, dancing fingers just does it for me. What should have been a throwaway video for a throwaway style song ends up being fun and enjoyable. Oh look, and there's Kanye again...
SNOOP DOGG - Sensual Seduction
Is it retro? Is it from the future? Is it over the top? Is it sincere? This love letter to sex, Prince, George Clinton and blaxploitation hits all the right notes.
FEIST - 1234
All those Apple commercials might pull some of the joy out of this piece but if ever a video were to showcase what the artist was all about this would be it. One magazine called it a clash of the hula dance from the Dirty Dancing talent show and Spike Jones' bizarre dance troupe. Either way, it's delightful.
NINE INCH NAILS - Survivalism
Funny how the videos that get censored always involve voyeurism. Like Madonna's "Justify My Love" this one has been tweaked with over its visuals of gay sex and nudity. Despite the hangup it pulls you in just the way it wants you to and delivers its social message by making you do what its talking about.
GWEN STEFANI - Four In The Morning
There's a moment about 2 minutes into this video that the camera stays with Gwen's face for about 30 seconds (which is long for a video) and we can see see all of the obsession, worry and frustration that Ms. Stefani is singing about. It's a testament to director Sophie Mueller longtime collaboration with Gwen that makes her videos seem like an honest confession. Oh yeah, and she has REALLY good hair in this video too.
JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
I love when simple concepts come out looking great. Just like a simple icon on a tee shirt. It only asks that you look for a second.
CIARA - Promise
I like my R&B videos a certain way. Sexy, smoky and H-O-T-T (the second T is very important) Ciara's got all of that here and in ways that don't make her seem like a helpless doll. Her masculinity, evidenced in her dance sequence, is something she's obviously at peace with alongside her femininity.
BAT FOR LASHES - What's A Girl To Do?
Call her Donna Darko but this clip took all of the mood and dread of Richard Kelly's cult film and whisked it in a bowl with a little dark chocolate and champagne. The result is delicious.
KANYE WEST - Good Life
The rap video has evoloved into a very boring formula as of late. Gather your crew. Call up some hot chicks. Gather some bling and shiny cars. Get in real tight to the camera and just rap. Rinse. Repeat. Mr. West not only avoids those cliches (especially for a song about success) but he makes a point to keep things nice and colorful. Amid his penchant for Cosby sweaters and Sesame Street fun he's made the rap video vibrant again.
M.I.A. - Jimmy
Going low tech in a video can sometimes look like you're trying too hard but M.I.A.'s disco/ Bollywood cover just screams for a little eye candy. Some felt she was exploiting Indian culture with her vision I say she was giving it a tweak and a kiss at the same time.
PETER, BJORN & JOHN - Young Folks
There's nothing worse than hearing a catchy tune over and over again and then finding that the video lands with a dull thud. Thankfully this little animated gem gives the song even more of a bubble-gum pop sheen than it already had.
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Hustler
I love when a video has two versions because one was a little more "out there". This was the more disturbing but far more brilliant version. I always enjoy a video for a dance song that makes me uncomfortable in ways that I haven't felt since Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin were making nightmares come true.
CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY - Behave
I've already praised this video this week but for good reason. The video just succeeds in being more than an illustration (literally) for a tune but ends up becoming a complete short film, with a vison, story and characters, which the best music videos of yesterday were so successful in doing.
RIHANNA - Umbrella
Not just the single of the year but also one of the best videos too. It's got singing, dancing, sex appeal and visual power. If "Singing In The Rain" were ever to get a worthy update, this would be it.
KID SISTER - ProNails
Truthfully, I'm a sucker for a cute gimmick. Walking, dancing fingers just does it for me. What should have been a throwaway video for a throwaway style song ends up being fun and enjoyable. Oh look, and there's Kanye again...
SNOOP DOGG - Sensual Seduction
Is it retro? Is it from the future? Is it over the top? Is it sincere? This love letter to sex, Prince, George Clinton and blaxploitation hits all the right notes.
FEIST - 1234
All those Apple commercials might pull some of the joy out of this piece but if ever a video were to showcase what the artist was all about this would be it. One magazine called it a clash of the hula dance from the Dirty Dancing talent show and Spike Jones' bizarre dance troupe. Either way, it's delightful.
NINE INCH NAILS - Survivalism
Funny how the videos that get censored always involve voyeurism. Like Madonna's "Justify My Love" this one has been tweaked with over its visuals of gay sex and nudity. Despite the hangup it pulls you in just the way it wants you to and delivers its social message by making you do what its talking about.
GWEN STEFANI - Four In The Morning
There's a moment about 2 minutes into this video that the camera stays with Gwen's face for about 30 seconds (which is long for a video) and we can see see all of the obsession, worry and frustration that Ms. Stefani is singing about. It's a testament to director Sophie Mueller longtime collaboration with Gwen that makes her videos seem like an honest confession. Oh yeah, and she has REALLY good hair in this video too.
JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
I love when simple concepts come out looking great. Just like a simple icon on a tee shirt. It only asks that you look for a second.
CIARA - Promise
I like my R&B videos a certain way. Sexy, smoky and H-O-T-T (the second T is very important) Ciara's got all of that here and in ways that don't make her seem like a helpless doll. Her masculinity, evidenced in her dance sequence, is something she's obviously at peace with alongside her femininity.
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