#I just wanted to highlight one of bruce's soul-inspired songs

[up-beattt]

"Back in Your Arms" rehearsal, 1995, from the Blood Brothers documentary

[ifeveristoday]

well,(some) shots fired

https://butwhythopodcast.com/2019/08/27/interview-angel-and-storytelling-with-bryan-edward-hill/

Kate Sanchez (But Why Tho?) interviews the Boom!verse Angel writer, Bryan Edward Hill about his vision for the character and the world he’s building.

commentary/highlights underneath the cut

Bryan has watched both Buffy and Angel, and calls Angel his favorite of the two

Some inspirations/references: Mike Mignola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, Michael Mann’s (filmmaker) depictions of Los Angeles

Wolfram and Hart are definitely making an appearance and they’ll appear when they need to appear

Bryan loves Amy Acker 

Doesn’t give Gleb (the artist) that many notes, he writes purely dialogue and Gleb brings out the emotion in his pencils, wants Gleb to sell his artwork on t-shirts or prints

Stressed that Lilith could not be white and her looking a bit like Gina Torres’ Jasmine was not specifically planned, just that he told Gleb what the feel of the character was going to be

He doesn’t want to weigh his work down being politically correct or social--- I can’t quite remember 

But as a Black man he is very aware of the way WOC are shortchanged in mainstream media especially in terms of beauty and that Lilith is so Anglo Saxonized in Supernatural doesn’t make any sense

Brought up the lack of diversity in Buffy and Kendra falling victim to what usually happens to WOC and how he wants to change that because of his position as a Black creator and representation is important

Lilith is there to not take any of Angel’s shit, because sometimes Angel gets too emo and you can’t have him mope for so much or for so long

If Angel was like a Drake song, it’d be those with the phone call in the beginning and Angel needs some club bangers not the emo phone call tracks

Bryan is a fan of karaoke and you can tell someone’s soul from singing

Referred to Angel as having quiet swag, it’s not a showy kind of swagger

He’s run into David Boreanaz around LA and it was interesting to talk to him outside of the character

Also mentioned it was a goal of having the Angel characters interact more with the Buffy characters, especially Buffy - lamented that the show didn’t do more in this regard despite having Faith and Cordelia as bridges

Joked that Angel was similar to Bruce Wayne and that Buffy was his Selena Kyle and that Gunn would be, “Look I don’t like you because you hurt my bro,” etc

Part of the cool thing about writing Angel (the character) is because he has the whole TV canon to draw from, he can incorporate parts of Angel’s personality (from his show) earlier than they developed in the series, for example, his sardonic sense of humor and his empathy for people like Fred

About writing Angel he said he didn’t want to be one of those creators who upset the apple cart just because he can and that he respects his audience, he doesn’t want an angry Superman fighting Batman for forty minutes kind of thing because that’s not what he as a comic fan wants to see

Because comic books have increased in price he wants his story to be worth the price (roughly a sandwich)

he also wants to explore the magic of Los Angeles and build on it in the comics because he doesn’t have the budget constraints of a TV show 

So a fairly in-depth and informative discussion of Angel and I feel like he does have an appreciation of the world and the characters, even if the first few issues seemed to veer too closely into Darque (TM) Man Pain and Women characters as disposable. Kate has written really fair reviews of both the Angel and Buffy comics and notes that David Lopez’s art has drawn her out of Jordie’s words and that she misses Dan Mora’s work.

[aion-rsa]

Belushi Review: Showtime’s Look at John Belushi Is Almost Definitive

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The world got to know John Belushi’s eyebrows before we got to know the man. They projected his innermost confusion, telegraphed his thought processes, and misdirected his most sincere intentions. Showtime’s heartfelt and intimate documentary, Belushi, opens with clips from the comic icon’s screen test for Saturday Night Live. Armed with just his face, he lets those eyebrows steal the scene. They cajole, caress, and careen across the bottom of his brow, culminating in a series of aerobic stretches with a gymnast’s flair. Belushi didn’t have to crack a joke, he barely had to say a word, and yet showed a world of possibilities within a few inches of cranial space. Belushi really was a lot like his decathlon character in the Little Chocolate Donuts skit. All he needed was some sugar to keep him going. The documentary shows Belushi really was born that way, and didn’t need the extra sweetening.

Too bad he couldn’t keep it up. But we know this from the beginning. The first real scene takes place at the height of Belushi’s fame and adulation. He stole the movie he was just in, Animal House, which was the most successful comedy film of all time at the time. He was on the number one TV show in America. His record The Blues Brothers’ Briefcase of Blues, not even a comedy album, but a labor of love with musician friends he respected and adored, was at the top of the charts, with hit singles doing the same. Director R.J. Cutler (The War Room, The September Issue, Listen to Me Marlon) immediately declares this documentary isn’t about one of America’s favorite performers, it is about the cannibalistic hungers of fame.

“John always had appetites that were completely out of control, for everything, but I didn’t start to worry about him until he was at the Universal Amphitheatre, playing for 7,000 people,” Harold Ramis, who had known Belushi since their improvisational comedy beginnings, says over the soundtrack and applause. “I looked at John on the stage and I thought, ‘He’s on the most popular comedy show of our generation, he was in the most successful comedy film ever, and now he’s onstage fronting an amazing band.’ My first thought was, ‘How great for him.’ My second thought was, ‘Knowing his appetites, I don’t think he’ll survive this.’”

With that, Ramis throws a dark shadow over the rest of the film. Every success the documentary shows from here on has a cloud of doom hanging over it. Belushi was a wild man, bouncing around on the very edge of the most visible stage, both higher than anyone possibly imagined. SNL made overnight stars out of most of its cast. Chevy Chase was plucked out early because, well, he was Chevy Chase and they weren’t. But while former drummer Chase went on to be a matinee draw, Belushi became a rock star.

Belushi’s life has been told before. Watergate journalist Bob Woodward wrote the tawdry 1984 book Wired, which was adapted into a feature film in 1989. The documentary makes ample use of audio clips from Tanner Colby’s 2012 oral history Belushi: A Biography. Belushi’s wife Judith interviewed many of his friends and castmates, like Ramis, Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Lorne Michaels, Carrie Fisher, Ivan Reitman, Penny Marshall, and John’s brother Jim Belushi. Judy conducted the interviews in the first few years after Belushi’s death. This gives Belushi an immediacy, but also makes the stories feel older. None of the other interviews are shown as talking heads, except archival footage of Belushi himself.

While the guest voices condense the story, and breathe an even-handed life into the material, Belushi works best when it lets Belushi tell his own version. Some of the most revealing insights come from a series of letters written to Judy, who had been with him ever since Wheaton Community High School. The letters, which open “Dear Jutes,” begin when Belushi is still in an Indiana summer stock company, smoking pot and listening to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, which he writes makes him think of her whenever he hears it, “Especially ‘With a Little Help From My Friends.’” His rendition of Joe Cocker’s adaptation of the song is a late highlight, and Belushi’s letters are interpreted very effectively by Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader.

The letters illuminate Belushi’s passions while humanizing the larger-than-life performer. Home movie footage succeeds in showing him trying to find an elusive normalcy in real life. The letters offset the seemingly effortless rise of the comedian with the inner turmoil that fed it. Belushi comes off as obsessed with success but terrified of fame. A late letter reveals Belushi was afraid he reached a point of no return. Some of the letters are funny, others insecure, still others come off as despondent.

One of the most unexpected revelations about Belushi is how he felt like an outsider growing up, and was embarrassed by his Albanian immigrant background. One wouldn’t think Belushi might be embarrassed by anything. “We all wanted to be American,” his brother Jim Belushi explains. John, who was expected to work in his father’s restaurant, instead put it to work for him, inspiring his Pete Dionasopoulos of the Olympia Café character in the “Cheeseburger, cheeseburger” sketches.

Much of Belushi’s story is brought to life by the animated sequences from Robert Valley. These are particularly effective when showing Belushi during his high school years drumming with a band called the Ravens, and illustrating his time with the improv group he founded, The West Compass Players, which led to his joining Chicago’s Second City troupe. His rise is spectacularly fun to hear, and the animation makes up for lost footage.

The film also gets into his many contradictions. Belushi is drawn losing himself in the albums of comics like Jonathan Winters and Bob Newhart. But when he is asked, during his Second City period, his opinion on Lou Costello, Belushi says “Nope, don’t like him.” John wanted to create something new. The film also shows how much spontaneity played into Belushi’s comedy. He’d only seen the samurai movie with Toshiro Mifune on TV the night before he auditioned for Saturday Night Live.

Belushi was flown from Chicago to New York to officiate over Lemmings, National Lampoon’s Off-Broadway spoof of Woodstock. He stole the show with his impersonation of Joe Cocker. Lorne Michaels saw Saturday Night Live as a show which would be an “upheaval” for network television. Belushi said he hated television during his interview, but told Michaels he would deign to appear on the show. He’d already auditioned for a rival series called “Saturday Night,” which was going to be headlined by sports announcer Howard Cosell.

The documentary expertly weaves the double-edged sword of celebrity. Belushi chafed at being recognized on the street as “that Bee guy” from their bumble-bee sketches, but his performances, many of them exercises in extreme physical comedy, struck a nerve with audiences. Belushi lets clips strike at the audience to back it up. Michaels compares Belushi to Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners, because he brought a blue-collar vibe. On SNL, Belushi is remembered as being very competitive, distracted by the success of Chevy Chase, and dismissive of the women writers and performers. Once Chase left, Michaels says “the thing that John most hoped for, that he would be the alpha male, had now happened.”

The documentary is at its most exciting when it shows clips. From the early Lemmings stage show, through Saturday Night Live, Belushi highlights the anarchy Belushi brought to the stage. It could easily slip into be a “best of” clip show, featuring his memorable characters Jake Blues and the Samurai, or his ruthless spoof of Elizabeth Taylor choking on a chicken bone, giving herself the Heimlich maneuver and returning to the chicken. But instead informs Belushi’s motivations. Cutler consistently finds perfect clips to illustrate how Belushi’s individuality drove him to seemingly unimaginable heights. The onscreen examples justify the star quality which put him on the cover of Newsweek and Rolling Stone. We get the sense of how Belushi helped change American culture and comedy, in the same league as Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, and George Carlin. But while scaling the dizzying heights, the movie never loses its sense of doom.

Belushi’s spiral into addiction is covered at length. In the second season of SNL, Belushi got injured doing a pratfall and was prescribed painkillers. When the prescription ran out, he turned to the street for hard drugs. Later in his career, Belushi would hire President Nixon’s personal bodyguard to keep him away from bad influences, but on his rise up, many of his colleagues cut him a lot of slack. “He was testing all his boundaries at that point,” The Blues Brothers director John Landis explains, before excusing Belushi: “I don’t think we lost more than four or five days of shooting because of the drugs.”

Belushi got clean for a year, living Martha’s Vineyard. Carrie Fisher, however, says in an interview that by skipping rehab, Belushi never dealt with sobriety’s most challenging aspects: day to day life can be boring, and the comic star didn’t have the coping mechanism to deal with feelings the drugs were covering up. Cutler’s documentary is moving, offering a look into the soul of the man who embodied the “animal” found in every college fraternity, Bluto in Animal House. The documentary deftly explores Belushi’s attempts to make the beast noble, taking his acting seriously in smaller films like Old Boyfriends, Continental Divide, and trying to break out of the audience’s preconceptions with his last film Neighbors.

Cutler finds Belushi, the performer, but doesn’t quite catch John as a person as Belushi incrementally shifts its focus from his art to his drug binges. Belushi can’t fully celebrate Belushi, because everyone watching knows the ending. In March of 1982, Belushi sequestered himself at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles in order to finish “Noble Rot,” a screenplay he was writing with Don Novello. Here the film very succinctly and poignantly captures the love people felt for the man, Belushi. Aykroyd, who said he fell in love with Belushi the moment they met, still bears deep wounds.

“He was sad and defeated,” Aykroyd remembers about his last conversation. “I thought I’ll finish this page, this paragraph and get out there. I didn’t get to him in time. I carry that with me forever.” Belushi’s long-time blues and soul brother thought he had a solution. “I told him I was writing something great for us,” we hear Aykroyd say in the film. “I was writing Ghostbusters.” While the documentary gives this revelation a sheen of hopeful might-have-beens, it really only underscores how that would be a mistake assumption. Everything about the documentary says a successful film might only have slowed the same inevitable ending.

For all the archival footage found in Belushi, one particular short film broadcast on Saturday Night Live is sadly not featured, except for a few stills in one of the quicker montages. “Don’t Look Back in Anger” shows John, as an old man, walking through a cemetery and reminiscing about his old friends on SNL. They’re all dead in the film, Belushi is the last survivor. Why? Because he is a dancer. This may have been how he saw himself, and as his audience most wanted to see him. But for all the missed promise it may have subverted, the skit fits with Belushi’s larger picture. John Belushi is dancing through a graveyard, happily. The film is a wake, of sorts. But the dance is how Belushi ultimately moved through life, with a dancer’s grace which defied the body held down by strong appetites. Belushi would have been a more satisfying film if it took smaller bites.

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Belushi airs Sunday, Nov. 22, at 9 p.m., on Showtime.

The post Belushi Review: Showtime’s Look at John Belushi Is Almost Definitive appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[will-work-for-music]

* 2017 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

two thousand + seventeen birthed fantastic records that found me like friends, over + over again. these masterpieces lead me to people + experiences on adventures far better than i could have dreamed. these collections songs kept me company through the highest highs, the lowest lows + the walking in between of this year marked by hardship + madness, for most of the world. these are the tunes i smiled + screamed + cried + danced to the most, this year. i’m wildly grateful for each artist + the remarkable melody-wrapped memories they’ve gifted me. here’s to the songs that stay. 🖤

loved in no particular order:

* LOVELY LITTLE LONELY - the maine

brilliant + poetic + free. this band has been liberating me since i was seventeen. before lovely little lonely was even born i jumped at the chance to celebrate 10 years of this band of brothers who’ve grown up alongside their family of fans. to truly live the lyric: “let’s fall back in love with the world + who we are + do the things we talked about but never did before..” i’m grateful to the maine for adventures i only ever dreamed + for the soundtrack to them all.. she’s a masterpiece.

* THE SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING - john mayer

“And that ends an era. August ‘14-April ’17. I made this record for *you*. May you hear and see and feel yourself in these songs.” 🌊♥️🌊 - @johnmayer

she’s stunning from beginning to end.. i kept telling everyone this show felt like experiencing a film.. it’s surely safe to say JM has made another stellar, artistic set of songs for the soundtrack of my life. wow, wow, wow.. as he kept saying to us, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“[On The search for everything, Mayer] succeeds because he’s not donning a new costume: instead, he’s settling into a groove he can claim as his own, and it feels like he’s at home.” - AllMusic

* HARRY STYLES - harry styles

(on album release day) every once in awhile, a record comes along that surprises you in a great way. as i put it to my best friend, [on release day].. “oops, i think i like harry’s album.” THE cameron crowe recently wrote a truly stunning, intriguing rolling stone cover story with styles as the subject.. (the cover that my mom thought featured “a young mick jagger,” without a clue about the previous week’s SNL sketch, ha). as someone who was never into one direction (sorry, rob sheffield), i likely wouldn’t have given this album a shot, but it’s everything you wouldn’t expect to hear in a “former pop star” solo record. thanks to two of my favorite writers (rob sheffield, who penned the RS review like only he can, + crowe) for encouraging me to see harry for more than the kid from the boy band.. as crowe put it (on the RS music now podcast), “he’s a music geek, in the best way..” his love of classic rock shines through, while still capturing a sound all his own. well done, HS. “from the dining table” + “two ghosts” are early favorites.. which i chose just before ryan adams tweeted it.

Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield put HS at number 3 on his 2017 album list: “What a revelation to see Styles live the same week as Paul McCartney – a tutorial on the connection between joy and brilliance. So is this album. The songs are built to last, standing up to months of ridiculously heavy listening. The only rock star who can come on like Macca and Mick at the same time. The only rock star who could earn all six minutes of "Sign of the Times.” The only rock star using his hard-won artistic freedom to craft the kind of hilariously anti-commercial old-school personal statement where every song counts, making big guitar moves everybody else this year was too timid to try. The only rock star who thinks cigarettes in New York are “cheap.” The only rock star.“

* PRISONER - ryan adams

"i think ‘prisoner’ has so much more hope + sensuality in it—to me, it’s liberating. those songs are more a celebration of becoming something as it’s broken apart.”

a note to ryan, as tour came to a close:

i feel the most alive inside of these songs.. the ones that break me open + somehow heal me, all at once. RA, i know this time out on the road stole your health + your joy, at times, but the wonder with which you kept playing was magic to witness. i’m grateful for your pursuit of growth + grace, no matter what comes your way. be it bronchitis, haters or heartbreak, you never let anything keep you down. thank you for not one, but two flawless dates in two sparkling cities on the prisoner tour. rest up + stay weird.. xo

* ONLY THE LONELY - colony house

just shy of two weeks into 2017, franklin, tennessee born + bred band of brothers colony house released a creative, impactful collection of songs for the soul. the rocknroll band’s strong sophomore effort landed them spots in the year’s finest festivals across the country (homegrown pilgrimage fest, chicago’s lollapalooza, new orleans’ voodoo experience). it will be exciting to see where these driving, honest story songs take them in the coming year.

* WONDERFUL WONDERFUL - the killers

the fifth studio album from brandon flowers + co has been called their strongest in over a decade. the frontman said the lead single, “the man,” was written through the lens of what his 20-something self thought it was to be a man..“being tough + bringing home the bacon, when really it’s about being compassionate + empathetic.”

For NME, Flowers shared that the lyrics of the album are “the most personal and bare” that he has ever been: “I’m looking in the mirror on this record and focusing a lot on my own personal experiences. Instead of just drawing upon all these experiences and maybe using them in other songs, I am going straight for it with this and singing about my life and my family and that’s something different for me.” The track “Rut” was inspired by the struggle of Flowers’ wife Tana with PTSD. He said: “Usually I feel protective of her but I decided to take it head on. So 'Rut’ is about her submitting to it. That doesn’t mean that she’s gonna let it beat her, but rather that she’s gonna finally acknowledge that it’s there and promise to break this cycle.” Flowers also added that putting his wife’s battle into a song helped him understand better what she is going through. “Have All the Songs Been Written?” was originally the subject line of an email Brandon Flowers sent to Bono, in the midst of a bout of writer’s block, before the latter suggested it would make an excellent song title.“

'wonderful wonderful’ is altogether driving + poignant + strong, intricately crafted for the artist + his listener.

* METAPHYSICAL - the technicolors

as soon as i experienced the technicolors–friends/labelmates/co-creators of the maine–live, i knew they would be in my life from that day forward. it seemed previous projects couldn’t quite capture the passion + enthusiasm of that short set, so 2017’s "metaphysical” was highly anticipated by many.

the title’s defined as “relating to the transcendent or to a reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses. beyond ordinary experience.” the aptly named project evokes a raw, ethereal energy that draws outside the lines, while remaining true to a rock solid focus. “sweat,” “imposter!” + “congratulations you’re a doll” would be welcome additions to any playlist, however it’s recommended listeners follow the sparkling sonic story from start to finish.

* CONCRETE + GOLD - foo fighters the ninth record from foo fighters is born + it is a freaking force. dave says it’s motörhead meets sgt. pepper’s. i sure do dig the super crunchy guitars + layered vocal melodies. paul mccartney plays drums + justin timberlake sings bgvs, just cause he wanted to + it makes me the happiest human.

“I feel an earthquake coming on,” Dave Grohl sings on “Dirty Water,” a moment of fragile guitar poetry from Foo Fighters’ ninth album. Of course, keeping things steady amid chaos has been one of Grohl’s signature themes since the Foos were born from the wreckage of Nirvana a couple of forevers ago. Musically and emotionally, Concrete and Gold is their most balanced record yet – from stadium-punk dive bombers like “Run” and “La Dee Da” to the acoustic soul that opens “T-Shirt,” in which Grohl gets his Nina Simone on, singing, “I don’t wanna be king/I just wanna sing a love song.” “Sunday Rain” is a guitar weeper so late-Beatles great it even has Paul McCartney playing drums on it.

Adele co-writer Greg Kurstin’s production adds big-studio texture without diluting the band’s raw tumult; even Justin Timberlake’s appearance – as a backing vocalist on the space-truckin’ “Make It Right” – is subtle rather than ostentatious. The highlight is “The Sky Is a Neighborhood,” a hulking dream-metal anthem: “Trouble to the right and left,” Grohl sings, driving into the darkness with a Bic lighter raised to the heavens.“ - Rolling Stone

* HALLOWEEN - ruston kelly

ruston kelly captured me, years ago, with the single release of his flawlessly raw, haunting "black magic.” ever since, like a ghost itself, the song was never far from me.

Rolling Stone writes, “Black Magic” is a crescendoing rocker that ponders the bewitching pull of romance –and how it can easily disappear in a cloud of smoke.“

"Kelly is just as adept at making catchy country grooves – Tim McGraw and Josh Abbott Band have cut his tracks –as he is capturing life’s darkest, most introspective moments. The songwriter’s debut EP, the Mike Mogis-produced Halloween, is a solemn meditation on the inevitable end of things, and the spirits that tend to haunt us. Kelly came to Tennessee as a last-minute decision after attending high school in Belgium (he jokes that his father might have been a spy). Once he landed in town, he held tenure in the jam band Elmwood and battled addiction, writing songs on Music Row while exploring his demons on Halloween and his forthcoming full-length. Current single "Black Magic” shows a powerful grasp on storytelling gleaned from his love of the Carter Family and Townes Van Zandt, but also a more ragged rock & roll soul: it’s Americana, if your Americana is Bruce Springsteen with an acoustic guitar, sung by someone who spins a little heavy metal too. “Sometimes I wear both a cowboy hat and a Slayer T-shirt, just to throw people off,” Kelly says.“

* REPUTATION - taylor swift

"hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you” at her core, i still believe taylor to be the fiercely strong, quietly brilliant songwriter she’s always been. the power of the song comes through when you strip it down + it still shines just as bright. thank you for making music that meets me where i am + takes me away, since that very first day, at fifteen (2006). thank you for this one + for playing it for jimmy fallon + his momma (go watch that performance + weep!) i look forward to growing into this record as i have the five that came before.. i’ve never doubted her prowess as a storyteller.. + i won’t start now.

see also: Rob Sheffield’s glorious write up. i wholeheartedly agree. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/taylor-swift-reputation-sheffield-review-most-intimate-lp-w511359

rob is my favorite RS writer/author on all-things music. from his books on life through the lens of pop music–bowie, beatles + duran duran songs, respectively, i wouldn’t trust anyone else’s TS review. he articulately captures how i feel, as a fan from album one.. i look forward to better understanding 'reputation’ with each spin, though i can’t help but miss the classic introspective ballads.

* DIVIDE - ed sheeran

a fantastically diverse record. once again, sheeran proves he can break all of the boundaries + stay true to himself as an artist. he does it all so well, without appearing to care what anyone else thinks. “dive” is a bold, beautiful statement i continue to come back to + feel just the same. the record punches + dances in all the right places, from beginning to end, begging to be played on repeat.

* LIFE CHANGES - thomas rhett

thomas rhett gifted us the quintessential road trip singalong soundtrack record of the year. the day after it was born was spent on a bus from chicago to nashville, so when it wasn’t playing through my earbuds, it was spinning on repeat in my mind. the title track still stands out clear + strong, though i thoroughly enjoyed a live taste of the addictive early maren morris duet–“craving you”–back in february on the hometeam tour. it’s no wonder his career has catapulted with his seamless versatility in blending country’s storytelling with pop music’s neverending ear candy likeablity. this record excellently showcases rhett’s range from anthemic radio jams to heartbreaker ballads and true-to-life tales in between.

* FROM A ROOM (vol 1 + 2) - chris stapleton

stapleton released music this year in two parts, dubbing them “from A room” volumes 1 + 2–not just any room, “'A’ room” being nashville’s historic RCA studio A. some songs included in the collection were written up to a decade ago; ones chosen as they still ring true to the bearded, believable-as-they-come singer/songwriter.

on the authenticity of his craft, stapleton says, “I can’t really speak to why people like what we do. Hopefully, they know what we do is authentically us, and that goes over no matter what kind of music you’re playing. People will kind of hear that and connect with that in ways they wouldn’t if you were trying to be something that you think might be popular; I think that’s always a mistake in music, maybe even in life. Do something 'cause it’s in your heart, do something 'cause it’s what you’re supposed to be doing.”

“broken halos” + “second one to know” will, to me, always conjure up memories of seeing him open for tom petty and the heartbreakers at wrigley field, on their 40th anniversary tour, this summer. music is medicine and these honest-to-the-bone tunes are instant classics as well as a balm for the soul.

* FIRST CIGARETTE - travis meadows

“we rise. we climb. we shine like broken stars.”

the above is perhaps the defining statement of next-level nashville singer/songwriter, travis meadows’ 2017 studio album, 'first cigarette.’ the veteran of a different kind of war, there’s not much meadows hasn’t faced in life–cancer, heartbreak, addiction, depression.. and no story is off-limits for the wonderfully raw-voiced, honest-as-they-come artist. each song stays true to travis’ heart, some a little more uncomfortably authentic than accessible (ie radio-friendly), but that’s the way meadows prefers his craft.

“underdogs,” “pontiac,” “hungry,” + “better boat” stand out from first listen, yet each track was chosen to land where they do in the lineup + in the heart of the listener.

Rolling Stone writes, “To his most ardent fans and peers, including Eric Church, Dierks Bentley and Jake Owen, who have all cut Meadows’ songs for their respective albums, his open-book approach to his craft is his greatest gift. But Meadows lives in fear of rejection. That ever-lingering sense of distrust remains…

[On having label support backing a project for the first time]:

"It validates all of the suffering that I went through to get here,” Meadows says. “It gives it purpose.”

“I try not to be too hard on myself,” Meadows continues, “but I don’t deserve any of this. So I’m grateful for every inch I get walking that mile.”

* STEEL TOWN - steve moakler

steel town had only been out for nine days + i’d woken up with these songs in my head, every morning. i’m partial to “wheels” + “gold” + “summer without her” (co-written with + ft. my favorite-for-so-long, sarah buxton!!) + the title track, but i cannot pick a favorite, friends. the long wait from 'wide open’ to this one was oh-so-worth it. thanks for another heartfelt record filled with story songs i can spin for years + years to come. seriously, don’t sleep on this love letter to a historically hardworking hometown.

* BRETT ELDREDGE - brett eldredge

“Brett Eldredge’s self-titled third album is the Number One country album this week. The Illinois native also scored the highest all-genre chart position of his career, landing at Number Two on the Billboard 200, behind Kendrick Lamar’s LP Damn.” - Rolling Stone (August 15)

eldredge is both effortless + earnest, perfectly showcasing his ability + personality on the record he calls, “the most [himself].” from the playful first single, “somethin’ i’m good at” to the heartfelt vulnerability of “castaway,” listeners experience all-sides of the equal parts smooth sinatra, fun-loving country crooner. the standouts are story songs–“the long way” is dreamlike while “no stopping you” is wistful–both shine brilliantly on studio LP number three.

[chrisgoesrock]

Young Peter formed his first pro band in August 1963, The Cheynes, with Mick Fleetwood on drums and future Spencer Davis Group guitarist Phil Sawyer. They played a fairly interesting rhythm and blues style and recorded three singles. Thereafter Van Morrison asked Peter to join and replace Jack McAuley for the job on the organ in the fairly successful Them from Belfast, North Ireland. Peter was only a member of Them for six months and then soon dropped out again. Now 19 years old, he pursued setting up his ideal band, founding Peter B's Looners, which gave him a chance to play jazzy soul instrumentals. Around that time he briefly joined the early Fleetwood Mac to help record the track "Outrage", a first appearance together with another band for an occasional session job. Also, it is handed down that he joined a band named Shotgun Express for a very short time in 1967, fronted by Rod Stewart and Beryl Marsden. After the demise of that formation Peter pursued a new project in 1969 which yielded an album of the same name, The Answer. Many consider this debut album to be Peter's best work, and it was followed by the 1971 released self-titled (Peter Bardens) follow-up album.

Yet, in the next year Peter was invited to join the freshly founded Camel who originated in Surrey. Since that time Peter dropped the "r" from his first name, only appearing as "Pete" since then. By the end of 1973 the group signed up with MCA Records and released their eponymous first album shortly thereafter. Already in the subsequent year the band switched record companies, signing a deal with Decca. Album #3, Music Inspired by The Snow Goose can be considered their international breakthrough, putting the band on the top ranks on the list of progressive rock acts. Interestingly, the next release Moonmadness achieved less success in the UK than in America. Unfortunately, during the recordings to the Rain Dances album conflicts between Camel mastermind Latimer and Pete arose, culminating in more tensions throughout the making of Breathless (1978). After those recording sessions were finished Pete(r) Bardens called it quits and left the group. Parallel to these proceedings he joined his former Them band mate Van Morrison and contributed keyboards for the Wavelength album.

The Album: Bardens now recorded a next solo album which resulted in the 1979 release Heart to Heart, his only solo album for another eight years. Interestingly, in 1983 he was asked to join Keats, a project put together from musicians of The Alan Parsons Project. The driving force behind putting this group together was Eric Woolfson with the intention to create a career for the musicians apart from working for Parsons. According to statements of Ian Bairnson it was Eric who asked Pete to join, since he already had very good writing credits, but interestingly, Pete never recorded with The Alan Parsons Project. Parsons confirmed this fact and recalled that Pete(r) Bardens had become an issue through a suggestion of saxophone player Mel Collins (who was also previously a member of Camel). Unfortunately Keats remained a one-release project only and Pete pursued other projects and recorded solo material.

Susequent to the adventure with Keats he discovered and produced Willy Finlayson in 1984/85, who scored the international hit "On the Air Tonight", a Bardens composition. In 1987 he resurfaced with Seen One Earth, followed by the 1988 Speed of Light (including a guest appearance of Mick Fleetwood) up to the 1994 release Big Sky. Interestingly, the latter album contains Pete's own version of "On the Air Tonight" with Neil Lockwood doing the lead vocals.

After the release of Big Sky he founded the band Mirage together with Caravan members, playing material of Camel, Caravan and their individual musicians. The formation was rearranged in 1995, now called Pete Bardens' Mirage. Unfortunately neither line up ever recorded a studio album. The reasons for Bardens' leaving of Mirage in 1996 are unknown, yet it's up to speculations whether it was already due to a diagnosed brain tumor. It came as a shock to his fans when Pete died prematurely on January 22nd, 2002 in Los Angeles. Only weeks after his death the last album with new songs was published: The Art Of Levitation, again, with the participation of Mick Fleetwood on drums and Pete's daughter Tallulah for vocals.

Prior to this solo debut, Pete Bardens had been on the British R&B-rock and psychedelic scene for about half a dozen years, playing in early bands with Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green, as well as (briefly) in Them with Van Morrison. The Answer was his chance to step out of the shadows, and while his skills as a keyboardist were formidable, his songwriting just wasn't up to carrying an interesting album of his own. Devoted to a half-dozen lengthy tracks varying in duration from five to 13 minutes, Bardens offered a blues-progressive stew that, despite some flashy licks, lacked focus. It's a shame there wasn't better material to work with, for some quite talented musicians were among the supporting cast, including Love Affair singer Steve Ellis, session vocalist Linda Lewis, Bruce Thomas (later to back Elvis Costello in the Attractions), and most of all his old friend Peter Green. In fact, Green offers some of his best playing as a sideman on this record, which both makes it better than it could have been, and makes it worth checking out for serious fans of the guitarist. In common with some of Green's own solo work, however, it's a meandering record, bits of promising ideas swirling around before they've been honed into something cogent. Against the odds, however, the 13-minute "Homage to the God of Light" is the highlight, its mesh of Latin-esque rhythms, burning organ, and bluesy guitar recalling some of early Santana's more jammy grooves.

01. The Answer 02. Don't goof with a spookie 03. I can't remember 04. I don't want to go home 05. Let's get it on 06. Homage to the God of Light

[americanahighways]

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The 2020 Virtual Woody Guthrie Festival came to a close this past Sunday, putting a wrap on a bold journey into unknown territory for the Woody Guthrie Coalition and the annual fest. Following an impressive all-star line-up of songwriters on Tuesday and Saturday’s broadcasts, the invaluable Terry “Buffalo” Ware got the Sunday show underway with his rollicking “Plain As Day” and some extra fun picking. Next up, Melissa Hembree joined by her pals, Michael Hurd on mandolin and Bruce Metcalf on acoustic bass, performed a great poignant new song, “Okfuskee” down in front of the Woody statue in downtown Okemah. It doesn’t get more fitting than that. Or does it?

Andy Adams made his case, by delivering a stunning version of Jimmy LaFave’s “Music From the Motorcourt,” that does a fine job of capturing the after-hours hotel parking lot scene that really inspires so many. I really enjoyed Adams’ albeit brief performance at the Old Church here in Perkins, OK just a few months back, and have tuned into several of his own livestreams since. Keeping with the LaFave theme, Adams closed out his segment with another of the beloved songwriter and mentor, the aptly titled, “Woody Guthrie.” Up next, the multi-talented, Ali Harter with an older song she indicated she had recently dug out, “Anti-Political, Unpolitical Song.” Not only a gifted songwriter, Harter also designed this year’s logo and merch via her Pigs Fly Shop, and all her endeavors certainly deserve your attention. OKCs K.C. Clifford performed next, straight from her home’s staircase with a really great song that I believe to be titled, “Remember When.” I haven’t taken the opportunity to catch Clifford live yet, but now I certainly know I need to. You probably need to as well. Tell her I sent you. Robert Williams came next, with a nice sing-a-long on Woody’s “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Yuh” and was followed by the wonderful, Susan Herndon performing her take of the traditional, “This Train is Bound For Glory.” Need a pick-me-up? Williams and Herdon’s songs should do the trick. Following up on their duo performance on the opening night, Travis Fite and Monica Taylor returned with Fite on vocals for Woody’s “Dust Pneumonia Blues,” which has always been a personal favorite of mine from the vast Guthrie catalog. Great, fun version.

Also returning from Saturday’s show, was another song from Betty Soo. This time, a stunning rendition of her own “Henry & Me,” which just stopped me in my tracks and was one of my favorite songs of the festival. I’ll definitely be digging more into this gifted songwriter’s songs soon. With a perfect Terilingua backdrop, good ol’ Butch Hancock was back with well wishes, a bit of hope and a Flatlander’s cut, “One Road More.” Next, Nellie Clay served as our Okenah tour guide in a great production type clip accompanying a soundtrack of Clay performing Woody’s “Ranger’s Command.” Nellie’s choice of song while visiting the Crystal Theatre, the Pastures of Plenty stage and Guthrie’s homestead for the clip, was just exactly perfect. Jared Deck followed, with his soulful “Mountain Valley Road” that had me wishing for at least one more. Instead, Jaimee Harris was back with “On The Surface,” and a short tale detailing the travels that took her from Terilingua, to Okemah to Taos and Eliza Gilkyson’s home. Harris’ stripped down performances were a highlight throughout the festival, and this version was no different. Definitely take the time to listen. Joel Rafael also returned again, this time with a nice version of “Glory Bound,” followed by the sounds of the Red Dirt Rangers and “Strawberries and Watermelon.” Bristow, Oklahoma’s Cassie Latshaw next performed, what I think is titled, “Hide Away” with her friends Steven and Paul and gave me yet another Okie songwriter I really need to catch soon. Annie Guthrie was back with a new song, one she indicated was still being worked out, and well, she doesn’t really care if you have an opinion about it. Keep it to yourself friend. Right there, the spirit of the Guthrie family was perfectly represented, and despite her likely disregard for this writer’s opinion, it’s a damn fine song.

Gypsy Twang comprised of Sarah Barker Huhn, and Steve Huhn, as well as John Williams and Craig Skinner, added a beautiful version of Woody’s “Ramblin’ Round.” Next, Larry Spears’ “Puppeteer” and it’s Dylan-esque cadence, proceeded to blow me away. Just a great song, look it up. Leading us into the closing stretch, Ken Pomeroy presented her inspired tale of Dylan and Baez, titled, “Joan.” It’s been so much fun watching Pomeroy develop as a songwriter, and even when she covers a song, as she did next with “Deportees,” she unmistakably leaves her fingerprints all of it. I can’t recommend her Horton Records debut release, “Hallways” enough, so be sure to look it up. Jacob Tovar returned from his barn for Tom Skinner’s “Crystal,” while R.T. Valine, with birds accompanying delivered a timely take on “Wish This World (Would Settle Down), while his good boy, Wino, kept watch. In the Oklahoma music scene, I doubt there;s a more valuable asset than Kyle Reid. Besides fronting his own endeavors, Reid has played a part in countless local shows and recordings. Reid’s tent set last year with his Low Swinging Chariots was a highlight, and I always look forward to any opportunity to hear his contributions, which thankfully happens quite frequently here in the OKC area. For this year’s fest, Reid recorded a great original, “Dance Alone” and followed it up with Woody’s Hobo’s Lullaby.”

Throughout the pandemic, Carter Sampson has been right there, doing her part to help keep us sane, and maybe herself too. I’ve probably tuned into more Carter livestreams this year than anyone elses, and there’s a couple of reasons. First, she’s performed nearly 60 of her “Happy Hour w/Carter & Bubba,”, and second, each one has been outstanding. Along with her faithful, canine rescue, Bubba, Sampson provides great songs, stories, Shel Silverstein and well, hope. Hope that all this will someday end. Here, Sampson and Bubba perform a great version of “Queen of Oklahoma” and her more recent, “Rattlesnake Kate” from “Lucky” on Horton Records. Next, Peggy Johnson performed a pair of songs that always hit me hard, “One of the Ones” and “Dustbowl Lullaby.” I just discovered Johnson at last year’s fest, and I’m so glad I did. Closing in on the end, Michigan’s Chris Buhalis dropped in again with another brilliant song for the “Working People,” and introduced himself as a new favorite that I must become more familiar with. Any songwriter that can include a line about Bob Gibson’s fastball high and tight, is on to something. The great Greg Jacobs came up next from Greg Johnson’s Blue Door in Oklahoma City for a loving take on “Do Re Mi,” and a poignant version of his own, “Footprints” before our host Terry Ware wrapped up this years recorded performances for the year with the traditionally played Hoot for Huntington’s, sing-along take of Bob Childer’s “Woody’s Road.”

Like everything else in this crazy world right now, this year’s festival was different, and not quite what any of us wanted. Thankfully though, it did happen. I know I needed it, our community needed it and undoubtedly the performers needed it. Any sense of normalcy has to be grasped, and thank goodness the Woody Guthrie Coalition came through for us, because it really helped. Throughout the broadcasts, performer after performer mentioned how much they missed, and how much they look forward to actually sweating it out at the festival next year. Count me in. Next year’s Woody Guthrie Festival will hopefully return with live performances from Okemah on July 14th -18th. A huge thank you to all the 2020 festival artists, supporters, contributors, Friends of the Festival and Coalition members. The fact that together, all of these people were able to convey the sense of family and spirit over a livestream process, is nothing short of amazing. It really shows the depth of dedication and the love of the music that each one of these beautiful people possesses. I really missed seeing everyone this year, and eagerly look forward to the next time we can all get together. As always, an extra loud thank you to all the members of the Festival Board of Directors: President Randy Norman, Vice-President Gary Hart, Dana Gunn, Miranda Huff, Fred Ellert, Cheyenne Felker, Lindsey Flowers, Maddie Gregory, Roger Hostenbach, Roger Osburn, Dennis Whiteman and Guy Zahller, and lastly, of course, the Guthrie Family. Special people, each and every one.

The 2020 WoodyFest stream can still  be viewed until the end of the month on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=woodyfest+2020 and the Coalition would definitely appreciate any support via donations and 2020 fest merchandise. All the information can be found here: https://www.woodyfest.com.

Show Review: Woody Guthrie Festival 2020 (Virtually) Celebration Continues (Pt. 3) @woodyfest #andyadams @mhembreemusic @terry-ware @jaimeeharris @alihartermusic @KCClifford @cartersampson @kenpomeroy @gypsytwang @joelrafaelmusic @reddirtrangers The 2020 Virtual Woody Guthrie Festival came to a close this past Sunday, putting a wrap on a bold journey into unknown territory for the Woody Guthrie Coalition and the annual fest.

[shemakesmusic-uk]

INTERVIEW: Hannah White.

Hannah White has battled her way to gaining a loyal following of fans around the UK whilst maintaining a wholly independent approach to her career. Her music is influenced by country, blues, folk, pop and soul but remains distinctly her own.

With a voice that can switch from a sweet Nashville croon to a bluesy holler, her songs draw from a rich well of life experiences. Hannah released her latest album Elephant Eye earlier this year, preceded by the single and video for 'In It For Love'. We had a chat with the artist about the new record, performing live, her venue The Sound Lounge and more. Read it below.

You have just released your third LP Elephant Eye. What was the inspiration behind the record? What do you hope fans will take away from the album?

"Well I am constantly writing songs, I do it almost daily.  Everything I write is either autobiographical or about something that really matters to me, so it always comes from somewhere sincere.  This record is no different. It wasn’t a collection I looked at pulling together for any particular reason other than for the purpose of sharing.  There is a lot of my politics in the album, there are some deeply personal songs about my relationships, about love, loss and my search for meaning.  My hope for anyone listening is always that they find some kind of connection.  I think that’s what’s so powerful about music and song; when it makes someone feel something."

How does Elephant Eye differ from your previous two releases Poetry and Whose Side Are You On? How do you feel you have grown as an artist?

"I’m not sure I’ve ever really thought about my own evolution as an artist.  My own music preferences have definitely evolved since I wrote my first album, Poetry.  I’ve always listened to Dylan and Cohen, I’ve always loved Prince and also The Bee Gees and Abba for their brilliant, pop songwriting.  But I went through a period of listening to a lot of hiphop and RnB which is something that came and it left me really.  Now I listen to a lot of bluegrass & country and the songwriters I love have evolved too: Tom Waites, Tom Paxton, John Prine and Patty Griffin are all a huge influence on me.  Mostly American artists.  That has definitely influenced my writing, I think you can hear the Americana in me coming out more than it did before."

You worked with lots of talented people on Elephant Eye including producer Nigel Stonier and AMA 2017 Instrumentalist of the Year Chris J Hillman. What was it like working with them and what have you learned from the experience?

"It’s impossible not to learn from any person who joins in on a creative project.  Every single person brings their own creative energy and turns the song or the performance into something it couldn’t have been without them.  The fact that they are lovely people helps too.  That sounds a bit silly but honestly, bringing a song you have written into the world is such an exposing thing, it can make me feel really vulnerable, so being around positive people with lots of talent and who feel where it's coming from is an amazing feeling.  It’s like a little piece of magic happening."

You have a few shows planned for later this year, in the summer. Which of the new songs are you most excited to play live?

"Do you know it changes every time I perform.  I never write set lists because I’ll aways run with the vibe of the room (or the crowd if it’s a festival).  I walk on to a stage and get a sense of who I’m with and what’s going to work.  I think performing is a two-way experience.  It’s at it’s most amazing when you’re making a connection with people.  I know when this has happened because after a performance people will approach me to share their own personal stories.  It’s amazing to think I’ve done some sharing on stage and the audience wants to share back.  It means that it’s not been a one-way experience and that my songs have touched on some emotional fibres."

What is your favourite thing about being on stage and performing live?

"I love performing live I think almost as much as I love songwriting itself (which is just my favourite thing in the world).  It’s never entirely comfortable, but it’s beautiful to share something with the musicians I’m on stage with, when you’re all locked in it is a very special feeling.  But also, crucially, to lock in to something with an audience is just amazing.  I am pretty sure there is no other feeling like it.  Nothing else exists during that moment.  I can completely understand why Bruce Springsteen gets on stage and performs for 4 hours!  I could do it myself, I absolutely love it."

You wrote your most recent single 'In It For Love' after spending time in 2016 at the refugee camp in Calais where you went as a volunteer with food, tents and clothes. Tell us a bit more about that experience and how important activism is to you and the impact it has on your music.

"I decided to go to Calais myself because I was so upset by what I was reading and the images I was seeing in the news, I got to a stage where I couldn’t do nothing anymore.  I went out with clothes and tents and things but also instruments because I knew there would be musicians and songwriters just like me, among the thousands of people living in the camp.  Of course it was really hard to see people living in third world conditions just a few hours from my own home in London.  It was hard to hear their stories and feel very helpless but it was also uplifting to see people coming together through adversity; to see how people find hope and exist by it.  I don’t know if I could if I’d lost everyone and everything.  I played music with the refugees and the joy it brought was amazing, I will never, ever forget it.  I brought those experiences home with me and I live with them every day.  The people I met there, the despair and the horror, but also the resilience and the determination are things that don’t leave me.  Back home I’ve raised money & collected donations, I’ve campaigned for policy change at a political level, I’ve given over my sofa to refugees here in the UK who would otherwise be destitute.  I think it’s the inhumanness of the refugee crisis that makes me so sad, so I just do what I can to be humane. "

You opened the London venue The Sound Lounge with your husband, Keiron to support the careers of other independent artists like yourself, after running an incredibly successful crowdfunder. What an amazing thing to do! Tell us a bit more about what inspired you to do this and how it all came about.

"We came across a completely derelict space in Tooting, SW London, which was open to the elements, without any electricity or plumbing.  My husband (who plays guitar & performs with me) and I had been talking about opening a venue in South London to promote independent artists to support the new music emerging from our city because through working on my own music we’d come across so many other artists with such enormous talent and without enough platforms.  We applied for some grant funding but we were rejected because we didn’t have the track record to support the claims we were making about what we planned to do.  We didn’t have any money ourselves so we thought we’d try a crowdfunding campaign instead to see whether ordinary people like us would get behind it.  We knew it would also tell us whether there was a desire out there for what we were planning or not.  It was amazing, people emerged from everywhere offering money, skills, expertise, PR, graphic design, plumbing….the list goes on.  It was such a brilliant, community project.  We turned the space into a 250-capacity grassroots music venue and creative hub.  We hosted charity events, screenings, talks and we ran workshops for families, young people, we did sound engineering and barista training for refugee minors, we launched our ‘Friendship Coffee’ sessions offering free cuppas for people suffering from social isolation.  And, crucially, we were putting on live music events from mainly UK artists, but also artists from Texas, Nashville, Canada, Europe and attracting audiences from all over the UK and even beyond."

Finally, what would you say has been the biggest highlight of your career so far and what are you looking forward to in the future?

"I did once perform at a festival in Turkey surrounded by mountains to a completely silent, seated audience of 3,000 and that was quite amazing!  But I have to say the people who have come into my life thanks to music is what I’m most grateful for.  I’ve made some lifelong friends and I feel very lucky for it! Already this year I’ve been lucky enough to have national radio play and press on this album which has been amazing so for that to continue would be brilliant because it would mean that my music can reach more people.  But ultimately if I can keep writing, performing and meeting wonderful people then I literally couldn’t ask for anything more."

Elephant Eye is available now.

[shelbymeyer131-blog]

ESSAY I WROTE ON POSTMODERN ADS ( Images linked in paper)

_____

The Advertising Equivalent of Wearing Sunglasses Inside

It’s a little weird that when I started researching for this paper, when my brain was at its wit’s end with Fredrick Jameson, that I switched to reading a Thomas Pynchon novel. I was sitting in the same Los Angeles coffee shop where I’d read Less Than Zero last August; the same coffee shop across from the now-closed Tower Records, which had been decorated to look like it did in the late 80s. It looks legit, but behind the convincing facade is an empty shop. I wanted to take a break from postmodernism and was met with overwhelming postmodernism.

* * *

When I���m not reading postmodern novels, I’m trying my hardest to be a postmodern graphic designer. Postmodernism speaks to my soul; as much as it drives me crazy to research, it’s like an excuse to study stuff I actually care about in an serious context and still have it be valid. If it means I get to design book cover with a photo of traffic, Ralph Lauren ads, and 1960s computer graphics, then I’m happy to live in a postmodern world. There isn’t an official definition for postmodernism; the whole concept is pretty vague, and extremely controversial. The boiled down explanation consists of a fragmented reuse of existing imagery or ideas in a different cultural context, acknowledgement of medium, and less distinction between high and colloquial culture. Postmodernism is hallmarked by the existence of multiple yet coexisting identities or interpretations, and the realization that reality is a collage of things rather than one universal narrative. SPY magazine columnist Bruce Handy puts it best:

"It [postmodernism] can mean anything that's sort of old, but sort of new, a little bit ironic, or kind of self conscious-- like movies that steal bits from old movies, or photographs of the photographer. It's used in reference to creative endeavors that never had a modernist movement to begin with-- art forms such as music videos, rap songs, and panty-hose design. It's culturespeak shorthand for Stuff That's Cool in 1988.”

If I’m vain enough to claim I’m a postmodern designer, then I’m definitely vain enough to claim I’m a cool one too. Like postmodernism, “cool” is difficult to define because it’s applicable to a vast array of different contexts. My inclination is to list famous people (Keith Richards, James Dean, Debbie Harry, Jimi Hendrix, Kate Moss, et cetera, et cetera) but, while that seems to make perfect sense, it requires a bit more finesse of words. For something, or someone, to be cool, they must acknowledge a rule or cultural standard and deliberately subvert it. Specifically, a cool person understands what a rule means, deems it oppressive or wrong in some way, and decides that that particular rule no longer applies to them. In doing so, said cool person exhibits a certain confidence in their own judgement, deeming their opinion to be more correct than the established one. It’s important to note that the rules being broken aren’t THAT dangerous to other people (wearing all black is cool, murder is not) and that the actual break doesn’t stray too far from established.

It actually sounds a lot like the relationship between modernism and postmodernism. As David Harvey, in his book The Condition of Postmodernity: “We see postmodernism emerge as a full-blown though still incoherent movement out of the chrysalis of the anti-modern movement of the 1960s.” Postmodernism, knowing the strict rules of modernism, decided they no longer apply. Postmodernism is cool. I’m specifically interested in how this applies to advertisements; how the use of postmodern elements makes for cool ads.

The best place to start is with pastiche; it’s the most easily identifiable element of postmodernism, and one of my favorite things to see. It’s like an affectionate repurposing of a style or placing an existing style with its own context into a new one. It doesn’t modify the style to send a specific message, as done in parody, and it doesn’t necessarily intend to make the user think of it’s source. It’s like like unwrapping a present and reusing the wrapping paper, it can look the same from the outside, but the contents of the presents can be completely different.

Personally, I love when pastiche is used in advertising. The single most influential pieces of advertising, are the merchandise ads for Daft Punk’s 2013 album Random Access Memories. I’ve spent the past four years going on about how spectacular they are, using them as primary inspiration for multiple projects, including my conceptually driven sophomore studio capstone piece. I've admired the supposed realism of these ads, claiming that, in the right context, they’d be indeterminable from other advertisements from the 1970s. It’s true, they look like they could be found in old issues of Billboard or Circus. In the past, I’ve cited them as accurately depicting the style of that time period, but perhaps it isn’t. Pastiche is repurposing of a style not an time period. It isn’t the 70s being depicted, rather it’s the abstract "feeling" of the 70s (https://www.daftpunk.com/) 

Fredric Jameson, in his paper Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, uses the film Body Heat to better explain what it that “feeling” is. The film is set in the early 80s; the costuming, props, and demeanor of the characters enforce that, but the essence of the film feels like a 1930s film noir. Jameson argues that accurately capturing a time period is not possible to accurately capture a historical time period in term, rather it is the essence of how that time felt that is portrayed. In the case of Body Heat, it’s 1930s-ness.

Random Access Memories (and its ad campaign) is still a piece of 2013 culture but in terms of feeling and style, it is from the 1970s. Rather than capturing how the 70s accurately were, these ads aim to capture the feeling of 1970s-ness. It’s more than just an allusion to that time period, the immersive pastiche completely repurposes the disco visual style in a new time period. The ads confidently represents a world that doesn’t exist, that can’t exist because it never existed in the first place.  

Recontextualization alone isn’t what makes these ads cool. What makes them cool is the confidence to use a style that isn’t particularly revered in retrospect. I don’t think I’ve heard a style of music made fun of more than disco, and my first concert was KC and the Sunshine Band. Disco doesn’t get the musical respect it maybe deserves (as a visual style it isn’t much better off), and yet these ads don’t hold back. What makes them cool, in addition to being a visually seamless pastiche, is that they’re affectionally recreating a notoriously unpopular style. Rather than recreate something established as cool, the ads recreate a style that isn’t. They're daring and boldly ignoring the cultural status of disco. Confidence in that embrace makes the band seem more genuine and less reliant on wide acceptance. It makes them more likable, and the ads more compelling.

I love pastiche, but it doesn’t have a ton of depth. Honestly, postmodernism design, as a movement, isn’t exactly known for its depth. This means that what you see is what you get; there doesn’t have to be philosophical implications behind visual choices; an ad is often just an ad. Mass cultural critic Julian Stallabrass, argues that, beginning in the 1980s, ads started to be seen as a cultural art form, and there was less distinction between an advertisement and what it was trying to sell. This can result in reliance on the medium, in this case, the fact that it’s an advertisement. I’ve always been drawn to ads that announce their status as ads; it feels honest and sarcastic. There’s something attractive about a self referential ad that talks down to its viewer. M&C Saachti’s minimalist masterpiece for Ketel One is one of my favorite ads. (http://mcsaatchi-la.com/portfolio/dear-ketel-one-2/)

Its minimal black text, in Ketel One logo type, rests in the upper left segment of a stark white surface; the ad is doing little to connect with what it’s selling, and yet I’m completely inthralled because it’s ‘cool’. Visually speaking, the only notable connection to the product is the banded type face; the rest stays completely neutral. It feels effortless and aloof. It begins by directly addressing the viewer, announcing it’s ad, and immediately apologizing for it’s existence. Seemingly, Ketel One is completely transparent in it’s marketing strategy: stripping away the pretty visuals and fluffy copy, directly stating a message, and acknowledging that the viewer isn’t so easily fooled. It even goes so far as to apologize for ads being manipulative in the past. I was tempted to believe this ad wasn’t trying to trick me into wanting Ketel One, but I couldn’t shake the sarcastic tone I was getting from it. Perhaps it isn’t as direct as it seems

Sure, on the surface Ketel One is telling me “this is an advertisement” but, what I’d argue they’re actually saying is “Yeah, we’re advertising because so and so executive says we need  to, but we really shouldn’t have to. You should already know that Ketel One is great, and if you don’t already drink it, well, you’re the loser.” Maybe not in those exact words, but that’s certainly the tone I get. The goal isn’t genuine transparency, rather it’s using transparency to distance itself from how things are typically marketed. Rather than highlighting the positive aspects of the product and incising the viewer to buy it, this ad completely ignores this audience. It seems to confidently announce that Ketel One is great, regardless to if the viewer likes it or not. The ad dares the viewer to ignore it, the opposite of what ads are supposed to do. That’s what makes it cool, the confidence to be ambivalent toward the audience.  It acknowledges that ads are supposed to be manipulative, blatantly deciding not to fall into those trends, and, interestingly, that makes the product more desirable. The viewers wants to buy Ketel One, not because it will make their life better, not because celebrities are drinking it, but because it makes them feel like they’re missing out on something they absolutely shouldn’t be missing out on. It piques interest in the product, without acknowledging any need for the viewer.

If Ketel One ignores the viewer through its self reference, Moschino outright insults them.  If you don’t know, Moschino is a ridiculous Italian high-fashion house that often uses recognizable brands, like SpongeBob or McDonalds, in their designs. In this particular ad a photo of an expansive partly cloudy sky covers three quarters of the spread. Over the clouds reads in serifed text “this is an advertisement!” and below, in italicized script font “Couture!” The bottom quarter is filled with “MOSCHINO” in large black text. Visually, there isn’t anything denoting that Moschino is a fashion company. Honestly it feels very cliché. The copy appears to be self declarative and neutral but, upon closer inspection, is a direct insult. It's literally screaming "couture" at the viewer, as if to say “you wouldn’t know couture if it slapped you in the face, so here let me help you, MOSCHINO IS HIGH FASHION.” (http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/24523/1/cult-vault-moschino-s-rebellious-90s-ads)

Similarly to Ketel One, the strategy should push the viewer away, but since it’s confidently subverting established marketing techniques it seems more appealing. Seemingly, Moschino doesn’t care if it alienates some viewers, they don’t care about what they’re supposed to do.

Additionally, the cloud imagery feels more suited to the back of a 90s country CD or an Old Navy ad; it definitely doesn’t fit with standard high fashion imagery. Including both fancy and casual elements illustrate the postmodern concept of fragmentation. Rather than there being only one reality, the world is made up of tons of pieces. This made embracing more than one identity acceptable, and break down of the distinction between high and low culture. Fragmentation makes it acceptable that my parents to be yuppie deadheads, or me using drugstore eyeliner and $60 mascara. Moschino is using a cliché colloquial image of clouds and pairing it with they’re identity as a haute couture fashion company.  

Even more directly than Moschino’s clouds, is Gucci’s meme culture. Unlike Moschino, Gucci aligns more strictly with high fashion culture, and yet their new line of watches are being marketed with meme imagery and informal text. One of the more recognizable ads, created by Instagram artist Derek Lucas, alludes to a still image from the children’s TV show Arthur. The original image of a clenched fist is often paired with situational text as a visualization of frustration. In the case of Gucci, the image is a photo recreation of the popular image with a Gucci watch on the wrist. The photo is accompanied by the phrase “When your girl doesn’t notice your new watch.” Other than the watch being in the ad, there is no call back to Gucci specifically, the name isn’t present at all. It’s supposed to look like a meme. (http://www.highsnobiety.com/2017/03/17/gucci-fashion-memes/)

Memes are made very quickly, and are not expertly planned before; unlike fashion, which takes months to prepare and thought about seasons in advance. They’re two extremely different worlds, and while the allusion could be seen as bridging the gap between a high fashion house and internet culture to expand the buying market; I don’t think that’s the case, especially since the watch pictured costs $850. Rather, I’d argue, it’s expanding the brand identity to include both expensive watches and dinky internet memes. It’s cool because Gucci is being inclusive of a style that it, historically, shouldn’t be inclusive of; it makes it feel like Gucci is purposely going against trends, but it somehow feels cringe inducing and isn’t very well liked. Objectively this is a cool ad, but it also feels like they spent a lot of money to make it look like they didn’t spend a lot of money.  

A more likable example is the fantastic M&C Saatchi creations for the Getty Center in Los Angeles. These ads feature medieval, classical, and renaissance paintings paired with exploitative tabloid headlines. For examples, one highlights the piece Bathsheba Bathing, where a nude woman stands in a pool while a man in a window stares at her. Surrounding the painting, in all caps, is the phrase “’He just stood there staring at my bits!’ Full frontal seductress tells all in royal peeping tom scandal.” on an expressive red background. (https://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/prints/getty-center-creepy-king-9582005/)

The strategy could be seen as making the museum feel more inclusive, mixing highly revered paintings with pulp magazine headlines, but I don’t think that’s the case. Instead, it’s attempting to make a stuffy museum in Brentwood, California (the heart of wealthy, scenic LA) feel more lively and scandalous. It’s taking the modernist sacredness of the museum and dirtying it up; making the rules no longer applicable. Using low culture to market an upscale museum, makes them seem cooler. It seemingly allows the viewer to notice the more exploitative elements of the paintings, something that shatters the strict rules typically held by art critics and museum connoisseurs. That breaking of identity rules falls in the category of ‘cool,’ and, since it doesn’t stray THAT far from the established, is also a successful rebrand of the Getty.

In general, I think that postmodern advertising is a positive trend, something that breaks away from the established is, to me at least, more likable. In the same way Chuck Klosterman claims that the villains are more compelling because of their high regard for themselves and bravado, cool ads can make what’s being advertised more attractive. I’d rather see subversive and style heavy marketing than a paragraph explaining why a product will make my life better. The opportunity to repurpose any style in any context is liberating, and the results look better on the wall than earlier ads. The rebellious spirit of postmodernism advertising is not only inspirational, but completely cool.