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flying-elliska · 5 years ago

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So, I am having a "women centric period movies" moment (if you have recs I am all ears!) and first up : Little Women (2019). I really liked it - it was a very enjoyable experience. I remember reading the book as a kid, finding it too preachy and super depressing. But there was none of that in this movie. I thought the narrative device of folding two different eras side by side was very clever and well done. It avoids too much tonal clash between the younger and older years of their lives. It highlights the earlier years, tinted in gold, as a time of innocence and warmth but also immaturity and big dreams and yearning. And in the second part, filmed through a more blue lens, it shows how much they have grown ; the starker realities of their adult lives tinged by grief and harsher decisions but also self knowledge and ownership. The sisters playing their secret club meeting games vs. the empty, cold attic Jo finds herself in to write, coming to terms with her loneliness but also using her youth as inspiration. The sister's petty jealousies and rivalries vs their growth and mutual support later on. Etc. It's such a gorgeous movie too, the costumes feel so lived in and cool in a grounded sort of way (I rrealllllllly want a green jacket like Jo's. And a short cape like Amy). It's refreshing to see protagonists that aren't rich but the movie isn't about their misery either.

It was just such a treat to see so many complex women interact together. I feel sisterly relationships are rarely illustrated this well and Jo and Amy's bond really made me feel such relatable things, that mix of affection and insupportable annoyance and deep understanding and different aspirations. I identify so much with Jo - with any woman wanting to put her creativity at the center of her life and clashing with society's expectations but struggling with loneliness. I just loved how the movie framed the ending. Sure her getting with the professor is in the book and as far as parties go he will make a great husband. He clearly admires her mind ; he was honest enough to tell her he didn't like the sensationalist stories she wrote bc they sold and think she was capable of more. But at the same time the way the publisher asks her to change the ending for her unmarried heroine casts some doubt on if that somewhat cliche ending is really what happened. It's Schrodinger's happy ending. There is a notion of choice in that ambiguity : maybe Jo did find a guy that fit her, maybe she did not and changed the story, but what really matters is her book that she got published and now owns. That is such a lovely statement. I love that she found her true voice in telling stories about and for her sisters. I mean I grew up making up bedtime stories for my little sis, so ..yeah. That moment with Beth at the beach made me cry like a waterfall. I so get that deep impulse to make everything into a story to make things better.

At the same time Amy is just such a dynamic character ! As a kid she is soooo annoying, like honestly her burning Jo's manuscript had me see red, but she is also so endearing and it's clear that she has more enthusiasm and drive than her situation knows what to do with. I love that the movie clearly celebrates her pragmatism and mettle and shows how she, too, is lonely but has a different way of dealing with it. I really like her thing with Laurie ; I am a sucker for stories where the second love is the right one because it often sidesteps the overly easy "love at first sight" tropes to build something that has its roots in character growth. They are different enough to inspire each other to do better and at the same time they want the same thing in life. And the chemistry ! That painting room scene ! I love that she went from burning her sister's book to encouraging her and talking about how the stories of women need to be made important.

In the end yeah this isn't a super high stakes movie but I think that is part of the point. That stories about relationships and intimate dynamics and life choices and emotions are often seen as less important or deep or interesting because they are associated with women and vice versa. You can't just solve this problem by having stories about Tough Ladies Doing Badass Manly Things (although when done well that can be awesome). You also have to reconsider what makes a story "matter" - does it have to always be violence, suffering, people being terrible to each other ? Obviously not and yet...

I loved the way this movie illustrated that there is no wrong way for a woman to build her life - dream of kids and marriage, dream of artistic fulfillment and respect, dream of helping others, or a mix of all that - as long as her choices are respected and she can fulfill her potential.

Anyway yeah, great movie.

#little women #little women 2019 #movie reviews #ellie watches movies

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letterboxd · 5 years ago

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Locked In.

The director of new documentary Spaceship Earth on snark, queer cinema, the survival of our species, and the ten films he’d take into a biosphere.

In 1991, eight people entered a vivarium to conduct a two-year experiment on whether humans could become fully self-sufficient inside a closed system on this—or any other—planet. Calling themselves the Synergists, the small collective, led by a charismatic chap named John Allen, had backgrounds in theater, art, science and business, and they became media superstars for a short period of time.

With much of the world sheltering in place in cramped apartments, many of us can only dream of being locked-down inside a human-scale terrarium complete with lush gardens, creative friends and a cook as inventive as Biospherian Sally Silverstone. Biosphere 2, which still stands on a ranch in Arizona, looks really inviting right now.

But there are complexities, tensions and controversies in an experiment like this, as documentarian Matt Wolf explores in his new film Spaceship Earth, which blends fantastic archive footage and present-day interviews to bring those two years to light.

Biospherians (left to right): Bernd Zabel, Taber MacMullen (top) Mark Van Thillo, Jane Poynter, Linda Leigh, Roy Walford (middle), Abigail Alling and Sally Silverstone (bottom) posing inside Biosphere 2 in 1990. / Photo courtesy of NEON

Wolf talks with Letterboxd’s editor-in-chief Gemma Gracewood about the lessons we can learn from the Biospherians amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the ten films he’d take into a biosphere with him, and the dangers of ignoring young people.

How (and where) are you during this pandemic? Matt Wolf: I’m doing well. I’m in my living room in the Lower East Side of New York, where I am every day, and I’m doing okay because I'm throwing myself into this film release. It’s been a real relief to have something to do instead of just reading the news and being trapped at home. The timing is uncanny, but I’m seizing the moment. I’m very happy to be participating and doing lots of virtual events and promoting the film so that people will watch it, because I hope that it will give some perspective for what we’re going through.

That’s the next obvious question: how did your work on Spaceship Earth prepare you for this extraordinary moment, and what advice do you have for those of us sheltering in our own tiny biospheres? It’s funny. My producer Stacey Reiss says the Biospherians were in their world for two years; we were in our filmmaking bubble for two years, too. And so, we could relate in that way but we never thought we would relate so vividly to that experience. And I think, you know, talking to the Biospherians, something that they relayed was that it really was a transformative experience, because they were responsible for creating their own atmosphere, for producing the food they needed to eat, and they really couldn’t take anything for granted—even a breath of fresh air. So when they came out they felt a renewed connection to the larger world, and a different sense of responsibility and consequence for their actions.

I hope that in some ways we all feel transformed by this experience, and it allows us to engage with the world in a different way, because we’re going to have to think and act differently now that we really understand in a visual sense how fragile the world really is.

The exterior of Biosphere 2. / Photo courtesy of NEON

Yes, it feels like the Earth is breathing. It’s such an interesting time. Yeah. I think we need to make a connection between climate change and what’s happening now. If we don’t change how we behave, the threat of long-term catastrophe is inevitable. Not to take this to a dark place, but it’s true.

From a filmmaking perspective, we’re living in a time where, with social media and smartphones, we are creating our own content every second of every day. One thing that’s endlessly fascinating about archive-based films like yours, is how lucky we are to have had people—who were not necessarily filmmakers themselves—document these extraordinary experiences. What was it like when you first started diving into that footage? I’m actually always on the lookout for stories that have a strong basis in archival material that can help activate them and bring them into the present. I was certainly determined to tell this story; it was extraordinary and I knew there was a great deal of media coverage. But when I went to meet the Synergists at their ranch, I was brought into this temperature-controlled room that had hundreds of 16mm film canisters, analog video cassettes, thousands of images; it was astonishing that they had had the foresight to not only document what they were doing but also to preserve it in such a meticulous way.

To me it was an indication that they recognized that what they were doing was history, but also kind of poignant because nobody had taken an interest in that archive and tapped into it, so it felt like an incredible opportunity, but also a responsibility as well. It would have been a much less potent film had we not had that material as well as the video diaries that Biospherian Roy Walford shot inside.

For me, it is unprecedented to be able to tell a story—particularly a story with so many narrative twists and turns—that has archival footage that covers literally every beat of the story. I don’t expect that to happen often in my filmmaking career! This was an extraordinary situation.

Biospherian Linda Leigh and tourists. / Photo courtesy of NEON

Okay Matt, you’re heading into the Biosphere, with no internet, and you can only take ten films with you. What are the films that you’d pack to take? To help you choose, we’ll give you some guidelines. What’s the movie you’ve watched the most? I would say the movie I’ve watched the most, ever, is Todd Haynes’ movie Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. It was a movie made with Barbie dolls about Karen Carpenter’s life. I have just watched that movie over and over and over again, and it’s a bootleg movie because the Carpenter estate suppressed it. It’s one of those things made of lore, in which people exchanged low-quality file transfers, and I got my hands on a high-quality restoration recently. I love showing it to people who haven’t seen it, and it’s a total joy to watch that movie. That is the movie that I would definitely need to have access to if I could never see anything again.

Can you name a favorite documentary; one that has meaning for you? Every once in a while I watch this documentary that really is in some ways my favorite. To me it’s like taking a bath to watch this film, a bath for my brain. It’s called A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake. I’ve only been able to find it on YouTube; it’s not in distribution. I’m a fan, but the film is just made in such a delicate and visually precise way. It represents the type of filmmaking that I really love. It’s seemingly straightforward as a documentary, but I think in its subtlety it is really just a soothing and absorbing film.

What’s the film you’d take to entertain your fellow Biospherians on a Friday night? One of my favorites from when i was a kid that I think would be fun to watch on a Friday night is Troop Beverly Hills. If you want just like cotton candy, that would be my version of that.

Shelley Long and her Wilderness Girls in ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ (1989).

A film for the inevitable long, lonely, insomniac nights? If I was feeling depressed and lonely, and like really leaning into those feelings of isolation, maybe like Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. I remember that as being a film that was at once devastating but also comforting. Just about human connection and human alienation. I just think it’s so deep and true.

What about a film that you like to impress people with because of the way it looks, or makes you feel? One of my favorite movies that I just love to show to people because it’s so amazing—well, there’s two that fit into that category, movies that are fun to show people because they are unbelievable and true. One is Hail the New Puritan by the artist Charlie Atlas. It’s a documentary about Michael Clark, a kind of punk ballet dancer from London in the 80s, who collaborated with Leigh Bowery and The Fall. Charlie, the filmmaker, made it in the model of A Hard Day’s Night, the Beatles vehicle, and it follows this gay punk ballet dancer on his nightlife and pseudo-celebrity adventures through 80s punk London.

And then my other film that is too good to be true is A Bigger Splash [the 1973 Jack Hazen documentary, not the 2015 Luca Guadagnino feature], which is a similarly constructed documentary about David Hockney that feels like a fiction film staged with all the characters from his orbit during the height of his popularity in swinging London. It’s such a great depiction of an artist’s life and it’s completely baffling how the filmmaker was able to generate such access and to construct a film that feels so dramatized.

What film has had the biggest impact on you, whether for its meaning or for its execution? One of the films that had a big effect on me and that I really think the communal experience is central to, is Derek Jarman’s film Blue. He made it when he was dying of AIDS and it’s a lush soundscape with a kind of like non-linear stream of thoughts coming from Derek Jarman, and a beautiful soundscape, with material from Brian Eno. It’s a feature-length film where the screen is just blue. Every time that film screens in the cinema, I take the opportunity to go because it’s almost a religious experience. A cinematic religious experience. I feel really moved by it but it also is something to share with other people, in an unusual way.

And a film that’s stuck with you since you were young? American Family—the documentary series that gave birth to reality TV. In the 1970s Alan and Susan Raymond made this epic PBS cinema-vérité series that followed this upper-middle-class San Diego, Californian family. In one episode, their son Lance Loud moves to New York and is living at the Chelsea Hotel and his mum comes to visit and he comes out of the closet. It is a unique, different world, many of the Andy Warhol superstars are there. It [felt like] the first time a gay person had appeared on television and the drama unfolds over many episodes.

It was this huge controversy, people thought they were disgusting and perverse for putting their lives on television like this, but it also is kind of mundane and boring, just like a lot of the early cinema vérité, but it really laid the groundwork for what would become reality television, except it’s not constructed for the camera in the way that we expect these shows to be. I like watching serialized family stories like that, and this is the foundation of it.

What’s a recent queer film you’d take in with you? There’s this movie I was obsessed with. I just thought of it the other day: Saint Laurent, by Bertrand Bonello. It came out a few years ago and it’s a completely narcotic, kaleidoscopic biopic, and I think it’s so rare that biopics actually inhabit the psyches of their famous protagonist and that the actors don’t just feel like they’re doing pantomime. This film really captures not only the disintegrating psychology of Yves Saint Laurent, but also the context of the gay subcultures of Paris in 1970s and the 80s. It’s this super-vivid depiction of subculture, but through a very narcotic lens. I just was obsessed with that film. It’s not really considered ‘queer film’, I think it’s more considered a biopic, but to me it’s one of the more interesting depictions of queer culture in recent years.

Gaspard Ulliel as Yves Saint Laurent in Bertrand Bonello’s ‘Saint Laurent’ (2014).

And finally, a fond, family-viewing memory? I always loved Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. I mean, I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite films but every time I see it, it’s like, “Oh, I get why I was obsessed with that as a kid”. I love the visual world and Gene Wilder is so bizarre and a little creepy. If you look at it as an adult there’s something kind of perverse about it, but I love a kind of analog fantasy world! So that film is, you might say, delicious.

You could say Spaceship Earth is a kind of analog fantasy world—the Biosphere itself is a living fantasy. I’m interested to know what you’d say to younger film lovers of today about what they might get out of seeing these avant-garde theater-makers-turned-Biospherians of yesterday? This film is more targeted towards younger people. I feel like there is a certain cynicism amongst adults that completely discounts young people and their ability to reimagine the world in creative ways. This is something I really dealt with in my film Teenage, the history of the invention of teenagers: adults always try to control young people. They corral the inventiveness of young people and the languages that they speak and invent. Young people all fight back, trying to define the world on their own terms, and this is really a film about a group of people who came together in their 20s and decided to reimagine and redefine, literally, a new world. There are all sorts of forces of establishment that tried to stop them and question and discount them.

We live in a world that’s pretty cynical and brings a lot of skepticism to people who try to do things differently, and I think as a 20-year-old you might see yourself in the idealism of these unusual people. Don’t you think that’s true? That, like, 20-year-olds aren’t as snarky and cynical? I feel like 20-year-olds are earnest and sincere and idealistic. Maybe I’m out of touch, but that was my experience and part of what I’ve observed in other young people.

I just feel like that ‘snarkiness’ that is often represented in the media is the cynicism that comes with the bitterness of life experience. And when you’re young and don’t have hardships and disappointments that have maybe hardened you with a certain kind of cynicism, it is possible to think more expansively and more optimistically about the world. We really need to tap into that energy. It’s not really helpful at this moment to, I don’t know, to shoot down anyone who’s trying something new. I hadn’t thought about that, but I'd be really curious what young people think of the film.

That’s a useful perspective, and makes me think of how, over the last couple of years, we have seen so much grassroots activism from young people, and now with the global lockdown there’s been a quieting of the youth climate movement, at least out there on the streets. You’re totally right. It was this big loud wave of activity and now with the pandemic it has really been washed over. But what they're talking about is long-term consequences, and if we don’t address the underlying issues that have related to the collapse of our society as a result of uncontrollable environmental factors, the survival of our species is threatened.

Further Readings

Washington Post on Sackler Family

Forbes on the Louvre

Time on the Louvre

Observer on Sackler Family

Smithsonian Video on Peacock Room: REMIX

For show notes, keep reading.

Greetings and welcome to Alternative Artifacts, a museum in your ear, the podcast that explores the strange stories behind the most unique objects in museum’s collections. Ever wonder how a gigantic Naked George Washington ended up in the American History Museum? Or why there is an entire museum dedicated to art made from human hair? Now you can listen to the stories of America’s most iconic objects from your favorite exhibit or from the comfort of your own home. My name is Lexi and I will be your tour guide.

[Transition Music]

As mentioned in our previous episode, this season is focused on the Smithsonian Institution. Throughout this season, some of the object’s stories we explore will expose the complicated, colonial history of the Institution, some will reveal how museum methods effect objects, and others will provide a glimpse into the lives of objects beyond the confines of the museum. Today’s objects represent a cross-section of these topics.

What do you picture when you picture an artifact? Is it something manmade or natural? Does it fit inside a breadbox? Or could it be an entire room? Today’s first object is in fact, an entire room. If you ever visit the Freer|Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., you will notice that one gallery sets itself apart from the rest. You see, the gallery itself is a piece of art. This work of art is The Peacock Room, a decadent, excessive expression of wealth which is sometimes home to rotating displays of Chinese porcelain and has occasionally been left empty to accent its own artistic prowess.

[Transition Music]

The history of The Peacock Room is complex. It is a story fit for a historical drama, entangled by conflicts over money, creativity, and presentation. Frederick R. Leyland was a rich shipping tycoon of nineteenth century England. His personal hobby was collecting Chinese porcelain. Frederick displayed this vast collection of porcelain in his dining room. On one wall of the dining room, he presented his most beloved possession and the focal point of his home, a painting by James McNeill Whistler called The Princess from the Land of Porcelain. This painting was a fitting accent to the vases and bowls which surrounded it. The painting depicts a Western woman dressed in traditional Chinese clothing.

Eventually, Leyland’s collection outgrew his current dining room. In order to design a new display place for his collection, Leyland commission the architect Thomas Jeckyll to update his space. Considering the importance of Whistler’s painting in the overall aesthetic of the room, Jeckyll decided to ask the artist to work alongside him. In particular, Jeckyll was hoping Whistler could provide guidance on what color scheme would best suit the painting that Leyland saw as the focal point of the room. However, in the middle of the project Leyland left London for a trip, and shortly after, Jeckyll fell ill. With Leyland abroad and Jeckyll unable to work, Whistler gained total control of the design of the room. Going beyond his duties of assigning colors, he began to develop intricate details for the room, including designing the golden bird patterns which would later give the room its infamous name. Returning from his ventures, Leyland arrived to his home and instead of a classy new dining room found a goody, overdone art project, with a price tag far higher than he initially proposed. When Leyland refused to pay Whistler the full commission for the extra work he had completed by his own will, the angry artist just kept adding even more gold-gilded birds to the wall of the dining room. In a flash of rage, Whistler painted two shimmering, gold peacocks, mid-battle, on the wall directly opposing The Princess from the Land of Porcelain. This duel of featherful fates was a metaphor for the tension between Leyland and Whistler. The artist titled this portion of the room Art and Money; or the Story of the Room. Or as I like to call it, “You are tearing me apart Leyland.”

In 1904, Charles Lang Freer, a Whistler collector who had already purchased The Princess from the Land of Porcelain, purchased the rest of the Peacock Room. He had the room dismantled, packed, shipped across the sea, delivered to his home in Detroit, and reassembled, reuniting the princess and her peacocks. Over time, Freer filled the room with his own personal collection of ceramics from Japan, Korea, China, Iran, and Syria, a collection which would later become the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery museum. When the Freer Gallery of Art was first opened in 1923, the Peacock Room was installed as a permanent exhibit, serving both as an art piece and as a place to display artifacts. The Freer has been its home ever since. But in 2014, the Peacock Room, for the first time, was forced to face its own reflection.

[Transition Music]

You walk into a room of red light and melted gold. You feel a shiver run down your spine. It appears as if the darkness itself has weight. An eerie familiarity lurks between the rows and rows of broken vases, each painted a unique shade and pattern. They crack and crumble, many of them barely remaining on the shelves. Some of them have already reached the floor, leaving traces of their former form in a smashed trail behind them. The emotion invoked here begs you to ask, “Where have I seen this before?” From behind the walls and under the floors, the sounds of womens’ voices and strange, distant music echo. They whisper, “I am a thing of beauty.” Or is it the mysterious painting of the faceless woman, the one in the kimono, is she whispering? A red light blares behind closed shutters on the wall, like blood emerging from a fresh wound. Above you, two huge birds vie in a life or death battle, their golden wings outstretched. They seem to tear at each other's guts, both beautiful and tragic with their intricate and shining feathers. With your eyes, you trace the melted gold which runs down from this image and across the hardwood, reflecting the red rays in the false windows. This piece is not just a feast for the eyes. Rather, it is an experience for the whole body. This is Filthy Lucre, a twisted, modern update of The Peacock Room.

Filthy Lucre is the modern piece which serves as an in-depth commentary of the role of wealth, art, and power in both modern and historical contexts, using the original Peacock Room and it’s story as a guide. Filthy Lucre is Darren Waterston’s dynamic response to the Peacock Room. In Waterson’s vision of the infamous piece, he uses artistic metaphors to demonstrate how the tensions developed by the creation of the intricate room represent the social tensions of modern America. For example, the melting gold which runs through the desk, onto the floor and even outside the room, represents the “Gilded Age,” in simple terms a time when things seem to be going quite well, but underneath it all they are corrupt. An age “gilded in gold”. Not only does Waterson intend to reference the Gilded Age of the nineteenth century, but he also intends to evoke conversations about the modern Gilded Age in which we live now and use the historical time period as a metaphor.

Filthy Lucre serves as both metaphor and commentary, connecting images from the past to issues of the present. In 1876, Whistler saw Leyland as a crook for hoarding his excessive amounts of money and refusing to pay for the painter’s services. This act was a microcosm to the state of the world economy during this era. As more nations were industrializing in the nineteenth century, it seemed the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer. Waterson effectively paralleled the image of the Gilded Age to today through the visual cues his piece. When you see gold running down the wall and onto the floor, you may pause to think of the exuberant spendings of the wealthy in our society. These lavish purchases, much like gold melting along the floor, hide the dark modern issues surrounding how money is acquired. Beyond the visual cues in the room, sounds make a strong stance for Waterson’s themes. The voices and music in this room come from three women who call themselves BETTY. Generating a score for the room, they use ambient electric string instruments and they repeat the mantra “I am a thing of beauty,” which they speak eerily and haphazardly. This draws in the visitor, both with fear and curiosity. In the context of the room, the sounds continue to convey a theme of the destruction and distortion caused by wealth. Just as the melting gold and broken vases conjure images of wealthy negligence, the whispers of women convey vanity, a trait often associated with the rash decisions of the wealthy.

In a modern world plagued by hunger, homelessness, and poverty, the rich still grow richer and the poor still grow poorer. In this way, Waterson compares the state of the world which inspired Whistler’s artistic vision to the state of our modern world. The artist presents a dominant theme of negativity towards those who choose to hoard excessive wealth, even at great cost to the poor. This theme directly connects to the title of the piece “Filthy Lucre,” which is a term literally meaning “money, especially when gained in a dishonorable way.”

Interestingly enough, the title and meaning of Filthy Lucre itself directly relates to a very current issue in the museum industry: the issue of museums taking money from philanthropists who earned their fortunes in an unsavory way. Arthur M. Sackler, for whom the Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian is named for, is a member of the Sackler family. It has recently come to light in the museum community that the Sackler family’s Pharmaceutical business was heavily involved in the sale and spread of an addictive pain killing drug in the United States, which has lead to the death of many Americans. For this reason, protestors have asked many institutions including the Met, the Louvre, and the Smithsonian to erase the Sackler name. The Louvre was the first to fully remove the name, but the Smithsonian has asserted they will not be removing the name for the foreseeable future. If you are curious for more details, please review this week’s further readings that I believe show a broad scope of details surrounding the issue and address it in a much more thorough manner than I am possibly capable of.

[transition music]

Unfortunately, you can no longer see Filthy Lucre, which was on display at the Smithsonian Freer|Sackler Gallery as part of an exhibition called “Peacock Room:REmix” from 2014 to 2017. Currently, there is no set date for another exhibition of Filthy Lucre, but photos of the piece are available on the artist’s website darrenwaterston.com. You can, however, view the Peacock Room daily from 10am - 5:30pm at the Freer|Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC. The current display featured in The Peacock Room is called “The Peacock Room in Blue and White” and it is a collection of Chinese ceramics, representative of how the room looked in the 1870s when Leyland was the owner. The Peacock Room shutters are open every third Thursday from noon to 5pm. Viewing the room with the shutters open provides a whole new perspective, allowing visitors to see the way the natural sunlight accents the colors of the space. In extreme weather, the shutters are not opened.

Now, the museum tip of the week. Missing the sticker activity books of your childhood? Love museums? Check out Stickertopia: The Museum by Quintet Publishing Company. The book is avaliable for $7.89 at Barnes and Noble, and you can check for local availability on their website. Stickertopia and Barnes and Noble are not sponsors or anything, I just am an adult who loves sticker books and appreciates cool design and I wanted to share something that makes me happy with all of you.

Want to learn more? Show notes including sources, further reading, links to cool stuff and podcast transcripts for each episode are available through our tumblr, alternativeartifactspodcast.tumblr.com. Alternative Artifacts is hosted through Anchor.fm, a free hosting service for podcasts of all kinds. You can subscribe to us on Anchor.fm directly or through Spotify Podcasts. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Have an awesome idea for an episode? Want to be a guest star? Email us at [email protected]. Special thanks to Dr. Suse Anderson, whose class on Museum Ethics and Values in part inspired the form this episode took. Theme music was created by NordGroove and downloaded via Fugue. Additional Music by Dural and downloaded via Fugue. Remember, as Tommy Wiseau said, “if a lot of people love each other, the world would be a better place to live.”

#museum #podcast #porcelain #vase #ceramics #art #asian art #smithsonian #history

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retvenkos · 6 years ago

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“so what if we’re wild, we only live once.”

requested

BUCKLE IN FAM, BECAUSE THE NEWSIES IN HIGH SCHOOL FOR A MODERN AU WOULD OBVIOUSLY INCLUDE…

(also, keep in mind that this is based off of my experience in the american school system, any classes are ones that are offered at my own school.)

Bill

so he’s obviously head of the journalism staff

and he definitely is a part of yearbook too

and what is he interested in most??

chemistry

no one really understands why, but they don’t question it as long as he helps them with homework

and bill is 10/10 that guy who always has his homework done and let’s you borrow it

his worst class is by far history

he’s in choir and plays the piano for like, every song

he actually has a really nice set of pipes (he’s a tenor, too)

he’s terrible with dates

Darcy

so darcy is on yearbook because he can take the most stunning photos

and he is also a part of journalism, and his niche is critiquing

plays?? restaurants?? sports??

and yes, he goes to sporting events

and yes, romeo gives him a wink everytime he sees him at the baseball games

it’s a ship to end all ships

he isn’t quite sure what he wants to do in the future

i forgot to mention - these are headcanons for when each one is a senior in high school, i’m not working out ages in relation to each other. find someone more motivated for that

but he does know he wants to go to a really nice college

he’s definitely on chess club, and he’s a member of key club too

Katherine

journalism, guys. and she’s not into heavy creative writing, more like articles and interviews and such

president of debate

and her style game is strong - she, bill, and darcy are the three best dressed. facts.

she makes such pretty notes

and she slays in argument writing

english is obviously her favorite class, but a close second is her research class

and she actually sucks at cooking - she took culinary arts as a sophomore and set off the fire alarm twice

she has a free period in her schedule where she goes to the library and slaves over math

it doesn’t come easy to her

definitely has an old-school planner that is always full

Sarah

okay, i don’t know much about sarah - full disclosure, but i’ll try

so first of all, this girl is really put together

she has her schedule mapped out two months in advance, she remembers everyone’s birthday, and she already knows the vacation days during the year

she has library aide for one of her periods and knows every adult in the building by first name

she also happens to be an aide when kath has her free period and she is either the embodiment of the heart eye emoji or trying to help katherine with math

she loves psychology and already has plans to study it

she is in key club with darcy and also just volunteers a whole lot

her favorite is visiting and helping out animal shelters

she goes there so much that they finally just give her a job there

she doodles a lot on the side of her notes - it keeps her from falling asleep in science

the master of the messy top knot

Davey

okay, this boy does not know when to stop

he is taking all of the advanced classes he possibly can, and he’s stressing over them way too much

jack makes him like, 10 cups of stress relief tea daily

there’s also a running bet that the whole school is in on about whether he or kath will be valedictorian

specs says that davey will do it if he doesn’t have a heart attack before final exams

race says he’ll be so busy he’ll forget to even show up to graduation

also, while we’re at it, we need to talk about this boy’s notes. they are the hardest thing to decipher in this world, but if you can read his chicken scratch then you have a goldmine of helpful ways to study

he loves mnemonics with a burning passion and uses them at every chance he can get

his favorite class is chinese or math

and he’s definitely a part of future business leaders of america, mesa, and book club

Les

yes, this is for when les is a senior

he’s obviously not in the same year as the rest of the gang, but les as an 18 year old is gold

okay, first of all… heartthrob who genuinely doesn’t know it

he’s not actually officially part of any club, but he’s always staying after school afterward to like, float into the different club meetings

but he’s definitely an sbo - probably vice president or activities

he’s a part of band and definitely plays the saxophone

you know that means he starts off every class period by playing careless whisper

the teachers all really love him

he actually gets pretty good grades

and he is way overly competitive in review games, especially ones in history

he will wreck you

always goes off campus at lunch and walks into his next period a couple minutes late with a shake

Jack

did someone say art?????

jack does literally every form of it, and he does them all so well

davey seethes at this, but loves it when jack helps in in ceramics

he’s also really supportive of younger artists who are still perfecting their art, so he’s obviously the head of the art club

and he’s the paint master for drama club and all of their productions

he frequently falls asleep in english class

he’s also the president of latinos in action - chosen unanimously even though he wasn’t going for the position

y’all can fite me on latino! jack kelly

also, his signature style is a blue sweatshirt, and all of his clothes have paint on them

he’s also that kid who never has a pencil on him, and never returns the ones he is given just because he always forgets

Crutchie

so i don’t know where the headcanon about crutchie being on the swim team originated, but it is dear to my heart and lives on in this post

he is the nice™ jock

also, he wants to go into the medical field for sure

he had medical terminology as last class of the day and it makes his day 10 times more bright

he uses highlighters so much (but only the yellow ones)

also, crutchie is lowkey a style icon???

all of his teachers love him

he’s that kid that always raises his hand in a group discussion, and it’s one of two things: a lame pun that gets more groans than laughs, or a really insightful bit of knowledge

there is no in-between

definitely volunteers with sarah at the animal shelters and is a part of french club, even though he’s only ever gone to like, two meetings

Albert

albert wrestles, no one can convince me otherwise

but he’s also on dance co.

we love a well rounded boy - especially when he’ll pull up if you question his life choices

he is soooo salty, and he has no filter. Even in front of teachers.

anyone in his history class can attest to this - especially when they are going through america’s messy past

literally does not care about the majority of his classes

but he maintains a good gpa so he can be on the wrestling team

also, he failed his driving test twice, and when he got his license it didn’t make a difference since no one would trust him with a car anymore

but he’s actually really good in his business and marketing class

he frequently helps in the little store that the business class runs during lunch and stuff because he’s really good with money and change

Race

a part of dance company

and he hates the early morning practices with a passion but will just chug energy drinks to get through it

this boy doesn’t sleep… unless it’s in english

the most surprising thing about him is that he’s really good at math??

and he doesn’t even try - he’ll be talking all class period and then finish the homework in class in like, 10 minutes flat

it’s the same thing with physics

but it’s not like you can ask him for help, because he doesn’t really listen to the professor or follow their methods and steps

like i said earlier, race just doesn’t care

or so you think, but his shirt is always matching the color of his shoes and headphones, but then his hair is literal mess and he wears like, he only owns like, two different pairs of joggers

he’s honestly such a mystery

Buttons

okay, so buttons kills it at fashion, which is why he aces his fashion design class

he’s head costumer for all of the drama departments musicals and plays

he’s also really into art history, and he gets inspiration from art all the time

he’s definitely a part of key club and is a part of national honors society although he’s only ever gone to a couple meetings for both

he gets pretty decent grades in everything but physics, but he definitely tries to study for all of his classes

he goes stag to every school dance and deliberately tries to get his ships together for a song

coffee??? he only ever drinks it black

it’s how he stops romeo from taking his

he’s also a dork who color codes his notes because they help him study better

but he has no idea how to take notes for math class, so he kinda just does example problems and then is confused on how it ever did it in the first place

Elmer

so this is one musically talented boy

he plays the guitar, trumpet, and drums

it’s also an inside joke with him and jojo that they both play the castanets

but he’s definitely a part of any band the school offers - as well as pit for the musical

he’s a really chill, laid-back student that gets their work done and just hangs out

he is very nice and definitely a teacher aid for one of the english teachers

and he’s also a part of the poetry club

it’s to improve his songwriting as well as give him a place to destress

He’s definitely the guy who will always lend you his notes if you missed a day, but he’s also not that great at taking notes because his mind is always on something else

he’s also an attendance office aide for one of his periods

Henry

he took ballroom as a joke with mike, and he really ended up liking it

but he’s not a part of dance co. because their style is totally different from ballroom

He also has a lot of energy, so he’s that kid that’s always bouncing his leg up and down and making the desk behind him shake

but no one ever asks for him to stop because he has the biggest smile that you just can’t shut down??

he knows this, though, and he definitely uses it on teachers to get extensions on his work, and he does, like 80% of the time

his worst class is probably english because he can’t just sit down and read for long periods of time

but during the shakespeare unit he kills it because he’s always first to volunteer to read or do a part

his handwriting is very messy and he uses so many abbreviations not even davey knows what they’re saying

always races to be first in the lunch line

always one of the first people to be in class

Hot Shot

he has auto shop as his first class of the day and absolutely loves it

but he’s also that kid that hangs out with his friends in the middle of the hallway, bottlenecking the whole thing during passing time

thinks he’s the cool™ kid

wears leather jackets exclusively

he hates any core class

but secretly really likes his humanities class

he’s taking italian with spot and the poor teacher just can’t handle these two together

he’s also secretly good at basketball

the coach found out somehow and asks him every year to be on the team

but hot shot would rather die than be on a school team

Ike

has a youtube channel where he mostly posts prank videos especially those that involve the school

he ran for sbo and was elected as treasury, even though mike is the one who went to all of the meetings for like, two months straight

he is the epitome of a class clown, but it’s always in good fun

he always is wearing a black t-shirt under his sbo sweater

and since he’s an sbo he has to go to all the sports game to support and stuff and he cheers the absolute loudest

he does gymnastics with mike after school every day and at every sbo meeting he brings up how it needs to be a part of the sports at school

he never takes notes but can retain everything

his worst class is anything science related

but he’s secretly really good a history

A proud member of spanish club

Mike

mike is definitely the more artsy twin

he takes drawing and ceramics but can’t paint for the life of him

he’s a part of the art club with jack and is basically second in command there

he does gymnastics with ike after school and is on dance co.

he struggles with math and science but gets by okay

has a free period for first where he could be sleeping in or studying but instead he goes to auto shop to talk to hot shot

he definitely has a crush. hot shot won’t admit it, but he loves mike being there.

he usually wears bright colors with his dance co. jacket

doesn’t really like coffee, but he always has a coke on him - it’s his one weakness

is also a part of spanish club

Kenny

okay, so i know, like, nothing about kenny, so i’m just going with my gut based off of his photo

film is his passion and he wants to be a director one day

is 10/10 that kid in your photography class that spends 90% of the time making stop-motion videos

he’s very nice and is always lending jack pencils even though he knows he’ll never get them back

also, there’s a running gag that he and darcy are the same person, ike runs conspiracy theory videos on his youtube channel

his two favorite classes are film (duh) and theatre

he’s a part of the ensemble of every musical the school puts on

he’s even directed a show a couple of times for the spotlight showcase

he is like that background kind of kid that is a part of the big groups and is totally included but just doesn’t have a huge role in the big stuff

he hates having to write essays because he says it’s sucking the creativity out of writing

also likes psychology

JoJo

co-captain of the soccer team

also a madrigal with bill and specs (he’s a baritone)

always tries out for the school musicals, and he usually gets a main part

he takes quite a few advanced classes and it is not rare to find him passed out on one of the other newsies’ couch

he manages to keep a good gpa with his schedule

his favorite class besides madrigals is probably latinos in action, which he has the same period as jack

while he doesn’t play any instruments himself you can always find him hanging out in the band room at lunch

he is absolutely terrible in math but is taking college math now so he can get it done with and never have to do again for as long as he lives

his aspirations are pretty much all over the place at the moment, but he smiles through the uncertainty

“i feel like it’s fine”

Romeo

on the baseball team

a shameless flirt, especially with darcy

did someone say president of the asian american club??

he’s also a part of drama club because he has a passion for theatre

he can’t when it comes to math, though

so instead of getting frustrated he just writes notes in the calculators for people to find

he’ll also fall asleep in that class

he’s definitely a partner in crime with ike and frequently is a guest on his youtube channel

studying??? who’s she???

really good at debate, though. katherine keeps telling him he should join the club but he says his skills are beyond that of a club

Finch

on the track team and one of the fastest runners

it’s a good outlet for all of his energy

he takes notes in all of his classes since he learned all the strategies from avid, but he never looks back at them

surprisingly gets really good test scores, though

you know he takes wildlife biology and he memorizes like, every type of bird call

he can even mimic some of them - it’s how he wakes romeo up in math.

he also goes out every day for lunch, and his next period is english which he has with like, all of the boys, so he’s always throwing fries across the room for henry or mush to catch in their mouths

he beats his own school records every year so he’s like, constantly the athlete of the month

definitely goes to all of the different sports games and cheers very loud

carries a huge water bottle that he fills up during french class to get out of presentations

Kid Blink

first of all, this kid does not do any kind of sport because his depth perception rivals that of mine

which means it s u c k s

however, he kills it at math and physics is his one true love

If you need a study partner for either, he’s your guy. just know that he explains nothing and goes pretty fast. keep up and you can do math with him.

he lowkey hates history because it’s about a whole bunch of dead people who were problematic

he’s a part of mesa

he takes american sign language and it’s one of his favorite classes

he and smalls are constantly having conversations from across the room

a lot of the time it’s about the teacher, and one time they were caught by their chemistry teacher who knew asl

they got detention for like, a week because of it

Mush

here comes the heartthrob!!!!

very handsome, and his strong suit is engineering. which always shocks people.

which means he’s definitely a part of mesa and the engineering and technology club

he’s definitely the person to go to if you need help in physics. he explains things really well

the only bad part about it is that he also goes off on tangents when he’s explaining and you can get confused if you listen too long

he’s actually kind of a style icon, his hair is probably the best out of everyone

he always has headphones in, but one earbud is out so he can hear the teacher and whatnot

he cannot act for the life of him

but he has a good-natured laugh that makes up for the cringe

he also cannot dance

Smalls

okay, so smalls is a part of the asian american club, key club, and poetry club

even though he cannot write to save his life, they let him come because he’s uber supportive

there’s also a joke that he and spot are a part of the short™ club

lowkey, smalls started this joke because he finds it hilarious when spot gets upset

he actually takes interior design and it’s his favorite class

he’s really good with color

he also takes woodworking and makes the guys stuff for it

davey has a bookshelf and jack has a desk

takes asl with kid blink and loves it

is the kid who always has to stand up to take notes because seating charts always put him in the back, despite his height

Sniper

okay, so sniper is a cheerleader but don’t let that fool you - she’s also on the wrestling team and will take you down

albert is like her older brother and helps her with her business class

she regrets having taken it, but she needed another cte credit and thought it would be safer than welding

she has a criminal law class that she loves with all of her heart

she writes in all capitals

she’s also that kid that writes all of her essays handwritten to spite her english teacher which, on the first day of school, complain about her writing in all caps

she’s good with history and has it with albert and it’s her personal goal to get him to laugh at her comments in that class

studying??? sounds studious. and not a part of her aesthetic.

has an attendance office aide period where she mostly does the homework for her next class period

is that kid that always almost swears in class debates

Specs

first, our boy is president for madrigals (he’s a low bass)

then he’s a proud part of the book club

his thing is psychology, and he goes in hard, he and sarah sit next to each other and talk in hushed whispers about all the cool stuff they learn

he takes very neat notes

but only has to look at them two or three times before he’s ready to take a test

is always an ensemble member in the school musicals

he is also a library aide and constantly smells like old books

very organized

his locker always has everything you could possibly need - a jacket, hat, bag of trail mix, water, etc.

the mom friend™

Spot

first of all, he’s that kid who always sits in the same seat. if you’re sitting in his seat, you’re dead. don’t @ him.

he hates science with a burning passion and is so glad he finished all of his credits for it in junior year

is actually a bit of a history buff

but he never participates in class, just writes really good essays and aces every test

and speaking of writing

he’s actually really into creative writing

who did you think started the writing club???

but he’s no less tough

he always wears a leather jacket, a red shirt, cuffs the bottom of his jeans, and has his pen tucked behind his ear

he doesn’t really take notes, and he only writes in pen

Tommy Boy

captain of dance company

is having none of race’s idiocy at practices either

but he’s actually really funny and nice, all the teachers love him

can’t write a summary in english for the life of him but will write a 10 page essay on why dance company is a part of the performing arts and deserves just as much recognition as theatre, choir, and band

only ever eats out of the vending machines for lunch

is a part of french club

really likes culinary arts because his one weakness is sugar

can’t do any form of art other than dance

but he doesn’t need to - he’s that good

notes??? what are those???

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

#newsies #newsies musical #modern au #high school au #katherine pulitzer #katherine plumber #davey jacobs #les jacobs #jack kelly #crutchie morris #albert dasilva #racetrack higgins #buttons davenport #elmer kasprzak #newsboysheadcanons

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dazzlinghaze528-blog · 5 years ago

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Lovin’ Lover: A Taylor Swift superfan’s review of Lover

Lover moved me so that I had to write a review of it. Figured it belonged on here just as much as it did on my personal blog. I hope it speaks to some fellow Swifties and maybe even someday Taylor herself.

I’ve identified as a Taylor Swift super fan for an appropriate 13 years now. I specifically recall being in the seventh grade, checking my hot pink iPod Nano at 11:00 PM sharp to listen to the launch of Fearless single “You Belong With Me”- the first of many times I would come to dance this dance.

As much as I know she has meant to so many of the young women who have grown up with her, I have to admit I still sometimes feel as though there is something special about the bond we share as artist and fan. Something almost cosmic or spiritual. There are so many similar, specific ways that we both seem to interact with the world. Something in the way that melodies and words and storytelling keep us moving forward. Something in the way we analyze the complexities of the lives we’ve found ourselves in and the way that can feed anxiety if we’re not carefully waiting for it. Something in the bubbly personalities, the love of cats and vintage fashion. Something in the golden hair and indigo eyes.

Something in the way that we LOVE love.

This album is arguably Taylor Swift’s most mature, personal analysis of love of any of her albums thus far. It’s not just snakes transforming into butterflies and paper rings and golden hours. It’s an inside look at the rainbow spectrum of ways that love can manifest itself in real lives, not just in storybooks. And that moved me to the point where I had to (literally) take a note out of Taylor’s book and write about it. So here we go:

“I Forgot That You Existed”

Taylor has described this opener as the track that transitions the listener out of her previous Reputation era. It’s sonically very bright and buoyant, with perhaps the melody that most easily rolls of the voice. And it settles in the emotion that most are striving for when recovering from drama or a betrayal: indifference. Some will call this song ‘petty,’ but I challenge all who listen to think back to the first time they thought about someone who wronged them after months, or maybe even years of occupancy in their minds and thought, “Oh- I forgot about them.” Is there any stronger sense of relief?

“Cruel Summer”

Littered with sharp imagery and cutting lyrics, this is (in my opinion) the album’s most epic track. I don’t have a particularly eloquent way of explaining this, but the production sounds like neon- ala the intro music to HBO’s Sharp Objects. And the story is one that 20-somethings know, excuse the joke, all too well. This story is one of a summer fling that you find yourself wanting to grow up into something real, and the very real fear that you could get cut when you let the other person know. When TS said, “I’m drunk in the back of the car, and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar. Said I’m fine but it wasn’t true; I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you,” …I felt that.

“Lover”

I can’t say enough glowing things about this song. It’s a waltz that sounds straight out of the 60s and uses some of my all time favorite words. Words that sound straight out of a Jane Austen novel. Between “there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear” and “my heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue; all’s well that ends well to end up with you,” wedding related Instagram captions are set for the next couple of years. As beautiful as this song is, I admit that it really is a song meant for lovers. You love it more when you are in love yourself.

“The Man”

I’ve yet to hear a song quite like this yet, which is surprising given the time that we’re living in. It’s even more striking coming from Taylor Swift, a woman who was named this past year’s highest paid celebrity. Period. It’s a fascinating observation that many of the things that Taylor Swift has been attacked for over the years: dating a handful of high-profile men, being outspoken about musicians’ financial and artistic rights, engaging with and strategically planning for a wildly intense and devoted fanbase, are lauded when done by men in the industry. Additionally, NO ONE seems to want to write about how incredibly wealthy TS is. As though it will make the reader uncomfortable. But journalists have no problem writing about the wealth and affluence of male celebrities. Food for thought; this song should be required listening.

“The Archer”

“The Archer” is a song that I truly listened to death upon its early release. I was particularly struck by the line, “And all of my heroes died all alone. Help me hold on to you.” As bizarre a connection this may be, it reminded me of one of my new favorite shows The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the way the heroine wrestles with wether or not greatness in her art equates to a life lived alone, as she begins to achieve success with her stand-up comedy career. This isn’t all the song is about- it’s truly a very wide range of introspection, but it is what stuck with me the most as a creative who also dreams of one day falling in love and having a family.

“I Think He Knows”

Okay- this song truly fits the modern day definition of a BOP. This is probably the song on the album that most frequently gets stuck in my head upon listening.“Wanna see what’s under that attitude,” is a totally swoon worthy line. There’s also a bridge that reminds me of “Treacherous,” one of my favorite songs off of her album Red. With that song we start with “Nothing safe is worth the drive, and I will follow you, follow you home,” and end up at “Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh we can follow the sparks, I’ll drive.” in Lover. I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again, “Treacherous” ran so “I Think He Knows” could SPRINT!

7. “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince”

I truly have so many thoughts about this song. I would argue this is the album’s smartest song, as it likens America’s current political climate to the world of an American high school- with popularity contests, school spirit chants, and clique mentality. The first time I listened to it I went, “…is this about Hilary Clinton? No…wait?” Lines like “I’m feeling helpless, the damsels are depressed. Boys will be boys then, where are the wise men?” and “They whisper in the hallway she’s a bad, bad girl. The whole school is rolling fake dice. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes,” were screaming 2016 election to me. The song really encapsulates the moment you realize that American politics is filled with people who manipulate the system- and how that can lead to the conclusion that the prize isn’t real either.

“Paper Rings”

“Paper Rings” has grown on me since my first listen. It’s got a slight British pop-punk vibe that I wasn’t sure I was that into at first. But the more I listened, the more I fell for all of the specific, tiny details of the love that she’s found for herself. The line, “Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet. Now I’ve read all of the books beside your bed,” held so much weight to me as an amateur Internet sleuth and a lover of the written word. I found myself going “Woah- look how far they’ve COME!” It’s also just plain fun and will be awesome to see live.

“Cornelia Street”

It’s pretty incredible to know that Taylor Swift wrote this massive, sweeping song all by her lonesome. But it’s just a reminder that underneath all of the awesome production on this album, there’s just truly great songwriting. This track really leans on the idea that memories can become attached to places, impossible to separate. Ala her Red era masterpiece, “All Too Well,” TS so vividly paints a picture of the memories made on Cornelia Street that once she says “I’d never walk Cornelia Street again,” you immediately understand why.

“Death By A Thousand Cuts”

There’s a pretty amazing story behind this track. Long story short, Taylor was inspired by an incredible (and completely underrated) Netflix Rom-Com called Someone Great to write this song. But BEFORE that, a film-maker named Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was inspired to write Someone Great after soothing a heartache with Taylor’s album 1989– specifically the iconic song, “Clean.” So this tune already carries the legacy of art made by powerful women. Additionally, I find that it has some of the most tragically relatable lyrics. “My heart, my hips, my body, my love. Tryna’ find a part of me that you didn’t touch,” and “Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand. Paper cut stains from our paper thin plans,” so well articulate the paper-cut pain of the dissolution of a once cherished relationship.

“London Boy”

“London Boy” is by far the cheekiest song on the album. It’s clever as all get out, and a welcome buffer between tracks 10 and 12. An interesting observation by country singer-songwriter, Ryan Hurd: “Feels like it’s written like a country song, but it’s all dressed up like a pop song. Super cool.” As a massive country music fan, I can attest to this. “London Boy” has a crystal clear story, extremely bright lyrics, and it spends most of its time listing the best parts of a particular place- all lovable tropes of the country music genre.

“Soon You’ll Get Better”

So I have yet to make it through this song without crying…and I’ve probably listened to the album at least seven times now. I often think of skipping it, but it is sonically catnip to me. A collaboration with the Dixie Chicks, this track is entirely acoustic, has tight female harmonies, and violin- what am I to do? This wildly personal song is about Taylor’s mother’s battle with cancer and the denial and grief she’s experienced around that so far. The song is stunning and more than anything, universal. Come to it prepared.

“False God”

Saxophone in a Taylor Swift song? Yes. “False God” sounds like it belongs specifically in a Speakeasy. It’s got breathy vocals, a slightly rambling melody, and extremely sexy lyrics. It’s not the most relatable song on the album; most of us aren’t superstars managing bi-continental relationships. But I like the world that it sucked me into.

“You Need to Calm Down”

Not only is this song pure Pop fun, “You Need to Calm Down” addresses three whole categories of internet haters. Those who make a habit of shooting mean tweets at celebrities and people they don’t know first thing in the morning, those who are anti-LGBTQ equality, and those who constantly pin female artists against each other- as though people don’t have the capacity to like more than one at a time. In the context of Lover, this is the song that most enforces “Spread love; not hate.”

“Afterglow”

I’m of the opinion that “Afterglow” has been a bit underrated since the arrival of the album. It’s a simple melody, but what’s incredible about this song is that it is notably the best her voice has ever sounded. Her instrument really shines here. It’s also one of the first Taylor Swift songs I’ve ever loved despite not relating to the content in the slightest. TS writes here from the perspective of someone who is tending to a relationship she wounded by relaxing so much into it that she lets anxiety get the better of her and lashes out. It’s a very specific relationship milestone that I’ve yet to ever reach myself, but she sings about it with such passion that I’m totally invested.

“ME!”

“ME!” is truly a Dr. Seuss book come to life. Not just because of the cartoonish joy in the video, but because of that same cartoonish joy that comes through in the vocals of both her and Brenden Urie. It’s not the most lyrically complex or dynamic song of the album, but by gosh it’s positive and catchy and it makes people happy. It also serves it’s purpose post Afterglow beautifully- acknowledging that even when she is a “handful,” her lover loves her still.

“It’s Nice to Have a Friend”

My favorite thing about this song is the ghostly background vocals and string instruments, both of which were provided by students at a not-for-profit after school music program in Toronto. Proceeds from the track are going to support the program and help keep arts education afloat. Knowing this took this song from a song that I liked to a song that I love. The song also truly captures the hope of the beginning so well and in so few words. “Twenty questions, we tell the truth. You’ve been stressed out lately, yeah me too. Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand, it’s nice to have a friend.”

“Daylight”

“Daylight” sounds like a sunrise. It makes you feel as though her life is finally beginning as this album is ending. The most enjoyable part of this song is the bridge where she compares what she once thought true love would be to what she knows it to be now. She calls back to her old self by singing, “I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden.” It’s simultaneously the most nostalgic track on the album and also the most hopeful, and I breathe with her when she sings “You gotta step into the daylight and let it go.” To quote her past life, “…in the death of her reputation she felt truly alive.”

Here’s a link to the blog post in case you wanna share with other Swifties <3

https://annalehnhoff.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/lovin-lover-a-taylor-swift-enthusiasts-review-of-new-album-lover/

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yasminfogarty0-blog · 5 years ago

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Exploring The Cultural And Linguistic Blending Of Widespread Music Genres

^ F. Holt, Genre in Fashionable Music (College of Chicago Press, 2007), ISBN 0226350398 , p. 56. There have been entire tutorial papers dedicated to figuring out why Swedes so disproportionately rule in style music. There are less-than-scientific theories - it is darkish a lot of the 12 months, so let's go inside and be creative! - and plenty of more reasonable ones. Those embody a nationwide tendency to be earlier adopters; role models resembling Martin and ABBA, and the globalized audiences they captivated; and a profound national proficiency in English, the unofficial language of pop. Hindustani Classical Music in Fashionable India is a crucial part of the cultural landscape of Northern India. The custom of Indian Music has developed simultaneously in two cultures. One is within the north, masking the entire region of Dwarka to Manipur and Srinagar to Belgaon, and the opposite is in the south, prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, mickisabella77433.mobie.in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Both of these streams of music developed virtually parallel melodic practices, in sync with the widespread musical heritage and customary musical ideals, http://www.magicaudiotools.com similar to the language construction in the North anSouth. The pre-eminent British composer George Benjamin additionally hints that the creation of music will be less mystical and extra mathematical than we would assume. Benjamin - who, at sixteen, was compared to Mozart by Olivier Messiaen - says an novice interest in science is his recurring preoccupation". Although he too had no formal science coaching past college, he says that reading books on subjects as diverse as chaos idea, symmetry, the notion of time, prime numbers and code-breaking has proved unexpectedly stimulating". Through the years he has developed quasi-mathematical methods which can act as a software to assist the creation of complicated structures … which the intuition alone could not manage". This book traces the development of pop from the seven-inch forty-five rpm single, introduced within the late forties, to the decl I vacillated on the score for this lengthy book. It's a broad survey of well-liked music for the reason that mid-fifties. Every of the 5 dozen chapters covers a narrow interval, title dropping and cramming music titles along the way in which, giving the sense of a surface history whizzing by. The early chapters come throughout as deeper and extra satisfying than the late ones. Three and a half stars. Rhythm and blues (or R&B) was coined as a musical advertising time period in the late Forties by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine, used to designate upbeat standard music carried out by African American artists that combined jazz and blues. It was initially used to identify the fashion of music that later developed into rock and roll. By the Nineteen Seventies, rhythm and blues was getting used as a blanket time period to describe soul and funk as effectively. Right this moment, the acronym "R&B" is sort of all the time used as a substitute of "rhythm and blues", and defines the trendy version of the soul and funk influenced African-American pop music that originated with the demise of disco in 1980. I do not know that you will cowl this, but I've no doubt that for songs with primarily classic rock instrumentation resembling guitar, bass, keyboards, C main or sharp keys equivalent to G, E and D major are most common. That is so because because of the development and tuning of guitars, they sound greatest and feel most comfy to their players in these keys. Additionally, whereas the guitar is without doubt one of the most difficult devices to play with actual virtuosity, it is without doubt one of the best instruments to study to play with out formal instruction, thus most guitarists are guitar gamers, but not musicians; they don't know music principle and might't read music. And lo and behold, among the first chords any self taught guitarist learns are C, G, D, F and E. Non-sightreading guitarists-most of them-normally have great problem taking part in in flat keys (apart from F) and sharp keys with more than four sharps.

The music usually layered soaring, typically- reverberated vocals, usually doubled by horns, over a background "pad" of electrical pianos and "rooster-scratch" rhythm guitars performed on an electric guitar "The 'hen scratch' sound is achieved by lightly urgent the strings against the fretboard after which rapidly releasing them just sufficient to get a barely muted scratching sound while continuously strumming very close to the bridge." 71 Other backing keyboard devices include the piano , electric organ (during early years), string synth, and electromechanical keyboards such because the Fender Rhodes electrical piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, and Hohner Clavinet Synthesizers are also pretty widespread in disco, especially within the late Seventies. These '80s remixes are also renegade efforts, albeit made with love, and too exist solely inside a restricted framework. They're not on the market, and most often can only be streamed, not downloaded. Sifting by way of dozens of re-dos to search out the true gems requires endurance, and leaves room for the chance that a listener might detect one thing enchanting and totally different. Especially for listeners too younger to have firsthand '80s nostalgia, the longing they provoke is for the early promise of music on the Web: the pre-streaming, pre-algorithm days when throwing yourself into exploration yielded mind-increasing dividends. From its earliest days the rock & roll label lined a broad musical terrain. The cliché is that rock & roll was a melding of nation music and blues, and if you're speaking about, say, Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, the outline, by way of simplistic, does fit. But the black innercity vocal-group sound, which itself was diverse sufficient to accommodate the tough, soulful Midnighters and 5 Royales, the neo-barbershop harmonies of fowl teams" like the Orioles and the Crows and the kid sound of Frankie Lymon and the Youngsters or Shirley and Lee, had little to do with both blues or nation music of their purer kinds. The idea of a inflexible, two-dimensional Carta, however related on the edges by bending the airplane to a cylindrical form, results in different fascinating projections and visualizations. As a result of there are so few genres in the beginning of time (19th century, early twentieth century), and the quantity of new genres has dramatically decreased within the last two decades, it's solely a small step away of wanting at the Carta as an actual projection of a sphere, thus seeing the world of in style music as a three-dimensional, planet-like structure: the Music Globe. On this globe, the north pole" represents the origin of all genres (the past), where the south pole" represents the (theoretical) endpoint (the longer term). The equator is right in between, at the cut-off date where essentially the most completely different genres emerged, across the 80s or 90s.

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iambountyfan · 2 years ago

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ionnalee has been answering lots of your questions via instagram stories.

view the full Q&A in our photo album on Facebook or click ‘keep reading’ below for the transcript: facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.510173401113433&type=3

Q: how old was you when you started to play some instruments? A: my voice, which is the instrument i find most advanced of all, i began practicing by myself daily at a young age. piano around age 8. i’m self taught at all my instruments.

Q: favourite song from Be Here Soon? ‘call my name’ is my addiction. ILYSM. A: impossible to answer. the album is too fresh. dwfm, changes, walking on air, call my name has meant a lot to me through the process. so proud of the album out of larger perspective too.

Q: when did you film the ten episodes of Be Here Soon, precisely? A: january 2022. i was then 5 months pregnant but hid it best as we could in E01-03.

Q: any advice for who wants to live of art? A: yes never expect to be able to. just play. never let money be your driving force. don’t try to fit in. fuck the no-sayers.

Q: how has the transition to motherhood been? A: i never planned for becoming a parent. i didn’t have a great childhood, and i don’t have that mother relation. surprisingly it’s so natural, so beautiful and i think i may just be kicking ass at the mom thing. although the beginning was very traumatic for us both so it’s taken long to recover.

Q: was EVERYONE AFRAID TO BE FORGOTTEN ever meant to be a full audiovisual album like BLUE or Be Here Soon? A: to me it is. i made a one hour music film with the album.

Q: favourite places in Sweden to gain inspiration? A: without a doubt Hästholmen and Östgötaslätten vid Vättern.

Q: if you could change anything in any past work, would you? A: not at all. i’m very proud of it all. including my earliest work. part of my process that got me here.

Q: did you know that your work is very complimentary to psychedelic experiences? A: i can see that.

Q: ever had creative blocks? how long did it take and how did you overcome them? A: i’ve had periods where i didn’t feel like sharing anything of myself. but i’m good at work discipline. working hard on schedule and make sure to always finish whatever i made even if it’s not always good at least it is something. so basically. make it, finish it, and judge it later.

Q: how do you deal with people who make harsh comments about your solo or recent works? A: i picture this and then i go make some more music that i like.

Q: seeing you in Seattle. so excited! what can we expect? A: love Seattle. expect the songs i love to play live from 10-22, a full band set up and me with my hair in my mouth crying happy tears.

Q: will you come to Kyiv when the war ends? A: absolutely as soon as possible. both to play a show and to see my dear friend Alexey Romanowsky.

Q: how did you build confidence to start presenting yourself to the world as an artist? A: by practicing until i was really confident in my singing.

Q: will you consider Brazil again on the new tour? A: i am looking at dates in Brazil for 2023 yes and i HOPE we can make it work financially and practically. i always WANT to come.

Q: i’m struggling with wanting to become a parent and finding hope for the planet. did you? A: some days. but then i figured this world needs new, better people who can steer the ship in a better direction and i think i can contribute to one.

Q: are there any vids or projects you’ve gotten to near 100% completion and then shelved? A: well yes mouth of a river - my first solo project made between bounty and kin. mastered and filmed but i just got out of sync moving into kin and then my sharing-window shut. we made BLUE as a kind of sequel to it.

Q: what are your plans these days? are you able to relax before prep for tour? A: trying to have every minute possible with Bauer but also run TWIMC label so work never fully stops. we’re in the midst of pre producing the coming tour. rest/presence feels very important though x

Q: what’s your favourite dinosaur? A: i don’t know must be vinylsaurus.

Q: excited to welcome you to Scotland! have you been before? A: i have been a few times and i wrote a song about one of them.

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Q: what is the most beautiful image in your phone? A: 👶❤️

Q: why no concerts in Stockholm? A: Stockholm and Oslo: working on it.

Q: favourite sound currently? A: Nosaj Thing - Blue Hour (feat. Julianna Barwick)

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Q: you seem to be very strict to your work. how do you find moments to relax/not overthink about it? A: yes indeed. i spend a lot of time outdoors. also i eat cake.

Q: will you come to Denmark again to play? it was amazing at Vega in Copenhagen. A: would love to be back.

Q: any advice for fostering compassion towards yourself? (especially as a creative) A: unfortunately i’m according to reliable sources way too hard on myself so this is probably what i struggle with most. therapy has done a lot for me though.

Q: Be Here Soon feels like a farewell. are you planning to leave music for a while? A: don’t think i’m ready to leave just yet.

Q: you should visit Newfoundland, Canada! so many of the scenes in your visuals remind me of NL. A: i would love to. one of my favourite movies is set there, the shipping news.

Q: will you ever sell more watercolour paintings or props from the music videos? A: if there’s a want.

Q: is there a specific place you would really love to visit while on tour where you haven’t performed yet? A: yes lots of places.

Q: what do you like most about San Francisco? can’t wait to see you there in 2023! A: it’s nature, people and the wharf.

Q: what do you sing to your baby? A: home made improvised hits and lullabies.

Q: given the start of iam and how private you’d been, what pushed you to share more of your life and work? A: 1. the internet wasn’t what it is now in 2010. there was no instagram whereas now it’s a natural part of artists outputs. 2. iamamiwhoami was never meant to become a permanent thing. it was meant to be an experimental side project. 3. i stopped caring about what others think.

Q: will we ever get to watch the shelved mouth of a river footage? A: you already got some of it #tungorna

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Q: are we someday getting vinyl pressings of This Is Jonna Lee and 10 Pieces, 10 Bruises? A: the recordings i made under my own name are the only recordings i don’t own my own masters to. am working to get them back actually. will keep you updated.

Q: are you shy? social phobia? how you deal? A: i’m diagnosed with social fobia + OCD. interaction with new people demands a lot. again, getting help is the way to go. self help for fobias is hard, you need someone to push you to face the scary stuff.

Q: i just wanted to tell you that your music helped save my life. it’s what helps me escape… A: wow thank you for sharing.

Q: are you planning any more UK dates? (wanted to check before i book for London) A: not as of now.

Q: have you thought about writing about your journey/experience as an artist or what inspired you? A: writing about it in book form? no not yet.

Q: do you have any plans concerning new music? A: right now i’m just breathing but music is always in the air.

Q: how do you balance privacy and publicity? A: i try to do what feels good long term and share what is important to me. i think i’m quite good at being private and i don’t expect people to want to know every little thing about me either.

Q: what are your hobbies outside music? your paintings suggested a love for art and nature. A: all living things non human especially underwater.

Q: does making each album/visual ever become routine, or do new challenges arise? A: it never becomes routine. “too much” ambition.

#ionnalee #iamamiwhoami #twimc #twimclabel #To whom it may concern.#q&a #singer #musician #artist #sweden #swedish #jonna lee

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calleo-bricriu · 6 years ago

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A Paper Owl!

(( From this book. If you want me to type up whatever birthdate your character has, let me know. I can either send them IC or just as an OOC thing to have. :) ))

@lamentedhope

The owl that arrives is carrying a note, which simply reads:

“Hello Professor!

Apologies for writing out of the blue, especially since I doubt you’d remember a student from nearly twenty years ago but, I picked up a Muggle book on Divination as a bit of a laugh and have had a bit of fun sending these off to people whose birthdates I remember.

- Calleo”

Once the note has been read, the owl itself will properly shift back to what it is: A two page transcription from the book in question.

Sun: Virgo Decanate: Virgo/Mercury Mode: Mutable Element: Earth Fixed Stars: Although your Sun's degree is not linked to a fixed star, some of your other planets' degrees certainly will be. By having an astrological chart calculated, you can find the exact position of the planets on your date of birth/ This will tell you which of the fixed stars are relevant to you.

For your ideal partner, you might begin by looking for someone born on one of the following dates:

Love & Friendship: Jan. 4, 5, 10, 18, 19, 26, 30. Feb. 2, 3, 8, 16, 17, 24, 28, Mar. 1, 6, 14, 15, 22, 26. Apr. 4, 12, 13, 20, 24. May 2, 10, 11, 18, 22. June 8, 9, 16, 20, 30. July 6, 7, 14, 18, 28. Aug 4, 5, 12, 16, 26, 30. Sept. 2, 3, 10, 14, 28. Oct. 1, 8, 12, 22, 26. Nov. 6, 10, 20, 24. Dec. 4, 8, 18, 22, 30. Beneficial: Jan. 13, Feb. 11, Mar. 9, Apr. 7, ay 5, June 3, 30, July 1, 28, Aug. 26. Sept. 24, Oct 22, Nov. 20, Dec. 18. Fatal Attractions: Feb. 23, 24, 25, 26. Challenging: Jan. 14, 24. Feb. 12, 22. Mar. 10, 20. Apr. 8, 18. May 6, 16. June 4, 14. July 2, 12. Aug. 10. Sept. 8. Oct. 6. Nov. 4. Dec. 2.

General:

Sociable, warm, and friendly, you are revealed by your birthday to be young at heart. A strong sense of identity often puts you up front, where you are able to gain the approval you need. Capable of unselfish gestures toward those you love, you can also be understanding and a good listener. Be careful that immaturity or self-will does not spoil your attractive charm.

With the subinfluence of your decanate ruler, Virgo, you are clever, with a practical approach and natural business sense. Although you usually analyse situations very carefully, you may have to guard against becoming sceptical. Articulate and straightforward in speech, you value knowledge and expertise.

Playful and romantic, you possess a dynamic blend of idealism and pragmatism. Although you can procrastinate, once you set your mind on something you are willing to make great sacrifices to achieve your goals. As you enjoy a touch of glamour and can be attracted to the good life, you need an active social life and are known to be an entertaining companion.

Cooperative and helpful, you can also provide emotional support for others. Although you will always have a youthful quality, it is through self-dicsipline that you are fully able to realise your potential.

When you reach the age of twenty-five, your progressed Sun moves into Libra, commencing a thirty year period of increased emphasis on your partnerships, both personally and professionally. This is the time when you may also have an expanded sense of beauty and harmony and may want to develop any creative potential you possess.

Another turning point occurs at the age of fifty-five, when your progressed Sun moves into Scorpio, stimulating you to seek deeper meaning to your life and placing more emphasis on transformation.

Your Secret Self:

Warmhearted and loving, you seek harmonious relationships. Possessing an inner nobility and strong convictions, you may need to motivate yourself with constant challenges.

This may be obstructed by a tendency to be impulsive and the desire for instant gratification.

Since you enjoy having fun, you may go for an easy option.

Ultimately, this could cause you to lose your sense of purpose and direction.

Work & Vocation:

Your natural business sense can help you succeed in any undertaking, but you may be more drawn to careers that involve dealing with people. Your gift for communication may lead you to writing, education, or sales.

As you enjoy entertaining others, you may also be drawn to show business or the music industry. A natural diplomacy may lead you to work in customer service or public relations, and your people skills can help you succeed in promotion or publishing.

A natural aesthetic sense may draw you to occupations such as artist or designer and dealing with items and furnishings for the home.

Numerology:

Like a number 1 individual, you are ambitious, direct, and enterprising. Always ready for action and new ventures, you courageously take on life's challenges. With your enthusiasm you can easily inspire others, if not to join you, at least to support you in your latest venture. Although you are success oriented and determined, family and home life are very important to you.

Finding stability and taking care of your nearest and dearest may, at times, be a challenge for you.

The subinfluence of the number 8 month indicates that you possess a highly intuitive and active mind.

When taking on responsibilities, you like to be efficient but can also be impatient or intolerant.

Emotionally dynamic, constantly on the go, you may need to learn how to relax.

With your quick assessment of a situation you can easily solve problems. Avoid becoming overenthusiastic, initiating projects without a proper plan.

Positive: Progressive, daring, artistic, creative, compassionate, idealistic, ambitious, hardworking, stable, strong-willed. Negative: Daydreamer, unmotivated, lack of compassion, unrealistic, bossy, bad judgement, aggressive, lack of confidence, too dependent on others, pride.

Love & Relationships:

Although you often strive for autonomy and personal achievement, a powerful need for love is likely to draw you into all kinds of affairs.

You are often benevolent and caring, but a tendency to be idealistic and a perfectionist in relationships suggests that others may fail to live up to your expectations.

Usually generous, with a charming personality and friendly nature, you can easily attract friends and partners, although some relationships may not prove to be worthwhile.

Once you find your perfect mate, you can be very loving and supportive.

#lamentedhope #owl #diviniation #hp rp

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dangoghz · 7 years ago

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legitimate advice for new phandom blogs

hey !! so i know sometimes posts like ‘RULES FOR THE PHANDOM XD’ are made and they’re all like “numba one. dan is a squishy bean respect this uwu” but this isn’t gonna be like that lol. im just going to list a few actual things that might help people new to the phandom learn about and become integrated into the community! of course these aren’t ‘rules’ and u dont have to listen to any of it ofc,,, im not here to control ur blog, just here to say what people normally do. feel free to rb whether u are a new blog or not, ill appreciate it either way!

(NOTE: PLS TELL ME IF ANY OF THE LINKS DONT WORK AND ILL FIX THEM PERIODICALLY!)

italicized text is defined in the glossary at the bottom!

1. be interactive!

here, unique to our corner of timmy darn communism, we have a lot of like virtual traditions that everyone knows. these help you to make friends and also grow ur blog with some new mutuals. here are some examples.

networks: networks, or nets, are a sort of selective gc, usually with a theme or concept that it’s based around, in which all who wish to be part of fill out an application form that determines whether they get in. this is kinda the one with the most work, as u also have to make a group blog and info post, but it’s definitely worth it. i have made my closest friends in nets (such as @phleurnet which i birthed), and a lot of people on here would say the same. if you want to know more or apply, my friend diana runs an update blog @phandomnets! (examples, these are all open btw: x x x)

meetups: meetups are not in real life, don’t worry. a meetup is when someone organizes a specific time at which we all post thing around a certain theme! for instance, on halloween on tuesday, my friend milo hosted a halloween meetup. usually people post selfies but if u are uncomfortable with that, u can post art, music, or anything else related to the theme. a blog called @phandommeetupwatch keeps track of these! (examples, all happening soon/just happened: x x x)

follow forevers: a follow forever is a big celebration post when u reach a follower count milestone, no matter 50 or 5k. u tag all of the blogs you love, and they reblog it to appreciate u! it’s really positive and shows people how their work has paid off. usually people are tagged in alphabetical order, and sometimes people bold their favorites but the stylization is up to u. (recent examples: x x x)

milestone activities: sometimes people do things for their followers when they reach a follower count that involves their followers requesting something! there are many many forms of this type of thing. a common one is blog rates, in which there is a set template and the blogger rates each blog that sends in an ask using the template (info post ex: x; rate ex: x). there are also url edits (x), name/url moodboards (x), and more. u can certainly come up w an idea of ur own, being creative is great!

talk to people: that’s right dude!!! ye!!! u can message a blog u think is cool, or send an ask if u think something they made or are talking about is interesting, or add something sweet in the tags (more on etiquette later) when u rb their post. additionally, sometimes people stir up discourse, and u should participate in it if u want (past discourse examples: x x). u can also send asks when people reblog ask games, which are a list of questions with a theme (new one of mine ex: x).

2. play around with your blog!

customizing your blog can start giving you what we call a branding, making you distinguished from other bloggers. this can include everything from as simple as using an icon to coding your own about page.

themes: a blog can be way more appealing if it is aesthetically pleasing. admittedly, i often follow people just because of the smoothness of their mobile theme. a mobile theme is rather easy to construct as u can do it on ur own with a phone. it is how ur blog looks on a phone. although u don’t have to do this, i recommend sticking to two to four colors on ur theme and avoiding stuffing it with a lot of bright things because it can distract from content. additionally, bloggers often make their descriptions short and succinct. (my fav mobiles: x x x.) on a pc, your blog theme can be customized completely on html, meaning there is a lot of freedom. u don’t have to learn to code for this, bc u can find free themes anywhere, just search ‘free tumblr themes’ on google. once again, be creative, but u shouldn’t overload. (my fav pcs: x x x.)

about pages: in order to avoid chunky descriptions but still let people know the key deets about themselves, bloggers create about pages. sometimes these bout pages are uncoded but u can also use html code if u want to. some common things in an about page are interests, maybe personality types/horoscopes/hogwarts houses, original content, and links to other social media. (examples: x x x)

urls: urls are a key part of your blog’s brand. ‘rebranding’ is what people say if they change their url! if u are tired or bored with your url, changing it is an opportunity to change your theme and other parts of ur blog as well. (url change ex: x).

saved urls: saved urls are basically when bloggers hoard sideblogs in order to reserve the urls used for them. if you ever encounter a blank blog that has ‘saved’ as its title, that’s probably it. sometimes people like to give away their urls, either as a constant thing (ex: x) or by doing a url giveaway (x). either way, it’s a good opportunity to change it up!

tags: in order to keep their blog cleancut and organized, a lot of bloggers have special tags for certain people, certain topics, and/or certain types of media. many people in the phandom particularly have tags for dan and phil that match (strawberries and cream, lune and sole, etc). if they have many of these tags, there can be a page for their tags on their blog. this page can be coded with special html or just a regular tumblr page, it doesn’t really matter. but it’s very useful for those who visit your blog, and makes it easy for u to navigate older posts as well! (examples: x x x)

3. learn to make og content!

producing original content helps you establish what your strengths are and why people should follow you. it also allows u to contribute to the fanbase, and gives u a chance of being noticed by dnp! and the validation is lovely. there are many options if u want to make something.

gifs: gifs are an ART here in the phandom, and its mechanisms still perplex me to this day bc ive never tried it. u probably already know what a gif is, but if not, its essentially a short animation made in photoshop that repeats. gifmakers are often distinguished by a unique coloring (example gifmakers: x x x), such as my friend emily’s smooth dark blue tint (x). it can be a long process to learn how to gif but it is very rewarding in the end, from what i’ve heard. (tutorials: x x)

art: there is a very wide range of phanartists, all with such talents, either digital or traditional, that you can draw inspirations from for your own work. you can make cartoons, comics, realism, abstract, nsfw even, or any mix (or none) of the former. artists on tumblr definitely deserve more attention than they get here on tumblr, so be sure to show appreciation towards them! (my fav artists: x x x)

edits: edits are the Graphic Designs of our community and are usually very aesthetically pleasing. they can be centered around a certain event, like a video or something dnp made, or just for fun. the more practice you get making them, the more dexterous u’ll become. they can be a great tool if u like the design aspect of art but don’t want to actually draw. (edit makers: x x)

icons: icons are just the little profile picture that u can insert for ur blog. it’s really easy and fun to make them, kind of like a lazy version of edits. you can make them using photoshop or an app like picsart or medibang, and it doesn’t take a lot of time. more on how to use icons in section 4. (examples: x x x) (my lil tutorial: x)

moodboards: moodboards are nine pictures arranged 3 by 3 that have a certain color scheme. it’s kind of like a collage except the photo feature here separates the pictures for u. there are a lot of innovative moodboard makers that stun me w how pretty it looks or how they arrange the pics. moodboards are also an easy and fun option! (moodboard tags: x x x)

textposts: this is by far the easiest and more common form of content u will find. it’s just writing about dnp in a textpost! if a textpost isn’t very serious, people also call it a meme or shitpost. shitposting is defs on the rise here so its a good business to get into. it’s also a great outlet for ur emotions or personal connections to what dnp do! (example talk tags: x x x)

fics: by far the most famous media to come out of here, phanfiction is a popular form of phan indulgence. u have probably heard of the most scarring ones (list: x), but there is actually a really vast range of it, not just creepy smut! some other genres are fluff, angst, and slow burns. u will discover that, despite the sterotype, not all fanfiction is bad. you can find lovely fics on @phanfictioncatalogue by genre, au, or topic. and, if u need help writing something, many writers would love to help. (a few well-known fics: x x x x x)

4. tumblr etiquette!

i know tumblr might seem like a simple social media (or perhaps not after u’ve read all the above?) but there’s a lot of things that u just....u just don’t do. it’s sort of like virtual manners, and if u don’t follow them, then it’s unlikely that people will like ur blog. once again, this is by no means me forcing u to run ur blog a certain way. it just happens that the types of ppl who break these rules are who we mock in gcs :////////. so yea, here’s some advice.

credits: if u decide to use someone’s art, edit, gif, or icon on the theme of ur blog, check what they require of u before u use it. most content creators strongly ask for credit in the description of ur blog, either by link or like ‘icon/header/art by ____’. it is just a common courtesy to the person who spent time on that, and if u think credit will ruin the aesthetic of ur blog, a) u probably don’t have an aesthetic in the first place and b) learn to appreciate art, binch.

anonymity: anon asks can be very powerful either negatively or positively depending on how u yield them, so make sure that u are careful with what u send. compliments are always welcome and criticism as well, but blatant rudeness or hate will do nothing. u will only make someone feel bad about themselves and it will not accomplish anything. also, u face the threat of all their friends turning u into a meme.

sensitivity: a lot of people here are way too easily offended by harmless jokes, a common example in the phandom being when we insult dnp affectionately and people take it way too much to heart. please don’t start drama over something w no real meaning. however, there are times when it is indeed necessary. if u want to criticise a blogger, be respectful of them simultaneously. by all means, if u spot someone being racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynist, or the like, feel free to call them out on it. but beforehand, make sure that u have done ur research and are educated on the topic, or u could turn out to be blatantly wrong.

adding to posts: everyone makes this mistake when they start out here and that’s totally okay, but adding to every post u reblog is incredibly bothersome. a rule of thumb would be don’t add anything unless what u say will actually improve the post significantly. if ur additions are along the lines of ‘LOL’ or ‘i relate!!!!’ or ‘philly is a smol bean XD’, learn to use the tags for heaven’s sake. they’re there for not only organization but also for commenting. some exceptions, though, would be if u are mentioned in the post or the op is your close friend.

respecting privacy: this should already be obvious to u, but respect dan and phil’s boundaries. do not tag them or their main tags (#daniel howell, #danisnotonfire, #amazingphil), in any phanfics, phanart (like specifically with them as a romantic ship), or phan edits. do not talk to their family members, expose their personal info like address or phone number, and do consider that they are real people just like u. we may make things based around phan, but it is kept in a community for us and not for dan and phil’s eyes. this is very important.

5. have fun!

sorry if this is all overwhelming, but i tried to make it as simplified as possible. and also sorry for the sass, i’m kinda tired of all the ding dongs on here and want to prevent further ding dongs from being created. thanks so much for readin and be sure to send me an ask anytime if u have questions! welcome to hell!

glossary

timmy darn communism: me being my usual weird self and replacing ‘tumblr dot com’ with random words that start with the same letters

mutuals: someone who you follow and who follows you; usually who u interact with most

rb: shortening for ‘reblog’

discourse: when theres is intense discussion of a certain topic, sometimes phan-related sometimes not, sometimes serious and sometimes silly

branding: the word ‘branding’ kinda started as a joke, but it’s generally what we use to call what someone’s blog reminds them of, whether it be a certain color or a discussion topic; my branding, if u asked a mutual, would probably be impressionism, tea, and baguettes (dont ask ab that one)

html: a simple type of coding used for designing websites! u can learn basic html here or here, it’s way easier and funner than it looks

dnp: dan and phil; we also say ‘deppy’, ‘dip and pip’, ‘the boys’, ‘the rats’, and more

coloring: basically the stylization of a gif, shown through filters, textures, contrast, brightness, etc.

talk tag: a tag in which all of the textposts that a person makes are sorted into

phanfiction terms

smut: porn fic :/

fluff: just what it sounds like, a type of fic that usually has a lot of soft stuff like cuddling, flirting, and looooove

angst: a fic with a lot of drama, usually sad or very emotional

slow burn: a fic where a pairing, in this case phan, slowly falls in love

au: stands for ‘alternate universe’, a fic in which dan and phil are written not as youtubers but in a completely different scenario (ie. bad boy and new guy in high school, university students, space exhibition, anything u can dream up really)

anon: short for ‘anonymous’

op: short for ‘original poster’, aka who made the post

#this took me SO LONG pls appreciate it #gogh away ester #dan and phil #phan #phandom #phan advice #phandom advice #phil lester #dan howell #luncheon

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impressivepress · 4 years ago

Text

Context for the Creation of 'Jazz'

In 1943, while convalescing from a serious operation, Henri Matisse began work on a set of collages to illustrate an, as yet, untitled and undecided text. This suite of twenty images, translated into "prints" by the stenciling of gouache paint, became known as Jazz---considered one of his most ambitious and important series of work.

The years of World War II were a difficult time for Matisse and his family. He had separated from his wife Amelie in 1940 when he moved to the south of France. His wife and his daughter Marguerite were each tried and then jailed by the Gestapo for their parts in the French Resistance movement. Marguerite was tortured and then deported to the Ravensbruck concentration camp but was miraculously rescued before arriving there. The artist's two sons, Pierre and Jean were living in New York and Paris, respectively, and communication with them was intermittent at best during the war years. Jean, a sculptor, was also a Resistance fighter, training soldiers in marksmanship in his studio.

Matisse himself was recovering from a bout of intestinal cancer and, unable to stand, spent great periods of time in bed. After a risky operation, Matisse remarked to his friend Albert Marquet in 1942, "Truly, I'm not joking when I thank my lucky stars for the awful operation I had, since it has made me young again and philosophical which means that I don't want to fritter away the new lease on life I've been given." It seems clear that, despite the illnesses, the change in direction in Matisse's work was already under way. This was, in fact the only period of his life when all of his various media were at play toward the same goals. Still, despite his optimism, there was pain and difficulty ahead of him as he was forced to wear a metal corset for weeks at a time. Further, he was plagued by gallstones, liver problems, deteriorating vision and, worst of all, terrible insomnia.

IMAGERY It was the insomnia which greatly informed the look of Jazz. The daylight color range of his painting gave way to the artificial light and synthetic color of the cutouts. Nocturnal creative activity became his salvation from the anxiety of poor sleep. It is not surprising that several of the images in Jazz are nighttime scenes, figures enveloped in remote darkness, like the deep blue night sky. In fact, only the Lagoon images can assuredly be viewed as daylight scenes. "These images in vivid and violent tones have resulted from crystallizations of memories of the circus, popular tales or travel." The themes set forth in Jazz can be separated into four categories: the world of the French music hall and circus, mythology and legends, symbolism for the War between France and Germany, and memories from his life and travels. Rather than painting from life the artist was, as older artists often do, depending on his memory for inspiration and imagery. In a letter to Marquet, Matisse wrote, "I'm growing old, I delight in the past." The three lagoons depicted in Jazz are decades old recollections of his trip to Tahiti and the vision of aquatic life he saw there through the hull of a glass bottom boat. He says of the Lagoons, "Aren't you one of the seven wonders of the Paradise of painters?"

It also seems obvious that other themes revealed in the Jazz imagery related to his emotional sentiments of this period. For many of these themes, Jazz was the first time Matisse had conjured them into pictorial space. With others, such as the image of Icarus, the artist returns to a meaningful theme within his repertory of images.

The depiction of Icarus falling through a field of deep blue with yellow starbursts all around him can also be read as a visual metaphor for the resistance fighters' courageous attempts to navigate the skies between the Nazi artillery shelling. The victor/victim duality of war is symbolized in the complementary but opposing dangers expressed in two related prints; self-inflicted danger in the case of the sword swallower and victimization at the hands of another in the depiction of the knife thrower and assistant. The image of the wolf was given a red eye and a menacing mouth as a representation of the Gestapo.

The elephant balancing on a circus ball depicts the precariousness of life itself. The black foliate shapes suggest the exotic quality of the elephant's original habitat and the red slashes give the sense of a confining cage. In Jazz he states "An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc." The Toboggan, among the first images completed, suggests the thrill of danger and the lack of control one has over one's destiny. "He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back." The trapeze artists' death defying acts are comparable to the risk Matisse took in changing from his established medium of painting to the revolutionary newness of cut-paper collage. "There is no interruption between my older paintings and my cutouts. Just that with an increasing sense of the absolute, and more abstraction, I have achieved a form that is simplified to its essence," Matisse remarked in 1952 after the greatest cut-out works were complete.

The Cowboy is a ballet between man and beast, or perhaps man and woman, in which neither appears to have the upper hand. Matisse probably recalls this image from one of the Western fantasies at the Folies-Berg俊es and perhaps from his first trip to America in 1929. He traveled from New York through Chicago and across the American west to Los Angeles and San Francisco before departing for Tahiti.

In 1942 Matisse had planned to go again to America and then on to Brazil. At the last minute the artist canceled. Writing to his son Pierre, an art dealer in New York, "When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was deserting. If everyone of any value leaves France, what will remain of France?"

THE CREATION OF JAZZ Jazz was published by Efstratios Tériade with whom Matisse had previously collaborated on several other printed projects involving art and text. Tériade's artful magazine Verve had already featured, as cover illustrations, examples of Matisse's cutout work. No serious artist had ever taken collage to this extreme of simplicity and description, and there were those who ridiculed him for it. Nonetheless, Jazz was a natural outgrowth of the increasing limitations of Matisse's physical agility and the abundance of his creative spirit at this time. For almost a decade Matisse had been making the cut-paper collages as complete works of art. Several elements in Jazz can be traced back to specific early abstractions with flat areas of color painted between 1911 and 1917. It is also known that in his early work Matisse had used cut-paper pieces to approximate shape and color in his painted compositions. As his health failed and his dexterity decreased Matisse worked more and more with cut-paper, which became an increasingly direct method of imagemaking. He produced very few paintings during this period and until his death from a heart attack in 1954. In fact he produced his last sculpture in 1950 and his last painting in 1951.

Matisse's enthusiasm for his new medium is expressed in his writing, "The paper cutouts allow me to draw with color. For me, it is a simplification. Instead of drawing an outline and then filling in with color-with one modifying the other-I draw directly in color...It is not a starting point, it is a completion." The artist felt he must search for the sign in each object and that the composition would become a "collection of signs invented during the picture's execution to suit the needs of their position," as he stated in a 1951 letter to Luz.

In 1947, the year Jazz was published, Matisse wrote, "Cutting into color reminds me of the sculptor's direct carving." In fact, in the cut-out collages, Matisse combined his abilities for painting and drawing with his gift for sculpture in an unprecedented synthesis. Unlike previous collage artists who used found materials, Matisse preferred using new sheets of plain paper which were brushed with brilliant colors of gouache, a densely pigmented watercolor paint.

WORKING METHODS He would cut the shapes out, generally freehand, using a small pair of scissors and saving both the item cut out and remaining scraps of paper. With the help of Lydia Delectorskaya, his secretary and nurse, Matisse would arrange and rearrange the colored elements until he was satisfied that the resulting collages were perfect. It took two years to complete the twenty collages and, after years of trial and error, a practical and appropriate method was agreed upon for bringing the collages to life as two-dimensional works.

From the beginning, Tériade was a collaborator on Jazz because of his desire to create a "livre-fleur." He described how, "this old project keeps me from sleeping: the modern "illustrated manuscript." Initially Matisse had used the Linel brand of gouache paint because of its brilliance and depth of pigment. He was also advised that Linel paints in particular could be keyed to corresponding colors of printing inks.

Tériade told Matisse to "use all the gouache colors that you can imagine, and that Madame Lydia can prepare for you. I guarantee that we will obtain in the print, the exact color. From the moment that the print is in the plates, there will be nothing to fear, one will always be able to find the exact color, especially when the printing of each color is different."

Tériade met with the printers and then described in a letter to Matisse, "I wanted to personally give them the two plates and explain to them your desires. They understood the importance of the book. They are enthusiastic, and I believe that they will do the impossible to arrive at perfection... Because the printing inks are oily, they cannot give exactly the quality of gouache. My printers are studying the possibility of how to render the original colors, and they envision printing with colors specially prepared by Linel. If this succeeds, we will arrive at perfection. This will be extremely difficult, but I strongly believe that we will achieve it."

Yet Matisse was still worried, and feared that certain colors wouldn't come out in the same brilliance of the original. Tériade continued his trials in order to select the best process for reproduction. "I promise you that we will have the trials in three procedures, the only possible ones for this exceptional work in Linel colors and in German typographic colors, near the end of February. Don't think that the trials will be easy. With the Linel colors, for example, it is not only a question of putting them under the press. Many problems present themselves with respect to their fluidity, as they are very sensitive to pressure. It's even necessary to make special rubber ink rollers. There is much work to be done at the laboratory before making the first proof. I hope that all these studies will help us determine the best process to use."

MATERIALS AND PROCESSES In the end, no available inks proved satisfactory to the artist for translating the clarity of the color and the direct handling of the physical texture which Matisse and his publisher required. Additionally, several different methods of printing, including lithography, linoleum block printing, woodblock and even zinc block printing were considered, attempted and rejected before settling on pochoir. A very refined method of hand-stenciling, pochoir had previously been used by such artists as Man Ray, Sonia Delauney and Mary Cassatt and more recently by Helen Frankenthaler.

Matisse had enjoyed using the particularly bright gouache paint made by Linel and used it exclusively to color the papers he used in his cutouts. The stroke of genius behind using pochoir to translate the Jazz cutouts was that the two-dimensional images could be produced using the same brilliant paint as in the collages. By directly brushing the Linel gouache through hand-cut stencils Tériade's printers were able to give the Jazz stencils a directness and richness similar to what the artist had achieved in his collaged maquettes. The stencils were cut by hand from thin sheets of metal, probably brass or copper.

The quality of stencil work done by Edmond Variel in order to satisfy Matisse's requirements is extraordinary. The number of paint colors per image ranges from two to ten. A minimum of five and sometimes over thirty separate stencils are employed to create the complex angular and curvaceous shapes. In one of the lagoon images a single loopy shape requires ten stencils because of the details of all its delicate appendages. In others it is creating the flat field around the shapes which requires the high number of stencils. Because gouache paint is water soluble the interlocking stencils must abut each other but cannot overlap one another. The result is a subtle patchwork made of hand-brushed washes of pure color, sometimes transparent and grainy, at other times dense and opaque. Though these gouache pochoir from Jazz are often seen in books, no reproduction of this work can reveal the tremendous range of subtle textures and shades of color apparent in the stenciled pieces.

Jazz was produced as an edition of 250 books, with the pages folded in half. A separate edition of 100 portfolios were offered as flat sheets with no center fold. These are extremely rare in the marketplace as many of them were purchased for museum collections. The suite we are offering is a printer's proof set of the unfolded pages. This set was owned by a private family foundation in Liechtenstein before it was sold at Sotheby's in New York.

In the book edition, fifteen images are printed as full sheets while five images use only half-pages and are juxtaposed against Matisse's prose, photoengraved from his own handwriting. This poetic text, meandering between philosophy and aesthetics, provides a fascinating view of some of the thoughts Matisse did not directly express in his artwork. It was produced after the images were delivered to Tériade, written out in oversized cursive script, full of the arabesques Matisse so loved. The second paragraph of Jazz contains this witty description of his intentions, "All that I really have to recount are observations and notes made during the course of my life as a painter. I ask those who will have the patience to read these notes the indulgence usually granted to the writings of painters."

Originally the title of this work was to be Le Cirque (The Circus) and it was to accompany text by a poet or another writer as several of the other publications of the time had done. Matisse had illustrated the writings of Mariana Alcaforado, Charles Baudelaire, James Joyce, Stephane Mallarmé, Henri de Montherlat, Pierre de Ronsard, the 15th century poet Charles d'Orléans, and George Duthuit, his son-in-law and most important biographer.

TEXT OF JAZZ As the project evolved the title changed to Jazz, which had no specific relation to the varied images of performers, Tahitian bays, and well-known legends. For Matisse jazz was viewed as "chromatic and rhythmic improvisation" and later described by the artist as "Jazz is rhythm and meaning." As a title for the suite, Jazz evoked for Matisse the idea of a structure of rhythm and repetition broken by the unexpected action of improvisations. The artist wrote to a friend in late 1947, "There are wonderful things in real jazz, the talent for improvisation, the liveliness, the being at one with the audience."

As a way of providing a syncopation and then breaking it with the unexpected, Matisse designed the book so that each full-page image is preceded by five pages of text and each half-page image by three pages of text. As part of the Jazz text Matisse writes of this format, "I'd like to introduce my color prints under the most favorable of conditions. For this reason I must separate them by intervals of a different character. I decided that handwriting was best suited for this purpose. The exceptional size of the writing seems necessary to me in order to be in a decorative relationship with the character of the color prints. These pages, therefore will serve only to accompany my colors, just as asters help in the composition of a bouquet of more important flowers. Their role is purely visual."

Matisse's early works were highly finished paintings with a concentration on the end result. In his later years they are about the process of arriving there---the pentimento of choices, alterations and decisions.

In her excellent essay on Jazz, Riva Castleman, (Curator of Prints, Museum of Modern Art) wrote "With Jazz you hold an artist's spirit in your hands. Each page reveals deeply felt ideas, years of dedication to art and its craft, innate sensitivity to visual stimuli and their perfect organization for the most exhilarating, most satisfying result. Few artists have added to their pictorial work words that have been equally important in form and meaning. The precise equilibrium of these elements in Jazz is Matisse's unique achievement. The dark rhythms, roiling counterpoint, happy staccatos, and jolting dissonances of this Jazz will sound forever. Matisse has taught the eye to hear."

The connection of these varied images to the idea of Jazz is rooted in the very nature of abstraction. In jazz music, a musician can take a simple, familiar, even conventional melody and with a few changes twist it into a barely recognizable tune. The performer can control with just a few notes the extent of the abstraction of the original tune and his audience's ability to recognize it as familiar. From the elegance of Count Basie and Duke Ellington to the dizzying compositions of Eubie Blake or Scott Joplin, the breadth of jazz allows a diversity of expression which is matched in the visual arts by artists such as Matisse, Miro, Picasso and more recently Motherwell, Diebenkorn and Elizabeth Murray, each of whom were greatly influenced by Matisse. For an artist like Matisse, the ability to suggest the natural world in all its diversity through the simple act of cutting shapes from colored paper became the ultimate act of creation by his knowing where to start and when to stop."

~ from: Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, Washington.

#matisse #art article #painting #notebook #matisse jazz

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wearecounterfeit · 7 years ago

Photo

Rolling Stone Russia interviewed Jamie before Counterfeit. headed on over for their gigs. You can find the interview in Russian here.

We have a rough translation for you below:

"I apologize for the late call," Jamie begins politely, carcassing one cigarette and pulling out a new one from the pack. Behind the back of a 28-year-old actor and musician, he can see a room lit by a floor lamp with a window almost to the wall. The atmosphere is very cozy, even in the absence of curtains. - Lately, a lot has happened. On Friday, I need to be at the funeral of my friend's father - we've known each other since I was eight, and before that I rehearsed a lot. The whole group now lives together in a country house, but because of the circumstances, I had to come to London for a short time. " Jamie's hair is combed back, with a black denim jacket that reveals a light blue shirt unbuttoned over his chest. The leader of Counterfeit is visibly enlivened when I tell him that I have just returned from a short but exhausting tour with Machine Gun Kelly. "I know Kelly! - with a smile of recognition, exclaims Bower, a handsome guy with delicate features. The earring glitters in his nose. - We had dinner with him somehow, and we have a lot of common friends. He is awesome!"

How do you, the musicians, survive on long tours? I was exhausted even four days.

It always happens - you just have to go through this state. The first week is always the heaviest, your body is shocked, and then you are drawn. I always thought that the most important thing for the band is the performances, so you need to make sure that everything that happens on the tour does not interfere with them. I love touring - it's on the road that I feel most comfortable. When the tour comes to an end, I try not to notice that this is the last concert - I do not want to stop. When it all ends, it takes me about a week for a kind of decompression - I understand that I'm exhausted, and I plan to spend this time in bed eating pizza and in every way imitating a sloth. However, at some point I get an incredible itch - the same happens when we get a day off during the tour - wake up at five in the morning and realize that you do not need to play any concert - you can rest. In any case, the end of the tour always causes mixed feelings - touring is exhausting, but on the other hand, you are on the road with friends, with the family that you chose yourself - this is a bonus. We've known my guitarist Tristan from the age of eight, so we perfectly understand when we start to enrage each other. The same goes for the other members of the group, the tour manager and the technicians - they are like a family, we have known each other for a very long time, and we understand when it is necessary to shut up.

Have you watched the TV series "The Tourists "?

Kelly was in it, was he not? I read that it was closed after the first season, but did not see it. We have one guy among the staff, whose name is Peter. So, Peter is a bloody pocket rocket! You know, we are always involved in the process of loading equipment onto the site. One day I went off to smoke one cigarette, and when I came back in a couple of minutes, all my shit - and it's a lot of it - was already on the stage. Peemar - that's what we call him, - a very short guy, and I do not know how he gets up such things. The guys from our team work very hard, and without them we just could not do it. I consider it very important to maintain friendly relations with them - often you see terrible examples when the group conducts between themselves and the staff a line dividing the guys into "them" and "us". For me, it's dog shit - we all work for the same purpose.

An hour ago I spoke on the phone with Isaac Holman of Slaves , and asked if he knew your group. He said he knew the name, but he had never heard your music. What, in turn, can you say about Slaves ?

I like Slaves ! I recently discovered this band for myself, and was impressed with how just two guys with a guitar and drums can create such a dense sound. They sound very cool and damp - I like it! They also have an incredible cover on " Shutdown " Skeptics - grime is perfectly combined with punk rock. For me, so generally now there is more punk in pimp than in punk rock - they send everyone to hell and talk about real shit. That cover simply blew up the airwaves when it sounded on BBC Radio 1.

Since we're talking about Skept, then how do you like his joint track with Mick Jagger?

I have not heard yet, but in general it's very cool: Skepta and Mick Jagger, two absolute icons of different generations, together! Skept in England is indeed a cultural phenomenon - he is at the forefront of the grime scene, working with Drake, directed by Boy Better Know .

What kind of music do you like lately?

I really liked the new album [Marilyn] Manson. Amazing record - he seemed to be back in those days when I first met his work - then only the track " Fight Song " came out . And after a softer, in my opinion, " Pale Emperor " - I'm a fan of Manson, but I listened to that album a couple of times and put it aside. When I really like music - like " Heaven Upside Down " - I lose it again and again without stopping until I'm already sick of it. This is an incredibly clever record, and I really like her deep aggression.

Also recently, I was mentally returning to the time when I was fifteen - then only came "The First Impressions of Earth " The Strokes , an album that summed up my teenage period - when I first heard it, it just gave me a brain. Recently I sat down and listened to their first three albums. " Is This It " and " Room On Fire " are quite similar, but in spite of this, both there and there are great songs. The third plate of The Strokes is just gloomy - Julian Casablancas, they say, he decided then to send everything to hell - so he was tired of everything.

In addition to The Strokes and Manson, there are many friendly bands that I like, for example, The Xcerts - I'm their longtime fan. Soon the guys have a new album; they play a melodic pop-rockin 'pop-pop, but without any reproduced shit. I like the latest release of The Story So Far ; The new single The Architects , which was released a couple of months ago, is simply amazing! I'm repeating these records, but, you know, when you're doing your music and you're very involved in it, then you start missing something new - I force myself to listen to new bands and be aware of what is happening in the music world.

A really cool service for such researches is Spotify with its section "similar artists". God, is he really inaccessible in Russia? It's terrible! We also have an excellent DJ Dan Karty on BBC Radio 1, he conducts a Sunday rock show and always tries to promote new bands, which is very cool - I learned about many newcomers thanks to him. I also have a brother Sam, who listens to heavier teams. This scene is very self-contained and full of cool projects, for example, thanks to him I recently discovered for myself Worthwhile - they play something like melodic hardcore. Hell, there are so many names of genres that I'm always confused in terms!

It's very cool when you find a group at a stage when they have very few followers - listen to them, go to concerts, and when they become popular, you are "Yes, hell! I have long loved them! "

Your latest video for the song You Can’t Rely turned out pretty halloweeny. Do you celebrate this holiday?

Of course! On this day everyone seems to dress the way we look every day.

What about horror movies?

I've always loved this genre - I like even bad horror movies. In general, I like all genres, because in the end it all depends on how interesting the story is. I think that I like horrors because, including them, you know roughly in advance that you will find out: there will necessarily be a protagonist who will be saved from the devil's wicked entity, or if you are on the side of this most evil essence, you just wait, when it will all dunk.

I also like science fiction, but again, the story should emotionally entice me. This succeeds in the production of the studio Blumhouse , as well as the authorship of James Wang - this guy is just a genius. The genre of horrors, having begun the way from a distant shelf, has strongly advanced in that to force spectators to perceive it seriously.

I have not seen the new " Blade Runner " yet, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. Did you like the movie? I'm a fan of the first part and I understand the general tension that arises every time a remake or a continuation of the classics is shot. Imagine that someone decided to remake your favorite record twenty years later in the spirit of "The album is excellent, but I want to write down my version." A natural reaction to this will be: "Wait, do you really think that this is a hell of a need? Maybe we'll leave it as it is? "This approach has to be resisted internally, and I'm looking forward to the moment when I can see" Blade Runner 2049 "- after all, it's a sequel, not a remake.

In one of the interviews you said that the engine of your creativity - both texts and music - is anger and aggression. With age, people usually become a bit calmer - what do you think will move you in the future?

You know, I once suppressed aggression - in the period from fifteen to twenty-five, but then I realized how it happens to many, that all these emotions are equally necessary in life - they are needed for the senses. In our first album, the malice I mentioned is not a reflection of my current state at that time, but rather there is my retrospective view of life. I believe that most of the art is born out of pain, and for me, as an artist, the pain is a powerful moving force - it concerns both songs and poems and some artistic scribbles (I'm not an artist, but I tried to draw). I do not know what will inspire me in the future - now we are starting to quietly work on a new album, and a lot of ideas are in the air. Usually I take as a basis one idea or written down on a line and build music around it - from this everything is born. It is important to establish an inner connection with yourself and pull out the words that you want to express, and also surround yourself with inspiring people. The new album will definitely have a lot of pain again - I do not know what will inspire me this time, but something definitely should - otherwise the record will turn out to be damn boring!

Say, and your name was never pronounced as "Bowie"?

Damn, no! Although I'm fucking waiting for such a case - I would like that when you check into the hotel, someone thinks I'm his son. By the way, my father's name is David - he will have to ask this question.

#interviews #counterfeit

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recentanimenews · 6 years ago

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My Favorite Art Books of 2018

74 is the final count for the number of art books I’ve reviewed this year in 2018; a slight dip from the 82 I did last year. Quantity notwithstanding, 2018 was still a fantastic year for those of us who enjoy beautiful art books, with plenty of amazing book releases, and I hope next year will be even better.

As we welcome 2019 here’s the round up of my favorite art books of 2018 ( in no particular order ); I hope you’ll find something of interest in the list. Do note that not all the books listed here were published in 2018. Enjoy, and Happy New Year ! –

1) The Electric State – Simon Stålenhag

Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag’s art book once again makes it to my list of favorites this year ( Things From The Flood was on my 2017 list ). The Electric State delivers more of the artist’s signature art work, sci-fi images evoking a strangely detached combination of awe, loneliness and nostalgia all at once.