Feed me with your kiss

My Bloody Valentine's Glider 1990:

Bloc Party's Intimacy 2008:

The better band has the better cover. Glider makes me want to makeout, Intimacy doesn't.

The beat dies

I'm not one to write reviews about releases, because frankly if I were to explain the album you would have to be me listening to it. There are no words whatsoever that explain what music does to me. That is if it doesn't suck or if it's not mediocre. In that case I would just say "that sucks" or "eh".

But here I am typing this, because I've been listening to this Beauty Dies EP for about a week now, and love it to pieces. It the gap between Pretty in Black and Lust Lust Lust. It's poppy, still dark and emotional, without being sad/happy/cute emotional. Plus it makes me want to wear a black dress with black shades and dance in a large empty hall by myself, or maybe if I'm up to it dancing with one person, but still in that large empty hall. 

The stand out track in this 4 track EP has to be Young and Beautiful. It makes me sink so low. It's beautiful, tragic, and everything that I love about the Raveonettes rocked and rolled into this song. Somehow they amaze me how they write the same song (heartbreak, love, wearing black, being beautiful and young, and death) yet its still so refreshing. I can easily say this is one of those pop tunes I've been searching for all this year. I think I have maybe two hand filled now. But this is special in any case because boy/girl harmonies makes me swoon.

About this third installment of their fall/winter EP releases, I read an interview with Sune Rose Wagner (here at Culture Bully) that he wishes people recorded more singles instead of albums. Finally, I don't feel utterly alone when I say that statement.

Death to organization

Sunday's Favorite Selection #11:

Side note: Watching The Science of Sleep can be very painful for me, but I still love it.

I know someone who knows someone who knows Pam Berry quite well

There's certain album covers that goes unnoticed, until on day you have your headphones one listening to the album and you're staring at the cover. Then it hits you. Why haven't I noticed something so simple and beautiful? Simplicity with a small twist that knocks you down. That's how I felt when I actually stared at Black Tambourine's Complete Recording. You stare at the front; you turn it around, then bow!

The surprise Pam Berry was holding out on you. In the front she looks like she's reaching out, a longing, then of course that longing can only be harmful to all. I do have to say, if I had any lick of talent when it comes to music I would want to be in a band that sounds like Black Tambourine. It's pop-but the lovely dark, loud, noisey and moody kind. But back to the gun. There's something so seductive about a woman with a weapon, but at the same time it holds as protection for that seduction. I guess if you listen to Black Tambourine you get why Pam Berry is holding that gun. The great sentence in the liner notes said "Oh the violence of crushes." Stephen Pastel-throw Aggi off the bridge. If not for me, for Pam Berry. Baby, please, ditch the fool.

Another album cover that did the same thing for me is My Bloody Valentine's You Made Me Realise.
I get chills looking at that.

Viviendo en la era Pop!

Sunday's Favorite Selection #10:

Beginning side note: Sadly the actual video I wanted to put up has no embedding code. If you care to actually watch what I wanted to put up please do watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbF1phW2xLI

The reason why I'm putting this video up is because it's the same song (but doesn't sound as lushly good another version) and this video has Pedro Almodovar (era 1980s) singing and dancing along in some sort of drugged state.

End side note: Roque who told me about Zombies sometime last year and who hooked with me with other like minded awesomeness Spanish pop bands from the 80s was singing a song yesterday-one I know too well and too little. A very rare song called Red Go-Cart was in a mixtape my sister's friend made for her back in 1996. My sister's friend wrote that it was by Bunnygrunt but a few years ago when I discovered this tape I failed to find out what release it was from. This happened for a few reasons:

1. This was back when Bunnygrunt wasn't together, and there was little information on them-except that they were once called "The World's Cutest Band".

2. That song wasn't by Bunnygrunt.

3. My sister's friend knew little of Bunnygrunt (even at the time when they were first together) because in another mixtape for my sister she wrote that a song was called "Refrigerator". That ended up being a big mystery for me because I loved that song (still do) and while looking for the song titles in all their LPs-none were called Refrigerator. 

Which leads me back to Roque, because back at that time (Red Go-Cart and Bunnygrunt era) I didn't know him, but he was my neighbor once on last.fm. I saw him listening to a song called Favorite Food by Bunnygrunt (which favorite food was a part the lyrics of "Refrigerator"). I sent him a message asking him if he knew what release it was in and he told me. Two years later I finally got that 7". Probably one of my favorite 7". 

Anyways yesterday there he is singing another mystery for me-that amazing Red Go-Cart song.

I love a good mystery song but finding out who actually wrote it is the best feeling ever. Now if I can only find out who the heck sings that beautiful Angels, etc song. 

EDIT: The Red Go-Cart song is actually called Little Red Go-Cart and it's by Throw That Beat In The Garbagecan

I need to investigate the essence of each being

Film news:

Yesterday my friend was telling me that Jean Claude Van Damme has a new movie coming out. I blinked, but she continued to tell me that it actually looks good. I blinked twice. She showed me the trailer and I'm a believer. JCVD looks like Jean Claude starring in Dog Day Afternoon but less ATTICA! and more funny without being campy.

Aside from it's limited showing starting November 7th (which I doubt will be shown in South Florida)  Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival starts this weeks! Something worth doing in South Florida-finally! Sadly, this will be the first time going to FLIFF without my sister! Bummer. 

Though here's my youtube list of what I want to see:

Happy-Go-Lucky

Slowly I am trying to write down every female character I can relate to in a film. Hopefully this character can be added? So far I got:

Monica Vitti's character in L'Eclisse

Thora Birch's character in Ghost World

Audrey Tautou's character in Amelie

Miranda July's character in Me and You and Everyone We Know

Every female character in Pedro Almodovar's films

And a little bit of Shannyn Sossamon's character in Wristcutters: A Love Story and Parker Posey's character in Party Girl

Pussyfoot-Embedding code was disabled, but the title Pussyfoot should give anyone a reason to watch it.

Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman. That's all I have to say.

Music news:

Yo La Tengo are having their 8 days of Hanukkah at Maxwell's, but they are playing with THE FEELIES and VIVIAN GIRLS on New Year's Eve. Did I metion YO LA TENGO are also playing. Of all places New Jersey. What a girl to do?

what a girl to do?

The way that I feel when you cry is so bad

While on train yesterday I overheard this woman on the phone talking about how she wants to see her child (I guess she wasn't allowed to see her child). Then I heard her trying to cry in silence, but in a close proximity you can her weeping. Although I couldn't see her, her friend was sitting next to her just staring her. This older lady came by after a bit of the woman crying and stared to talk to her-giving her old lady wisdom. 

For some reason the sight of a woman crying breaks me. I'm not sure if every woman experiences this, but it's something that transform my own identity. It's one of the few moments for me that I completely can relate. When I see and listen (not hear) a woman cry-I automatically start crying. I see myself in her. All her emotions I feel. I have this weird aesthetic experience whenever I see Claire Danes on screen crying. She's one of the few actresses that when she cries you can see every pain in her face. Call it uglyface, but it's beautiful and hurtful. Reverting back to non verbal communication is the most honest someone could be with you, unless well you're acting. But it's one of the few times when there's no failed communication. You get it.

For that older lady on the train she told the crying woman that it's not always like this. She said sweet little encouragements to cheer her up. That made me smile.

 

Now I know I have a heart, because it's breaking

Sunday's Favorite Selection #9


Watch Death to the Tinman in Entertainment Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Side note: This short film got me to start writing my ideas down for my screenplay.

How to be socially knowledgeable

The best thing next to wikipedia is wikiHow. There's something so interesting about people taking the time to write or edit information. What's real? Who cares. Everything is this world is pretty much a lie. Information gets lost through miscommunication anyways so why is it frown upon when I use the best thing in the internet?

Back to wikiHow. I stumble upon it a few months ago and was giggling to myself on all the silly how-to whatever. It started with How To Be A Pop Kid. I laughed it off but it's so true. Step number 12 states: Try to persuade countless friends to listen to pop with mixtapes. (or CDs if you're digitally inclined) Be crushed when they don't listen to them. Oh how I've fallen into that mistake plenty of times. A tip: A lot of your indiepop days might be kind of lonely, so fill them with other hobbies besides zinemaking and band-doing! Examples include trainspotting, shoegazing, knitting, looking at bridges, trying to draw the Sarah Records or K Records logo JUST RIGHT, daydreaming, mixtaping, taking long walks while listening to the Field Mice, and arts and crafts.  And of course I need a lot of money to buy records. 

Here's a list of other gigglefest of wikiHow (that relates to me-duh)

How To Be A Shoegazer

How To Be So Lame That You're Actually Cool

How To Ride A Bike

How To Hug

How To Write A Famous Blog

My favorite thing along side from the wikis is when you're having a conversation with someone (example: about a band) and they totally start vomiting information you read from the band's wikipedia. Yeah.

In the streets of Philadelphia

Sunday's Favorite Selection #8

Side note:

Philadelphia is filled with babies and Bruce Springsteen. I want to go back.

Give it up to my shawty shawty!

Sunday's Favorite Selection #7

Side note: Originally today's favorite was Lost Boyz' Renee because it reminds me of my cousin and 1996. We listened to their debut album like crazy that winter (along with Redman's Muddy Waters). But I just heard this song on XM radio and I remember loving this song more in 96.

Cos I'm fall fall falling for you

Sunday's Favorite Selection #6

Side notes:

It's the last day of summer! 

"doo oo oo yeah" should be in every song ever.
There's this commercial for Rhapsody that uses Sound and Vision and The Sea and Cake did a lovely cover of it.

I'm drifting into my solitude over my head.

MTV's Top Pop Poop

(Blogger note-I wrote this awesome post last night, and something weird happened and only 1/3 of what I wrote showed up. So sadly this rewritten entry is probably not as interesting as yesterday when I was really into it.)

I don't think I've ever experienced feeling so moved by a text message that it made me post a blog about it, until today. As a ha ha joke, I texted my friend a picture of my mousepad at work. It's a Britto mousepad. Romero Britto - the uber cheesy "neo pop art" artist, that my friend hates dearly. 

A part of his response was "Mouse pads are just about the lowest of the low for visual artist...in fact, they're just below messenger bags." 

My replied back asking him aside from the artwork itself what's below that-a postcard, a coffee mug?

Honestly I couldn't stop thinking about this question. It automatically made me think of the essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin. I have yet to actually read the essay, but I slightly do know what its about. What's the lowest of the low of reproductions? I've seen Britto's work on buses (and all over the damn place in South Florida) but I counted that out because I think of that as public art. Tattoos are reproductions but I counted that out because for its sentiment to the tattooee. It's personal therefore the artwork is not lower down to the equivalent to a mousepad. Unless well you're me and suggested to your friend to get a tattoo of Joseph Beuys' How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare because you want to live your tattoo fetish through her. Back to Britto - His images (that's right images, not art) are all over the (consumer) place. I've been interning/working at this job for over a year now, and just a few months ago I noticed that my mousepad was a Britto. Not that I didn't notice my mousepad its that his designs are such a background image because I see it all the time. Just 2 years ago I found out that it was actually an art in charge of these designed images. I honestly thought it was just some manufactured cheesy design, like a tacky font. I know someone is in charge doing it, but I didn't know it was some famous artist who is in the Saatchi Collection.

So here's the response from my friend:

In order (of) reproduction: 

postcards

tshirts

coffee mugs

fridge magnets, 

toilet seat covers, 

mass produced shlock with no intrinsic artistic value...then mousepads.

He forgot messenger/tote bags. And umbrellas because I once had a Starry Night umbrella that I got from the Dollar Store.

Killer Coke's delicious new design makeover

I noticed a few months ago the new design for Nestea's Iced Tea bottles. Not that I know anything about good design, but I really like it. The old one looked too much like a soda bottle and it looked sporty. I guess it's mountainish features reminds me of sports. But this sleek bottle is pretty European therefore it's cool. Simple and futuristic. Futuristic because the yellow and gray remind me of my futuristic dress that has pockets (and I think in the future every dress should have pockets.) Plus it now comes with 50 more antioxidants. Yummy antioxidants. Yummy corporations that kill union leaders from my country. It's how I like my drinks.

Some people think little girl should be seen

While looking thru all the photos I've saved on my PC I found a folder of artworks I would like to have if I curated an art show. It was a part of a project in senior seminar course. I wrote a proposal for it, but I think I didn't save it. From what I remember it was an exhibition that was broken into 3 sections- thread, hair and identity. The proposal was written really nicely why I did that, but you're smart you can see the connection.

Here are the artists/artwork I wanted in my awesome curated show:

Lygia Clark

Ghada Amer

Sadly I don't remember her name, but once I find out I'll edit this.

Ana Mendieta

Ellen Gallagher

Petah Coyne

Cindy Sherman

Nikki S. Lee

Ana Mendieta

Found on cragslist

Sunday's Favorite Selection #5

Side notes:

Other films I really want to see:

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Pedro Almovador's film-Los Abrazos Rotos should be out in a year. This still is so mysterious it's making me too anxious. 

More songs about buildings (and food)

Creative Time presents Playing the building, a sound installation in which the infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument. Devices are attached to the building structure — to the metal beams and pillars, the heating pipes, the water pipes — and are used to make these things produce sound. The activations are of three types: wind, vibration, striking. The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate so that the building itself becomes a very large musical instrument.

For some reason when I was in New York this summer-I regret not checking out this site specific installation. I did know about it, but failed in life and let not only myself down-but David Byrne as well. Just yesterday I caught a video clip on this installation. The video itself moved me so I can only imagine how I would had emulsified in front of this art work. But what's the best thing about this art work is that it only function as a participatory work. You can look at it sure, but you have to use your hands to press on those organ keys, and your ears ready to listen to the direction where the sound traveled. All the little trinkets that help produce the sound makes this building an instrument. 

I'm sure this experience can only be compared to falling into a black hole.

Everybody is talking about the stormy weather

Sunday's Favorite Selection #4

OH NO my (Sunday) best dress!

Sunday's Favorite Selections #3:

I had already made my pick for today's selection a few days ago but then once I started with the side notes, I realized that these side notes are very important. This ridiculously youtubed post is filled with past stories, past favorites and well the past itself, so I'll start with the original favorite that later is filled with reasonable side notes.

Let the side notes begin!

The Rentals featured Petra Haden who was in my favorite almost all girl band-that dog. One of her triplet sister Rachel was also in that dog and now in the recent lineup of The Rentals. You might have heard of Petra without knowing Petra (how sad). She was also in the Decemberists, has made countless of recordings for different artists and as well for herself. He's Kissing Christian was like my favorite song when I was 12.

While thinking about that dog it made me think of Cake Like because my sister had put them on a mix tape for me (it actually might have been two different mixes, but still.)  I never knew anything about Cake Like until a few years ago I was determined to do my research. To my surprise the lead singer/bassist is Kerri Kenney-Silver who is Trudy Wiegel in Reno 911, and well if you know your comedy was also in Viva Variety and The State. You might also know the guitarist because she was in Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten and also played Mary Kay Latourneau in The Mary Kay Latourneau Story!!!  Sadly, I have no idea where that tape with the first Cake Like song I heard which is called Lovely Ladies; Suck is still a good song though.

Which leads me to my last side note-this video. This video begins with some dude who I don't know Kerri Kenney-Silver, David Blaine (wtf?) then my sister (wtf!?) Yes that is corrected my lovely sister-whom introduced me to that dog (which led me to know The Rentals) and Cake Like. The opening to this video is for Jim Carroll's People Who Died which was featured in The Basketball Diaries' soundtrack. The video was filmed in a school day afternoon in CBGB. My sister skipped classes to be in the video. According to her there was only like 10 people in the crowd and she got to meet Leonardo DiCaprio (whom she danced with) and Marky Mark (whom wanted her number.) Now I haven't seen this video in ages and I haven't spoken to my sister since finding this video but here are the times I think I see her-even though this video is pretty pixelated.

2:13-the dark wearing lipstick girl with thin eyebrows on the bottom left

2:49-the dark wearing lipstick girl with thin eyebrows on the bottom with a smile

3:52-the dark wearing lipstick girl with thin eyebrows on the bottom right with a smile

I'm sure there are a few times she appears in the video-but like any good MTV music video they are short fast paced shots.

Bizarro Sunday Selections huh?

Knowledge is power!

Sadly-classes are starting everywhere in the world, and I am not a student anymore. It's pretty surreal for me especially because being a student is the one thing I am actually good at. Though I do have to say I can be a bit of a slacker, but I still enjoy being in that environment. So seeing students with their books and backpacks gets me really sad. There's an empty feeling I get whenever I get home from work. I feel as though I lost something along the way. The thought of grad school has been on my mind lately, but I've been very hesitant about the idea.

My dream graduate program is in Rochester. Woopdeedoo. The introduction to the Visual and Cultural Studies Graduate Program in the University of Rochester reads:

The Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies provides students with an opportunity to study critically and analyze visual culture from a social-historical perspective. The Program stresses the close interpretation of artistic production within historical and cultural frameworks. Housed in the Department of Art and Art History, the Program offers an interdisciplinary doctoral degree drawing on coursework and faculty expertise in several University of Rochester humanities departments. Because the primary faculty work in Art and Art History, Film Studies, Modern Languages and Cultures, and Anthropology, students are able to relate literary and cultural theory to visual culture, and to investigate the connections between cultural productions, critical theory, and society. Students may also take courses in such departments as History, English, Music, and Philosophy.

These are some of the courses from Spring 2008:

DIRECTOR: JEAN-LUC GODARD
CONTEMPORARY ART: THEORY/PRACTICE
WOMEN, CLOTH AND CULTURE
POP FILM GENRES: COMEDY & HORROR
FILM HISTORY: MUSEUM STUDIES
MOTHERS, COMRADES & WHORES
THE POWER OF PRINT

This literally screams ANGELICA VERGEL!!! I love art history, but I can't bare to take the typical Masters program for art history. Perhaps maybe if the program was all about contemporary art. One of my professors who is a SVA alumni has always expressed her feelings that I should really apply to SVA's Art Criticism and Writing program, but it's missing something for me-and that a more wider range of understanding society. Though SVA does have a new program called Design Criticism which sounds really interesting to me.

But all that is beside the point. The Visual and Cultural Studies program is meant for someone like me although it's mostly a ph.d program they do accept masters.  The only thing that is holding me back is the fact that it's in Rochester. What the hell is in Rochester? I feel like I'll wither away if I go there. I need to be in a city that is not NYC, with a community of people that actually know each other. 

Grad school is in hold for now, but in the meanwhile I'll keep on looking for that perfect grad school.

Center of gravity

Possibly the greatest photograph ever taken (taken by Jason Bergman). Various reasons, primarily two-Yo La Tengo (well minus James) and the air dancer in the background! Ira has orgasmic face on and that air dancer is about to erect. 

Those two reasons for me are the reasons for living. 

Genius +  Love = Yo La Tengo (+ air dancer)

The Universal Laws (whateva whateva whateva)

Sunday's Favorite Selection #2:



one.

You're still a douche bag

Why did Angela Chase ever like you? Sure you were good looking, but dumb as fuck-which is not attractive-which is making me think that Angela Chase was also dumb, but that's beside the point. What I'm having a difficult time to grasp is how Scarlett Johansson ever dated you. Glad to know that's over with. Plus she slightly won my heart back with Vicky Cristina Barcelona (complete side note-over at imdb.com's boards for the film people are comparing Woody Allen with Pedro Almodovar. I say psssh yeah right. After seeing it I saw no relation-except that Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem being in it.)

You suck just like Empire Records suck.

Though I have to say the best contribution you have done in film has to be this scene from American Psycho:

I thought I was looking at my mother's old douche bag, but that's in Ohio.

Starting this Sunday I'll be posting a youtube video that is considered to be a classic (in my eyes).

There's no need for a reasoning why it's my favorite, but I might add a side note.

Sunday's Favorite Selection #1:

Side note: The song that is playing in the background on this scene is one of three songs that typically get stuck in my head while test taking.

The other two:

1. Theme song to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (especially the raging guitar)

2. Theme song to Super Mario Brothers (this video is a beatboxing flute interpretation) 

Tea parties for feminists

A couple of days ago my mom told me she wants to host a tea party at her church and wanted to know if I can help her. Since I'm a lovely child I agreed, but I know nothing of about hosting a tea party. I have little proper etiquette, but I can bake a mean sweet. Then yesterday I was discussing with Monica (whom we've talked about having a tea party/baking session) about this tea party seeing that she's an expert on tea. Which led to us finally planning our own tea party for next weekend. High tea! High five!

I'm extremely excited. Monica even said "why don't you look through that book of yours"...aka written by one of my many heroes-Amy Sedaris. I thought of all these baked goods I want to make such as:

cupcakes (duh)

gingersnap cookies

crepes

strawberry shortcake

fluffy coconut cake

lemon madeleines

biscotti

kourambiethes

scones

lemon curd

Basically my dad was right and I should had gone to culinary school. Either that or I'm a fat little kid. 

Being an hostess seem very 50s Americana, and tea parties seem very Victorian. High class I ain't, and rules are meant to be broken so either this party will be very punk rock (most likely no because we don't listen to punk rock, but I do rather enjoy post punk) or very clumsy with tons of giggling and tea being spilled everywhere. Maybe tummy aches from too much sweets.

Sounds like a dream come true.

And yes I plan to bake all of that.