I know, I know, trust me, I know. You’ve seen it already, this is old news, and nothing will compare to Coachella five years ago. It’s cool, I feel the same way about Jordans. But still, for many of us, Coachella has simply been an annual observation of hype, hearsay and headbands. A yearly occasion where we hopefully check our bank accounts only to realize we barely have enough dough to cop a ticket and maybe some trees. But this year will be different. Conscious of the date we’ve been saving for this moment, waiting, anticipating for the day where we can log on purchase that precious ticket. Our generation’s closest thing to Woodstock? Maybe so. Regardless we’ll see you in the desert…
The sunset has always fascinated me, providing inspiration as a child. I used to admire the spectacle provided by nature, watching that huge fireball plunging into the sea or hiding behind the mountains. Since I started taking pictures the dusk was my favorite time of day for shooting. At this time the light becomes ideal, with colors ranging from orange to red to yellow. During the four seasons of the year, the colors of the sunset blend with the clouds, wind, and dust, creating amazing tones in the sky and water. Photography is drawing with light, allowing you to capture what you see with your own two eyes.
When you’re doing your thing people always say, “Keep up the good work.” It’s like they see you going hard and they’re like, “Damn if they just keep doing this, they’re gonna get somewhere.” I mean look at Lebron. How many times do you think he’s heard the phrase, “Keep up the good work,” or better yet, “good game?” Yeah, he has no jewelry but can you deny how far he’s taken it already? He went from a high school phenom to a global icon in less than a decade, and with no signs of slowing down. We’re seven days into the 2012, so let’s not forget how far we’ve come, and just as importantly, let’s not forget how far we’re going.
Friends is a very Brooklyn band. Even if the video for their first single didn’t consist mostly of strolling-around-Brooklyn shots, there would be some dead giveaways. The faded Super 8 footage, the thrift store glam-chic of everyone’s wardrobe. The vaguely nostalgia-inducing, funky post-punk shuffle. Ruby red lipstick, cassette tapes, ’80s boomboxes and leopard-print sheets. The whole thing screams twenty-something Brooklyn, and at times, it almost borders on hipster self-caricature. One thing that’s missing though, is irony. “I’m His Girl” is basically an extremely straightforward pop song about an extremely functional relationship. No fighting, no jealousy, independence– the story even has a moral, despite the absence of any discernible plot. Fortunately, it’s also one hell of a catchy song. And with international media buzz, a sexy frontwoman, and a solid first single under their belt, Friends could be around to stay.
In 1988, Jon Sarkin was working full-time as a chiropractor, when one day, a sharp, paralyzing pain shot through his head. In the weeks after, he suffered from a constant ringing in his ear, and from distortions in his hearing that made even soft noises intolerably loud. Soon after, a visit to the doctor would reveal the source of Sarkin’s suffering, a swollen blood vessel in his brain, which had expanded and impinged on his auditory nerve. The only remedy would be brain surgery, the results of which could range from complete success to catastrophe. When Sarkin awoke after the surgery, his head was bleeding profusely. And something else had changed.
Sarkin had suffered a stroke during surgery, and even after the initial stages of recovery– relearning speech, sitting, walking and other basic tasks– his family would come to notice sweeping changes in his personality. He was considerably less restrained in conversation, unable to filter his thoughts, less responsive to the concerns of others, and distant. As a husband and father, he simply was not the same. Despite the strain put on many of his relationships though, Sarkin soon developed a new passion of sorts. Or maybe it would be more accurate to call it a compulsion. Jon had begun to draw– quite often –and he couldn’t seem to stop.
I think I speak for Will and I both when I say that last Wednesday was nothing short of amazing. To be honest, it felt a bit surreal. It all went by so fast. Nonetheless, The Homecoming was a true moment. Thanks again to everyone that made the night what it was. The celebrations are nothing without you. As usual, many thanks to DJ As-Is for providing the soundtrack to the night and to Tangni and David for capturing the night through their lens.
When I first heard the tUnE-yArDs’ “Powa”, I must have played it like twelve times in a row. After about the fifth, I hit Jesse just to tell him how crazy that fucking song was. I remember when Max told me Tyler was about to hit the tipping point when “Yonkers” dropped, and thirty seconds into the video, I could tell he was right. I probably don’t remember half the times I heard “Niggas in Paris”, but I remember winding down plenty of those same nights to “Marvin’s Room”. I remember how Bon Iver made Danielle cry. I remember Nostalgia, Ultra in the whip and House of Balloons in the bedroom.
For me, music really sets the tone of my memories. Certain songs can trigger a whole scene or story in my head. I think I speak for most music journalists when I say that those experiences are really the reason we write about music, aside from the fact that it gives us a forum to geek out about the stuff we’re passionate about. Best-of lists are cool, and numbered lists are fun to argue about, but consider this somewhere between those lists and a set of recommendations. Part of it is just about commemorating too, since I’m assuming you’ve probably heard “Rolling in the Deep” and “Super Bass” once or twice. In any case, a lot of dope music dropped this year, and we thought it was worth taking a look back.
I always wondered when I’d see this happen in a game. Something straight out of NFL Blitz. You’ve got to give it to Jerome Simpson for even trying this though. It almost looks fake, except it isn’t. You think he was planning and practicing this for a while, or was it just a spur of the moment move? Regardless I can’t stop watching it.
It would be hard to top the out-of-nowhere revelation that was House of Balloons. That Thursday, easily one of the coolest mixtapes of the year, is more like a footnote in comparison speaks to just how impressive Balloons was as a debut. As promised though, The Weeknd returned a few days ago with Echoes of Silence the third part of this year’s free mixtape trilogy, and as expected, it expands outward from the signature warped, drugged-out chic sound we’ve come to know the project for. Rather than overextending themselves though, Abel and his production team seem content to let their style develop incrementally, finding subtle nuances and ideas, and trying new things within their comfort zone. As always, sex and drugs are recurring themes.
On the more unexpected end of the spectrum is “D.D.”, a reasonably faithful cover of Michael’s Bad-era classic, “Dirty Diana”. As far as MJ songs go, the groupie melodrama that is “Dirty Diana” only seems like a logical choice for The Weeknd, and Abel and company don’t disappoint. Stadium-size drums, swooping strings, and a pretty convincing Michael impression all make “D.D.” an obvious standout on Echoes of Silence, putting a capstone on a historic 2011 run. As rookie seasons go, this one has been pretty fucking impressive.
Maybe it’s just the expert work of a few different photographers I’ve seen. Or maybe it’s just that Iceland is so god damn gorgeous that you could show up with a disposable and come out with a phenomenal batch of pictures. Bon Iver’s “Holocene” video, directed by Nabil, definitely seems like a case of the former, and I’d have to say these do too. In any case, it’s pretty cold outside, and coming across these semi-anonymous images, credited only to a Flickr page under Hlaus today, they seemed seasonally appropriate. Shot this past summer, the shots capture the rolling hills, landscapes and mountain ranges of Iceland in a powerful way. If the word “breathtaking” wasn’t so played, it might come in handy here. More from Hlaus here for now. Someday we’ll be out there too.
So by now many of us have successfully Watched The Throne. And with over 650,000 tickets sold nationwide it’s hard to deny Jay & Kanye’s place as definitive icons of today’s pop culture landscape. Documenting various moments from the tour, the Watch The Throne webisodes provide a behind the scenes glimpse into the lives of both artists. The most recent episode, entitled Church offers some priceless insight into the inner workings of Kanye’s creative pursuits. With soundbites of wisdom from Big Sean in addition to Yeezy himself, this video is full of knowledge for anyone striving to be creative and successful. Already celebrated for his numerous collaborations, Kanye’s mastermind group of producers and musicians is really all you need to see, although there are gems throughout. And please pardon the hurt watermark, I thought this one was too important to pass up.
“Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself – and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be who they really are.”
Okay, so this girl is going hard right now. I mean, “212″ just kind of blindsided us. It was one of those moments where somebody’s personality comes through so magnetically, it hits you like a ton of bricks. For one, I couldn’t stop playing the fucking thing. The video was just the icing the cake. “Liquorice” isn’t the follow-up single to “212″, by any means. It’s probably not the star-making, event level single that will blow her movement out of the water. On the other hand, “Liquorice” works as a showcase for pretty much everything that made Azealia an overnight sensation. The razor-sharp bars, the ear for melody, the playfully grimy sexiness, the attitude. It’s all there. Further proof that Azealia is somebody to keep an eye on this year.
Greg Gossel work is focused yet extensive. Similar in aesthetic to the comic book imagery of Roy Lichtenstein, Gossel’s work is an ode to pop art iconography. Juxtaposing a variety of images that take on a new meaning when assembled together, it seems as though much of Gossel’s work celebrates the famous faces of popular culture. Splicing in iconic brand names alongside romantic comic book quotations, Gossel’s collage and silk screening work manages to exist in this timeless realm that blurs the time in which it was made, keeping his work pretty ripe and plenty fresh.
