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(10/25/12 9:05am)
You sit down, the lights go down and the cast starts to boogie down. The music starts, the show is starting and you’ve already started feeling jovial as the antics onstage play out. Generally speaking, this is how Mask and Wig shows proceed, of course with helpings of cross–dressing, tap–dancing and a level of overall raunchiness that might make your grandmother cringe.
(10/14/12 4:23pm)
Throughout high school I was a theatre kid — perhaps some vestiges of this remain in my personality (aside from the attention obviously gained from writing articles). As such, I present to you this comparatively artistic mash–up from Broadway’s (retro–updated) past. In 1928 Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil wrote and composed The Threepenny Opera, which was all about pimps and prostitutes and who knows what other nastiness. Over time, artists like Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Kevin Spacey (as Bobby Darin!) covered this piece, turning it into a popular piece of lounge music for all to enjoy. As such, I present to you the further updated version — Armstrong’s rendition mixed with Missy Elliot, as mashed by Sam Redmore. Check it out below, and start adding it to all your retro 20s parties as soon as possible.
(10/05/12 11:11pm)
Though some may find this disgusting, I never finished “Ocarina of Time” — I always found the Shadow Temple too terrifying to move on. To those unversed in the Zelda series, “Ocarina” is one of the greatest videogames of the fifth generation of videogame consoles, featuring wit, whimsy and wallcrawlers. Additionally, it also features a fantastic soundtrack that has been covered, remixed and rescored orchestrally over the years, creating an interesting legacy in the world of modern, classical music. So, take the catchiest song, a jaunty flute number known as the “Lost Woods” theme, mash it up with Clipse and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest odes to my home state in the nation. Get on down to Virgina, where there’s nothing to do but cook.
(09/30/12 5:46pm)
“Shut Up and Play the Hits” just came out. Did you see it? It soothed my soul as only so much good music can. As such, here’s this week’s mash–up, a movable milieu of LCD, the Beatles and the Kinks, updating the 60s classics in a great way. Girl, you really got me goin’ at my house, my house.
(09/13/12 9:51am)
Ben Runyan knows three things for sure: his taste in music, his taste in clothes and his taste in brunch. Though he may look like a Williamsburg hipster, this image shrouds a truly pragmatic man aware of both his artistic sense and place within the system. Half of Philadelphia–based electro–pop duo City Rain, Runyan has lived and grown up in the city, cultivating the connections and skills needed to transform himself into a player in the Philly music scene.
(09/13/12 9:47am)
If there’s one word to describe City Rain’s new EP, "Montage," it’s anthemic. While the hooks and bridges may cause memories of Passion Pit’s jauntiest tunes to surface, the lyrics and gentle encouragement of "Montage" definitely move it into its own niche. Runyan and Zerrer have created something special, deftly weaving synths, auto–tuned voices and traditional guitars into mosaics of personal clarity. The titular track opens the EP nicely, and as it segues into the loose beginning of “Big Boys Do Cry” and brooding croon of “Hearts on Fire,” it can be easy to lose yourself. That being said, some of the tracks can be marginally too–long, and the nature of electro–pop can cause headaches at high volume. But "Montage" is a solid offering not to be missed by either newcomers or veterans of the genre.
(09/12/12 9:40am)
Here at Music we like anything fresh (but not too fresh), and as such we tend to keep an eye out online for weird–yet–appealing new content. Mash–ups have been around for years, and often showcase the creativity of amateur and expert DJs alike, expertly weaving genres as diverse as cartoon themes and hip–hop; of course, this applies perfectly to this week’s mash–up, an amazing crossover between hip–hop legend Biggie Smalls, and train legend, Thomas. Check it out below.
(04/05/12 9:29am)
If I should make the claim that Adam Sandler may not be the greatest actor that ever lived, would anybody argue against me? Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch–Drunk Love might change your mind.
(03/29/12 9:47am)
Street: Was there a film that made you want to consider teaching them as a profession?
Dr. Josephine Park: I was primarily trained in literary study, but I knew I wanted to think and talk about film when I saw Blade Runner. I saw it way too many times in high school and memorized it. Years later, when I pursued Asian–American studies, I saw how rich the film was for thinking about race in America. I first loved it for things like Rutger Hauer’s “tears in rain” blather, but then I appreciated the complex world presented in the film.
(03/22/12 9:37am)
When musicians evolve, they can lose track of themselves and their original sound. While some groups have fallen to this ever–demanding, genre–bending nature of modern music, The Shins have managed to tame it. Their latest effort, Port of Morrow, features equal parts synth bloops and acoustic twangs, distinguished by James Mercer’s alternatively soothing and engaging voice. While remarkably cohesive as a whole, certain tracks still stand out, especially those not focused on Mercer's love life. At times both haunting and jaunty, Port of Morrow doesn’t belabor many points, marking a triumphant return for the ever–changing Shins.
(03/04/12 1:55am)
STREET: How is directing a live action film from directing an animated film?
Andrew Stanton: It's actually not that different. People think that when you work on an animated film, that you're what — you're like it's, it's as if I'm talking to a bunch of computers my whole life. I actually talk to two hundred people every day, two hundred people that have different jobs, like how to do the lighting, the camera, the costume work. So it's very similar actually in live action. I'm talking to people that do the camera, the costumes, you know, the actors, and it's just that you're doing it outside instead of inside. And you're doing it under very, very tight schedule whereas you have a lot more bankers’ hours when you're doing animation. So the big difference is just physical stamina. I know that's not sexy, but that's the truth of it.
(02/16/12 10:39am)
Masturbatory. Tasteless. Seminal? All of these words describe (literally, in some cases) Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, the feature–film produced by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, two of modern comedy’s most unique personalities. Rather than focusing on brief, schizophrenic scenes (edited together by quite possibly the most skilled team in the business), the film maintains a moderately coherent plot, albeit one interspersed with several cutaways of questionable relevance. Still, plowing through the nonsense, sadism, blatantly forced cringe moments and jokes made solely for the amusement of Tim and Eric, something amazing happens. Fourth walls are broken, and all of a sudden the film crafts its own context as a pseudo–political–cum–comedic commentary piece, wrapping all of its absurdity in a strangely satisfying manner. Look at Tim and Eric as something transcendent — examine your own reaction as you watch, and it becomes magical. Just don’t drink the shrim.
(02/16/12 10:17am)
Street: So for starters, did you take a traditional approach towards writing script, as in finding themes, creating character arcs, all of that stuff?
(02/16/12 10:12am)
Street: So for starters, did you take a traditional approach towards writing script, as in finding themes, creating character arcs, all of that stuff?
(01/19/12 10:46am)
Sometimes I like to feel good, man. Other times I fall in love with John Goodman. Indeed, the jolly fat man may be one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood- — his versatility shines foremost on the indie film circuit, particularly when he works with the Coen Brothers or guest–stars on Community. My fascination with John Goodman doesn’t come from his stunning good looks, but rather from the amazingly dark nature of his best roles, usually found in Coen flicks. From Charlie Meadows in Barton Fink to Big Dan Teague in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Goodman carries himself with a wonderfully sinister air, albeit one concealed in a neighborly demeanor. Yes, these roles are somewhat repetitive, even typecast, but Goodman pulls them off with such finesse that each performance appears brand new, his villainy either completely treacherous or oddly inspirational.
(11/03/11 10:08am)
The revolution may now be televised, but that doesn’t mean it always warrants listeners. While their popularity may have skyrocketed following two concept albums, the Decemberists’ unfortunately consistent formula begets monotony over time, as is the case with new EP, Long Live the King.
(10/28/11 12:05pm)
Expectations are a strange thing. Depending on where they lay, a movie can be better in the short–run, even if it fades into obscurity in the long–run. This may be the case with Johnny Depp’s new film The Rum Diary, in which the multi–faceted star plays Jack Sparrow promising young alcoholic journalist Paul Kemp.
(10/27/11 10:21am)
Maturation often brings with it deeper contemplations, more difficulties and multi–layered change. So it goes with Surfer Blood’s new EP, Tarot Classics, particularly the strong opening track “I’m Not Ready.” Mixing a heavy dose of acoustic and electric guitar, as well as a characteristically psychadelic edge, the track shows that Surfer Blood has continued to develop beyond the initially profound notions they began with on Astro Coast.
(10/26/11 10:13am)
With a new chef and menu for the fall, we were excited to see what Zinc Bistro a Vins was cooking up. Either intimate and solitary or grand and bustling, the French bistro is a special place — of these categories, Zinc falls into the former. The restaurant welcomes visitors with open arms into an extremely small space, illuminated dimly by candles and low lights.
(10/20/11 4:42am)
I miss the endless summer, no matter how lackadaisical it felt. Of course, this period in between senior year of high school and freshman year of college may not have involved many physical beaches for me, but it did bring with it many figuratively misty shores. I speak on the subject of the “hazy beach,” a trend in music revealed to me by Francis Tseng of Deerhaus.
Contemplating this briefly, I realized Tseng had a point. One of my favorite artists of that summer, Surfer Blood, is precisely characterized by the notion of “hazy beaches,” building their first album and initial identity around the concept. Jumping from this, I thought about some other artists I had on repeat that year — Animal Collective, the Unicorns and Gorillaz — all had that element of haze and cloudy contemplation.
Is this making music shallower? It’s hard to say. While it may be putting a thematic damper on upcoming tunes, it’s lead partly (in my opinion) to the adolescence of chillwave, let alone other surf–core bands resembling Surfer Blood. Playing devil’s advocate for a bit, I’ll admit I don’t hate the trend.
Hazy beaches remind me of deeply conceptual nostalgia, of encasing your treasured memories in sepia because you’re a pretentious Tumblr fanatic. Still, that may be the case, but so be it. Music has already begun moving past this fascination with late–night bonfires, pressing forward into whatever frontier comes next. I for one am extremely excited for the coming winter–themed obsession — Odd Future’s Christmas album would be absolutely Yonkers.