without sanction, dreams often invade our waking hours. whether it's a simple daydream in class or the carrying over of a dream-elicited emotion long after you've opened your eyes, some things have never felt so real or pertinent.
the new(ish) video from beat connection seems to blur the lines between reality in a similar way. cutting between shots of the band, landscapes, illusions and women, it focuses just long enough for you to recognize without being able to completely engage once it's finished.
channelling 80's sex appeal (think prince and robert palmer), with subtle nods towards a far east influence and you've got the latest percussion heavy single from blood orange.
on sunday, my friends and i once again partook in the do-over, but this time the do-over took something from us. our memory! convinced el cid's sangria is actually some kind of jungle juice, it was all a haze under the sun that resulted in a sleepover with empty water bottles littering the floor and everyone wondering how we spent 6 afternoon hours.
the latest song from local melting pot musicians, fool's gold, kind of feels like the perfect anthem for sunday's antics. it's loud, it moves and most importantly it repeats the line "there's no holding back" over and over and over.
i've been wanting to watch bridesmaids for a while, but i knew that i should watch it with some girlfriends rather that on a date. i was right. at the core of bridesmaids isn't even a story about a wedding. it's really about friendship and despite how much it can change, evolve and at times suck beyond belief - real bonds are impossible to erase.
with beaming nods to the importance of love and loyalty, the film also successfully balanced being ridiculously funny with wildly obscene moments that will surely satisfy the male demographic being dragged by the ladies in their lives. extra kudos to the impeccable casting and for introducing me to the charming mr. chris o'dowd.
bridesmaids > the hangover 2
and if you don't believe me, check out the outtakes below. don draper you're killing me.
on saturday i helped pour pbrs and cheap two buck chuck to folks checking out a new art exhibition at xlarge in los feliz. co-presented by XL and archrival, it features new works by a handful of local artists and photogs as well as a handpainted floor upstairs. it's always a blast being in charge of everyone's alcohol content and shaking hands with new folks.
something i hardly talk about unless you ask me about it first, was the fact that i used to play basketball in my younger (and definitely more fit) days. i was on varsity all throughout high school and remained a starter from my sophomore year on. i won a few awards and played in two all-star games my senior year. i shifted between point and shooting guard and was always one of the smallest on my team. and let me just say, small people who utilize the crossover effectively, can never really be stopped.
check out the new york times breaking down my favorite move.
-t
ps: playing with/or against boys is so fun. you'll never believe how badly they act when you bruise their egos during the friendliest of competitions :)
i've had james blake's joni mitchell cover "a case of you" on steady rotation for the last two weeks. it all started because my friend has been having major significant other issues and i usually always provide a song to soundtrack the dramatics and advice sessions. so going into last night's show at the troubadour, i was really hoping he would pull that song out of his bag of tricks.
as his voice echoed between selections from his stellar debut and the title track from the klavierwerke EP, he graciously announced his final song and joni's spirit was nowhere to be found. until the one song encore. bravo james blake. you were emotive, powerful and ripe with quiet charisma. but most importantly, you swept me off my feet.
not surprisingly, my only knowledge of jellyfish is from that episode of friends, where chandler has to pee on monica's leg after she got stung by one.
so join me in getting acquainted with the mysterious sea creatures in this amazing video from sarosh jacob. shot in the republic of palau, get your lesson on not through facts and scientific words, but instead through a rad radiohead track and an underwater handheld.
the recession has affected many aspects of daily life. from your favorite places closing down, to people you love living jobless trying to make ends meet. its influence has also made its way onto subplots of popular tv shows and has become a platform for many conscious street artists, authors, singers and hip hop heads.
despite currently residing in los angeles, my michigan-bred favorite isn't turning a blind eye to what the recession has done to the motor city he calls home. his latest single, "a long time", serves as a love letter to the state. although he calls out faceless names and unfortunate situations, he ultimately sings about hope and rejuvenation in one hell of a catchy way.
how easy is it to watch a movie that perfectly follows the A + B = C equation. boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after. throw in a kid, puppy or a new house with a white picket fence and now they're just showing off. it's been done with acclaim and sometimes to utter shit, but it's a winning formula that resonates with audiences everywhere.
but the most challenging aspect of watching cinema is how to process negative exposures and opposing blueprints. the breakdown and tear-your-heart-straight-out-of-your-chest manipulation of love is so draining and difficult that it's hardly portrayed in it's rawest profile in fear of polarizing it's audience.
enter blue valentine. unafraid to be vulnerable or excruciatingly harsh, the film shines despite all of it's interior darkness and stands alone in it's brave and heartbreaking storytelling. and there aren't enough adjectives to compliment the performances from ryan gosling and michelle williams.
it's on redbox now. definitely worth the dollar price tag.
and if you have patience to watch all of the deleted scenes, you can watch ryan gosling gag himself, yack and then make out with michelle for a good 5 minutes after.
drake has always been on the defensive end, spilling rhymes about lost love, unfulfilled dreams and the assumptions of people who genuinely don't care for him. his message has always been there, but it's usually cloaked in dramatic allusions, moments of underdog storytelling or the occasional brush-off.
but on his new single, "dreams money can buy", the message is loud and clear - don't fuck with drakkard noir. as the jai paul sample loops, it's a full court press towards everything and anyone negative.
let's all collectively take a minute to geek out over a giant magnet, primary color circles and the idea of inductance (don't worry, i had to google it's meaning too).
and you can thank physalia studio for the coolest 90 seconds of your day.
it's no secret for my affinity for a great beyonce tune. but i really get amped whenever she releases a video. partially because my brother always jokingly learns the choreography and i get to LOL for days before it gets super played out.
with that said, the clip for "run the world (girls)" does not disappoint. IM WAITING ON YOU NOW BROTHERBEAR!
check out the best thighs in the music industry get her shoulder bounce on.
the newish EP from baby-faced seattle twosome, beat connection, is what i imagine the sun setting at a waterfront dance party to sound like. promoting assorted degrees of sunburnt simplicity and slick house grooves, it seamlessly bounces between the carefree nature of the daylight to the carelessness of the dark.
