Dennis Hopper who died over the weekend directed and co-starred in Easy Rider, a cinematic must for anyone interested in film, 60s culture, drugs, etc. Watch the above clip, it is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest moments in opening credit history. And below is perhaps one of the most famous scenes in film history. Enjoy…
New single that has leaked from Kanye West. He’s taking it back to the Late Registration days with this song, which I hope is a reflection of the rest of his album that is due out around September. Follow the link to stream or download the song here.
One of my favorite magazines around, Fast Company, recently named its 100 most influential people in business for 2010. I was shocked and a little pissed to see that Lady Gaga (yes I ripped on her earlier this year, but Christopher is a big fan) topped the list. Another dissapointment was the absence of Scott Schuman, who snuck in the list last year at 98. But all in all it was a solid list with a lot of unfamiliar names that were fascinating to read about. Follow the link here to see the complete list. And here are the top five:
1. Lady Gaga
2. Eddy Cue – VP of Internet services, Apple
3. Elizabeth Warren – Consumer Advocate, Congressional Oversight Panel
4. Shiro Nakamura – Chief Creative Officer, Nissan
5. Ryan Murphy – Creator/Producer, Glee
Follow it here
Though Kind of Blue came out over a decade earlier, this 1970 masterpiece was Miles’ first gold album– and rightfully so. No offense to ‘Blue, In a Silent Way, Sketches of Spain, or On the Corner, but this is Miles Davis’ most exciting and most experimental album. I was not exactly around in 1970, but this album had to have blown people’s fucking minds; it still sounds like nothing around today. This is how rock, blues, jazz and drugs are suposed to sound when fused together. Oh yeah, it has some of the most incredible album art of all time as well.
This anniversary 4-disc package offers the original album on CD plus an audiophile vinyl pressing on 2 LPs; previously unissued material including extensive live performances of much of the same music including a DVD of the entire Copenhagen performance from November 4, 1969. Also included is a 48-page 12×12 book, memorabilia envelope, and large fold out poster. So, if you’re willing to pay about $115, this baby is all yours.
Do what you do best, turn off the lights, burn some incense, and lose yourself in this…
When I first saw this mixtape collaboration on my private bit torrent tracker, Waffles, I was tempted to download it immediately. I have to keep a download to upload ratio with this tracker, and so I have only been downloading albums that are of the utmost importance, most recently. I gave a quick Google search for Lazerproof, and found that the two groups were offering a free download for this mixtape via the Mad Decent site. 200,000 downloads at once forced the site to crash at first release. Therefore, an alternative download was made available at this address. I haven’t even had a chance to listen yet, but I’ve heard good things, and so I wanted to get the link up on here as soon as possible for you guys. Nice artwork by the way, right?
There are times when I watch a movie–one that I have seen before, and I am more captivated by the costume design than anything else. One example was when I caught a glimpse of Titanic the other day on TNT or something. I couldn’t stop giving my complete attention to the tailoring of the formal menswear. I also discovered the use of collar-less button up shirts with an attached wingtip collar for the men’s tuxedos.
When I turned on the television and found Gangs of New York in the tv guide, I was quite excited. I had seen parts of this movie before and although it was already about 20 minutes in, that was good enough for me. After a little while, I began to realize how much I was studying the mens garments. The movie takes place in the mid 19th century–civil war times. Tall bowler hats and high waisted, slimmer fitting trousers with suspenders was the style. I also love the vests worn by the gentlemen, specifically the one of Bill Cutting played by Daniel Day-Lewis. The tailoring is impeccable. The plaids might be a little too much for me but I can look past that. I really think we will start to see a greater influence on fashion from this time period, leading up to the early 1900’s, in the next year.
Key tracks: Faster, Cold War, Tightrope, Make the Bus, Oh Maker
With the release of The ArchAndroid this week, I think it’s safe to say that 2010 has been the year of the female epic. Well actually I am just talking about Joanna Newsom’s Have One on Me, which shares the ambition of Monáe’s debut LP. Like Have One on Me, this album takes great time to understand. I have been listening to ArchAndroid for weeks now, and I still can’t quite make up my mind about it. I know I like it, and I know in ways, it’s like nothin I’ve ever heard before. Monáe may be overly ambitious at times, but the young Kansas City native is clearly seeping with talent in every beautiful pore on her body.
The ArchAndroid is a concept album about love and an android from the future, but you don’t have to follow every plot detail to enjoy this album. There are so many distinct styles on this album, most young artists couldn’t pull it off as successfully as Ms. Monáe has. But this album soars because of its sturdily eccentric backbone, rooted in James Brown funk and Lauryn Hill soul. Neither of those influences are particularly new, but she spices them up with Disney-esque orchestration, killer rap (Big Boi) and just have enough established experimentalism (Kevin Barnes, Saul Williams), to make this album an entirely new experience. Each song through, and it still sounds fresh and exciting.
The second half of the album is more a collection of Stevie Wonder-style love ballads. But typical (can you even use this word in a Monáe review) of her ambitions, she crafts larger than life songs dripping with string perpetuated emotions and lets the strength of her voice glide smoothly above. This split in the album’s structure may divide some listeners, but all in all it should give people of all tastes something to enjoy. And that is what this album should do-regardless of your ability to follow the plots or appreciate every genre- it should draw you in with a few amazing singles and then slowly reveal its lyrical conceptual and aesthetic brilliance.
So I failed to post my usual Women for the Weekend excerpt a few days ago…and it is either spend time looking for six or seven excellent photographs, OR go to my friends barbeque and enjoy the beautiful day. I’ve obviously chosen the latter, so Jessica Biel will be the centerpiece for this post. It’s a great picture though and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Walk About. 
