Video: CSS - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above

When I first watched Cansei de Ser Sexy's 'Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above', one of the things that was going through my mind was, 'Okay, this is weird....' as I cringe my face watching them doing those weird dance moves.

But then, a few minutes in, I was like, 'Wa-hey! Funk-ay....' The 80s vibe really works in this vid; before I knew it, I was doing those weird dance moves - subconcsiously that is.

All of a sudden, the 80s era seems so much cooler...

|mp3| Cansei de Ser Sexy - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above

Loney, Dear: I am John

There was once upon a time, where I’d be skeptical of things when they’re given away for free. ‘Free music on the internet, are you sure? Is it good?’ Time passes, age increases, and you start believing these people that you’ve never even met that recommends music (absolutely-FREE-to-try-music)on thingamajigs called ‘weblogs’.

You click on it, give it a listen, and you go, ’Good Golly!.....’ No, I’m kidding of course. You listen to it, and you like it – a lot. It’s even better than the ones you listen to on the radio.

Loney, Dear is a one man band in a form of multi-instrumentalist Swedish musician, Emil Svanängen. Similar to artists such as Peter, Bjorn and John, Loney, Dear is one of those bands that brings the Swedish indie pop to another dimension. The Swedes, otherwise known for their IKEA furniture brand, must also receive credit for the pop tunes they produce; tooth-achingly sweet and addictive.

When you read an album review, where they compare the whole record to sex – okay, intercourse in such a detailed way, you’d go, ‘It’s that good, huh?’ But, then you’ll never really know, unless you’ve tried for yourself. The songs I mean, not the…. So, I have complete faith in Loney, Dear, because it is that good and whoever those people were, they were right.

‘I am John’ starts slow and hesitant but picks up by the first minute with highly charming, delicate sounds of glockenspiel tings. By the time, the mini-chorus ends, you’re still listening to the song, wanting to hear more of those first few notes where you had that feel-good feeling of ‘nothing can ruin it for me right now’.

Discrimination against cheesy pop songs and men doing falsetto voices aside, this is one of the best pop tunes I’ve listened to in awhile.

|mp3| Loney, Dear – I am John

:: Loney, Dear ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy

Album Review: Peter Pan – Hari Yang Cerah

I’ve been putting this off for the longest time, so here it is, DBAC’s first ever album review. I like to think what sets apart this blog from all the other music blogs, I mean blogs, is that it focuses on both local and international musical talents. Well, in this case, it isn’t really as local as how we would normally define local, but since the artist only originates from a neighboring country, that’s as close to local as we’ll ever get.

Peter Pan is an Indonesian pop rock band and has just released their new album called Hari Yang Cerah… (A Bright Day). The band has achieved a wide success due to their laid back, one-of-a-kind versions of pop-rock tunes that stands out among the other rock music in Indonesia.

I first came to know them through their song, ‘Mungkin Nanti’, which had gained them instant success here in Malaysia. The song felt like, finally, amongst all the dull and droning tunes, plus the reality TV shows, there was something that sounded real and different.

However, for the latest album, overall it sounded like their music are a bit restrained and has embraced the notion of mellow songs. When Asians creates mellow songs or slow songs, due to the fact that we Asians like to elongate our vowels to massive proportions, the tune would always turn out really sappy.

The record starts off with a typical slow-pop number ‘Menghapus Jejakmu’ (Destroying your tracks) which wouldn’t look out of place to any of the mainstream pop songs available in America. It then switches to a different track, ‘Hari Yang Cerah Untuk Jiwa Yang Sepi’ (A Bright Day for the Lonely Soul) that carries the Brit-pop vibe of bands like Coldplay and Travis while still maintaining the usual Indonesian contemporary music sounds.

Through out the record, I was yearning to hear some tracks that would be Indie rock influenced, the way I always felt about the country’s contemporary rock music. But, disappointed to say, there were none as such, well at least not in this album. Songs like ‘Bebas’ (Free) and ‘Melawan Dunia’ (Fighting the World) is the band’s attempt in creating rock-ripping tunes but missed its mark, while ‘Sally Sendiri’ (Sally Alone) contains a catching intro but quickly loses it spark as soon as the vocals starts to stream in.

I may not have a lot of good things to say about this album particularly that it sounds no different from their rest, but Peter Pan’s die-hard fans will always be in support of them, whether the band chooses to be static or dynamic in terms of their song-writing.

|mp3| Peter Pan - Menghapus Jejakmu

|mp3| Peter Pan - Hari Yang Cerah Untuk Jiwa Yang Sepi

:: Peter Pan ::
Official website | Buy

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #7

Having started way back in 2004, the Cribs, a band that hails from West Yorkshire, England, have achieved only a modest success. But with the brand of rock music that they make, it seems like they deserve so much more.

‘Men’s Needs’ is a song that’s difficult to ignore; rough-edge pop rock guitar riffs and prominent well-arranged chords that doesn’t sound purposeless and cluttered. A catchy, playful tune that’ll lift up spirits, whether the spirit’s punk, indie or whatever.

All three members of the Cribs are born in the same house, from the same mother - with two of them being twins. When there are literally identical twins together onstage, it’s always a good enough reason alternating singing the words back and forth especially when you’ve got the same exact voices. How can you ever guess which twin sings better?

A song that's tough to overlook because it stood out. Being able to stand out is always a good thing, and good would only mean – good golly….

Men’s Needs; available in the Cribs’ second album, Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever that was released in May this year.







|mp3| The Cribs - Men's Needs

:: The Cribs ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever

Grizzly Bear: Yellow House

Everyone everywhere speaks highly of this band called ‘Grizzly Bear’, and that just makes me nervous in case of what I write might do their music some injustice. Therefore there’s no better way to start off than by describing the music that this band makes is just (I will not use a cliché term, I will not use a cliché term) – beautiful. Exquisitely beautiful.

Insanely serene harmonies that are almost hypnotic, with intricately layered vocals accompanied by an atmospheric quality. I find these kinds of music are the kinds that you can easily lose yourself in while aimlessly watching the world go by. It’s scary to think so, but tempting at the same time.

Yellow House is the second full-length album for this Brooklyn based indie-rock band. But, a few tracks in, you realize the music isn’t as indie rock as much as indie rock should be. Regardless, the record was ranked as the top 2006 albums by both New York Times and Pitchfork Media.

So, just what makes this record so damn good? Well, you’ve got tunes like ‘Easier’ and ‘Lullaby’ to start off with.

|mp3| Grizzly Bear – Easier

|mp3| Grizzly Bear – Lullabye (a track that’s been described as the ‘lost Disney tune’)

:: Grizzly Bear ::
Official Website | MySpace | Buy

Covers, B-Sides and Rarities: Snow Patrol’s “I’m an Astronaut”

This isn’t a cover (as far as I’m concerned), it isn’t even a B-side and it’s not even a rarity. But, it could still be considered as quite rare since it’s never been released in any of Snow Patrol’s studio album or EPs.

The song ‘I’m an Astronaut’ is included on the charity record Colours Are Brighter where all proceeds went to Save the Children charity fund. The songs in the album were actually meant for children (but grown-ups too!) and it also included the likes of artists such as the Kooks, Franz Ferdinand and the Flaming Lips.

I just think that this is a perfect idea to develop musical taste for your children; make them listen to music like Franz Ferdinand! Moreover, you don’t have to fear if your child are listening to loud music or explicit content, because this compilation is definitely children approved.

‘I’m an Astronaut’ is a sweet lovable tune filled with faint soothing melodies; a relaxing piece for both the young and the old. Although, by the time the song ends, you’re thinking, what was that song about anyway?

|mp3| Snow Patrol – I’m an Astronaut (left-click)

What I’ve Been Up To Lately

Amy had asked me to help her design name tags for the ‘Gemilang’s Group’ upcoming project which is a workshop to help primary school students to excel in their exams. Something like a two day program of talks on tips to score in exam papers and stuffs like that, and the name tags were for the committees.

The reason why she had asked me was partly because she knew I was capable in these kinds of stuffs, and partly because she already had too much on her hand. Whatever the reason was, I would’ve done it for her anyway.

I just love designing – anything really, name tags, posters, web page and whatever else that is in need of designing. I love the whole process of it; from looking for inspirations to the end result. In fact, I wouldn’t mind staying up late, spending time finishing up every single detail, perfecting each step. Besides, I get to get my mind off of engineering which I’m studying right now and that I have to admit, I’m nowhere near excited about.

I came up with 7 options for Amy to choose from, but however, we didn’t end up using any one of my designs due to technical problems. I didn’t feel that it was such a waste, because now I can post it up here. Hopefully, Amy would still ask me to help her design name tags or anything regardless of the previous outcome.

Click here to view six of the seven name tag designs. (Nothing earth-shattering, just amateur stuff)

P/s: - Don’t mind the miss-spelling of what ought to be the word ‘program’. That’s me; always in a state of confusion. Then again, aren’t we all?

Video: Tokyo Police Club - Nature of the Experiment (Live Letterman)

I'm sure most of you guys have seen Tokyo Police Clubs' television debut on the David Letterman show. But, I can't stop watching this and thinking to myself: that's Nikolai Fraiture on leads, Ryan Gentles on keyboard and Mika - Mika on drums. LOL...

Did I mention that I love the Tokyo Police Club?

|mp3| Tokyo Police Club - Nature of the Experiment

Strokes Sunday: Strokes Derivatives

Do you agree?

That all these bands are just another version of the Strokes? That’s pretty unfair to say so, although to be honest, I kinda, sorta do see the resemblance. But each band is great in their own right.

The bands that have been made Strokes comparisons:-

The Hives (The Swedish Strokes)

The Hives. They’ve been wearing black and white on every show ever since - black and white was first invented. They’ve got some pretty kick-ass songs but latest is, they’ve collaborated with Timbaland and I have to say this: I have nothing against the song, but the video is one of those things that I can’t agree with.


|mp3| The Hives – Hate To Say I Told You So

The Vines (The Aussie Strokes)




Oh, the Vines, they’re great…I would’ve liked them first. If only they were – hotter. Know what I mean?





|mp3| The Vines – Ride


The Killers (The Mormon Strokes)





The Killers do kinda sound like the Strokes in a way, but with a less cooler last name. One word, flower.





|mp3| The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done

Kings of Leon (The Southern Strokes)


If you’ve put it that way, then yeah maybe this is what the Strokes would’ve sounded like if they were from the south. The Strokes and them are friends and have toured together, so if anything, this Strokes comparison should come off as a compliment.




|mp3| Kings of Leon – Velvet Snow

BMW Shorties

This may just be the best thing yet (in my most humble opinion) that’s ever happened in our campus. I mean artists’ performing their gigs here: far from happening. But this, this is just too good to be true.

Our university has decided to collaborate with the BMW group (yes, the BMW) to hold some movie screenings of the 10 best short films that’s competed in the BMW shorties, here in our campus. It will be a two day event meaning 5 films per day will be showed to the audience. Directors of these shorties are mostly independent filmmakers, filmmakers on the rise and student directors.

Here’s the best part, it’s free admission, plus you get free popcorn and a free coke drink; you’d be crazy to miss this. Between each movie screening as well, there will be a Q and A session where audiences will have the opportunity to express their feedback towards each film. Think the night as a chance for movie-goers and movie buffs to gather and talk about films. These aren’t just any films; these are short films that have won an award of some kind, received recognition, etc. Most importantly these are films that matters.

If you all aren’t aware by now, I’m crazy about film-making, so this is my golden opportunity. So, I joined the organizing committee, and as far as organizing committees are concerned, they’re only interested in achieving what’s on the surface. I mean, they don’t seem to even know what they’re doing this for. It’s like one of those nightmares that I have, but when I woke up the next morning, it isn’t a nightmare, it’s really happening.

I happen to fall under the publicity and promotion biro, so just let me get into my zone right here: if any of you out there, that’s interested in short films or films, or you just want to waste the night away, or you wanna spend time doing something useful for free, and you’re in Malaysia, come down here to IIUM and occupy your time with some good, wholesome entertainment. Like I said, you’d be crazy to miss it.

For more information on time, date, place, etc click here.

For more information on BMW shorties, click here.

Mr. Hudson and the Library: Cover Girl

Describe the music of Mr. Hudson and the Library as hip-hop meets cocktail jazz, I wouldn’t be the least bit interested. But play their song ‘Cover Girl’, and I am instantly hooked. There’s something about the band - that I can’t really put my finger on - that’s not hateful, although they may specialize in a genre that I’m not so fond of.

The members of the band either hails from London or Birmingham, which then became the inspiration for their debut album title, A Tale of Two Cities which was released on March 2007. Their sound are sometimes described as a cross between RnB, reggae, ska and the Police, while Ben Hudson (lead/guitar), claims that he calls his music, English RnB.

Surprisingly, Hudson is an Oxford graduate of English Lit who often adorns eclectic outfits such as a combination of baggy blue denims, waistcoats and trilby hats while performing. Such an outfit surely stands out for such a band.

For the song ‘Cover Girl’, I was more taken by the words rather than the tune. It’s one of those songs that has playful, honest and natural lyrics.

The chorus starts with a rather uncaring statement, You’ll never be a cover girl/Just facing facts/Your face isn’t right but then he instantly makes it up by singing, But I’ll never want a cover girl/When I’ve seen you in this light.

Subsequently his voice starts toning down thus ending the song by singing I’ll never be a gentleman/Just facing facts/My face isn’t right/And you’ll never want a gentleman/When you see me in this light. It’s not everyday you hear I guy say that.

|mp3| Mr. Hudson and the Library – Cover Girl (right-click, save as to save)

:: Mr. Hudson and the Library ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy

Covers, B-Sides and Rarities: The Kooks’ “Crazy”

Both band and song, I’m sure are well-known by all. Everyone knows the Kooks; it would just be a waste of space for me to introduce them. Anyway, the Kooks are a pretty popular UK indie-rock band and those who know ‘em is sure to love ‘em.

And I’m sure everyone knows the song ‘Crazy’ that was originally sang by Gnarls Barkley. Nelly Furtado has also done a cover version of this song, but knowing Nelly Furtado, and after doing the math, I thought her version would be predictable. But hearing the Kooks singing ‘Crazy’ is pretty good. The song is stripped and it sounds a lot more accessible. Exchanging the dance version with a guitar and sang acoustically could’ve been one of the most brilliant ideas ever. Luke Pritchard’s singing with the obvious accent just adds to the quirkiness of the tune.

A cover worth giving a listen to.

|mp3| The Kooks – Crazy (right-click, save as to save)

Cansei de Ser Sexy: Off the Hook

There’s nothing much that I could say or would say about the band, Cansei de Ser Sexy. First time I ever listened to ‘Off the Hook’; one thing came to my mind, your typical all-girl band that makes music by ripping off guitar chords from New York garage rock bands. How seriously wrong I was…

If you have the chance to view the band in all its entirety, you’ll be able to see that the band means serious business. One way to prove that is the band’s name origin, which was taken from a quote by Beyonce, who supposedly declared that she was "tired of being sexy", which we all know is far from the truth. What with the band being from San Paulo, Brazil, the saying was then translated to Portuguese, hence the name, Cansei de Ser Sexy. (I say “Qui Legal!” to that)

It was in itself a band name, (this I took from their MySpace page) ‘that was fuelled by aggravation towards the empty swagger of faux artists and to celebrate the un-celebrity’. Their music is largely electro-rock influenced and lyrics concerning mainly the pop culture. With songs like ‘Meeting Paris Hilton’ and ‘Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above’, you start to wonder what could possibly go wrong for a band like this.

“An unfinished group that was bravely showing off, turning everything into style”

|mp3| Cansei de Ser Sexy – Off the Hook

:: Cansei de Ser Sexy ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #6

Tokyo Police Club is Canada’s best kept secret (spoken solely from an Asian music-fan’s point of view). Not knowing them is like a crime, could even be a sin, but I have no right to say that; that would be stretching the truth.

I can’t help but notice how their music sounds exactly like the Strokes, only - get this - better. They’re so good, till I could go as far as to say that this is how the Strokes’ last album should’ve sounded like. Hey, it’s merely an opinion, these things happen.

‘Box’ is one of those songs where I’d accuse the band of ripping off Strokes’ tunes. But the accusation only holds for so long, when before I realized it, I’ve deeply fallen for the song. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that ‘Box’ is the best track (ever!) by Tokyo Police Club, even though it was only released as a b-side to their single ‘Nature of the Experiment’. The song is also available in the Smith EP that was released digitally on February earlier this year.

So I say, ‘give good music a chance!’ and take a listen to this brilliant track by Tokyo Police Club.





|mp3| Tokyo Police Club – Box

:: Tokyo Police Club ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy Smith EP

The Strokes: Rare pics and Friends

I have a thing for StrokesFans who does picture slideshows of the band, especially the ones that are only dedicated to one person like Julian Casablancas or Fabrizio Moretti or Nick Valensi, and it makes things a lot worst if you write something like ‘sexy thing’ next to the name. If that’s the case, that you’re not liking the band because of the music anymore, it becomes about a different thing entirely.

But, if you make a picture slideshow of rare pictures, really hard-to-find, never before seen pictures, then by all means, do some more! I stumbled upon this video created by Annita on YouTube, and I thought it was great that she came up with the idea of putting up rare photos, I mean like really RARE. These are some of the stuffs you’ll discover and be intrigued by (if you’re a StrokesFan) when watching the video.

• The very rare photo of Regina Spektor and the Strokes while on the ‘Room on Fire’ tour during 2004.
• The many faces of Juliet Casablancas, before and after she was ‘Juliet Casablancas’.
• Nick’s adorable twins, and yes, when I say Nick, I mean THE Nick Valensi and not some other Nick.
• Julian Casablancas sporting an 'Nsync T-Shirt (Hmm.., oh well, we all have our weaknesses)
  

|mp3| The Strokes - Elephant Song

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: Orson’s ‘Push the Button’

I definitely gravitate towards pop music compared to rock, so it’s no surprise that I do know the song Push the Button that was originally sung by Sugababes. But, that’s just old news and the story of how it actually came to be, is of no importance here.

For starters, there was nothing wrong with the original version, except for the video which is as always, distracting due to some unaccountable reasons and then in steps Orson and gave the song a total face-lift. They are undeniably a great band, and did a good job in the song but the only thing is, a guy singing lyrics that were meant for girls to sing in order to stand up for their – whatever, comes off a bit weird.

Only a band like Orson can pull it off. Only a band like Orson…

|mp3| Orson – Push the Button

Camera Obscura: If Looks Could Kill

A friend of mine mentioned to me the other day that she was planning to organize a band competition. It sounded pretty intriguing at the time and I couldn’t help imagining myself with my own band playing along to Fields’ ‘You Brought This On To Yourself’. But, it was just a ridiculous fantasy, what with the fact that I’ve zilch knowledge in playing the guitar or drums or any other musical instruments for that matter.

But, if I ever wanted to put up a band together, it would definitely be somewhere along the lines of Camera Obscura. 60s twee pop just screams coolness; retro coolness that never dies with time plus you’ll never run out of reasons to adorn polka dots similar to the 60’s clothing. Not that I’m a huge fan of polka dots unlike someone I know. I’m aware that to some people, liking retro music is un-cool, but there’s just something about retro music that’s so much more relaxing and liberating compared to the songs that’s being played on radios these days.

Some of Camera Obscura’s fans would think that I’d do the band some injustice if I write about them based on a single song. But, judging from the song ‘If Looks Could Kill’, I’m definitely more than certain that there’s so much to like about Camera Obscura. A band from Glasgow, Scotland that focuses solely on the genre of twee pop and presents their music crammed with candy filled goodness and infectious melodies.

|mp3| Camera Obscura – If Looks Could Kill (right-click, save as to save)

:: Camera Obscura ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy

Midnight Movies: Ribbons

Midnight Movies is a quartet originally from Los Angeles and makes music that falls under the category of dream pop, and dream pop as one would predict is pop music that sounds, well, - dreamy. Dream pop to me, is a more mature version of pop music in general; which would shatter anyone’s perception of pop music, thinking that it’s only confined by the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. So, I guess this is a safe bet.

Raggedmag described the band as icy, stylish and minimal. Icy because of the lead’s, Gena Olivier’s startling beauty, stylish because the band are comprised of two members who are female and has a great sense of style, no doubt, and minimal, well minimal because of the music – naturally, of course.

The band already has an album out last spring titled Lion the Girl. Drummer, Sandra Vu describes the music contained in the album as both big and epic.

“It’s accessible in that there are melodic and pop elements, but it also gets really dark. It can seem kind of crazy, but a couple songs in, people get it.”

Do me a favour and enjoy Ribbons.

|mp3| Midnight Movies – Ribbons

:: Midnight Movies ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy

L.O.V.E

Good Golly, By Jolly This Is REALLY Good #5

In conjunction with Spoon’s new album titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, that’s being released today, I personally chose a song off of the album as this week’s Good Golly. Spoon…why does that name seem familiar? Oh yeah, of course, we use to have a band by the same name in our own country, but their name was such a joke, I couldn’t get myself to like the band. It had something to do with their songs, and their image and… what the hell happened to them anyway?

I digress. But this band called Spoon from Austin, Texas offers something a lot more appealing. They call themselves Spoon and it was how they wanted their band to appeal to the listeners, and the weirdest thing is – calling their band Spoon doesn’t seem funny at all. If you’re an Indie Rock band from America, you can call your band Spoon or Spring or Umbrella, and we still wouldn’t find it funny, we call it ingenuity. Bottom line is: if you’re a band that does serious, sappy, heartfelt songs, don’t call your band Spoon, there’s just something very wrong there. But, I digress again.

‘The Underdog’ is a fun, catchy song thanks to the horns blasting throughout the tune. It’s a song that’s easy to like whether or not you’re a Spoon fan, provided that you do like these kinds of songs. The song has been out in the wild for a while now, even before the album was released, so yeah, we’re a little behind of time, but nevertheless, better late than never.






|mp3| Spoon – The Underdog

:: Spoon ::
Official Website | MySpace | Buy Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

“This Movie Is Gonna Be Sick"

**I’m back… Yup, facts are facts and whether you like it or not, I’m back. So, let’s kick things off with the cool new Transformers movie.

I’ve heard two people claiming that the movie, Transformers was gonna be sick. And yeah, I have to admit, after watching the movie, it is so darn sick.

You can’t imagine all the hype that’s surrounding this movie; one of the most heavily promoted movie of the year. It was everywhere, which made it kind of hard to ignore. I am not a big fan of Transformers the cartoon series, but yeah I knew they were about robots that could transform into cars, and trucks and whatever and whatnot, and that was it. Was I obsessed with them? Not in a million years. Not that there’s anything wrong with being obsessed with them, if you get my meaning.

Shia Labeouf’s performance was as always, funny as hell (no doubt we’ll be seeing a lot of him soon) regardless of the god-awful Strokes T-shirt he was wearing that was pretty distracting at first, but I soon discovered among all the riot and chaos, and killings of robot, that the shirt had nothing to do with the movie at all (Its good to know that the Strokes aren’t selling out after all).

The transformation of the robots to whatever-jargon-that-the-
Transformer’s-hardcore-fan-uses was beyond cool, it’s silly to think that I even have to write that down; of course it was cool! It’s hard to watch the movie, and not go, ‘Omigod! That’s so cool!’ Although, sometimes you’re suppose to be scared, but it was always, ‘Woah, cool!’ I couldn’t have put it any simpler that that. The engineering world would always seem so much more interesting in movies, but reality is, it never is. Trust me, I know.

Overall, the movie has a lot of ‘laugh out loud’ moments, and it does contain some real-life characters, that are always entertaining to watch. Not so conventional camera visuals were pleasing to the eyes but there were definitely some cheesy moments that the whole movie is better of without. Besides, the movie is supposed to be about robots, right?

The ending was kind of like a drag and made the story felt like it was never going to end; there was a part of me that wished they would just get it over with. And the fact that you couldn’t tell which robot was which just didn’t help.

Apparently, there will be another two installments to the Transformers movie, man, these trilogy movies has been such a huge trend hasn’t it? Ever since…ever since Matrix, I guess. However, I don’t seem as hyped or excited to the next installment, usually because second installments to anything are always not-up-to-expectations.

Stanley Kubrick

This is rather shocking to me, I received an email late last night, and it was from one of the readers and the reader asked me this question, “Who the bloody hell is Stanley Kubrick?” I mentioned Stanley Kubrick during this post. Well, she didn’t exactly write that, word for word, it was more like, ‘Stanley Kubrick, who’s that?’ It’s a good thing I didn’t go on a rampage and replied her message at that exact moment going, “Only the best bloody movie director in the known universe!”

I know this may seem unimportant and I know he’s not even nearly as significant to prominent leaders of your country, or my country or even any other country. But, since you already know who Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson is, it wouldn’t hurt to add one more great director to the list by the name of Stanley Kubrick.

So, I’m going to put it in points, so it doesn’t get too lengthy or too boring.

• You might be familiar with his works such as The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut. But, these weren’t his most significant works.
• His first major breakthrough film was Paths of Glory which he directed in 1957 due to his unconventional and superb cinematography, where he applied a lot of dynamic camera movements. Rather than the camera being static and at the same place, it was constantly moving to give the movie a more realistic effect and the audience, a sense of rush and urgency. I’ve seen snippets of this movie; I remembered that it didn’t make me feel like I was watching a movie from the late 50’s. It was so ahead of its time, it felt like I was watching a movie that was created during the 70s.
• When you’re a movie director, and you’ve won an Oscar, now that’s something. But, if you’re a director, and your movie became a cult movie and was so culturally significant to the society at the time, now we’re really talking. Stanley Kubrick is most celebrated for his work in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. I know the title doesn’t seem quite right, it sounds like a high tech sci-fi movie but that number – is just so wrong. The year 2001 is in the past. A space odyssey? Where was I when all that happened?
• The movie was created in the year 1968; why yes, the people in the late 60s are such advance thinkers and full of vivid imaginations. The year 2001: it seems like light years away, almost fictional, and yet I am writing this in 2007 (surprise…surprise…). Shame though, they miscalculated and missed by a thousand. I think what they really meant was 3001; now that seems a lot more logical.
• The movie was praised for its scientific accuracy and despised (mostly by audience during that time) for its lack of human conversation. But these days, everyone’s seems to be in awe of it. The movie is so downright weird - it’s so good; you get what I mean?
• 2001: A Space Odyssey became one the major movies to heavily influence upcoming films such as Star Wars. (Now, everything’s starting to make sense to you, doesn’t it?) An appraisable director for being able to create a movie that is nothing of its kind during the time.

So, next time when you end up somewhere out of your country in the future, and people start to talk about Stanley Kubrick, you no longer have to act all naïve, and ask, ‘Stanley Kubrick, who’s that?’ instead you can say, ‘Oh, the late Stanley Kubrick, that pompous arse, so what about him?’

Peter Bjorn and John

This is rather old news but I thought this band needed as much coverage as they should get since the music they make are of first class quality. It wouldn’t hurt if I promote their music to the shores of your region.

Peter Bjorn and John are not just two people, in fact they’re made out of three. Why lose the comma between Peter and Bjorn? I say why not lose the comma. Can there be a simpler name for a band - I didn’t think so. Well, anything works if your name originates from Sweden.

Peter Bjorn and John is a Swedish Indie Pop band and as we all know, the Swedish never fails to create good pop music. They’re popularly known for their hit single ‘Young Folks’ which features Victoria Bergsman who is formerly a member of the Concretes. The track can be found in their album Writer’s Block which was released last year.

The band makes a brand of pop music that could be mistakenly recognized as an oldie; the type of music that can bring you back to those days of bell-bottoms and flashy clothing, but with a less cheery and a more moderate sound. I’ve had them in my collection for a while now, often thinking to myself, will I ever get tired of them? Probably not, - probably never.

|mp3| Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks

|mp3| Peter Bjorn and John – Let’s Call It Off

ps/ i just discovered this site that is against everything Peter Bjorn and John to the point that its ridiculous. I think the guy's kind of more trying to sell the band, rather than stopping it. A complete nutter..

:: Peter Bjorn and John ::
Official Website | MySpace | Buy

Time Breakdown of Modern Web Design

This is freakin hilarious, because it's so true...

Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird’s Armchair Apocrypha is one of the most highly-anticipated albums of 2007. Isn’t that enough, doesn’t that make you want to listen to his songs already? Doesn’t that make you curious to know who the hell is Andrew fucking Bird?

Well, it sure did for me.

With his latest album just released in March this year, some claim that it’s the best record by Bird to date. Accompanying his album are tunes like ‘Heretics’ and ‘Armchairs’ which really sees his skills in the usage of a range of instruments such as the violin and glockenspiels. The music he writes are complex and sophisticated yet never lacks to exude the true emotion of the lyrics. When I say complex, I mean it in a way when you compare it to music by other musicians like Damien Rice.

Here are a few songs of the superb record, Armchair Apocrypha.

|mp3| Andrew Bird – Heretics

|mp3| Andrew Bird – Armchairs (truly engaging music, this one has)

:: Andrew Bird ::
Official website | MySpace | Buy