So this year is rapidly coming to a close, and I've been extremely unproductive on account of the many holiday related activities I've been attending. This was the second year I got to see Gorgeous Armada's Sleigh, and even helped with graphics for flyers and play programs and the like!
I'll be starting 2010 off the right way, with some of the closest bestest friends I have, in the City of Sin.
This year has been full of a lot of stagnant times, but when the fun parts came around, we made them count. I made a lot of great new friends, from Chico, to Sacramento, to the Bay, and the friends I already had, we made the bond stronger.
The last couple months showed me how much support I have behind me, family and friends alike. And its good to know I don't need to worry about those close to me judging me for who I am.
So, since I doubt that I'll be updating this again before 2009 dies, I'll post my "resolutions" now.
Update Resume and Portfolio
New Car
New City...? Stay Tuned...
That is all for now, here's some lovely songs!
Bring it 2010!
It always seems that once Halloween hits, the rest of the year just dissolves. We're already 2 days away from Thanksgiving, a month away from Christmas and a little more than that away from 2010...yeesh. I'm going to see a lot of people in a short amount of time, and travel a little more than I'd like to, but should be worth it! Vegas may be in my New Years forecast, but I'll keep you posted on that one. haha.
I just finished reading Batman Dark Victory, which is kind of a continuation/sequel to The Long Halloween. I don't know how he does it, but Loeb sure knows how to use most every major batman villain and supporting cast while at the same time introducing new characters and expanding lesser known characters without overbearing the reader or making the book too cluttered. I definitely think that Tim Sale's art is starting to definte the Gotham City i know in my mind!
Favorite song of the week is IAMX - "Spit it out" (Designer Drugs Remix). Heard it at a dance party, and I had heard the original version a few weeks before that. The remix greatly enhances and compliments the original, and something about the beat just makes it very happy and (obviously) energetic.
Favorite video of the week is definitey Beyonce feat. Lady Gaga "Video Phone". Why do I like it? Beyond the infectious beat? Beyond the Sin City/Comic Book inspired costumes and ridiculous amounts of color? Beyond the sweet nod to Reservoir Dogs AND Kill Bill in the beginning? Beyond the intense editing to go along with the beat? Ok, I guess don't have any other reasons beyond those...but those are some good reasons to like it.
Also a good watch is Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance". A friend of a friend is the guy on the far left in the intro shot. This whole video is just insane and the costumes are ridiculous and its so well shot and production value is great! Eye candy indeed...love the spinny shot with the floating diamonds. haha.
And last but not least is my latest drawing. After reading a couple of the new Batgirl issues with a new lady under the pointy ears, I decided to draw an homage to the original Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. (Yes I know she wasnt the first, but I still consider her the original!) Click the thumbnail to see the bigger image on my DeviantArt Account.
Go figure that my mind waits til the night before Halloween to process the fact that tomorrow is Halloween. All of a sudden I'm excited and in the spirit...lets do this!
Hair has been re-bleached...thrift store purchases torn and shredded and ready for blood application...and a new mix to listen to in the car on the way to Chico!
This isn't entirely well thought out, and this is just from my current collection of music...if i had time to track down most of what i had before this would be a longer and probably more diverse list...this was mostly going for certain sounds or certain feelings that i associate with Halloween...and the first is a little blatant...ENJOY!
"Halloween" - A.F.I.
"Whats a Girl to Do" - Bat for Lashes
"Operate" - Peaches
"The Bridge" - The Knife
"The Killing Moon" - Echo and the Bunnymen
"Hypnotised" - The Faint
"Out of the Abyss" - Judgement Day
"Bloody Murderer" - Cursive
"Get Confused" - Fischerspooner
"Tesko Suicide" - Sneaker Pimps
"Pretty Mess" - Femme Fatality
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" - Joy Division
"Like a Pen" - The Knife
"Humming" - Portishead
"Skin of the Night" - M83
This blog is dedicated to slightly creepy songs/videos as Halloween approaches.
Not quite sure what i'm gonna be doing, what i'll dress up as, but i love the holiday, the stories that come with it, and candy aint half bad either.
Not much else to say right now, so on to the videos!
One of my absolute favorites is the Donnie Darko inspired video for Bat for Lashes' "Whats a Girl to Do?" The video greatly compliments the tone and beat of the song.
Next up is "Pretty Mess" by Femme Fatality. The song is pretty violent in tone and the "narrative" of the video reflects the tension and crazed pace of the song. Definitely one of my fave unknown electro groups.
The first Cursive song i ever heard was "Bloody Murderer," and i was way into the story elements and the energy and creativity of the song. Its dark, and angry, and amazing!
This song is from the Queen of the Damned soundtrack and vocalized by Jon Davis of Korn. While the movie wasn't exactly an award winner, they did a pretty decent job with the music. The video is heavily inspired by Nosferatu and i love that sort of visual asthetic!
The last video i'll post has a similar vintage feel to the horror movies of old...its Judgement Day's "Out of the Abyss"! These are some swell gents that make glorious music that sounds like it belongs in a horror film!
I'm gonna start this post with my Thursday (October 8th) night. I went to the Boardwalk in Orangevale and saw Touche Amore, The Dear Hunter, Fall of Troy, and THURSDAY. Now, I've seen Thursday before, at the Warfield in San Francisco. They're a band that I've listened to since sophomore year of high school. Classic teenage angst scenario. But there's a power behind their music that I've always hung on to, and their socially/politically driven lyrics keep it interesting. I'll wrap up the San Francisco show as being...lackluster. But the Boardwalk show was very intimate, and VERY powerful, left me wanting more. Definitely one of the best shows I've been to! The live rendition of "Between Rupture and Rapture" was hard enough to send chills down my spine and make everyone in the room move, in one way or another.
Having listened to Thursday for so long, you start picking out symbols used repeatedly. One that particularly stands out is anything that documents time; clocks, watches, calendars...which leads me to my favorite Thursday song, "Jet Black New Year."
I worked friday...blah.
Saturday, had some friends visit from Chico. We went out and somehow managed to synchronize a transition from "having a good time" to "what happened last night?" After a couple hours at Press Club, we came back to the house where my downstairs neighbors invented a "night club" of their own. Sorry guys, VIP only. HAH.
After piecing together our lives this morning and making a tasty breakfast, me and the gang went to see Zombieland. It was one of the most gratifying movies I've ever seen. Everything about it made me happy in one way or another, and none of it really felt over the top in a blatant way. It did a very good job of making you quickly attached to characters you know little to nothing about, with most of them not even using their real character names. It's always an odd feeling when you find violence lending itself to physical humor, and laughing hysterically at the meeting of baseball bat and brains. Zombies are the only horror icon I've ever really had nightmares about, and the movie definitely fed my brain things that my subconcious will use against me at a later date. I laughed a LOT. Very fun movie, one of my faves this year! I'll probably see it again before it leaves theaters!
And at the close of this Sunday eve, I think I've developed my second head cold in a month. Nyquil is my friend.
Well, I thought it was time to give this a try. I don't know how much good this will be to other people, but I definitely wanted to start this for myself, as a way to process WHY I like the things I like. Lets see if it works?
The first thing I wanted to post is "Splinter" by Sneaker Pimps. I've been listening to them a lot.
When I hear this song I focus in on the lyric "Does it take the fireworks to make you look in wonder?"
I'm not sure what it is about that lyric that draws me in, but I think part of it is knowing someone a little too detached for their own good, and trying to get them to see more than whats at face value...or maybe I'm digging too deep, you be the judge.
The minimal guitar with the ethereal electro elements give a cinematic feel to the song and paired with Chris Corner's vocals makes for a nice dark lullaby. Definitely one of my faves right now
Secondly, I would like to mention how much I loved the trade paperback of Catwoman: When in Rome. I remember seeing a couple of the individual issues in the store and thinking "Oh I'll wait for the collected edition" then kinda forgot about it. I came across it and snatched it up. Its very clever, and the art is stylish in a noir fashion, true to my internal concept of how Gotham City and its inhabitants should be. It takes place between the events of Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory (which I have yet to read). The creative team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale understand what Batman and his Rogues Gallery is all about.
Tim Sale's covers and pinups for the mini-series and trade paperback were influenced by French fashion illustrator Rene Gurau, and his respect for the artist are reflected very well while still retaining his own style and adding to the personality of Selina Kyle.
It's fun, smart, and leaves you wanting more...guess I gotta go pick up Dark Victory eh?
