Crazy Ones
One of my all time favorite commercials is titled Crazy One’s created for Apple in 1997. I can’t believe it’s already more than a decade since this first aired. Crazy Ones was a part of the bigger Think Different campaign created by TBWA\Chiat\Day. To this day it resonates because of the simple idea that rejection of the status-quo is what pushes the human race forward. I embedded the Crazy Ones ad below along with some of the Think Different print ads featuring historic figures. The last image featuring President Obama was a mock up based on this campaign that I found amusing but appropriate.
TrevzNewPop
Devendra’s Ass Party Baby
My friends at LP Fashion Philosophy blogged about this new video from Devendra Banhart for his new song Baby. It is directed by Ron Winter and takes an unexpected psychedelic turn that is very reminiscent of the classic Beatles film Yellow Submarine, except this one takes place in what looks like an ass. Either way it’s a great video and a great track. Check out the cameos from MGMT and GZA. Also check out the Yellow Submarine clip below that.
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We Were Once a Fairytale
My recent Robot postings have led me to this video from Spike Jonze for Kanye West titled We Were Once a Fairytale. Various versions of this video have been leaked and pulled from different video sites. In this version a drunken Kanye stumbles through a club trashed out of his mind belligerently hitting on girls. What starts off as a believable plot-line turns into a weird little scene involving hari-kari and an encounter with a rodent like creature. It will leave many viewers scratching their heads as to it’s meaning.
The first half is easier to dissect as it draws more from a documentary style than conventional fiction. I found the first half far more intriguing than the dreamlike second half. They say truth is stranger than fiction or in this case scripted truth. In those first 5 minutes Jonze gives us a realistic and gritty glimpse into the isolated life a megastar crashing. Jonze combines impromptu scripted material with a pseudo music performance. In the second half Jonze retreated back to his conventional style of integrating animation and real life, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. It is what he does best. However I wish Jonze would have resisted the urge to fall back into his conventional style and stuck with this scripted portrayal of a stars cry for help. Either way it’s worth a look.
TrevzNewPop
Akira
Continuing my anime/robot theme of the past two weeks I want to talk about the 1988 landmark film Akira. Akira ushered in the second wave of anime fandom to the states. As a die-hard fan of the anime series G-Force, Star Blazers, Robotech, Raydeen and several others, I was a part of that first wave of anime geeks. As entertaining and well crafted as those films were, they could not hold a candle to Akira. Akira’s budget at the time was unprecedented for anime and it was evident on the screen. According to Wikipedia: “Most anime [At the time] is notorious for cutting production corners with limited motion, such as having only the characters’ mouths move while their faces remained static. Akira broke from this trend with detailed scenes, lip-synched dialogue – a first for an anime production – and super-fluid motion as realized in the film’s more than 160,000 animation cels.”
I saw Akira on the big screen in the early 90′s when they were showing it for free at The Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College which I was attending at the time. The theatre is huge seating about 2500 people. I bring this up because when they screened Akira here I thought it would be tough to get tickets. I was surprised to find only a couple dozen folks in the audience. Contrast that with the free screening of New Jack City which filled the theatre and had students scalping tickets. But I digress. Akira was a revolution in anime and has achieved cult status today. You should rent it on Netflix.
There is a live action film in the works by Warner Bros and the Hughes brothers are in negotiations to Direct. Check out the trailer posted below and then the Akira inspired video Stronger by Kanye West. Daft Punk who Kanye samples on Stronger and appear in the video are also huge anime fans. They did an amime film for their Discovery album titled Interstella 5555.
More Robot Love
Yesterday’s post for the Spike Jonze short film “I’m Here” got me thinking about how much his characters resembled the Daft Punk robots. The quirky and endearing qualities may be more than just coincidence. In the late 90′s Spike Jonze directed a music video for Daft Punk called Da Funk that featured a character with a Dog Head that exhibits many of the same human traits found in his later robot characters. Makes you wonder who influenced who. This 2001 Gap ad directed by Paul Hunter featuring Daft Punk and Juliette Louis highlight the same quirky and endearing human qualities that make Spike’s characters so damn lovable. Here’s to Robot Love.
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What Change Looks Like
The day I decided to support Back Obama in his run for the Oval Office it was not because he was African American as I am. It was because he was the best candidate and smartest man in the room. When he decided to make health-care reform his number one domestic issue I was sold. I believed if anyone could reform Health-care it would be him.
During the course of my life there have been many important issues that have come and gone with the changing social and political landscape, but for me and many Americans there is one constant… health-care. The late Ted Kennedy called it “that great unfinished business of our society.” Like many of my artist and entrepreneurial friends I never held a 9 – 5 job and can’t afford health-care. In addition as a kid I had severe asthma and often had to be rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night barely able to breath. This pre-existing condition makes it all the more complicated for me to find anyone willing to cover me. So I go on hoping that nothing happens to me. And I am one of the Lucky ones. Every day people lose everything they have or worse lose their lives because of this broken health-care system. For the past year Obama has taken up this unpopular and highly polarizing cause to do what is right. Yesterday it paid off as House members put their seats at risk to do the right thing and pass this historic and landmark bill. There were times when it seemed like this day would never come. When we lost the Super Majority in the Senate to Scott Brown it would have been easy for Obama to pack things up and say he gave it his best shot. After all for over 100 years every President who has tried to pass major health-care reform has failed. It is a testament to his character that he, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of his party went on to implement this historic bill instead of taking the politically safe route. As Obama stated in his speech last night “This is what change looks like.” I couldn’t agree more.
I attached a snapshot of the historic moment.
PS: As I mentioned because of this decision many mid-term Democratic seats are in jeopardy. If we want to continue seeing progressive legislation enacted we will need to rally support for these seats the way we rallied for Obama in his run for Presidency. Moveon.org is a good place to start. Join their mailing list for very informative updates and ways to donate money. Money and votes are the best way to support any candidate.
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Raideen: The Original Transformer
The very first mecha anime series I ever saw was Raideen in the mid 70′s. It aired on the old UHF channels that had horrible reception and no subtitles. My brother and I and I were hooked on Raideen. The fact that we had no idea what they were saying made no difference to us, it was cool. Raideen was the first mecha anime hero with the ability to transform. A precursor to anime shows like G-Force, Transformers, Voltron, and the more popular Gundam Wing. Gundam Wing’s creator Yoshiyuki Tomino also created Raideen and wrote the screenplay and storyboards for the series that started anime Tetsuwan Atomu, better known to American audiences as Astro Boy. Raideen was a part of a series of imported Japanese robots called Shogun Warriors, all based on then-popular giant robot anime shows. At the time the only other person I knew that watched this show other than my brother was my cousin. He also had the toy (pictured below on the far left) and we would go over to his apartment and play with it. I remember his fist could shoot out.
There was also a Shogun Warriors comic which I had until Mom’s threw out my comic collection about 7 years later. This collection would be worth thousands today. The humanity!!!
Raideen was my introduction to the fabulous world of anime and I will never forget tuning into that UHF channel every Saturday night anxiously awaiting the start of Raideen. There aren’t any movies planned nor is there a DVD easily available. I was able to pull up the opening credits on youtube in Japanese just the way I remember it (minus the watermarks).
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
Robotech
Yesterday I spoke about the anime series Battle of the Planets which I fell in love with in the mid 70′s. Today I move ahead ten years to what is my all-time favorite anime series Robotech. I remember as if were yesterday that summer morning in 1985 when upon surfing the available 7 channels I happened upon the first episode on Channel 11. After the series Battle of the Planets ended ten years earlier I was always searching for the next big anime series. As I explained in the BOTP blog post, anime was a huge part of my artistic development. American animation was clumsy and goofy in comparison so after the BOTP series ended 10 years earlier I was left with nothing to quench my thirst for great anime. When Robotech arrived out of the blue 10 years later I felt like I won the kid lottery. That summer I watched and taped every episode religiously. Tapes which I still have.
What I loved about this series was even compared to BOTP artistically Robotech was far superior and it was consistently good. I was surprised at the drop off in the quality of draftsmanship you can find within a series. The explosions are a clear giveaway to which episode was done right. Not sure what it is in quickly expanding clouds of fire and debris that separate the masters from the apprentices, but to this day that is my litmus test. 90% of the Robetech episodes were on point. Also conceptually Robotech was much more sophisticated than BOTP. It was basically the same story-line that Avatar followed two decades later, except the earth is the planet being invaded by aliens. Coincidentally they are currently looking into producing a Robotech movie starring Tobey Maguire. Which brings me to what it is I loved most about Robotech. It was the character development. The relationship between Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes is arguably one of the best developed in TV history live action or animated. I may regret admitting this but I remember shedding a tear in more than one episode.
Yesterday I felt a bit guilty and nerdier than usual making an anime post on this blog targeted at a “downtown” or “urban” audience. But it occurred to me that anime is a part of this culture. You see it in shops like Kid Robot in the work of street artist like SEEN and Futura or in the music of artist like The Wu Tang Clan, The Gorrilaz and my favorite late 90′s group Daft Punk. Every year this art form is more widely embraced by both Pop and alternative culture. I embedded the opening sequence from the Robotech series below. If you want to purchase the DVD collection you can get it at Amazon or drop by my studio for a screening.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
Battle Of The Planets
Many eons ago as a kid back in the 70′s my favorite after school TV show was Battle Of The Planets AKA G-Force. My siblings and schoolmates would rush home from school to watch it and do our role playing and pretend fighting afterwards. Battle Of The Planets would be my Americanized (subtitled) introduction to the fascinating and nerdy world of Japanese anime. Japanese anime as well as American comics were a huge part of my childhood. As a kid I would spend hours drawing every day and daydreaming about the cool story-lines. I credit this more than anything else to shaping my patient temperament which makes it easy to sit in front of a computer for hours and hours and hours editing. The skill-set of an artist is almost identical to those needed for editing.
Another thing about anime and comics that makes this subject particularly blog worthy is the fact that so many of these series have been or are being made into movies. I thought it would be beneficial to my audience to give this art form it’s own special category on this blog. They are making Battle of the Planets into a film slated for a 2011 release. I loved G-Force as a kid in the 70′s, but hated it when they re-released a new adaptation of the G-Force series back in the 90′s. The storyline was modified a bit and they used different voice actors. There was a certain charm that was lost in the updated version. I just don’t have the appetite for seeing it ruined again in 3D or whatever new slick application they will likely add to give it a modern twist. G-Force is vintage and should remain so. I embedded the opening credits sequence from the original American version below. If you want to pick up the 25th anniversary DVD collection you can get it on Amazon.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
Hardwired Memories
So recently I have been looking into getting a used computer to improve my workflow. This got me thinking about all of the computers I went through in my lifetime. My first computer was an IBM ThinkPad that my Dad found in his Taxi in 1997. We couldn’t track down the owner (Yes we tried) so he gave it to me. It was on this computer where I first logged on to the net (remember the old dial up sound), and where I registered for my first email account. I also taught myself all of those obsolete html coding skills on this laptop. I still have that machine (pictured below), and it still works.
My next computer was a iMac G3. For years I was resistent to making the switch from PC to Mac. The old Carrie Bradshaw Power Book G3′s that were in vogue at the time looked very similar to every other PC, so there wasn’t any aesthetic incentive to make the switch. Then Apple came out with it’s colorful iMac G3 in 1998 and I bought one a year later. But even after this purchase my Mac sat in my apartment for almost a year before I stopped using my PC and decided to commit to the Mac. Since then I have been a die hard MacHead. I have had two MacBooks since. I must say in terms of design Apple has played it pretty safe since those colorful iMacs from the late 90′s. Those were my favorite, I still have mine prominently displayed on my work table. To this day Apple has the best industrial desingers on the planet, but the current white and grey color schemes can’t hold a candle to that candy colored palete of the late 90′s. Remember this ad:
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Going Back To Cali: A Tale of 2 Tracks
One of my favorite Hip Hop music videos of all time LL Cool J’s Going Back To Cali is one of the lesser known landmarks in Hip Hop music. It integrated East Coast Hip Hop with that care free West Coast sensibility. This track was used in the 1987 film Less Than Zero which probably didn’t help its street cred, none the less it was and still is one of the more sophisticated Hip Hop videos of all time. Hip Hop audiences at the time were used to that gritty NY aesthetic in their videos, so when this video came out with its Art Deco architecture, California GoGo dancers, and cruising convertibles, it was a bit of a shock. The video actually feels more current in today’s homogeneous culture than it did back then. Of course all the credit goes to L.L. Cool J as it is the track that dictated the visual vocabulary.
Ironically about 10 years later another landmark event in Hip Hop would define a generation. The murder of The Notorious B.I.G. on the West Coast. Shortly before this murder The Notorious B.I.G. produced a track by the same name which came to epitomize the West Coast/East Coast rivalry that dominated the mid 90′s. Biggie’s version was a half hearted attempt to mend the rivalry, but instead he fueled it. Ultimately it was his literal “going back to Cali” that left him vulnerable and contributed to his murder. According to wikipedia “The following lyrics were thought to be a big turning point in the infamous feud.”
“If I got to choose a coast I got to choose the East
I live out there, so don’t go there
But that don’t mean a nigga can’t rest in the West
See some nice breasts in the West
Smoke some nice sess in the West, y’all niggaz is a mess
Thinkin I’m gon stop, givin L.A. props
All I got is beef with those that violate me I shall annihilate thee.”
Today with all of that behind us I can only imagine an alternative world where the spirit of the LL version would have defined the East Coast/West Coast relationship in the 90′s. That spirit of camaraderie and appreciation is now a part of our newly connected world, and as they say better late than never.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
In the LL video keep an eye out for cameos by Martha Quinn, Kari Wuhrer & Rick Rubin.
No official video made so I posted this video which has allot of weed references.
POP .29 ED NewsLetter
They say that The Scene will be the death of me. I say I am already dead. Which isn’t a bad thing, it gives me a new perspective. Check out our latest Newsletter POP .29 ED
Or you can register for our regular email blast Here.
The Enigma that is Ralphy Boy
I recently shot a video interview with the F.C gang’s Ralphy Boy for the track “How You Like Me Now?” Hailing from my childhood neighborhood of East Flatbush Brooklyn, Ralphy has some of that mid 80′s showman’s ethos that permeated hip hop during that time. Evoking the spirit of old school legends like Slick Rick, Doug E Fresh, Dana Dane & Kool Moe D, Ralphy is on a mission to make sure his audience has as much of a good time as he does. In this world of Hipster rap where looking cool often seems to trump moving the crowd, Ralphy’s audience first approach is refreshing to say the least. There are times when Ralphy’s preference to let his music do the talking can give the wrong impression. In this video Ralphy discusses the enigmatic side of his character and gives us a little insight into who Ralphy Boy really is.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
Armory Arts Week & Artlog
From Fashion to Food it seems like every industry has their week in the NYC sun or snow depending on what day it is. MY favorite week of them all, The Armory Arts Week started this past Thursday. The week’s main event, The Armory Arts Show takes place at Pier 94 exhibiting contemporary art from more than 30 countries. In addition there are dozens and dozens of smaller events and parties happening all around the 5 boroughs. So how does anyone know what are the best places to go, what parties are hot, or what exhibits are cool? The answer is artlog.com. Their slogan “Art and Culture in Real Time” says it all. This is the ultimate destination for real time updates on what is going on during Arts Week. They utilize social media via their Artlog live link where peoples tweets about Armory Art Week are redirected directly to the live section of their site. Recently as a part of the Pernod Creator Of series, I interviewed the founders Manish Vora and Dylan Fareed about Artlog.com and got a first hand demonstration of Artlog Live in action. Check it out.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
Razor Face an Exercise in Storytelling
In all mediums of art arguably the most important skill is the art of storytelling. Everything else is just window dressing. A couple of days ago I blogged about the film The Legend Of 1900 calling it one of the greatest films you never heard of. It is about a Piano virtuoso named 1900 (Played by Tim Roth) who is born on a ship and never steps foot on land. 1900 has a single minded approach to his art. An idiot savant kind of perspective in which little else mattered beyond his music. In one scene I found particularly fascinating, 1900 gives his best friend Max Tooney (Played by Pruitt Taylor Vince) a glimpse of what is going on in his head. What is revealed is a world where everyone moves to his soundtrack. A world where a woman sitting at a table becomes the main character in a scandalous murder mystery. Or a man walking across the room is the centerpiece in a thriller about the immigrant experience. It is a world where everything becomes foder for drama, intrigue, comedy and all the rich elements that color our lives.
For my first 21 years due to my Seventh Day Adventist upbringing I wasn’t allowed to take part in any secular activities from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown. No TV, no radio, no magazines, just church in the morning and religious music until sunset. For my first 21 years I would routinely spend my Saturday afternoons looking out the window at people walking by. I would entertain myself with imagined stories of what went on in the lives of these total strangers in a way very similar to the scene posted below. It was fun and a great exercise in the art of storytelling. Below the 1900 post I embedded a live performance of the song Razor Face performed by Elton John and written by Bernie Taupin. One of the greatest storytelling teams in recent memory. It is the type of song that is full of storywriting potential. Give it a listen and observe the world around you. Observe yourself. Create stories the way 1900 did.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
The Scene Episode 2
My first stab at fiction was a tough haul. I was going to bury this episode and pretend the idea for this series never happened because I wasn’t happy with the piece. Documentary filmmaking is a very organic process that is challenging and incredibly rewarding. Fiction on the other hand is a methodical process where each decision can affect the entire crew. I erroneously thought that shooting a few music videos prepped me for this, I was dead wrong. Dozens of script rewrites and numerous rehearsals later I found myself spinning on set just trying to keep the entire production from spiraling out of control. Add the fact that it was the first time I was shooting with the Canon 5D MK2 which in itself was a huge challenge and the ending result was an edit that didn’t match up to the vision I had in my head. However instead of burying it I thought it was important to finish what I started, learn from my mistakes, and do it again. So for better or for worse I cut the piece in half and decided to go forward and publish it.
This episode stars Nate “Igor” Smith of Driven By Boredom fame and the lovely model/actress Carolina Ramirez. The title of the series is The Scene (I love creative titles). It is about the downtown scene which I documented weekly for about 4 years. As jaded as it made me I am also fascinated by the colorful and talented people who inhabit this world. I hope that this series gives you a more entertaining look into that world. Technically this episode may not live up to my original vision but it is still an important part of what will hopefully be a very interesting series.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop
The Legend Of 1900
The Legend of 1900 is one of the best films you’ve never heard of. Directed by the Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore of Cinema Paridiso fame, it tells the story of a piano virtuoso named 1900 who is born on a ship and never steps foot on land. Told in flashback form this film deals with the fear of change through the immigrant experience. To 1900 played by Tim Roth this ship is his life and the thought of stepping into a seemingly infinite world mortifies him. This quote by 1900 courtesy of Photo-Art-Life blogspot sums it up the best.
“Take piano: keys begin, keys end. You know there are 88 of them. Nobody can tell you any different. They are not infinite. You’re infinite… And on those keys, the music that you can make… is infinite. I like that. That I can live by…”
You rolled out in front of me a keyboard of millions of keys, millions and billions of keys that never end. And that’s the truth Max, that they never end. That keyboard is infinite… and if that keyboard is infinite, then on that keyboard there is no music you can play. You’re sitting on the wrong bench… That is God’s piano.
Christ, did you… did you see the streets, just the streets? There were thousands of them! Then how you do it down there, how do you choose just one… one woman, one house, one landscape to look at, one way to die…?
Tim Roth’s performance as one of the least rounded individuals in cinematic history is endearing and will pull at your heart strings. This script is so well written that it is hard to believe this is Giuseppe Tornatore first English language film. The musical score by Ennio Morricone is simply genius and garnered a Golden Globe for best score. The clips embedded below illustrate the virtuosity of the musical score, cinematography and the writing. Clip one which takes place halfway through the film is a duel between 1900 and the real life inventor of Jazz Jelly Roll Morton brilliantly played by Clarence Williams III. The ships passengers who are rooting for and in some cases betting on 1900 are disappointed by his lack of effort. Unaware that he is just toying with Morton they proceed to boo him. Morton fully aware that 1900 is mocking him pulls out all the stops. What proceeds is one of the best duel scenes in cinematic history. In clip two 1900 serendipitously finds inspiration for his first and only recorded piece. Strictly from a musical standpoint, the story telling in that composition is powerful. Play both clips if you have time, but if you don’t I recommend viewing clip two “Playing Love.” It is a moving piece of filmmaking. The Legend of 1900 is on my top 5 list of the best films you’ve never heard of. If you get a chance pick it up on Netflix.
Enjoy
TrevzNewPop