Adventureland

It's the story of a recent Oberlin graduate returning home an overqualified intellect not really qualified for anything. The story of a meandering 20-something forced to forego Ivy League ambitions to take on a menial job at Adventureland, a decaying backwater amusement park where future takes pause to take in the shitty glory of it all.

Sitting in on a Monday night showing of Adventureland, Greg Mottola's newest ode to youth, I was struck by the realization that James's story may not be so different from my own. Our liberal arts degrees in hand, Pomona students enter the world with an appreciation for the life of the mind, but little knowledge of life itself. James, an Oberlin alum, trades the halls of the elite Ohio liberal arts college for life back home in Pittsburgh, his medieval ruminations displaced by crooked carnival games and giant ass pandas. He was supposed to travel through Europe, supposed to study journalism at Columbia, supposed to find love. Instead, he lives at home doing minimum wage work to kill time while he waits for the life he thought he'd have to start. Just as you'd expect, it never arrives. But James moves on anyway.

Just as he did in Superbad, Mottola is able in this film to find comedy in reality with situational humor derived more from the audience's understanding of the character than from any simple gaff. The acting is nuanced with a clear understanding of vulnerabilities and insecurities that all of the characters, and all people really, face as they come to terms with life as it is and not as it should be. And the soundtrack manages to flow seamlessly from saccharine 80's pop ("Rock Me Amadaeus" plays no less than 5 times) to The Velvet Underground. It's a transformative film in the vein of Superbad that deals with real issues and the real people dealing with them. A must see.

Kanye Tells Stories

Pardon the influx of Kanye West stuff today, but there's no denying that he's got some very interesting projects on his plate. (Via Hypebeast) He recently appeared on VH1 Storytellers with an interesting set that really pushed the boundaries of his performance art. On the futuristic, minimalist set, Kanye laid bare some of the emotion that went into 808's & Heartbreaks while giving us some new interpretations of the classics. Aside from the off the cuff comments on Chris Brown and that shag, a great series of performances and some soul searching from today's hardest working man in the biz.

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Say You Will

Grapevine Fires

(via Kanye's Blog) Here's Death Cab's newest video for 'Grapevine Fires'

5 Songs for Shitty Days

Now I don't like to use this blog as a platform for my whining (that's what xanga was for), but as far as days go, today scrapes dangerously close to the bottom. I sometimes believe that optimism is one of my strong points--don't tell me otherwise, I'll be saddened--but it's hard to keep your head up on a day when all this goes down:

1) Woke up 15 minutes late and had to rush to prep for my commute
2) Realized 30 minutes into the drive that I had forgotten my laptop and made the decision to turn back for it
3) Was burdened the entire day with stomach pains from that lingering virus
4) Took 1 hr 30 min to drive from Beverly Hills to downtown
5) Fought downtown traffic to arrive an hour after Panda Express had closed
6) Found that the Honor Fraser Gallery was closed after planning to see the KAWS exhibition for weeks
7) Arrived at Starbucks needing to use wi-fi just after it closed; Sat outside hoping to get a free signal, but couldn't connect
8) Driving aimlessly around looking for a Coffee Bean only to find one without any parking in a 2 mile radius
9) Having to steal wi-fi from some random apartment I was parked outside of
10) Looking for the Kogi BBQ truck on twitter only to find out it had closed just minutes prior

I tell you this not so that you take pity on me. Trust me, I've given enough of that to myself today. I tell you this because I'm laughing at it. Yeah it sucked and yeah I would like do-overs on basically everything, but to tell you the truth, I don't know if I would gain any more if the day had gone perfectly. Change my perspective and I see a pretty not-bad day at work topped off with a tour of the city with a friend that will not be seeing the city for a while. As for all the stuff I missed, that'll be there for tomorrow's adventure.

In case you might need them, 5 songs for shitty days like this one...
1) Modest Mouse - Float On (The View also works here)


2) Emiliana Torrini - Today Has Been Okay


3) The Shirelles - Mama Said


4) The Weepies - Can't Let Go


5) Phantom Planet - Lonely Day

Charles the Hamilton

(Photo courtesy Marco P.S.'s flickr)

Earlier this week, I posted videos of Complex Magazine's Leaders of the New Cool, including one up-and-comer named Charles Hamilton. He's an irreverent rapper with geeky tendencies that I really like. He moves flawlessly from samples of classic Sonic the Hedgehog to Modest Mouse, and it all makes sense in the Hamiltonian logic of things. If Kanye and Common drafted the blueprints for the new face of hip-hop, Charles Hamilton is laying down the foundation.

Download his mixtape Sonic the Hamilton here. [Standout track: Fans Are Cool]

Leaders of the New Cool

Last fall, Complex Magazine profiled 5 of the freshest acts on the hip hop scene in an impressive feature entitled "Leaders of the New Cool." We're talking the absolute best in music, style and attitude. In the blowing up hopster movement (think hipster meets hip hop), these are the new heavyweights:

1) The Cool Kids


2) Charles Hamilton (expect more on him later)


3) Wale


4) The Knux


5) B.O.B.

Scrobbling the Fifth

(From Stringbot's Flickr, Creative Commons)
Call it betrayal by scrobbling. I was shocked to read this evening that last.fm (one of my favorite music resources on the web) may have given over member profile information to the RIAA to help identify individual users with pirated music. According to TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld, last.fm, which has been acquired by CBS, was approached by the RIAA after hundreds of thousands of its users began scrobbling (that's listening and tagging) pirated tracks from the leaked U2 album. Last.fm allegedly turned over thousands of its users' profile information to authorities who plan to use that information to track down fans listening to the tracks. It sounds like an invasion of privacy to me, but it is not legally so. Here's what I found while perusing the site's Terms of Use:

Except as otherwise described in our Privacy Policy or other agreement on the Website at which you provide Your Upload Information, Your Upload Information will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and we will not be liable for any use or disclosure to anyone, including but not limited to claimed intellectual property owners.

DownloadSquad's Jay Hathaway quickly struck down the accusations. Although he did confirm that last.fm reserves its right to hand over such information, no data was actually handed over to authorities in this case. In a forum post written soon after the TechCrunch post was published, last.fm site admins said, "Of course we work with the major labels and provide them with broad statistics, as we would with any other label, but we'd never personally identify our users to a third party - that goes against everything we stand for. As far as I'm concerned Techcrunch have made this whole story up."

Even though I believe Jay Hathaway has put this particular flare-up to bed, the case brings up some interesting questions about last.fm and its users' rights. Being a subsidiary of CBS, itself a company that has faced issues with pirated intellectual property in the past, last.fm may one day be obliged to hand over user information. And although I doubt that it would result in penalties for the average scrobbler, I am of the opinion that such a move would violate my personal rights. As an avid user of the site (see my my last.fm profile), I am disconcerted and disappointed by this news.

Any thoughts?

Welcome to the Heartbreak

KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.
(via hypebeast)
This is Kanye's newest clip. It's amazing what he has been able to pull off with distorted pixels and chaos. Takes a couple of views to truly get it, but once you realize the genius behind the marriage of images and music, it's mind-boggling. (Don't readjust your computer: The medium is the message.)

Pepsi Rides the Obama Bandwagon

Saw this add for Pepsi on TV yesterday. The Superbowl ad is presumably meant to dovetail with the cola company's latest billboard campaign that focuses heavily on the call for change inspired by the Obama campaign (see Current's take on it). Featuring video of rapper-turned-social activist Will.i.am rapping over Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young', the commercial succeeds in defining a new generation of social activism driven by optimismmm.

Zen and the Art of Kanye West

Kanye visits Big Boy's Neighborhood from qdeezy on Vimeo.

Through tragedy and an ever-expanding musical repertoire, Kanye West's avant garde approach to art and design has turned the one-time Chicago beat-maker into a global ambassador for hip hop. Although I'm a big fan of his music, it's his outlook on life and the state of things that I really respect. Watch this clip of Kanye discussing life, those gay rumors and the Chris Brown-Rihanna blow up.

Bye, Bye, Bye

TRL - MTV Shows

MTV aired its last episode of TRL on Sunday after 10 long years of providing afterschool entertainment to millions of teens. An all-star line-up of celebrities, many of whom rode the TRL wave to pop stardom in the late '90s and early '00s, made appearances in a 3-hour-long tribute to the MTV staple. It really is the end of an era.

Death Cab

Death Cab for Cutie is one of those bands that I've liked since high school that have gone from indie to not-so-indie-anymore. And while some might have turned their sights from the band as the masses latched on, I'm still very much a fan of Ben and the gang, and was really happy to find out that they would be performing nearby.

Death Cab performed Friday night at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange just about 15 minutes out of the city centre. The venue was nice enough. A Glass House sized hall nestled between a row of town houses (I sort of feel bad for the residents) and an ASDA (that would be the UK version of Wal-Mart). DCfC being such a popular band, I expected the venue to be arena-sized, but we were actually pretty close to everything.

The opener was a Scottish band called Frightened Rabbit, who seemed pretty popular with the local crowd. I only knew one of their songs...but enjoyed their catchy shrieking nevertheless. ('I Feel Better' was especially good.)

Death Cab themselves were very good. What was interesting, I thought, was the nonchanlance with which Ben Gibbard and the band made their way to the stage. For one of the biggest singers/songwriters in the past five or so years, they did not act like it. (He even traded in his trademark horn-rimmed glasses for contacts?!) No theatrics, just music. They barrelled through about an hour and a half of their more well-known tracks, starting with 'Bixby Canyon Bridge' off of their Narrow Stairs album and ending their encore with 'Transatlanticism.' The high point: the crowd joining Gibbard and his guitar for a hushed, almost transcendant version of 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark.'

Okkervil River!

Earlier this fall, I was saddened to learn that Okkervil River (a quality folk/alternative outfit out of Texas, one of my personal favorites) was planning a show in LA as part of their Stand Ins tour while I was here in far-off Scotland. In early October, however, one of my friends at Pop! Music pointed out to me that they would actually be making a stop in Glasgow (that's about an hour from Edinburgh by bus) on their European leg. I immediately scooped up tickets.

Just as I heard from my friends who actually did attend last month's show, Okkervil did not disappoint. I'm used to seeing bands that are great on record and so-so live, but I can honestly say that Okkervil, even with a limited repertoire of instruments shipped trans-Atlantic, sounded better in Glasgow than I've ever heard. Lead singer Will Sheff's unique brand of histrionics and subtle crooning blended seamlessly with the intricate soundscapes that have made Okkervil of my favorites. The lyrics, already powerful, brought to life by a gesture, an upward glance. My only complaint: I didn't get to hear "Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979."

The Sunday evening concert was also my first time in Glasgow. When we arrived at Buchanan Bus Station, the rain turned to hail, remarkably, then suddenly stopped. From the moment I stumbled off of the bus, slightly carsick, I realized that Glasgow had a different feel than Edinburgh and really anywhere I've been in Europe over the past three months. It was more commercial, more brightly lit, more American. The subway was squat, more like the boats in 'It's A Small World' at Disneyland than what I had expected from Scotland's only underground system. And the venue, Oran Mor (which apparently means 'Big Song' in Gaelic), was great. Best shellfish and chips I've ever had.

Luda!

Got an email from ASPC [Associated Students of Pomona College] today which was sort of depressing seeing as I'm 5,000 miles away from where this is going down. It read:

Ludacris tickets go on sale TOMORROW (10/23) at Bridges Auditorium at 9:00am for a Saturday, November 22^nd show.

Tickets are $35.00 w/ 5-C ID

Just when I thought I would finally get to see "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)" live...

The Wait is Over

Following label disputes, a brief touring stint with a musically-reformed Mandy Moore and five years of blogged promises of a Sophomore release, Rachael Yamagata - the songstress out of Virginia Beach - released the two-part "Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into" this week riding a sigh of relief to the sixth position on the iTunes bestseller list.

"Elephants," the first in the two-part series, harkens back to the misty intrigue of 2004's "Happenstance." Replacing chick rock crescendos with subtle whispers over intricate soundscapes that sound more Sigur Ros than Sarah McLachlan, Yamagata has not lost herself. "Elephants" is hands down the best of the lot, at once recalling the simplicity of songwriting that has made Yamagata the darling of folksy artists like Bright Eyes, (the post-Candy) Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams, and showing a complex interplay of music and lyric.

Admittedly, the second four-song set, "Teeth Sinking Into..." is a bit of a stretch. Taking the precarious angstiness of songs like "Letter Read" a bit over the edge, the second in the two part collection seems an unecessary addition to a release that otherwise would've shown an elegant progression for Yamagata. Rock-tendencies aside, a satisfying release that almost makes the four year wait worth it...Almost.

Say What??

In a match made in iTunes shuffle heaven, Okkervil River's latest music video for "Lost Coastlines" off their "The Stand Ins" LP was featured on Kanye West's personal blog this week. 'Ye-mazing.

Music!

Courtesy of last.fm and my good friends at POP!Music, I'm slowly beginning to compile a list of bands I'd like to see that are rolling through Scotland (that would be Edinburgh and Glasgow) over the next few months. The list, as expected, is not as saturated as say a list of bands playing back in Los Angeles might be, but it's decent...

Note the lopsidedness in the concert distribution between Edinburgh (the city I live in) and Glasgow ( a city about 30 minutes to the West by train). It's a good fall to be in Glasgow, I guess.

October 2008:
1 - The Hold Steady - ABC Glasgow - Glasgow
11 - British Sea Power - ABC Glasgow - Glasgow
12 - CSS - Liquid Room - Edinburgh
18 - Jenny Lewis - Queen Margaret Union - Glasgow
21 - Fall Out Boy / Boys Like Girls - Queen Margaret Union - Glasgow
- Mogwai / Fuck Buttons - Edinburgh Corn Exchange - Edinburgh
23 - Tilly And The Wall - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow
29 - Vampire Weekend - Barrowlands - Glasgow

November 2008:
4 - Oasis - S.E.C.C. - Glasgow
6 - SIGUR ROS - Carling Academy Glasgow - Glasgow
9 - Okkervil River* - Oran Mor - Glasgow
- MGMT - Barrowlands - Glasgow
14 - Death Cab for Cutie - Edinburgh Corn Exchange - Edinburgh
16 - Kanye West - S.E.C.C. - Glasgow
25 - McFly - S.E.C.C. - Glasgow

December 2008:
5 - Coldplay - S.E.C.C. - Glasgow
7 - Kings of Leon - S.E.C.C. - Glasgow

*I apologize to Okkervil River for the faux pas that I am about to commit, but their new album, The Stand Ins, is just so good it deserves sharing! Get it on RapidShare here. Stand-out tracks include 'Lost Coastlines' with its bubbly melancholy, and, a personal favorite, 'Bruce Wayne Campbell on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979', an epic ode to an '80s glam rocker lifted off too soon.

Finlay MacDonald Band

When you think Scottish music, you generally turn immediately to bag pipes and fiddles. Coming across many a street performer piping 'Amazing Grace' in his finest kilt in my first few weeks in Edinburgh, I was beginning to think that it was more of a novelty to the Scots - say what the Hula is to some in Hawaii. (There are, I've been noticing, a lot of parallels to be drawn between the fight to preserve Highland Culture in Scotland and the fight to preserve the culture of the Hawaiian Islands...but I'll post on that later.)

A couple days ago, however, while playing cards with a couple of my flatmates, Brit rock and other assorted tunes humming from one of their iPods, the twang of bag pipes blast through the room. It wasn't the New York funeral type music we're used to. Not the wafting, melancholy of a lone Scotsman...but a lively, almost jazzy melody underscored by pulsing beats not so far from the techno I'd grown accustomed to in Spain. While I suspect there are a number of outfits making neo-Scottish folk akin to my first taste of the genre, the band I'm most interested these days is the Finlay MacDonald Band. (Check out their MySpace page for more samples.)

Brilliant stuff coming straight outta Scotland.

Champion

This has nothing to do with Edinburgh or travel, but it's cool.

Kanye West "Champion Video" Official Directed by NEON from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.