UK Producer duo Mighty Mouse felt like starting the week on the right foot. Keeping true to their cinematic disco sound, the group hand picked some “blissful” gems for you to kick off this Moody Monday with a smile.
Every week we ask a person, or persons of note to pick a mood and then 5 songs that put them in that mood. See Mighty Mouse’s choice below.
Mood: Blissful
Before we begin, in the unlikely chance a pre-Gen X/Baby Boomer is reading this, a bit of advice: This movie, and truncated review, is not for you. The references in both the movie and text might be a bit too low-brow and beneath your scope. But hey, there’s always The Expendables!
That being said, now back to your regular programming.
Ever wished for a film that was part Japanese manga and part 8-bit Nintendo video game? Neither did we. That’s like cooking an omelet with Pocky Sticks and Pokemon. Each is great in their own right, but blended together? Not so much.
Luckily, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), is able to blend both pop arts seamlessly, infusing a healthy dose of comedy and rock and roll, while delving headfirst into one of life’s biggest taboos.
When it comes to dating, successfully, things naturally start to turn a bit serious and a few things happen with this transition. Bases are rounded, respective friends are met, and conversations turn towards the past, at which the inevitable talk will happen. No, not the one involving the birds and the bees. That comes from your parents or the strange, grope-y uncle who reeks of cheap bourbon.
I was watching this old Bugs Bunny cartoon the other day in which Bugs goes on a vacation to Ozark Arkansas. The episode, titled “Hillbilly Hare” (made in the 50′s, hence the lack of PC) got me wondering what a trip to the Ozarks would really be like, not only as a destination, but as a vacation! I decided to do some research and see what kind of shenanigans one could get themselves into down there and It turns out there is a lot more to do than belly-flopping into the local watering hole. This is what I found.
For whatever reason, The Memory Tapes is one of those groups a bunch of us at ChinaShop all sort of stumbled upon separately and just decided that we loved. And for whatever reason Dayve Hawke’s mad and eclectic genius has garnered the attention of a lot of famous players, including Britney Spears and Phoenix — and he’s ended up doing quite a bit of remix work for all of them, so whatever he’s doing, I guess it’s working. I can’t point out exactly what it was about their first single, ‘Bicycle’, that had me so hooked, but I guess that’s what a great musician does — manages to tap that mainstream pulse and get your blood boiling for some indiscernible reason. On this particular episode of Fireside Chat, Hawke sorts through some of his main sources of inspiration: Aphex Twin, and Lindesfarne, Black Sabbath, and lo and behold — The friggin’ Cocteau Twins is his favorite band of all time? If anything, Hawke proves that he’s got an eclectic mix of genres that influenced him — many of them from the days of vinyl and cassette, which he presents on this episode remastered and re-formatted for a new era. In this case, it’s downright confusing, perhaps adding to the mystery heaped upon him by the indie media (not helped by the fact that his wikipedia page says Hawke is “known to be a recluse and is hesitant on touring, due to a fear of airplanes”). Go figure. You can get a peak inside his warped mind now at Red Bull Music Academy Radio.
Parking tickets are one of the biggest pains in the butt in life. You head to an area with absolutely no place to park, you’re already running late, you circle the block over and over again and finally see a space and frantically pull in. You are so happy that you found a place to stash your car that you don’t stop to read the tiny and super confusing sign designating a street sweeping zone, half a block away. It doesn’t matter if you just got back from a great date, a stellar business meeting, or a relaxing day at the spa; when you walk back to your car and are greeted with that pesky white envelope so lovingly shoved underneath your wiper blades, your brain instantly turns to storm clouds. If you are a resident of Santa Monica and cursed with having to resort to daily street parking, you might want to consider calling upon the Ticket Angels.
When you get together with out-of-town friends, it best be memorable. This is precisely why I decided to join my usually remote comrades Gala, Nubby, Amy, Kevin, and Danielle at Disneyland. It had been years since my previous visit, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew there would be rides and crowds, but would I still have fun after the initial shock of color and people wore off? I wasn’t the only one wondering – I’m pretty sure I heard Gala exclaim “I can’t believe you’re at Disneyland!” at least three times. Even as a worldly maestro of advanced years I enjoyed myself, whether it was making myself dizzy on the teacup ride, marveling at the thousands of attendees, trying on very special hats, scarfing junk food, bustin’ a move at the night-time PG rave at neighboring California Adventure Park, or destroying gift shop displays with bubble gun warfare. Sure, there’s a somewhat incongruous captain Jack Sparrow inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride now, but I sort of enjoyed him. And speaking of captains, Captain Eo is back, and the new[ish] Tower of Terror ride is a tribute to The Twilight Zone, which I adore. Though I don’t see myself buying a pair of sequined mouse ears or being a season pass holder, I’m looking forward to the next time. With so many bloggers in our midst, cameras were present and plenty. Proof of adventurefuns, below!
Brooklyn emcee Killah Priest has accrued quite a few aliases over the years; Iron Sheik, Masada or you could even call him by his government name, Walter Reed. He’s been down with the world famous Wu-Tang crew since the beginning, and was even part of Wu splinter groups like The Grave Diggaz and The Sunz of Man. However, no matter what project he’s working on, you always know what to expect when you pop in a Killah Priest CD. It’ll be knowledge-drenched, cerebral, metaphysical, anti-bling, apocalypse-themed verses. Due to his unique musical content, he’s developed a strong following and released several solo albums which have been supported wholeheartedly by his loyal fanbase. Oh and lest we forget, he is also ¼ of the deadly consortium of devastating lyricists known as THE HRSMN which also comprises of Ras Kass, Canibus and Kurupt.
Killah Priest’s newly released LP is titled the “3-Day Theory” (released via Man Bite Dog) records, and we caught up with the man who calls his style of lyricism “Stained Glass Writing” to talk about his latest opus.
Generally, I don’t expect to discover talented fashion designers while visiting the blogs of my favorite comic book writers. Yet, when I read Paul Cornell’s account of CONvergence 2010, several photos he’d posted of girls in Doctor Who-inspired dresses caught my eye. A 1960s-style TARDIS dress?! I wanted one immediately.
In this way, I discovered the work of Tara Reich.
Reich’s family is in the antiques business, and early exposure to items ranging from space toys to Roseville pottery sparked a fascination with Old World and contemporary design aesthetics. However, it wasn’t until Reich, an avid fangirl, got involved in cosplay that she saw fashion design as a career option. She graduated from the fashion design program at Columbia College, Chicago in 2009, and won the Chicago Fashion Foundation Scholarship that year.
Some heavy sh#t drops this week — Filter is back with a vengeance with The Trouble With Angels, Soundgarden gives us Black Rain that’s hopefully nothing like Ozzy’s; Iron Maiden takes you to their own Final Frontier; and NOFX unleashes a Long one. Near the other end of the musical spectrum, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson continues his perennial acid trip; and some dude named Lil’ Wayne tries to prove he’s above it all. See you next week for more rock n’roll and witticisms.
The Bewitched Hands On The Top Of Our Heads – Hard To Cry EP
Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
Chief – Modern Rituals
David Gray – Foundling
Filter – The Trouble With Angels
Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier
Lil’ Wayne – Right Above It (feat. Drake) [Single]
Matthew Dear – Black City
NOFX – The Longest EP
Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs – God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Let It Sway
Soundgarden – Black Rain [Single]
“Everyone loves dessert. You could be the worst cook ever but if you pull through with dessert, you will always be popular,” states Claire Thomas, food stylist, personal chef, food photographer, blogger for The Kitchy Kitchen, and couture dolly cake baker. “I grew up always having these super wacky cakes around just because my mom is sort of an eccentric baker, as is my aunt – with both of them together, every birthday was crazy,” explains Claire Thomas as she escorts me into her kitchen at her family’s home in Brentwood. Once we arrive, sitting on the table is a China Shop inspired dolly cake – a blonde Barbie doll with frosted blue hair wearing a ball gown that is in the process of being decorated with pieces of broken white chocolate tiles in a blue and white broken china motif. Claire’s mother soon passed through the kitchen to which Claire affectionately exclaimed, “She’s the one who started this whole mess.”