Dots and Loops

liner notes and doodles in pop
Everything about Ash Reiter’s newish single ”Heatwave” is cloying in that particularly Zooey Deschanel way: chick singing in a modest, syrupy old-soul voice, softly strummed acoustic guitar — you start hearing ukuleles even though there aren’t any — and “doo-doo“‘s and “woah-oh“‘s galore. But what are you gonna do?  It’s got an infectious guitar hook, sunny West Coast disposition, and endearingly low-key vocals from Reiter.  She’s not trying to convince you she has a good voice, she’s just drawing you a cute cartoon.  It’s sort of perfect in the way twee singularly attempts to be.  Worthy compliment to the Camera Obscura in your collection.

Everything about Ash Reiter’s newish single ”Heatwave” is cloying in that particularly Zooey Deschanel way: chick singing in a modest, syrupy old-soul voice, softly strummed acoustic guitar — you start hearing ukuleles even though there aren’t any — and “doo-doo“‘s and “woah-oh“‘s galore.

But what are you gonna do?  It’s got an infectious guitar hook, sunny West Coast disposition, and endearingly low-key vocals from Reiter.  She’s not trying to convince you she has a good voice, she’s just drawing you a cute cartoon.  It’s sort of perfect in the way twee singularly attempts to be.  Worthy compliment to the Camera Obscura in your collection.

In an alternate universe, where The Stills didn’t follow up LOGIC WILL BREAK YOUR HEART with the frankly terrible WITHOUT FEATHERS, resides EIGHT AND HALF, a burnishing record of electronic moodscapes held together by dramatically improved singing on the part of Dave Hamelin (chief songwriter in the now-defunct Stills) and skittering beats from Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene). Even more so than OCEANS WILL RISE, EIGHT AND A HALF feels like the sequel that never was — synthy enough to be trendy, but melodically distinct enough to be recognizable as Stills territory.  Highlights include “Scissors,” “Took a Train to India,” and the stuttering light-show “Two Points.”

In an alternate universe, where The Stills didn’t follow up LOGIC WILL BREAK YOUR HEART with the frankly terrible WITHOUT FEATHERS, resides EIGHT AND HALF, a burnishing record of electronic moodscapes held together by dramatically improved singing on the part of Dave Hamelin (chief songwriter in the now-defunct Stills) and skittering beats from Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene).

Even more so than OCEANS WILL RISE, EIGHT AND A HALF feels like the sequel that never was — synthy enough to be trendy, but melodically distinct enough to be recognizable as Stills territory.  Highlights include “Scissors,” “Took a Train to India,” and the stuttering light-show “Two Points.”

extraordimarygirl:

I love this chick so much and her impersonation of Kristen Stewart. Haha.

Ha

A conversation on Woody Allen

  • EC: Which Woody Allen movie makes you the most uncomfortable?
  • BC: Manhattan. By far.
  • EC: How come?
  • BC: I mean come on... it's Woody Allen and a teenage girl. How can you not shudder?
  • EC: I think at the time no one really knew that he had those kind of hang-ups in real life though. Well I mean, I guess it wouldn't have been hard to figure out, but still... I feel like there's no way the average viewer could have known it was all that biographical.
  • BC: I know it's iconic and everything, I just can't. I really don't like any of his black and white movies, to be honest. "Celebrity?" That was the worst. And what was Ken Branagh doing in that movie?
  • EC: You mean why was he in it?
  • BC: No, I mean what was he doing?
  • EC: It was supposed to be a Woody Allen impersonation.
  • BC: "Supposed" being the operative word.

Chillgaze

The DNA of chillwave as told through sibling and ancestral genres.

Captain Sharp’s Playlist

thekhooll: Liu Yang, China’s first female astronaut It might not be a giant step for mankind, but Saturday’s launch of a piloted space capsule known as Shenzhou-9 marks China’s breakthrough into the exclusive club once made up only of the United States and Russia. And as far as womankind is concerned, there is another first. One of the three astronauts in the capsule is a woman, 33-year-old Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space.

thekhooll:

Liu Yang, China’s first female astronaut

It might not be a giant step for mankind, but Saturday’s launch of a piloted space capsule known as Shenzhou-9 marks China’s breakthrough into the exclusive club once made up only of the United States and Russia. And as far as womankind is concerned, there is another first. One of the three astronauts in the capsule is a woman, 33-year-old Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space.

English seaside shoot for the single “Nothing Changes Around Here.”  Perhaps the last we’ve seen of The Thrills?

Just saw Prometheus and while not a great film, it did re-awaken my interest in the genre.  Specifically, works of popular art questioning the origin and meaning of human life.  I’ll be examining these works, including fine art, films, and music in the coming weeks.

Just saw Prometheus and while not a great film, it did re-awaken my interest in the genre.  Specifically, works of popular art questioning the origin and meaning of human life.  I’ll be examining these works, including fine art, films, and music in the coming weeks.

One of the best New Yorker covers in a long while.

One of the best New Yorker covers in a long while.