Category: Uncategorized

Dropping the Needle

Natalie Minor Leave a comment

Vinyl LPs have been back ‘in’ as far as trends go for a few years now, and whether it be dusting off your parents old Bruce Springsteen records (thanks Dad!) flipping through Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash at record stores, or buying new releases of contemporary artists at Urban Outfitters (and getting the stink eye from other music fans), there are plenty of ways to get in on the game. It is absolutely true that vinyls have a richer sound, and that the pops and feedback add to the experience, though it’s not for everyone. It is also absolutely true that Crosley record players are awful and should be avoided at all costs – it is way better to save your money and make an investment, unless you really dig hearing skips throughout a whole playback of a record you just dropped a pretty penny on.

Building a record collection is pretty fun and also nostalgic – there is something special about holding an old piece of plastic in your hands and realizing that someone opened it for the first time 60 years ago and had the same emotions you did when you played it for the first time. There is something really cool about taking the Beatles ’65 album you stole from your mom out of its sleeve and seeing that someone had filled out an order form for the Beach Boys that was probably denied by their parents. There is something downright hilarious about flashing the cover of The Monkees at your dad at a barn sale and hearing him mutter about how ‘they didn’t even play their own instruments’ because he is still in denial that he LOVED watching their show when he was a wee boy. (Side note: IFC plays The Monkees sometimes on weekend mornings, and you can see just how hard Davy Jones tried to talk himself out of many a pinch with that British accent.)

There are so many things to explore in the world of vinyl, and one of the coolest things that I’ve been into recently is colored vinyl. It’s been around forever, but is much more rare than the traditional black and also much easier to stare at for hours. In recent years it has resurfaced as a cool medium for ‘limited edition’ releases, which is even more exciting because if you got it you’re one of a proud few, and if you missed the original release you’re just SOL. I just got a double colored LP of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds that came in electric blue and pink, so in case you’re having trouble picturing just how rad this is, I’ve got a pic:

Displaying IMG_4388.JPG

How cool is that? If this doesn’t make you want to buy more records, I don’t know what will.

Beach House at the Royal Oak

WillJang Leave a comment

On Sept. 19, I experienced Beach House live and the performance was nothing short of spectacular. One thing that I was immediately surprised by was how loud the band was. Listening to their records on your phone or computer with headphones doesn’t measure up to the bass that leaves your body weak and the wall of sound created by Alex Scally’s melodic guitar and Victoria Legrand’s vocals – that reach tones on both ends of the spectrum with such power and rocking ferocity – forcing you into a trance. It was a concert that was so visceral it left you wondering how the time went by so fast. But you feel rejuvenated and excited. The experience is virtually ineffable. As one person at the show put it, “You guys are fucking killing it!” And to give you a context of the vibes of the show, Victoria responded to all the praise at one point by saying, “This is gonna be a four hour set.”

For a moment, I want to talk about the lighting on the show.

But before that, I will make a brief aside and say that the Royal Oak Theater (the venue where the concert was held) was absolutely beautiful, I highly recommend everyone to check out their website for future shows (they have acts varying from Beirut to stand up shows by Craig Ferguson – a man who, with absolute genius, deconstructed the Late Show format).

Anyways, back to the lighting. On the stage, there were three white rectangles that were made from some light thread – for the light easily went through it. Behind those rectangles were lights on the floor that could change color along with the lights from the top of the stage. The combination of these transformed the stage from deep red, to a rich sea blue, to a starry white. Complimenting these colors was the lights in the backstage, that were filled with dotted light bulbs that lit up for certain songs to emulate a starry night. Here is a link to some professional pictures of the show.

Beach House at Royal Oak Music Theatre

It is quite interesting that their album jacket for their new album, Depression Cherry (for the vinyl anyways, I assume that the CD cases are the same), is covered in deep red velvet. The comfortable feeling of the velvet doesn’t account for their visceral live show. The two are so considerably different and perhaps that is why it is so special. This is only the second concert I have ever gone to, so although such conclusions may seem late, it is only because of my lack of experience that I am just now beginning to realize the power of concerts.

Here is the set list for those that are interested.

Levitation
Walk in the Park
Lazuli
Gila
PPP
Beyond Love
Norway
On the Sea
Other People
Space Song
Myth
Wildflower
Wishes
Sparks

Encore
Wherever You Go
10 Mile Stereo

Here is a full stream of my favorite Beach House album, Teen Dream, for those who have never experienced the majesty of this band (but honestly all their albums are amazing – hard to pick a favorite – so I included all the streams provided by Sub Pop).

 

 

The Mixtape

Cait 1 Comment

As a sort of conditioning or pep-talk to myself, I’ve decided that my sophomore year of college at UofM will be a year of self-love, a year of self-acceptance, self-exploration, self-embracement, and being unapologetically “me” and all the things that coalesce into a hazardous, but lovely, marbled sector of “shared space” on the “Me” Venn Diagram. In an act of naive but confident resolution, I’ve decided I know who I am now and I am not willing to compromise that for any one person or any amount of necessity to capitulate who I am to the Sheeple Effect here at Michigan. If we’re coming down to brass tax, what I mean is I’m a boss-ass bitch. I’m a cool lady and I’m gonna “do me” this year. Sorry, mom.

Here are a few songs by female artists that are also bad ass bitches. These ladies belt and play their hearts out unapologetically in the face of a male-dominated industry that wants to shrink them into sexy, solo acts in lieu of Pop Top 20. These fierce musicians play on in their own unique styles that range from freak-folk to spoken word and kick ass the whole way there.

Bold Folds: The Art of Origami

camsterdam Leave a comment

Autumn is in the air. In the tap-tapping of boots on pavement; in the crackle of falling leaves; in the rumbling roar of maize-wearing Wolverines. Trees hang heavy with apples, ripe for picking. Coffeehouses waft invitations of pumpkin spice and cinnamon out into the streets. And then, there’s the chill – a blessing and curse at the same time. Some days are energetic. Grab a scarf and a walking companion and the cold disappears. But other days are drizzly, gray, and frankly, a bit seasonally depressing. When days like those hit, why not grab some perfectly patterned square bits of paper and fold away the stress of classes and decorate your room at the same time?

This past summer, while at home rummaging around the craft closet for school supplies, I came across an old packet of Origami paper and felt my childhood flash back. The hours I could spend, practicing patience, dedicating a long-attention span to folding and unfolding paper, to licking and nursing the cuts on my fingers. The pleasure of creating a menagerie of cranes, penguins, dragons, rabbits, fish, foxes, elephants, (but mostly cranes), and set them up on the table before me. Made from my own hand.

I remembered reading the children’s book, “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” by Eleanor Coerr, for a first grade book report project. An inspirational book, indeed, that makes you want to go out and make something, do something, to put a smile on someone else’s face. My mom and I had toiled away to make a crane for each student in the class, and it was all worth the effort.

With such good memories folded neatly in my brain, I decided to bring the packet of multi-colored pre-cut squares with me to college this year. Every once in a while, I take out a sheet, put on a YouTube tutorial video, and focus on the folds – a great distraction from homework.

The word ‘origami’ comes from the Japanese ‘ori’ meaning folding and ‘kami’ which means paper. The art of paper folding is mostly credited to the sixth-century Japanese monks who created simple, religious designs for Shinto ceremonies. Paper folding spread around the world, to Spain, the Middle East, Britain and the US, and continues to be a flourishing art form today.

One of the great marvels of origami is that all it requires is one piece of square paper. Pre-cut squares, some plain-colored, some patterned, can be bought at craft and stationery shops for $1-4, depending on the paper count. Not too crippling an expense when you consider that no glue, scissors or tape are necessary! Ingenuity and patience is all that’s needed, that and some good, clear instructions.

Most origami packs come with some poorly drawn step-by-step instructions. But, we’re in the digital age and can and should take advantage of YouTube videos (it’s loaded with them!) and dedicated websites like origami-instructions.com and origami.me. The trick is to master a few basic folds (inside and outside reverse, the petal fold, the valley and mountain fold) and a couple of bases (bird base, diamond base, kite base) and then a world of paper folding will, dare I say it, unfold for you. Soon you will be surrounded by ninja stars, hopping frogs and lotus flowers.

The great thing is that origami can be as private as you want it to be. No one has to know if your rabbit looks more like an earless rat. The art is in the doing and the concentration, the manual labor, the effort. Frustration and mistakes may come, but that’s all part of the art process. Of course, once you’ve mastered the crane, you will always have a party trick up your sleeve. A paper napkin can, with a bit of dexterity, be transformed into a thing of wonder! Your friends’ jaws will drop as you crease and sculpt and reveal a creature whose wings flap when they tug its tail.

And who knows? One day, you could be like Florigami founder and origami artist, Floriane Toultou!

Floriane Toultou’s “Silver Unicorn” (via goodstuffhappenedtoday)

So let the scarves, the autumn days, and your stress unfold – and indulge yourself in a little bit of paper magic. You’ll be glad you did!

Game-Tube-Thing: It’s A Thing

Jeannie Marie Leave a comment

Yes, okay. I’ll admit it. I’ve been keeping a secret from you.

I, Jeannie Marie, am a game tuber.

Or…game tuber watcher. Game tuber-er? I don’t know what we’re called, but I watch GameTube. *gasp*

Thanks to Jimmy Kimmel, there’s a large percentage of people who know what game tube is. But for those of you that don’t know, which I’m still assuming is a large percentage of people, GameTube is the new Youtube website specifically devoted to gaming. Or rather, watching people game. And I mean game as in video games (like people actually play football anymore. Pshhhhhhhhh).

And yes, you can laugh. The thing I found the funniest about Jimmy Kimmel’s segment is that yeah…it’s stupid. I will be the first one to admit that. Watching people play video games is kind of weird and silly. So I’m not here to defend people who watch them, or even defend myself. I’m here to think. To wonder.

Is game-watching a new form of entertainment? And if so…can it be art?

Well let’s think about this. Art, of course, has to be defined before game-watching can be put in this category. And I have no clue how to define art. If you have a nice handy dandy definition, please share, because this is something I’ve been struggling with since coming to this university.

In one sense, I guess game-watching is art. I mean, it’s entertainment, and it’s on a platform where people can view it and share it. I know there are plenty of things on YouTube right now that I’d consider art, mostly of the audio/visual kind, for obvious reasons. There’s adaptations of novels, music videos, original short series, and everything in between. I don’t think you can call YouTube art, but it’s pretty dang close, especially when art is closely aligned (but not defined as) entertainment. So yes, game-watching is entertainment. Part of the reason why people watch other people play video games is because of the people, not because of the game itself.

But what is the game itself? Is that art too, or is that something completely separate from the personalities playing the games?

This, I think, is a bit clearer. Yes, video games are art – commercial art, yes, but art nonetheless. It isn’t fair to call the latest Pixar/Miyazaki/Dreamworks movie “art” and not call video game design art. There’s some dang beautiful video games out there, both in visuals and specs. Ever heard of Limbo? There’s also a lot to be said about the storytelling aspect. I mean, open-world games like Destiny or Grand Theft Auto might not really float your boat, but if you play a game with a really good story, you’re mesmerized.

So there’s the video game side. But then there’s people…some comedians for all intents and purposes. Are they art? Certainly entertaining…but art?

Hmmm. The world may never know.

Halloween Screams

Natalie Minor 1 Comment

FORGET pumpkin spice. Tomorrow is the first day of October, which means it’s time to accept what all you non-spooky people of the world have been denying for the entire month of September. IT’S HALLOWEEN. Yes, the official date of Halloween is at the end of the month, but really there is enough to go around for all 31 days and then some, so don’t be a spoil-sport and deny yourself of some of the greatest binge-watching and jump scares (if that’s your cup of tea) that the world wide web has to offer.

Now, I may be a little biased, seeing as my birthday is basically Halloween plus/minus 24 hours, but this holiday is not just for the Scorpios of the world. Halloween is all about nostalgia – connecting to old pagan and folk roots and traditions, celebrating the supernatural creatures that we’ve come to know as myth, and recognizing our connection to the past through talk of the unknown. Sure it’s become an increasingly commercialized holiday that is no longer associated with its religious origins, but the increased awareness of the things that lurk in the shadows is something that is not lost upon us. If the upcoming sixth installment of Paranormal Activity tells us anything, it’s that we still do have an interest in the unexplained, even if we try to come up with any excuse to tell each other otherwise (see: “yeah, man, Paranormal Activity wasn’t scary at all, I totally didn’t have trouble sleeping for a week after”).

So what’s my point? If you spend the entire year living with your face pointed at the sun and avoid the shadows, now is the time to step over to the creepy side. I’m giving you an excuse to watch those ghost shows that you don’t believe at all but that are just so interesting to watch. Give Ghost Hunters a try if you want to watch something that could trick you into believing in the spirit world, or Ghost Adventures if you just want to watch a guy with extreme shark fin hair talk dramatically at the camera. If you want to be creeped out and listen to some famous people, check out Celebrity Ghost Stories – but maybe not at night. There is a new show called Amish Haunting that is incredibly fake and disturbing (i.e. goat baby), but it’s the kind of train wreck from which you can’t look away.

Don’t forget the horror movies – the State Theater will be screening A Nightmare on Elm Street, Goodnight Mommy, and Rocky Horror Picture Show in October. Rocky Horror is a must, but make sure you look up the show’s traditions first. Don’t forget the family movies either. You may not be eight years old anymore, but Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown will still hit the spot. Who doesn’t want Bette Midler to put a spell on them? And lest you forget, Halloween is just another excuse for you to watch Harry Potter. ABC family will of course be showing the boy wizard during their 13 Nights of Halloween, along with gems like Caspar and the Addams Family.

I’ll leave you to it, then, while I go watch something just a tad bit scary. I’ll just put these here to pique your interest:

 

(Say hi to Kevin McCallister’s mom – yeah I went there, Christmas is around the bend)

 

As an aside, I would like to thank the unusually large number of trick-or-treaters that breezed through my parent’s neighborhood almost 22 years ago, and my brothers for making my dad take them trick-or-treating so that my 9-months-pregnant mother had to keep getting up to answer the door.