I love old movies, and being a typenerd, love their titles as well. What can I say? They are awesome. There will be more to come, because I can't get enough of them.
Here are some good ones.
Here are some good ones.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Viva La Klosterman!
I know this blog has been alittle Klosterman-centric of late, but I do want to give special attention to Fargo Rock City. This book has dominated my thoughts of late, and could double as a memoir of my youth. Here, this says it best:
"Klosterman's highly touted debut has as much to do with Fargo, N.D., as the Coen brothers' slice of Americabre, Fargo. That is, nothing at all, really. Misleadingly titled to cash in on Fargo's cinematic mystique, Klosterman's memoir about growing up a sexually repressed metalhead, with a humiliating (mom-dictated) Richie Cunningham haircut is actually set in Wyndmere, N.D. Klosterman starts up with a bang ("You know, I've never had long hair"), shifts gears often (from memoir to music criticism, somewhat jarringly at times), and rarely idles. Ultimately, though, Klosterman, ironic throughout the book, does not write with enough sincerity to prove his thesis "that all that poofy, sexist, shallow glam rock was important." Granted, it's a daunting task to write a hymn of praise to the genre that spawned David Lee Roth so the author wisely stretches his pop-culture references like taffy. In the final chapter Klosterman, now an arts critic for Ohio's Akron Beacon Journal, quotes a friend's definition of a "guilty pleasure" "something I pretend to like ironically, but in truth is something I really just like" to explain how he really feels about glam metal. His closing summation of what metal means to isolated kids in the heartland will strike a power chord for many readers. Fans of 1980s M”tley Crue, Poison and Ratt are pushing 30 and 40 and seeking a nostalgia trip".
"Klosterman's highly touted debut has as much to do with Fargo, N.D., as the Coen brothers' slice of Americabre, Fargo. That is, nothing at all, really. Misleadingly titled to cash in on Fargo's cinematic mystique, Klosterman's memoir about growing up a sexually repressed metalhead, with a humiliating (mom-dictated) Richie Cunningham haircut is actually set in Wyndmere, N.D. Klosterman starts up with a bang ("You know, I've never had long hair"), shifts gears often (from memoir to music criticism, somewhat jarringly at times), and rarely idles. Ultimately, though, Klosterman, ironic throughout the book, does not write with enough sincerity to prove his thesis "that all that poofy, sexist, shallow glam rock was important." Granted, it's a daunting task to write a hymn of praise to the genre that spawned David Lee Roth so the author wisely stretches his pop-culture references like taffy. In the final chapter Klosterman, now an arts critic for Ohio's Akron Beacon Journal, quotes a friend's definition of a "guilty pleasure" "something I pretend to like ironically, but in truth is something I really just like" to explain how he really feels about glam metal. His closing summation of what metal means to isolated kids in the heartland will strike a power chord for many readers. Fans of 1980s M”tley Crue, Poison and Ratt are pushing 30 and 40 and seeking a nostalgia trip".
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Buy it here.
Zinn's Revenge - Just Too Good
Been reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. This is a book that I have been wanting to read for years, and have heard so much about that I was afraid it could not live up to the hype. I am happy to report that it does in fact, live up to the hype and more. Zinn begins with pre-revolutionary war America and works his way up to today. This is a book that should be required reading for all high school students, as Zinn calls upon extensive research to offer a first person take on historical events as they happened. A must read.
Buy it here.
Buy it here.
My Favorite Comtemporary Designer: Sandrine Pagnoux
Sandrine Pagnoux is a French graphic artist, and is my very favorite contemporary designer. She combines black and white photography, painting, drawing, and illustration to create a distinct look. As an artist and designer who is committed to the mixed media aesthetic, I have been struck by her work for years. Pagnoux's style has been a major influence on me as an artist and designer.
Check Pagnoux out at: http://jullesetjulles.club.fr/index.htm
Check Pagnoux out at: http://jullesetjulles.club.fr/index.htm
Great Design/Culture Site
The design and culture blog, Lost At E Minor is an excellent site devoted to all of the things I enjoy in life - art, film, design, music, illustration, architecture, etc. It is chock full of great stuff to suck time from your life.
Check it out at: http://www.lostateminor.com/
Check it out at: http://www.lostateminor.com/
Videos of the Week: Double Shot of Morrissey
It is no secret that I am a psychotically huge Morrissey fan. That's right, to those of you who don't know who Morrissey is (or Moz as his fans sometime refer to him), he was the lead singer of The Smiths, one of the top ten bands of all time. If you don't own every Smiths record, then your collection is incomplete.
Anyway, Morrissey is one of the artists that I feel "close" to - like a good friend, Morrissey has always been there for me (yes, I know how that sounds). I literally could write all day long about Moz and his influence on my life and work, but instead I would rather show a couple of my favorite Moz videos - early nineties clips for My Love Life and Tomorrow. I chose these two videos because they are very different from many videos, as both feature black and white, straight forward shots that follow Morrissey as he moves (in a car in My Love Life, walking towards the camera in Tomorrow).
The early/mid nineties were an interesting time for Morrissey, as America shifted from 80's Hair Bands to 90's Grunge, and the Brits went from Baggy/Madchester to BritPop. Moz, as usual, didn't fit into any of these categories, but his small but loyal folowing stuck to him as always. But Moz made some of his best albums during this period - Your Arsenal, Vauxhall & I, Maladjusted - before taking several years off from the public eye. "My Love Life" was a single not included on a full album, while "Tomorrow" was one of many fantastic tracks on the 1992 Mick Ronson produced "Your Arsenal".
Anyway, Morrissey is one of the artists that I feel "close" to - like a good friend, Morrissey has always been there for me (yes, I know how that sounds). I literally could write all day long about Moz and his influence on my life and work, but instead I would rather show a couple of my favorite Moz videos - early nineties clips for My Love Life and Tomorrow. I chose these two videos because they are very different from many videos, as both feature black and white, straight forward shots that follow Morrissey as he moves (in a car in My Love Life, walking towards the camera in Tomorrow).
The early/mid nineties were an interesting time for Morrissey, as America shifted from 80's Hair Bands to 90's Grunge, and the Brits went from Baggy/Madchester to BritPop. Moz, as usual, didn't fit into any of these categories, but his small but loyal folowing stuck to him as always. But Moz made some of his best albums during this period - Your Arsenal, Vauxhall & I, Maladjusted - before taking several years off from the public eye. "My Love Life" was a single not included on a full album, while "Tomorrow" was one of many fantastic tracks on the 1992 Mick Ronson produced "Your Arsenal".
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