A brilliant piece from the most recent Flight of the Conchords episode. After being mocked by the Australian consulate officers, Murray, the New Zealand consulate officer turned band manager, sings of his 'hurt feelings.'
I give this episode a thumbs up. Methinks episode six of season one entitled "Bowie" has now been demoted. The secondary characters come alive in this new episode as they take their individual oddities to new heights.
And here is Bret and Jemaine's rap version of "Hurt Feelings."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The Trials of Ted Haggard: HBO's New Documentary
Alexandra Pelosi, an excellent filmmaker/producer, has a new project out entitled, The Trials of Ted Haggard. The first time I became familiar with Ted Haggard's coerced heterosexuality was when I saw Pelosi's 2006 documentary Friends of God. I knew nothing about Ted Haggard or his ministry. I simply relied on my gendering of him and I could tell that something was a bit, well, different about him. He seemed to try a bit too hard when talking about heteronormative settings. I noticed a kind of inherent sadness about him that he seemed to try too hard to hide with the help of religious rhetoric and ubiquitous smiles. And then the 2006 scandal broke out and Haggard was on the first page of every paper in the country.
After Pelosi's Friends of God came out, Haggard was caught up in a sex and meth scandal. Subsequently, Pelosi did another documentary following Haggard's experience after his church of some 30 million followers apparently abandoned him. Now, Haggard identifies as a heterosexual man deeply in love with his wife of 30 years, Gayle.
I don't doubt that he has deep feelings for the woman with whom he had a number of children. What I do doubt is his level of honesty and the kinds of pressures he feels inform it. His pre-being-found-out sermons against homosexuality oozed a kind of affectation that is difficult to ignore. Apparently, it took Haggard TWO years to get right. I cannot cognitively get that phrase: getting right. What does that mean?
One's left-handed and after therapy one becomes dexterous?
Why is the concept of gender such an anxiety-engendering one?
Something very interesting is happening with Haggard, and he is most certainly not alone in this. And what's of interest to me as a gender theorist and person is the strong relevance of gender and mostly importantly gender identity/identification.
Concepts tend to be decoded and embraced with more ease once they are demystified. I believe that. I don't think Haggard has read the Greeks, more specifically Plato. I think he should. And perhaps he and many with similar symptoms with find authenticity and trueness to nature to be the best modus operandi to espouse. Is it easy?
Of course, not.
And that seems to be Pelosi's point as well.
HBO premiered the documentary last week and if you can, do watch it.
Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast
Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast
Ted and Gayle Haggard per google images
Too Much 'OK!'
For some reason this morning I came to realize that I don't particularly like the word 'OK.' I'm sure this falling out has something to do with ubiquity and if there's one thing I know for sure is that the latter is powerful enough to strangle most attachments, even one to a little lexeme like 'OK.'
This morning I did the right thing and took the trash out. I thought I would so without any help at all. From the iPod, that is. I thought I'd hear the sounds of nature, instead. Instead, I was faced with TEN or more OK-s uttered by two neighbors as they talked over each other over the course of 10 seconds.
On the way back I was thinking of some other trivial thing that had managed to bother me as much in the past 24 hours and I came up with the following:
1) A small segment of the Katt Williams' show It's Pimpin' Pimpin' on Comedy Central.... I have no idea how that happened, but I started paying attention to it when my nerves were being scratched by a continuous bleeeep sound that was inserted after every other word that the comic uttered.
Congratulations, Comedy Central, you have now alienated me and my household most dexterously. Katt Williams, if you want people to even remotely pay attention to you, stick to HBO. Our collective ears will thank you.
I think a stare was produced at some point and Katt Williams was suddenly mute. Which made him even funnier.
2) Waiters who ask about the qualitative aspect of your order when you have not had a chance to take the first bite yet and you feel it's too early in the morning to lie and say: 'just fine, thanks.'
This morning I did the right thing and took the trash out. I thought I would so without any help at all. From the iPod, that is. I thought I'd hear the sounds of nature, instead. Instead, I was faced with TEN or more OK-s uttered by two neighbors as they talked over each other over the course of 10 seconds.
On the way back I was thinking of some other trivial thing that had managed to bother me as much in the past 24 hours and I came up with the following:
1) A small segment of the Katt Williams' show It's Pimpin' Pimpin' on Comedy Central.... I have no idea how that happened, but I started paying attention to it when my nerves were being scratched by a continuous bleeeep sound that was inserted after every other word that the comic uttered.
Congratulations, Comedy Central, you have now alienated me and my household most dexterously. Katt Williams, if you want people to even remotely pay attention to you, stick to HBO. Our collective ears will thank you.
I think a stare was produced at some point and Katt Williams was suddenly mute. Which made him even funnier.
2) Waiters who ask about the qualitative aspect of your order when you have not had a chance to take the first bite yet and you feel it's too early in the morning to lie and say: 'just fine, thanks.'
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
New Music: Kings of Convenience
Kings of Convenience come from Norway and I approve of them.
Much of my writing, the nascent phase of it at least, happens when I'm under the influence of mellow Indie. I might have mentioned before that I wrote my dissertation and book monograph listening mostly to Mandalay.
My current writing projects are different from one another currently. When I work on my medieval research I tend to listen to a lot of Verdi. A lot of Aida and Requiem. Seems apropos to me.
The more modern writing tends to be accompanied by much Indie and the band that's monopolizing that playlist these days is The Kings of Convenience. The reason why I enjoy them is because they manage to make their musical point quietly without distracting the listener. They make me think of those people you love having around you because they quietly do their own thing as you go about accomplishing your tasks. They add a measure of quietude that serves as a powerful extrinsic motivation. That, in a nutshell, is what the Kings of Convenience do for me.
You, guitar aficionados out there, might enjoy this band as well.
Here's their track Failure:
Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast
graph per wiki
The United States of Tara: Toni Collette's New Playground to Score
I like Toni Collette. Even though star power isn't why I watch certain films and programming, Toni Collette is one of the very few performers I will watch in everything.
The saying in Hollywood is that respectable actors don't do TV. One, apparently, does not go from the movies to TV. To me that thinking sounds too 20-th century. Many actors have made a smart move to TV, per me. Think Harvey Keitel, Glenn Close, Timothy Hutton.... I think these performers, well, their agents at least, understand the market and the psychology of the modern, busy person.
Many of us don't have the extra time to go to the movies. I find myself agreeing to watching very few theater movies and the real reason is time. I don't want to sacrifice time that way. Plus, the internet, OnDemand features on cable and access to only a handful number of relevant cable channels, allow me to pick and choose what I, well, choose to view that won't be too time-consuming. I can get informed politically, artistically, and pop culturally while working on my own projects. Isn't it all about maximizing one's time?
I think so.
So, in modernity, a good artist is not only one who gets the true nature of his/her craft but also one who knows how to work the market so that people can be aware of them and see them as relevant. Think, the Rolling Stones and how they reinvented themselves by virtue of a basic understanding of markets. They're relevant for a very important reason: visibility.
So, Toni Collette is now on TV.
Not the annoying, commercial-laden kind, though. The kind that I do not watch.
Collette's new show, The Unites States of Tara is on Showtime. The show is exec produced by Steven Spielberg and its premise is serious, yet entertaining. I can see why someone with Collette's abilities would want to do a challenging show like this.
First, the show is about Dissociative Identity Disorder which means the performer, Toni Collette, would be portraying FOUR different charters. First, she plays a housewife in middle America. She has two teenage children and a loving husband played by John Corbett. Her 'alters' are T., an out-of-control teenager, Alice, a prudish housewife a-la-50's, and Buck, a macho, heavy smoker of a male. Her portrayal of Buck is what sold me on the show. I think Toni and I think there is an actor who can play it all.
The only reason for me to watch the 27-minute episodes is to see Toni Collette's unique abilities to portray vastly different characters so convincingly well. To me, the viewing experience is one of education. Being aware of someone's talent, I think, feeds well our own talents. Uniquely talented people ooze a sense of possibility that is contagious. And Collette is one of these people.
Here is the first episode of the show which currently airs on Showtime every Sunday night.
I give this show a well-deserved thumbs up.
Showtime is making the first episode available online commercial-free.
The saying in Hollywood is that respectable actors don't do TV. One, apparently, does not go from the movies to TV. To me that thinking sounds too 20-th century. Many actors have made a smart move to TV, per me. Think Harvey Keitel, Glenn Close, Timothy Hutton.... I think these performers, well, their agents at least, understand the market and the psychology of the modern, busy person.
Many of us don't have the extra time to go to the movies. I find myself agreeing to watching very few theater movies and the real reason is time. I don't want to sacrifice time that way. Plus, the internet, OnDemand features on cable and access to only a handful number of relevant cable channels, allow me to pick and choose what I, well, choose to view that won't be too time-consuming. I can get informed politically, artistically, and pop culturally while working on my own projects. Isn't it all about maximizing one's time?
I think so.
So, in modernity, a good artist is not only one who gets the true nature of his/her craft but also one who knows how to work the market so that people can be aware of them and see them as relevant. Think, the Rolling Stones and how they reinvented themselves by virtue of a basic understanding of markets. They're relevant for a very important reason: visibility.
So, Toni Collette is now on TV.
Not the annoying, commercial-laden kind, though. The kind that I do not watch.
Collette's new show, The Unites States of Tara is on Showtime. The show is exec produced by Steven Spielberg and its premise is serious, yet entertaining. I can see why someone with Collette's abilities would want to do a challenging show like this.
First, the show is about Dissociative Identity Disorder which means the performer, Toni Collette, would be portraying FOUR different charters. First, she plays a housewife in middle America. She has two teenage children and a loving husband played by John Corbett. Her 'alters' are T., an out-of-control teenager, Alice, a prudish housewife a-la-50's, and Buck, a macho, heavy smoker of a male. Her portrayal of Buck is what sold me on the show. I think Toni and I think there is an actor who can play it all.
The only reason for me to watch the 27-minute episodes is to see Toni Collette's unique abilities to portray vastly different characters so convincingly well. To me, the viewing experience is one of education. Being aware of someone's talent, I think, feeds well our own talents. Uniquely talented people ooze a sense of possibility that is contagious. And Collette is one of these people.
Here is the first episode of the show which currently airs on Showtime every Sunday night.
I give this show a well-deserved thumbs up.
Showtime is making the first episode available online commercial-free.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Franz Ferdinand: Get a Clue from Muse
About five years ago I had one of the best musical experiences of my life. I was taken to a small venue to watch Muse live in concert. I don't know what struck me the most, the fact that Muse is fantastic live or that the setting was truly intimate and conducive to true artistic enjoyment. Or perhaps that I was experiencing an indie rock sound that I had not heard up to that point. After that experience, we discussed how unique the concert was and that hopefully the band would retain their sound when faced with the pressures of fame on the fast lane, aka, the mainstream. At that point I knew Muse would hit it big.
And hit it big they did.
Did they ever!
They went from performing in very small venues to giant sold-out stadiums.
And yet, whether they play for 100.000 or 100 people, this band has managed to retain their unique sounds quite well.
Enter, Franz Ferdinand. Their music was indie and unique in the beginning but when their track "Take Me Out" started to get a lot of airtime, Franz Ferdinand became mainstream. And so did their look. Although their originally unique style was solely theirs, once the attention fell on them, their unique clothing texts started to get read much more often.
Franz Ferdinand is an example of a rock band that understands too well the difficulty to resist the side effects of the mainstream. After having experienced the mainstream, they are now back trying out their new sound in very small venues, away from music execs in an attempt to re-enter what I call Indie-topia (yes, it my coinage).
And I wish Franz Ferdiand the best. I want them to be remembered for their music and not for their idiosyncratic haircuts and matchstick pants. I remain a fan, after all as I did think they had potential in the beginning.
The Times has a feature on them today, as well. A bit says:
"Since then the members have found that their aesthetic — from their high-hat beat to their mod wardrobe — has gone mainstream, especially in Britain, Mr. Kapranos said. “You feel like, right, that’s become so much a part of musical vocabulary of the contemporary band, it’s now a cliché, and you have to leave it,” he said.
So no more “angular guitars,” Mr. McCarthy said, a description that has stuck to the band as surely as their slim-cut suits. (Or their angular haircuts."
Read more here.
Friday, January 23, 2009
New Podcast: Wim Wenders' Far Away, So Close
The new podcast is now available on iTunes under Gendering the Media with Brikena Ribaj as well as in here.
This piece was first conceptualized a while back while under the active influence of the philosophical movement of existentialism. I have always been a fan of Wim Wenders' cinematography because I always felt a sense of affinity with his work and his implementation of existentialism. The text of this podcast is also my first published co-authored article. I find this to be an oldie but a goodie, for the most part.
The cinematic text I'm reading closely is the 1993 German film In Weiter Ferne, so nah!, i.e., Far Away, So Close!.
It's another contribution to modernity, I suppose.
You can listen to the piece here.
Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast
graph per imdb
Camille Nelson's Album "First Words": Why I Love it
This is Camille Nelson, my very good friend.
Camille Nelson is one of my all-time favorite people. Among so many other things, she is also an artist par excellence. Camille is also the one who patiently taught me how to play the guitar, the one with whom I've had many an adventure over the years, and the one who simply excels at all she does. And she manages to do it all by being unapologetically good and quintessentially Camille.
I can categorically say that she is one of the very best people I know. Here are some reasons:
Camille is perturbingly talented. She is an accomplished guitarist as well as a classically trained violinist. But that's not all. She plays a litany of other instruments, as well. She has her own private studio where I have also played the guitar oh-so-badly. But that's what makes Camille a great person and friend. She embraces people's weaknesses with the same grace she embraces their strengths. That's just the kind of person and artist she is.
She is also a linguist par excellence. She speaks a number of languages. I never run out of things to tell her my way. She just gets it. Whether we are at IHOP at 3:00 AM, at Macaroni Grill on a very busy night, or driving around town and getting stuck in my 1981 VW yellow pick-up truck as a result of my oh-so-bizarre driving habits, we manage to read every situation with the kind of unencumbered freedom that true linguistic diversity and genuine friendship afford us. Camille is also an entrepreneur. Her technology savvy is incredible. She can visualize like few can.
In addition, she has a number of graduate degrees, too. Graduate. Oh, and did I mention she in not yet 30?
And, it gets better. Trust me.
Camille is also an athlete. She's a certified trainer, a world traveler, a university instructor, a toffee maker par excellence (yes, this is a business she had), bungee jumper, and sky diver. And of course, she wouldn't just bungee or sky dive in any old place. She did so in Africa. I do think that what makes Camille truly unique and so (seemingly) effortlessly good at things is her inability to recognize fear. She was born to be curious and allow her curiosity to take her places. That seems to be her mantra. And, what a mantra!
Camille also has a genuinely humanitarian spirit. She has spent months in South Africa helping with various non-profit projects. Just when does she do it all, you might ask? Well, the fact that she is a fellow insomniac helps. Many a night my dear friend and I would play the guitar at sacrilegious hours, thus progressively increasing the annoyance level of my neighbors. Don't they know art comes with a price?! But more importantly, Camille has a good grasp of the mechanics of time and how to plan things. Plus, she is truly talented. And there is simply no 'cure' for talent. Blame her success on a great combination of a good gene pool and strong work ethic.
The reason I'm doing a post on Camille is not to promote hero worship. I am very clear about my deep respect for my wonderful friend. She is someone everyone should be so lucky to have in their life. I feel lucky to have met her. Lucky.
The reason I'm blogging about Camille is to inform you all about her new full length musical album entitled First Words.
My CD arrived last Saturday and I have been listening to it since then. I also had a number of friends and colleagues listen to it as well. What pride I have felt this whole week. My pride is rightly informed by the high quality of her work. The music and lyrics are all her doing. And her voice comes across not only as highly trained but also crisp and contemporary.
First Words is a well-balanced blend of indie folk/rock and traditional pop.
A song like "Red Letter Day" has all the elements of a piece where the lyrics meet the melody at the right point. The song made me appreciate concretely the seemingly little and inconsequential joys of quotidianity. It's a high-frequency track on my playlists now.
Then there is the track in Italian entitled "C'e la Luce della Candela." Camille's understanding of contemporary Italian pop comes to life here. Like a good artist, she pays homage to artists past from the old world. It made me think of Pausini, Ramazzoti, and Minghi. Camille's understanding of Italian culture and language is apparent here. The track is also well-tempered and reflective.
The track "Reminiscence" sets the tone for this album. The instruments converge beautifully and Camille's ability with the guitar, the violin, et al shines easily. You know you are in the company of a musician when you listen to this track.
"Reminiscence" is follow by "Some Day." The honest tone of this track comes across unambiguously.
And then there is "Dream On". A line that jumps out says: "Must we swim in such shallow waters?! Dream on...." This is another favorite track of mine as it oozes a kind of optimism that is rooted in reality, the honest kind.
Ergo, dear readers, check Camille Nelson's First Words out. It's versatile, indie, rock, folk, classic, pop and more.
Her myspace page is here. She is also to be found here.
Camille Nelson is one of my all-time favorite people. Among so many other things, she is also an artist par excellence. Camille is also the one who patiently taught me how to play the guitar, the one with whom I've had many an adventure over the years, and the one who simply excels at all she does. And she manages to do it all by being unapologetically good and quintessentially Camille.
I can categorically say that she is one of the very best people I know. Here are some reasons:
Camille is perturbingly talented. She is an accomplished guitarist as well as a classically trained violinist. But that's not all. She plays a litany of other instruments, as well. She has her own private studio where I have also played the guitar oh-so-badly. But that's what makes Camille a great person and friend. She embraces people's weaknesses with the same grace she embraces their strengths. That's just the kind of person and artist she is.
She is also a linguist par excellence. She speaks a number of languages. I never run out of things to tell her my way. She just gets it. Whether we are at IHOP at 3:00 AM, at Macaroni Grill on a very busy night, or driving around town and getting stuck in my 1981 VW yellow pick-up truck as a result of my oh-so-bizarre driving habits, we manage to read every situation with the kind of unencumbered freedom that true linguistic diversity and genuine friendship afford us. Camille is also an entrepreneur. Her technology savvy is incredible. She can visualize like few can.
In addition, she has a number of graduate degrees, too. Graduate. Oh, and did I mention she in not yet 30?
And, it gets better. Trust me.
Camille is also an athlete. She's a certified trainer, a world traveler, a university instructor, a toffee maker par excellence (yes, this is a business she had), bungee jumper, and sky diver. And of course, she wouldn't just bungee or sky dive in any old place. She did so in Africa. I do think that what makes Camille truly unique and so (seemingly) effortlessly good at things is her inability to recognize fear. She was born to be curious and allow her curiosity to take her places. That seems to be her mantra. And, what a mantra!
Camille also has a genuinely humanitarian spirit. She has spent months in South Africa helping with various non-profit projects. Just when does she do it all, you might ask? Well, the fact that she is a fellow insomniac helps. Many a night my dear friend and I would play the guitar at sacrilegious hours, thus progressively increasing the annoyance level of my neighbors. Don't they know art comes with a price?! But more importantly, Camille has a good grasp of the mechanics of time and how to plan things. Plus, she is truly talented. And there is simply no 'cure' for talent. Blame her success on a great combination of a good gene pool and strong work ethic.
The reason I'm doing a post on Camille is not to promote hero worship. I am very clear about my deep respect for my wonderful friend. She is someone everyone should be so lucky to have in their life. I feel lucky to have met her. Lucky.
The reason I'm blogging about Camille is to inform you all about her new full length musical album entitled First Words.
My CD arrived last Saturday and I have been listening to it since then. I also had a number of friends and colleagues listen to it as well. What pride I have felt this whole week. My pride is rightly informed by the high quality of her work. The music and lyrics are all her doing. And her voice comes across not only as highly trained but also crisp and contemporary.
First Words is a well-balanced blend of indie folk/rock and traditional pop.
A song like "Red Letter Day" has all the elements of a piece where the lyrics meet the melody at the right point. The song made me appreciate concretely the seemingly little and inconsequential joys of quotidianity. It's a high-frequency track on my playlists now.
Then there is the track in Italian entitled "C'e la Luce della Candela." Camille's understanding of contemporary Italian pop comes to life here. Like a good artist, she pays homage to artists past from the old world. It made me think of Pausini, Ramazzoti, and Minghi. Camille's understanding of Italian culture and language is apparent here. The track is also well-tempered and reflective.
The track "Reminiscence" sets the tone for this album. The instruments converge beautifully and Camille's ability with the guitar, the violin, et al shines easily. You know you are in the company of a musician when you listen to this track.
"Reminiscence" is follow by "Some Day." The honest tone of this track comes across unambiguously.
And then there is "Dream On". A line that jumps out says: "Must we swim in such shallow waters?! Dream on...." This is another favorite track of mine as it oozes a kind of optimism that is rooted in reality, the honest kind.
Ergo, dear readers, check Camille Nelson's First Words out. It's versatile, indie, rock, folk, classic, pop and more.
Her myspace page is here. She is also to be found here.
Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Remixing, Colbert-style
The following is most likely the most entertaining thing I have seen in a few days. Colbert's version of 'remixing' is a parody par excellence. I give it an A!
Radio Station Indie 103.1: Good Luck to You!
“Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge,” the station said in a statement on their Website and an audio blast that aired several times this morning. “Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option: to play the corporate radio game. We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course.”
And that is the reason why I don't do mainstream radio. My musical tendencies are not featured in it the way I'd like them to be and nothing is as effective in engendering a bad mood as, well, bad music.
Radio has definitely shifted much from the days Everclear was inspired to write the song AM Radio. And with the web taking over, I find Indie 103.1's decision solid and laced with integrity. It is also sad. Indie 103.1 has served as an arena where a lot of good acts were discovered. It's helped Indie music a great deal, indeed. If the industry says you need to comply or else, very few places have it in them to say, 'uhm, I'll take 'else,' please, Alex."
And I, for one, will be supporting Indie 103.1. Not solely out of the kindness of my heart, however. Music is a serious business with me, after all. I will be checking them out because I know I can listen to the Kings of Leon, LCD Soundsystem, and Morrissey et al., and not be bothered with pseudo melodies.
Best of luck to you, Indie 103.1. I will be listening.
Read more here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
www.brikenaribaj.com
Posts
All Comments