tagged w/ Kanye West
-
Asher Roth’s debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle is coming up on its one-year anniversary of release. Roth’s hype was enormous leading up to the release. His mixtape, The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1, was beloved by many, he was on XXL’s Freshman 10 list for 2009, and his song I Love College was everywhere. Finally the day came for his anticipated album, and just like that, the buzz died.
Not only was his album a disappointment to many, it should be an embarrassment to Roth. He may have even set a precedent for the fastest killing of a buzz.
Hit the jump to read moreAsher Roth’s debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle is coming up on its one-year... more
-
-
"He's not the lead singer of Coldplay but he has had sex with Gwyneth Paltrow." MC Jason Klingman introduces stand-up comedian Chris Martin at the Curmudgeons of Comedy World Tour at Wabi-Sabi in Petersburg, Virginia March 5, 2010."He's not the lead singer of Coldplay but he has had sex with Gwyneth... more
-
-
We've previously discussed how memes can express dissent in international communities. We saw how Czech activists show their opposition to Václav Klaus by portraying him as an idiot. We've noted that Venezuelan bloggers show their Anti-Chavez sentiment with the help of the Kanye meme. We've also investigated the recent attack on Berlusconi and his subsequent attack on Facebook.
We'd been looking at global assholes through the lens of the individual, now for the first time we'll look at the asshole through the lens of the collective.
The denizens of the United Kingdom are not just knights, notable indie rock bands, and respectable businesspeople. There is a side not shown by conventional media, a youth subculture of aggressive teenagers addicted to name-brand track pants, and trance music. The Chav.
The stereotypical chav, closely resembles the American, Guido. If a chav were to appear on the set of Jersey Shore, he would be virtually indistinguishable from the cast members. Like the Guido, the chav is an item of ridicule from outside the subculture.
Chav Wolf reflects anti-chav sentiment by employing a meme. These image macros are based on Courage Wolf. Said wolf, instructs gazers to attempt dangerous things for the sake of bad-assedness. In the case of Chav Wolf observers are advised to express themselves like ignorant chavs. The wolf is superimposed over an English flag, and wears traditional chav garb, an askew baseball cap.
As an American, how might Chav Wolf be important to you?
Now that you are aware of the chav, you can discuss the him. Say you just happened to be sitting at a bar in London, and you notice a chav outside the window. You could mention this to the respectable businessperson to your right. He'll probably laugh in agreement and then buy you a beer. Congratulations, you just saved £2.50. Knowledge is power.We've previously discussed how memes can express dissent in international... more
-
-
These are your Current Virals for 10/22. Check out the latest virals at Current.com/virals.
Necronomaccordion - Death Metal with Accordions!
PS3 slams into Bravia TV at 50 mph
A Hole in the Place of Heart
A Hole in the Place of Heart from DavidMyriam on Vimeo.
Kanye West Short Film " We Were Once A Fairytale"
#1 Video:
Adam Lambert "Time For Miracles"
Time For Miracles
Adam Lambert | Videos de MySpaceThese are your Current Virals for 10/22. Check out the latest virals at... more
-
-
"On a quiet street in Ankara, an American Flag burned. Its stars and its stripes slowly wilting like a dying flower. But all that was dying in that Turkish road was one lone fan's belief in the power of the American VMA viewing audience. Who had rejected the infinitely better Green Day for the tumblr-powered recent ascent of a girl who dyed her hair...."
This is Andrew Fitzgerald's classic re-envisioning of the polemic events that occurred at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. In this seminal piece of meme historical fiction, the Kanye West / Taylor Swift controversy never happened. Instead after Green Day won the best rock video, Hayley the neon redheaded Paramore vocalist jumped on stage to utter those immortal words "sup Green Day? ur musik stop bein' relevant when I was 6."
"The twenty year old caused controversy, when her fans used social networking sites demanding a VMA recall. This never happened, which led to the most perasive meme of late summer 2009."
"This event entered the monumental canon of memes, once it was legitimized by Xzibit".
The realm of meme historical fiction is a new art form that dates all the way back to the Balloon Boy era of internet meme-itude. The Current Comedy Blog believes this is the future of fiction, and that's why we courageously published the writings of Andrew Fitzgerald. It's kind of like Fitzgerald is Michael Moore, trying to release the controversial Fahrenheit 9/11. Nobody wants to release it, because it's too real. But I'm like Harvey Weinstein, because I actually have the guts to publish this work of genius.
If you have any meme historical fiction that you'd like published, hit me up."On a quiet street in Ankara, an American Flag burned. Its stars and its stripes... more
-
-
That blog post that I wasn't going to write about Balloon Boy, was written by Urlesque. They did a wonderful job at tracking the fastest meme in recorded history. Check it out.
This brings us to that conversation about how fast information travels. The last "fastest meme of all time" happened after Kanye said "Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time." Clips of the incident were available online before the Video Music Awards even aired on the west coast. Within two hours of the Kanye disturbance, a mash-up combined his outburst with the other popular outburst of the moment. During the week that proceeded, hundreds of images cataloged the events of Kanyegate. It was an astonishingly quick and pervasive meme, but the joke faded quickly. On September 22nd, I'mma Let You Finish [dot] com, posted its final picture, just nine days after the naissance of the Kanye meme. Today, four weeks later, that meme is ancient history.
I predict that the Balloon Boy meme, which has already run its course, won't be popular next week. I send my condolences to everyone who was banking on this story sticking around. (Especially to that duder, who hoped he might score a Balloon Boy book deal from his Twitter account). Your work day was longer than the life of this meme.
Why are we seeing such haste in the creation, proliferation, and decay of memes? I'm going to suggest there are two major factors at play here.
Twitter, has sped things up. An idea goes viral in real-time. Before your mom got on Twitter (six months ago) memes disseminated themselves much slower. Elite communities of bloggers would know what was trending, weeks before the meme hit the mainstream. When it became mainstream it stayed popular for weeks.
Television plays to the success of memes. It makes a lot of sense, for television producers to play viral videos during news shows, because they can fair-use YouTube clips. They know these clips are popular, so people will watch. When you take a video like JK Wedding Entrance Dance that already had several hundred thousand views online, and then air it on Good Morning America the video goes pandemic. People watched it on TV, then showed their friends online, and the hit count skyrocketed. The echo chamber gave that video 12 million hits in ten days. That video, now with 28.6 million views, was (tastefully) appropriated by NBC's The Office last week. This speaks to the future of entertainment.
The "boy in the balloon" as front page material will die shortly. But I think as evidenced by the present "Yo Balloon Boy" Twitter trends, remnants of this concept will stick around. "Balloon Boy" will join the pantheon of memes, standing in line right behind Kanye West.
"Yo Balloon Boy, Imma let you finish, but Anne Frank had the best attic hideout spot of all time."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Read Urlesque's coverage of the Balloon Boy meme.
Balloon Boy - Quickest Meme Ever?
More wrtings on the Kanye meme from the Current blogs.
Kanye versus Obama at the VMAs and the speed of the meme-o-sphere
Kanye West vs Taylor Swift, could twitter equal ratings?
Kanye goes to Venezuela
Quick note to the internets are forever great blunders in Twitter
More on the Kanye memes
(Just a reminder, Meghan McCain's boobs lost out Balloon Boy, as the big story of the day.)That blog post that I wasn't going to write about Balloon Boy, was written by... more
-
-
Six months ago, I would never have believed that a meme would be approaching its 'pacman death rattle' after only a week. But, this may be the case for the internet's latest Madlib: "Yo ____, I'm happy for ya, I'mma let you finish, but _____ had the best _____ of all time."
I asked twitter if they think the Kanye West meme is dead.
carondelet thinks that this meme is sticking around. kiala and lexicaljewel got meta with their responses by letting me finish, and then suggesting that this is still the best meme of all time.
straythenomad provided data that supports the claim that not only is this meme not dead, but it's popularity is increasing dramatically.
Conversely kid_amy agrees that this meme is dead. clevahgrrl cites evidence that the Kanye meme has jumped the shark, because 65 year old Ken Howard referenced it in his Emmy acceptance speech.
So what's your take on the livelihood of this meme? More importantly whether this meme is dead or alive, are you sick of it yet? Or did Kanye have the best meme of all time.Six months ago, I would never have believed that a meme would be approaching its... more
-
-
We are all well aware of Kanye West's frequent outbursts. A lot of people on current.com were not happy about this.
Funkymonkey931 called him an "an attention seeking ass." PajamaDan said "Kanye is a joke, an idiot, his music makes me puke and he killed hip-hop." And S_the_Wolf "he's just an attention whore. Somewhere he is laughing at all of the 'outrage'."
All of these responses were warranted if Kanye West was in his right mind, but new research suggests that Kanye might be suffering from mild autism. (I'm using the term 'research' liberally to mean, something I found on HolyTaco.com.)
Check out this Pod on Asperger's and decide if Kanye exhibits the same symptoms.
[current 89138527]
Tints of AutismWe are all well aware of Kanye West's frequent outbursts. A lot of people on... more
-
-
Check out more virals at Current.com/virals.
Editors - Papillon
[youtube Wq4tyDRhU_4]
Air Race in Portugal
New Moon Official Trailer
[youtube bs79_5n848Q]
Contra vs. Duck Hunt
[youtube 16U394NZSTk]
Colbert Blasts Kanye with Autotune
Check out more virals at Current.com/virals.
Editors - Papillon
[youtube... more
-
-
GUEST BLOG! Comedian Joe Wilson, gives his insight into how Twitter has impacted the comedy game. Enjoy!
I am a comedian named Joe Wilson, which has been less than amusing lately. And by comedian, I mean I have the ability to say words in an order that produces the involuntary reaction known as laughter.
In the past, my name inspired people to ask about my CIA-agent wife, which was fun. But now I have the same name as the nation's most famous heckler, South Carolina congressman, and raging douchebag, Joe Wilson.
My response to Joe Wilson's heckle, which I have offered to the White House just in case – "I don't come down to your district and interrupt you blowing insurance company lobbyists." A little wordy, but it is congress.
I've been watching Twitter since Obama's speech, my name trending hard, awaiting what would top it as Michael Jackson topped Farrah and Billy Mays topped Fred Travalena (we are all famous to a few people).
And just a few days later, there it was – Kanye West.
I thought all the Joe Wilsons of the world, including my dad, would have our belligerent namesake buried by news of Kanye's jackassery. Then the "Kanye interrupting the president" jokes started and Joe Wilson was back.
Then Patrick Swayze shuffled off this mortal coil, the first celebrity death Twitter didn't inform me of in a flurry of hashtags. Instead, it was a text from a friend, "Patrick Swayze starts work on Ghost 2."
I thought celebrity death always trumps celebrity egos gone wild. Then the "Kanye West interrupting Patrick Swayze on his way to heaven" jokes started.
Hours after the first Kanye West interrupting the president jokes, I saw tweets from people complaining about it being a played out, hack joke. Similar tweets popped up bitching about Kanye interrupting Swayze on his way to heaven jokes, 3 hours after they started.
Twitter hacks up jokes before comedians can!
The speed of topical humor, in both joke and video form, has never been faster. Topical humor is a form of comedy that is inherently temporary in relevance and in its ability to earn laughs. Twitter has become the grim reaper of late-night, and not so late-night, writing rooms.
In hopes of you forgetting Joe Wilson (the other one) and the publicist directed actions of Kanye West, I leave you with a topical joke having nothing to do with either of them:
Ed Hardy Colostomy Bags are just like douchebags in Ed Hardy shirts, except Ed Hardy Colostomy Bags have more content.
That joke dies when all the homeless people living in hipster neighborhoods across the nation are clothed in tigers.
Ladies and Gentleman Joe Wilson! Check out his award-winning short The Swear Police, and some other goodies. He's on the tumblrs, and of course catch him on Twitter at JoeWilsonTV.GUEST BLOG! Comedian Joe Wilson, gives his insight into how Twitter has impacted the... more
-
-
This Kanye meme is amusingly out of control. The rate at which these image macros are appearing is incredible. There are dozens of categories.
The musical
The techy
You have the philosophical
The Abraham Lincoln-ic
The recursive
The meme-worthy
Check out a plethora of other Kanye meme pictures over at kanyegate.tumblr.comThis Kanye meme is amusingly out of control. The rate at which these image macros are... more
-
-
Raise your hands if you love viral videos? [hands raised] Did you know that every single day our brilliant internet investigators bring you the best virals of the moment? They debut as Current Virals on Current Tonight.
Check out Monday's virals here (click on the link to comment on the video.)
[vimeo 4965201]
AEC Facade Visualization
[youtube ty33v7UYYbw]
They Might Be Giants - “Science is Real”
[collegehumor 1920944]
Stormtroopers' 9/11
[dailymotion xafrkg_phenomenal-handclap-band-15-to-20-o_music]
Phenomenal Handclap Band - "15 to 20"
[youtube VxKIcrDsJAs]
MTV VMAs Remix: Kanye West Interrupts Obama's SpeechRaise your hands if you love viral videos? [hands raised] Did you know that every... more
-
-
I'm very impressed by the speed at which the internet is able to meme.
On Wednesday September 9th, the representative from South Carolina, dissed the President.
Joe Wilson versus Barack Obama
Then on Sunday, September 13th, Kanye West dissed Taylor Swift.
Kanye West versus Taylor Swift
Then within in two hours of this occurrence, Meme-O-Sphere Mash-Up Archivists came up with this:
Barack Obama versus Kanye West
This sort of mashup has happened before. Remember that Bill O'Reilly / Christian Bale mash up? The O'Reilly material surfaced a few months prior. The Bale footage happened on February 2nd, 2009. On February 4th this remix surfaced.
Christian Bale versus Bill O'Reilly
In the first quarter of 2009, it took two days to come up with an obvious pop-cultural mash-up. In the last quarter of 2009 it takes two hours. I can only imagine that in the fourth quarter of 2010, meme remixes will occur in real-time. HYPER!
Check out Mario's post on the Kanye / Swift VMA fiasco and the impact of Twitter over at the Currentdotcom blog.I'm very impressed by the speed at which the internet is able to meme.
On... more
-
-
The Kanye-VMA-a-thon doth continue. Earlier today I opined the potential for social media chatter on Twitter to translate into the perfect storm for TV ratings, and Josh Heller tracked the lightning speed with which a meme was born in the brave new Twitter world over on the Current Comedy blog.
Well, it would appear that Obama fired back at Kanye this afternoon, but his comment was not exactly ready for prime time. The Huffington Post reports:
During a CNBC interview on Monday, President Obama called hip-hop artist Kanye West a "jackass" over his behavior at the MTV Video Music Awards.
But, the plot thickens. Obama's comment was made during an off-air portion of an interview with CNBC. ABC reporter Terry Moran jumped all over that bad boy quip, quickly tweeting it out to his 1,063,505 followers before deleting his post and issuing a retraction/apology for the gaffe.
Their retraction reads:
In the process of reporting on remarks by President Obama that were made during a CNBC interview, ABC News employees prematurely tweeted a portion of those remarks that turned out to be from an off-the-record portion of the interview. This was done before our editorial process had been completed. That was wrong. We apologize to the White House and CNBC and are taking steps to ensure that it will not happen again.
So, here's a lesson to keep in mind regardless of the immediacy social media provides: the Internets are forever.
Period.
Related post:
Shana of Current Music ponders the pop-culturization of performance art in Lady Gaga's VMA stage show
The Kanye-VMA-a-thon doth continue. Earlier today I opined the potential for social... more
-
-
I completely tuned out of the VMA broadcast on MTV last night (a friend noted on Facebook that life is too short to watch the VMAs, and personally I couldn't agree more.). I did take some time to check out a little bit of the pre-show Twitter push and Stamen/Radian6's visualization. Overall, the implementation didn't feel like it broke any new ground, but there are a few things that came out of the experience that are definitely worth noting.
Specifically, people were tweeting while they watched the show. It was practically unavoidable. Kanye's little stunt obviously spurred a considerable amount of chatter in the form of re-tweets and @replies from the usual suspects. But here's where it gets interesting. News of Kanye's onstage antics traveled so fast that mash-ups and parodies began cropping up BEFORE THE SHOW FINISHED AIRING. This one in particular is really well done: Kanye interrupts Obama.
[Side note: Current Comedy's Josh Heller discusses how the viral turnaround for memes appears to be speeding up -- pandemic anyone?]
MTV is no stranger to the social media impact on this sort of thing. Remember the Eminem vs. Brüno onslaught/stunt that made its way into people's social media streams and RSS readers the week following the MTV Movie Awards?
Buzz going into the Brüno opening weekend was white hot -- infoMania's Bryan Safi (and the world over) questioned whether Brüno would be blight or boon for the gay movement, and people flocked to the cinemas to see for themselves on opening day. But the social media wave that carried people into the theaters also seemed to play a role in the films undoing once those early viewers weighed in on Facebook and Twitter. So, if Twitter can single handedly make AND break box office, imagine what it can do across the coasts thanks to time delays? Hello, anyone smell ratings?
I'm also hearing word that MTV chopped up a "Kanye-lite" version of the show for the West Coast (still looking for confirmation on this). Either way, the online turnaround on MTV's side seems to suggest this as well. While the West Coast feed was still airing, the MTV VMA homepage had already flipped to highlight clips of Lady Gaga, Kanye, and the MJ recap.
But this time around, we weren't just seeing the usual Twitterati weigh in, music artists tweeted reactions as well. Kelly Clarkson rarely blogs, and hasn't tweeted since the "Jeff Goldblum is dead" rumors, but she posted a letter to Kanye on her personal blog that subsequently made the rounds on Twitter:
I was actually nominated in the same category that Taylor won and I was excited for her…so why can’t you be?? I’m not even mad at you for being an asshole…I just pity you because you’re a sad human being.
Pink, on the other hand, made her opinion clear in well under 140 characters:
Kanye West is the biggest piece of shit on earth. Quote me.
So here we are, it's Monday morning, and we're collectively discussing the Kanye West and Taylor Swift dust-up that occurred last night at the VMAs. (if it's any compensation, I'm listening to The Decemberists while tapping this out).
John Lichman pointed out over on the @current_movies Twitter feed, "And don't forget he's on the Jay Leno premiere tomorrow night. Not at all a coincidence." So what say you, dear Current readers? Was this just simply "Kanye being Kanye"? Or, is Twitter poised to be the new ratings booster for TV?I completely tuned out of the VMA broadcast on MTV last night (a friend noted on... more
-
-
Our music programming supervisor Manoj Gopinath represented for Team Current at the Common & Friends Benefit this past weekend in LA. Here's his recap and some (shaky) YouTube clips we found. —SNK
Hip hop’s finest all came out to flex their performance muscles at a great concert this past Saturday at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA. The concert, curated by rapper/actor (and friend of Current Music) Common, and supporting his Common Ground Foundation, brought out a diverse group of performers, including himself. The event was organized by Jodie Blum, the executive director of the Common Ground Foundation, and Common gave all the props to her for getting all the artists to come out and perform. I was lucky enough to have a chance to check out the show, which I would rate as one of the best I’ve seen in a while. That’s saying a lot, as I’ve been to a pretty fair amount in the past two years working at Current.
Hosted by KCRW’s Garth Trinidad, a good friend of Common, the show started off with a bang when he introduced hip hop underground royalty De La Soul, who performed a couple of their hits, including “Buddy," “Stakes is High," and “Oooh." One of the early surprises was when a masked MF Doom showed up to drop his verse on “Roc Co.Kane Flow." I’m not sure most of the skinny-jean wearing hipster crowd knew who he was, but the true hip hop heads in attendance were definitely bobbing their head ferociously.
The man of the night then appeared, as Common came out and rocked with De La Soul, performing a couple of their collabs. Common then took over the stage and went on to perform one his staples of all his live shows lately, “The People," shouting out President Obama and the new generation of our diverse population. He then segued into a version of “Come Close” set to the live band's rendition of D’angelo’s “Brown Sugar," a definite highlight for the ladies in attendance. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, ?uestlove and Black Thought came to the stage to rock the drums and mic, and launched into an impromptu freestyle session with Common, while DJ Dummy—Common’s DJ and the house DJ for the night—was searching for their collab record to throw on. It was a great moment where three amazing artists went off the top to give the crowd what they expected. Real hip hop!
Next up was an unusual guest in the mostly backpack/conscious line-up, none other then ATL’s own Ludacris. You wouldn’t be able to tell by the crowd though, as the energy was definitely lifted a notch when Trinidad brought him out. Luda took us back with his classic hits “Southern Hospitality” and “Move B#$&%." But the theme of the night was not forgotten, as he thanked Common, who he mentioned as one of his favorite rappers, and thanked hip hop, then fittingly launched into his current collaboration with Nas, “I do it for hip hop."
And wouldn’t you know it, Mr. Nasir Jones then came out to spit his verse. He then took over the stage, as the band’s keyboard player dropped the inspirational “In the Air Tonight” riff from his hit “One Mic." Judging from Nas’ performance, his energy level was definitely off the charts, even forgetting some of his lyrics, as the crowd cheered him on. As he performed “The World Is Mine” and “NY State of Mind," Common played hype man, even helping him out with some of the lyrics, fittingly changing NY to LA on the hook, which the crowd loved. Common even rapped one of Nas’ verses, paying homage to the Queens Bridge legend. The two hip hop icons then joined forces to introduce another surprise guest, one of their personal favorites, none other than the overweight luva himself, Heavy D. Most of the younger crowd probably did not know the history, as the energy digressed a bit, but I myself was taken back to my days in elementary / middle school, a lovely time in my life:), as he performed “The Overweight Lova’s in the House” and “Nuttin’ But Love." I have to admit, while watching the sound check earlier in the day, and seeing Heavy D run through his set, I was pretty excited, as I’d never seen him live before—so added bonus for me, not so much for the skinny jeans crowd.
Just when you thought the night might be winding down, Common hit the stage again, while DJ Dummy dropped the instrumental for his collaboration with Black Star, “Respiration." Could it be? Could both Mos Def and Talib Kweli be in the building. Judging from how the night had gone so far, it was pretty much a given. Right on cue, Mos’ melodic voice blared over the PA, launching into his verse... The crowd was at an all time high! When Talib appeared, you knew the night was a special one for hip hop. Mos and Talib each did their respective solo cuts too, “Umi Says” and “Get By," with the latter getting a crazy response from the crowd. Common even admitted to the crowd that Talib and Mos were last-minute additions, who called him the night before and said they wanted to rock at the show. I was thinking to myself, now that is what hip hop is all about!
This seemed like a perfect avenue to bring another guest in, huh? Common took to the mic to send his apologies from Mr. West, for not being able to make it, as he was trying to stay out of the spotlight, and also took a minute to defend his brother. For a split second, I actually believed him, but as the adrenaline level in the crowd seemed to increase, and Common chanted “the only way to get up from this was to 'Get em high,'" the instrumental for his collaboration with Kanye and Talib dropped. As Kanye appeared, rapping his verse, the crowd pretty much exploded, and the energy in the Palladium was at an all time high. Kanye might have been taken aback a bit, as he forgot some of his lyrics, but Common and Talib stepped in to back him up.
Kanye then went on to perform “Good Life," probably the all-time high of the show for the crowd, and “Flashing Lights," with Mos Def filling in for Dwele’s soulful hook. Common and Talib played his hype men, and did a fine job if I might add. You would think this would be the fitting end to an already amazing show, but just as “Flashing Lights” was coming to a close, a female voice was heard over the speakers—none other than Queen Latifah. Assisting Mos with the hook probably wasn’t a good idea, but in any event, the Queen herself closed out the show, as Common and Kanye backed her up. She ended her set with her classic cut “U.N.I.T.Y.," a fitting end to an amazing night. Unity was definitely the theme of the whole show, as an eclectic group of performers came out for a great cause. This was definitely 2.5 hours of my life that wasn’t wasted, and I’m sure everyone in attendance would agree with me. Props to Common, Jodie , the Common Ground Foundation, and everyone who supported the show.Our music programming supervisor Manoj Gopinath represented for Team Current at the... more
-
-
shana
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
Here's what I loved about MTV's VMAs last night: Amid all the drama—see Current.com's blog about whether Kanye West and Twitter and Taylor Swift can make a perfect ratings storm—and the spectacle—that Michael Jackson tribute was pretty intensely amazing—and the acrobatics—holy fuck, Pink!—was an impressively counter-culture moment of sheer oddity.
Lady Gaga, a classically trained performance artist, proved you can be queen of the night (or at least a lady in waiting behind Beyonce) and do it as weirdly as humanly possible:
I thought she sounded damned good. But it was her so-insane-it's-uncomfortable stance, from arrival to performance to award acceptance (the look on Eminem's face as she asked him to hold her Moonman was one to savor for a while) that really made me think. This is someone who's taken her underground performance art and made it pop, but who proved last night that if anything it will be less toned down the more popular she gets.
When a singer so strange can top the pop charts—or when an American Idol finalist like Adam Lambert can credit a 'shrooms-fueled epiphany on the playa and his community of Burners with making him the sudden star he is today—it makes me wonder whether we're seeing some resurgence of the fringe club culture that has spawned and nurtured gender-bending illusionist artists from Grace Jones to the Scissor Sisters.
What do you think? Got some other musical artists pushing the boundaries who you think are ripe to break through to mainstream media?Here's what I loved about MTV's VMAs last night: Amid all the... more
-
-
shana
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
Today on Current Music:
+ Dead Man's Bones—aka Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields—announced their upcoming tour dates with a suitably creepy ad. The album was recorded with the help of a children's choir, and on tour there will be local groups adding the choral parts into the stage show. There's also going to be a talent show instead of opening bands. Why would I make something like this up?
+ The Dead Weather—aka Jack White's latest project—will play a free gig on Wednesday at an LA record store owned by White.
+ Dead by Sunrise—aka Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and friends—offer a peek behind the scenes of their album, out October 13.
+ Song I am most looking forward to on Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3: "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." The album also features collaborations with Rihanna, Kanye West, Timbaland, Drake and more. Can we get a sticker like the kind they put on organic fruit for organic sounds? FRESH! No Auto-Tune was harmed in the making of this record!
Got more great music stories for Current? Submit them here and be sure to tag with the artist name for consideration to be featured!Today on Current Music:
+ Dead Man's Bones—aka Ryan Gosling and Zach... more
-
-
shana
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
I recorded myself everyday of 2009, mostly in video diary format, sometimes wearing costumes. In May I will exhibit the footage as a video installation at A.I.R.Gallery.
*******************************
Autobiography of a Year
a video installation by
damali abrams
May 26 to June 20, 2010
Opening Reception
Thurs. May 27, 2010
6-8 pm
A.I.R. Gallery
111 Front St. # 228
Brooklyn, NY 11201
F train to York St. or
A train to High St.
damaliabrams.com
damaliabrams.blogspot.comI recorded myself everyday of 2009, mostly in video diary format, sometimes wearing... more
-
-
damali
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
"They interviewed the killer whale at Sea World on Nightline. He said near-sighted and mistook his trainer for a penguin. He's going back into rehab for penguin addiction. I was trying to fee my goldfish the other day and he lunged at me. Damn, I hate these copycat killers." Stand-up comedian Chris Martin wrestles with a Toyota microphone February 28, 2010 at Super Friends Camp at the New York Deli in Richmond, Virginia. David Marie-Garland is MC.
http://chrismartincomedy.com"They interviewed the killer whale at Sea World on Nightline. He said... more
-
