The Beautiful Things in Life Are Free-Sigur Ros

I've recently taken up with a partner to produce our own vision of what film should look like as fresh juice*strong coffee media. We've been running around working ourselves silly in production of a documentary and in pre-production of a commercial spec. On top of all that, I was recently awarded a grant to work on yet another documentary with another collaborator/friend of mine (YAY!). While I love to be busy and feel validated, there are only so many hours in a day and just the other morning I awoke to a battered body that felt as if it had been through a meat grinder. Stress levels are high and the hours for rest have been low.

As a result, I'm just that much more jaded, my patience just a bit thinner so when I received an email with a link to the new Sigur Ros video Gobbledigook I had no other choice but to stop and think. Sigur Ros out of Iceland proves that surreal, ethereal music still exists in this loud, obnoxious, power hungry world. Maybe it’s too much so for some, but everyone needs a bit of this from time to time. I know I sure did.

This video for the song Svefn-G-Englar is from an older album. There aren’t any hot models, it’s just people who normally wouldn’t get a second look presented beautifully. They remind us that no matter how fast the world seems to be spinning things aren’t so bad and that even if you don’t have the money, the house, the car, the looks, the boy or the girl, joy is within your reach if you want it.

A Reefur Smoking Pooch? No, it's Collie Buddz!

To be honest when I first heard about this cat I had to ask a couple times. Quite a name for a kid born Colin Harper in Nawlins (for the uninitiated, it's New Orleans), Louisiana. He was raised in Bermuda and apparently the Caribbean breezes seeped into his system because he is currently causing a sensation on the reggae scene.

I looked him up and his music is part roots and part dancehall meaning some of his songs are either one or the other. Like Matisyahu or the more rootsy Soldiers of Jah Army (more about them in an upcoming post), some folks may be a bit put-off by a white boy performing reggae, but at least he does the genre some justice. Did I mention he's also pretty hot? Here's Come Around off his eponymous album, Collie Buddz.

This one's for you, January!

Hmm...What to Say about Janelle Monae

Sometimes I come across artists with great promise, artists whose music I may really enjoy, but there's something about them that just doesn't quite jibe. Such is the case with newbie Janelle Monae. It's hard to articulate what it is, that thing. Take for example, the fact that she's got the support of Outkast's Big Boi (yay!!). She's also got the backing of Sean P-Doody Combs (boo!!).

She's out of Atlanta and has been featured on Outkast's soundtrack for their 2006 film Idlewild. Though her movements come across as self-conscious and stilted, she's got a great voice and interesting styling. I like the idea of her, but somehow the package as a whole doesn't sit well with me. Here are Voilet Stars, Happy Hunting! (not the official video, obvs) and her performance of Sincerely Jane which reflect this dichotomy. What do you think?

Wanna Fite??

Today was my day off so I watched quite a bit of Current TV which makes me pretty happy when it's not depressing the crap outta me. In addition to my eye-opening experience with Roots Manuva, I came across a strange little pod about this Brooklyn-based musician named Tim Fite. His music is quite a mish mash of influences and his videos feature his quirky artwork. I can't really say too much more about him other than see for yourself and make up your own mind.

Don't Sleep On...Roots Manuva

Have I mentioned that I love Current TV? It's the only reason I have cable! Really!! If it weren't for Current TV I'd have forgone the "triple play" as my sucky cable company calls it's 3 in 1 (phone, cable, internet) package in favor of access to you, my dear readers. Yes, Al Gore "invented" it much like the rest of the interweb and it's been quite a platform for young progressive storytellers. It has its own cadre of talented producers while also open to viewer submissions. Don't get it twisted, there's very few youtube-like admissions that make it to air, these guys air the submissions with good stories and high to high-ish production values. Current features pods on all aspects of politics, culture, music, fashion, technology and socio-economic issues.

I was watching today and lo and behold, there's a pod (that's what they call their 3-5 minute docs) with Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva airing. I've been hearing about Roots Manuva for a few years especially from my DJ/audiophile friends, but never had the level of interest to pursue the music. I'm more of the "believe it when I see it" type, never buying into hype. See my Kate Nash post if you don’t believe me.

Well, I saw it and I'm sold! Not only is he pretty hot, but his music is pretty good, too. It’s a mix of his Jamaican heritage and his South London rearing. Here’s a bit of his older material, a funny little video for his song Witness from his 2001 album Run Come Save Me and Colossal Insight off of his album Awfully Deep released in 2003. Which speaks to you more?

FYI - Shows You Should Check Out

Maia, my 10 year old daughter, called me on her way to Maryland on Sunday with some crucial info. The text from her follow-up email:

Kate Nash 10 Columbus Circle 5:30 pm Thursday 4/24

Teri, one of my besties, emailed me with what I realize is a correction to the info I gave re: 4Real's film of MIA's trip to Liberia.

4REAL Liberia this Monday!

M.I.A. meets child rights leader Kimmie Weeks. They visit with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, fix a playground and throw an block party in Monrovia. On MTV on Mon., April 21 at 8 pm!


So there, I have absolved my guilt. FOUR posts in ONE day!? Come on, forgive me already! Actually, I don't even need your forgiveness. The pope's still in town, isn't he? See? We can now proceed with a clean slate.

On that note, here's one for the beautiful weather. NYC band Edible Red's Sugar and Spring, I'm not sure if I like it that much, but Heidi produced the vid and our very own LES spot Forbidden City serves as a location. Ahh, I feel better already! The day off, blue skies, a Corona. I'm about to head up to the roof to join Dustin, Heidi and their friend, Leah, who was in the neighborhood and just popped in. It's official! Spring has sprung!!

Sometimes Old Dogs Do Learn New Tricks - Snoop!!

Dustin and I couldn't believe that Heidi hadn't heard Snoop's song Sensual Seduction. Of course, after watching it, I knew I had to share it with you, my loyal readers. All 5 of you.

Plastic Little - Dopeness

K, got my music bible, YAY!! I gotta share this video by this Philly group, Plastic Little. I read about them somewhere a while back and made a little note for myself to check them out for myself. For those of you with delicate sensibilities, please do not click play. Just skip to the next post.

Regina Spektor-Fidelity

I just got some grief about not posting in a while (see Joanna's comment on the MIA post) as if I didn't feel guilty enough. The shoot happened not without a hitch, but it all worked out. Just gotta say, waking up at 4:45 in the morning sucks when you've only had 20 minutes of sleep...BRUTAL!!

So we took the day off from wrapping up the shoot and here I am, hanging at Heidi's with Dustin and our dogs, Rip Van Winkle and Shorty Dukes. I don't have my new music bible with my list of artists to check so I'm a bit at a loss for what to write. Dustin just told me about this one chick whose music he loves, Regina Spektor. The story goes (Dustin's got tons of hilarious stories - all true, mind), he looked everywhere for her after hearing her once. He would go around asking people for the song that went, " ha ha ha ha ha...." Of course, we google her...actually, youtubed her, and voila! She sounds a bit like Kate Nash except sadder. Lemme know what you think.

MIA - Paper Planes

K, I've been busy with work and for you folks who aren't in the production world, the work hours are CRAZY! You work for hours and hours and hours! Once I worked a 22 hour day on a job where the director was feeling a little too much like a rock star and I'll tell ya, no one was amused. So forget the glamorous ideas you may have about movies and television, it's waking up to be on set/location at 4:30am and leaving long after the bars are closed.

So to make up for my absence, I'm going to give you a taste of my girl -- the incomparable, unstoppable MIA. Sri Lankan born, London estate raised and well traveled. her perspective is like no other. Since her first couple of albums Piracy Funds Terrorism and Arular with producer Diplo to her current Kala, I've been hooked. She blends Brazilian favela music with (my home of 10 years) Baltimore club music and what seems every other thing that has interested and influenced her.

I believe that she's a role model for her generation and beyond. She's managed to rock out while maintaining her highly political edge. She recently visited my home country of Liberia with 4 Real with child-rights activist Kimmie Weeks which airs on National Geographic this month. Here's her Robin Hood-themed video for Paper Planes shot in Brooklyn. Word is, BK is her new stomping ground so please keep your stalking to a minimum!

Sometimes You Just Gotta Listen - How Jowell and Randy entered my life

No matter how hard it is to find good music these days, the beautiful thing is that sometimes it finds you. I’m a freelance production coordinator so I’m constantly in a different office from one week to the next. On this job I’m working out of some fabulous digs in Soho. Yesterday, as I’m walking from the store back to the office enjoying the beautiful spring weather I hear the bass booming sound system of a little white Honda coming toward me. This shouldn’t be that surprising to me, I’m in New York after all, but if you’ve been to Soho, you know it’s not the norm. Gone are the days of the old, gritty New York.

The galleries and starving artists, among other things, that once lined the streets of this neighborhood have been replaced by Aveda (Shout out to Brent!), D & G, Missoni and other high end brands. So as the car approaches the pounding begins taking shape and to my amazement it sounds like African music, but I notice the two dudes in the car are Hispanic. Odd I thought, but it sounds so good that as I cross the street to the building I turn back and ask the guys whose music they were listening to. They probably thought I was crazy, but I just had to know! It took me a couple times to get what they were saying because it took them a while to get the volume low enough for verbal communication. I thank them, race back to the office and thank God/dess for Google because presto there it was! So without further ado, I give to you Jowell y Randy’s No Te Veo!!

Kate Nash - Foundations

British singer, songwriter Kate Nash has made quite an impression on one of my besties, Teri, for a few months now. She and I have been putting each other on to new music ever since I can remember so I trust her judgment. Way back when, it was she who told me to check out Skid Row and, then hottie, Sebastian Bach. Well, I finally looked Kate Nash up and guess what? I love her! She’s now on my growing list of UK performers that make me not so sad about the state of affairs of the music industry. Foundations is off of her album, Made of Bricks, released last year. Though she’s not yet twenty-one, she’s able to articulate a predicament I’m sure we’ve all faced. Ironically, she and Teri share the same birthday--go figure!

Party Crashers – Uninvited Guests

Coming at ya straight outta NYC are the Uninvited Guests. They are unapologetic about their music, which they’ve dubbed Street Rock. The two front men Rock Noxious and Wicz blend metal, hip-hop, funk and everything in between to create a sound that’s all theirs. With folks like the legendary Kid Capri and Styles P in their corner they’ve got hip-hop credentials and a rock edge. But enough talk, watch the video for their song Don't Wait Around helmed by Dutch photog turned director, John Lauf, and see for yourself!

Blast from the Past - Saul Williams and his List of Demands

In 2004, Saul Williams dropped his self-titled second album released by the Fader Label. Featuring songs like Black Stacey, Control Freak, and List of Demands, I rocked the cd for two years straight, blasting it in my house, my car, my friends' houses and their cars. The songs are raucous and exuberant and I loved every one!!

So the other day, I turn on the television and while elbow deep in email and IMs I hear the familiar jagged notes of List of Demands, Williams' raging stand for reparations and against the mistreatment of blacks since their arrival in this country. I found it ironic that a song so vehement in it's anti-exploitative message was laid over Nike's new "My Better is Better Than Your Better" ad considering the company's less than stellar manufacturing history. Don't get me wrong, the song is hot and fits the energy perfectly, but do you think the creatives over at Wieden + Kennedy really thought this one through?

Finally!!

I've been working on creating a trailer for a docu-series of the same name to pitch to cable networks for what it seems like forever! Between working in commercial production, being a mom and my recent short film, "The Arrangement" it's been a very slow process. Add to that the fact that my camera guy, Colin, is slowly being usurped by MTV and you see where this is going. Enter my impatience and skepticism by potential interview subjects' and TA-DA!! A blog is born! Besides, everyone else has one to shill their products, projects and perspectives, so why the hell not?

So off we go on a journey to find good music that you'll rarely hear on heavy rotation, music that will hopefully inspire you to dance, sing and maybe even do something out of the ordinary (just nothing illegal. otherwise, I do not know you, have never known you...). I do have one caveat though and that is, the music I talk about here is obviously subjective and runs the gamut so whether you like it or not, let me know. Also, if you know of some band, group or song that should be featured, please, like they taught you in kindergarten, share!!

K, so I'll be back a bit later with a little sumthin' for ya!

Bjork - Wanderlust

I can't help myself. I found Bjork's new video yesterday it was too good to not post. Apparently, the filmmakers behind the project, Encyclopedia Pictura, took a bit of a trip for inspiration. Check out the behind the scenes story covered by the New York Times.

Santogold- L.E.S Artistes

Where have I been that I'd never heard of Santogold nee Santi White before a week ago?? Check her out for yourself.