WE HAVE MOVED!

What Did We Do Before Chucks? has moved! We are now called: Idealize LA. Click here to go there and read the new posts (as well as the old stuff).

The Similarities Between Kung Fu and Porno

I was watching a very disappointing Kung Fu movie this past weekend when I realized how strikingly similar the format is to that of a porn. Obviously like any good movie, all scenes should be necessary and important to the plot action; but in both of these genres the dialogue in between “action” sequences serves merely as filler. Practically though, we just can’t watch 90 minutes of non-stop ass-kicking or… ahem… ass-pounding. Crappy horror movies work in the same way, the string section can’t be playing at a fever pitch the whole time, we need breaks.

I’m no movie expert, but this seems analogous to the structure of pop music. Radio-ready hits usually lead with the hook to keep you interested, and then follow with underdeveloped verse melodies that become banal and again, serve as filler. In looking at the Billboard Top 100, a lot of the songs do this, the best example of which are T.I. and JT’s collab “Dead and Gone” and the painfully repititious “Boom Boom Pow”. In addition to the excessive use of hummable hooks, they all use the same verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus (x2) structure.

So in conclusion: Kung Fu, porn, cheap horror, and American pop music are all being written by the same person.

The Old Standard

I had forgotten how nice it can be to wake up to a country led by a literate and articulate person.

This is a couple of months old, but I’m still digging it:
Sia – Buttons (CSS Remix)

Viva la Really?

I’ve been trying to figure out something lately, maybe you can help me. Is Coldplay good or is Coldplay bad?

When something becomes ultra-popular I usually try to check it out. Part of me really just wants to know what everybody likes, and part of me needs reassurance that my taste buds are still thinking for themselves. A few months ago I finally got the latest Lupe album (O.K.), today I listened through Tha Carter III (good), and last week I finally caved and downloaded Viva and Prospekt’s March (???).

Music Is My…

So the Hype Machine apparently is setting precedent in regard to the best albums of 2008. I was looking to just rank my favorites and submit, but no, it’s not that simple. In order to rank you actually need to have posted your own list already. Being held accountable for taste means I may actually think more than five minutes on who has been the best of the year. It’s also forced me to go and get a listen to many of the albums I haven’t yet made memories for.
The internet has become a radio station of short playlists. Everyone writes about the same music the same day its leaked. What’s happened to music from two years ago–why is it more disposable than ever?

CSS – Music Is My Hot Hot Sex

Holy Doutzen!

I’ve been lacking inspiration lately. Perhaps it’s the cold, or maybe it’s my reluctance to keep posting songs from Acid Tongue. I’m trying to slow down on my music consumption and make sure that what I’ve got is worth keeping. I need time to savor the good stuff and dispose of the disposable. How much do you hate it when people notice the one Rihanna track in your library sandwiched by Rilo and Regina? Anyways, that’s not really what moved me to write, it was actually my discovery of Doutzen, pictured above. So, woohoo!

Follow the photo’s link to my friend’s post that educated me on the sweet Poladroid program. Don’t be surprised if all following posts contain Polaroids.

Brazilian Girls – St Petersburg