Going out to anyone who has shouted and made known what was in their heart above all else!!
Everything Is A Remix: Part 1
•September 18, 2021 • Leave a CommentKirby Ferguson, the Everything Is A Remix guy recently put together and uploaded another video essay, consolidating all he has learned into a comprehensive rundown of our current culture of remixing (TikTok, meme culture, audio sampling), and how that is nothing new:
Most interesting parts for me, and I’m not sure why I’m a nerd for it, was hearing about the battles/breaches of copyright, and how some many artists in the biz are about giving leeway and creating music in good faith, safe in the knowledge of what came before.
Anime Inspired Music Videos: Dua Lipa – Levitating / Salvatore Ganacci – Fight Dirty / Tadpole – Better Days (02) / Ken Ishii – Extra w/ Kōji Morimoto (94)
•September 17, 2021 • Leave a CommentThis is Dua Lipa’s animated MV for Levitating, which clearly pays homage to Naoko Takeuchi’s SAILOR MOON in colour pallet and aesthetic (cheers PC for the heads up!):
A spirited young fighter failing to gain the respect she deserves gets approval from an unlikely ally — an overpowered giant hand, which is normal in an eccentric Swede’s future:
Video resolution sure has come a long way. That reminded me of a band in New Zealand called Tadpole. During the height of the DBZ craze, Tadpole released a MV as homage to the popular anime (or cheeky cash grab). On top of being a genuinely good band, the video was quirky to see (Nu Zeelund anime?! Dafuq?):
Directed by Wade Shotter. Tadpole’s (1994-2006) seventh single from their first album Buddhafinger. During my posters-on-the-bedroom-walls phase, there were band posters plastered on the classroom windows at my college one year that I casually collected after asking random teachers if I could take them. One kid was super pissed at me for that.
Getting back on topic, or rather, some real deal ‘fighting spirit’ anime goodness; Extra is a pumping techno track by Ken Ishii from his 1994 album ‘Jelly Tones’, and the MV is directed by the revered, Kōji Morimoto (AKIRA):
The Matrix: Resignation [DeepFake]
•September 10, 2021 • Leave a CommentThe Noble Onion Ring Reviewer
•September 9, 2021 • Leave a CommentThere is an Instagram account dedicated solely to the humble fried onion ring. The anonymous purveyor of these savory morsels is (I think the cat snuck out of the bag awhile ago) none other than breakout Kiwi singer-songwriter, Lorde (@onionringsworldwide).
Sshhh, it’s still a funny fun secret 😜 Today’s new entry came as a welcomed surprise to all of her fans in-the-know, and all I have to say is, “Feeling Good on a Wednesday, ya ya ya!”
It is a quirky side project for a globetrotting performer to have, which makes it one of the more interesting accounts to follow in a sea of shameless narcissism and freebooting.
Album available @ https://music.apple.com/us/album/solar-power/1572940891
Anonymity intact… The album cover was meme friendly for a hot minute, so this is no disrespect in any form of tall poppy syndrome, Lorde’s aight. Here are two funnies and something a clever minecrafter made anyway:
Not really a secret but far less known is that Lorde just released another album, TE AO MĀRAMA, a 5-song companion piece to SOLAR POWER, sung entirely in te reo Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand (https://lorde.lnk.to/TeAoMarama) and all proceeds are going to two NZ-based charities — Forest and bird and Te Hua Kawariki Charitable Trust.
“I was writing an album about the spiritual power of the natural world, specifically in the context of where we’re from, and I realised; oh, there’s a word for this – it’s kaitiakitanga” (a concept broadly meaning guardianship). ~ Yelich-O’Connor aka Lorde
https://open.spotify.com/album/0fPuf1jv42CH5okF6MjKmE
Full story about the project @ https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/09-09-2021/lorde-interview-maori-lyrics-solar-power/
Radiohead — “If You Say The Word” [♬]
•September 8, 2021 • Leave a CommentA bounty of material from Radiohead, reissuing Kid A and Amnesiac in celebration of their 21st anniversary comes a new album of unreleased songs: KID A MNESIA
The collection is out November 5 via XL / http://www.kida-mnesia.com
| TRACKLIST:
01 – “Like Spinning Plates (‘Why Us?’ Version)” |
06 – “Pulk/Pull (True Love Waits Version)” |
“Guiding Light” — Gary James McQueen’s Digital Fashion Show w/ Unreal Engine
•September 6, 2021 • Leave a CommentThe future of digital couture is coming and it is going to be HUGE in terms of advancing all consumer tech, as well as globally shifting entire industries towards sustainable, zero waste manufacturing of supply-and-demand [digital] possessions (fashion and artworks).
Those intangible assets will be valuable, we will want them, and we will want to make them. However long-sighted that statement reads, there are more than a handful of artists and designers currently dipping their reputations into the unbridled and boundless expanse of 3D augmented reality, with even fewer of their experimental creations being, dare I say, tasteful/pleasing to the eye. But we’ll talk more about AR art, Metaverse, and crypto/NFTs at a later date, for now, here is a high-quality render of Gary James McQueen’s digital runway show made entirely using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 (and a glimpse into what your future wardrobe may look like):
2021 Fashion Collection by GARY JAMES MCQUEEN / Soundtrack Composed and Produced by TEHO & Published by HERZBLUT RECORDINGS / ENTER THE VIRTUAL SHOWROOM https://www.garyjamesmcqueen.com
Part of why I think it works is because the humanoid models are distinctively abstract (does not attempt to represent external reality) as opposed to them being photo-real depictions of a real-life person, avoiding that uncanny-valley jank. Unfortunately it also avoids the excitement that real life brings to any and all live shows.
Because we’re all inspired-inspiring-friends here, and because it just tickles that specific fashionista itch of mine, this is Jean Paul Gaultier’s 1995 cyberpunk inspired runway show that many have dubbed “Best Show Ever”
Vogue interviews many of the key players involved. Jean Paul Gaultier, Claudia Huidobro, Carmen Dell’Orefice, and more look back at the innovative tech-meets-punk runway show, detailing some of the event’s most memorable moments.
Another thing to keep you up all night; in 2019 a digital-only dress sold for $9,500. Yeah. The first NFT couture dress ever was created by the Fabricant, a digital fashion company based in Amsterdam:
Last but not least, here is what the next-gen Unreal Engine 5 is capable of:
“Alternate Realities” — the Internet’s Biggest 3D Challenge [animation]
•August 13, 2021 • Leave a CommentFantasy and sci-fi nerds, get in here! This is an excellent 3D walk cycle filled with super high quality renders of imaginary worlds. Perfect for anyone looking for an inspirational prompt, or just something to zone out to for a few minutes, or 120.
One month ago, I provided you guys with a simple 3D template and challenged you to create something unique. 2,401 artists pushed themselves, and submitted incredible art. ~ pwnisher
This successful project was initiated by VFX artist and YouTuber Clinton Jones, alumna of Corridor Crew. He has many more render challenges in the works, should you wish to follow his page. This was his base template:
Here is the whooping 2+ HOUR LONG collaborative render it inspired:
For a good time I also recommend Corridor Crew’s VFX Artists React series for anyone who loves learning interesting things to do with visual effects and storytelling techniques.
Jason Statham Competed in Diving at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland
•August 6, 2021 • Leave a CommentAhhh… What?!
Well, he certainty made a good recovery after his original career took a dive. 🤿 …I’ll sea myself out 🏊
Brilliant Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Comeback: Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) — Women’s 1500m
•August 5, 2021 • Leave a CommentEthiopian-born Dutch (arrived as a refugee in 2013), Sifan Hassan, fell on the final lap of the 1500-meter first-round heat, but rebounds to win!
Pleanty of cool blink and you’ll miss them moments at the games this year, but that comeback takes the cake. I loved seeing the women’s hammer throw too, the momentum they build before hurling 8.82 lb (4 kg) of metal further than I can throw a tennis ball was insanely impressive. I have to play catch up with many of the events though (downloads here I come).
In other Olympic Games related stuff; seems a lot of athletes love anime, making nods to beloved franchises before, during, and after competitions:
Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno did her floor routine to the Demon Slayer soundtrack:
Last but not least, if you’ve used Google in the last month you’ve probably seen the icon with the cat? If not, click it! it is a classic JRPG made specifically to commemorate the games in cool pixel style — PLAY — Doodle Champion Island Games!!!
It is a Japanese-style role-playing video game designed to celebrate the 2020 Summer Olympics, 16-bit video gaming as well as Japanese folklore and culture.
Real-Life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Discovered On The Ocean Floor
•August 3, 2021 • Leave a CommentBiologist Christopher Mah was watching a live feed from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) when he noticed two sea creatures bearing an uncanny resemblance to a pair of beloved animated characters:
“If we can bring positivity and we can make people happy by showing them nature,” Mah told NPR. “Well, that’s what nature has always done for us before.”
Unlike their cartoon counterparts however, the Hertwigia (sponge) and Chondraster (starfish) are not best friends.
“In all likelihood, the reason that starfish is right next to that sponge is because that sponge is just about to be devoured, at least in part,” Mah told NPR.
The Dolls With Attitude (2017) [short film] & More Dolls
•July 16, 2021 • Leave a CommentWhile discussing AIR DOLL (2009) with (not Bae Doona) bae, I found by chance this quirky horror-esque short film. Self-contained, funny, and strange, you should watch it:
Writer/Director Naoya Yamaguchi
Oddly enough, a fashion account I follow recently posted several pictures from Moschino’s SS 2021 runway show. It’s certainly different. For no other reason than I saw these related things hours apart from one another; here you go — high-fashion dolls:
Yup… Dudes can be airheaded about things sometimes too you know.
Director Hirokazu Koreeda. Based on manga series Kuuki Ningyo by Yoshiie Gōda
🎭 