In August 2007, 20 year old Sophie Lancaster was kicked to death, simply for dressing differently. As a brand that promotes the right to experiment and self-express through the way you look, Illamasqua is committed to changing attitudes towards subcultures.
In tribute to Sophie, Illamasqua has commissioned ‘Dark Angel’ – a short film by award-winning director Fursy Teyssier, that’s a haunting rendition of Sophie’s story, featuring the music of iconic British band, Portishead.
The film launches on MTV on 26th November – Sophie’s birthday.
As a result, the Sophie Lancaster Foundation hopes to generate £500,000 to fund national youth workshops on tolerance. But they can only deliver this essential education programme with your help.
Here's wishing you and yours a fantastic holiday season! Thanks for making this year with Destroy All Monsters fun and rewarding. Be sure to stay tuned as me and Richard will be counting down our picks for the best of the best in film, music, and anything else that suits our fancy.
Pretty cool video for a pretty cool song. It's directed by Joey Garfield in one continuous single shot. The gentleman on the crutches is Bill Shannon who was born with a degenerative hip condition. His legs cannot carry his own weight and so he has lived a life on crutches. He has developed a new way of moving through life on his skateboard and the crutches.
Out of all the films that have come out this year, Avatar ranks as my number one! I was completely mesmerized by the experience, and yes it is an experience rather than another winter blockbuster. The film hit me on a deeper level than I expected, and the feeling seemed to be mutual among my fellow movie goers.
It is best to go into this film with little knowledge of what to expect, so I will keep this brief.
Very rarely does a film compel me to be a better person in my everyday life. It isn't often I am left with my mind completely blown, not only due to the gorgeous art direction and animation, but to the feeling and emotion conveyed on screen.
If I had seen this as a kid I would have left the theater in a state of euphoric child like bliss. I can imagine myself climbing every tree in sight, and opening my eyes a little bit wider than usual.
Bottom line: This film makes you want to hug the world and plant a tree. Go see it now!
I took interest in this film a while ago for the reason it was portraying a White German Shepherd. I'm a proud owner of a White German Shepherd and he's pretty huge. I really didn't know what the film was about. It's actually a very disturbing film about a racist dog that kills on site. It has a strong theme about if racism is a curable mental illness or a learned behavior. The owners try to reverse what was brought onto the shepherd with great struggle. The film was so controversial at it's time Paramount refused to release it cause of it's strong content. This film is now part of the Criterion Collection as well. I found the movie well produced and well written. Based from a novel of the same title. I highly recommend this film.
I remember falling in love with this commercial when I was little. It was directed by Micheal Bay. The guy that does the epic we are all going to die and save the world films. I can so relate to this commercial on so many levels. Well anyways this commercial came to mind randomly in my head as most things. Commercials really aren't what they used to be. Maybe I'm wrong?
Had a chat with Yppah about his new album that just came out. He's currently signed onto to Ninja Tune and from Texas. His music productions has been featured in games and even films.
How are you doing today?
Hello Richard. I am very well thank you. :D
How did you get your start in wanting to produce songs and into DJing?
I started playing guitar when I was like 10 and would learn songs that I liked and formed shitty little rock bands. I kind of just did that until i was a couple of years into high school. Around that time me and some friends of mine got into DJing and that led to scratching and working on 'scratch music'. After a while we started recording what we were doing with samples and turntables. That led to wanting to produce and the realization that i could start incorporating guitar and other instruments that I played.
On your last album They know what Ghosts Know how long did it take you to create it?
It took about a year. I had about a year and a half's worth of material from right after i finished my first album, but i ended up scrapping everything. I wasn't satisfied with anything i was making and felt it was all mediocre. I was having trouble finding a direction. I'm not exactly sure when or what song i was working on when i turned the corner but had taken a short break and was listening to a lot of early 90s indie rock. Mainly shoe gaze sort of stuff. It was then that i started finally coming up with songs that i was happy with. Then a year later i had the songs for my final album.
What instruments do prefer to use for the past album?
I was pretty much going for a straight rock band sound with the electronic feel along with most of the same elements from my first album. Things like guitar, bass, drums... standard rock band instruments.
Did you have a concept for it when structuring it?
Not originally. I definitely had a idea after all the break and the whole scrapping of the first batch of material situation.
The track Shutter Speed is rather interesting in the build up, how did you create the song and what inspired you for that song?
I actually made that track when i was living in Austin for a short time. I think i was listening to a ton of stereo lab, so I'm sure that had a big influence. A friend of mine had this junky little drum set that i recorded with apzm mic and kind of just built everything else around it.
What are some of your influences?
I like comic art a lot. I don't know exactly how much it directly affects my music. I like looking at Basil Wolverton drawings... they make me laugh. I guess i try to incorporate melodies that invoke emotion along the lines of melancholy and a sort of happy whimsical giddyness. Maybe that's where the comic side fits in. Aside from that its just a lot of psych rock, shoegaze and beat oriented music. A lot of various electronic bands. I like Air and Radiohead's compositions a ton. Clark is some really awesome stuff that I've been just recently get into.
Any plans on using live vocals for future projects or road shows?
Yeah there are always plans for vocals. I tried to incorporate some on this last one, but it didn't really pan out. I think this next album should definitely be quite a bit more vocal heavy.
Do you have any more plans for having music on video games?
That's kind of up to my licensing. Hopefully we get some leads soon. I really like money. Spending it, Using it to buy things and live. So yeah, I hope it happens soon ha ha.
How was traveling to Japan and what were some highlights being out there?
I loved Japan. The crowds out there are great. The first trip out we played a sold out crowd in Tokyo a couple thousand deep i think. That was pretty crazy playing to that many people. I liked walking around the Shibuya area. Its fascinating with all the crazy little stores and lights. Kind of expensive but fun.
Any plans on performing soon?
The only thing of the books for Yppah so far is SXSW. We are working on securing a spot for the NRMAL Festival in Monterrey Mexico the week before SXSW. It looks like that might pan out.
What are some current projects you have and future plans?
Right now I'm working on a project called Collider with a friend of mine who produces under the name Pollination. He has a release out on Exponential Records called Inca Orange and was also a part of the Day Of The Woman project. As of right now all we have out is a remix we did for the major lazer contest. We should hopefully have something completed by the summer.
Any films that find influencing you with creating your tunes?
Nah not really. I watch a bunch of junk. I like typical shitty movies so i don't think that's really influencing anything I'm making..Ha.
What is your favorite film monster?
ha ha... the Leprechaun from the Leprechaun Movies. Hes a little bastard!
Here for your viewing enjoyment is my 20th animated music video!!! This one is for The Lovely Sparrows song 'Take Care'. The song is actually a cover of a Yo La Tengo song, which was itself a cover of a Big Star song. Very interesting life this song has had.
There is just so much to look forward to with Cinema in 2010. Been looking forward to this since the ending of the first Iron Man. This is a random pirated version from a theater and looking forward to replacing it with the official trailer very soon. They just have the perfect person to play Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. I'll let the preview explain everything also the other starring roles to hit the screen.
Looking forward to seeing this since it's one of my childhood hero's and directed by Guy Richie. I read the stories when I was little. It seems to have a dark and edgy type of tone. Looking forward to seeing this
I remember watching the original version and thinking wow this is something to really watch and press rewind on the remote again, again and again. I have a bad habit of doing that anyways. This remake is somewhat promising and curious to see if they go the whole Micheal Bay route or have some storyline to follow up. Either way I'm looking forward to seeing this in the theater.
It has a pretty awesome cast and Danny Elfman is producing the soundtrack for the film. I really hope they do this remake justice. Please don't suck. The music in the trailer makes me hesitant though....
I found this film to be one of the best film documentaries about one of the most influential bands of our time. Fugazi is a band formed in Washington DC which continues to influence bands across the globe. A very do it yourself type style which I grew up on and still maintain. It was shot from 1987 to 1998 with Super 8 to 16mm to video film. A film 10 years in the making. Mostly footage of behind the scenes, live footage, interviews with fans and practice sessions. Some of the clips are from an old 8th grade TV interview and shows the misconceptions some have about the band in a humorous manner.
Here's a clip from the film, also one my favorite songs from the group.
This is a documentary about the no wave scene in New York told in interviews. It's mostly about the Post Punk phase in New York and how it progressed to what is now. I found this documentary to be very informative and entertaining for the most part. Maybe cause it's the times I was growing up listening to random music from this style. Suicide, Teenage Jesus, The Jerks, Theoretical Girls, DNA, Sonic Youth, Swans, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more are covered in the film. This is a must have for the all round music fanatic.
This is the official video from the Black Keys new project called BlakRoc. It's composed of an all star cast of rappers such as Mos Def, Q-Tip, Jim Jones, The Rza and more! It's been in heavy rotation in my personal playlist. It's very innovative and simply just good music.
Bill Murray plays Don Johnston, a computer salesman that did financially well in the computer industry. He's an ex womanizer and as his current girlfriend is leaving him, he finds a letter in a pink envelope that informs him of news of a son from a previous relation many years ago. His neighbor Winston encourages him to investigate which leads him to making contact with each past girlfriend from that time. Each following encounter worsens. There is an amazing soundtrack to the film that adds to the quirky dark humor of the film. I really enjoyed Winston's character in the film who pushes Don to move forward with his Sherlock Holmes journey. I found this film very enjoyable but sad at the same time as the film progresses.
Korean director Park Chan-wook directs and writes another brilliant film. Thirst is a film about a priest that helps the needy but looks to find himself in a twist of fate when volunteering to be an experiment to find a cure for a deadly disease to help rid himself of coping watching the world devour itself in pain and suffering. He survives the experiment to slowly find himself turning into a vampire. He falls into a love triangle with a childhood friends wife that's in an ill relation. Things escalate in the heat of passion to a thrill ride into a dark tunnel of events to come. The film is loosely based on Thérèse Raquin by French writer Émile François Zola. The plot and characters in the film are well crafted. The cinematography is amazing with the use of color and much symbolism throughout the whole film. One of my favorite films from this year hands down.
I heard about Metric via a close friend long ago and been a fan since then. They have well produced songs with lyrics to match with great stage presence. She has a long history of music in her and has seen much. I just really like her view on life and can really relate on many levels on what she has to say. I would say that she is one of my influences. It's a pleasure to see her and perform this evening in Metric at La Zona Rosa. One of the shows I'm very excited to see this week. Hope to see you out tonight.!
Posts
