new songaaaaaa!

That last post was pretty long so here's a reward for your troubles!

Breakbot was out on the weekend I didn't go but I looked into his stuff and it's rad.

Here's his remix of Justice let there be light, it is cool enough that I'd argue it's a new song. I wish more remix's were this detailed.
Justice- Let There be Light (Breakbot remix)

Teen Drama: A Comparison

The Teen drama has long been a staple of weekly television. From the early days of Melrose, Teen drama has repeated the same stories of lost love, teen substance abuse and overbearing parents but how have they stayed popular and relevant? My answer is in the "how". It's not what you say but how you say it.

The way which different show's decide to explore teen issues, each have their own positives and negatives and can leave you detached or with a weird "what's going on, can they do that?" feeling.

The OC

This show was massive, I remember being at uni and everyone would gather around to watch and wonder whether summer and seth would ever hook up. Gripping stuff. The reason people liked this was because it's setting was surreal in that Marissa strutted the halls of high school with a chanel tote (I know what that is because of the OC) but in spite of this setting of unattainable wealth (for most) the characters were still so relatable. I think thanks largely to the Cohen's sense of Humour and overall kind philosophy. Man Marissa got annoying though. Awkward moments came when the "kids" would be at the night club, and you were never really sure if they were drinking. The downfall of the OC was an age old one. The climax of the end of high school coincided with the death of the main character. No one really cares what summer does at college! So the OC was gone and I have nothing to show for it but a knowledge of designer handbags, and what a Christmukkah miracle is.

The OC- Caleb Dies and a cool song plays I loved that OC had great climatic moments Set to some great music. This one by Imogen Heap is awesome.



Gossip Girl

Done by the same people as the OC, and it seems like they are trying to start the whole thing over. The character equivalents are blatant and obvious but there are a few changes. The gimmick of Gossip Girl pisses me off. Am I supposed to believe a blog about NYC teenagers is more popular than this blog, the Train? I think not. This time round however they did heighten the average class of the characters but we remain too distant since the characters are missing the Cohen charm. Easy choice to set it in New York, in an attempt to distance itself from it's east coast cousin. What's the deal with all of them drinking freely at New York Night club's? It makes me uncomfrotable! Gossip Girl does have potential for continuing passed high school, through their character of little J who's fashion career was fun, and they've set it up so most of the characters will be at Yale together. Same Same but different. Serena is just as annoying as marissa. Chuck is way cooler than Ryan. Seth Cohen is way better than lonely boy's dad the musician. I don't even know his name.

Unfortunately Gossip Girl lacks the climatic moments of the OC and couldn't think of a clip worth watching. Here's a clip using the Imogen Heap song parodying the OC's drama. It's pretty funny.

Andy Samberg et al- An SNL digital Short


Skins

Through a change of continent, Skins, from the BBC uses design features such as fashion sense, lighting and mis-en-scene (look it up) create an environment that is a departure from the overtly functional basis for the OC or Gossip girl. This quirky environment allows the writers to use unconventional plot and make it seem believable. The School trip to Russia is a great example. Could you imagine Seth and Ryan sneaking into a Russian man's house to rescue his enslaved daughter? wouldn't think so! Skins doesn't look into the parents lives unless it's through the kids perspectives which I appreciate as in other Teen drama's the storylines of the older people often got boring and unrelatable. With a broad cross-section of characters (homosexual, eatingdisodrered, Indian,) A wider variety of issues can be looked into and makes a complex intertwining as the characters interact. Skins is great!

Skins- Party trailer, watch this and you'll be hooked

Work it make it do it makes us

I feel like it's been awhile since I posted last, so this link should keep you entertained until my next post on the OC vs Skins. This comes courtesy of Caroline who is possibly doing some graphic design for the train!

Daft Punk Virtual sampling machine! yay!

Hunters from mars, gatherers from venus

I was sitting at work today (wasn't a busy day) and after a lot of thought about future careers and such, i've noticed that some industries are dominated by feminine people while others remain predominantly masculine. After a further daydream and subsequently risking looking extremely sexist, I thought in caveman days the men were hunters and the ladies were gatherers and preparers. Nothing major there. This then progressed into modernity where the female "space" was in the household, ie cooking, cleaning. Where the males, "hunted" the finances with which to provide for their "tribe" (great parallel with the merril Lynch bull here)

So I had lunch. And sat down again.

Where does that leave us now in the 2000's where women are becoming/are a consistent figure in the workplace? I then segregated various career paths according to the sex, which is perceived to be overepresented in it.



It is easy to see that women run the fashion industry and is it too much of a stretch to see it's link to a housewife's "role" in household duties. Washing and ironing clothes ensuring the family is presentable has clear links to designing them. (I'm glad no one reads this, I don't think I got away with that one) I know that my own mum was for many years the only reason I left the house wearing anything at all, is it not foreseeable that an extension of this role, would be in the fashion industry, which is predominantly run by women?

In history class when they say "women gathered and prepared the food" that for me echoes the PR and event planning industry. PR is a little more modern, but I remember when I was a kid if a sibling did something bad, mum would give them some family PR to keep the peace. Most events were planned and catered for by Mum, and if this task was being done in a professional environment, it would be done within the PR/events industries.

Men on the other hand, are bankers who hunt for "bull" markets, and are the wolves of wall street (read that book, it was pretty good) who stalk their prey and provide their tribes with the resources it needs.

I know I have absolutely zero facts to back any of this up but there's a thesis in here somewhere I know it!

As our lives change, come whatever, we will still be, friends forever

In the mail the other day, I received an invitation to my graduation. Not only does it confirm that I have actually finished, it has set in motion a series of reflections over things i've learned in my time at uni. This post marks the first in a series on interesting things I learned over the last few years.

First up, when I was doing geography it was fairly typical to come across discussion of Sustainability. Actually sustainable development was a theme in most of the courses I did.

Anyway here is my perspective on the whole, climate change, "Green" debate that will hopefully sort out those battler old people that call up talk back after making up things and being mis-informed by crappy newspapers and other mis-informed old people.

First of all climate change. Way back in year 5 or something I did a project on the greenhouse effect and climate change. In terms of my lifetime nothing has changed since then and as a result I don't feel like it's a major issue. Too many people link climate change with green culture but I feel they are sepearate issues and it is more effective to treat them that way. However the solutions to each will have some things in common.

For me, Green culture is about increasing the environmental efficiency of everything we do. From turning out the lights in an office building to fuel efficiency in a Prius. By implementing things such Hybrid cars, and using those twisty light bulbs we have economic benefits, that have a by-product of being good for climate change (If it exists). If a business is being inefficient by employing too many temp workers, or having a poor business model, good management would change these in order to seek greater efficiency. So good management should ecompass energy efficiency and will in turn help out the environment. Makes sense to me.

So to those old people that are worried about having a shorter showers or sitting in the dark. Chill out (pun intended) Green culture isn't about reducing your level of comfort or luxury, it's about providing the same standard of living in the most efficeint way.

I promise my next post on uni will be a little more lighthearted but suck it up!

Back to the Future (music)

So in we're in the middle of a blog renovation and in the rush I forogt I went to yet another music festival and you get to hear about it!

It turns out Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso are really really good dj's. One of their biggest songs for the day was a bootleg they made 2 hours before they went on stage. They played for ages and it was awesome. Go see them play music. They're probably the most tech-like DJ's that I can get into so far but they remain accesible by playing show me love, be, and assorted classic dance songs.

Not even sure if they played this at future but I found it in the lead up. Pretty heavy but heaps of energy.
Body Crash- Angello and Ingrosso

This song is called be. It is pretty good.
Steve Angello and Laidback luke- Be


So Angello and Ingrosso finished and I was wandering around with Laura. These drunk randoms came up to me and say "is this your girlfriend?" To which I reply "yeah" they say "You must be really funny or something..."

Major Burn from drunk randoms that wore matching shirts. Ego bruising stuff. Let's get vodka to drown my sorrows!

Next I wandered around alone for a while talking to strangers and testing out the facilities. Not too bad. I'd say better than Good Vibes, not as good as home.

Found my way to the front for N*E*R*D. Apparently i'm black and cool because I like them.

Made famous by Girl Talk, N*E*R*D's Everyboy Nose was my highlight. N*E*R*D- Everybody Nose

To be honest the Girlt Talk version is way better. Pharrel pulled this chick up on stage and hooked up. I wish I could do that.

Next up was CSS, for me the find of Future. They were really fun playing to a big crowd. Heaps of people on stage inspired me to get their album. CSS- Rat is Dead

Ladyhawke-esque fun afternoon festival stuff.

So met some strangers and went with them to Basement Jaxx. They were really nice. Laura worked for ABC doing radio something. Shout out! I found Basement Jaxx's set a little indulgent. Playing too much newer stuff and lacked a bit of energy. Which is annoying since there are so many people on stage surely someone could crank it up a bit. Highlight was astripped back version of Romeo. The original is a bit cliched now but this one serves as a reminder of the good times you had when that song was playing.Basement Jaxx- Romeo


I wish I went and saw the Fricken Cube!

It's rad.

Etienne De Crecy- the fricken cube dammit!

The appocalypse! HELP!!!

Found this video through a competitors blog. I would tell you where but I'm not stupid. When the appocalypse comes will you be prepared?


Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?

Gender and music

Awhile ago while reminiscing about my school Jazz band (who were really really good) I found myself comparing to similar bands from girl schools and questioned why they didn't appear to be as musically sound. Initially I thought I was just being sexist but I transferred this to the world of popular music.

Why is it that the biggest bands in the world are predominantly male?

U2, The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Green Day (when they were big), Queen all were male only bands (For argument's sake Freddie Mercury is a guy). Where are the girls? They represent themselves. Madonna, Pink, Kylie, Beyonce (I guess Destiny's child were an exception). The Biggest Girl band ever was the Spice girls and it was used as a gimmick. It was there point of difference of Girl pwoer that made them popular. Why is this so? I guess the concept of a powerful woman is acceptable when they're on their own but in a group that upsets the dynamic too much.

anyway just something to think about. Perhaps if I was still at uni my next assignment would have something to do with this...