Free Deedle

Eye Candy Pt. 2

2009-08-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

'Run This Town' - Jay Z, Ft. Rihanna & Kanye West

Wow! At first this looks like a 2Pac video, and I thought somewhere someone uploaded the wrong footage, but it's quickly revealed what this video is about. HIP HOP'S SECRET SOCIETY. It's like the live action version of that "Stone Masons" Episode on teh Simpson's. You know the one where they sing and dance be merry.

Except this one, they claim they're rule the city (despite never seeing a city), light torches and look hawt (on purpose). It's a pretty captivating clip and does wonders for 're-branding' Jay-Z and showing the world the Rihanna has got some power players watching her back. Chris Brown better watch his.

Innocence Where Have You Been?

2009-08-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Just as I made a triumphant return to Free Deedle yesterday with a little clip from "Where The Wild Things Are" behind the scenes, they go and release this new trailer. I don't know about you but for me, this book was a fixture in my youth. The sentiment in the themes of the book reflect perfectly some of my fondest memories as s kid. Enough with my issues - on to the trailer.

Where The Wild Things Are - NEW TRAILER

It makes you feel like you can steal back that moment where your innocence was taken from you and whether you realized it or not you had to grow up. Do you remember yours? Watching this feels like I can go back in time to before that, and reclaim part of my youth. Wanna come?

deedle

Eye Candy pt.1

2009-08-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

So I'm gonna try this new feature on the bloggity blog site here. I like music videos, they died there for a little bit, but now they're back with a vengance - in quality, not on the tube of course. So lets launch Eye Candy off with Julian Plenti Is...Skyscrpaper's "Game For Days". Paul Banks of Interpol is Julian Plenti by the way. It know it's all very confusing, but sit back and enjoy this rawk clip. You WILL love it.

When you see a video that makes you watch the whole thing from start to finish there is something special about it. Javier took a simple "spy v. spy" concept and executed it perfectly. It looks like a million bucks and the various formats from 35mm what looks like 8mm and stils really create a great texture overall. The addition of Emily Haines incognito in a black wig, makes it sexier (if your into that kind of thing) and sexier without it (if your into it). The song is effin awesome too. We should all get behind this project and talk about it more, because Paul is far less hipster than Carlos which is good enough for me.

deedle

I've Been Where the Wild Things Are

2009-08-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

One of the most inspiring things that I have ever read is 'Where The Wild Things Are". This is a cool little behind the scenes video that really illustrates the spirit of this book, and now the movie and the innovative minds creating it.

Get it. Read it. Be Inspired by it.

featurette
Uploaded by ThePlaylist. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

A band I always wanted to hate forces me to like them, and Obama should listen to it too

2008-08-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Driving home late tonight after a playoff hockey game (WE WON 5-4 - GO COBALT) and flipping through radio stations I heard a band I rarely hear on the radio, and actually rarely like - THRICE.

In my experiences with music, as I'm sure all of you can relate to, it can strike a chord (no pun intended) at any given moment and tonight my chord was struck. Apparently Dustin Kensrue, lead singer of Thrice indulges him self in a folk music alter-ego formerly called Ursus Veritas, which translated from Latin means Bear Truth. It appears recently that Dustin decided to drop the Latin, for whatever reason and just goes with the name his parents have picked out of a hat for him. Solid choice dude, Ursus Veritas is slightly pretentious and really hard to pronounce - but solid effort all around.

Thrice, the band that Dustin has been singing in for forever has decided to cover some of his folk songs - it's so post-modern, post-emo, post-hardcore reflective it takes too much effort for a casual listener to figure it out - and I love it. When a band is able to get beyond their egos, to get beyond the spotlight of the stage and the grind of road they are able to be a better creative unit. It's happened countless times in music, and will happen countless more.

I want to congratulate Thrice and Justin. You have evolved, matured and focused your message and adapted it as you've grown and adapted to the changing world around you. Come All You Weary is a song that might be more reflective of the times you exist in than anything else you've ever written before.

In another context this song may carry more weight for listeners. In a time of war, a time of cultural change and economic power shift this song may reflect the social divide being created and the compassion needed to bridge those divides. Oh wait that is this time. Well then it might just make a good campaign song for someone who wants to stand for that.

Get that Barack?

It's okay to let Alicia Keys or Bruce Springsteen cover it, but please don't let Will.i.Am remix it for a more "up beat" moment.

TUNES OF THE DAY 8-18-2008

2008-08-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

So when I was a little tyke with dreams of radio stardom in my eyes I took my high school internship at a local college station in Mississauga. Under the watchful eye of various staff members there I was taught about the origins of music I liked. You know how it goes Nirvana came from Pixies and Meat Puppets, everything British came from the Beatles ( I kid).

But while there I was exposed to Brian Eno - a masterful producer who can make the hits with the best of them radio friendly Scandinavians and tinker on music for decades a la Brian Wilson 1968. Either way the result is pretty rewarding.

Well today, at 60, and with the help of his friend David Bryne, they have released a pretty cool record. The coolest thing is that this record is available in various formats through their website, including the FLAC format. Which one can only assume is like listening to music with your ears in 20,000$ headphones in Eno's studio I'm sure - but it's recommend for people with experience as it requires some extra work (attention: if you have a kid over 6 get them to help you here).

The cool thing to me is that after bands like Radiohead, Stars, NIN, and the such have released their albums online independently (some with success, some with notoriety) it is now looking more and more like a model to replicate. So good on Eno/Bryne for giving it a go - arguably bankable artists trying it on their own terms. (Remind me to tell you some hilarious stories I've discovered of big label excess from the 80/90s era - so funny)

Does it make the music matter more? Who knows. That for you to decide - because it all matters differently to all of us.

The album is called: EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS WILL HAPPEN TODAY

Check it out.

TUNE OF THE DAY 8-13-2008

2008-08-13T10:14:00.001-07:00

JAY-Z "JOCKING JAY-Z" (Prod. by Kanye West)

Hit? Miss?

Hit! It's Jay-Zed man.

TUNE OF THE DAY 8-12-2008

2008-08-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Verve "Love Is Noise"

Like it?
Love it?
Loath it?

WHAT IS COOL?

2008-08-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

We're constantly bombarded with things that other people think are cool. But what is cool really? I have no idea, if I did I would be writing here while wearing a cool hat and ill fitting pants. Even then that isn't cool, it's trendy or fashionable, or "of the moment" - you get the picture.

Cool is fascinating because it's the never ending debate between people, groups, taste makers and well everybody. What I think is cool might not be considered cool by someone else - so we rage on. In the end cool is a taste - and taste is a hard thing to have in this culture (more on that later), and some of us have good tastes (read accepted) and some of us have bad tastes (read unaccepted) which determine what is cool to us. Some things are universally cool - Jack Nicholson at the Academy Awards is cool no matter what. Winning is cool. A home cooked meal. Outside of that everything is left up to taste ( and I have issues with taste in culture).

But talking to people about what is cool is like trying to ask them for a word that rhymes with orange, they sit and scratch their head and stumble on sentences being careful not to reveal what they think is uncool, just in case you think it is cool. It's all a very complicated dance - but a fun way to get conversation going at a boring ass dinner party. Sort of what I've done in this entry so far.

Cool, yes it all is, and it all will be - eventually.