Music video director Nima Nourizadeh graduated from Central St. Martins College of Art & Design with a BA Hons in Fine Art Film & Video in 1999. He's done some amazing videos. Here is some of his work.
Jim Noir -- "My Patch"
Santogold -- "L.E.S. Artistes"
Hot Chip -- "Over and Over"
Flight of the Conchords -- "Ladies of the World"
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
XXL Freshmen 10
So every year at around this time, XXL crowns ten up and coming emcees as the Freshmen 10 -- basically, who they think is hot at the moment and could potentially have a career in the game. But, just like every other list of this kind, there's been mass controversy and cantankerin' from the blogs to the forums to the dorm rooms and back again. So I figure?, why not do my own list? Right? I know my shit. I will say, though, there's gonna be a repeat or two -- but I will say right now: Asher Roth, Ace Hood, and Curren$y are garbage and have no place on my list. Anyone else I left off, I don't have any real qualms with -- just not cuttin' it, in my eyes.
Anyway, with out further ado: Drew Hunt's Freshmen 10
Wale: So this is a guy who is on XXL's list, but it's with very good reason. This guy came out this year and was extremely exciting. He shoulda got massive amounts of love in '07 when he dropped the disgracefully unappreciated "100 Miles and Runnin'" mixtape. "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E." is way to perfect. But he really came into prowess this year with "The Mixtape About Nothing", the Seinfeld inspired tape that was about much more than nothing. With a glaring approach to lyricism that even has the big dogs interested, Wale is basically the shit. Apparently he's got an album coming out next year, but I see him sticking with the mixtape shit for a while.
"W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E." -- Wale
Chip Tha Ripper: One of two dudes coming out Cleveland, Chip is a solid MC with a great fucking delivery -- he sounds like a seasoned vet already. He already has such a trademark voice, too. Deep. Fucking deep. But he's real. According to his MySpace, he's "cool ass, laid back, love 2 laugh, gettin' money, fitted, creative, funny, down 2 earth, soul loyalty and business, chevy ridin', door swangin', globe-trottin', money gettin', hellafied swagg havin', paper stakkin', free lil stace screamin', beat catchin', super freak ass, paper chasin' SOMEBITCH. Ya know????" Awesome.
"Club Rockin'" -- Chip Tha Ripper feat. Akon
Kid CuDi: Now this OTHER dude from Cleveland -- he's on some shit. This guy is out there, but in a real, real good way. Kanye West picked him up and put him on G.O.O.D., and now the rest is up to him. He dropped his mixtape "A Kid Named CuDi" earlier this year, and people noticed in a big way. I find it funny that so many people are into him, too. He's so left of center, I don't know how he ended up in XXL -- but I'm not complaining, he deserves it. He's the shit. Where the fuck is Cleveland coming from?
"Spazzin' Freestyle" -- Kid CuDi
Blu: This dude played a part in the best hip-hop album no one heard in 2007. Along with producer Exile, he dropped "Below The Heavens" and nobody really seemed to be buzzing. Nahright had nothing -- nobody. But it was too good to stay unnoticed for too long, and it didn't take much for everyone to hop on the jock. But rightfully so -- the dude does it all: flow, lyrics, and cadence are all covered. The game needs more emcees like Blu. He's doing it again with Johnson&Jonson, a collabo with producer Mainframe. The album is equally as good as "Below The Heavens", but this time more people are noticing. Go figure.
"Bout It, Bout It" -- Johnson&Jonson (Blu and Mainframe)
Mikey Rocks: No disrespect to his partner in crime, Chuck Inglish, but Mikey Rocks of the duo The Cool Kids is way too cold not to be on this list. See, I know a lot -- scratch -- all of these dudes kinda get pigeonholed into the "hipster" rap label. Call it what you want, whatever -- fact is, it's the new style and this guys reps it better than anyone. Plus, being from Chicago, where this new movement arguably found its fotting, gives him points as well. Some view dudes like Mikey as a fad, but others view it as the the future: put me in the ladder, please.
"The Delivery Man" -- The Cool Kids
Naledge: So if you're gonna bring up Chicago, you can't not mention this guy. Again, no disrespect to Double-O, but Naledge of Kidz in the Hall has a playful approach that is not only relfective of the entire Chicago hip-hop scene, but is a good example of where hip-hop is headed. He fits the mold perfectly, with clever lyrics and flows for days. Although it so goes without saying, "Drivin' Down the Block" is the hoopty-anthem of the year, and features one of the greatest samples ever -- period. Good, good shit. He dropped a good mixtape recently, too called "The Braniac Society, Vol. 1". Most of the links are dead, but if you can find it, get it.
"Ruby Hornet Presents: Freestly in the Park" -- Naledge
Skyzoo: So apparently this guy has one of the Top 10 flows of all time, according to Hot 97. Cool. Anyway, this guy's been around for a little bit, but he's just now coming into his own. I wasn't exactly sold until I heard the mixtape he did with 9th Wonder called "Cloud 9: Three Days High". It's a solid release, and I can definitely see him putting out some real, real quality shit for a while. Top 10 flow is a little generous, but it is a tight one -- he's definitely focused when he's spitting. He even holds down a Dilla beat pretty well, which is still a difficult thing to do, in my mind. Case in point:
"Last Donut Tribute" -- Skyzoo
Crooked-I: Another dude who's been at this for a minute. Crooked-I has been all over, going from Virgin to DPG to Death Row (?), he finally got his shit together and ended up starting his own imprint, Dynasty Entertainment. Some say he bites Jay-Z like a veritable mosquito (the naming of the label doesn't help this), but the fact is he's truly emerged as a capable emcee with sufficient lyrics and a comfortable flow. He could be big in '09, if he ever gets that album out.
"Boom Boom Clap" -- Crooked-I
Donnis: Probably the only rapper is Atlanta who isn't preoccupied with here T.I. lives, Donnis probably knows how to get a part started better than any other dude on this list. The guy is fun -- and I don't care if that sounds lame. His lyrics, his style, his everything -- dude's just a blast to listen to. Hip-hop needs this kinda shit. He pops up all over the place, on tracks with Kidz in the Hall, Cool Kids, Hollywood Holt, Joe Scudda and others. But I'm not even sure he has a mixtape under his belt. That should change soon.Get it while it's hot.
"Supersonic" -- Donnis
Charles Hamilton: Most people not this guy as "that dude on Nahright who's obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog", but he's truly a talented emcee who is killing the blogs at the moment. I posted his mixtape not too long ago, and if you haven't downloaded it yet, better hop on it quick. This guy is the total package: different stagger, different flow, different everything. I mean, just watch the video I posted here and tell me this isn't ridiculous. It's good shit. I don't care if he's trendy at the moment -- I'm sold. Sue me.
"Windows Media Player" -- Charles Hamilton
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Charles Hamilton -- It's Charles Hamilton
I kinda like this guy. This is his fourth mixtape. Some DJ Skee shit.
Charles Hamilton -- It's Charles Hamilton
Monday, October 13, 2008
Haven't done this in a while...Great Director Series: Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby is quite simply one the of the most underrated filmmakers of all time -- and certainly the most of his time. Unfortunately, the relative dearth of critical and biographical writing currently available about Ashby is virtually nonexistent, despite the awards, the misty paeans from his collaborators and, most importantly, the amazing streak of films in the 1970s, a streak that rivals those of his more famous contemporaries, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Altman. With The Landlord (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), Coming Home (1978) and Being There (1979). That he disappeared behind a string of disappointing pictures in the 1980s and died before redeeming his reputation has led many critics of the Hollywood Film Renaissance to dismiss Ashby as a filmmaker who lacked a coherent voice or who was simply the competent beneficiary of remarkable collaborations. Sad face.
No biographer has yet made a subject of Hal Ashby, which is surprising considering the quality and influence of his films and the dramatic circumstances of his life. Soon after discovering his father's body at the age of twelve, Ashby dropped out of school and began working odd jobs; by seventeen he had already been married and divorced. The young Mormon decided in 1950 to leave the cold winters of Utah and Wyoming behind and to head off for the golden skies of California. For decades, he worked as an AD on numerous projects until he quickly garnered some fame for his skills as an editor, collaborating with Norman Jewison in films like The Cincinnati Kid and In the Heat of the Night for which he won an Oscar for Best Editing. It was Jewison who recommended his friend to direct The Landlord, a project under development at United Artists. Thus Hal Ashby came to make his first film at the age of 40.
The Landlord is an outrageous debut, a film that, almost 40 years later, still feels daring, both stylistically and politically. It deals with Elgar, a spoiled 29-year-old rich kid (Beau Bridges) who decides to buy a beat up tenement in Park Slope, Brooklyn. His plans are to kick out the poor black residents and turn the place into a big old bachelor pad, although he is soon affected by the various residents. It is clearly a film made by an editor, full of Godard-like jump cuts and abstract images. Characters talk to the screen at times and several montages are reminiscent of Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. When we first meet Elgar, he is reclining on a lawn chair, sipping brandy. He looks directly into the camera and tells us: “It's just that I get the feeling that we're all – I mean everybody, black, white, yellow, Democrats, Communists, Republicans, old people, young people, whatever – we're all like a bunch of ants, see. See, the strongest drive we have as a true life force is to gain territory.” All of his preconceptions and values – racial, political, economic and otherwise – are tested, though, once his life becomes entwined with those of his tenants. The end result is an often brilliant, occasionally uneven film that (ridiculous as this might sound) resembles late Buñuel's attempt at a blaxploitation film.
His second film is a story of a twenty-year-old rich kid who learns to love life through his encounter with a woman sixty years his senior.
Harold and Maude delights in everyday transgressions: uprooting trees from manicured suburban streets and returning them to the forest; parading a yellow umbrella past the dark faces of a funeral line; flipping a bird to repressive authority figures, whether they be mothers, priests, psychiatrists, soldiers or highway patrolmen. That the film manages to do so without surrendering to the carpe diem-like sentiment that has made a respected actor of Robin Williams is testament to the fine performances of its leads, Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon, but also to Ashby's deft direction, which transforms Clark Higgins' dark satire into a Brothers Grimm-like fable. As with fairy tale, the moral of Harold and Maude is ultimately less important than the telling of the tale itself. The pure joy of Ashby's story-telling frees the film to transcend its often banal symbolism, creating a filmed world that, like that of Wes Anderson (perhaps Ashby's most gifted disciple), allows for the possibility of grace and childhood wonder in a fallen, cynical, adult world.
Ashby accomplishes this to best effect in the final sequence, in which he dismantles and intercuts three events: Harold and Maude's arrival at the hospital, Harold's agonizing wait for news of her death, and his high-speed drive up the California coastline. Accompanied only by Cat Stevens' song “Trouble” and by the roaring engine of Harold's Jaguar-cum-hearse, the sequence is marked by a tragic inevitability. There's no question of Maude's survival, no possibility that this dark fable will be appended with a Disney ending and yet, despite the sadness, Harold walks away in the end strumming his banjo, and the film is rescued from the nihilism of its day.
His next films would not follow this same optimism, although they kept Ashby's playfulness. Bound for Glory and Shampoo are both strong testaments to his work. In many ways, Coming Home best epitomises Hal Ashby's cinematic style, and is also his most personal film. The project was conceived by Jane Fonda with the help of screenwriter Nancy Dowd, and was originally intended for John Schlesinger.
However, the last of Ashby's signature films may top them all.
Being There is his adaptation of the Jerzy Kosinski novel. Kosinski swore that he would never allow it or any of his other work to be filmed, but after learning that a movie project was in the early stages of development, and after experiencing first-hand Peter Sellers' aggressive campaign for the lead role, the author set to work on a screenplay of his own. Ashby's final product is, by most accounts, a smashing success, both as an adaptation of a much-respected novel and as a film, judged on its own merits. The story of Chance, a simpleton gardener who stumbles into America's most powerful spheres of influence, Being There is a satiric jab at the co-opting of the nation's public discourse by television's empty images and content-free rhetoric.
Such ideas were nothing new to Ashby, who had been toying with similar themes in his own work for years. In The Last Detail, Shampoo and Coming Home, in particular, characters are unable to free themselves from the constant barrage of political speeches, commercial advertisements, and reportage that emanate from the televisions, billboards, and radios that seem to have them surrounded. When Sally asks Bob what combat was like, his response echoes the main argument of Being There: “I don't know what it's like; I only know what it is. TV shows what it's like; it sure as hell don't show what it is.”
Hal Ashby was diagnosed in early-1988 with a cancer that spread rapidly to his liver and colon and to which he succumbed, finally, on December 27. Ashby's death at 59 prevented him from witnessing the re-birth of independent cinema that energised America's filmmakers, young and old, during the early-1990s. Imagine how different our appraisals of Robert Altman's career might be had it ended with Popeye (1980), Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) and Secret Honor (1984) – had it ended before he made The Player (1992) and Short Cuts (1993). Or, imagine how different our opinion of Francis Ford Coppola might be had he not retreated to his vineyards and re-emerged as an acclaimed producer of others' films – had his career ended with One from the Heart (1982), The Outsiders (1983), and Rumble Fish (1983). Hal Ashby personifies, better than any other director, Hollywood's Film Renaissance of the 1970s: its moral ambivalence and political rage, its stylistic audacity and deeply human voice, its supernova of energy that could not possibly burn so brightly for very long.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Dodos -- Visiter
This shit is rad. I love it when good bands make good music. Download now, fools.
The Dodos -- Visiter [2008]
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Woods Family Creeps
These guys are phenomenal. Lo-fi pop stuff that's catchy as fuck. I had some of their older stuff, when they were just Woods, but they added a new member, became a trio, and now are a family of creeps. Awesome. Download a couple tracks here, you wont' be sad.
Twisted Tongue
Sleep Sleep Sleep
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