WATCH THIS CUTE THING

CRUSH from Rachel Antonoff on Vimeo.
 "Crush" is written by Rachel Antonoff and Bianca Giaever and narrated by Antonoff's parents and it's the cutest, prettiest, sweetest thing ever.

yay yay

 

For a project on culture I had to do in French class, I made this booklet, or zine, if you will, on the music genre called "Yé-yé," and I thought it turned out pretty cute. Above is the cover (illustration is of Sylvie Vartan), and below is the introduction.

 

 

Here is one of my favorite songs from my research: "Tous Les Garçons et Les Filles" by Françoise Hardy. It translates to "All the Boys and Girls," and is about her finding herself surrounded by couples and feeling lonseome. This song was the one that essentially made her famous, but she reportedly hated it. I love the song for it's soft, sweet, bubblegum-y sound. Also, the video is awesome! (but a little dizzying so take caution)

STOP MOTION

     Stop motion animation is a cinematography technique most commonly used to make inanimate objects appear to be animate, by using a camera to take individual pictures of each frame. Lately, I have been really interested in it! I've been perusing the interwebs for different types (admittedly not a very difficult task) and found some pretty neat videos.

Stop motion films can be as simple as moving objects, or in this case, dancing rocks:

I wasn't able to find much information on this except for the fact that it was on sesame street because apparently, this was the type of thing sesame street used to air (searching "dancing rock sesame street" didn't bring up much. however, I did find this video of Paul Rudd singing about earth).

Stop Motion films can also be very complex:

   

Carine Khalifé created this music video to "Blown Minded" for the band Young Galaxy with oil and paint on glass. She made 3-8 seconds a day, starting from scratch for each frame. This one is so neat. I get so absorbed in watching it, I forget that it's a stop motion, as it truly seems to be made from magic.

Although not my preferable bowl of noodles, I'm still intrigued by "No Noodles" by Tyler Nicolson. It is so perfectly whimsy and weird. And also, may I say, the sound effects are spot on!

"Sweet Dreams" by Kirstin Lepore follows the story of a cupcake who sails to a new community. It's very detailed and creative. All of her work is so amazingly seamless.

"Her Ghost Friend," directed by Saigo No Shudan is about a girl who dies and becomes a ghost, traveling through outer space and parallel universes (I think?). I wish I could understand the lyrics! Anyways, I do know that it is beautiful, dreamy, and a little eerie.

And lastly, Ben Wyatt's "Requiem for a Tuesday:"

     Stop motion animation seems to take a lot of devotion, not unlike most forms of art. I think it is so alluring to me because of how obvious the devotion is. I find myself struck by awe after watching each of these videos, thinking of how painstakingly the artist must have worked to create moving image frame by frame.

~PBS Idea Channel~

While trawling the internet late one night, I came across this super cool YouTube channel called PBS Idea Channel. It is a show that (according to the description) "examines the connections between pop culture, technology, and art." It's thought provoking in ways I didn't expect my thoughts to be provoked.
 Mike Rugnetta, the host, talks about important things like: "Is Minimalism the Secret to Hello Kitty's Success?"

Or, "Is the Web Browser Replacing the Art Gallery?"

Go check it out! Maybe, you'll have an epiphany! Maybe, not! Happy Monday!

YES I WANNA DANCE

"Do You Wanna Dance" is currently my favorite song. I never have really had a favorite song, so I am going to commemorate by reviewing all the covers and adaptations that I have heard. I hope you enjoy!

 

"Do You Wanna Dance" was written and recorded by Bobby Freeman in 1958. I usually find the original of most songs pretty swell. This one falls in the swell category, but there have been some great covers, too! Also, the animation is super cute!

Next up is Cliff Richard and the Shadows! Cliff's smooth voice is to die for and I'm a sucker for the shadow's harmony! This one might just be my second favorite.

Okay, The Mamas and The Papas's version has got me all weepy. Yes, I want to dance! Please someone dance with under the moonlight!

Bette Midler's version is nice and all but it honestly does NOT make me want to dance.

The Beach Boy's are beautiful and sweet as per usual, in this version. But it isn't really anything special, to me at least.

THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE. IT MAKES ME WANT TO DANCE LIKE NO OTHER. AND NO I WILL NOT STOP USING CAPS WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT THIS ONE. EVEN IN REAL LIFE.

Thanks for reading my not-so in depth review! This song has also been covered by the likes of John Lennon, BARBIE, T. Rex, Neil Young covered it once live, and MANY MORE!

What's your favorite version? Also, do you wanna dance?