MUSIC MONDAY: Surf Noir + a mash-up for your time

Did you know surf noir was a genre? I learned this last night, and I realized that this attractively named genre is my new summer obsession. Enter Lana del Rey, aka Lizzie Grant. I had an older track by this girl in my iTunes library already, under her actual name, but I just learned over the weekend of her continuation of singing the beautiful genre of surf noir. Part 60's babydoll pop, part sweet ocean breezes, part social commentary, Lana del Rey's vintage voice is bound to have you wishing to visit the coast, be it the beach, the shore, or the cape (which one you pick is very important).

Lana Del Rey - Video Games by 2340km

Lana Del Rey - Diet Mtn Dew (demo) by tashaanorak

And for those whose summer tastes run more Ibiza than Venice Beach, here's a mash-up of Jennifer Lopez's "On The Floor" (that loop! ugh) and the omnipresent Calabria tune:
Calabria On The Floor by UofSwag

Enjoy, darlings!

Should Rihanna Have Shot A "Man Down" In Her New Video?

Let me preface by saying that I'm a super fan of Rihanna's new song, and I haven't said that since I became slightly obsessed with "Disturbia" a couple years back. "Man Down", short and to the point, is the story of Rihanna shooting, well, a man down. The song exists within the realm of some sort of guilt, since she spends a good portion of the song wishing she hadn't done it but still makes plans to leave the country¹, just in case. The song also marks the (maybe) temporary return to her Caribbean roots, just in time for summer.

But what all the pop culture and media ruckus is about is the video for this new single, which premiered on BET yesterday:

The twist here is that Rihanna kills the man of the titular down because he rapes her. Now, this brings into all sorts of awful context (you know, that whole Chris Brown thing) that the media and fans are dissecting and saying that, hey, Rihanna, you shouldn't kill Chris Brown. You shouldn't kill your rapist, you should seek help. Set a good example!

Except... Rihanna isn't required to set a good example. Remember, we place a lot of emphasis on good model-ship on our pop stars, but what if, in the end, this is just a music video? No one jumped on Lady Gaga for burning a man alive for purchasing her from a futuristic Russian brothel or poisoning Alexander Skaarsgard for attempting to kill her OR helping Beyoncé murder her abusive and totally douchey boyfriend (as well as an entire diner and sadly, two Great Danes²). This is probably owed to the fact that, Oh, she's Lady Gaga. She's crazy like that. Maybe Rihanna is just channeling her anger, what she cannot do, through her music.

Melissa Henson, from the Parent's Television Council, said in a formal statement, “Rihanna’s personal story and status as a celebrity superstar provided a golden opportunity for the singer to send an important message to female victims of rape and domestic violence. Instead of telling victims they should seek help, Rihanna released a music video that gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder the imprimatur of acceptability.”

And you can't really blame the PTC for being angry. Shooting rapists is not how people want to go about solving rape. But, I for one would never condone a woman for killing her rapist (oops, I'm a bad person, sorry). I know it isn't morally right, but sure as hell feels justified from a superficial standpoint³.

Okay, I feel like I'm digging myself into a hole here. Let's all just watch the video and listen to Rihanna's new song. Let's appreciate them for what they are. Don't kill rapists. But let's just remember something: 60% of rapes are never reported to the police. And I'm willing to bet that these 60% aren't due to the fact that the victim killed the rapist. Maybe there's a connection here with the abhorrence of rape culture, but I'm not sure what it is. Either, way, this video is a good excuse to remind everyone that rape or domestic abuse is never the victim's fault.

1. Paraguay, Rihanna, Paraguay! I learned on Psych they won't extradite for murder.
2. RIP my dear.
3. This would probably be a good time to mention that my favorite movie is Kill Bill and I adore Quentin Tarantino's roaring rampages of revenge movies.

MUSIC MONDAYS: Born This Way Review

Another Monday, another music post. I really have to get back on writing more entries, I've been busy with work, friends, etc. things that bloggers cite when saying how they haven't been updating frequently. Anyway, today was the official release date for Lady Gaga's third studio album, Born This Way. It leaked last Tuesday, spreading like wildfire over the internet, and of course I needed to hear it then, but I was a good little girl and went out and bought it today at Target at eight in the morning.¹



AND I LIKE IT. Note, however, that I did not say love. Born This Way, for me, is not like The Fame Monster, that short, eight song album where I loved everything, or even The Fame, where there were only a few songs that I consistently skip over when I'm listening to Gaga on shuffle.² No, Born This Way, with its strong 80's influence, needed to grow on me. There were a few songs that I loved on the spot, including the Latin dance number (and surprisingly socio-conscious for a pop song) "Americano", the slow, dirge-y "Bloody Mary", "Scheisse", and of course, "Judas". These are the songs I'd recommend off the new album, if someone asked me my favorites. "The Edge of Glory" and "Hair" are very similar songs, both featuring that saxophone that's been the talk of the blogosphere lately. Erik is a fan of "Electric Chapel", as am I, but I will admit that it isn't one of my favorites. The rest of the album seems to just kind of blur together for me, but I mean, this is coming from someone who wasn't too impressed with the single "Born This Way", which set the precedent for the rest of the album. Either way, Gaga fans should like it, critics should like it, and haters, as always, will hate.

In the end, I think that Born This Way is a solid album with one major weakness: it lacks the get-ready-to-dance attitude that earlier Gaga was so good at and what made her so popular. Songs from this latest album, filled with foreign languages, are not radio-friendly in the way that "Poker Face" and "Just Dance" were. But maybe that's a good thing; I mean, do we really need another pop album about drinking and boys and dancing 'till the world ends?³

notes:
1. Target is creepy at 8am, I do not recommend it at all.
2. Summerboy, Brown Eyes, Retro Dance Freak, Disco Heaven.
3. Yes.

MUSIC MONDAYS: I Just Came To Say Hello

This week's on-repeat tune comes from me going through a high school acquaintance's tumblr and literally stumbling upon this gem. Martin Sloveig and Dragonette (still, like, the coolest stage name ever, I might add) have teamed up to produce this party-friendly electronica track. I can just picture a tipsy Dragonette at some hipster party telling some dirty alt that she'd "just came to say hello." Anyway, it's incredibly catchy, and the accompanying video is cute and, in a world of Nicky Minaj's and Katy Perry's, it's nice to see a video that is cute and doesn't feature skintight latex or odd make-up (or, actually, the singer).

Martin Solvieg & Dragonette- Hello- mp3 (source)


Unfortunately for my inner hipster, I heard this on my local Top 40 station today on my way to work. I've decided though, to get over it and just enjoy the party.

notes:

1. I am not hating on Nicky Minaj or Katy Perry. In fact, I shamelessly admit I've watched the "Super Bass" video more than my fair share, although I will never compliment the "E.T." video in any way, because that stuff is just weird.

Music Mondays: Jamaican Me Adele

I recently got a real job that requires me to drive in the car for, say, 80 minutes a day, total. And due to my ineptitude, I don't have an iPod-to-car connector, so I'm forced to listen to the (shudder) radio a lot lately. And by "radio," I am indeed referring to the station everyone has that plays the latest top 40 and plays essentially the same, 25 song playlist on repeat all day. Which means that every time I have been in the car in the last week, I have heard Adele's "Rolling In The Deep." This song, by itself, is amazing, and Adele is extremely talented. But for it to be smushed, on repeat, with auto tuned Black-Eyed Peas and the latest song by Britney about falling in love on the dance floor, cheapens it and makes me dislike it even.

That's why when I found this amazing mash-up of it with Ce’cile, Mr. Lexx and Timberlee, by Jaime XX; I freaked out because it was so good. Such a summer song, and I'm currently collecting summer songs, it's my new hobby. It's like, let's combine the overall amazingness that is Adele with feel-good Jamaica vibe. How charming.

Adele + Jamie XX f. Ce'cile, Mr. Lexx and Timberlee, "Rolling in the Heat (The Heatwave Refix)" by The FADER

(source, photo source)

Glee Thinks You're Lucky You're In Love

This week's episode was rightfully and not confusingly titled "Duets," and consisted of a competition between the Glee Club-bers as to who could perform the best duet, the prize being dinner for two at Breadstix, a thinly veiled reference to Olive Garden with its never-ending salads and breadsticks (Santana: "It's, like, illegal for them to stop giving you breadsticks. One time I brought a wheelbarrow to fill up and when they made a fuss, I called corporate and got them fired."). Overall, the episode was successful because it not only included a great song selection, but that it was a theme episode that wasn't forced on us like Artie was forced to lose his virginity. But how did some of the characters fare overall?

Rachel & Finn: B+
Rachel and Finn are still going strong romantically, and decided to be altruistic this week by throwing the competition. Although, as Finn pointed out, they did this solely so that Sam-I-Am could win the duet competition and feel better about himself so he'll stay with Glee Club. So they scrap their delightful "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," in favor of "With You I'm Born Again," a pretty terrible song made worse by their costumes- pretending to be a school girl and a priest (pictured, hilariously, above) in love generally doesn't win you points in the awesome category. But they were cute when they tried to hide their shock at losing the competition.

Brittany & Santana: D
Ouch. After essentially dumping Brittany after twelve hours of celibacy with Puck in juvi (about time, but what's up with that? THEY NEED PUCK, OKAY?), Santana aims to be one of the two baddest bitches in the school by teaming up with Mercedes in a jaw-droppingly amazing cover of "River Deep, Mountain High." Brittany, on the other hand, decides to go after a vulnerable Artie, and they quickly start "dating" for about three days before Brittany takes Artie's virginity to help him get over Tina and he breaks up with her, both in life and Glee Club, telling her that something as simple to her (sex) is complicated and special to him, since after his accident he didn't know if he'd ever be able to have sex. It's a bittersweet scene, especially when Brittany tells Artie she wanted them to win so they could share an extra long piece of spaghetti á la Lady and the Tramp, and that she had even practiced moving a meatball around with her nose.

Quinn & Sam: A-
AWWW, these two are so cute! I love them and their blonde hair and her big eyes and his big mouth. It was also nice to see the shy side of Quinn, the side in which she's damaged from her pregnancy, her season 1 romances, and her fall from grace like Satan. Ugh, they're just so cute I can hardly stand it, and "Lucky" was really good, too. You can tell Sam is trying really hard, and that's what makes it so endearing. Also, Sam really does dye his hair! You can never fool Kurt.

Kurt: B
Kurt, like Quinn, is damaged goods, but in a different way- he ruined his father's relationship with Finn's mother, he professed his love to Finn in an inappropriate way, and now he has to deal with the consequences. He's lonely, too, which makes it hard to watch- who doesn't want Kurt to find a soulmate and be happy? He did a heartbreakingly good cover of "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria as a duet with Harvey Dent/Two-Face-esque costume. And, in the end, he realized that it's okay to be alone, but that having friends is even nicer, as he and Rachel's "Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy" mash-up  shows.

Oh, yeah, and Mike Chang "sang." Overall, and the internet seems to agree with me, this was a good episode hopefully to get Glee out of its theme rut.

Politics Continues to Resemble Dan Brown Novels

After that whole exciting escapade in July with the Russian spies in New York (recently name-dropped in Gossip Girl, so you know it is dead), the whole finding sexy Russian spies in America thing kind of died out. Until it came out that there was a whole money laundering scheme based in New York. Pictured left, coed Kristina Svechinskaya, 21, is the new Anna Chapman. She's an Eastern European girl over here on a student visa. She was part of an 80 member hacking ring that managed to create a computer virus that relocated $9 million into other accounts from businesses and bank customers. Svechinskaya managed herself to siphon $35,000 dollars. New York magazine reports that she showed up in court crying and in skin-tight jeans, asking the question on everyone's mind- "But is Kristina SEXY enough to become a star?"

In other science fiction novel news, a computer worm is currently ravaging the computers in Iranian nuclear plants, stalling all development in the enrichment of uranium. The computer worm is called Stuxtnet, and the Iranians working on a resolution to the conflict claim that, not only is the worm foreign born, but it also appears to be from Israel, due to a name located deep inside the worm's code. The New York Times can explain it with the appropriate drama:

Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran’s race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them.

While Israel, at the moment, is the most likely candidate for Most Evil Country, it is also possible the worm originated from any country with their sniper rifles on Iran's pretty head, including the United States. Or, in some M. Night Shyamalan-esque (back when he was still good) twist, it could have been created by Iran to have an excuse to target Israel even more than usual. But that is a little too much like a Bond film for comfort.

So, Dan Brown, when you are ready to write a new novel, just open up a newspaper.