A study of culture through youtube: 80's New Wave vs. Indie today

So everyone knows I love music. I also enjoy a good music video. Since the advent of MTV, some good videos have been able to make a song, or even a band, reach new heights of popularity. Others have at least provided exposure for bands while generally confusing their audience.

Back in the 80's music videos were relatively new, and simply standing in front of a camera playing a song could suffice for a video. Today with every band under the sun posting their videos on youtube, most try to do something different to stand out.

After watching a few videos from the early 80's, I thought it would be fun to do a video comparison. I thought comparing New Wave to Indie made sense because they are both sort of against the mainstream, and their videos both have a tendency to be a little ridiculous and make no sense. For this comparison, the videos both come from English bands and neither makes a real attempt at telling a story, opting instead for the classic band-playing-music-in-a-room style.

First up: New Wave band with androgynous lead singer dance in a room at a well-disclosed location until a boy turns orange.

 

Observations: Man they look awkward, but at least they're enthusiastic about it.

Next: Diverse Indie band plays in aesthetically pleasing arrangements while seagulls learn the peril of bumper-cars.

 

Observations: White people have stopped attempting to dance in music videos.  This is probably mostly a good thing, but it makes me a little sad.

The Human League video takes place at a location on a map / in a map (I'm not quite sure), while the Metronomy video takes place in an anonymous white room.  Is this a reaction to the lack of privacy we feel today?  Or is it just indicative of the fact that it was shot in a professional studio rather in a band member's basement?

 P.S.: I'm thinking of turning this into a recurring feature, what d'ya think?

Yes... Even More Wingsuits...

So I was perusing the interwebs and found this video on a blog I follow. It's probably the least exciting Wingsuit video I've seen, BUT it shows the other side of the story: the story of the actual wingsuit-dude. It doesn't have music; it records his personal ritual before "takeoff" and it shows a landing. Kinda cool.

SENSE OF FLYING from Goovinn on Vimeo.

Polticians + Lip-Sync = HILARIOUS

Funny Stuff.

SPAM!!!!!!

Gentle Bloggers,

It has finally happened. Our dear blog has been, for a lack of a better word, infiltrated by the "enlarge your penis spam" we have all come to know in our emails:

rickybollinger said...

cool blog.

men last longer
how do i last longer

Who is rickybollinger might as well be called....I sell penis pills by putting up comments on other people's blogs. His comment had nothing to do with senior Ted's insightful post, yet his message is a question we as men all yearn to answer.

Do we stand for this?

Do we embrace the new-found marketing potential of our blog? (monetize)

Do we write the company a "wash cup" type letter?

Do we buy the pills and grow super large penis's and achieve incredible sexual stamina?

These questions, much like the pills Mr. Bollinger wants us to buy, certainly should "perk" your interest.

The cost of everything

This is cool.

Haven't looked too closely at all of it but I think the most interesting to me was the comparison of Coca-Cola's annual marketing budget and the cost to buy (note: not the cost to make) everyone in the world a coke.  I don't really know what it means but it's interesting.

I also enjoyed the estimated net worth of J.K. Rowling had she been a rapper.

MORE WINGSUIT FUN!

BECAUSE WINGSUITS AND STUFF LIKE THIS WILL NEVER BE UNCOOL TO WATCH.

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

HoP Year 6.

This afternoon, around 3:45pm EST, I'm going to jump in the Georgetown pool and warm up for my 6th Hour of Power, my fourth at Georgetown.

I met Ted on 24 October 2002, I prospied on a Thursday and stayed with Ted that night. I was a prospie who was nearly sold on Carleton and Ted was an extremely excited and accommodating host. Ted alone was enough to make me come to Carleton. Ted went above and beyond the call of duty that day. Now, knowing him, is not a surprise at all. He lived in a corner triple in Burton and took me all around to meet swimmers. Flo and Kellen in Musser, sitting silently, are the only ones I remember. He showed me Caucus (ask an older than you alum if you don't know what it is), he glowed about life at Carleton, he was just generally a happy dude.

That afternoon was gender practice. The assistant coach, Tom, walked me around West Gym a little while the men were doing, no kidding, continuous relays. Except there were only three guys per lane. It looked pretty painful. Then they ran out to track and did more intense running than we ever did while I was at Carleton.

Losing Ted, like losing Joe, was (and is) one of the saddest things to happen to me in my life and a unqualified loss for humanity as a whole. They were among the sweetest, smartest men I've ever known. Ted battled a horrible scourge, and no amount of swimming will bring him back. But some amount of swimming, hopefully we've already passed this threshold, will prevent another extended family from losing one of theirs. I know how much Ted fought each and every time he swam, today, I hope you'll join me in a cathartic hour of pain, err, power to honor and remember my friend.

So, at minute 35, when your body is screaming to stop but your brain can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, tell it to EMSYDMF and go extra hard. Pain is temporary. And I'll buy a (pony) keg for anyone who swims so hard they throw up today.

BE MIGHTY!

Frustration in Russia

I'm sitting in the Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, getting ready to fly back to Ulan-Ude, and I have a few hours to kill. So, I figured I might as well blog again.

Russia is a crazy country. And Moscow is even more insane. The amount of change that I can see in Moscow over the last two years is difficult to comprehend. There are hundreds of new buildings, and many old buildings have been remade. It's even more expensive that it was 2 years ago. And much more Western. There are now Starbucks on every corner, in contrast with the 2 that were in the city 2 years ago. There are now Burger Kings and Papa John's. Service is actually friendly and good. And after living in Ulan-Ude, it's disgusting how much money is in this city. Ulan-Ude has some new buildings and nice cafes. In Moscow, every cafe has an amazing sound system and ridiculous decorations. I spend more money on a dinky meal here than on a full day of food in Ulan-Ude. The ONE part of Moscow that's as bad as in Ulan-Ude are the bathrooms. Russia just doesn't understand that bathrooms can be nice.

The hardest part of life for me is my frustration with the Russian government. It seems that all of their domestic policy is aimed at subduing and emmasculating the Russian people. Case in point: local governments have no ability to tax the populace. The local governments are 100% dependent on the federal government. The Russian government also does everything to make the people feel like they aren't being taxed at all: most of their money comes from the oil and gas industries. As such, it is very difficult for local government to fund projects, such as building new roads. Especially when other, more important parts of the infrastructure demand more urgent attention (such as the power plant in Ulan-Ude, which some predict will be out of commission as soon as 2015). I am finding myself more and more to be a supporter (this is the incorrect word, I know the right Russian word, but can't think of the English one. Good thing the GRE is coming up...) of Ulan-Ude and Buryatia. I'm helping NGOs write grant proposals and have actively supported my university's attempt to get a Fulbright English Teacher sometime in the next few years. The local populace has almost no say in their government, so as one of the few Americans aware of Buryatia, I feel some weight on my shoulders to further the cause of Buryatia. The opportunities that should be in Buryatia, and would be if the locals had any say in government, just are non-existent, and all the best and brightest leave for Moscow and beyond.

I understand why the youth want to leave Ulan-Ude. Tourism is the only industry available for an intellectual. Professors are paid dirt. But without infrastructure, tourism will always be limited. For the Republicans who want as little government as possible, they should look at the provinces of the Russian Federation. For those who also support the Patriot Act, the metaphor is even more poignant.
Well, now I'm back in Ulan-Ude, and I must say that even given the above disappointments and frustration, Buryatia is still unbelievable. As my plane started descending through the layers of clouds, the sun just began to shine over the horizon. It was one of the best sunrises I've ever seen. I took a taxi back to my apartment and chatted it up with my driver. The main theme of our conversation: the Siberian spirit.  All of a sudden, such political squabbles seemed worthless in the face of this taxi driver whose father built their family home in the mountains several decades ago and was adamant in explaining his spiritual connection with the land. Even if European Russia doesn't understand what they have out here, the local population seems more than content to have it all to themselves. Perhaps another topic to consider when asking about tourism.

Sub Blog:

OkCupid: Operation questionable intentions......No really I have no idea why I am doing this.

Day 1: Created Profile: Pleased with stupidly tacky answers that were sure to lure the sexiest women alive to my profile. Sentences like "hahah I don't know where to start" and "Let's see; what to put here" were painted across my profile like so many images on this iconic piece of architecture.
Finally feeling brave, I plunged into the search function. Hundreds upon hundreds of eligible ladies in the O.C. area popped upon the screen. Incredible. Sent a few messages....no responses

Day 2: Discovered the "quick match" function. Rated dozens of singles. Five stars or above signaled if you liked them. They were then notified of your vote if you rated them highly. Sent a few more messages...no response

.......The saga will continue.

reunited and it feels so good

dear internet,

you ever had turkey pepperoni? not that great.

ted are you good with that sleeping bag?
can i get a pillow?
(throw)
i'm set

we tried to watch THE TUB (link will come soon).

nonberg: "as the evening goes on..."

there are a number of things about alfredo's bathroom that i love
1. the hole that is covered up by tape
2. the right is the cold water and it's blue, and the left is the warm water, but it's blue

stole chairs from casa.
ted takes his contacts out without a mirrow. genius.


nonberg calls it the pizzafund


alfredo provides. ask and it is given.
alfredo has a nice place.
alfredo has soco in his closet.

"the banjo is so american." says ted.

friend day? it needs a new name.

ZING.

THIS IS SO LOUD. NONBERG CAN'T WORK MIAS BED.


we are just posting it now.