I am slowly accepting our new non-band status however, and, you know?, maybe it’s better this way. I could join an all-girl, zero-robot band or something and focus more on my hair:

No, no, it can’t be true. T_T

© MODEL-002 for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: 2NE1, shutdown

© MODEL-TWI for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: tweets

© MODEL-TWI for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: tweets

Well, he never said that I couldn’t post, but I like his posts and I think he posts more if I don’t post, so I haven’t been posting. Or maybe I’ve been a little preoccupied.

Anyway, we had practice this weekend, without -006. It would have been unbearably sad if -005 hadn’t visited us. PLUS!!! -001 & -003 wrote a new song! It is awesome. And it is very fast. 180 bpm. You are going to like it! IT’S SO FAST!

-005 makes everything alright

If you’re not too busy celebrating Columbus Day on October 11th, you can hear the new song at The Mercury Lounge. You can also listen to the Parlotones & Atomic Tom after we are done. They’re alright. They have a lot more Facebook Likes & Myspace Fans than we do.

So the show is about 2 weeks from now. That gives you time to learn some new dance moves (see below). These moves are pretty fast, and a little more complicated than the choreography that I usually post here. It is totally OK to do them half-time for our songs:

See ya later. If you are/know 625krista, email me!!!

© MODEL-002 for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: 625krista, atomic tom, dance moves, mercury lounge, parlotones

MODEL-006!!!

You can see him in 3-D on Thursday, at the Cameo Gallery show.

© MODEL-002 for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags:

© MODEL-TWI for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: tweets

Swingset Committee is:
David Dahlquist – Production/Vocals
Andrew Belinsky – Vocals
Tim Morrison – Drums

Let’s talk about the record first.  Where do I begin?!  This is how synth pop should be.  In Transit is six perfect pop songs in 25 minutes that will leave you wanting more.  The first thing that immediately grabbed me about this ep is their use of out of character (for synth pop) instrumentation.  Album opener Little Life is a song that I was convinced was going to be douchey in that talk about my feelings and we all vomit indie rawk kind of way.  Not the case.  What starts as guitars and strings becomes a straight forward dance pop anthem complete with 4 on the floor kicks and chirping arpeggiated synths.  Swingset Committee doesn’t seem to be afraid to make the most of their equipment; the constant changes in the instrumentation provide the perfect backdrop for singer Andrew Belinsky’s strong vocal performance.

The ep’s six tracks showcase the varying ways in which one can write strong pop songs that makes you dance.  Track two, Singing Along, is on the softer, sugary side (and I see some pics that indicate a video is in the works), which is then followed by Mind Reels, the coldest most robotic effort in the bunch.  Into the Shelter is a softer track made great by an arrangement that builds throughout the song in a way that reminds me of a better track by the Postal Service — constantly holding back and only reaching fever pitch in the final chorus.  Moving towards the end of the ep we come to Easy Way, the most straight forward dance song in the bunch and my personal favorite track.  Smell of Soil closes the record with an epic touch, combining drums that have a sped up march feel with spacey synths that make me think of Plus-Tech Squeeze Box’s (Star) but with less ADD (oh god why does it always come back to weird Japanese pop with me?!?!).

After listening to the record and being thoroughly impressed, I wondered how their live show would stack up.  I was not disappointed.  Despite being a small band and despite much of the instrumentation being tracked, their live energy was more than enough to engage absolutely everyone in the room.  And what a great cover of Psycho Killer.  I am so stoked on this band.  Too bad their next show is the same night as our next show.  Cuz I wanna go.

AAAAAAANyways.  Just listen.  Also you’re welcome.

Click here to view the embedded video.

(this is the edit of Little Life, so you don’t get the awesome “fooled you into thinking we were Coldplay loving jerks” intro but you do get the awesome song)

Also, me and 006 are gonna do remixes for them and then they will do remixes for us and you can all be grateful.

© MODEL-001 for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: Andrew Belinsky, Cake Shop, David Dahlquist, Easy Way, In Transit, Into the Shelter, Little Life, Mind Reels, Singing Along, Smell of Soil, Swingset Committee, Tim Morrison

I was first introduced to his work through his 1998 masterpiece (and directorial debut) Perfect Blue.

The story explores one pop stars descent into a world where she can no longer tell what is real and what is the television drama in which she is a character.  I guess it’s a psychological thriller…?  I don’t won’t to spoil it by going further, but Kon’s brilliant use of cuts between scenes lends itself perfectly to the portrayal of a human psyche on the brink of losing it completely.  Here’s the trailer, though it really doesn’t do the movie justice.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The second video is for Kon’s 13 episode series, Paranoia Agent. Once again, the trailer doesn’t do it justice.  The story follows a wide cast of characters who are in some way affected by Lil’ Slugger, a rollerblading killer who beats his victims to death with a baseball bat.  While the premise may sound absurd, Kon uses it to explore the ideas surrounding the creation of a rumor, kind of paranoia rumors cause and the kinds of secrets rumors cover up.

Much like in Perfect Blue, as the story continues, the line between what is real and what is not become more and more blurry until it is impossible to tell what’s right, but by then it scarcely matters.  Here’s the super creepy and weird opening to the series.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I wanna wrap this up by talking about one more of his movies (possibly is last!), Paprika.  The story follows a group of scientists who have created a new device, the DC Mini, which allows them to enter other people’s dreams.  While it’s intended use is for therapeutic purposes, when the team discovers the device has gone missing, they worry that someone with malicious intent may enter dreams in order to cause harm to the dreamer.

Once again, Kon uses a futuristic plot to explore the line between fantasy and reality.  While this story lacks some of the darkness of his earlier work, it is visual more realized and an amazingly told story.  Here’s a scene from the movie to give you an idea of Kon’s strange brilliance.  I think that even in this short clip you can see it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here’s the trailer for Paprika.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I don’t really know what else to say.  Kon directed a couple other movies (Millenium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers) but I wanted to touch on a couple of my favorites and I’ll leave it to you to explore the rest of his work.  I hope you will go out and find this stuff cuz it really is amazing.  Kon was to have another movie, The Dream Machine, released in 2011 but since his death yesterday the current status of that project is unknown.  Regardless, Kon left us with a brilliant body of work for which he will always be remembered.  Also, I’m stoked that I saw Paprika multiple times in the theater. Jealous, suckers?

© MODEL-001 for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: anime, Paprika, Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon

© MODEL-TWI for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: tweets

© MODEL-TWI for LAST YEAR'S MODEL, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg!
Post tags: tweets