Kana Photoshoot #2

—Ricoh GR10, 35mm Fujicolor Film, ISO 400

Watched

The Savages

RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman. You were one of our finest.

Despondent

iPhone 5

Goodnight Moon

iPhone 5, graded in Lightroom

Watched

Snatch

Snappy dialogue, colorful characters, and dizzying camerawork/editing — the hallmarks of every good Guy Ritchie film. So where did Swept Away go wrong? Other than Madonna playing the lead, of course.

Watched

Fallen Angels

A mix of Hong Kong action and his usual repertoire of contemplative characters, stunning cinematography, and moody mise-en-scène, Fallen Angels is one of Wong Kar-Wai's finest achievements this side of In the Mood for Love. Almost enough to forgive him for My Blueberry Nights — almost.

Watched

A Colt Is My Passport

Joe Shishido is the bad ass of Japanese cinema. Kinda like Hong Kong's Chow Yun-Fat, minus a second gun in the other hand.

Sports Fan

–iPhone 5, graded in Lightroom

Watched

Seven Steps of Kung Fu

Rock 'em, sock 'em kung fu flick from the glory days of kung fu flicks, where impressive fight choreography in long takes trumped current quick edit cop outs that Hollywood sadly mistakes for good action sequences.

Listened

Birdman — Pricele$$

Ok, so Birdman's flow sounds like Mushmouth after a massive stroke, but there's something to be said about a guy who's worth a hundred sixty million — though I'm not exactly sure what that is.

Listened

Tyler, the Creator — Cherry Bomb

Big departure from Tyler's previous efforts. Could he be maturing as an artist and a man? Probably the former rather than the latter.

Watched

Love Hotel

Despite their massive output of wholly deranged pornography, the Japanese still see fit to attempt to reign in the wayward morals of their overworked and repressed people. Fascinating exploration of love, relationships, sexuality, and the confusion they produce in modern day Japan.

Artisanal Afternoon

—Ricoh GR10, 35mm Fujicolor Film, ISO 400

Listened

Death Grips — Jenny Death

One of the most enigmatic (and fan frustrating) groups working in music today, Death Grips is also one of, if not, THE best acts to come onto the scene in the last ten or so years. Pure brilliance.

Listened

Dead Boys — Young Loud and Snotty

Pearl Jam did a cover of "Sonic Reducer." I don't know if that makes Pearl Jam hip, or the Dead Boys trite. Maybe there's a middle ground there somewhere.

Listened

Billy Squier — Don't Say No

Who wants to do the stroke with my kind of lover in the dark? Lonely is the night…

Listened

The Modern Lovers — The Modern Lovers

Pretty sure The Strokes owe a lot to these guys — and Julian Casablancas' father.

Listened

Run DMC — Tougher Than Leather

The 808 became a legend from its ubiquitous appearances on Run DMC joints. Tougher than leather, smooth as suede.

Listened

Roky Erickson and the Aliens — The Evil One

Roky's obsession with Lucifer, demons, and sci-fi fodder, probably harkens back to his diagnosis as schizophrenic in the late 60s, but this is about the farthest thing from death metal — yet the closest to musical perfection — as you can get.

Listened

Judas Priest — The Essential Judas Priest

It really doesn't matter to me what Rob puts in his mouth, as long as screaming vocals like this are coming out of it. One of my top go-to albums.