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Gmail - Pop! Goes the Culture - 1/23http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=02ec4e8a3f&view=pt&searc...1 of 81/28/09 11:45 AM
Kim Powers <kpowers11@gmail.com>
Pop! Goes the Culture - 1/23
Kim Powers <kpowers11@gmail.com>Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 11:44 AM
To: Kim Powers <kpowers11@gmail.com>Smart Shoppers:(little Johnny NEVER lets us get name brand cereal.)Hiya! Highhhhh-ya! Hey ya! (you're welcome for getting this stuck in your head all dayhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xe9Ur0wEsY
 
) and welcomeback to another edition of Pop! Goes the Culture.What an exciting week it has been! INAUGURATION '09!!!!! I really feel like you can't talk about the inauguration this year without exclaiming it fromthe deep bellows of your stomach causing you to sound like a wrestler, or remind me of the big player from Mets in Rookie of the Year who strikes outat the end when Henry "just floats it" like his mom used to do because it was her glove!!!! (Don't pretend like you don't know anything about it - youknow exactly what scene I'm talking about and exactly how that Mets players' facial expression looked like in slow-mohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heoa-AI42bA)And, on top of that, this week also contained Squirrel Appreciation Day (on Wednesday) which I didn't know existed until Tara's status message. Ihave a bit of a love/hate relationship with squirrels. Well, moreso indifferent/worried they are going to go rabid and attack one day. Think about it -we've had horror films about birds, dogs, insects, it's only a matter of time before squirrels start, well, fucking shit up. Should you not share thatbaseless fear, here is more information about the holiday and how you can celebrate:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/21/squirrel-appreciation-day_n_159626.htmlNo matter how you slice it, this is 2009 Poppers, and things are happening. Mainly things that rhyme with nine (you don't think Aretha wore a bow-tieon her hat for fun, did you?) We all ready for Pop! time?Let's get started, shall we?
Music:Mixtape Link:http://www.mediafire.com/?npzgw2jnkqz
 
Gmail - Pop! Goes the Culture - 1/23http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=02ec4e8a3f&view=pt&searc...2 of 81/28/09 11:45 AM
1) Hjaltalinhttp://www.myspace.com/hjaltalinbandI'm not exactly sure how or why, but I randomly ended up on a Icelandic newsletter listserve. Since my knowledge of Icelandic bands starts withBjork and ends with Sigur Ros, I see this as a positive way of expanding my Icelandic musical horizon. And I was absolutely beside myself when Iheard of the merry band of musicians in Hjaltalin. Almost sounding like a folk marching band, I guess kitchen sink is a better way of classifying their music. A dash of piano, a splash of bassoon, these guys tackle orchestra instruments with pop song ear.As I find with Bjork and Sigur Ros, Hjaltalin do such a great job in creating landscape music. Not that it sounds ambient, but it contains thesephrases and movements that just evoke a feeling of their world, of the land and place they live. They just released their first album in December, andare definitely a band to be on the lookout for.2) Timber Timbrehttp://www.myspace.com/timbertimbreThank you Michael for finally getting me to listen to this band. The name Timber Timbre had been floating around my ears for some time, but I hadnever took the time to listen. A Canadian project from the mind of Taylor Kirk, Timber Timbre runs in the same circle as my other new favoriteCanadian band Bruce Peninsula.Kirk has concocted a great mix of indie rock and blues - sounds that are great for a shot of whiskey or for your Sunday hangover before brunch.Track Listing:1. The Beatles - I'm So Tired2. Burning Hearts - I Lost My Colour Vision3. The Decemberists - The Rake's Song4. Delta Spirit - Trashcan5. Favours For Sailors - I Dreamt That I Dreamt That You Loved Me In Your Dreams6. Fiction Family - When She's Near 7. Hjaltalin - Sleepdrunk Seasons I8. Hjaltalin - Traffic Music9. Irene - By Your Side10. Music Go Music - Warm In The Shadows (yes, this song is over nine minutes long and yes, I love every minute of it.)11. The Shins - Kissing the Lipless12. Smashing Pumpkins - 197913. Spiritualized - Any Way That You Want Me14. Timber Timbre - Demon Host15. Timber Timbre - Lay Down in the Tall Grass
Television:
http://www.tvepi.com/skins/skins.png(My friends and I always pose for pictures like this at our parties)SkinsBBC AmericaYou can blame this show for my lack of movie watching over the past two weeks, as I've quickly become enamored with the British show about agroup of teens living in Bristol. The show premiered in 2007, and I wrongly made the mistake of watching a random episode when it re-aired on BBCAmerica, as I ended up watching the weakest episode of the first series and didn't have much interest in the show. It wasn't until seeing Slumdog,
 
Gmail - Pop! Goes the Culture - 1/23http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=02ec4e8a3f&view=pt&searc...3 of 81/28/09 11:45 AM
whose star Dev Patel started out in Skins.And I am really glad I decided to start from the beginning of the show, as this way made it quite easy to get on board. More deviant than Degrassi andmore realistic than say, The OC, Skins excels at capturing the aimlessness of the teenager years. The real world isn't quite there, but those formativeyears are the first time one has a taste at critical observing themselves and the world they live in. Also, in similar to Degrassi, most of the actorswere the same age as their characters, and it was so refreshing to see teenagers who look like normal teenagers - acne, gawky, etc.Each episode technically focuses on one character, but there are a couple of plot runners that go throughout a series. I have to say, it's pretty ballsyto make your main character (a narcissistic/possibly sadistic charmer named Tony) almost entirely unsympathetic for most of the first season, butthere's that much complexity to him, and the other characters, that you can't help but being drawn into their lives. By keeping the show small andinsular, the writers do a good job of stripping everyone down and exploring the relationships between the characters (and moreso in the secondseason, their families.) The standouts for me are Sid, Tony's geeky best friend, who wishes he could be Tony and is in love with Tony's girlfriend,Michelle. In turn, Cassie, the free spirited anorexic, is in love with Sid. Their missed connections really drive a good part of those fleeting teenageemotions.Sure, the drug use seems unnecessarily heavy, and a lots of the plot lines (teacher and student have a relationship) have been told before. Maybeit's because their British, maybe it's because I'm fully immersed in that "real world", but I'm somewhat envious of these characters. I know they have alot of problems, many of them serious and real, but there's something fun and free about where they are in their lives that makes me want to pull an allnighter again like we did years before.The show is also pretty ballsy because after the first two seasons they got rid of their original cast and started with an almost entirely new set of students (the mainly holdover is Tony's younger sister, Effy). The third series just premiered last night so I haven't caught it yet, but am curious to seeif I will become invested in this new set of teenagers or will be longing for the original Skins.
Concert:
(never follow a drunk guy at a show if he offers to "take you where you can see"Delta Spirit @ The El ReyJanuary 16thMany thanks to post-birthday girl Sara Hahn for inviting me to this show last Friday night. I won't waste your time telling you about the opening bands- one of which I saw one song and the other, well, their lead singer came out in a double breasted winter jacket, which he shed after two songs. I'mpretty sure he had some nasty body odor as a result and maybe he may want to think the metamorphosis theme of his stage show.But the Delta Spirit - whew! What a show! Sometimes in concert going, you get lucky and find just the right combination of band and audience.Everyone brought their A game. The Delta Spirit were tight and just got better and better throughout the night. Kudos for them for a smart set list -constantly building, constantly demanding more of their audience, who were more than happy to give every limb in their body to the swelling sounds.Speaking of people giving and things swelling, let's talk about drunk guy in front of us. I'm sure I've spoken here before about the plight of the shortperson at shows. I've become almost adapt at seeing shows via spaces between bodies, so it never bothers me that much (unless of course, a tallperson stands RIGHT in front of me, which also happens more than you would think.) Okay, so drunk guy. He noticed me and made it his mission tomake me be able to have the best view, as I think Delta Spirit were his favorite band of all time and I think if asked to describe him, or anything in hislife that he enjoyed, he would respond by saying "they're/it's/he's AWESOME!". I have to say, it was really nice of him to do so, as most other peopledon't give a fuck. But, he also managed to do it in the creepiest way possible - trying to hold my hand and bring me to the front of the crowd, trying toplace his hands on my waist while talking to me. Creepy guy - thanks, but no thanks.
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