Trends: Put Your Hands Up

I'm not gonna lie, we're pretty drenched in party culture at the moment. If you think about the workplace where phrases like Hump Day and TGIF exist as a necessity to get workers through to the inevitable weekend of partying. After the weekend you've got your Mondayitis and your Eccy Tuesdays until inevitably you reach Hump Day (Wednesday) and before you know it you're Thanking God It's Friday again and so on and so forth. It seems that, as a whole, we like to go out, dance and drink away all the insecurities we carry around with us, all the while, a vicious cycle is created where all the anxieties are numbed by alcohol which continues to aggravate the anxieties until you're one big ball of nerves and you have a quarter/mid/identity crisis.

But let's not be a Debbie!

Most songs that obtain the fame these days will dabble into somewhat of this 'party culture' whether it be the use of the dance music genre, referencing or mentioning the word dance in your song or, if you are so audacious, just proclaiming your song to be the Party Rock Anthem. I think my favourite notion used in tunes to exemplify the party is for one to put one's hands up.

Now, when I think, "put your hands up", my mind instantly goes Mary J. Blige; her 2005 hit 'Be Without You'  where she boldy proclaims "Now, let me see you put your hands up!" Furthermore, 2006 saw the release of the aptly titled "Put Your Hands Up In The Air", which dropped a fat beat and quite simply (and repetitively) demanded that those metacarpi be at arms length away from your head. This body formation became a proclamation of patriotism where club go-ers were putting their hands up for Detroit (And as it were, some jerks started just taking the song and adding their fave city. For instance, L.A. & Copenhagen). If you're not into mindless patriotism and were wondering how can this club-like happenstance benefit you, look no further. If you are a pauper, like me, (or perhaps love a bit o'gold digging) and you were scoping the bar/club for someone to buy you a drink, you would be eternally grateful if this song came on! (Instantly you are able to recognise the gents with the $100 bills and, to a lesser degree, the $50 bills and your flirtations are thusly not wasted on penniless sitar players). If you were a slightly less superficial person scoping the clubs, or you had dropped a hectic ecstasy tablet and were wanting to find like minded individuals, you could be in luck if the DJ span the sweet tune of aussie fave Kylie Minogue, 'Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)'.

Now, I can see you thinking, most of this happened between 2005 -2007 how is is relevant to me now? Wellity, please watch this video, which compiles the 25 best selling Billboard hits of 2010, and, if you are so short on attention, skip to about 3.40 for a compilation of the top pop artists beckoning you to assume that position that we've grown to be so fond of:

Simply googling "put your hands up" will open your mind to a whole new world of tracks which are also titled as such. It appears This Dude beat me to the punch with the listing of the tunes. So, why do we need to put our hands up!? Google can tell me of a thousand songs that want me to put my hands up but no search I can do will tell me why they want me to. I don't know about you but I really don't like to be told what to do. Perhaps it's because I'm so analytical but when someone tells me I have to do something that may make me look a fool I need to ask, why!? All I can think of is power. You extend your arms up toward the sky and you're vulnerable to tickles on the armpits or even stabs in the heart.

You're like a Martin Luther King of the clubs if you can somehow compel an audience into a unified action! But rather than inspiring civil rights among your countrymen, you are inspiring the buying of more drinks, the taking of more drugs and the nasty BJs in the dirty bathroom cubicle.

They've got us under control. Tell me, friends, the next time you're dancing your ass off on the dancefloor or in your bedroom in your underwear and the almighty Ke$ha implores that those hands ascend northward will you be so hasty as to follow suit or will you perhaps take a moment to think, should I really? how will this benefit me? or what will this say about my personality?

Documentary: Freakonomics

To be entirely honest, I had almost forgot that I watched this documentary which tends to suggest that it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. In my/its defence, I do often have stints of 3 movie marathons some nights and it's hard to keep up with what I watch. I had a sleepover with a couple of friends the other night and somehow I brought up a fact that I had seen in this film and promised I would share it here so they could obtain.

Freakonomics (2010)

We all love a good documentary because they're almost always on some interest topic and I find, generally, evoke more emotion from me than any sort of fictitious film that exists. What captured my attention with this particular documentary that it comes from an economic stand point which for me is something I have never considered or paid much attention to. It was a book (written by Steven Levitt & Stephen Gubner) prior to being a movie and I suppose if you want some thorough exploration of the concepts rather than a fabricated image-based information session by all means, read the book. The other positive about the production is that, for all us with the fluctuating attention spans, it's broken up into 'chapters' or 'short films' which were made by other famed doco-makers. This in turn means that, unlike your average documentary that makes a really good point but then gets all self-indulgent and tangental (am I the only one that thinks that?), this is just 4 short sharp films that make their point and call it a day. You wanna know what the actual content is before you waste 700mb downloading it? 1. they examine whether what you name your child will affect its life 2. sumos are corrupt (this one made me a little depressed) 3. some university sets a scheme to bribe kids into doing well at school 4. a theory that legalised abortion was a major factor in the dropping crime levels some two decades later. 

I found a sizeable article that debunks the abortion theory. Might be worth a read once you've watched. 

Have fun with this little documentary! http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1BLLNJYM

Movies: Bent, You'll Get Over It

Bent (1997)

I began watching this movie six months ago and decided to cease maybe it was because it was not capturing me. The real reason was that I never used to actually watch movies, they'd be mere background noises while I went about my night of insomnia. Nowadays, I have a thorough attention span and I found this movie all kinds of entertaining.
So, to kick things off we're presented with a 'nightclub' scene of the Weimar Berlin persuasion featuring a bevy of individuals clad in the kind of clothes associated with circus, burlesque, cabaret etc etc. and they're dancing, and smooching, and drinking, and fucking and smiling (It even has Mick Jagger as a drag queen flouncing around on a bird swing a la Moulin Rouge). So, you're experiencing this visionary dream, the delectable Clive Owen shows up (as Max) and flits around being a babe but you're not invested because you know this is a concentration camp movie and you know where it's heading and you don't get too attached to this narrative because you know it's only included to provide contrast and to rip your tiny heart to pieces when the shit hits the fan.
The movie itself is less concerned with exposing the horrors of Nazi Germany than it is about developing this relationship between these two men - Max, who opts for a Jewish badge to avoid getting a pink triangle, and Horst who has, which means you're a flaming homo, in case you didn't know.
While I really did enjoy this one, there was this niggling feeling that if this were presented to you as a pie there would be some tiny portion of the pie missing. It could have had to do with the fact that knowing the nature of the film I wasn't expecting any sort of fluffy, feel good movies. Perhaps, I have become so adjusted to your standard format that when something goes slightly askew I freak out. It may be attributed to it being a play initially. Even though I love me a good play - movie crossover there's always something wrong. Usually too dialogue heavy or lacking in fragrant imagery.

You'll Get Over It (2002)

Known by the frenchies as À cause d'un garçon which translates to "due to a boy", this is your average coming out/coming of age film. Vincent is this secret homo but a partially non-discreet rendez-vous with a fancy beau puts him in hot water when some of ses amis 'out' him in front of the whole school by the surefire method of schoolyard graffiti! Point of difference, he's a swimmer and has no desire to don a feather boa, colour his hair pink and go off dancing to Annie Lennox (although he does make a 'nightlife' attempt which results in a myriad of unwanted advances by putrid men treating him as some prize to be won). Now that he is a known homo, his swim team now hate him and will do anything to deter him from swimming with them (maybe because you can you catch gay through chlorinated water?). I actually really enjoyed this one. I think that if movies like these exist (slightly more honest and nuanced accounts) or were more accesible it could aid gay youths into more of a positive, self-acceptive state. Just a thought.

Music: Current Faves

No Man's Woman - Various Artists

I'm attempting to bridge the gap of not liking any male artists, much less Australian male artists. So, I knew this existed (released 2007) but I had always disregarded it because I thought it was a cheap attempt at that whole She Will Have Her Way thing. After 5 years of this placating I decided I should just give it a go, it might be fun. Of course, It has all the big hits from all the big female artists I love. Of particular note is Lior's cover of the Fleetwood Mac famed Landslide and The Vines' cover of famed twins The Veronicas' Forever (which itself is a twin of Pink's U + Ur hand but that's another kettle of fish). It features covers of other crowd faves such as Wuthering Heights, River, Hyperballad, To Bring You My Love, I Am Woman and the karaoke fave, Nothing Compares 2 U, but at the end of the day, I haven't been converted to any of the artists and the only reason I vaguely like any of the CD is because the songs on their own are such excellent pieces of work. Let's face it, anyone can cover Joni Mitchell's River and it'll be good because it's a fucking good song! bottom line.

Lana Del Rey - Self Titled (2010)

Lana Del Rey has been the new hot tamale everybody is talking about. She is ridiculously stunning with that whole golden day hollywood glamour appeal not to mention her breakthrough single Video Games which got people talking about its D.I.Y production and erryfing. And then in interviews she's all introverted and a bit candid so she comes across as a bit of an enigma. Naturally, I love her! Since her album which features Video Games and Blue Jeans hasn't been released I did some sleuthing and discovered she had made an album in 2010, fairly independently, simply titled, her stage name, 'Lana Del Rey'. It's great! It has all these folk elements and then you get a more uptempo April March kind of vibe (especially on my current album fave, Kinda Outta Luck) and it has been pointed out to me that sometimes she gets a bit Lydia Lunch on yo ass! (Mermaid Motel). So, it's a really good album and I enjoy very much how her look is all a bit incongruent with her image etc because that perpetuates this idea that if you're something you don't have to exclusively be this one thing! Eclecticism!

Grace Jones - Portfolio (1977) 

Let's face it, we all love a bit of Grace Jones! She's was a muse for Andy Warhol, she has a plethora of music spanning through decades and she still does it even though she's basically 80! I happened across this kind of 70s Disco Trilogy of Albums. This is the first, Portfolio, it pre-empts Fame and Muse. They're all 5 track beauties of fabulous, nasty disco! It's wondrous! I'm particularly fond of this one because it opens with this fantastic Medley which combines Send In The Clowns, What I Did For Love & Tomorrow into one glorious 18 minute groove fest. What's not to love? She goes on to do a cover of La Vie En Rose which is always a winner and then onto two other Gracey originals and then finishes with the famed I Need A Man. It's pure greatness! and madness! I'm going to be listening to these and pretending I'm some sort of gay man in the 70s wearing my jeans high and cut off, with my intensely legitimate tan and fondling my handlebar moustache as I dance around on docks cruising for dick.

Obligatory Misfits Post

I'm obliged to make a post about Misfits since errybody is loving it and it would almost be a crime against nature/humanity if I didn't have some sort of written documentation to prove I was, in fact, a massive fan like everyone else.

Now, I've just had two cups of tea in a row and that is the equivalent of smoking a point of crystal meth for me.

I only recently got into Misfits. The first season came out in 2009 and in the course of maybe a month or two I crammed in three seasons. I wanted to make it all spaced out and lovely but due to the show's excellence and mostly the risk of socially outcasting myself I watched them in quick succession.

To share my opinions on the whole season would be stale so I'm just going to go over Season 3. To spare anyone who hasn't watched it I'll slip it behind a nice jump...

Movies: Bam Bam & Celeste

I was going to include this movie in my last big movie post but I just loved it so much it deserved a blog of its own so I could go on and gush about it for years!

Bam Bam & Celeste (2005)

I just have to say this is the kind of movie that I enjoy immensely. It's got all these similar elements of Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion (which we will all admit is probably the single best teen comedy film that doesn't feature teens in the slightest ever!) Yep, to my delight we have the famed "I'm forty but i'm going to play a teenage character" approach. Then they age, but only to their early twenties so you're just sitting there wandering WHY!? but loving it sick at the same time. It also features the classic road trip motif which is generally a winner, with whacky encounters showcasing a myriad of cameos! And it's just the biggest camp fest that actually succeeds at entertaining - not too crass, but not without it's shameless sexual innuendo. Oh, and the best of all it's an All Star B-List Celebrity Fave Fest. I'll just take a moment to reflect on its sub-par celebrity awesomeness: Obviously, Margaret Cho, who also wrote the script and stars as her character Celeste as well as her mother, Mommy (which leads us to another stint of comic excellence - with the broken English and whatnot. I was conflicted though cause I started thinking of that whole post-modern racism as humour but I decided to ditch the debbie dodo and submit to my carnal amusements). Then we had Elaine Hendrix playing the bitchy popular girl (for those n00bs, she's one of the cool girls from Romy & Michelle - the one that turns her tragic life around and becomes an editor at Vogue and ends up 'not that bad'), Kathy Najimy has a random cameo as this clairvoyant - reminiscent of her witchy days, the ever-fabulous Alan Cumming playing an incidentally dull role but my favourite is Jane Lynch who plays this big lesbian hick with a mullet!

So, Bam Bam & Celeste, who are besties in that classic Gay and Fag hag dynamic, decide to drive to New York to compete in a game show where friends transfer fugly people beautiful because as it turns out, Bam Bam (being a gay) is some extraordinary beautician/stylist/hairdresser/general gay. That's the basic plot gist and the rest writes itself. Basically, it's all sorts of hysterical cliche's but somehow subverted? is that a thing? can you subvert cliches? in film? It's probs so obvious and I'm probably so tired the quarter of a brain that I have refuses to function! Oh, and its all full of anachronisms! I'll let you spot them for yourself! It's no fun if someone tells them to you!

I am so tickled by this film that I think I will share it with ya'll whoever reads this business.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WDSWDGD2

So, I really may be blowing the horn of this alleged amazing movie which to you may seem like a mourning rendition of the last post by an inexperienced trumpet player complete with honks and the imfamous brassy timbre BUT give it a go and if you find it to be a larf let me know! I might share more stuff!

I might add! If I have persuaded you of any other film I've been talking of and you don't know how to sink your dirty mitts into them, you can ask me politely and i'll upload it for ya! :)

Movies: Marathon

So, I've been a bit of a movie watching frenzy lately and i'll give you the lowdown in case you was thinking of going and seeing any of these...