Media Meditation #4: Champlain Student Becomes Indie Icon

Phantogram- Mouthfull of Diamonds Live at "The Cellar Door" Visalia, Ca 2010
Recorded and edited in HD by Sean Robinson

Nicole, who I have mentioned before in one of my older posts, has introduced me to some more new music and upon further research I have found that she is a Champlain College Alumi. Her name is Sarah Barthel and she is part of the new indie duo Phantogram along with guitarist Josh Carter. The band just released their debut album called Eyelid Movies and every track is different. I love the album because it is truly like nothing else I own in my music library. The album was produced Barsuk Records.

The artists have been featured in Spin magazine and on Pitchfork. Both has said very nice things about the band. I really want to see them live. I posted the live video first because they look as thought they do a really good job on stage. Here is an interview with them at Red Square.



Photo by Suzi Pratt

Media Meditation #3: Who will survive in America? Runaway by Kanye West

Runaway by Kanye West

Mr. Kanye West has come out with yet again another well filmed music video. However, this new joint isn’t a video at all but rather a short film. The film was directed by Mr. West himself and stars the stunning Victoria Secret model, Selita Ebanks. The writer for film was Mr. Hype Williams, art director Ms. Vanessa Beecroft, and producer Mr. Jonathan Lia.

The film is extremely artful from the costumes to the lighting. As far as short music films go, I feel this is a must see. Many people aren’t a fan of Mr. West’s work as a musician but I urge them to at least watch this short film with the music off. Personally, I feel the music isn’t as good as some of his previous work. Somehow Mr. West transcends a feeling of arrogance for the mass media icon he has come to embody. Many consider him to be a self-proclaimed musical genius. Clearly in this new video Mr. West has a few issues he feels he needs to address and he cannot help but put his thoughts into plane words. (Seriously, no matter how hard he tries to bend his words; they still sound flat and don’t fit into the beat) The music at some points could pass for an outright rant.

The intro to the film starts with Ms. Nicki Minaj speaking in an English accent which slowly fades into an American urban chain of commands. Mind you that Ms. Minaj was born in Trinidad and raised in New York City. I didn’t understand what that was all about. Ms. Ebanks’s character in the film is a fallen Phoenix that has crash landed on Earth in a fire ball directly in front of Mr. West’s Tatra MTX V8 (this car is hot).





Tatra MTX V8i

The Phoenix was naturally shaken (just crashed into Earth) and was taken back to Mr. West’s ballin’ contemporary pad in Prague, Czech Republic (where the film was shot). The first scene with dialog starts out with the Phoenix waking up in Mr. West’s bed and starts to listen to what is being told on the television. It is a news programs and the Phoenix is shocked to find out that in the fire ball she crash landed into Earth in; had started forest fires. Mr. West turns off the Bang & Olufsen television and then utters this statement:

“First rule in this world babe – don’t pay attention to anything you see in the news”

Profound…

The next sense is him playing a beat he made through Bang & Olufsen home audio equipment…tasteful product placement.

After that we move to the next track which has horns in it which is complimented by a marching band with a Michael Jackson head following it. I guess this is Mr. West’s way of paying tribute to the king of pop. The scene is yet again a very colorful light oriented display of fireworks. I’m not even going to comment on the red hoods because I simply don’t know what that is about.

The dinner scene seems like an artful rant and I’m not that consumed in Mr. West’s iconic life to understand its relevance. Just simply watch the Czech ballerinas and note the skin tone on the servants and the dinner guests.

The final scene is a lesson for Mr. West in where statues come from. According to Ms. Ebanks they are Phoenixes that never burned and left to go back to their world. Mr. West doesn’t want her to leave and claims that he’ll never let her burn and proceeds to engage in a romantic evening. I’m not sure how I feel about him take Bon Iver’s Woods track. I thought Jay-Z said auto-tune was dead?



Runaway by Kanye West

Perhaps the most unnerving part about the whole movie is the speech at the end of the movies where this is said. It isn’t Mr. West saying it and I haven’t been able to find out who it is but I think it is Amiri Baraka.

Us Living How We Do On The Side Now,
And the new words of hell is revolution,
people don't even want to hear the preachers spill or squeal,
because gods hoard has been thoroughly peaked
And America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey,
the Youngsters who were programmed to continue fucking up,
woke up one night diggin far and reveal Thinking Paul revere and mat turner as the good guys
America stripped from bed and we have not all yet closed our eyes

The signs of truth were tattooed across our authentic vagina,
We learned to our amazement the untold tale of scandal,
2 long centuries burried in a rusty altar hosed down daily with gagging perfume,
America was a bastard a illegitimate daughter of the mother country whose legs were spread around the world and a rape as known as freedom,
Democracy liberty and justice were code words, for the (bubbling x4)
In the mother countries crotch,
What does Webster say about soul?
All I want is a good home and a wife and kids,
And some food to feed them every night.
After all is said and done,
Build a new route to china if they'll have you
Who will survive in America?

Debunking Dollar Replacment

Project Censored Article: Analysis of Project Censored: Are We a Left-Leaning, Conspiracy-Oriented Organization?

New World Order Currency Announced: by theHumanstainNet

1. Dmitry Medvedev reveled “Unity and Diversity” coin at G8 delegation in July of 2009.



2. The main advocates for replacing the dollar have been BRIC countries and countries strongly tied to them by trade.



Wikipedia


3. The US will have a hard time continuing the support of military active unless military spending decreases.

United for Peace & Justice



4. The Chris Hedges quote is skewed to make the US look bad compared to China; of all comparisons to make!

CIA World Fact Book


5. Michael Hudson needs to read more. His closing paragraph is false because there has been plenty of discussion surrounding “De-Dollarization” but no one seems to like your article. Even Ron Paul has a youtube video discussing it.

My LexisNexis search of "replace the dollar" came back with 995 results. The majority of which discussed the topic at hand.

MIDTERM REFLECTIONS - A Polished Part 2

1. After studying media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned? Please be specific.

I've learned to be very critical of what I choose to expose myself to; media wise. The power tools are basically judgmental criteria we apply to media.

2. What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a critical reader, a writer, and a thinker in this class so far?

I tend to want to examine the media in a way that I'm always playing devil's advocate. If I feel there is an exception to the rule I pursue it.

3. What's one thing you would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?

I would try to apply what I'm learning now to my internship. I intern remotely for a Hispanic advertising and PR firm in NYC. Hispanics are the largest minority and the hardest to target effectively.

4. What's one thing you would like me to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?

I'd like you to examine the corperate structure of the six major media groups and find out who CEOs' are and such. I'd also like to know who accounts for the remaining 10%.

5. Please comment on the usefulness of the power tools, our quizzes, the course blog, your personal blog, our films, and our books (AMUSING, FEED, MEDIA/SOCIETY) as learning tools.

I think they a compliment each other well. I will say now that I work a lot more for this class than any other, and sometimes the information gets a little overwhelming. For example keeping up with blogs isn't really my thing. I understand the importance but I dislike forced blogging. I'd much rather have face-to-face interaction. I'd rather it come naturally, this way it is displayed with meaning rather than out of necessity.

Camp Champ Radio Spot: The Units - PS YAY!

The Units - PSA

Kathleen: Attention Units!
Tired of a null technological existence?

Alex: Plug into “The Feed”!!!

Kathleen: This meg brag new technology will replace all of your old electronics. No need to carry that laptop to class, or put that phone up to your ear!

Alex: Hey! This is Mike Sorrentino, AKA The Situation. With the FEED I can easily find my local tanning salons, the dopest night clubs and where to buy the sickest hair gels. Just ask my boy Brad Pitt, he LOVES the FEED.

Kurt: “I have no need to memorize movie scripts anymore, the Feed does all that pointless work for me!”

Nate: Your brain is just an outdated computer-Upgrade to Feed!

Alex: With Feed you can chat while Driving- No more tickets!

Nate: Get updated on the latest styles-INSTANTLY!

Alex: You can research homework while sitting in class!

Nate: Balance your checkbook while brushing your teeth!

Kurt: Solve world conflict, save the rainforest, save the world---> all the information how is just a Feed away!

Kathleen: If you are listening to this right now, you are not Plugged in! Join the new world and Plug into the Feed! All the units are doing it!

Questions on where to purchase this meg cool new gadget?! Check out your local electronics store!

Kurt: But don’t worry, after the Feed is installed you will never have to go to the store again, just look it up on the Feed, think, and buy!

Kathleen: Feed stores will ship to any location you desire!

Alex: Plug into the Feed today!