Speed of Sound

Coldplay is one of the most surprisingly antagonized and berated bands out there,and I've come to the conclusion that it's for their particular lack of irony and general emotional accessibility. In other words, Pop music. Larger-than-life, Starbucks-embraced pop music. Which is not how they began.

I'm not going to lie--i pull the "i only like Parachutes" and would probably fall out of my chair if someone told me today that Coldplay was their favorite band--i'd question their emotional depth and interpersonal skills. But I think I'm ready to like them again and trash these associations. I'm so over disaffection, particularly with music. Don't you want it to pulse through you? Don't you want to feel it and be proud and move and not just stand there tapping one foot while the rest of your body is stationary?

Coldplay is a perfect example of how you lose the kernel of personal connection and satisfaction when something becomes so mass-market (the same is true for clothes, by the way--trends, designers--I'm kind of grossed out with what's happened to Wang, and don't get me started on TopShop). Maybe it's particular to internet culture 2.0, and how we fiercely carve identities for ourselves out of newness and in opposition to everyone else. We simply cannot be the kind of person we associate with liking __X___. And that's really sad. And I'm not even talking 'guilty pleasures,' I'm talking Sincerity.

I think the tragic passing of Michael Jackson and the acute pain we all felt (as so UNBELIEVABLY memorialized by Luxirare) made it explicitly clear that it's okay to reclaim these personal relationships with Pop. I mean, who could've been showier, cheesier, more accessible, more commercial (schilling pepsi and disney) than Michael? Coldplay is not in the realm of Michael's legend, but their performance and naivete really worked for me. They gave a great show and covered me with tissue-paper butterflies, which stuck to my muddy toes like a pinata.

Friends with Cameras

My good friend Becca Rodriguez just got her short film in SXSW. And the trailer looks incredible. Watch it here.

http://sxsw.com/film/screenings/schedule/?a=show&s=F15364

Justice, twizzlers, and begrudging youth

So last night, I went to the long awaited Justice concert (French pronounciation, s'il vouz plait) who played a very supreme set and literally brought the 'auditorium' down with We Are Your Friends. They are just so great and fun and dramatic, you can't help but rock out. Plus they look like this.


My date for the evening was this handsome specimen of man (Enlarging the photo is suggested):My brother Adam, at 16, has never been to a concert in New York City before, so clearly I am basking in this awesomely cool glow of exposing him to the rad Euro-electro-pop concert experience. Tangent: neither had I really when I was his age, save for some free Roots concert at Columbia. New Yorkers always say that they love Summerstage and free concerts in Central Park or the South Street Seaport, but we never actually go because it entails lots of waiting and crowds and uncertainties and no real special treatment or selective door policies. But we still love the idea that we could, if we wanted to. I went a few times, and remember getting severely sunburned, dehydrated and waiting for hours for Lady Sovereign to do her thing. Plus, any actual concerts worth spending money on were sold out long before you actually heard about them.

But back to last night. Justice was pretty beyond, like i said (on the double, check out their DVNO video on Youtube and you will not be sorry). I saw them before late last year at Terminal 5, which is an amazingly spacious and well constructed standing-room venue. This time they were playing at the WaMu Theater at MSG, and to put it mildly, it was the most awkward venue ever.

The layout was more of a high school auditorium, with tiny standing room and a pretty small stage, not exactly befitting for a show consisting of DJ's. Chromeo, who opened for Justice, looked like the resident HS talent show winner, with their guitars and synthesizers playing in front of a bright yellow velveteen curtain. Not to mention the fact that this was a MySpace sponsored show, which is kind of a shame, because with my dealings with Myspace in my previous job, they try to pride themselves on being ahead of the curve. But the reality is that there are so many other outlets which are much more on the verve, and in a place like New York, Myspace translates to teenagers and forty year olds, who were like, dude, justice is soooooooo good, have you heard their new album (i.e. released early last year)? And do you have any ecstasy??? Which i didn't know people were still doing until some 35 year old lady toppled over my brother and inquired.

But aside from getting mistaken for an enabler, Adam had a great time. As a bonus, i got some cred with my irreverent and wildly sarcastic brother, who definitely got the wit of the family.

Because it was tuesday, i decided to abstain from the well stocked WaMu bar, and unfortunately did not have any other handy concert supplies with which to partake. So Adam copped us some twizzlers, which = crazy delicious.