Tuesday, March 3, 2015

2014 was a year.

Let's talk about music, and maybe some movies, yeah?

Wannabe by FEMM
Far East Mention Mannequins, or FEMM are a Japanese pop group, that seems to be a commentary on the artificial nature and sexism inherent in pop music. i do quite love that their album is entitled "Femm-Isation"

Hello Kitty by Avril Lavigne
i'm guessing Japanese pop culture was in last year? This song is odd, as it seems to be Lavigne, trying to embrace Ke$ha style party fun, and giving it a cutesy Jpop coat. It doesn't really work as it's more embarrassing to listen to than Your Love Is My Drug but it is interesting, and a total guilty pleasure.

Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
This album is a far cry from the hip hop influenced Born To Die and fits more into a dream pop daze, it is however absolutely lovely and contains some of Lana's best work to date. i chose Brooklyn Baby as it's just an adorable song that often recedes in my mind. What more could one want than a lovely woman to sing while you play guitar?

Hey Mami by Sylvan Esso

While the album version of this is pretty good as well, but i love this performance the most. i could just listen to that band and watch her goofy dance moves all day. A surprisingly fun song about being cat called.

But Does It Work? by Drug Church

Variations of a theme indeed. Drug Church is tackling modern ideals while biting 90s alternative, and i love every minute. The EP is definitely going to be on my best of 2015 list.

The Water[s] by Mick Jenkins
By far my favourite album of 2014, i always find it hard to speak about rap, perhaps because more so than any other type of music, it's all about having your voice being heard. i just appreciate the poetry of Mick Jenkins. Drink more water.

Frank

The ending probably doesn't mean much if you haven't seen the film that precedes it, but Fassbender's performance here is just utterly devastating. How he slowly goes from the shy "I love your wall" to being able to finally look at his band and admit "I love you all" There's been a great influx of films about mental illness lately, showing that's it's not sexy or exciting, and the point of Frank is that it's not inspiration, it's a hindrance when it comes to art, dispelling the whole idea of a "touched" artist. While Birdman was fucking fantastic, and Whiplash looked great (i put it on hold as it seemed stressful) Frank is one of those odd films that really spoke to me. And it was by far my favourite of the year.
Also helps that Soronprfbs is definitely a band i would listen to.


Other great films of 2014: Gone Girl, Snowpiercer, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

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