Category: To

The Memphis Movement

6/29/2017

“The Memphis Movement” is something I was not familiar with when Valentino announced it as a design inspiration for the 2017 Fall RTW collection. David Bowie collected it and an exhibition was held on the movement that started in Milan back in 1980. It was definitely a THING.

Writer Lauren Schwartzberg summed up The Memphis Movement as “loud colors and zany patterns.” It's very 80s. It inspired the movie set to Bette Midler's black comedy Risky Business and the The Saved By The Bell set.

The odd geometrical and color combinations were arguably in response to the cold austerity of the clean lines of metal and leather of the times. The group got it's name from the Bob Dylan song, “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again”. How these nice Italians figured out the words to this song is beside the point. It's seen a reemergence into the sphere of commercial culture, since then. And, I may be remiss in saying this, but it seems like even the Hermes maison collection “A Walk In The City” borrows it's vibrant hues and right angles from a movement long thought dead.

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Naomi Campbell

8/25/2016

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Legendary supermodel, Naomi Campbell is my extremely problematic fave. Known to the current generation for teaching Gigi Hadid how to “walk” and her role on Empire. Some have forgotten Naomi's long history of her glamorously short temper, but that's part of her enduring charm.

Naomi has on multiple times been accused of hitting her employees. Whether it be her limo driver, her personal assistant on three different continents, or her housekeeper, the list is tirelessly endless. Naomi couldn't find her jeans and she needed to take her frustrations out on someone. She has a reputation to uphold.

This is the woman after all who broke her toe, but still wore heels “because she couldn't ruin the look”. She's taken court ordered anger management classes and admitted that she used to have a problem with cocaine. Who hasn't.

And, let's not forget the time she had to testify before the United Nations about receiving blood diamonds from Liberian dictator Charles Taylor in 1997. Although as she so eloquently put at the trial, “I had never heard of Charles Taylor before. I had never heard of of the country Liberia before. I had never heard the term blood diamonds before.”

Mia Farrow described the stone she received as a “large diamond” and Naomi claimed she had “never receive a diamond” and conflictingly “they were very, small, dirty.”

She also completed community service in a Dolce & Gabana dress. There's nothing more quintessentially Naomi Campbell then that.

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You Don't Own Me

5/5/2016

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Quite recently I was listening to the radio and by quite recently I mean practically every day when I heard a cover of Lesley Gore's classic hit, “You Don't Own Me”. It was reworked by this girl named Grace. I don't know her from Australia, but it's a very nice little update. The song also features a few rapped verses from G-Easy. I've listened to it a few times and I feel like he's missed the point of the song.

Buy "You Don't Own Me"

“You Don't Own Me” is such a vibrant song and it deserved to be reworked for a younger 21st century audience. It's all about telling your significant other that they can't control you. It's the song used to close the movie The First Wives Club, an entire film dedicated to the revitalization of women brought down by their husbands.

No song can make you feel as empowered as “You Don't Own Me”. I live for it and I think G-Easy missed the point, but that's just my own humble homosexual opinion.

If you don't know who Lesley Gore is, that's okay. She's probably one of my favorite lesbians. Tragically she passed away last year of lung cancer.

She was active in the public spotlight for a short time during the sixties. She never had blockbuster albums, but she had multiple hits to her name. Iconic songs, you might be able to easily recognize some of them still.

The biggest of these was “It's My Party”. Well known for it's refrain, “it's my party and I'll cry if I want to.” This inspired a “concept” album of songs that had to do with tears, which quite honestly is better in theory then in practice. “It's My Party” was her number one and breakout hit. It's what made her star.

The song also inspired a follow up hit “Judy's Turn To Cry” that followed the story arc of the previous song. Because, “now it's Judy's turn to cry, because Johnny's coming back to me”. Now why she wants him back is still up in the air, but needless to say she does. Who said love wasn't real.

Quite recently we've seen a wave of nostalgia come back on the radio whether that's in the form of eighties synths or Meghan Trainor's bright reincarnations, her latest musical inspiration being nineties Britney Spears updates. Voice contestant Melanie Martinez include a sample of “It's My Party” on her debut album Cry Baby in a song called “Pity Party”. Swedish duo Icona Pop even used it in a much maligned “My Party”. Lesley Gore's musical influence is impossible to deny.

Buy "Pity Party"

Lesley Gore was also an active member in the gay community. She did a lot of work to help the LGBT community. She was in a relationship with Lois Sasson for 33 years. Tragically, Lesley Gore passed away before the historic Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage.

To me Lesley Gore is more then just a blip on the map of American music. She's an influential and important marker of what a star is. She never did quite stop working. After a musical hiatus she came back in 2005 with a final album.

And, if that's not enough, she also guest starred on Batman back in her hey day. What more could you ask for?

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The Country Superstar: Female

3/24/2016

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Before Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Miranda Lambert. Women had a voice in country music. A genre that for a number of years has been excluding women from radio play, instead relying on “bro country” which is just as gross as it sounds.

Ever, since the nineties there has been a decline in a female presence on country radio. A similar phenomenon has occurred in hip hop as well. The nineties were the peak of music sales for an industry that has been desperately trying to cope to it's new surroundings.

The nineties had a highlight of influential women on the country music scene.

LeAnn Rimes was one of the powerhouses. Blonde and skinny. She has been referred to as the new Patsy Cline. Although, I've never found too much similarity between Patsy's husky tones and LeAnn's pleasant demonstrative voice. LeAnn is probably best known for her massive “How Do I Live” and Coyote Ugly “Can't Fight The Moonlight”. She's married to Eddie Cibrian. Therir marriage was swirled with a cheating scandal on both sides and it was glorious.

Reba has been a staple on the country scene since the eighties. She reached her commercial peak during the nineties. Sporting multiple multiplatinum albums and bearing the cross of a touring band that were all killed in a plane crash. She's more then just a hit TV show.

Martina McBride has experienced a decline in popularity that most of the rest of these women have. She never reached the peaks of Faith Hill and Shania Twain, but she's been a steady source of quailty country music. Her biggest success came in 1997 with three times platinum Evolution. My personal favorite song by her is “Wrong Baby Wrong” a cut off her uncertified Shine album.

Buy "Wrong Baby Wrong"

Faith Hill was always meant to be a contendor with Shania Twain. She never quite made it there. She's probably best known for “This Kiss” (a Taylor Swift favorite) and number two charting “Breathe”. She's married to country superstar Tim McGraw and despite their almost divorce they proved love is real. My mother and I personally lived for her second album It Matters To Me, but it was 1999 Breathe that would be her biggest success selling over eight millions copies in the United States.

Shania Twain and her husband, Robert Mutt Lange found a winning formula in the nineties and they ran with it. She is the only artist to have three consecutive diamond certified albums. 1997's Come On Over having being certified 2x Diamond in the United States. It's also the best selling country album. Ever. She had quirky hits and massive albums and she was the original Taylor Swift for basic white girls like me to cling to. Personal favorite album has always been Up! and underrated single “She's Not Just A Pretty Face”, although she's probably best known for karaoke staples like “Man! I Feel Like A Woman”.

Buy "She's Not Just A Pretty Face"

In recent times, women have not been given a voice or a platform. Kacey Musgraves is a critically acclaimed country artist with a single hit to her name. Brandy Clark, an established songwriter, has been having a hard time gaining traction. Although, her lesbianism may be a factor in conservative country radio. Jana Kramer (“Why Ya Wanna”, “I Got The Boy”) so far has only been able to produce one radio single an album. Maddie & Tae (“Girl In A Country Song) deserve better. Cam is capable of more then just “Burning House”. And, right now it seems like Kelsea Ballerini (“Dibs” “Love Me Like You Mean It”) is the only woman able to conquer country radio.

Buy

This is my way of saying support your female country singers. They're not getting enough respect and a music base full of women deserves to have their voice heard in it. All of them are amazing and talented and they deserve your recognition.It's time for this patriarchal reign of men to stop in country radio.

Feel free to comment with additional female singers, I didn't mention.

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Could I Have This Song Forever?

2/25/2016

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In a male dominated environment, Diane Warren marks a strength diversion in the music industry. She’s one of the most successful female songwriters in the industry. Placing her in league with mega producers and songwriters having scored over 32 top ten hits over the course of her career. And, that’s just as of 2016.

Diane Warren is of Jewish heritage, placing her with other similarly legendary entertainers Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler. The last of which she even wrote a song for, “Moonlight Dancing” being included on Bette Midler’s blockbuster album Some People’s Lives.

Female songwriters have had less of an impact on the music industry in recent times. People claim this has to do with declining record sales and the music industry’s unwillingness to invest money in female musicians. Both country and hip hop formats have seen a drop in female artists, since their peak in the nineties. Songwriting houses only need “one female writer”

That’s why musicians such as Diane Warren are important to the vitality of the music industry. Bonnie McKee and Ester Dean being some of the young blood in the game. Both of them writing hits for megastars Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Katy Perry.

Bonnie McKee

Ester Dean

Both Bonnie McKee and Ester Dean have pursused solo careers. Neither have scored a hit yet, except for Ester Dean’s top 40 entry “Drop It Low”. Diane Warren it seems has never had an interest in the spotlight for herself.

She’s a solitary writer. Most of her hits were penned by herself. Including the Celine Dion smash “Because You Loved Me” that spent over six weeks at number one and the massive Leann Rime song, “How Do I Live.”

The artists she’s had hits for just prove her diversity. She’s worked with balladeers as diverse as Michael Bolton (“Time, Love, and Tenderness”) and Christina Aguilera (“I Turn To You”). Pop artists Cher (“If I Could Turn Back Time”) and Taylor Dayne (“Love Will Lead You Back”). R&B icons Monica (“For You I Will”), Toni Braxton (“Unbreak My Heart”), and Aaliyah (“The One I Gave My Heart To”). Hard rockers Aerosmith (“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”) and Chicago (“I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love”).

There’s not an icon that Diane Warren hasn’t worked with.

Does anyone remember the underrated Whitney Houston collaboration with Enrique Iglesias “Could I Have This Kiss Forever”? Or the heart wrenching “When Your Eyes Say It” off of Britney Spears diamond certified Oops… I Did It Again.

Currently she’s nominated for an Academy Award for the rape awareness ballad “Til It Happens To You” that she cowrote with Lady Gaga. The song was used in the documantery The Hunting Grounds that deals with the rape epidemic on college campuses. It’s her eight nomination for best original song. It shows if anything that Diane Warren is not going away and that women still have a voice in the music industry.

Buy "Til It Happens To You"

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The Lana Del Rey Muse

10/8/2015

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Last month Lana Del Rey graced us with her third major label studio album when she dropped Honeymoon on September 18th. It's gorgeous. It's lush. It's Lana Del Rey of 2015.

The concept of this Throwback Thursday is to delve into the artists that Lana Del Rey credits as her “influences”. Her sound is distinctly her. The words she spits are as original as Nicki Minaj and she is nothing if not her own entity.

One of the things Lana Del Rey says is that her muses are the biggest in “their fields.” Amy Winehouse was the modern soulstress of the twenty first century. There is a distinct tie in between the two of them. Both of them play off this bad girl image of drugs and sex. Beneath all of it there's still this beautiful quality.

It's not surprising that she counts her as one of her idols. Lana has been quoted as saying “I know she's (Amy Winehouse) isn't with us anymore, but I believe she was who she was and in that way she got it right.”

Rolling Stone referenced The Crystals as one of her inspirations. I similarly pointed this out in a Throwback Thursday published a few months ago. The Crystal's were one of the more popular girl groups of the sixties and one of their songs was “He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)”. This was directly quoted in Lana's own “Ultraviolence”. Both songs are haunting and cinematic. The link between them is clear.

Buy "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)"

Rapper Eminem has been credited as her inspiration to write about real life. The hip hop sounds she incorporates clearly demonstrate her tie to this kind of opulent sound. On occasion she's rapped a few lines herself like on “Off To The Races”. How she feels about Eminem after he rapped over an innocuous beat “I'll punch Lana Del Rey right in the face, twice like Ray Rice.”

Eminem always a proponent for women.

Buy "Off To The Races"

One of the most obvious inspirations is Nancy Sinatra. Daughter to the legendary Frank and known for her massive hit “These Boots Are Made For Walking”, Lana Del Rey is referenced as being the “gangsta Nancy Sinatra”. Of course as she later retracted with GQ “that was supposed to be a joke.” The label has nevertheless stuck. Partially due to Lana Del Rey's own retro polished image that harkens back to Nancy's heyday. And, one can't forget when Lana Del Rey's covered Nancy's hit “Summer Wine” with her ex boyfriend a few years ago.

Britney Spears is the legend that the hipster population of the United States most actively avoid. Lana Del Rey embraces her. That's clear with the easy pop sensibility of all of Lana's music. Her music clings as good as “...Baby One More Time” did for Britney in '99. It's all about the hooks and who better to garner inspiration from then Miss Britney Spears.

All Lana would need is to change her sentimental strings to joyless electronic noise to hit the top 40. Take the “Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)” as proof.

Buy "Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)"

An array of rock influences have been credited by Lana. Bruce Springsteen, Dan Auerbach, Nirvana, among others. These sounds are clearly infected on Ultraviolence. Not just because Auerbach helped helm the record. And, the aching sadness of Nirvana was conveyed without an icy guitar solo.

Honeymoon has proved what Born to Die and Ultraviolence only hinted at. The continued success of Lana Del Rey. With hit makers this strong to back her up it's no surprise she's endeared herself the way she has.

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Something Borrowed, Something Blue, & Something To Read

9/10/2015

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I didn't spend a solid two days reading a book to not tell you about it. I've finally gotten around to reading Emily Giffin's Something Blue. I swear I thought her last name was Griffin not Giffin. Emily Giffin is a queen in the category of romance novelist.

I love her work. It's quick, fast paced, and always delectable in a tasteful way. I own a few copies of her books. All of them are courtesy of my older sister. Her husband forced her to get rid of all of her books in exchange for an e-reader. Now she has a kindle and a non existent book case.

My mother was the recipient of some of her books. My mother only reads Christian fiction and I came into contact with two novels by Giffin. Her breakout novel Something Borrowed and Baby Proof (my former personal favorite).

Now I would love to delve in the intricacies and of her other works like Heart of the Matter and Love The One You're With, but we have a star filled movie and two novels to tear apart.

The first book I read by her was Something Borrowed. The one that had a feature film tie in. It was the romantic comedy of summer 2011. I saw it twice in theaters. Once with the twins and the second with my great Aunt. The last time I watched it was when I was on my 19th birthday after my mother bought it for me at Target.

Now Something Borrowed tells the story of Rachel stealing her best friend Darcy's fiancee Dex days before their wedding day. Talk about sharing. Now Rachel does come across more sympathetic then my little blurb suggests. This was Emily Giffin's first novel and frankly not her best. It was however enjoyable, although I never quite gelled with the lead love interest.

He might have been attractive and wealthy, but he was an ass. He was indecisive and I was not about him. He needed to get his shit together. It was the same thing in the movie. Each time I read the book or watched the movie I hoped she would end up with her best friend Ethan. I didn't want Rachel with Dex. She was too pure of a cinnamon roll for him. Needless to say I didn't get what I wanted.

We were supposed to side with Rachel. After all Darcy was a bitch, but I always sided with her. I liked Darcy. I've always had a thing for the bitch.

Darcy is immaculately played by Kate Hudson in the film version. And, frankly Ginnifer Goodwin was her typical boring self as Rachel in the film. Although, shout out to her for keeping that role alive on Once Upon A Time. I think Ginnifer Goodwin is boring but she seems really sweet. I love what they did with Ethan in the movie. He was so cute and funny and if we're being honest it's the reason I started crushing as hard as I do on John Krasinski. Although, I do live for him and Emily Blunt's romance.

The lead was as dull and flat and two dimensional as could be expected. Dex was played by a reasonably attractive Colin Egglesfield. Although, I've always thought his face was somewhat disproportionate.

Kate Hudson played Darcy

John Krasinski played Ethan

Ginnifer Goodwin played Rachel

Colin Egglesfield played Dex

It might not sound like I enjoyed this movie, but it's a guilty pleasure. I live for it. If you need a good rom com please watch it. Queue it up on your Netflix.

This was not the corner piece in Emily Giffin's career in my opinion. Until I stopped at the library and picked up Something Blue. The follow up to Something Borrowed that tells the story from Darcy's perspective.

Author Emily Giffin (far right) reading a copy of Something Borrowed

It killed my body. Darcy is vain shallow and pretentious. She's a bitch and frankly far more entertaining a story teller then Rachel was. This book was my life. Of course Darcy stumbles upon some realizations and becomes less of a self centered bitch with the perfect life.

This book slayed. I say skip reading Something Borrowed and just read Something Blue. It gives you all the background information you need and it's ten times more entertaining. I'm honestly so upset that the movie version wasn't successful enough to warrant this sequel. Because, it is more of a sequel then a retelling of the original novel.

Something Blue knocked Baby Proof off the top of my favorite books by Emily Giffin. Kate Hudson deserves to shine in a sequel. It would be so good. It could be a television series. You could put on Lifetime if they would make it. I would live.

The summer is technically over, but if you have time on your hands or a free weekend to grab a book may I suggest Emily Giffin. Pick at random or go for Something Blue. You won't go wrong.

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Video Games Are Art

8/27/2015

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I went to an art exhibit with Boomer recently. The question posed was “Are video games art?” The point of the exhibit was to convince you that they are.

I dragged Boomer along, so we could get some culture in and because he's obsessed with video games. I am not so. One time a boy asked me if I played video games. I said no and then I was like well... And, he said to me that whenever people say that it means that they have a Wii.

He was right.

Now the exhibit was interactive. You could actually play some of the games. It was really cool. Boomer did not let me read most of the information despite the fact that I was blogging on the material. He already knew most of it. Still, it was amazing.

The very first home gaming system was the Odyssey. Yes, I had to google that. I didn't remember. I can't tell you much about it other then it's old as hell. This gaming system was released in 1972. I was unaware that these things existed outside of arcades until the nineties. The flagship game for this system was the immortal pong.

Now I learned something crazy about Pac-Man. So, Pac-Man is actually based off a Japanese story. The story is that this creature eats children in order to protect them from monsters. It really begs the question of who's the villain in this story. Now, I don't know about you, but I've never been good at Pac-Man. Or any video game.

One of the most interesting games I learned about was 1943: The Battle of Midway. The concept is that your this fighter jet attacking Japanese planes in order to sink one of the Japanese ships. It was one of the most successful shoot em up games. But, the crazy part to me is that this was created by Japanese developers. I find that to be an interesting choice. I don't know how I as Japanese person would have felt about creating a video game where the goal is for Americans to kill the Japanese. It's a little unsettling.

This game was even on the immortal Commodore. A gaming system I'd never heard of until this exhibit.

During the nineties video games really hit their stride. Sega released their console Genesis with their incredibly successful Sonic franchise. Did you know that Sonic only has one eye and that the character Tails was originally supposed to be based off of Madonna? It's crazy.

The exhibit also discussed computer games. The only one it really focused on was Myst. I knew of this game. It was an adventure puzzle game. It pioneered computer video games. My aunt loves this game. It's supposed to be incredibly difficult. You don't know what's happening. Your just this unnamed character exploring this island The only kind of puzzle games I ever played were the Nancy Drew ones. I'm just a dork enough to love them.

The craziest thing that happened is how upset Boomer was that Halo 2 was featured instead of the original Halo for X-Box. He was so mad. I even sparked a debate at my work over this very topic. Something was said about the multiplayer online function or something like that. Either way I didn't understand any of the anger. The only time I ever played Halo they had to turn off the friendly fire option, because I kept killing my partner.

Now the game I truly consider art was Flower. It was released on one of the Play Station systems and the entire point is to move flowers. You play the wind and you traverse this terrain. It's soothing and beautiful. Absolutely amazing. Now, I wouldn't have spent fifty dollars to play the wind, but I most certainly see the artistic merit of this game. It was visually stunning. The entire thing.

The final game I saw that sparked my interest was released a few years ago. It's called Heavy Rain. Boomer had never played it, but he had heard of it. It's the kind of game where you can make moral choices that effect the game play. You can kill people.

There's a serial killer who drowns people during heavy rain. It's intense. There's a cop. There's children. Multiple ways to get to the end of the story and different ways to act out the scenario. Your basically living this story. It would be too much for me, but I digress.

I don't know if I've done an accurate job of relaying the history of video games or convinced you that their art. But, no one can ever tell me that there isn't artistic merit to these games. Creating these worlds with computer models instead of a paint brush doesn't diminish their creativity.

Although, Halo is not art. It has the merit of a Kids Bop CD.

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Giorgio By Moroder

8/13/2015

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Legendary record producer. Italian. Giorgio Moroder is one of the most legendary people that you may or may not have heard of. I've brought him up a few times on the blog and mentioned him on the YouTube channel. He's worked with everyone from Blondie to Daft Punk and is an icon in his own right.

Personally, I'm surprised that he's never worked with Madonna. This is the man who built the disco sound. During the eighties Madonna had relatively small set of collaborators, but still when she went retro with Confessions on a Dancefloor I'm surprised she didn't enlist Giorgio Moroder.

The man is in his late seventies at this point. But, as he addressed in a recent song he released “74 is the new 24”. The person he most directly helped achieve international stardom was Donna Summer. He produced most of her iconic hits. The ones that everyone knows.

These range from “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff” from Donna's highest selling album Bad Girls to her breakout hit “Love To Love You Baby”. Her duet with Barbra Streisand “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” was also deftly handled by his hit making skills. Other accomplishments with Donna Summer include “Last Dance”, “MacArthur Park”, “On The Radio”, and “I Feel Love”. Giorgio Moroder is the man who pioneered the sound that disco heralded.

US Number One

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US Number One

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US Number Six

He never found another voice that mirrored the success he had with Donna. But, he still translated his skills into multiple hits for other singers. He's the man responsible for Blondie's most iconic hit “Call Me”. This isn't that surprising as it was written for the movie American Gigolo. The highlight being Richard Gere's full frontal scene. Giorgio Moroder was the man behind the soundtrack.

In his later career he made a lot of work with the film industry, producing and writing the instrumentals that heralded a movie. Some of these included Cat People (David Bowie was in it), Flash Dance, and Over The Top.

Surprisingly enough he was not one of the main producers behind the Top Gun soundtrack. The movie that launched Tom Cruise to super stardom and the soundtrack that sold over 9 million copies in the United States. He was however the one behind two of it's most prominent hits. The song that launched Berlin “Take My Breath Away”. Otherwise known as the love theme to Top Gun and the always up tempo Kenny Loggins “Danger Zone”.

Giorgio Moroder was anything if not pliable to what different artists need. The vivacity a Kenny Loggins track produces is inherently different then what would be required of a Donna Summer hit.

He lay dormant to the pop scene for two solid decades. Then, what was old became new again. Dance music was back in. The sound Giorgio Moroder lead was back. This was made infinitely clear when Daft Punk enlisted him for their Grammy award winning Random Access Memories. The album that's sold 3.2 million copies and allowed him to return for a solo debut as a DJ.

Not only as Giorgio Moroder being hosting raves in the desert. He recently dropped his own LP in the style of Calvin Harris and David Guetta featuring numerous high profile guest stars. On Deja Vu he hits his stride with his female lead tracks.

Sia nails it with “Deja Vu”, Kylie Minogue voice throbs over an addictive bass with “Right Here, Right Now”, Charli XCX sounds every bit the rebel she is with “Diamonds”, Britney Spears nails and I dare I say improves “Tom's Diner”, but the highlight is most certainly Kelis's “Back and Forth”. Kelis hasn't sounded this good or this current since her collaboration with Calvin Harris on “Bounce”. It's gritty and ecstatic.

It's all thanks to Giorgio Moroder.

Buy "Right Here, Right Now"

Buy "Tom's Diner"

Buy "Back and Forth"

Buy "Deja Vu"

His two dalliances with male artists just don't land. “Tempted” gives off a filler track vibe that Cobra Starship is famous for delivering. And, the Mikky Ekko led “Don't Let Go” is far too serious for such a light and enjoyable album.

The one thing Deja Vu proves is that 74 might not be the new 24, but it certainly has circled around to it. Giorgio Moroder sounds current without sacrificing his artistic merit and with over 40 years in the industry, there's a lot.

Buy Deja Vu

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Bling Ring Famous

7/30/2015

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A night of cheap entertainment was in order. Currently there's $25.17 in my bank account (I'm ignoring the textbooks that still need to be bought). Joyce and I caught up over a bottle of apple cider and showed each other two movies we had to see.

Writer, Producer, Director Sofia Coppola

My choice was The Bling Ring. The first time I saw this movie was with my former best friend. It was rated R and I felt like such a rebel seeing it when I was 17. This movie is based on the Hollywood Hills Burglaries. A string of crimes committed by teenagers where they robbed celebrity homes.

This is one of those movies that is just one of my favorites. It's a little off the beaten path. It was written and directed by Sofia Coppola (the woman behind Lost In Translation). It's an indie film. This is one of those movies that showed at Cannes to great acclaim.

The cast is fairly female driven only with the androgynous chemistry of Marc (played by Israel Broussard) to break the estrogen. There are some great guest appearances by Paris Hilton, Leslie Mann, and Kirsten Dunst. Emma Watson also plays one of the thieves with her iconic line, “I want to rob.”

Israel Broussard

Emma Watson

Paris Hilton

Leslie Mann

Kirsten Dunst

It's scary how accurately this movie portrays teenagers. They are fame obsessed. They have pouty mouths to have pouty mouths. They do drugs and they party. All while their parents ignore them. Sofia Coppola did an amazing job accurately portraying them. You root for them even as you know there is only one way this will end. It's a teen movie that certainly trying to say something about society. And, how we're driven.

I shamelessly own the soundtrack. It's one of those movies where you just walk out needing the audio that played with this plot. Kanye West assisted in the song choices. It's eclectic in taste. You have the noise of Sleigh Bells “Crown on the Ground”, the M.I.A anthem “Bad Girls”, two Kanye contributions with “Power” and “All of the Lights”, a string of ratchet rap provided by Rick Ross (“9 Piece”) and 2 Chainz (“Money Machine”) and some cool R&B given to us through Frank Ocean's “Super Rich Kids”.

Buy "Crown On The Ground"

Buy "9 Piece"

Buy "All Of The Lights"

Buy "Power"

Buy "Money Machine"

Buy "Super Rich Kids"

Buy "Bad Girls"

This movie is a 5 star experience. It's funny. It has a message to be taken away from it. It's 90 minutes long. Take your time out and see it.

Joyce's choice for a movie was Almost Famous. A movie I'd know of, but was not fully aware of. I'd wanted to see it. I was not disappointed.

I thought it starred Drew Barrymore. It starred Kate Hudson. I thought this was a Janis Joplin rise and fall of an almost star with Kate Hudson overdosing in the end a la The Rose. That was very wrong. This was a 70's inspired masterpiece. Think American Hustle.

A rock band that likes to have sex and party hard. A young journalist who hasn't been deflowered. A plane going down in the tragic tradition of Buddy Holly and Ricky Nelson. A homosexual identity revealed with a “I'm gay!” The quintessential explanation of what the seventies were. The late and great Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a role that seems less a role, then real life.

It was nominated for four Oscars. It's practically a landmark in cinematography. Zooey Deschanel plays the role of the narrator's sister. She's giving us some Katy Perry realness and it makes me wonder how hard it would be to replace Katy with Zooey. They could be twins.

Katy Perry

Zooey Deschanel

This is another movie with a killer soundtrack. It would have to be when it centers around a writer from Rolling Stone and his youthful exuberance. My sister swears on this soundtrack, the way she swears on the soundtrack to Coyote Ugly. The soundtrack to Almost Famous won a grammy in it's category and features a who's who's of 70's inspiration. Simon & Garfunkel, The Who, Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, David Bowie all make appearances. It's a soundtrack for every generation.

If The Bling Ring didn't capture your attention and Almost Famous seems tepid. I can't help you. These movies are tens across the board and the highlight of 2000 and 2013. Get your life together.

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