Midnight in Paris

I loved the movie Midnight in Paris. The story was absolutely exceptional and it described my emotions perfectly. Certainly Owen Wilson represents many of us who romanticize impossibilities. But sometimes I think I'd be better off completely immersing myself in those impossibilities. Owen should have stayed in his impossibility. The movie would have been sad and unhealthy, but at least I would feel less alone.

Do you remember

Another Deadmau5 classic is this collaboration with EDM legend Kaskade, I Remember. This is, I think, my all-time favorite song. It's the kind of song you need to hear with a good pair of headphones. You need to be engulfed in the beauty of soft synth and lyrics by Haley. If you like short, bass-heavy songs with big dubstep drops... this song ain't for you. Its long -over nine minutes of perfection. It has the simplest four-on-the-floor beat ever, and a fairly repetitive hook, but god above this song is amazing. Listen to this and you'll be a Mau5head forever.

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I am trying to get into the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. I hope it goes well.

Strobe

I think this is the most beautiful song ever made. Deadmau5 is going a little crazy right now, but this classic house anthem from mid 2009 is perfect. I'll always support mau5, but this will always be his masterpiece. Listen and close your eyes. Strobe is raw emotion. Strobe is eery and sensual and sad and peaceful and loving and hating and incredible. Seeing this performed live was one of the greatest moments of my life -the crowd fused into a beating heart and everyone moved in slow-motion. It was pure bliss, and I hope it transports you like it transported me.
Andrew

Define Dancing

 

I thought I would start sharing my favorite movie scenes. I’ll begin with some cinematic magic, the Define Dancing scene from Disney Pixar’s Wall-e. Visually inspiring, this waltz through space is an achievement in both aesthetics and emotion. I challenge you not to smile through this entire clip. There is more meaning in these three minutes of animation than there is in every moronic MTV reality show combined. The lack of developed dialogue by the two protagonists is wonderfully refreshing. The contrast between a filthy abandoned earth and the beautiful black frontier of space is stark but pleasant. Thinking of the plot and lack of dialogue I am reminded of a symphony, prancing around a central tune with intent. In fact, I would compare it directly to Fantasia, which is another visually inspiring Disney creation. Walt Disney was obsessed with Fantasia –he worked tirelessly within his studio for years to direct a film of insurmountable significance, both visually and musically. I think Wall-e does Walt Disney justice –if Walt made a movie today, it would look eerily similar to Wall-e. The spunky little robot is like the original Mickey Mouse. John Wayne would crack a smile for him. Wall-e uses a fire extinguisher to propel himself through space so he can “dance” with his lady-in-red, Eve. When they hugged I could have cried. When she gives him a little static shock he seizes up and tumbles over backward like a little boy fainting from his first kiss. Inexplicably, non-human characters are always more human than anyone I know. They have pure emotion and genuine personalities. Wall-e is like a little kid on Christmas in this scene, but at times he becomes exceedingly lonely and even nostalgic. A nostalgic robot! How delightful. Meanwhile, the captain becomes fascinated with earthly subjects and two passengers discover human contact; two seemingly unrelated but perfectly complementary scenes. The passengers look out on Eve and Wall-e performing a magnificent ballet through space. The choreography is astounding, and it is highlighted as the captain utters two words: define dancing. I think I understood then, that I was watching them dance with each other like animals do. Like puppies playing for the first time.   I am simply unable to describe the pure emotion and pristine beauty of this scene. It has to be the most heartwarming moment in Hollywood.

Just Google It!

            I discovered this artwork in my English 111 class in a discussion about rhetoric. Essentially the argument was that if Einstein was alive today, he would be driven into alcoholism by his frustration over the availability of information because of Google. I think graffiti is now the purest form of art, when done properly. Music is individual, but every band makes decisions about what their audience will like best because, well, that’s what sells records (or downloads from iTunes). Modern art is crap in my mind; it requires no skill. It really is just a contest to determine which artist can piss more people off. Contemporary art is dead, since most people just recreate pre-existing classics from Monet or da Vinci.  However, graffiti is meant to please no one except the artist. It exists to critique society or to pay respect to those who deserve it, but it is never created to be sold, and that makes all the difference.  Unfortunately, graffiti is often the work of misguided ruffians with nothing better to do than spray-paint explicit language on a highway overpass. I fully support the illegality of such action, but if there was a way to graffiti while abiding by certain laws, I think that we would see a burst of thoughtful and artistic youth creating art with meaning.  The greatest example must be the Berlin Wall. Sections of the Wall still standing are covered in extremely relevant graffiti, criticizing (and praising) religion, government, and society in general. The wall is the largest piece of artwork with any credibility. So, with my approval of certain graffiti explained, I return to Einstein. This wall is illustrated with Einstein clearly defeated, drinking straight from a liquor bottle. The caption reads, “Just Google It.” Google is the single most visited search engine in the world, processing over one billion searches per day. Google makes information freely accessible to pretty much anyone. And it’s fast –in the range of 25.3 billion results found in one fifth of a second. Google is perhaps the greatest thing in the world. It makes essentially all of the information published searchable to anyone. It is the largest collection of factual information in history. To criticize it would be stupid, since it does exactly what I want whenever I want it. I don’t necessarily agree with the message –that Einstein would be driven to such a state by Google –because the accessibility of information would likely excite him. I think he would find such a wealth of information useful and constructive to the new minds and ideas of today. That aside, I think this piece is astoundingly insightful, wonderfully original, and carefully critical. I quite like it.  

Some Words

This post acknowledges words about which I feel strongly. Let’s start with my favorite word phrase in the English language, to fall asleep. It’s a lovely little verb. It’s wonderfully succinct. It describes probably the most intimate moment of your day: when you finally lie down and rest your mind. You are defenseless, unthinking, and the wall between your subconscious and conscious is at its thinnest. It is within the last waking minutes of the day that many people have their greatest ideas. Stephen Hawking has had countless epiphanies about the universe just before falling asleep. No one shares your thoughts with you before you fall asleep. You are perfectly entranced within your own mind. You let your thoughts carry you away from every harsh reality and unfortunate truth in your life. It is undoubtedly my favorite time of the day. The verb fall asleep captures this so eloquently I have trouble not telling everyone how I feel about it. You are truly falling into unconsciousness; you don’t push yourself, you don’t put forth any effort, and you have nothing important to think about. In fact, if you do any of those things, you are unlikely to reach sleep with any effectiveness. Sleep itself is a lovely verb, noun, and adjective base. When you combine it with the verb fall, however, it becomes exponentially more meaningful. I think it is the most intimate, beautiful, and pure verb we have created thus far in English.