Beyond Breakfast at Tiffany's

I just watched Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time and I really enjoyed it. It was light, it was funny, it was cute, it was romantic = a good romantic comedy. Audrey was so playful and absolutely stunning. George was so cute, how could you not fall in love with a writer?

Its amazing how you can get a snapshot of how society was like during that time... because a few things did bug me about the movie which shows that times have changed.

Mr Yunioshi was played by a white actor, Mickey Rooney, and that annoyed me. Back then, Asian characters were often played by white actors. Of course Mr Yunioshi was portrayed as a weird (not in a good way), creepy, snarky character and i just thought he was used as a mockery of asians. This film was released in 1961, an era when racism was part of the norm and was rarely condemned. The whites had the most privilege (and still do) compared to all the other races while African Americans were fighting for their rights.

Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi

Mickey Rooney

However, Blake Edwards did talk about casting Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi in the 2006 short documentary, Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic. He said he did not think about the implications of casting a white actor to play a Japanese character and now "looking back, I wish I had never done it... and I would give anything to be able to recast it"

Just a few days ago, I read about Anna May Wong, the first Chinese actress in Hollywood, and she experienced a lot of discrimination and racism during her time. She often lost roles of Asian characters to white actors and the times she got a role she often played the antagonist, the villain, that would be killed in the end. The way Asians were portrayed in Hollywood created a stereotype of Asians being greedy, evil and ruthless. Anna May Wong's characters would never "get the man" in the films which is an unlikely ending to a film today.

Another thing that bugged me was when Paul said that he owned Holly, I don't know what way that was intended but women aren't objects that a man "owns". My liking for Paul lessened when he said that. The same idea  of him "owning" Holly was repeated when he also said to her "you belong to me" which is not the same as "you belong with me". It just did not seem right for Paul's character to say that but then again maybe it was just representative of the men during that time and the way society viewed women.

I love watching movies from way back or movies set way back but i just can't help think that if I were living in those times, i would have a terrible time and not have many opportunities. I often hear people say things like "oh i wish i lived in the 50s" because they think it looks like a "cool" time to live in and their lives wouldn't be ruled by technology. Me, on the other hand, would not like to live in the 50s. Sure, i love the clothes, the movies, the music, but i would not like to live in the 50s because i would probably be treated like crap. I'm fine with living in 2013 (even though technology does dominate my life), its not great nor perfect but things are moving forward.

- Freak out

by the way, heres a fun fact for you:

Breakfast at Tiffany's relates to To Kill A Mockingbird in a sneaky way. Breakfast at Tiffany's was initially a novella written by Truman Capote who was the basis of the character Dill in To Kill A Mockingbird as Harper Lee, the author, was childhood friends with him. 

cinematic style: My Fair Lady

I got out My Fair Lady from my local video store once before but I didn't think I could spend almost 3hrs on my ass where I could be doing other productive things even though I've watched Pineapple Express 3 times and once with commentary in the past 24 hours or so. It was ironic how Seth Rogen finished the commentary by saying "you must be high to be watching this commentary or if you're not you just wasted 2 hours"and I slightly blushed. Anyways back to My Fair Lady - I thought I would give this movie another chance after I saw some beautiful shots of Audrey Hepburn while filming My Fair Lady that were in a book of Cecil Beaton's work that I came across at the library. The film was enjoyable, I like it but I don't love it. However I did absolutely love the costumes and I could not stop staring at the screen because I was in awe of the amazing designs and also Audrey's beauty that shone through the screen but even the female extras looked fantastic.

Little did I know that Cecil Beaton actually designed the women's costumes.

M.I.A brings it back

It's been awhile since we got any new material from M.I.A but she has been working on her new album, Matangi, that was initially going to be released in December 2012 but has been pushed back couple of times because Interscope wanted her to make changes on the album, oh how annoying. 'Bring the Noize' is one of the songs from Matangi, along with Bad Girls. With M.I.A's creative vision for her videos, I'm always so inspired and intrigued. She is an artist that considers other components other than her music but I shall write more about her another time. Anyways, M.I.A has done something different in this song as she has adopted another kind of rapping style/vocal presence but her signature "in-your-face" production and visual aspects still remain. 

I suggest y'all watch it!! because it is a cool music video.

Magna Carta Holy Grail

There has been a lot of hype on the release of Jay-Z's latest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. And holy crap, I have been saturated with excitement and I'm currently listening to the album as I'm typing. Let's just say, Jay-Z has not let me down and lived up to the hype. I have "mad respect" for Jay-Z.

I even had a dream last night that I tried to get a job at a record store and as I was there to hand in my CV, I came across Magna Carta Holy Grail on the stands for $80 and almost all sold out. I freaked out so I had to buy it for $80  but it wasn't just a music album, it was also like a film told by the songs. Then I just remember videoing myself on vine whilst listening to it in my New York apartment that had brick walls. Now back to reality, this album has seriously been haunting me I swear. Today I was walking home and where there was previously a poster for Engelbert Humperdinick's Auckland concerts or something, there was a minimalistic poster that focused on the letters MCHG, which was a reminder for me to listen to this album.

If you think about it, not many rappers have lasted as long as Jay-Z in the rap game as a successful rapper, like seriously, he's 43. I think why he has had a longevity is because he is not just a rap artist, he's also a business man with an ethic to be "the best" by being innovative. Looking at his career as a whole, Jay-Z has gotten better with age like some fancy wine.

Anyways, the standouts on MCHG in my opinion is Holy Grail ft. Justin Timberlake, Oceans ft. Frank Ocean and Somewhereinamerica.

Holy Grail is the perfect opening track. For the fans that have been following the samsung promo videos then they would be familiar with the piano and guitar riff, which allows the excitement to arise like "wow, this is what I've been waiting for". Justin really hits the spot with a his yearning, soft tone and flowing melodies but he adds attitude when he says "Holy Grail", which introduces Jay-Z's verse. Justin's voice truly compliments and contrasts Jay-Z's vocal presence.

Oh how I love Frank's voice. I think thats why I like this song but then also Jay-Z's verses are sizzling hot and always relating back to the title and theme of Oceans. I think Frank really carries this song and Jay-Z is probably just giving the singers most of the spotlight, which is something that is rarely done in hip hop song as singers mostly just sing about 8 bars or something like a chorus.

 Somewhereinamerica, at a glance, seems to be an overview of pop culture as Jay-Z mentions Miley Cyrus and twerking, which really made me giggle. This song is just a fun song with a saxophone riff accompanied by piano chords and a heavy drum beat. It almost could be a possible reference to Jay-Z's work on the Great Gatsby soundtrack as it has a very jazzy sound and he also mentions "new money" which is a direct reference to the book. The Great Gatsby is about the "American dream" whereas this song is pretty much about living his "American dream".

Despite all these positives, I feel that this album shows no development in Jay-Z's artistry and his rapping style remains the same. In my opinion, an album should be reflect the growth of the artist. The production and beats are the only aspects that indicate the difference between this album and his previous album. Apart from the three songs that I think are the stand outs, most of the other songs are rather weak. The album as a whole has its great moments, its mediocre moments and forgettable moments so therefore its quite an unbalanced album.

I also found out the other day that Jay-Z used a beat produced by a 16 year old girl and the end result can be heard as track 8, 'Crown'. I'm happy for that girl, go her! I am a little bit jealous but I think its so cool.

I give this album my rating of 'man, this is almost as good as peanut butter chocolate'


- Freak out

Hip Hop Hooray

I live and die for Hip Hop

This is Hip Hop for today

I give props to Hip Hop so Hip Hop hooray

-Naughty by Nature

What would you respond if I asked you; what comes to your mind when you think about the term 'hip hop'? 

When we think about the term 'hip hop', we often just think about Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem or if you are a 'hip hop enthusiast' then you would probably say Tupac, Biggie or possibly Nas. 

Either way, its most likely to be a rap artist. Today, hip hop is mostly known as a genre of music so we often forget it is also a culture, a movement. 

The hip hop movement is so great because music, art, dance and language move together and are apart of the same culture. Its like how the impressionism movement consisted of art influencing music. However, it is so unique that under that one name, 'hip hop', it can consist of so many things. 

Jay-Z once explained the hip hop influence on the Great Gatsby soundtrack saying something along the lines that we currently live in the "hip hop age" as in the 1920s it was in the "jazz age" and that by having the hip hop influence on the soundtrack, it allows the audience to feel how the people felt about jazz in the 1920s. Hip hop has been a growing genre/movement/culture since the 80s and continues to grow with possibly the fastest rate out of the "genres" (except for the techno/house/dubstep/electro/dance genre as that is currently dominating the top40 charts). If we just talk about the rap artists; you can see a big difference and development in rapping ability if you compare a rap song from the 80s such as 'The Message' by Grandmaster Flash (I love this song) to one from today such as .. hm, lets just say... Ten Thousand Hours by Macklemore. I'll talk more about rap and rap artists at a later date. 

The "N" word is often associated with hip hop as many rappers use this word and it has become a popular word in today's culture even though its origins are very offensive. However, the hip hop community have been saying it as a way to desensitise and wear out the meaning of it, it's almost as if their rubbing it into people's faces (mostly white people's faces - not being racist, just referring back to history). With hip hop's world domination, I even hear rich white boys saying it, which really makes me cringe. 

Hip hop has truly dominated the world as it has broken barriers of race as it is acceptable for a hip hop fan/dancer/rapper to be white, hispanic, asian, european, etc. However, there aren't many asian rappers and I feel that barrier still has not been fully broken and I've noticed that successful rappers are often either black or white, nothing in between. I recently saw an instagram photo of A$AP Rocky on stage with many white arms reaching out to him and I thought this photo was so interesting as it showed a total reversal of roles.  

This movement/culture/genre has developed so much since its humble beginnings in South Bronx in the 1970s. Hip hop seriously consists of so many things that i can't all cover in this post or you would get bored and not read everything but I will most likely talk about it in the future. 


If someone asked you, "what comes to your mind when you think about the term 'hip hop?"

I hope your answer would be different to what you would say before you read this post. Hopefully now you see hip hop as more than a genre but also a movement, a culture and an influence on today's society.



That's all for today, folks.
- Freak

P.S.This post was mainly aimed to set out a basis of my future posts but I hope it shows you the greatness of hip hop. 

under the influence of LDR

It's insanely difficult to find music like Lana Del Rey's or even anyone remotely similar to her. Trust me, I've tried searching because I want to find other music like hers just so my 'Top 25 Most Played' on my iTunes isn't all Lana Del Rey, (rather sad, really). However, when she made her breakthrough in 2011 with her flower crown and 'tumblr-esque' photos, I absolutely hated her. I researched her and I found out her father was a millionaire so I thought she obviously must have used connections to get to where she was and I was like "oh my gosh, who does she think she is?". Look at me now, I'm on the other side of the spectrum as she has totally grown me and 'turned this hater into a lover'. I even do a pretty good Lana impression that I showcase often.

I love how she is an artist. She has said "I just want to make my life a work of art" but I reckon she is a work of art, the "Lana Del Rey" masterpiece. She has carefully and thoughtfully created her image and persona that she portrays in her songs and the public eye. She is not just a musician but an artist because she not only focuses on her music but she considers other factors to create a whole "work of art". She is not overly-sexualized which allows girls to be able to relate to her and want to be her. Seriously, Lana is pure class. She has gone through a number of transformations to get to where she is now. She was not blessed with the name of Lana Del Rey but she was Elizabeth Grant, daughter of a millionaire (apparently). She roamed New York, living in a trailer park as Lizzy Grant tried to pursue her musical career by singing in bars and open mic nights. By the sounds of it, Lana has made her life a "work of art" as she has created and altered her life to live her fantasy. As much as I love Lana, I slightly disagree with her persona of a Lolita character with a desire for passion and love from a man even though she makes it sound romantic but I believe that it's important to be a woman that doesn't need love from someone else to feel worthy. Although Lana is a strong, independent woman in her own right.

If you think about it, Lana has influenced today's pop culture and trends. Lana is Queen of tumblr.There are countless references to Lana lyrics, music videos, and flower crowns (let me just add that flower crowns are "so last year") on the typical-teenage-tumblr community. You may say flower crowns are "Frida Kahlo" not Lana but Lana brought it back in style and made today's generation aware of Frida's flower crowns. Haven't you  noticed that people are really into 'old hollywood' these days? Well, Lana obviously started that trend. We all must know that famous photo of Lana leaning on a wall with her hair in vintage curls, wearing a white "Hollywood" T-shirt and a gold chain necklace has set off a wildfire of trends in 2011 and 2012, think about it. Before Lana, I don't think I've ever heard that kind of singing over the top of a hip hop production and now i've noticed that more and more singers are using heavy drums and hip hop beats in their music but then again I guess we are living in the "hip hop age". Its odd to think that she only started song writing when she was 18, i think her poetic skills definitely benefited her as she initially wanted to become a poet, she cites Walt Whitman as one of her favourites as she also has a song called "Body Electric" where she borrows a line from his poem "I sing the body electric".


Heres a look at the transition and development of Queen Lana:

I've watched so many videos of Lana being so kind to her fans as well. She is truly a respectable woman and carries herself with dignity and grace. As an aspiring musician, she shows me that art is not just my music but I, myself, am a work of art that delivers the message to others... ( I guess. I'm trying to think of something cool but I have no time because I really should be doing my school work)

I have to go now.

Laters, my pals!

- Freak