Get Excited

Remember the days of taking out picture books from your elementary school library? Well here's a way to get a little bit of your childhood back: Director Spike Jonze has adapted the beloved children's book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak to film. The film uses suitimation, live action, animatronics and CGI so expect some high class cinematography.

The trailer alone is phenomenal. Adding to the film's cred is the use of a really cool version of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" and music collabs with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Excited? Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until October 16th to see the film.

Below is the trailer for your viewing pleasure

enjoy! I know I did...many, many times.

If I can do it, You can do it.

"If I can do it, You can do it"

I just watched the second commercial where the phrase "If I can do it, you can do it" bears its ugly head. The first was for one of those online colleges...perhaps Everest College? It was more of a "if he can do it, you can do it" so this poor guy didn't have any way of defending himself. The one I just saw encouraged people to become school bus drivers. A woman says "If I can do it, you can do it".

Am I the only one who finds this phrase offensive? Doesn't it seem like these people are saying "hey, we're the lowest common denominator. We have no skills but we managed to get this degree / do this job". Maybe it's just me, but this doesn't seem like the best marketing technique.

Just a little peeve. Beg to differ? If I can do it, you can do it.

Hip hop is dead (?)

You want some of this?

In taking a course on popular music, of course not everyone will agree on certain things. Me being the pain in the ass that I am, do not agree with most people on most things and I remain quite vocal about it. So we were quarreling about the status of hip hop today. It seems like a big chunk of people believe that hip hop is a dying genre because it isn't what it used to be. Well DUH. How is music supposed to evolve? The world changes as do people, interests, ideologies etc...

They say it it has changed because no one really sings/raps/talks through a synthesizer mouth piece thing (cough* Kanye, T-Pain, Lil Wayne) for a cause nowadays. Back in the 60s-80s, people wanted to fight the power, represent the working class, support equality. Punk was the same way. Its content may have changed, but we still call it punk music today. In hip hop, one can see two paths emerging within the genre:

One sees the 50 Cents rapping about their bitches and their bling, busting caps in whatever they see fit. You know the drill. These are they guys that many claim have killed hip hop and if they were the only hip hop artists to exist right now, I would half-heartedly agree. Yes they channel elements of old school hip hop (i.e. extreme sexism) but they lack a passion and a connection to the music. If this is the route hip hop has gone, I still believe it is hip hop. Who has the right to decide the essence of this genre?

So there are the "Gs" and what I will call awesome-urban-artists (AUA for short. pronounced Owaaaaaaa). Think Mos Def, The Cool Kids, K'naan The Roots (on Jimmy Fallon, everyday. Awesome) and so on and so forth. These guys keep it so damn cool. They're melodic, creative, lyrical and NOT ghetto fabulous. ATTENTION: You can rap about the ghetto without sounding like an asshole. I see a lot of the old school in them without the "I'm a convicted felon" flare. This IS hip hop at its finest.

Yes I am a white girl writing about hip hop but who'se to say what people can/cannot listen to and get inspired by. Hip hop is a large part of African American culture/history but it has become bigger than that. Anyone can appreciate it however they relate to it. Lets be a little less ignorant and a bit more open minded, thanks.

Twittery twitters twittering twitterly

I got the twitterbug. There's so many ways of using the word "twitter" it seems. Way too much fun. What a nerd I am. Anyways, I felt like I should be part of the trend if I want to enlist in the media savvy army (and I will never call it that ever again, I promise).

So far, so good....I like how easy it is to network on it. You can look up people using your e-mail contact list. Cool beans I tell you. I also like how easy it is to get news updates. Pretty sure I added at least 5 news sources already. It's a mini, more awesome Facebook, weeding out all the bad stuff. I am, however, waiting for the day when Twitter realizes its popularity and adds all of those silly applications that FB has.

No I do not want to play Scrabulous with you, Time Magazine.

p.s. if you have it, my username is Romeh

Late night with Mr. Giggles

When choosing a new late night host to take over Conan O'brien's spot, you would think that someone who is at least somewhat on par with Conan would fill this position. I mean this in the nicest way Jimmy Fallon: you better pull up your stockings because if you don't, you'll be back to doing....what was it you were doing before this anyways?

I wanted to give him a chance, I really did. I still do. I'm hoping he gets a little bit better because I get uncomfortable looking at him being uncomfortable. Watch him, he's a nervous wreck. I would be too probably but I wasn't chosen as a late night host and he did SNL for christ's sake! (Doesn't say much actually since he giggled through that as well)

Anyhoo...lets cheers to a better season of Jimmy Fallon, or a lack thereof in seasons to come.

Jimmy Out