Let's Talk About Gritty Fairy Tale Movies

Once upon a time (2010 to be exact), in a land far far away, there were these four producers (one played by Leonardo DiCaprio) that decided it would be a good idea to make a darker version of Little Red Riding Hood. It wasn't a good movie in terms of content, but it sure as hell made them rich. In fact, they made more than double their original budget. Soon others figured, why not make other fairy tales into a grittier story? If they could get such success, why couldn't they? And thus, we have begun our adventure into 2013, where gritty fairy tales seem to be popping up a little more. They were going to pop up in 2012, but due to some studio problems, we're now faced to gulping them down in a new year that's supposed to bring us hope that perhaps Hollywood isn't so tapped out of ideas. Then again, let's not be so cynical, as it is a small amount of films that seem to follow this trend. Still, let's delve a little more into this sudden concept of making these more "twisted" takes on classic stories (that oddly were kind of twisted on their own).

Based on what I can gather so far, we have about 4 gritty fairy tale movies (Red Riding Hood, Snow White and The Huntsman, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Jack The Giant Slayer) that have come about the start of this decade. Perhaps a few more, if we really want to dig deeper (honestly, I was going to say 5, but it's debatable to say if The Wizard of Oz is a fairy tale). Now, usually something that trends can't simply be counted on with your two hands, let alone one. They happen to a more exaggerated scale that ends up suffocating you with its ridiculousness. Perhaps it is quick to say that we're jumping on to the idea that this is becoming a fad. On the other hand, Hollywood has seemed to make a great deal of unorthodox concepts play themselves straight, such as making Abraham Lincoln a vampire hunter. Even though it's evident that this leaves the general consensus mixed to negative on the films, it sells. If it sells, they'll keep it going, no matter how awful it is. That's just how the business world works.

I suppose it doesn't become too much of a surprise that they would now decide to use fairy tales as the vehicle of this trend, since it is common for Hollywood to recycle concepts and package them in a new light. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing, a lot of the greatest works out there rely on reusing old concepts and adding on to them. Plus, fairy tales can strike a cord with the audience because they're familiar with how these tales went when they were a kid. Seeing them as an adult in a more mature light serves not only to bring them back to the past but also shed light on a theme that can impact them stronger due to them being older, wiser and more experienced. Not only that, but when one looks back at the actual stories that Disney had toned down for them when they were a child, they see that there was much less dancing and singing that took place. If anything, this darkening of the stories can serve to show the audience that they're ready to face a serious take on the tale. The only issue? That's not what's happening.

When I say that these films are gritty, they're not "brooding, cynical, depressing, disturbing" gritty, they're "dark colors, deep voice, strange imagery, maybe-action-like" gritty. That's not to say that the former and the latter are two completely different entities, there's a great deal of works out there can be both, and pull it off well. The graphic novel Watchmen, for example, manages to use the latter to accentuate the themes that revolve around the former. These movies aren't Watchmen though, they're not even close to it, they're more safe in their approach. Yes, you see these dainty, innocent characters become stone-cold killers or brave adventurers or passionate romantics, but the films don't seem to succeed in pulling that off well. One could easily blame this on performers phoning in the performance and portraying them as if all they're expecting out of this is a paycheck, but then what can be said about those who do put forth the effort and come out looking out of place? The only other aspect you could blame is the way it's presented in terms of it's aesthetics and writing for not being able to take proper advantage of the concept.

That, to me, is the biggest problem that faces these films, based on what I've seen so far. It looks edgier, but if you took away that it was a re-imagining of a fairy tale, it might as well be another mediocre fantasy epic that's trying too hard to be epic. You can see in the way that they cut everything fast, rev up the mysterious element that's vaguely there and toning the light down so it feels as though it's going to be intense. Simply giving something a coat of black paint and splattering blood all over the place doesn't immediately cause someone to feel as though what they're watching is more intriguing and risky. Not even raising the stakes to great levels can do that, because it has no substance to it. One could implement any device into a story and give the illusion that it's more that what it appears to be, but if there's no rhyme or reason it, it's basically a waste. The films don't serve to do more with the idea other than make it appear as though it's this cool, new, hip stuff that all the young kids are looking forward to. That, in the end, feels as though it's insulting the younger demographic by fooling them into thinking this is something cooler and it insults the older demographic because they see how absurd it is. There are only three ways I see this upcoming "genre" becoming something wonderful. They either focus on the darker elements of the tale (or attempt to properly add a darker tint to it), not take themselves too seriously and deliver on a better fantasy epic or make it into a dark comedy.

Like I mentioned before, some of the stories that we've heard of before are much less kid-friendly than what we have been given. The Little Mermaid doesn't end with her getting the prince and living happily ever after. It ends on her refusing to kill the prince (who ended up marrying the Sea Witch) to become a mermaid again, throwing herself to the sea, which in turn causes her to turn into foam. Add in that the potion not only made her mute, but also made her feel that every step she made was as if she was getting stabbed with sharp swords and that the prince loved seeing her dance, and you get something that's far too intense and brutal for a little kid to comprehend it's horrible magnitude, let alone read. If one were to make a more mature rendition of this tale, they would take closer note of the harsher aspects of it and be willing to sew them into the narrative properly. Now if the original fairy tale isn't that somber such as Rapunzel, then they shouldn't alter too much other than the tone. That will affect the characters, the setting, some of the progression of the story and perhaps the theme itself, but it should not alter it to a drastic degree. Rather it should stay somewhat rooted to how the story usually moves but let it move with a more desensitized and distorted fashion that usual. That allows not only for the familiarity of the story to be taken into account, but can also leave the viewer interested in how one could view it in a jaded, bitter tone.

That's easier said than done since you can't just snap your fingers and magically make sugar-plums and pixies look like something that come from the lowest levels of Hell. That requires more attention to detail, precision and careful construction. It's not impossible though, but I imagine that's not what they're looking to achieve. They want more of a grand journey sort of romp. In which case, what I recommend is simply...don't take yourself so seriously. It is well-known that no matter how bizarre a concept is, one must play it off to some level of seriousness to give credibility to the world or to become more engrossed in the film. At the same time, if someone wears a giant foam cheese hat on their head and does nothing more than pout, it will either come across as annoying or incredibly silly. One must find a certain balance of knowing how far they can take themselves seriously with the role. They also need to acknowledge the absurdity of the situation, not necessarily by winking to the audience and saying "Yeah, I know it's weird that I want to fuck a wolfman, but you know what they say about guys with furry feet", but by attempting to play on the ridiculousness from time to time and enjoying themselves. In turn, this makes the audience feel as though that even though what they're watching is ludicrous, they're willing to take it in stride and enjoy themselves.

Finally, we have the idea of just making it into a dark comedy. This is perhaps a very effective way of darkening a fairy tale because it not only allows for someone to take in the both types of gritty I mentioned before and use them both to their advantage but also creates a good semblance of what sort of tone a recreation of this sort needs. Although it's not necessarily hilarious nor conventional in its approach (hell, I'm not sure if that's what the author intended), an example that comes to me as a good way to explain how this should be pulled off is the Alice is Dead series. For those of you who don't know, it's a flash game series that turns the well-known characters from Wonderland into mercenaries. At first, it sounds very idiotic, but it's aware that it's not something that one can just simply take seriously, so it makes a lot of references to how the characters are in the story whilst also filling it in with a disturbing tone. The comedy doesn't come so much from how the characters act (well, not intentionally), but rather of the setting and how the characters come to be what they are. It manages to be serious not so much because of the mercenary aspect but rather due to it's odd approach of the tale while also weaving in this world of fantasy that we're familiar with with the world of the mercenary that we're also aware of. The two end up playing off each other as the bits of humor bring you back to a comfort zone that is then slapped away when the grimness settles in. At the end, you find yourself laughing at it slightly, but you also feel weird about laughing about it and seek to look into it more. Whilst one can play a more "make this disturbing scenario more silly" form of dark comedy, giving it a warped, surrealistic tint to the humor allows for that laughter to get them thinking about the gravity of what it occurring, making them more engaged.

It's still hard to say where this movement is going to keep marching through and whether or not it will lead anywhere good. From what I tell from the two latest ones, I'm still very mixed on the matter. Mainly because both present the two possibilities of how the concept could turn out awful. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters feels like it would fair much better if it wasn't attached with the story of Hansel and Gretel. The designs of the witches look phenomenal and the weapons have a certain badass feel to them based on their look, but they feel somewhat unfitting. This is simply due to the association of the story. We know that the basic elements of the tale are intertwined into another tale, but it doesn't mesh right. It comes off as incredibly laughable to turn these two kids who happened to let their sweet tooth get the better of them suddenly decide to go hunting witches. Not only that but the look is unsure if it wants to capture a fairy tale feel or a epic fantasy-adventure feel, so it's caught up in this unpleasant limbo.

Jack The Giant Slayer, on the other hand, isn't actually based on the Jack we usually think of. While the original tale that this film is based on is more complex than some kid who finds a bunch of beans and then climbs a beanstalk to steal from a giant, it decided that it should implement themes from it. My guess is that's it's trying to get the public to relate to it more clearly, but it comes off forced and it acts as a detriment to the whole film by stooping it to a lower level that what it wants to achieve. Excluding the fact that it shoehorns the more relatable Jack fairy tale into its story, the other problem arises in how it tries to be like other grand fantasy films. This might be more to it's advertising, but it feels like they had a checklist and they were making sure that it could properly hit those sweet spots as cliched as possible. Booming voice over? Check. Overview of landscapes as the hero traverses through them? Check. Slight comedy relief? Check. Badass retort? What do you think? Rather than become something more unique (which is what it should be), it clings to the old methods and takes the skin of better movies in the hopes that it may become what that skin represents instead of a disgusting mess. Both advertise themselves as these fantastic adventures, but all I see is a laughable time-waster. Trust me when I say that there are too many of those kinds of films these days.

In the end, if this does become a trend and more movies of this caliber do start to clog up cinemas everywhere, it would be nice to see if they could tap into its greater potential. A wise man once said that there aren't bad ideas when it comes to stories. There are only bad ways of conveying them. Even though their premises are ridiculous, with the right hands, someone could make it into a spectacular experience. By researching more into the original story, they could play up with references to it or give a more faithful rendition of it that amplifies its more macabre tones. It could also accept it's stupidity and make sure that it does enough to deliver this absurd adventure in a way that it is as insane as it it fun. Hell, if it goes that dark comedy route, it may end up as not only a good way to bring forth more avant-garde films into the scene but also provide a somewhat clever and thought-provoking experience. I don't want this to just become another quick-buck fad, nor do I want it to be just a series of misled half-assed projects. Rather, I'd like to see this bring forth tales that will live on as long as the stories they're based off on. That way, the audience can have a happily ever after instead of a "I'm going to write a long, detailed rant damning this film forever" after.

Miller Or Bust: A Case Study Of Why This Generation Sucks

There is no denying that the generation that we now face is perhaps one of the worst to have ever roamed the planet. Sure, we have cures for many diseases, people are now more tolerate to each other's differences and technological advancements are aiding to make our everyday lives better, but that doesn't excuse global warming, overpopulation and perhaps the most damaging elements to the human race...yes...something even more damaging that global warming. I'm talking about the state of pop culture today. Adolescents today are exposed to some of the most banal, abysmal, mind-rotting entertainment that has ever come across. Television is nothing more than a pseudo-reality train wreck, movies are all shine and no substance and music is absolutely disgraceful. Class and wit are gone from the industry and what takes it's place is vapidity and executive greed. The only music outside of the ring of musicians that plague our airwaves that makes it big are the ones that follow some empty fad or those that dare not tiptoe past the boundaries that the mainstream has created. Every once in a while, something comes along that breaks the mold, but it's never something truly ground-breaking. It only ends up being dubstep. Seriously, fuck Daft Punk for starting that bullshit. 

I, being part of the aforementioned group of dimwits, can not be satisfied with listening to trash such as Lady Gaga and T-Pain. Mainly because I think that the former simply uses her appearance to shock others while I consider the latter to be further reason to not care for the rap scene. Seriously, what sort of great wisdom and passion am I going to get from people who've had to live on table scraps and managed to rise up to fame through sheer strength and perseverance? The point is, I am way more sophisticated that those little fucking shits. Rather than look for the future to fulfill my needs of music that provides much more meaning than whatever upcoming rapper is spewing out nowadays, I've decided to look into the past. I looked at CDs, tape cassettes and other outdated means to listen to music and I listened closely and carefully to what they had to offer. None of them could satisfy my needs. Some are too rude and bombastic, others are too quiet and boring. Not even the most popular of the recent past could succeed in pleasing my auditory sense. Queen spouts silly anthems ad nauseum (plus that Freddy Mercury has one of the worst voices in history), The Beatles are hipster bullshit that will never ever catch on and Elvis just stole a genre from the African-Americans and butchered it into his own half-assed attempt. If only there was a time in history where the world wasn't bound by the burdens of possible nuclear annihilation and Kayne West's antics...a time where the music was not only energetic but could also contribute to a greater movement in history. A time like the 20s, 30s and 40s!

Yes, from 1920 to 1949, there was nothing more to than have a grand old time! No one had to worry about another big war taking an incredibly large death tolls, bars were making grand profits with the Prohibition, everyone was economically stable for a while and free to celebrate all they wanted if they had white skin. Yes, there was nothing to worry about back in those days. No depression, no dust in your eyes, no scares of any kind of color, nothing at all. At that time, music broke through boundaries with a hot new sound called jazz. This craze was nothing like your rap music, it only increased in quality as the years went by. Not only that, but it spread to various genre, such as swing, blues, ragtime and many more. It was not only something that revolutionized the music industry but it was also something that could really change and impact the world rather than deteriorate its intelligence. As we all know, for a movement to really get moving, it needs a pioneer. That pioneer was Alton Glenn Miller.

Many of you uncultured swine may not be aware of who Mr. Miller is. Truth be told, it doesn't surprise me that you wouldn't know anything unless the Simpsons referenced it to you. Glenn Miller is perhaps one of the most influential musicians in history. Born in Clarinda, Iowa on March 1st, 1904, Glenn found himself moving from state to state. As he wandered around in other places, he found himself appreciating other sounds and enjoying them as well. So much so that he managed to get himself a trombone and joining his high-school band in Fort Morgan, Colorado in 1918. He dropped out of college in 1923 and went around from band to orchestra, to carry out his admiration for music. In 1934, he started to record under his own name and 3 years later he tried to form his own band. Even though it failed miserably, he still persevered. Slowly, he climbed his way to the top and by 1939, he was the biggest artist ever known. Much bigger than...what's his name...he shot himself in the head...his band had something to do with Buddha...ah, you probably don't know him.

The reason why I bring up Glenn Miller is not only to honor the man that strengthened the big band movement but to also show to others what a true, dignified artist is. For Glenn Miller represented what was right about being a musician. In fact, most musicians of his era, and most jazz/swing artists in general had a certain charisma and charm to them. It was something you could admire and appreciate no matter what age you were. You didn't have to be bounded by the angst and utter idiocy that comes with being a teenager. In fact, if you were a teenager at that time, you'd probably be learning more about this grand world and not be hooked on any sort of crazy drugs today. That, and you'd be one corny son-of-a-bitch, but that's not the point. The point is Glenn Miller did much better with his music than what is occurring today. It reflected onto his society positively rather than what these modern morons do with their terrible tunes. You could actually feel smart and learn a few things if you looked at what he had to offer. You certainly aren't getting a good education with Carly Rae Jepsen, that's for damn sure. That, and he's a shining representation of an artist who will live through the ages thanks solely to his music. Not like Micheal Jackson, who'll only be remembered for pedophilia charges, the sick fuck. I'm sure he'll fade off pretty soon. 

For starters, you could actually tell apart a Glenn Miller song from the others. He himself once said "A band ought to have a sound all of its own. It ought to have a personality". Telling from his wide array of compositions, there was no denying that he carried out with his words. From the elegant, graceful melodies of Moonlight Serenade to the jumpy, vibrant jig that is American Patrol to a mix of both with In The Mood, Glenn Miller knew how to mix and match properly. With his vast knowledge of listening to other musicians, he could borrow from them and give his songs a sense of culture to them. He knew that variety was the spice of life and gave us something unique every time. You can't tell Beyonce from Rihanna no matter how many times you listen to their songs. Even if you could, they do the same thing over and over again like a broken record. And I sure as hell don't like it when people scratch my Miller records. That wouldn't be so bad, but everyone seems to enjoy the monotony that current artists bring. Whatever happened to taking a chance, huh? No one's trying new key signatures, mixing their style up to create a rich, intriguing sound or even spouting a few seeds of wisdom here and there. The only chances artists take is with their wardrobes and that sure as hell does nothing other than make us pester our parents to buy us useless possessions like the collection of expensive watches my dad bought me.

Another thing very notable of Mr. Miller is that he was an incredibly humble man. He wasn't "interested in making money", he followed his passion as a musician. A lot of people praised him for his great jazz band, but he says that he doesn't have one, nor should he want one. He never thought of himself as a master of his domain, he just "want[ed] the image to be recognizable". It may border on self-deprecation, but I can assure you that a man of his magnitude was not one to pity. He made 20,000 dollars a week, but it didn't change him at all. Glenn Miller just cared about the music and making his mark on the industry. That is someone to admire as a role model. Someone clean and refined. Nowadays you give some starving artist 20,000 dollars and they'll think they're cock of the walk. Why? Because that's what you see. Shallow, greedy artists throwing their money around the streets, convincing the impressionable youth that being a materialistic prick is the right path. No one cares for values or codes of ethics, they just want to buy shiny jewelry and snort cocaine off a hooker's rear. I swear, I just want to drive up by these ingrates and shoot them one by one. 

Speaking of shooting, did you know that Glenn Miller joined the war effort in '42? Probably not, you insipid imbecile. Yes, this patriotic fellow served in the Army Air Force Band, entertaining the troops. He created a weekly radio broadcast called I Sustain The Wings designed to not only to further amuse the soldiers but to also get the Americans at home enjoying their favorite tunes. In 1944, he recorded some of the songs with his orchestra in German. Now you may not see what the big deal about that is, but keep in mind that Miller's style was usually delightful and could bring a smile to anyone. They figured that if they made these recordings and the Germans would listen to them, they'd feel sad that their English-speaking enemies were having more fun, which would psychological mess them up. With all his efforts, he managed to rise up to major. Major Miller. Major. Fucking. Miller. When's the last time you heard about Justin Bieber getting a medal of honor, hmm? I don't think Andy Samberg has aided the Afghanistan troops, all he does is act like a fucking retarded fratboy for your amusement. None of these artists do anything to help in the war effort. Hell, they don't even protest it! They don't voice any sort of opinion on any matter whatsoever, leaving people oblivious to the grander world that surrounds them. They do nothing influential  in this world other than spew garbage. What does everyone do thanks to them? Nothing. What do we do about it? Nothing. We do nothing but let our intelligence wither away into a realm of hackneyed, trite bullshit! That's all you immature, pathetic fools do, just jack off to talentless asshats and laugh at the geniuses who paved the path for them simply because you think that the old is not worthy of your time! All of you sicken me and I hope all of you burn in the deepest levels of HELL! GO. FUCK. YOURSELVES!!

On Decemeber, 15, 1944, his plane disappeared over the English Channel. He left behind his wife, Helen Burger, his children, and a legacy that will live longer than anyone's career today. Miller was a leader, an innovator, a role-model and a great asset to the war effort. Sure, he may have not be the most risky nor the most witty of artists out there, but he gave something more to society. Miller gave the world happiness, hope, bravery, perseverance and honor. One must have these things into to make it big and show the world that there is more to just what confines them. I know that when one looks back in history, they find matters that are troubling, confusing and mostly boring. I know that it's not easy to do something that isn't confined to the social stigmas. All I urge you to do is to listen to some of his music. Take in the graceful symphonies he has to offer. Then go around, looking at others like Duke Ellington, Gordon Goodwin and Gene Krupa. Have a sense of culture to yourself. Make yourself into a refined individual rather than a lowlife urchin. Do that, and maybe I can consider you as a human being rather than a brain-dead sheep. Or don't, I couldn't give two fucks on what you do, you despicable pile of roach shit. Either way, I'm right and thus superior to all of you brats who don't invite me to any of your crazy parties. Argue otherwise and you're nothing more than a bully who spends their time picking on people that while they don't fit your standards, enjoy life more than you ever will! 

We leaders are criticized for a lot of things. It's always true after a band gets up there and is recognized by the public - Major Alton Glenn Miller

Top 5 Personal Best Albums of Breakbit 2012

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS IS MY OPINION, NOT THE GENERAL CONSENSUS OF THE PUBLIC. JUST WANT TO THROW THAT OUT THERE FOR CLARIFICATION

There was a lot of great music that came out of Breakbit this year. From the newcomers to the old timers, everyone managed to do a fantastic job with their work. I've decided to look over all of the work and have picked the top 5 to talk about. It was a difficult task as I had to cut Metrosound's magnificently mysterious albums, Poopooface's wacky tunes among many more. This may sound like I'm being nothing more than an ass-kisser here, but a lot of you at Breakbit make wonderful stuff, and I suggest you keep it up. With that out of the way, lets get to my top 5 picks.

5. Progressive Acid Jazz by RookieTheCook

Breakbit has a large assortment of overlooked artists that range from pumping albums like mad or throwing one album into the ring to await response and then venture away, hardly to be heard from again. RookieTheCook manages to be the latter and it is understandable to see why his work has been looked away from. The sound that usually derives from Breakbit isn't particularly associated with a jazzy groove. It's more on the experimental, trip-hop and dance rave side of music. It's a shame that because of its direction it's not looked upon more, because this album is beyond sublime. Every song from "All The Good Things" to "NZT-48" utilizes the bizarre background noise, noticeable rhythm track and smooth melody template wonderfully. The songs end up settling into the mellow infrastructure of jazz but also envelop themselves in the manipulation of the samples that allow for the music to feel more free and loose. Some songs even have a very distinct tint to them, such as the vinyl record effect of "Azure" and the waiting room-like style of "Mindstate". Ignoring the 3 skits that Rookie throws into the mix, this concept of progressive acid jazz must be looked upon further. If Rookie will release more to Breakbit, he should make a considerable effort to develop further on this style.

4. Greengums by Vaervaf

While RookieTheCook's style doesn't fall through to the frame that Breakbit has set up, Vaervaf helps to construct the frame even further with his unique sound. He has always had a gleam of experimentation in his eye and Greengums captures that surrealistic element of his work quite well. Each song is filled with emotion that has been mangled to such lengths that it's incomprehensible. Most of the songs have a great melody and beat to them, and some of the more grating sections in a song end up fitting well to the tune itself. The song titles and lyrics are nothing more than cryptic Mad Libs, all that is left from listening to this album is a sensation of uncertainty. There's so many different techniques implemented into the songs that it's hard to classify the album other than saying that it's experimental. That tone is what makes the album so great because it leaves it up to the interpretation of the listener. One could find "moxlienve" to be a lingering emptiness or a pseudo-ambient piece or "brik" to be looking into the mind of a shy person ridden with ADHD or a maddening variation of a quasi-folk song. Really, it depends on whether Vaervaf is trying to convey a simply message through abstract means or taking genres and altering them beyond recognition. Since that's what the album bases itself upon, it leaves for a lot of replayability and enables the listener to continue listening.

3. Disruptor by mrSimon

Never before has a musical tribute to a children's cartoon been crafted with such a level of complexity that could easily be found in a more independent album. Not only does each song create a tone that can easily be associated with by the style that it follows but it also follows to a "three act" structure that moves the song along phases that play off just the right amount of intensity needed. The samples resemble a Pogo-esque approach which helps to not only properly shine light to the source but also weaves itself well into the progression of the song. Tracks like "Constant" and "Fine Day For Science" take it to a degree where the samples build up to later ooze out all the passion in such an angelic way. Other tracks like "Drop That Monkey" and "Past The Bolter Door" serve well as dance/rave tunes with it's faster pace and higher emphasis with the rhythm. It does help that guest artists Dainumo, Jeesh, glue70 and T-Sex either create their own tracks to play into the nostalgic connection or remix previous tracks mrSimon made to get people who have no relation whatsoever to Dexter's Lab enjoying the album just as much.

2. Autism And Recipes by DR777

It's hard to put into words how magnificent and intriguing Autism And Recipes is. This is mainly due to how all over the place it is. As it is well known, DR777 doesn't adhere to any rules when it comes to creating content. He just selects a wide array of different samples and collides them all into one product. It somehow manages to work in such a way that said product ends up becoming a very interesting work of art. Most of the songs follows a somewhat funky feel to them, but none of the songs seem to be the same in their progression. While this shows the level of skill and depth that goes into the work of DR777, it becomes difficult to explain the strengths of the album without going through a detailed explanation of each song. The best way to put it is that no matter how chaotic or how relaxed the music is, all of the songs feel like a collage put together in a way that everything belongs there and it's placed in the right spot and in the right way. If that doesn't suffice to explain how well-done Autism and Recipes is, then the next-best course of action is to purchase it. The album's a mere 5 dollars, so that's the least one can do to support an ever-growing artist.

1. Worldwide Digitizing by glue70

Glue70 had two fantastic albums released this year, so it was a difficult choice on which one should end up here. While both are absolutely delightful, Worldwide Digitizing brought out another side of glue70. Rather than basing tracks around samples and adding a few rhythm tracks below it, this album delved more into having glue70 make his own sound and then injecting samples into it so that it enhances the final product. It also manages to appeal to a larger base of listeners since the sound is less stylized and more simplistic. That's not to say that the music doesn't have an aura to it that can't be associated with glue70 and that his other works are far too complicated for the average listener, it's just filtered better for a "mainstream" crowd. The true beauty of the album is how most (if not all) of the songs can easily be transmitted to an [adult swim] bump such as "Sines Point To Yes", "Destiny Avenue" and "Peniclean". It just has such a cool vibe to it that could hook anyone in just a mere snap of the fingers. Simply put, this album has a great selection of well-made and rich-sounding tunes and it shows a more creative and precise personality of an already creative and precise artist.

The Difference Between Meaningful and Meaningless Artsy Works

There's nothing a high-brow culture connoisseur likes more than viewing art and talking about how it's meaningful. Whether it's delving into the symbolism that a work possesses or debating with other fellows of similar stature on how poignant the hidden message is, the connoisseur simply enjoys discussing about impacting pieces of art. Now sometimes these people can be looking too much into whatever they wish to deem as art. Sometimes it may be beautiful, contain absolutely stunning imagery but it could mean nothing more than the artist has a creative imagination. Other times, these connoisseurs end up reading between the lines of pure drivel. Here's the thing, while there are works out there that have terrible (or terribly conveyed) messages behind them, that doesn't necessarily mean that they have no meaning within them. What I want to get into is how can one see if something truly contains an underlying purpose behind it, serves to be nothing more than an attempt to be edgy or simply has nothing more to show other than the product itself.

Let's assume that our work of art is a film, for the sake of argument. The first thing that signifies that there is meaning within a work is if the scenario contains depth. Stories that have their hero and villain set in stone hardly have anything more to them other than a basic action/adventure romp. The characters that matter in the story must have layers to them. They must have complexity to them, whether it comes mostly from their past, their relationships with other characters or their own personality by themselves. By having this, there is evidence that the characters in the story are not only realistic, but they are also bound to change. Without change, there is no greater conflict that can be pursued, and without conflict, there is nothing that can lead to moments where characters have to make their own choices.

Even with complex characters, for a story to push forth greater meaning, there must be events that are specific to the story that lead for the character to come up with a choice. When characters are placed into a position where they must decide on their next course of action, that eventually leads to a reaction. That result in turn creates turning points in the story, and when a story shifts in different directions, it keeps the mind going. If that is occurring, then the work is off to a good start on building itself as a trenchant masterpiece. Keep in mind though, there are a lot of creations out there that aren't as intricate that continue to get the attention of others. I mean, there are a lot of movies, books, etc. out there that have a wide array of three-dimensional characters yet they only serve to create a intriguing tale rather than push forth a challenge in the viewer's life. Something more must be done to show that it is not just an engaging series of events or a vapid, empty pile of drivel.
 

Enter juxtaposition, one of the most remarkable tools out there for anyone who wants to make art that is thought-provoking. It isn't necessary to include this into a work for it to possess meaning. It just helps out a lot. See, juxtaposition uses the idea of contrast to exemplify an idea. The way it works is similar to a chemical reaction. You place two compounds together, sit back and watch what occurs. Both of them will start to work off one another and spark all sorts of interesting imagery. It keeps on going for a while, building up with all sorts of sounds and sights until it starts to cool off. What's left is the product of what the two have managed to birth from the reaction. This product is precisely the intent of why these two differing compounds were put together. To me, an example would help a lot to further explain my point.

While I am not a fan of "Natural Born Killers", the I Love Mallory scene is a perfect example of juxtaposition at it's finest. Take note of the background, it resembles a standard 70-80s sitcom (despite having a name that resembles more of a 50s sitcom). There's a studio audience, canned laughter, bright music, and a somewhat goofy approach in the delivery of dialogue. It's supposedly a delightfully chirpy scene by what you are being presented with. Consider what is actually being conversed though. What stems out of this conversation is tension within the family, profanity, physical abuse and incestuous sexual abuse. One can not help but think that enveloping such dark tones in an almost-saccharine environment must signify a commentary towards society. It's difficult to say unless we have more information.

A good way to assure that what you are gazing upon aims to stimulate your thought-process is if it gives away indication that said idea is possible. As I have stated above, juxtaposition is a wonderful way to push forth this, but it doesn't have to be the only way. Symbolism is also key to this, as it hints to what really is going on beneath the surface. It shows that the choices that were made aren't just there coincidentally or to throw in a reference to something the creator enjoys, but rather a lead-in to a greater subtext. The thing about certain forms of symbolism though is for it to become engrained in your mind, it must be repeated for a while. As we all have learned from watching shows such as Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, if you repeat something enough, a person will eventually have an idea stuck in their mind. That in turn is what hooks the viewer to want to figure out more about the work itself. The problem with that is that it could become too obvious for the public to understand what the work is talking about. If it becomes too obvious, it falls into the risk of becoming a failed ploy to disguise pseudo-intellectualism as actual intellectualism (or at the very least being seen as such). Clearly that's not a fate that a purposeful piece wants to succumb to. What should be done then?

Rather than make the symbolism for the whole world to see, there are artists out there who specialize in making the greater symbolism cryptic. The idea behind this is that if you throw a few indications that there's more to what is happening, your audience will want to look deeper into the work itself. It stimulates their own mind and continues to get them considering the possibilities. One way that this is done is by using subtext. Again, let's use the example of films to better explain what I mean. Professional actors have to work into understanding their character in and out and have to know how they'd react with whatever crosses their path. At the same time, they must abide to what the script says because that's what the director seeks. Sure, they can occasionally throw in an improvisation or two, but unless the director is okay with it, it won't make it on the final print. So if they want to convey a certain feeling while following the script, they implement subtext. They try giving different inflections and tones in their voice, they see where they can pause for effect, and/or they use certain gestures as they say the line. If done right, the viewer can understand something more about the situation.

What you have to be wary of is how these hints are handled. If it's too subtle, it could be unlikely that whatever you pull out from it is of any real substance by whoever created the work of art. Basically, it comes off as if you're grasping at straws. If it's too blatant, chances are that it wasn't really there to get you pondering about an issue but rather finding a way to be relevant to the masses. When that becomes the case, it could end up as more of a joke rather than something that should be taken seriously. There needs to be a balance of both the blatant and the subtle for the message to not only be conveyed well, but also be seen as something of substance. Sure, the message in question may not be the best one, but if the creator can at least handle it with a certain sense of finesse, it could end up alright. And while it's obvious that there can't be too little of these hints, there can't be too many of them either, even if all of them are subtle.

For a person to comprehend a situation that is presented to them, they must have a bit of time to let it sink in. They may have to react fast, they may have to carefully calculate their next move, it doesn't matter. A work of art must allow for the person to look within themselves and see all the possibilities that they can. When something impacts them, they must be able to feel it and take in what has been dealt to them. It must get them wondering if they should change their perspective on a matter rather than just be aware of it. Even if it doesn't fully cause the audience to make them turn around on their principles, it must still do something that makes them understand where your message is coming from. If you find yourself in that spot, whether you're in the midst of experiencing the artwork or afterwards, that proves that whatever you saw has meaning.

At the end of the day, with all of this said and done, what makes the art possess meaning is that it treats it's audience with dignity. Dignity is what separates George Orwell from Ayn Rand and Francis Ford Coppola from Harmony Korine. It does not degrade you to a status of a plebeian and insult you for not following with it's elitist agenda. Rather it shows you another side of a matter. Sometimes that other side can be a harsh truth or a terrifying plausibility much like how Big Brother functions in "1984". Other times it shows that not everything is black and white. In reality, there are various shades of grey in our world. Mobsters don't always commit crimes simply because that's what they do. It does not just serve as propaganda, because while there are certain kinds of propaganda that are marvelous, it doesn't let whoever is watching feel as though they have something that they could offer to the table. Art is supposed to feel as if you're in the midst of a debate rather than being shouted in the ear on why their message is right. Meaningful art also does not use unsettling imagery as the only means to get its point across. One can still have surreal and disturbing imagery in art and still give it meaning. Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem For A Dream" and Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" are among some of those works that use them well because the images are there to emphasize a point rather than be there for the sake of being there. One can say that masturbating a tree branch could mean something, but if there is no cohesion of the imagery with the narrative or the narrative is non-existent, then it has no meaning at all. 

Truth be told, finding if the art itself has meaning is a difficult task. Even with all the guidelines I have given you, some of the most intriguing magnum opuses out there could easily just be an expression of creativity rather than a biting social satire or a critical look at the human condition. At some points, we find ourselves so enamored with a creation that we witness that we find some sort of meaning within it, whether it possesses it or not. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it shows that the art has done enough to engage you. A work doesn't need to have a great deal of sophistication to it to do that. Having meaning in art doesn't necessarily result in the art being enjoyable because the meaning could be nothing more than hatred or ignorance. Meaning only aids a creation if it pushes the mind forward rather than setting it back. When it does that, that's when the art becomes much more that just a poignant masterpiece. What it becomes is a statement that triggers a revolution. It could be small and slow, it could be grand and fast, it could change a part of the world or all of it, it doesn't matter. What matters is that when we come across a work that can do this, we will change for the better.

An Interview With Vaervaf

I decided that I would go ahead and interview Vaervaf, since I had recently gotten into listening to his work. Please be aware that this interview was done via Skype chat.

First question, tell me a little about your past.

Any prospect of making music seriously came from the glory days of YouTube Poop in 2008 when people started realizing their edits could be musical and it was all completely alien to us and beautiful. Back then I made YouTube Poop with the 2nd worst to Windows Movie Maker, Imovie HD. God that was fun, my stuff was pretty bad but I just ate comments and eventually I realized I could make short clips with the same time and jump them around. I'll find some old garbage for example because back then it was so incredible to me *burps tomatoes*

Oh Christ... THIS 

I remember being curled fetally with a laptop making this completely engrossed and this is one track. The peak of that feeling was Corkvein, like Regional Champs. Sheer effort and weaving. These days I'm trying to just... screech? Pop screech. Anyway that's how I met jeri/orangy we were little YouTube Poop buddies, we appreciated the art.

So, I'm guessing that YouTube Poop was what inspired you to make music?

Yeah. Also I was into a LOT of slick sample loop garbage, stuff I PHYSICALLY can't listen to these days, like lemongrass and hip hop instruments. (link) I went through all the Grease stuff in Weaveknee. That was a blast.

Who are some of your favorite music artists?

I just got over Death Grips, right now I'm listening to Danny Brown, Duncan Sheik and screechy dubstep. When I can't decide between any of those I listen to Giles Corey. I'm kind of staring at Spotify trying to think of others. I listen to my music and jeris more than anything else. There's also Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to the Last Temptation of Christ and scattered Arabic music albums.

What albums that you've made so far were the most challenging to put together?

Corkvein I edited the most but that's because it had intricacies that required it and I loved it and wanted it perfect. I don't really do that anymore. The hardest to make was Flarehand. I was just in a bad mindset. What came after that one? Hold on...

I think it was Cork. Yeah I was folding in on myself. I really hate Flarehand.

What about your favorite albums that you've made?

Emotionally, Weaveknee. Technically, Corkvein. Favorite is probably whatever is most recent. Although I'm starting to fold in on myself again. So Eyepox is a little shaky.

Actually no, I like Eyepox because I think I finally made the weird opera I was thinking about way back when I made World Boss March.

In Spinefold, some of the songs that were on there seem to also be part of Orangy's Soundcloud. Did he really have a part in making the album or is it some sort of a pratical joke?

He just made the songs and gave them to me, I made the second half of Random funny internet memes, I guess. He always has a part, either way.

What made you want to take such a bizarre turn with Hipcatch and Greengums?

I didn't make music for a long time because the new WoW expansion came out. I switched computers and didn't have my big library of music to edit anymore, so I just starting recording white noise and me going AAAAAAAAAAAAA and the 808 kick I got from jeri. I really wanted to develop what I started with spinefold's summer roll and chewing the witness, because I connected with those.

Were the lyrics in Greengums basically random words put together for the sake of it or was there something more to it?

Hold on let me look at them...

Yeah, Greengums is a tapestry, I really appreciate Sam for the cover because it captures the feeling really nicely.I lobbed jux out of nowhere and wanted to keep talking about it, neat lifestyle and social decay/evolution.I probably won't end up writing lyrics for Eyepox because it's too primal. I like it better that way

I'll get specific: brik is a love song for shitty weird internet friends and sources of stimuli and endorphins. It revolves around comfort, squirming and activities. I should mention that I haven't written a song once, although I had the Shane Dawson's coffin thing in my head a lot for jux. I improvise and if it sounds right I keep it. Finding out what the lyrics were happened when I was done, I went and took everything off and isolated them to find out what they really meant. It helps a lot for singing it, writing lyrics does. Elliom is practical application and getting money from the internet; tense shoulders, operations. Yumdeath is a trip to the gas station to get dosage of high fructose corn syrup and seeing real humans. Laodl is the most scared and vulnerable one, trying to drag people down with him under the guise and having a hard on for conviction when there isn't much of a leg to stand on. It's fucking miserable lol. 

Top ten tips is really clear really developed, I can explain each and every thing about that one. Jux is kind of the material plane besides taking place in the future which is weird. Top ten tips is a mirror of it because it's the internal/spiritual side of the general computer wastoid. I don't think a lot of people ever get past me saying top ten tips and fucking freaking out in the beginning. I was trying to show saturation of shit nobody cares about the things that just sit at the bottom of the net like fish shit on the rocks, the name comes from those web ads that are like, one secret tip to losing weight, one weird trick, top ten mom tips...but anyway thats what it is. Garbage and it gets melted by the screech.

What can we expect from your next album, Eyepox?

Same old shit, just more attached and hashy, like buried in hay. More cooing vocals. 

How long does it usually take you to make an album or a song?

Songs sit in a project file until I put them on an album, it isn't really a question of time anymore it's when I feel confident enough in a package, that's proving hard for Eyepox. I'm not on some timetable, I used to clock 30 minutes a month. Despite actually having games to play, I'm steady on music work, it's just not satifying because I keep making the same stuff. Like I said I need a new angle.

What games do you play?

I really hate video games, video game people and video game culture but I'm deep into World of wWrcraft right now with a couple other  friends and we're on a roleplaying server because we all like to write, even if it's about shithead orcs elves and armored corpses. Last thing I was playing was arma 2, a military simulation which is like call of duty except the person you need to shoot is a mile away, also you have to read maps and pretend to be tactical even if the enemy AI and general clunkiness of the game eradicates any notion of realism. I play GTA 4 because I appreciate the physicality of everything and the gunplay. I like Fallout New Vegas because you can play a card game in it.

Why do you hate video games and things that revolve around it?

They are poorly made and blown out of proportion and not worth a "hobby", millions of dollars are stuck in them but they don't exploit the potential they could. I also hate that one of the only things I can actually connect with someone about in person is probably that they play some shitty video game that I've either heard of or played. I hate couples that both play video games, I hate Skyrim, I hate Minecraft. I kind of want to fall face first into a mattress and become encased in stone. That's a video game. I mean you could fool these idiots into thinking it's a video game. But no it's just the climate and the media surrounding it like "gaming journalism". This guy who got a degree in journalism to talk about this medium that has money pouring in and out from every orifice and doesn't have much to show for it and people don't get it. It's because i'm on a higher level of consciousness for better or worse, I'm living a video game.

Do you view other industries, such as the movie industry or the music industry, the same way that you do video games?

No, I have a huge languishing gooey love of pop music whether or not the production is bad or not, like have you ever listened to an instrumental of California Girls? Me and jeri are inspired by NSYNC a lot, old pop is better. I don't like k-pop because it isn't catchy and movie people are just insipid. Who cares if I like Ghost in The Shell and SLC Punk?

Any favorite movies?

Charlies Angels (the one with Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore), Heathers, American Psycho, SLC Punk, Trainspotting, Ghost In The Shell, Fight Club (despite the shithead meme fanbase and MRA masturbation, it has a really good soundtrack), Kung Pow: Enter The Fist, and Harry Brown

Do you have any hobbies?

I write, draw, can't skateboard or even look at skateboarders because it makes me miserable ever since I dislocated my shoulder doing it, opening folding knives with thubscrew, I'd like to take up fondling guns, people tell me I like to walk too much, standing in the cold or pretending I'm in stalingrad, dancing, badmiton, watching tennis, cool clothes.

Before I conclude this interview is there anything you'd like to end off with?

Remember not to watch To Catch a Predator vids on YouTube because you'll be in the related videos for 5 hours. Thank you!!

Check out his work over here: http://www.breakbitmusic.com/artist/vaervaf

5 Interesting Facts About Requiem For A Dream

NOTE: THIS CONTAINS REQUIEM FOR A DREAM SPOILERS, IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT THEN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE

We all have some sort addiction in our lives that fuels us, motivates us, gets us moving. There's always something that we seem to lack that can't be fixed without getting dependent on a drug that will send us twisting and turning through a hallway unsure of what is real and what is not. We may eventually get what we want, but it may not ever matter anymore, we have crossed a point of no return and we have ventured into a realm that we may have not wished to enter in the first place. That's what Requiem of A Dream delves into, our insatiable urges to continue with an out-of-reach goal. With a matter such as this, Darren Aronofsky managed to create one of the most disturbing, twisted scenes ever to be placed in cinema. You feel uneasy as you would watch this movie, yet you find yourself drawn into it by how it portrays madness in such a beautiful way. What you end up seeing is a masterpiece made by skulls and covered in human entrails.

What makes this so evident is that you can tell that the film is stylized by someone. It's not a film that you could assume that someone else made, this is a true work of Aronofsky's desensitized mind. From the frenetic and chaotic cutting style to having Clint Mansell's chilling soundtrack to the performances given by each of the actors, every piece is put into motion properly. I had to find out more about everything, I needed to feed myself with more information on how this film would come to be. I found myself searching through website upon website, typing intensely on the keyboard, staring at the computer screen for hours. My body would sometimes quit on me and even hurt, but the drive kept pushing me forward to see what more was hidden about this movie. Soon, I had everything that I needed to know, and rested for the first time in two days. Now that I am well awake and feeling fine, I can shed some light on some of the more interesting aspects involved in the production of Requiem For A Dream.

5. Tappy's Third Thing

One of the three main stories of the movie revolves around Sara Goldfarb (played by Ellen Burstyn) and her desire to be on the show Juice hosted by Tappy Tibbons (played by Christopher McDonald, who I could have sworn was the host in The Wizard...). Once her desire seems to be fulfilled by a call she gets from the show, she decided that she's going to get thin in order to fit into an old red dress of hers. As she's trying to get into her diet, she finds herself getting tempted constantly by the refrigerator. It doesn't necessarily help that Tappy keeps talking about things that she would love to have right now such as red meat and sugar. Yet every time the third thing is going to be mentioned, we are somehow thrown somewhere else, never to know what else Tappy is talking about.

While it isn't really relevant to the what occurs in the story, it turns out that Tappy was actually going to mention three things. It turned out that the last thing Tappy was going to mention was removing pharmaceuticals from the equation. See, Darren had the idea that Tappy would later attack Sara for betraying his words and cheating her way through meeting her goal of getting thinner in the hallucination that she endures. The third message was meant to be the final snap that indicated that she had made a huge mistake with taking pills from a doctor she had little to no information on. The problem with this though is that he felt that pharmacies would be enraged by this comment towards them and that people would misconstrue his message as though people shouldn't take medication. Due to this, Darren had to cut out the footage of Tappy's third topic and also a chunk of the film itself and edit it in a way that the third thing wasn't really anything to take note of.

4. The Ages Of The Other Protagonists

As we all know, the film deals with a lot of heavy materials, especially since it revolves around drugs. Harry (Jared Leto) finds himself getting damaged by shooting up too much and ends up with his arm getting amputated, Tyrone C. Love (Marlon Wayans) find himself constantly in trouble and thrown in prison twice and Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly) has to end up doing sexual favors to feed her drug-related appetite. As the whole film progresses, you see just how damaging and sordid all of these events become to the characters and when you see it all in succession, it makes you cringe at the sight of all this torment colliding at once.

Now, imagine if all this happened to a more younger set of people. Darren felt that in order to drive the point home, he should have made this characters younger, around 14-16 years old to be exact. That way when the  audience would see what sort of catastrophe would follow to all of them, they would not only be more shocked, but more aware of the horrors that addiction beholds. While this wasn't the intent of Selby's story, the author agreed that perhaps making these characters younger would have made their point stronger. Naturally, having such awful acts be done to this age group would have caused people (especially parents) to go insane. In fact, when pitching to the producers, both of them told the two that they had to make the characters older so that the film could be show in theaters. Selby understood the argument against this choice, but Darren was a little hesitant to go through with it. Nonetheless, he eventually agreed to go along with this.

3. The Rapid Cuts

As I mentioned before, one of the greatest things about Requiem For A Dream is its style. The film is packed with fast paced cuts here and there. These cuts fit perfectly to how people get so swept up in everything when their addiction starts to kick in. It also just shows how quick the change happens when you're involved with your addiction. The fast speed of the film oddly enough plays itself really well when you see how it changes the characters, and that's usually just sped up footage of them doing something while under the influence of the drugs. Regardless, they still serve to establish how the film plays out and it works so well to the construction of the film.

What's weird though is that this wasn't originally the way the film was going to progress. There was more footage that was going to be added into the film during some of the later scenes, that would possibly hint to a greater breakdown according to Matthew Libatique, the cinematographer. He goes on to say that the film would have been much more warped and surreal if the footage was implemented into the final cut. So, why isn't this the case? Apparently, a large amount of this aforementioned footage was lost or unusable. This set back the production of the film as it was near impossible to re-shoot the scenes again and they were closer to having to get a final cut out. So the editing room as well as Darren came up with the brilliant idea of re-using some of the old footage and cutting it up rapidly. At first I thought this was intentional that they would re-use some of the old footage, but it seems that what they were really trying to do was cut corners.

2. A Winter Worry

When the film gets into the final act (aka Winter), it's when you see the whole slew of events in the wolrd finally crash down on all of the characters. Their addiction finally gets the better of them and they find themselves at a point that they did not want to end up in the first place. Sara is now in a mental institute for not taking into account the words of her son, and still living in delusion, Tyrone is in jail again, possibly for life,  Harry has lost not only one of his arms but the love of his life and Marion has sold her body in order to continue clinging to her addiction. My favorite part of the end is how they have each of the characters crawl into a fetal position, showing how distraught they are and how they wished that things would have gone for the better for them.

While there were two main problems that came about getting together the final part of the film, I'll be talking about the scenes that led up to Sara's breakdown in this entry. Ellen Burstyn not only was working on another film (The Yards) during Requiem but also had came down with a bit of a cold when they were about to get to this portion of the film. There were very little times that the crew could use her in the end, and they had a lot more that they needed to put out into the film. As expected, this made the director panic. He was lost with one of the main characters being out of the picture. Selby had pitched to Darren that perhaps he could have a double of Sara come around the end and make her endure electroshock. All they needed was to apply make-up to the double to make her seem all worn out and troubled and have her only speak in mumbles and muffled screams. Darren loved the idea so much that he figured that when he had Burstyn for filming that all she would do is the scenes leading up to her ending up in the ward and the final final scene.

1. The Filming Of The Sex Show

Now we come to the most insane part of the film, and also the most disturbing scenes. Sure, it seems like something to expect out of a porno and admittedly the extras sure are lucky to be up and close into the action, but when you know the characters lead-up to this and notices what is being juxtaposed with these scenes, that arousal just turns to internal confusion and makes you uncomfortable. The way she stares blankly into space and is looking with "tired" eyes that she's disappointed being her. The loud chants of the men screaming the uproar of the hormones further emphasizes the utter filth that surrounds the room. There is no turning back by this point, she has crossed the line and will now have to live the rest of her life shrouded in shame and misery.

The filming of this particular portion was a complicated one. At first, Jennifer Connelly was fine with being part of this scene. As the days would lead up to having to film this part, she asked the director if perhaps there was a way that she could still do the scene but not have a ton of eyes leering on her as it made her feel uneasy. Aronofsky, a little upset of this change of mind, figured that he could film the scenes with the guys themselves doing their shouting and then film the sex show afterwards and then blend them together in the editing room. After completing the first part of the filming which was just the guys hollering, it came time to film the other half. Connelly again was reluctant in going through with this, as she still wasn't able to debase herself for the sake of the scene. This annoyed Aronofsky, but he went through with her request and shot the scene in a way that it would seem as though she was involved in the events that followed. Also, as a side note, the line "Ass to ass" was actually improvised by Stanley B. Herman. Just thought I let you know.

Breaking The Bits - Similar Sides Of Two Different Coins - A Look At Vaervaf And Orangy

You ever listened to two artists and believe that they're the same person? I'm sure you could think of a ton of bland pop songs or rave tunes that have made you think that. It's alright to think that, because music is an ever-expanding medium. There are bound to be copycats and coincidental sound-alikes to emerge from this process. Now, we usually just leave it at that and simply assume that whoever made song A probably made song B. That's fine, but when listening to these two artists, I felt the need to separate the two. It's hard to tell at times because they have moments where the both of them seem to be a mirror image of each other, but at other times, you can tell the difference without knowing anything about their location or personality. There was something in the way they made their music that would show me what defines their style. Before we can do that though, we must know a little more about what makes Vaervaf and Orangy seem the same.

Their Similarities

- High-pitched vocals
- Repeat small bits of a track a lot
- Chop tracks constantly
- Have moments where the song is interrupted by talking audio or put dialogue/odd noises over a loop
- Use samples
- Partake in loud, obnoxious noise-heavy tracks

Orangy: The Camouflaged Urban Surrealist Who Sees The World As Erratically As He Is

For those of you who don't know what I mean by urban surrealism, it basically boils down to viewing the contemporary world in a distorted light. It combines the typical metropolitan world and its pop culture with the haphazard vision of a heroin addict watching cartoons. What can come out of it could range from eerily plausible to as far-fetched as anything Dali has made in his life. A few of the Breakbit artists (DR777, glue70) have skimmed this idea with their works, but Orangy seems to live it in his music. In fact, he defines this concept much better than I have.

First, let's look at DIDNT CAR. The whole feel of the album plays off as if you're living in an awry neighbourhood near the city . "Burgers Out" and "Relax" make it evident with their chill progression and the beat that is behind the tracks. It's a fairly standard level-headed tune, with the occasional parts that can make you venture a little more into the outlandish. It's especially clear with the vocals in "Burgers Out" that something is heading a different path. You then take a song like "lets caw someone" that sounds like someone is waking up from a clock radio on a Latino station, getting a fuzzy call that progresses into a warped slowed-down tune creeping from the clock radio. It then starts to slide a little more off the normal scale when you venture into "LONG LINE OF GERMAN DOCTORS" which starts to play off a frantic clash of your subconscious deceiving your senses to a point where you're unsure of what is going on in your neighbour's house. Then "A CAT NAMED KITTY" comes by to transport you aware from the world for a few seconds, almost as if it was a dream day. Other parts of the album (most notably "Frank's Discount Sets (I Like Me)") serve to give a seemingly light-hearted tint of the bizarre nature that is to be expected from him, while still having enough to consider itself a part of the standard.

Afterwards, we have STILL DONT CAR, where these ideas are taken to a greater extreme. It's also ties more themetically, as all the music is based around cars and driving. Aside from the ever-so-catchy "Drivin'", the whole album makes sure that the average listener considers it weird. Songs like "Windshieldlicker" and "Gastastion Bathroom Boogie" tackle the idea of a car-centered song in such a unique and unexpected way, with one song talking about having sex with the car and the other one making jokes about a gas station bathroom. While the latter's subject does not sound too odd, the way the song progresses with it's fast pace and high-pitched vocals chopped up constantly blends in a way that the noise that comes out is unlike anything else you've heard. The rest of the tracks manage to set a platform that starts to show how Orangy is at the point where he's about to fall into a place where nonsense is the only thing that makes sense.

Now we have Mr. OJ, where he has become jeri, which is his declaration of embracing that he is insane and that the world is too. Some songs create an atmosphere that can range to being very calm and somewhat happy ("My Cat Is Asthmathmatic", "Mr. OJ") to almost at the brink of self-destruction ("Try Numeral", "That Was Fun..."). Some songs even switch in the middle of the song ("Slav Disco Dove"), while others act on delusions ("Secretly We Are Gods"). The song that summarizes the whole feel of this album is "Cyber Load", as it shows the twitch from incredibly furious to delightfully crazy. You can feel the parts that make the music seem like it could be played on the radio ad nauseum, but it's shrowded by a vision of warping the norm for the sake of conveying a mangled and confusing reality. It is the human mind lost in thought, exaggerated to such lengths that it would seem like you're hearing the creation of a child with ADHD and dementia.

The music of Orangy sees the same world that you and I do, but it perceives it in a manner that it seems as though what he's seeing is something completely alien to what we're seeing. It has rhythms and melodies that you could hear in other songs, but it also has sounds and transitions that are more twisted, abrasive, absurd and/or violent. While he has his moments where he simply gives into his imagination and lets it run free, there are also moments where the tune can be constructed in ways that it could one day end up becoming something relatable with a larger, "mainstream" audience. It doesn't really matter to him whether he can be accepted to the masses or not, he simply enjoys what he says and find a special way to laugh at the world with his music. 

Vaervaf: A Passionate Man Talking In A Constantly Changing Code That Is Not Meant To Be Deciphered

There are people out there that are relatively normal people that have very little about them that make them stand out. That is until you find more about them personally. They think about things in a very different way, they solve problems from another perspective, they even communicate in ways that are vaguely understandable and possibly cryptic. Their message may be simple but the form they choose to express it becomes more complex and convoluted. Even though you don't comprehend them completely, you still find yourself engaged by what they have to say. As you can imagine, Vaervaf is one of those folk.

While Orangy has 5 albums (2 of which I did not discuss), Vaervaf has 10 albums (3 of which I will not discuss), so Vaervaf seems to work at a somewhat faster rate. Also, Vaervaf's album don't completely show him slowly going from subtle to very blunt like Orangy does, but rather capture Vaervaf in phases whilst he starts to find his style. Let's take Splitgut and Weaveknee for example. For the most part, the tracks in these two albums have a soft, pleasant sound ("SUPPORT IRAN MAKE A FACEBOOK GROUP" from Splitgut and "AMEN BREAK AND FRIENDS" from Weaveknee being the most notable of this). Splitgut is a little louder in some of it's tracks (mostly with the tracks that are capitalized), with "IN THE BASEMENT MAKING A SERIOUS DECISION" having the most "obnoxious" rhythm. For the most part, the album has a vibe having fun with others where the more frantic-rhythm songs like "FORGET THIS TEEN ANGST BULLSHIT LET'S KILL ZOMBIES" play out like you're messing around with friends while tracks like "Fair Function" seem more fit for having a good time with your family. Weaveknee, on the other hand has a feeling of being lost in thought with tunes either taking in the thought and trying to think it through ("Prophet for Profit", "Escape Rope"), switching halfway through to another idea ("World Boss March", "SPOOK ROB DO YOU UH"), imagining something in a different light ("You Awake"), or simply enjoying the thought ("Sent Home", "Oh Sandpaper", "EndOfTheSlicks"). There are still some frantic rhythms in Weaveknee, but they're less accentuated.

Whilst the first two albums mentioned present his style and show that he tackles a way to express a mood differently than other artists, it isn't fully present in the work. Flarehand, Corkvein and Spinefold come along and push his style further by basing tracks around his style rather than the track have his style in the background ("Meansleeves" from Flarehand, "Drywire Augment" from Corkvein and "chewing the witness" from Spinefold show this perfectly). Flarehand and Corkvein showed more of his willingness to try an array of different sounds whilst still keeping his style present whilst Spinefold became his signature album showing his style in all it's glory and creating a sound that is almost his own ("comic sans gravestone", "mat_fullbright 1", "summer roll"). Flarehand feels more like a spitballing of ways to incorporate his style into a different sound, with a lot of the tracks being short and having a drive to go somewhere further ("AKIMBO RIOT SHEILD", "I won't admit it but", "Knuckle Drag Racing"). It still has tracks that play on the concept longer and finish better ("Blastola", "Peck", "Real and Straight") but it has a tendency to feel more like a good ramble rather than a good point. Corkvein rather has ever single one of its songs at a decent length and plays on their ideas very well with "Wristband Gait", "Sig Varsette" and "The Bloke Machine (Vaervaf Remix)" being my favorites.

Finally we come to Hipcatch and Greengums where he decides to rebel against something by creating a more aggressive, unique sound that seems to cling to his older style by a few threads ("siamese cat" from Hipcatch and "relmfu" from Greegums embody this). Hipcatch feels more a mutation of his sound, as you can still sense his previous style in Spinefold shining through, but being covered by racket-like rhythms and incredibly altered vocals ("this is why", "jux"). It's almost uncomfortable hearing some of the tracks like "harpy", "forth dead" and "demon piss" because you find yourself very confused at what you're hearing. At the same time, it still draws you in and you try to wonder what's going on. Greengums emphasizes this even more by having more of the songs have incomprehensible lyrics ("brik", "laodl") and an alternate-universe version of his music ("alliex", "try it with blood"). It seems like there's something beneath what you're listening to, but you're not sure because it's so garbled, twisted and "annoying" that you don't bother to find it or simply assume that Vaervaf is just messing with you.

Vaervaf is possibly one of the most interesting artists that I've come across. While other artists dabble in experimentation or experiment a lot, Vaervaf is simply an experiment of his own. His approach to a new track is to tackle it from an angle that he has not yet done before. If he has done it before, then he tries to bend it enough so that the same message is delivered in a new type of package. For him to adhere to the same approach of a previous work in a recent creation of his would be incredibly peculiar. I don't know if what he is trying to invoke from me with his music is positive, negative, thought-provoking or trivial gibberish, but it is irrelevant  His songs have a great sense of emotion in them and have some vision in them that you can't help but wonder what it is.

Conclusion

Both of these artists have times where they're indistinguishable from each other. When you hear one of them remix something from each other in one of these albums, you could easily believe that it's just another track from the same artist. Orangy even managed to fool me into thinking he was Vaervaf with some of the tracks in Spinefold. Take away the times that they do sound exactly like each other and you'll see that they have something that shows that they are not the same person. Orangy tackles the alteration of certain genres of electronic music while Vaervaf tackles the alteration of the idea of genres in general. Orangy has a similar way to communicate but a different message while Vaervaf has a different way to communicate a diiferent message. Perhaps I'm simply looking too deeply into their music and perhaps there is nothing else on the surface of their music. That is most certainly a possibility. What I do know, is that they each have their own sound to them and they make good use of their different attributes.