Online home of writer & journalist Dan Gennoe
Watch this video of The Veronicas, Untouched. Starts off Goth. Quickly turns ’80s synth-pop. Then the guitars come in and it’s Euro-Goth-Rock. After the first “I go ooo, ooo” of the verse though, you know it’s full-on, spangly electro-pop. Until the chorus, where it turns into Avril Lavigne. It’s also very, very annoying.
But I kinda like it. Or maybe I just like them.
Do feel free to share your thoughts.
“Pop music’s not gonna die/It just has no direction.” Bis, Action & Drama.
So true.
French Horn Rebellion. Up All Night. Best pop song I’ve heard in ages. This should be No.1. Or at least No.2.
Objectified, the new documentary feature from Gary Hustwit of Helvetica fame, which gets its world premier in March at this year’s SxSW, will include a rare interview with Apple design guru, Englishman Jony Ive (I know, a bit jingoistic, but we have so little to shout about these days). Rarer still, the interview, from whence the above picture came, was filmed inside Apple’s Design Studio. Might not sound like much, but it’s on a par with pulling back the curtain and catching a glimpse of Oz.
New rap website HipHop.Com launches next month. As a taster they’ve just posted an inaugural address from Chuck D re: the election of President Obama. Brace yourselves.
The Guardian’s collected together here the front pages of newspapers around the world to compare coverage of yesterday’s inauguration. Proof, as if any were needed, that the Obama Presidency is already having a positive impact on US international standing.
Not since Bobby Kennedy ran for the democratic nomination in ‘68 has the idea of a particular individual being elected President stirred so many – particularly in the jaded world of creative media – into action. From the primaries to the inauguration, graphic design and photography have been at the centre of capturing, distilling and expressing the Obama feeling. The posters, the photographs and the graffiti, as much as all the viral videos and Twitter feeds, were key to making him larger than life, aspirational and look like a president in waiting even before he’d won the nomination. Where photographs of John McCain made him look folksy, those of Obama made him seem almost god like. The notion of Obama – not just the colour of his skin but his young, dynamic approach – spoke of revolution while the other candidate looked like more of the same. Those looking for a claim on history sensed the opportunity to take their Kennedy pictures, write their Kennedy stories, to design button badges and posters which just like Kennedy’s would tell future generations that it was the most exciting of times. Obama inspired the best and the most talented and they literally made him history.
See for yourself here, here and here.
MirrorKicks’ debut single, “Podium”. Love it, love it, love it. Can’t stop playing it. I’m playing it so much I’m even starting to annoy myself. There’s a higher resolution version of the video over at Facebook, but for some reason I couldn’t get it to embed. Which is odd because I am usually a technical whizz.
I’ve long maintained that Lemar is an amazing talent desperately in need of a good song. I’ve also long maintained that the mark of a good song is working in any genre. Am I right or am I right?
Muhammad Ali’s Esquire cover. A personal favourite of mine. What’s yours? Let me know in the comments, all part of the Definition Of Cool project.
Having stayed up all night on Nov 4 to see history being made, I fully intend to chuck in work early and spend Tuesday afternoon watching hope return to the free world. For anyone thinking of doing the same, the guardian have just put a handy five day guide to Barack Obama’s inauguration online here. You’re welcome.
Love documentary films? Check. Love magazines? Check. Think The Devil Wears Prada was a little too close to the truth to be funny? Check. Can’t wait for the release of The September Issue? Check, check, check.
On the subject of Star Wars, Carrie Fisher’s autobiography wins the 2008 prize for best title and cover. The only thing funnier is that it’s just 176 pages long and the type is MASSIVE. Presumably she couldn’t remember the rest.
Star Wars as retold by someone who’s never seen it. Genius. Especially the ‘whatever’s and special effects – arguably better than anything used in the Digitally Remastered versions.
Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.
The other day I did something I never thought I’d do. I emailed Channel 5 with a scheduling query. I know, who’d have thought Channel 5 had a schedule worth querying. I wanted to know when they were going to show the second season of Californication, which started in September in the US. After a week they replied saying that while they held the rights to show season two, they had no plans to do so.
That’s the last time I email them for anything.
If you didn’t see it – and why would you have, it was on Channel 5 – go and buy the season one boxset now. Here’s the season one trailer to explain why.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter. Click here or go to www.twitter.com/dangennoe. I’m quite entertaining. The operative word there though is quite.
Great track from Free The Robots. Even better video. If only all the world’s conflicts and crises could be settled with such style and politeness.
Ah, the eternal question: What is cool?
Always followed by: And why have some people/places/things got it while others haven’t?
Are cool and style the same thing?
Are all stylish things cool?
Does something have to be fashionable to be cool? Or is cool about doing your own thing?
Is cool the same as the other indefinable quality we call x-factor? Or can you have that special star something and still be naff?
Is cool passion, authenticity, confidence, lack of effort or all of the above?
How do you know when you’ve got it? How do you know when it’s gone?
Is it something you’re born with?
Can you acquire it?
Can you buy it?
Can you sell it?
Is it something you can learn to be or does trying result in instant disqualification?
What’s your definition of cool?
Would it be the same as mine?
If it really is indefinable, then how come we all seem to know that those pictured above – Barack Obama, Steve McQueen, Apple’s iPhone, New York, Philippe Stark’s Juicer, Keith Richards, Miles Davis, James Dean, Adidas Shell Toes – all have it. Or maybe you don’t agree that they do.
How important is it anyway?
All my life I’ve been fascinated by the concept of ‘cool’, something you can’t see or touch yet we all instantly recognise, and react favourably to. Cool people/places/things are always popular, always respected, usually successful, invariably admired. Why? What have they got? What do they know? Can they themselves define it?
That’s what I’m intending to find out with The Definition Of Cool, my own personal journey in search of that magic formula. But first I need your help. I need to know your definition of cool. Who are the people, places and things that you think have it? And how would you put it into words? Don’t be too clever. I’m trying to get together a solid cast of characters I can go and interview – or in the case of products, places and dead people, those who know/knew them well. So don’t be afraid to be too obvious – obscure may be cool, but for our purposes it won’t get us very far. Pick people, places and things which are widely known and recognised, and tell me why you think they’re cool, along with your own definition, in the comments. Once I’ve got a sufficiently cool long list, I’ll be running a series of polls here on the blog to narrow it down to a short list of interviews for the book so don’t forget to sign-up to the mailing list here or subscribe to the RSS feed here, so you won’t miss your chance to vote.
So, 2009. Busy year. Three, possibly four book projects either underway or nearing conclusion. Can’t say too much now. To find out more click here to join the mailing list or here to subscribe to the RSS Feed.
