I Like My Boots Little (8th Meditation)

Victoria Christina Hesketh was born on May 4, 1984 in Thornton, Lancashire, United Kingdom. She is the eldest of four children born to a writer mother, she was bound to be creative, right? Pretty much. Hesketh takes the stage name Little Boots performing electro-pop. She is pretty well known in the United Kingdom, but not so much here. In fact, her album hasn’t even been released over here despite it being released on June 8^th in the U.K. But leave it to my cousin Alex to bring this British sensation to my American bedroom.

Little Boots is very comparable to Lady GaGa and makes you wonder if GaGa has a British twin. Her music has a similar feel to that of GaGa, in the way that makes you want to get up and dance as it encompasses your limbic brain. It’s extremely catchy, and I personally may like it a little better than GaGa’s music because it seems more natural. Little Boots also styles herself similarly to GaGa, as in they both wear pretty out there clothes (although, GaGa is definitely more out there) and they both have platinum blond hair.

Her music video for her current U.K. single Remedy is very cool. I like all the effects that are used, like the kaleidoscope action that is going on. It’s also a very flashy video with a lot of colors and lights, which I enjoy on occasion. The video also uses the beautiful people technique because she is very made-up to look beautiful.

I think that if Little Boots can get her music on to the United States music scene that she could be very successful. I hope that it does happen for her because I would really like to hear her music on the radio.

Tell Me Your Secrets (7th Meditation)

I have to admit that I’m a little bit of a nosy person. I constantly eavesdrop without even realizing it. So, when I discovered the PostSecret website it was like I was eavesdropping on the world. Frank Warren started the art project on a Blogger blog nonetheless. The concept of the project is simple, people send in their secrets to Frank Warren and he posts about 20 every Sunday on his blog and publishes some into his books. There are only two rules for the secrets, they have to have never been told, and they have to be true. The secrets range from silly to serious crimes and create a healing process for the people who write them and touch the people who read them.

Frank Warren has published five books from the secrets he has received, Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, My Secret, Secret Lives of Men and Women, A Lifetime of Secrets, and Confessions of Life, Death & God. I, personally, own the book A Lifetime of Secrets and reading the book was such a incredible emotional transfer, it was amazing. I really felt for people and could even relate to some of the secrets that were being told. And some secrets like “everyone who knew me before 9/11 thinks I’m dead” were so unbelievable that I never realized people had that big of secrets. It really opened up my eyes.

PostSecret provides a place where people can share their secrets without feeling judged. Part of me wonders if it really helps people feel free from their secrets. Sure, you could be telling the world, but does not knowing the people you tell really make you feel all that better? I’m not sure that it would help me, but I suppose that it’s up to each persons own individual meaning.

In an aesthetic shift, not only does the website have books and seminars at colleges, but it also affects my own life at college. For my dorms’ LEAD requirements our Peer Advisors decided to make a PostSecret board in our basement. They used the bandwagon approach to it and tried to make it seem like everyone was doing it by putting examples from the website. It is a good experience though; it’s interesting to know what other people in the dorm are going through.

One of the things I love most about PostSecret is the videos that are created from the secrets. I like them because it's not just a slideshow of postcards, they actually manipulate them in interesting ways that appeal to the limbic brain. Also, one of my favorite songs is used for this video.

Fantastic Film, Mr. Anderson (6th Meditation)

As a family tradition, my family goes to the movies either on Thanksgiving day or the day after. Somehow this Thanksgiving, we decided to see Fantastic Mr. Fox (directed by Wes Anderson). It ended up being a really good decision. It was an excellent movie. It was such a refreshing change from the animated and other kids movies that have come out recently. And of course Roald Dahl is awesome.

The movie is based off the children’s book “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” by Roald Dahl. It’s the story of a fox that steals from three farmers and the farmers try to get their revenge by killing him. It’s a great epistemological shift because it takes the great children’s book and makes it into a great family movie that anyone can enjoy. The movie brings a great emotional transfer as it make you feel like a child again because the humor is innocent, but it’s still a really funny movie and not at all cheesy. There are also great morals to be learned through the film, which uses the neocortex part of the brain.

The animation used for this film was similar to that of puppets (stop-motion animation), which was very nostalgic in a way, because these days the normal animation is the type of stuff that DreamWorks produces. So, getting back to an older version of animation was awesome. The characters were also very endearing and voiced by famous people like George Clooney and Meryl Streep which is a big pull for the movie studio to get people to see the movie. The production techniques used for the film were just so different and interesting that it was awesome. I especially like the voices in the film because they used just the right amount of tone and emphasis and didn’t sound over the top like a lot of voice in animated movies so. Overall, it was an awesome movie and I hope that it gets the recognition that it deserves.

Teenage Girls Howl at the New Commercialism (5th Meditation)

As a recovering Twilight addict, the pull of the new movie coming out was too strong. I saw it on Tuesday, and I was extremely underwhelmed, as I expected to be. The acting was horrible, and for most of the movie I felt like the characters were very awkward and hard to watch. Especially, scenes that involved Kristen Stewart, which was the whole movie. There also the atmosphere of being in a theater with a bunch of teenaged and middle age female fans that is a little off putting. The fandom itself disgusts me in ways that I can’t even explain, and I’m glad that I am no longer a part of it.

I have to say the biggest thing that bothers me with the series is the stigma around the character of Edward. He’s the so-called “heartthrob” of the series, being the sexy 109-year-old vampire. You’re initially drawn into the series by the big lie that Edward is the perfect man for any young impressionable girl. But, when you read between the lines, he’s not that great of a guy. He’s very controlling and doesn’t let the main female character, Bella, do anything that she really wants. The emotional transfer is supposed to be that he is the perfect guy, but I beg to differ greatly. Edward is such a big part of the fandom that anything with Robert Pattinson’s face will sell like hotcakes.

The Twilight enterprise is probably one the of the greatest examples of aesthetic shifts in the last two years. There are books, movies, television appearances, and hell; you can get underwear with Edward’s face on it. It’s almost a bit ridiculous, who really needs Twilight underwear!?! Really! This is also an economic shift definitely because the whole franchise is over hyped and a money making machine. Anything the actors’ faces are on will sell out in a second.

Get Busy Advertising This Album (4th Meditation)

Hailing from L.A. comes a mysterious new rap group called Get Busy Committee. With hardly any information on their Wikipedia page, Get Busy Committee is made up of three veteran rappers: Apathy, Ryu, and Scoop DeVille. They released their first album called Uzi Does It on November 10th. They aimed for a sound that has not been heard in the rap game for a while, and they definitely achieved that goal. The album brings back notions of old school West Coast rap. Their music however is not for everyone, if you are accustomed to mainstream rap or you don’t like rap at all, this album would definitely not attract your limbic brain. It would actually probably grate your ears.

Uzi Does It is very, very nostalgic album. Not only does sound like old school rap, but it samples older music and theme songs. One theme song that appears on more than one song on the album is the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song. And the reason for this may be because they are based out of L.A. They also sample old R&B songs such as “Come and Talk to Me” by Jodeci. I also thought that there was a bit of big lie going on because they seem to glamorize cocaine a lot on the album, like in a song about heroin there’s a lyric that says “kids just say no, or stick to blow.” I found it really interesting that it’s made out not to be a big deal and cocaine is mentioned in the majority of the tracks on the album. Cocaine is not glamorous and is very harmful and ruins a lot of people’s lives. You have to put your own individual meaning on it though, to actually decide if they’re being serious or satirical.

One of the most interesting things about their album is the way it was funded and advertised. The album is completely produced and promoted by the group itself and not the record label. They also used an aesthetic shift for producing their album. They decided to contact their fans and ask them to advertise the album on their Myspaces, Twitters, Facebooks, blogs, and also by email. They repay their fans by giving them half of the album for free. I proceeded with advertising the album on my Facebook page and I got like six or seven free really good songs for free. And hearing those songs made me want to purchase the rest of the album, so I would say their advertising campaign is working.

They're just a bunch of Misfits (3rd Meditation)

I was on YouTube the other day and one of the people I’m subscribed to posted a video for a television show called “Misfits”. I watched the video, and at first glance I thought it would be just another “Skins” only with rougher kids. I went on the IMDb and couldn’t find any information about the show or anything. I then conducted a Google search and found the website. “Misfits” is a show on the e4 Channel, the same channel that airs Skins, but it is so much different than “Skins”. “Misfits” is a show about five young people who have all got into some sort of trouble and are forced to do community service. There’s all-star Olympic ready Curtis who gets caught with a “bit of cocaine”, Alisha who is a party girl, and drives from party to party which is why she’s in trouble, Kelly who comes across as a “chav” (think “white trash”), smart ass Nathan who gives everyone trouble, and shy Simon who seems to have a knack for fires. But this is where things get strange, this isn’t just a show about kids who have to do community service (complete with jumpsuits), this is a show about kids who have to do community service, get caught is some freaky massive storm and gain superpowers.

Even from the first trailer you get a since of intensity. From the limbic brain being connected into the very intense music, to the neocortex brain trying to make sense of what is happening. These characteristics carry on into the episode itself. The way the footage is produced is in a very dark tone, and you feel like there’s some sort of impending sense of doom. It is also interesting that it’s shot in such a dark tone because a lot of the time the characters seem to be making jokes and such. The storyline is also so intriguing that you want to tune in to next week’s episode.

There’s a sense of nostalgia with the show, because the thought of superpowers and superheroes has been around for a while. The show even has it’s own comic book on the e4 website. Which makes for an interesting aesthetic shift. Not only is the storyline being conveyed through one medium, television, but two. The show also pulls the race card a bit because all the characters have seemingly different backgrounds appealing to many different people. There’s bound to be someone you can relate to within the show.

There’s only been one episode so far, but all I can say is that I’m so pumped for this week’s episode!

A Kid Named Cudi (2nd Meditation)

Scott Mescudi was born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 30, 1984. He was raised by an African American mother and Mexican/Native American father in the diverse Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights. He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in rap music under the pseudonym Kid Cudi.

Following his massively popular first single “Day ‘N Nite”, Cudi has released a great album that does not disappoint. Cudi’s debut album is called “Man on the Moon”, and it’s set up into different “acts” which appeals to the neocortex brain because it causes you to make connections between the songs in each act and the connect the album as a whole. It also appeals to the limbic brain because it is music, but there are different types of music within the album, because some tracks are more serious and heartfelt while some are more upbeat.

There is a sense of emotional transfer from listening to this album. On such tracks as “Man on the Moon”, Cudi pours his heart out and really reveals himself and you feel greatly for him. There is also some sense of individual meaning because music is somewhat subjective unless you have the Kid Cudi standing over your shoulder telling you what each song is about. Kid Cudi also brings in fellow artists such as MGMT, Ratatat, and Wale to be featured on his album, which is almost like a testimonial that the album will be good, which it is. Cudi also brings in fellow rapper Common to do interludes on his album introducing the acts. There was also a personal shift in the promotion of this album. Prior to its release Cudi was all over Twitter making a name for himself (I followed him), since the release of his album he has, however, deleted his Twitter.