C - i - V - i - L - i - Z - a - T - i - O - n

I'm excited and so should you readers. French electronic duo Justice or † as I like to call them, are going to release their first single for their second album on April 4th. The new song "Civilization" is featured in the Adidas ad campaign entitled "Adidas is All In", here is that video:

Also from their record label, Ed Banger Records, remix artist SebastiAn will release his first original album Total on the same date.

Watch Lykke Li play a gig on the moon! #woundedrhymes #lykkeli

Watch Lykke Li play a gig on the moon! #woundedrhymes #lykkeli

Living in America is good.

Last night was my friend's going away to LA party. It was a fun-filled night of drinking and riding mechanical bulls. We went to Mason Dixon, a bar down in the Lower East Side.

We were a party of ten and most of us got to get on the mechanical bull, I was second in line. It was a fun experience, especially if you've had a few drinks in you beforehand. I got to last for more than thirty seconds, maybe just under a minute. There were professionals that rode the bull that night as well, they knew how to move and when to counter the shake.

I probably wouldn't last two seconds on a 'real' bull.

Mason Dixon is an interesting bar, they have arcade games in the front, a photobooth (which we used) and extremely loud but good music. It gets crowded pretty quickly and uncomfortably. They really should rearrange where the speakers and seats should be.

After that we spent the rest of the night at Imperial Tavern on Ludlow St. It's a bar that keeps it pretty cool, the bartenders are nice and seats are usually free. Cocktails are pricey though. It's a good place to have a drink and hold a conversation with your friends.

Here is the song of the night: "Living in America" by DOM. It summarizes the return of Spring and the social night life.

Living in America by DOM

image of the bull is courtesy from www.masondixonnyc.com

Films to watch, pt. 2

One film that I have the most anticipation for is Kelly Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff. Starring Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. Reichardt's previous film Wendy & Lucy, also starred Ms. Williams and that was one of the best independent film I've seen in the past few years. Very meditative and natural in terms of performances, editing and camerawork. I cannot wait to see how the director and actors handle a period piece, and it seems interesting to me that the filmmakers decide to choose the 4-by-3 format to compose their frames. I want to see the reason behind that decision.

Upcoming documentary on fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, titled Bill Cunningham New York

I'm always interested in discovering famous photographers, I love Henri-Cartier Bresson, Robert Frank and William Eggleston, and I discover them through museum trips and trips to the photography section at the Strand Bookstore. Rarely would I chance upon a documentary about them and from what I've seen of the trailer, Mr. Cunningham looks like an exciting figure.

I have a love/hate relationship with Gus Van Sant's films. They're photographed beautifully and the acting and direction is minimal. My problem is that sometimes his films can be a little boring, they meditate too long on its characters or the thought doesn't come through clearly. Examples can be found of Elephant, Gerry and Paranoid Park. Don't get me wrong, I love those films, but they're just a tad bit too long for my tastes. Van Sant is an interesting director in that he studies characters and styles, and he gives off an obsessive quality to his work which makes me respect him.

Restless appears to be a small attempt by the director to make a quirky independent film, like that of Juno or Little Miss Sunshine. This film could've easily been picked up by Fox Searchlight, famous for turning aforementioned indie films into Award winners and Box Office champions. But Sony Pictures got to it first and hopefully they can turn out a smart marketing plan just as Searchlight would.

ARGH!

Been in a slight creative hiatus at the moment. Haven't been doing much except for making taking a photograph here and there. A few days ago I spent the day taking pictures for my friend's line of pins he's made to sell on Etsy.com, they're interesting pins with pop culture icons. Some are from video games, TV cartoons and comic books.

You can check out his stuff here: Clever Trevor @ Etsy

I recently started listening to this French pop singer, Yelle. Her new album Safari Disco Club is coming out this month. The video to her two new songs are funky and really odd.

YELLE - Safari Disco Club / Que veux-tu (exclusive full length edit) from Yelle on Vimeo.

So far, I like her song "Que veux tu", here's a neat remix of that same song.

Yelle - Que Veux Tu (Madeon Remix) by Madeon

Yesterday was a good day

And it truly was, for a while the weather was good. The sun came out and gave New York City a break. I spent the day watching Rango with my friend, Ying, which wasn't too bad. The visuals are super realistic and the filmmaker's take on the Western genre was brilliant. It was perhaps 20 minutes too long?

After the film we went to SoHo to have lunch at Cubana Café, one of my favorite spots in New York. It's a bit small, but the food is great and the value feels right. They treated us very well and even gave us dessert, a brownie, on the house for being patient (It was busy that day). We both had Hanger Steak sandwich, which we've never tried before and it was superb! It was cooked medium rare and the cheese melted with tomatoes, it was just a great combination of flavors.

Afterwards, Ying went to have her spa treatment and I dropped by Top Man to say hi to a friend.

the reawakening of Régine!

I've ridden my bike today for the first time in months. The weather has been pretty good, the ice has melted away and the air is warmer. I rode for an hour to the 'rich' people's neighborhood in Queens, called 'Malba', like the one in Florida and California. I enjoy riding my bike, although it's in constant need of fixing and riding in Queens isn't perfectly safe in terms of traffic. I get a visceral feeling out of it, especially when I'm listening to my music. I listened to my Feist mix and a mix of Lykke Li music. They go pretty hand in hand with how I felt and the activity.