nonpretentious

A Horribly Bitter Description of Film School from Someone Who’s Been There

“Film school?”  Yeah, I just came from there.

Let me tell you a little bit about film school, you basement-dwelling, Netflix-hawking, Tyler Durdens, out there; challenging your friends to movie trivia contests and answering their “What was that guy from?” inquiries with a sick sense of glee.

Get there.  Get there as soon as possible.  For the first time, you’ll be home.  You’ll bask in the warm sensation of familiarity as you are finally with others like you and you’ll get a chill of thrilling adrenaline when the full workload is bestowed upon you.

Yes.  It’s like pissing your pants.  Except this time, the entire auditorium isn’t laughing at you.  They’re looking on sympathetically, fists in the air:  “Been there, dude.  Power through.  Power through.”

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[mix tape] Martin Starr Paints You a Mix

In our world, only two types of people exist:

1) Those who take the “Which Freaks & Geeks Character Are You?” quiz and pray for Bill Haverchuck; and

2) Those who have no idea who Bill Haverchuck is.

Needless to say, we prefer to hang out with the first type.  We also suggest a change of weekend plans for anyone who falls into the second.

Which is to say, we almost peed in our pants when Martin Starr agreed to make a mix tape for us.  (We definitely did a victory dance or two.)

You see, Bill Haverchuck may have sparked our initial respect for Martin but we’re also fans of Adventureland (available on iTunes as of yesterday!  Awesome soundtrack as well!), Knocked Up, and Party Down.  It’s almost like the weirder his characters get, the deeper our admiration grows.

In fact, we’re not sure any other actor could pull off some of the scenes from Party Down and still garner our empathy.  (Insert: Any scene from “Sin Say Shun Awards After Party.”)

He even manages to make us believe that pipe-smoking, Russian literature majors can be nonpretentious.

Right.  So, once Martin agreed to make a mix tape for us, we promised ourselves that we’d refrain from sounding like brown-nosers or stalkers in his introduction.  Obviously, we failed.  Horribly.

On behalf of nonpretentious, we’ll simply point out that it’s not our fault that we respect him as an artist.  Whether his talent comes from nature, nurture, or something else entirely, Martin Starr knows how to entertain.  When we see his name on a project, we’re pretty certain it will be worth our while.  We eagerly await all of his future endeavors, including his writing debut and his art exhibit at the Met.  (Hear that, Directors?  Hear that, Distributors of American Storage?  Hear that, Curators of the Met?)  (Also, no spoilers for Good Dick, it’s at the top of our Netflix queue.)

We know Martin had a full schedule this summer.  (What?  Haven’t you heard of a telescope?)  We’re grateful that he took the time to compile this playlist for us.  We’re even more grateful that his playlist didn’t make us lose all respect for him.

And now a word from the maker of this mixtape:
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[mix tape] Chicago Artist: Man Bartlett’s “Music I Make Art To”

Man Bartlett’s mix tape
(available via iTunes):

1.  River of Life / The Yes Song – Mia Doi Todd

2.  Blue Ridge Mountains – Fleet Foxes

3.  Flowing Water  -  Guan Pinghu

4.  Only Skin – Joanna Newsom

5.  Lightfield (In Consonance)  – Glenn Branca

6.  Baltihorse – Dan Deacon

7.  Willow – Joan Armatrading

8.  New Grass – Talk Talk

9.  When We Fall  – Grouper

10.  Our Last Night Together – Arthur Russell

11.  Constants Are Changing – Boards of Canada

About the mix tape
:

the type of art i create requires that i be in a meditative state for extended periods of time as there is a high level of repetition involved.  this mix represents mostly songs from albums that i listen to in their entirety, but together they represent the world i live in while making art.

missing is beethoven’s 9th symphony.  while probably the most listened to of all, not particularly mix-friendly.

to see my work online you can visit: http://www.manbartlett.com, and if you’re in chicago area may 8th you can see it in person: http://www.manbartlett.com/shows/transmission/index.html

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From the artist’s webpage:

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http://nonpretentious.com publishes mix tapes every Wednesday in its [mix tapes] column. Our goal is to create a digital version of trading mixes, sharing music, etc. AND also publicize the work of “common people” (i.e. not superstar celebs but celebs nonetheless) who are doing cool things around the globe.

“OMG BFF LOL” :: Charlie White’s Girl Studies

You don’t have to peep into a girl’s gym locker room or a sorority house to get a glimpse of a girl’s life.  Instead, check out Philadelphia-bred Charlie White’s latest series entitled “Girl Studies.”

White employs photography, short film, and animation to display his findings.  The diversity of his mediums seems to foreshadow the complexity of dissecting his subject.  Scroll down to see what I mean.  (Posted media links to original websites.)

.photography.

(above two pics are #4 & #1 of Teen and Transgender Comparative Study)

.short film. (stills)

.animation.

OMG BFF LOL (Mall)

In “Bedroom,” the lackadaisical star is channel-surfing, staring at teen heartthrobs on her ceiling, and snacking on chips.

In “Bathroom,” the star BFF sobs uncontrollably as she walks to the toilet, gets on her knees, and bends over.  Unable to speak for herself, the camera focuses on the star BFF’s sweatpants, which exclaim “WOW” on her behind.

Filmmaker Magazine states that “California-based artist Charlie White has made his mark with highly produced, carefully-staged photographs that construct scenes both disturbing and familiar, work that aims to dissect the violence, desires, and social anxieties that trouble the American collective unconscious.”

Judging by what we see, this study meets his mark: a girl’s life is more than giggles, ponies, and the color pink.

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* Thanks, Mark Frauenfelder @ BoingBoing for posting about this and sparking our interest!

"OMG BFF LOL" :: Charlie White's Girl Studies

You don’t have to peep into a girl’s gym locker room or a sorority house to get a glimpse of a girl’s life.  Instead, check out Philadelphia-bred Charlie White’s latest series entitled “Girl Studies.”

White employs photography, short film, and animation to display his findings.  The diversity of his mediums seems to foreshadow the complexity of dissecting his subject.  Scroll down to see what I mean.  (Posted media links to original websites.)

.photography.

(above two pics are #4 & #1 of Teen and Transgender Comparative Study)

.short film. (stills)

.animation.

OMG BFF LOL (Mall)

In “Bedroom,” the lackadaisical star is channel-surfing, staring at teen heartthrobs on her ceiling, and snacking on chips.

In “Bathroom,” the star BFF sobs uncontrollably as she walks to the toilet, gets on her knees, and bends over.  Unable to speak for herself, the camera focuses on the star BFF’s sweatpants, which exclaim “WOW” on her behind.

Filmmaker Magazine states that “California-based artist Charlie White has made his mark with highly produced, carefully-staged photographs that construct scenes both disturbing and familiar, work that aims to dissect the violence, desires, and social anxieties that trouble the American collective unconscious.”

Judging by what we see, this study meets his mark: a girl’s life is more than giggles, ponies, and the color pink.

–

* Thanks, Mark Frauenfelder @ BoingBoing for posting about this and sparking our interest!

Heard of Elephants: This Collective of LA-based, Socially-Conscious, Experimental Musicians and Artists Want To Be Heard

The Heard of Elephants are not ones to follow the pack.

Preferring to push the boundaries as they create, they created a collective that sees no boundaries. Located in Highland Park, California, you will not find them on any tourist map.
At least not yet…

In other words, if your artistic philosophy matches theirs or if you want to snag a deal to expand your personal art collection, I’d contact the artists fast because once the word is Heard, the possibilities are endless.

Listen (there’s really something for everyone): Random Patterns (If you like (IYL): The Go Team, The Books), The Nocturnes, Pride of Kenya (IYL: Broken Social Scene), Danger Bees, Semiconscious Gloria (IYL: Pete Yorn, Jack Johnson, Singer-Songwriter), Charts and Maps, Fuckasaurus Rex

Look: Brenda So, Juice Box, Peter Van Dyke, John Taylor, Steve Baldino, Nick Barton

Watch: Friends of the Family

nonpretentious caught up with them right before they headed off to band practice…read the interview!

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Authors Are Ahead of Politicians

In John Updike’s “The Witches of Eastwick”, Joe Marino was an important character. He resurfaced in an ancillary way in Updike’s recent sequel “The Widows of Eastwick” (excellent book). Joe Marino in the books was a plumber. Once again art was ahead of life.

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Can  a moment of sporting brilliance be considered art? I think this video makes it clear. For a brief moment on saturday Zlatan Ibrahimović  was not just an athlete, but an artist. Who would have imagined that the lovechild of Walker, Texas Ranger and Edgar Degas would be so beautiful?

Interviews: Alec Brownstein

alec brownstein

Read below for his advice on how to score a job in the advertising world (the ol’ “class credit” method), how to score another gig once you’re tired of your current one (subtitled: the rise of the sponsored link), and how to turn laziness into art.

What can I say? He’s a champ.

Letters to Inspiring Writers: Thanks for Making This a Softer World

Status:
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To:
untoward@asofterworld.com, thisisfurious@asofterworld.com
Subject:
a fan’s plea

hi joey & emily:

i’ve been a linker to your site for a long, long while. i’d call myself a reader of your site but i can’t promise that i read it everyday. just sometimes. but over a number of years. like, if you keep track of your site visitors or pages that link to you – i used to publish at http://lawprocrastination.blogspot.com. that’s when i was in law school. now, i procrastinate in all aspects of my life. i’m not matriculated in anything though sometimes i wish i was. then i’d get to wear hoodies everyday. Continue reading…