28. No Pity in the Rose City!
Until the Portland Timbers joined the MLS last year, I would go to their games all the time. $12 would buy you a GA ticket to stand in the legendary Timbers Army (the video pretty much sums up the experience. Joining the pros made things a little bit more difficult. For one, ticket prices jumped to $35 for GA, but the entire season sold out in under a day, so it’s now difficult to go to a game for less than $60 or $70.
Fortunately I was able to go to the game last Saturday against Real Salt Lake.
It was an unreal experience - I was used to the Army taking over four or five sections on the North End of the stadium, but now it commands upwards of a dozen sections, with everyone standing, chanting, singing, and dancing their way through 90 minutes of damn good soccer. This is an atmosphere that has never before existed in American soccer, and I would highly encourage everyone to go to at least one game to see what the hype is all about.
And the song for this post: up and coming Harlem native rapper Azealia Banks has the makings to become the next Missy Elliot, and her big single 212 shows why.
If you’re offended by songs with tons of profanity, skip 212 and check my other recent favorite, Circling by British post-rock musician Four Tet.
27. Ok dubstep, let’s talk.
I’ll say it right off the bat, dubstep: I’ve never held you in high esteem. Maybe I didn’t go in with an open enough mind. I completely ignored you as you bubbled up, expanding beyond your South London roots. I finally took notice as you began to pervade American culture over the past few years. Today, you’re impossible to ignore, regularly making appearances in everything from commercials to The Grammys.
I think a big problem is that there are so many genres of electronic music that get lumped together into dubstep. Drum & bass, UK garage, electro, brostep, etc. I realize now that it’s completely unfair to listen to a Skrillex song, hate it, and dismiss dubstep altogether, because a) Skrillex doesn’t make dubstep, and b) everything Skrillex touches turns to shit in my opinion.
At any rate, I’m no expert in electronic subgenres - if you want to be hit with some real knowledge in that department, I’d check out my friend Joey’s blog. The reason I’m posting this is because last night I went to a Skream & Benga concert (two early pioneers of true dubstep) at Northeast Portland’s Wonder Ballroom, and it was an absolutely electrifying experience. The openers, Artwork, Hijak, and Alvin Risk (who looks uncannily like McLovin) really got the crowd going - any one of them could have held their own as headliners. But once Skream and Benga came on, all hell broke loose. There wasn’t a soul in the building who wasn’t feeling the intricate rhythms and deep bass. The final few songs though, that’s when things really got rowdy. People started jumping up on stage, and there was no way I’d be passing that up. The last ten minutes were some of the most unique of any concert I’ve ever been to. Artwork passed me a bottle of Grey Goose and offered me a cig (I’d normally decline, but hey, when in Rome!) Benga was showing off his equipment to awestruck fans as he mixed. Skream was all over the place, joking around with fans, dancing to the beat, and hugging the openers, all while chain smoking cig after cig.
Thank you Skream and Benga for a night I shan’t soon forget. Here are some pictures:
View from the balcony
Skream and Benga take the stage
All lights on Skream
The line between concert and party thins to critical levels
Side view as the usher started forcibly kicking people off the stage
It’s ok, Buzz Killington, I’ll be excited enough for both of us.
And the song of the day: My favorite song off Miike Snow’s excellent sophomore album, Bavarian #1.
26. Change of Heart
I began this winter term dead set on being a designer. There was an enormous amount of design work between my digital arts and journalism classes - naturally, I spent many long nights sitting in front of a computer, making sure each god damn pixel was in just the right place. Those hours logged made me realize something though: working all day on a computer is an awfully unappealing prospect.
And so, I have decided to become an unrestricted free agent. Because I still have a strong desire to stay on the creative side of advertising, writing sounds feels more like my niche. Browsing UO alum and Wieden + Kennedy writer Brock Kirby’s website recently gave me a huge jolt of inspiration. His Newser post is absolutely brilliant.
Also from now on I’m going to try to finish posts with a song that I’m really digging right now. This one was my favorite song in middle school, and still remains up there. I can never get tired of Gorillaz!
25. My site
Mosey on over to http://cargocollective.com/akogan to see the beginnings of my portfolio! arikogan.com will direct over there instead just as soon as my domain host stops being a jerk.
There is also a link to my resume there. Or follow this link if you’re impatient.
24. Eden
After eight months of fruitlessly searching for my photos from Sasquatch 2011, I finally found them on a long lost external drive!
The festival takes place every memorial day at the Gorge, in Southeastern Washington. The festival is a truly unique experience that I would recommend to anyone - there is fun for all ages. One of my favorite aspects of Sasquatch is the community vibe. In my two years going, I have never seen so much as a disagreement, let alone a fight. Everybody is there for the love of music, wilderness, and human interaction!
Here are a few of my pictures that best capture the spirit of the ‘Squatch.
Late afternoon Flaming Lips set
Major Lazer bringing the noise to the Banana Shack
The sun sets over the main stage as The Decemberists rock out
Two of my friends enjoying the afternoon
Modest Mouse headlining on the third evening
23. What Inspires Me
This should really have been one of my first posts…
Inspiration is all around is, but I tried to fine tune the infinite list and jot down a few of the things that are integral to my aspirations of becoming a writer.
Soccer
photography credit: Beau Trincia
Boom, right at the top of the list. Soccer is more than a game, or even a pastime. Soccer to me is a means of connection. When I travelled to Brazil to visit family a few years ago, I knew no Portuguese. It could be extremely difficult to communicate with the locals who didn’t know English, but whenever I saw people playing soccer, I knew we spoke a common dialect.
Language is just as important in forming connections as it is in allowing for easier interaction, and while I use soccer to ask someone where the nearest gas station is, it does foster a sense of camaraderie on a level that I haven’t found in any other activity. ”The World’s Sport” indeed.
Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
I have a quote pinned on my wall; it’s the first thing I see every day when I wake up.
“In the Beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.”
Douglas Adams late 70s classic is the first of two reason why I wish to pursue writing in the advertising world. His way with words is unparalleled. As insightful as it is hilarious, it was the sort of reading that absolutely flew by in spite of its sometimes dense and extremely philosophical subject matter. My all time favorite line of his? “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”
Arrested Development
My other inspiration for wanting to become a writer. If the quality of my writing ever gets close to the level of Mitchell Hurwitz’, I’ll know I’m at the top. His tale of a wealthy dysfunctional family struggling to stay afloat is every bit as touching as it is laugh out loud hilarious.
Album covers
Some of the most timeless works of creative expression over the past century have been album covers. Designers face the difficult task of creating something both instantly recognizable and relevant to the subject matter of the album. It takes a level of cultural awareness that is extremely relevant to any budding creative. Above is one of my favorites, Return To The 36 Chambers by Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Below is another favorite, Funeral by Arcade Fire.
22. Ordinary Products, Extraordinary Branding
Some products are popular simply thanks to quality craftsmanship. Sriracha hot sauce for example is so well liked, it needs no advertising (or even a professional looking website) to be an extremely popular condiment.
Sometimes however it takes a little more investment in branding to differentiate a product from its competitors. Let’s take a look at five examples.
1. Havaianas
$25 for a pair of plastic flip flops? I wonder how much of that goes towards their admittedly beautiful advertisements..
2. Absolut Vodka
Cheap vodka in an expensive package? Or your ticket to a way of life that those plebes drinking Smirnoff can only dream of?
3. Juicy Couture
Juicy’s must-have hoodie (or so I’m told) costs almost $100. Its material is thin and appearance is pretty ordinary, so I’m stumped on this one. Ladies, any insight?
4. Wrigley 5 Gum
We’re gonna need a word stronger than ‘hyperbole’ for this one. These ads remind me so much of this clip!
5. Every bottled water company, ever.
Bottled water is one of the most glaringly obvious scams in history, and yet the industry is still booming, seeing over $100 billion in revenue per year. Of the many ironies here, my favorite is that many places in the U.S. actually have more stringent standards for tap water than bottling companies have for their “premium” water.
21. Banksy on Advertising
Woah.
Took me awhile to make heads or tails of this. In theory, Banksy is right – publicly displayed messages go to the highest bidder, which isn’t a fair fight. However because the competitive nature of capitalism encourages corporate expression in public places, from the standpoint of succeeding in America, Banksy is wrong to blame advertisers. Enormous amounts of money are paid for the right to display these messages. Painting a mural over an ad on a wall, no matter how beautiful and enriching, is still essentially stealing someone’s hard earned public space. That’s my response from a legal perspective.
The caveat is that corporations being on the same legal grounds as people is total bullshit, so….hmm.
The American Dream is awfully destructive to creative expression.
20. Talkin’ Bout My Generation
Lots of music posts recently, but hey it’s what I love to talk about. One thing I’ve noticed since starting college is just how many people have those instantly recognizable white earbuds on when walking around campus. The whole “playlist for your life” thing is a new trend; I’m not talking about walking around with a boombox either. There’s something very personal about listening to music only you can hear while experiencing the world around you.
So what are we all listening to? What artists and songs define my generation? Here’s my breakdown of five songs that capture what we’re all about. Keep in mind I’m intentionally avoiding the ridiculously cliche songs. I love Blink 182 as much as the next 90s baby, but there’s no need to beat any dead horses.
1. Bonkers - Dizzee Rascal
This collab between British grime legend Dizzee Rascal and American globetrotter DJ Armand Van Helden took pretty much everywhere in the world by storm, but slipped a little bit under the radar here. That’s too bad, because it contains some of the smartest, most poignant lyrics I’ve heard. There’s one line in particular that really hits home: “A heavy bassline is my kind of silence.”
It’s so indicative of our time! This is the age of electronic music, and heavy bass, while nothing new, is more mainstream than ever before.
4. Daylight - Matt & KIm
As we age, our actions turn into habits. The familiar and the unfamiliar become more and more disparate; basically, we establish a definition of “normal”, and tend to eschew everything that falls outside that definition. Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino’s 2009 anthem Daylight speaks to those who still do things just for that joie de vivre. Lines like “Slip and slide on subway grates/these shoes are poor mans ice skates” illustrate the fact that when it comes to the court of public opinion, we just don’t give a fuck! Oh, and speaking of not giving a fuck…
3. Das Racist - Return To Innocence
It’s not a very well known Das Racist song, but to be honest not many people know who Das Racist is. So here are the essential facts:
- Das Racist consists of two rappers, Heems and Kool A.D. who graduated from Wesleyan University, and a hypeman, Dapwell who can talk his freaking head off.
- Das Racist has an absolutely encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture. Expect dozens of references per song, ranging from current events to obscure movie quotes.
- Das Racist employs humor that is as intricate as it is hilarious.
- “Call me Dwight Schrute the way that I eat beats/no beet farm, just pharm beats, smarmy/a motherfucker try to harm me,” a line from one of their most technically sound tracks, Hahahaha JK? demonstrates points two and three.
- If you’re white, equal to or above middle class, and/or above the age of thirty, Das Racist makes fun of you on a fairly regular basis
I really hope Das Racist makes it big, and it looks like they are well on their way. They challenge convention (much more aggressively than Matt & Kim, I might add), which is something my generation makes a living off of.
4. I Need Air - Magnetic Man ft. Angela Hunte
Ok, this one was pretty much mandatory. Dubstep has taken over, and this is the first truly mainstream dubstep hit. It also happens to be fantastically produced and awfully catchy, but that’s another story. Not really a lot else to say about it - the song speaks for itself. This one is all about the music… I’m pretty sure the lyrics are about fellatio?
1. Pursuit of Happiness - Kid Cudi ft. MGMT & Ratatat
If there’s one artist over the past five years that no one can really seem to hate on, it’s Kid Cudi. It’s funny; he’s not really the best at any one thing. Not even close actually. His voice is average and his rhymes aren’t anything to write home about. So why is he such a unifying presence? Read these two lyrics, and then I’ll tell you. The first is from the aforementioned track, the second from Soundtrack To My Life
People told me slow my roll I’m screaming out fuck that
Imma do just what I want lookin’ ahead no turnin’ back
if I fall if I die know I lived it till the fullest
if I fall if I die know I lived and missed some bullets
I’m on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain’t always gonna be gold
I live in a cocoon opposite of Cancun,
where it is never sunny, the dark side of the moon,
so its moving right, I try to shed some light on the man,
not many people of this planet understand.
Get it yet? No? Well sit down and brace yourself, because here it is.
Kid Cudi uniquely appeals to our dark, scared, and unsure side. Remember what I said a few paragraphs up about my generation not having fully formed ideals? Making songs about that insecurity is Cudi’s bread and butter. One minute we’re confident and sure of the workings of the world (first quote), the next we don’t know what the fuck is going on (the latter.) Like I said, it’s nothing new; every generation has a figure like this, but Kid Cudi is ours.
19. Last Day Dream
One of the most incredible stories I have ever seen. And it’s under a minute long.
