Well...

As you can see, I have once again neglected to regularly update this blog. I'm in school right now so it's honestly really difficult to do this when there are more important things going on, like homework, my jobs, and my comic work. BUT, I'm going to try to at least update my tumblr more often, just posting short little reviews of stuff I've read/watched/listened to. You can follow me there at maddlovesmedia.tumblr.com.

July Playlist: Hot Hot Hot

It's the first post of July (besides SGS), and you know what that means! It's playlist time! This month I was inspired by how goshdarn hot it is outside all the time, so I figured I'd beat the heat by making a mix that completely embodies melted popsicles and sleepiness and swimming in a lukewarm kiddie pool, etc. Enjoy! Also, one or two of the songs may be a bit NSFW, so listen at your own risk.

Hot Hot Hot from maddie.weiner on 8tracks Radio.

1. Une Annee Sans Lumiere - Arcade Fire
2. Gasoline - The Airborne Toxic Event
3. Time - Blonds
4. Groovin' - The Young Rascals
5. Taxi Cab - Vampire Weekend
6. The Hours - Beach House
7. Black Treacle - Arctic Monkeys
8. Posters - Youth Lagoon
9. Summer Mood - Best Coast
10. So Lucky - Dana Buoy
11. (Don't Let Them) Cool Off - Peter Bjorn & John
12. Sun - Cat Power
13. I'm So Tired - The Beatles
14. You Make The Sun Fry - Ty Segall
15. Fireflies - Still Corners
16. Teenager - The Thrills
17. Window Blues - Band of Horses
18. Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks
19. At the Beach - The Avett Brothers
20. When Will You Come - Wavves

Something Great... Monday?? 7-1-13

Sorry I'm late, y'all. I'm using SoundCloud this time 'cause I ran out of hosting on my regular site.

Something Great Sunday 6-16-13

Sorry this is a bit late, everyone, I had a very busy Father's Day! You know the drill: Right-click and save for the podcast!

Upstream Color Review

My friend Hannah has been on my case to watch this movie for quite a while, and after hearing an interview with creator Shane Carruth on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn (here's a link to the podcast episode if you'd like to listen to it) I knew I had to stop putting it off. Then, lo and behold! The Netflix gods smiled down on us all and gave us Upstream Color on Instant Streaming. And can I just say, wow?

Note: spoilers ahead.

Something Great Sunday 6-9-13

It's SGS time! Right-click and save to download the podcast!

June Playlist: Summer To Your Heart

It's the first post in June, and guess what! I'm starting a new monthly feature wherein I post a playlist! Since summer starts this month, I'd say it's only appropriate for me to post my summer playlist, which I make every year to listen to in the car as I drive around, windows down, etc. So without further ado, Summer To Your Heart! (Note: Some of the songs on here are NSFW)

Summer To Your Heart from maddie.weiner on 8tracks Radio.

1. Demon To Lean On - Wavves
2. Ceilings - Local Natives
3. Look At the Light - Sin Fang
4. Leyndarmál - Ásgeir Trausti
5. Shadow of Love - She & Him
6. ay shawty 3.0 (feat. lakutis) - ♡kitty♡
7. White Dove - Jenn Grant
8. Ride - Lana Del Rey
9. Sure as Spring - La Luz
10. Try Me Out Sometime - BRONCHO
11. Passaway - Pomegranates
12. Young Lady - Kid Cudi
13. Lord Knows - Dum Dum Girls
14. Wildest Moments - Jessie Ware
15. My Love Won't Wait - Two Gallants
16. The John Wayne - Little Green Cars
17. I Belong In Your Arms - Chairlift
18. Get Lucky [feat. Pharrell Williams] - Daft Punk
19. I Love It - Icona Pop
20. Hands On the Wheel (feat. A$AP Rocky) - Schoolboy Q
21. Bare Feet and Summer Teeth - The Animals at Night
22. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe - Kendrick Lamar
23. In The City - Caveman
24. Put Me to Work - PAPA
25. Midnight City - M83
26. Hard To Find - The National

My Top 8 Animated Music Videos

You know what's awesome? Music videos. Music videos are AWESOME. I love watching VH1 when I wake up in the morning and yeah, a lot of the time the videos are pretty bad or boring or cliche, but sometimes you get really awesome and innovative videos that are essentially works of art (I'm looking at you, Björk). And you guys know me - I love cartoons. So when you combine awesome, innovative music videos with animation? I am SOLD. Here are my eight favorite animated music videos of all time.

8. Peter Bjorn & John - "Young Folks" - Okay, the animation in this video isn't particularly amazing, and it's not exactly plot-heavy, but I just love this video (and this song). It reminds me visually of classic comics like Ghost World and American Splendor, which I obviously LOVE because, y'know, comics. It reminds me of being in high school, too, in a nice, nostalgic way.

7. Fleet Foxes - "The Shrine/An Argument" - This video is so weird in such a cool way. I love the animation style. It feels like something you'd see while tripping in the desert, which, let's be honest, is so Fleet Foxes. It's almost a little disturbing in some parts, and it's super long, but you should still set aside some time to watch it!

6. The White Stripes - "Fell In Love With a Girl" - Okay, who doesn't love this song? It's so freaking fun!! And what a good idea - animating with Legos? Come on. You can't beat that.

5. Gotye - "Save Me" - Aww, Gotye! You guys know how much I love Gotye. This video is so sweet and sincere, and I love the smooth animation and the fact that the character's little squigglys look like bacon. It doesn't hurt that the assembly at the beginning of the video reminds me of The Iron Giant.

4. Daft Punk - Interstella 5555 - Okay, I guess this isn't TECHNICALLY a music video. More accurately, it's a whole album's worth of music videos put together to form a movie, which is kind of way cooler than just a regular old music video. Daft Punk teamed up with Leiji Matsumoto to make this movie as a visual companion to their album Discovery, and it's totally awesome. It's about aliens and corrupt music industrymen and intrepid heroes and you really just need to watch it and experience it for yourself. The video above is for "One More Time", one of the most famous songs from the album and also the beginning of the movie.

3. Britney Spears - "Break The Ice" - Hot damn, do I love this video. I remember seeing it for the first time on VH1 Top 20 Countdown and being completely enthralled, unable to stop watching the video over and over on Youtube. It's so badass! Britney Spears's character is just so cool, and when she makes out with that guy and corrupts his data? Oh man, SO AWESOME. I love this video so much.

2. Kanye West - "Heartless" - Kanye West is a really cool dude, because he has the same love of animated videos that I do. This is my favorite one, because I love the rotoscope animation involved here. The clothes all of the characters wear are so awesome and everything is so colorful. It's like pop art (which is appropriate, considering the Andy Warhol soup can cameo). My favorite part is the smoke off of Kanye's cigarette. For some reason, it's strikingly beautiful to me. Also Kanye's girlfriend's rainbow dress that she wears in Kanye's apartment. Where can I get that dress?

1. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." - At first it was hard to pick just one Gorillaz video, but then I realized that there's really no competition. "Feel Good Inc." is not only a fantastic music video, but also just a great song in general. Oddly, this video TERRIFIED ME when it first came out (I was only like 11 though, I was skittish) but I got over it eventually. I'm a huge Gorillaz fan now, and if you like animated videos, you should do yourself a favor and watch all of theirs. The characters - Noodle, 2D, Russel, and Murdoc - are so recognizable, with their own distinct personalities, and I will pretty much love them forever. Yay animated bands! YAY ANIMATED VIDEOS!!

The Great Gatsby Review

 I've been procrastinating on writing this review, and do you want to know why? Because I love The Great Gatsby. I love it so much that I was ultimately disappointed with what the movie ended up being. It had so much potential! Such promise! But under the direction of Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby is just as gilded as the society that Fitzgerald tried to criticize in his original work. It's gilded and gaudy, and the gold is flaking off.
Spoilers ahead.

Relish Review

Image source

So, confession: I'm not really a food person. Now, I know being a "foodie" is a relatively new thing in America, so I'm not a weirdo for not being one. And don't get me wrong! I may "eat to live" instead of "live to eat", but I won't shovel just any old thing into my mouth! I love eating, especially things I've never eaten before, but you probably won't ever hear me raving about some meal I ate at some fancy restaurant or anything like that. My true appreciation for food is an aesthetic one: for example, I'm not a huge hamburger fan, but look at the rainbow of colors in a good hamburger - red tomato, green lettuce, brown patty, purple onion, yellow cheese - and TELL ME that doesn't look awesome. Since I love the way food looks, this book, Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, by Lucy Knisley, is PERFECT for me. And perfect for you, too.
Note: Spoilers ahead.

Mosquito Review

It's been a while since we've heard anything from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs! I remember when the album art for "Mosquito" was released and everyone thought it was just a joke. That weird little baby still makes me deeply uncomfortable, which is a weird contrast to the actual music. Mosquito is echo-y and subdued, even on the tracks when it goes the hardest. It feels like a dark, weird movie with a very unusual plot structure - starts out with its climax, and the rest of the film is where you have to deal with the emotional aftermath. But I like that. I like the whole atmosphere of Mosquito. I like that pretty much every song is in minor key, and I like that it's drenched in reverb. I like it!

Something Great Sunday 5-12-13

Look who's back! IT'S ME! Something Great Sunday is now a PODCAST! Download it and listen to it!
Right-click and save!

Something Great Sunday 2-17-13

Hey guys! How was your Valentine's Day? Note: I may be single, but my mother bought me a coffee maker, so who's really succeeding here? (Hint: it's me.) Alright, here we go.

D.A.I.S.Y. Rage Review

Source

Although she's been around for a while, Kitty (formerly known as Kitty Pryde) has only just started receiving the amount of acclaim she rightfully deserves. She first got noticed when she worked with Riff Raff on "Orion's Belt", and her track "Okay Cupid" got her even further recognized, especially on Tumblr. Now, with the release of her new EP, D.A.I.S.Y. Rage, Kitty is finally becoming known, and I absolutely love it. There's just something about Kitty that is so sincere and endearing that makes her clever rhymes and sparkly beats irresistible.

Something Great Sunday 2-10-13

Woooo Grammy's!!! I'm sitting here with a bunch of my friends watching The Black Keys perform and soaking it in guys, soaking it in. Let's get to the list!

Something Great Sunday 2-3-13

Woooo!! It's February! I don't know about you, but I think January was a real drag, and I'm excited for it to be over. We draw ever closer to spring, my friends. I'm posting this late because I didn't want to miss the halftime show at the Superbowl, and I'm glad I didn't, because...

maddlovesmedia.tumblr.com!

Hey guys! I decided to make a companion tumblr for this blog, where I could repost media news I think is cool. If you like this blog, you should follow that one as well! I also post links to my posts on here, so if you like tumblr better you can just follow that and not miss out on anything! The link is the title of this post. Go!

Something Great Sunday 1-27-13

Sooo, I don't have ten things this week for SGS. I've been really really busy with school, which means I haven't had time to really watch anything or read anything. It kinda sucks, to be honest! But I did do a few things, so here we go.

Something Great Sunday 1-20-13

Hey everybody! I hope you enjoyed my shitty Les Mis review earlier this week. Later I'm going to be writing a shitty Django Unchained review! And then hopefully I'll get back to writing actual good reviews, immediately after I watch the movie/listen to the album/read the book, etc., LIKE I'M SUPPOSED TO. It's taking me a really long time to get settled into this new semester, but that isn't stopping me from wasting time with awesome media, like...

Les Misérables Review

You know you just watched an emotionally powerful movie when there's a significant difference between your emotional states at the beginning and end. Case in point: when I sat down to watch Les Misérables with my friends Maddie and Patrick and Maddie's sister, we were cheerful and excited. When the credits started rolling, I looked to my right to find Maddie curled into a ball in her seat, sobbing - literally sobbing - and as I drove home from the theater, I fought back tears as I belted out Anne Hathaway's rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream." Les Mis certainly evokes a strong reaction in its viewers, although the emotions it draws out, at least for me, aren't particularly lingering or even deep-rooted. They were kind of like the emotional equivalent of indulging in a really fancy desert at a restaurant: a complete release of inhibitions, and maybe something which you haven't done in a while but which makes you feel immensely better afterwards. It's probably not the best thing you could've eaten, but goddamn did you enjoy yourself while you were eating it, and sometimes that's all that matters! Despite all the really depressing stuff that happens in the film, Les Mis is straight-up fun to watch.

Spoilers ahead.

Something Great Sunday 1-13-13

Yay for the first SGS of the year! I would have done one a week ago but I had just moved back into my dorm room and it was, in a word, HECTIC. But let's talk great things.