GN-001 Gundam Exia - Model

When I went to Japan, I picked up a limited edition model of one of the 00 Gundam sets.
It's the Master Grade 1/100 Gundam Exia Ignition Mode, and I must say it looks like quite the beauty. Still very much a work in progress. I'm not going to go all out with sharpie line details this time, I don't want to make it look too cluttered with all the lines, especially since there isn't a need to go in and paint it unlike the Dynames model I made a few months ago.

I'll post progress on a somewhat regular basis during the assemblage, so far only parts one, two and three have been completed and I'm just waiting for the right time to get started on four. After that, the top portion of the body should be completed with functioning arms. Still, I have to say that this is the best quality model I have ever had the pleasure to build so far. No need to paint it (which is always a relief) and the articulation of the joints and the fact that it LIGHTS UP. I'm not going to bore anyone with a review on it's functions just yet, that can wait till I complete it.

Paramore - Riot: It's amazing what turns out not to suck after all

So this is out of left field, but I decided to write a review for Paramore's 2007 album, Riot. I originally wanted to do an album review of Cheeseburger's self titled album, but this caught me completely off guard. Now, I have heard of Paramore before, with their rise in popularity and the fact that Hayley Williams is kinda cute without the excessive make up (I AM NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT THIS) but what ultimately kept me away from this band previously was how they were of the pop rock genre like their deranged cousin Green Day. And allow me to clarify this with you, the way I feel about Green Day is the way I feel about walking into a house condemned because of asbestos. I just don't want to have any part of that rotting piece of shit.

But since I had access to a foreign music on my sister's iPod and had to sit through a car trip, I decided to give them a shot. And I'll tell you now, I actually rather like this album. Williams comes off decent with vocals, I don't really hear anything to unique with the sound but I'm not repulsed nor am I thinking "Oh, this sounds like Avril/ Kelly Clarkson/ etc.). But interestingly enough, it felt like I was listening to the opposite of Lady GaGa. I'm just going on gut feelings with this one, further listening may be required to prove or disprove this theory.

The album starts strong with two songs that I'm relatively certain I have heard several times on the radio ("For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic"/"That's What You Get (When You Let Your Heart Win)") followed up by "Hallelujah" to fill space. Not really wow'd by that track, it's a three star song. Then we have "Misery Business" and that takes us out of 3 and brings things to around a 3.5. Around this time, I started to get that familiar vibe I get from most pop rock songs and albums. The excess in rage and bitterness about mishaps in relationships, lines like "you were the only one for me" then followed by some curd about how it was all thrown away or went to waste, all with the fast pace rock music in the background. Despite this, I continued to listen.

We have a couple of OK songs till we get to "Let the Flames Begin". When I first heard this track, all this talk about burning down houses reminded me of the Used and Yellowcard. I was pleased by how they threw that in, although it reeked of teenage rebellion and escaping. That reeking reminded me of Green Day. After that, we have a series of OK and so so songs till "Fences", which I rather enjoyed. It focuses on how the successful celebrities are destroyed by their own success and all that crap that comes with it (thanks Hollywood). After that, we have the last track and the album is done.

Riot received some really mixed reviews, some people like Gareth Dobson from Drowned in Sound said:

"At 38 minutes long, it's mercifully brief, but still manages to feel like a double album for those who endure it. That is, those who don't manage to forget that it's on the stereo at all. People, get your pop-punk thrills somewhere else. At least somewhere where there are actual thrills to be had."

I can't say I disagree fully with this. The topics of these songs, the crappy boyfriends, the wanting for love, the overall sense of angst and rebellion, all that has been done already by Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch. We could use a hell of a lot less of that. But despite people like Dobson, we have Stylus Magazine giving the album a B+ (which I assume is close to a 4 out of 5) for it's focus on the sound.

4 songs on this album have already become singles, the album has gone double platinum, it's no surprise that Paramore is huge. I am tempted to listen to their other albums, but I'm terrified I'm going to find shit. This is still the pop rock genre and thus, I am walking in a mine field. It is a very strong chance that I can listen to their newer stuff and find myself completely repulsed at how they progressed as a band over the past three years since they released this. But after glancing over the positive scores for the album, perhaps it won't kill me. I like this album, not an all-time favorite perhaps only a I like this for the first few weeks favorite. If you don't feel ashamed listening to what the masses do or what they play on the radio, then it can't kill you. After all, I'm still here.

Although Green Day still sucks and they can all die in a ditch somewhere.

Review from Drowned in Sound:
http://drownedinsound.com/releases/10271/reviews/2133465-?search

Review from Stylus Magazine:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/paramore/riot.htm

Sweepstakes

And here we have another completed addition to the Plastic Beach series, I present to you: Sweepstakes. After hearing all the various noises and sounds that are featured in the song, my mind created a sort of image that is created with several parts acting as one. This is much like the same logic used to create Some Kind Of Nature, multiple pieces acting together. I have thought to present this piece much like that of my Speech series, incorporating various layers, one over the other, to create a full image.

I also thought about the idea of a Sweepstakes acting sort of like an analogy for life and death, which is why I placed the skull in the middle. When we die, is it like our number has been drawn and we run on up to the front? Is death the ultimate prize we wait and wait to win in life or perhaps is there something after all that? Clearly you can imagine that my musings of life and the afterlife have heavily inspired this idea for Sweepstakes.

Unlike the other pieces, which have been graffiti/grunge, I decided to go with something a little more precise and cleaned up, although it carries that same chaotic theme with the repetition of numbers and lines. I've been told it resembles the designs of the 90's film, The Matrix, and I suppose they have a point. With the numbers, the greens, the transparent digital appeal. It's sort of odd that it turned out that way to be honest, I was thinking of doing this piece as an old stock ticker rather than an analog clock. Although I have to say I am happy that I chose the clock over the ticker.

Another influence for this piece is the concrete poetry of Ferdinand Kriwet, whose work I discovered in y Design Stories class last year. That is what inspired the circle of numbers floating out in the middle of the piece, a sort of rhythm and repetition that creatures the illusion of motion. I'll show you a sample of his work below:


This makes 5 out of 15 down! It's been a long way from March when I started all this but I'm finally a third done! Sweepstakes definately help break up some of the mental barriers in my head and I've concocted new ideas for the remainder of the series. I should be able to make at least one more piece for Plastic Beach by the end of the summer.

Rhinestone Eyes: Work in Progress

Ah, to get back into the Plastic Beach series with some fresh ideas. I tell you what, I've got a good feeling about the rest of these. I've been touching up some of my other "finished" pieces like Pirate Jet after discovering that there were some much deserved touch ups to work out. What we have here is Rhinestone Eyes, or what will become Rhinestone Eyes in the future. Ended up tracing off a trace to get the bodies down, but as far as I'm concerned it's not like it's theft. I'm merely utilizing tools that I have the good fortune to use (oh, if only I gave Illustration courses another chance).

Here's hoping I don't blow it.

Kele - The Boxer: OH GOD WHY

Back again from my little trip and I'm starting things off with an album review. This one is the solo album done by Kele Okereke the singer of one of my favorite bands Bloc Party. I heard he was doing a solo thing, so because his previous work didn't scare me off (quite the opposite actually) I decided to listen to it. I was later horrified by what I heard. I didn't finish this album, I couldn't bring myself to listen to all of it since it was just so drastically different from what I expected and what I deem "good."

Now I know the first rule of solo projects, NEVER COMPARE IT TO THE ARTIST'S GROUP WORK. And yes, I do tend to tread on this rule because my expectations for Kele are also my expectations for Bloc Party. There are some songs on this album that do not completely repulse me, like the single Tenderoni and Rise. The lyrics are good, he has always been good with words in his songs. It's just the sound of the music that bothers me the most. All electro-metrosexual pop indie bullshit and not a single instrument to remedy it. Now, I don't mind electro sounds or anything but I do not think they should be the sole sound coming in. It needs complementary assistance, be it the guitar/drums/bass of Bloc Party of something else entirely.

I personally do not approve of Kele's move here, going solo is far from a good idea in my mind. However, I am quite biased seeing as how I am quite a Bloc Party fan. I do however recommend that if you are a fan of Bloc Party, at least giving it a try first. Apparently, some people actually like this a lot instead people like me who find some tracks OK and the rest total shit.

Rather Inactive

My apologies for not updating in some time, end of the year and everything and to make matters worse I will be leaving the country in a few days time. I will be staying in Japan for a good month or so, soaking up the culture and living it up for a month. I fear that this lack of activity will continue for longer.

Plastic Beach has come to a grinding halt, a lack of motivation and a lack of inspiration I'm afraid. But don't you worry, I'm going to work on it and hopefully finish it by the end of the year. I'll probably rework some other pieces as well, such as "Pirate Jet." A shame that I'm not being paid to do these. I haven't done much with other series, but Speech has some additions in the works.

Music is great still, but I haven't really written any reviews for any of the new material I've obtained. (Not that people really give three shits about things like opinions, but hey I try anyway)

I might post a few things here, but if I do not I'll see you all in a month.

Some Kind Of Nature

The latest addition to the Plastic Beach Series, "Some Kind Of Nature". This was a fun one to do, but the idea was hard to grasp. There were a lot of ways to do this but I didn't want to make this play off the words too much by using a scene in nature (grass and trees) or personalities (happy, sad, etc.) which left me with using abstract imagery. Each different piece of the image incorporates a visualization of a different sound or beat used in the song. Everything save for Lou Reed's face that I repeated over and over. No, that's just show that this image is the song he guest-sang on for the album. Not the easiest thing to grasp from just looking at it, that's why I'm explaining it.

So, four out of fifteen out of the way, not too bad. Although ideas are getting harder and harder to come by for some reason. Hopefully my previous sketches can give me a hand of what to do next. On this note, I feel that I've run into a creative snag with everything I've been working on. Ugh. Here's for creative solutions in the future.