Summer in the City: Recap & the Beginning of my #Lifeofanintern

I think I have a little explaining to do on my absence from the world wide web. Most of it can be explained by the fact that my house has terrible wifi and my computer refuses to connect. The second half of that has to do with the fact that I have an internship with a CNN show called "The Next List" (view the Blog here) that can be seen at 2 pm ET on Sundays (shameless plug).

When I was thinking about my plans for the summer I never imagined I would be here. I thought I would be working as a cashier in my local grocery store again and potentially studying for the GREs. I never imagined I would have this opportunity. For once in my life I consider myself lucky. 

I would not have received this internship without the amazing support from the T. Howard Foundation. T. Howard seeks to place students of diverse backgrounds in internships in the media industry. I have been wanting to blog about my orientation with them since it happened in the beginning of June, but the aforementioned circumstances have kept me busy.  Let me just say that it was two and a half wonderful days where I met some amazing people learned more then I could ever have hoped about the industry, networking, and general business etiquette. It really made me think (and I am still thinking) about the kind of life do want to have when I leave college and what that means in terms of a career. All real life, pretty scary things to think about. There is so much about the media industry that I do not know about, so many jobs I could have that I have never even heard of yet and orientation opened my eyes to the numerous possibilities that are out there. After leaving I feel a bit more prepared to take on the world; although I am still partially in denial that such a thing as the "real world" exists. 

Me in my fancy work clothes

Nevertheless I started my internship about a week and a half ago. Things that were so scary on the first day (like remembering everyone's names) have become easy by now and I am getting the hang of working in an office. CNN is a lot more casual then I expected it to be. I was afraid of this huge corporate environment where I would be a lowly intern sent to fetch coffee in a scene not unlike one from The Devil Wears Prada. However, that is not the case at all here. Everyone in my department knows my name and I have worked with each one individually. On my second day I was calling people and looking for a location where we could shoot -not your typically intern tasks. The other intern and I even get to work on our own project as something that we can take away with us. I have only been here a short time and I have learned so much already. 
I have already started thinking about changing my schedule for next year so I can take more production classes. I want to learn more. I want to take the skills I have learned in the classroom and continue applying them in real life situations. I am not sure yet what I want to do with my life, but I know I am taking steps in the right direction to make my dreams (whatever they may be) come true. 

I Think You Should Know Thursday

Since this is the first official Thursday of summer and it has been a scorcher here in New York and because I have been bad and have not blogged in awhile (reason for that upcoming), I give you, not one, not two, but FIVE songs  you should know for what I like to call ITYSKT: Summer Songs.
1.) Summertime Sadness- Lana Del Rey
My friend posted this song on facebook about a month ago and I kept looking for the opportune moment to share it...looks like I missed that moment because the original is no longer on youtube. I did find a live recording that is close to the album recorded one. I love this song because it speaks of goodbyes that inevitably come with the changing of the seasons. When I first heard it I thought it was mournful and yet beautiful at the same time.

"Kiss me hard before you go

Summer time sadness
I just wanted you to know
That baby you're the best
I've got that summertime, summertime sadness"

2.) Summer in the City-Regina Spektor

I know I already shared Regina Spektor recently, but this song is appropriate for a number of reasons. First, I have been spending most of my summer in New York City so it is a song that always comes to mind during my time here (again, more on that later). Second, it is perfect and truthful and for me always brings up memories of hot, sweaty, summer days like today. It also expresses a lot of things I have been feeling lately like how a city can be so big and make you feel so alone.

"Summer in the city, I'm so lonely lonely lonely 
I've been hallucinating you, babe, at the backs of other women 
And I tap on their shoulder and they turn around smiling 
But there's no recognition in their eyes 
Oh summer in the city means cleavage cleavage cleavage 
And don't get me wrong, dear, in general I'm doing quite fine 
It's just when it's summer in the city, and you're so long gone from the city 
I start to miss you, baby, sometimes"

3.) Youth without Youth- Metric 
You may recognize Metric from the soundtrack of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World where their song "Black Sheep" was sung by Envy Adams (Brie Larson). They are one of the few bands that can get away with being fronted by a female because Emily Haines is equal parts sweetness and attitude. While this song is not necessarily about summer, it is a song about playing outside and watching your youth slip away- two things I think summer is all about. It also has a feeling of nostalgia in bringing up song titles from the past.

"Hangman we played blind man's
Bluff til they stopped the game Youth without
Youth born without time, Youth without

Youth, can you read my mind?"

4.) Escape in the Afternoon- French Films

How could I not love a band with a name like this? I found this band as a result of youtube stumbling (try it, you won't regret it) and I was instantly hooked by their sunny sound. This is one of those songs that should have a music video with teenagers doing fun things like swimming and running and dancing and kissing and just generally making you jealous that your life is not as awesome.

"Oh take me

Anywhere the sun shines

Away the harms of mankind off my shoulders

 'Cause anything that we were meant to be

Was lost but I want to escape in the afternoon

To see the youth run through my hands"

5.) Good Vibrations- Beach Boys 

For me any summer playlist is not complete without the Beach Boys. They are the quintessential summer band; you can feel the sunshine oozing from their every note. Everyone knows their music so they do not really belong on this list, but I could not help myself. I like all their songs. I had trouble just picking one, but for some reason "Good Vibrations" is always the first to pop into my head when I head out to the beach. Plus, it is a classic.

"I love the colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
I hear the sound of a gentle word
On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me excitations"

You're Either on the Bus...Or Off

I feel like the universe is trying to send me a signal. The other day on my train ride into the city the girl next to me was reading A Game of Thrones. It happened again on the subway. Two of my good friends and my boyfriend are reading the book series as well. My dad is obsessed with the HBO show. And me? I just feel like I am missing out on something.
A Song of Ice and Fire, the series written by George R. R. Martin, and the show "Game of Thrones" have become one of the most talked about series in awhile. Usually I am part of major cultural phenomena. If you have read any of my blog or follow me on twitter you know what a diehard Harry Potter fan I was from the very beginning. I devoured The Hunger Games trilogy. I jumped on the Twilight bandwagon...before jumping right off. I have even perused 50 Shades of Grey before refusing to read it. I do not know what it is about (A) Game of Thrones that has aliened me so.

Girl power all the way.

After everyone could not stop talking about the first season of the show my boyfriend and I watched it. Watching it late left me open to spoilers like the deaths of major characters-but it was my own fault. However, it did take away some of the shock and awe of the series for me. I have seen maybe two episodes of the current season and again I find myself in no hurry to catch up. Do not get me wrong, I really like it, but I am not an avid fan like most others. I love Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen whose character portrays both power and vulnerability in equal measures and the adorable and sometimes identical looking Stark (half) brothers. Even everyone's favorite character, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister I find amusing, but not as rave worthy as everyone else seems to believe. I just cannot seem to agree with the masses on this one.
 I somehow feel like I missed the boat. I know it is never too late to get into a series; if I just picked up a book or started watching I could be caught up in no time, but I hate being so far behind. I despise having friends ask, "what page are you on?" and when you tell them they shake their heads knowingly and say, "oh just wait what happens next." Even if they do not tell you anything it tarnishes the first reading/watching experience which I believe should remain pure.

Yes, I'm talking to you J.K.

Another part of me just does not want to read it solely because everyone else is; maybe it is the hipster in me. I just cannot believe what a big deal Game of Thrones has become. I feel like everyone is either reading or watching it. I know it is not to the same extent, but this is what it must have been like to be a non-Harry Potter fan during the height of Pottermainia. It is like I do not want to give in and let the rest of the world know they are right. Even though I have watched a season of the show and read two chapters of the first book.
I will probably continue to watch the second season and maybe get up to the point where I can actually watch the third season live. Until then I will contemplate why I do not want to be part of another fandom. I have given my heart to authors so many times and it has been exhausting. I have devoted myself to them and in return they have killed some of my favorite characters, made horrible movie adaptations, and then stopped writing the series and moved on. I take it personally. My heart cannot take it any more. I think it is time I sit this round out.  

I Think You Should Know Thursday

This Thursday the artist I think you should know is New York indie darling Regina Spektor. She is one of those artists that you have probably already heard without knowing it. Her songs have been featured in films such as (500) Days of Summer, In Bruges, and (the awful) My Sister's Keeper as well as on shows such as Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, and How I Met Your Mother. And while she is one of the more famous artists I have profiled on a Thursday, I think more people should know about her.
Spektor is one of the many artists that have been introduced to me by my younger sister. At first I was wary, but soon I became hooked on her unique sound. Spektor is known for her vocal aerobatics. She has this way of  adding vocal jumps and stops as well as beatboxing in songs which make her music unlike any you have heard or will hear. Her songs are also upbeat for the most part and extremely catchy.
"Hotel Song" is one of my favorite songs from her 2006 album "Begin to Hope." I chose to show this song rather than others because I found an incredible a capella version of the song on YouTube that was just begging to be shared. I feel like the lyrics to this song are not as deep as some of her others, but I used to sing this song with my sister all of the time so there are good memories associated with it.

"Come in, come in

Come into my world I've got to show

Show show you

Come into my bed

I've got to know

 Know know you"

"Laughing With" from the album "Far" (2009) is one of Spektor's more serious songs and one I really like because of its message. It does not feature her usual vocal stylings, but instead her strong deep vocals provide a backdrop for a thought provoking song.

"No one laughs at God

When the cops knock on their door

And they say 'we've got some bad news, sir'

No one's laughing at God

When there's a famine or fire or flood

But God could be funny

At a cocktail party listening to a God themed joke"

For some reason I am having an exceedingly difficult time deciding what songs to share because she has so many great ones. All the artists I have shared do too, but for some reason this one is trickier than the others. If you like what I have posted I also recommend listening to "Us," one of her most popular songs and "All the Rowboats," the single off her new album "What We Saw From the Cheap Seats."

Shut Up & 'Drive'

I have finally seen the most talked about movie...of last year. I always seem to come to the party a bit late. I try to see every movie in theaters, but being a college student I have to pick and choose my battles. So when I saw the "why wasn't it nominated for any Oscars" film Drive (dir. Nicholas Winding Refn) on Netflix, I knew I had to watch it.

There's no Miss Daisy in this film

The best words I can use to describe Drive are sleek and sexy, two words that could also be used to describe the film's star Ryan Gosling. There was something very modern about the film which mostly comes from the editing style and the music. The overlaying of images and dissolves from one scene to another gave the film a fluid movement that helped transition from one scene to the next. The editing style set the pacing for the movie; even though it was an action film, it moved at a slow and steady pace creating a great build up and delivering the violence when necessary. Drive just felt different from many films I have seen before.

And while it feels different, between the pink lipstick-esq credit font and music, there is something old school about Drive as well. The music was for me the best part of the film. The songs were so different from the rest of the film, soft, melodic, but with a powerful beat. The beat is what made each song work so well, there was something driving (see what I did there?) each scene, directing the unrelenting motion. With the music there was a feeling that the scenes, especially the ones of Gosling driving on L.A. highways alone at night, had gone on forever and would continue to go on. They created a great sense of contrast,  between the scenes and the images. As diverse as the song choices were they all seemed to work well in adding to the mood; through the music L.A. became a place that seemed like it came from a mix of a city from a Japanese video game and a film noir.
I loved Gosling who made a seamless transition from pretty boy love interest to dark antihero. His portrayal of the Driver, though one that required little actual speaking, was strong. His ability to portray his feelings through grunts and glances was powerful and despite the relatively strong cast he carried the film. I still really cannot decide how I feel about Carey Mulligan. I want to like her, really I do, but there is something about her that I cannot place that I just do not like. I feel like she is too stiff sometimes, maybe not believable enough. It is why I worry so much about her playing Daisy Buchanan. She too had few lines, but I felt that her performance was more one note than Gosling's. 

Overall I really liked Drive as a complete film. The one thing that marred my experience was my internet connection. Being away from school and unlimited wifi is difficult. At home there always seems to be a problem with the connection. And it was like my internet seemed to know when the best and most suspenseful parts of the film were coming. Opening scene with Gosling driving while listening to basketball? Buffering. Waiting for Standard outside of the Pawn Shop? Buffering. Hotel room with Blanche and the phone rings? Well, you get the idea. It made the viewing experience very frustrating because I had to keep refreshing the page and then had to put myself back into the action. I feel like watching the film in a theater would have been a much better experience, not just because of the lack of loading time, but also because the sound and picture would have been much bigger and better. 

I am definitely glad I watched Drive though and can now count myself among the legions of the outraged that this film did not get nominated for more awards. 

Review: Needs milk  

Great Gatsby!: Trailer Time

The trailer for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby was released tonight-on Entertainment Tonight of all places -and I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed. I know airing the trailer on television probably gained it more attention than just solely putting it online and hoping the word got out, but did Nancy O'Dell really have to feel the need to talk over some parts? I am more of an Access Hollywood girl myself anyway.
I wanted chills. I wanted squeals. Instead I got contemplation and nervousness. Will this movie be as good as I want it to be? I have seen the trailer five times and I still cannot say.
Check out the trailer on Cinemablend (one of my go to movie sites) below:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Great-Gatsby-Trailer-Arrives-Online-31058.html
The problem I had with the trailer is just one: Tobey Maguire. His voice over narration reminded me too much of Spider-Man (2002). What he is saying is different, but the inflection is all the same. Don't believe me? Watch the other trailer and compare.

Personally, I think Tom Hiddleson would make a fantastic Nick Carraway especially after his turn as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris. I always saw Carraway as Fitzgerald himself, a man on the outside, always looking in and wanting to be a part of a world he did not quite understand. It is part of the reason why I could not take Hiddleson seriously in The Avengers; he seems too much like a snide English gentleman than a real villain.
Another problem I have with the trailer is the music. It's so modern. I hear auto-tune. The 1920's were all about jazz. How can you make a movie about the 1920's and not use jazz music? The second song snippet I liked a bit better because of the lyrics about love being madness, but the opening song I did not feel fit at all. Someone on twitter said it seems a bit modern and I tend to agree. At least for now.
The best part of the trailer is Leonardo DiCaprio. I could think of no one better than him to play the infamous Gatsby, a man of infinite charm, wealth, and loneliness. Sounds a bit like Leo himself. Leo is shown in the trailer as an almost Kane-esq figure: looming above the party, but not joining in on the action. A man everyone seems to know about, but no one actually seems to know. He even looks a little bit like Orson Wells.
For me the jury is still out on Carey Mulligan. I wanted Michelle Williams to play Daisy because I think she encompasses the vulnerably and passion that makes up that character. Although, I do love Mulligan so I think once I see more of her performance I will grow to like her more. I am not sure what other female character is in the trailer, I believe it was Jordan, but I really liked her energy and look.
The 1920's is one of my favorite decades so I hope the costumes and sets will be as fantastic as the little the trailer showed. I want it to be like Boardwalk Empire, but better. No one does over-the-top quite like Baz so I think it will be good. I hope he pulls out all the stops, just like in Moulin Rogue! 
This is one of my favorite books of all time so I just hope that it comes out right. Only time will tell. I cannot wait until Christmas, for more than one reason now.

I Think You Should Know Thursday

This Thursday I think you should know a song, but for many it is a song that you already know: "Hallelujah." Many may know it, but do you know the original? Or have you only heard one of the numerous cover versions?
The song was first written and performed by Leonard Cohen for his album "Various Positions" (1984). I first heard the song in the movie Shrek where it was performed by Rufus Wainwright. "Hallelujah" seems to be one of the most covered songs, performed by everyone from Bob Dylan to Paramore in their live album and almost everyone from any reality singing show ever.
It is understandable why singers would want to cover this song. It is beautiful and evocative, with imagery of both love and the Bible. Depending on the emotion of the singer it can sound equally romantic or desperate, like a cry for help. Depending on the instrumentation the preference of the singer the song can have a simple piano (like the well known Jeff Buckley version) or a more widely ranging set of instruments.
Here are a couple of versions to compare and contrast:
1.) Leonard Cohen
You cannot compare covers without listening to the original. This is not my favorite version of the song, it seems too spoken and choppy. Not to knock on the original, the man did write the song, but I believe others  have performed it better.

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to a kitchen chair

She broke your throne, and she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah"

...........................................

"Maybe there’s a God above

But all I’ve ever learned from love

Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you

It’s not a cry you can hear at night

It’s not somebody who has seen the light

It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah"

2.) Rufus Wainwright

I had a really hard time deciding if I should share this version or Jeff Buckley's. Both are very emotional and have the potential to make you cry, but Rufus is the one that made me fall in love with song in the first place. I think the song fit into Shrek perfectly (the soundtrack was great overall in that film). Definitely check out Buckley's version too. Just not if you are feeling sad.

3). Imogen Heap
I like this version of the song because it is so different from the others. Besides the fact that it is sung by a female, the yearning of the lyrics comes through most clearly in this song. Without the background instruments Heap's voice shines. I think this version is simple, but beautiful.