ahhhh not peeta!!
the advertising for these movies has been en pointe. take a look at the Capitol Couture website. so much fashion! i adore that they've added sheer class and elegance - it makes it even scarier that it's coming from an evil empire. shivers!
also, take a look at these propaganda posters:
they're beautiful AND the men are buff and hot and defeated. truly "viral" marketing at it's best.
i love Lana for the same reasons most people hate her. she's been lambasted for being a construct, but i find that the most fascinating thing about her. she's been accused of being morose and sappy, but again, i find it refreshing that a "pop star" isn't happy. i like that she's moody and dark, and willing to sing truthfully about heinously fucked up relationships. it's a different sort of attitude towards men than we've seen from other pop starlets, and definitely a departure from the "girl power" bombast from the likes of Beyoncé. there is a place for "girl power" - but it doesn't have a place in Lana Del Rey's world, which makes her so intriguing. women are full of self-hatred, defeat, and pain. i see nothing wrong with a woman finally approaching the mic with that pain and instead of being angry, misandrist, or bitter about it, accepting the pain with a casual apathy.
we can't be everything to everyone at all times, like Beyoncé. we can't be crazy and fun all the time like Miley. we can't be enthralling and arty all the time like Gaga. but i find i can be Lana at any time - that casual apathy that lies just below the surface, that i can call up at any moment. doing destructive things isn't necessarily a sign of self-destruction. think about all of the ways we destroy ourselves and others on any given day. we're not capable to have love, or give love, or know what love is, because we're simply human. yet, we're confronted with it every day, and demand it of the people around us. then we recoil in horror when it actually shows up in an unabashed form.
on her latest album, Ultraviolence, Lana's songwriting has definitely evolved, and is much more richly textured. there are no huge standouts, like Born to Die, but it's a solid record overall. from the sardonic, sarcastic lyrics of Brooklyn Baby, to her heartbreaking version of Nina Simone's The Other Woman, Ultraviolence takes a tour through domestic violence, female self-hatred, and adultery. it's that darker side that people find self-indulgent, but i find cathartic.
even when Lana demands Money Power Glory, it's with a very specific, very honest confidence. it's the same monstrous character as the women who inhabit her other songs: demanding, because they deserve it, but ultimately broken by their own ambition, and forced to recognize that they'll destroy anyone in their way to get what they want. and, with the past that that character of a woman has had, it's unsurprising that it would be at whatever cost to gain her money, power, and glory. we like to tell people in america that they can do whatever they want, if they only work hard enough. that we're in a meritocracy. which simply isn't true. so, again, i find this album incredibly honest, stripped of any preconceived notions of what a woman should sing about, or be like. it also helps that the sound is baked in the southern california sun, full of warmth and laziness with a healthy dose of heady smog. i hear one woman's singular voice, her character, who is mysterious, complex, vapid, wild, free, trapped, vain, confident, afraid, defeated, triumphant, and a mixed up ball of emotions and inconsistencies. which, isn't that the most honest portrayal that anyone could hope from a pop star?
Uber
MUNI
cars
people
pilates
rolling out muscles
brussel sprouts
America
cigarettes
klonopin
lexapro
drugs, in general
alcohol
dogs
my hair
makeup
nail polish
flirting
making the effort. any effort.
ROBERT MONTGOMERY WORKS IN A POETIC AND MELANCHOLIC POST-SITUATIONIST TRADITION
and i'm kind of in love. i once had a professor tell me i had a very poetic view of the world, and not to lose it. so when i see someone who can express that poeticism in a way that isn't maudlin, or melodramatic, i have a high appreciation for it. also, i think there is a fair bit of humor in these works, too, but maybe that's just the way i'm viewing them.
it was very hard to chose just a few. check his work out. all images are unceremoniously stolen from his website.
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watch some behind-the-scenes footage:
all photos unceremoniously stolen from the web, and belong to Jill Greenberg.
2. If you could travel to any city in the world tonight, where would you wake up tomorrow?
this is SUPES HARD, YO. kneejerk reaction was Tokyo. but i've BEEN to Tokyo, so i feel like i should choose somewhere i haven't been. meh, i give up. Tokyo.
3. What's your favorite blog? Is there a regular feature on said blog that you LOVE?
this makes me a bad blogger, but i don't read very many blogs. my favorites are my friend's blogs: Sarah with We Hope for More and Shari over at Objects Around the Sun. most of the time, it's Dlisted and Valleywag for me.
4. What songs are on your "I'm gonna clean the shit out of my home!" playlist? (Or your "I'm cookin' up a storm in here!" playlist.)
A LOT of Robyn. some Iggy Azalea, some Rhianna. A LOT of Beyoncé. is it anti-feminist that i listen to almost exclusively female artists whilst doing domestic tasks?
5. Do you have a fav podcast? Do tell.
for sure the Savage Lovecast by Dan Savage. that man is a genius.
6. Without worrying about whether you could "pull it off" how would you cut and/or color your hair?
pink. or lavender. i'd also straighten the hell out of it, and do the Vidal Sassoon 5 point bob.
7. Have you ever lied about reading a book that you haven't? Title? Explain the sitch.
oh, i'm almost positive i have, and probably to sound smarter than i really am. i have no idea what the situation was, but i'm sure it was in college talking to some brainiac boy.
8. Do you have a fav smoothie? What are the ingredients? (If you hate smoothies, what's your fav summery drink?)
smoothies are alright. gin and tonics are better.
9. If you could be at a performance of any musician throughout history, who would woo your ears?
either Joy Division or Pulp. i think. i should say someone like Mozart.
10. I like Janet's #2, so what's the next thing you are looking forward to?
MY BIRTHDAYYYYY!! also, a dear friend of mine is having a baby. i'm not a baby person, but i'm pretty excited to meet hers. also, my parents are coming to visit in July. and i'm going to my parents lake house in September. summer is the best time of year!
11. If you could accomplish just one more goal in 2014, which would it be?
i HAVE to finish my cross-stitch for the year 2014. i'm starting a project where i cross-stitch the "mantra" of the year each year. then, at the end of my life, i'll be surrounded by all the mantra's i had each year. this year, it's "fuck bitches, get money." R.I.P. B.I.G.
thanks to the lovely Sarah for making me procrastinate on the aforementioned crafting. L.O.V.E.
