It’s been 20 years, but Twin Peaks is back in the media again. David Lynch’s bizarre crime series about a murder in a small logging town has been a cult hit since its 1991 debut. But now that’s it returning next year on Showtime, the media gets to obsess over the show again — in a more Internet-y way, of course.
I was too young to remember the original hoopla of Twin Peaks‘ 90s debut, and so I found this media roundup of interviews and news promos from 1991 to 1992 to be really interesting. People were just as perplexed by it then as they were today, but their most passionate obsession was with the show’s originality. In the ’90s television was dominated by sitcoms and crappy network crime dramas. A show like Twin Peaks blew everyone’s minds. “It’s SO unusual,” beamed Kathie Lee of Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee (before it was Live! With Kelly and Michael). Donahue — remember him? — even dedicated a cheesy whole show to the TV show, barking at the cast to explain the plot to him because he didn’t get it.
If you’re as amused by old stuff from the ’90s as I am, this playlist of more than 40 videos will keep you weirdly entertained today.
Recommended by Tiffany White | Thursday, October 8th, 2015 | No Comments » |
Everybody knows that Sia is basically the coolest woman to ever grace the face of this planet. Whether she has Kristen Wiig dancing on stage with her at the Grammys or whether she is walking down a red carpet with a blonde wig that’s too thick to even show her face, this lady really can do no wrong, including in this vintage studio video of her belting out “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine.”
While it’s great to see Sia getting more and more recognition on the daily, there’s something completely refreshing about this nearly decade old video of her doing what she does best behind the scenes in the studio. Recorded in 2007, I actually prefer this version of the song to the official one. Maybe it’s the fact that you get to watch her jam out, maybe it’s the fact that it’s one take, or maybe it’s the fact that there’s something extra raw about this recording of the Sia classic… but whatever it is, it makes my day. Every. Single. Time. I. Watch. It.
Recommended by Chelsey Grasso | Thursday, September 3rd, 2015 | No Comments » |
“A moment of love, a dream, a laugh, a kiss, a cry, our rights, our wrongs…”
These are lyrics from probably one of my favorite songs of all time. I have film fanatics on social media (because this song was featured in the movie 500 Days of Summer, which starred the beautiful pairing of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to thank for leading me to this fine tune. I remember listening to this song religiously every hour of every day and completely disregarding the other songs on my iTunes. I mean, why wouldn’t I? It was beautifully composed and the lyrics were just amazing. The actual meaning of the song took me about a good three years to discover.
Coming from the band themselves, the song is about the innocence of youth and the transition between acting on everything in the spur of the moment and having to rationalize everything and use our heads more, also known as adulthood. In all honesty, I thought it was just one of those songs that had a nice melody to it and absolutely no depth to its lyrics, but once again, I was proven wrong. Curse you, internet.
The Australian group has written many other songs, but they didn’t receive the same amount of hype as this song did, for obvious reasons. This one song gained them multiple awards and a small taste at what all artists dream of: fame in the mainstream. Though their last self-titled album was released in 2012, I still have a little sliver of hope they might release some new projects soon. *crosses fingers*
Recommended by Alecxis Rubic | Thursday, July 30th, 2015 | No Comments » |
My love for short film and animation was honed in the late ’90s, back when channels like IFC and Sundance would play them all time. These days short films are just unleashed into the void of the Internet while people run around desperately trying to “curate” what’s there (kind of like what we do).
However, my favorite short film TV show of the early ’00s was SciFi (before it became SyFy)’s Exposure. I think that’s where I saw Shadow Puppets for the first time. Although I can’t remember exactly where I saw it, the film itself has stayed with me ever since. Earlier this week while clicking through a YouTube rabbit hole of rare animated shorts, I stumbled across Shadow Puppets for the first time in years and was immediately consumed with nostalgia. This is just one of those films you don’t forget once you’ve seen it.
Created by Chuck Gamble in 1994 for his thesis in computer animation, Shadow Puppets says a lot about society and our passion to be independent. What happens when society tries to dictate our personal freedom–our freedom to enjoy life, to be creative, to be anything but the norm? It’s a film that speaks to our inner need to break free from life’s constructs while, at the same time, showing the beauty of triumph in the face of adversity. But I think the less I say about this film the better. Just watch it for yourself and I promise you’ll feel a lot better about marching to work this morning.
Recommended by Tiffany White | Thursday, July 16th, 2015 | No Comments » |
During high school I visited Ellis Island with members of my school’s wind ensemble. While many of my compatriots excitedly used the database to explore their familial origins, I didn’t bother. Both my sets of grandparents came to America in the early seventies on an airplane. My roots don’t extend into a mysterious past.
However, for Alex Haley, understanding his family’s heritage was not just a personal matter. Roots: The Saga of an American Family is all but a part of American history. What’s kept me from finishing this epic journey of “the African” and the generations of Black-Americans that followed was its dry, informative style, something the TV series was able to dramatize to great effect.
Once again it’s Audible to the rescue with Avery Brooks’ unabridged reading of Roots. I think Brooks narration brings to life both his and Haley’s original passion and fervor to tell this story–a story we may not personally share, but one we’re a part of within this continuum of race relations in the United States.
Recommended by J. Harbinger | Thursday, June 25th, 2015 | No Comments » |
Here’s a perfect throwback for this wonderful Thursday—remember that time Natalie Portman was turned into an octopus? What!? You don’t!? Then you’re for sure missing out. Let me assist.
It happened in Devendra Banhart’s “Carmensita” music video in 2008, and it’s kind of ridiculously amazing. In fact, the whole video is kind of ridiculously amazing. Portman stars throughout the storyline, singing along to the chorus and even throwing down some dance moves for the camera.
Somehow this gem of a music video slipped through the cracks of most of society, and I really have no idea how. Have a look, show your friends, and then wonder what Natalie Portman is up to these days anyhow. It’s been a while, but “Carmensita” is a wonderful refresher of that once upon a time box office beauty.
Recommended by Chelsey Grasso | Thursday, June 18th, 2015 | No Comments » |
There’s exactly one memorable scene in Hot Tub Time Machine and it’s when three men peaked past their prime whisper reverently of “the great white buffalo,” like chanting a spell, summoning that sweet memory of the one who got away, that first great love. Jane Austen was a master of the slow burn of an old flame well before that scene was imagined, conceiving the greatest white buffalo of all time in Captain Frederick Wentworth.
The audiobook for Persuasion as read by Juliet Stevenson is listed as one of the bestselling, guaranteed-to-love products on Audible.com, offered as an incentive to members at the crazy reduced price of $2.99. Stevenson does a fabulous job, giving both a mature gravitas and feminine vulnerability to the regretful Anne Elliott, as well as delivering Austen’s witty prose with perfect timing and sly grace.
I’m convinced that whether you’re a Mr. Darcy fan or new to Jane Austen, Persuasion will appeal to anyone with a beating heart–because there’s nothing we so painfully long for than a second chance in love.
Recommended by J. Harbinger | Thursday, June 18th, 2015 | No Comments » |