The other day I stumbled upon a trailer for Iron Sky. It is an upcoming Finnish feature-full length black comedy/ science fiction film due for completion at the end of 2011. Its directed by Timo Vuorensola and produced by Samuli Torssonen, the masterminds behind their greatly successful parody, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning. Haven't heard of it? Neither have I. Apparently these guys have a world-wide cult following for their last movie, and have used their momentum to fund their new project Iron Sky. The film takes place in the year 2018, when the Nazis, who had fled the Earth to dark side of the moon in 1945, return to claim the Earth. To understand, you really need to watch the trailer.
Whats cool about this movie was the way the crew used their fanbase and an awesome viral campaign to gain financial support. Their website allowes their fans to suggest ideas for the plot, follow the process of making the film, shop for merchandise, and even invest in "war bonds," that are basically donations that give you some cool stuff. The fans have donated much of the films budget through their campaign. The film crew really harnessed the power of the Web 2.0. A film like this couldn't have been created even a few years ago. I couldn't help but think about the persuasive techniques they used in order to gain their support. They could have used bribery by persuading their fans to give money. The idea of Nazis living on the moon is a pretty hilarious concept, and the humor is the driving force behind the success of the film. A some form of bribery could have been used too, the more money fans give, the better the film could be when completed. The production techniques are also one of the reasons the film has so much hype. Something about slow pacing, crafty special effects, and the epic soundtrack, play with both the Limbic and the Reptilian sections of the brain. No need to engage the Neocortex for this film, thinking won't be necessary. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the awesomeness of space Nazi's.
Arriving at the Essex Fairground parking lot I saw for the first time, the lights, action and excitement typically seen at a county fair. Only from the parking lot, it appeared as though the fair was tiny. All of the rides seemed like they were crammed together on a singular spot of land. After all what more is there to a fair then rides and concession stands? I was so very wrong. The Essex Fair was unlike anything I had ever witnessed in my life. I have been around the block before, and have seen my fair share of fairs. I like to think of the Addison County Fair as my personal stomping grounds. The Addison County Fair seems so much nicer. The rides are spaced somewhat evenly out throughout the fields, there are all sorts of animals to be seen, and all sorts of demolition derby type events. Pretty typical for a fair, and I made the mistake about thinking the Essex Fair would be anything like it. Looking in retrospect, both fairs are probably pretty similar, but for some reason as I walked past the extremely dangerous over-priced carnie rides, and began getting hassled by some of the more frightening carnies at their games, my reptilian brain told me to get the fuck out of there. Something about the way they attempted to construct a fun-time happy-go-lucky reality made me entirely uneasy. I remember thinking to myself, "I am nowhere near shitfaced enough for this."
I had gotten the tickets thanks to my Business of Music teacher Matt Grasso. He was unable to make our second class of the semester because he had to work that Thursday at the Weezer/Coheed and Cambria concert. He basically gave us the option to go to the concert and write a review, or to write a 1-2 page paper on the current state of the music industry. Pretty easy choice for me especially because he gave the ones who chose go two free tickets. I was pumped because I had always wanted to see them live, but never had the opportunity. I was seriously considering paying for a ticket before I found out that were priced at $60 dollars a pop. My roommate is about 6 years older than me, and a true product of the 90's. He loves just about everything about the 90's; music, movies, crappy sitcoms, and style. Obviously he is a huge fan of Weezer, a band that first began in 94, so I decided to bring him along. I almost didn't bring him so I could bring another friend who I hadn't seen much of, but I thought it would be almost cruel not to bring him.
We got to the Essex Fairground early, so we would have time to check out the fair, and to see the opening band Coheed and Cambria. I realized the fair was much larger than the small area around the rides. It stretched on for what looked like forever with food stands, attractions, products, and other miscellaneous bizarre events. On my way to the beer tent I passed two separate stands for Al's French Fries, an ice cream stand that sold cigarettes, and a rickety looking cage with 6 tigers, a lion, and two suspect looking tamers. We watched for a few minutes to see if any of the animals retaliated, and then moved on. After a few beers and a "1/2 Pound Burrito," we headed into the venue and waited for the first band.
I had been a fan of Coheed and Cambria when I was in high school, so I was interested to see how they would play. All I really wanted them to play was the only song I remembered, "The Suffering."
Its got to be difficult for an opening band to start before it gets dark. There aren't as many people there, and nobody is really into it unless you pull off a great performance. I could see Coheed and Cambria being fun in a small gritty venue full of cigarette smoke and booze late night, but not at a fairground before Weezer. No one seemed to notice as the band took stage and began shredding their first power-chord filled rock anthem. To be honest most of their songs sounded pretty similar and it was sometimes hard to know when a song began and ended. After the lights went down, I was treated to a rocking "suffering." Now I was ready for Weezer to take stage.
Weezer was never one of my favorite bands, but has been a staple in my music library since high school. Like other similar punk-rock-pop bands of the 90's like Greenday, and the Offspring, their songs are full of teenage angst, solid rock power chords and catchy-ass lyrics. Even though they began in 94, Weezer has never really left the rock scene. They continue to produce top radio hits commonly appearing on the Billboard top 100. At the concert, my roommate informed me that the former drummer now plays the guitar for most of the songs leaving lead singer Rivers Cuomo to do whatever he wants as the front man for the band. Having never seen the band live before, I was shocked to see Cuomo out on stage. For some reason he looked so much smaller than I picture him. He seemed like such an awkward front man, picking up his mic stand and slamming it down to the rhythm of "Hash Pipe." The concert was everything that I wanted it to be. It seemed like a greatest hits act with single after single. Even though they are touring to promote their newest album Hurley, which they released the 19th September.
The concert was great, the fair was not. Walking past the neon lights of the vomit inducing machines called carnival rides, the rigged "game" stands, and the overpriced slushy machine, I thought about how the whole thing was just one giant rip-off. The concert itself was great, and I feel the band really went out of their way to make sure that everyone got their moneys worth. Even though the band is great, I feel like charging $60 dollars a ticket was a little out of line. I don't want to seem stuck up, but I feel like that was my last time going to the Essex Fair.
I was born and raised in the little town of Milford New Hampshire. I spent the majority of my summers on Lake Dunmore in Salisbury Vermont, about an hour south of Burlington. For three of my past summers I was hired by the Lake Dunmore/Fern Lake Association to join an elite aquatic attack force. A small crew was hired to hand pick Eurasian Watermilfoil, an aggressive invasive species. We worked full time to systematically find and harvest the plant using snorkel, and SCUBA equipment. It was a dirty job. Many times I thought of calling Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs, to have him do a segment on our work. We had to deal with mud, limited visibility, angry summer vacationers, and snapping turtles. It was still a great job. Looking back I cant really complain about working full time, in the sun, on the water with some good friends.
This past summer I detailed cars full time at The Vermont Auto Detail Center on Williston Road. I had been cleaning cars at this location on and off for three years, but working full time was a big responsibility. The work was for the most part extremely unpleasant, but the garage did have a nice stereo set up, so I could always blast music off of my computer. Toward the end of the summer I felt as though I had gone through my entire music catalog, and no longer wanted to hear anymore of it. Some days I would listen to NPR for a solid eight hours at a time.
I converted most of the money I earned this summer on seeing as much live music as possible. Five Phish shows in a row, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Primus, Weezer, MGMT, and countless other great bands downtown Burlington. I figured it was my first summer in Burlington, so I had better take advantage of it. Of all the music I saw, Edward Sharpe was probably my favorite.
Here is the band playing at NPR's Tiny Desk.
I am a senior majoring in Media Communications at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. I'm not too sure what I want to do when I graduate, but I am thinking that I would like to be working with a video production team. It would be great if I could do something close to music as well, but who knows? I'm taking everything in stride for the moment, waiting for the right opportunity for me.
Hey there internet world! Greetings to my first blog. I have known about the blogging world for a while now, but have respectfully kept my distance. I don't know why I have resisted the urge to blog my feelings to the world for so long, but I understand in this ever changing media world that it is important to be able to harness the tools at our disposal. I'm not looking for friends, followers, stalkers or lovers. I'm just looking to learn a few things.
