A dash of gold in a blanket of silvery sheen reminds me of twinkling Christmas lights in a snowy city. Sadly, our summery island has no snowflakes teasing our faces as we saunter down the streets, buying gifts for our loved ones and meeting long-time friends for that warm cuppa tea and coffee. But movies kept that image alive within me and one day, I hope to spend Christmas in a place where there is snow. And for all you lovelies out there in the falling snow, keep warm and take care. I sure hope it’s not so wintry that it hurts.

These creations mix gold and silver color, and the results can be pretty amazing. Some allow you to jumble girlish charm with boyish chic, spruce up that midnight party glamor with simple allure, or even return to the simplicity of everyday life, noticing things that you have not. What’s life without taking a moment to appreciate life’s little wonders and small gestures of kindness, right?

同学们 再会

数载同窗 今朝毕业 前途茫茫

今后更须努力 再接再厉 百折无馁

成功聊自慰 失败莫心颓

兄弟 姐妹

精诚团结 群策群力

为母校社会 国家争光辉

世道崎岖 勇往直前

珍重吧 前途 光明 再会

再会！

come un mago, ho creato delle cose.
ho creato delle situazioni. alcune positive altre negative.
e posso dire di essere soddisfatto di molte delle mie creazioni.
non tutte, ma molte cose le ho fatte bene.

come prendere l’argilla e modellarlo.
ma una cosa più sottile, fatta di parole e sensazioni. e tante immagini.

un processo continuo di reinterpretazione di sé stessi e della propria vita, delle persone che ci circondano.
quello che molti definiscono “poser”, essere falsi, non avere una personalità, ma visto sotto un’ottica diversa.
avere una personalità precisa, definita, ma in continua evoluzione. in crescita, come deve essere.
perchè la crescita, interiore e di conseguenza esteriore, è parte integrante del “vivere”. e abbiamo tutti i diritti di mettere mano alla nostra crescita e crearci, giorno dopo giorno.

ho cambiato atteggiamenti e situazioni, ambienti e persone. aggiunto persone, più precisamente.
e ne sono soddisfatto.

mi chiedo solo perchè le persone ritengano futile questo percorso e si fossilizzino in se stessi, disprezzando chi percorre percorsi diversi. purtroppo la mia critica arriva a poco, scontrandosi con il mio modo egoista di analizzare il percorso di coloro che a volte ritengo più deboli.

ma è un punto che in fondo non voglio cambiare, non per ora, non mi sarebbe utile. 

Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word
Feathers on my breath
Gentle impulsion
Shakes me, makes me lighter
Feathers on my breath.

^Massive attack…wonderful group, wonderful song.

Not completely why I’m here though. Last night, I spent a bit of time with both my girlfriend and (non-blood) brother for the first time in ages. Due to conflicting schedules, that brother of mine and I just don’t get to hang too much as of late. It was nice being around both of them though. If there’s anything I would classify as family right now, it would be the 2 of them. They’ve been around enough to have seen just about every side of me, and still be around. To me, that’s the difference between family and friends. Yes, I have some really close friends as well that I still keep in touch with, but it’s just not the same by any means.

Christina makes me ponder love and everything I’ve ever thought about it. She brings forth the question of “what am I really ready for?” and “what can I really handle?” but I have also grown quite a bit emotionally and romantically thanks to her. I can’t say I’ve become a different person, but she has done a lot to bring out the person I truly feel I am. If it wasn’t a matter of bringing it out, then it was certainly a matter of finding it.

Over the years I’ve done a lot of soul searching, mainly because it’s just hard to get people to stick around, and for many years of your life, your friends and your relationships define you almost exclusively. Eventually however, there comes a time where you must define yourself. I remember reaching that point where I felt it was necessary, but Christina and my brother Wesley gave me the freedom to find such definition.

Wesley, the guy lived with me for a solid 5 months. Without us ever killing each other, or even attempting to. For him to be the brother I never had (when I indeed have 3 brothers) speaks multitudes on its own. We’re not the exact same, but we work which to me is what family is all about. You don’t have to be the same, it’s a bond you develop, and yet it can’t be developed by just any two people. There’s a lot that goes into it. I like to think so anyways.

Well, turns out I have to get going. So I can go home, and hopefully hang a bit with my homies.

Ciao.

等待，是一个漫长的路程。

你越是有恒心，就离理想、心愿越近。

***

我不愿再等待，

等待那无以回报的爱情。

我不愿等待，

等待那人人都说“我错了”的爱情。

或许……

当我的心属于他时，

他的心却属于了另外一个她。

或许……

一切是天意的玩弄。

我，根本就不该等待。

他，根本就不值得我去等待。

相信，

默默地相信，

总有一天

他会发现我的存在、我的心意

***

原来爱情是苦茶，而想念是糖颗。

日日的想念，或许能够把苦茶变甜。

但却还是改变不了苦茶爱秋天的情。

春天，永远衬不上苦茶。

送给我心爱的她。

祝福她的等待。

If there is ONE thing about MASIVE ATTACK, it’s the ultimate threat and desire in a song, in nearly every song….

Yesterday (27 october 2009) in the Heineken Music Hall, again. Ever since i discovered Massive Attack (and that was in their very “Massive” beginnings), they impressed me with their sound and unusual combination of vocal triphop, drum n Bass, rock, dub, reggae, soul and a whole lotta soundscapes, which sound like a soundtrack sometimes, but mostly like a tale, which have  strong lyrics and a ominous message. That’s what it is with Massive Attack. There is LOVE, but nowhere without a warning or a fear. there is freedom but it comes with a struggle, peace after a powerful storm and a smile or even happiness sometimes, but it must feel as a relief after pain. Massive Attack’s music, message, structure of songs and performances are not easy…. more strongly still: they’re heavy. But with that power, that hard rocking ultimate endings with an open end, that scary light…. and the perfection… make their concerts an unforgettable experience!

The setlist was (for me) nearly perfect, allthough i don’t understand why the also FANTASIC 2nd album Protection (with great tracks like Protection, Better Things, Sly, Weather storm) is boycotted by them live except for Karma Korma always…. This show was a mixture from at least 5 new tracks (of which the Single Splitting the Atom is Superb, also LIVE!) including Psyche and (nearly) all the other songs you want to hear from them LIVE. Yes, Unfinished Sympathy in a warm version (see youtubemovie), Teardrop gracefully sung by Martina Topley Bird (also Psyche!!), static versions of Future Proof and Mezzanine, hard noise in Inertia Creeps and hypnotic sounds and spheres in Risingson, AntiStar (what a great track) and the beloved songs Angel (with Horace Andy naturally) and Karma Korma…

Not the sereen songs from 100th Window (with the breakable voice from Sinead O Connor) are performed, Nicolette, Tracey Thorn, Madonna, Shara Nelson, Tricky are names that worked with Massive Attack so far, now Tunde Adepimpe (from TV on the radio), Guy Garvey (from Elbow) and most likely Grace Jones (also seen backstage during this tour…) are joinin’ up with Martina Topley Bird for the new album…..

Massive Attack is a rare -not a rock band- collection of two men (Grant Marchall Daddy G and Robert Del Naja 3D) with a true own sound, not typical Trip hop act or any other musical ‘label’, not a show band and especially not a single act, so these precious moments LIVE, when all the strength from their creativty comes together… is still buzzing through my head! I am waiting, with fear and desire for their new album. The first impression from the upcoming album with their new EP is overwhelming… like this concert was. One of my all time favourite bands.

Elegancki naszyjnik, wykonany w całości ze srebra próby 925, pereł Swarovski Cream (12-6mm) oraz kryształów Swarovski Teardrop (18×12mm) i Round w kolorze Crystal (6-8mm).
Kryształy pięknie odbijają światło.

Idealny dodatek do sukni ślubnej lub wieczorowej kreacji.

Obwód naszyjnika: 47,6 cm.

Naszyjnik dostępny jest w galerii ArsNeo.pl

Song of the day: Massive Attack - Teardrop

It’s been a long weekend moving and I can’t wait until I can stop cleaning and start relaxing!  Here are a few items that might help me relax:

Asymmetrical Tiered Dress by Liza Rietz

Johanna Purse by Bagonia

Teardrop String of Pearls Terrarium by Monkeys Always Look

"Echo" Porcelain Wall Pillow by Stepanka

In TearDrop, your character can only start with 2 default skills, and the rest have to be acquired through monster hunting. However, the droprates of skillbooks that are potentially more powerful like Shadowblade Technique will of course be loads lower, and they will only be dropped by potentially more dangerous mobs.

The locations of the skillbook drops will be further announced here.

Wardens are defensive guardians, capable of absorbing mammoth amounts of damage to help protect the team. To aid with their defending, wardens require a shield to be equipped to do some of their skills. They are also rather adept at magic, and can cast basic spells to damage their foes, making up for their lack of offensive power. Wardens can only equip one-handed blades, but make up for that with their superb defense.

Reqs: 40 DEF

Skills:

Parry

Info: Uses an equipped shield to block an incoming attack. Chance-based.

Mechanics: (DEF / 2)% chance, capped at 40%.

Power Guard

Info: Casts a magical guard, taking a smaller percentage of damage. Lasts 300 seconds.

Mechanics: Reduces damage by (DEF * 0.4)%, capped at 50% damage reduction. Costs 20 MP to cast.

Magicrain

Info: Casts a thunder-based magical attack using the shield, striking all enemies within a range. Magical damage.

Mechanics: (MAG * 2) + (STR * 1.5) damage. Range of 4. Costs 14 MP to cast.

Shieldblast

Info: Charges magic into the shield, and sends the energy shockwaving outwards towards a target within range.

Mechanics: (MAG/2) + (STR/2) + (DEF/2) damage, range of 6. Costs 5 MP to cast.

Swordsmen are melee attackers, prefering to go for the all-out assault to desicrate their enemies. Using swords, they can maximise their damage potential with powerful shockwaves and slashes, and they are mainly centred on strength and speed. However, they are not capable of using shields well, and thus prefer the two-handed sword to maximise their damage.

Reqs: 35 STR

Skills:

Powerslash

Info: Attacks the weak points of the enemy, dealing additional damage. Chance-based.

Mechanics: 17% chance to Powerslash. Deals additional (STR * 2) damage.

Doublestrike

Info: Slashes a target twice, each slash dealing a percentage of damage. Each slash triggers Powerslash separately.

Mechanics: Each slash deals (STR /2)% damage, capped at 130%. Costs 14 MP to cast.

Shockwave

Info: Releases energy within the blade, dealing damage over a distance in front of you. Deals magical damage.

Mechanics: Deals STR  + SPD damage over a range of 3. Costs 16 MP to cast.

Concentrate

Info: Increases damage and accuracy through concentration. Passive.

Mechanics: Increases damage by (STR/4), increases accuracy by (SPD/2).

17th september 2009: il ritorno dei Massive Attack. Data di apertura del tour, concerto fantastico.

Martina Topley-Bird: uno dei supporti più inutili della storia, non c’è molto da dire, voce e batteria senza tono ne emozione, per dare un’idea Macy Grey con giusto una rullata ogni tanto e qualche corista, stop. Ci si chiede come mai i Massive Attack abbiamo deciso di portarla in tour con loro e lasciarle scaldare (per l’incazzatura?) il pubblico… la risposta è semplice e la si scopre poco dopo, indovinate chi canta Teardrop ora?

Massive Attack: smontano e rimontano la classica struttura della canzone per creare qualcosa ogni volta sorprendente, alcune volte psichedelico, altre estremamente potente e “rockeggiante”, e ancora ipnotici come sul nuovo singolo dal nuovo EP Splitting the Atom.

Ancora non mando giù la versione molto lo-fi di Teardrop, bella eh, però l’originale è qualcosa di più di una canzone, è un anthem, un simbolo di una certa fascia sociale/anagrafica, e mettetela come volete ma i simboli non si scherza, quindi qualche limatina qua e là è permessa ma nulla di più, non a casa più di qualche fischio s’è alzato, unica macchia di un concerto stupendo sia per la musica che per il pubblico.

Vanno ricordate anche le grafiche, complimenti a chi ci ha messo mano, tecnicamente belle, estremamente dure nel messaggio sociale: extraordinary rendition to Guantanamo & so on, i ruolo dei media nell’oscurare notizie importanti come: la banca del DNA, l’introduzione di una ID card nazionale in UK, nuovi taser per la police, nuove CCTV mentre ci vengono gettate davanti ogni giorno gossip, cronaca nera fine a se stessa. Questo è quello che passa sui led alle spalle della band durante alcune canzoni. Un impegno sociale che può far storcere il naso a qualcuno ma che per me arricchisce e non sminuisce la performance, informare e divertire allo stesso tempo senza essere mai forzati è un punto a favore e non contro.

Domani e dopo si ripete sempre a Brixton, sempre sold out. Biglietto ingresso 30£ standing.

P.S. Dimenticavo: Damon Albarn (frontman Blur, Gorillaz.. dice niente?) sul palco per un paio di pezzi, cose che succedono, per fortuna!

Lists are funny things.

Lists, to men, are like catnip to cats. We can’t resist them. It doesn’t matter what it is, we’ll create a list for it. It’s our anally retentive side coming into play; we like to know everything has its place. Most men I think can name their favourite albums, movies (and perhaps girlfriends) in a specific order since we’ve had every waking day to think about it.

When we forget to take the rubbish out, or wash up, it’s probably because we’re making a mental list of something (boring household chores perhaps…)

Lists are also endlessly used in television.

No doubt you will have sat through the Top 100 Singles of All Time, Your Favourite Films Ever or Top 100 Celebrity Sex Scandals – all the cheapest of TV formats and laziest of concepts, which is why they usually end up on satellite channels you’d rarely watch otherwise. They bring out the same D- and C-list celebrities (who’d turn up to the opening of a Coke can) to sit in front of a brightly-coloured animated backdrop – similar in style to a Lava Lamp – and then talk about an event/film/album/song/person the producer had reminded them about a few minutes earlier was such an important part in their life. The better celebrities may retell an amusing anecdote; most will resort to just laughing about nothing (the more they laugh, the more we’ll notice their smug faces while we’re drifting off to sleep) and talking bullshit.

“Oh yeah – haha – this one time my brother and me were – haha – were listening to this Queen song and doing that thing they do in Wayne’s World – haha – and – haha – my brother hit his head on the window of the car! Haha (remember me from that obscure show five years ago?… No?…I was great, honest…)“

However – and the producers of these shows know it – there’s something strangely addictive about them. Even if you get the most irritating celebrity most of all; stitching all the segments together with a witty thing to say before and after each advert break.

One of the worst example of this was probably David Gest (winner of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!) presenting the 100 Best Michael Jackson Songs (or something). It was an old show, repeated especially for the death of MJ. The embarrassing links provided by Mr. Gest reached their apex when he announced something along the lines of “You’ll live forever, Michael – you’re the best!”. David? I’m Embarrassed, Get Me Out Of Here!

Blogs also use this format. It’s a sure-fire way of getting people looking at your blog – people love lists remember!

So, all this being said, for the sake of both selfish amusement and the irony of my last paragraph, I’m going to resort to a list myself.

This list is (as you will have noticed from the title) regarding The Ten Best Music Videos in the World… Ever! (The title inspired by all those compilation albums from the late ’90s – in fact, they’re probably still churning them out).

The reason I’m picking music videos is that, by chance, I was watching MTV and between the irritatingly inane shows they put on, and the endless Rihanna videos, something interesting (and refreshingly pleasant on the ears) came on. Something with a wonderful hand drawn style featuring a superhero fighting squirrels and things to reach the princess in distress. The video is number one on my list (which is actually not in any particular order) and it inspired this little blog entry, so blame it for any boredom caused for this post.

It’s worth saying that I’ve been a fan of music videos ever since I got MTV2 a long time ago (in the good old days before it turned into the channel for Shit American Rock), so I know my Michel Gondry from my Chris Cunningham. There are many, many wonderful music videos around (and really, the top ten directors would have been more appropriate since so many are consistently fantastic) but leave any comments if you think I’ve missed out something really amazing.

1. Coldplay “Strawberry Swing” directed by Shynola. View on YouTube
This the first Coldplay video I’ve loved. The others have been okay, but either linked to a damn durge of a song (The Scientist) or just a bit too odd for their own good (Don’t Panic). The basic concept is that Chris Martin is a superhero on a background drawn, with chalk, on a pavement. Obviously this kind of effect could have been achieved in a computer but it seems Shynola actually hand-drew the damn thing with Chris Martin balancing/laying/hand-standing for each frame – I imagine having to wait for the artists to finish each drawing. To someone lacking patience like myself (I love animation but really, it’s boring as hell doing it frame by frame – see this fantastic Fast Show sketch) this makes Chris Martin an absolute star in my books (as if the rest of the world didn’t already consider himself one).

As for the song itself, I didn’t actually think much of it when I first listened to the album (to the point where, on seeing the video, I wondered whether it was even on an album) but now, I listen to it on an almost daily basis.

Users on YouTube obviously love it as well… “this is the most coolest video i have ever seen” is one of the more insightful comments.

It’s a rare but wonderful thing when a music video makes you like a song even more – or even to notice it at all. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it makes for a great experience. You’re able to listen to the song at any time and, even if the lyrics don’t connect specifically with you or if they are too abstract in the song to relate to anything, being reminded of the video makes it much more visual. It’s like a soundtrack album to a movie but in reverse, I’ve listened to The Shawshank Redemption soundtrack countless times, and it always evokes memories of the film (which is my favourite by the way – I’m sure I’ll do a ten ten movies as well some time…)

The talented artists behind this video are called Shynola who created the wonderful animations for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (one of the better things about the film) along with countless other videos – their best listed below, check ‘em out as they say in the States.

• Blur “Good Song” – Drawings by my favourite cartoonist, David Shrigley, animated – again, making an otherwise fairly pedestrian song come to life in what I think is the funniest music video I’ve ever seen, although I appreciate it’s not to everyone’s taste. View on YouTube

• UNKLE “Eye for an Eye” – An amazing video about cute little things running around their happy place being duped into drinking from giant nipples by an evil race of wasp things that then assimilate them all and take over their land. A thinly veiled political comment about the way the West come in, guns blazing, promising a better life and leave having destroyed everything. Well, I think that’s what it’s about anyway. It’s an amazing song and I bought the album because of this, which is lucky because it was, in my view, the best album of that year. View on YouTube

• Junior Senior “Move Your Feet” – I’m of the Commodore 64 generation, so anything with pixel graphics gets my vote, and it doesn’t get any better than this. It’s a crazy song (let’s face it – gay as cheese) and sounds like Terence and Philip from South Park singing, but it fits the video perfectly. As before, I bought the album after this, which is why I refuse to put this video in the overall Top Ten; the album is beyond terrible. View on YouTube

2. Radiohead “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” directed by Jonathan Glazer. View on YouTube
In those good old days on MTV2 that I spoke about with tear-filled nostalgic eyes earlier, this video was one of the most shown – with good reason. It’s a great song for a start. I’m not a massive Radiohead fan (I think they’re vastly overrated) but this one is tortured, weird and has a great tune.

The video ticks several boxes for me:

It’s in black and white (almost everything looks better in black and white); it has bits that are slowed down; bits that speed up; jumping nuns; locusts flying in slow motion; evil dogs; Thom Yorke looking weird; band member, Jonny Greenwood looking like a woman (many women would kill for his figure); glass smashing and someone falling over on their chair.

It’s put together with so much style that you can forgive them for what I imagine amounts to just a ‘brainstorming’ session where they thought “would would look cool slowed down in black and white”.

I’m sure there are many more videos considered better than this but this just sticks with me far more than most, I think due to its haunting nature and probably just that it’s, in my opinion, Radiohead’s best song.

The director is top of his class with a string of fantastic videos to his name. He also directed the wonderful film, Sexy Beast, which, if you haven’t seen, needs to be watched as soon as you can; Ben Kingsley should have gotten an Oscar for it. If that wasn’t enough, he’s the man behind the Guinness ad with the horses in the sea, the Sony Bravia ad with the exploding towerblocks of paint and the Levi’s ad with the emaciated boy and girl jumping through walls in order to reach space (apparently the most expensive advert ever at the time).

Other great videos by Jonathan Glazer:

• Jamiroquai “Virtual Insanity” – The irritatingly popular Jay Kay prances about with his stupid hat while the furniture moves around. Very cleverly done (albeit quite simple when you know how) and an example of a really good pop video, which is quite a rarity. View on YouTube

• UNKLE “Rabbit in Your Headlights” – A scruffy man walking down a tunnel, mumbling to himself, getting hit by cars. I’ve no idea what he’s thinking about (I read that he’s trying to work out the meaning of life) but the ending is spectacular. View on YouTube

3. Bjork “All is Full of Love” directed by Chris Cunningham. View on YouTube
This is one of the first videos (I think) released as a DVD single and it was the perfect video for the format. It’s stark and fascinating (like Bjork herself I suppose) and manages to be beautifully classy, despite the ridiculous premise (two robots, both with Bjork’s face, ‘get jiggy with it’ whilst robot arms prod them and cover them with something suspiciously milky and white).

The director, Chris Cunningham, has a something of a midas touch giving all his work a strange, sometimes scary, stylish as hell look that must be damn difficult to do.

In an ideal world, he’d direct an Alien film. Maybe one day…

Two of his other videos for you to look at (do a Google search for his others – they’re all great):

• Madonna “Frozen” – I think it’s Madonna’s best video. Not much happens, she’s a bit goth, she’s in the desert, there’s a black dog… but it’s a great song and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling seeing Madonna grown-up, sensible, and not jumping around in a leotard telling people they’re ‘motherfuckers’ and pretending to be twenty again. View on YouTube

• Aphex Twin “Windowlicker” – One of life’s great annoyances for me (proving I don’t have too many) is that music as God-awful as Aphex Twin gets to have a decent video to go with it. This video is wonderfully stylish, funny, strange, freaky and deserves mention because it highlights the ridiculous conventions set in rap videos where some idiots ogle girls in bikinis. This video is the antithesis of The Thong Song. View on YouTube

4. A-Ha “Take on Me” directed by Steve Barron View on YouTube
Given my love of animation and ’80s music, it’s no big surprise that this is in my list and I think most people of my age remember this video very vividly (even down to the “Nice Cold Ice Cold Milk” poster in the cafe that haunted my youth in the school canteen).

Looking back, the video is extremely cheesy but the animation is so well done it’s easy to forgive it. I also wish they’d resisted the temptation to shoehorn the rest of the band into the video using crappy footage of them playing their instruments against a suitably ‘comic book’ style background. (The same problems haunt videos these days as well – it’s so much better when a band’s ego-driven demand to feature in the video doesn’t get in the way).

The director was very successful during this period, working on loads of other memorable videos but none were really as innovative as Take on Me.

5. The BPA “Toe Jam” directed by Keith Schofield View on YouTube
The BPA (or Brighton Port Authority) is a Fat Boy Slim (aka Norman Cook) project and this, the first release, comes with a fantastically inventive video.

To explain it would ruin the joke of it, so just watch and smile…

6. The White Stripes “Fell in Love with a Girl” directed by Michel Gondry View on YouTube
When I was young (here he goes again with nostalgia) I loved Lego and animated little things with it as well. I imagine the director, Michel Gondry, did the same when he was growing up since this video (like most of his actually) has a whimsical quality.

It’s a video comprised solely of animated Lego blocks. People swimming, the band singing and playing their instruments, running – everything damn difficult to animate anyway, especially in Lego.

Michel Gondry has a knack for doing really complex things (‘high concept’ should be his middle name), as his other videos prove even further. He’s now mainly doing feature films (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind being one) which is a shame as I think his ideas suit a short running time much better.

More of his videos:

• Kylie Minogue “Come Into My World” – Kylie must have gotten dizzy making this video; several versions of her walk around several times in a circle. I have no idea how he co-ordinated a shoot like this but it’s wonderfully done. View on YouTube

• Massive Attack “Protection” – A great video with the camera moving into different windows of a big house. It doesn’t sound exciting and, well, it isn’t really, but it’s a great video. View on YouTube

• Bjork “Bachelorette” – Difficult to describe, this video starts with a story being told and then a theatre production based on that story played out within it. Just watch it, it’s fantastic. View on YouTube

7. Blur “Coffee & TV” directed by Hammer & Tongs View on YouTube
Like Shynola, Hammer & Tongs are another group of talented chaps that have worked on many videos and they all (well, the ones I’ve seen) tend to have a humourous slant which defines their style.

Coffee & TV is the tale of a little milk carton that goes off on a little quest to find a missing person. It’s the kind of video that appeals to everyone; it’s funny, cute and there’s even a bit of emotion in there as well for the kind of people that cry over spilt milk.

They’re now doing feature films as well. Their first, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was good, but flawed. Their latest – Son of Rambow – is supposed to be very good but I’ve not seen it yet unfortunately.

Hammer & Tongs have worked on many great videos, but two of my other favourites are below:

• REM “Imitation of Life” – Worth watching for Michael Stipe’s interesting dance moves as well as the technical cleverness involved. It’s a piece of camcorder footage that keeps running forward, then backwards for twenty seconds at a time – we zoom into parts of the video to see details. A tough one to explain, but worth watching, and it’s a nice little tune! View on Spike (I couldn’t find a version on YouTube with audio)

• Fatboy Slim “Right Here, Right Now” – Evolution squeezed into 3:30 minutes with a great social comment at the end. Well, I think it’s meant like that anyway, or it’s just that they wanted to end with the guy from the album cover. View on YouTube

8. David Bowie “Ashes to Ashes” directed by David Mallet View on YouTube
It makes no bloody sense at all, but it’s an example of a really inventive video when music videos were still very ‘new’ (it was back in 1983 – MTV had only been around a couple of years at that point. It was also was less shit than now). I think it was the most expensive video ever at the time due to its use of the fancy video effects (things we can all do on an iPhone these days with the correct app).

Director, David Mallet, directed loads of rock videos (specialising on Queen and AC/DC, strangely) but this is, I think, his most famous.

Of all these videos, it’s probably the one you’ll disagree with the most. “It looks crap”, mate, “You’re getting nostalgic and losing your sense of style.” But, there’s just something about it that I love. I’m not a big David Bowie fan particularly, but there’s something wonderful about him walking down the beach dressed like an idiot with an old woman wagging her finger at him (and telling him not to trust Major Tom).

9. Michael Jackson “Thriller” directed by John Landis View on YouTube
I include this video a little reluctantly as every damn list of “best music videos ever” has this in it, but it really has to be. I’m not a fan of musicals (I turned Chicago off after the DVD menu) but there’s something mesmerising about a really great piece of choreography.

There’s also the fact that this music video was an ‘event’. I was too young to remember it at the time but enough people have told me how they stayed up late to watch it to make me think that perhaps it was more of a big deal than we can appreciate these days. The Internet has ruined things a bit really… we don’t have ‘events’ any more, do we?

Anyway, the director’s other films include American Werewolf in London (that qualified him to make Thriller really), Trading Places and Coming to America so that makes him damn good in my book.

10. Massive Attack “Teardrop” directed by Walter Stern View on YouTube
God knows how a video comprised entirely of a foetus singing can be so good, but it really is.

The director is another fairly prolific one, working on videos for Prodigy, David Bowie, Madonna and INXS as well as another two for Massive Attack.

Another of his videos:

• Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” A riff on Massive Attack’s video for Unfinished Sympathy, this was the video that, thanks to Richard Ashcroft walking down the road like an arrogant bastard, helped launch Verve into the public eye when we already had arrogant bastards, Oasis. View on YouTube

So, that’s it.

You’ll have noticed that I’ve cheated a little bit by including other videos from some of the directors (making the list far more than just ten) but I don’t care, it’s my list, I can do what I want with it.

There are, however, some other videos I’ve not mentioned that I feel I should for various reasons – those are listed below. Have a look at all of them if you find the time!

Leftfield “Swords” View on YouTube
Summary: A bunch of people in cars, singing along to a chilled out track. I find it mesmerising.

Fatboy Slim “Weapon of Choice” View on YouTube
It’s Christopher Walken. Dancing. Nothing more needs to be said.

Supermen Lovers “Starlight” View on YouTube
Traditionally, 3D animation tends to be quite slick but here the animator has gone at great lengths to make the characters as ugly as possible. It’s a great little story and strangely emotional at the end!

Elbow “One Day Like This” View on YouTube
I’m including this partly because the song is wonderful but also because I think the video is so strange. It doesn’t match the lyrics at all but just focuses on one guy finding joy doing a mundane job. Beautiful.

Nizlopi “JCB” View on YouTube
A wonderfully nostalgic little song with a video to match.

Super Furry Animals “It’s Not the End of the World?” View on YouTube
Another great piece of 3D animation.

Pet Shop Boys “I’m With Stupid” View on YouTube
I’ve never been a fan of the Pet Shop Boys’ videos, but this one is great since it’s the guys from Little Britain doing a terrible (yet accurate) impression of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

Peter Gabriel “Sledgehammer” View on YouTube
Most ‘top video’ lists include this at a high position because it was groundbreaking (and it marked the arrival of Aardman Animation – the makers of Wallace and Gromit). It is a very clever video, and perhaps the Coldplay video I mentioned at the beginning of the list wouldn’t have existed were it not for this. Oh, and it’s about shagging, but you knew that…

Definitely not on any of my lists:

Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” Don’t View on YouTube
Just plain awful.

I hope you liked this list and feel free to write a comment challenging me on any of my picks. I’m sure I’ve left out some great videos, so tell me and I’ll be happy to rethink any of the ones above if you prove that I’m wrong in some way.

This morning I was wide awake about 5.45am, due to a little thing called excitement and a big thing called a birthday in Ibiza. 

After composing myself enough to get into work, my natural reaction was to theme The Fashion Office Recommends around the Spanish-isle but no, I thought best to try and keep a lid on it and sensibly chose ‘Chill-Out’ to accompany the full day’s work and countless deadlines ahead…

Without further adieu, here’s what my rather stylish desk-sharers chose in this weeks The Fashion Office Recommends…

Soldiersailor: Goldfrapp, Clowns.

Sostylistic selects Maxwell, Sumthin’ Sumthin’.

Sartoriology chose Massive Attack, Teardrop.

A Work In Progress goes for memories of Uni with Zero 7 Distractions

New Favourite Thing opts for Musiq Soulchild, Just Friends.

Frankie’s choice: Air Sexy Boy.

Stevie picks a classic: Moby, Porcelain.

And last but by no means least, Ellie recommends: Tracy Chapman, Fast Car.

Check out last week’s awesome sounds of The Fashion Office Recommends…Dolly Parton.

则勤去世了。

车祸，当场死亡。

***

还记得初认识则勤是在一次的旅行。他是我姐姐的朋友，所以也我熟了起来。

他说，他爸总爱叫他“阿裙！阿裙！”，感觉好娘哦。还说什么，他姐姐就是武则天。

当时，我也只是一笑置之，并不觉得有什么值得留念的。

但今日我却顿然觉得，每一份记忆都值得留念，就算是再小的事情也没差！

已有好一段日子没遇见他了，也没有他的消息。

感觉上，他早已从我的人生当中消失。

但现在，我心里却有着莫名的感伤。

或许他根本从未离开过我的记忆。

***

顿时觉得人生怎么怎么短暂？人怎么那么渺小？

或许明天，我会死去。或许后天……

但究竟我留下什么让我身边的人留念呢？

我想也想到，想也想不清。

我，在我的人生当中，又有什么作为呢？

我过着的人生似乎是空心的。没有目标，只是盲目地过着每一天。

或许从今天起，我该开始寻觅我人生的方向，为我的人生绘上漂亮的色彩了！

我不要白过我的一生！

***

则勤，安息吧。