[transmission from: alex kain]

So I just saw Citizen Kane for the first time. We were in our video class last week and I was watching examples of Orson Welles' stellar cinematography, but the audio was not working. So I was just watching these scenes unfold like a comic book before text inclusion. To say that I was amazed wouldn't be doing it justice. I immediately went to the library to check out a copy of the tape, but it wasn't there. Of course - I had just been watching it in video class.
I waited until the next day and quickly snatched the copy. Well, it sat on my table for a few days, but I finally got around to watching it.

Again, to say that I was amazed would not do this film justice. Everything about it was amazing. Welles' performance, his directing, the story driving everything, the sets, the lighting... everything just seemed to click into place better than anything I'd seen before. The camera ducked and dove around extended scenes with no cuts whatsoever. These actors not only knew their lines, they spoke as if they weren't lines at all - as if they were just speaking naturally.

For those who don't know, Citizen Kane is an old black and white film that many regard as the greatest film ever made. It chronicles the life of a newspaper magnate and politician, Charles Foster Kane, who dies after uttering one word - Rosebud. The twist at the end is better constructed than I had ever imagined. Even going into the movie knowing what the word actually meant, seeing the movie come full circle in the end was like a knockout punch. Here is a man who has everything, who spent his entire life just doing what he wanted, who just wanted people to like him, and all he ever cared about was what he had before he had everything.

I watched the movie in the evening and was more than a bit tired, but somehow it never seemed to get boring. Sure there were a lot of scenes that felt like they dragged on, but as I watched it, I realized that they weren't dragging on at all - this was all important information. There wasn't any 'filler' material here at all. Every scene was important. Every scene showed us something new about the title character.

Citizen Kane is definitely not my favorite film of all time, but now that I have watched it, I cannot see how I can avoid being influenced by its style and technological prowess in my own work. The film is a piece of art well-worth bearing witness to. And the character within is both an inspiration and a warning to people (like myself) who always find themselves wanting more.

[transmission from: tyler sonnichsen]

Ice by Ice
by Vanilla Ice

As wonderfully ridiculous as this guy’s prose is, I think that this book needs to be reissued in massive quantities. Schools should turn this into required summer reading. Fuck The Giver and Treasure Island. This is entertaining in that “I can’t believe this guy was actually this famous once!” kind of way.

“I was the king master rapper of the neighborhood. Not to say that I never got beat. I got beat all the time, but nobody could do everything like I could. The good ones could rap real well. But when you’d go to beat-boxing, they couldn’t beat-box one lick. They’d be like, “Oh, I can’t touch that!” And then when I’d go to dancing, they’d be really blown away. That’s why I’ve said I never met anybody like me.”

Of course he was the king master rapper. For a white guy from Miami who dressed the way he did, that’s the intellectual equivalent of “sparkle princess.” It’s fitting, since he writes at a 4th-grade level as it is. If that last passage didn’t amaze you, I’ve got 164 pages of viable material.

“I make up little four-line raps for the station, change each one according to the call letters of the station or the deejay’s name. All they have to do is give me a few key letters or names and I bust a rhyme on the spot, live on the phone for them. Give you an example. Here’s what I usually start with:
Yo! This is Vanilla Ice
Chillin’ like Bob Dylan,
And maxin’ like Michael Jackson,
And livin’ like Thanksgivin’.
Then I might say something like:
Yo! This is Vanilla Ice,
Kickin’ it colder than ever,
Playin’ that funky music
With Scramblin’ Sam,
On WOWE, babee!
I got a million variations:
Here comes the perfect 10 at 10,
(if the station is doing a Top 10 Countdown)
Bust it my friend!
Kickin’ it colder than ever,
‘Cause Vanilla Ice is really clever.”

The whole book is like this, no joke. If they packaged it with a recording of V-Ice reading it now, complete with interjections of “What the fuck was I thinking?” “I don’t even remember that,” and intermittent weeping sounds, it would really warrant a great cross-cultural reevaluation. My buddy from work has worked with Ice and told me he’s the nicest guy, and this book brings no doubt to my mind about that. It’s difficult to find it, I know, which is why it should get a hefty reissue. Believe me, Ice will always be on the realest tip, maxin’ and relaxin’ with all the (as he thanked them in the To The Extreme liner notes) ladies who “get bizzy.” Yep, yep!

Webster’s English Dictionary
They just need to add “cunter.” That’s all. Dan Leif, the word’s creator, is probably the only person who really knows what it means, but for some reason, no dictionary is complete without it.

[transmission from: tyler sonnichsen]

With all the love that classic albums and works of art are getting through these omnipresent "reissues," I thought I'd weigh in with my own suggestion for a few albums, books, movies, and human beings that could use a shiny new package. I've selected 8 items, 2 from each category, with brief explanations why. I've also broken up this transmission into 4 pleasant sections out of love for you, dear TDC Presents reader. Anyway, with the deepest reverence for angular guitars, cryptic lyrics, and jerry-curl mullets, here we go.

Jawbox - "For Your Own Special Sweetheart" (1994)

I am very fortunate to own a copy of this desperately sought-after album. Atlantic Records released it back in 1994, after Jawbox made the leap from Dischord Records after their second album Novelty. Obviously, they were the first band (and the only one that people remember, really) to walk out on Dischord, which was like giving the finger to Mother Theresa as far as the indie world was concerned at the time. But as the DC natives proved, you could actually jump to a major label and still make interesting music. In fact, almost anyone concerned regards this as their best. You’d have to go back almost twenty years beforehand to find an Atlantic release that’s this good. Just fucking listen to “Savory” and tell me you wouldn’t buy this album at the drop of a hi-hat. (Drum reference!) “Cooling Card,” “Chicago Piano,” “Motorist,” and “Reel” are all better than any other song that J. Robbins and company ever wrote. Their overall, 4-full-length-deep catalog is still great, but Sweetheart is the lynchpin, and until they reissue it, they’d better send out complimentary tissues to dry the tears of the DC kids who are finally getting sick of spinning Grippe over and over.

Devastatin' Dave the Turntable Slave- "Zip Zap Rap"

I think the cover speaks for itself. If I ever found an actual copy of this record, I would probably not believe it. But our irony-obsessed generation has seen to it to create some underground following of this tool of the War on Drugs. I think this was because he is clearly a creation of a bunch of crusty conservative white folks who obviously had no concept or understanding of hip-hop, or drugs for that matter. (Devastatin' Dave makes several references to smoking cocaine...I've never used drugs in my life and I know how to properly do coke!) This actually made me think of that Jojo video where she enters a bathroom with a graffiti-covered wall for an elaborate dance scene (just like in real life!). I could not take my eyes off the graffiti- it was all in one sparkling pink color, and looked like it had been ripped from a My Little Pony lunchbox. Some Jewish execs in their 40’s painted that shit. Do your research, people! Just try and make it seem a bit authentic. Well, at least if they reissue this we'll always have Dave to remind us that if you do drugs then get into a car, we will indeed, not get very far. I can’t think of any hip-hop artists with jerry-curl mullets, either. And that’s why we need this album cover gracing every shelf in every music store in America. If you can endure the whole thing, prepare yourself for the pinnacle of hip-hop with a true message.

Coming very soon: PART 2- BOOKS