The Worst Songs of 2012

Pop music at its masturbatory.

2010 is the year of the geek

For the past week I have been complaining of how society is becoming tasteless with music and movies. It's not just that. There's reality TV shows like Jersey Shore and please-don't-mention-them the Kardashians and the biggest fad of all time. The Auto Tune.

But not everything's bad about 2010. I watch my best share in movies and music and whoever's following my views here's what good about 2010. It's where the geeks rule. IF you want to rebel against society's taste, you're a geek, if you enjoy video games, science fiction, fantasy or comic books, you're a geek. Well being is a geek is all that good. First of all you get to enjoy your youth if you're a nerd in your late 40s and second of all it breaks out your inner geekiness. 

This is how 2010 had made geeks becoming gods.

First of all let's start off with movies. For the past 12 months, movies have evolve around 3D and absolutely the dumbest stuff we have seen on screen. They all have been successful which is why I've been complaining. Where Avatar had just killed the geeks, the geek culture may have come into revival.

My top ten movies involves four movies: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Kick-Ass, Inception and The Social Network. All of these movies have geeks and it's no shame.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World has a really geeky title, but it's full of true geek. Michael Cera is a geek himself playing the title geek falls in love with the girl of her dreams and must defeat seven evil exes in order to keep going out with her. The reason why Scott Pilgrim is so good is because they want to be a geek and chose to do it in a ridiculous and surreal manner. The characters geek, the music geek, and the visuals also belongs to geeks because it combines video games and comic book into screen life. Bursting a douche's head into coins had never felt so exciting

Kick Ass. Awesome title, but geeky. Where a geek dons a superhero with only two baton sticks as his weapons and has his ass kicked. Sure it has an 11 year old swaering and kiling. Sure if Nicolas Cage rips off Adam West. Sure it was a box office bomb since it never got our attention because it was blocked by Tea Party fanatics. But wahtever it is Kick Ass is a total geekfest and it is literally a geek itself when it is bullied by critics for all the sures above.

Inception. It's the year's favourite movie by a geek. There's one obvious trait about geeks. It is smart. And so is this movie which is a geek. Leonardo Dicaprio plays an extractor who thinks like a geek because he is obssessed with dreams. It is most talked about because it is confusing but a geek can quickly figure it out himself. It also has a huge fanbase


The Social Network (probably the best movie of the year) is a movie about a geek who makes the biggest social gathering on the Web called Facebook. Jess Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg who is not only geek, but a genius, punk and billionaire. Zuckerberg has all the common traits of the geek. He rebels against the social world since he's socially inept, obsessed with computers and such. And he's the richest geek alive.

It's not just movies that count, it's also the music. Where our radio stations punk'd us with music that is unlistenable, the music that is the listenable is ones the geeks are listening to at the moment.

First of all, Vampire Weekend started off the year with their second album Contra a poppy, catchy, cheery record with a lot of African beats and songs about hipsters and geeks alike like Cousins or Holiday. Indie rock is the new rock where after Nirvana introduced alternative rock with Smell Like Teen Spirit, Vampire Weekend might introduce us about the angst of geeks everywhere about certain traits and other crazy stuff.

If you don't think so, try listening to Arcade Fire one of the biggest bands... literally. Well they're not that big but they have a huge fanbase and that The Surburbs, the band's latest record is both critically acclaimed and a commercial success to the mainstream. Arcade Fire may be this generation's Radiohead. The Suburbs may their OK Computer, where a lot of music geeks called it the greatest album of its time.

Look how big Arcade Fire had become. 

Another band with a similar fanbase is a big band called Muse. 

Muse had became the best bands there is in the new millenium. If you want to see a live gig from some random band, buy tickets for Muse because they are the greatest live band of the 21st Century. How is this associated with geeks and 2010. First off their all of their records (Showbiz, Origin Of Symmetry, Absolution, Black Holes And Revelations, The Resistance) is like Edgar Wright (the dude who made Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World). He mashes up genres. If you imagine them composing the score of Scott Pilgrim or Inception you will have classical music meets alternative metal and progressive rock meets RnB. So this has been the geek's music because their lyrics involve science fiction and crazy fantasies.

Muse may become the Heir for Biggest Band In The World which is currently held by U2 (they still support them in their big tours). Their live performances should be a must see for any fan or any music lover there is.

So there you have it. Geeks rule 2010. If you want to avoid the travesty of our society today, become a geek today

Teenagers and Movies, Music and Culture (Part I)

If I can reveal part of my identity is that I am 16 years old. i have moved to a new location because I wanted to start my new life. The new life is to stay away from people who are too prejudiced and biased towards me.

I get judged a lot. My opinions, my tastes in culture, which actress I like and what kind of talents I have. My talents include music, reading, maths and english as well as studying law and obviously movies.

Unfortunately young people can't tolerate them.

I wanted to open up about my interests but people knock it off all the time. Why is it that so many people criticise without thinking it through or giving me a simple piece of logical explaination why they would criticise.

The point is high school kids pick on you for doing something they've never heard of or you did something that was really good. For example, watching a movie or going to a gig of your favourite indie band.

If you remember that one of my most popular posts was how I was bullied for watching Inception and how I think The Social Network would be put down the same way I've experienced when saying I'd loved Inception. When I told at least one tall person to watch that great movie, he just did and had find it a fascinating movie. I told everyone that there's a movie about Facebook but I didn't tell anybody that you should watch it because it has great reviews. I didn't take The Social Network up to heart but I did with Inception cos it was one of the most talked about movies there is since it was very hard to understand. But I don't get why people never see things my way.

 HEre's an example. In my country (i.e Australia) people at my school hated Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister because she has red hair and she's a woman. That observation is nowhere detailed and yet very broad. I also disliked her because she doesn't done anything good yet to my place. And she's following me on Twitter would you believe it! SO what it is that people see her as a bad PM prejudiced to the fact of her physical appearance. If I had lived in America where I go to an American high school, the kids would be liking Barack Obama because of his colour.

When Nick Lyons (a person I follow on Twitter) told me that everybody at his place dismissed him for watching Black Swan, I felt kind of bad for him because we both lived the same lives. Our tastes are dismissed because we have seen movies few young people have seen. Lyons complain about our youth today and he is actually right. Movies, music and everything. Let's start off with music, shall we?

Glee, Justin Bieber and the rest of today's music.

When you hear atrocious music on our radios we skip it because it's horrible. Justin Bieber is played everyday just so he can get 14 year old girls in their cars to shriek when they hear them. I have nothing against Bieber, but his lyrics are really cliche and they're not really lyrics at all. They're pick up lines and that's what have the whole female gender swoon for him. And guess what? His most famous song Baby is considered the worst song of 2010 by some publications. And... ok i hate everything about that annoying p**ck.

Bieber is responsible for a third of the world's stampedes last year. HE visited Australia just so a morning breakfast show could get ratings. It was a disaster. The audience could not control themselves which has his gig cancelled. However he still performed in the studios. I have no problem but when he continuously make headlines because of his great performances, I couldn't stand it.

I can be honest that I actually hate Bieber haters. You know it just pisses me off when every comment about Bieber is posted on Youtube and they were negative. Bieber's videos are the most hated in Youtube would you believe it? So it's hard to classify what majority I'm in when I hate Bieber haters when I hate Bieber himself, but his lyrics are just pick up lines and are so shrill and laughable.

You know what else is worst? Bruno Mars. The dude is really annoying and I would give him benefit of the doubt for liking Nothin On You since I like that song, but Bruno Mars like Bieber gave us really cheesy lyrics (I'm sorry) including Bilionaire which I find the chorus laughable and cheap. I find 2010 atrocious in music despite my article of 2010's best music.

If you're 'glee' enough please stop!

I was laid off for listening to MGMT, The Killers, Muse, Radiohead and any rock band there is because these bonkers think that rock is dead. I honestly don't like RnB and the teens still play it on their radios. I don't mind it as long as it wasn't play too much on the radio. If you don't like today's music move on to great music from the past. As long it is original and was great back then.

If you try listening to any great songs from the past expect it to be covered by the excruciating Glee. When I first heard Empire State OF Mind by Jay Z, I was loving it. But the 'Gleesters' ruined by autotuning it because their fans are either too dumb to know that song or they just want it suitable for their own show. Please Glee. OR should I ask Fox Corp. Please don't give this show the rights to sing from Nirvana or Linkin Park or My Chemical Romance because if they did, then the songs covered will turn soggy like your ham sandwich spilt by your black coffee. So please stop covering songs that were once great.

I honestly watched the first five episodes of Glee. I like them, however I still hate it. The acting is so terrible it's almost equal to Twilight. You can't do anything about it if you want to convert me into a lover. I'm not. I'm a fighter.

And I'm really disappointed that so many great people from Hollywood is liking this turd. Why Anne Hathaway would you turn into this show? You were once my favourite actress. And now I have to move on. Why. Javier Bardem. WHy? Neil Patrick Harris. Why? Everyone's going for this no-brainer.

There's not a great rock song last year that was charting the charts. (Hey Sould Sister does not count). Does the majority (i.e teenagers) have a problem with rock? I want an answer. IF you think rock music is not lying there cracked into big chunks, your only solution is to listen to music that is not mainstream because that kind of music is great. Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire are great examples and people listen to them if they've been following them on the Net.

I think Australia's taste of music is really shallow. I get tortured when P!nk is played by every station and they have to follow everything in America. I think they should go back to follow Britain.

Expect to hear more as I look into teenager's views on movies.

Top 10 of 2010: Music of 2010

2010 might have been the year where many genres including hip-hop, rock, alternative had gone into underground mode. You have to listen to Linkin Park, Muse, Vampire Weekend, Alicia Keys, etc. in niche radio stations. Because of RnB and stupid electronica in where it is the same cliche in every song. Getting the girl and these songs' never actually contain lyrics. If you listen to Usher's OMG or Cheryl Cole's 3 Words they're just a bunch of pick-up lines piled up to make a song. Not only that, our tastes in music is getting dissed because of one thing... teenagers. THey just want to hear Bieber (and yes boys listen to Bieber to get some pick-up lines from 'Baby') and at times will panic if they hear a guitar riff.

Anyway let's see what is the best songs of 2010. It's really hard to decide but you get the feeling:

10. Gorillaz - On Melacholy Hill





'Up on melacholy hill in a plastic tree/are you here with me?'. Well that's the starting point of Gorillaz, who's concept album Plastic Beach is a wonderful piece to listen. It had been six years since the cartoon band had released some material. But after their success from their song Feel Good Inc., they decide to go experimental with their recent album. If you have bought the album, you'll know the message Gorillaz's trying to deliver. An environmental message about our shores? Close. Beside Melacholy Hill works because of its catchy riff and trippy melodies.

9. LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change





LCD Soundsystem is the survivor of electronica now vague from DJs such as Duck Sauce and Yolanda Be Cool. LCD Soundsystem's album This is Happening might be their very last material they would recored. But their album may have been better. Instead of going into loud beats and one word lyrics, they go into electronic melodies with a deep concept about substance abuse and deep partying. I Can Change is one track I like since it could be darker and deeper with drinking and how its dysfuctions towards relationships.

8. Angus and Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane





Mesmerising and chilly. Two words I wanted to describe about this song. Honestly, Australian music had gone rusty and downgraded. Never had been played on radios since. But this radio-friendly song is almost had us want to ride on a jet plane and want to experience our youth and come back to our home. Gonna take you for a ride on a Big Jet Plane is one lyric way unforgettable and open our imaginations of the skies. Funny and yet weirdly this would have been the song for George Clooney's travel flick Up In The Air.

7. Florence & The Machine - Cosmic Love





The first person I have been fascinated about this year. Florence and The Machine is a powerhouse vocalist adored by the public as the 'next Kate Bush'. Her debut album Lungs was a powerful piece featuring a cover version of "You've got the Love" (was a top 10 hit in Australia) and "Dog Days Are Over". But Cosmic Love is more bellowing with its maleviolent language and issues. If Jeff Buckley had fooled men with lovers, then Florence And The Machine may be it for the girls.

6. My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na Na Na Na 





For My Chemical Romance, emo was a trend that had themselves to blame for the suicides of teenage girls (Well only one person died). In Danger Days (The Lives Of The Killjoys... I think?), Na Na Na Na just goes on as a Green Day-lite anthem that kinda upliftingly worked. One of the prime examples of bands leaving their roots out, Romance's anthem actually tells the background of the Killjoys, the band's persona which was the main concept. If this was their American Idiot, this song may be their... well, American Idiot.

5. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs





The Suburbs is one album of 2010 that I've been addicted to. Arcade Fire had become the biggest bands in the world... literally. Given how there were 6 members in the band. Arcade Fire is an orchestra, would be Canada's answer to Radiohead. The Suburbs is a concept album about the life in the streets (the surburbs) and since it contains great ambition, it makes this a better album that many mainstream fans can access. The title track has a great opening with its dark yet cheerful tone disguised in the track that is so witty.

4. Cee Lo Green - F**k You!





To me, this is the antithesis of many songs from Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo and especially Justin Bieber. If I meet Bieber on the street, I would tell them to f**k himselves. If people tell me that I listen to my music too much, I would tell them to f**k themselves. But if they hate this song, then go f**k yourself as well. This song has wit. It has a story. And like Kanye West's Gold Digger it shows how women are so misleading these days. If you had enough of voice enhanced songs with pick-up lines then this song is for you.

3. Muse - Exogenesis: Symphony











How I could I hate Muse? It's impossible I wouldn't (yes, I would forgive them for making the theme song for Twilight). What I like about them is that they takes risks like Radiohead. Exogenesis: Symphony to me is like the first song to act as a true orchestra and Bellamy's vocals had turned this into a real concerto. It's like the soundtrack to a grand science fiction epic. The massive highlight from their album The Resistance, it's likely that these rockers would topple U2 and become one of the biggest bands in the world now.

2. Kanye West - Runaway





West would have us speechless with this song. To everyone this might be the true apology for interrupting Taylor Swift's moment. Runaway begins with a chilling piano riff that has West looking down to himself of his behaviour and to people who are the same as him. It is a very progressive song and yet very moving.

Runaway was accompanied with a 35 minute video that may get a chance for the Oscar for Best Short Film. Beautifully directed by Kanye West himself this song is one of the main highlights of his latest masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Runaway is almost a mixture of Late Registration at the beginning and at the end it's 808s & Heartbreak. The song has a story. A persona had expressed regret for destroying a relationship because of his antics. It is self-critical because the lyrics expressed remorse of West's antics at the MTV Awards. Runaway is a blueprint and more importantly it makes hip hop turned into an art form.

To say that Kanye West is a genius would be an exagerration. But we know that he moved on from the incident and his latest album Twisted Fantasy would let us focus on only his music. IF you wouldn't forgive him, here's a line: Let's have a toast to the douche bags/let's have a toast for the assholes
  
1. Vampire Weekend - Cousins





2010 started off with Vampire Weekend's second album Contra. Released on January 11th, it started off with Cousins, a song so catchy over two minutes and fast paced, it had hipsters dancing... before Bieber crashed. Cousins feels like a song worth celebrating with its continuous guitar riff and drum solo.

Contra feels and kinda looked like an audio equivalent of a Woody Allen film (more specifically Vicky Cristina Barcelona). I can tell. But Cousins has lyrics so smart, so catchy and energetic, it is more catchier than a Black Eyed Peas song. The song deals with being a hipster. Weekend would assume them as cousins. The persona is greatly defined. From Interest in colours I'd discovered myself/ If your art life is gritty you'll be toasting my health to You can turn your bitter back on the bitter world.

If you have a revolt with hipsters, think again. Believe me. Hipsters have brought us the greater things that make us feel good. Movies like (500) Days Of Summer put a smile on my face and this is one of those indie songs that gives us great energy and had us back to our youth. I feel happy when hipsters are around. If Vampire Weekend makes you angry you might have had a hangover.

If these songs are appropriate to you, it doesn't matter. These are my favourite songs and most of these songs have in common. And this is my theory. Since we're all tired from Bieber and such, these kinds of music are the rebellion against the meaninglessness of our self-obssessed, ignorant society. 


But what is your favourite music of 2010. Let's discuss


PS- you might not know this people

Why Inception is ridiculed at my school and it will do the same to The Social Network

You know what. Honestly, my favourite movie of 2010 is Inception. Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo Dicaprio. But then I find out something ridiculous and totally unpredictable. Everybody at school (and I'm going to tell you what school am I but it's under WSHS) hated this movie. They either seen it and hated it or just didn't see it and hated it. All from the trailer.

I went over to the At The Movies website, went into an article for Inception wherr David and Margeret gave it 4.5 stars each. If you want to see the whole review, click here

But when you look down, surprisingly some of the comments were mixed. People say they enjoyed it, but there were some comments down to zero stars saying it's the worst movie ever made. "It's illogical and I hate that". Here's one example:

Name: nick

11 Aug 2010 6:25:46pm

Rating: 

Too much.

No subtlety.

Obvious, predictable and pretentious. Characters were cardboard cut-outs. Main plot device (getting Fischer to break up the company) was uninteresting and not worthy of the over importance placed on it by the film. Multiple dreams in dreams != complex stroyline.

When Cobb says "He'll go into Limbo, a world of pure subconscious" I couldn't help laughing, that was the line of too much for me 

although, the idea of the Totem is very clever.  

Seriously, these comments can be anyone who went into the movie and just wanted corrupt the website. But the truth is, these comments can be people from my school. Well, it can't be because nobody at my school actually watches the show where it was reviewed since it was aired on a public broadcasting network and...

Whatever. My school would ridicule me for watching Inception during the school holidays and not watching Grown Ups which they called it the funniest movie of the year. it woud have been said by breakfast shows. I wish they would have the proof to tell me that it was the dumbest movie made. But all I get is Leonardo Dicaprio is a bad actor. Look, whatever that is, these are just stupid reasons. 


For instance, the scene where Joseph Gordon Levitt floats on gravity. That looks cool since there is minimal CGI used and the fact is punching a guy within zero gravity is awesome. The gravity brings Inception into a really climatic stage. Somewhere, I tried hard to find many themes. But I can find two: dreams and manipulation. Manipulating the mind into finding or searching a memento by their dreams. That was Cillian Murphy's role in here. 


I really hate how people think of this movie and it's not fair to be slack to a movie when they never seen it. And I get pretty angry when I am being tormented for watching a really smart movie. These kids made me miserable. Besides I'm not a teacher, I'm a student at this school and I suffer that.


Well I'm not going to judge kids watching this movie based on their intellect, but the fact is teenagers would never get this movie. They'll never understand movies when they're an adolescent. They never wanted to be challenged by filmmakers. All they want is action. Inception supplied that. Teenagers want hot girls in their movies. Well... Inception put in Marion Cottilard, but I'm not quite sure if she's actually that sexy. But yeah. They like Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen beause they had all of that despite the fact that it lacks a story, there's no logic and it has the worst directing ever by Michael Bay! But I have to admit, I actually enjoyed that movie.


Now I wonder what will happen when The Social Network will come out. I think I would experience the same thing when I watch The Social Network, because they've never heard abourt rumours that Hollywood is making a movie about Facebook. IF they seen the spots on TV, they will get it but they won't see it. But if I seen it, I said it was great, they'll torture me with "that's movie gay".


The Social Network is getting universal acclaim currently receiving a 97% rating. The reason for this was because of the charismatic performances, beautiful cinematography, dark direction by David Fincher and witty dialogue from Aaron Sorkin.

But I'm not quite sure whether my school would see this because I just don't think they would go to movies that are really good. Try to ask a teenager had they watched There Will Be Blood. Chances are 1 in 10. They are unlikely to see that movie because the movie's really small and relies on word to word marketing.


The Social Network looks like a very small movie. It deserves all of the critical attention and once its released, it will beat many other films that were quite dull like Let Me In (which I think was a bad idea to remake this movie when the original was pure genius). 


But this wasn't the only movie I'm worried about of what people think. Next week, I'm coming back to school and movies releaased that week are Resident Evil 4, The Town and Cyrus. I wouldn't be watching Cyrus becuase i thought it would have been predictable movie about a middle aged man meeting a single mother of a 23 year old son. 


I'm going to see The Town, directed and starring Ben Affleck by the time its released. It's a box office success and also a critically acclaimed movie. I should think Ben Affleck must retire acting and do directing. He's like the next Clint Eastwood. The trailer was absolutely gripping and it might possibly be one of the most underrated movies of 2010. So that's why I wanted to see this movie. And I also like crime dramas situated in Boston.


But apparently, I'm not quite sure if the school had known anything about this movie. As far as it goes, I'm a 100% sure that the majority of the school is watching Resident Evil. I wouldn't want to watch that movie because it looks like The Matrix with a zombie set.


So as far as it goes, people would want me to watch the dumbest movie ever like they tell me to listen to the dumbest music ever and not letting me listen to my own music because they think is gay.


Back to The Social Network, and it's ironic that the majority of school use Facebook and will tank this movie since again they've never heard of it or they wanted to hurt me for watching really good movies.


Honestly I like being different to the whole school, but when I talk about what i like, I feel totally hurt and I feel miserable because they're totally ignorant, intolerant hypocrites. These people at WSHS do not tolerate what I like and it seems that as far as this go, I would go ahead calling everything they like gay.


Look, I don't know what it is about my school hating the movies I like, but apparently it might be the fact that I like The Hurt Locker over Avatar. Nobody in my school actually seen The Hurt Locker, but at least they heard that it won this year's Best Picture Oscar. The whoe school had seen Avatar and called it the greatest movie of all time because they have seen it in 3D and enjoyed the movie made $500 million for its special effects.


I'm getting tired of my school making fun of me and picking on me for the stuff I like. I can't talk about Inception because they hated that movie. I can't talk about Scott Pilgrim since nobody heard about it and if I talk about it, they will tease me for it. And if I talk about THe Town or The Social Network, they'll say "sorry, but we hate your movies". 


So if I don't talk what I like, my life would be isolated and boring. And yet this school makes this boring.


I wished everybody cared about my movies because I wish people would tolerate what I like instead of saying they're gay without any reason. Because they ignore me when I said Justin Bieber is stupid to listen, and said bad things about my favourite bands Muse and Radiohead as well as Linkin Park. Or which actress I have a ccrush on. Nobody cares if I fallen in love with Scarlett Johansson or Anne Hathaway. But everybody cares about Megan Fox and she couldn't act a single cent. Now I'm almost on the verge of being virtually ignored by everybody. I didn't want to have attention, I didn't wish that people would see me as a smart person. But I wish people cared about my views.


But these are the movies I would like to see and I hope my mates at school would care and understand what are the things I like:

• The Town
• The Social Network
• Tron: Legacy
• The King's Speech
• Black Swan