DMW: Digital Music W...

While people have lists and powerpoints to show their "best of" 2007, I will just forgo all of that nonsense and just write. I'll try to be entertaining.

I thought back to early 2007 and wondered what my most significant music purchases were during that time. I remember Air's "Pocket Symphony". That release was just perfect for my travel to Tokyo. Its very easy to get influenced by Japanese sounds and culture and this release was Air's way of saying "Merci" to the Japanese.

And then somewhere around Spring time, I ended up with Bjork's "Volta". I watched her performance on SNL and thought, "Hmm. I like the song." So I ended up buying it. It stayed on my repeat rotation for a bit until Summer.

The Chemical Brothers released "We Are the Night" and that easily pushed my Bjork playlist aside. Around that time, I remember watching a video of the Klaxons "Golden Skans" and thought, "maybe I should give that release a try. I mean, it did win a Mercury Prize - beating out the likes of Amy "I thought I heard a mouse" Winehouse. So I bought "Myths of the Near Future" and I got sucked into that album's nuveau post-punk wave sound. And then I bought UNKLE's "War Stories" and was surprised at the hard rock sound that James Lavelle was able to hone in on.

Around Fall, I bought Charlotte Gainsbourg's "5:55" based on the fact that I finally watched Michel Gondry's "The Science of Sleep" and remembered reading that Air helped write and record music with Charlotte. That was my surprise purchase of the year. When music is done by Air, you can't really go wrong. This album was on repeat on my iPod for about three months.

What kicked "5:55" from my repeat? Radiohead's "In Rainbows". The album deserves all sorts of acclaim. The thing about the release, though, was that most of the songs off the album were played live at various concerts. So in essence, some of the tunes weren't "new" in the sense of the word. They were just cleaned up, studio versions that got a final track spot on the LP or CD or download.

Along the way, I encountered some interesting news about Courtney Love's "leaked" demo. I will leave it up to the listener. I'm not going to say anything until Courtney releases the album. And the biggest leak of the year (at least, big to me as a fan) has to belong to Goldfrapp's "Seventh Tree". Ironically, its starting to become the most interesting release of 2008 based on the fact that the sounds kinda do harken back to the days of "Felt Mountain" but only while combining the sounds of their other releases. Their sound has matured and this release might actually prove to be bigger than "Supernature" because its a genuine pop album. Nothing to be ashamed of at all. The oxymoronic lyrics set against poppy, upbeat sounds is quintessential Goldfrapp.

So there you have it. My highlights of sounds of 2007. 2008 should be a good year for musicians, not so much for the major labels though. That would have to be another blog post and for another time.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 30, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Not quite an update since its been confirmed who will play what. The biggest star announced to the project to date is Chow Yun-Fat (note: he hasn't signed to the project yet - he's still going through the script). But everyone else has been confirmed and they are:

Justin Chatwin (Son Goku)
James Marsters (Piccolo)
Jamie Chung (Chi Chi)
Golden Globe nominated Emmy Rossum (Bulma) *Note: You are aware that the character name "Bulma" - when translated to English - means "underwear"
Eriko Tamura (Mai) * Note: Oh yeah - She played "Yaeko" in Season 2 of "Heroes" - you know, the love interest to Hiro "Yatta!" Nakamura.
Joon Park (Yamcha) *Note: See him in next year's "Speed Racer" film by the Wachowski Brothers.

Apparently Stephen Chow, who is producing the project, tried to bring in more Chinese actors to the project but proved unsucessful. My gut instincts tells me that Twentieth Century Fox wanted to stick with as many big names or at least, well known names to the project. *Sigh*

Its all up to that script. The script will seriously have to tie "Dragonball" into "Dragonball Z" somehow. And another parting thought, Chow Yun-Fat hasn't read the manga, which was written by Akira Toriyama. Thing is, Master Roshi is actually portrayed as your typical dirty old Japanese man in most of the manga - trying to get his hands on Bulma's ass, and pretty much other women's asses. So, if Chow Yun-Fat doesn't mind that sidenote to the mentor character design, then it should be an interesting addition to his reportoir.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 29, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is how Peruvians wipe their slates clean before entering the new year.

Open to all ages and sexes. Duke 'em up! Knock 2007 out of your system.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 29, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Young men need not worry (or feel left out). Hello Kitty for guys is haute. Or at least Sanrio is trying to imply.

Look...its either this or Gundam, ok?

From AP:

Hello Kitty is no sexist.

The cute cuddly white cat from Japan's Sanrio Co., usually seen on toys and jewelry for girls and young women, will soon don T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men, company spokesman Kazuo Tohmatsu said Friday.

"We think Hello Kitty is accepted by young men as a design statement in fashion," he said.

The feline for-men products will go on sale in Japan next month, and will be sold soon in the U.S. and other Asian nations, according to Sanrio.

The usual bubble-headed shape of Hello Kitty was slightly changed for a more rugged, cool look to appeal to men in their teens and early 20s.

For example, a picture of the cat on a $36 black T-shirt has the words, "hello kitty," instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.

Hello Kitty is one of mascot-obsessed Japan's biggest "character" hits, decorating everything from a humble eraser to a $48,000 diamond necklace.

The planned products mark the first time Sanrio is developing Hello Kitty items especially for males, Tohmatsu said.

But Sanrio had tried a "limited edition" collaboration in men's clothing with designers in Tokyo's chic Harajuku section earlier this year, and they proved popular, he said.

"Young men these days grew up with character goods," said Tohmatsu. "That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty."

And for something completely different (and yet Hello Kitty related)

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Apparently, the world is checking online what this new Goldfrapp album sounds like. As we get closer to 2008, Alison & Will have been talking to several journos about the new album. Go to Arjan's blog site to read some revealing thoughts.

And here's a teaser interview from this blog that will feature a full interview in a German magazine come February. Its funny how the interview was translated from German to English so you will see some misspelled words.

Plus, if you really want to listen to the new single "A&E", you'll just have to hear it on BBC Radio via the web. It seemed to have been removed from YouTube since it was found a couple of days ago.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

John C. Reilly as Dr. Steve Brule from Tim & Eric Awesome Show on [adult swim].

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 28, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As first reported on TV Week dot com, Radiohead will perform all their songs from In Rainbows which will air for an hourlong and commercial-free-on-air. The concert starts 9 PM PST Dec 31 and will be on repeat the next day. You can also catch the performance archived on Current TV's website Current dot com.

Check your listings. Current TV is available in over 41 million homes in the US (Comcast, Time Warner cable, Dish, DirecTV). And of course easily accessible on the wacky wild web.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This message was first sent to fans last week. Since then, fans have shared it, ripped it, uploaded its video on several sites and have blogged about it (like what I'm doing now).

Merry Christmas and enjoy Goldfrapp's X-Mas tune and video!

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 24, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're near the end of the year and its time once again for my media predictions for the next year. 2008 shows a mature broadband market where video streams are becoming faster, better and watchable. The trend continues as Veoh received more than 21.5 million unique visitors per month, up from 2.5 million at the start of this year. That is one freakin' huge increase!

VC firms are funding more business plans that entail Hollywood writers and original content for the web. In light of successful broadband originals such as Funny or Die.com or Ask a Ninja.com, writers are starting to get the large picture on broadband and its powerful hold on the short-attention span public. There actually is a lot of VC money to be had, it only takes a solid business plan or existing media model to make that firm cut its check to you.

If you are thinking of leaving your job at a financial institution and looking for something fun and interesting to get involved in, then I highly recommend the wonderful world of venture capital firms where media and broadcasting clients are a part of their portfolio. On the flip side, if you are thinking of breaking out on your own terms - sans studios - then get your writer/director friends in the business together and work on that kick-ass business plan.

See what VC money can do for you!

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 22, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

That Goldfrapp. They certainly know how to spring a surprise on their fans. Earlier this week, their site gave a sneak peek of the track "Clowns". The song is no longer on the site. The sneak peek ended some time yesterday - I assume midnight GMT.

And I get an email today that BBC Radio 1's Jo Whiley Show will exclusively play the first single "A&E" on Monday, Dec 17 during their regular show hours. But don't fret. The song will eventually make its way to Goldfrapp's MySpace music player. Its fitting that Jo Whiley gets an exclusive on airing the song. Last time, Goldfrapp did an acoustic session that featured a beautiful unplugged version of "Fly Me Away" and their kick ass cover of Ordinary Boys' "Boys WIll Be Boys".

Thus far, almost all music mags have stayed in line with describing the forthcoming release as "unplugged" or "acoustic". Pretty much all true. As soon as February rolls in and you listen to all the tracks, you can picture their live sets to be very mellow and "unplugged".

And check out the Goldfrapp site. Its creepy in a Blair Witch meets The Ring vibe. The site now has a new loop and its just as sublime and gorgeous as the previous one.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 15, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm kinda busy putting together the VOD schedule for Anime Selects so I didn't get a chance to write up how things went at NY Anime Festival. It did alright for its first year. Last numbers I heard was over 15k, which exceeded expectations for a first year con. Usually, first year cons get an attendance between 8 - 12k.

But its not too late to audition to be our next Tokyo Reporter for 2008. We even got help from our friends over at IFC to get the word out. We're pretty excited to have them on board as our cross-programming partner. So look out for those IFC news segments that talk about Anime Selects' Tokyo Reporter!

I tried to upload the promo here but the file is too large. So head over to Taz's blog at AnimePodcast.NET and check out the promo.

To do your video audition, just go to www.animeselects.com/tokyo for guidelines, rules and tips.

Ganbatte!

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For those who like female revenge flix, I think you'll enjoy this one. I think I was sold on the tempura machine gun arm...

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now pay attention indie filmmakers, producers, tech start-ups, digital boutiques and any other media-centric newfangled thing that is currently in beta stage... There is a trend among Hollywood talent agencies that doesn't seem to be letting up. The latest agency to get into the VC fray is CAA (Creative Artists Agency). Following in the footsteps of rivals ICM, UTA and William Morris (I have a personal beef with that agency), they are setting aside some money and looking to invest in digital entertainment. This was first published in paidContent.org and is making its rounds among several entertainment trades.

Broadband entertainment is maturing - very fast. It took about ten years to get here but its finally here. Now we're seeing talent agencies hedging their bets on future content because, let's face it, content is king - always and forever. Technology is forcing the hand of filmmakers and musicians to think drastically outside their normal business. This is just one aspect that's taking shape. Will this make Hollywood, or at least entertainment, better? How does this business model affect future filmmaking? If I had a crystal ball, I wouldn't be here blogging about this. I would be listed on Forbes list of the top 20 richest people on the planet.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 04, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rumor of the day... Click here for the scoop from Digital Media Wire.

Hmmm... Wow. I wonder what other artists they plan to book in Manchester, TN? I wonder...starts with a "G" ends with a "p"? Hmmm....

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 04, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ladytron shared this on their MySpace blog page and now I'm sharing it on my blog page. Enjoy and rock hard!

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 01, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I want to share this wonderful project amongst bloggers and readers. My friend, Eric Calderon, has been working on this pilot original anime project called "The Five Killers". Click here to check out the trailer.

The pilot was animated by the folks over at studio Gonzo in Tokyo. It is the same studio that has brought the world "Afro Samurai", "Witchblade" and "Samurai 7" among so many others.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 01, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This promotional video for New Mexico's tourism and visitor's bureau is starting to cause chatter amongst the blogosphere (or at least amongst the tourism blogs). I've been to The Land of Enchantment and let me tell you, using their public toilet in the rest area is quite scary. Are you aware that they have "natural toilets" where you walk into the stall and squat into a dark, cavernous toilet seat with no flush handle? Its just you and the seat and this dark, cavernous hole in the ground. Apparently, the human waste ends up somewhere in the earth. Eewwwww. Just don't drop anything down that hole.

Posted by Amanda Nanawa on December 01, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)