culture drift
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This is the End... After 2 and a half years of Culture Drift I am pretty certain that this is the end. It's been great, and at times better than I thought. It successfully got me into the practice of regular writing. But going into 2007 I want to write fiction and long-form articles instead of the blogging thing. That means being able to watch TV or listen to music without doing the review in my head, or not worrying about what to say the next time Britney Spears gets carried out of a club. I will leave that to the pros like Perez Hilton or Trent from Pink is the New Blog. This site will remain as an archive of my writing from June 2004 to December 2006, so there is plenty to read. I can't say too much now, but there is a new project I am working on (and getting paid for actually) that will provide a great creative outlet for me. Elements of Culture Drift will no doubt live on in some fashion there. Until then... - Chip Ross The Best of 2006 Mixtape
The songs that did make appearances on my earlier mixes are those that I can seemingly hear again and again, like the Killers lead single from Sam's Town and Band of Horses anthemic dirge "Funeral." Overall it's a good mix of favorites and emerging new sounds to say goodbye to 2006.
Download it! (136 mb zip file)
The 64th Annual Golden Globe TV Nominations Dec. 13 - So the nominations for the 64th annual Golden Globes were announced super early in LA this morning. Matthew Perry (Studio 60) was on hand for the ceremony, which gave his struggling show a sole actor nod for Sarah Paulson (his onscreen ex "Harriet") in the Supporting Actress category. That's a surprise, as I think if any actress from that show deserves award mentioning, it's Amanda Peet. Either way it's good news for NBC and their comeback year with Heroes proving to be the "It" show of the year with a nomination for Best Series and for Masi Oka ("Hiro"). Also I'm loving the Alec Baldwin 30 Rock nomination. Another new show to feel the Globes buzz is HBO's Big Love picking up a Best Series nod and Best Actor for Bill Paxton. I wish they would have awarded Deadwood and The Wire from HBO instead. Showtime gets into the cable game with Weeds and Dexter. So let's get to the major TV nominations. Who should win and who was snubbed? "Star" Watching at The Playboy Mansion Dec. 3 - Saturday night was my first time to hit up the Playboy Mansion. For many it is an elusive dream and for me a quest since I started working for the bunny in late August. I took a small tour of the grounds led by a former Playmate. Saw the exotic birds, Coco the chimpanzee and some monkeys. It wasn't an official Hef-thrown party but rented out by Axe body spray so the level of celebrity was probably a little off. First I saw Stephen Dorff, a reputed regular. He was short with a real wide head and seemed to be friends with all the bunnies. Then there was a bunch of guys from The Office. The C-level cast from the show, not Carrell or Dwight, but that fat white guy who is lazy, that old pervy dude with the buzzcut and the middle-aged redhead woman who is an alchie. Even ex-TV stars needed love and so there were two randoms from Alias hanging at the outside bar. It was little Marshall, who is really hobbity and the guy who played Sark who bummed my lighter and didn't have an English accent. Later on I saw him with his hand down some chick's backless dress. As the night went on, we got some bigger stars to appear. Kendra from The Girls Next Door was kicking it in her Chargers jersey with Nick Cannon, star of MTV and the only other guy besides me to wear a tie. Later on Carmen Electra was in his couch area near the dance floor. Then came the biggest star of the night, Mr. Colin Farrell. He was with three of his "boys" who seemed to be random party dudes without much game. Farrell was laid back in jeans and a hat but with a buzz of girls gathering around him. He disappeared for awhile into the night only to return at closing time. Where do the A-listers get to go at the mansion? For my take the best celebrity was Trent from Pink is the New Blog. We ran into each other doing a most "touristy" thing, taking a picture of the grotto, and he was very gracious and very cool. He does a good write-up of the party with lots of pictures (see below).
Those Damn Animated Movies! Nov. 19 - In today's society kids rule. Take this weekend at the box office for example with the No. 1 film being Happy Feet instead of Casino Royale. The kids voted and stomped theirs and their parents' feet into the theaters. It is one film trend I really despise yet never hear anyone else bitch about -- the star-studded animated feature. This year since April alone there have been almost 10 films with cutesy animals or inanimate objects brought to life through celebrity VO's. We've had barnyard animals, bugs, cars and even whatever gets Flushed Away in the toilet. What makes less sense to me is which ones are hits and which ones fail. Now that there are more of them, some just don't catch on with the public, like last summer's The Ant Bully. Films Since April 2006/Earnings To me they are all the same and I can't imagine how a kid would discern between them all. Don't parents just line up their brats on opening weekend no matter if its a ferret or sea monster that Robin Williams is voicing this time? I'm just extra pissed because the great new James Bond picture fell to kiddie fare. But making $40 million is one of the best openings for the 007 franchise and opens the door to many more. Rock Fashion 2006: Strange looks are the new cool
Sept. 3 - One thing the MTV Video Music Awards showed me is the abundance of costumed rockers out there. Theatrics abound with looks that are flamboyant and strange, in so much marked contrast to the jeans and t-shirt rockers we are used to from the 90s. The apparent elements across many bands that I've noticed includes matching ensembles ala Sgt. Pepper (see My Chemical Romance, shown above) or a strange crossover of new wave, goth and punk stylings and of course plenty of bangs. Bands include AFI, Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco. Even Jared Leto is in on the action with a Marilyn Manson doppelganger going on. When and how does he transform back into Jared Leto the film actor? His creation of mascara and angst is testament to the general tone of music fashion today. It's about expression and standing out and marking the difference between performers and their audience. They don't dress like actual people on the street because at the moment we don't want our rock stars to be like us.
Pop Culture Country Aug. 16 - Is anybody surprised that Americans are more familiar with Paris Hilton than the judges on the Supreme Court? The better question is does anyone care? In a recent Zogby poll respondents were asked to identify various pop culture items along with historical, political and classical information. From the report, "just over 60 percent of them were able to name Bart as Homer's son on the television show The Simpsons, while only 20.5 percent were able to name one of the ancient Greek poet Homer's epic poems, The Iliad" and The Odyssey. I am not terribly offended by that particular statistic as you can say The Odyssey was pop culture back in its day, meaning it was mega-popular to the Ancient Greeks. We're just 2500 years removed from them. I would like for Americans to be more up on current events and politics and find elements of the study in that regard distressing. Take this example: Respondents were far more familiar with the Three Stooges than the three branches of the U.S. government. Seventy-four percent identified the former, 42 percent the latter. The Many Faces of 007 Bond actors and how they reflect pop culture Aug. 12 - This week's Entertainment Weekly is celebrating Fall films staring with the next James Bond adventure Casino Royale. Since there is a new Bond (Daniel Craig) the issue comes with imaginative covers for each of the previous Bond actor debuts as if EW was there to cover them. So they are not real, okay. The EW staff clearly had fun with the covers trying to present a time capsule of the Bond and pop culture news of the day. I had several observances while checking out them out, like who would have really believed that Coolio was going to change the face of rap or that The Wings might be better than The Beatles? Start the pop culture time travel tour with Sean Connery or click any cover to visit that partircular era.
 Cartoon Network Death Metal
Aug. 7 - What if dark metal was the most popular music around? What if Slayer or Venom were like The Beatles, where each member was a pin-up idol and fodder for paparazzi and gossip? That is the starting premise of a new animated series on Cartoon Network called Death Clock: Metalocalypse. Premiering last Sunday as part of the Adult Swim lineup, Metalocalypse is about the adventures of an extreme Scandinavian metal bank named Dethklok who leave a "trail of mayhem and destruction wherever they go." Fans of metal and pop irony will appreciate the Spinal Tap like humor. The name of the band is confusing slightly as legal reasons forced the change from "Death Clock," which is how the show appears in TV listings to "Dethklok." But no matter what they are called, a myspace page already exists. Like any good metal band, each member has his own unique look and persona. Vocals: Nathan Explosion MTV Turns 25 and Decides it's Not Cool Anymore
I think that if MTV was an actual 25 year old it would probably be too cool for itself and deny that it watched. By staying attached to teens, MTV has reinvented itself many times over the years. That alienated older fans no doubt as did their increasing reliance on non-video programming. But you have to respect a 25-year old brand staying relevant in a fast-changing world. Today with more places on TV and the Web to get videos and music programming, MTV has retained its image and brand. It still means something. Even if it's not exactly videos. Starting at midnight tonight (and again this Saturday at 9am) VH1Classic will air the entire first 24 hours from 1981. The videos kind of suck but watch for the funny clothes and hairstyles seen also on the first VJ's. I only wish they would run the original commercials for an ultimate time warp. Entertainment Weekly is calling out their most notable moments over the last 25 years of MTV:
Another list comes from USA Today with 25 key moments in MTV history and a look at what is to come for MTV. movies / music / politics / society / trends / tv / whatever |
To create my annual "best of" mix I wanted to try something a little different. Usually I go through the monthly mixes and pick out the best songs, try to put them into a good flow and call it day. I did that first and realized I was bored with the selections. I was clicking past Gnarls Barkley, the Knife and Thom Yorke. So I turned to new albums and fresh discoveries like Beach House, The Album Leaf and Clipse. They make for nearly half the mix being songs I've never featured. 
July 31 - Tomorrow, August 1, is the 25th anniversary of MTV's first broadcast day. Back in 1981 it is hard to believe they had enough videos to fill the whole day. But somehow they did as there was no original programming to fill time. It took a few years for MTV to catch on and spread to more cable outlets (my Grandma had it before we did I recall) but by 1984 it was becoming bigger than radio for launching bands and careers. Fashion and trends soon developed from MTV as did filmmaking techniques and editing styles. No matter what you think about it now MTV became a symbol of youth and cool.