we consume.

reviews and media recs secondary blog inactive

[mediacrity]

GROWING UP ON THE INTERNET by Noah Finnce, recommendation

GROWING UP ON THE INTERNET by Noah Finnce was (according to YouTube), released on 30 September 2023.

the song and the video go hand in and hand perfectly. it’s unique, relevant and an important style to have on the table. I absolutely recommend it

tws for the song/video: references to internet predators

YouTube link: GROWING UP ON THE INTERNET by Noah Finnce, 2024 (E)

[mediacrity]

A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut, thoughts

A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut by Have A Nice Life from the deathconsciousness album, 2008

*scroll down for spotify link to song

This is not incredibly detailed, a quick review

This is a requested review from @ka0mojiz

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I will say that I absolutely loved this song. An instrumental piece that begins with a floating sound that feels outer space looming over, and coming closer to you, while you stand in awe of its magnificence. A guitar, from what I can tell, a classical one, then plays an eerie yet nostalgic riff that, following the outer space theme, feels like space has taken you and you are now floating with it. the song achieves an emotional detachment, a liminality that feels like retrospectively looking back at a lost childhood down a corridor. Throughout the song, a “wind howling” sound that in context ends up sounding more like a space vortex that takes all underscores the piece, producing a feeling of blackhole-like emptiness. One can only imagine oblivion approaching, or you are already in, as you orbit within the dark vastness of space. A harsh, alien like synth-piano begins spearing into the track which feels like space focusing on and the track takes a turn —the nostalgic detachment is gone and is replaced by ominous dread. The track ends on a sound, feeling like a “spiral through space”.

overall, the song captures an emptiness and a loneliness. the vastness and oblivion can be felt through the spacey background sound, but the sharp emotion of blue nostalgia can be felt through the guitar. its title achieves a feeling of emptiness too, “devouring”, but places the location on earth instead of somewhere unknown to human civilisation, such as outer space. it allows us to capture those other-worldly moments on our earth, and ponder its alienation yet interlinked nature to the human experience. The song is 7:52, long enough for you to dissolve yourself in the feeling as it progresses. it’s a perfect listen for those who want to tune out the world for just a moment.

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spotify link: A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut by Have A Nice Life, 2008

[mediacrity]

Happiness by Steve Cutts, thoughts

Happiness by Steve Cutts, 2017

TW: mentions of addiction

*scroll to the bottom for Youtube link/film TWs

thank you to @ddepressedbookworm for recommending this short film to me

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Happiness is one of my favourite animated short films of all time. The grey colouring the entire city, filled with artificial colour is reminiscent of the reality of the dull, uninspiring lifestyle of one in the city. The anthropomorphism of the rats (I assume a "pun" on living in a rat race) is an immediate representation of the disenchanted city dwellers we encounter, and might even be, in real life.

The film begins with many rats, not anthropomorphised, uncomfortably squeaking and squeezing together in what is revealed to be a train station, immediately making the film into a commentary on human life. One of my favourite things about the film is that it is filled with bright-coloured posters, but it does nothing to improve the drab surrounding. The posters are also large in quantity, pasted one after another, an extremely relevant visual representation of numbness in the face of overconsumption. It is "everything, all of the time" (Welcome to the Internet, Bo Burnham). Cutts also creates posters mimicking popular brands, playing on their tag lines and branding them "happiness", showing our consumerist nightmare for what it is ----a brutal, unfulfilled chase for happiness that fuels corporations that sell temporal "happiness" through products.

The link between consumerism and our want for happiness continues in the film as we see more products like "fast cars". The idea of a fast car, perhaps presents the wish to "get out", or float above the rest. A striking shot comes at 1:22 where the rats are seen moving through the walls of society, covered with posters, the society structured like a maze. It displays our society from an objective lens, we are confused, we are stuck.

Cutts further explores this cycle by branding some products (such as alcohol and medication) as "absolute happiness", bringing in the theme of addiction. Memorable scenes include the frenzied shopping craze where the rats, literally, tear each other apart to get their haul, and another scene where the "main character" takes medication and the visual style of the film changes from a drab, gloomy city to a shiny, too shiny, field. The main character's high, of course, ends and ultimately ends on the cold city pavement.

At the end, the "main character" chases the one thing that ties everything all together --money, the thing we chase to buy a lifestyle. The main character chases a dollar bill up a building, and then comes the summation of the film --he is trapped in a mousetrap and begins working at his desk. The film then zooms out to show everyone, identical. At the last moment, Cutts links this back to our harsh system of endless working and capitalism, further linking it to a lack of individuality. It is, as said before, a cycle. We are unhappy because of our work and therefore, we want to be happy, but we attempt to buy happiness in products, but to buy we must have money, and to have money we must work. Thus, the cycle begins, fuelling our consumerist nature which only gives more money to corporations. We are trapped, in our "mousetraps". It is all related back to our innate want of Happiness.

overall, I absolutely recommend this short film. Steve Cutt’s ability to visually get across the is spectacular. the film is smart, darkly funny, and not just relevant, but resonates on a personal level with any consumer living in the 21st century. Five stars, absolutely.

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TWs for short film

violence/gore

addiction

Youtube link for short film: Happiness by Steve Cutts, 2017

[mediacrity]

Whistler Isaiah New Release

whistler released a new album on 13th March 2024

spotify link: splinters by whistler isaiah, 2024