Aaron Pinto

A blog about pop music, pop culture, art, design, style, humor and heartache. I post in twos, to create “'ensembles,' or purposeful combinations of works from different cultures, periods, and media,” (h/t Albert C. Barnes) although Tumblr's NSFW content ban probably spoiled a lot of the pairings. Currently on indefinite hiatus but carrying on in a similar vein over on Instagram: @pintoaaron.

[pintoaaron]

Atlanta Braves very first yearbook, printed in 1966.

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen.

[pintoaaron]

Hi, Tumblr.

Not much has changed in my life since my last posts. Since then, the movie I had been waiting forever for was finally released-- Love & Mercy, the biopic about two different eras in Brian Wilson’s life. The movie triggered/rekindled a lot of Brian Wilson/Beach Boys ideas and opinions I had always thought about or even muttered offhandedly, but had never put into writing. It was an inevitable essay.

I worked really hard on it for about a month and I’m proud to share it here.

I called it “In the Eyes of the World,” which, of course, is a line from “That’s Not Me,” off Pet Sounds. But the reason I chose it as the title is because, while this essay is about Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, and Love & Mercy, it’s even more so about how the world views Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, and what Love & Mercy has done in that respect.

The movie will be out on DVD this time next week (can’t wait), so I’ll give yuhs a week to digest this essay and then go see the movie.

P.S. The website on which this article is posted is my new site, called POPWORM. The idea is that it's going to be a site for my music writings—both old and new. So far, the only thing on there is this essay, but I’m not trying to cramp its style just yet.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this. Feel free to share. Thanks.

--Aaron

Read: “In the Eyes of the World” on POPWORM

[pintoaaron]

It seems like yesterday that I was sitting around, waiting in vain for any information to be revealed about Sloan's next album. And I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, in July of this year, Sloan announced it all: the album's title (Commonwealth), its tracklisting, and its artwork. The release date was set for September.

I found a promo CD of it before it was released, and eventually bought the double vinyl. It was too good for words, I kept telling myself. But after eating, sleeping, and breathing Commonwealth for about a month, I felt that it was my duty to write about it, or at least attempt to. This little idea spiraled into a 3-week-long project, as I attempted to write "The Definitive Guide to Sloan," a huge piece that would entail more than just a review of Commonwealth-- I wanted to contextualize their band legacy and touch on everything released before it as well. When I finally finished it, it was close to 20 single-spaced pages and 12,000+ words (the longest thing I had ever written). I shopped it around and found an interested publisher in PopMatters. They tweaked it a bit and separated it into three installments, but I'm ultimately happy with it. And apparently so was Sloan--they posted all three parts on their Facebook, they included it in their newsletter, and Chris Murphy and Gregory MacDonald personally thanked me.

So this and the prior post are the biggest things that have happened in my life in the last 1/2 year/year or so. Not too shabby, I'd say.

I hope you enjoy and I hope to return to tumblr full-time sooner than later.

Without further adieu, here are the links to the Sloan piece:

Part I: "Sloan Picks Up Where the Beatles Left Off" Part II: "One Chord To Another: A Retrospective on the Records of Sloan" Part III: "Four of a Kind: A Breakdown of Sloan's 'Commonwealth'"

Love, Aaron

(Part 2 of 2)

[pintoaaron]

Don't call it a comeback, it's been a while, did ya miss me? etc.

I've deliberately stayed off tumblr for the past however many months (and have been the opposite of prolific on it it for over a year) because I know how bad it will distract me from looking for employment (instead I've just been distracting myself with Instagram: @pintoaaron). But I'm making a brief appearance today to show off some new things that have happened in the last 1/2 year+.

The most important addition in my life since you've last heard from me is the person you see above, my girlfriend Sam. We met after a student in a high school class I was subbing for raised her hand and said "Mr. Pinto, I think you'd be good for my cousin-- she's weird like you." Five minutes into our quasi-blind date, it was pretty clear that Sam's cousin was right-- she was weird like me and as a result, we fell for each other. I'm not gonna get extra sappy on yall because curmudgeony single me would've been disgusted by that, but I will say that she's the best and I can't explain how much happier I have been with her in my life-- she's exactly who I had been chasing after for years and I love her with all the madness in my soul. Maybe I am getting a little gushy. Haters: suck my ass.

(Part 1 of 2)

[atomic-dreamer]

[pintoaaron]

Tonight marks the end of an era: it's the last ever episode of How I Met Your Mother. 

I started watching this series a few years back, after my brother continually nagged me to. To appease him, I binge watched entire seasons while on breaks from school. I'm glad he didn't give up on getting me to watch-- It didn't take long for me to fall in love with it. Now I find myself in the position of nagging people to watch it, usually people who can't wrap their head around the idea of a CBS comedy being funny.

And I get that-- CBS is notorious for some of the worst sitcoms I've personally ever seen (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls). But it should be clear to any fan of comedy and good writing that How I Met Your Mother is different. To quote the AV Club article that's been making the internet rounds today,

It’s Friends with single-camera elements; it’s Arrested Development that panders to the masses; it’s Seinfeld with a premise; it’s Lost with studio-audience laughter. 

Indeed. How I Met Your Mother is not a casual comedy-- its complexities of plot, continuity, and character are overwhelming in the best way. Its blend of classic comedy with heart-wrenching sentimentality is unique and done better than any other show.

Whenever I defend That Thing You Do! as my favorite movie of all-time, I make the point that it has everything you want in a movie: first-rate comedy, great plot and storytelling, fun for everyone, romantic, sad, musically informed, full of life lessons. It's safe to say that How I Met Your Mother is the television equivalent of that.

Sure, there have been some less-than-stellar episodes, plot turns, and writing decisions made with this show over the past 9 years. But those don't take away from the series at large. At its best-- even at its most average-- How I Met Your Mother is a more fulfilling show than most and that's on multiple levels, not the least of which being its comedic value.

I don't think there will ever be another sitcom as great as How I Met Your Mother. For me, anyway. Ted, Robin, Barney, Marshall, and Lily will all be missed (as well as the mother [pictured]-- we hardly knew ye!). As will all the side characters (Ranjit, Sandy Rivers, Patrice, Victoria, the parents, and so on). And the recurring bits (slap bet, yousonofabeetch, salutes, interventions, the red cowboy boots, and so on). But no one can take these things away from us-- we'll always have How I Met Your Mother, in all of its 208-episode awesomeness.

[pintoaaron]

SPLHCB

[cretin-family]

[pintoaaron]

Cool pic. Really one of my fav. bands.

[design-is-fine]

Ellsworth Kelly, Blue and Green over Orange, 1964-65. Color lithograph on paper. Private collection, New York

[welzenis]

Jan Willem van Welzenis 2013  Acrylic, oil pastel, paper on paper 30” x 22” / 76 x 56 cm View Post

[pintoaaron]

Sign me up

[kwamekwanzaa]

Kanye West “Runaway” x Kwamekwanzaa

[pintoaaron]

I always relate to the "Runaway" short film so much. In college, I always went to the dance company's recitals because something about seeing beautiful girls that I knew doing ballet just did a number on my emotions and it inspired me so much.

[justinpeterson]

INKtober day 20! My theme: drawing the covers of my favorite records… today, a power-pop masterpiece:

Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key - 1998

There’s two sad things here: one, younger kids today have never heard of (or heard) Superdrag, and two, even if you are aware of them (from their 1996 radio hit "Sucked Out", probably), chances are you may have never heard anything from this record, or subsequent records either. It’s a real shame, because Superdrag is a damn fine band!

Why didn’t you hear anything from this record? I have no idea. A band that leaned towards a retro sound didn’t fit in amongst bands like, you know, CREED. Why listen to something good when you can listen to “My Own Prison” a million times?

(To be fair, while I don’t like Creed, I can appreciate the fact that some people do.)

Anyway. This record is amazing. They took all the money their record company would give them and decided to make a very Beatles-esque record, which wasn’t a very popular idea at the time. And while the record was a flop and Elektra Records would eventually drop the band, we’re all the better for John Davis and company giving us these 13 fantastic songs.

Art note: I’m pretty happy with the pencil shading on her face… I like how the face is rendered by the rest of her is pretty stark. 

Favorite track: Shuck & Jive… but I can’t find a good link for you, so here’s my second favorite track, Sold You An Alibi

[pintoaaron]

A staple in my favorite albums of all-time. Every listen brings a greater appreciation for it. Just perfect in every way. Love this drawing and write up!

[retroreverbs]

Andrew Sedgley - Yellow Attenuation (1965).

[flamingxpie-deactivated20121023]

[pintoaaron]

A good backbeat is the foundation of rock & roll-- and a good, solid, swinging backbeat makes you feel great.

"She Loves You" is the best example of Ringo's impeccable, soul-stirring, big-beat backbeat. Other Beatles numbers move like that, but "She Loves You" has such exuberance.

There's also a lot of subtlety to what Ringo did. On "I Want To Hold Your Hand," the verses have the patented sound of his "sloshy" hi-hat, with its cymbals open just enough to get that sizzle. Then, for the bridge, he closes it; you hear it on the quarter notes, really solid. Even casual listeners notice it, though they may not understand why or how Ringo's doing it. But clearly, it makes such a difference to the landscape of that song!

And I love his playing on "Only A Northern Song"-- those great, fall-down-the-stairs drum fills that are his trademark. Ringo's really a lefty playing a righty kit, which is why a lot of his fills sound so unorthodox. But they're so effective and such a part of his personality.

One of Ringo's greatest gifts is that he helped aspiring drummers learn how to play a song. You realized that your job is to set up a chorus, stay out of the vocalist's way, and leave space for the other musicians-- the bass player in particular. Doing what's right for the tune and moving it along to the different areas where it needs to go, locking with Paul, fueling how the whole band grooves together: That's Ringo. And that's so magical.

--Dennis Diken

A-fucking-men!

[swoon-baby-deactivated20150708]

[thegoodvibrations]

[pintoaaron]

Genius

[pintoaaron]

Movies that moved me in the last few months.

[nolongerusing1234]

[pintoaaron]

It’s a little late for posting here, but it is still 50 years to the month that The Beatles made their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, so technically I’m right on time. Anyway, I wrote this for Manik Music. I feel like it’s one of my most important pieces so please give it a read! Here are the first few paragraphs from my piece “Revolution February 9”.

For a number of people, February 9th, 2014 was nothing special. It was an ordinary Sunday night in early February—spending the waning hours in fear of work’s return, cramming in last-minute assignments for the new semester, feeling emptiness due to the void left by football’s finale.

But for those paying attention, Sunday was an important anniversary—a crucial one. It was the commemoration of the night that America and the rest of the world changed forever. It marked the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ American debut onThe Ed Sullivan Show.

The simple version—and the reason why wise people don’t dispute the anniversary’s importance—is this: The Beatles were featured on a TV show and swept the world’s most culturally powerful nation off its feet, catalyzing a craze that forced the band to expand to creative levels in music that were uncharted and unprecedented.If that performance didn’t change the world directly, then it did for this reason alone—it began many cultural shifts over a six-year period, a good deal of which saw The Beatles as flag carriers.

But the simple version doesn’t do the whole thing justice. It needs to be examined with a fine tooth comb and put into perspective. A newfound appreciation for Febuary 9th, 1964 needs to happen.

We hold that night in great reverence because of the event itself and what it accomplished, not just the 50 years thing. Some might argue that the one-year anniversary in 1965 was as important as the 50th. And while that is true—every year, no, everydaywe should appreciate The Beatles and their arrival—50 is unquestionably an important number. It’s half of a century. It’s a milestone to reach. And it’s really an “in your face” moment to all those old hags who said it wouldn’t last, all those curmudgeons who called pop music disposable. Here we are 50 years later, and not only are we still talking about it, we study it like the true art it always was, and we love it in more formats than ever. Plus, it’s catchier than celebrating the 49th anniversary.

Read the rest here.