I've had a longtime love/hate relationship with Dwell Magazine. I canceled it last year, but someone recently gifted me a subscription. I typically thumb quickly through the unrealistic and unattainable, but in their 10 Year Anniversary Issue I spotted a dwelling that can only be described as Mid-century Modest.
The curbside view on this flat-roofed gem is understated to say the least. Overgrown and weatherworn, the front façade simply says 'simple'. Which I love. While the tan 1970's Bavaria silently screams 'taste'. Which I love even more.
The interior on the other hand, though still simple and tasteful, is an exercise in where and when to indulge. They opted to cover the inside in basic 70's-looking clay tiles—the exact same tan as the Bimmer mind you—which is striking (but it's not like they went with marble). Yet every interior item points toward the place where they actually dropped some dough—the back wall or the lack thereof.
The owners eliminated the back wall of the humble home entirely and opted for an opulent 26-foot-long, 18-foot-high sliding glass door that opens the entire interior to a unique view of LA. There's no TV in the house, the view is their flat screen and a beautiful vintage record-player is their soundtrack. Thanks Dwell, for inspiring us with this one. See a full slideshow here.
Within the past two weeks, I've been fortunate enough to hit two of the best shows I've ever seen—both quite different from one another. A week and half ago, thanks to @Upto12, I was able to see Calexico and Arcade Fire at the Rose Quarter in Portland. If you haven't heard much about this tour yet, our friends from up north have basically been lighting up and burning down nearly-filled colosseums across the nation—and this night was no exception.
Though it started out with a couple of very "good" tracks from their newest album The Suburbs—it wasn't 'til opening strums of the fourth song Haiti that they fully came alive. Their energy-level, passion and riotous rocking only increased from that point on. Seeing them live (again) only validated Upto12's point from a recent discussion.
Though I absolutely love both The Suburbs and Neon Bible—it's the tracks from Funeral that send me (and everyone else in the venue) straight into rock concert bliss. It's not that they're necessarily better tunes—they simply perform them in a way that is undeniably exuberant. The proof's here.
Five days later Mrs. Kyality and I caught the James sound check and show at a ridiculous new venue here in SLC. Despite the drab, cinder-block box that is The Complex, the classic Brit-Poppers—visually stunned by the SLC fandom—put on an amazingly energetic and spontaneous show. A minor equipment failure led to an impromptu unplugged session and later a guitar solo was forfeited for a fantastic feedback fight with a fiddle. It's these kind of nuances that make a little concert in a crap venue end up as one of the best yet.
This is a must-see interview for any FNL fan. I pre-apologize for some of the language—still, it's a fantastic clip. Thanks to Mike Arauz for posting this one.
Last Thursday, Mrs. Kyality and I made a last minute, snap decision to catch the Vampire Weekend show that night. They did a great job, but the opening act easily stole the show. I actually hadn't heard of Beach House prior to that night, but later that same night let's just say I snagged all their albums off iTunes.
Beach House is a genre-defying band, nearly unclassifiable. When you hear them for the first time, there's two relatively conflicting vibes happening all at once. You think to yourself, wow I've never anything like this. At the very same time, you can't help but think that they sound oddly familiar.
Nearly every song on their latest album, Teen Dream, is addictive in its own way. In fact, many of the songs start off one way and end completely different, like two songs squished into one. And both are awesome. The standout tracks of the night were Take Care and Walk In the Park—both of which prompted some amazing head-banging from Mademoiselle Legrand.
Listening to Beach House is like a fine dining experience. Each song is like a bite with tons of flavors to identify. Each flavor is a familiar vibe and it's fun to pick each of them out. For me, the ingredient list of Beach House is as follows: one cup of Nico, a teaspoon of Cowboy Junkies and a dash of The Beach Boys. Tasty.
Strangely enough, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World totally slipped under my radar until it was well into theaters. It even came out on my b-day and instead I let Mrs. Kyality convince me to see Eat, Pray, Love. But on Saturday, we were able to snag a sitter for The Kyality Kids for a couple of hours in the afternoon and caught it.
I'm a huge fan of George Michael Bluth, Hot Fuzz and graphic novel adaptations, so once I figured out what this show actually was I was stoked to see it. And it did not disappoint. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the perfect combination of graphic novel meets video game meets anime meets teen angst flick. Not to mention the music rocks too.
Though I was generally a fan of the Wachowski's adaptation of Speed Racer—it seems like this flick's visual effects and motion graphics accomplished what the Wachowski's were attempting. The effects were just tight and the fight scenes were both clever and epic. I can totally imagine Andy and Larry (or is it Lana) watching Pilgrim and going—ahhh, crap.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is easily one of the coolest flicks of the year, so go check it out and get there early enough to catch the treatment of the Universal Pictures logo animation. Good stuff.
I have a pretty substantial hobby collecting what I think are pretty cool pictures from online. And of late, I've become a fan of some sweet Tumblr photo-blogs. Some of my faves are ryjohnson, Convoy and Please Don't Shake Me. So with all that in mind, I've decided to start my own simple, little Tumblr photo-blog. I plan on posting a photo each day and in true Kyality fashion they'll be pics about music, movies, tv, cars and design. You can follow the imagery action at: kyality.tumblr.com
In keeping with the tradition of posting the rad gifts I scored for my b-day, I've put together a quick list of this year's awesomeness. Mrs. Kyality got me "MINI Concept For The Future", which is the book that BMW put together commemorating the MINI Traveller Concept that the Clubman is based on.
So this is what happens when a really sneaky curb catches you (ironically) on the way to a MINI gathering. Thank goodness the doods at Wheelwerks open early.
So I brought my Rebel and telephoto lens to The Dodos and The New Pornographers to SLC's Twilight Concert Series last week. Fantastic bands. Fantastic show. So so shots that barely made the megadorkiness worth it. Nevertheless, here's the best of the bunch. Just click 'em to enlarge.
Meric Long shredding on his ultra-beat-up hollow-body electric.
Logan Kroeber keepin' the beat at a mind-bending tempo.
Keaton Snyder's got the easiest gig around. This is him bowing(?) a vibraphone just before he drooped himself over the fence and started scopin' for hoochies. Nice tee Buster.
Third time's a charm. Mrs. Kyality and I didn't think we'd have the opportunity to see Christopher Nolan's epic mind-bender opening weekend. But when the chance presented itself, it took last-minute phone calls to three sitters before we were jumping in the Clubman on the way to the theater.
Sure there's been some fantastic looking trailers and lots of Twitter hype around this one—but you have to wonder, in a summer of suck (other than TS3)—is this flick as great as they say? The answer is: Yes… on all levels.
Inception is Nolan at the top of his game. When you look at his filmography thus far, everything he's done up to this point has prepared him in some way to make this movie. He set the stage for himself with indie thrillers like Memento and ensemble-cast blockbusters like the Batman reboot. He's stayed true to his brand by growing it ever so slightly—one film at a time—unlike M.Knight who's obviously staggering as he strives to slip free from sleeper-hit stardom.
But Nolan nails it and the proof is in the details. Even though the cast is chock full of stars, he uses them like honed tools. Drawing on each of the actors' inherent baggage to round out his characters' backstories completely worked for him. For instance, when Ellen Page enters the screen, our minds automatically sprinkle a little bit of Juno's nobleness onto her character.
He goes as far as to use Edith Piaf's classic anthem "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" as a thread throughout the film. That's of course a song that was masterfully delivered by Marion Cotillard when she took home an Oscar for her portrayal of none other than Edith Piaf in the magnificent biopic La vie en rose. Again, choices such as this add degrees of depth and detail.
Finally, you can't talk about Inception without mentioning the effects. Sure, you've heard how awesome they are, but what you perhaps haven't heard is how essential they are to the story. Nolan takes no cheap shots with his use of visual effect, minimal CG and intricate action sequences. They are mandated by the story. Even his gratuitous use of beautiful slo-mo shots are technically being shown in real-time from the perspective of the characters. So get your movie fix filled with this smart, satisfying epic that nails it on all levels.
PS: I also loved the Hans Zimmer score and the awesome alpine siege sequence.
While developing my Top 10 Favorite Movie Cars list, I noticed that tons of movie cars started as TV cars, which inspired the list below. Enjoy!
10. "The Monkeemobile" 1966 GTO convertible - The MonkeesMy dad, Normality, always talks about seeing this one in person as a kid. That kinda thing sticks with you.
9. "Crockett's Ferrari" 1986 Ferrari Tesstarossa - Miami Vice Growing up, I wasn't allowed to watch Miami Vice so this car always had some mystique surrounding it. Not to mention, it has a way cool rear view mirror.
8. "B.A. Baracus' Van" 1983 GMC G-Series - The A-Team A kidnapper van never looked so cool.
7. The Jon Voight Car 1989 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible - Seinfeld "Everybody's talkin' at me, Can't hear a word they're sayin' [George improvises] Just drivin' around in Jon Voight's car…"
6. "KITT" 1982 Pontiac Trans Am - Knight Rider Now if this car woulda just shut up, it might have made my top 5.
5. "Mr. Bean's Mini" 1977 MK IV Mini 1000 - Mr. Bean Yes, I want a padlock on my Clubman.
4. "The General Lee" 1969 Dodge Charger - The Dukes of Hazzard Way cooler than Starsky's Tornio—I'm mean who needs doors that actually open?
3. "The Mach 5" - Speed Racer Best Speed Racer quote: "If we crash The Mach 5, I can't win!"
2. 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS - Magnum, P.I. You're only allowed to drive these things if you have a mustache.
1. "The Batmobile" 1955 Lincoln Futura concept - Batman Holy mother of all TV cars Batman!
MINI just announced a facelift and engine upgrade to the current Cooper line-up. Improvements include added horse-power, new vents, LED rear lights, new color schemes and more.
This JCW version is particularly Sith-like in nature, no?
The curbside view on this flat-roofed gem is understated to say the least. Overgrown and weatherworn, the front façade simply says 'simple'. Which I love. While the tan 1970's Bavaria silently screams 'taste'. Which I love even more.
The interior on the other hand, though still simple and tasteful, is an exercise in where and when to indulge. They opted to cover the inside in basic 70's-looking clay tiles—the exact same tan as the Bimmer mind you—which is striking (but it's not like they went with marble). Yet every interior item points toward the place where they actually dropped some dough—the back wall or the lack thereof.
The owners eliminated the back wall of the humble home entirely and opted for an opulent 26-foot-long, 18-foot-high sliding glass door that opens the entire interior to a unique view of LA. There's no TV in the house, the view is their flat screen and a beautiful vintage record-player is their soundtrack. Thanks Dwell, for inspiring us with this one. See a full slideshow here.
