Saturday, February 21, 2015
Amanda shared the list “Fanime” with you, on Wunderlist
by Miss Leliel
| |||||||
| |
| © 2015 Wunderlist |
0 comments
0 comments
Friday, January 1, 2010
Alan Wilder: Now with More Tease Than a Lap Dance
by Miss LelielHappy 2010 (TwentyTen™) to all of you! To ring in the new year, Mr. Alan Wilder himself sent in brief a video greeting for DepecheMode.de wishing fans a happy holidays, with the promise of some "very interesting news" to come with a "we'll be.. I'll be back with more news soon." ...Say what?
Something I've always admired about Alan, inside and outside of Depeche Mode, is how he isn't afraid of engaging with fans. Despite the tension related to his departure from the band, he has remained part of the fan side of the timeline in subtle, auxiliary ways. His personal website maintains an extensive question and answer section chuck full of anecdotes. Of course he participated in the making of the remasters of the albums to which he contributed, and last year, he launched a lengthy retrospective editorial on his time with Depeche Mode. His meticulous archiving sense helped the lads dig up "long-lost" demos for the Sounds of the Universe boxset and archival footage from the studio for the aforementioned remasters - it's no secret the man is sitting on a treasure trove of goodies, for better or worse. Recently, he even went to the London premier of The Posters Came from the Walls and took part in a Q&A session in which he implied he wouldn't mind working with DM again. For his solo efforts with the Recoil projects, he updates his fans on upcoming Recoil news via video fairly regularly, and has had a more personal presence on the web community than Depeche have.*
Because of this, I wager Alan knows his audience well - he knows that by being intentionally vague, Depeche Mode fans will mess their shorts wondering what he means by it. What DOES he mean? Is he ready to announce the new Recoil album? Maybe he's going to join the band for their special Royal Albert Hall gig in February? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-pop? The world may never know, but seriously folks, we all know Alan Charles Wilder is never coming back to Depeche Mode (not even if Martin gave him a billion dollars).
*I am not someone who thinks Depeche Mode is nothing without Alan, brilliant though he is, but they could certainly take a pointer or two in this area.
Return to the Blog of the Universe Homepage
Read more...
0 comments
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Happy Holidays!
by Miss Leliel
After many complaints, DM changed the setlist in a way nobody expected.
I did a little holiday sketch for a DM friend and thought I'd share it with you all. Have a happy, safe and warm holiday season!
Read more...
0 comments
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Video Review: Wrong Revisited
by Miss Leliel
Screenshot courtesy of DepecheMode.com
I've been behind on covering the Sounds of the Universe promotional videos that have been released since this blog was launched, so I'm going to take the time to sit down with each of them and relay my thoughts. I will break my assessments down into three categories: Concept (storytelling, symbolism, relevance to song meaning); Cinematography (visual effect, atmosphere, composition, style); and General Effect (overall impact on the viewer).
Video: "Wrong"
{ Watch it on YouTube. EMI: Get a clue - allow embedding. }
Director: Patrick Daughters
Score: 4.5/5
Summary: Nearly eight months since its debut, "Wrong" is the strongest of the SOTU era offerings by a long shot. In my opinion, it stands among Depeche Mode's best. The effect of the video is slightly hampered by the fact we only see the band for a few seconds. I'm a person who likes to see bands taking part in the stories they tell, so the lack of band screen time is a con However, in this case, the effective story and quality execution work so well I'm willing to give them a pass.
Concept
The best video concepts are those that offer a compelling narrative relevant to the meaning of the song it represents. Daughter's interpretation of "Wrong" successfully captures the intention of the lyrics within the story it tells. The story of a life gone wrong through a combination of bad luck and poor choices is told through the journey of a man who unwittingly finds himself stuck in a car (life) making a path in reverse (a life that is backwards). He is gagged and bound, unable to scream (ask for help) or help himself. As the car moves along, crashing and bumping into objects and people, it wreaks havoc and harm (how one's actions affect the surrounding world). The man struggles against his restraints, trying to free himself from the path he's set (trying to turn his fortune). Eventually, though he's able to shed the mask he wears (the symbol of the role he as been playing) and his true face is revealed, the car still wrecks out of his control and likely costs him his life (his realizations came too late to change his fate).
The concept is well directed in that the viewer is dropped into the situation unawares, as the man appears to be. The audience and the man himself come to realize his problems as the narrative unfolds. The car situation is both a concrete example of consequences, and an abstract metaphor for the larger picture. Two meanings in one, working together toward the same means: that's creative story telling.
Cinematography
"Wrong" is a visually appealing video, and served well as the first Depeche Mode video to premiere in HD on the web. The picture is slick, crisp and clear, appropriate for the night hours after a heavy rain as depicted. Depth of field is used dynamically to compose visually interesting frames and keep the viewer focused on the appropriate subject. The camera also jerks and moves naturally with the car, creating a sense of authenticity - the viewer is in the car, experiencing what the man experiences. The copius blacks from the night sky, wet streets, car and heavy shadows work well with the teal and blue color cast to communicate a cold, bleak atmosphere. Overall, the cinematography successfully works to support the narrative of the frightening and undesirable situation in which the man finds himself.
General Effect
Within two days of its debut, "Wrong" was one of the most watched on YouTube. It's not hard to see why, with the creepy, snuff-film-esque narrative and the gruesome end that leaves the viewer disturbed but not disgusted. It compels the viewer to go to their friends and say "Holy crap this is weird, you've got to see it!" in the curious way of sharing people often do with food that tastes funky. "Dude, this is disgusting! You try it!" The impulse to share is the crux of the new and unpredictable world of web 2.0 - videos must have an impact on the viewer to encourage a successful viral reach.
Conclusion
The video successfully serves its purpose of promoting the song for which it was designed. Without the fascinating story, high-quality execution and startling impact, the song's reach in a vital market would have been significantly less. More than four million views and a Grammy nomination later, one might wonder if Dave Gahan is smiling for taking the risk and pushing the band toward Patrick Daughters instead of Anton Corbijn.
0 comments
Friday, November 20, 2009
Indomitable Infinity
by Miss Leliel
Indomitable Infinity - David G by =usaku on deviantART
The concept for piece has been mulling around in my brain for many months, but several attempts at execution have fallen flat. Finally I managed to create something I was happy with, mostly to do with a lovely shot taken by my friend Tara at one of the Depeche Mode shows this summer, and my attempts to improve my figure drawing skills.
The hardest thing about drawing a serious interpretation of any real person, living or dead, is that I don't like being generic. It's very important to me that I capture the essence of my subject in question - their particular features and recognizable traits. Simply drawing a generic anime guy with black-brown hair and tattoos just doesn't do him justice. However, it all depends on the purpose of a piece - obviously a chibi or sketch done for fun is just that.
Anyway, as a subject dear to my heart, this piece is laden with symbolism.. The background needed elements and details, and it's my philosophy that most of the time, if you need to add elements to a piece, it enhances the value and meaning if you can tie in a secret code story. If you're not interested in such details, I'd stop reading. ;)
Martin Gore would say "You people think too much." But I say, in telling a meaningful story, the more thought put into it the better! And really, most of these ideas came quite naturally.
The center piece is obvious: David Gahan is the lead singer of Depeche Mode. Though he is wholly important/special outside this role, it's how I "know" him. Artists in the thrall of performance are letting their creative spirits fly, and David certainly does so. I wanted the strength and elegance of his live performance to be captured well (why I struggled with the pose for so long).
Wings: Well, you know it might be a pretty generic thing in the DM fanart community, but I think there's good reason. A great performer/artist is transcendental - music is a special thing that can cut straight through to our core being despite our personal barriers. To me, wings are typically a symbol of spiritual power, and there are very few things in this world that move the spirit as musicians do.
Cats: Harkening back to a nickname David was given in the 90s, during his dark period. Paramedics had seen him so many times they started calling him "The Cat." When asked about it after he had sobered up, he said "the cat" was on his left shoulder all the time. This was quite a while ago, but the image of a looming reminder has always stuck in my mind, not to mention the fact that David has survived four life-threatening experiences reinforces the image.
The Gemstones: On that note, there are nine jewels (nine lives), of which four are broken. One for each experience: heart attack (1993), lacerated wrists (1995), overdose, in which he did die for two minutes (1996), bladder cancer (2009).
The Lotus Flowers: Renewal and progress, making oneself better than where one started. Lotus flowers seed in mud and murky water, but grow into the light to become something beautiful. This could be taken in two ways for David. One is his path from a troubled childhood in Basildon (juvenile crime, family problems) to becoming a successful musician, bringing joy to millions of people. The second would be that David today would not be who he was without the problems he went through in the 90s - a very dark and sad period, but he learned a lot about life and love and has been a better person for it ever since.
The clock: Tying in with the metaphors of time and life. It's set to 1:01 (101 being a significant moment of his career) but you cant really see it since his head is there.
Anyway, that's it! You get major props if you read all this (and don't think worse of me for it)!
----------
Copyright Usaku/Leliel 2009.
Copic Marker, Sakura Micron, Adobe Illustrator, Gelly Roll white
Pose borrowed from a photo by Tara Salt.
< Return to blog.
0 comments