SAUL BASS — QUEST
culture_film_scifi
From 1984. Deep.
WE ARE ALL CYBORGS NOW
culture_scifi
Krull (The Greatest Love of All)
culture_film_scifi
Nothing says ‘I love and I want to spend the rest of my life with you’ quite like an honour guard dressed like these guys. And nothing makes me feel like I was born at the wrong time, than finding out 27 years too late that in 1983 I could have won the opportunity to have a ‘Krull wedding‘.
On a hot summer day in 1983, a dozen couples gathered in a soundstage in Burbank to take part in a group wedding. One after another, they walked past a pair of futuristic soldiers in fanciful armor, down a red carpet flanked by strangers in folding chairs, and up to an altar made of faux stone. These were the lucky winners of a national contest sponsored by Columbia Pictures. They had penned the winning statements describing, as the studio’s press release states, “why their ‘Fantasy Come True’ would be to have a ‘Krull’ wedding in Hollywood.”
The Krull wedding concept was part of a broader ‘thinking outside the box’ marketing strategy which was for the most part beyond parody;
And the weddings weren’t the only promotions that the folks at Columbia had dreamt up. The press-book sent to theater owners, a thin pamphlet filled with ad art and short articles to plant in local papers, outlines a number of interesting promotional gimmicks. One suggests approaching the local bakery about creating special pastries in the shape of the Glaive and dubbing them the punny ‘Krullers’. “Everyone knows what a cruller is…a tasty glazed donut. Now comes the Kruller…a tasty Glaived donut.” Another elaborate scheme involved acquiring a dark van and driving it around town (“like the Fortress, it’s apt to be anywhere”), improbably evoking the dark fortress from the film and, more improbably, inspiring passing motorists and pedestrians to rush to their local theater and plop down $3.50 for a seat.
My heart goes out to the poor bride/groom, for that moment when the cold reality of what they had embarked on hit home. I’m guessing it was somewhere between a worried sideways glance at the honour guard and when they turned to face the fake “guests” for the first moments of the rest of their lives….
Much, much more here
EDGE SOUNDTRACK
culture_electronic_music_scifi_synth
2 tracks from a dope little iPhone game called ‘Edge‘ sounding like some vintage early 80′s library music with touches of that ‘Boards of Canada’ style treatment — no surprise then that the games’ soundtrack composers are all French, drawing on their rich electronic heritage. More tracks here. Thanks to Manny for the heds up.
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Nite and Day
culture_music
I love Anthony Gormley-almost everything he creates I connect to.
His latest work even more so (probably because it looks so amazingly TRON-like).
I mean really, what’s not to love ?
On the subject of things that it’s hard not to love, check out man of the moment Onra‘s edit of Al B Sure’s ‘Night and Day’.
I played this out last night at my pal Harris’ label party. and it sounded HEAVY.
It’s available to download por nada from Onra’s Bandcamp. (get some)
SONIC FICTION
culture_music_scifi
Another snippet from Simon Reynolds fascinating article about Science Fiction and Future Music from Loops Journal. Gotta get me a copy…
Sword & Sworcery EP
culture
After spending the first few months of owning a iphone buying 2 games a week-I haven’t been tempted by anything for ages.
Well, until I saw this anyway.
Trevor Jackson @ RBMA
culture_music_video
Love this guy.
So much of what he has to say (especially the reasons for making music) really resonate with me.
And damn he’s got a back catalogue/portfolio that anyone would be proud of.
Worth an hour of your time for sure.
IS HIP HOP DEAD?
culture_music
By coincidence found another piece from Simon Reynolds today, this time on the dire state of Hip Hop. In fairness he’s really talking about the commercial US kind, but it’s a thought provoking article nonetheless, particularly for those who love the genre (like myself).
The Birth of Planet Rock
culture_scifi_ulysses82
People sometimes ask what is behind the name Ulysses 82.
First off, those people probably need to brush up on their french-japanese animation.
The rest of it, the more esoteric elements, are summed up in the first two paragraphs of this fantastic piece ‘You Can’t Stop Us Now: Birth of Planet Rock‘;
“It was an age of wonder. It was the era of the pocket calculator and the digital watch. Toy manufacturer Coleco introduced the first electronic pocket-sized sports games. Video arcades were popping up in malls all over America; games like Pac Man, Centipede and Asteroids were supplanting the pinball machine as a teenager’s favorite pastime. The world of the Jetsons was slowly coming into being.
For three decades Hollywood turned out low budget sci-fi flicks that depicted a world ran by computers and policed by robots. All one had to do was to turn on the TV to get a look at what the future held for us. With all of the talk about technological advancement back then, people wondered what music would sound like in the future.
Couldn’t have put it better myself.
Go read the rest here.
I am from the future
culture_scifi
A visual representation of time travel in popular film and tv.
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