GMU's Comm 399 students on pop, art, fashion, and more
With Halloween just around the corner, many people are scrambling for last minute costume decisions. For those television junkies who are seeking inspiration, Yahoo has taken the liberty of compiling a list of halloween costume ideas that will fit any part. 
In previous discussions, we talked about whether or not ‘Teen Mom’ is setting a good example for young teenage girls. As it turns out, however, the young stars of the show are making the decision for us. In light of the domestic abuse problems with one of the girls, many people are starting to see the unhealthy behaviors that this show captures.
For everybody who liked Piranha 3D the producers are aching to get the public a sequel by August, 2011, according to a story on Aint It Cool.
Yep, and what is the best way to do a sequel to a movie that fans loved for its charm and comedy? To make it super fast with almost none of the original people involved. No Alexandre Aja and none of the Piranha 3D writers. Who wants to take bets on how bad it will suck?
Justin Bieber Zone is a 100% fan-run site. This page features everything Justin Bieber; From an extensive bio, Bieber facts, photos, concert tickets, lyrics, and much more.
For serious Bieber fans, this site basically has it all. It is updated on a daily basis with all the news and gossip surrounding Justin.
One great feature on the site is the ChatZone. It is absolutely hilarious and I highly recommend checking it out. It’s a chat room where crazed Bieber fans can connect and talk about their love for JB. There are rules to the chat room that are: No Justin Bieber haters, no cursing, no trolling, no spamming, no advertising. Some of the chat messages I saw were, “I SCREAM FOR BIEBER!!!” and “WHO LUVZ JB??!??!?!”
Another awesome feature is the video section. There is well over 50 pages worth of videos that include everything from Justin’s music videos to Justin eating a sandwich. This is a great feature for fans because although pictures are nice, videos make you feel more connected to the celebrity. They want to see the Biebs in action!
A down side to the website is that it’s pretty cluttered. There’s a lot of tacky, flashing advertisements on every page such as “Cartoonize Yourself!” and “Are people going back to school with grants” (which, for the record, does not meet its’ target audience at all). I’ve noticed that there are also a lot of grammatical errors on the website, which JB fans may not mind or notice, but it bothered me.
If I were to pitch ideas of articles for me to write for the website, I would first ask to write an article about Justin Bieber’s hair: how long does it take him to do his hair each morning? Does he blow dry it? How does it stay so perfect all the time? And of course, I’d link the article to a video of Justin’s most memorable hair flips.
Another idea I would pitch is an article all about Justin Bieber’s style. Many fans love JB’s signature look: his hats, semi-tight jeans, and button down shirts. This article would dissect Justin’s style from head to toe and show fans how they can get the look for less.
Lastly, I would pitch an idea for the guide to becoming Justin Bieber’s perfect girlfriend. It’s every Bieber fan’s dream come true! This article would talk about everything and anything Justin has ever mentioned about what he likes in a girl, helping fans to become his true love.
Have you ever found yourself looking for a place to find new music that is a bit off the bea
ten path? Look no further than Stereogum.com. Stereogum came on the scene in 2002 and remains at the forefront of mp3 blogs. In addition to mp3’s you can also find music videos, photo galleries, and music news stories. Stereogum has also issued a number of tribute releases for free download.
CLICK HERE to check out “OKX”, a tribute marking the tenth anniversary of Radiohead’s “OK Computer” featuring bands like Vampire Weekend and the Cold War Kids.
Stereogum’s news stories are often clever, short and sweet, a characteristic that makes this site appealing in today’s ADD ridden society. The majority of news stories are accompanied by a video or an mp3 by the band or artist the story is discussing. Stereogum often operates as an aggregate news site at times frequently linking to longer stories on music magazine sites like NME and Pitchfork. My favorite aspect of this site is the lists section. Here you can find lists compiled by Stereogum staff as well as other sites like Amazon, Spin, and Rolling Stone and artists like Morrissey.
CLICK HERE to see Stereogum’s list of their 69 Most Anticipated Albums of 2010.
One of the downsides of Stereogum is that it does not act enough as an independent news source. They do have a great selection of original content like their review section “Premature Evaluation” and their Op-Ed section. I feel that if they were to put a stronger focus on music news they would become even stronger than they already are. Another weakness of the site is that when navigating the site it is difficult to get back to their original content, which makes it seem like more of an aggregate site than it really is. They would benefit strongly from adding a side bar that links to “Premature Evaluation” and their other sections.
CLICK HERE to read the “Premature Evaluation” review of the forthcoming Kings of Leon album “Come Around Sundown.”
Unfortunately Stereogum does not accept freelance writers but here are a few stories that I would pitch if I could write for them:
1. I would with a feature that would be a pop music retrospective from 1980-2010. In this story I would take a look at pop music over the last thirty years. The trends in pop music would be examined and evaluated to see what elements have stuck and which ones did not last that long. I would also include an aspect that covers the pop princesses of the 80’s like Madonna and the pop princesses of today like Katy Perry.
2. I would examine in an op-ed piece my theory that the popularity of pop-punk bands today stems from the late 90’s popularity of boy bands and how the teenage girls that currently swoon over bands like We The Kings or All Time Low today would be swooning over *NSync ten years ago.
3. Lastly, I would write a feature that examines the rising popularity of pop-dance music from bands like Neon Trees and Phoenix and how the evolved from dance-punk bands that originated in the early 2000s like Death From Above 1979 and LCD Soundsystem.
Cambio is an awesome, new website that The Jonas Brothers and AOL has just recently launched aiming towards tweens/teens. Unlike AOL’s other teen website, JSYK, Cambio focuses more on celebrities and celeb news, where as JSYK focuses on teen celebs and real teens too.
Because The Jo-Bros have a share in the website, Cambio gets a lot of exclusive video and news before a lot of other media outlets do. This makes it a handy website to go to get teen celebs news pronto. Cambio also offers live chats and cool videos with teen stars like Selenz Gomez, Demi Lovato, and The Jonas Brothers too, which makes the website experience even better for teens.
The amounts of video and behind the scenes footage that Cambio has is definitely the website’s strongest point. Where it lacks at, is the news section and their content selection. The news section is located at the lower bottom right of the screen. Pretty hard to see huh? Cambio wants to be known as the best tween/teen site out there, yet all you see when you go to the home page is crazy amounts of video and a tiny link to the news section. The majority of people like video but some might be more interested in checking out the latest info compared to watching vids about The Jonas Brothers’ trip to Africa and Demi’s latest concert.
As for the site’s content selection, they tend to write about some topics that might not be teen enough. For example, you can’t talk about The Jonas Brothers and then about ‘Jackass’ without some audience members being offended, especially the teen’s parents. What I do understand is how drawing a fine line between what’s cool to a teen and what should be cool to a teen is hard to do. I figure because the site is somewhat new, that they are still juggling around to find what fits them and their audience best. Their exclusive coverage, awesome behind the scenes interviews and videos and contests out weigh the facts that their news section is small and that some of their content is iffy for their audience.
If I wrote for Cambio, I’d want to write for the news section, simply because I think it needs help. I think it’s important for teens to know that they have the info they have. If they were known for good celebrity news content then Cambio would be the first site teens go to when they want to know what’s going on.
I would also love to host one of the video segments, just because I think it’s a cool idea for them to mix the Internet with television broadcasting. It would be like the kids are watching the news when they come onto the site, but it would be celeb news of course. If they made a news video broadcast that pops up when you get on the website, kids could listen to the latest star news while exploring other things on the website too. I do think this would be hard because of timing and having to tape, but it would just be an idea. Maybe it would be possible to do a weekly video round up of the best news of the week or something? Not sure.
Last, I think I would want to write more feature like stories. They don’t really have long feature stories on Cambio. Like I’ve mentioned it’s basically video and short news articles. It would be cool for them to have long in depth interviews or stories with stars and add more to the news section that way. It would make the website more newsworthy for teen celeb news.
Romantic comedies can be, well… predictable, and most reviews of romantic comedies can be, well…very predictable. Roger Ebert is not predictable critic and it’s refreshing to read a review that doesn’t shy around the truth because there are big name stars in the film. Humor always adds a little spice to what could be a boring negative review and Ebert executes humor in a tasteful and deliberate manner without losing his purpose on the website rogerebert.com.
Ebert’s review of “Life as We Know It” follows a structure of adding “Awww” before each new paragraph, which set up his sarcastic comments. Ebert’s reviews aren’t limited to just one genre but they touch on many aspects of movie culture. Diving into many different genres Ebert gives a unique perspective and is one of the top names in the critic businesses. If you have a little more time, the Review section is where you will get the most in depth information about a movie.
Ebert’s One-Minute Reviews are a quick-to-the-point review accompanied by a star rating. A complete opposite review of “Life as We Know It” is the One-Minute Review of “Hatchet II” (complete review)where Ebert rips apart this cheesy horror movie. Ebert says:
There are many good movies opening this weekend. “Hatchet II” is not one of them. Tickets are not cheap and time is fleeting. Why would you choose this one? That’s a good topic for a long, thoughtful talk with yourself in the mirror.
Ebert also dives into movie classics on his website under his Great Movies section. Ebert’s review of “Some Like It Hot” instantly influences the reader want to see the great classic. His ability to analyze social issues in the movie makes this much more then a simple review; instead it’s a comparison of taste.
To contribute to this website I would pitch a section for actors and directors responses to reviews written by Ebert. It would be interesting to see why certain creative decisions were made and what inspired the actors and directors. A specific example would be interviews with the cast of “The Hangover” which would be hilarious with such an outgoing cast. Another pitch would be to have a section of Ebert’s all time favorite reviews of both good and bad reviews selected by the readers would be interactive. Lastly, I think a section of the top box office flops and commentary on why they didn’t do well would be interesting. All of these ideas would add a little humor and more interaction among the readers.
Awww, are you wishing that more critics and website would be honest about a movie, instead of trying to flatter the actors and directors? Check out rogerebert.com and you won’t be disappointed.
Tags: movies, Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com, website response
Dr. Martens are so old-school, but have been seen everywhere lately. These punk-rock army boots are often recognized by their air-crushed soles and original yellow stitching. Celebs such as Amber Rose, Agyness Deyn and Jessica Alba are rockin’ the Doc Martens. Have you ever had a pair before? Would you give them a try now?
Tags: Amber Rose, boots, Doc Martens, Fashion
One of the best websites to shop for new trendy fashion pieces is NastyGal. You can find anything from the newest Jeffrey Campbell Oxford-style platforms to Lady Gaga inspired lace sunglasses. NastyGal also offers a variety of Vintage clothing, such as colorful disco jackets and tight floral sundresses.
Based on a controversial 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg, who is portrayed by James Franco, “Howl” premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and is now on a tour across the US.
The film is being described as anything from “gutsy” to “inventive” to “stunning.”
If there is one indie film you are going to invest your time into this year, “Howl” should be in contention, if for nothing else than to see James Franco… talk about brilliant!
Tags: "Howl", biopic, controversial, James Franco, Jeff Daniels, Jon Hamm, movies, Poetry, Sundance Fiml Festival