F/I/M²/P · Issue 04 XY · FEBRUARY / MARCH 2013

FASHION

ILLUSTRATION

MUSIC

MOVIES

PHOTOGRAPHY

FREE WHO KILLED BRUCE LEE EP INSIDE

FEBRUARY / MARCH

CHROMOSOME XY

THE MEN CHARLES HADDAD RAMI HAJJ INTERVIEW WITH WHO KILLED BRUCE LEE ELI SOKHN EXHIBITING MOHAMAD KRAYTEM RAYMOND GEMAYEL

+ MORE COOL SHIT FIRST AID KIT

MUST-HEAR ALBUMS FROM MALE VOCALISTS

MUST-SEE MOVIES KICKASS LEADING MEN

THE WANTON BISHOPS LIVE AT SOLEA V IN BEIRUT

10 USD 15.000 LBP

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WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE

FASHION 26 THE Y FACTOR CHARLES HADDAD & RAMI HAJJ

9 GENDER FUCK MEN AND FASHION

46 SICK NASTY & SCARLET ENVY INTERVIEW WITH TWO NEW YORK DRAG QUEENS

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ILLUSTRATION 15 MOHAMAD KRAYTEM EXHIBITING ILLUSTRATOR

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MUSIC 70 LIVE REVIEW WANTON BISHOPS

34 WHO KILLED BRUCE LEE INTERVIEW

21 GENERATION GAP FRANK OCEAN ST. LUCIA

68 SOUNDTRACK REVIEW BROWN BUNNY

58 ALBUM SELECTION A LOOK AT OUR PERSONAL RECORD COLLECTION

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WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE

MOVIES 10 ELI SOKHN INTERVIEW

60 MOVIE REVIEWS RESERVOIR DOGS IGBY GOES DOWN A SINGLE MAN THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER

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WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE

PHOTOGRAPHY 49 RAYMOND GEMAYEL EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHER

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OUR PEOPLE

N 04 CHROMOSOME XY

CREATIVE DIRECTORS / EDITORS IN CHIEF RUDY SHAHEEN & MOHAMAD ABDOUNI MANAGING PARTNER FATIMA M. EL MARINI RESPONSIBLE DIRECTOR LAMIS KHAWAJA ASSOCIATE EDITOR KARL HITTI FASHION EDITOR CHARLES HADDAD PROOFREADER AND LIFE SAVER krystel kouyoumdjis EXHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHER RAYMOND GEMAYEL EXHIBITING ILLUSTRATOR MOHAMAD KRAYTEM CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS CLARA ABI NADER RAMI HAJJ MARIA KASSAB CARL HALAL SEBASTIAN DAHL MICHAEL MELWANI CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS RAPHAELLE MACARON AMRO THABIT TIMI HAYEK JAD EL KHOURY RAFIC SAAB EXHIBITING FASHION DESIGNER CHARLES HADDAD CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SERGE KALDANY PHILIPPE YAACOUB LEA YAMMINE ZAHI FARAH PANOS APRAHAMIAN SONJA STEPPANSKJ

BADARO, SAMI EL SOLH BLVD. LABBAN BLDG. 2ND FLOOR BEIRUT, LEBANON INFO @ FIMP-MAG.COM +961 76 64 41 26 +961 (0)3 71 90 86 +961 (0)1 38 17 73

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FASHION ARTICLE: SUPERHEROES, FASHION & FANTASY

Where is the option that says “undecided” under the gender category of a job application?

Society’s perception of what should and shouldn’t be is slowly evaporating. Boundaries which determine what is masculine and feminine are breaking. That thin line that symbolizes an in-between stage that does not fit perfectly into the typical masculine or feminine gender roles of society keeps getting thinner.

ARTICLE BY CHARLES HADDAD

COLLAGE BY MARIA KASSAB

MR. ANDROGYNY

F

ashion constantly tries to break molds and create hype. There are more and more designers riding the androgyny wave every season; okay Marc Jacobs we get it, you look good in a man skirt. Rick Owens and his gender bending designs along with Rad Hourani’s strict tailoring matched with man heels are but a few examples. The fashion industry is no stranger to manipulating concepts like gender, but what is it exactly that enthralls us? Is it the concept behind someone being gender neutral? Or is it the possibility that we enjoy this guessing game?

of artists such as David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust years, with his backup singer Klaus Nomi. The look that he portrayed during that time is considered quite gender bending. The makeup, the hair, the eccentric outfits, all played a significant role. Other artists like Boy George’s intense use of makeup, billowing blouses, and crimped hair, along with Prince had a huge impact on men’s fashion trends at that time. The “Rocky Horror Picture Show” created a great buzz starring Tim Currie as a sexually explicit sweet transvestite, showcasing how that decade was filled with flamboyant in your face sexual content.

This new fascination with transgender/androgynous male models has had a huge impact on the industry. The first person that comes to mind is none other than Andrej Pejic. The Australian-Bosnian model’s physical features lend him to model for both womenwear and menswear. He has in many ways become the face of this new fashion obsession. Strikingly beautiful, the male model rose to prominence by first appearing as the new face of Marc Jacobs. Soon afterwards Mr. Gaultier fell head over heels for this 19 year old boy’s ladylike features. Hiring him to walk in both his womenswear and menswear collections. Andrej shares the androgynous catwalk with Lea T. a transgender male to female model that is another fashion favorite and the face of Givenchy.

A decade later one character by the name of Leigh Bowery, the Australian performance artist with his outlandish garb and even more outlandish attitude, comes to mind as a prevalent face of androgyny. Then again with a resume like his; artist, nightclub promoter, model, pop star, fashion designer, the word icon is very befitting. Not to forget sir Michael Jackson who continued this gender bending fad with his ever-changing look, boyish charm and flamboyant attire, which made him a victim to sexual speculation and sarcasm. Then Marilyn Manson comes along as an androgynous substance-addicted alien called Omega in his album Mechanical Animals.

However androgyny from a male perspective did not just arise from nowhere and definitely did not just happen overnight. Let’s take a stroll down fashion memory lane. Androgyny dates back as far as the 19th century during the Victorian era when a certain type of men, nicknamed “Dandies”, wore ruffled shirts and cinched corsets. Which brings us back to the present time to a certain important figure in fashion today by the name of Mr. Pearl. A man who is considered the world’s premiere corsetier, constructing Couture corsets and wearing them 24/7 to achieve a 45 cm waist.

Who says a man cannot be corset trained and have a smaller waist than a woman? Mr. Pearl is living proof. Dandyism was revived and became a huge part of Pop culture in the 1970s thanks to the rise

Thanks to these fashion pioneers we are able to be a lot more experimental today. After all, menswear can get very predictable; shirts, pants, jackets, sweaters, and then what? Why is it that women can have a lot more options to play with and get away with it? Menswear has always inspired womenwear, can we switch places?

Are men capable of taking inspiration from womenwear and still be considered “manly”? Why not? A man skirt paired with a draped cardigan and strong masculine wedges perhaps. In our opinion, there are two ways of looking at it: You have people that believe in gender ambiguity, and move forward with the way we dress, and those that view it as a way to toy with society’s expectations of how each gender should dress. So what is it going to be? A revolution or rebellion? Either way gents get ready for both, we know we are.

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INTERVIEW: ELI SOKHN (FILMMAKER)

INTERVIEW BY PANOS APRAHAMIAN

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MELWANI

Where is the option that says “undecided” under the gender category of a job application? Society’s perception of what should and shouldn’t be is slowly evaporating. Boundaries which determine what is masculine and feminine are breaking.

That thin line that symbolizes an in-between stage that does not fit perfectly into the typical masculine or feminine gender roles of society keeps getting thinner.

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FILMMAKER OF THE ISSUE: ELI SOKHN

As it seems it’s Visual Effects and Animation that brought you into the world of Cinema.

Can you name one VFX-rich film that made you realize this is what you want to do?

etc. and more recently first person shooter video games are a way to train children to become future soldiers. To what extent do you think that’s true?

I always had a fascination with visual effects and everything supernatural in movies, because it allows me to feature on screen anything my mind envisions and helps me expand my imagination and share it with everyone. But to me the use of visual effects has to always serve the story and not the opposite.

In our day and age a director who comes from a post production and visual effects background has a major advantage over the average traditional director, because he has the ability to visualize his movie before getting to the editing table, and can troubleshoot visual effects shots on the set. In addition, this gives you the privilege to think untraditionally and thus takes your films to new levels and beyond what the audience sees.

Just like the Matrix, a revolutionary film in visual effects, that I believe has shaped the business and divided time into what I call “before and after The Matrix”.

That’s a very interesting take on that, and I have to agree.

Music, movies and video games have major influence on us.

When I was a little, little kid, my parents got me “Lego” and I was raised in the Atari era where the most violent game I played was “Tetris”. As I grew up I became a big fan of strategy games such as “Red Alert”, “Age of Empires” and “Grand Theft Auto”.

That didn’t turn me into a thief nor an army general, instead it made me realize how messed up things can get if humans lost control; where thousands of years of evolution can vanish in a push of a button. So although games can be influential, parents have a huge role in shaping the future of their kids. The thing that, in my opinion, America lacks is responsible parents and strong family bonds.

The American film industry is directly related to the toy industry, especially with action figures. What are your thoughts on that?

I wouldn’t say directly related to the toy industry, but actionfigure-based movies or superhero movies are a money-printing machine for the Hollywood movie industry. They are such huge franchises that the movie itself is only one small side of it. The bigger revenue is actually generated through the sales of the merchandise and items related to them. Even more notable is their importance at the psychological level; some of the mainstream superhero movies play a lead role in shaping the youth of today, and on the political level it helps propagate the “American hero” image to the rest of the world.

Some people argue that toy soldiers, toy guns

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Did you being Lebanese affect at some level the subject you chose for this film?

For Green is Red, I believe being Lebanese and having experienced the civil war from when I was born to the age of 6 made me more aware and curious about the things that threaten and end life. This definitely has influenced the subjects that I deal with in my movies, the music I listen to and the ideas that I explore.

Do you think it’s problematic for children to be exposed to violence at a young age through these video games and toys?

Violent video games are very influential for children in my opinion, way more than music and movies, in the sense that children are not only being exposed to situations and conditions but they are active participants in them. They drive the narrative of the story and make conscious decisions and choices

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that will change the course of what’s going on. If you do well you get rewarded and move to the next level, if you do a bad job you lose and die. Unfortunately the most popular video games are the ones that reward you for doing violence against others.

This creates changes in children’s minds, their thinking, their behavior and their perspective towards the world.

You might argue and say that video games develop a strong sense of right and wrong and teach how to overcome challenges but my issue with that is that those studies and this logic is pushed by the people who make those games and who will profit from you buying them.

All critique aside, have you ever loved this sort of games, action figures and on screen violence?

No, not really. I think blood disturbs me.

Who can you say was your favorite action hero growing up?

I remember it was a character named M.A.N.T.I.S, I tried to find this show again and I discovered it has been cancelled because it was very bad. I remember I liked it. And Superman for sure!

In the film the father says, “This earth is no longer a place worth fighting for”. Can you think of any struggle that is still worth fighting for? If so, do you believe that we can achieve anything good through violent means?

In the absolute terms, I don’t think there is any cause nowadays worth fighting for. Whether it is a country, a religion, a sect or any other myth. There is absolutely no valid reason for a man to die for someone else let alone something else. We are born to live so where is the logic in dying to live? I think with the abundance and availability of information nowadays through social

networking and documentary films, more and more humans are being enlightened about the reality of things and the negative forces that are leading humanity to extinction.

Your film kind of suggests that love and empathy can overcome violence. The American Film industry is constantly promoting individualism over empathy; teaching us that one individual can overcome his problems on his own and that a sense of community is some sort of a utopic dream. Those are the one-man army films we grew up on. How do you think that affects the mind of a child?

You are stating it as if it’s a disease. I think the American Film Industry has done great promoting individualism so far. I am a huge supporter of individualism, because it upholds the idea that anyone can do whatever they put their mind to without having to rely on their entourage to do it for them. And it is not accurate to state that Hollywood promotes the sense of community as a utopic dream. In most Hollywood blockbuster movies the better good of community and humanity as a whole is always the hero’s one and only goal. And this is the Hollywood formula for it: An ordinary person wants something, takes action, but meets conflict and finally finds a solution. And in most movies the hero sacrifices his life for the better good of everyone else. Think of Armageddon (Bruce Willis was a regular oil digger who saved the whole world by sacrificing himself) Do you think you’ll always use animation and complex VFX in your films or would you venture one day into more traditional ways of motion picture storytelling?

I will always strive to present visuals that inspire artists and stories that inspire people using mediums that serve the story first.

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- ILLUSTRATOR Could you sum up in a few words for us who you really are and what it is that you do?

I’m a second-year student at ALBA majoring in Illustration with an emphasis on comics.

I enjoy skateboarding, video games, reading comics and graphic novels (preferably with some music and tea), and constantly developing my style as an illustrator. I’m also a huge fan of Batman, and I’m still hoping to get his costume one day.

What is Chromosome XY to you and how does your exhibited series convey how you see men?

I associate chromosome XY with long hair, mustaches, and maybe Mick Jagger’s lips. I also think tight pants, leather jackets (with pins) and leather boots define the XY look.

While drawing these, I didn’t really think of how I view men, but rather an exaggerated approach of how I think they should look like.

What do you reward yourself with when you finish a piece that you’re happy with?

Occasionally, I’d start with another piece shortly after. If I feel like a change from drawing, I’d take a break from it and relax. Normally I would call a few friends and go out for either coffee or beer. Sometimes, if the weather allows it, I’d go skate with friends and have fun.

What is the one illustration you wish you had illustrated?

Wow, that is a hard question. It’s hard to think of just one. But If I had to choose, I’d go with the cover of John Constantine Hellblazer: The Fear Machine, which was done by Dave McKean. Check it out.

Where do you mostly draw your inspiration from?

I get inspired from American and French comics. I’m also influenced by many artists like Paul Pope, Fabio Moon, Rafael Grampà, Jeff Lemire, Hugo Pratt, Mike Mignola, Jean Giraud and several others. I also learn a lot from my friends, especially when we gather on the weekends to draw and share some ideas, and I’d like to thank them for that.

When was the last time you laughed so hard that tears came out of your eyes?

Me and some friends were camping in August. On the first night, two of them were drunk and chasing each other. That ended up with one of them dislocating his shoulder and the other cutting his lip from falling face-first on the ground. Another one broke a door while laughing his ass off (and still insists that it was an accident).

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YOUR AD CAN GO HERE (THIS IS AN ATTEMPT AT A SUBLIMINAL MESSAGED AIMED AT GETTING YOU TO ADVERTISE WITH US. PLEASE DO LET US KNOW IF IT WORKS. THANK YOU.)

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ARTICLES BY KARL HITTI

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIMI HAYEK

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GENERATION GAP

NAME: FRANK OCEAN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA GENRE: NEO SOUL & HIP HOP DOWNLOAD: PYRAMIDDS - LOST SOUNDS LIKE: JOHN LEGEND

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en… seen by most as being the more dominant species, these entities tend to take that little extra thing between their legs a bit too seriously. The definition of a man has changed pretty drastically over the years. In the beginning it was that hairy beast that used to hit their female counterparts on the head before dragging them to his cave in order to poke. The beast then traded his fuzz for a more demure wardrobe. But it still seems that everywhere we turn an individual’s manliness is still measured by the size of his coleslaw…

When Frank left New Orleans, to the obvious disagreement of Mama Ocean, he garnered a slew of minimum wage jobs in order to stay afloat. A wave of income then followed after he started writing music for artists like John Legend, Brandy and everyone’s favorite lesbian Justin Bieber. Def Jam decided to dive into the pool with the young artist and signed him in 2009. But recording of his debut was halted when they kept their checkbooks in their pockets. Not one to give up that easily, Ocean recorded; with the help of the guys from Odd Future; a self-financed critically praised mixtape called Nostalgia Ultra.

A fellow whose courage proves more important than his mixed greens is Mr. Frank Ocean. Before deciding to swim out of The Nile, he was just another struggling singer trying to pave his way through the tricky tides of the music business. Originally Chistopher Breaux, he was raised by a vivacious single mother that grabbed hold of the currents after her musician-husband walked out. He describes his grandfather as being the primary paternal figure in his life; the recovering elder man had derailed when it came to raising his own daughter because of drugs and alcohol, and took Frank’s upbringing as a chance to patch up past mistakes.

In a nutshell, Def Jam took this slap in the face constructively and gave up the gravy. 3 weeks later Channel Orange, Frank’s debut, was penned in it’s entirety. This collection of musical perfection varies from Neo-Soul to Jazzy Hip-Hop. What’s even more impressive is the blunt way Ocean admitted his truth publicly right before the album came out (pun intended).

He divulged honest emotions about the man that made him a man before shattering this newly found manhood…but oh what beautiful music was made by such sweet sorrow.

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GENERATION GAP

NAME: ST. LUCIA COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA GENRE: POP DOWNLOAD: CLOSER THAN THIS - ALL EYES ON YOU SOUNDS LIKE: PASSION PIT

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he idea of colonization seems pretty beneficial when you define it in a nutshell. A strong, independent and fructuous country helps another undeveloped one move past its problems and zoom into the evolved plain of the so called elite. Then, at some point the whole helping hand concept gets drowned out in all the rape and exploitation of natural goods. When most of the citizens become aware of what their lands, women and sometimes men are being subjected to, they tend to rebel pretty violently. The aftermath is all joyous and full of doves and independence, but right now we are focusing on the beneficial side of being exploited; also known as the Charlize Theron syndrome.

time would soon become a full time pursuit. When he became old enough, the young ingénue moved to Liverpool where he studied music for about three years. The classical soon became good oldfashioned pop, and we don’t mean the Pitbull crap you listen to on the radio. A final commute to Brooklyn then followed the study trip, and thus St. Lucia was born. The name came about after J.P randomly pinned a city on a map with his eyes closed. When he stumbled on St. Lucia everything fell into place, since the Caribbean Island is originally named after a city in South Africa and most importantly because of the music. In fact the writer/ singer/producer characterizes his euphoric style as a mix of good old 80’s rhythms with steamy Tropical Island inspired beats.

A man cut from the same cloth and also destined to rule the world is South African musician extraordinaire Jean-Philip Grobler. Born in Johannesburg, Jean got his first taste of melodies when he enrolled in a choir. Him and his caroler buddies were pretty prosperous as they toured the world gracing mortals with their angelic voices. But even when they weren’t touring, music was never far behind. He in fact studied Bach and classical music while still in school. But Mr. Grobler knew that this pass

His eponymous debut EP caught the attention of Columbia Records who immediately jumped at the opportunity to release it with the help of an independent label Neon Gold. So you see kids, colonizations aren’t all bad, if you cannot be the exploiter it’s okay to settle for being the exploited. Just remember that when things start getting a bit too touchy feely it’s time to cut that son of a gun into thin slices.

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WRITTEN BY KARL HITTI

men in this town olivia wildes boobs

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THE BLOGGER

men in this town (www.meninthistown.com)

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hen it comes to stalkers, men usually take the cake. Think about it for a moment, a stalker is immediately more dangerous if they are male. In fact most of the dedicated pursuers that roam this earth are generally male. Keep in mind that we are not talking about that feeble cyberspace sh*tery, we mean the hardcore “follow you around the city and wait for you to be alone in order to take advantage of you” mode of operation.

We are not saying that women as stalkers are not dangerous, but as long as she doesn’t have a penchant for human flesh or wrestles pigs in her free time, a female almost never poses a serious threat. Men in this town is run by a, you guessed it, stalker. Giuseppe Santamaria is so dedicated to his craft that he trots the globe all the while closely taking pictures of random children of Adam. His victims are virile citizens who fit one simple code: They are technically well dressed. If you appreciate gazing at unsuspecting individuals that are not a sight for soar eyes then we suggest you join Giuseppe in his freakish ways.

olivia wildes boobs (oliviawildesboobs.tumblr.com)

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oobs are very fascinating organs. Like gentle caramel topped marshmallows they perk up the female silhouette while filling it with magical enticing superpowers. And they are so well designed that they include a self defense mechanism that can fend off two separate attacks. The first one is known as the mauler; ever felt the wrath of an angry nipple on your face?! The second counterattack feature is only made available when the female entity has another human being growing inside of her. If threatened, she could unleash gallons of 37 degree Celsius milk on her enemies. The squirt will then render her enemies helpless because of the staggering amounts of calcium contained within. Now after you have recovered from the obscene visuals that have been presented to you, we give you a blog about Olivia Wild’s boobs. Yes the subject matter is pretty simple, but the expression “less is more” has never been so clear! No matter their sexuality men appreciate breasts; it is part of their constitution. Some like to rub them, others would rather lay their heads on them while a pretty distinct group would like to acquire them. Forget about Sunday mass and join us as we revere the exquisite creation that is Olivia Wilde’s mammary glands.

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THE Y FACTOR FASHION DESIGNER CHARLES HADDAD STYLIST MOHAMAD RIDA

PHOTOGRAPHER RAMI HAJJ MODEL MAHMOUD EL-ABED

PRODUCER MARIANE EL KHOURY

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NO, THIS IS NOT A QUESTION INTERVIEW BY LEA YAMMINE

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SEBASTIAN DAHL

We all know the epitome of typical testosterone-fuelled manhood is non-other than wellbuilt martial arts master Bruce Lee; kicking villain ass while parading around with his muscular torso on display. Well one of our local bands, judging by its name, is clearly captivated by the celebrated multi-talented fighter and intrigued by mysterious deaths. Who Killed Bruce Lee has recently released a promising ep of original songs showcasing the cover band’s talent and flair for original song composition. This issue is the perfect opportunity to ask the boys a few questions.

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INTERVIEW: WHO KILLED BRUCE LEE

Let’s kick things off with formalities, introduce the band your own way. You know, give us the why, where, who, what…

Wassim: Well actually it is more of a tight… virgin tight friendship. Each one of us was literally living in his own world, and the click happened naturally. The fact that friendship came before this music conjunction and the fact that we love each other’s humor, sex appeal and tightness (groove that is) paved the way to a group that we are having the times of our lives in.

Started off with Malek, Pascal and I, and it wasn’t long before Hassib joined… actually it was inevitable!

Many Lebanese bands start by doing covers, especially when it comes to pop/rock/indie music, do you feel it helps propel the band in the music scene?

Hassib: Honestly, when we first started gigging, we had no idea we were going to write originals. We started off playing what now seems like hundreds of cover songs in gigs all over the country. I think that in our case, playing so many covers helped us strengthen the tightness we have on stage.

Wassim: I think it helps the band find its groove and its place in the scene. You start off with music you like and discover everyone else’s personality within it. When the time comes and you feel that you want to write your own tunes, you’ll share them with people, while basing yourself on those past experiences, through new eyes.

You were awarded Best Cover Band 2012 and TimeOut Beirut described you as “human jukeboxes who transform themselves into said band in the blink of an eye”. How did you transition from this image to the band that you now are? Was it a difficult transformation?

During our shows we almost always have a semi-demented relationship with the audience. Sometimes we make inside jokes, sometimes we scream, and when we’re really drunk we play with our trousers down. We believe what people liked most about all of this nonsense is our energy on stage, and our awkward sense of humor. Then, as we transitioned into writing our stuff, this whole mood transpired into our original compositions, and, as musicians, we kept the attitude going.

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INTERVIEW: WHO KILLED BRUCE LEE

Jade remixed Pool Party last year, how did that project develop? Are collaborations like this something you’d like to do more often?

Any particular artist you’d like to work with?

Jade approached us after listening to our EP at Fadi’s studio.

By the time we had finished mixing/mastering our songs, Jade had the remix ready, just in time to blast the decks at his new venue. At the Warehouse, where we released our EP in a 45-minute live performance, the remix followed and took all its glory in the after-party.

We’re also working with Marc Codsi, Jimmy Haddad and hopefully many others on remixes, club mixes and edits to be released soon.

Now on with the fun and random, what’s the last song/album you downloaded/bought?

Wassim: I personally downloaded the last Miike Snow album.

Malek: The last album I downloaded was Radiohead’s In Rainbows in 2007.

Hassib: I got to buy the Happy Together, Filthy Forever album

by Scrambled Eggs at one of their recent gigs.

Pascal: I recently downloaded Caugh Caugh by Everything Everything.

What musical releases are you forward to this year?

looking

Malek: I can’t wait for the next Queens of the Stone Age album release. The last one was a masterpiece (Era Vulgaris, 2007).

Wassim: I am really looking forward to the Foals new album release. It is not what they usually do and the single they launched ‘Inhaler’ is very fucking interesting!

Hassib: For keyboard sounds and inspiration I’ll keep my ear to the ground for a new Metronomy release, even if they have crap songs sometimes.

Pascal: Still waiting for new releases by indie bands Interpol and The Whitest Boy Alive.

Your eponymous ep has just been released, any plans for shows or music videos to follow up?

There’s quite a few things we’re working on before Malek goes off to the Canadian cold. Most importantly we’re having a big concert with you guys, as well as writing some new songs! We also collaborated with director Chady Younes on a music video for ‘Pool Party’, which will be released very soon. And we’re working on a video for one of our unreleased songs, a project by our dearest friends Diego and José!

The ep is available for free streaming on your facebook page and your website, but there is no download link, what formed this decision?

Hassib: It’s been worked out, now you can download it directly from our fan page. Unfortunately, due to political/technical problems which our dear politicians don’t have the will/wits to solve, payment by Paypal still isn’t available in Lebanon. I guess the best way for our Lebanese peeps to get their hands on our music is come to one of our shows, or get the EP from places which we will be announcing soon. As for our listeners abroad, just head to our website, SoundCloud profile or Facebook page!

Your sound is rich with many influences distilled into one well-knitted production that’s catchy and dancey. This seems to be characteristic of our music scene, in the sense that the various local bands manage to put together different styles and approaches, is this something you relate to?

It is surely a given that all which we are exposed to as musicians gets mashed into our individual and collective artistic expression.

This eclectic mix is furthermore reinforced by the way we write.

The creative process happens when we get together in our charmingly decrepit jam room, an old print-house which is the ultimate temple of inspiration for the four of us. We compose and arrange all our material together.

When we get together, we’re always in a setting where we either play or listen to dancey music, may it be rock or electronic.

From the start, the most fun we had was to cover bands like LCD Soundsystem, the Rapture, the Strokes, Metronomy and other uptempo-ish artists/bands/DJs. On the production side of our EP, we’re glad to say we found someone as perfectionist as us, if not more. When it comes to work out the details in our songs, we owe Fadi Tabbal a lot of honey-mustard goodness.

And finally what is your favorite Bruce Lee movie, and who do you think killed him?

Wassim: Should be Enter the Dragon! We’re sure it’s Hassib.

With his seductive eyes and talented fingers but who knows…

Hassib: Enter the Dragon is definitely a pearl. The fact we don’t have Paypal in Lebanon killed Bruce Lee. Pascal: To be frank I haven’t watched any Bruce Lee movies.

When I was little, someone told me a bouncer shoved Bruce Lee, which resulted in his death.

Malek: Definitely Game of Death with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The person who killed Bruce Lee is Django, of course

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41 THIS DISC IS NOT FOR SALE MAGAZINE SUPPLEMENT - FEBRUARY / MARCH ISSUE 2013

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THE GOLDEN AGE OF ADVERTISING: MAD MEN

ARTICLES BY Sonja Steppanskj

ILLUSTRATION BY RAFIC SAAB

To the glorious hands of Don Draper, We are pleased to inform you that by the fast-forwarded forces of astral space we were put in this fine position that hereby enables the transmission of this futuristic notice to the responsible hands of your office. An office whose very existence has changed not only our sophisticated mind about the offspring of the present advertising world, but also thus-related beliefs about what we nowadays call some sort of sexual revolution and the according idea of an ongoing design elaboration.

Yet we deeply apologize in advance if it might disturb your current self-reflecting capacity, to learn the fact that your distinctive, ambiguous identity does not exist in real life.

If this statement takes you by surprise, you might want to sit down, drench a sudden wave of thirst with whatever alcoholic drink you continuously have available in the left-handed wooden drawer next to your telephone, smoke a dozen unfiltered cigarettes and hear us out.

If only you were able of looking beyond your über attractive secretary as a competent research tool to a global interconnecting power making the access of digital libraries such as Wikipedia commonplace, in which case you could easily convince yourself of the following announcement of ours.

Your antagonistic, kaleidoscopic personality, and therefore your extended Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency crew has been invented solely for the sake of making a vivid public discussion about utter (authentically curvy) feminism, the esthetic makebelief of copywriting and the general bipolarity of the human mind. Overall, it is but one enjoyable, irreplaceable issue for what is known as our post-modern, graphic design-y generation, and on second notice a matter that made your creator Weiner win a bunch of established awards and people like us not feel so awkward about what their occupation is.

There is an interminable list of positive side effects coming with what feels like an absorption of the nostalgic storyline and photographic scene, such as the entirely understandable phantasy

of mentally diving into John Slattery’s dimples, or the female secret wish of putting on a hell of a lot more comfortable weight alongside Betty Draper and permanently believing the most supreme form of humanitarian refuge could possibly lay right between Hendrick’s fulminant airbags.

Then again, the original matter of fact goes miles beyond retro perspective eye candy and lucid flashbacks about how the matrix of our ad space has been established, as the early 60’s scenery triggers a whole new understanding of one hypocritical, consumptive, relentless and dubious fellowship; the type of figures that make you want to be bluntly sexist and perfectly coiffed and disgustingly divorced, openly immoral and a bit Francophile at the same time.

Regarding the sensual display, one’s inner eyes and guts ostensibly adhere to the circuit of delight when looking at active male and submissive female roles.

Is that a weird thing to tell you, dearest Don Draper, given the fact that we, as protective, progressive professionals should be ethically far beyond even realizing that?

Simply put, our best Don, the narrative manipulation rewards with a strangely acknowledging perspective that it is subtly acceptable for minor neighbours to request a blonde curl from a attractive middle-aged woman, and for train passengers to beat each other up as a result of wives being hospitalized, and makes common encounters of males and females in elevators always seem to have a suspicious character because frankly why would they not. This is why we praise the fact that we are able to daydream about sharing countless high-strength drinks with you in gloomy bars on whose napkins we scribble phrases that might shape the world of superficial advertising, the obvious face of humankind, the way the west was won and our souls, too.

This very notion makes us thankful you were created to arise our personal opinion about R2D2-ish sounds, the perfunctory, playful irresponsibility of famous marketing and our disgraceful drinking habits.

We will admire the complexity of your behaviour, and the one of your companions that comes with it, in all bloody eternity.

Sincerest Regards.

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SICK NASTY INTERVIEW BY CHARLES HADDAD

How did Scarlet and Sick begin? who are they give us their background, and how did they develop into who they are today? Tell us about your first show.

SN: Sick Nasty wasn’t my first drag name. I started experimenting with drag in high school and after moving to NYC for school and living in Brooklyn, I kinda fell back into it. My first show was at a local gay club in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I used Nair to erase my hairy middle eastern-ness. It was smelly and awful. Now I embrace it, and sometimes even let it out.

SE: The name Scarlet Envy was inspired by period blood. A young drag queen’s desire for the female monthly drip! After competing to be Miss FIT 2012, she fell hard and fast for false lashes and stilletos. Scarlet’s career in heels was sparked when she landed her first weekly show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where she found a welcoming community in the city drag scene.

Tell us a bit about your transformation process.

SN: Face, contour, powder, eyes, lips, hair, outfit. Done SE: Listening to good Pop music is a must when putting a face on.

How does drag make you feel?

SN: Like a real man.

SE: To be a drag queen is to create your own celebrity. I call myself a gender-transcender.

How do you describe your personal style?

SN: Caviar on a McDouble.

SE: Heels and sunglasses at all times. A floor-length mermaid gown to make a statement. A whiskey-ginger on ice for an accessory, and lots of leg. Juggling a wardrobe for two genders gets crazy - and a New York city closet is the size of a pillowcase.

What are the things or people that inspire you the most to do drag?

SN: The Brooklyn sisterhood of drag. Everyone is an artist. Not just in makeup or hair... It’s way beyond that.

SE: My friends in the city.

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INTERVIEW: SICK NASTY & SCARLET ENVY

SCARLET ENVY ILLUSTRATION BY AMRO THABIT

If you could collaborate with any designer of any era, who would it be? why?

SN: I would love to see what Bob Mackie could do with latex and my body.

SE: Gareth Pugh- I have a thing for mirrors, and wearing a dress inspired by that would be everything.

What are the three words that describe you best?

SN: I’m a homosexual.

SE: Provocative + destined + sparkly Who are your threE favorite drag queens?

SN: Varla Jean Merman, Christeene (Rebecca Havemeyer), and Jackie Beat SE: Rupaul, Raja, and Lady GaGa. Oh wait...

What does New York City represent for you?

Tell us about the underground drag scene.

SN: New York City is so gay. It’s great. Drag is actually pretty popular here. The only thing truly underground about us is the fact our dressing rooms are usually basements with a broken mirror... Or 3ft x 3ft closets...also with broken mirrors.

SE: This city represents opportunity and hard work! I started a new life here for myself, and consider the city my home. The scene is all about cheap glamour. Queens can be leaders, or royal bitches. The key is surrounding yourself with inspirational, positive people.

Shall we expect to see you on Rupaul’s drag race in the near future?

SN: Nah. I can’t do the drama thing. I’m too passive.

SE: Check out www.facebook.com/scarletdrinkswhiskey What does the word “Androgyny” mean to you?

SN: Pegina.

SE: Sex. Catwalking past old thinking, into a new age of acceptance. Gender is a fun thing to bend.

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- PHOTOGRAPHER -

Could you sum up in a few words for us who you really are and what it is that you do?

Someone who is really into visuals.

What is Chromosome XY to you and how does your exhibited series convey how you see men?

The male chromosomes as a cycle of life and the male that is childish at heart.

What do you reward yourself with when you finish a piece that you’re happy with?

A wild dance.

What is the one photograph you wish you had taken?

The one that I forgot to take.

Where do you mostly draw your inspiration from?

Open your eyes wide and get ready for the cheesy answer: everywhere.

When was the last time you laughed so hard that tears came out of your eyes?

Not sure, as I do laugh a lot and with tears in my eyes most of the time.

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FOR THE MODERN DAY ARTIST & CULTURALLY INTRIGUED INDIVIDUAL 58 ALBUM SELECTION

60 MOVIE REVIEWS

68 SOUNDTRACK REVIEW

70 LIVE REVIEW

THE MIXTAPE

PHOTOGRAPH BY CLARA ABI NADER

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A PEEK AT OUR PERSONAL RECORD COLLECTION : THE MEN

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MUST-SEE MOVIE: RESERVOIR DOGS

A lot of directors made their name with their first movie. This one didn’t ‘make’ it. He engraved it into the industry. The movie is called Reservoir Dogs… and the director’s name: Quentin Tarantino…Duh! We are going to go through every hair follicle of every personality responsible for this chef d’oeuvre, but first things first; If you already know and really like this movie, you might not feel the need to read on. However, we just might uncover information that is new to you, so we strongly advise you to stick around…

ARTICLE BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY RUDY SHAHEEN

T

he opening scene carries a debate about the most important things you could think of: the true meaning behind Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ and tipping a waitress. 10 men are sitting at a restaurant/café table, and the camera is circling them slowly as they talk to one another. You can see close ups but no names are divulged yet. Actually you will never know their names. They all have color-code names.

Meet the dogs: our first speaker is none other than our beloved director as Mr. Brown. He dies shortly after so we don’t see much of him later on. Crime boss Joe Cabbot (Lawrence Tierney) hires six unknown criminals to rob a jewelry store: Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker), and Mr. Blonde (Michel Madsen). As the credit walk (you’ll know what we mean once you see the movie) fades away with the infamous song ‘Little Green Bag’, we are thrown into a car driven by Mr. White in which Mr. Orange is suffering from a gunshot wound. The robbery went wrong. There is a rat among the men. As previously mentioned, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue are dead, so they’re pretty much useless to the story.

Mr. White gets Mr. Orange to the warehouse, agreed meeting point of the robbers and their employer, to deliver the goods to Joe Cabbot’s son Eddie (Chris Penn). However, they need to find out who the police informant was and repay him duly for the death of the two men and the inevitable death of Mr. Orange. Mr. Pink is the first to join the party with the news of the set up. The criminals do not know each other. So now, everyone’s a suspect! Mr. Blonde, a vicious and crazed shooter, quickly hauls in with murderous intent in his eyes, and he brought along a surprise…

Vic Vega. Remind you of anybody? Well, it should! Vic Vega is the brother of Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta in ‘Pulp Fiction’. Not only that, but Tarantino had planned a prequel project bringing the two brothers together for a big showdown.

Unfortunately, he opted to go another way and brought us all his other movies, not that we’re complaining or anything.

Reservoir Dogs is a movie of confrontations with swift dialogues and remarkable characters. You get to witness interesting meetings between the employer and each recruit, face-to-face struggles, monologues (that’s just because the other person has duct tape over his mouth), and a final salad-like situation that is tasty and very arousing.

Even though the movie didn’t score any Oscars, it won several awards and appears in a lot of lists like 100 best movies of all time, and 25 best heist movies. Reservoir Dogs is one of our all time favorites. Its blood gushing qualities are so subtle that even the faint hearted can enjoy it without feeling the need to puke up their breakfast. Pretty much like in the movie, we hold you readers in a Mexican standoff. First one to say he doesn’t like the movie gets a bullet right through the skull. Just look at the facts; the actors are perfect fits for their roles, the music is mesmerizing, the filming is splendid, the plot is gripping… what more do you want?

The movie features a weird glamour sequence, of a stripteasetype dance to the song ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’. We would like to say that this movie follows all the trademarks of Tarantino, but seeing that this is his first, we can’t. It’s the movie that set the trademarks, all of them. Naturally, you have the trunk shot, the unsynchronized scenes, his appearance in the movie, and his “red apple” brand. More to the point, the under-budgeted film that had the actors wearing their own clothes (easily noticeable because Chris Penn is wearing his f**king sweatpants) was shot in only 35 days.

Now, for the Tarantino aficionados, we promised some cool stuff and here you go. Mr. Blonde’s real name is supposed to be

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MOVIE REVIEWS

DIRECTED BY BURR STEERS

“ I’M DROWNING IN ASSHOLES

ARTICLES BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JAD EL KHOURY

- “ I’m sorry to inform you that your mom has cancer.”

- “ Good!”

- “ There’s no real explanation, you could say it’s an act of God.” - “ If God existed, he would have acted much sooner!”

H

ow would you qualify a dysfunctional family?

Divorced parents? Sibling jealousy? Treachery?

Adultery?

Drugs?

Mental problems?

Underachieving children? Patricide? Oedipus complex? (That’s the one where you want to bone your mother). Suicidal thoughts? Terminal illness? Pedophilia? Rape? Welcome to a normal Monday morning in the life of the Slocumb family. The movie is called Igby Goes Down; hooked yet?

An all-star cast comes together to portray this well-off family that seems to be anything but a family. The casting is a no-brainer; Jeff Goldblum’s charms, Susan Sarandon’s coldhearted matriarch, Ryan Philippe’s boyish mysterious ‘stare in the distance’ silences and both Claire Danes and Amanda Peet’s flimsy libertines. The shocker though was the actor cast as the story’s protagonist, Macaulay Culkin’s younger brother, Kieran Culkin, whom resembles his sibling to an uncanny point.

Yet, Kieran was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2003 for his performance in Igby. Kieran Culkin shapes his persona, Igby, the lost boy whose life is seemingly falling apart with such preciseness that until this day, 10 years later, it is still hard to separate the two. He’s not your everyday depressed teenager; he’s an old man in the body of a young boy. Even more, Kieran Culkin’s younger brother played him in the flashbacks to keep the resemblance synched to the plot.

After several setbacks, a 17 year old by the name of Jason Jr. ‘Igby’ Slocumb self-emancipates from a pretentious wealthy family. He must now grow up without guidance and experience life’s firsts on his own. He stumbles onto a peculiar and remote bunch of people along the way. Anyone he meets bizarrely takes him back, one way or another, to the family he was fleeing. Desperate to break away, Igby tries to cut everyone and everything he’s known from his life. Nothing seems to be enough.

This movie falls under drama’s ‘sarcastic weird’ genre, and when we say falls, we mean head first into a pool of barbed wire. It is shot in dark grey and blue, as colors seem to fade in the wake of this poor boy’s life. And when the mood is not one that wants to make you swallow a stick of dynamite, it’s one to bore you; the thrilling exciting kind of boring. The characters never laugh, though they do qualify things and people to be ‘funny’. The movie is also filled with long silent paused close-ups, begging the audience to judge the cast while wondering: “what the hell is he thinking?”. Note we said “he thinking” and not “she thinking” because, as one of the most implicitly misogynistic movies ever, women do not think, they ignorantly act in a destructive wave to wreck the lives of the men who ‘love’ them.

This train wreck of an emotional rollercoaster was the vision of one man, and one man alone. Writer-director Burr Steers originally wanted to have this story told in a novel, but then decided to go with the more graphic approach, and for that we are grateful.

‘Ibgy’ is Steer’s first movie, and what a movie it is... Either it was based on true events, or Mr. Steer is one sadistic f***ed up basket case. Honestly, some part of us really wants to believe that this really happened at some point in mankind’s history, so we’re just going to assume it did. ‘Insanity is relative’: simple brilliance.

The movie doesn’t limit itself to the visual; the audio also brilliantly plays its part in the overall experience. The soundtrack is made with an appropriate amount of taste, not too much, not inexistent. You will recognize some songs like Coldplay’s ‘Don’t Panic’ and The Dandy Warhols’ ‘Bohemian Like You’, two songs that fit Igby’s desires perfectly. Throughout the film, bittersweet melodies embalm your senses and put you in a trance, leaving you blind, mute and deaf.

In an unconventional twist, you are going to hate the fact that you will love this movie. Bring your emotional baggage along for this journey to the core of a paradox: hatred of love, depressive feel-goods, meager wealth, chaotic order, and sweet beatings… … And you thought your family was dysfunctional…

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MOVIE REVIEWS

DIRECTED BY TOM FORD

“ No one has ever picked me up and not wanted something

ARTICLES BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JAD EL KHOURY

T

om Ford has only ever done one thing, but he has done it brilliantly. In 2009, he shot A Single Man. He hadn’t done anything before it and he hasn’t since. Why? Simply because Tom Ford is NOT a director, he’s a fashion designer. Actually he’s not a fashion designer, he’s THE fashion designer who saved Gucci from bankruptcy. In his dresses and in all of his projects he is a perfectionist. The movie industry was no different: “If you spend an hour a half in a movie theater, it should challenge you”. And a challenge you have brought to us, Tom! A Single Man starts with the death of a man. As the title iterates, this death causes another man, his boyfriend, to become single.

It’s time for us to meet George (Colin Firth). George is a middleaged English professor suffering from heartache. He’s not coping well with the loss of his life partner Jim (Matthew Goode). The movie takes you into Los Angeles on a 1960s’ day where George suddenly wakes up and decides that he doesn’t want to live in a world without feelings, or have any future without Jim. Welcome to the day leading up to his suicide. Before he takes his own life however, he gets his affairs in order, makes peace with his pending issues, and spends his day with various people, among them a student of his, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), a hazy Spanish guy (Jon Kortajanera) and his best friend Charley (Julianne Moore). From morning to evening, the day seems longer now, as if it’s not going to end. The past doesn’t matter, the future is irrelevant; the present is all that matters. His past has been destroyed, his present is empty and boring and his future doesn’t look that bright either.

In an original twist, Ford was able to bring forward a sexual aspect to suicide. The suicide is no longer the taking of one’s life, but the ripping of the flesh, in a reserved but rich manner. You witness the erection of a sentimental barrier that obstructs the character’s body from his soul, a barrier that George struggles to break in order to feel companionship again, laugh and cry even.

The higher you fly, the harder you fall. Once that single person is gone, you try to replace them with several people to fill up all the voids left, but it’s not the same. It’s never perfect; you can have all the friends in the world and yet never feel complete without that special someone; that someone whom you know will be with you forever, that someone, however, whom you’re constantly afraid of losing.

Colin Firth was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in A Single Man and it’s such a shame that he didn’t take the priceless trophy home with him. Nonetheless, A Single Man did manage to win 21 awards; no, not those teenager-fan-choice awards that are handed to anyone with a camera.

Noticeable trademarks in this movie are the countless macroscopic close-ups of the characters’ eyes. It’s as if Tom Ford makes us penetrate George’s mind while he stares into the pupils of his interlocutors to determine if life still shines in their souls. Death is all around him. Even in colors: he seems to be and have the only pale and white environment in an otherwise lively and colorful world. Slowly, throughout the movie, George’s pale face fills up and regains its skin color, and a smile. He knows that, the later the day gets, the sooner he will join Jim in the afterlife.

We jokingly categorized this movie as a movie that can turn people gay, but, amazingly, it is. It’s a whole new sentimental approach to any kind of relation. Tom Ford brought this movie all on his own. He wrote it, financed it, produced it, directed it, edited it and collected awards for it; ironically, the one thing he didn’t lay a hand on was the design of his film’s costumes. Now Tom, you’re a brilliant designer, but make another movie already! What the hell are you waiting for?

In life, you usually have it all: a lover, a best friend, a partner, a confidant, a fling and casual acquaintances. Rare and lucky are the ones among us who have found all of them in one single person.

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MOVIE REVIEWS

DIRECTED BY PETER GREENAWAY

“ Try the cock, Albert. It’s a delicacy, and you know where it’s been

ARTICLES BY SERGE KALDANY ILLUSTRATION BY JAD EL KHOURY

A

sinful duck à l’orange after a nice affair is murderingly delicious! Let the feast begin!

Albert Spica (Sir Michael Gambon) lives off his entrepreneurship business along his wife Georgina (Dame Helen Mirren). Alternately, he is also a dog person. In reality, he’s a stingy restaurateur who is balancing between managing his new restaurant and being a mob boss. He “offers quality food and protection”. He’s a gruesome and self-important prick, hated by everyone, except maybe his faithful lackey Mitchel (Tim Roth). But as long as he’s running the show and paying the bills, even if drop by drop, they will all kiss his ass… but to what extent? His wife ‘Georgie’ is bored with the dubious and violent mannerisms of her husband. She takes on the first lover that comes along. (Yes, even little old perfect model woman Helen Mirren gets around! We too were surprised). That honor falls upon a man called Michael (Alan Howard). We’ve covered the thief, the wife and the lover; now onto the cook. Mr. Spica’s French cook Richard (Richard Bohringer) is a talented chef. However, Mr. Spica greatly limits his talents by restraining the food to conservative and low quality ingredients. He’s fully aware of Mrs. Spica’s indiscretion and chooses to help cover for the masquerade.

Albert Spica is an evil character, yes, but one that you would enjoy for hours. He’s the kind that talks about things he cannot understand, but in depths that astonish and amuse. He’s just a hoot. Care for a taste? “Indians are well known for drinking their own pee, so the same waters would go round and round and round…

Of course, you’re bound to loose some through evaporation”. You cannot make this stuff up! For the rest, you’re just going to have to laugh it away watching movie.

jerk comes out and he becomes unbearable. Now, multiply that person by 10 000, and you get one minute worth of sober Albert Spica’s attitude. It’s a man you want to hate. But since he’s afar, you just can’t help it not to sit there and find him intriguing.

The set is limited to the restaurant area. It’s a gory set, lit with weird colors, portraying the mind of the main character, and is subdivided into 4 distinct rooms. Each of these rooms is assigned a color. The restaurant’s dining area is red. Red of course is the color of passion, a passion for food and a passion for love. The kitchen is green, a sign of the pure hatred expressed towards the restaurant’s manager. The color white is assigned to the bathroom, a pure chamber where you wash off the filth. Ironic, since the affair starts in one of the bathroom’s stalls. The outside, finally, is smeared in depressive and cold blue. Hair raising music and singing accompany the morbid imagery of the film to push it that extra inch over the top.

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is a long title for a long movie with the shortest of plots, in which hide several unspoken pleasures: pleasures of the palate, and pleasures of the flesh, often intertwine. We would have given it an even longer title though: ‘the overqualified cook who could easily find another job, the cheap asshole, his understandably whore wife, and her charming lover’… Feel free to message us your own titles…

It’s a movie of unexpected roles. Helen Mirren, undoubtedly the role model many for women across the globe, plays an adulteress.

This movie offers more odd actor-persona pairing. You wouldn’t expect Michael Gambon to play anything short of a wise and gentle man. But here you go. His real-life image vanishes in the vile character obsessed with washing and neatness. Imagine the rudest person you know; He gets drunk, shitfaced and naturally his inner

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SOUNDTRACK REVIEW: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Vincent Gallo’s Brown Bunny was greeted with mixed critical reception upon its release in 2003.

The film is about a low-profile motorcycle racer looking for his long lost true love. Slow paced, this film is a bold and daring venture into loneliness and depression. Sounds simpler than it really is.

ARTICLE BY ZAHI FARAH

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he film’s soundtrack is a compilation of somewhat depressing – but beautiful mood music. Similar to the film, the soundtrack won’t appeal to all audiences due to its downbeat feel.

Let’s take a look at John Frusciante’s music within the soundtrack, which, as Gallo explains in a note included in the CD “served as the unheard soundtrack for the film; it was this music that I listened to while making the movie, but when the time came to put the film together, Frusciante’s music didn’t propel the piece as much as I would have liked.” Ultimately other songs were chosen, but John’s were included in the final album, making it a very worthwhile 40 minutes of music.

So who is John Frusicante? Some of you might know him as the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist who played a huge part in the Red Hot’s revival on more than one occasion. And while that’s an achievement in its own right, John has also released numerous solo albums, namely The Empyrean, his most famous but still not-asfamous-as-it-should-be album to date.

Frusicante’s fan base was built over the years, and while the large majority came looking for the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s funky sounds, they stayed for something totally different.

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ILLUSTRATION BY RAPHAELLE MACARON

The first track composed for the film

by Frusciante is ‘Forever Away’, a 6 minute ambient song in which Frusciante’s distinct guitar strumming is overlaid with heavyreverb vocals that repeat, over and over, “forever away from home”. It perfectly embodies the depressive mood of the film, both in the character’s psychological state and the cinematography’s ever-moving lifeless images.

‘Prostitution Song’ is also driven by beautifully languorous, intersecting guitar melodies. While heavier on effects, this song reaches its peak during a brief encounter with one of John’s simpler solos; ending abruptly as it reaches it climax.

And there you have it. Overall the soundtrack of the film is pretty amazing and beautifully selected. If you ever watch Next comes ‘Dying Song’, the second it, and we do recommend you do, make sure track composed by John on the album, to check out Frusicante’s original tracks which carries this feeling of homelessness composed for the film; it’ll take you less and isolation even further. This time using than a second to find them online and is more electronic sounds and his own voice well worth the effort. While some might as a chorus, John shares his concerns in completely discard it as senseless sounds regards to life’s emptiness and the absolute mashed together, others, maybe you, will and utter mystery it is to him. This song come to discover something you’ll love and has a spiritual feel to it; which reminds follow in the years to come. us… did you know that “empyrean” means “belonging to or deriving from heaven”?

To wrap it up, here’s a quote we can’t seem to stop associating with John’s music, The third track is ‘Leave All the Days hopefully this won’t come across as too Behind’, contrary to the previous songs, this presumptuous, here goes; track features John’s falsetto vocals primarily, leaving a barely present instrumental lingering “I could not become anything: neither at the back of our mind. bad nor good, neither a scoundrel nor an honest man, neither a hero nor an insect.And The fourth composition by Frusciante now I am eking out my days in my corner, is ‘Prostitution Song’. Bare of any vocals, taunting myself with the bitter and entirely this track is driven by overlaying guitar useless consolation that an intelligent man melodies. All the while John’s trademark cannot seriously become anything; that precise guitar strumming gives us a strong only a fool can become something.” foundation to fall back on, as he plays unexpected yet truly remarkable solos at - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground. every turn.A memorable track.

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SOLEA V. - BEIRUT, LEBANON ARTICLE BY Philippe Yacoub

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY CARL HALAL

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LIVE REVIEW: THE WANTON BISHOPS - SOLEA V, BEIRUT o, the concert a lot of people had been waiting for is finally here. The venue is Solea V and it’s buzzing with sponsors, sound engineers, lighting engineers and Beirut Jam Sessions that is organizing everything in the night’s show. The vast majority of good music listeners, have been caught in the webs of The Bishops’ demo tape (or EP as it’s called), via their Facebook page, generating a buzz around them in the streets of Beirut, for the revival of the true Blues-rock scene.

Fast forward a few months, they score a gig in a big venue for the release of their highly anticipated first album. The band is in full harmony in sound check. Nader the lead vocalist, guitarist and harmonica player (you’ve probably heard your girlfriend mentioning his name, hopefully not in bed), was in a cheerful mood ahead of the show, explaining to us very coolly about his trademark voice that needs about 6 to 7 meals per day in order to function. All in all, he was worried about getting some yum in his tum before the concert.

Eddie (lead guitarist and backup vocalist), the other backbone of the Wanton duo, had a more serious approach keeping count of the numerous guitars he was gonna use on stage that night, thus maintaining a homeostasis (“balance” for you knuckleheads) to the core.

Few minutes left, the crowd gathered, the DJ in a perfect spot right of the stage overlooking the dancing crowd in front of him and then seeing Oak’s mellow tunes charm the rebels and calming them down ahead of the much awaited explosion.

The moment comes, the boys are waiting backstage as the DJ announces them a la Micheal Buffer. They looked like a boxer waiting to be unleashed onto the ring for his first professional shot at a heavyweight championship, whilst for the first time for a lebanese band, the show actually starts with a video of a tattoo artist tattooing the band’s logo on someone... and we’re off.

The Bishops are sheer energy, sweat, distortion, drums, foul mouth, just a peer universal sound that even a Zulu tribe member would bob his head to. They performed pretty much every song on the EP: ‘Smith & Wesson’, ‘Bad Rhyme’, ‘Whoopy’, and ‘Sleep With the Lights On’ to mention a few. Soon after, an encore and a couple of covers followed. Oak then joined them on stage to perform a cover of Canned Heat’s ‘On the Road Again’.

Boy did they hit every note! Prompting a ballsy Xriss Jorr to throw her bra on stage to announce herself as prima donna of the groupies and protector of her boyfriend Eddie… Now that’s how you mark your territory, women! Nader was up to his playful best with the screaming fans hoping to touch his body art (tattoos, you perverts), going as far as filling their cup musically and literally with his whiskey bottle.

Black Keys? Jack White? No, I say they are our own Beirut product that will hopefully catch the attention of the world one day. Well done Bishops!

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Twins - 2012

17 ‘Who Are You’ Ty Segall

High & Low - 2011

13 ‘Miracle Mile’ Kissed Her Little Sister

Folk Songs Of The Hills - 1947

TBA - 2012

18 ‘Like The Wind’ NONONO

Ladies & Mentalmen - 2012

14 ‘Paper Girl’ Yolanda Be Cool feat. Betty Wright

TBA - 2013

10 ‘Fantasy’ MS MR

Post - 1995

Phantom Pop - 2013

09 ‘Sixteen Tons’ Tennessee Ernie Ford

06 ‘Hyperballad’ Bjork

Brain Thrust Mastery - 2008

02 ‘After Hours’ We Are Scientists

05 ‘Connect The Dots’ Wild Party

Myrmidons of Melodrama - 2002

01 ‘Sophisticated Boom Boom’ The Shangri-Las

Arc - 2013

19 ‘Cough Cough’ Everything Everything

TBA - 2013

Oh Land (Deluxe Edition) - 2011

20 ‘Speak Out Now’ Oh Land

The Sellout - 2010

16 ‘Kissed It’ Macy Gray feat. Velvet Revolver

Deep Forest Green - 2012

12 ‘Deep Forest Green’ Husky Rescue

Tramp - 2012

08 ‘Serpents’ Sharon Van Etten

My Old, Familiar Friend - 2009

04 ‘Feel Like Taking You Home’ Brendan Banson

COLLAGE COURTESY OF FIDELE SAFI

15 ‘Flashbacks, Memories and Dreams’ The Virgins

In Our Heads - 2012

11 ‘Motion Sickness’ Hot Chip

Put Your Back N 2 It - 2012

07 ‘Hood’ Perfume Genius

Warm Leatherette - 1980

03 ‘A Rolling Stone’ Grace Jones

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All of the above is being said of course putting aside the subliminal messages that both sexes conduct. Women, for example, might tell you that there’s a slight difference in your ages when she actually means that you are one Jurassic geezer. “I’m not attracted to you in THAT’ way” (you are the ugliest dork I’ve ever laid eyes

The eternal battle of sexes has been going on ever since the dawn of humanity. Which is smarter? More successful? More creative?

Better lover?... and a million other reasons for our microscopic brains to keep a scoreboard. Men chicken-scratch, while women decorate their penmanship. Women make a list of things they need then go out grocery shopping, while men wait for the only items left in their fridges are half a lime and a beer and then end up buying whatever looks good on the shelves. A woman cries her eyes out to her girlfriends when a relationship ends, writes a poem titled “Men Are Jerks” and then moves on to her next prey. A man has a little more trouble letting go. A few months after the breakup, in the middle of the night, he will call and say: “I just want you to know that you ruined my life, and I’ll never forgive you, and I hate you, and you’re a total floozy. But there’s still a chance for us, and I love you” (Alright, alright! SOME men might do that).

e would be delighted to know what prompted John Gray’s say “Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars”, but it’s not only the case here and there are endless of differences between men and women that are amazing to know; some are hilarious to read whilst others are... well... you are wiser and can judge better.

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COLLAGE BY: FIDELE SAFI

Bottom line, who wouldn’t enjoy sharing the table with someone who appreciates buying good records (or illegally downloading them), watching a good movie and having great sex? It’s all a game at the end, isn’t it?

The whole point behind this issue’s theme is to play around with who did what better. Did Harvey Keitel do a better job in Reservoir Dogs than Jane Fonda in Barbarella? Is Kanye West’s album better produced than that of Cat Power’s? The planet is overloaded with talent and this is the perfect battlefield! It brings out the best of both worlds.

We differ but we both thrive for excellence. We both wanna have a house in Sursock, spend our summers in St. George and our winters in Faraya. What we unconsciously do and how we act on a daily basis is no Hercules vs. Thor. It’s a matter of proving our existence and constantly playing around with what works better for us and what we do better than the other. We treat it and deal with it differently... Bloody Duh! But we want the same outcome...

Don’t we? Hello? Anyone?

Men aren’t any better. They tend to be harsh as well when it comes to the opposite sex. They’d tell a lady that they think of her as sister when they actually mean that she’s ugly. “There’s a slight difference in your ages (you’re ugly). “I’m not attracted to you in THAT’ way” (you’re ugly). “I’ve got a girlfriend” (you’re ugly).

“I’m concentrating on my career” (you’re ugly) and the most famous line “It’s not you, it’s me”, while in fact it means that they find her PAINFULLY ugly.

upon). “I’ve got a boyfriend” (who’s actually my male cat and half a gallon of Haagen-dazs). “I’m concentrating on my career” (even something as boring and unfulfilling as my job is better than dating you) and the most famous line “It’s not you, it’s me”, while in fact “it is definitely you and not me, buddy”.