Archive for May 4th, 2011

May 4, 2011

Ken Robinson

changing paradigms

the element

Sir Ken Robinson (b. 1950) is an author, and expert on education and the arts.

Robinson’s 2001 book, ‘Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative,’ argues that creativity is undervalued and ignored in Western culture and especially in its educational systems.

May 4, 2011

The Elite Squad

tropa de elite

The Elite Squad (Portuguese: Tropa de Elite) is a 2007 Brazilian film directed by José Padilha. The film is a semi-fictional account of the BOPE (Portuguese: Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais), the Special Police Operations Battalion of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police.

The script was written by Bráulio Mantovani, based on the book ‘Elite da Tropa’ by sociologist Luiz Eduardo Soares and two former BOPE captains, André Batista and Rodrigo Pimentel. When the first version of the film leaked, it caused a major controversy for its portrayal of Captain Nascimento’s unpunished police brutality in slums; some saw it as glamourizing police violence.

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May 4, 2011

Fight for Your Right

Beastie Boys

(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)‘ was the first single released from the Beastie Boys’ breakthrough album, Licensed to Ill (1986). Ironically, the song, written by band friend Tom ‘Tommy Triphammer’ Cushman (who appears in the video), was intended as a parody of party and attitude songs, such as ‘Smokin’ In the Boys Room’ and ‘I Wanna Rock.’ However, the irony was lost on most listeners.

Mike D commented that, ‘The only thing that upsets me is that we might have reinforced certain values of some people in our audience when our own values were actually totally different. There were tons of guys singing along to ‘Fight for Your Right’ who were oblivious to the fact it was a total goof on them.’

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May 4, 2011

Fight For Your Right Revisited

Stuyvesant

In 2011, Adam Yauch directed and wrote a surreal comedic short film entitled Fight For Your Right Revisited to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original video release of their 1987 hit, ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).’ ‘Revisited’ acts as a sequel to the events that took place in the original music video and stars Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA (played by Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood & Danny McBride respectively) as they get into more drunken antics, before being challenged to a dance battle by the future Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA (John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell and Jack Black, respectively).

The short also features several cameo appearances, including Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Shannyn Sossamon, Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Rashida Jones, Rainn Wilson, Amy Poehler, Mary Steenburgen, Will Arnett, Chloe Sevigny, Maya Rudolph, David Cross, Orlando Bloom, Martin Starr, and the actual Mike D, Ad-Rock & MCA.

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May 4, 2011

Hot Sauce Committee

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Hot Sauce Committee Part One

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is the eighth studio album by the Beastie Boys released in May 2011. Originally planned for release in 2009 under the title ‘Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1,’ the album was delayed after Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer.

The working title was ‘Tadlock’s Glasses,’ which was stated to be a reference to a former bus driver named Tadlock, who used to drive for Elvis Presley’s back-up singers. Presley once gave Tadlock a pair of glasses which he was proud of. Regarding the structure of the album, Yauch stated, ‘It’s a combination of playing and sampling stuff as we’re playing, and also sampling pretty obscure records. There are a lot of songs on the record and there are a lot of short songs and they kind of all run into each other.’

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