Kanye-sized Egos in the Social Media Age

I've never really had a problem with Kanye's ego. In my opinion, he has more than justified his high opinion of himself through his music. 

I know some will consider that debatable and that's fine, I think you're wrong, though. Saying that, I have liked how, over the last week, so many people who I know dislike/hate the great man have appreciated his interview with Zane Lowe (please do make the time to watch it if you haven't already. Love or hate him, it's a very insightful interview once you get past the perceived madness, most prevalent in the first part). 

I would like to see more of that: people being objective and showing appreciation for greatness, regardless of their opinion of a person. There's nothing wrong with praising someone's work or, in this case, words, even if you dislike them as a person. It's not hypocritical. It's accepting that, like all human beings, we are multi-faceted and, as such, are more likely to contradict ourselves than we are to be consistent in our views. For example, I think Kim Kardashian is sexy as hell, but hate everything that she stands for as a human being.

I read the following tweet earlier this week: 

It got me thinking. 

The (Eventual) Revenge of the Concert-Goer

I am a concert-goer. I love concerts. And, more often than not, the incredible experience outweighs any potential burden of the cost. So when an artist who's music I love announces a concert date, more often than not, I will have every intention to go, regardless of the cost. N.B. That's not to suggest that I have unlimited finances - that's certainly not the case, in fact the only reason I was able to go to Watch The Throne in London & Paris last year was because they were both 21st birthday gifts.

I do however think that the music industry, or should I say the tour promoters, may be losing touch with reality. Recently I went to Kanye West at Hammersmith Apollo and it's dawned on me the last couple of the days that, at £75, it's the most expensive convert I've been to (bar the upcoming Beyoncé gig). I'm not saying Kanye isn't worth that money; he was. I'm not saying 'but I've been to festivals where I've seen artist X, Y & Z for less' because I understand the logistics as to why promoters are able to sell festival tickets at reasonably affordable prices. I'm not even saying that Kanye West and Jay-Z cost less together at better venues! No, my issue is - actually - the tickets that didn't go on sale to fans.

Moment of Clarity.

In December 2011 my first short film (and, to this date, my only short film) Therapy was shot. A few months later, a private screening was held for it and throughout 2012 the production company continued to enter it into film festivals. Up until the end of 2012, from every festival we entered it into, we received either no responses or generic apology messages about how there had been so many entrants, the standard was high blah blah ... Rejection.

After the screening and throughout 2012, having put my work out there for everyone to see, judge and have expectations of me, people would always ask how writing was going and what was happening with Therapy. The same tiresome answer would be something along the lines of:

'Yeah writing's good, same old, just writing away. Yeah we've entered Therapy into some festivals, so just hoping to hear some good news now.'

Just Art

Disclaimer: for the record, it's never 'just art', if we want to be pedantic about the choice of words. But hopefully by the end of this you'll understand why, on the whole, it is. 

A film came out in the UK this week. And it came out in the USA in 2012. It is Oscar nominated and has been controversial to say the least. The film in question is Quentin Tarantino's latest, 'Django Unchained' (see trailer here).

I love films. I love TV. I love music. And, generally speaking, I love art. Art is subjective. For us to interpret how we wish and to enjoy how we wish.