Christy's {Not Quite Infinite} Birthday Playlist!

Between you and me -- if you take into consideration that I'm 800 years old today, I think that I look pretty damn good ;) :

So (as the blog title implies), today is my birthday. For once, I actually don't have a whole lot to say about that. This year marks the first in a while that I didn't exactly make any definitive "party plans" (not that I do much partying anyway). This may sound kinda sad but lately I've been so stressed out over school-related things, future-related things and a little depressed about my upcoming b-day that I was debating doing anything remotely celebratory at all.

However, since I happen to be blessed with some of the most amazng friends on the planet, I will be having a small, intimate b-day dinner this evening with a few of my favorite people. Specifically, my friend Michelle is the main mastermind behind all this.

I cannot thank that girl enough for being sweet enough to pull together some of the usual suspects and lovelies just so I wouldn't wind up being a hermit on my own birthday. I also cannot thank all of my friends in general for being consistently amazing (and putting up with me even when I'm sick of me...haha ;).

Yes -- it takes very special, wonderful friends to deal with this much Christy. ;)

All in all, I am blessed to be able to call some of the most genuinely cool, amazing, and talented people my friends. It sounds ho-key, but an evening spent with some of my favorites is pretty much all the birthday gift that I really need. I love my friends very much and it will be very cool to chill and hang out with them this evening. I can't wait! ;)

Okay - with that said, I have been trying to figure out what would be a good way to celebrate my b-day here on "Out the Other Side". In the end, I figured what better way to celebrate than with music! Music is such a big part of my life so why not celebrate with a few of the tunes that are making me move right now?

Without further ado, here is a (relatively random) selection of the tracks that will be on serious rotation on this birthday girl's ipod today;)

Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopez -- "The Block Party"

Matthieu Chedid ('M') -- "Machistador"

Femi Kuti -- "Beng Beng Beng"

Spoon -- "Written in Reverse"

The Ting Tings -- "That's Not My Name"

White Rabbits -- "Percussion Gun"

The Talking Heads -- "A Clean Break (Lets Work)"

Elbow -- "Grounds for Divorce"

The Grouch -- Artsty

Passion Pit -- "Sleepyhead"

Michael Jackson -- "Mega Remix"

Prince -- "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"

Ironically, that Prince performance is one of the few things that I can actually cut Jay Leno some slack for. However, I'm still rollin' with 'Team CoCo'. ;)

Good Night (For Now), Conan.

Tonight was Conan O'brien's last as host of the "Tonight Show". Although it was (for good reason) a bittersweet moment for me as a longtime fan of his, I will say that I laughed a lot and was very happy to see him making the most of an unbelievably tough situation.

More than that , though, Conan left "Tonight" with southern rock cool and a hell of a lot of class.

Conan had every right to verbally hammer the final nail into NBC for everything that they have put him and his staff through. He had every right to be angry on-air. He had every right to be openly bitter and cynical about his future.

He was none of these things. Instead, he honestly acknowledged the differences that he and NBC are currently happening.

He then, with no outward sense of bitterness or sarcasm, thanked the network for giving him any opportunity at all and for being his TV home for nearly 20yrs.

After it was all said and done.....Conan left "Tonight" on his own terms while taking the high road.

A real class act to the end. :)

Because of that, I've never been more proud to call myself a true fan of Conan O'Brien than I am tonight.

I sincerely look forward to what the future holds for Mr. O'Brien and his staff. It will, no doubt, be a rough 7 months for me without that fabulous pompadour lighting up my TV every night.

However, I'm sure that I'll manage. There's always Letterman and Craig Ferguson over on that other network, I suppose. *shrugs* ;)

In the meantime, lets take a look at Conan's momentary television farewell from earlier tonight. Fair warning, you may need a box of tissues standing by after this video, kids. ;)

Until later.....'Good night, CoCo!' ;)

Peter Gabriel and "Music for Relief"

This evening has been a little bit crazy over on my end so, unfortunately, there will will be no music video director spotlight today. Thank you everybody who has commented on those posts, though. I was pleasantly surprised that so many of you dug those pieces and got something out of them. They were certainly a hell of a lot of fun for me to write. I may bring those back periodically in the future....so stay tuned and thank you again. :)

What I did want to touch on really quickly is this video that I just stumbled a bit ago.

Peter Gabriel has been one of my all-time favorite musicians for years now. He's definitely up there on my top ten. ;) I'm not only a fan of his musicianship but I also look up to him as an innovator in his craft and a staunch supporter of world music and humanitarian concerns.

To that end, it definitely piqued my interest to see this very somber cover version that he did of David Bowie's "Heros" show up on CNN.com this evening. The track is currently available for download at www.musicforrelief.org along with previously unreleased tracks by All-American Rejects, Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morrisette, Linkin Park, Slash, and more.

I strongly encourage all of you to take a moment, go to musicforrelief.org and download some great music for FREE.

Not only will you get an opportunity to add a few excellent tunes to your digital music arsenal, but you also have an opportunity there to say 'thanks' for your free musical gift by donating to the on-going Haiti earthquake relief effort. 100% of all donations that come into musicforrelief.com go straight to the Haiti earthquake victims. Seriously, what better deal can you ask for?

As I said, please check out Music for Relief , give what you can and get some amazing tunes in the bargain. On a related note, please also check out the "Hope for Haiti" concert that will be simulcast this evening on pretty much every major network (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc) as well as several cable outlets (MTV, VH1, etc). Check your local listings.

Meanwhile, lets take a quick look at this gorgeous Gabriel updated Bowie classic, "Heros", against the backdrop of some of the more devastating and heartbreaking photos from the Haiti earthquake aftermath.

MV Director Spotlight : Maria Juranic

You know, I'm always excited to see any up and coming directors (or creative people in general) doing their thing and doin' it well. However, when I stumbled upon the innovative and sometimes flat out bizarre videos of Maria Juranic, I was especially excited to see a fellow fabulous female making some absolutely FIERCE visual statements on the screen!

Seriously -- her stuff blows me away. I'm pretty sure that if I could ever get my motion work to be half as cool as her videos, then I would be a very contented kitty. ;)

At any rate, there is something very fresh and organic about her videos that makes them incredibly fun to watch and analyze.

Juarnic's use of cut and paste graphics, bizzare morph effects, stop motion and childhood trappings lends itself to a lot of intriguing possibilities visually. What's more is that the conventions that she typically uses are pretty simple. These aren't 'Avatar' style effects that she's employing here and it doesn't need to be. Every video definately employs a very D.I.Y. , cut n' paste, artsy, gritty, punk rock feel.

My absolute favorite Juarnic video is "Optimist (We Are Not For Them)" from Minneapolis born hip-hop artist, P.O.S.

I first saw this clip about a year ago and have been a big admirer of Juaric's work ever since. I think that the first thing that struck me about the video is that it was certainly a refreshing departure visually from the bulk of the hip hop videos in rotation right now. I believe that it is also to P.O.S's credit that he let Juranic do her thing creatively. The end result was brilliant and ultimately gave a little bit of an alternative face to the hip-hop music video altogether.

"Optimist" was less about bling and more about making a visual statement which I thought was incredibly cool. It shatters some of the traditional hip-hop conventions and I believe that the risk taking here visually was well worth it. There is definitely a cut n' paste punk sensibility that Juranic plays with throughout the video which I believe is a fairly unique visual approach for a hip-hop video. As a matter of fact, those who know anything about P.O.S. would not find the punk undertones surprising at all. P.O.S. (who's given name is Stefon Alexander) actually started out as a punk rock musician well before he was ever an MC.

Personally, I believe that mixing punk and hip-hop visual sensibilities makes for a very unique and irresistible visual experience in the end. Throw in some stop motion and a few of your brother's toy cars, and the whole thing starts to make you think of childhood play with a little funk rubbed all over it.

That's totally my kind of music video! ;)

What I feel is even cooler than all of that is how Juaraic can pull off a decidedly cut n paste, animated visual style and then seamlessly switch gears altogether to create something like her short "Phantom" demo piece. That one is (literally and figuratively ) a whole other visual monster.

It's gorgeously creepy and deliciously disturbing. You seriously don't want to miss this one, kids! (see clips below).

In any case, check out "Optimist (We Are not For Them)", "Phantom" and several other fabulous Maria Juarnic creations :

P.O.S. -- "Optimist (We Are Not For Them) -- (2009)

Eyedea & Abillities -- "Junk" (2009)

Eyedea and Abillities -- "Smile" (2009)

(Demo Piece) -- "Phantom" (2009)

MV Director Spotlight : Chris Hopewell

Dark, quirky, funny, sometimes campy and always deliciously British. That is perhaps the best quick and dirty executive summary that I could give you for UK's own Chris Hopewell.

Hopewell's name may not be as readily recognizable in the states as the aforementioned Mark Romanek (who , himself , is something of a master at lending artful quirkiness to his videos).

However, Hopewell's work in increasingly getting more and more attention in the states and worldwide. His music videos tend to reflect a darker, brooding British perspective that is undercut with a lot of irony and kitch (kind of like any original recipe Peter Gabriel-era Genesis track). There often seems to be a gloominess to his visuals overall, but even within the gloom there is a definite sense of humor.

Also, I absolutely love his use of color , textures and animation in his work. His videos often read as odd fairy tales gone gloriously wrong (which is a sentiment that I can sort of relate to. ;)

I first fell in love with Hopewell's work after seeing Radiohead's epic "There, There" for the first time. That video (which still happens to be one of my all-time favorites from ANY director) never ceases to blow my mind each time I watch it.

Granted, some of the techniques emloyed in that particular video (especially in regards to animation) are pretty old hat at this point. However, I believe that (coupled with the dark 'Alice and Wonerland' vibe that's going on) is part of that video's charm. I've read that the concept for that particuar video came from a poplar British kid show that lead singer Thom Yorke and his daughter watch called 'Bagpuss'. Hopewell certainly paired a certain whimsy in this video that would be associated with happy fairy tales and kids stories with a certain amount of darkness . The end result was not only incredibly effective but completely mesmerizing to watch.

Another Hopewell video that happens to be a particular favorite of mine is "Dark of the Matinee" by Franz Ferdinand. ;)

On that note, let's check out "There, There", "Dark of the Matinee", and a few of the other gems in Chris Hopewell's arsenal:

Radiohead -- "There There" (2003)

Franz Ferdinand -- "Dark of the Matinee" (2004)

Persephone's Bees -- "Nice Day" (2005)

Mylo -- "Destroy Rock n' Roll" (2005)

The Offspring -- "You're Gonna Go Far Kid" (2008)

Music Videos Exposed and Mark Romanek (again ;)

Well, at least one television channel is doing something that I agree with. ;)

This Friday, VH1 Classic is debuting a new half hour weekly series entitled "Music Videos Exposed".

When I first heard about it, I knew that it immediately sounded like something that I would dig a whole lot. ;)

The premise of the show is that they are taking a deeper look behind the scenes of some of the the most iconic music videos around through the eyes of the directors that created them. The directors themselves dish on on everything from concept development, tedious shoots, temperamental artists, special effects (including now seemingly archaic rotoscoping that was used to create A-Ha's still amazing "Take on Me" video), and more.

Initial shows will take a look at classic 1980's video staples. A few of the videos that will be featured include "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "Every Breath You Take" by the Police, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles (which was the first video to ever air on MTV back in 1981), and Michael Jackson's ever-iconic "Billie Jean" .

As I said, this is *TOTALLY* up my alley! ;)

I any case, I figured that since this is certainly a show after my own heart that I would share a few of my very own music videos with you guys. Instead of shining light on the inside dirt of each video (which I honestly feel utterly under-qualified to do), I wanted to share my feelings on each video's respective parents (directors).

In the spirit of celebrating the art of music video (which I feel is one of the most intriguing and ever-evolving creative mediums out there), I plan on showcasing the work of a few of my own favorite music video directors and talking a little about what titillates me about their work.

First and foremost, there is a name that has been brought up several times on this blog before -- Mr. Mark Romanek (see above photo).

Romanek's work is a overwhelming favorite of mine and since I have said a good bit about his work in previous posts (namely HERE), I wont go too far into his history right now.

However, one point that I would like to reinterate about Mark's work is how impeccable he is at visual story telling. Music video today, (in the age of video vixens and bling) is a medium that can certainly come off as superficial if handled in the wrong way.

Sometimes superficial cheese is what you want. I agree whole heartedly that just because a video cannot stand alone as a work of art , that doesn't necessarily make it bad. I happen to like quite a few blatantly (conceptually) bad or vacant videos. Lets call them my 'guilty pleasures'. ;)

However, I do think that , as in everything, a certain amount of craftsmanship is put forth in music video directing, then the end results tend to be less commercial fluff and more breathtaking.

Mark Romanek's level of craftsmanship and skill behind the camera almost always results in something breathtaking. Romanek (who has also directed documentaries and tv commercials) knows how to push visual boundaries in all the right ways.

I have always admired the level of technical ability that is evident in his vidoes but more than that I love how Romanek's videos all operate just as effectively as stand alone art pieces as they do a promotional tool for an individual musician.

He knows how to weave a rich, tactile visual narrative better than almost any other director in the business.

I believe that this is a big part of why Mark Romanek has continue to thrive at his craft for so many years and just one of many reasons why I love and want to emulate everything that he does.

Mark has an uncanny ability to create whole new amazing and crazy visual landscapes with every new project. More than that, he does so while remaining fresh and exciting. Because of that, he never ceases to intrigue me and and is a heavy inspiration for my own work.

Always a fearless innovator, one thing that Mark Romanek is not is stale nor boring.

Lets check out a few examples of why I think he's utterly brilliant, shall we? ;)

Madonna - "Bedtime Story" (1994)

Lenny Kravitz -- "If You Can't Say No" - (1999)

David Bowie -- "Jump They Say" (1993)

Red Hot Chilli Peppers -- "Can't Stop" (2002)

Michael + Janet Jackson -- "Scream" (1995)

Johnny Cash -- "Hurt" (2002)

All They are Sayin'.....is Give Conan a Chance!

This was the cry of many, many rain-drenched CoCo fans and anti-Jay protesters this afternoon in Los Angeles.

Today, NBC and Conan's people wrap up negotiations revolving around his untimely exit (his last "Tonight Show" is scheduled to be taped this Friday). However, this did not stop a large swarm of his fans from coming out in force and rallying around NBC Universal in LA today....in the RAIN, no less!

I'll admit, if it were a tad more convenient (and not economically ridiculous) for me to fly out to LA myself, then my fluffy behind would have DEFINITELY been standing outside in the rain to show my support.

Is that a lil insane? Perhaps.....but then again, you're talking to the chick who painted this 6ft tall Conan painting when she was still in high school:

Needless to say, I've always been a long-time team CoCo member. Having said that, I'm not particularly convinced that all of the rallying is going to actually change the fact that Conan's "Tonight Show" will be no more after Friday. However, I'm sure that it's cool for Conan to see that his unorthodox legion of fabulous followers have his back....no matter where he winds up.

On a related note, Jay Leno is set to tell his side of all of this mess on "The Jay Leno" show tonight. Although I'll be sad to see Conan go this week, it will be interesting to see how this whole disaster pans out in the long term for both men.

We shall see. :)

Meanwhile, check out a few of the highlights from today's rainy pro-CoCo fan rally :

Please Contribute to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort

The earthquake that occurred about a week ago in Port au Prince Haiti is an undeniable tragedy. The loss of life and general destruction that that country has sustained has been indescribable. Right now, there is a desperate need for immediate assistance to treat the wounded and dying (since most of their primary medical facilities and hospitals have been destroyed). Also -- the need to get aid money, food, water and supplies to them is critical as is the need to evacuate everybody who can be safely evacuated (particularly the critically wounded so they can have a better chance at proper care.)

As people there scramble to find alternative places to live and scramble for food, the struggle to survive is leading to the people of Haiti to even become violent amongst themselves in order to survive.

I realize that in the broad scheme of things, "Out the Other Side" is just a silly (and practically microscopic) art/entertainment blog that exists in the vastness of cyberspace. Generally, I view my function within the blog community as an artist and a sudo-source for entertainment and comic relief. I try to bring fun , engaging, and sometimes completely irrelevant content to this thing whenever time permits .

However, that being said, there are obviously bigger things going on in the world that we should be aware of. The tragedy in Haiti is something that we should all be paying attention to (if we are not by now). It may take years for Haiti to rebuild it's beautiful country and obviously , emotional wounds and aftermath from this will take much longer to deal with.

I pretty much have no power or influence whatsoever (given that I am just a student with a blog). However, if I can do anything to do my part financially or in terms of raising awareness among my fellow creatives on how they can help contribute to the short term and long term relief efforts going on in Haiti, then I will certainly do my part.

If you are interested in contributing money or time to the Haitian rescue relief, here are a few places that I encourage you to check out as soon as you can:

--To contribute to the Red Cross effort in Haiti, Text 90999 to the word "Haiti" to donate immediately the relief effort.

You can also go to www.redcross.org for more information or call 1-800 -REDCROSS to see how you can contribute/ help.

--Also, check out Unicef (where you can make a secure, tax deductible donation to the relief effort). You can go on line or call 1-800-367-5437 to donate by phone.

-- You can also go to Habitat for Humanity's website to see how you can contribute to the rebuilding of Haiti. Call (212)-991-400 for more information.

If you are currently reading this from NYC, you can contact:

The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City

Once Centre Street,

23rd Floor,

New York, NY

10007

You can also call 212-788-7794 to see how you can contribute to Haiti tough the Mayor's Fund to Advance NYC.

Actor Ben Stiller has been lending his efforts to both the general earthquake relief and has also set up a website to rebuild schools in Haiti called "Stiller Strong" (think Lance Armstrong and "LiveStrong").

In any case, if you would like to check that out and make a donation to the Haiti relief effort, go to www.stillerstrong.org and make a donation.

Other things to look out for :

-- Actor George Clooney and MTV are teaming up to host a relief telethon. On Friday, January 22 (next Friday), Clooney will appear in a bi-coastal telethon and fundraiser on all MTV network channels (which includes CBS, NBC, ABC, and all associated cable channels). All proceeds will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti.

-- Also ( for all of you fellow "Pro-Conan O'Brien" kids out there), Mike Mitchell, creator of the artwork for the "I'm with CoCo" online movement (see art below), is also lending his support to Haiti. He currently has some "I'm with CoCo" t-shirts and prints up on his website and $1 from every shirt purchased will go to Planet Peace (which will in turn, go straight to the Haiti recovery effort.

There will also be several "I'm with CoCo" rallies in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle. Also, there will be specific "I'm with CoCo" benefit for Haiti coming up in the next week. Any money collected at any of these events will go to benefit Haiti. Click HERE for more information on these events.

-- You can buy an "I"m with CoCo" t-shirt HERE and you can donate directly to Planet Peace HERE

Thank you all for your time and please , if you have anything that you can spare (no matter how small the amount), please contact one of these above organizations and give to the Haitian relief effort as soon as you can!

No Mo' CoCo on the "Tonight Show-Show" ?

Seriously -- did you think that I wasn't going to jump on my soap box about this one?

What are you smoking, NBC?!

As I have faithfully maintained in several other posts here on "Out the Other Side", I am definitely on team Conan. Much is being written about the whole Conan/Leno latenight contraversy right now and I can assure you that I believe that NBC is making a heinous mistake.

It's not even just because I happen to be such a big fan of Conan's. As I have stated before, I hold a certain amount of admiration for the man. I not only find his quirky brand quick witted humor incredibly entertaining and funny, but Conan has a work ethic and a dedication to his craft that I have always respected.

However, I believe that regardless of my affinity for the lanky, pompadoured prince of late-night, I believe that NBC is trying to make it's affiliates happy and pander to Jay Leno's selfishness.

Their first mistake is trying to pander to both parties. If you want to appease the affiliates, tell Jay to take a hike!

If he's not funny at 10pm, why on earth is he going to be any funnier at 11:30pm?

I do not think that Jay Leno (as much as he did for the institution of "The Tonight Show") should be catered to by NBC. His show was completely stale and unfunny and besides that, HE made the desision to walk away from his talk show. That was his stupidity. I understand how he must be kicking himself in the ass for walking away from his bread and butter, but don't punish Conan (and NBC viewers , for that matter) just to kiss Jay's ass.

Conan may have had a rocky start with the "Tonight Show", but to jerk him around (as well as the "Tonight Show" institution itself) is just beyond ridiculous. He didn't even get a proper chance to develop his "Tonight Show". He has only been host for 7 months.

Conan O'brien works his ass off and pours his bone marrow and DNA into these shows every night. He was promised "The Tonight Show" gig over 5 years ago, moves his kids and wife out to LA only to have it ripped out from under him. All this just because Jay Leno's stale prime time "experiment" is so painful to watch? Really?

Also, all of this talk of possibly shortening the "Tonight Show" to 30 minutes, or moving the show to a time-slot that's not even technically 'night time' anymore is insulting to the long legacy of the "Tonight Show". This show has been around since the 1954 tenure of Steve Allen and is a cornerstone of American television. To have the show bounced to a crazily late time slot is not only a serious snub to Conan, but it is also a slap in the face for "The Tonight Show" in general.

Johnny Carson must be rolling in his grave by now.

As for my feelings about Conan's possible move to Fox (or some other network), I believe that he will be a big asset whereever he lands. He already has his staff and writers in place and a long history of doing inventive, weird , quirky and highly experimental commedy on his "Late Night" show. He also pulls in a younger demographic than both Jay and Dave and also has a cool, nerdy, and energetic Gen Y appeal.

Above all else, Conan is a class act (unlike Jay, who could have bowed out gracefully to allow Conan a fair chance to host "Tonight Show").

This whole situation is just a very dark chapter of American television history and for "The Tonight Show" legacy. I understand that (like with most things) that business is business and that the almighty dollar is playing a big roll in this whole situation. However, the fact that NBC insists on all but destroying the integrity of "The Tonight Show" franchise is completely disgusting.

Seriously -- somebody at NBC needs to be slapped right about now.

I ultimately wish Conan, his staff, and his family well....where ever they go. I hope that where ever Conan lands that he and his staff get the respect that they deserve and I hope that he gets carte blanche to do what he does best.....write, host and entertain.

One thing is for certain -- whatever channel Conan winds up on, I will definitely follow.

Check out this video of Conan as he ponders his options on Monday night's show:

[Edit] -- Conan just released an official statement regarding this whole mess. The bottom line is that he is not taking NBC's deal to push his "Tonight Show" to a later time.

While this makes me sad....I can't say that I blame him.

You can read the full statement HERE. Truly a class act til the end. As sad this is, the way he is handing it all gives me yet another reason to admire and respect him.

I love you CoCo! :)