Moe Shop’s “Love Taste” and The Meaning of it’s Crazy Chick

Recently, Future Funk/Electronic artist Moe Shop released a new track called “Love Taste”, a funky, catchy, and yet oddly unsettling song. Featuring the voice of Jamie Page and a great rap intermission from Shiki, this song describes the obsessive love one girl has for a guy's… sticky love. It’s as dirty as it sounds, yet only gets explicit when Shiki enters the scene, seemingly describing what lengths the singer has gone to get a taste.

From my initial listen, I believed the song was celebrating the trope of girls who are so crazy in love that they actually become crazy. A recent example would be Anna from Shimoneta, which was played for laughs and slight parody. But here, it felt like Moe Shop was desiring this kinda creepy scenario.

Yet, the more I listened to this song, the more I realized that there is a darker side to this song. “Love Taste” is not an approval of this character type, but rather a sinister exploration taken from both perspectives of the relationship: the oblivious center of her affections, and the dangerous thoughts of the girl crazy with love.

You can listen to the song here to be involved in the analysis, and while you’re there give Moe Shop’s other stuff a listen as well, it’s fantastic stuff! 

https://soundcloud.com/moeshop/love-taste

The first verse is harmless enough, the girl describes the “boy” as perfect and how she’s infatuated after one “taste”. While there are some possible warning signs, there’s nothing too out of the ordinary for a love song.

The next verse gets more initiate, invading the boy’s, and in turn the listener’s, personal space: “ I I wanna touch it, I’ll never have enough”” She even out right says “I love you.” At this point, the girl is fully committed to this relationship, becoming obsessive and a little creepy. Also, throughout these two verses, she continual repeats the line “Boy, you’re perfect”, which only reiterates the stalkerish vibe.

The chorus begins by confirming this obsessive behavior: "I want your everything, every single part of you.” It’s a deceitfully catchy chorus that almost distracts the listener from the stalker-ish lyrics. The verse ends with the alarming statement “I kill you if you try to run, you’re mine and mine alone.”

After dropping this bomb of homicidal threats, Shiki breaks into his verse with a declaration of dominance: “Girl taste my love every single last drop, Won’t be satisfied baby till you begging me to stop” This affirmation of alpha maleness continues as Shiki describes how cool he his and how hot every girl thinks he is. Yet, immediately after, the verse changes in tone musically and lyrically. The music becomes slightly darker, turning into a build up to something. At the same time, Shiki describes a situation where someone, supposedly the girl in the song, begins to get rough with him, drugs him, ties him to the bed, and has her way with him in his delirious state.

While he does eventually take back the advantage and the section returns to its cocky tone, describing the fan girls who love his voice. But, there’s this undercurrent of subservience, as he mostly repeats himself and even talks about she hypnotized him. These feelings are confirmed when the rap ends with Shiki rejecting all the fan girls because “They don’t love you like I do”

Immediately after the line is said, the girl takes over the song, repeating this one line with a somewhat distorted voice as the music slows down to a unnerving level.  During this section, random voices can be heard scrambled in the mix, and Shiki’s line is sometimes heard, slowed down to sound demonic. For over 20 seconds this goes on, becoming more and more creepy as it continues. But then, the song returns to normal, repeating the chorus twice before ending.

With all the evidence out there, I believe the song is about how the girl’s obsession has become mental insanity, and the guy can’t look at the obvious signs of crazy because he loves how aggressive she is in bed. He soon becomes the one obsessed, as her actions start to consume her, encompassing her life. By the end of this process, she is a homicidal maniac who believes that the boy is her’s, and her’s alone.

Instead of being a fantasy where the obsession turns into a great relationship, it takes a darker and more realistic turn towards the mental disturbed and hostage style relationship. It’s a fucked up, dirty song that I can’t stop listening too, and I love every second of it.

This much analysis is interesting to me because it’s for a Moe Shop song, an artists whose songs are usually well made, catchy dance songs inspired by anime. While this is not to say that they don’t have deeper meanings, “Love Taste” is the first that seems to have an explicit message and point behind it, a meaning meant to be deciphered. It’s also one of the few Moe Shop song to have sung lyrics and not jumbled anime samples or rap lines. I hope that this song is a showcase of where Shop’s music is going, because if it’s full of analysis opportunities and catchy hooks, I’m all in.

Anomalisa Review

 

       

   Stop-motion animation has been a part of films since its inception, yet only recently has the medium gained popularity with audiences and studios alike. With the success of Ardman’s Wallace and Gromit and Laika’s continued production of films like Coraline and Paranorman, it’s safe to say that this style of animation still lives within the popular culture. Yet, there have yet to be any real animated films, stop-motion or otherwise, for adult audiences, at least in America. There were the films of Ralph Bashky in the 1980’s, and 2009’s 9 was more mature then most, but there has yet to be a widely released, adult-oriented animated film released in the past few years.

             

          Enter Charlie Kaufman and Starburns Industries, the minds behind Anomalisa, a stop-motion animated film made uncompromisingly for adults. This film has already made the rounds at many festivals and has received enough critical acclaim to be nominated for best animated film at the Oscar’s. It’s also being given a wide release by Paramount pictures, who hope people will be willing enough to experience this unique film. Yet, one question I’ve had during all of this is not if the movie is good, but just how good it is.

“Anomalisa” follows Michael Stone, a married, middle aged man who’s tired of life. His life is beyond mundane, to point where everything and everyone blends together. He’s on his way to give a speech at a convention on customer service when he runs into a woman named Lisa and she immediately captures his attention. 

           

             And that’s basically it. While the description may seem light, it’s because the plot is extremely light, and that’s because it’s not the focus of the film. “Anomalisa” is more about the characters, the themes, and the artistry of the filmmaking, using this simple plot as a starting point.

           

            What immediately catches the eyes is the animation style, which is at once beautiful and also flawed. The motion is fluid with a lot of focus on small details and character movements, which must have been a pain to animate. Though the characters look like animated puppets, with tiny details that give away that fact, yet they move and act like genuine humans. Their eyes are what sell it, they look realistic in that they appear wet and have detailed irises.

          

             The performances are just as fantastic, furthering the illusion that these people are living and breathing. David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh do spectacular jobs as Michael and Lisa respectively. There’s also Tom Noonan who has one of the most difficult jobs in the movie, but to spoil why it’s special would be a disservice to entire movie.

           

             The script written by Kaufman is another clever and realistic offering from him. Kaufman has previously written “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich”, two films filled that are also clever and realistic. While there are some awkward uses of cursing, overall the script is fantastic, but one would not expect less from Kaufman.

         

              I think it’s time to admit that it’s difficult to write about “Anomalisa”. It’s a film that I went into knowing more about it then I wanted to. I wish I had gone in blind, unaware of the larger meanings and little details that made the movie special. If I had discovered these on my own, I think I would have loved it even more. I feel the best way to see this film is being nearly oblivious to what it’s about. I will warn people that it’s different, somewhat slow, and unconventional. It requires the audience to be open-minded and to accept this stop-motion animated world as real and worth analyzing. The fact that Kaufman and co-director Duke Johnson were intelligent enough to trust their audience is a testament to their talent. 

I can’t recommend this movie enough, especially if anything here has sparked your interest. Luckily the film is barely an hour and a half, so if it’s not to your liking, it’ll be over before you know it. “Anomalisa” is a special movie, one that I will hold up alongside some of the other great movies of 2015, and one that I will not soon forget.

Star Wars Epsiode VII: The Force Awakens Review

After ten years, three trailers, and countless hyped rumors, the first in a new series of Star Wars movies is finally here, already smashing box office records with every passing day. Fan reactions have been widely positive, with many detractors trying desperately to find anything to deter these rabid individuals. Yet, does this film deserve all the attention it’s receiving? Many films in the past, including the franchises own Phantom Menace, have been portrayed as great films simply because of the name attached to the product, when in reality they are lackluster at best. I’m happy to say that these praises, while a little overblown, are not unwarranted.

                Taking place many years after Return of the Jedi, the heroes of the original films have all gone their separate ways as a new force known as the First Order has risen to finish what the Empire started, leaving the Rebels to reform and continue to fight this force. While on the planet Jakku, a droid is given a secret message to hide until the Rebellion can come back for it. The droid finds Rey, a young scavenger full of wanderlust for the X-Wing pilots and Jedi of the past, and Finn, a Stormtrooper turned rogue who’s looking for a purpose in life now that he’s left the only thing he’s ever known. The two must now get the droid back to the rebellion and stop the Order from unleashing their newest weapon upon the galaxy.

                What is apparent from the first frame of the film is that Abrams, and to an extent Disney, understand what made Star Wars great and what people disliked about the prequels. The focus of the film is on characters, expanding the universe, and clever fan service, which The Force Awakens excels at on all of those fronts. The new characters in the film are all interesting, well-acted, well written, and generally likable. It’s easy to care for these people, and they all have something to offer. I realized how much I liked these guys when Fin and Raye are escaping the Order in the Millennium Falcon and Fin shoots down a Tie fighter. In response, he joyfully jumps in the air, pumps his fist, and gives an endearing yell that made me react in a similar fashion. The script is also very funny, more so then I was originally expecting. While not every joke is winner, there are more laughs then whimpers in The Force Awakens.

                The new locations and aliens are also cool, if a bit familiar. Jakku is Tattoine, the snow planet is Hoth, etc. Yet, there are enough different things done with these planets to make them somewhat unique. Jakku has more dunes and mountainous terrain, while the villages and inhabitants are different from the ones in A New Hope, the ice planet is full of trees and is more akin to a tundra rather than an arctic desert. These also play into the well done fan service, which was done at the right moments in just the right ways. Many of the old characters, like Han Solo and Leia return, but they are important to the story and their roles do not feel forced. Their respective actors are also fantastic, with Harrison Ford joining Stallone from Creed on the list of returning actors who should get Oscar nominations for their performances.

                Yet, the fan service is not perfect. It does seem somewhat alienating at times to those who are coming into the film franchise for the first time. While not every reference is this way, I do feel that some scenes will be lost on new viewers. I’m also unsure of how to feel about how heavily The Force Awakens’ plot steals from A New Hope. This has been a major criticism from most people, and I would agree entirely if I did not think the series is going to do something different with the next few films. My ideal set-up for the new trilogy is that eight and nine will be their own films, ones that build upon this one and tell their own story with the original films remaining legends that are used to inspire a new generation. I feel like The Force Awaken is the trilogy’s way of easing viewers into this new series by giving them something familiar first to show that not only can they make a great film, but that it’s not going to be like the prequels or spin-offs the fans have disliked in the past. Only time can tell if the plot similarity will be a necessary exception or a lazy fault.

                On a more positive note, the action scenes are truly exciting and do a good job of sparingly using CGI. They are filmed extremely well and are great at building tension. I especially like the few lightsaber battles in the film, making these fights more special and unique. A nice touch is how each person’s style of lightsaber fighting is different and reflects their character or their current state of mind.

                The Force Awakens is not only the best Star Wars movie in over twenty years, it’s also a fantastic holiday blockbuster. Well filmed, acted, written, and made, this movie is one that deserves all of the praise it’s getting and left me reassured that this new trilogy will be something great.

               

"F for Fake" Review

"F for Fake" is one of the most interesting films I've personally seen. It's also one of the most difficult to describe. It's a film, but it's also a documentary, and yet it's also been described as a film essay. It is purely original, and ironically about tricking others into thinking you are original. Orson Welles has crafted a film unlike any other, and he knows it.

'F for Fake" tells the story of Elmyr de Hory, a famous art forger of the 1960's and 70's. His art was so close to the originals that it even fooled the artist themselves. At the same time, there's Clifford Irving, the biographer of Hory and of famed introverted socialite Howard Hughes, or was he? Yet Hughes is also a historic fraud, and what about self proclaimed charlatan Orson Welles, how is he connected to the story?

Describing "F for Fake" is like listening to child after seeing an exciting summer blockbuster, they want to describe every single detail, but there are too many threads to keep up with. So they'll go back and describe an earlier event and then eventually get back to the point. Eventually, you will get lost and assume the story is something crazy and impossible to understand.

Then, you actually see the film, and it all makes sense. The movie deals with individual stories that are all interesting enough to have their own hour and a half film. Yet, they are all used here in tandem with one another in just under 90 minutes.

The key to making all these threads make sense is Welles' editing of the film. He connects the stories not by a timeline of events but rather through ideas and themes. If Hory talks about why his skill is evident through his ability to copy others, the film may cut to a scene of Irving countering this point. They may even have a conversation through this editing, their individual points creating a dialogue that was filmed years apart but made evident through the power of film.

 This editing style is why many of called "F for Fake" a film essay. It jumps from story to story, flowing as a well written essay would. Welles states the thesis from the start: "This is a film about trickery, fraud, about lies.", and then proceeds to support it with documentary footage, anecdotes, tangents, and a bit of trustworthy comedy. 

Enough credit cannot be given to Orson Welles. Filling most of the required cast and crew, including one of the staring roles, "F for Fake" is Welles' film. While his editing has been discussed, his personality comes out in his narration, which serves to make the connections even easier to understand. The narration even adds a bit of fun and comedy to the film, with Welles pointing out ironic coincidences and even making fun of himself and the "players" in his film.

I'm at a loss for what else to say. Half of the fun of "F for Fake"is not knowing about it, going in blind as to how it will all play out. It is a film unlike any other, plain and simple. If you want to see something original, funny, powerful, and expertly crafted, then Orson Welles' "F for Fake" should be next on your list of must sees.

If my words have not convinced you, then please watch this analysis of film editing from "Every Frame a Painting", who uses "F for Fake" a case study for expert editing.