Film- Corpse Bride

Tim Burton again, this time with a film in stop-motion animation. I like the attention to detail with the Victorian costumes and gothic architecture of the town. Like many of Burton's films, this is set in winter time and deals with another world- the world of the dead. A pretty dark theme, but dealt with in a light-hearted way that makes this film so enjoyable.

Film- Edward Scissorhands

I loved everything about this film. It is a classic Tim Burton film about an eccentric outsider, this time a man created by an inventor who died before he had chance to give him hands. Edward is sweet, quiet and completely naive about the way society works. He is taken in by a perky 1950's housewife and falls in love with her daughter.

The visual language in the film is very strong- the gothic castle of the benign professor who uses his great machines to make cookies is a direct contrast to the pastel coloured neighbourhood of the bored and bitchy housewives. Burton demonstrates the damage caused by narrow-mindedness and the sheep mentality in society and proves that outsiders can be loveable.

Film- This is England

This film is set in the north of England in the 80's and follows a young boy who becomes invloved in the National Front. The acting from a group of unknowns is amazing and really brings home the disturbing reality of skinhead culture in Thatcher's Britain. The locations used are often bleak- generic housing estates that could be anywhere and stretches of wasteland that make the film unmistakably English. On a lighter note, the wardrobe department have clearly had a lot of fun recreating the era that taste forgot!

It is interesting that although the film is rated an 18 (understandable considering the language used and graphic violence), some local councils decided to overturn this in order to reach the target audience of teenagers. Although set in the 80's, the theme of racism is very much relevant to teenagers and Im sure many won't be strangers to swearing and violence.

Ray Fenwick

http://www.coandco.ca/ray/

Some more hand rendered type! I also like Fenwick's illustrations which are often quite funny as well as featuring his quirky lettering.

Aubrey Beardsley

I was reading the blog of a deisigner (http://www.wiwimu.blogspot.com/) who mentioned Aubrey Beardsley as an inspiration. I was reminded how much I love Beardsley! Some of my favourite work of his is the illustration and typography in the book 'Le Morte D'Athur'.

Although this was published in Victiotian times, the stylistic devices used clearly reference medieval ideas. Monks used to make intricatley decorated manuscripts such as these in the middle ages, although they often used colour. Beardsley uses black and white to make his pictures dark and atmospheric, the high level of detail adding to these characteristics. I love the heavily gothic calligraphy of 'Book 1, Chapter 1' and all the details in the main body of text, such as using 'v' instead of 'u'.

This work was inspired by styles centuries before it's time, so there is no reason why it can't still be appreciated now.

tigerprint Website

Although Im not too sure about the products made by this company (they supply cards and gifts to Marks&Spencer), I do love their website. It has lots of nice moving bits and the menu is found by hovering the mouse over the spots on the various sized circles. The black and white colour scheme (with the odd bit of red) allows the childlike colours in the images to stand out, and I like the calligraphic logo. This is a high-tech but very friendly site which reflects the design of the company's products.

Credit to Cal, whose blog I found this site on!

Thou Shalt Always Kill

I heard this song by Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip on the radio a while ago- the lyrics are absolute genius. I think it's a fantastic satire of popular culture and I can identify with nearly every line (although if anyone understands the line about spelling the word phoenix, please explain!)

See the video on youtube at the link above, here are the lyrics:

Thou shalt not steal if there is direct victim.
Thou shalt not worship pop idols or follow lost prophets.
Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barret in vain.
Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a peadophile… Some people are just nice.
Thou shalt not read NME.
Thall shalt not stop liking a band just because they’ve become popular.
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry.
Thou shalt not judge a book by it’s cover.
Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.
Thall shalt not buy Coca-Cola products. Thou shalt not buy Nestle products.
Thou shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend’s best friend, take drugs and cheat on him.
Thou shalt not fall in love so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not watch Hollyoakes.
Thou shalt not attend an open mic and leave as soon as you're done just because you’ve finished your shitty little poem or song you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just ’cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you’re never gonna fucking talk to.

Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.

The Beatles - Were just a band.
Led Zepplin - Just a band.
The Beach Boys - Just a band.
The Sex Pistols - Just a band.
The Clash - Just a band.
Crass - Just a band.
Minor Threat - Just a band.
The Cure - Just a band.
The Smiths - Just a band.
Nirvana - Just a band.
The Pixies - Just a band.
Oasis - Just a band.
Radiohead - Just a band.
Bloc Party - Just a band.
The Arctic Monkeys - Just a band.
The next big thing - JUST A BAND.

Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-English speaking countries as to those that occur in English speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not pimp my ride.
Thou shalt not scream if you wanna go faster.
Thou shalt not move to the sound of the wickedness.
Thou shalt not make some noise for Detroit.
When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho”.
When I say “Hip” thou shalt not say “Hop”.
When I say "he say, she say, we say, make some noise" - kill me.
Thou shalt not quote me happy.
Thou shalt not shake it like a polaroid picture.
Thou shalt not wish your girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word “Pheonix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Bradley at the club last night by saying “Is it”.
Thou shalt think for yourselves.

And thou shalt always kill.