Free Show: No Age/Titus Andronicu

In an effort to promote the launch of it's new music site: Shockhound.com, Hot Topic Inc. (Yes, the people that brought bondage pants to the masses) will be staging a series of free shows across the US. The shows will feature Smell locals and indie rock duo No Age, as well as New Jersey's own Titus Andronicu. If one thing can be said about both bands it's that they are not afraid to experiment. If two things can be said, it's that they both tend to evoke feelings of raw emotion. They're definitely worth checking out. The free tour hits Southern California on December 2nd at the Troubadour, doors are at seven and the price is zero dollars. To register for your free tickets visit Shockhound here. Go quickly, they'll fly.

Sound Downtown

This Saturday in and around Santa Ana's own artist village there'll be a little something for everyone. Free the Robots, Look Daggers, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Mika Miko, DJ Nobody, the Mexican Institute of Sound... All playing throughout the day at different venues. It's like our own mini South by Southwest. Fifteen at the door, ten in advance, one ticket gets ya into the whole festival.

Sound Downtown

Tell No One

A little earlier in the year we were lucky enough to catch one of our favorite movies in a long time "Ne le dis à personne" (English translation: Tell No One). Originally hitting Parisian theatres in 2006, and then later coming to the US in 2008, this superbly intricate suspense story follows the growingly complicated life of a pediatrician who is struggling to move forward with his life after bearing witness to the apparent murder that would leave him a widower. So where's the twist? Years later the case is revisited, only now the pediatrician is a prime suspect in his wife's death. It is then that he begins to receive the most startling information of all, information that would seem to indicate that perhaps, his love is still alive. The resulting story is as complicated as it is gratifying. You can imagine our delight when we found it streaming online. Hitchcock fans this may be for you.

Directed by French actor Guillaume Canet, “Ne le dis à personne” can be viewed here.

* Note: The Whisper staff does not endorse solely watching this film online.

Text Work

We have to admit that while we like to crack jokes and have a good time over here, we also have an appreciation for the dramatic. What else can explain our unfettered love for both Antonioni and Sinead O'Connor? It's no surprise then, that we're big fans of Michelle Forsyth's art. Although her fresh execution may vary between projects, Michelle's eye never wavers from drama and tragedy. The image above is from her Text Work series, wherein she quotes from news articles by removing elements from paper to form the text. Good stuff. We hope her next series quotes from breakup songs or descriptions about the collective love lives of the Whisper staff.

The Parson Red Heads

Whisper friends and connoisseurs of all things awesome Alex and Paige of Alex's Bar would like to invite you to enjoy the sonic stylings of the Parson Red Heads. The Los Angeles (by way of Oregon) band is a folksy, mellow outfit known for a great live show. They have a nice sound: catchy, melodic and not too preachy, like I like my women. The cover is only five bucks and there are cheap drinks inside, so skip the Hollywood bullshit and say hello to the Whisper staff, who will be in attendance. See you there.

Hope and Change.

Alright, we lied. One last Obama post before we get all irreverent again.

Like a majority of voting Americans, today brought me a renewed sense of hope and pride in this country. This is a new and special feeling for me, as I was not born here, but immigrated when I was a small boy who had a predilection for parting my hair and wearing bow ties with shorts and suspenders. I can proudly say that by casting my vote for Obama, and seeing him win the election, I finalized the dream that my parents had by bringing my sister and I here.

At the time of our emigration, my parents were successful Filipino citizens, but the hope of something more for their children pushed them to sell all of their belongings to move to America. Over the years, it seemed as if I had personally squandered their hopes, following a path that they had not foreseen: a life in art, not business, a living brought about by creativity, not science or medicine. But celebrating the election of Obama with my mother last night, I saw the joy in her face in seeing the first African-American President, I finally realized that in being able to give me the freedom and the opportunity to do as I pleased, to pursue a career that could not be afforded in our motherland, I am still meeting their goals.

It was an emotional moment for me, my eyes welling up with tears. I realized that this was America: the belief that in our lifetimes, we can witness our children gain opportunity that was not available in our youth. It is not about red or blue or a free market versus a big government, it is about the continuous improvement of the quality of life of a family through generations. And given my our rediscovered hope and optimism, I can say honestly, for the first time, that I am proud to be not just and an American, but a son of immigrants chasing The Dream, and hope to do for my children what my parents did for me.

Thanks everyone. Let's work to make the next four or eight years the best we've seen so far.

Palin Pranked

This may be beating a dead horse, but by now it's probably no secret who we cast our votes for.

Bear in mind that this was 100% real. Full story here.

FADER TV: Justice

On Halloween, I was assigned by FADER to cover the West Coast premiere of Justice's rather epic tour documentary, A Cross The Universe, at The Montalban Theater. The episode is now up for view on the FADER website, complete with my misspelled text. Holla at yo boy.

Edit: It must be the shoes. A link to the video just went up on Hypebeast. And now we're linking you to a link to link to the original post. Is that meta or does it just show incestuous the blogging world really is?

Steve Schofield

Fanboys are kind of too easy of a target of satire these days. Granted, dudes running around dressed like their favorite sci-fi/fantasy/comic book heroes doesn't immediately make them the coolest guys in the room. But then again, it's just as silly seeing a group of Kanye-alikes or dudes dressed like Justice (see: every photo on Cobrasnake or Last Night's Party), but no one flinches. So what's up with the double standard? Geeks need love, too. That's why us geeks over at Whisper got excited at looking at Steve Schofield's "Land of the Free", a series of photographs of fanboys all decked out, but in their natural environments. Schofield actually treats his subjects with a sense of respect and awe, at times even making them seem heroic. After all, it takes a lot more testicular fortitude to go out dressed like Captain Kirk than it does to put on your leather jacket with Soulwax remixes blasting on your iPod.

Go Out and Vote.

It's the last time you'll hear it from us. After today, we'll be back to posting iChat conversations and Katy Perry photos, but for now, go out and vote.

Heartwarmers

We saw these and fell for the simple, yet sentimental imagery. The sultry French accents were a big plus too, they secretly turn our hearts to mush. We're not sure who made them, but we thought it'd brighten up your day just to watch. Warm our hearts and we'll warm yours. Enjoy.

Ed. Note: Excuse us for the overly soft tone of this post. Dude tagged it "sentimental" and just ran with it.

Drankay Drank.

Ryan from John Bollozos on Vimeo.

Another drunk video. These are accidentally turning into a series.