Ask MuppetFace Stuff

Everyone's different, and I don't really subscribe to any sort of universal pick up strategies beyond a few very basic things. It sounds cliche as all hell, but seriously just be yourself. Try to be confident in who you are; insecurity is often considered a turn-off.

Be honest and up front about what you're looking for. Which means you have to know just what you're looking for in the first place. Know thyself.

Don't seem too desperate or lonely: a little aloofness leads to curiosity. A bit of arrogance can be appealing to some, but don't be too self centered; show them that you're genuinely interested in what they're saying as well.

The electronic music thread here on SBAF is filled with a lot of ambient electronica recommendations. You should check out my post about some of it, along with the response by Garns:

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/electronic-music-thread.36/page-11#post-81226

Check out:
1. Kompakt's Pop Ambient series
2. early Detroit and dub techno fusion stuff like Basic Channel, Echospace, Deepchord, Intrusion, Variant, CV313
3. minimalist and ambient electronica like Loscil, Monolake, GAS, The Field, Biosphere
4. atmospheric industrial and dark ambient stuff like Demdike Stare, Beyond Sensory Experience, Lustmord, some Nordvargr

 

I'd like to see a modern take on the Four Gospels. Perhaps a three hour film with four different narratives of the Life of Jesus directed by Michael Bay, JJ Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard. It kind of felt that like when I read them.

Random Thought: I am so glad new member registrations are closed.

 

I'm a total film nerd. You have been warned.

I like silent era stuff: Buster Keaton in particular is one of my big crushes, so I'm mesmerized just watching him perform. Also love Murnau's work and the aesthetics of German Expressionism. Theodor Dreyer is great too, but I like his voiced works the most.

I like early works of realism like Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves and Ozu's Tokyo Story. One of my all time favorite directors is Satyajit Ray; see his Apu Trilogy if you haven't already.

My favorite director of all time is Kenji Mizoguchi. Everyone who likes film should see Ugetsu and Sansho the Bailiff. The latter is, IMHO, the greatest film ever made. The ending sequence is, IMHO, the single greatest moment in cinematic history.

I dig artsy fartsy French stuff like Godard's Contempt and The Weekend. Also keen on Truffaut and find him a bit more to my humanistic tastes. Same for the more depressing visions of Robert Bresson (Au Hasard Balthazar breaks my heart).

When it comes to the Italians, I'm actually not that keen of Fellini. Too circus-y for me, with an exception being Nights of Cabiria. I'm much more of a de Sica fan, along with Antonioni and Rossellini. When it comes to the circus-energy thing, I'm waaaay more into the epic Serbian comedies of Emir Kusturica. The film Black Cat White Cat is love.

I guess I'm most drawn to meditative long takes when it comes to the artsy fartsy. Andrei Tarkovsky and his successor Alexander Sokurov are untouchable when you're in the right mood. Tarkovsky's Stalker and Nostalghia are definite favorites.

When it comes to sheer directorial prowess though, my gruesome twosome are Theo Angelopoulos (RIP)--- who sadly isn't that well known outside Europe---and the Hungarian nihilist master, Bela Tarr. You like heavy, depressing, atmospheric film? The cinematic equivalent of SUNN O))) ...? Bela Tarr might be for you. Just set aside several hours and your positivity.

Speaking of depressing, I can't just NOT name drop Werner Herzog. Stroszek is likely his greatest film (with another one of the greatest endings in cinematic history). I'm partial to Aguirre though just because of the trance-like state it can put you into, thanks largely in part to that incredible Popol Vuh soundtrack. If you haven't heard Popol Vuh.... GO LISTEN!

I love R.W. Fassbinder's character studies and his use of subtle framing in his shots. In a Year With 13 Moons is prolly my favorite of his works.

I'm partial to unusual narrative styles---using media within media---such as Chantal Akerman's News From Home and Chris Marker's Sans Soleil.

Of course I dig Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries, The Virgin Spring, Winter Light, The Silence, Cries and Whispers, Fanny and Alexander...

Some other name drops because why not at this point: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Roman Polanski, Sergei Paradjanov, Alain Resnais, Miklos Jancso, Derek Jarman, Aki Kaurismaki, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Tsai Ming-Liang, Park Chan-Wook, Michael Haneke, blah blah blah...

My favorite director for dreamy romance is Wong Kar-Wai.
For surrealism I love Luis Bunuel (<3 Viridiana) and Guy Maddin (<3 Careful).
Most underrated director? Victor Erice.
Most overrated? Gaspar Noe (although Enter the Void was incredible in its own horrific way...)

In additional to all that artsy fartsy stuff I listed, I also love horror schlock, kitschy weirdness, and cult classics. Stuff like Hausu, The Coffin Joe Trilogy, Poor Pretty Eddie, Black Christmas, Re-Animator, They Live, Carpenter's The Thing, Robocop, 2000 Maniacs, The Witch Who Came From the Sea, Putney Swope, Shock Corridor, Eyes Without a Face, Mad Love (w/ Peter Lorre), Peeping Tom, and one of my all time favorites, The Ruling Class.

I dig the Iranian New Wave, especially Abbas Kiarostami (<3 Close-Up).

Favorite American director is unquestionably John Cassavetes. Also love the guy as an actor; Mikey and Nicky is a great film.

Favorite American film of all time though is either Night of the Hunter or A Face In the Crowd.

 

Definitely more of a dub techno fan than a dubstep fan (for those wondering: they are completely different lol). I do however like Burial. Who doesn't? Burial is awesome. As for grime, I dig Rabit at the moment.

Night Slugs and Tectonic are good labels, yeah.

I like Pinch, 2562, Logos, Egyptrixxx, Girl Unit...

I'm also fond of breakcore in *very* small doses. Shitmat's Full English Breakfast is probably my favorite example.

Am I bringing the noise? Hopefully some of the funk, too.

 

Nope. The noise was before, but keeping borders open could have brought all sorts of weirdness in. I think we have enough people already to make this thread interesting.

 

Oh geez... I have waaaay too many IEMs to remember them all off the top of my head. I definitely have an assortment of favorites that I use more often than most, and the rest just sort of gather dust until I decide to pick one up at random and reacquaint myself with it. Which sometimes leads to a pleasant surprise. Or sometimes I think, "why on Earth did I buy this?"

Right now my Sennheiser IE800 is getting a lot of ear time, although I find myself EQing them a bit with some tracks. Same with the JVC FX1100. The FitEar Melomane on the other hand is fairly agreeable from the get-go, and I suppose these three have been my current go-tos. For now. I'm sure I'll find something else to take their places soon enough.

Truth be told, I've been preoccupied with full-sized headphones---namely the PMx2 which I'm really enamored with and the Utopias which I'm kinda on the fence about---so my time spent with in-ears has been fairly limited.

I'm waiting on a deal for the Campfire Andromeda, and the newer models have definitely piqued my interest. Might end up selling the Utopia and using that to fund such purchases.

As for qualifications among princes for proposal, I imagine some kind of dowry and socio-political engineering is involved. Not the most romantic stuff if you ask me!