This is great! (kate nash again)

I just thought I would post this video because this is exactly what we're going for. She definitely has a point. One of my future projects will be interviewing people about their thoughts.. and fashion is definitely a hot topic. Watch! We like your view on things Kate!

Oh Kate.. Where have you been?

When I clicked on this I personally was like.. you have fallen off the face of th earth! You're lookin' good though, I listened to your album made of bricks in 2009 and want to hear more. You're such a dainty girl!

Ummmmmmmmm... (who's hipster)

I don't know what's more embarrassing.. the video or this guys comment.  UMMM. I'll just let you guys sort it out for yourselves. This would go under my "who's hipster" section of my blog. Please note that this subsection is meant to be humorous. :D My take: people like the guy in this video have the ability to end great eras of cultural progression!! He's not representing what we're about here at The Filtered Culture, that's for sure! I had to post the subsequent comments below, where you will see I also commented. I never use the word "lord" ever.. but I guess I found my chance. And FYI for the dude that commented.. There's no-- magic "pill" for accomplishing something like that in a nightclub. Uhh try being yourself.. and maybe take one shot too many. OR TWO. It might help. Yes--there is really no point to this post. Feel free to comment at the bottom.

Clear Soul Forces

So I'm not too fluent in the underground game as I should be. I don't know enough as of YET. But when I was at SXSW I had the privilege of meeting these guys and I also got ahold of thier music and twitter accounts so we can keep in touch. I just popped in their cd and it is fantastic stuff! When I get everything together I'm hoping to petition to bands like this to produce music videos once my video business is running in full steam. So glad I ran into them! Enjoy!

Here's their bandcamp: http://clearsoulforces.bandcamp.com/

The Samps - Peppergood

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Saturday Night at Annette's!

So I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday night when my friend Nathan hit me up on chat. I'm always online these days so it's not the fact that I was on chat.. it was the fact that HE was on chat. How long has it been.. a year? Lol. He invited me over and so I went. I haven't gone out much because I've been working alot planning the site and the blog and stuff and have also been sleeping in a ridiculous amount lately.. Didn't I just get back from SXSW?? Anyways I'm still thrilled with the blog views as they are going up UP UP. I am worried about a few things and not wanting totally announce my stuff yet-- partly because of my confidence level in my work and I have so many other things to do. OH by the way the video from the interview is coming soon.. It's short but it should be funny. I had something else to say but now I forgot, lol. OK back to my night. It's always nice to get away and hang around in the comfort of home and have a few instead of the ridiculousness downtown. Especially because we can drink to our own music! Anyways our downtown is terrible. So, here are the pics:

By the way

If you have not seen my work yet.. Please click on this link, and take a gander. thebarbat.dphoto.com. It's my new portfolio site. There will definitely be more updates soon. The point is that I want the word out that I'm doing this stuff. Thanks!

Love your drunken editor,

<3 Brandon.. TheBarBat

:)                   

WTF

Yeah, so since I put that last post I've gotten well over 500 views. It says 512 and it's only been a month or so. HAH. Nice, Wtf. I'm drunk.. I just made a boca burger sandwich quietly in the kitchen, arriving back home from a great time with friends. I'm gonna ponder this. I will reward my viewers.. but I'll have to think about it tomorrow. I'm going to bed now. lol.

Goodnight! We made it! 1000 is the next milestone. Until next time! lawl.

There is nothing more inspiring than this.

It's kind of funny that everything this duo comes out with is absolutely perfect. Everybody knows back in the early days they said that their music was "an accident". Well, they have matured for sure. I find everything that they do inspiring and their videos are deep and intelligent and artful. Alice maintains this composure that's hard, cold, soft, but still intriguing. Watch this... and see if it draws you in. It's so beautifully dark! I love things that make me want to stretch my artful ability to the max.

New Panda Bear! (last post for music saturday)

Panda Bear - The Preakness by weallwantsome1

Have a great Saturday Night! 

How I feel today :) -- Devendra Banhart - Feel just like a child

WIZ KHALIFA ON ROLLING PAPERS, HYBRID ANIMALS & ODD FUTURE

Almost 500 Page views Y'all! :)

I have it set to not track my own views by the way ;)

TWIN SHADOW

They have been my favorite musical act ever since they came out. This music is truly whatever you want it to be. It will open up your doors of imagination and It's effortlessly cool. In their freshman album, self titled: Twin Shadow, they explore the murky depths of memories and times past. If you listen to it, you'll find that is subtly deep and reflected.. rhythmed by lo-fi guitar vibrations and synth pop beats. It's fun, groovy, puts you in a party mood.. all this and more ahh it just jams! I think one of the reasons why I could enjoy this so much was because it reminded me of memory tapes that I had gotten into early of 2010. Literally every song is good on this album and I wouldn't be surprised that they gained 'major indie' status later on. I want you to be a fan! It was hard to decide which song to start with first, so I'll post the one I started with:

  

Obviously he has great style. Music and style of expression go hand in hand. Another one of my favorites  is "When we're dancing".. It just has this jammin' rhythm that makes you wanna dance. In an interview, George Lewis (lead singer, born in the dominican republic) talked about what happens when you remember times in the past. If you think about it.. memories take their twists and turns in the murky chasms of your mind, where they were once clear while  they were happening.. begin to change form and they don't seem exactly like they were alot of times.. Memories can be distorted by our waves of emotion, and be less clear when we are to recap on what happened. This makes memories beautiful.. and they glamorize over time. If you are a dreamer like I am you can image how memories seem so vividly amazing.. you just crave the feelings you felt back then.. or times past. Twin shadow's style reflects the contemporary lo-fi of course but also has a deeper, more subtle meaning that they want to convey. You can hear the soft beats distort, glow, and reverberate...listen on.

Twin Shadow: Forget^^

M.I.A.

She's definitely not missing in action. Her music is still bumpin'.. and I always crave the opportunity to dance like crazy to her hot beats when i go to Barbarella, a sweet retro video lounge in Austin, Texas. The reason why I posted this is because she popped up on my itunes playlist last night. She's just bigger than life.. There's something more to it than just her music. She stands for something. She always surprises. I guarantee you that you won't be able to appreciate her album at face value... she's got to capture you! Every time I listen to her album I feel like it's for the first time.. Maybe that's because she's just stuck on my playlist and it's exciting when she comes on. OK I admit today's posts are a little bit oldie's but goodies. This album came out in july of 2010 so i guess it's not THAT old. If you even want to begin enjoying her music you need to play it loud. she wants to be presented well. Enjoy.

HOT CHIP

I got my hot chip buzz late in the game, and honestly I did not like them at first. They have been making music since the year 2000. Wow. According to Wikipedia, they were compared by member Joe Goddard to "sixth-form poetry with acoustic guitars." The album that I have been crazy about has been One Life Stand, which was released February 1 of last year. This is my favorite track off the album. Enjoy! Next up is M.I.A.

Geneva Jacuzzi

Ahhh she is so much fun. This is kind of old but it's still been in the back of my mind to share this! It's probably my favorite song of her. Happy music Saturday!

Caveman - December 28th (Yourstru.ly Premiere)

Caveman - December 28th (Yourstru.ly Premiere) by yourstrulysf

I just had to share this with you. Since I missed blogging two bands I wanted to share some stuff today that was at SXSW this year. They played at Fader Fort and have such a beautiful sound I wish I was there to see them. The more bands I review, the better chance I have of getting them next year when I can actually bring a camera. If I'm not living there the hotel is getting booked like a year early haha.  

Fool's Gold

This is another great artist I got to sample last year, they also rolled through the SXSW convention.. Too bad I was too busy partying. I MUST get a bracelet next year so we can see more stuff though! Around the time this was coming out, a lot of indie music was moving towards cultural themes.. including African or Mexican elements to music and style. I hope the Africa theme continues.. Remember The Very Best, and also Vampire Weekend's new album was very ethnically oriented. Manu Chao's Me gustas tu is also very similar to this time period and similar to the themes in my opinion. Fool's Gold is just fresh, clean.. great music that makes you want to listen to it over and over again and dance everywhere.

New movie! Looks good.. Full score by Chemical Brothers. Fully Featured on PITCHFORK.COM and via LIVE STREAM during SXSW

A BIG little thank you to my faithful viewers

This post is not meant to artificially blow up or exaggerate this blogs 'popularity' in any way. On most days, the views trickle in, but they are still THERE. I just felt like I needed to take a moment to thank all my friends and whoever else checks my blog on a daily basis. I can see it, and I can tell that it's consistent. I literally started out expecting a ZERO response but the views continue to trickle in.. When you view my blog, you are helping. Big time.

I also want you to know that if you have been dissapointed with my blog in the past in any way, I am/will work/working hard to create a site that will be entertaining, fun, and most of all rewarding for the peeps involved. Keep in mind that I started the blog to document my own photography adventures and journeys with friends and new friends and to also maintain a fun and entertaining site so you can keep up with only the very best of what current urban culture has to offer. In my mind I haven't started to fulfill my real duties and I consider some of my earlier posts practice. Keep checking back! There is more in store, more on the way.. and things are coming that everyone can benefit from. I still haven't really gone over my initial checklist on my first post (I really need to) to start working getting those up and running(and re-posted regularly). Just keep checking back!

By the way.. Me and my camera are seeking new talent.. EVERYWHERE. If you or someone you know wants to get a STELLAR profile picture for their facebook/myspace/twitter so you can market yourself more or just want a totally sweet picture(s).. Let me know! Rates may be very low at this point and I might be willing to do them over a drink or two. This is assuming you don't already catch me out and about and in that case it's probably free! --I think that having the right profile picture is so important when it comes to how people perceive you and will benefit you in a lot of ways! When it comes to the camera.. YOU are the celebrity. It's all about you in that moment.

There is nothing that makes me happier than to see someone get a great picture and be completely excited about it.

Thanks Alot!

Yours Truly,
-Brandon.. Aka "penny" lol.

Email me for portraits: batmedia@live.com
Facebook Alias: 'Penny Less'

South By Southwest Trip

Spur of the moment shoot--we saw an awesome ford falcon!

I apologize for skipping over my trip, there was so much work to do in organizing/preparing the pictures. Needless to say I'm personally not happy with the results. Better luck next year-- with more actual BAND pictures! My CF card got corrupted while I was in Austin. I lost a few of the pictures I wanted but was able to back up most of them on my laptop. I really had a great time on this trip but I completely FAILED again at getting to shows I wanted to see. I was probably as prepared as I wanted to be, but the shows I actually wanted to see ended up being on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We showed up late Friday and I went to the venue where the shows were that I wanted to see.. And they wouldn't let me in because of my camera! I was so dissapointed/devastated but I wasn't about to leave my $3,000 camera somewhere. I have a rule that it will always be on my person. If I can't get in somewhere with it, then we both won't go in. My picture of Toro kinda made up for it though. Remember I posted earlier how I was able to get a picture of Toro Y Moi on the street? I was extra happy because it wasn't just another concert picture.
So we started our journey on friday morning and we rented a great car, a brand new Mazda 6. We piled our bikes on the back, and they were so heavy that they would come loose inch by inch and we had to stop at least twice to check them on our way. That little faithful bike rack. It hasn't given out on me yet, but I've had my doubts.

So when we got there it took us an hour or two to find a hotel, Austin was way over-booked or waaay too expensive. We found a place that was 8 miles out which wasn't bad at all! (it's also encouragement to not go completely overboard on your drinking) We had bought a bottle of jack earlier so we went to the grocery store and bought some coke and dug right in lol. (we got "starbucks" for the road lol) Yea we had a ton of stuff for just two days suprisingly, and totally trashed that hotel room. And the rest of the night is history..

Friday night I was dissapointed that I couldn't see the bands I wanted to see, so it basically RUINED the trip music wise. We did get to stand in the street and take some random photos of people which was alot of fun.. We ran into alot of.. let's say.. interesting characters that night.. we even got a RANDOM interview! Check out waldo. it was hilarious.

We randomly got pulled aside and were asked some questions.. It was very very silly and hilarious. Trust Me. I hope I can find the video soon.

On Saturday night we missed the band we wanted to see at a certain venue but we ended up staying there because the drinks were good. There was a spanish style band playing in the back and then kindof a "rock & roll" band playing in the front. It was pretty silly and terrible but we ended up jumping into the craaazy mosh pit for fun. Actually I decided not to post them. They are gross. I lost the pictures of American Apparel and the fashion event :( I'll post the end of our trip later.