Me encantó ver a este señor que tenía pinta de empresario agarrando su bandera y siendo parte de la protesta. Destacaba de la multitud por su ropa formal, ensacado y todo.

La bandera a media asta en un momento de la protesta.

Tantas personas diferentes, de todas las clases, pero especialmente tantos jóvenes de todas las clases, incluso muchas personas que ni parecían de este país, hizo de esta protesta algo muy especial. Sí, sabemos que esta única protesta no resolverá de un tiro todos los males de este país, but it feels damn good saber que callamos a todos esos "ahí no va a haber gente", "eso no sirve de na'", "aquí no hay unidad, y nada se hace bien", "ahí se va a armar pleito eso es peligroso" y un súper etcétera de disparates. La verdad es que si logramos esto, podemos lograr mucho más. This is just the beginning baby.

Today I bring you 3 very new music videos, I mean like really new, released this past week, and they're from great great music makers. The first is Young Again by Paul Banks who released his 2nd solo album, Benjamin Gibbard with Teardrop Windows who released his 1st solo album, and then we have the very expected (at least for me) No Doubt with their third single and video for Looking Hot.




Like i have said before, my favorite kind of music videos are the innovative conceptual music videos kind (with a bit of wtf sometimes),  but of course I also enjoy videos like this a lot, videos with stories mini-movie-like, videos that are funny, and videos with a specific theme (in terms of story,outfits, scenery etc.),  like these 3 respectively.



1. Young Again by Paul Banks

Paul Banks goes back to school in the video for Young Again, and ironically he looks incredibly old in here (you still hot Paul). Directed by Sophia Peer, this video has a sad feeling, like the helplessness you felt in your awkward school years, but thankfully it ends in some sweet victory...or maybe it doesnt (i want to leave some mystery for you, in case you haven't seen it).

Damn, you kids are so lucky :(

Ben Gibbard is a bad boy in this one, it's Ben like you have never seen him before (man i love Ben). I adore when i see people like musicians and actors who always have this serious guy facade, and they don't look like they joke around much, and then they come out and do stuff that show you they are actually funny as hell, is like, since they're not goofing around 24/7, you appreciate it more when they do. The song is great like every other Gibbard-written song, and the video was directed by Tom Scharpling







 

3. Looking Hot by No Doubt

And last but not least, No Doubt is looking hot, for real, they all look hot (as usual) in this native american themed video. I don't know the director yet (feel free to say it if you do), but this video, even though is nothing new it was very entertaining, and I want to hug Gwen in her red dress.

Oh yeah, this reminds me that when I watched the video on YouTube, the comments were very controversial, saying things like they are offending with racial stereotyping or something like that. I really don't think so, I honestly don't see anything but a theme used for a music video, just as some artist use African culture outfits and choreography in videos, or when someone uses ninjas, and other Japanese culture elements in their videos. I think that these things, when used in the right way, can be a celebration of culture, instead of offenses. But then again, I don't know. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think they are offending someone? yes? no?

Hello there, in this post I'm writing this About Me page following the awesome advices from the amazing and inspirational Alex Beadon in one of her videos on how to build your blog. I wasn't even looking for blogger tips nor anything, she's just actually an amazing photographer i found on the web who happens to make this great videos and blogs about not only photography, but also, on how to live an inspirational life and also (yes, also) gives business advice. Check her website here:

This excercise was a "homework" she left at the end of the video, and I decided to make it publicly through this post. And if you yourself are a blogger and especially a newbie like me, I encourage you to do this exercise too, it is fun and it makes you have focus, vision, and keeps you in track. Here I go:

My name is: Ross Guzmán, actually is Rosangely but people find it hard to pronounce.
I am: The creator of 'Indie in the Caribbean' blog.
I write: Once a week, or at least i try to.
I write about: Art related things, but if I had to choose one, it would be audiovisuals, mostly music videos. I also write about pop culture/indie culture stuff, as well as how does it feel living in a country where most times you feel like a stranger, because you don't share the same taste as your peers, in all cultural matters, like music, and dressing, and thinking, and living, hence the name of the blog. How is it to be an indie in the Caribbean, when that's clearly not our culture, our taste, and our lifestyle as latinos. When i say indie, I don't mean the stereotypical, labeled, literal indie, but a person which has a different concept of life.  
The kind of people that come to my blog are: People who are young at heart, and whoever feels related to what I write about. People who are fascinated by great music videos and great audiovisual pieces, and music, and culture.
I have realized that many people are in my situation, where they kind of feel like tourists in their own country, and that is common in us latin adolescents who enjoy speaking in english  and listening to rock music from english (or other language) speaking countries, and dress, and think differently. We do love our own culture, and we love the place we came from, we just have a bit of a duality with it, in us and in our lives.
And I want to be: If I had to choose one and only thing, my biggest dream/passion is to be a Music Video Director, which at the same time falls under the "filmmaker" category, which at the same time falls under "art", so i love pretty much every art related thing, but i really (reaaaally) want to be some sort of dominican Michel Gondry, Joseph Kahn, Sophie Muller, Floria Sigismondi, and make the greatest music videos, this country and eventually the world has ever seen. What you think about that?

Hey, how you doing? I really want to write this blog with all the sincerity possible, and honestly I don’t know how to start this post so Imma jump to the point!

Lately I've watched so many great music videos, amazing, impressive and dazzling, I mean, there are always good videos out there, great videos, and there are also bad, really bad ones, but lately (maybe because I have been procrastinating a lot) I've come across many amazing videos, new ones and some, kind of old, some are revisited from the past because they never die for me, and I realized they all have this thing in common: they are so simple, no long story, no overdoing stuff, they’re just about one thing and one thing only.

I myself am kind of an organization freak, I need things to be organized (not necessarily lineal, but organized), and clean, and precise, and I guess I am like that when it comes to music videos too. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn't mean I don’t love complicated, elaborated, stuff that make you pick your brain, because I do. I just LOVE simple videos, and when I say simple, I mean that these videos have such a clean concept, they’re very precise about the idea behind it. Yes, the way to get there, the production part, it can be messy and complicated, but in the end, these kinds of videos are the ones that come more striking to us. Don't you think?

I’m talking about those kinds of video that make you say "Damn, it’s such a simple idea, so why, why in hell didn't I think of this first? I would be rich and famous by now", but you know that the idea was just too brilliant, just too brilliantly simple that it could have never crossed your mind; it's like when you turn your house upside down looking for your missing keys, just to find out an hour later, that they were in the most obvious place.

In no especial order:

1. A Thing for Me  by Metronomy

Directed by Megaforce, it's such a fun video overall, and with a simple funny concept, that I won't explain right now because is better if you just watch it; I’m just going to say that it is a very crazy and kind of painful way to sing karaoke. I love this video so much because the idea is so unique, I had never seen this before, and I kicked myself in the ass for not thinking of it first.





2. On a Train by Yuksek

I heard this song on the radio and loved it right away, and I didn’t know the name of the song or the singer, but yesterday I could finally get the song and my sister who said  "Uhm this might have a good video", looked for it immediately, and i thank her for that. Anyway, at first you think is just a regular boring boy meets girl video but it’s not. This one, directed by Cédric Blaisbois, is so simple yet so dreamy and beautiful and unexpected. I think I watched like 7-8 times just yesterday. And Yuksek is fucking hot! And it is so simple, even I could have thought of it, but I didn’t ._.

Dafuq bro? Wake up!

                                                     

3. My Machines by Battles

This one drives me crazy, I love it, I love it, I love it. It's so simple that it is about this one and only action throughout the whole video, but it is impossible to get bored, it's so mesmerizing and captivating, you just can't stop watching. The colors of this video are this eerie gray which I always love on most videos, and the way that Gary Numan sings with all his Gary Numan-ness while the guy is just casually falling down the escalators is beyond awesome.
Is a one shot video directed by this relatively new and very talented duo DANIELS (they are the two guys at  your right if you scroll up, the asian and the blonde guy with their sexy pose) and you might have seen some of their very fresh work lately like the music video for Houdini and Don't Stop by Foster the People, and Simple Song by The Shins, and the very pregnant video for Chromeo , and so on, these guys are great and they're just gonna keep getting greater. They are also funny, very funny.







4. Money Grabber by Fitz and The Tantrums

I remember listening this song on the radio a lot, I remember liking it, and then I remember myself growing tired of it and starting to hate it because they played it so much on the radio. And then I remember watching the video (cause it came up on an episode of Criminal Minds and I was like, Gurl I know that song). I remember being hypnotized by all its cool colors and very fast cross-fades/dissolves and cool dancing, (that singer dude looks mad cool). I was in love with the song again, and now I sing it all the time. This is the power of a great music video, because in the end music videos are supposed to sell the song. Yeah, it’s all quick cross-fade transitions and blue and red lights, but these two "nothing especial" things resulted in something very powerful for the song, it just Fitz the song so much (gosh what a terrible pun). It was directed by Michael Mohan.






5. Can't Stop Feeling by Franz Ferdinand

This one is from 2009, and it shows you how you can do a very fun, refreshing, easygoing unique video on a tight budget, I mean the top comments for this video on YouTube go like "this video only cost 5 bucks" "omg holes in Alex sweater vest" etc. This very stripped-down amateur looking video is all about the clever use of transitions, and the guys just having fun. I love it for the simplicity of it and you do enjoy a lot watching it. The director was Russell Weekes, and it was definitely a big "why didn't I think of this first" kind of MV.







Ding ding ding bonus videos (these are also examples of simple conceptual videos, that I love):

8. Here it Goes Again by Ok Go (directed by Sie and the band)



9. Gold Guns and Girls by Metric (directed by Eady Bros)



10. 1901 by Phoenix (directed by Bogstandard (Dylan Byrne & Ben Strebel)



11. Treat Me Like Your Mother by The Dead Weather (directed by Jonathan Glazer, director of the famous Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai)


12. Islands by The xx (directed by Saam Farahmand)


And the award for THE greatest, awesomest most simple video of all times is:

13. Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan


This one definitely wins the award, like really, you literally just need a camera, a marker and paper and a person, yet somehow this video is so powerful.

 I fell in love with this video as soon as I saw it, I was so impressed at how simple it was, but how meaningful it could be at the same time. One of the first videos that scarred me for life, definitely. In fact, I blame this video for giving me the crazy idea and illusion that you can achieve so much, without having a big fancy production, just a bright imaginative, creative mind, and a great attitude. Thanks Bob!


The point of this whole thing is that simple videos are great!, aaand.. you don’t need a big Hollywood production to get your ideas across, you don’t need loads and loads of money and expensive equipment to make the most creative and groundbreaking masterpieces of all time...as cheesy as it sounds you just need creativity, imagination and determination and that’s it, my friend.


Which video did you like the most? or what's you favorite video of all time?, do you think I missed a very important video here? how many times did I say the word "simple" on this post? 

Is the time to speak your mind in the comments!

How can you have so much going on in your life and feel like you have nothing going on at the same time? I’m 21 and I already feel like I have not much time left to do the things I have to do to achieve what I want, sounds ridiculous I know, 21 is still a very young age, but when you see people inside the wonderful world of the internet, who have made it before their 20's, it kind of makes you want to rush things, and it makes you listen to a tick tack tick tack inside your head on a daily basis. Especially people that have my dream job, those motherfluffers started out the earliest.



I want to do so much but for now let’s talk about film making, I love film making but it doesn't help when you stalk the biographies of the ones you look up to on Wikipedia or wherever and see stuff like "at the age of 8 his uncle gave him a super 8 camera and he started making short films in his backyard", or (and this one really killed me) "his parents began dropping him at Universal Studios back lot every day after school when he was just 12 years old". You see? and that's every single filmmaker's story; what am I supposed to do with that, this insecure teenager who just realized what she wanted to do with her life now (in a way I knew it all my life but I dint KNOW IT, I just didn't realized it until now when reality really hit me).

Anyway here I am, and on top of it, I am from/live in a country where I find myself not fitting in and where opportunities rarely come for people without loads of money and contacts from the 'biz. I could keep on complaining about so many other things, like the fact that the industry I want to get myself into, is so behind in here, I mean, this is no Hollywood of course,  but I guess being here will make everything more challenging, therefore more exciting. It’s gonna be a crazy journey isn't it?

Funny thing is that I always wanted to have a dream, something to go after, like in the movies and holy shit here it is. Right now I’m so excited about doing everything I can to achieve my dreams,  that I don’t even feel excited about college anymore, don’t get me wrong I really like my career -which is advertising- and I love every learning opportunity I can get but lately college is becoming such a time-sucking activity.

Anyway…Last week I was shooting a music video for one of my favorite The Drums song "Money". Every time I heard the song, whether I was on a bus on my way to school or washing the dishes, I had this silly kinda cool idea for a video, but I thought that going through with it was going to be too hard for someone with not many resources, however, 2 months later I said, what the hell! I’m going for it and just yesterday I uploaded the result:

If the player is being an ass please go over to YouTube to watch it, please, but only if you want to, but please it would mean a lot!

This is the fictional band featured in the video, I needed one for the concept to come through, and since I don’t have friends (this is the part where you cry for me and offer me your friendship) my sister (the business-y part of Guzferable) got me her friends who were great (Thanks guys!)


It was really fun. We shot it at the Zona Colonial, which is always crowded  and obviously all eyes were on us, but that only added more excitement. We had time on us, the heat of the sun on us, people to bother and a lot to do. I know it could have gone waaaaay better but Im happy with the results.

And October is about to start and I’m happy about it because that means that temperatures in my country will start to show some mercy. Here are the songs Ive had on repeat lately, they are about to catch some fire. “Asleep” by The Smiths was brought to me by The Perks of Being a Wallflower; I can’t wait to watch the movie.





















Give them a listen if you want, they might make you as happy and joyful as the make me (even though most of them are sad-ish)

1. Ouija Board, Ouija Board
2. Beetles
3. 60 thompson
4. Asleep
5. The Autumn Carnival
6. Bandages
7. The Rifle's Spiral

Oh and I would also like to know (gosh Im so nosy) if you ever find yourself in this 'i finally have a dream to pursue but something is holding me back' kind of situation? Feel free to bitch about anything in the comments.

Lista de películas citadas por Armando Almánzar en el Taller de Apreciación Cinematográfica impartido en la universidad a la que asisto.
Esta lista incluye películas desde el principio del cine y toda la trayectoria hasta llegar a los tiempos modernos hay de todos los años, todos los géneros y todos los países. Es buena si quieres ver por todo lo que ha pasado el cine, si estudias cine, si quieres hacer como que sabes de cine etc.

List of films cited by Armando Almanzar in Film Appreciation Workshop taught at the university I attend.
This list includes films from the beginning of the film era and the entire path to reach modern times, movies from all the years, all genres and all countries. It is good if you want to see all that has passed in the history of cinema, if you study filmmaking, if you want to pretend to know about movies etc.


1. La Salida De Los Obreros De La Fabrica Y La Llegada Del Tren A La Estacion   (1895) Los hermanos Lumiere.
2. El Proceso Dreyfuss   (1899) George Melies
3. Viaje A La Luna   (1902) George Melies
4. Asalto Y Robo Al Tren   (1903) Edwin S Porter 
5. El Nacimiento De Una Nacion   (1915) David Wark Griffith 
6. Intolerancia   (1916) David Wark Griffith 
7. El Acorazado Potemkin    (1925) Sergio Maria Einsenstein
8. Octubre   (1928) Sergio Maria Einsenstein
9. Alexander Nevsky   (1938) Sergio Maria Einsenstein
10. Un Chien Andaluz    (1929) Luis Buñuel  (Esta no estaba en la lista, pero es un MUST SEE!)
11. The Kid    (1921) Charlie Chaplin
12. The Gold Rush   (1925) Charlie Chaplin 
13. Luces De La Ciudad   (1931) Charlie Chaplin 
14. Tiempos Modernos    (1936) Charlie Chaplin 
15. El Gran Dictador    (1940) Charlie Chaplin 
16. Monsieur Verdoux   (1947) Charlie Chaplin 
17. Un Rey En Nueva York   (1957) Charlie Chaplin 
18. La Condesa De Hong Kong   (1967) Charlie Chaplin 
19. El Cantor De Jazz   (1927) Alan Crosland 
20. M    (1931) Fritz Lang 
21. Sinfonias Tontas   (1932) Disney 
22. La Feria De La Vanidad    (1935) Ruben Mamoulian
23. La Gran Ilusion    (1937) Jean Renoir 
24. La Bestia Humana    (1939) Jean Renoir 
25. Las Reglas Del Juego    (1939) Jean Renoir 
26. Los Niños Del Paraiso    (1945) Marcel Carne 
27. Las Puertas De La Noche    (1946) Marcel Carne 
28. Teresa Raquin    (1953) Marcel Carne
29. Roma Ciudad Abierta   (1945) Roberto Rosellini 
30. Paisa    (1946) Roberto Rosellini
31. Alemania Año Cero   (1948) Roberto Rosellini
32. Stromboli  (1950) Roberto Rosellini
33. Cronica De Un Amor   (1950) Michelangelo Antonioni
34. Las Amigas    (1955) Michelangelo Antonioni
35. El Grito    (1957) Michelangelo Antonioni
36. La Aventura    (1960) Michelangelo Antonioni
37. La Noche    (1961) Michelangelo Antonioni
38. El Eclipse   (1962) Michelangelo Antonioni
39. Ladrón De Bicicletas    (1945) Vittorio De Sica
40. Milagro En Milán    (1951) Vittorio De Sica
41. Umberto D    (1952) Vittorio De Sica
42. Dos Mujeres    (1960) Vittorio De Sica
43. A Bout De Souffle    (1959) Jean Luc Goddard
44. Una Mujer Es Una Mujer    (1961) Jean Luc Goddard
45. Los Carabineros   (1963) Jean Luc Goddard
46. Pierrot Le Fou    (1965) Jean Luc Goddard
47. Los 400 Golpes    (1959) Francois Truffaut
48. Disparar Sobre El Pianista    (1960) Francois Truffaut
49. Jules And Jim    (1962) Francois Truffaut
50. Farenheit 451    (1966) Francois Truffaut
51. El Niño Salvaje    (1970) Francois Truffaut
52. La Noche Americana    (1973) Francois Truffaut
53. La Historia De Adele H   (1976) Francois Truffaut
54. Hiroshima Mon Amour   (1958) Alain Resnais
55. El Año Pasado En Mariembad   (1961) Alain Resnais
56. El Bello Sergio    (1958) Claude Chabrol
57. Los Primos   (1959) Claude Chabrol
58. Landru   (1963) Claude Chabrol
59. El Signo Del Leon   (1962) Eric Rohmer
60. Mi Noche Con Maud   (1969) Eric Rohmer
61. La Rodilla De Clara   (1970) Eric Rohmer
62. Room At The Top    (1959) Jack Clayton
63. Los Inocentes    (1961) Jack Clayton
64. The Pumpkin Eater   (1964) Jack Clayton
65. Look Back In Anger    (1959) Tony Richardson
66. A Taste Of Honey   (1961) Tony Richardson
67. Tom Jones    (1963) Tony Richardson
68. Los Seres Queridos   (1965) Tony Richardson
69. Mademoiselle    (1966) Tony Richardson
70. Sabado En La Noche Domingo En La Mañana    (1960) Karel Reisz
71. Night Must Fall    (1964) Karel Reisz
72. Isadora       (1968) Karel Reisz
73. La Mujer Del Teniente Frances   (1981) Karel Reisz
74. El Ingenuo Salvaje   (1963) Lindsay Anderson
75. If   (1968) Lindsay Anderson
76. Lucky Man   (1973) Lindsay Anderson
77. Britannia Hospital   (1982) Lindsay Anderson
78. Breaking The Waves   (1996) Lars Von Trier
79. Los Idiotas   (1998) Lars Von Trier
80. Dancer In The Dark    (2000) Lars Von Trier
81. Dogville    (2003) Lars Von Trier
82. La Celebracion    (1998) Thomas Vinterberg
83. La Tercera Mentira    (2000) Thomas Vinterberg
84. Submarino    (2010) Thomas Vinterberg