DJ AM

Quite sad about the passing of DJ AM last week...
Heard his funeral was today...

We all just said goodbye to our boy Adam Goldstein. R.I.P. DJ AM, we LOVE U and will continue to keep your legacy going!
via DJRizNyc

I just wanted to put up a few links to some posts about him by people who actually knew him. Never met the guy, but it's still a tragic thing...

a-trak
skeet skeet
diplo's comment
picked these up from their respective twitters.

We here at DGAF regret that we will never see him play live. We also want you to Give A Fuck about your life, and life in general.

Dance Battles are DGAF

DGAF Profile #6: Michel Gondry

You've got to be pretty DGAF to be, in my opinion, to be THE definitive music video director of pretty much the past two decades. Sorry Spike Jonze, I love your stuff, but you ain't Michel Gondry!

It all started in 1994 when, as an impressionable 13 year old, I saw Björk's "Human Behavior" video, back in MTV's heyday:


Holy shit. Who was this kind of Asian-looking lady with the funny name and the badass voice and the dope outfit??? What a sick beat too!!! It didn't sound like anything else I'd heard on MTV. The video, too, looked like it consisted entirely of magic sprinkles... it wasn't clips of some band playing, it didn't take place in the desert or at some house party, and it certainly didn't use any computer graphics to show off any special effects (take that, "Black Hole Sun"!) but it certainly did not look cheaply made. It was surreal and abstract yet had a narrative and concept. It was imaginative, original, visually stunning, and anything but boring. All in all, I had never heard, or seen anything like it. I could not categorize any of it, but that is precisely what I liked best about it.

I was amused, impressed, and became more and more of a fan as I saw his other videos, which were becoming more ubiquitous at the time. Michel Gondry? What a weird name (takes one to know one, as I myself literally have one of the most uncommon last names in the world), but whoever this person was, I definitely wanted him to direct my music videos in the future.

Fast forward to late 2003. I still had none of my own music for Michel Gondry to direct videos to, but that's ok. He came out with his first DVD, "The Work of Director Michel Gondry." It was part of this "Director's Series", and was an extensive "best of" collection of his music videos and other works, and a huge booklet. I can't even begin to describe or explain his other works, so it would be best to check out this DVD, or at least look up his videos on YouTube, and believe me, you'll get the idea. He is, in my eyes, unparalleled at making hyperrealities. I hate to pitch a product, but this DVD is MANDATORY!!! If you can't buy it, borrow a friend's copy, because you have to see the booklet too. You just have to. I used to bump this shit in the video room constantly when I used to work at Tower Records.


I found out through this DVD that he was the drummer in this band called Oui Oui, who were in my opinion ridiculously underrated. They were catchy, fun, cute, had nicely crafted songs, and duh, had brilliant music videos! There's even a live performance of them on the DVD where they're playing a show where there's big circular lights flashing with each band member's face on it. I thought that was SO cool. That's pretty DGAF. Their albums are out of print, which is a damn shame, and i think they should be re-released. I managed to get my own copy on eBay even thought I don't own a record player.

Since then, besides a shitload of music videos, he's also directed several movies and numerous commercials. He's even written a book! WTF? DGAF and prolific.

Fast forward to 2009... and shit's about to go down. I named him one of my influences for my Senior Project at Otis. I wasn't quite able to capture his magic, but who cares, because I'd heard rumors that he was going to release another DVD....

I was in the backseat of my friend Deirdre's car, on the way to Denny's in Hollywood where she wanted to stop and eat before going to the Echo where she was going to play with her band, Last Legs. I get a call from Shimosh, who informs me that Michel Gondry was going to be at Amoeba the next day to sign copies of his new DVD, which freaks me out like nothing else. We'd already scored tickets to see the M.I.A. secret show that same night, so I just felt like i'd won the lottery. It was last minute and unexpected, and I was in disbelief until we actually got to Amoeba the next day.



We had no idea what was awaiting us there. I'd looked it up online, and apparently it was "Michel Gondry and Friends" and there was going to be a musical performance. Hmm... who were his friends? Our friend Don suggested that his friends were drops of acid that they'd pass out at Amoeba in the form of gum. But I almost had a heart attack thinking it might be a Oui Oui reunion show.



It was almost 7pm at Amoeba, and the anticipation was building. The place was pretty packed. I almost didn't mind missing the Mighty Boosh here a few weeks earlier because this more than made up for that. I ran to get my DVD and got a pretty good spot off to the left of the stage.



It was 7:15, and it hadn't started. Announcements were made that it was going to start shortly, but nothing was happening. Don joked that Michel Gondry wasn't even here yet. I cracked up and we made jokes about how he was actually across the street at the Jack in the Box either doing coke in the bathroom or just grubbing the fuck out. We made a stupid scenario where that was his favorite place to eat of all time in the whole world and he didn't give a fuck about Amoeba, the only reason he would show up here was because of the Jack in the Box across the street.

The announcer mentioned that Michel Gondry would arrive shortly, and we busted up at how Don's joke was actually true. Now, we're not sure about the Jack in the Box part... but we are definitely sure that Michel Gondry is DGAF. He's so DGAF that he shows up half an hour late to his own performance, gets on the drums, and chugs a bottle of Corona without missing so much as a beat. He could have done some predictable Q&A session or shamelessly plugged his new DVD. Nope, this music video director wanted to jam the fuck out. He's actually a really decent drummer, and he's still got it.



I admit I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a Oui Oui reunion show, but it was fun and cute nonetheless. It was kind of upbeat mellow jazz with a twist and I was amused to find that the guy on the synths was none other than Mark Ramos-Nishita, aka Money Mark, another '90s icon.



The '90s are really back, I told you so! (The night would get even more '90s later on, but we didn't know it yet or even think it was possible.)



So afterward we got in the endless line to get my DVD signed. It had an 8-bit aesthetic and I found this particularly hilarious on the DVD itself:


"That's retarded!" I exclaimed with joy and delight. I meant it as a compliment, but when I realized that not everyone would think that way, I self-consciously looked around, hoping that no one heard me, least of all Michel Gondry.

"You swear no one can hear you," Shimosh rightfully remarked.

For some reason I was stressing out about what to say. But I HAD to ask him about Steak because I heard he turned down that movie. I wondered why because I thought that was quite an amusing movie and I've constantly wondered what it would have been like if he'd directed it... The signing was going really quickly, and when my turn came up, I stood there and kind of panicked.

"You'reasoliddirectorandasoliddrummer!"

FUCK!!! I didn't realize how fast I'd said that. That was also kind of a stupid thing to say LOL. He looked up and gave me the most confused look he's probably ever given anyone. Somehow that didn't stop me from asking, "So why did you turn down directing Steak?" (I don't even think that was correct grammar.)



"What???" he asked, still looking confused. "What movie?"

"Steak."

"Yeah," he said, as he continued signing my DVD with three different colored Sharpies at once. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I think he then mumbled "Quentin Dupieux" under his breath. I was NOT going to ask him again if he didn't feel like answering, so I stood there feeling awkward and amused at the same time. I thanked him, gave him a regulation thumbs up, and wondered if it was called Steak because I'd discovered some kind of beef. I'll never know. And I will not list the ridiculous possible scenarios we thought of. But damn. That was fucking FUNNY!!!

I realized that I should have talked a HELL of a lot SLOWER... he probably couldn't hear or make out a damn word I said. But what I did NOT realize was how amused he looked as I was walking away... LOL

DGAF Profile #5: Tiga - guest DGAF post by DON!

Tiga, born Tiga James Sontag, is a DJ/Producer/Singer/Songwriter/Remixer/Entrepreneur/maybe chef from Montreal. That's Montreal, Canada to you. How does Tiga stand out as someone who DGAF? First of all, aside from remixing, Tiga mainly collaborates. Depending on who he's working with, his role as the musician changes. When he's working with Soulwax, he's the “eyes that won't stop gleaming.” With Jori Hulkkonen, he's “Future Face.” Gonzales is “Piano Watcher.” He's known as a “certain vision and viscera to the funky picture show” with Jesper Dahlback. Finally, with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, he's the “Off the wall Montrealer.”




Back in the day, Tiga used to host raves in Canada, but his career was catapulted into the spotlight with his cover of Corey Hart's “Sunglasses at Night.” The cover was done with Jori Hulkkonen under the name “Tiga & Zyntherius.” Even though the track was released in 2001, Tiga managed to go back in time and performed the track on Top Of The Pops in the 80s.

Based on the performance of the single, some could even argue that it was Corey Hart who covered Tiga and not the other way around. Also, by the way Tiga rocks that eye shadow and chews gum while performing, you know he was bringing DGAF to the 80s, even in 2001.

Despite the performance on Top Of The Pops, Tiga has rarely, if ever, performed a live show. However, he describes his shows and relationship with his fan as such:

“My job is to descend from above and sprinkle the crowd with unimaginable spices... There's a real feeling of community at my shows. The kind of community where a demigod can walk incarnate amongst the scum, but it's community.”

Indeed, we are truly not worthy enough.

But the one thing that sets Tiga apart is his presence. You know you're listening to a Tiga track even before you start listening to a Tiga track. His image is plastered all over the cover art and his voice is a guaranteed to be the focal point of the track. It's kind of like all the times I went to my friend's house and replaced all of the family photos with pictures of myself.














source: Discogs - Tiga

Not only is Tiga's music and voice inspiring for generations to come, but the lyrics are thought-provoking and often tackles social issues of today. For example, the lyrics to “Move My Body” (featuring Soulwax, but we all know the real brains behind the operation) is, “The power punch that beats the bunch” over and over again. Wow. Talk about mind blowing. When I was done listening to that track, I truly believed that the power punch could, in fact, beat the bunch. Don't even get me started with “Mind Dimension...” Okay, let me get started with “Mind Dimension.” The lyrics, “Every time I look into your eyes I see the future” really hits close to home with many people, specifically psychics. When the main hook, “Mind Dimension” comes in and repeats for 30 seconds, you know that you're listening to a track that was made to invoke social change. Tiga for president!



There are many things that sets Tiga apart from the rest of the competition and the man himself knows this. Even though many people have accused Tiga of being arrogant and self-centered (which Tiga agrees), Tiga is not selfish. Why? Well in his own words:

“Every morning, I leave a hotel. I check out. I give all the conditioners that I steal to a bum.. Any bum. It doesn't matter. The point is, it's more significant than the least I can do. And another thing, criticism in general: it doesn't affect me. THAT DON'T CHANGE MY HEART.”

DGAF quote of the hour? I believe so.

Tiga funds a group known as the Tiga-core. The group consists of individuals that look like Tiga and go around doing charity work such as building wells in impoverished resort towns. Think of it as some sort of PR organization. The outcome is extraordinary. Take a look at this side-by-side comparison of Tiga and a member of the Tiga-core:


Mind blowing, right?

Unfortunately, their progress is slowed down by Tiga-themed warlords or "Tiga-lords". Despite funding them as well, Tiga has little to no power over them. When asked why he doesn't just cut the funding, Tiga responded, after singing a song:

“It's a very complicated issue. Life's not black and white.”

Tiga the singer should not be confused with Tiga the DJ. While on the outside they look relatively the same, Tiga the DJ is the more down-to-earth alter ego of Tiga the singer. The key difference to tell the two apart is that Tiga the DJ would always wear a cap while Tiga the singer would not. Also, Tiga the singer would be more likely to be dressed up and probably would be wearing some sort of chameleon scarf. Additionally, I wouldn't think that Tiga the singer would dare to walk on bare floor, so expect a carpet of humans laid out in front of him.


Photo credit: Scootie

So remember, kids: Tiga with cap = Tiga the DJ. Tiga without cap = Tiga the singer. Another way you can tell if it's Tiga the DJ is if he's DJing. That's normally the biggest giveaway.



Just because Tiga the DJ is considered more down to earth than his singer counterpart, it doesn't mean that he too isn't DGAF. Take the aftermath of Hard Summer for example: after a couple of tweets describing the situation and vibe of the forum, Tiga brought up the real issue the next day:


Amen, Tiga. Four cheese is, in fact, way too many.

Or how about that tweet on the way to Europe?


Who knew that it was also possible to be DGAF in 140 characters or less?

Aside from DJing, Tiga also runs his own record label, Turbo Recordings. Along with his own releases, Turbo releases tracks from other artists such as Proxy and Popof. They also helped develop the musical career of Chromeo. Additionally, Turbo Recordings didn't just release techno and electro tracks, they also released some drum & bass tracks originally too. Talk about an eclectic DGAF label. In (the DJ) Tiga's words, “My philosophy is, if it excites me it will also excite somebody else.”(Source: Beatportal: Ciao! This is the Real Tiga!)

I could go on and on about how DGAF Tiga is. I could talk about how his captive reptile breeding program got shut down because experts thought it was too “indecent” to arouse monitor lizards with ice cubes. I could go and talk about how his favorite song is “Take Me To The Bridge I Love” by the Red Hots. I could also add in about how he pays his accountants in DJ lessons (Lesson 1: Timing. Lesson 2: Equipment). But I can't. Simply because it's impossible to sum up just about how DGAF Tiga is.

By the way Tiga, we're all waiting for that talk show!

Afterparty at THE WAFFLE!!!

UPDATED 2-1-10


You'll eat so much you'll get a double chin

Here's a problem that many of you might encounter while being out with friends in Hollywood. It's late, and most restaurants are closed, so you can't decide on a place to eat. Your vegan friend wants Toi on Sunset, another friend wants Denny's, another wants breakfast from Jack in the Box, another wants to keep drinking, and you don't want any of those. That means you're all screwed and just need to go home, right? WRONG.

For those of you who don't know, this place is one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. It's never packed, but it always serves some of the dopest tightest food around. It's open til midnight or 3am most nights. This is the place to go after a show or a club (it's right next to the Palladium) or a trip to Amoeba (it's practically across the street) ... or for a friend's birthday meal.

There literally is something there for everyone... it's called The Waffle but besides waffles and breakfast items there is a good selection of burgers, sandwiches, soups, salad, alcohol... even dog biscuits! Plus, your vegan friends can get down too because there's a small but very legit vegan menu! I've liked everything I've tried on the vegan menu, but the most impressive were the vegan Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, the vegan chili (called Bowl of Red), the un-chicken salad sandwich, and the veggie dogs (which are specials). The only complaint I have is that they seemed to have discontinued their vegan shakes. :(


Waffle ice cream sandwiches? You'd better believe it!

For meat eaters, I'd recommend the Chicken Jalapeño Waffle. The first time I had it, I didn't look at the description on the menu, I just knew I had to order it. I figured it was chicken and jalapeños baked into a waffle, you know, kind of like their bacon waffle. When the waiter came out with a plate with a piece of fried chicken, collard greens, and a waffle... I can't even describe it.

If that doesn't sound appealing to you, I'd get one of the Double Wides. They are basically waffle sandwiches: instead of bread, they're waffles. THIS SHIT IS DELICIOUS and you probably won't see this anywhere else.

And get a side of onion rings. The coleslaw is good, and so is the salad, and you can't lose with waffle-cut fries, but the onion rings are where it's at! They're thinly cut with seasoned batter, these are quality onion rings, not those nasty crunchy breaded circles you get at fast food places.

Their $12 bottomless drinks might be the best deal in town. Yes, take your pick for unlimited Mimosas, Bloody Marys, Margaritas, or Sangrias. And they're surprisingly strong and very well made. So before hitting a club or party in Hollywood, stop by the Waffle to save some serious $$$ on what will be overpriced and mediocre drinks. Or just stop by afterward for an awesome afterparty!

The atmosphere of the place is chill and has a really cute, modern style interior. It's cozy without being cramped, but spacious enough to be comfortable. There's both indoor and outdoor seating, and I think there is seating upstairs but I've never been there. The servers are friendly too, and it's affordable; you can definitely get some decent grub for around $10. So tell all your friends and grab a booth! It's a wonder why I never see this place super busy! LA, show The Waffle some love!

The Waffle

Follow them on Twitter for surprise discounts!

Amanda Blank DGAF

This past Monday, CMYK went to see Amanda Blank at Amoeba in Hollywood with our friend Lil Don, since we weren't able to see her on Saturday at Hard Summer :(




I Love You

Amanda Blank's first solo album just dropped on 8/4/2009, called I Love You. The album was produced by Diplo and Switch, and it's aaaawwwesome. I dig it. She has incredible flow, and has a badass aura about her, but still being really nice and down to earth. She has a ferocious stage presence and tongue-twisting skills and acrobatic cadence on the mic. Did we even mention her razor-sharp witty lyrics?


Don't fuck with this lady.

It was a very short performance, lasting probably about 30 minutes. We got there a little before 6, and there was already a small crowd of hipsters who probably, like us, decided to go see her perform because Hard got shut down. The DJ came out to warm out the crowd, although the crowd didn't seem to want to participate much. Perhaps it was just the setup of the performance area.
Soon after, Amanda Blank came on stage with a black poncho-hoodie thing (is that an adequate description?) and knocked us out with her crazy skills. Her genuine and sweet personality shows through on stage, contrasted with her badass lyrics and rapping. Seeing/hearing her perform is really the only way to do her songs justice; this woman has MAD flow. We were thoroughly impressed. Her energy stage presence made her one hell of a live act, do not miss her if you get a chance!


hoodie poncho


She performed her single "Might Like You Better" and some other songs from the CD. Spank Rock also showed up, which got the crowd pretty excited. Damn, Spank Rock proved that he got the skills to pay the bills!


Amanda Blank + Spank Rock

We bought a copy of her album and she signed it for us—she even posed for a picture. She's friendly, approachable, and genuine. She is totally for real! Amanda Blank is definitely DGAF awesome.

CMYK + Amanda Blank. This lady is FIERCE!




If you missed the in-store performance, don't worry, Amanda Blank will be back in LA at the El Rey August 27 with Matt & Kim!

HARD Bummer

We here at DGAF believe in being DGAF, but not when it shuts down one of the most anticipated events of the summer. It was a once in a lifetime lineup, check this out, this made me jizz in my pants:

It was nice not to have to drive to Downtown LA or Hollywood, as we here at DGAF are not used to going to cool events that are local to us. The lines, when we got there, of course were ridiculous because it was sold out. Luckily for the DGAF team, we found a short line that for some reason no one was going into. I assumed it was VIP, but it turns out it wasn't. We weren't very happy at the prospect of missing Busy P's set, and had hoped that doors would have opened before he started playing. But whatever, we were more than happy to be in at 8:15, which was like an hour earlier than we thought we'd get in.

I wondered how stuffy it would get in an indoors venue, and I wondered why they decided not to have it at the Shrine. But as we entered the Forum, my doubts disappeared. I was ready to party, and so was everyone else. The place was already jumping, and Busy P himself even announced from the stage that he'd never seen a crowd that crazy at 8:45. This is Busy P, he's been around. He's been doing this shit for how long now? You could tell how excited the whole place was. I'd waited all summer to see Crookers, my personal addiction of 2009, and I knew it was going to be one of the best nights I'd ever have.

Crystal Castles came on after with their assault on the senses, and Alice Glass proved yet again to be quite the badass. When she came out onstage carrying a strobe light, I knew whoever had epilepsy was going to be seriously fucked. They ended their set with noise and feedback (we found out later that apparently their equipment broke?) and Shimosh and I were already thirsty, as the dancefloor was getting hot and we'd already been rocking out for over a good hour.

We decided to go get some water from upstairs, which we thought would be simple and easy. When we looked up, we saw that the seating area was packed, and the stairways were being blocked. Oh shit, how were we going to get upstairs to get water? What the hell was going on? Some people were jumping the stair railings to get onto the dancefloor. Whatever, we just wanted to go get some water and get back onto the dance floor, in time for Chromeo!

So we navigated around to get upstairs, got our water, and... came back to the stage area where the lights were on, no music was playing, and someone was making an announcement from the stage??? WTF? We weren't allowed to go downstairs, and it turns out that the stairs were being blocked for a reason. A guy was announcing from the stage for people to sit down, and not block the stairways, and calm down or the music wouldn't continue. It turns out that the place was becoming a fire hazard, and that people had to clear the stairways and the first 5 rows of seats, and if people wouldn't cooperate, the event would get shut down. Wow. That was NO joke. I'm sure it didn't help that we'd seen people jumping the railings to get to the dance floor. But it got even worse when a HUGE bum rush came out from the VIP area entrance, and then people fucking took it a step further by jumping from the fucking BALCONY to get to the dance floor! Yeah, good move! You're on the dance floor now, but you can't fucking dance because now you're INJURED! And the place is already being called a safety hazard, so like that's gonna improve anything!

"Shit!" I said to Shimosh. "Now this place is really gonna get shut down!"

But... it seemed like there was hope, there was no announcement of a cancellation, and it seemed like people were cooperating and there were announcements that Chromeo were ready to go on as soon as everything was cleared. It sucked that the rest of the sets were gonna get cut short, but we still had the rest of the night, we just wanted it to start up again! Hope had dwindled however, by the time there was still no music 2 hours after Crystal Castles played.

Shimosh and I went to the bathroom, and before we even came out back into the stage area, we found out that our fears were confirmed, and the place was in fact, shut down. Finding that short line that allowed us to catch Busy P's set was even more siginificant now, and we were even more grateful for going to Discotheque the night before.

Outside was chaos, complete with riot police (wtf?!), ghetto birds flying in the sky, fire trucks, ambulances, and the biggest, most disappointed crowd I'll probably ever see. People were throwing bottles but it was fairly peaceful, as most people were still rolling (what a waste!) and bumping Bloody Beetroots from their car stereos and holding their own little mini raves in the parking lot. It was like the aftermath of an electro armageddon.

Despite all the craziness, we met some cool people at Hard. We met a couple guys and gave them a ride back to the Custom Hotel, where they were staying. We decided to hang out at Hopscotch, the bar at the Custom, where the Suzanarchist got a bit drunk and called everyone a sassy bitch (including a janitor who was cleaning near us, who told the manager, who told us to get out (please)). Before we got kicked out, we got to meet Phra of Crookers, which made our night. She also asked Ethan Kath of Crystal Castles if he knew ODB. DGAF indeed.

But we hope that you'll be DGAF but not to fuck it up for everyone else. And HARD will be back on track with a vengeance for Halloween at the right venue this time. It was tragic, it was a disaster, but shit happens. Move on, get your refund, keep dancing, and stay responsibly DGAF.

Busy Discotheque

What an amazing party. We are officially stoked for Hard Summer.

We got there at around 1015 this time, and Acid Girls were rockin' their solid house beats. People were slowly coming in around then, so it wasn't packed, but in about an hour the place was filling up fast.
The Mad Decent Basement party was pretty great, they know how to party. ;) There was a good vibe going on downstairs and people were dancing and having a good time. They seem to consistently drop dirty baile funk/fidget house that sometimes make it tempting not to go back upstairs... but the Acid Girls was getting the crowd pumping and there was a good bunch of crazy partiers.

Sorry to be biased, but the highlight of the night was Busy P & SebastiAn. When Busy P & SebastiAn got there, they got mobbed by everyone who wanted pictures and autographs from them. And by silly girls who had silly gifts for them...


.
These cats are way too nice. They are adorable and polite to all their crazy hipster fans. They played an extremely eclectic THREE HOUR set that kicked off with Black Sabbath, and continued with "Wake Up", and our personal favorite remixes: "Busy P" (Crookers), "Killing in the Name of" (SebastiAn), and "Electric Feel" (Justice). They also made sure to drop a few tracks from Daft Punk and Justice, and rocked the crowd with everything from the Strokes to Notorious BIG. Sorry LMFAO, but no one knows how to rock the beat and rock the show like the Ed Banger crew.



As we predicted last week, Busy P wins DGAF of the night. He would not stop dancing around and he passed out drinks to the front row. So DGAF.

However, we have a runner up this time—a guy who was rocking out way too hard in the front. it was awesome.




Now we're heading out to HARD Summer...who knows what retardery awaits us.

DGAF Profile #4: Flat Eric + Mr. Oizo

via Mr. Oizo's twitter

Flat Eric is an adorable, yellow fuzzy creature from Filmmaker/Musician/Artist/Frenchman Mr. Oizo (real name: Quentin Dupieux)'s head. Flat Eric was based on another creature that Oizo had made before, named Stephane. Eric is almost exactly like Stephane, except Stephane has ears and Eric does not.
Here is Stephane in Mr. Oizo's "M-Seq"


very similar indeed.

However, Eric gathered a lot more fame and exposure after starring in a series of commercials for Levi's. He drove around with his friend Angel (Phillipe Petit) avoiding the police and getting haircuts:


The name "Flat Eric" came from the idea that he was run over by a car that flattened his head, but that got scrapped. The name stuck, though, and thus the Levi's commercials were born (i guess).

Flat Beat, by Mr. Oizo—a huge hit in 1999 in Europe:

That noise that Flat Eric makes is just too much. I love it. <3

He sits in a huge office, makes calls to whoever he wants and plays Flat Beat for them, and smokes sausages in place of cigars (wtf?). Did i mention he's a muppet? i think most other muppets sing silly songs about counting or cookies or mah nah mah nah. Flat Eric was made by the Jim Henson company, built by Janet Knechtel. And do other muppets end up on the cover of Heat?


probaby not. Coolest muppet ever. Yes, even cooler than those on Avenue Q.
Flat Eric has a cult following by more than just little kids learning how to spell and count. Flat Eric is awesome.

But the real reason Flat Eric is such a DGAF character is because of his creator, his daddy: Mr. Oizo.


Mr. Oizo (ps, pronounce it Monsieur Wah-Zoh) is a French artist who makes badass films, badass electronic music and is just a total badass weirdo. According to Wikipedia, he was signed to F. Communications after Laurent Garnier of FCom bought a car from Quentin's father and found out about Quentin's crazy artsy talents and asking Quentin to direct his video for "Flashback" in 1997. He released Flat Beat in 1999 and the EP sold over 3 million copies. Three Million. That's a lot of copies.
His music is fucking weird. FCom even called his second album, Moustache (Half a Scissor) unbearable (but that's bc they're fail and Mr. Oizo is win and knows better and left their sorry asses and signed on to Ed Banger)—it's weird, but it's awesome. I am totally fascinated by this weird man and his weird music and his weird film and his all-around weirdness. He's not limited in his art—he's made a few music videos, directed the Levi's ads with Flat Eric, and has a couple movies: Nonfilm (2001) and Steak (2007).

Nonfilm is a totally bizarre film set in the desert, kind of goes nowhere, and shot all hand-held and freely. It has Oizo's friends and fellow DJ/electro artists Kavinsky & Sébastien Tellier. I did not understand it, but it was just so surreal and hilarious and it's because Mr. Oizo DGAF: "fuck standard filmmaking, i'm going to go to the desert and shoot a shoot and call it a film." And for that, i salute you, Quentin.
Steak, however, makes me bow down in worship (think: WE'RE NOT WORTHY! —Wayne & Garth). I don't even know how to describe it, except that I thought it was the funniest thing to exist in DVD form. It's about two friends (Eric & Ramzy, a famous French comedy duo) who have been separated and reunited in a time where facelifts and big retro trucks are the fad, and the Chivers are the coolest of the cool. It's also reallly fucking weird and they drink milk all the time.



lol. Sébastien Telier and Kavinsky are also in this movie, along with Oizo's Ed Banger labelmate SebastiAn. Mr. Oizo, Tellier and SebastiAn made the (weird) soundtrack for the movie. It's amazing.

Honestly, I don't know if Quentin Dupieux gets into a ton of crazy shit and get up to some crazy antics and does a shit-ton of drugs like some of our other DGAF highlights, but he just makes such rad shit that he's a DGAF badass.
yeah, fuck the haters.


but who cares? @oizo3000

DGAF Profile #3: Louise Brooks

Hmmm... She doesn't look very DGAF, does she?
Stunning? HALE YEAH. Devastatingly gorgeous? DUH. I mean, look at that fancy, glamorous photograph. She was a movie star... and a silent film star at that! But come on... famous Hollywood SILENT FILM actresses can't be THAT DGAF, can they?

But the thing is, she never even wanted to be an actress, let alone even consider herself as one. Meet Mary Louise Brooks, a true original DGAF badass. Sorry to be sexist, but she gets even more props because she's a woman. Female badasses still get more shit than their male counterparts for "misbehaving" today, so the fact that she pulled it off during the 1920's gives her the honor of being a DGAF pioneer.

Born November 14 (which is, coincidentally 1 day before Ol' Dirty Bastard's birthday!!!) in 1906 in Kansas. Her talent in dancing took her to New York at 15, where she went to study with the progressive Denishawn modern dance company. She became a favorite of the company and toured with them as their star dancer. But after 2 years, she was kicked out because... she couldn't fit into the dance company's clean, wholesome, sober, virginal image... NOT because she sucked at dancing. Her dream was shattered, but her notoriety would only pick up the pieces.

Louise, who admitted that she "liked to drink and fuck too much" continued dancing for another couple of years, showing up late or not at all to practices, staying up all night getting wasted and sleeping with whoever she pleased (including Charlie Chaplin!). She said and did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, and never apologized. She became notorious for her "bad attitude", her defiant honesty and constant refusal to kiss ass. Her looks and talent almost let her get away with it all.

What also scared everyone about this sassy ferocious bitch was not only her fierce independence, but her fierce intelligence. At 18 she secretly wrote a review for the New York Times for a drama critic that got too drunk to even pay attention to show he was supposed to be reviewing. The review was so convincing that no one suspected that a teenage girl with no experience in professional writing had done it; they all believed it was the critic's work. Don't forget that Louise finished her formal education in dance but not in school. That girl LOVED to read, but still, what she pulled off was no joke!

When she got bored with dancing, she signed a contract with Paramount studios to try acting despite the fact that she thought movies were inferior to theater. Whatever, she needed the money, which she blew all anyway on her friends and family... and of course clothes, books, and alcohol for herself. She would often show up to shoots still drunk and barely awake from the night before. What was her favorite hangover cure? A few swigs of gin, of course. She claimed that she never knew what she was doing as an actress, and all she knew how to do was act herself. You go girl!

She was the real deal personification of the rebellious flapper girl of the 1920's, and popularized the bob haircut, which turned out to be the most trendy hairdo of that decade. Funny, because that iconic style was just how she'd cut her hair since childhood!

After Paramount screwed her out of a promised raise, she realized she was sick of Hollywood anyway and went to Europe to make her three best-known movies: Pandora's Box (1929), Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), and Prix de Beauté (1930). When she returned to the US, silent films were becoming obsolete and Louise was asked by Paramount to record vocals for a movie she'd starred in called the Canary Murder Case. She refused to do it and even turned down bribes. It cost the studio a lot of time and money to find someone else. But hey, that's what you get for fucking with Louise Brooks.

She never seemed to care that much about her acting career, which was never her dream anyway. She turned down roles that could have made her a huge star. She continued acting for money but went bankrupt because her spending was as reckless as her lifestyle. She married twice, divorced twice, and didn't give a shit about getting alimony from either wealthy ex-husband. She eventually ended up as an alcoholic reclusive writer in Rochester, New York. She burned the manuscript of her own autobiography, and died in 1985 of a heart attack.

She was self-deprecating and critical, stating in a letter to her brother: "How I have existed fills me with horror. For I failed in everything — spelling, arithmetic, riding, swimming, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart."



Louise Brooks certainly did not fail at being DGAF.

Discotheque with Don Rimini: A Chat Review

Last Friday, the Suzanarchist and I went to Discotheque at Club 740 in downtown LA, which is a new weekly party thrown by the guys from Nitrus + MFG, aka the promoters for the HARD festivals. This week had artists Don Rimini, Destructo, Staccato, Acid Girls, Classixx, Switch, Spank Rock, and the MAD DECENT basement with Paul Devro + more. Here’s what we thought:



SUZANARCHIST: so we got there and the parking was $5, not bad
SHIMOSH: yeah, right next to the club, so that was good
SHIMOSH: getting in was smooth (no water bottles, but whatevz)
SUZANARCHIST: yeah i had to dump my 5 hour energy shot
SHIMOSH: LOL, is that what happened?
SUZANARCHIST: yup. idk i didn’t really care, it was almost empty
SHIMOSH: oh ok. i thought you meant an unopened one
SUZANARCHIST: nope. so we get there and the line is short, which is bomb
SHIMOSH: yeah line was cool because we got there at like 9:50ish?
SUZANARCHIST: yeah
SHIMOSH: doors opened at 10
more people came later on, but it was free before 11 (with rsvp)
SUZANARCHIST: ah
SHIMOSH: it was a really cool venue
SUZANARCHIST: yeah
SHIMOSH: i really liked it
SUZANARCHIST: it was pretty big
the lighting was SICK as fuck
SHIMOSH: HALE yeah SEVEN FORTY! the “underground” part had a “rave” feel to it
SUZANARCHIST: yeah totally
SHIMOSH: not necessarily music, but the vibe, or maybe it was just the setup
SUZANARCHIST: well honestly, at first they were playing reggaeton and shit, latin american music
but later when they started dropping baile funk, i was fucking DOWN. and someone played “let the bass kick,” i almost creamed.
SHIMOSH: lol gross. yeah... MAD DECENT, right? paul devro?
SUZANARCHIST: MAD DECENT
SHIMOSH: MAD DECENT! yeah it was good stuff
SUZANARCHIST: yeah the beats got dirty downstairs.
when classixxx was on upstairs, the beats were super clean—almost sterile. Like immaculate sterile coked out 80’s beats.
Acid girls were cool
SHIMOSH: yeah acid girls were good
SUZANARCHIST: i remember them near the beginning
SHIMOSH: so was it acid girls then classixx then rimini then staccato then swtich then spank rock? (even though we couldn’t make it til the end)
SUZANARCHIST: i guess spank rock finished?
SHIMOSH: i guess so
SUZANARCHIST: i remember staccato being there before we left


SHIMOSH: i’m not sure, it sucks bc it was starting to clear out a good amount after don rimini
i wonder if everyone just migrated downstairs? or went to smoke?
because there were a buttload of people smoking
SUZANARCHIST: oh yeah, after don rimini the dance floor was almost empty. it sucked. i’m sorry but female djs need to be repped.
SHIMOSH: yeah lamesauce
SUZANARCHIST: staccato DROPPED some fucking beats
SHIMOSH: staccato was dope, but i think don rimini exhausted everyone. It’s like he just blew a giant load on everyone and the crowd was like OMG I LOVE IT and couldn’t take it and died
SUZANARCHIST: he fucking DROPPED so many dance bullets
SHIMOSH: OMG I KNOW. Don Rimini=best


SUZANARCHIST: fucking bombs. missiles. let me back up i think just brought on the armageddon. don rimini was the shit.
SHIMOSH: let me back up = awesome. i loved when he played “warp” i was like omg <3
SUZANARCHIST: WARP WAS FUCKING SICK YES
SHIMOSH: crookers remix of let me back up <3
SUZANARCHIST: i mean i always liked that remix, but hearing that live just...
SHIMOSH: made you melt
SUZANARCHIST: gave me cardiac explosions of ecstacy and i didn’t even drop
SHIMOSH: haha, nice
SUZANARCHIST: that’s the test of really good dance music—you can rock out to it completely sober, which is why HARD and its promoters put on the dopest tightest shit
SHIMOSH: but “i cant imagine moshing to dance music”
SUZANARCHIST: fuck that bitch
SHIMOSH: HAH
SUZANARCHIST: well u couldn’t back in the 90s, but now... i mean acutually maybe the prodigy
dance definitely started getting more eclectic roots, but it wasn’t widespread as this. i think DJs are showing their diverse influences more
SHIMOSH: totes

SUZANARCHIST: it’s not just “rave” music anymore, it’s not as specific, it’s not cheesy—
people are turning cheesy samples into fucking quality shit.
SHIMOSH: Discotheque win?
SUZANARCHIST: yeah discotheque brings on fucking quality djs
SHIMOSH: first discotheque wins. don rimini was amazing
SUZANARCHIST: good vibe
SHIMOSH: totes
SUZANARCHIST: it wasn’t too packed
SHIMOSH: yeah! that’s what i liked
SUZANARCHIST: the venue was nice, large, spread out... there were chill areas to sit down
SHIMOSH: it wasn’t like PACKED FULL like a Japanese train during rush hour
SUZANARCHIST: yeah or cinespace LOL
SHIMOSH: HAH yeah! cinespace was just uncomfortable
SUZANARCHIST: and the best thing is it’s free before 11.
SHIMOSH: well it was for this first one, but i don’t know if they’re doing it for all of them
SUZANARCHIST: yeah but that was good
SHIMOSH: yeah it was. free=awesome, but otherwise it was like $10 presale which isn’t bad. worth it, i’d say. good times.
SUZANARCHIST: oh yeah $10 is good—for that quality too!
the downstairs failed when it dropped the electro reggae
SHIMOSH: yeaaaaaah
well i’m not partial to reggae, so maybe i’m too biased but yeah... not into the reggae
SUZANARCHIST: yeah i hate dance reggae. i mean both of us are biased, but u know that baile funk/funk carioca shit was TIGHT
SHIMOSH: discotheque was pretty dgaf awesome, right?
SUZANARCHIST: the sheezy yes
SHIMOSH: BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT
SUZANARCHIST: ?
SHIMOSH: i say the DGAF award of the night goes to this guy

the dancing man. he’s so fucking disco. that man was dancing from the very fucking beginning and did not stop. he probably started dancing at 9, and the thing started at 10 and i think he was just non-stop party. this guy seriously was so. fucking. DGAF
SUZANARCHIST: yup. DGAF of the night
SHIMOSH: he was so sweaty. DGAF award
i’m going to make like a “dgaf award” ribbon to put on that
like a first prize ribbon
but that says “DGAF”
or “#1 DGAF”





So, this week will be another fun weekend! Discotheque on Friday with Busy P + SebastiAn, then HARD Summer on Saturday! We predict this friday’s #1 DGAF to be Busy P, but we’ll see. So go to Discotheque this Friday, (21+) bitches.