Sunday.

The wonderful season of autumn is slowly creeping along the outskirts of the year to deliver a swift headbutt to our subconscious. While we are merrily entering the month of August, it is our final adieu to the summer before we rendezvous with September. While of course September isn't going to be causing us to pack up the shorts and tee shirts just yet, it is the harbinger for what we all know will be an immediate, blunt fall; a fall that I am incredibly excited for. Aside from autumn being my favorite of the four seasons, the fall of 2011 is something that I am very eager to endure. What's not to like? Neutral tones, casual scarves, sports coats, cardigans, auburn up the wazoo etc. Aside from just the arbitrary enjoyments of fall, there are also a few things to look forward to as well. A list of new music is likely to release this semester, which I have no doubt will be mind blowing. Albums from artists/groups such as CSS, David Guetta, Lil Wayne, VHS or Beta and Feist (omg) just to name a few, I can already tell that I'm going to be excited. Not to mention the plethora of enjoyable holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Veteran's day, autumn pretty much speaks for itself when it comes to being the best darn season there is. However, there are a few things in particular that I am looking forward to this season that I haven't really spoken to yet. Ironically, they both involve Kid Cudi.

Watching the video above will show you a sneak peek of what it is yet to come from the creative minds of Scott Mescudi, Cage and Shia LeBouf. While the premise of the short film has yet to be released, I have understood it to be a horror short based on the song by the two recording artists. With Shia taking the creative lead, he is exploring his capabilities as a director by taking us fans of the artists down a macabre road that no doubt will leave us wanting to leave the lights on. However, considering my absolute love for the song, I am no doubt going to find myself as addicted to it as I was to Kanye's own mini-movie, Runaway. It should be interesting to see the same concept of music-inspired film between two completely different minds. While I don't want to automatically compare Shia and Kanye, or Kid Cudi and Kanye, this project is going to ensure that we do it anyway. Now, as you can see, Maniac comes out in October of 2011, Halloween day in fact. However, Kid Cudi has yet another film project that will also be debuting in the month of October. One of my favorite television shows is rearing its head out of hiatus to give us a much anticipated return. How To Make It In America is coming back to show us just how Crisp is fairing after their restless attempts at making a name for themselves in the previous season. With more women, higher stakes and no doubt more swank, the second installment of the series is no doubt going to attract more viewers than the previous season. HBO has yet to disappoint me with an original series, and with such a down to earth series like HTMIIA, I'm already prepping myself for its awesomeness. Check out its teaser trailer below.

Is that Theophilus London I hear? Oh yes, his LP is out. Go get it. Now.

Thursday.

Today wasn't too productive. After attending last night's Fly Union show, and seeing a few artists that I had never heard of perform, I left a little overwhelmed. While it wasn't the music, which was all great, or the performances themselves, which were each unique in their own right, I would say that the majority of my emotion stemmed from the fact that the crowd was so boring. I attended the show with a single female friend of mine, and was later joined by another friend. I had only heard a little bit about Fly Union before last night, but the friend who I went to the show with has been a devoted fan, considering they come from her hometown of Columbus. However, despite Fly Union's still underground presence, they attracted a fairly decent crowd to the Grog Shop where they performed. While the crowd was fairly diverse, it appeared that the fans who had the most fun was a young man who positioned himself as close as possible to the stage, and another young man who stood directly behind him. While the sounds of the three MC's would would doubt get the hearts of all of those who watched racing, it didn't appear to be enough to get them really... into it. When asking to sway their hands back and forth, only a small portion of the crowd would do so. When prompted to jump up and down in a hyped up manner, it appeared that only five or so people would commit. Even the stereotypical rap 'wave' towards the stage was a lackluster performance by Cleveland's finest. Even though they were willing and able, no one really seemed to be getting in to the show. They purchased the entrance tickets, so they had to know who they were seeing. The group played most of their newest songs, so it wouldn't be a matter of not recognizing the sounds. Instead I'm going to chalk it up to something that I call: The Lackluster Effect.

A few people that need to unwind. (above)
All credit due to the owners of this photo.

The cause behind the Lackluster Effect doesn't come from a lack of skill shown by the performing artist, or a lack of stage presence. While this does occur, and can often result in the crowd being bored, what I witnessed last night was not one of these cases. Instead, what I witnessed was a bunch of people afraid to let them selves have fun. A few times, the MC's even called the crowd out by saying something to the likes of:

"I know Coventry is known to be the coolest place in Cleveland, but are you too cool to party!?"

Perhaps Cleveland is a bit too cool to have fun. But if that's the case, then maybe they shouldn't spend the money to see a show they won't even enjoy. Fly Union is comprised of some pretty cool cats, with some pretty unique sounds, and even still was able to have a fun and exciting show. Even if their Grog Shop appearance was clouded by the Lackluster Effect, I'm still excited to see what else this Columbus trio has in store for their fans.

Personally, I enjoyed the visual aesthetic that was added to the music. Let's just how I won't have to suffer the same fate on Friday. The Lackluster effect knows no bounds, and could very well branch out into the party atmosphere instead of just the concert.

Wednesday.

So I'm trying to figure out what to wear for the Fly Union show tonight at The Grog Shop (@grogshop). I still have a while to decide, but I'm not entirely sure. I was looking at another one of my favorite photo blogs (might be addicted): Black Fashion. Of course, the majority of those photos are women, it still gets me in the mood to do something crazy. The array of colors that the women on that website exert literally excites me. I'm not sure if it's the way they do it, or if I just didn't think it was possible to even wear those colors, but I'm constantly astonished by the ability of these women to look so great! The greatest part of these images is that there are only a few that are photographs of professionals such as models or celebrities. The majority of the people in front of these cameras are average folk like you and me. 

Unknown Girl ft. Crazy Skirt and Red Dodge. (above)
All credit due to owners of this photo.

That's what makes it all the more possible for me to wear something crazy tonight. While I've decided to extinguish my obsession of sneakers, I still love shoes. Instead of the cliche option of beat up J's, I could wear a slick pair of leather loafers. Then I remember that I'm going to be on my feet, dancing, standing and sweating for who knows how long. This begs the question: Can I wear something insanely pseudo-fashionable like the young men and women of Black Fashion, and still have it be useful? Fly Union, known for their pretty stylish line of MC's, are sure to attract Cleveland's finest style ninjas. There's no doubt that not only will the crowd be covered in sweat, but so will the three-man rap group. So no matter how fly (haha) anyone dresses tonight, it's not going to make them any less capable of perspiring all over their carefully picked outfit.

Fly Union's TGTC (above)
All credit goes to the owner of this photo.

So I guess the best thing I can do is wear something conservative, and take a butt load of outfits that I should have thought about. Expect photos in the future~

Tuesday.

This is my first independent blog post ever. It feels weird, but I guess I have to make this sort of thing routine. I've been at this thing for about 30 min, and am still trying to figure it out, but until I get used to blogger, I think I'll just write what I want. 

Today, it was about 95 degrees. The dead of July is as unforgiving as ever, despite me having been inside for the majority of the day. It's the sort of heat that makes you just want to sleep, even if you aren't really tired. It's exhausting to have such heat sitting on your back, but at the same time, it makes you want to get out and do something! That something, for me at least, is creating a blog. Of course, creating a blog and finally listening to the new Big Sean album. I would highly recommend it. Do it. 

So as I'm sitting here thinking of how to make this thing, or what to make it about, I took a look at one of my favorite photo blogs: Citizen Couture. The first image that would grace my eyes was that of the gorgeous, Italian beauty that is Eleonora Carisi (@Eleonoracarisi). While her magnificent brown eyes were hidden behind a pair of Liberty London frames, the creator of photo fashion blog, JouJou Villeroy's beauty shone through. So as the classic hood anthem of Marvin and Chardonnay would blare through my headphones, and as I continued to stare at this invincible combination of fashion and natural beauty I found myself a bit cultured. Haha.

Eleonora Carisi (above)
All credit due to owners of this photo.

I don't think that I feel cultured because I'm listening to a song that has nothing to do with it's title, while looking at a foreign woman. Instead, I would say that I feel cultured because of the fact that I can do it while knowing the irony of the situation. Of course, while I admire Big Sean and all of his label-mates at G.O.O.D. Music, I feel that they are slowly abandoning the thing that makes me admire them so much. Aside from the incredible wordplay that the rappers exert, the Rosewood lifestyle that they exert is something that really makes the band of merry rappers so fucking cool. I've been trying to incorporate the whole Rosewood hashtag into my tweets to try and revitalize the movement, but I guess the real question is: does it need to be revitalized? 

Kanye West and Big Sean (above)
All credit due to the owners of this photo.

Maybe not.