In Defense of Catey Shaw's 'Brooklyn Girls'

If you haven't seen or heard yet, the above video is a song called, "Brooklyn Girls" by Catey Shaw. I love the song. I think it's great, it's super catchy and Shaw is adorable. Not to mention her smokey voice is beautiful.

In the song, she crones about "Brooklyn Girls," and this has pissed a bunch of people off. I get it, if you're living in Park Slope or Bay Ridge or Flushing, this song isn't talking about you even though you're in Brooklyn. But, as someone from somewhere else who recently moved to North Brooklyn (what Shaw actually means when she claims Brooklyn), this song makes sense.

Where I live in Brooklyn is exactly what Shaw portrays in her music video, except I live in Greenpoint and there is less graffiti and everything is cleaner. But there are just as many people with colored hair (I'm one of them) and tattoos (again me) and weird piercings and skateboarding and all of the other cliques that are shown. Shaw's Brooklyn girl is me, I'm an outsider who came to New York to pursue art and writing, and all that, and found an affordable cool place to live with other people who are a lot like me. Is that so wrong? Everything I thought about living in Brooklyn is what it's like to live in Brooklyn. And everything I thought about living in Brooklyn is in this video. '

Gawker's Jordan Sargent says, "Shaw's worst crime is not making a statement about Brooklyn, it's being corny. She was in essence, pilloried for speaking the wrong language." And I totally agree, but unlike him and many others, I love that it's so corny. This video is a parody of North Brooklyn, but North Brooklyn is a parody of Brooklyn. That's why this song and video are so much fun. And I don't think that "Brooklyn Girls" is an aggressively poppy pop song meant to capture the zeitgeist of the borough" as New York Mag put it. It's just fun. It's meant to be fun. Shaw isn't making a comment on society as a whole, she's just a young 22-year-old trying to make it and have some fun.

So, everyone, chill out. Time.com said it best, "Catey Shaw isn't actually singing about Brooklyn the place. She's singing about Brooklyn the adjective...The whole this about a Brooklyn girl is you don't have to be from Brooklyn." Let's all just get over ourselves a little and stop taking everything so damn seriously. Most of us aren't from here anyway. And we can always, always one more catchy pop song in our lives.

Damn the Man! Save the Empire!

Over the weekend I watched Empire Records with Derp. It was her first time. I don't know if I was more excited about watching the movie or about her watching the movie.

I haven't sat down just to watch Empire Records in several years (and not as background noise or with commercial interruptions). Last year, I tried to get boyfriend to watch it, but he just fell asleep and ruined the experience. Derp was so excited to see it that it upped my excitement (Dear Boyfriend, you're missing out).

In high school, when things weren't going to well, I'd play the movie and fall into Rex Manning Day at the coolest record store to ever happen to this world. While watching this weekend, I experienced a nostalgic walk through 10-12th grade me. The clothes, the music (Can you feel it, Sugar High!), the hair, the one liners (What's with today, today?). I feel like that's what makes the movie so memorable for me and my friends. The party scene at the end is the kind of night I always wanted to have. People united in a cause and having a wonderful, magical experience. I chased that kind of night and rarely (if ever) got one. But pushing Empire Records into the VCR and taking 90 minutes to immerse myself in their world made me feel like I'd had the night of my life.

I also have a thing for 90's music and their angsty lyrics (a boy with a bun recently said to me, "The 90's are so hot right now"). Empire Records speaks to teenage me. A time for endless possibility and fun. Where anyone can follow the girl of his dreams to Boston to go to art school without any college experience; where no one gets fired or goes to jail; where a store owner will take a plastic barrel of money as payment for the store. And it always smells like summer.

Have you been to Monument Valley?

Have you heard about Monument Valley? It’s a beautiful new iOS game by ustwo. I’m not sure where I saw this, but somewhere I ended up clicking on this link to The Verge yesterday and seeing the beautiful features of Monument Valley’s whimsical landscape.

This type! I'm swooning all over it

I’m not one to talk about iOS games, they’re usually lacking. I haven’t found one particularly amazing since Little Things Forever by Klick Tock. Unlike LTF, Monument Valley doesn’t repeat the same motions over and over again and each scene is breathtaking. Seriously, I’m not just using this as a form of speech. If you’ve ever looked at colors and shapes together and thought, “Hmm, that’s pretty” you’ll be awed. This game is awesome; it truly inspires awe (rare).

The use of color and shape and the M. C. Escher-like landscapes and playing style are so original and amazing I can get the game out of my head. As a graphic designer and artist, Monument Valley is some of the best work I’ve seen in a long time (I’m mean there’s a lot of amazing work out there, this games just has it all). The type is beautiful, the titles are beautiful, the scenes, the characters, everything. And, the game is very simple. You just move the scene to connect seemingly impossible pieces together to form a path for Ida.

If you look closely at the picture on the right, you can see the crow blowing Ida's dress back

 Brilliant, I say!

(Also, there is mention of sacred geometry, a deep love of mine, and concepts I work with in my own art.)

It’s $3.99 and I finished most of it while sitting in the vet’s office for 3 hours with Chico. It goes by fast, and I replayed some of it at home. I’ve enjoyed going back through it a second time, I’m not trying to win the level now and have time to enjoy the scenery and beauty of the game. There are only 10 levels, but I’m hoping many more wonderful games come out of ustwo. I’ll have my eye on them.