Time for the OSCARS!

The 2014 Oscar nominations are live, and we are so excited!  There has seriously been an obscene number of fantastic film this year - not that we're complaining!  I'm going to try to watch the Oscars from Sweden, which is going to be a pretty ridiculous process as the time difference means they begin at 1am and end at 4:30am on a Monday.  HA!  Challenge accepted!  Here's our shortlist of the awards to pay attention to!  I didn't see enough of this year's films to take a swing at guessing the winners.  All I can say is this: if "Let It Go" wins the Oscar for Original Song, I will consider the night a success.  It would be great as well if the new Hobbit film took the Oscar for visual effects, because I absolutely loved how they created Smaug.  Also so so incredibly stoked to see Ellen D. host again!

FILM

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Dallas Buyers Club

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

The Wolf Of Wall Street

DIRECTOR

Steve McQueen - 12 Years A Slave

David O. Russell - American Hustle

Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

Alexander Payne - Nebraska

Martin Scorsese - The Wolf Of Wall Street 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell - American Hustle

Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine

Bob Nelson - Nebraska

Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack - Dallas Buyers Club

Spike Jonze - Her 

ACTOR

Bruce Dern - Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Christian Bale - American Hustle

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

ACTRESS

Amy Adams - American Hustle

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

Judi Dench - Philomena

Sandra Bullock - Gravity 

SUPPORTING ACTOR 

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper - American Hustle

Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill - The Wolf Of Wall Street

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle

Julia Roberts - August: Osage County

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

June Squibb - Nebraska 

ANIMATED FILM 

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Ernest & Celestine

Frozen

The Wind Rises 

ORIGINAL SCORE

Philomena - Alexandre Desplat

The Book Thief - John Williams

Gravity - Steven Price

Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman

Her - William Butler, Owen Pallett 

ORIGINAL SONG

'Alone Yet Not Alone' - Alone Yet Not Alone

'Happy' - Despicable Me 2

'Let It Go' - Frozen

'The Moon Song' - Her

'Ordinary Love' - Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom 

COSTUME DESIGN

American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson

The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin

The Invisible Woman - Michael O’Connor

The Grandmaster - William Chang Suk Ping

12 Years A Slave - Patricia Norris 

VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds

Iron Man 3 - Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick

Star Trek Into Darkness - Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

The Lone Ranger - Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Broken Circle Breakdown - Belgium

The Great Beauty - Italy

The Hunt - Denmark

The Missing Picture - Cambodia

Omar - Palestine

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Act Of Killing

Cutie And The Boxer

Dirty Wars

The Square

20 Feet From Stardom

forget NPR | Monocle Radio is where it's at!

I love listening to the news.  I highly prefer it to reading a physical newspaper (ink fingers!), reading the online news websites (too much catching the eye - what's important?), or watching the news (anchors are far from being experts).

With the London-based Monocle, I get relevant breaking news straight from experts.  The selection of different shows is absolutely huge.  From day to day I can decide if I want to be briefed by any of the following (and these are just the tip of the iceberg!): "Midori House," a one-hour overview from Monocle editors and correspondents all over the world, "The Briefing," which focuses on the day's news in Europe, "The Monocle Daily," which checks in live with reporters from the US and Americas, or the wonderful catch-all "The Curator," which compiles the best of the week into one show.  

You not only get international news; you get expert political analyses and impressive interviews and insight.  And it's all delivered in dulcet British accents, which is an added plus.

And once you've had enough of the news, there are also stations that cover culture, food, music, books, and really everything under the sun!  Monocle Radio has it all!  Not to get off track, but Monocle.com has a million more things to offer outside of their radio stations.  But start here, and see if you don't end up spending the next two hours on the Monocle website: 

http://monocle.com/radio/

The best part is the fact that the live radio streams open in a player at the bottom of the website which allows you to continue browsing and opening new pages while you listen.

What we're listening to: Christmas music

'Tis the season!  We're officially into December, and personally I've started listening to a great deal of Christmas music.  I thought it'd be fun to put together a mix for you guys - a blend of classical, alternative, and pop tunes to get you in the holiday mood.

Abba, &c. | Our favorite Swedish bands

Three weeks from today I will be on my way to Uppsala, Sweden!  I can't wait to start my M.A. program at Uppsala University, and since I'm all packed at this point I'm spending my time accumulating as much language and cultural knowledge I can.  I've been listening almost exclusively to Swedish bands these past couple weeks - mainly because they're so. good.  Here are some of my newest favorite songs and bands, all from Sweden (or Sverige, what Swedes call their home country).

1. "On Our Way" - Royal Concept
This Swedish band kind of reminds me of One Direction, only with way better music.  This upbeat "live-while-you're-young" song has a great rhythm and a fun, partying-with-your friends vibe. If you like alternative pop music, add this to your list!

2. "Down On Life" - Elliphant 
Liv Tyler look-alike Ellinor Olovsdotter has a very unique voice, which lends itself well to Elliphant's reggae-style electropop (unlike anything I've ever heard before).  This is one of those songs that easily gets stuck in your head - super catchy!

3.  Esbjörn Svensson Trio
I truly love everything by this jazz group.  They rekindled my love of jazz music, and I was amazed to discover that they're one of many Scandinavian jazz groups!  Apparently Scandinavians know jazz, because this group is fantastic!  Sadly it's founder died in a scuba accident, and I don't believe the group is active anymore.  It really is a shame, because their compositions are so wonderful - I recommend "Eighthundred Streets by Feet", "Behind the Stars", "Seven Days of Falling," and "Goldwrap."

4. "I Follow Rivers" - Lykke Li
You might already recognize this artist - she's rapidly becoming quite popular in the US.  Lykke Li loves to have famous Swedish actors in her music videos, it would seem: Stellan Skarsgård is her costar in "Sadness is a Blessing," and in "I Follow Rivers" she costars with Fares Fares.  I love this song - it's so eerie and beautiful, blending indie rock with a lot of cool percussion/electronic elements.

5. "Vårens Första Dag" (First Day of Spring) - Laleh
This song is so cute, and it's all in Swedish!  Believe it or not I actually found it hard to find Swedish bands that actually sing in Swedish.  Just goes to show how prevalent English fluency is in Scandinavia.  Anyways, the music video for this song is pretty adorable as well.

6. "Wolf" - First Aid Kit
First Aid Kit is the folkiest band I've ever heard from Sweden.  Some of their songs remind me very strongly of Mumford & Sons, but this one in particular really illustrates their unique style.  The melody is very catchy and features the harmonic voices of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg.  Also check out "The Lion's Roar."

7. "Northern Lights" - Kate Boy
You will be hard-pressed to find a sicker beat than this, or a cooler music video.  Swedish band Kate Boy features Australian lead singer Kate Akhurst, whose slowly rotating face you see featured in this computer-generated spiral.  Kate Boy is touring in the US all through the month of September, in case you're interested in seeing them live after hearing this badass technoey song of theirs.

8. "Tough Love" - Sailor & I
Indie band Sailor & I's airy use of instrumental and percussive elements will just enchant you.  This song is particularly beautiful, with gorgeous violin forming the underlying rhythm and haunting lyrics reminiscent of the band Washed Out.  The "Tough Love" music video is eerie but enrapturing, some simple slow-motion shots of a man swimming, as if for his life.

9. "Call Your Girlfriend" - Robyn
You probably already all know this song, but did you know Robyn is from Sweden?  Kind of a one-hit wonder, but I thought I'd include her just the same.  The music video to "Call Your Girlfriend" is fun because it's done in one take, and features Robyn herself dancing in an empty warehouse surrounded by a constantly-changing lightshow.

10. "Breathe Out" - Faye
Faye is, in my opinion, the Swedish Rihanna.  She has incredible range and her angst-y, heartfelt songs really pull you in.  The piano melody in this particular track is so gorgeous, and I just love how she screams out the refrain.  Also check out "Water Against the Rocks," because the music video really captures her intensity as a singer.

11. "Snow" - Frida Sundemo
I really like Frida Sundemo.  She reminds me of Imogen Heap or Regina Spektor - sort of techno/electronic music, but airy and more melodic.  If you like "Snow" then check out the music video to "Indigo" - it's very strange, she has a giant white bunny boyfriend (idek).  

12. "Habits" - Tove Lo
I've had this song on repeat significantly more than the others in this list.  I can't put my finger on what makes it so addicting, but the rhythm and the refrain are just so catchy.  I seriously can't stop listening to this one, and I love the scandalous music video featuring haunting close-ups of Tove Lo's tear-streaked face interspersed with various scenes of reckless abandon.

13. ABBA
All of it.  We love them.  You should see how excited Zab gets before watching Mamma Mia.  It's hilarious.  "SOS" and "Take a Chance on Me" are just a couple favorites.  And who doesn't love "Dancing Queen"?

“doom and gloom” by the rolling stones

I love the Rolling Stones, and true love lasts a lifetime… so I am so happy that they’ve finally released a song since the 70s that I like. Though it certainly can’t compare to their original material, it’s pretty damn catchy.

The music video (which, unfortunately, you need to be 18 to see because there’s about a half second of bare breasts… yay America…) has also renewed my trust in the Stones as troublemakers. It’s dirty and disgusting and sexy and I keep coming back for more. Noomi Rapace, the original ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,’ stars as some kind of alter-ego for Mick Jagger, and you get to see her in all kinds of disarray. Bloodied and flicking off the camera, lingerie-clad and dousing herself (and a room full of hundred-dollar bills) with gasoline, dancing in stilettos in the rain… her unusual and haunting beauty is perfect for this video. Must-see for lovers and non-lovers (though I’m not sure that they exist) of the Stones.

must-see documentary on global warming - chasing ice

I hadn't heard of this film until I read about it in Elle's December issue, but I'm determined to go and see it now! This film charts the spring 2005 mission that environmental photographer James Balog went on to document the changing climate of the Arctic. On assignment from National Geographic, he managed to gather "undeniable evidence of our changing planet." Chasing Ice is the chronicle of what Balog found when he and a band of young adventurers set out to document climate change with the use of 25 cameras which took pictures every hour for three years in various locations around the Arctic. Using these "revolutionary time-lapse cameras... to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers."

"I never imagined that you could see glaciers this big disappearing in such a short time," Balog says.

This is from the website:

As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.

A cool sidenote on this film: the documentary score is complimented by a hauntingly beautiful song, "Before My Time" by J. Ralph, which Scarlett Johansson sings over the credits (see video below). It's an eerie addition to the frightening images of entire sheets of ice vanishing in a matter of months.

rihanna fever

We love Rihanna! In GQ's December issue, which was just released, she poses nude and shows off her newest tattoo (read the full article here, see one of the spread's photos to the left), which is a thickly-inked angel with wings outspread below her breasts. Especially racy as of late, she's been on tour for her newest album, aptly named Unapologetic.

Today, at 4:00 pm EST, check out a live exclusive from Rihanna's 777 tour on Facebook here! River Island (a British store we love!) is providing this awesome footage. The tour is cleverly named for the fact that Unapologetic is her seventh album. Also, it was just released... today! Check it out on iTunes - "Diamond" has already become a hit single (check out the music video!), but we also encourage you to listen to "Stay" (Eli's fave) and "What Now."

Also be sure to check out River Island's Rihanna t-shirts! We like this one.

<3