JG20

20 years ago this month, Sean Combs released his album, 'No Way Out' - the first album I ever owned. 

I have been listening to hip hop ever since. 

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Happy 40th, Kanye.

Happy 40th, Kanye West!

While Kanye is well-known as a great emcee, I've always admired and found inspiration from his work as a producer.

The following is a playlist of 25 select tracks that he produced for others.

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Army of Shadows

“I never remember plots in movies. I remember how they make me feel and I remember emotions and I remember visual things that I’ve seen, but my brain can never connect the dots of how things go together.”

— Paul Thomas Anderson

I saw Jean-Pierre Melville's 'Army of Shadows' at Film Forum in the summer of 2015, and I mostly recall the plot. It is about the French Resistance, and explores the emotional and physical tolls of espionage. But what struck me most about the film - and still resonates with me today - is the quality of the imagery and the filmmaking.

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Michael Chapman on 'The Sopranos'

Michael Chapman - cinematographer of 'Taxi Driver' and Raging Bull' - in conversation with The Film Stage:

"Do you watch a lot of television, then?
I watch the Red Sox. But, no, I don’t. I watch a few things, but the last thing I watched passionately was The Sopranos, and that was some years ago. It seems, to me, that no one’s gotten to be as good as The Sopranos — so, until they do, why watch? I watch the Red Sox instead.
And The Sopranos was a beautiful-looking show.
Oh, it was beautiful in every way — not just 'looking.' In every possible way."
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