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2014

Abandoned Olympic Venues

What happens to Olympic facilities after the games are over? Some are turned into training facilities, theaters, concert halls, museums and so on. But many of them are abandoned. Check out this great series of 30 haunting images from past Summer and Winter Olympics which now lie abandoned and overgrown.

Athens 2004 Summer Olympics

Diving pool at the Aquatic Center

Diving pool at the Aquatic Center

Field Hockey Stadium

Field Hockey Stadium

Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics

Mount Igman Ski Jump

Mount Igman Ski Jump

Overgrown Bobsled Track

Overgrown Bobsled Track

Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics

Main Swimming Stadium

Main Swimming Stadium

Main Swimming Stadium

Main Swimming Stadium

Stainless, Alexanderplatz

Filmed in Tokyo, New York and Berlin, filmmaker Adam Magyar positioned himself on trains as they pulled into subway stops, filming the waiting crowds at 50 frames per second using a high speed camera. The shot is steady and smooth, no shaking or swerving. His videos are 56 times longer than reality. The sound is the train’s sound, slowed down by the same scale. Visit his vimeo site for more videos.

High speed video recording in Berlin at U2 Alexanderplatz station (2011).

Absence of Water

»The absence of water« series by Gigi Cifali: »Having been built in the late Victorian period, public lidos and baths were at the peak of their popularity in the 1930s. Gradually, living conditions and tastes have changed, resulting in a drop of attendances, leaving the public pools uneconomical to run. Many fell into decay and many were emolished. Symbols of civic and architectural pride in Victorian times, today only a handful of them remain as a representation of bygone era.

CHADDERTON BATHS OLDHAM, dimensions 220 ft x 80 ft, opened 1937 - closed 2007

CHADDERTON BATHS OLDHAM, dimensions 220 ft x 80 ft, opened 1937 – closed 2007

SOHO MARSHALL POOL LONDON, dimensions 70 ft x 30 ft, opened 1931 - closed 1997

SOHO MARSHALL POOL LONDON, dimensions 70 ft x 30 ft, opened 1931 – closed 1997

HORNSEY BATHS LONDON, dimensions 165 ft x 66 ft, opened 1932 - closed 1988

HORNSEY BATHS LONDON, dimensions 165 ft x 66 ft, opened 1932 – closed 1988

Top Music Videos 2013 – No. 5-1

5. Is Tropical – »Dancing Anymore« directed by Megaforce (riffraff films). The future of teenager fantasy films may based on this clip. This is the story of a poolboy on the verge of puberty. His daily work slows down due to an unexpected thought with curious details. The dramatic climax reaches into a great scene: the boy gets a blowjob off a corpse in the middle of a warzone. Banned from YouTube just 25 minutes after airing. Definitely the freak out of the year.

4. Bonobo – »Cirrus« directed by Cyriak. The music video by New York-based producer Bonobo is animated in a most fantastic way, all of it layered into a kaleidoscope of pretty colors and vintage footage, with source material from the public domain video treasure trove, The Prelinger Archive. What starts out as a few simple repeating elements soon becomes a chaotic collage of video snippets that take on a life of their own.

3. Gesaffelstein – »Pursuit« directed by Fleur & Manu. This video is incredible, a rectangular array of symbols and arrangements, evil, and violently sexy. The camera is constantly backing away from a series of strange surroundings. A masterpiece of a music video. The concept behind the video in the director’s own words: »It is a trip through the quest for power, showing the bad aspects of it. Power, money, success should never be the goal otherwise you lose your soul.«

2. Jon Hopkins – »Open Eye Signal« directed by Aoife McArdle. The colors, the light, the depth of field and above all, the setting. Absolut fantastic. And additionally one of the best tracks of 2013. Directer McArdle describes it this way: »The track is really special. I saw it as a singular, hypnotic journey that’s almost endless. You get lost in it. I liked the idea of a city kid taking us on that journey… just one day suddenly deciding to escape his life and see more of the world in the only way he understands… via skateboard.«

1. Jon Rafman + Oneohtrix Point Never – »Still Life (Betamale)« directed by Jon Rafman. Filthy keyboards, digital pack rat interiors, fetish anime art and 8-bit video game graphics embedded in a loopy realness – the digital lifestyle of Jon Rafman’s »Still Life (Betamale)« collage is breathtaking, or as Brandon Soderberg said: »This collage of a clip invokes awe, empathy, sadness, and horror all at once, or one after another or who even knows, could receive, right?«. The world is a strange place. Even the digital world. A worthy winner in a tight contest!

John Wizards – Lusaka By Night

John Wizards Produzent John Withers und Sänger Emmanuel Nzaramba sind John Wizards aus Kapstadt. Gesungen wird auf Englisch, Kinyarwanda und Swahili. Für den Guardian war es »das magischste Album des Jahres« 2013.

Top Music Videos 2013 – No. 10-6

10. Russ Chimes – »Turn Me Out« directed by Mathy & Fran. A fantastically choreographed music video to a powerful disco/house track. The London based directing duo have taken the vibe of that anthem and created a sophisticated performance video that combines modern dance with very atypical elements. By the way: Russ Chimes didn’t start the »Turn Me Out« craze. It all goes back to 1994 in Cutting Records Studios in New York City.

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – »Sacrilege« directed by Megaforce. Sacrilege is the epic and stormy first single from Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ fourth album »Mosquito«. Watch mindful: The video consists of chronologically reversed sequence. We slowly see a story pieced together of how a group of people end up shooting a man and burning a woman alive from end to beginning. Starring actress Lily Cole who stirs up a riotous witch-hunt among the outraged townsfolk.

8. Oneohtrix Point Never – »Problem Areas« directed by Takeshi Murata. Like the song, the video is completely artificial like an artificial still life. His colorful, immaculate hyperealistic digital pop art consists of apparently mundane everyday objects arranged in seemingly random compositions. Or as Lopatin said, »I wanted to characterize a linear world with cracks in its edifice.« Watch and enjoy the eye-catching music video for Oneohtrix Point Never’s first WARP single release.

7. Major Lazer – »Bubble Butt« directed by Eric Wareheim of comedy team Tim and Eric. In this clip huge butts are getting injected into »bubble butts« – several women’s asses are injected with air like balloons! This clip is a totally insane, hypercoloured, rear-jiggling frenzy, featuring a giant Buttzilla lady and her dance companions. And don’t forget: Contrary to popular belief Bubble Butts are not big asses. »Bubble Butts are round like a globe, usually complement a slender body.«

6. Dizzee Rascal – »I Don’t Need A Reason« directed by Emile Sornin. Damn! Dizzee is the king. An excellent video completely twisted, based on video loops and animated GIFs. It’s the work of french director Emile Sornin, who gained acclaim last year for Alt-J’s »Fitzpleasure« clip. Watch and be amazed.