Thursday 21 April 2011

Two Years


Can you believe it? This blog is now celebrating its second year which I think makes it one of the elder statesmen of Adam fan sites! Thank you all for being a part of this! Please also take a peek at my post from this time last year for a summary of everything up to then and my story of The Point of No Return.

It wouldn't be a celebration without presents now, would it? So without further ado here is my latest gift to you all, my edit of Sleepwalker from the penultimate Glam Nation concert at LA's Music Box. I had to sweat that extra bit harder, pulling out all the stops to make something worthwhile, especially since now I'll have to prise you away from the DVD.



Sleepwalker to me is about sadness, it's that pain that hollows you out and renders you numb to everything except that intense feeling of loss. It's what makes you feel that detachment from reality, a floating onlooker onto your own life. Nothing is quite real or comprehensible or possible or tangible in the way that had previously been so familiar and natural. The whole universe and everything in it has shifted and you don't want to be trapped this strange and frightening new reality but instead hope to wake up from it. That is what Sleepwalking in this song means is to me.

If I'm in despair, I'd be too weak to channel any anger and if I felt anger, it would be directed, which would keep reality in focus enough to be fully awake. This makes me curious about Adam's angry interpretation which I find it hard to reconcile with my own. He draws upon something to give us that emotion through clenched teeth, making “always there to haunt me” my favourite part of this intense performance.

I was a little more liberal than usual with the effects in this edit, primarily intending to make it into a haunting dreamscape where things aren't quite as they should be. I wanted the result to be beautiful and something you'd want to watch more than once. It's the edit which has the highest work-to-length ratio so I hope it was worth it!

Ever since hearing that first preview snippet of Sleepwalker, I have always associated it with a powerful visual cinematic element. The staging from Glam Nation is consistent with that and I think he built upon what we saw for the top two performance of MW. For Sleepwalker, he cuts a solitary world-weary figure, wearing an outfit that's part Matrix, part Final Fantasy or anime. The lonely tortured fantasy comic book superhero. That is what I wanted to capture with my attempt at artwork — Adam represented as a character who is regrettably too familiar with sacrifice but stays strong and resiliently optimistic in the face of adversity, continuing to fight. The results aren't quite as stylised or dynamic as I would have liked but I've already spent much longer than I'd care to admit on it as I'm not an artist and am new to this kind of illustration so it's another first for me.

Adam Lambert Superhero Anime Sleepwalker artwork for T-shirt

I have made two pieces using my illustration of Adam, both available as T-shirt designs (links to T-shirts at bottom of page). One is the original dark moody version with a backdrop of turbulent clouds, the other is a charity Japan version that I would like to dedicate to my Japanese friends. $5 (£3) from each shirt featuring this red design will go to the Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Tsunami appeal. Alternatively, you can donate directly to the UK Red Cross or US Red Cross sites. I decided to make this version because that's where the inspiration behind the style originated. I feel that my description of the character could also represent the qualities shown by the Japanese people in light of recent events. With the blossoms and warmer colours, I hoped it would have an uplifting and positive feel. Click to view the bigger versions. I'm afraid I've had to add a watermark as my other artwork has ended up on various pieces of tat on eBay.

Adam Lambert Superhero Anime Japan artwork for T-shirt

UPDATE: Thank you all for your support through the purchases. As promised, I have donated £3 for each item sold bearing the design towards the Japan Tsunami Appeal and will continue to do so until it ends. After that, the donations will go to the Red Cross's most pressing appeal.



This past year we have seen Adam being received by enthusiastic audiences all around the world on TV and radio promoting his album. This is where I got to see him perform live for the first time. Then came the fantastic news that he was to headline for his first ever solo tour, initially starting off as around 50 dates in the US but extending into a worldwide sell-out tour of well over 100 concerts. We were truly entertained as we followed Adam and the Glam Troupe on a virtual tour around the world, self-imposing jet-lag by getting up at or staying up until ridiculous hours. We invested in better equipment and got more tech-savvy, video quality became sharp and clear, and fandom got organised so wherever we were, we too could experience concerts in real-time with real friends through the virtual world. We were thrilled as Adam got up close and personal with Tommy and then with some lucky fans. We looked forward to all the surprises and performances of new songs, waiting with bated breath so see what the encore would bring. Some clutched pearls as he got more risqué with an on-stage spliff, others were begging for him to get even wilder.

With your help, I won one half of a pair of crystal gloves, the other half of which is in Adam's possession. I tried to get a campaign going to reunite the gloves but unfortuntely this didn't happen when I went to my second Adam concert. The year has has its fair share of controversy with AI snub-gate, pap-confronting fugly hat-gate, teen mom-gate and Gaga-gate. Almost everything he tweeted ended up trending. There was some gentle wrist-slapping whenever his followers got a bit out of hand and we enjoyed some classic rumour control tweets and twitter rants. Adam seemed to gradually gain confidence to step up to the challenge of discussing political issues, but still wanted to champion them in his own way.

We partied along with Adam to IIHY and its music video and were overjoyed at news of an acoustic EP. After such a long wait, we were relieved to finally be able to get our hands on a live CD/DVD from Glam Nation, sales of which have exceeded expectations. We got a remix of Aftermath supporting the Trevor Project, one of a number of charities supported by Adam. Well over half a million dollars has been raised for DonorsChoose.org and $320,000 for his Charity Water birthday campaign. We celebrated TV specials, news of Adam's Grammy nomination and his appearance at their social media summit.

The summary wouldn't be complete without a commentary on Adam's chameleonic looks, where shaving a side of his head hit the headlines. There was the long hair with and without goatee and let's not forget the fashion choices, the memorable ones being the Glammer trousers, glittery zebra and lace-up trousers amongst others. The year ended neatly with a return to AI as Adam works on the second album and we are left speculating over the intriguing collaborations and eager to to hear anything new.

Another year on and the Adam Lambert Effect is still very much thriving as he continues to inspire us in many ways. The contents of this post sum up where it's taken me, which is to be creative, strive for perfection and to give something back. Thank you all for being a part of this, and thank you Adam.

Adam Lambert Superhero Anime artwork Sleepwalker T-shirtAdam Lambert Superhero Anime artwork Japan T-shirt

DOWNLOAD Sleepwalker mp3 - 10.03MB
DOWNLOAD Sleepwalker iPod compatible mp4 - 29.96MB
DOWNLOAD Sleepwalker HD mp4 - 116.83MB

13 comments:

  1. As always, thank you for being able to put in writing those feelings and musings about Adam. I don't know how you do it and I am left speechless and in shambles after reading your yearly summary. Kudos and thanks for the fantastic work you do!
    Lil,L.A.

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  2. Two years!! I started reading this blog a long time ago and still feel the need to come here to watch videos of Adam and remember good old times. I definely enjoy your high quality edited videos, but enjoy even more your extremely well written comments. Congratulations!!

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  3. Dearest AB,

    THANK YOU! This is an amazing present, both the video which truly captures Adam's spirit and the brilliant writing. The artwork is very beautiful too.

    Tatiana

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  4. AB, it's been an amazing ride with you. You're so talented and creative in your art work, your writing and your editing. Amazing stuff!! Congratulations, Happy Blog Birthday and hope you continue in all the best possible ways!

    This is still the best site for videos of Adam - a stroll down memory lane can fill a night for me and leave me feeling so good. It's hard to imagine my life now without Adam (and your site) in it.

    All the best.
    Jo

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  5. Congratulations and THANK you!! i've been with you from the beginning and it is still the BEST adam related blog. it reads like a good book and it never gets old.... cheers to another 20 years to come!!!! xoxox

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  6. You're the absolute best. Downloaded the mp4 - eternally grateful. Lee

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  7. AB: I've missed you these past weeks - but what a great anniversary gift this is! The video is really beautifully edited and on the wavelength that I'm on this week - Sleepwalker being my standout favorite from the album.

    I am so happy that Adam is collaborating with Ryan Teddar again for the new album. This song surprised me coming from him but it is just right for Adam which says that Ryan "gets" Adam and will write more great songs for him. I still occasionally go back and listen to "Come Home" from Upright Cabaret on YouTube. I think Ryan Teddar's style may be just what suits Adam best - not too sweet and a rather unique emo rock that I find truly thrilling - when he hits those hard rocking "WALKER, WALKER, WALKER..." notes I still get chills after hundreds of listens.

    I love the way you caught that fierceness in your art - you know that his brother coined the phrase "glittery alien from Planet Fierce" and although I love his sweetness - that alpha male strength is just as important in Adam's voice which seems to have infinite power and range and his delivery which can continue on to kick the guard out of the way of the fan with a camera and also walk out to thank the fans who have shown up to counter-protest those who are so sadly ignorant as to think Adam is someone to fear.

    For you, here's the link to the current UK radio effort to introduce Adam to classical fans - I hope it succeeds in getting him on UK radio.
    at 10:00p.m., UK time, at http://www.mywordradio.com . The program first aired on April 12, and will run through April 18, 2011.

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  8. Thank you! Thank you! For an incredible two years. You always continue to amaze me with your reviews and tech talent. I can spend hours here-it truly is an Obsession!
    Nina

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  9. This video is magial and perfect, but I already told you that. I just wanted to comment on your anger X grief discussion. I don't know, but, for me, anger and sadness come together more often than not. Specially if it's love related. After a romance ends, I tend to feel very sad AND very angry. Angry at the other person, for disapointing me, angry at myself, for letting myself believe, angry at life, for fooling me yet again. So yes, I can feel lost as you say, but then get very focused and angry the next second. Maybe Adam is like that? In this video, you can see his anger so clearly, it's amazing. He really can tap into those feelings inside himself, can't he? Must be painful, yet satisfying to be able to express himself so well...

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  10. Thank you all for your great comments and for being along on this ride! It's a pleasure to see you happy.

    Francess40, I agree, I think that collaboration is one that has brought brilliant results. I hope that with more time, the songs on the next album will be even better.

    maddie, it's a bit twisted but I'm thankful for the hurt he's experienced so he can draw on it to make his performances so special. Thanks for your input, I think you're right that Adam deals with hurt via anger, it's just that anger doesn't seem to quite fit with my idea of sleepwalking.

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  11. Somehow I missed this post back in April. Reading it today made me realize how much I missed your writing and your amazing insights into Adam's soul and artistry. It made me regret to have moved away from this blog due mostly to a very busy RL and trying to keep up with all the news, media and gossip. This is in fact the perfect place to stan Adam...Thank you again for everything. And your video/illustration is beautiful.
    AD

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  12. AD, thank you! Glad you are still coming back here to stan. RL has been busy for me too, hence the lack of regular posts.

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  13. can you reupload pleaseee :(

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