Breaking Bad Writer: Why It Has to End

Is Breaking Bad really ending? Why? Why not make more?!? I’m a writer for Breaking Bad, and that’s the question I’ve gotten the most over the past year (next to: “Is that food on your lip?”). Believe me, it’s a question I’ve asked myself many, many times. But the answer is pretty simple: a rule in the writers’ room was to never force the characters in any direction, but to let them take us there — and Walt was taking us to the end of the road.

(as seen at time.com)
I joined the writing staff in Season Three (the Season of the Cousins), and I came to the show as a true fan. The work of the writers, directors, actors and crew was just clicking on all cylinders. And I was tricked by the idea that Walter White was jumping through these extreme hoops for the sake of his family. I cared about him, a man trying to take care of his family, getting corrupted as he did. But then I realized that this character wasn’t changing. Not really. What he was really doing was revealing his true inner nature.
As I type that, I know that is my opinion and open to debate. Vince always pitched the now classic line: “Turning Mr. Chips into Scarface.” But when I wrote scenes for Walt, I believed he was Scarface (or in our world, Heisenberg) pretending to be the man society expected him to be. Cancer gave him an excuse not to pretend anymore. And I think, for all the “evil” Walt has done, that’s why we watch and identify with him. All of us, in some aspects of our lives, pretend to be something we’re not. But let’s watch what happens when Walter pulls back the cover. It may be exciting, but it’s damn messy. It’s much safer for all of us stay civilized and watch Walter do it! If we all did it, the world would be like that Star Trek episode with everyone running around yelling “Festival!” and raping each other and stealing each other’s lunch money. I would find some of that highly unpleasant.

Of course, I’m not saying that all of us have a being as monstrous as Heisenberg inside of us. Some of us do. You know who you are. (You, reading this on the toilet. I’m talking to you.) But look, I’m a boring guy who doesn’t drink or do drugs … but if I didn’t worry about what people thought of me, I’d probably do a few things my mother would not be proud of.
I remember the very first pitch of mine that ever made it onto the board (we’d write ideas down on index cards and pin them to a big corkboard). It was: “Walt finds the teddy bear eye in his pool filter.” I was quietly relieved when something I said on that first day of work stuck. We’d cite and steal/borrow from lots of movies — The Godfather, Once Upon a Time in the West, even Rocky — but a movie that came up quite a bit in the room was Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors. A man wrestling with what he has wrought, but in the end, learning to move on. That plastic eyeball came to represent judgment. Walt didn’t have God watching him the same way Martin Landau did in Crimes, but he had that plastic eyeball. As if the souls of everyone who died because of him were staring right at him.
We had a scene in an early Season Five episode where Walt found the eyeball again and threw it in the garbage, but that scene fell out and never returned. I wish it had made it in. (That’s how sick we writers get about tying up loose ends — it extends to inanimate objects.) But … Walt lost track of that eyeball. He stopped worrying about what people thought.

You could almost forget that only two seasons ago, Walt had more of a conscience (well, almost). Remember early in Season Three when Walt, wracked with guilt over the Wayfarer air disaster, put his cash on the BBQ grill and set it on fire? We almost let him burn it! (The initial argument was: “Walt has enough money. We need a reason for him to cook again!”) But the character eventually told us his true nature, and he dumped those flaming bills in the swimming pool to save it all. Jesse is the one with a conscience, tortured by the blood money. Not Walt. He could compartmentalize and rationalize. Walter White was a kingpin, and he was succeeding at it. Up until it went all wrong …
And man, is it going wrong for Walt this season. Now everyone — Jesse, Skyler, Junior, Marie and Hank — is paying the price. So perfectly portrayed by master Bryan Cranston, we’re watching Walter reap what he has sown. We were heading toward Crimes and Misdemeanors, but then we steered toward another film we talked about a lot in the writer’s room: Fargo. Walt was almost in the clear, but a persistent cop kept picking at the truth. W.W. in “Leaves of Grass.”
We knew if the cancer didn’t get him first, the tower of lies that Walt built would come tumbling down. Sure, we could have ended it with Walt triumphant and sitting at home with his family, and all of his money successfully laundered. But that didn’t feel like Breaking Bad. Of all the outcomes we discussed in the writers’ room, I don’t even think we went that way once. “Ozymandias” was always in the air. We used to think that as soon as Hank found out the truth, the show was over. But it wasn’t. Not quite. It was another moment in the show that ultimately made us realize that Walt had reached the end of his journey … words he speaks to Skyler in the series finale. Once he reaches that point, he has nowhere else to go. His true nature is revealed. So that’s why, sadly, we came to the end.

Yes, I’m sad it’s over. Really sad. I’m probably miserable to be around. Great crew, amazing cast, best and most fun writers’ room ever. Our genius cinematographer/director Michael Slovis gave us all wrap gifts with a well-known quote from Dr. Seuss attached: “Don’t be sad because it’s over, smile because it happened, bitch.” (O.K., it didn’t say “bitch.” I added that. I’m a writer, that’s what I do.) So, I’m trying really hard to heed those words and be happy. But unfortunately, like Walt, our true natures eventually come through.
Schnauz is currently working on the ABC show Resurrection, and you can follow him on Twitter: @TomSchnauz.

IDentity Radiospecials and Headhunterz

IDentity Radiospecials and Headhunterz in October 2013!
On Friday the 20^th of September, Heart for Hard and Feathers Events will put the pedal to the metal for the new monthly concept : ” Identity ” in High Street in Hoogstraten , Belgium . Frontliner will play at the kick-off edition of this event  The organisation is also proud to announce yet another name. None other than Headhunterz will on Friday 18 October 2013!
In the upcoming weeks, Heart for Hard will invite some of the artist to do a warming-up mix. On Monday 9 September and Monday 16 September Heart for Hard will host two radio specials from 20:00 to 22:00. In the first special, you can listen to a mix of Scantraxx artist Shockerz and resident Fatal inc . In the radio show of 16 September you can listen to two rough hardstyle mixes of Regain and Clock Kid. In the first edition of IDentity, the Polish artist ” Regain ” will set foot on Dutch / Belgian soil for his first time. You might know him from previous releases on Spoontech or Hexablast Records. On the day of Identity, he has an important announcement to make and at the event he will showcase a lot of his latest productions. Together with Clock Kid he will provide you with a worthy warm-up mix that you can listen live at http://www.h4h.fm/player/.
IDentity Radio Specials
09-09-2013 : Shockerz & Fatal Inc. .
16-09-2013 : Regain & Clock Kid
IDentity – Highstreet ” Hosted by Feathers Events & Heart for Hard “
20-09-2013 – Identity : Frontliner
18-10-2013 – Identity : Headhunterz
Tickets
The presale for the upcoming editions has already started . For tickets go to the nearest Free Record Shop in Belgium . Or buy them at tickets.h4h.fm or the physical location/club : Highstreet . For partylovers there are group tickets available! Mark these dates in your agenda and make sure you don’t miss this party!

Dubstyle

Something new is born out of the harddance/hardstyle scene. We’re talking about a new style called: Dubstyle. It sounds like breakbeat nu-style/hardstyle. The drums have the same rhythm as dubstep. The kicks are snares are much louder(raw). Artist who made/released dubstyle tracks or tracks made with the influence of dubstyle:: Pavelow, Brennan Heart, The Pitcher, Headhunterz en Zany. Quote from an interview at q-dance:

"Explaining what the sound of Pavelow really is, is pretty difficult. It’s some new hard/raw form of breakbeat and dubstep rythms fused with the sounds you know from some hardstyle tracks.You can recognize the well known hardstyle kicks in this genre. Because of te fact that these beats aren’t “straight”, there is a lot of space free for more percussion and electro- sounding noises. If I had to describe Pavelow’s style in three words. Those words would be: New, Different and Experimental”. Pavelow never confirmed this was the dubstyle sound and says that the productions he made are his own.. “Pavelow style tracks”. Even though the tracks could be compared to tracks of Headhunterz and Brennan Heart made in his production: The MF Point Of Perfection.''

Latest release(quote Brennan Heart)

"In January 2010 I hit the studio with Headhunterz. Were entertaining the thought or question. 'Have we reached the MF point of perfection yet?' We were working on the mid intro and decided to flirt with various other musical styles. Before we knew it, Dubstyle was born.'Acid & Dubstyle was made exclusively for M!D!FILEZ. " Comment new track: Unknown Analoq - Acid & Dubstyle

Technology And EDM With Dubfire

(originally from huffinton post)


These days, there's no doubt that Dubfire (Ali Shirazinia) is one of the biggest names in the international techno scene. But a few years ago, his embrace of the sound was met with strong skepticism. Having already found massive success as one of the founders (along with his partner Sharam) of the influential duo Deep Dish, Dubfire's artistic transition from producing anthemic progressive house music to stark, stripped-down minimal techno was a bold statement of intent. Some weren't sure if this new sound was a true representation of what Dubfire was really all about.
However, if you take a look at Dubfire these days, it's clear that this shift has proven to be a big success for him. He's been embraced by legions of fans worldwide, as well as all of his peers in the upper echelons of the techno DJ community. As an in-demand performer his tour schedule is jam-packed all year long, with sets at all the major international festivals. He's wrapping up a busy summer Ibiza season, where he played guest sets for all of the top underground parties and venues. His label SCI+TEC continues to release cutting edge tracks from new and upcoming producers. He just launched his very own mobile app. And he's returning to the US to play two events, including a second trip to Marquee New York, where he played at our first Friday night when club opened in January.
But his passions aren't limited to just music. He's one of the most recognized "foodies" in the electronic music scene, regularly tweeting out pics and restaurant notes. He even interviewed Albert Adrià (brother of the legendary El Bulli chef Ferran Adrià) this year. And as he discusses below, he's putting the wheels in motion to open a Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles.
We spoke with Dubfire from Ibiza, where he was preparing to play alongside Richie Hawtin at his ENTER. night at Space.
Greetings! Where are you at right now? How's everything been going for you?
I'm actually in Ibiza for the week and playing Richie Hawtin's ENTER. night at Space.
Tell us about the summer you've been having. What's been some of the highlights for you?
The summer's been a bit of a blur really with a punishing tour schedule. But we're fast approaching the closing parties in Ibiza so it'll begin to slow down a bit for me soon. The highlight has really been all of the Ibiza dates i've played (Cocoon, ENTER., Carl Cox, DC10 and Used & Abused) and especially our SCI+TEC label party at Sands which was a showcase for my artists Carlo Lio, SHADED and The Junkies.
This summer you played a quite a few shows in Ibiza -- some at Space, some at Amnesia. Do you have a preference for your favorite Ibiza? Any particular reason why?
I'm in a fortunate position where I can play for all of my friends and at the top nights here. And having that freedom and variety allows me to play a different sort of set at each venue.
You just launched your very own Dubfire app for iPhones and Android. This is the second time you've been behind a mobile app. Tell us about the one you just launched, why was this something that was important for you to do?
Well, I was asked to be on a social media panel at IMS [International Music Summit] in Ibiza a few years ago and one of my fellow panelists was a Mobile Roadie rep who happened to be from the USA and also living in Barcelona as I am now. I had recently launched my new website and wanted to have a version of it for the mobile platforms but as an app. I'm really excited to have just launched the app and looking forward to using it in very creative ways to engage the fans.
How personally involved were you with the development of the app itself?
As involved as can be -- i'm a total control freak!
When it comes to "digital DJing", you're definitely one of the most prominent artists out there. How did you first make the jump from more traditional DJing to a digital platform?
I was always drawn to new technologies and transitioned from vinyl to the CD platform mainly because I wouldn't have to lug all those heavy record boxes around with me on tour and also to be able to bring far more music with me. But I was much slower to jump onto the laptop platform of DJing and actually began with Serato Scratch before settling on Native Instruments' Traktor Pro which has become my main DJ software. I'm actually going to be playing the enter. prep-party with just an iPad mini and a controller so that will be a bit of an experiment:-)
Do you see yourself evolving away from the Traktor type of setup you're doing now? I know there's been some talk about a "Dubfire live" type of show.
I've been developing the live show since April and it will be a 1 hour "live" show featuring most of my productions and signature remixes. I have a habit of writing lots of additional synth melodies and drum patterns so will be extracting those from the remixes as opposed to using any of the original producers' work, apart from "Grindhouse" of course. I hope to launch the show in March or April 2014 if all goes well with the development of the stage design and visuals.
It's kind of interesting to see what's going on with the more commercial side of EDM these days, because Deep Dish was really on the cusp of that, as artists that were poised to cross over to a wider audience. Now that you've really been focusing on your solo work and projects, is there anything you miss about being known primarily for Deep Dish?
Deep Dish cast a much wider net than Dubfire as far as my fan base goes so I do miss having that kind of global impact. But I'm extremely happy that I was able to successfully solidify my own brand and ideas.
There's been a lot of rumblings about Deep Dish getting back together. Is this something that you and Sharam are actively pursuing?
While I can't get into specifics, I can tell you that the ball is slowly moving forward.
Anyone who follows you knows that you're a serious "foodie". You did your own interview with the famed Spanish chef Albert Adria, and have gotten to know quite a few chefs, restauranteur, etc. Are these guys ever surprised to find out that an electronic music artist like yourself is so knowledgeable and familiar with their work?
Many are surprised of course, but quite honestly, a lot of the chefs and restaurant people I know or meet are very much into electronic music and many are fans of my work so getting them out on the town or to a festival is quite easy. And they rave like the best of them:-)
Could you ever see yourself making food a part of your professional life?
I would absolutely love to and am actively trying to settle on what exactly that would entail; my dream is to open a tiny, authentic Japanese restaurant in LA. I have the chef and just need to find the right partners and financing.
We had a great time with you at the Marquee opening in January. What can we look forward to when you come back on the 27th?
A lot of great new music:-)
You've played in New York many, many times in your career. What's your favorite thing about playing for the NYC crowd?
Sharam and I used to make regular pilgrimages to the city in the early 90's to check our favorite DJs, clubs and events and those trips formed the foundation for my early dance music education so I hold a very special place in my heart for how inspiring the city and it's talented artists were to me. It's always a pleasure to play there and I'm very much looking forward to it.
Finally, let us know what other projects -- or releases on your SCI+TEC label -- you have cooking up for us.
The label's got a jam packed release schedule, full until March 2014 so that's been going great. As far as my stuff goes I'm working on the last of our Elements series of tracks with Oliver Huntemann which is coming along very nicely. There's also a remix for Barem which should be out sometime soon and I'm about to dive into an Asia Argento remix project. And of course there are lots of bits and bobs that I'm trying to find the time to finish.
Dubfire plays Marquee New York with Sleepy & Boo on Friday September 27th.
For more on Dubfire.
For tickets for Dubfire at Marquee
For more on Marquee NY
For more on Sleepy & Boo

Is The DJ Era Over?

[originally from LA Weekly] At the indie-meets-dance club Echoplex in Echo Park, DJs spin, but just as often these days a floor-friendly sound will emerge in the form of a band, a laptop act or something in between, as was the case with Love Grenades on a recent winter night.
The quartet’s three frontwomen dressed up like pinup girls, opera-length gloves and all, and cooed and sang in a correspondingly sultry haze, complemented by ’80s-inflected musicians on bass, guitar, drums and sequencer. The Grenades’ dance-punk sound has been remixed by friend-of-the-band Sam Sparro, another local artist who has skipped deejaying on the way to dance-floor stardom. Love Grenades don’t deejay, but their recent single, “Tigers in the Fire,” is being peddled on DJ culture’s No. 1 online retailer, Beatport. Clubland is being invaded by artists like these, dance-friendly acts that don’t need turntables to get their point across.
The dance world has been rocked in recent years by laptop-, sequencer- and band-based acts ranging from Justice and the Black Ghosts to Booka Shade. Daft Punk’s Kanye West–led resurrection last year highlighted the duo’s own immersive, turntable-free live act. And the local nu-electro festival HARD Haunted Mansion surpassed the 5,000-ticket mark in the fall with nary a superstar DJ in sight. All this has even some jocks asking if the spin is no longer in.
One of the hottest acts to emerge from the electronic–dance music arena in the past few years is Toronto-based producer Deadmau5, who got his start as a computer programmer before graduating to successful bedroom production. Because he came to deejaying from the tech-geek world, he faced culture shock on the club circuit. We can imagine him meeting all those douche jockeys caught up in drug-filled hazes of their own perceived stardom, egos stroked by groupies, guest lists and MySpace comments — all this stoke for, as Deadmau5 wrote on his own MySpace page, “some dude” who presses “the ‘play/stop’ button and occasionally move[s] a pitch slider.” Late last year, Deadmau5 was interviewed by Irish Daily Star and gave a money quote heard around the DJ world: “I don’t really see the technical merit in playing two songs at the same speed together, and it bores me to fucking tears. I’d like [DJs to] dis-a-fucking-pear. It’s so middleman. They’re like fucking lawyers. You need them, but they’re all fucking cunts.”
Here’s an artist whose music is required spinning for the biggest DJs, and he can’t hold his tongue (but his label can, and they declined to have him speak for this piece).
Deadmau5 admirer and former Angeleno Dave Dresden has worn many hats over the past two decades, including radio host, dance-music journalist, music scout for BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong, and half of defunct DJ duo Gabriel & Dresden. He says Deadmau5 is right. “The day of the DJ as a guy who plays other people’s records might be done,” he says, pointing to newer acts like Morgan Page, who often play their own music live via laptop.
The superclub Avalon Hollywood has in recent years made more and more room for the post-DJ act while giving a cold shoulder to superstar DJs, especially those spinners who play straight-line hypnotic trance. While it still hosts plenty of big-name jocks — mostly of the minimal-techno variety — the venue has seen more than its share of hybrid live acts, including Booka Shade, Gui Boratto and Martin Buttrich.
“I don’t think it’s over, I think it’s evolving,” Avalon co-owner Steve Adelman says of DJ culture. “I think people are going more into electronic bands, live acts and semilive acts. We strive to have a whole production and visual experience that’s not just focused on watching a guy on two turntables.”
L.A.’s Frank Dominguez, a.k.a. down-tempo electronic act Aime, started deejaying 10 years ago but switched in recent years to incorporating nonturntable elements, such as keyboards, effects pads, a drum machine, a laptop and even an iPod. At 31, he plays for a generation of clubgoers more accustomed to the shuffle-play dynamics of an MP3 player than the ecstasy-fueled Botts’ dots of a superstar DJ. “People now would much rather see an artist performing with more than just changing records back and forth,” he says. “The kids go with what’s more stimulating.”
Adelman, who’s been in the superstar-DJ-booking business since the mid-’90s, says those most affected by the demise of the name DJ are local “midlevel” spinners, not huge trance names like Tiësto and Armin Van Buuren. URB magazine editor Joshua Glazer adds that some of the so-called midlevel DJs who had settled stateside around the DJ boom of the new millennium have gone back to Europe, replaced locally by nu-electro bands. Still, Glazer argues, the DJ isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I think the reports of the death of the superstar DJ have been greatly exaggerated,” he says. “I was one of the first people to declare that death. But compared to five years ago, I definitely think the DJ is on the rise.”
He notes that cheap laptops and easy-to-use software, such as Serato Scratch Live, Ableton Live, and FL Studio have made it easier than ever to deejay — virtually — for a new generation of point-and-click jocks. “It might not be like 1999,” Glazer says, “but maybe we’re just not noticing.”