Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Vlad the Impaler

I found this video kind of funny. It's the music video for a new song from Kasabian called "Vlad the Impaler". Some of you may recognize Vlad from the video as Old Gregg. You can grab this track for free from Kasabian's website. But act now, because the offer ends on Friday.

- Joel


Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler from Kasabian on Vimeo.

Photographer of the Day

© Douglas Adesko
Douglas Adesko.  Here's Adesko's description of this photograph (thanks to Kevin Miyazaki for this):

"The picture was supposed to be for my family holiday card this year - that's my wife and me in the street, and our daughter was going to be jumping over us on a motorcycle. But she chickened out at the last minute, so we were left with what you see, which I realized is a much more interesting picture anyway. But we never did get a holiday card out this year..."

- Joel

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Angus & Julia Stone

Angus & Julia Stone are a brother/sister folk duo from Australia.  I heard their song "Mango Tree" and enjoyed it.  Click here to download it.  If you want to know what you're getting yourself into before you click, watch the music video below.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

New York, June 18, 1949 © Homer Page
Homer Page.  Critics argue that Page's work, though he is not an incredibly well-known photographer, represents a "missing link" in the evolution of photography in the first half of the 20th Century.  A portion of his work is currently on display in the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City in an exhibition entitled The Photographs of Homer Page: The Guggenheim Year, New York, 1949-50

- Joel
New York, August 11, 1949 © Homer Page

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Bon Iver Covers Feist

This is a month or two old, but better late than never.  Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, covered Feist's track "The Park" for Australian radio station Triple J.  You can download it below if you'd like.

- Joel

Friday, March 27, 2009

Photographer of the Day

© Troy Williams
Troy Williams.  Can I say this image reminds me of me without sounding conceited?  For some reason it makes me think of myself.  Thanks to Timothy Briner for the heads up on this guy.

- Joel

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Where The Wild Things Are

Check out the trailer.

- Joel

NBC Ripping Me Off Again

Well, not exactly.  But they must be reading my blog.  Guess who will play on Saturday Night Live on April 5th.  Phoenix.  The band about which I recently posted.

- Joel

Department of Eagles Video

This video is for the Department of Eagles' song "No One Does It Like You."  Nothing like guerilla ballet dancers.  It's interesting.  Give it a second to load.

- Joel

Monday, March 23, 2009

Phoenix

French indie-pop band Phoenix drops their next album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, on May 26.  Both new Phoenix tracks I have heard have set my toe to tapping.  I think you will enjoy them.  

Download "1901" from the Phoenix website here.  

Download "Lisztomania" from a blog here.

- Joel

Sigur Ros Take Away Show

Read more about this Take Away Show here.  Also, you can download the Quicktime version of the performance.  Or go here to check out all the performances offered by La Blogotheque.

- Joel


Sunday, March 22, 2009

Grizzly Bear - "Cheerleader"

I'm also looking forward to Grizzly Bear's upcoming album Veckatimest.  Here's a track to download/preview off of the album via Stereogum.


It feels good to be back blogging again.  I've been a bit distracted by new developments in my life.  The distractions have been welcome and exciting, but I recognize I've been slacking here.  I'll do better this week.

- Joel

Sandman

Sandman. March 2009. Dallas, Texas. © Allison V. Smith
I loved this shot of Sandman The Rappin' Cowboy (Chris Sand) taken by none other than the superb Allison V. Smith. Too bad I missed his show in Dallas.

- Joel

Reminder

This is my favorite song so far this year.

- Joel


Saturday, March 21, 2009

MacGruber & McGuyver

MacGruber has been one of my favorites from SNL lately.  Well, that and...Giiiilllyyyy.

- Joel

Telekinesis - Stream the New Album

Of the new music I've come across lately, I am most excited about Telekinesis, which is really just a guy named Michael Lerner.  His album Telekinesis! drops on April 7th.  If you're at work, or at home, or wherever, and have some time to listen to some music, and are tired of Pandora pushing all sorts of lame stuff on you, I recommend that you stream this Telekinesis album here.  It's worth your time in my opinion.

Also, I'm watching the NCAA basketball tournament and wishing I had telekinesis to make some teams win and some lose (that sounds like a Tweet and not a real sentence).  I picked the Oklahoma Sooners to win it all but will be cheering wholeheartedly for the Kansas Jayhawks.

- Joel


Monday, March 16, 2009

Park Rangers

NBC has a new show called Parks and Recreation.  I wonder if I could sue them for some sort of plagiarism.  I made a few episodes of a similarly styled show entitled "The Park" two years ago.  Hmm....that's suspect NBC.  Anyway, you can see a preview of the ripoff show below as well as a short episode from the original below that.  If you like what you see, there are more park ranger videos here.

- Joel



Wednesday, March 11, 2009

To Kill A Mockingbird

In those times when I don't know what book to read next, I always reach for To Kill A Mockingbird.  It is without a doubt my favorite book.  It has become an annual tradition to read through Mockingbird.  Here I am 3 months into 2009, and I just reached for the comfort of Jem, Scout, Dill, Atticus, and Boo Radley.

It also made for an award winning screenplay, winning 3 Oscars.  Tonight I was reminded of how much I enjoy the film's soundtrack.  Below is the Theme from To Kill A Mockingbird, composed by Elmer Bernstein.

- Joel

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Telekinesis - "Tokyo"

Telekinesis, the name for the musical efforts of Michael Lerner, is a band worth checking out.  This travelogue video for their song "Tokyo" is fitting to post after just returning from my own travels.  Check out their debut album, set to drop on April 7.

- Joel

Marfa Recap

© Joel Thomason
So I went to Marfa last weekend.  It was an extremely busy and incredibly fun trip, complete with cocktail parties, exhibition receptions, winding drives through desolate mountains, and relaxing afternoons at a natural hot springs.  Here's a quick recap of the weekend:

Friday
My friends Jeff, Nicole, and Holly picked me up for the drive from Odessa to Marfa, TX.  After dinner at our rental house, we headed to a cocktail party to celebrate Allison and her incredible work.  One highlight of the party was the musical entertainment - Chris Sand, aka Sandman The Rappin Cowboy.

Saturday
Most of Saturday we spent exploring the city of Marfa.  I bought a great little book, not for me but for someone special, at Fancy Pony Land.  In the afternoon, a few of us had the privilege of a private tour of the Chinati Foundation to see some work by Donald Judd and Dan Flavin.  Saturday night we got to check out Allison's Marfa Light installation and hang out at the Thunderbird Hotel.

Sunday
Sunday was dedicated to a drive along the Pinto Canyon Road - one of the most beautiful, and certainly the most desolate, drives I've ever taken - and an afternoon soaking at the Chinati Hot Springs.  Sunday night we ate dinner at the border town of Presidio, TX.

Monday
On the way back from Marfa to the airport in Midland/Odessa, we made a quick detour to see the McDonald Observatory, seated in the beautiful Davis Mountains.  It was a great way to end the trip.

But I'm back, and I've recovered from the flu that I came down with this week.  You can expect the blog to be back in action.  Also, if you ever have a chance to go to Marfa, you should go!

- Joel