Thursday, July 29, 2010

Song of the Day #2

I heard this song today at the end of a tour documentary featuring the Fleet Foxes' leading man Robin Pecknold. You can view the short documentary here. It's pretty cool and worth a look. What's also worth a look is the vintage photography that the Fleet Foxes use as the backdrop to their website. Listen to the classic sixties folk (the song heard on the documentary) by Jackson C. Frank below.

- Joel

Jackson C. Frank - "Blues Run The Game"

Here are a couple more pictures from our backpacking trip, courtesy of Conner and Lucas Cooper. There are so many great shots of the scenery, it's hard to decide which to put up. This will give you a better idea of what our hike was like.

- Joel



Song of the Day


Rich Kid Soundsystem - "A Little Bit of Time"

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Best Coast

Some new tunes that all the hipsters will be raving about. Best Coast dropped their debut album, Crazy For You, today. It sounds a bit like 60's era rock with a surfer edge. I like some of the songs and others are just ok. All of them have lyrics that will make you chuckle, most revolving around a girl crushin' on a boy. Check it out. My two favorite tracks (which I've posted before) below.

- Joel

Best Coast - "Our Deal"
Best Coast - "Boyfriend"

Ben Rector

Check out some new summer jams from Ben Rector.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

© Bryan Schutmaat
Bryan Schutmaat. He's a Texan. I'm jealous of his abilities.

- Joel


© Bryan Schutmaat
© Bryan Schutmaat
© Bryan Schutmaat

Fab Four

I'm not sure where this came from, but I ran across it today. I love The Beatles.

- Joel

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Nashville Teens

I heard this song at the end of the Mad Men season premiere and enjoyed it. The Nashville Teens aren't actually from Nashville at all. They were a part of the British Invasion of the early 1960's.

- Joel

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Cassie. She makes all sorts of cool things (see above and below). I'm jealous of her creative talents. I hope she gets the fancy postcard I sent her all the way from Denver.

- Joel



Sunday, July 25, 2010

I'm back. What an incredible trip. Here's a glimpse of the beauty we saw. You can expect more later.

- Joel

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Gone Hiking

Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941 © Ansel Adams
Had to get one more post in with inspiration photos (all from Ansel Adams) before going off the grid tomorrow morning.

- Joel


The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942 © Ansel Adams

Aspens (Horizontal), Northern New Mexico, 1958 © Ansel Adams
Greinke © Joel Thomason
If last Friday's Royals game wasn't good enough, I had the dream experience for any baseball fan yesterday. We took a work outing to Kauffman Stadium to catch a day game, so my ticket was free. Then I proceeded to catch two foul balls (it was just last Friday that I caught my first ever foul ball), had an opportunity be on the jumbotron when I dressed up as Slugger (the Royals' mascot) and raced against two other competitors, and I was also given a free hat. Plus the Royals won behind the solid pitching of Zack Greinke. To top the day off, I roadtripped to Denver last night and will be spending the next 3 days backpacking through Rocky Mountain National Park. So no blog posts for awhile. Not that anyone reads this anyway.

- Joel

Oh and I also got a package from my bff Cassie. What a day!

Western Kansas, 1am © Joel Thomason

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Happy Birthday AVS

Silly Pond. Rockport, Maine © Allison V. Smith
Happy birthday to my friend Allison, the greatest photographer around.

- Joel

David Guetta

I'm a year late on this track, and even later on this DJ. I heard the track today so thought I'd share it. David Guetta is French. Check out his track featuring Kid Cudi below. It's hip hop, so cursing is to be expected.

- Joel

David Guetta - "Memories feat. Kid Cudi"


Memories

David Guetta | MySpace Music Videos

Monday, July 19, 2010

Levi's Ad

Another spectacular advertisement from Levi's. Thanks to Jon Franko and Gorilla 76 for the heads up on this.

- Joel

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Mad Men

Get ready. Mad Men Season 4 premiers next Sunday, July 25th, at 9pm (Central time that is).

- Joel

Brent Couchman

Some graphic design inspiration. Brent Couchman, a graduate of Abilene Christian University (in Texas), is the Senior Graphic Designer for Fossil Watches.

- Joel



James Stewart

Jimmy Stewart is my favorite actor of all time. The man had one of the greatest careers Hollywood has ever seen, starring in legendary films such as It's A Wonderful Life, Rear Window, and Vertigo. Yet, some of my favorites find Stewart roaming the wild West. A quick did-you-know; did you know Jimmy Stewart served in WWII eventually earning the rank of Colonel in the Army Air Corps? He even continued on in the Air Force Reserve after the war ultimately becoming a Brigadier General. In light of the scandal-prone nature of Hollywood today, Stewart stands as a beacon of class and sophistication.

- Joel


Saturday, July 17, 2010

Foul Ball

When I was a little boy, I always brought my glove when I went to watch the Kansas City Royals in hopes of catching a foul ball. Sometime in college, having never realized the foul ball dream, I stopped bringing my glove as often. But last night, with great seats on the front row of the mezzanine level at Kauffman Stadium, I decided to dust off the glove once again. And lo and behold, in the 5th inning David DeJesus hit a foul ball into the stands behind 3rd base. It was one of those times where the ball is hit and you immediately get tunnel vision not realizing that you are climbing over two men and a little boy as you stretch out your glove hand to snatch the ball out of the air...or at least that's how it went down for me. But I got the ball, and with it a dream came true.

- Joel


Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Walkmen

Of all the albums to be released in 2010, I'm most excited about that coming from The Walkmen. Lisbon is set to drop on September 14. The band also hits the road this fall. I grabbed my ticket to the October 19 show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas. It's going to be a great time. If you'd like a sneak peak of the album, use the widget below to download the song "Stranded".

- Joel








Cut Copy

Cut Copy made one of my favorite albums back in 2008. I'm excited for new stuff from these Australians. Check out a new track below. And the tidal wave artwork above isn't too shabby either.

- Joel

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Christopher Smith

I actually heard about Christopher Smith after stumbling upon the video for "Gently Gently" on the Salazar Film website. The best way I could describe his debut album "The Beckon Call" is lonesome folk. Smith makes warm, yet distant, melodies which are complemented by his delicate voice. Maybe that's to be expected from someone who hails from Vancouver. All in all it makes for a wonderful sound. Download "Gently, Gently" below and watch the video below. It's not exactly season appropriate, but quite interesting nonetheless. You can also stream his entire album at his Bandcamp site.

- Joel


Christopher Smith - "Gently, Gently"

Monday, July 12, 2010

You probably didn't notice, but I added a new script in the blog header. Brian Jaramillo improved his already kickin' font. Check out the fish and hook woven into the script. Nice work. If you're looking for custom letters and/or design, check him out. Thanks again to Cory for laying the script on top of the vintage Abe Lincoln flag.

- Joel

Summer Kicks

JB

It's definitely not cool to like Justin Bieber. But I don't care.

- Joel

Justin Bieber feat. Usher - "Somebody to Love"

Friday, July 9, 2010

Song of the Day

Thad Cockrell. Some sunny Nashville pop/county for this Friday. Download the song or watch a performance below.

- Joel

Thad Cockrell - "Rosalyn"

Thursday, July 8, 2010

KD

No better superstar in the NBA right now than Kevin Durant. Authentic. Humble. Loyal. He gets it.

- Joel


Let's Colour

Watch the ad for the Let's Colour Project. The campaign seeks to "spread colour all over the world".

- Joel

Best Coast+Kid Cudi+Rostam

What's with company's recruiting from the world of music to drive online traffic and sell things? The latest corporate culprit is Converse with the track "All Summer", a collaboration from Best Coast, Kid Cudi, and Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend). Check out the Converse site to listen/download the song and watch behind the scenes videos. Or just click on the link below.

- Joel

Best Coast/Kid Cudi/Rostam Batmanglij - "All Summer"

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Summer Mix

It's summer and The Morning Benders have been kind enough to put together a mix of their favorite summer tunes. Soak up the rays and enjoy some tunes. Tracklist and download link below.

- Joel

1. Steve Martin & Bernadette Peters “Tonight You Belong To Me“
2. Xavier Cugat “Perfidia (Instrumental)“
3. The Avalanches “Since I Left You“
4. The Radio Dept “Where Damage Isn’t Already Done“
5. The Walkmen “There Goes My Baby (The Drifters Cover)“
6. Bibio “Lovers’ Carvings“
7. The Morning Benders “Have One On Me (Joanna Newsom / J Dilla Cover)“
8. Twin Sister “Lady Daydream (Cassette Version)“
9. Arthur Russell “Lucky Cloud“
10. Blur “Caravan“
11. Smokey Robinson and The Miracles “Ooo Baby Baby”

The Morning Benders - Echomix1

Brooklyn Summer

We got the remix. Download below.

- Joel

Jay-Z feat. Lil' Wayne - "Summer in Brooklyn"

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Photographer of the Day

train tracks leading to Newell, CA © Kevin Miyazaki
Kevin Miyazaki. Wow.

- Joel

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July

© Joel Thomason
It's been a good day. No better way to finish it off than to listen to my all time favorite 4th of July song, Ray Charles' rendition of "America the Beautiful".

- Joel

New Desk

I need a new desk. If I had $375 to blow and lived in Chicago, I'd buy this old science table from Agent Gallery Chicago. I wonder if any stores in Kansas City have anything like this for a little bit less money.

- Joel

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Jerry Bywaters

Where The Mountains Meet the Plains, 1939 © Jerry Bywaters
I've thought a lot about Jerry Bywaters lately. Maybe it's because every time I watch a Western film I think of Bywaters' paintings. When I lived in Dallas, the very first event I ran for the O'Donnell Foundation was at the Meadows Museum on the SMU campus. The Meadows happened to be featuring an exhibit from the Bywaters collection at the time. I spent an entire week running hundreds of students through an exhibition entitled "Coming of Age". However, I spent my spare time that week wandering through the Bywaters exhibition over and over again. I love his interpretations of the Southwestern landscape.

- Joel

Rain Storm, Colorado, 1940 © Jerry Bywaters

Ranch Near Tucumcari, 1946 © Jerry Bywaters

Carnival © Jerry Bywaters

Song of the Day

Check out this simple remix. It's Jay-Z rapping "99 Problems" backed by The Dap Kings (of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings). It's been 7 years since The Black Album dropped. Do you think Hova still has 99 problems?

- Joel

Jay-Z - "99 Problems (Dap Kings remix)"

Friday, July 2, 2010

Morning Benders - "Stitches"

What do you get when you put 75 California hipsters in a room? Apparently you get some pretty cool music. Yours Truly recently posted this video from a session recorded last December. If you'd like to download the audio version of the live session, I've put that below as well. Enjoy.

- Joel

The Morning Benders – "Stitches (Yours Truly Session)"

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Get Off My Lawn

Thanks to AVS and Trey Kazee for the heads up on this photo zine. Get Off My Lawn features photographers 34 years of age or older. As the Sad Kids blog points out, too often photographers must be younger than 34 to be considered emerging artists. But sometimes people are late bloomers, or their greatness just isn't recognized until a later age. So why not have a zine devoted to the older and wiser photographers? This is the very first zine in this collection, so I made sure to snag it. Now I can collect the whole set if more are to come. I'm still frustrated that I didn't know Allison when her first zine came out. I've got 3 of 4 but wasn't around in time to purchase the first one. I won't let that happen again.

- Joel
Outside of photographs in history books, my experience with the Sistine Chapel has been limited. Then I stumbled upon this interactive website created by the Vatican and now I really know what the fuss is about.

Michelangelo killed it (as if you didn't already know).

- Joel

Interactive Sistine Chapel

Song of the Day

A little remix from Janelle Monae featuring B.o.B. and Lupe Fiasco. Enjoy the video (and the hairdo) and download the "Wondamix" below.

- Joel

Janelle Monae featuring B.o.B. and Lupe Fiasco - "Tightrope (Wondamix)