Cold War

My girl Janelle.

- Joel

Spoon

When I first bought Spoon's album this year, I wasn't in the right mood to enjoy it. However, it really is a great album. The band played on Jimmy Fallon last night. Britt Daniel decided to rock the white jeans.

- Joel

© Alex Maclean

Another by Alex Maclean.

- Joel

I've been listening to a lot of oldies this week, not just for the nostalgia but because of the purity of the music. There's something refreshing about hearing music and instruments and voices that aren't 99% computer processed.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

Jockey and Horse Rounding Corner at Suffolk Downs © Alex Maclean

Alex Maclean is an aerial photographer. Check out his website. There are too many good photographs to choose from. Quite a few of his photographs were taken high above Kansas City.

- Joel

© Alex Maclean

Photographer of the Day

© Richard Misrach

Richard Misrach.

- Joel

© Richard Misrach

Oldies Night

© William Eggleston

Every Sunday night, the oldies station in Kansas City airs a show called "The Birth of Rock'n'Roll", an excuse to play the hits from the 1950's and early 60's (songs which lately have been imprisoned near the back of their vault). I've always had a soft spot for these tunes. Maybe it's because my aunts used to play oldies tapes for us when they took all the cousins on fun outings. Considering the recent trend in indie music, I must not be the only one who enjoys the nostalgia of these songs. Check out two songs that aired on the radio show this evening.

- Joel

Ricky Nelson - "Traveling Man"

Del Shannon - "Runaway"

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"

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

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

The Nashville Teens - "Tobacco Road"

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

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

- Joel

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