Marfa...finally

Food Shark © Joel Thomason

It's taken two months, but I finally had my pictures developed from Marfa (thanks to my Aunt Cindy).  Here are a few.  The rest are on Flickr.  I'll post more here on the blog later.  I shot two rolls of film from my Holga.  The first roll was taken along the Pinto Canyon Road.  The second roll was taken from the tower in the Marfa Courthouse (or on the way to the courthouse, as is the case of the Food Shark picture).  So not a lot of variety, but I had fun.

- Joel

Cactus © Joel Thomason

On the Go © Joel Thomason

Dat Kid From Cleveland

Another Kid Cudi mixtape.  He's going to blow up this year.  Hop on the bandwagon.  Dat Kid From Cleveland is an official mixtape.  The last one I posted, I came to find out, was a fan mixtape.  My favorite tracks are "09 Freestyle", "Switchin Lanes", and "She Came Along".

Go here to download the mixtape.  Read more about it here.

- Joel

More Sneakers

These don't come out until Christmas '09, but I would snag them in a hurry.

- Joel

Nike Auto Flight

Sneakers

I don't plan on buying any new sneakers soon. But if I was in the market, I'd look at some of these.

- Joel

Terrem Forests Deck Shoes

Gravis Dylan Rieder Mid LX

Nike Running

Like most things they puts their hands on, Nike makes running cool...or at least cooler.  A few years ago they commissioned LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy for a running mix entitled 45:33.  Here is a video featuring "Onwards" by James Jarvis.  I think it's pretty cool.  The music doesn't kick in until after the little guy gets done stretching.

- Joel

Onwards from akqa on Vimeo.

Worth a Look - Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura is not new, but this is the first album of theirs to grace my ears.  My Maudlin Career is worth your attention in my opinion.  It's an album that sounds immediately familiar and comfortable, yet still fresh.  It's for both the heartbroken and the madly in love; it will make sense no matter your perspective.  Also, something about the production shouts "vintage!" to me, which I enjoy.  Listen for yourself and see what you think.  Below is a link to the Pitchfork review (where you can preview the entire album) as well as links to the band's Myspace page and official website (where you can download the title track for free).  Right now the standout tracks for me are "French Navy" and "Forests and Sands".

- Joel

Pitchfork Review of My Maudlin Career

Camera Obscura Myspace

Camera Obscura Official Website

I Was Wrong

I guess I had it wrong.  The song playing on the Lebron "Where Amazing Happens" commercial is not "Everyday" by Carly Comando.  That song played on last season's NBA Playoffs commercials.  This year's song is similar, but a bit different.  (I knew something was off, which made me do a little more research.)  The song that plays on this year's commercials is "Fly" by Ludovico Einaudi.  Check it out below.

By the way, how sick is it that Lebron can jump that high?  I'm putting the commercial on this post again just so you can be in awe of Lebron's athletic ability.

- Joel

Amazing Happens Everyday

I love the NBA, especially the NBA Playoffs.  Currently, they are running an ad campaign called "Where Amazing Happens" highlighting some memorable moments from recent playoffs.  I've always wondered where the piano solo playing during the commercial came from.  Tonight, I decided to find the answer (which is easy using this thing called the Internet).  It's a song called "Everyday" by Carly Comando.  It was composed for a project by Noah Kalina entitled Everyday - in which Kalina takes a picture of himself everyday for 6 years - which became a YouTube sensation.  Interesting stuff.  To make it more interesting, my friend Allison posted on her blog about Noah Kalina just a few days ago.  Check it out.  So yeah, it all comes full circle.  Below you'll find my favorite NBA commercial as well as the YouTube video from Kalina/Comando.

- Joel

Iron & Wine Demo

Here's an old collection of Iron & Wine demos of tracks from their/his last album, The Shepherd's Dog.  You can go to the Iron & Wine website or just click here to download it.  Be on the lookout for a new Iron & Wine album full of rare tracks which drops May 19.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

Midnight Mass © Steele Burrow

Steele Burrow. This photo was entered into the O'Donnell Foundation's Young Masters Exhibition this year. I worked for ODF during my days in Dallas. Steele is a high school senior who attends the Episcopal School of Dallas.

- Joel

File Magazine

© Natalie Tkachuk

Check out File Magazine. They feature some really cool projects from photographers around the world. Check out some of the projects here. I stumbled across this site while looking at photographer Kevin Meredith's work. He has a project on File called Brighton Sea Swim Club. There are so many good photographers featured. I just finished looking through Jason Hawkes' Aerial Photography and loved it.

- Joel

Lots of FREE MUSIC

© Kevin Merideth

Maybe Amazon has had this available for awhile, I'm not sure. But I found today, thanks to Cory, that they have made available for free download 10 free sampler albums from independent labels such as: Barsuk, Arts & Crafts, Saddle Creek, SubPop, Jagjaguwar and more. This is definitely worth your time.

Go here to download the free samplers.

- Joel

Welcome Wagon Live

Tonight, The Welcome Wagon make a rare venture into the public spotlight. Considering their leading man is a Reverend with regular responsibilities on Sunday, not to mention the rest of the week, these outings don't happen often. Tonight's performance is at Space 38-39 in New York, but that won't stop you from watching it. Tune in here at 6:30pm Central time (7:30pm Eastern according to the website) to watch a live feed of the show. If possible, I'll try to post video of that show to the blog later on.

- Joel

New Glasses

I don't usually post too much about myself here, but I got some new glasses for my birthday (courtesy of my parents).  Considering I've needed new glasses for two years, I'm excited to have these.  Plus, I like the way they look.  Here's a picture of them/me.

- Joel

Lisztomania

Here is the music video for "Lisztomania" by Phoenix.  Today, my brother Cory claimed this to be his favorite song of the year so far.  It certainly is a good song.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

© Cassie Edmondson

Cassie Edmondson. She took a photo expedition through West Texas over Spring Break. I can't wait to see of all her shots. Here is one that I love.

- Joel

Urban Outfitters Mix

© Kevin Miyazaki

Urban Outfitters is offering a 21-song mix for free download here.  It includes artists such as Beach House, Telekinesis, Mos Def, Wavves, and many more.  It's free so why not give it a shot.  You can check out their three other 21-song mixes here.

- Joel

Crazy In Love (Beyonce Cover)

I stumbled across this cover of Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love".  I love this rendition by Pattern Is Movement.  Apparently that song could TOTALLY be an angst-ridden indie rock song.  Download it here from Daytrotter.com.  Also, check them covering JT's "My Love" and the aforementioned Beyoncé track below.  Enjoy.

- Joel

My Love

Crazy In Love

Winter Gloves

Thanks to Anthony for informing me of this video via his blog.  The song is "Let Me Drive" by Winter Gloves, a relatively new band from Montreal.  It's an ok song but an outstanding video.  Download the song here if you'd like.  You can also find their cover of LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great" at that link.  Honestly, their other stuff sounds better to me than "Let Me Drive".

- Joel

Phoenix on SNL

Last night, Phoenix gave one of the better performances I've seen on SNL in quite some time.  Here are the two songs they performed.

- Joel

"Lisztomania"

"1901"