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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
In college, a friend of mine, Mark Harrison, and his friend, Darin Seal, made a band named Dadbot. Daniel used to call them "posi-rock" - as in music revolving around pure positivity. They were fun, but in 2006 the demands of college and real life led to an early retirement (but not after slices and slices of Free Cake) for Dadbot.
Mark and Darin are back, with two new band members, and giving it the old college try once again. Actually, I should say they are giving it more than a college try considering their initial try in college was shortlived. I believe this new musical adventure, aka Capybara, has the sound to be a real success in the indie world. They describe their sound as a "multi-instrumental, percussive style that draws on many influences, evoking classical chamber pop and soaring indie rock riffs in equal measures. The band hopes their music is like when a little brother sits in the backseat of his big sister’s car, leaning close to the speakers, puzzled but smiling as he listens."
My girlfriend loves The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. As a result, I decided to discover just what I'd been missing out on my entire life. I had read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a few times, but there were six other novels to explore. One month later, I have finished the entire series. Clearly to finish six novels in four weeks speaks to the quality of this series - or at least it speaks to my opinion of the quality of this series. After a month bouncing around Narnia, exploring Calormen, sailing to the ends of the ocean, burrowing into the Underland, and soaking up various other adventures, I have fallen in love with The Chronicles of Narnia as well. I'd go so far as to say this series is literary genius - compelling plots, witty narration, endearing characters, imaginative setting, and worthwhile lessons. If you haven't read these books, I'd recommend them. Beyond The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, my favorite was The Voyage of The Dawn Treader.
To rescue some of my coolness here, I've added SNL's take on the Chronicles of Narnia below, which I also love.
Kid Cudi, the guy who will probably blow up in hip hop by the end of this year, just dropped a new mixtape. He calls it The '09 Mix and you can go here to download it for free. I just downloaded it myself, so I can't speak yet to it's overall level of trill-ness (I'll make that a word). But I certainly enjoyed Cudi's mixtape from last year. If nothing else, you'll want this mixtape, so when your friends ask, "Have you heard of Kid Cudi?" you can respond, "Oh yeah, I got his last mixtape the week it came out."
