Dear 16-Year-Old Me

I thought this was an especially poignant & powerful PSA (or whatever they're called in Canada). Count me in for the SPF 30 this summer!

Human Flight

I have always wanted to go skydiving. Perhaps more so now than ever, thanks to this gem:

Experience Human Flight from Betty Wants In on Vimeo.

Perfect Symmetry

The idea of symmetry is very compelling, especially after watching this well-executed video done for NPR by RadioLab & Everynone. Inspiring. The Sufjan Stevens track doesn't hurt the overall aesthetic of the video either...

Less Is More

In the wee small hours of the morning when I'm supposed to be asleep, I'm usually catching up on the 40+ tabs I seem to always have open on my browser consisting of articles, videos & wikipedia entries I didn't get around to reading that day. In the case of last night, I got around to watching some Local Native covers on YouTube. Probably because Kelsey's little brother Cole mentioned his band (TRIBES) covers the song "Wide Eyes" by Local Natives. Anyway, there is a wide array of talent out there on YouTube and I applaud aspiring artists for at least attempting to express themselves (which is half the battle), though many YouTube covers definitely leave something to be desired, to put it mildly.

In my zoned out 1am viewing last night I stumbled upon the following cover. I really appreciate this guy's simple, honest approach to doing his version of this song. It isn't much, but that's what I really liked about it. I would like to think that if I were to sit down and cover this song, I would take a similar approach. The octave jump at the end was a welcome surprise, too. Whomever you are, Lee Francis, I applaud you. Keep it up.

Grown Ocean

These guys are doing it right. They know their brand and they're killing it. Makes me want to deck out in flannel and go back to 1977.

Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean from Fleet Foxes on Vimeo.

WESC Denim

WESC may not be know for its denim per se, but they at least put together a cool video on how they make their jeans.

The Making of WeSC Denim from WeSC on Vimeo.

Sweet Sixteen

God Bless Jimmerica. Go Cougars.

Scenes From The Suburbs

Arcade Fire continues their post-Grammy parade with a new short film directed by good ol' Spike Jonze. Looks wacky.

I shouldn't be surprised at the vitriol flying around the blogosphere toward Arcade Fire ever since their big "Album of the Year" win, but I'm still on the bandwagon. In 2006 "Funeral" literally evolved my taste in music perhaps more so than any other album within the last five years. That sounds pretty extreme... and it probably is, but it's easily one of my favorite albums of all time. Regardless, apparently "Scenes From The Suburbs" is airing this week at SXSW.

Check out the trailer here:

via stereogum

It's Jimmer Time

This is terribly cheesy, I'm aware of that. But I just wouldn't be a true fan if I didn't spread the love. Here's a shout out to #32, the player of the year. March Madness = Jimmer Time. Don't break my heart this year, Cougars; we need at least two tourney wins. At least!

Teach me how to Jimmer:

Check out Jimmer POY

It Would Be Awesome If I Could Do This:

Pink Ponies

The ad industry is so quirky. This is a perfect satirical look at an advertising case study. And it even includes the all mighty social media. Well played.

You've Already Seen This

But it's worth seeing again:



I want iPad 2 exclusively for its amazing cover – ridiculous.

Paris At Night

I thoroughly enjoyed this stop motion expose of the beautiful city of Paris "composed completely of photographs" (per the artist, Luke Shepard). Amazingly well-executed. I found it very unique that it shows the "darker" side of Paris, as this was literally shot at night.

Le Flâneur (music by The XX) from Luke Shepard on Vimeo.

To that point, and not to play art critic here, but as much as I love "Intro" by the XX, I think either "Stars" or "Night Time" could have potentially worked even better with these images, as this project is showcasing Paris primarily after hours. The energy and build of Intro is incredible, don't get me wrong. I was just surprised to see that track paired with these images. There's such a raw and quiet and almost creepy quality with the XX's sound, I think another song maybe could have worked better (Even "Heart Skipped A Beat" or "Islands"). Just throwing it out there...

Inspiration from Google Docs

Impressive display of creativity and use of Google Docs. Hope it was worth the 3+ days they spent on this!

The Alphabet

The Alphabet from n9ve on Vimeo.

Can't Get Enough...

...Local Natives. I did some more digging and found their first appearance on the Take Away Show. I'm such a sucker for their harmonies – they have it down! And for the record, Wide Eyes is my favorite track off the album. I realize I'm borderline obsessed here; my wife just referred to me as a "groupie." This is good stuff here:

Local Natives / A take Away Show @ Route du Rock Hiver 2010 from Watch Your Steps on Vimeo.

Islands: For the Mrs.

The xx are easily one of my favorite bands over the past couple of years. Somehow I totally missed this video – very interesting concept. Truthfully, it makes me sort of dizzy. But I like that it's different, and love the song, and Kelsey loved the choreography. I don't know the first thing about dance, but I think the choreography is amazing as well.

Take Away Show: Local Natives

French music blog La Blogotheque does a really cool video series called Take Away Show where they film bands playing live in obscure places/settings. It's usually more of an acoustic performance, due to the setting & circumstances (the first episode I experienced was "1901" by Phoenix with the Eiffel Tower as a back drop). As a big fan of Local Natives, I immediately wanted to share this.

In this episode of the Take Away Show, Local Natives play "Who Knows Who Cares" while walking through the Palais Royal in Paris. The intertwining harmonies are downright inspiring in that setting. And done live? That much more impressive. Thanks to Pitchfork for the pointer.

Local Natives | Who Knows Who Cares | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Helplessness Blues

Looks like this is turning into a sort of music blog... I'll just roll with it. Fleet Foxes just announced a new album and concert dates. You'd better believe my tickets are purchased for the NYC show (which I just read they added a second date – get your tickets while you can!). I've been anxious to see these gentlemen live for the past two/three years, and am thrilled they're touring again. They're first single, "Helplessness Blues" is available for free download on their website.

On a related note, Brooklyn Vegan included this amazing cover of "White Winter Hymnal" by Oh Land in their latest Fleet Foxes coverage. Oh Land is new to me; Apparently they're Danish - not too hard to tell by her naturally beautiful Scandanavian features. Fun cover to say the least.

Before It's Too Late: Favorite Music 2010

I get that I'm at least a month late with posting this list, but for my own sake I wanted to document my audio favorites from 2010 – another successful year for music.

Favorite Bands of 2010 (as judged by the amount of listens in my iTunes library)
*Note: For all the hater hipsters, I understand that some of these groups could technically have been in 2009, but for me, the discovery really came in 2010. So don't bother calling me out on it–I'm doing the best I can to keep up!

10. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Before Today"


9. Deerhunter "Halcyon Digest"


8. Best Coast "Crazy For You"


7. Tokyo Police Club "Champ"


6. Sufjan Stevens "The Age of Adz"


5. Ra Ra Riot "The Orchard"


4. Beach House "Teen Dream"


3. Two Door Cinema Club "Tourist History"


2. Arcade Fire "The Suburbs"


1. Local Natives "Gorilla Manor"

Honorable Mentions: (in no particular order) LCD Soundsystem, Yeasayer, The Morning Benders, Glasser, Band of Horses, Animal Collective, Phoenix, Passion Pit, The National, Mumford & Sons, Caribou, Jónsi, Phantogram, Surfer Blood, Tame Impala, Toro Y Moi

HelveTic-Toc

This isn't terribly efficient for telling time... But at least it looks nice and modern!

Check out helvetictoc.com

My Other Favorite Irish Band

These guys are the "band of the moment" for me right now. Definitely floating my boat, if you will. I really appreciate when an entire album jumps out at me from the get go. Typically for me, it can mean one of two things: 1. It's a solid album, start to finish. Or 2. It's just a bunch of catchy, pop-y songs that you're going to get sick of really fast. I will note that a lot of the songs have a very similar sound (since I still can't distinguish some tracks from others), nonetheless I've been loving this album as of late.

I was also impressed by their performance on Jimmy Fallon a couple weeks back – I've probably watched this video a dozen times since then (Like I said, "band of the moment...).

100 Years of Big Blue

I was raised to bleed blue. The LA Dodgers, the BYU Cougars, & IBM. Even though it's been years since my old man retired from the company after three decades of honest labor, I feel proud to have ever been even loosely affiliated. This video encapsulates the American dream, and paints our capitalistic society in a good light. And the best part is, this is 13 solid minutes of a little thing they call advertising. Very well done.

Animal Bands

Any music fan would agree that the last few years of the folk revival have seen come with it an influx of what I like to call "Animal Bands." I'm not sure if this goes hand-in-hand with the green, Whole Foods/Trader Joes, all-natural movement, or if it's just the trend du jour of the hipsters, but there are almost no good animal names left for bands. If one were to start a new band tomorrow, they would be hard pressed to come up with a name cooler than Fleet Foxes, per se. Beards & Animal Bands, my friends.

Since I'm just now writing about it, I'm sure this trend is on its way out. The pendulum swing is departing the return to analog, and picking up speed heading back to digital – what's next, robot bands with beards?

Here's my list of current Animal Bands that are killing it. I admittedly enjoy most of the groups listed below - have I missed any?

- Animal Collective

- Fleet Foxes

- Grizzly Bear

- Deerhunter

- Deer Tick

- Band of Horses

- Caribou

- Tame Impala

- Frightened Rabbit

- Panda Bear (from Animal Collective, no less)

- Wolf Parade

- Sea Wolf

- Phoenix

- Gorillaz (doesn't quite fit the same mold as the rest...but still animalistic)

Honorable Mentions: (Less Animal-y and more Naturaleza)

- Neon Indian

- Neon Trees

- Blitzen Trapper (Wild Mountain Nation)

Here's one of my favorite songs from the past year or so by Animal Collective. I admit it took time for this track to grow on me, but then one day on the R Train, it hit me like a wave of perfection. Enjoy.

Animal Collective "My Girls" from Chad von Nau on Vimeo.

Should Be Good

Looking forward to Phoenix & The Dirty Projectors at Madison Square Garden tomorrow. Not the ideal venue, but I'm excited nonetheless.

Lucky

I've felt lucky this week that I sincerely like my job. A lot. I don't know if the average American can honestly say that. This VW ad from New Zealand helped me realize that. This is such a unique industry, advertising. Sure, it's the big, bad monster that claims to be part of the "creative" world, but that's why I love it. I've heard it put that advertising is the grease on the gears upon which the American machine runs. God bless America, and God bless capitalism. Although I'm sure many will point out my flawed thinking, I personally love our consumer culture. Advertising makes the American world go 'round. I feel lucky to be a part of it. Thank you Volkswagen of New Zealand for reminding me of that.

This spot is beautifully shot, very well executed, based on sound strategy, relevant consumer insight (even for a non-coffee drinking guy), and put over some amazing music. That recipe equals a winning ad in my mind. VW is a great brand, doing a lot of great things - internationally at least. VW America needs to step it up like their Kiwi cousins. Like I said, pretty lucky to work in the industry.

Study Like A Scholar

As far as parodies go, I've got to say that this isn't half bad! Made me laugh at work, so that's saying something.

Brigham Young University / BYU - New Spice | Study like a scholar, scholar

They Just Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To...

UP THERE from The Ritual Project on Vimeo.

I recently ran across this wonderful expose and was completely fascinated by this old school niche that has found itself left in the dust of modern day advertising. I personally would love to see more of this stuff around the city.
The Album Leaf soundtrack makes it especially enjoyable as well. Very well done!

Stanley Cup Time

I'm not the biggest of hockey fans, but I'm big fan of this new ad from Young & Rubicam. Go Blackhawks.

The Brothers Perlorian

Admittedly, I don't know much about this insanely out-there duo, but I find their work to be immensely creative and refreshingly original. I think there's a lot to be said for authenticity these days, and this stuff is real. Every advertisement they've directed over the past few years breaks through the clutter and makes you laugh. Rock on Perlorian Brothers.

The Perlorian Brothers is allegedly comprised of art director Ian Letts and copywriter Michael Gelfand, who, as you may have guessed, aren't really brothers. Check out their originality on display on their website and vimeo page.

One of my favorites featuring Bruce Campbell covering DuranDuran: