itself it speaks

the answers

What the flip? I just found clips that show Sleigh Bells with Die Antwoord. That concert would've been SICK! What perplexes me is why didn't I go to this? This was in the city, around $15 and I think maybe the first tour Die Antwoord and Sleigh Bells were doing... o the follies of youth.

Sleigh Bells & Die Antwoord from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.

Sources: www.vimeo.com

them girls

Alright, so I gotta admit that I love Florence + the Machines with their song The Dog Days Are Over. It's just so darned catchy. I don't usually watch sappy girl dramas (like Grey's Anatomy and such) and it pains me that they're such a good source of indie music. For some reason it's the age of female-led bands and boy is it awesome. Here are two.

Sleigh Bells "Infinity Guitars" from Phil Pinto on Vimeo.

Don McLean vs Florence + The Machine - American Days Are Over (mashup) from Reborn Identity on Vimeo.

Nothing To Fear from Simon Russell on Vimeo.

I threw in the "Nothing to Fear" for the fun of it. Reminds me a bit of the dystopian societies we read about in high school. The 1984s, Handmaid's Tale, Brave New World etc.

Sources: www.vimeo.com, www.thecuriousbrain.com

Sweet Heart Street Art

There are no apparent meanings to the titles of these entries if you haven't noticed by now. They're usually just alliterations that sometimes point to the content of the posts being provided.

So Christmas time is almost here and as my thoughts drift regularly to my blanket I'm reminded of the staggering cold that confronts the people living outdoors. I have contemplated the idea of living outdoors, free from a roof impeding my view of the night sky but the harsh winters leave me wanting anything but. There are others out there who do not choose their homeless predicaments, but are forced upon them. The livelihood of these people are dependent on encounters of chance offers of food, shelter, clothing or money.

The art of Michael Aaron Williams reminds me of these fortuitous chance encounters. His subject matter is homelessness; his art is homeless. His pieces linger in temporal fragility, waiting for destruction. They beg to be claimed and brought into a house that welcome them.

From his website:

"Some of the pieces I create are made for a gallery and some for the street in which the placement is necessary to add to the thematic meaning of the piece. Making something that has its own natural lifespan is very interesting to me. Because the paintings are of people on the street I also put them on the street where they are exposed to that which can destroy them. I want the pieces to have hope, so I dont glue them to the wall I simply tape them so that the viewer can take them down and hopefully take them home. So when the pictures are left up and if no one takes them they will cease to exist. They will be destroyed and blown away in the wind or other forces that will rip them down and throw them away. However, when people take home the pieces from the street. It is symbolic of how Christ has saved me. Without Him I would still be on the street. I would still be exposed to the wind, rain, and people that would tear me down. So, the meaning of the pieces on the street is not found in the pieces themselves. Rather, what the pieces are exposed to and see. What they experience and where they will end up, on the streets or in the hands of someone who has taken them home and put them up on there wall, as a prize and as a wanted piece of there home."

It's funny how easy it is to give worth to things/people/objects if we just take a little time to look.

You can take a look at the interview done of him here.

Sources: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/homeless-street-art-10-pieces, http://www.michaelaaronart.com/michaelaaronart.com/The_Artwork/Pages/street_art.html

Chicken a la King

I love the animation on this vid. It reminds me of another off-the-wall yellow protagonist named Sponge Bob Square Pants but a little more adult themed. If you're offended by chicken breasts and other anatomical features I would advise to skip over this one. But lemme tell you that you'd be missing on some crazy nice watercolour backgrounds. If you're one for psychedelic colour explosions, pirate ships and space exploration then click play already!

Seymour Bits - Put It Back Down from magnetron music on Vimeo.

Sources: http://www.cluttermagazine.com/news/seymour-bits-put-it-back-down

freelance whales and mia riddle

After a little break from the concert scene, I got the chance to head to El Mocambo with a couple friends to enjoy a good ol' indie rock-out. I never thought of myself as a hipster, and I still don't really think of myself as one. The old clothes I wear, the music I listen to, I adhere to because I'm trying to be as thrifty as possible. I love the fact that with indie music and artists you don't need to bust the bank to listen to some really extravagant stuff. You can download a bunch of their music for free (legally) and they're just so grateful for you showing up to their gigs.

So Tuesday night we get into the ElMo just in time to stumble in on a wicked band headed up by a nice looking girl named Mia Riddle. That girl had stage presence, a few times I thought that she'd shed a tear, she was so into the music. The funniest part of the set by far was the drummer. I don't know if they didn't have a high enough seat for him (he was a pretty tall guy) but he was hunched over the drums throughout the whole thing. Now that I sit here listening to their myspace stuff I can say that they were much much much better live (and they're not half bad on myspace).

Then there was the Freelance whales, and they were whoa. You know how in most bands there's a guitarist, drummer, a bassist and a singer? They had those roles in Freelance Whales, 'cept they were freeflowing and changing. I wouldn't be stretching if I said everyone in that band could play the instrument of any other person. They have a great digital sound, interspersed with very innocent overtones and they got some interesting tones. There was one set where the guitarist took a violin bow to his guitar and made a sound that I can only describe as whale-esque.

Anyways that's more writing than I've done in a LONG time so take a listen to these folk. Mia Riddle and those Freelance Whales.

Picture sources: http://www.aheartisaspade.com/2010/11/08/freelance-whales-visit-wxpn/, http://www.sharkpartymedia.com/

rough and tumbleweeds

Just some awesome vids. A Manimal making it in the the wilds of human society and a couple've humans conquering the natural world. What ties these videos together? Wicked sequences on bicycles.

Meet Buck from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

FRAMED-Andi Wittmann Rider profile from Felix Urbauer on Vimeo.

the elegant machine

SHIRO Cheers System from HN on Vimeo.

I love videos that feature ultraly convoluted pieces of mechanically engineered masterworks made to do nothing except to entertain and waste time until it ends with spectacular triumphant product placement and lemme tell you this video delivers in spades! The thing that takes the cake is that this video has nicely clothed girls, enjoying alcohol (sans male counterparts) accompanied with She and Him's "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here". I love this classy advertising, not having to sex up the players in the scene with scanty clothing or red hot lips. I love the choice of using white in these shots and playing with the amount of light to create different levels of varying colour. I love the explanation that's tagged to the video on youtube:

This is a promotion movie of a Shochu, "Shiro" by Takahashi shuzo.
http://cheers-system.jp/

When we say "Cheer!", the happiness is born between two people.
And it spreads to others like a chain reaction and grows bigger and bigger.
We hope the Japanese Shochu "SHIRO" can bring people bit closer and happy by making them "Cheers!".

If you feel like to say "Cheers!" with friends even a little after watching this movie, we are pleasure to hear so.

With nothing left to say let's end with this: Cheers friends!

Sources: http://blog.rainbowhill.com.au/2010/07/shiro-cheers-system.html, http://www.booooooom.com/, http://www.youtube.com/

Elementary My Dear, Elementary

You know you've made a splash in the world when one name isn't enough for you. May I present to you the man with the many monikers Mr. Stephane Massa-Bidal aka Hulk4598 aka retrofutur. The coolest part about this guy is that he's a graduated chemist, but you wouldn't know it looking at his works. He mixes-n-matches old-school and new-school photos throwing in text and visuals in a way that makes you nostalgic of the past but firm in the present.

As you can see with this Elements album he still draws inspiration from his chemistry background. Science and art, old and new, I love it when people draw two poles of a spectrum together. That is harmony. You can see more of his work right here.

O yea! Check out his interview!

Source: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2udpd7cec1v2w

More Elevation Ruminations

Alright kiddies, I got two vids to show off. Both to do with more flying. One of flying kites, one of flying fists. I'll let you figure out which is which.

Since I have the time I guess I could give a synopsis of both. How to fly a kite is about a guy who wants to start his own cult, but finds himself his only supporter. Stupid People is a music video 'bout imagination and the interplay of boys and girls. Enjoy.

How To Fly A Kite from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

Dirty Deeds - Stupid People from Flying V on Vimeo.

Sources: http://thecuriousbrain.com/

Let's Fly Away

Check these flights of fancy out. Maia Flore and her Sleep Elevations. Take a peek right here.

Source: http://www.sweet-station.com/blog/

For the Love of Type

I have fond memories of my first serendipitous encounter with the world of typography. It started of simply enough with the benign surfing of television channels after a dreary day at work. While surfing, I turned to one of my most enjoyed local television stations and chanced upon people talking about Helvetica. Helvetica? Seriously? What more needs to be said of a font buried in a drop-bar in an office program? So there I sat rapt with attention for an hour that absolutely blew my mind.

After that night I find myself frequently amazed at the versatility of type, and here is another thing of awesome that caught my eye. Created by Matteo Civaschi, senior director of H-57 Creative Station, these are his works.

There's an interview with Matteo here about how he got inspired to create his work. Well worth the read.

Source: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2udpd7cec1v2w

Get Up, Throw Down/Get Down, Throw Up

I've seen a trend in myself posting up every month or so. It's not the pace I want to be posting up at but at least it's a little consistency. Anywhodoodles, there some cool stuff I drudged up.

I am a fan of mould and decomposition, death and decay. In the residuals of rot, at the moment of destruction lingers a moment where there is an appreciation of being, having lived and graced the world. When things break down and die off we can more fully appreciate their fluttering lofty moments.

This is presented in such eloquence in Daniele Del Nero's work After Effects.

Is it just me or is anyone else craving some cheese?

Source: http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/

Loveline twined in realtime

I have no clue what that title means but it doesn't matter! After dealing with my cruddy computer dying on me and my spending countless hours trying to revive it, it has come back alive. IT'S ALIVE!! IT'S ALIVE!!!

Been kinda depressed lately with the lack of good music and videos (hence the lack of posting) but there's this one guy named Ben Talmi that you should check out.

http://www.myspace.com/bentalmi

It's ridiculous that all this musical goodness was done in his bedroom.

Makes me think I've wasted too much time in my bedroom just sleeping.

For you visual people, here's some interesting perspective artwork by Nils Nova.

Source: todayandtomorrow.net

Delectible Delightful, Inspiring Insightful

Umbra (HD - 2010) from Malcolm Sutherland on Vimeo.

Not really too much I can write about this other than, it's worth the watch. It takes a little time to get engrossed in it and I must admit I almost didn't give this video it's fair shake. After watching it I still don't know what to make of it, is it a ending of hope or of despair? Whichever it is, it's grand in it's simplistic beauty.

Source: http://beautifuldecay.com/

I love this girl.

For those of you who haven't yet heard of Uffie, here's your introduction. This girl is attitude personified and her tracks have a tendency to burrow into your ear and lay eggs... nice tasty eggs of musical wonderment. It doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes and her video is AMAZING.

UFFIE - Difficult from Uffie on Vimeo.

If you still doubt her cred after the listen you might want to check out her collab with a man named Pharrell. I hear that guy is pretty legit.

Source: likecool.com

Sharing the Aware-ness

Been recently sitting on a lot of the good and interesting things I've come about, and I don't know if it's because I'm lazy or selfish or both, but I came across two videos that I really would like to post about. I personally believe in showcasing things that push the envelop, or even better tear open the envelop to see the gritty insides of it, in all the guts and glory.

Let's start off with something tamer:

And then this:

Since I haven't posted in a while I'm going to make this a big one. And this is really close to me. While attending the all-you-can-eat-knowledge-buffet called university I was graced with the opportunity of having a friend for a lecturer. We had recently come back from a conference named Urbana and he invited a man named David Batstone to speak to the class, a class I managed to sneak into. This man is the founder of the Not For Sale Campaign and I'm going to let you take a look at the website for yourself but the things he said were so simple yet so radical. He talked about taking the spending power from the richest of the rich, and transferring it to the poor. If a million people with a dollar each, they have a million dollars in spending power. He talked about how people do not need to be exploited but instead need to be incorporated, and empowered.

He talked on for an hour about things too long to type out. But let me tell you, the drive to the airport with him was just as interesting... but that's also another story.

Ode to good friends.

Recently I was at a wedding with an open bar. This music vid reminds me of all those good times. Enjoy.

The Hundred in the Hands - Pigeons (Music Video) from DANIELS on Vimeo.

Beautiful Ballerina Project

It was when I was in grade 12, sitting in my Exercise Science class that I decided that if I could do life all over again I'd go into ballet. It was astounding the pain they go through to become great at what they do. They practice hours and hours on end, with stress fractures on their feet and knees, for the brief moments on stage of so that the audience can get a glimpse of the beauty that we all share as human beings.

Dane Shitagi with his aptly titled "New York City Ballerina Project" shows the grace and poise of a ballerina and how an entity that is usually found on the big stage can mesh so seamlessly with the beauty of the natural world. This thing was 8 years in the making, so enjoy.

.

Dane Shitagi holds regular auctions for his photographs at the Facebook group Ballerina Project.

Sources: http://www.ballerinaproject.blogspot.com , http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/the-beautiful-ballerina

What'd you do for a couple mill?

Kinda like Snatch with a little more ethnic diversity and done in a shorter time frame. Worth the watch in my opinion. Might just see a familiar face in it.

Your Lucky Day from Dan on Vimeo.

Source: likecool.com

Moldy Madness!!

Aight hobos, I've been sitting on this gem for a while and havne't shown too many people, but these guys directed some vids of some bands called Muse and Passion Pit. I don't know who the heck they are either but what I do know is that this video is BALLIN'! If you don't appreciate the interplay between life and death, beauty and morbidity, at least enjoy the cute little fuzzy critters get eaten.

Homunculus from HUMBLE TV on Vimeo.

Let's celebrate wallowing sadness!

This stuff is awesome. Was a fan of Dangermouse after his Grey Album and was waiting to see what mind blowing spectacle he'd come up with next. The stuff he's got now in this collab and with Broken Bells is very different but it's still goodness. I had wanted to pick up the vinyl for A Dark Night of the Soul but that'll be when I'm less poor.

Tarp Surfing

When I first saw this video I was debating about whether to put it up. After a few weeks of flip-flopping here it is. It's so stupid but at the same time so genius.

How to Destroy Angels

Those of you who like Trent Reznor, filipino singers, ambient/post-rock or interesting free stuff.

http://www.howtodestroyangels.com/

When the Artificial meets Material

Tardigotchi_English from Studio Bureau on Vimeo.

Meet the cross between a sea monkey and a tamagotchi. In a few years tardigrades are going to be all the rage. These suckers are the only thing we know to have survived the vacuum of space.

Smog - Rock Bottom Riser

Just love how it reminds me of Johnny Cash. The video isn't half bad either.





from: likecool.com

The time spent in limbo.

I had a discussion with a few friends last Sunday when we were gathered at our typical McDonalds hang out after suffering a crushing softball loss. The topic of the movie Inception came up and while I was not too fond of the movie I could not come to terms with the concept of Limbo and why it was perceived as such a bad place to be in. Looking at it objectively Limbo seems like it's a place where time is perceived, where knowledge is procured, where life is lived, similar to how our lives are lived, but the difference is that this life is constructed from what we grasp reality to be. The conclusion we came to, after 5 or so hours of debate, was that Limbo is bad. It is a place where one goes when they have no where else to go, and once there, you forget your initial thoughts, motivations and purposes. Because you come in knowing nothing, you create for yourself a world of something that makes sense to you or reflects your understanding, people that come in hence forth will abide by the constructs set up by first man who defines the limbo. After a while it got to technical.

But I still couldn't give up my admiration of Limbo. It presented itself as an opportunity to redefine yourself. Just like coming out of jr. high into high school, just like coming out of highschool into university, just like coming out of university into a career. To be able to spend one's lifetime in a way that you think best. A place where you wished and willed your dreams would come to fruition. Could a person ever tire of a place that ceaselessly affirms the person's place and need in the world? People are constantly searching for a place to belong to, ideals to aspire to and in a place that draws out the best in you, that caters itself to you, why does it seem people are less than satisfied with it or even afraid of it?

I'll try to string together more coherent thoughts in the morning.

Turn your lights down low

Lordy, I miss Lauryn Hill and cuz I got a little nostalgia, I threw up something to remind of the good times. Yea I know how that sounds like I just upchucked but forget about it and enjoy the tunes.

No they ain't necessity.

Love the video. So crisp, elegant and simple. I'm recommending this little itty bitty ditty "that tree".

Art with a Cause

Aight, I give up. I can't write daily updates and drone on, I think I'd rather post up things that help me obtain some excitement in my mundane life. Take a gander, have a listen.

Solidarité from La Boite Concept on Vimeo.