I feel like i’ve used up all the adjectives that describe dreamy post rock already in this blog so its really hard to explain how beautiful this song is without using the same old ones. Can you just imagine being back in the mid 80s and just watching VHS’s of Cocteau Twins live shows in poor quality and driving around listening to this on cassette and sharing it for the first time with friends? so so good.
This has become my favorite Deerhunter song after going thru their catalog over and over. Listening to all the parts that make up the song, i’d be even content with just the hand claps and the pitched up synthesized voices that go thru the whole song.
I don’t think Ariel Pink gets your attention right from the beginning if you put in one of his records. It’s a sound that grows on you, this song has this early 90’s local cable recording quality to it and how he sings the chorus is addictive to listen to.
The Sundays at times ride this thin line of something you wouldn’t play for friends but you just can’t deny the songwriting and musicianship here, if I heard this live and at this quality i’d think they’d be one of the best band around.
A while back Computer Arts magazine asked me to write an illustration tutorial for an issue which focused on textures. The idea was to revisit the classic Bob DylanBlowin’ In The Wind / Mister Tambourine Man poster. I really enjoyed the project and ended up using the resulting image as the basis for my Progress Austin concert poster. Computer Arts has made the entire article available on their site as a PDF which you can download here. They’ve even made the original source files available so you can follow along with the tutorial. If you have any questions feel free to post in the comments and I’ll try and fill in any blanks.
“Creating eye-catching imagery for print can be a balancing act between the two distinct worlds of computer-based design. Scott Hansen shows you how to get explosive results in Photoshop…
The strengths and weaknesses of vector and raster graphics have long been apparent: vector is known for its clean lines and resolution-independent scalability whereas raster has a more photographic nature. Although vector graphics are particularly suited to print work thanks to their scalability, there are some things you can’t do without bringing rasters into the picture.
In this tutorial we show you how to bring together both vector and raster elements to create a seamless piece that sits well in both worlds. The concepts we explore will lend a timeless, weathered feel to what would otherwise be a rather stark design. Relying on Photoshop’s powerful raster tools and quite adequate stable of vector tools, we can tap the strengths of both without leaving the familiar realm of Adobe’s most powerful graphics app. We can unite two styles of design by employing Photoshop’s powerful blending mode options along with advanced gradient masking techniques to produce an illustration style that is truly unique.”
Some classics via Helloairecords. It always amazes me to see such forward thinking design from this period. It’s 1955 and design this evolved already exists, it’s incredible. Of course, this is Europe. Unfortunately, most of us in the states were too concerned with Elvis and Marilyn Monroe to appreciate the finer points of the grid system or minimalist design theory. There is something very pleasing about such simple shapes and colors modulated by the quirks and imperfections of the analog printing process, it really brings life to the composition.
One of my favorite records that I loved playing out when I DJ’ed was Four Tet – Pause because it had so many good dj set starters no matter where you played. Lately all i’ve wanted from Four Tet is for him to stop collaborating with other musicians and start on another record like Pause or Rounds, just a detailed melodic driven 180 gram colored vinyl that I can stare at and listen to all day.
I just posted Bon Iver a couple weeks ago but another EP popped up which was decent, could of been amazing but there’s this song called
“Woods” on it that I couldn’t handle to the point that I just threw that track away. As for this track “Blood Bank” I think it might be better than any track off his recent LP.
Junior Boys just announced they have a new LP slated for April 7th in the US, the album is called Begone Dull Care. I’d put Junior Boys down as the most listener friendly cross over band to play when you have a variety of friends over. “Under The Sun” is one of the more simple songs the Junior Boys have done but its so rewarding.
I don’t know much about Damn Arms besides remixes, as for dance music its pretty similar to your Cut Copy, College, and Midnight Juggernauts. The thing I do like about this song is the flute, i’m not gonna lie it grabs my attention and also reminds me of this Paul Simon video.
I’ll be driving up to Sacramento for the Dusty Brown show on Sunday, should be a good one. Word is they’re going to have a live drummer so definitely try to make it out if you can. Here’s the details:
I can’t add much to what has already been said on the internet/reviews/interviews of all of Mark Kozelek’s projects. If you haven’t listened to Red House Painters before then be warned its some of the saddest music. This song “Mistress” is actually upbeat compared to everything else plus he has some distant distortion going on that really works out nicely.
Windy & Carl don’t get the credit they deserve, I mean they run a wonderful record store called Stormy in Michigan, they release on Kranky and have been doing this sound longer than most that are still in the game, the noisy and lovely post rock game.
This High Places song is everything I wanted Mum to do after their first record, this is a very well written about band that deserves all the love they’ve received. Highly Recommended.
Update: The L.A. installment of the show has been set for Sunday Mar. 8th. More info is on the events page, get advance tickets here.
Ghostly International’s 10th birthday is fast approaching and they’re having anniversary shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles to celebrate. I’ll be playing the first date on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at Mezzanine in San Francisco. As far as I know, the line up will be the same for L.A., but I don’t have all the details for that show yet. This should be a great night filled with a lot of great performances by the Ghostly crew. You can snag some advance tickets for $5 off here. Hope to see you all out, here’s all the details: GHOSTLY and MEZZANINE present
GHOSTLY LIVE
10 Year Anniversary
1st Installment – SF!
Featuring LIVE performances by
TYCHO / ISO50 (live music & visuals) (set time: 12:20am)
CHRISTOPHER WILLITS
MICHNA
THE SIGHT BELOW
LUSINE
KATE SIMKO
DERU
ELIOT LIPP
Self Titled Magazine posted an amazing mix that was done by Michna and curated by SV4(Owner of Ghostly International), here is what they said:
“It all started with a record sleeve, a minimal blend of Michael Segal’s Boy Cat Bird characters and a Pacman-like logo plastered across a stark black background. Weighing the potential purchase based on nothing but a record shop recommendation and the cover’s simple, striking design, we scooped up Ghostly International’s inaugural Idol Tryouts compilation despite not even knowing who Dabrye or Matthew Dear were.
With Ghostly’s 10th anniversary looming on the horizon this year and School of Seven Bells just weeks away from gracing the cover of self-titled’s third digital issue, we thought we’d ask one of the label’s most promising new signings (Michna, a beat conductor/DJ/former Secret Frequency Crew member who also goes by the name Egg Foo Young) to craft a mix of Ghostly’s scene-spanning influences. He’s joined by Ghostly founder Sam Valenti IV (a.k.a. SV4), a sometime DJ who helped curate Michna’s crate. Together the pair emerged with a heady 60 minutes of melancholic dance music (Pantha Du Prince, Sascha Funke), Italodisco (Giorgio Moroder), essential electro (Kraftwerk), and an ambient house anthem (Orbital’s “Halcyon & On & On”) that left self-titled scrambling for our old copy of The Brown Album. Indie kids are encouraged to uncross their arms and join the fray, as the set ends in a mascara-smeared trifecta of the Depeche Mode, the Smiths and the Cure.” Read more here
Orbital – Halcyon & On & On (FFRR)
Joey Beltram – Enegy Flash (R+S)
The Persuader – What’s The Time, Mr Templar (Svek)
Sascha Funke – Safety First (Kompakt)
Pantha Du Prince – Suzan (Dial)
Klein & MBO – Dirty Talk (Zanza)
Gino Soccio – Remember (Atlantic)
Giorgio Moroder – The Chase (Casablanca)
Der Zyklus -Elektronisches Zeitecho (Gigolo)
I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Interdimensional Transmissions)
Kraftwerk – Numbers (WEA)
Air – Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi (Dopplereffekt Mix) (Source)
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts (Maxi Single Live Version) (Mute)
The Smiths – Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (Rough Trade)
The Cure – Close To Me (WEA)
The Cure – Close To Me (Closest Remix) (WEA)
I feel like i’ve used up all the adjectives that describe dreamy post rock already in this blog so its really hard to explain how beautiful this song is without using the same old ones. Can you just imagine being back in the mid 80s and just watching VHS’s of Cocteau Twins live shows in poor quality and driving around listening to this on cassette and sharing it for the first time with friends? so so good.
