I’ve just finished packing for tomorrow’s trip to Amsterdam where I’ll be speaking at FITC (sorry, the event has sold out). I’ll be talking about my background and theory along with some in depth process stuff, should be fun. I am not sure if they’re taping, I’ll check when I get there.
I’ll be bringing along my D80 and trying to get some good shots during my week there. I was going through some photos from last year’s trip and it really inspired me to get back into photography. I’ve been super busy with music and design lately so the only work the D80 has been doing lately is product photography stuff so it will be nice to give it a workout in such a beautiful place. Seeing those old pictures also reminded me that I need to get them up; I stopped posting halfway through an around the world trip I took a couple years back and there’s a lot of shots left to process and post (like the wing over Stockholm above).
I’ve never really posted on fine art before, but these are works by Ed Rucha are my absolute favorites. I’ve seen one of these in person before but I have no memory of where I was. I am pretty sure the NYC MOMA has Ship Talk. I do remember that when I saw it, I froze for about five minutes in front of it; incapable of moving or verbally expressing why I was frozen. All I could think about was how much I needed to own it so I could stare at it all the time. I imagined fantastical scenarios where I would make a lot of money and purchase it instantly. I have never felt that way about any other work of art. It was simultaneously a great feeling (to have found something I loved so much) and a horrible one (for reasons I still don’t understand). Pictured above:
Like the Richard Misrach pictures I posted on a while back, I hesitated posting these in a 450 pixel wide scenario. You really need to see these in person to get the full effect. If I can remember where they are I’ll include it here. (And if anyone knows where these can be found, let us know in the comments.)
I found The Morning Benders by sifting thru Pitchfork.tv’s video series where he got local musicians and friends to perform his song Excuses, it came out great and it really had a memorable feel to it.
One band I want to see live this year is Yeasayer, it shouldn’t be hard since we both live in Brooklyn. If their shows are anything like their video for Ambling Alp then even Daft Punk might have a contender for best band characters.
Lindstrom moves closer and closer to what Moroder did in his career by setting aside the 15+ minute songs and starts working with a vocalist, Lovesick is definitely a good pop direction for the synth genius.
I felt like the blog needed some upbeat funk and soul, so here’s some Donald Byrd, this 8 minute jam makes you do one of those “yeah I know the lyrics now!” half way thru the song and you just end up lip syncing the song all wrong but you really don’t care.
Found these prints from an exhibit by Josef Schulz on the basic_sound blog, I thought they were pretty fun looking, would love to see this idea taken even further with different colors and shapes.
About a month ago I got to see Chaz Bundick play as his solo act Toro Y Moi, I sent it to Scott and we’ve been both hooked to his new album Causers Of This ever since. Below is a few question I asked him about everything from his blog which seems to have shrunk a bit since I was last there to what he’d be doing if he wasn’t doing music.
ISO50: First, your new album “Causers Of This” that just came out will be in our best of 2010 without a doubt but I read that you’ll be releasing 2 records this year, is this true? If so, can we expect more of this loveliness style wise?
TYM: Yeah, the plan is to do two records. This one is going to sound more songwriter based and non-electronic. The goal we’re shooting for is to have it out by August…
ISO50: I went to your blog, you have some great photos, can you tell us a little bit about them and what people are seeing on your blog? Is it a bit of the initimate and fun side of you?
TYM: Thanks. A lot of the photos are of my friends. It’s fun, I love taking pictures of people but I’m getting more into more inanimate photos and odd still lifes.
ISO50: Your from South Carolina[i’ve never been there] and I see that your pretty fashionable for a guy (I admire a good pair of eyewear), is there something that the rest of the world doesn’t know about South Carolina in music and the young people? Does the clothing world at all interest you? Any good thrifting there?
TYM: Well, i had to say one thing, it’s be that, us, south carolinians don’t all live in the backwoods. The thrifting is great down here. But, really a lot of trends, whether it be fashion, music, or art, spreads majorly because of internet theses days.
ISO50: I saw you play live in Brooklyn, you really look like you have a ton of fun on stage like a natural, does that come from anything like an old band or performing before?
TYM: I’ve played in bands since i was 15. I’m just getting use to being on stage by myself, but i’m willing to be embarassed and learn from my mistakes…
ISO50: Would you share any advice on production techniques and what synths you use or dream of owning?
TYM: hmmmm, proly stay away from direct lines when recording, sounds gross and flat. a dream synth? anything from Realistic.
ISO50: To put it bluntly, I hear “heavy melodic avant pop” early Max Tundra meets “I wanna make people move” 50’s and 80’s pop in the best way possible when I hear your music, can you share what records shaped your sound?
TYM: Most likely Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Donuts by J Dilla.
5 quick questions:
ISO50: Something your fans might not know about you: I dont shower often.
ISO50: Dream gig (location, mood, show opener or closer): SNL and zach galifianakis as the host.
ISO50: Favorite new band you’ve heard: Cloud Nothings
ISO50: If you weren’t doing music, where would you like to work: DDEESSIIGGNN
ISO50: Share a childhood memory that might relate to your music: Seeing my dad dressed in heavy winter clothing.
These images are recordings of mousepaths using a Java applet by Anatoly Zenkov. In addition to being an interesting aggregation of usage data, they look pretty cool (especially the ones over shorter time periods). The third image is my mousepaths while writing this post. The most telling are my frequent trips to the corners to cue my Exposé actions. Important to note that the black spots are where the mouse stopped for a period of time, not clicks as I thought at first. You can download it here: PC Version | Mac Version.
“S” – save image. “R” – restart.
The last two images are pieces by Hiroyuki Hamada. Completely unrelated yes, but when I saw the mouspath images I immediately recalled these from a couple weeks ago on bdif. I’d worry about you if your mouseclick data looked like this.
I’ve been up in Tahoe getting in a few days of skiing in before I hit the road and happened to come across some related reading. Black Crows make some very well designed skis (can’t speak to how they ride, I’m loyal to Armada) and now they make a well designed Cube. Nissan has partnered with the French ski maker to create these two special editions of Jakub’s favorite logo-shaped conveyance. The cars are interesting but the skis are the real story. I’m always complaining about the abysmal state of ski design these days but Black Crows have shown that there are still some people pushing the minimal vibe even in this age of x-treme-sports-informed maximalist design. The only problem is they’re too pretty to ride, I’d hang them on my wall though (see a couple pics below or check their site). Via We Heart
BTW: according to the EXIF on those shots they were taken with the GF1. Pretty nice, been thinking about getting something in that range (like the Canon G11 et al.) for traveling light. The shots below were shot with the mighty (yet inexplicably video-less) D700.
Ski images via Pixelcollector
