Conor Harrington – The Philosophy Of The Overlooked Wall

“Who here is stoic?”

Conor’s from Cork in Ireland. His work is an incredibly successful collusion between ‘fine’ art and ’street’ techniques.

The Decemberists – Live At The Hollywood Bowl – Download The Entire Concert

“Are they smarter than you?”

HOLLYWOOD—JULY 7, 2007 | Portland, Ore.-based The Decemberists love colorful characters. This is reflected in the band’s music, which makes these characters come alive in its sound, flourishing its lyrics with wonderous tales and tranforming the band members themselves into world-weary narrators. This night, Colin Meloy and his fellow chimbley sweeps/mariners/legionnaires were joined by the 106-member L.A. Philharmonic, which cast the songs in a slightly different light. The orchestra accentuated The Decemberists’ dramatic flair and added a touch of class, yet kept the alterations to a minimum and the essential sound of the band intact. While some of the audience slumbered to the low-tempo orchestration, others engaged in an all-together different dream in which the characters lived and breathed as The Decemberists imagined them.

The Animal Collective – A La Blogothèque Film

“Let’s Try This One More Time…”

Ah the Animal Collective. Does it get much kookier? Probably, but they are about my limit. Some say pretentious and some say beautiful. I would have to ere on the side of the latter. But put them together with La Blogothèque and you’ve got gold.

On My Desk – The Desk’s Of People More Creative Then You

OnMyDesk.com is a site that documents the workspaces / desks of creative folk from all over. From artists to illustrators to designers they got it all. I think it’s a good idea and the site is done nicely. So check it and compare the desks of the greats to yours.

On My Desk

MAP Magazine – Slightly Pretentious

MAP Magazine – Music.Art.People. While slightly too high brow for me to ever feel comfortable paying for, MAP magazine has got some really good stuff. And luckily, they have an online edition. Fresh layout, solid articles, and couture women fill the pages. You will find everything from fine jewelery to the gritty art districts of Miami and beyond. Have a looksy. It’s worth a shot.

MAP Magazine 

Donna Enticknap – Look Closely, There’s People In There

This is another artist that I loved from the second I saw her stuff. From what I have seen Donna Enticknap’s is a mix between a fractal and those old Chinese murals that span over a few panels.

Kako Euda – Amazing, Simply Amazing

Jesus Christ this is cool. I have seen cut paper art before but nothing ever like this. When I first saw this stuff I was totally blown away.

Anonymous and the Church of Scientology – Pics & Videos

    In early February, a group of hackers and activists banded together and suddenly surfaced on the internet. To the public they seemed to appear out of nowhere, but it became clear that they had been planning their emergence for some time. The group, which calls themselves Anonymous, made their grand entrance by hacking and shutting down the Church of Scientology’s website. Many on the web took notice immediately. Feverishly posting around the web, many speculated as to the group’s intentions. Soon after the initial attack came a flood of leaked documents along with several call to arms videos posted on You Tube. The videos called into questions the Church’s questionable ethics, devious practices, free speech violations, and their requirement that believers pay tens of thousands of dollars to participate in their “religion.” The videos also spoke of an upcoming protest in the works to take place at Scientology centers around the world.

Soon after this came the Tom Cruise indoctrination video. The video shows Tom fanatically arguing the merits of Scientology. “When you’re a Scientologist, and you drive by an accident, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you’re the only one who can really help… We are the way to happiness. We can bring peace and unite cultures.” And this is only the beginning. Then on February 10, the troops mobilized and showed in impressive numbers around the globe. From Los Angeles to London, protestors wearing Guy Fawkes masks and suits descended upon Scientology’s biggest centers. The protests promised to be only the beginning, and I wait for more to be revealed. Personally, I really have no opinion on the matter, only having heard vague rumors about the Church over the years. However, I think the way it all went down was somewhat cool. So now, I present to you some great pictures from the Los Angeles rally, the first Anonymous video posted on You Tube, and that very creepy Tom Cruise video.

Pictures of the Los Angeles protest

 

 

Anonymous’ You Tube call to arms

Tom Cruise’s indoctrination video (not for the faint of heart)

 

Web Urbanist

This is one of my favorite sites on the internet. Some of you may already know about it , but that has never stopped me in the past. Web Urbanist’s articles are creative, unique, and damn interesting to boot. This is the reason you will find them linked to all over the place. From large abandoned cities in Russia to laser graffiti in New York, Web Urbanist has never let me down (okay, maybe once or twice). Great photography and dedicated research fill the pages of The Urbanist with new-wave art geek delights.

More Radiohead – The Best For Last

Download Amplive’s Rainydayz Remixes in its entirety! An 8-track collection featuring remixes of Radiohead’s historic seventh album, In Rainbows. The songs are available in a zip file below and feature verses courtesy of Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, and Del the Funky Homosapien.

After a cease & desist put the breaks on Amplive’s Radiohead In Rainbows remix project, the online music community reasonably wondered if the tracks would ever see the light of day. Well, here they are.

 

Radiohead Tour 2008: North America Gets Some Dates

Man those Radiohead guys are so good to us. First it was the whole pay what you want thing, maybe you heard. And now, for us sorry saps that don’t have anything to look forward to, they give us a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  Feel the love. (If you’re south of the Mason Dixon, that is.)

typeish – Very Cool Image Database

“Typeish is an image bookmarkin’ database showcasing a careful selection of inspirational, provocative, intoxicating, exquisite, captivating photography, design, type, art, fashion, packaging…”

Basically a collection of all images hip, slick, and cool. Again, another website that has a pre-approval process for all uploaders. I like it a lot.

Bedtime Tunes – Good Streaming Music

Bedtime Tunes is a great Ajax site with lots of streaming tunes not necessarily only for bedtime as the name would have you believe. The music on this site is appropriate anytime of the dayas far as I am concerned. You can stream, rate, and download any of the music posted the site. The posters of the music are pre-approved by the sites creators which results in a site filled with high quality stuff. Make sure you also check out their other site Afternoon Delight which has “music for the rest of us”.

‘Invisible’ Men & Women In Artist’s Amazing Photographs.

In the natural world, the chameleon blends in perfectly with its background. In the urban jungle, Desiree Palmen decided to attempt the same visual deception.And as these pictures show, the effect is amazing.

Miss Palmen, a 44-year-old Dutch artist, uses a method that requires a huge amount of effort and attention to detail.

Desk deception: What appears to be a pile of papers is in fact a hunched figure

Thome York On NPR’s All Song Considered

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke shares some of his favorite music with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. The two talk about Radiohead’s latest work, In Rainbows and listen to some of the artists Yorke admires, including German electronica group Modeselektor, rap duo Madvillain, techno group Autechre and more.

Listen Here 

Interview: Neutral Milk Hotel

 

More than 10 years after the release of Neutral Milk Hotel’s classic album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Mike McGonigal revisits an interview he conducted with front man Jeff Mangum around his Athens, GA stomping grounds. Through the course of their conversation Jeff talks about the song writing process, a bit about his personal life, and his love of The Minutemen.

Read It Here

The Bubble Project

Our communal spaces are being overrun with ads. Train stations, streets, squares, buses, and subwaysnow scream one message after another at us. Once considered “public”, these spaces are increasingly being seized by corporations to propagate their messages solely in the interest of profit. Armed with heavy budgets, their marketing tactics are becoming more and more aggressive and manipulative. We the public, are both target and victim of this media attack.

The Incredible 10 Foot ‘Photographs’ Drawn With A Ballpoint Pen

They may look like pin-sharp photographs – but these amazing pictures are actually drawings created with the humble ballpoint pen. The stunning pictures, measuring up to 10ft high, were drawn by a rising star of the art world, Juan Francisco Casas.

Casas, 31, can use up to four 14p ballpoint pens for a canvas and his works are already a sell-out at exhibitions.

Formerly a traditional painter, Juan began the drawings three years ago based on photographs of nights out with his friends.

Bic money: Casas can use up four 14p ballpoints on one picture, but his prizewinning works already fetch up to £3,750 each

Running The Numbers – An American Self Portrait

Artist and activist, Chris Jordan creates amazing images that portray America’s consumption. Chris’ hope is that his images will have a different effect than raw numbers alone. Since simple numbers no matter how large can be rather abstract it can be difficult to connect with ones impact. Whereas a visual representation of vast quantities can help make meaning of 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds or two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs. The underlying desire is to emphasize the role of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming.

As with any large works they must be seen in person to participate in the full experience. I hope the images here and on Chris’ web site arouse your curiosity and desire to do so when possible.

Images courtesy of Chris Jordan

Plastic Bottles, 2007
60×120″
Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

Banksy, Banksy, Are You Out There?

Fresh paintings have been cropping up around Los Angeles. Some are sure that they are the work of Banksy, elusive guerrilla street artist responsible for some of the most interesting art in the city. He’s a trickster figure who never shows his face, but joined Steve Jones in the Indie 103.1 studios earlier this week, so he has been in Los Angeles.