Going On by Gnarls Barkely
June 2, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Music Video / Photography

I saw this a couple weeks ago but I thought I’d post it because it makes for a good later night post. This the new Gnarls Barkley video for the song, Going On, definitely one of the best tracks off the new album. What I think is so cool about this video is that it was totally inspired by Clayton Cubitt’s Lagos Calling series, which he notes in his blog. But Clayton is so rad about the situation that he calls it a “lovely happenstance”, something I think very few people would do.

I think the imagery definitely works for the song and the video, and even though it could be called a rip off, a topic I am definitely not fond of, I think they do the idea a great deal of justice. The desaturated colors with the bold yellow fonts, the fast-paced dancing in the street… I’m totally into it. Well, except for the end, that effect in the door frame looks ridiculous, haha…

Bobby

New Mcginley Inspired Sigur Ros Video for Gobbledigook
May 27, 2008 | Categories: Art / Music / Music Video / Photography

Holy crap. Out of nowhere Sigur Ros just released this new single and video for a song called Gobbledigook, an Animal Collective-esque song that makes me really frigging excited for their new album, Með suð i eyrum við spilum endalaust (With A Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly). Yeah, seriously, that’s what it’s called.

But what really takes the cake is how awesome the music video is! It was directed by Arni & Kinski, and inspired by Ryan McGinley who I guess also collaborated on the video. To me that sounds like they asked him if they could shoot in his style so he wouldn’t sue them and he said yes, haha… Anyhow, the video, in classic McGinley fashion, features a bunch of hot, young things running around naked in the woods. It’s not shot quite like a McGinley photo, but I think the essence is there at the very least. I think combined with the song it’s particularly amazing, definitely pretty fun and out there.

If you’re at work, you probably shouldn’t watch it, as there are boobs and weens ALL OVER the place in this video, so that’s you’re warning. But I highly suggest sneaking behind your bosses and co-workers back and watching it, it’s damn beautiful and the song is way fun. I mean, it’s artsy nudes, they’re not having sex, so whatevs.

Found through Gorilla vs. Bear

Bobby

Alex Prager
May 26, 2008 | Categories: Photography

Last week my buddy Eric gave me a heads up about this photographer Alex Prager, so I checked out her site, and was totally stunned. ALex works in Los Angeles, shooting photos that are extremely retro in their styling, but modern in their execution. Imagine the set of The Birds, or an episode of The Wonder Years, but shot in this weird, almost Stepford Wives kind of way. It’s kind of like she crafted a bunch of personas from different pieces of characters in films and then photographed it. The colors are bright, but somewhat desaturated and definitely surreal.

The top image reminds of a somewhere between The Birds and Jaws, you don’t know whether or not the threat is going to come from above or below, either way she’s totally screwed. The bottom photo makes me think of Dali Atomicus, which captures Dali jumping in the air, cats and water flying by and the easel and other furniture are starting to float. They’re both very out there, but really fun.

Bobby

Untitled Magazine No. 002
May 22, 2008 | Categories: Art / Design / Illustration / Magazine / Photography

Mike Perry just released the second issue of his cool artsy magazine, Untitled. This time around it’s the swimsuit issue, and based upon the preview it’s definitely fill with a bunch of bikini-clad, hot chicks. But because Mike is the brainchild, there are also a ton of really rad drawings, cool fonts, and splashes of blue and lavender all over. The contributors on this issue are Anthony Wallace, Luke Ramsey, Brigitte Sire, Robin Cameron, Noah Sheldon, Damian Correll, Ben Frederickson, Milan Zrnic, Jeremy Williams, Josh Clancy, Theo Morrison, Wyeth Hansen, Anna Wolf, and Mike Perry.

The issue is 80 pages and only costs $18, so go visit the site and pick yourself up a copy!

Bobby

Today Is the Day
May 14, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Design / Music / Photography


Today Is the Day by Yo La Tengo

For some reason I woke up this morning with a hankering to hear a certain Yo La Tengo song, but I couldn’t remember which one it was. I finally remembered that the song was Today Is the Day, a song that was off of their album Summer Sun. But they released a Today Is the Day EP as well, and instead of putting the original version on there, they put this amazing sped up version that destroys the original. Seriously, if you don’t want your ass kicked by Yo La Tengo right now, don’t listen to this.

On a sidenote, I made that cover above because I couldn’t find a large image of the original. The background and letters are made up of images from Michael Surtees’ New York City Colour Study project. Basically he takes a picture of the sky over Manhattan every morning around 7 am every day, documenting how different the sky can look day to day. I figured since the album was titled Today Is the Day it was kind of fitting. Also, Yo La Tengo is from Hoboken, New Jersey which pretty much shares the same sky as Manhattan, so it works for me. Probably not the most creative of the covers I’ve made, but it’s very conceptual, something I don’t do often.

Also be sure to check out Michael’s blog DesignNotes, it’s a good read.

Bobby

Ooo, Mordor Is A Place on Earth
May 13, 2008 | Categories: Photography / Science

You know when you see something in a photo and it totally reminds you of some other thing you know about? That’s how I felt when I saw the photos of Lliama, Chilé’s crazy exploding volcano… Mordor is a real place. For those of you unfamiliar with Lord of the RIngs nerdiness, Mordor was the home of Sauron, that big guy who smashed everyone in the first movie and then became that fiery eyeball in the sky in the other ones.

As you can see in the photos above, there’s no doubt at all that the southern part of Chilé will be soon overrun with orcs and goblins and Nazgûl will be flying through the sky. For more crazy photos of the volcano with the lightning and hell breaking loose, take a visit here.

Bobby

Advice to Baby Photographers, Not Photographers Of Babies
May 9, 2008 | Categories: Life / Photography

I really love Clayton Cubitt’s blog The Constant Siege, I read it everyday and I just get a general good vibe about the guy. So I saw this excerpt on his blog from something he posted on his blog on Nerve and I thought it was really great. The original piece is basically words of advice relating to photography and life in general. What he wrote down made me laugh though:

- Rules were meant to be broken, yes, but it feels much better if you know what the rules were in the first place. Picasso started as a realist. Once he had that down he could paint whatever he wanted. Be like Picasso. He got laid a lot.

- Expensive gear won’t make your images better, and more gear won’t make you more effective. If you can’t do it with a basic camera, you can’t do it. The simplest 10% of a camera does 90% of the work. The rest is cock-waving for specialists. That short, aging bald guy in the red sports car? The one with erectile dysfunction? That’s your fancy camera.

- What makes up a style? Find a photographer you really admire and rip him off mercilessly.Consider it a remote apprenticeship. This is the history of culture. One day you’ll accidentally start doing original work, and then some young punk will start ripping you off. And the cycle of life is continued…

For more of these check out the entry here.

Bobby

Storm Troopin’
May 9, 2008 | Categories: Photography

About 5 years ago I worked at a comic shop and it was one of the best jobs I ever had. I worked with this guy Rex who totally made it even more fun, and while we both liked comic books, we were not nerds, or at least compared to some of the people who came into the shop. In the store, we had a toy section, and in the toy section was a sale section where I found a Captin Jean Luc Picard action figure. He came with cloth clothing, which I decided to take off, leaving him only wearing his boots which also earned him the name, ‘Nude Picard’. Nude Picard would fight other toys all the time, being so bad ass he didn’t have to wear clothes, even though the dorks and geeks that strolled through the shop thought this was the most ridiculous thing they’d ever seen.

Storm Troopin’, a set of Flickr by Cindi G., totally reminds me of those days. Basically what she’s done is set up a bunch of Storm Trooper action figures in ridiculous (but well photographed) set-ups and started posting them onto her Fllickr. What’s most funny I think is that she treats them like small people. She doesn’t try to pretend that they’re full sized, they’re tiny storm trooper people who have feelings just like you and me!

My favorite is TK-315, who is always photographed with his coffee mug, as you can see above. The way she cocks their helmets and positions their bodies gives them a real sense of movement and life. If you need a good chuckle, definitely check out her photos!

Opera in the Dark: Photos by Bill Henson
May 8, 2008 | Categories: Photography

These photos have been floating around the web for a few days now but I really enjoyed them so I thought I’d share them. Photographer Bill Henson was inspired by the idea of sitting in a dark space. like an opera. for a special performance. The performance being waited for in the pictures is the Paris Opera, which provided for some really interesting subjects. The photos themselves are pretty surreal and almost ethereal, the people in them looking bored or aloof because of the angles created by looking down on the performance itself. I also love the colors and the depth of the blacks, they’re so intense and unlike anything I’ve really seen.

Be sure to check out the more photos over on Shoot The Blog.

Bobby

Photos from Banksy’s Show at The Cans Festival
May 8, 2008 | Categories: Art / Design / Photography

Photos have popped up from The Cans Festival, an old grunge-y tunnel filled with amazing art and graffiti including none other than the king of witty street art, Banksy. It looks like it was quite a show, with art covering nearly every inch of the tunnel. It even looks like anyone could come in and stencil certain parts of the show, making it interactive as well.

Banksy’s section is pretty epic, with giant stencils, overturned cars (even though Barry McGee did it first) and even his statue of David with a bullet proof vest. Definitely check out Romanywg’s Flickr Set to see a ton of good looking photos from the event.

Bobby