Steady Clappin'

There’s something about the juxtaposition between geometric shapes and the human figure that really speaks to me. I’m not totally sure what it’s saying, but it always grabs me. Contradictions, be it color, line, form, are powerful and I appreciate that. Willy Verginer exemplifies those ideas with his playful wood sculptures—in their positioning and color.

I want one for my front room. That way, instead of having just me creeping on my neighbors through the window, it’ll look like I have a friend. Normal people have friends, right?

Read more, nephew.

So the Coen Brothers made another movie. That’s silly. If I were them, I’d have retired right after No Country For Old Men and refused to make any other movies. I’d take my ball and go home. It’s like when I beat my friend at Madden like 10 years ago and then conveniently retired. Automatic legend riding into the sunset on top of the world.

Anyways, True Grit, an adaptation of the book, and not a remake of the 1969 John Wayne adaptation, just came out with a trailer. I watched it at noon today. It’s now been over four hours. I guess it’s time to call the doctor.

I’m pretty intrigued by AMC’s latest, The Walking Dead. The whole zombie genre is vastly overrated in my opinion, but they’ve made this graphic novel based series look interesting to me—namely with its seemingly human based plot with the apocalypse as simply a setting. Or at least that’s what I’ve gotten from the trailer.

But on to the video. Title sequences are important. Especially to design nerds like moi. If well done, they can set the tone to the film (think Se7en, Catch Me If You Can) or even just wrap it up in a beautiful way (think Lemony Snickets).

A fan—Daniel M. Kanemoto—made this using images from the original comic and music from the Eels. Conceptually, they’re not the most original titles I’ve ever seen, but they are executed wonderfully. The change that happens at 0:38 is especially noteworthy. Why’d he do it? I dunno. Because he was bored, maybe. Good on him. When I’m bored, I find the nearest cardboard box full of puppies, call up my eastern European friend, and film her throwing them one by one into a swiftly moving river.

It’s Monday, I just got back from the crentist, and I’m in the mood to show you how good a taste of music I have, and in turn, you have, by listening. White Denim just dropped a new album, Last Day of Summer, that you can get FO FREE if you want, or pay if you’re the King of England and made of money. It’s really really really really really really good.

White Denim // Shy Billy

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Ikea just released a cook book entitled Hembakat är Bäst, which of course, is gibberish for Homemade is Best. Carl Kleiner was tagged to photograph it and as the youths say, he straight killed it. Instead of slapping a cheesedick picture of some overweight southern woman in a cardigan smiling on the cover or even the finished baked goods, he concentrated on the ingredients themselves. By doing that, he kept with Ikea’s here’s-some-pieces-now-go-make-it philosophy. It all makes me want to take off all of my clothes, put on an apron, and ruin some cupcakes.

Read more, nephew.

This is the best video centered around a robot since Tiger Woods’ televised apology for sleeping with a bunch of fours and fives.

This is a spec promo video done for HBO about a homeless man who does what he can to become a fighter. There’s no dialogue at all. The story telling is done that well. The actor’s eyes, to me, are what really sell it.

These are Egyptian commercials for Panda Cheese. The contradiction between the Buddy Holly music and the creepy Panda is superb. And hot damn does that Panda have some fantastic comedic timing. I’m pretty sure the one that takes place in the kitchen is my favorite. Egypt, you’ve won me over!

Golden Ages (Philly represent) managed to make a song that I would be happy listening to in any season. Except for the winter. I don’t listen to music then. All I listen to in that season is my downtrodden, beaten whimpering. It’s a layered, driving, building song that really does live up to its title, which is something I’ve been having to say to myself a lot lately.

The video is beautiful as well. Go watch it. It has great colors, well-thought costumes, and geometric shapes. Those are three of my top five favorite things. The other two are early twentieth century literature and teacup pigs.

Golden Ages // Everything Will Be Alright

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The Black Cab Sessions are little impromptu performances in black cabs that you’d find in London. All the songs tend to be pretty stripped down to to space constraints, and to me, there is not much better than that. A lot of songs can turn into completely different things when that happens. Above, I put one of my favorites. My favorite favorite is the Lykke Li one. They don’t allow embedding of them all because they’re stupid. (Edit: see comments) There are much more videos at the website. Look into it, mate.

Do they even say that kind of stuff in England? Mate? I have no idea. Everything I know about the Britons, I’ve learned from their tv shows. And as far as I know, Peep Show could be as accurate to their culture as Rock of Love is to mine. Which is to say, scarily accurate.