Bandcamp recently launched a new way to browse their massive catalog of musical offerings via Discover - a simple way to sort through loads of criteria for finding new music. Want to look at the best-selling vinyl? the latest artist-recommended experimental songs? the semi-latest digital releases? It's all there and you will find some seriously outrageous stuff mixed in with worthwhile listens. The most difficult part about the whole experience is that you want to keep clicking around so quickly that you don't give a hearty listen to what is currently playing (also, being able to throw in a Region tag would be super nice). I predict this will definitely lead to a load more sales on Bandcamp, always a good thing.
Ronnie posted a link to this video essay regarding Style in The Wire; a 36-minute study in the notion that one of the most highly regarding shows from television (and most TV in general) actually has a very plain style. I haven't viewed the entirety of the video but if you just check out the first 3-4 minutes you get the basic premise and a quality food nugget to think on for the remainder of the day. Of your favorite TV shows, which has the best visual style?
Riding on the success of Mad Men, AMC recently launched a show called The Pitch that follows around different contemporary ad agencies as they pitch for competing jobs. While it's definitely interesting to see how McKinney goes head to head with WDCW or how The Ad Store manages to come up with their ideas I can't help but think almost every single high level creative on the show is an unbearable personality. I've done my fair share of work with ad agencies but it kind of blows my mind that the egomaniacal, brutish persona that I've encountered at a handful of places actually persists across the board. How is this possible?! Am I incorrect in this thinking or is this just the personality that is required to be a pitch man for a big corporation?
I knew it was only a matter of time but it looks like some easy-to-use, legit tweening engines are now available for your HTML5 / Javascript needs. Granted, you're going to be on the bleeding edge of animation and may experience some serious frame dropping but it's a start (surprisingly, Canvas does a much better job with animation but isn't as widely adopted by dev's for whatever reason).
TweenLite JS - probably the most ubiquitous tweening engine for Flash / Actionscript is now available for Javascript. The same familiar syntax should make adoption super easy for anyone, like myself, transitioning away from ever touching Flash again but still interested in diving into some Javascript. HT Madrid.
Cocos2D HTML5 - you can download the engine here but I'd say visit this demo for an easier to understand version of what's going on. via Will.
Walking in Slow Motion - I don't know the back story here and don't want to. I choose to believe Bill Murray just went ahead with these guys silly little idea and it turned out great.
Bill's Rules - speaking of Bill Murray. Did you know that 1982 Era Murray can compare directly (1:1 ratio) with Dr. Steve Brule. Sure, the accents are different but the intentions are the same.
Kreayshawn - Breakfast (Syrup) - I honestly can not tell if this is an honest musical undertaking or a parody video. Viral video for Miss Butterworth's? Jokes on us? Please?
Cat Walking Down Fridge - because a quality Friday Video playlist features a cat doing something crazy.
Krispy Kreme - Best Friends - here's the thing. I've seen othervideos from this teenage rap duo but it never really hit home how endearing it was until "Best Friends" dropped. I get it now. It rides that fine line between "Should I laugh at this?" and "I legitimately love this for its earnestness." It's engaging in the strangest way. Watch the whole thing because the callout at the end is amazing.
The Dark Knight a la Hitchcock - what happens when you take the first five minutes of The Dark Knight and put the opening score from Hitchcocks Vertigo over top? Turns out you get a surprisingly excellent mashup of audio and video. Can we start the rumor that this was done intentionally? It would fit well with plenty of other theories.
That's it! As always, if you're craving more - just hit up Paul's VHX, it is an ongoing smorgasbord of absurd, ridiculous and entertaining videos. Have a great weekend!
It's that time of year again, the time when you can procure a handful of the best indie games available while also donating to charity. The Humble Bundle V is as hard to believe as previous years. You get five games and their soundtracks while supporting Child's Play Charity.. all for around $8. It's hard to believe anyone is able to benefit from such a low average donation but I guess when you've sold almost 250,000 bundles it adds up! Go nab it, your weekend will appreciate it.
A few weeks ago Migueltweeted about the band Gashcat, saying it was "For fans of Neutral Milk Hotel with a hint of the New Pornographers..." A lofty comparison if ever there was one. Turns out, when it comes to describing their album Reunion! that's a fairly apt way to go about it. If you're a fan of the whole Elephant 6 aesthetic or just fuzzed out indie rock songs with that pleasant vocal style mixture of melancholy and wild abandon, this is likely right up your alley. I recommend starting with "Every Summer, Every Spring."
You know Comedy Bang! Bang! has been made into a TV show, right? It premieres on IFC this June 8th but you can actually watch the entire first episode with Amy Poehler right now on Hulu. I'm still not sure how well a podcast can convert to a television show but with Scott Aukerman at the helm, I'm willing to give it a go.
Many thanks to @Bastholm for the heads up on Art Descriptions - a repository of artists descriptions of their work. If you are somehow unfamiliar with this kind of writeup, it is often the most frustrating, overwrought, self-indulgent, infuriating kind of writing there is. Fortunately, it's hilarious to read in this context and laugh at.
Check this introductory video regarding the new iPad Twitter app Quip to get an idea of the overall feel of the application. At first glance it didn't really appear to be much different than the official Twitter app but once it starts revealing how they handle threaded conversations and media viewing, the divergence is clear. I may be going out on a limb here but I'd say it's worth your 99 cents to give it a spin.
In the wake of the amusing-but-understandable Romney Typo, the repository of deleted tweets from politicians - Politwoops - seems more appropriate. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes but, especially in the case of tweets, the removal of prior statements can sometimes be a not-so-subtle way of admitting you were wrong on a particular subject. At the very least, it's good to see that some Representatives get it.
Finally! This Sweep the Sleaze article summarizes my feelings on the "Share" buttons you see all over the web - be it the Twitter / Facebook counts that we currently see or the old school Digg / Delicious buttons - they provide more headache than good.
In a medium full of advertisement and self-promotion, every unnecessary pixel of noise and “click-me!”-begging should be avoided if it can be. The less noise, the less begging, the less secondary advertisement means the easier it is to focus, and the more likely it is that people will actually read your content.
And that's just one gem of many from the article. Go read it.
You may know Erik Marinovich from his work at Friends of Type or Title Case but he just recently launched his own personal portfolio. It's filled to the brim with phenomenalwork. Just click around haphazardly and you'll see nothing but inspiring typography work everywhere. Incredible.
Remember back in 2009 when I mentioned Skinny Ships aka Richard Perez? Sure you do! Well, if you haven't visited his site or blog or Dribble or Twitter in some time, please take a moment to correct all that and get connected. He's doing such great work that you'd be a fool to miss out on it.
Awhile back I mentioned the short film, 88:88, directed by Joey Ciccoline and scored by Makeup and Vanity Set. Well, as of today, you can preview the entire soundtrack right here and mark your calendar for physical procurement starting tomorrow (May 31st) from Telefuture. Why would you want a physical copy, you ask? Well, because it's being released on VHS. It seems absurd (it is) but when you see the footage, it all makes sense. Hopefully there will be a digital version someday. In the meantime, go listen and enjoy.
Linking to a BuzzFeed article is the blogger equivalent of Slumming It but, sometimes, you can't deny their content. Such is the case with their Salute to Australia's Animal Military - meaning, photos of military officials with their native creatures; not a military comprised of koala bears. Mostly you need to click through to see the tiniest kangaroo shaking hands with a soldier.
The last mix I posted was back in February - not exactly timely for what I originally envisioned as a monthly undertaking. My knee-jerk reaction is to apologize for the time between offerings but, honestly, I'd rather have a mix filled with songs that I'm confident are enjoyable than a mix that I just cobbled together for the sake of putting it out there. New music doesn't come to me as fast and furiously as it once did and, for that, I am happy but it does mean less content to work with.
Anyway, enough with the rational. Here's a new mix. It's good. You'll like it. Enjoy.
While the execution is overly goofy I think there is some true merit to the Museum of Endangered Sounds - a repository of sounds lost to enhancing technology. The sound of a modem handshake, television static, a VHS tape loading or the hiss of a tape deck are all things that could easily be avoided if you were just now growing up. It's obviously early days for the site but I hope they keep up with it.. seems like a worthy undertaking.
Filmmakers, film execs, and film lovers: pay close attention. This is where the film, video, and television business is going. It will start with the crowd-funded and self-funded films by artists on the bleeding edge of technology, appealing to the early adopters. The musicians and comedians will embrace it, as they’ve always been the closest to their fans. It will creep into traditional independent film, as the pipeline for a well-supported self-release proves to be more lucrative and stable than gambling on traditional distribution. And finally the studios and networks will be dragged into the future kicking and screaming, left with no alternative as the market shifts under their feet.
But this is it. This is where we start. Crowd-funded on Kickstarter; self-released on iTunes, Steam, and VHX. Our Edison is Steve Jobs, our Chaplin is Louis CK, our multiplex is VHX, and our Warner Brothers is Kickstarter. I hope you can be our Hitchcock, our Curtiz, our Méliès, or our Griffith.
Movies are still young. It’s just the system that’s getting old.
I love this whole entry from Keith Calder in response to the VHX announcement regarding Indie Game: The Movie. I fully believe that we're experiencing a dramatic shift towards more personal empowerment in terms of digital distribution. We've been honing the tools for creation for some time now and the next logical step is getting the word out. Exciting times we're in.
