This is why I rarely do graphic design work for free.

London pirate radio

"So gifted at finding what I don't like the most"

It seems that everyone is obsessing over this song following the VMAs on Sunday. I have always had a problem with Kanye West as a person but I definitely love some of his music. This song has been stuck in my head all day and I'm not even a huge rap fan anymore. The beat is simple but extremely effective and the lyrics need no explanation.

Set Me Free

Off to England I go, only about 9 hours until I need to be to the airport. Just found this video and thought it fit my mood. Good song, good effects, goodnight.

I like Simian Mobile Disco

They have been releasing some seriously awesome videos lately, this is the most recent:

I love The Bloody Beetroots!

The Bloody Beetroots are back again with another crazy video clip to pick up where the extremely over the top music video for "Cornelius" left off. This new clip is a preview for Smash Your Stereo and the release of The Bloody Beetroots heavy remix to the already heavy soon to be released track "Who Are You?" by The Proxy. Even for how short this video is I had to watch it over and over because not only does it offer a great tease of their "Who Are You?" remix but the style of the footage is quite compelling to me. The Beetroots have always been near the top of my list and I love their music, their style and the pure chaos that ensues during their DJ sets. To go along with all of that, I also love their personal brand and how they are building upon it with recent releases and videos. If you have not seen the video for "Cornelius" you can watch it at the bottom of this post but let me warn you, I wasn't lying when I said it's over the top! In the meantime, "Who Are You?"

Etienne de Crecy

I'm a big sucker for live set ups and light shows, especially if they are cutting edge and unique. My friend just told me about this band and I thought this video was pretty awesome. This cube light show is probably one of the better stage set ups I have seen since Daft Punk's Alive 2007 world tour (see below).

KanYe West: Paranoid

Summertime!

Summer is finally starting to feel like summer and I couldn't help but think of Will Smith's classic "Summertime" (above). I love this song, it is so laid back and smooth and it fits my mood perfectly today. I am really loving how things are panning out so far since school ended. I have been able to keep in touch with good friends, meet up with a few of them from out of town, hang out with old friends I had not seen while I was away at school, and I finally started working again. I am even close to terminating my lease soon! That was the biggest stress factor I was facing for the summer being that I would have been paying rent for a place I wasn't even going to live in... it's complicated.

All in all I am glad I can finally start to relax and enjoy myself with minimal worries. It was a fun spring semester, I was able to experience a lot and meet a ton of great people. By the looks of things now, this summer has some major potential to be amazing, just in time for me to leave for England in August. I suggest playing the above video on "HQ" and turning it up. I would even advise repeating the process a few times in a row while enjoying the company of friends and the refreshment of a cold drink. Happy summer!

RiP: A Remix Manifesto

One of the biggest issues in our society these days is piracy and the overwhelming amount of "illegal" downloading taking place online. Alongside this issue is the corporate fight against it as studios, record companies, labels, etc. attempt to get back at consumers who download music, movies, and other products illegally. This is a pretty interesting topic to me especially in regard to music production, sampling, and the music industry itself among other things. I stumbled upon a documentary called RiP: A Remix Manifesto, a film detailing the above issues and heavily starring the popular mash-up artist, Girl Talk. It is an interesting documentary about copyright and remix culture and you can download it for the price of your choice here.

The Science

Interesting new video from Murs. I like the style of the video and the song in general kind of makes you think. This is definately not cookie-cutter rap.

Graphic design gold

Justice has an amazing video for "DVNO" which shouldn't be new news to you but I stumbled on a really interesting article about it today. If you notice, the video is comprised of numerous graphics and logos, many looking similar to actual TV channel logos or company logos from the 80's. This article at The FontFeed dissects nearly every scene/logo of the DVNO music video offering explanations of font styles and references to real logos. There is a lot of graphic design and typography jargon in this article so if you're not into graphic design technicalities just ignore it. What's really cool is seeing each logo from the video and the comparison that follows. They even offer Youtube links to some of the comparisons including some of my favorite references to the old HBO ident and Stephan J. Canell Productions. I highly recommend watching the video first below and then reading the link, not only is the video amazingly crafted but it's more fun to read the analysis when you have seen the video rather than relying on still shots in the article.

Justice - DVNO from Freedom Record on Vimeo.

Check out an interview with Justice in this link as well if you're curious about the concept behind DVNO.

M83 video contest winner

I feel like this is turning into a music blog and that isn't my intention but music is a huge part of my life. M83 is a band I fell in love with this year and they recently held a video competition for a track from their most recent album Saturdays = Youth. The track is called "We Own The Sky" and in my opinion it is a really good piece of music on its own and it sets up the stage perfectly for some good slow motion video. As a result, almost all of the competition entries I watched a few months back consisted of slow motion shots as does this winning entry. This video capitalizes on the track title in a creative way as you'll see towards the end. If you are not familiar with M83's music you should check it out. Most of it is pretty mellow even compared to this track being that it is part of the shoegaze genre. I have a lot of M83 albums and they are perfect to relax to so get your hands on them.


M83 - We Own the Sky from Mute Records on Vimeo.

KanYe West - Amazing

You're one in a million...

I know I am totally deviating from Digital Detox Week but I could not wait any longer to share this. DatA is back with more audio gold on his new EP "One In A Million" which will be available on April 28th. After killing it with "Rapture" in 2008 he's not only offering this upcoming release but will supposedly be dropping a FULL LENGTH album in May called Skywriter. Here is the album tracklist so far:


1. Verdict
2. One In A Million
3. Aerius Light
4. So Much In Love
5. Electric Fever
6. Nightmare
7. Rapture
8. Renaissance Theme
9. Skywriter
10. Morphosis
11. Piste 11

I'm sure Skywriter will deliver plenty of epic tracks but in the meantime check out this club version of "One In A Million," it's pretty hot. If I ever found a girl who was one in a million I would probably use a song like this for the soundtrack of the moment as well.


Ok back to detox :)

Coachella 2 Days Away. Belvedere IX

I really don't know why I am devoting another post to the Coachella festival since I have no means of attending but I really wish I could be there. It's going down this weekend, all weekend. Check out my previous post about the event for the lineup flyer and other info. Alongside the Coachella festival this weekend, Belvedere IX will be teaming up with Music Loves Fashion to host a Coachella party with 40+ DJs in attendance including some of my personal faves, DJ Mehdi, SebastiAn, Kavinsky, LA Riots, and A-Trak among others.

This is looking like it will be one of the premier Coachella parties this year for the big dogs and the event will include VIP helicopter service to and from the festival. No idea of the costs but all proceeds are going to ONE X ONE, an organization that helps children with education, hunger, and health care. Check out these posters and promo vid if you're lucky enough to attend.


Mr. IX from Mr. IX on Vimeo

Brule's Rules. For your health

I know I'm late on this because these segments have been around for awhile now but regardless, they are hilarious! You should recognize John C. Reilly from Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, etc. but you may not be familiar with his spot on Adult Swim in Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job.

This show is similar to the wackiness of the other Adult Swim programs and maybe even a little more awkward. John C. Reilly plays the part of Dr. Steve Brule, a channel 5 news correspondent who offers tips and life advice. This character kills me. Here are some of my favorite clips, for your health.

Surprise guest at Forma.T party

This event sold out without a name on the bill and the surprise guest was Xavier from Justice. I would have lost it. More Forma.T party info here.

WARP 1.9

The Bloody Beetroots: WARP EP, released today including WARP 1.9 and WARP 7.7


The Hoover is making one hell of a comeback.

Kid Cudi - Day N Night

This track has been remixed like nobody's business. Video by SO ME, the mastermind art director for Ed Banger Records.