Mindy's Secret Song

Dan Hunter of PlayRadioPlay! recently released a new free song on his myspace entitled Mindy's Secret Song. The song was written for Mindy White of the band Lydia and if you check out the picture below there's no reason to ask why. There's a download link for the song at the bottom of this post.




Download Here

One Of These Would Be Pretty Sweet

NIKE Mercurial Vapor Rosa

Nike has released a new version of the Mercurial Vapor IV in a pink colorway. The cleat will be called the Mercurial Vapor Rosa's and can be seen in the commercial below featuring Frank Ribery.

What Is SLWX?

Soulwax + 2 Many DJs + Nite Versions = Radio Soulwax = Part of the Weekend Never Dies

First and foremost, Soulwax is a rock band. The band was formed by two Belgian brothers, singer Stephen Dewaele and guitarist David Dewaele and completed with the addition of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Piet Dierickx. This groups catchy euro-pop dance music can get an audience moving without question and put on an extremely entertaining show. But to have Stephen and David's talents be limited to just Soulwax would be a shame. The two brothers also hit the stage spinning other people's music under the name of 2 Many DJs. Now try not to get confused because they're not done yet. Soulwax also decided to take their album Any Minute Now and remix that album, then play those remixes as a live band and name this project Nite Versions after the Duran Duran remixes of a similar effort. With these three distinctive acts all taking up a substantial amount of time and effort they decided to merge them all together onto one stage naming this event Radio Soulwax. If you were able to keep up with all that you may be interested to hear more so below is the teaser for their DVD "Part of the Weekend Never Dies" and an introduction to the DVD which again will explain all the acts involved in Radio Soulwax.

Alexandros Vasmoulakis

Alexandros is a freelance artist born in Athens. His online portfolio can be seen at http://www.zap51.com




Recently, Wooster Collective interviewed Alexandros in their "The A's To Our Q's" article. I've posted the interview below or you can see it here.

Age: 28
Hometown: Athens
Where do you now live?: Berlin
Where would you most like to live?: Here I am fine
Who was your first "hero" in life?: Michael Jackson.
What is your favorite thing to do on your day off from work?: Cycling.
What is your favorite color?: Always changing
Who (or what) do you love?: My love!
Wooster: Who and/or what are some of your influences?

Alexandros: Talking with people and listening to bizarre personal stories. My work is first of all human-based and I am interested in realizing deeper how weird creatures we are.

Wooster: What other artists do you most admire?

Alexandros: Theo Jansen is by far my favourite one. I think that the great art has to include numerous approaches to the main aspects of life. Jansen does it perfectly!

Wooster: How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?

Alexandros: That's a bit awkward! I would say that through my work I try to investigate our troubling nature. And even if this investigation can never conclude it is interesting to see how far it can go.

Wooster: What other talent would most like to have?

Alexandros: Music composition! What I like is that music touches and moves deeply a really wider audience than visual art does. Of course that's the point!

Wooster: What do you fear the most?

Alexandros: Losing the ability to do what I want. Secondly to lose my passion for that.

Wooster: What is your greatest ambition?

Alexandros: Still searching..

Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate

Aiden McGeady Is The Man!!!

Corey Gunz - A Millie

So, just when you thought you had heard this beat for the last time, Corey Gunz keeps it alive by putting down his own verse over Lil' Wayne's "A Millie". Now as much as I'd like to just put this to rest, Corey Gunz is fire and he deserves to be added to the list of MCs, including Jadakiss and Drake, to rap over this beat.

Anthony Green Performs

Nike SB Hits Europe

NIKE GO'S TO EUROPE from Jason H on Vimeo.

NOTCOT Does Banksy

NOTCOT: Banksy's Village Petstore & Charcoal Grill from Jean Aw on Vimeo.

XXL - Mickey Factz

Reckoner Lockdown

Radiohead - Reckoner x Kanye West - Love Lockdown

With both artists having released the vocals and instrumentals for their respective tracks making them available to DJs across the globe for remixing, its no surprise that some impressive remixes have been made of both songs. DJ Earworm makes an interesting mash-up of the two tracks which provides for an extremely impressive song in its own right. Below is a visual mash-up of the remix.



Download available Here

XXL - Blu

MCS - Fell In Love Without You

"Fell In Love Without You" video

Lightpaint Piano

Lucas Foglia: Re-Wilding

Lucas Foglia is 25 year old photographer from Long Island. A graduate from Brown University, Foglia has photographs included as permanent collections in Museum of Fine Arts Houston, RISD Museum of Fine Art, Newport Art Museum, as well as many other reputable museums. He was also recently listed as one of the top 50 photographers according to Photolucida's Critical Mass.

Foglia's most recent project has been titled Re-Wilding, where he photographs people of the southeastern United States who have abandoned mainstream society to take up a life abound in wilderness. This project takes an interesting look at an even more interesting people and really takes a big step in furthering Foglia's career. You can view more of Lucas Foglia's work at LucasFoglia.com

Halifax - Sydney

This used to be my jam.

Diz Gibran - Smooth Criminal

Fall Out Boy - I Don't Care

New Fall Out Boy song off their upcoming cd Folie A Deux

Every Time I Die - Ebolorama

Ark

An unknown virus has destroyed almost the entire human population. Oblivious to the true nature of the disease, the only remaining survivors escape to the sea. In great ships, they set off in search of uninhabited land. So begins the exodus, led by one man...

Directed by: Grzegorz Jonkajtys


ark from videos11 on Vimeo.

Gas Signs In L.A.

Minus The Bear - Women We Haven't Met Yet

Here's a video of Minus The Bear performing their song Women We Haven't Met Yet live. This video is directed by Dan Dobi who also directed the music video for Party Foul by Danger: Radio. Dan is the brother of Rob Dobi, designer and founder of Fullbleed Clothing.

Seen on the streets of Washington, D.C.

Minus The Bear Alternative Press Acoustic Set

Below you can download Minus The Bear performing a live acoustic set for alternative press. They only do three songs, Knights, Part 2, and Throwing Shapes and it is pretty similar to the Daytrotter Sessions but there is extensive interviews between songs and the quality is top notch. Definitely worth picking up for Minus The Bear fans.

Minus The Bear Alternative Press Acoustic Set

Casey Crescenzo - Beautiful Girls

I came across the studio version of Casey performing this song. It's excellent. I'm too lazy to upload it to an account to stream on here so here's him playing it live.

Jack Johnson - Pirate Looks At 40 feat. Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

"I've been drunk now for over two weeks, I've past out and I've rallied and I've sprung a few leaks. I've gotta stop wishin, gotta go fishin, down to rock bottom again, with just a few friends" - Jimmy Buffett

A Legend of the Scene

Anyone whose ever listened to Taking Back Sunday or Brand New, this is surely a piece of history. Thank god this was caught on film, I can't even imagine the things I would do to have seen this. Really if you listen to any "scene" band this is about as good as it gets. For those of you who don't know, Jesse Lacey the singer for Brand New was originally in Taking Back Sunday with John Nolan before they made their big break. The two were best friends and John ended up sleeping with Jesse's girlfriend. Seventy Times Seven was Jesse's way of addressing the situation and There's No I In Team was Johns side of the story. Both songs are amazing but Brand New is still the better group.

Seventy Times Seven feat. John Nolan



There's No I In Team feat. Jesse Lacey

I once met a man and asked him if it were true that when you get older you become wiser. He said that the only answer was to get older. Looking back to when I was a kid, I realize that my ignorance was a virtue. I saw the world in colors and shapes. Now my nerves keep me awake at night. I think about the future and what I want to do with my life. I asked that same man if he had any advice for me. He told me to quit living and start breathing. "Look around at the life you lead. Listen to the wind and the trees. Take time to smell the ocean breeze and sleep on the beach." He said that the beauty of this world was in its complexity and that our lives for the most part are ordinary. He told me to never stop painting, but mostly never stop creating. "You're as free as your mind will let you be. So, what's holding you back?" he asked, "fear or laziness??" - Derrick Sherman

Dear And The Headlights - Sweet Talk

PlayRadioPlay! - Madi Don't Leave

Back To School To Prove To Dad That I'm Not A Fool

So for many of us today was the first day of school, an event which brings on an assortment of emotions. You see old friends and are given a chance to meet endless amounts of new people, parties are regular and excellent, and it's all around a good time. Of course their is the added responsibility of attending classes regularly and the pressure of doing well in said classes, but rarely can things be all good. So I would take this moment to advise you all to make the most of this new year. Don't be afraid to meet new people or try new things. Put in an effort to not limit yourself to the things that seem familiar. This is the time in our lives to try new things, make the most of it. It isn't often that you get the opportunity to make major changes in your daily life, and while I like to think that each new day is an opportunity for change, it is certain that some days are easier than others. So lets make the most of the opportunities that we are presented with. To all those close to me, I wish you the best.

Anhedonia

The Graduate has just finished touring with good friends My American Heart as well as Secondhand Serenade and Play Radio Play! and if you haven't seen these guys play before you should check them out as soon as possible. While some may quickly dismiss them as just another pop rock band with the same recycled sounds of yesterday, their debut LP Anhedonia manages to keep a listener attached throughout the entire album. As someone who has trouble finding cd's that are worth listening to the whole way through I was surprised by how satisfying this was to listen to. The first track on the album Sit & Sink sets the tone for what is to come on the album. Check out the excellent video for Sit & Sink below.

A Warped Look At Summer

With the start of school brings the unavoidable end of summer. It's not all bad but it's hard not to miss the things that make summer so special; lazy days with your friends, day trips to the beach, and one of the highlights of summer every year, the Vans Warped Tour. Now unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any dates on this years Warped Tour but I was able to get a listen to most of the bands doing the tour and was given some recommendations of what new bands to check out. This year Warped Tour helped make a name for two acts that are without a doubt talented and are sure to make an even bigger name for themselves throughout the next year. These two acts are so good in fact, they've earned my own full out recommendation.

First, is a the three-piece band from London, England, Tat. Tat is an English punk band fronted by Tatiana Demaria that first appeared on Warped Tour in 2006. Only expecting to play 8 dates the band was asked to finish the entire tour, 28 shows in total. With their debut album due to be released this fall expect big things from these three. Below is a video of Tat performing their song Bloodstain on Warped Tour and an interview with Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman.





It is more likely that you have heard of the second Warped Tour band to earn my recommendation as they were able to be the feature of the MTV show Buzzin'. And even though they were featured on MTV, Shwayze actually does make good music. Hailing from Malibu, CA the band consists of Cisco Adler and Shwayze and their groove based hip-hop gives the perfect vibe for a chill out summer soundtrack. Check out one of their performances from Warped Tour below and pick up their self-titled cd.

Time For A New Beginning

It seems like these days we just keep moving on. New beginnings never cease. Part of the greatness of life is not knowing what each day will bring. But sometimes its nice to sit back and look at the good times we've had with those close to us. After my old computer needed to be replaced I was able to back up a few things that were important to me. Below is the video I shot for my senior class, these are still the best people I know.


NHS Class of 2006 from Matt Shea on Vimeo.

Enjoy This

DJ Okawari's new album Diorama can only be designed as auditory beauty.



1.Evening Comes
2.Chocolate
3.Bluebird Story
4.Ring
5.Colors Of Life
6.Synchronize
7.One For U
8.Aurora
9.Coffee Break
10.Crescent Moon
11.Tayutau
12.Silent Night
13.Animal Forest
14.Times Fusion

Download Link

Good Old War

I just don't get tired of hearing this song


Also, here's another GOW video of them covering Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel

Nike Be True: Kicks Creator

Nike has come up with an interactive website that allows you to design your own personal dunk highs and then randomly have them put up against other peoples shoes. This design tool has an outstanding amount of options as far as materials and colorways can be concerned, so if you consider yourself a designer or just like sneakers you'll probably enjoy it. Head over to Nike to start creating.

R.I.P. Bernie Mac

Actor and comedian Bernie Mac past away this morning due to complications with a case of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed and may he rest in peace.

This Kid Is A Beast

Avalon and Only Way To Be Alone

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to acquire both Anthony Green's new cd Avalon as well as Good Old War's upcoming release Only Way To Be Alone. I, as many others have, have been anxiously waiting for Avalon to be released and with the release date being this week I was finally able to give this cd a listen. Only Way To Be Alone will be released later this month and was definitely a pleasant surprise to listen to. I won't get into too much detail on either album as I think you should really listen to both for yourself but I will say that both whole heartedly earn my recommendation. For those of you who haven't heard of Good Old War, they were formed by two members of another great band Days Away as well as Dan Schwartz, the guitarist from Unlikely Cowboy. The band name came about by taking part of each band members name, Keith GOODwin, Tim ArnOLD, and Daniel SchWARtz. The interesting thing about hearing both albums on the same day is that on Anthony Green's Avalon, Good Old War is featured as the backing band and plays an excellent new version of the popular song Dear Child. Anthony was able to return the favor by adding his stand out vocals on the track Weak Man for Good Old War's album. On August 6th, Anthony Green will kick off his solo headlining tour where Good Old War will not only be playing in support with Person L but will also be his backing band. For CT residents this tour stops at Toads Place, New Haven on September 13th.

Here is the video for Good Old War's "Coney Island" off of Only Way To Be Alone

W.

Oliver Stone, who has directed movies such as The Doors, Any Given Sunday, and Alexander is now in production for the movie W. This movie chronicles the life and presidency of George W. Bush's, played by Josh Brolin, and although I don't have much more information about the movie the trailer was convincing enough for me. Looks like it could be pretty funny. Check out the trailer below.

Coheed Drumline

This was pretty cool.

The Daytrotter Sessions

The Daytrotter Sessions are a musical endeavor done by Futureappletree Studio 1 which can be found in downtown Rock Island, IL. The goal of these recording sessions isn't to provide you with something you've never heard before, but rather present you a new sound from bands you may already know and of course some you don't. While touring the country, the bands involved in the Daytrotter Sessions, take 2 hours out of their day to play some borrowed instruments and record a few unreleased or reworked songs. Their efforts produce a result that on occasion may turn out better than what the bands have put out on record. All recordings are live, no overdubs, what gets played in the studio is what gets put on tape.

A recent addition to the Daytrotter Sessions comes from the Seattle-based group Minus The Bear. After just re-releasing their EP, The Make Beer Commercials Like This, on vinyl, the guys from Minus The Bear took time out of their busy schedule to record four songs off of Planet of Ice for the Daytrotter sessions. The four songs can be heard below.

Knights (Minus The Bear)



– original version appears on Planet of Ice

Ice Monster (Minus The Bear)



– original version appears on Planet of Ice

Part 2 (Minus The Bear)



– original version appears on Planet of Ice


Throwin' Shapes (Minus The Bear)



– original version appears on Planet of Ice

To download the songs visit the Daytrotter Minus The Bear page

One Day As A Lion

Zac De La Rocha, lead singer of Rage against the Machine, will be teaming up with former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore for a new project called One Day As A Lion. Their debut EP will be released on July 22.

According to their myspace, "One Day As A Lion is both a warning delivered and a promise kept. A defiant affirmation of the possibilities that exist in the space between kick and snare. It’s a sonic reflection of the visceral tension between a picturesque fabricated cultural landscape, and the brutal socioeconomic realities it attempts to mask. One Day As A Lion is a recorded interaction between Zack de la Rocha and Jon Theodore from Los Angeles, California."

"The name taken from the infamous 1970 black and white, captured by legendary Chicano photographer George Rodriguez featuring a center framed tag on a white wall in an unspecified section of Boyle Heights. It reads: ‘It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb.’ This record is a stripped down attempt to realize this sentiment in sound.”

The Greenhouse Effect

Asher Roth is a young, white, middle-class rapper from Pennsylvania. I know, it might sound like a throwback to VH1's White Rapper Show but this kid is no John Brown. His first mixtape, The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1, was put out by Don Cannon and DJ Drama and puts out an exposition of his undeniable talent. Don't sleep on Asher Roth, while his lasting presence has yet to be determined he proves himself as one of raps budding talents.

R.I.P. George Carlin

It is very upsetting to find out that last night, comedian of over 50 years, George Carlin passed away due to heart failure. George, 71, died in the Santa Monica Health Center at approximately 6 p.m. For more information regarding his passing visit The Chicago Tribune website.

Start The Machine

In the new Angels & Airwaves documentary, Tom Delonge goes into more detail regarding the break up of Blink-182. For anyone who is considering buying the dvd based upon the Blink-182 content I wouldn't bother as this is the only scene where Blink is really even mentioned.

Girl Talk

Everything you could desire in music...

Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)

"Radiohead held an online contest to remix "Nude" from their album - "In Rainbows" This was quite a difficult task for everybody that entered, as Nude is in 6/8 timing, and 63bpm. Most music that's played in clubs is around 120bpm and usually 4/4 timing. It's pretty difficult to seamlessly mix a waltz beat into a DJ set.

This resulted in lots of generic entries consisting of a typical 4/4 beat, but with arbitrary clips from "Nude" thrown in so that they qualified for the contest.

Thom Yorke joked at the ridiculousness of it in an interview for NPR radio, hinting that they set the competition to find out how people would approach such a challenging task.

I decided to take the piss a bit, as the contest seemed to be in that spirit.

Based on the lyric (and alternate title) "Big Ideas: Don't get any" I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware, and placed them in a situation where they're trying their best to do something that they're not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there.

It doesn't sound great, as it's not supposed to.

I missed the contest deadline, so I'm offering it here for you to enjoy.

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Guitars (rhythm & lead)
Epson LX-81 Dot Matrix Printer - Drums
HP Scanjet 3c - Bass Guitar
Hard Drive array - Act as a collection of bad speakers - Vocals & FX "


Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Coheed & Cambria - Feathers (Glitch Mob Remix)

Glitch Mob kills it. Here's a remix they've done of Coheed & Cambria's "Feathers". More from The Glitch Mob to come.

Lollipop (remix) feat. Kanye West

Kanye West gets on the remix to Lil' Wayne's hit single off of The Carter III, Lollipop.

Kanye West Freestyle

Kanye West freestyling at a show in New York.


KANYE SAVES THE WORLD. from Bobby Hundreds on Vimeo.

Where On (Google) Earth Is Waldo?

John Mayer Makes Music

John Mayer makes music. But besides that, he's just a regular guy like all of us. Here's a recent video by John showing his daily routine and the effort that goes into being a famous musician.

God Went Surfing With The Devil

God Went Surfing With The Devil is a blog by Alex Klein and Bryan Derballa, two surfers/photographers making there way through the middle east. The two have been gone for about a month and their site gives daily updates of their travels. The special thing about this blog is that the pictures they take are beautiful and the stories that accompany them portray overwhelming amounts of emotion involved with living in the middle east. Some days are filled with laughter, others anguish. This story of two peaceful surfers living in a place where peace can be so hard to find really makes you appreciate the lives we've been gifted with. To see some more photos by Bryan Derballa check out http://www.lovebryan.com

Free Will And The Choices We Make

Well for the past few weeks, I've on and off been working on a philosophy paper regarding the coexistence of free will and deterministic theories. Today I finally handed it in, rather unimpressed with the words I was able to put on paper, but happy just to have it out of my life. While typically with a research paper I would try and defend a viewpoint and draw conclusions I found myself left with more questions and doubts then when I had originally started. Below is a clip from Waking Life discussing a portion of the research I had spent doing through the semester and although the speaker doesn't necessarily take a side, he brings about some points that may be verbalized better than I could manage to do. Either way, after spending so much time thinking about how free our choices truly are I'd like to just ask you all to take your own viewpoint on such a topic. Are all of our actions predetermined, are we just players acting out scenes from a script we haven't read? Where does our individuality fit in with all of this? Does scientific law govern our daily lives, if not where do they free decisions arise from? I'd be interested in knowing all of your opinions on such a matter just to get a better understanding for a question that seems rather unanswerable.

Justice - Stress Video

Justice is one of the biggest electronica duos in the country right now. They became well known worldwide for their catchy song and video for the track D.A.N.C.E. Their latest video release is for the song Stress and again they manage to impress me with a styling that grows more appealing every day. The video features a group of "Justice" thugs wearing jackets with justice crosses on them going walking about a neighborhood causing destruction. Their earlier hit D.A.N.C.E. even makes an appearance on this song. So if you still haven't listened to these guys here's the video of Justice - Stress.

justice_stress
by 75_prod

Steve Ballmer: Microsoft CEO

So I'm sitting in the middle of my bio lab learning about the nervous system and senses while writing a philosophy paper and preparing to dissect an eyeball and an ear. Still I managed to come across this picture of a presentation given by Steve Ballmer after he had left the stage. Nothing really needs to be said to describe this picture, just another win for the mac community.

This American Life - Cat & Mouse

Here's an episode of This American Life done by the National Public Radio entitled Cat & Mouse documenting the lives of New York writers such as Earsnot and the NYPD vandal squad. It gives a pretty good look into the graffiti culture from both sides of the fence. At one point in the video they mention an artist named Lee and display a piece he did of a daffy duck like character with the words "Graffiti is an art and if art is a crime let god forgive all" which can describe the mindset of most street artists throughout the world. So appreciate the art around you, fight this gray scale society , and if you suck at graffiti stay off our walls.

A New Weiden + Kennedy Ad

You may not have heard of Weiden + Kennedy but you have definitely seen there work. They are the independently-owned, Portland-based advertising agency responsible for most Nike advertisements as well as some ads for Old Spice, Honda, Miller High Life, and Coca-Cola. They have coined the phrases "Just Do It" and the Spike Lee Jordan commercials as well as starting the yellow bracelet LIVE STRONG campaign. Their newest Jordan ad features Michael Jordan considering "Maybe its my fault..." people aren't as successful as he was. The overall tone comes off very inspiring as many of their ads do. Check out the new "Maybe it's my fault" ad below.

Some Upcoming Judd Apatow Movies

Judd Apatow is the man. He's written such movies as Heavy Weights, 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, the TV shows Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks, and has produced The Cable Guy, Anchorman, Kicking & Screaming, and Superbad. Here's a look at two new movies he has coming out that both look pretty hilarious.

Pineapple Express



Step Brothers


You Don't Mess With The Zohan

Save The Waves

With the weather getting nicer and summer on the way the beach is starting to become a thought in everybody's heads. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't think about the environmental consequences of such heavy tourism and development around our beaches. We all enjoy the beach, to some it's home, to others a place to go on weekends, a place to relax or have some fun with friends, so I'd say that it's pretty important that we appreciate all that our beaches have to offer. Small things make big differences so the next time you're at the beach try and pick up some trash or at least not leave your things laying around. There are several organizations that are dedicated to preserving our beaches, these people work hard year round to protect their favorite surf spots and keep the coast lines an enjoyable place, two that really caught my attention were the Save The Waves Coalition and The Surfrider Foundation. Save The Waves is dedicated to preserving surf spots and surrounding environments all across the globe, making an effort in preventing coastal development in popular surfing areas. The Surfrider Foundation is a non profit organization dedicated to protecting the worlds oceans, beaches, and waves. What struck me the most was the Surfrider Foundation's excellent advertising campaign which you can see below.

Narrow Stairs - May 13th

Death Cab For Cutie's album "Narrow Stairs" will be in stores on May 13th. After having an early listen to the majority of this album I must say that if you are remotely a fan of Death Cab For Cutie you are going to be pretty happy to say the least. Death Cab has made a reputation of not disappointing fans with their albums and it seems that it should continue that way. The track listing can be found below along with a video slideshow set to their first single "I Will Possess Your Heart" which is already getting radio play and is, in it's entirety, an 8 minute song worth listening to. If you haven't heard it yet check it out, the slideshow (which I did not make) is filled with pictures of San Francisco set to the song and it really came out nice.

1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
2. I Will Possess Your Heart
3. No Sunlight
4. Cath…
5. Talking Bird
6. You Can Do Better Than Me
7. Grapevine Fires
8. Your New Twin Sized Bed
9. Long Division
10. Pity and Fear
11. The Ice Is Getting Thinner

Got A Handful Of Stacks, Better Grab An Umbrella

Rain sucks, so why not have the sweetest umbrella on the block


This umbrella is designed for life in the city, walking along those crowded streets in a rain storm.

Here's a video to better see how it works.

This umbrella water gun was designed by Alex Woolley to encourage young adult couples to have more fun in the rain.

The brass knuckle umbrella was designed for the baddest dudes around in case someone tries to get tough in the rain.

If you find yourself looking for another obnoxious way to let people know how in love you are then the tandem umbrella may be just what you're looking for.

Finally, Guy De Jean, a French umbrella company has designed the "sexy" umbrellas featured below.

The Inside-Out Umbrella


The Corset Umbrella


The Double Layer Canopy Umbrella


The Sexy Lingerie Umbrella

You Can't Hear The Music But We're Playing The Same Tune

So last night was the Minus The Bear concert at Quinnipiac University and of course it was awesome. The venue for the show couldn't have been sweeter. The group of people that I went with got there just in time to see the opening act, and by time MTB got on stage, we were taking up a good portion of the front three rows. With the stage being at about knee level it was pretty much as close as you could ever expect to be to such an awesome band while they play. I've got some videos and pictures from the show hosted on Youtube and Flickr and a few of those can be seen below. For all the videos and pictures from the show you can find links to my Youtube and Flickr accounts in the list of links. I also made the new banner for this site this afternoon using GIMP, a sweet freeware program similar to photoshop.

I Miss These Guys

I'll Be A Brand New Day In A Life That You Hate

Brand New - The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot (live)

Fuck You

Sometimes you just need to say fuck the world. Fuck everybody in it. "Go fuck yourself!" This couldn't be emphasized any better than Edward Norton in the movie The 25th Hour. Ed Norton is without a doubt the man, he has an unarguably impressive list of movies hes starred in including Fight Club, American History X, and Rounders so I was surprised when a friend mentioned the movie The 25th hour to me and I hadn't really heard of it. Anyways, the movie is about Ed's character's last day as a free man before being sent to prison for 7 years on drug related charges. If you haven't seen this movie go check it out, solid all around. Here's the clip I was referring to when making this post, I'm not pissed at the world or anything like that. But sometimes people need to vent.

Super High Me

Happy Easter fam!

Last Comic Standing comedian and High Times Stoner of the Year award-winner Doug Benson has produced a documentary that was recently picked up for distribution in which he, a pot smoking enthusiast, quits smoking pot for 30 days followed by another 30 days in which he smokes it excessively. The idea is intended to be similar to the popular documentary Super Size Me addressing issues with the quality of fast food and its acceptance in our daily lives. Personally, I'm really interested in seeing how this turns out, Doug is quoted saying "Surprise! I survived," but any other medical relativity could be intriguing. Not to mention Doug is a pretty funny guy and his sense of humor on the subject alone is what will most likely draw in most viewers. Either way here's a bit of a trailer for the movie which should be available soon.

Anthony Green Solo Album

Anthony Green, the lead singer of Circa Survive, will be releasing a solo album on Photo Finish Records. Photo Finish Records is home to bands such as Danger: Radio and Envy On The Coast. A release date has not yet been announced but has been commented on to be "soon". To see a video of Anthony Green performing a new song named "Drug Dealer" off this upcoming album click here

Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

Here's a video for the song "Lovers In The Snow" by Rivers Cuomo of Weezer.
Lover In The Snow

TREOS Final Show

The Receiving End Of Sirens have announced their break up. Their last show will be on May 2nd in Providence, RI with Envy On The Coast and they will perform a set May 4th at Bamboozle in New Jersey. Below is a letter written by Brendon of TREOS announcing their break up.



"Greetings to all who take the time to read this
letter. I suppose the typical, and most obvious
sentiment to express is the one I am undoubtedly
feeling at the moment: "I’m not sure how to start
this." So for the sake of brevity, I’ll get right to
the point. The Receiving End of Sirens will no longer
exist in the way it has for the past 5 years.

I, Brendan, must admit that I am the main reason
why TREOS is ending. My choice to no longer continue
on with The Receiving End of Sirens has nothing to do
with a lack of love for my band, and/or band members.
It has nothing to do with a lack of passion for our
music, or any music for that matter. My decision is
due mostly in part to a huge rearranging of priorities
in my life, and the unquestionable responsibility that
comes along with becoming a father. January 15th my
wife and I welcomed Parker Brown, our first child,
into the world. Since then everything has changed. The
happiness and joy I gained from being part of this
band can’t ever be taken away from me, but to be
honest, I have lived a long time thinking that specific joy was as
good as it got. Since Parker’s birth I have realized
my joy is a great thing, in and of itself, but the
happiness I receive from his happiness is
exponentially greater than anything I could muster on
my own. The thought of leaving him to tour for months
at a time is something I just can’t stomach. I can’t
stand to miss another thing. I realize how important
I am to my band, and how important our band is to some
people, but I am far more elemental in the growth and
happiness of my child, than I am anything else in this
world.

I can’t even begin to explain how appreciative I
am for the understanding Alex, Andrew, Brian, and Nate
have shown me, given the choice I have made. Although
it was a series of divine intersections that brought
us to where we are today, it is certainly an
unfortunate intersection, of my life with theirs, that
brings this band to an end. It goes without saying,
not everyone is at the same place in their lives as I
am. Therefore, it is my situation that has decided
theirs. For that I am sorry, but have no doubt each
and every one of them will be successful in whatever
they put their minds to.

A dilemma we now face, is the same one we have
encountered with our music over the course of our
career; How do we label this? Do we say this is a
breakup? Do we say we’re on indefinite hiatus (like a lot
of our favorite bands)? By saying we are over,
does any show, or musical collaboration, make it a
reunion? Does it then mean our band is back together
until we break up again? On the other hand, by going
on hiatus are we lying if we never do another thing
again? The answer to all those questions is, I don’t
know, and the battle of syntax continues.

With all that said, the main priority of The
Receiving End of Sirens has always been our music.
After all, though it is easy to lose site of, the
music is what bands are supposed to be about. Since
2003 our art has always been our baby, and its
well being has always taken precedence over our own.
Maybe it’s over-romanticizing our situation, but we
would love to think that through relentless
touring, through a fan-base second to none, and by way
of the records we have released, our music has the
momentum behind it to continue on as its own entity at
this time.

For the longest time we knew our music needed us
in order to survive. This is why for many years we
have each sacrificed many things in order to promote
it by any means necessary. Our hope now is that The
Receiving End of Sirens will live on because of our
music. Not the other way around.

We are sure this comes as a surprise to most, and a
let-down to many of you as well. For that we are eternally
sorry. We all realize that the band five right out of
high school kids started for fun has grown to be
something bigger than any of us could have imagined.
The music we have created has carried itself far
outside the confines of the house we first practiced
in, and the city we all met in, and has effected many
more than just those of us who have been members of
TREOS over the years. We realize, as have others,
that you don’t need an instrument to be a part of this
band. Anyone who has put us up on tour, has
told a friend about our band, has listened to our
music, has paid to see a show, or has brought us
food on the road is a member of TREOS. Anyone who
has worked with us to make this band what it is today,
from management to booking, from labels to press, and
all that other business stuff, we are forever
grateful to you for your belief in our band. You are
all a part of this too. It would take hundreds, if not thousands,
of more lines to personally thank everyone we need to thank,
so we’re going to rest assured that those people
know who they are, and what they’ve meant to us.

To all the bands who have
brought us on tour, or who have shared a tour with us,
or have supported us, thank you for your eccentric,
loving, empathetic friendships. We wish you all the best, and
will miss you all! From those of you who were with us
at our first show in Enfield CT, or our many shows at
The Norwood American Legion and the surrounding Boston
suburbs, or Ben’s last show in Fitchburg, thank you!
Everyone who was with us for the "Between the
Heart and the Synapse" years with Casey, as our van
and music first made its way around this huge country,
thank you! To old fans who have been with us from the
start, to new ones who just started listening to our
band, and to the fans who have yet to hear our band,
thank you. To everyone who has ever tattooed their body
with lyrics or imagery or references to our music, thank you!
Everyone who has embraced
version 3; "The Earth Sings MI FA MI" TREOS, with the
welcomed addition of Brian Southall, thank you! Thank
you friends, family, fans, colleagues, bands, sponsors.
Thank you ALL for making the past 5
years beautiful, magical, inspiring, and full of amazing
stories and memories.

As for the current members of TREOS, you haven’t
heard the last of any of us. In due time I am sure
you will hear about all of our plans, but worry not, we
will all continue working with music in one facet or
another. Some of us may be touring, some of us may be
recording, booking, or managing, but all of us are looking forward to
starting a new chapter in our lives.

With all that behind us, we will be playing a
couple final shows. It would mean the world to us to
be able to share them with you all. We will be joined by some great
friends who we’ve grown close with over the years on the stage,
and we’d like to share the same experience with our great friends
off the stage, so please come say goodbye and let’s end this thing
the right way.
May 2nd - Lupos - Providence, RI
May 4th - The Bamboozle - East Rutherford, NJ

With Love,
Alex, Andrew, Brendan, Brian, and Nate
a.k.a. TREOS"

Keg Party In The Burbz

Hallelujah Holla back. King of the burbz John Brown has a mixtape out with this serious ass single. Let em know how it goes in the burbz. Ha.

Lollipop off The Carter 3

A new Lil' Wayne single off of the Carter III.

The Shake Video pt. 2

My American Heart has re-realeased a video for the single "The Shake" off of Hiding Inside The Horrible Weather. The new video is a definite improvement.



from Alternative Press on Vimeo.

Art From The Heart

Here's some art I've been diggin lately. Kinda meant to post these separately but got lazy so here they are.

The first work of art is done by German artist Hans Hemmert. It is a life sized model of a German Panther tank made entirely of balloons. This is really sweet, and successfully makes a subtle statement on war in our culture.



The next piece is a mural from Lima, Peru. Unsure of the artist but Spanish street art is amazing.



Finally, these last few pieces are all done by David Choe. Choe is an amazing artist coming out of LA. Most of these however are done in England. Expect more Choe to appear on here in the near future.

Narrow Stairs

Death Cab For Cutie will be releasing their new album "Narrow Stairs" on May 13th on Atlantic Records. An MTV article reviewing the CD calls it Death Cab's best effort yet with a sound unlike any previous album. Good news? Hard to say seeing as MTV has pretty much zero sense of taste in music. The rumored 11 song track list is listed below.




Narrow Stairs:

01 Bixby Canyon Bridge
02 I Will Possess Your Heart
03 No Sunlight
04 Cath
05 Talking Bird
06 You Can Do Better Than Me (But I Can't Do Better Than You)
07 Grapevine Fires
08 Your New Twin Size Bed
09 The Remainder
10 Pity and Fear
11 The Ice Is Getting Thinner

Fix Push

Fixed-Gear bikes....so last year.

Lupe on Leno

Paris, Tokyo on The Tonight Show. Good shit.

Keep It Cool

Cool Kids radio freestyle and interview

Part 1:


Part 2:

The Whitest Kids U Kno On Drugs

Check it out on Fuse TV

Hip-Hop Saved My Life (remix)

This is a solid remix. Video is pretty sweet too.

The Sun is setting.
A distant hill.
Hurl bottles at the horizon.
A water tower bleeds from the heat.
Can the sun guess my reaction?
No retreat!
Not even in sleep!
Faced with a new direction.

Take that step.
To the night
Beyond all that has created you.
Debt.
Empty stares.
Strike back with the hate of a young man's heart.
Sing what you don't dare.
I'll meet you there.
Wear the sunset in the end.

The Ghetto Matrix

The rapper AZ recently put out a low budget music video for the song The Hardest featuring Styles P and Large Professor. Now typically this kind of news would go unnoticed and definitely not be worth the time of mentioning. The song could be described as average at best, nothing really stands out on the track at all, but the video is what's interesting. The video features two new and very popular forms of street art, light writing and laser writing. Both techniques have been pioneered by the organization Graffiti Research Labs, an organization dedicated to providing the street art community with open source technology. Also featured in the video is an advanced filming technique known as bullet time filming. Bullet time filming is the effect featured in The Matrix where an image will slow down or pause as the camera cycles around said object at a normal speed. The problem with bullet time filming is that it is a highly technical process, because achieving such an effect with a regular camera would be impossible computer programming must be implemented. In other words, a bullet time camera rig can cost up to $100,000 a day, a bit too pricey for a low budget rap video. Graffiti Research Lab was then approached with the idea of creating a way of achieving such an effect for a minimal price. These Graffiti Engineers were able to design a camera that would achieve the desired effect for under $8000 and it only took 2 days to make. You can see AZ's video for The Hardest below.



As with all GRL projects, the camera is open source technology. For instructions on how to build your own bullet time camera Click Here.

For more project by GRL visit http://www.graffitiresearchlab.com/

Constructing An American Dream

Young American artist Swoon teamed up with stencilist Chris Stain and photographer Mike "The Polaroid Kidd" Brodie to build an installation of reused material such as cardboard, newspapers, and other things that they had found. The goal of the piece is to display the everyday lives of people whom are excluded from the American Dream due to the consuming society that we live in.

Party Foul

There's a decent chance you may have already heard of Danger: Radio. They're pretty much the definition of pop rock. They put out steady dance grooves over rock beats with catchy hooks. They formed in 2004 and are already touring with bands such as The Audition and Envy On The Coast. Their first record was released on January 28th of this year and their first music video was just finished for their single "Party Foul". Even better news is that the video was directed by Dan Dobi, an acquaintance of mine coming out of Fairfield, CT and let me be the first to say that it kicks ass. Dan's birthday was Saturday so happy birthday Dan and congratulations on another great video. You can check out the video for Danger: Radio's, Party Foul below:

We Livin' Better Than The Best

So we moved out of our apartment and now are living in a house. Say goodbye to noise complaints and angry foreign neighbors, atleast for now, cuz we're livin' better than the best. Check out the new Murs video "Better Than The Best" below.