Get On With It

sweet february jams + iMix

My taste in music is pretty eclectic. This is a small sampling of what I've been listening to. For the most part most everything I've been into has very distinct vocals. Two of my favorite bands right now are the Decemberists and the Silversun Pickups.  For the women, I've been playing Sia, Cat Power, Corinne Bailey Rae, Regina Spektor and Lily Allen. Right now I'm having my first listen of the new AIR album "Pocket Symphony". So far, it's wonderful. A haunting electronic blend. I love the piano running through the album and when it's woven with the Japanese koto. It's atmospheric. 

On a similar note, I finally caught up a bit on music videos. I've been too busy to watch any. My favorite video out is "Sewn" from The Feeling by director Caswell Coggins.  I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The Modest Mouse video for "Dashboard" was great too.

Ok Go: content breeds content

First Ok Go had a new video "A Million Ways."

Then that inspired another video "Ok Go! Vs. Lego."

Then Ok Go introduced treadmills to the culture by way of a tricky tango in a new, infectious dance meets running meets music way with "Here We Go Again."

Then that inspired a whole slew of videos with everything from Ok Go's dancing logo to hippos to more Legos in "ok go treadmills."

It even inspired the commercial for Nike +.

And a Ok Go YouTube dance competition.

not so Subtle mixed media

    Here's a great creative project that I saw the other day. It's a trilogy of music videos from the group Subtle. It was animated by a Norwegian-Japanese collective called "SSSR." What I love so much about this style is that it combines computer animation with raw, hand-drawn materials.

    Right now I think so much creative work we see relies too heavily on the computer. It's too polished. While this video challenges my imagination, it's still real. It's raw. I think there's a sort of digital revolution coming where now everyone is beginning to know the tools, but they're beginning to experiment. The technology is also much more accessible and enticing now. Soon we're going to see more things like this. Not with this same look, but we'll see more instances where technology is used to enrich projects rather than manufacture them.

    I can't wait to see more curious combinations. This one gets its unique look from largely black and white images taken from combining drawings, animated models, cut-up film, and 3D computer graphics. With this kind of creative innovation Subtle's "Swan Meat" won best music video at the British Animation Awards 2006

Mixology

I am obsessed with music. Sadly enough, I can't play a single musical instrument. What I lack completely in musical ability, I make up for in dedication to creating the perfect mixes. There is an art to the playlist. When you get it right, you can delight any friend or family member. Suddenly what once was a drive, is now a roadtrip. When my mom confronted my dad with how much I had been spending on iTunes, his only reply was, "Well...she makes really good mixes." Totally justified.
As far as mix-makers are concerned, Zach Braff is king. Garden State excelled offscreen with it's soundtrack crafted by the Braff himself. The Last Kiss soundtrack was a far from disappointing follow-up. His taste in music has become more than a hobby, but more of a side career.
I'm interested in finding out what it takes to make the perfect mix. Most of mine tend to be themed. I had one called the "Robot Mix" that was a mainstay among my friends. When I make a mix for someone else, say my dad, I try and guess where our tastes in music overlap. I probably put 60% of what I know he would like, 30% of what I think he would like, and 10% of what I want him to like.
Here is a mix I made specifically for my blog. It's part tribute and part inspiration from the Braff himself. I included a few songs from The Last Kiss Soundtracks as well as some of his other favorites. I rounded it out with some of my current favorites. It's a pretty mellow playlist. Good for listening to while it rains & you're trying to get some work done. Hope you enjoy.