Uffie’s full-length album, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, has finally dropped, yet the timing for this release is a few months off. I’m worried that Ke$ha has stolen all the thunder from our girl, as she was able to capitalize on this sound to a mainstream audience sooner.
I’m not really sure what’s going on in this video other than the fact that there are cool cars + Pharrell. Apparently that’s all you need for a hit these days. Either way, I’ve given the album a few listens and still haven’t decided on where I stand.
Thankfully, the production value for Uffie has gone up on this release, and hopefully this is a step in the right direction for her.
Today I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with EC’s “everything guy” in NY, Ted Ullrich. It was great to catch-up, eat at his favorite sandwich shop, talk about upcoming projects, and catch a World Cup game. Good times TU, we’ll do it again soon.
If you missed out on the first Heavy party at Graveyard Tavern this pass weekend, don’t sweat, they’ll be back next month. Until then, here’s the Heavy Mix by Megan Foxxx to fulfill your booty shakin’ urges for now. Stay tuned for more… we have something in the works.
The Dirty Doctor Dax and Rob Wonder recently went to Miami for Winter Music Conference, and it looks like they held it down with video camera in hand the entire time. I definitely can’t hang with these dudes. They have waaaay too much fun, but it’s awesome to see them doing big things. Great job editing that footage too!
I’ve been jamming on this track a lot lately. It’s off of LCD Soundsystem’s upcoming album, This is Happening, dropping on May 17th. As always with LCD Soundsystem, this track is longer than the typical 3:30 pop song, but it rewards you for paying attention. I love how everything drops-in and sounds so full of sound at 3:10. Enjoy!
It’s a new quarter at Portfolio Center and I’m teaching Entertainment Design again. This time around I decided that it would be interesting to start my class off with a small exercise in designing to music by assigning 2 songs to each student. This is exactly like designing for a CD single or an iTunes single. Students will do their research on their assigned artists and create something appropriate based on lyrics, mood, etc.
I gathered 14 tracks into a “mix” that I felt would set the quarter off on the right foot. They are all Spring-y, poppy songs that should be easy to create visuals for.
If anyone is interested in coming by my class (Tuesdays at 6pm) let me know and you’ll see how things turn out.
Download (via Mediafire): Entertainment Design Spring 2010 Mix
Tracklist:
01) The Pietasters - Ocean
02) Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of This Country
03) Photobooth - Death Cab for Cutie
04) R.E.M. - Flowers of Guatemala
05) Spoon - Anything You Want
06) Soko - I’ll Kill Her
07) Chester French - She Loves Everybody
08) Everclear - Heartspark Dollarsign
09) The Strokes - You Only Live Once
10) The Donnas - 40 Boys in 40 Nights
11) Regina Spektor - Summer in the City
12) Kate Nash - I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You
13) The Streets - Never Went to Church
14) Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
Stranger Day sent me this leak off his new mixtape with DJ Benzi. The tape is called “Young, Dumb, & Dope” and the track is called “Sunrise Remix”. If you’re in the know, you’ll recognize a lot of the shout outs he mentions on the track. If you want to hear what this sounds like live, I suggest you come to the PROCESS 1st Anniversary event at Graveyard Tavern tomorrow night.
I stumbled upon this fan video today. The sound quality is pretty terrible, but it’s great to see that the band has brought their PROCESS gear on the road with them. Foz, one the band’s guitarists, is wearing his classic Nokahoma tee.
I’ve only been teaching at Portfolio Center for 6 months, but this is probably the best (or my favorite, at least) Entertainment Design concept so far.
The assignment was to create and album cover for the Miley Cyrus vs. Notorious B.I.G. mashup. Hilaaarious!!! This is a work in progress, and I’ll definitely update the final project once it’s dunzo.
Dem Rehab Boyz are back on the road and bassist Hano Leathers shows off what they’ll be living in for the next two months. Follow their twitter to see what hijinx they get into all over the USA.
U.S. Royalty has released this, downloadable EP as they make their way down the East Coast and across the South to Austin, TX’s South by Southwest Music Conference. If you’ve never heard of SXSW, you’ve been living under a rock. Wish these boys luck as they’re sure to melt faces at their SXSW showcase.
Download (via Mediafire): U.S. Royalty - SXSW 2010 EP
Our crew’s favorite Dubstep DJ, Mayhem, puts his unique twist on 8Ball & MJG’s track, Ten Toes Down. I love listening to his live sets, because he always finds a great way to incorporate some Dirty South flavor into them; as you can tell from this remix.
North Carolina’s, Stranger Day, brings us a new track in collaboration with Chicago’s British Knights. I’m a huge fan of this song and his new visual identity. Check out that Padre’s inspired SD! I’m looking forward to hearing more from this project (if there is anything else to hear). It’s always encouraging to see a friend put themselves out there in a major way.
Word on the street is that Stranger Day might be making an ATL appearance very soon…
Rehab’s new single, Welcome Home, hits iTunes today. I had the privilege to lead a team of designers (my Entertainment Design class at Portfolio Center) on some early concepts for the artwork to accompany this single. We ultimately arrived at this finished artwork after consulting with the band. It’s an photo of Danny (Rehab’s lead vocalist) as a kid and his grandfather in their Air Force jumpsuits. It’s a very personal moment in his life that he’s opening up and sharing to the rest of the world. Download the single on iTunes here.
Check out the range of design comps we created throughout the design process after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
