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Excellent short film here - Duct Tape and Dreams - all about the revival of the SFMOMA soapbox derby back in 2022. It really is irrelevant that it's in San Francisco or that the MOMA is involved, it's just a pleasant exercise in creativity. Anytime someone races a prawn down a hill, I'm in.
Shockingly, much of the music for the short film is pulled from the Uncle Skeleton catalog. Through the magic of music licensing, there's no less than seven of his songs throughout the piece. Musicbed - the licensing service they used - even recognized it as worthy of acknowledgement, not too shabby!
For convenience sake, I also turned that list of tracks into a playlist, enjoy at your leisure.
Shockingly, much of the music for the short film is pulled from the Uncle Skeleton catalog. Through the magic of music licensing, there's no less than seven of his songs throughout the piece. Musicbed - the licensing service they used - even recognized it as worthy of acknowledgement, not too shabby!
For convenience sake, I also turned that list of tracks into a playlist, enjoy at your leisure.
Every few years, Blind Melon comes up in conversation and, inevitably, I learn that yet another person in my sphere adores the band's second album Soup as much as I do. It's an album about addiction, serial killer Ed Gein, murder Susan Smith and lighter topics like halitosis and a grandmother named Vernie. For being known as that bee girl band, they really went out of their way to show they were more than that. I appreciated it more than I could say in 1995 and was beyond bummed to learn of Shannon Hoon's passing just two months after it was released.
All that is to say, I've been going down the YouTube rabbit hole of Blind Melon material I was previously unfamiliar with.
All that is to say, I've been going down the YouTube rabbit hole of Blind Melon material I was previously unfamiliar with.
- Intimate, Interactive show - a fantastic hour long set comprised primarily of Soup songs, interspersed with some song anecdotes.
- From Shannon To You And You And You - a collection of acoustic home recordings from Hoon's mother given to a fan forum in 2008.
- Woodstock 94 - don't think I'd ever watched this before. A good year before Soup was released but the songs were, obviously, already there. Can't tell if it's a good or bad idea to play mostly unreleased material to a crowd this size.
Really nice read from Chain of Thought on How Sora Works and the Future of Filmmaking. Those are two enormous topics but the piece keeps it simple. The first half is a relatively layman's explanation of how OpenAI's Sora is getting the kind of results it is getting. I don't say "layman" in a demeaning way, it's literally the only way I can understand these concepts - so I appreciate it even if it is overly simplified and leaving a lot out.
The second half deals with how technology and filmmaking have such a turbulent relationship. It's hard to articulate but technology lowers the barrier to entry, a great thing for folks looking to be creative but not so great for an industry known for gatekeeping.
Generally speaking, I love the idea of lowering the barrier to entry to any creative endeavor. That Glif Extension that lets you create any image in any specific style? Great! ElevenLabs letting you submit your voice for emulation and getting paid when someone uses it? Wonderful. Sora letting you create consistent film characters in whatever world you want? Should be great! I don't think any of it supercedes the need for story, art direction and human decision making. I also don't think we're going to be generating sitcoms for individuals - that's taking the microculture war too far!
This is just a simple blog post to steer you towards something to ponder. It's certainly a topic worthy of it.
The second half deals with how technology and filmmaking have such a turbulent relationship. It's hard to articulate but technology lowers the barrier to entry, a great thing for folks looking to be creative but not so great for an industry known for gatekeeping.
Generally speaking, I love the idea of lowering the barrier to entry to any creative endeavor. That Glif Extension that lets you create any image in any specific style? Great! ElevenLabs letting you submit your voice for emulation and getting paid when someone uses it? Wonderful. Sora letting you create consistent film characters in whatever world you want? Should be great! I don't think any of it supercedes the need for story, art direction and human decision making. I also don't think we're going to be generating sitcoms for individuals - that's taking the microculture war too far!
This is just a simple blog post to steer you towards something to ponder. It's certainly a topic worthy of it.
I'm not incredibly familiar with the works of Ted Gioia but he's published 12 books and runs a popular substack called The Honesty Broker. Back in December of 2023, he published this piece on the tension between Macroculture and Microculture and how, in his opinion, the war between them was imminent.
It's great read and filled with pertinent observations on both the dichotomy of Silicon Valley dependency on microculture content and Big Media's total lack of understanding of the same cultures.
Using the term "Big Media" feels like a big red flag but I'm not using it in the conspiracy theory sense. I simply mean big Hollywood studios, primary news outlets and mainstream content creators with giant budgets.
Worth a read or two just to stick the landing on the similarities between the 60's counterculture and our modern microculture. Should be an interesting year ahead.
It's great read and filled with pertinent observations on both the dichotomy of Silicon Valley dependency on microculture content and Big Media's total lack of understanding of the same cultures.
Using the term "Big Media" feels like a big red flag but I'm not using it in the conspiracy theory sense. I simply mean big Hollywood studios, primary news outlets and mainstream content creators with giant budgets.
Worth a read or two just to stick the landing on the similarities between the 60's counterculture and our modern microculture. Should be an interesting year ahead.
jQuery 4.0.0 BETA!
never thought I would see another jQuery version. Honestly quite happy about it.
The folks over at Glif recently released a new browser extension that lets you remix images directly from the web. The promo video explaining it does a good job (and provides some hilarious music) but I suggest you just try it. Glif is doing great work to make AI interactions very accessible and doing so with a great deal of fun. Ya love to see it.
Ran across the work of Chris Cunningham while scooting around New Orleans and had to share this Protect Ya Neck piece. There are more in the series but this specific Tom & Jerry swirl just hit the spot.
Century Club from Ryan Ervin was once a band but now it's a "lo-fi" collage endeavor, many of which are available as prints.
Been a minute since I've gotten a nice collage fix and Ervin does a damn good job of it. Go give it a browse.
Been a minute since I've gotten a nice collage fix and Ervin does a damn good job of it. Go give it a browse.
Near my office there is a historical marker dedicated to the 1910 Kentucky Derby winner - a horse named Donau. I'm not sure how many historical markers exist dedicated to specific horses but this one certainly struck me as strange.
Reading up more on the situation, it seems the horse was owned by William Gerst, a brewer who ran the Nashville Brewing Company, later known as the Gerst Brewing Company. The plaque is located near where the brewery once stood and where Donau spent his final days.
The horse was overworked, even by early 1900's standards. The Wikipedia says "Donau's unruly behavior worsened to a point where he would lie down on the track if prompted too harshly by racetrack employees or trainers." I don't blame him.
I love this plaque and admire the horse for embracing such a fiery attitude in the face of abuse. In the spirit of this admiration, I put him on a shirt. My Yawning Kat store has no real rhyme or reason to the wares I offer, so Donau seems like a wonderful addition.
Reading up more on the situation, it seems the horse was owned by William Gerst, a brewer who ran the Nashville Brewing Company, later known as the Gerst Brewing Company. The plaque is located near where the brewery once stood and where Donau spent his final days.
The horse was overworked, even by early 1900's standards. The Wikipedia says "Donau's unruly behavior worsened to a point where he would lie down on the track if prompted too harshly by racetrack employees or trainers." I don't blame him.
I love this plaque and admire the horse for embracing such a fiery attitude in the face of abuse. In the spirit of this admiration, I put him on a shirt. My Yawning Kat store has no real rhyme or reason to the wares I offer, so Donau seems like a wonderful addition.
When I saw the new METZ album artwork was by "Sara Cwynar" I felt a twinge of familiarity. How do I know that name? Turns out, I know the name because I've been admiring their work since 2010!
Catching up on more recent offerings from the Brooklyn artist is a real treat. The collage work from over a decade ago is still present but has, clearly, evolved and changed dramatically. Click on over and be sure to watch the "Glass Life" short film excerpt and view the Tracy exhibition. Then click on everything else.
Catching up on more recent offerings from the Brooklyn artist is a real treat. The collage work from over a decade ago is still present but has, clearly, evolved and changed dramatically. Click on over and be sure to watch the "Glass Life" short film excerpt and view the Tracy exhibition. Then click on everything else.
ElevenLabs Voice Actor Payouts
train an AI on your voice, get paid when people use it. Honestly nuts to think about.
METZ - Up On Gravity Hill
hard to tell from just two songs but seems like the band has figured out how to flesh out their songs beyond just unrelenting power energy. excited to hear it all.
Stickers to Manage Replies By
A batch of images you’re going to want to save locally. Absurd, brilliant and legit useful.Who makes money when AI reads the internet for us?
A good read with great quotes like “It fails to ponder the consequences of what happens when you roll out products like this.”
Evidence Maximalism Is How the Internet Argues Now
Fantastic piece. Absolutely nailed it. Only thing I would add is that we just let everyone get dumber and dumber.
Fairly certain YouTube has got my number when it comes to "weird things you might like to watch." Case in point, this Pixel POV Effect video just 3 minutes long (perfect), displays a baffling visual effect (intriguing) and manages to describe it sufficiently (approved). There's even a follow up that builds on the concepts but still keeps it just to 2 minutes.
The comments are event pleasant and lead to some even more interesting videos.
Maybe you'll enjoy as well.
The comments are event pleasant and lead to some even more interesting videos.
Maybe you'll enjoy as well.
Back in December of 2021, Uncle Skeleton released the album Golden Hour. At the time, I had the idea and intention of putting together an album visualizer that featured one long sunset set to the album as soundtrack; a nod to the literal intention of the record - taking time to just reflect. For no good reason, it never happened. Mostly, I just ran out of time with work and couldn't ever get it over the finish line.
I finally put the rubber to the road and put together the video. It's not one long sunset as originally envisioned but many sunsets through the duration. It's not a music video, so I don't expect you to give it your full attention but I do recommend that you toss this up on a TV somewhere and let it roll. It's pleasant and the album is a banger; likely overlooked because it was released in December of 2021; a notoriously terrible month for releasing records.
I finally put the rubber to the road and put together the video. It's not one long sunset as originally envisioned but many sunsets through the duration. It's not a music video, so I don't expect you to give it your full attention but I do recommend that you toss this up on a TV somewhere and let it roll. It's pleasant and the album is a banger; likely overlooked because it was released in December of 2021; a notoriously terrible month for releasing records.
I don't see near as many music videos these days as I did in my youth but I still know a good one when I see one. This video for "Take Me To A Lake" from Cloudmouth is phenomenal. I suggest you hit play on it right away as it requires no context to appreciate but here's some extra info on the making of from vocalist Kyle Numann:
Cloudmouth has a history of interesting videos worth watching (I suggest this one and this one specifically) but something about "Take Me To a Lake" really levels them up. Ya love to see it.
It was the summer solstice, and I asked my wife Emily "will you bury me in the backyard tonight?". Despite us having a healthy relationship, she said yes.The face emerging from the dirt is striking but they continue the trend with plenty of variations with other members of the band. And on top of all that striking imagery, the song is quite compelling as well!
We'd just finished making a new flower bed in the front yard and had about 40 square feet of topsoil and dirt heaped in a pile in the backyard. For years I'd had a loose vision of a scene of human faces emerges from the earth, and I figured this was as good a chance as I'd get to capture something that would satisfy the creative itch.
We filmed it using a smartphone, with natural light and only an on-the-fly idea of framing and pacing. This ended up setting the tone for the rest of the video: filmed with handheld smartphones, pulling scenes together as we could, using only practical effects, and considering the editing stage as a 'canvas' to bring all these disparate scenes together to form a full visual flow.
Cloudmouth has a history of interesting videos worth watching (I suggest this one and this one specifically) but something about "Take Me To a Lake" really levels them up. Ya love to see it.
Supertape, band website builder
just recently stumbled on this and am intrigued. I have no problem building websites but one that actively updates itself is a pretty neat trick for musicians.In Loving Memory of Square Checkbox
an excellent rundown on a UI component you probably take for granted
Vesuvius Challenge Solved
had never heard of this before but it was a challenge to read the contents of ancient papyrus scrolls that had been carbonized in volcanic ash. they somehow managed to actually do it.
My pal Jed is Executive Director over at Radiant Earth now - it's an incubator looking to expand shared data across the planet. I love the Open Data Initiative and this seems to work well right alongside that idea. The more data we share, the better decisions we can make and better tools we can build. Something like that.
In a recent blog post, there's a breakdown of Unicorns, Show Ponies and Gazelles. The basic gist is that Unicorns in the startup world are great - they serve a purpose. Show Ponies are entities that look good on paper but may not provide much function - also great. The Gazelle is a small organization willing to work with others, be nimble, be financially self-sustaining and governed by a nonprofit or trust. Those last two points are especially interesting, imo. Imagine a nonprofit that actually paid employees a reasonable market wage and built a product that they owned. Sounds real good.
All told, it's a metaphor! A creative way to think about an ongoing problem. Others have tred this territory before but that doesn't make it any less valid. Unicorns seem to be what everyone strives for but, frankly, I'm way more interested in being a Gazelle.
In a recent blog post, there's a breakdown of Unicorns, Show Ponies and Gazelles. The basic gist is that Unicorns in the startup world are great - they serve a purpose. Show Ponies are entities that look good on paper but may not provide much function - also great. The Gazelle is a small organization willing to work with others, be nimble, be financially self-sustaining and governed by a nonprofit or trust. Those last two points are especially interesting, imo. Imagine a nonprofit that actually paid employees a reasonable market wage and built a product that they owned. Sounds real good.
All told, it's a metaphor! A creative way to think about an ongoing problem. Others have tred this territory before but that doesn't make it any less valid. Unicorns seem to be what everyone strives for but, frankly, I'm way more interested in being a Gazelle.
The quick description says it all - "The Uncomfortable is a collection of deliberately inconvenient
everyday objects by Athens-based architect Katerina Kamprani. Some are obviously absurd, others are potentially legit and others are just stupid fun. It's what you miss from the Internet.
Daniel Arnold is a top notch photographer, maybe even some accolade well beyond that. I love his work. This Walkie Talkie episode with him is a solid hour of him walking around NY talking about his process, his relationship with failure and how his addiction to photography keeps him going. An hour is an unbelievably long time for a YouTube video but it's time well spent.
I recently finished watching The Curse and found myself cruising YouTube for further dissection and insight on what I'd witnessed. This Lincoln Center chat with Benny Safdie was a rather enjoyable chat about the production, the end of the show and many audience questions - without ever being too revealing. Safdie does a great job of actively not telling you what anything means, which I highly appreciate.
Additional viewings I've got in the queue:
Additional viewings I've got in the queue:
- Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie discussion on prior episodes
- Christopher Nolan hosts Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie
- Nathan Fielder & Emma Stone on Kimmel - absurdly amusing
- Benny Safdie on The Tonight Show - watch 2 seonds of Safdie's outfit and you'll stay for more
- Why is The Curse Like That? - I normally do not care for YouTuber's giving their opinions on shows but Thomas Flight is thoughtful and insightful, this will likely be good!
If you haven't been keeping up with the latest announcements from The Browser Company and what they're doing with their browser, Arc, I suggest you start tuning in. They are doing their damndest to rethink the paradigm of browsers, search engines, webpages and how you interact with them. It's hard to watch these announcement / explainer videos and not be excited for what they're angling at.
While I am certainly excited by the direction they're headed in, it does make me think about the future of the web in general. I'm not sure I'm able to articulate it yet but we're starting to see a whole lot new experiences that summarize the web, pulling from disparate sources and telling you the highlights of a certain topic or site. If every tool we use simply summarizes information, why would anyone publish anything? Visitors aren't even being taken to the source of the information, they're just being shown summaries.
This is not an indictment of The Browser Company or Arc; everyone is doing this. Google is summarizing, Apple is summarizing, et al. And the web has become littered with ads, popovers and modals that make it very unfriendly. It's a mess and users would benefit from summaries as an experience but it devalues publishing. Not sure what the answer is but some very interesting questions to pose at this time.
While I am certainly excited by the direction they're headed in, it does make me think about the future of the web in general. I'm not sure I'm able to articulate it yet but we're starting to see a whole lot new experiences that summarize the web, pulling from disparate sources and telling you the highlights of a certain topic or site. If every tool we use simply summarizes information, why would anyone publish anything? Visitors aren't even being taken to the source of the information, they're just being shown summaries.
This is not an indictment of The Browser Company or Arc; everyone is doing this. Google is summarizing, Apple is summarizing, et al. And the web has become littered with ads, popovers and modals that make it very unfriendly. It's a mess and users would benefit from summaries as an experience but it devalues publishing. Not sure what the answer is but some very interesting questions to pose at this time.
A little primer: Total Wife is a band out of Nashville with at least 5 albums, all of which stem from a shoegaze influence and sprawl outwards. Lots of quiet to loud moments, lots of huge guitars with feedback but it's so much more interesting than just a formulaic execution.
taped is a live performance series that focuses on doing something fresh and unique for each artist they work with.
This is Total Wife on taped. Six and a half minutes of building guitars, explosive drums and melancholy vocals. I recommend you see it live if ever given the opportunity, otherwise just watch this with the volume cranked.
taped is a live performance series that focuses on doing something fresh and unique for each artist they work with.
This is Total Wife on taped. Six and a half minutes of building guitars, explosive drums and melancholy vocals. I recommend you see it live if ever given the opportunity, otherwise just watch this with the volume cranked.
I've no idea how long this AI Test Kitchen has been around but it's new to me so maybe it's new to you as well. Google has done a really nice job of making interacting with an AI very easy to use; a gigantic UI, very sensible dropdown's appear on adjectives and the results aren't overwhelming. They're offering Image, Music and Text generation... I assume Video won't be far behind.
YK Records recently had the pleasure of releasing the debut solo album from Roger Moutenot, entitled Microcosm. The video for the track "Art Electro" is available above but I do suggest you dive into the entire record - either on Bandcamp or streaming.
If you're not the type of person to pore over liner notes you might not recognize the name but Moutenot has been involved with an incredible number of records over the last forty years. Take a look at his Discogs and take note of credits for Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney, They Might Be Giants, Elvis Costello, Lambchop and so so many more. It boggles the mind.
You may also notice some other YK Records artists in there - namely Black Bra, Jack Silverman and Stone Jack Jones. As luck would have it, Moutenot's studio is located in the same neighborhood as my office. These factors slowly congealed over time into the opportunity to release the very first solo album from Roger. An opportunity I jumped on.
The record is 10 instrumental tracks, each exploring a little different sonic territory but all feeling cohesive together. The longest song is just over 3 minutes, so no one overstays their welcome.
I worked with Roger to create the artwork based on two intriguing photos he had sent me. I won't spoil the details on what you're looking at exactly but I love the ambiguity.
You may also notice some other YK Records artists in there - namely Black Bra, Jack Silverman and Stone Jack Jones. As luck would have it, Moutenot's studio is located in the same neighborhood as my office. These factors slowly congealed over time into the opportunity to release the very first solo album from Roger. An opportunity I jumped on.
The record is 10 instrumental tracks, each exploring a little different sonic territory but all feeling cohesive together. The longest song is just over 3 minutes, so no one overstays their welcome.
I worked with Roger to create the artwork based on two intriguing photos he had sent me. I won't spoil the details on what you're looking at exactly but I love the ambiguity.
The Robe is the pseudonym of Rollum Haas, a multi-instrumentalist that's likely best known for being the fiery drummer of The Features. Beyond that he's toured with a ton of other bands and is currently behind the kit in Soccer Mommy. But that's neither here nor there! His solo work is The Robe and he hasn't released anything since 2021's The Jason EP. Fortunately, that drought has stopped and he's released two brand new songs It's So Easy / Never Tear Me Apart.
I am heavily biased but they're both great. They also show a serious evolution in his songwriting and recording.. a practice you always want to see improve over time with anyone!
I had the pleasure of putting together the artwork for the single based on Rollum's art direction. I think it turned out nicely and if you get the reference, it's spot on. If you don't get the reference, it's still a nice cover.
The tracks are streaming everywhere, available on Bandcamp and YouTube.
I had the pleasure of putting together the artwork for the single based on Rollum's art direction. I think it turned out nicely and if you get the reference, it's spot on. If you don't get the reference, it's still a nice cover.
The tracks are streaming everywhere, available on Bandcamp and YouTube.