diplo and switch + major lazer: hold the line.

May.31.09 By Leave a Comment

Diplo and Switch’s conceptual dancehall project Major Lazer is “a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984.” What more do you need to know really?

Zombie War flashbacks are all over the video for Major Lazer’s “Hold The Line.” The retro-animation style has a heavy He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe vibe that I’m totally into. It reminds me of being five and watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Hells yeah. The best shit always goes down on Saturday; the older you get the amusement just shifts from morning time to night time

Major Lazer would would seriously rock the mic in Castle Greyskull… Speaking of, let’s reminisce:

Via Gorilla Vs. Bear

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patrick watson: fireweed.

May.30.09 By Leave a Comment

I love all things Patrick Watson. I’ve been listening to his recent third release “Wooden Arms” basically not stop on my way to work each morning. Not only is he one of my favourite musicians, but he also directed this gorgeous vid for “Fireweed.” Watson’s got skills, y’all.

If you’re into it, definitely check out his site. He’s got “album environments” for each of his discs, and instead of just playing the tracks he serves up some totally hot digital animations to match the music. The only thing I didn’t like about his site is that there’s no Toronto tour date listed. Here’s to hoping…

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blink + tomas mankovsky: sorry I’m late.

May.29.09 By 4 Comments

I see some people bitching online about how many stop motion videos there are and I think they should shut up. Sure, the whole stop motion thing has been really popular lately, and I think it’s for two reasons:

a) If done well, it’s really fucking awesome. b) It can be cheap, and is an amazing technique for low-budget or up-and-coming artists to create cool motion design.

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Plus, if you’ve ever seen how gruelingly, excrutiatingly, painfully long it takes to create, it’s amazing how much love has to be put into it. As long as it’s being used to create something true and beautiful, it shouldn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it before. That would be like saying Impressionism is played out because Manet did it all before Monet. And, if you said that, you’d be an idiot.

There’s always room for more of something awesome.

Besides just being generally hot, “Sorry I’m Late” is even more impressive when you realize that Blink’s Tomas Mankovsky created it with stop motion, shooting a bunch of stills on a gym floor from a camera suspended from the ceiling. That, my friends, is bad ass. No matter how many times you’ve seen it.

Via Rocketboom

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grizzly bear + patrick daughters: two weeks.

May.29.09 By 2 Comments

A few weeks ago I posted J Tyler Helms’ unofficial fan video (and “Red Balloon” homage) for Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks.”

This week the official video dropped, created by one of my fave directors, Patrick Daughters. I posted his unbelievable awesome vid for Department of Eagle’s “No One Does It Like You” a while ago. If you didn’t see it, you have to. If you did, it’s worth seeing again. 

The new “Two Weeks” is just as good. It’s got a demented choirboy vibe that I dig. 

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dan britt: the colouring.

May.28.09 By 2 Comments

Ok, so no fronting, this kinda fucked me up. Colouring makes me happy. “The Shining” freaks me out. Dan Britt’s “The Colouring”, though clearly involving colouring – both in animation style and title – makes me feel weird inside and like animals want to hurt me.

Digging around on Britt’s vimeo, I found this totally sweet recent release “Woody.” This, luckily, doesn’t make me feel like hiding in the bathroom…

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nate campany + lance drake: stockholm, paris, new york.

May.28.09 By 1 Comment

My God, it’s full of stars.

There are times when I realize that, like a puppy or a baby, at the end of the day I’m just really super duper attracted to pretty flashing coloured lights. And that’s basically all there is to it.

There’s stars. They’re pretty. They’re flashing across Nate Campany’s guitar. They make me happy and mellow and winsome. They’re directed by Lance Drake.

Via Antville

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charity water + josh spear’s birthday.

May.28.09 By 2 Comments

My friend and one of the original kings of design/art blogging, Josh Spear, just turned 25. Instead of gifts, he turned his blog spotlight on one of my favourite causes: charity: water.

The movement to make fresh, clean water available around the world is near to my heart. When I was in South Africa recently I saw just what a vital tool a village well can be. Seeing people travel huge distances to carry clean water home (usually in large jugs balanced on their heads) was eye-catching, but more so was hearing about just how vital one well can be for hundreds of people. To see such gratitude over something we take completely for granted each time we turn on a tap completely changed the way I look at some of life’s fundamental needs.

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The math isn’t hard to understand: A $20 donation can give one person clean water for 20 years. 1.8 billion people around the world don’t have access to safe water. That’s 1 in 6 human beings on the planet. For Josh’s birthday, he’s gunning to raise $5000 to create a well that will deliver fresh water to 250 people for 20 years.

I donated. You can too, by clicking right here. Plus, this gives us another reason to watch charity: water’s excellent 2008 PSA supported by Jennifer Connelly:

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filthy dukes: messages.

May.27.09 By Leave a Comment

A light-filled, body-rocking, epileptic fit-inducing vd for Filthy Dukes’ “Messages.” One of the first vids that really began to turn me on to film was the legendary 1996 vid for Fiona Apple’s “Criminal”, directed by Mark Romanek. There’s something about that overly saturated, sterile, dead, 70′s wallpaper, retro room feel that fascinates me, and this vid resonated with a bit of that for me too.

Via No Fat Clips

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joaquin baldwin: sebastian’s voodoo.

May.27.09 By Leave a Comment

Wow. This broke my heart. Incredible animation and storytelling from Joaquin Baldwin, “Sebastian’s Voodoo” recently took home the top prize and the Cannes SFC Online Competition. It’s not hard to see why.

Thanks to Fang for the tip.

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matthew brown: gay = sin.

May.27.09 By 1 Comment

Harvey Milk said “more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, that is the true perversion.”

Amen.

Thanks to Matthew Brown for opening up some eyes (hopefully).

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