Archive for March, 2009

The Ghostly 10 year show is tonight (Friday – 3/6) and I wanted to debut a new track I’ve been working on during the set but wasn’t sure if I would have a live version complete by today. I’ll be cutting it close but I think I can get it wrapped in time so I should be playing it towards the end. I also just got the official, updated set times:

10-1030 Christopher Willits
1030-1110 The Sight Below
1110-1200 Deru
1200-1245 Lusine
1245-130 Tycho
130-225 Michna
225-315 Kate Simko
315 – 400 Eliot Lipp

I will post the LA times when I get them, should be going on around 7pm for that one (Sunday, early show). I’ve got some new visuals prepared as well so it should be a good one. Hope to see you all out!

I’ve posted about Bibio plenty on here it feels like but with a new LP out now I had to share something different since i’ve already posted a song from Vignetting The Compost. I found these videos he did for a few new songs, enjoy.

Bibio – Mr. & Mrs. Compost

Bibio – Top Soil

Bibio – Torn Under The Window Light

e-Types did this newspaper series for Learning Lab Denmark. I am a big fan of the compositional style at work here. Anything with a strong grid, effective use of scale, and highly refined details will win me over quick. I especially love the second one; the slightly off center target gives it a really refreshing balance. (I should also mention that I’m a sucker for black and white.)

I actually thought (and hoped) these were posters when I first saw them. I prefer posters that take a minute to digest. For me, the more sections, information, and images you can incorporate into a poster, the better. Sure it may not be effective in terms of getting a message across quickly, but I think the end result is usually more visually intriguing and effective, from a design standpoint. (Advertisers would certainly disagree.) Seeing as these aren’t posters, perhaps it’s beside the point, but regardless of their deliverable form, I think this series is very well executed.

An excerpt from e-Types 10 Rules for Modern Living:

When a design doesn’t work – go old school. Forget hype, think craftsmanship. Heavy skills prove over and over to be the best tool to overcome the creative crises we all encounter at least five times a week. Creativity is nourished by structure.

With all the fuss over the Pepsi and Tropicana re-brands it’s nice to see something that I think most people can agree on. Under Consideration’s Brand New recently ran a piece about the new Jack in the Box branding. I don’t think they have these in San Francisco, but in Sacramento they were everywhere and as much as I can’t stand their television campaigns (the exploits of their terminally unfunny and somehow vaguely 80’s-esque — in a bad way — globe-headed CEO) I have to say that they really did a good job with this new identity. The re-brand was headed up by Minneapolis-based Duffy & Partners and I think they really nailed it from a purely aesthetic point of view. The only question now is whether people will still recognize it as a fast food joint. I don’t know if everyone is familiar with Pluto’s or Jack’s Urban Eats, but that’s the sort of restaurant this branding conjures up for me. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but you have to wonder what sort of effect it might have on what I’d have to imagine is Jack in the Box’s core demographic: people looking for quick, cheap food. So what do you think, design success or design fail?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkqtklABgGQ

This is completely insane and almost creepy the first time you see it. Now I just need to get my printer working to try it.

Recently I got sit in on a recording of Tim Sweeney’s Beats in Space radio show on NYU Radio. The wonderful part about it is that he plays so many unreleased promos so you’ll always get to hear something new if you tune in and he does it weekly. I hope to feature a few more sets off his site in the future since this one was pretty amazing and now i’m trying to catch up on some of the archives.

TRACKLIST
Tony Lionni – Found A Place – Ostgut Ton
Peter Kruder – Visions Ltd – Gigolo
Larry Heard – Mercurian Funk – Black Market
Code 718 – Equinox (Henrik Schwarz Dub) – Strictly Rhythm
Mark Burns – Disco Child (Mike Burns ReRub) – Disco Devil
Night Moves – Transdance (New York Disco Mix) – GC
Whomadewho – The Plot – Gomma
Faze Action – Good Lovin’
Zombi – Sapphire (Escort Remix) – Throne Of Blood
Mr. White – Inside Your Mind (This House Is Home) – Black Market
Boozoo Bajou – Same Sun (Prins Thomas Karaoke Version) – K7
Mugwump – Turkish Bath
Shehazard – Yalla Yalla (Henrik Schwarz Remix) – Fine Art Recordings

DOWNLOAD THE MIX HERE

Tim Sweeney DJ set on Beat In Space

Stephen over at Mid-Century Modernist posted shots of some great European travel posters sent to him by his late father. Apparently the posters had remained in the shipping tube for a few years until discovered during a move. Thanks for sharing Stephen, and thanks to all your friends for holding them down in the shots! (what is that like 3 people holding the Bern print down?) Link

And in case you were wondering, the “Paris” font seems to be URW Bodoni Extra Bold Extra Wide Oblique. There are some slight differences but I am assuming these are artifacts of the digitization perhaps? I hate it when I see a classic font used like this and then find the modern version and it’s just a bit off. “Bern” seems to be PL Brazilia Three.

Abuzeedo has posted a collection of “15+ Amazingly Clever Logos” taken from Michael Evamy’s book, “Logo”. Some pretty cool stuff in there but mostly it’s just nice to see them in quality printed form. Many of these — such as the USA network logo — I tend to take for granted. But when I see them printed so nicely in black and white on the page I gain a whole new appreciation for them. Still nowhere near this though.

2 lovely groups by the names of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and 800beloved came out this month that got me back to digging thru older songs from a few more older well known groups that most of us already know. It’s nice to hear new groups taking hints of older material that is really specific sounding that inspired them and pushing it thru 2009 that is full of awful pop, weakened indie rock, and stagnant dance music. I truly feel like both these groups need to be heard since I would love to be dancing to music like this with a bunch of friends over most of what is out there not because its soo much better but it would be a perfect change of pace.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Young Adult Friction

800beloved – Galaxies

My Bloody Valentine – (When You Wake) You’re Still In a Dream

The Smiths – Shoplifters Of The World Unite

Section 25 – Inspiration

Holland Festival ’69 poster by Dick Elfers

Via Alki1