There really isn’t an official name for the style of music that is currently emerging out of bands like Neon Indian or recently reviewed Washed Out. It’s basically music that is synth-based, 80’s sentiment, psychedelic in nature and produced out of a basement studio.
One stand out is Deadbeat Summer that is super catchy with oohs and ahhs, synths lines and a laid back beat. As with most of these new dream-pop albums there is always a coming-of-age theme to them – wether or not the lyrics speak that, its the general feel I get from the album. Songs like 6669 has the back and forth kick snare beat that keeps the head moving side to side, Mind, Drips opens up with a space ship taking off that reminds me of some old Nintendo game and has a nice back beat groove. The album is short, only about 30 mins, but there is so many good songs that the album is sure not to disappoint any 80’s sentimental geek.
Thom Yorke, of Radiohead, announced on Radiohead’s blog, DEAD AIR SPACE, that he has formed a band to play his solo stuff from The Eraserand ‘new stuff’. They already have a few shows lined up in LA.
The band consists of Thom, obviously, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead’s producer), Joey Waronker (REM), Mauro Refosco (of David Bryne from Talking Heads) and Flea! Yes thats Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers.
I’ve been in need of some tunes that I could design to and I think I found them in Washed Out. Usually when I’m designing or retouching a photograph my mind is going a million miles an hour. SO that means I need super chill music or else my brain will ’splode. Speaking of design I actually like the cover type and photograph on Life Of Leisure.
Anyway, so the music is kind of along the lines of Panda Bear but a little bit more consistent between each song. Have a listen yourself! Washed Out.
For you designers out there who hate having to fight endless battles with PHP while you try to implement your beautiful web designs into a CMS, well a gift from heaven may be on its way. Firerift… a Content Management System that is implemented without funky PHP, purely HTML and CSS!
I have yet to try this thing out, but if it can do what it says and functions as it appears… then this could be a game changer!
One of my websites I frequent daily is Brand New. Brand New is a website/blog that comments on brand/identity redesigns. There is humor in its criticisms but also a lot truth. It makes you realize the impact that rebranding has.
Dave Hill, commercial photographer and creative retoucher, just updated his website and added new photos to his portfolio. Dave Hill is known for his creative retouching abilities to take a photograph (sometimes multiple photographs) and create a work of art.
His retouching recipe is mysterious and some people would give their left foot to know how he achieves his “look”. There are loads of forum threads and tutorials on trying to achieve the “Dave Hill Look”. Take for example this crazy Dave Hill Look thread at Retouch Pro that has over 200,000 views and 2,000 posts.
While most photographers, retouchers and creatives alike have come to be jaded over this specific look, I feel Dave Hill’s new work has progressed and continues to master his craft. He isn’t a ‘one trick pony’ he’s an artist and great photographer.
Check out his new work and also be sure to watch his behind the scenes videos as they give a little insight to how he sets the scene: Dave Hill Photo – http://www.davehillphoto.com/
Some new free fonts to add to your collection… also take a look at the “mission statement” of the league:
We’re done with the tired old fontstacks of yesteryear. Enough with the limitations of the web, we won’t have it. It’s time to raise our standards. Here, you’ll find only the most well-made, free & open-source, @font-face ready fonts.
Lately I’ve been obsessing over these few photographs taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vannity Fair’s 2009 Hollywood Portfolio. There’s a lot of drama with the poses and its very compelling how she can capture an interesting shot just on a grey backdrop.
I also really dig the retouching. Seems like a interesting use of localized Shadow/Highlight process in Photoshop. From the behind the scenes video provided with this shoot it shows Annie using her staple light modifier the Softlighter II – which I just went out and purchased! I’m really pumped to go out and use it.
Photographer James Day has a very striking portfolio. His photos are flooded with lighting and bleached out highlights – and that’s what caught my eye.
I initially discovered James Day by reading an interview in Wire Magazine between music artist then interviewer David Bryne, of the Talking Heads, and Thom Yorke of Radiohead and seeing his portrait work of the two.
From the labs at MIT and innovators Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry, comes “Sixth Sense”. This is a multi-unit device you wear that interacts with your surrounding environment. There is a camera that captures visual data, a mirror and projector that displays data and a phone that collects and transmits the data. Very Minority Report! Check out the video here.
There really isn’t an official name for the style of music that is currently emerging out of bands like Neon Indian or recently reviewed Washed Out. It’s basically music that is synth-based, 80’s sentiment, psychedelic in nature and produced out of a basement studio.
Thom Yorke, of Radiohead, announced on Radiohead’s blog, 
I’ve been in need of some tunes that I could design to and I think I found them in Washed Out. Usually when I’m designing or retouching a photograph my mind is going a million miles an hour. SO that means I need super chill music or else my brain will ’splode. Speaking of design I actually like the cover type and photograph on Life Of Leisure.
