Albums of the year, everyone has their end all album of the year, everyone has some suspect mentions, my list has both. In case you don’t actually know me, my musical taste is bi-polar at best. There is nothing more addictive to me than a perfectly crafted pop hook, and nothing more beautiful than a simple line sung by a raspy imperfect voice backed by an acoustic guitar.

I went with 30 albums, and there were plenty of albums that don’t make this cut, however the ones that do are ones that held a place in my year, that I listened to over and over again, or connected with me on some level, or was the soundtrack to me writing run on sentences. I gave an order for 1-10, but the rest all equally move from 11 to 30 on any given minute. These collections of songs are obviously the ones I was the most connected to this year, so for 1-10 I will include a few thoughts on the album and it will spill into non-sense at any given moment.

1. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
Their debut album was one of those records that made me love music and love working in the music industry (I was at TMG when I first heard it, and there were some talks and meetings in those days). Somehow I didn’t have any built up expectations for this record, and when I heard it I had not one disagreement with the direction the band went. Some could argue it’s a different record than their debut, some could nitpick the evolution, but when a bands evolution is natural and “right” the album just seems right (for the opposite of this feeling, see Brand New’s “Daisy”). I think this album played for 24 days straight on repeat. I’m not even kidding.

2. fun. – Aim & Ignite
I hated this album with such passion at first. I hated this album probably as much as Nate hated “Cause A Scene” when he wrote this album. I hated it because he hated that, and then one day, over-stressed and freaking out about life, someone amazing said to me “Be Calm” and so I let it play, and “heard” this record for the first time.

3. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
This was the soundtrack to me driving the 101 to the 110 this year. I don’t know why, or how, but it was always on. Phoenix finally made the record that catapulted them out of the immensely talented (and saturated) french pop rock scene and into the mainstream.

4. Where The Wild Things Are OST
Legendary children’s book that was a huge park of my life being made into a movie, penned by my favourite author, directed by a spectacular visionary artist, could this get any more hyped personally? And then Karen O went and put the perfect sounds with the most beautiful images I saw this year. I’m sure this soundtrack/score will lose out to something horrible (such as that Avatar song) in all the awards, but it was one of the best soundtracks in years.

5. Say Anything – Say Anything
After an underwhelming double album, how could you really expect much from Max Bemis? You knew the uniquely catchy songs were still in him, you knew he was still insane, you knew he was still jaded, but somehow that double album created an ocean to saturate his genius. This album was precise, exact, and exactly what was needed. Heck, he even only needed 30 words or less for some of these scene pop gems.

6. Andy Shauf – Darker Days
I’ve heard Andy Shauf compared to Elliott Smith in something I read. I’m not sure if that’s accurate, yet I totally get what they meant. His songs invoke this feeling I haven’t had for years, this feeling as you are listening that everything is exactly where it should be in this musical landscape and that your connected to the artist and his words in the most simple and honest way. The last time I felt that way was with… Elliott Smith.

7. Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major
The EP got my hopes up, the single hooked me, and “Bonfire” and “Summer Town” solidified this record as one of their best. It would be impossible for me to rank 3eb’s albums, but I feel like this one stands up well against the others, shows their familiar characteristics along with enough freshness to be just what I needed out of them. I also saw the band live for the first time this year on a cliff in Malibu, I had previously promised I would never see them live (because of all the rumours that they are horrible live), needless to say it might have been the setting, but I found their live performance breathtaking.

8. Discovery – LP
It was hard to keep Discovery in my mind all year, I’ll admit. The beginning of 2009 was filled with Discovery, though, it’s the kind of record to put on while you are getting ready to head out for a great night of bad decisions. It gets the blood running with it’s electro fused sounds, is cool enough and unknown enough to surprise your hip friends, and tops it all off with polished pop vocals and harmonies that put a smile on your face. I’m not sure how to explain the mischievous mood you wind up in after listening to this record, but I’m extremely glad for it.

9. Freelance Whales – Weathervanes
I went to see this band live with my friend Rob, who admitted he wasn’t really into the band, but thought that the perfect girl would like this band. Let me tell you, he is absolutely correct, the perfect girl LOVES this band. This album is quite honestly perfect folk pop, it’s also acceptable to love even if you’re a guy.

10. The XX- XX
One of the most complete albums of all time. It’s almost the “Frankenstein’s Monster” of my musical tastes.

11. thru 30, in alphabetical order.
All Time Low – Nothing Personal
The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You
Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk
Cartel – Cycles
Cassino – Kingprince
Fashawn – Boy Meets World
The Fray – The Fray
Hockey – Mind Chaos
Jamie T – Kings & Queens
Jay Z – The Blueprint 3
Kevin Devine – Brother’s Blood
Lights – The Listening
Matt & Kim – Grand
John Mayer – Battle Studies
Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement
Mike Dunn & The Kings Of New England – Sundowner
Monsters Of Folk – Monsters Of Folk
Muse – The Resistance
Sherwood – Qu
The Swell Season – Strict Joy

Singles usually stand out from an album in a way in which a truly spectacular single (or two) can carry a mediocre album and make it good, or in some cases can make a great album seem mediocre by not living up to the best song. Either way there really can only be one pure ranking and that’s the single of this album of singles. See what I did there?

1. Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind

In No Particular Order:
The Fray – You Found Me
Weezer – I Want You To
The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You
Lily Allen – The Fear
All Time Low – Weightless
Miley Cyrus – Party In The U.S.A
Good Girls Go Bad – Cobra Starship Feat. Leighton Meister
La Roux – Bulletproof
Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
Matt & Kim – Daylight

Sherwood – Qu – iTunes
I’ve know the Sherwood guys for years, dating back to working on their first full length when they were on Sidecho. They write some ridiculously catchy songs with gorgeous harmonies (and even some gang vocals), and they are even better people than they are musicians.

The Summer Set – Love Like This – iTunes
The Summer Set was on The Militia Group for the release of their EP, and the potential of the band was immediately noticed. I’ve had the song Chelsea off “Love Like This” stuck in my head for like months, and finally I can try to get myself sick of it by listening to it on repeat all day. This album shows a realization of all that potential they showed on the EP, and gives you a promise for a pretty strong career in this whole thing.

What? You don’t like Summer? Or Pop music? Okay, I’ve got some wonderfully Americana feeling, fall enjoying, music for you also.
Andy Zipf – Our Voice Is A Weapon – iTunes
Another wonderfully simple, beautifully layered batch of songs from an artist on P is for Panda. Who knew Panda’s liked Americana so much? One of the best people in the world runs this label, so I think you can do your part to support good people/music by dropping 3 bucks on this.

Some of the things you can actually go out and see right now (that at some point only lived on my computer) are MySpace layouts for Boys Like Girls and My Favorite Highway. Both these bands are amazing, and BLG have a new record out, that I’m sure you’ve heard a few songs on your radio from. MFH has a new video out, which you can see on said MySpace.

I’ve also been working on quite a few logos, print work and layouts that aren’t quite out in the public eye yet, and MySpace layouts for Andrew W.K. and The Bleach Works should be up next week. Recently I launched a website design I did for a film called The Road Less Traveled, it’s a pretty interesting concept and gives a whole new view of a part of the world we don’t all get to see.

I’d also like to bring back what may have been a feature of my blog and recommend some things, mainly because I think everyone could stand to hear some good music:
fun. – Aim & Ignite – This band has one of The Format guys in it, along with a cast of other talented musicians who all played in a few other bands and came together to create fun. I happen to think The Format’s debut was one of the most perfect complete albums ever, so at first I HATED fun., then I let it play and found that I couldn’t stop. I had to apologize to a couple good friends for ever trying to say that this record isn’t absolutely phenomenal, and even the songs I hated I now love. Lesson learned.

Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major – I never expected to be this addicted to a new 3eb record. Sure their catalogue is one that is constantly playing in my life, but did anyone really expect this resurgence? I wanted to feel this way about this record, for months now, but I knew I wouldn’t, yet here I am. I think my favourite track has to be Summer Town, it just gives you that feeling where you want to be inside, is full of classic 3eb lines, techniques, phrasing, etc that just make it the classic non-single 3eb fave. The pseudo ending is spectacular as well. If you have somehow missed everyone talking about 3eb again, you need to drive a few laps around town playing this album.

Ryan Adams – The other day I realised I haven’t listened to Ryan Adams in months, and then I proceeded to listen to it for 3 days straight. Perhaps it got me back to being a little too jaded, but I think it was exactly what my days needed. Next month will be filled with lots of Elliott Smith as well.

Hope everyone out there who still checks in on this nonsense of a website is well, I’d name you by name, but that would just get awkward.

If you are just hearing about me moving from this, maybe you are saying “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me, what a bad friend”, well let’s face it… you aren’t a very good friend either. I’m kidding, I probably didn’t tell you because I’m absolutely slammed with work right now, the week you are moving is a great week to be the busiest of the year, trust me. So as of Sunday, I’ll be residing in LaLa Land, someplace underneath this gorgeous view.

To every one of my Long Beach friends and foes, I will miss being your neighbor; To all the fellow Angelians, excited to be amongst the concrete jungle.

If you need my new address to send housewarming gifts, shoot me an email.

Mashable has a great post on their IE6 death wish, some of the intricacies of why IE6 is horrible, why developers need to start denying pages to load in it, and what the future holds for anyone using a real browser.

Mashable

Both Digg and YouTube have announced that they’re cutting back on IE6 support. Facebook already gives you suggestions for better browsers if you try to log in with IE6. You won’t be able to Digg articles or browse YouTube via IE6 in the near future.

If you are using IE6, please stop, use IE8 if you must or try Safari or Firefox out, you might be surprised at how the internet has changed these past 10 years. If you work in IT, make it a priority to upgrade your companies browsers, far more designers will respect you.

I am not a huge fan of the NAACP. I understand why it was created, I understand all the good it has done, but in todays world I have seen them too quick to call anything racist and not really helping to advance anything. I recently saw an interview that got me excited about the NAACP again. Their President, one Benjamin Jealous (hello, awesome name), is multi racial, grew up on two coasts, was a Rhodes Scholar, his Grandfather was born a slave and died a Senator, and he is the youngest ever President of the NAACP.

So what did I like so much about this guy? What made me feel like he truly wants to better this world? For one, his multiple uses of the words ‘for everyone”. The lack of the NAACP getting behind other minorities and even majorities has always been my main criticism of it. A group like this was founded at a time where the need to focus on equality for “blacks” was the strongest, but this group could have evolved as they won battles towards civil rights for “blacks” and taken up more causes for all the other minorities. The NAACP is the iconic civil rights organization in this country, sure they don’t need to expand and change, but I feel like so much potential is wasted focusing mainly on only one “colour” of person.

Additionally Benjamin Jealous just seems real, I know this is naive on my part, but I feel like this guy gets “it”. It may be all political positioning, but this man is not just talking about all the injustices in the world, instead speaking on what more we can do to get the world where he hoped it would be. He is looking towards the future, while understanding his organizations past, and even acknowledges that the time has come for them to shift and adapt. It’s a refreshing stance to see.

I will not go as far to say that in todays world there is no discrimination towards minorities left, but I will also point out that there are people of all colour being discriminated against in this nation. I would love to see the NAACP formally become the National Association for the Advancement of People, and finally fulfill their potential to be fighting every civil rights injustice and helping making all of us better people in the process. Perhaps Mr. Jealous may be the one to begin that evolution.

Check out the first few minutes of the interview:

Here is Ken Block showing some impressive maneuvers over at the Port of Los Angeles.

I said I’m quiet about racism, that’s kind of a lie, I’m super against racism being made an excuse for everything. I think it perpetuates racism to always be playing that “card” and I think the NAACP is not actually “advancing” anything and is only focused on one colour. For examples of things I think are stupid cases of racism being inserted into a topic just to gain publicity, read how I felt about the Duke LAX case.

Back on track, so this article listed this racism connection:

Globe Campus

He had heard his white classmate throw an angry racial slur in his direction after an argument during a gym class game of speedball, and now the student was shoving him backward, refusing to retract the smear.

The white student swung first, hitting the 15-year-old with a punch to the mouth.

The 15-year-old heard his father’s voice running through his head: Fight only as a last resort, only in self-defence, only if given no choice, and only with the left hand.

His swing was short and compact, a left-handed dart that hit the white student square on the nose.

The nose broke under his fist, igniting a sequence of events – from arrest to suspension to possible expulsion – that has left the Asian student and his family wondering whether they are welcome in this small, rural and mostly white community north of Toronto, one that has been touched by anti-Asian attacks in the past.

Sounds horrible right? Not only did this kid do the right thing by finally sticking up for himself after probably months of torment, but he’s the only one being punished for a fight where both kids threw punches. Pretty tragic case, and I have this kids back, good for him for breaking this jerk’s nose.

So what was that racial slur?

Globe Campus

He said the boy called him a “fucking Chinese,” a comment he instantly knew was far from a joke.

Far from a joke? Yes. Hateful and mean spirited? Yes. Racist? I’m not sure. Granted I’m no form of asian, so I don’t know how offensive it really might feel to be called from the wrong country/region. I have one Korean friend who I bet has a great opinion on this, so maybe I’ll get that soon, but I do have some thoughts on this alleged racism.

First of all, were talking about essentially attacking this kid’s nationality. Yes that still falls under the broad scope of racism, but really what was racist here? Is anytime a nationality, ethnicity or race (yours or otherwise) attached to an insult racism? Is it the fact he was called an incorrect nationality that makes this racism? I don’t think so, but I’ll cover that in a bit. Would this kid have felt just as insulted if he had been called “fucking Korean”? I’m not sure of the answer to that last one, but if so then I have to disagree with this being racism.

Korean versus Chinese, again I’m an U.S. American with northern European decent, so maybe I can’t ever “get this”. However, I know Korea is right next to China, I know the people are probably, technically very much alike, perhaps even the same ethnicity. I know the Korean language (although origins debated) does have ties to the ancient Chinese languages (as does Japanese). We are talking about the differences of two nations that have more modern similarities than the U.S. and Mexico. I just don’t think calling someone an incorrect nationality that borders one’s actual nationality, while insulting them has to be a racist comment.

Was the supposedly “racist” kid ignorant? Hateful? Stupid for not knowing the difference between Korea and China? Probably yes on all accounts, but I didn’t read anything in that story that made it seem like he even knew he wasn’t calling him by his correct nationality, let alone making a comment to oppress based on that nationality. He was just a kid, a dumb kid, wanting to be mean and call the other kid a “fucking ANYTHING” and he got his nose broken for it.

The only things I can sort of (and by sort of I mean, not at all) relate to this is growing up “white” in America. I had to always check that “white” box, had no other identity, yet no one ever seemed to mind. Yeah, yeah, rough life I had, but I’m not “white” thank you, and I know I’m the majority here but it is a little insensitive to call me that. Is it a tolerance thing because I’ve been “white” for years? Is me being called white offensive? Should it be? Was it once? Could it be? Is it okay because someone “white” was the one who decided on describing us that way? All those things above are pretty much a ridiculous statement, even though I really should be able to express my ethnicity and family origins (Welsh-Irish, amongst other things) just as much as any non-white person.

Here is the only thing that can really hit close to home for me; Would I be offended if someone called me Scottish, or even a “fucking Scot”? Absolutely not, I’d just correct them, and then take up the battle of why this person just called me “fucking ANYTHING”.

I must say I’m really glad that these people at this school are speaking up about this incident, I just wish they were speaking up because a kid who fought back was expelled while the bully lives on, not because of some link to “racism”. I think it sort of cheapens what this is really about. It does seem like there are other real issues with racism towards asiatic people in this region, and I think they should address it and surely this will help those issues as well, but let’s allow kids to stand up for themselves and not be punished.

Just to lighten the mood as I finish up this way too long post, I’ll leave you with my favourite quote of the article.

The Korean Boy’s Father

“Personally, for my kid, I should move. But as a Canadian I cannot move.”

Who knew that Canada didn’t allow you to move? Ha. J, slash, K, Canada.

I’m really curious to hear what others think about this topic, and this is one of those things where I wish my blog actually got larger readership than it does, but I think this will stir a few minds a bit.

I know this will not be received well by many.

I’m not trying to say the guy isn’t a talented musician or songwriter, he surely is, and he surely captured a generation with his political stance and his unique mindset, but how did he wind up that way for multiple generations? To me, Dylan is the guy who wrote 4 songs that have a lasting power, the guy whose son wrote an entire album I like better than any of his fathers, the guy who has made continued his career by being the guy the “cool” people like “because he’s Dylan”.

How is this guys career so much more notable than a guy like Tom Petty or James Taylor?

Now let’s clear up a couple of facts here, it’s well known that I like “hits”. I don’t mean Top 40 songs necessarily, I mean songs with an epic hook, songs that as you walk down the street you curse having them stuck in your head (but give it another spin the second you can), HITS. Secondly, I was born in the seventies, raised in the eighties, and am living in the zeroes, Dylan hasn’t had a hit since I’ve been alive.

So why is Dylan so revered? Elvis has the same sort of fanatics, different in lots of ways, but still same kind of experience. Elvis sold records, had hit songs, was in films and was one of the first real celebrities of modern times. So Dylan is the anti-Elvis maybe? Out of the lime-light, political and all about the music and the art? Eh, I don’t think so, it might be his angle, and maybe part of why he appeals to people, but I don’t buy it, he needs to do something, not just not do something. It seems lately he does more of the not doing something, while still just writing/recording away.

Dylan was truly relevent when he wrote “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and it captured an entire aspect of the population who found a voice and mouth for all the things running through their head, but four decades later is he still? I recently “tweeted” in reply about Dylan, that Valens had 4 truly great songs on one record in an 8 month career, doing so not to compare the two, but to bring up this nugget: Is Dylan renowned because he’s simply alive and still cranking out records?

People love to play the card that Dylan isn’t Top 40, or that Top 40 hits don’t make a song or an artist “great”, and it’s all true. We all have those artists who will make 10 albums and never get radio play. I happen to love Sigur Ros and surely they will never be Top 40, but I’ll buy every record ever. Maybe that’s the key to it all, and that Dylan just clicks with some people and doesn’t with me. Maybe, but I have this vague feeling that to many, especially in my generation, liking Dylan is a lot like reading Kerouac; It’s a statement move towards the non-today, the counter culture, aimed at being a part of a generation you missed or trying to stand apart from your current one. Such as with any counter culture movement, it winds up as trendy and actually the majority, and perhaps that’s what I see today.

The truly interesting part of what I mention above is that Dylan wasn’t non-Top 40, he actually formed his career off hit songs, and at various points decided he didn’t want his records promoted certain ways or proper singles released by his label amongst other things, but his career was not consistently that. It was kind of a lot like Radiohead’s “release the music straight to the fans” move, where a band that already built up to a very successful level goes about a shift to be more “artistic”, strictly about the music, and through all of it bucking the system/process that created them. Dylan after being a mainstay “rock” act who was revered for his political and social commentary which brought him to a certain level, went country and stopped talking politics, and then even went Christian (and I have theories about all the hipster Christians I know who love Dylan too, don’t get me started).

I don’t understand how this guy managed to keep such a stable fan base through all of those changes, through very few (if any) recent songs a majority of the population can even name, to put out an album, that in the year 2009, charts at number one.

The only thing I can even come close to an explanation with is that Dylan is still there doing it. Elvis is dead, The Beatles broke up, Zeppelin disbanded, Michael Jackson went pedo, Garth Brooks retired, every other voice of a generation and/or successful career artist has either died or become too controversial or alienated themselves some other way. Dylan got less controversial, stayed alive, and over time had more and more people spreading the Dylan gospel, giving them no reason to dislike them and it being “counter”, then “different”, then “forgotten”, and at many times throughout those popular to like him. It really is quite a remarkable and impressive career.

All that to say, I’m still just waiting for someone to explain what makes Dylan so great. I’m ready for it to hit me, I’m ready to be wowed, I’m willing to listen to a record or three (but no more) with open ears and have my life changed… because after all… so many of you have been telling me, for years, that is who this man is.

P.S. I realise someone is going to tell me that just the fact he has been able to affect so many people over such a long period of time is the simple answer to the question I ask in this title, but that still doesn’t make me want to listen to him… go deeper.

I’m not sure if Aillaud is considered as a post-structuralist, but to me I see that in his work and his inspirations for it. I’m not sure his motivations were purely post-structuralist, as I think he wasn’t so much rejecting structuralism as he was tired of the systematic approach that was architecture post war. I see much of the same motivations, ideas, and form that lead us into the LA/Santa Monica school and architects like Frank Gehry.

You can see some more photos of the Tours and some other Emile Aillaud designed buildings in this Flickr pool.

All that being said, that logo can be found on something rather awesome. A(n) USB drive bracelet. What? Yeah. Okay. See for yourself. Brilliant idea TRL team.

The Record Life has their EP out now on iTunes, if you like what you hear.

Apple. Think Different Campaign. (Apple/TBWA Chiat Day)

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

I know I need to stop and remember these words more often, and keep pursuing my life as a person “uncomfortable with the status quo”*. To all those people in my life who fit into everything described above, thank you.

*This statement is one of those things like, 3 people will get. Sorry, but they will probably laugh pretty hard, and I can’t rob them of that just so that this would make more sense to you.

Take it all in:

So I’ve been busy, again. I got my tax extension turned in on time, so I’m doing better than some people, but it’s just an extension, so I’m doing worse than most. If you don’t appreciate the greatness of Twitter, and/or realise I don’t really say anything about what’s going on there anyway, and want to know what’s going on, this is your Huckleberry (I’mmm yuh Huhklebehhy).

I wrapped up a few MySpace re-designs for some great bands: My Favorite Highway (record was released yesterday, and you should own it), Green River Ordinance (FFO: The Fray, etc), The Urgency, and Young Love. I got up the website for a ska band from Boston called Westbound Train up, I’m not really into ska, and if you aren’t either realise these guys have much more of an old R&B sound to them. I also finally finished up the layout for a band I used to do a lot of work with called Parker Theory. I’ll get the cover up somewhere, sometime soon. I was also working a lot of sleepless nights on a secret logo project that I can’t really discuss yet, and don’t really know the outcome of, so you may never hear about it, but hey at least me writing this makes me appear “mysterious” right?

Other non-design things I have been up to include: Building an HD antenna with Kyle so we are one step closer to canceling cable, Finally fixing my Mail so that my Junk Mail will stay on the server (tip: don’t put periods in your account name), Got out to see the Ducks knock off the Sharks and fully reinvigorate my love for NHL playoff hockey, Bought more vinyl (still no turntable), and successfully got an external HD once deemed dead, back in the world of the living.

I’m off to get back into the work, nice seeing you again.

It’s all very ironic to me when I see a band bringing these concerns. I understand why, I understand that even the supposed rebels making rock music feel threatened that people create successful songs and even sell out a room doing something “easier” than they do. Artists are supposed to be the ones pushing envelopes, artists are supposed to welcome change and innovation; so why are so many upset that people are finding new ways to make music that people like? In the end it’s all relative, sure you may not like a band like 3oh3! (not the band listed in the blog, but I see a lot of this type of response geared towards them from artists and fans), but people think they created (that’s the key word) a pretty catchy and fun couple of tunes. It doesn’t matter how, or the tools used, none of that crap actually makes any artist “cooler” than another (but some sure think it does).

It’s about creation, creating something, being far more unique than the boring old ways of a guitar and amp. Let me announce something, not everyone can program a hit song in a computer, just as not everyone can play the guitar like Hendrix. Sure, a lot of people try both, but a lot of people fail. The ones trying and failing doing it using a guitar are no more (or less) important than the ones trying and failing at programming a song in a computer. They are expressing themselves, they are creating, they are pushing boundaries. Maybe they are creating for commercial success you say? So what, so are plenty of bands.

What I really wonder, I wonder if these were the same things happening: when photography was invented, when they took classical instruments and created jazz, bluegrass, etc, when moving pictures were invented, when a broken amplifier accidentally invented the now standard distortion. You get it right? It’s innovation, and sometimes Rock N’ Roll seems a little old and dated with their mentality about the auditory realm.

Not all music is for everyone, but criticizing ANYONE trying, especially if the critic is a fellow creator, is a bit hypocritical (and can come off as jealousy). Just say it’s not for you and let the masses decide their final place in the scheme of things.

Here is a lovely little example of the jewels this man is capable of cranking out, the entire post can be read here:

Bob Lefsetz

Love is a risk. If you’re not willing to get your heart broken, you’d better not play.

Then there are the heartbreakers, possessing some advantage the rest of us don’t, beauty or bucks, who flit from boy to boy or girl to girl, like a celebrity.

Then there are the self-conscious, who have to gin up their gumption to even speak with a member of the opposite sex.

If you want insight into the truth of this world, you’d be better off studying the imperfect, whose lives don’t follow a constant upward trajectory, their seemingly insignificant victories may seem minor to you, but they’re the tent poles of their lives.

So Gene spoke, and it was like a commercial, and this guy Lefsetz didn’t like it. Bob Lefsetz is this guy who writes this letter (it’s a blog, let’s be honest) on the music industry. Somehow the entire industry thinks the guy is genius, but I don’t get it. He constantly thinks he has the solutions to save the music industry, criticizes others who actually act and try to do something different, and as far as I can find has never actually done anything to help save the industry. All that said, his RSS feed (which sucks by the way; who makes RSS feeds that you can only read 2 lines of? People who won’t be saving any industry, that’s who) is subscribed to and once in a while (when I find those 2 lines interesting enough) I read a full post.

You can go find the post on Gene if you want, but what you should do is give Gene your visit and see it and his answers over at Simmons Records website. They are amazing and great, and entertaining… everything we should be getting, and Gene wants to give us. My favourite exchange, because it’s absolutely more valid than 90% of the things Lefsetz says is as follows:

Bob Lefsetz

Just because you’re a big musical act, that doesn’t mean you’re a decent executive, that you can run a record company.

Gene Simmons

SAYS WHO. YOU? AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MAKE THESE ASSESSMENTS. WHAT’S YOUR QUALIFICATION, IN FACT, FOR SAYING ANYTHING…

I’d like to remind people who run the music industry of a few things that Gene seems to also feel; Just because you have been around the old music industry, doesn’t mean you can be succesful in the new music industry. Just because you ran a label or run a label or had success with an artist, doesn’t mean you will ever be successful again. Just because something worked once, doesn’t mean it is the pattern.

Artists should have people who believe in them as much as Gene believes in himself (and surely any band/artist he gets behind), and should also have people who are as brutally honest as Gene is and don’t give people ridiculous manipulative sells every time they have a conversation.

Gene Simmons is kind of refreshing.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m out on tour with William Tell and Jimmy Robbins. I have to tell you guys Jimmy is one of the best new things in my life, and William is one of the best old. We are a pretty great band of travelers.

So we started out in Boston, Cambridge proper for 2 days (including a great stop at Drink), and then Greyhound’d down to NYC. We crashed in Williamsburg the first night, then mid-town at the Pod Hotel (bunkbeds, with Eames patterned bedspreads). The show in NYC was at the Highline, and it had a great turnout. From there we went to Hoboken, NJ. Now let me tell you, I have said a lot of bad things about NJ, and quite a few about Hoboken (I mean it does start with Hobo, and Eli Manning lives there), but I take it all back. After 2 days I’m a fan. It’s a great town where you can still grab a slice at random hours of the night, but escapes the complete craziness over the river.

Sometime after that we finally got a car, drove to Baltimore, stalked the “Ace Of Cakes” place, and wandered Fell’s Point. I wound up buying hat’s and old screens (screen printing screens), and we even cheered for the Buffalo Sabers (I can’t really explain). The next day I headed to the airport for a flight to Newark and then Orange County, only to be greeted by a delayed flight which would have made me miss my connection. So then I was on a Delta flight to Atlanta, then Orange County. Yeah, so then a ground stop in Atlanta kept me at BWI another 2 hours (I had already waited 3). Did iI mention I was flying back for my Father’s wedding the next day?

So I was a bit concerned I would be stuck forever in Maryland or Georgia, but eventually I made it back to California. The wedding was great, very musical oriented, and out in the Angeles National Forest. That evening I got on a plane for here, JFK. I promptly passed out, and that flight is now known as the Best Redeye Ever. Soon I will be heading to North Carolina to meet up with William and Jimmy, who played Philly and Raleigh while I was gone.

If you want to be involved in my insane travels, I will soon be in Charlotte, Wilmington, Delray Beach (Ft. Lauderdale), Orlando and Tampa. If you have ways to get me and 2 others into Disneyworld for free, you are especially encouraged to reach out. I really recommend you come out to a show if you are around one of these cities, it’s a great chance to see wonderful music in it’s barest form performed at levels the likes you may never see. At least stop by and familiarize yourself with William Tell and Jimmy Robbins. I’ll see you all soon.

So I have been ridiculously busy in the last few weeks, and there are good reasons for that. I have a ton of work, and I will be over on the East Coast for a couple weeks. Why? Why not! I will be headed out to such cities as Boston, New York, Hoboken, New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Wilmington, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, and Orlando. It’s quite a journey, and I will be on the road with my good friend William Tell and Jimmy Robbins. They will be playing perfect pop music, and I will be helping them in a multitude of ways, while still carrying on my normal load of design fun (though the past few weeks have made it so it will be a little lighter).

If you are on the lesser coast, and we are friends, we need to hang out. I’m really bad at calling people or writing them in advance, so just track me down and let’s get a drink. If you are one of my wonderful clients, fear not, I will have all the regular normal operations up and running, and you shouldn’t notice a thing.

See you soon. Miss your face.

I ordered the Deluxe Edition of “Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust”, I got my download, I even got my physical, and then months went by. You sent me emails to let me know the LP was going out soon. I sent you an email to let you know my shipping info had changed, and if you could amend it, you replied that my order had been amended (I still have the email). I still am waiting, I still am wondering if I will ever get it, I still am a little bit annoyed that I have to be typing this.

Please contact me and let’s get this sorted out. I will invade Iceland if need be (mostly because it’s absolutely gorgeous, but if it helps this cause too, bonus).

Thank you.

Currently the Associated Press is upset that an image that they hold the rights to was the basis for Shep’s illustration. They want license fees, and profit, and credit, and probably one of his children. The issue is actually pretty interesting in terms of copyright law. However frankly this case has no legs, and I’m surprised the AP is this hard up for cash (though no one in the newspaper world is exactly thriving).

The AP owns the image, they don’t own the moment in time the image was taken.

Fairey started with their image, and then he applied his now famous illustrative style. He didn’t simply threshold the thing in Photoshop, he didn’t auto-trace something in Illustrator. His work is no different than someone painting the image in a cubsim styling. Copyright simply doesn’t protect deviations in such things. Someone at AP has to know such things. If anyone should be able to claim rights to deviations based on photographs, it should be the person in the imagery. Kind of funny how they get no share of the AP’s licensing fees.

Anyway, that is my take on this whole thing, and I really hope Shep doesn’t back down or make a settlement. He deserves to stand alone as the source of such iconic imagery, and he is just the right person to stick it to the old media.

Also if I may rant…
I find it hilarious how the old media has talked about him as this “L.A. street artist”, like he is some ruffian who slums through streets stealing bread and spreading wheat paste wherever he goes. Do they not understand the guy went to THE premiere design school in America (RISD), do they not understand the guy owns his own clothing line, do they not understand the guy’s first studio he formed is responsible for such things as the Mt. Dew logo and the Mozilla logo, do they not understand his current studio is responsible for the “Walk The Line” poster and the cover art for The Smashing Pumpkins comeback album? This is no “street artist”, this is one of our generations most heralded graphic designers, this guy will be included along names like Bass, Lubalin, Rand, Glaser, Carson and Sagmeister.

THE 20.5:

1. I get Deja Vu… a lot. Usually about feeling like I’m getting Deja Vu. (If you follow me on Twitter, you now have Deja Vu!)
2. The best Death Cab For Cutie album is “The Photo Album” end of discussion, this fact also known as “Lindsay lies”.
3. My first concert ever was The Beach Boys, 4th of July, 1984, National Mall, District of Columbia.
4. The only computer I have ever had in my home (from a child on) has been made by Apple.
5. I recently hung up artwork on the walls of my place after living here 4 years.
6. I have had this strange quest to be “mysterious” for years (less is more, right?), the best response was from the girl I was dating (at the onset of said quest) which was… laughter.
7. My wallet is bigger than yours.
8. Some people have magazine subscriptions, I have a Quarterly subscription, a DVD subscription, and a book clup subscription. I heart MCSWNYS.
9. I have a long standing addiction to WB/CW shows I should have no part loving. It started with “The Creek”, and has included “Smallville”, “Veronica Mars”, and “Gossip Girl”.
10. There isn’t much that is better than a fresh loaf of Boudin’s sourdough bread.
11. I played Lacrosse and Ice Hockey in High School, in San Diego, CA. I was a New Englander at heart I guess.
12. Speaking of New England: I have always had a fascination with JFK, I love the Red Sox, I hate the Patriots, I love Boston.
13. I unabashedly love pop music, of all types, that other people try to pretend isn’t pure hits.
14. As a kid (11-15ish), I couldn’t fall asleep to anything but the radio. Not a CD even. I had to hear a talking voice at some point or else my mind would spin into a labyrinth of thoughts on life and death.
15. I firmly believe I could save entire companies if they would just consult me on everything they do.
16. I tend to get infatuated with girls from far away cities, okay infatuated might be putting it lightly.
17. I’m horrible at filing, but quite organised.
18. I should mention, I use the Queen’s English whenever possible.
19. Almost all of my family teach, at one point I was going to fall in line as well, but wound up a designer. Lately I have the desire to be the jaded professor at Art School who: tells everyone their projects are horrible, everyone hates but realises years later was vital to their succes (i.e. Winter Sorbeck).
20. I’m great at buying old cameras, I’m horrible at buying new film.
20 1/2. I hate committing to making plans, except… (How else am I supposed to make a half fact?)

I have spent all morning listening to them, and demanding others do the same.

Jack’s Broken Heart (true story, i never realised the Fight Club reference until 2 months ago) was an amazing 4 piece. Their EP “Against Forgetting” was amazing, go buy it on iTunes. I saw this band play a ton, with Jimmy Eat World, Counterfeit, et al, and it was great. They won the 2001 San Diego Music Award for best Alternative, beating out The Album Leaf, Black Heart Procession and Tristeza (I told you SD had a developing scene at the time). I later had the privilege of becoming friends with their drummer David, who is now in a band called The Little Ones (with ex-Sunday’s Best) that you should also check out.

Dewey Defeats Truman is a band that I came to know about through my own lame attempts at rock stardom. I was in a band, I will never mention more than it’s mere existence, because it was horrible. So anyway I was over at the Guitar Center (old one over on El Cajon Blvd.) one day, doing something, or buying something, and had this random conversation with this guy who was the singer for DDT. He was a pretty interesting guy and super nice, so I went over to Music Trader and picked up whatever I could find. That was “B-Sides, Rarities, and Out-Takes” and it was a great pick up. I don’t think I have the physical disc of this anymore, but somehow it has managed to stay on my computer all those years. I don’t think you can find this album, but they released an EP later that is still up on Amazon.

Enjoy.

Or go catch them on tour with some band nobody has ever heard of… Fall Out Boy.

Speaking of bands you should listen to, MySpace, me name dropping friends of mine in NYC, and what I’m listening to right now: Another wonderful friend Frank got me hooked on this band More Amor. Their track “Young Hollywood” will be stuck in my head for 3 weeks, at the least. I recommend buying the album off iTunes, because I did, and it would do you some good to be more like me.

Here is a brilliant interactive look at how the Zip Code system works.

The man has musical performers on his show and doesn’t hold up the CD, he holds up vinyl. Gorgeous, circles of black, grooves of uncompressed, vinyl.
And it’s not just once in a while

It’s always.

It must be show policy. I wonder if a band is allowed to play if they can’t get the vinyl there? I wonder if he loves Squeeze’s “Singles” on vinyl as much as I do. Scotch & Squeeze, that’s all you need.

In related news, will someone sell me a record player. I’m sick of losing bids on ebay.

Most of my clients are actually some of the greatest people ever, so I’m pretty fortunate in this one. However, I have in the past encountered these people, and I suppose someone had to take over their design work when I moved on, so this is for you, whomever you are.

And those clients.

Credit

In general I think this is something most people should be familiar with, designers are used more and more, and I think it’s still one of the largest growing professions. Chances are you may hire a designer, and chances are, you may not be familiar with the status quo. People really don’t understand what it’s like to be making a living designing, they think it’s some novelty, like you must do something real for a living and thus they can treat the whole relationship as a hobby. Some of the ways I have seen clients treat designers is just mind boggling and wouldn’t fly in any other industry. In reality all these things are just good business, why some people choose bad business, that one is still a mystery to me.

P.S. I read somewhere recently how overused of a literary device the one line paragraph was, so of course I made it my goal to use it more. Hence, you will be seeing it a lot. Will this be the end of my run on sentences, could be, but probably not, I mean why would I want to do that when I could just combine the two for even more amazing played out incorrectness?

That there is the cover of The Guardian’s G2 section that ran earlier in the week. One of my favourite people on earth David Carson did the design, and inside is a multitude of other designers takes on POTUS Obama’s speeches. Nice little feature for the design geek and/or political dork.

I have a great hope in this country, and in this President, as we; continue to do the hard things, constantly be asked to do the impossible, be the example for the diverse world we live in, and do all these things with grace and humility. I am incredibly proud to be able to call this country my home.

60-something degrees.

My head felt like it was 80-something. Now I’m no scientist, but I think this could be something. So I deduced I had a fever. I refused to medicate myself, and choose to push through. I’m starting to realise this has been going on the past week, and has been what has cut into my productivity lately. I should have realised mid day exhaustion wasn’t normal, but I kind of enjoyed the naps.

So anyway, like a good friend of mine said:

Barney Stinson

“You see, whenever I start feeling sick, I just stop being sick and be AWESOME instead. True story.”

So this little nugget of Awesome comes in handy on days like today.

And yes, I realise Barney is a character, but if you met my friends you would know some fiction is clearly taking a cue from my reality.

Anyway Taylor Momsen who plays Jenny (who regularly steals scenes and is pretty much a lock for her own spin off, duh), was recently caught running from the Paparazzi. I know it’s a viral ad for NIke, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome.

Okay, I’m gonna go back to work and try to pretend I just didn’t gush on my Blog about Gossip Girl.

My good friend Brandon Chamberlain works with an artist named Jeremy Larson who makes some pretty spectacular music himself, and will be sitting in with MuteMath on the keys tonight as they play Leno. If their other late night performances were a sign, this will be another can’t miss.

Nice to see Yahoo! pushing it’s reach and offering up an amazingly useful webapp for free. Well done Y!.

Sidenote: I once told a girl who I was dating, or had dated, or was going to date (I’m really not sure the time period in it all) that I was working on being mysterious, she laughed at me. She was right.

So if you are up to be a part of something that may require a few minutes of your time now and again, possibly a postage stamp, and will make 2009 better (or at the least more interesting) shoot me an email (you should have it) and include your postal address.

1. Queen Latifah.
2. The whole, “high five the people as you go to the mic” thing.
3. Kid Rock over Coldplay.
4. The constant “Obama won the election” references. Like the actors did anything.
5. Ellen over Letterman.
6. Robin Williams.
7. Two And A Half Men.
8. Everything else, except The Dark Knight.

So anyway, in May I returned a 5 month old email to John and he only waited 6 months to reply to me. Way to out do me, John. I’m really horrible at getting back to those kind of emails, because I feel like I can’t just fire off 3 sentences like I can with family and friends I see all the time, so I hold no ill will. John let me know about a project he had recently compelted after teaching himself how to screenprint. The concept was a series of art prints that represent each state as a plate of food. I think it came out pretty spectacular, of course it will be 6 months until I let John know that, but for now check out his work. The United Plates.

I enjoyed a lovely holiday back “home” (Long Beach is home to me, but San Diego gets jealous when I say that) in San Diego, five-ish full days of family, friends and homemade cookies. My last few weeks of work had been slammed full of work (thanks all), and the time away was a great recharge. New Years was approaching and instead of being lame and doing nothing, we threw a last minute party. The flyer was probably the best part, but we had a pretty epic time all the same. I invented a new drink that night, and drank far too much of it, leaving me a little hurting New Years Day down in the OC. I hate people who say “the OC”, slash myself. Watched some football, played some poker, drank to cure the hangover and had some of the best chili ever made, then we ended the night with “Frost Nixon”:, great film.

The holidays, as they are known, were great, and I am endlessly thankful to have the amazing people in my life that I do. I don’t say it enough, but I appreciate you all.

Somehow in the middle of all that craziness above the Chargers made the playoffs, so this past weekend I trekked back down (stopping in HB to play some football myself) for what was one of the best games I have ever seen. I was so fortunate to see that game in person, what a start to the New Year. Sunday I went and saw “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with my Mother, I was a little nervous of how this would be adapted. I had heard some things that essentially made it sound like “The Notebook” and “Forrest Gump” were starring in a “Brad Pitt is rebuilding the ninth ward” infomercial, then I saw it and cried like a little old man baby. They nailed the potential this story has, and Pitt once again impresses. Everyone should see this and love it, but then again I do love “The Notebook”.

In the middle of all those things I also made a server switch (still MT, just a new version of the DV along with PHP5, finally), put up a few new websites (splash pages) for various friends and a few of my various projects and hung up a ton of art around the place.

I hope everyone else enjoyed some time with friends and family (or locked up avoiding them), whatever you needed the past weeks, and is looking forward to where 2009 can take us.

Oh, did you hear?
Yes we did.

Best Songs of 2008
1. Third Eye Blind – Red Star
2. Mike Dunn And The Kings Of New England – The Edge Of America*
3. The Jealous Sound – Got Friends
4. The Summer Set – …In Color
5. Coldplay – Prospekt’s March

My only real commentary on this is that people should put out more EP’s. Start an EP label, something.

*This may have not come out in 2008, I may not care about silly facts like that.

Best Songs of 2008
1. Augustana – Sweet And Low
2. Gavin Rossdale – Love Remains The Same
3. Mates Of State – The Re-Arranger
4. My Favorite Highway – Getaway Car
5. Jack’s Mannequin – The Resolution
6. Estelle (ft. Kanye West) – American Boy
7. Katy Perry – Hot N’ Cold
8. Kanye West – Heartless
9. Coldplay – Viva La Vida
10. All-American Rejects – Another Heart Calls

Running Commentary (with no care in the world for grammar) follows:
I still stand by the statement I made after my second listen of “Sweet And Low”, which was something along the lines of it being the best song the band has ever written, and for those of you that know me know how Augustana’s “Boston” affects me, so that is really saying something. Gavin Rossdale renewed my faith in him in one single, single. You probably haven’t heard the My Favorite Highway song, but you should, it should be huge if that album ever gets a proper push. I’m not sure how many times this year I was standing in a booth at a club singing “American Boy”, but it was a lot. The late pushes this year were made by Kanye’s second single, and a song that probably won’t be a single by AAR, but it’s gorgeous.

Best Albums of 2008
1. Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
2. The New Frontiers – Mending
3. Katy Perry – One Of The Boys
4. My Favorite Highway – How To Call A Bluff
5. Augustana – Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt
6. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
7. Denison Witmer – Carry The Weight
8. Girl Talk – Feed The Animals
9. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
10. We The Kings – We The Kings

I know my list is full of lame pop albums, I know it’s not as cool as your list with Vampire Weekend, Kings of Leon and Bon Iver. I realise my lameness in full, it’s who I am, I love pop music. All those great indie bands write some brilliant songs, but rarely do I ever find myself with a hook stuck in the head that can only be cured by singing along to hits like I do these artists listed above. Forgive me, all the indie hits blend together into an un-craved mass of great music that lies un-played in my iTunes.

The stats this year are in, and I had an incredibly lucky year. I am in 4 Fantasy Football leagues. In the two leagues that have divisions I won both, finished first in one division-less league and second in the other. I didn’t really do as well as that sounds though, most of those were last minute runs to win the divisions the last week of the regular season.

Somehow I managed to make it to the Championship in all 4 games, which is pretty much unheard of, this is a game of 90% luck. So it’s off to the finals I go, where I will probably be losing 2/4 or something (hey, it’s no naked man).

Surely in a few weeks I will be suffering fantasy withdrawals, but I think I have an idea for a Super Fantasy 2009 league that incorporates players from every sport in the year. Who is in?

Today one of Brad’s site is featured as Communication Arts