On the 27th March I’ll be sitting down with the guys from Motion City Soundtrack to discuss their new record, life on the road and to generally shoot the shit. In the meantime however, why not check out the music video for band’s latest single Her Words Destroyed My Planet taken from their new album My Dinosaur Life.
“Cage” was released at Somerset House alongside Georgia Hardinge’s ready to wear collection at London Fashion Week.
Mark Warren Jacques is a man of many talents. The creative world seems to hold no boundaries for him. Referencing art as his form of mediation and taking influence from everything aesthetically in his surroundings, his beautiful geometric pattern-based paintings are nothing short of jaw dropping. He’s also got a lovely little video bio in which his great attitude towards art and skateboarding shine through.
This one goes out to all the web nerds out there! For anyone whose ever designed a website you all know that using flash is almost turning into a modern day faux pas. In recent months the release of updates and new browsers (FireFox 3.5, Safari 4, Google Chrome and Opera) means the need for this outdated form of web design seems to be finally diminishing. As a test of this new technology 9elements have created a little experiment which loads 100 tweets related to HTML5 and displays them using a Javascript-based particle engine. Through an extremely beautiful and minimalist playful format each colored particle represents a tweet. Most interesting: modern mobile devices like the iPhone or Android-based phones also support new standards in favor of Flash. The future looks bright for HTML5. Launch the canvas experiment here.
Standing awkwardly on stage, his long brown hair covering his grinning face and his eyes masked with sunglasses, to look at Mitch Hedberg you’d think he hated being a stand-up comedian. Born in St.Paul Minnesota, Hedberg quickly became well known in the local comedy circuit performing with the Minneapolis Acme Comedy Company. It wasn’t long before he got his own Comedy Central special and broke into the big time. Known for his unusual style and laid back delivery, he invented his own brand of off-the-wall observational humour and quirky one-liners. By analysing the most ordinary aspects of everyday existence, he’d find the inspiration for his unique off- the-wall comedy.
A regular on The Late Show with David Letterman, he had minor roles in 2000’s Almost Famous, 2005’s Lords of Dogtown and appeared briefly on That 70’s Show. However, his on stage persona combined with his tendency to mumble, didn’t really translate well to sitcoms or television roles and when most comics moved into television work, Hedberg found it difficult. Although this was no major downfall; tipped by Time Magazine as the next Jerry Seinfeld, it was on stage where Hedberg really came alive. At times audiences weren’t quite sure what to make of him, his relaxed tone made many people think he was high or drunk, and in most cases they were right. Despite being born with a heart defect, Hedberg was known to be a frequent drug user, occasionally appearing on stage high in order to help him ease into his sets. Things took a more serious turn in 2003 when he was arrested in Austin, Texas for possession of heroin. On March 30th 2005, Mitch was found dead in his New Jersey hotel room. The official cause of death was heart failure caused by the injection of a ‘Speedball’ – a deadly mix of heroin and cocaine. The same drug-cocktail which claimed the lives of comedians John Belushi and Chris Farley. Mitch Hedberg would have been 42 this year; a comedian passed before his time. His brief career has received a second lease of life since his untimely death. Makes you wonder what Mitch would say to of all of this. With a microphone in one hand and a vodka on the rocks in the other, he’d probably something like “ha . . . alright”.
Spotify: Do You Believe In Gosh? (2009) / Mitch All Together (2003) / Strategic Grill Locations (1999)
After a five year hiatus with members having successful solo careers and two Broken Social Scene Presents albums completed the Juno Award-winning Canadian indie rock powerhouse are back. ‘World Sick’ is a 6 minute and 48 seconds blast of raw emotions that’s reminiscent of the earlier BSS albums. Rolling drums, raging guitars and soaring vocals are a clear sign they haven’t missed a beat.
Kicking off exactly where they left off back in 2005 they seem to have done nothing but improve of their big band sound. Their forthcoming album and aptly titled ‘Forgiveness Rock Record’ will be released on May 4th via Arts & Crafts and with the whole BSS crew united you can expect regulars like Leslie Feist, Emily Haines (Metric) and Amy Millan (Stars) making an appearance. If Broken Social Scene haven’t already intoxicated your life with their unforgettable and epic sound now is the time to play catch up with You Forgot It in People and the self-titled Broken Social Scene.
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“World Sick” by Broken Social Scene
Not one for the faint hearted, The Cove is a documentary that must be seen to be believed as director Louie Psihoyos uncovers the truth surrounding a subject that has somehow been kept under wraps. Ex-dolphin trainer turned activist Ric O’Barry is our guide into the world of dolphin mutilation. In the sixties, O’Barry worked on the iconic television show Flipper training the dolphins to perform the various stunts needed for the program. Developing a strong bond with the animals and coming to appreciate their intelligence, it was here where he discovered that a dolphins smiling face is natures biggest con. After the death of one of his beloved animals, O’Barry vowed never again to allow them to be kept in captivity.
To coincide with London Fashion the French bi-annual Self Service are showcasing a fifteen year archive of the publication. As a collaboration with IDEA Books the ‘1-31′ Retrospective is being shown for a one week only at the iconic St Martins Lane Hotel (18th – 25th February). Launched in Paris in 1995 by Ezra Petronio and Suzanne Koller, Self Service has maintained its role as one of the most inspirational titles of our time. Housing every title that has ever been printed, visitors to the exhibition can look forward to early and limited edition issues priced on availability, starting from £50. Standout titles include a single Chloe Sevigny No.2 Issue at £250, with additional posters of Sevigny photographed by David Sims, Terry Richardson and Roger Deckker from an original limited edition print run of 100, priced at £80 each.
From 23rd April – 3rd May, Somerset House presents Pick Me Up, the ‘first contemporary graphic art fair in the UK’ (reeeally???). The fair will bring together the most exciting graphic artists working today, with an opportunity to buy limited edition, affordable graphic art, illustration and design. Sounds pretty good huh? The fair will be presented alongside a lively programme of events and activities including an open studio from legendary paper artist Rob Ryan, pop-up print workshop from Print Club London, Oh and I noticed one of my faves Le Gun are going to be there too! sick. Check the site for more info.
22° 4′49.03″N 95°17′18.48″E Giant reclining and standing buddhas.