This Is Incredibly Moving

This mash up of the silent film Sunrise and Bruce Springsteen's live cover of Suicide's classic song Dream Baby Dream is incredible. So, so, so moving.

Oh....wow....

Spiekermann Putting the Face Back In Typefaces

Erik Spiekermann - Putting Back the Face into Typeface from Gestalten on Vimeo.

Design hero Erik Spiekermann is a man never short on opinions. Often those opinions are hilarious, true, and little mean all at the same time.

Check this great film put out by Fontshop featuring more of his considerable thoughts.

Enjoy.

The Ghosts Looks Really Cool In a 50's Kinda Way

The Ghosts - Trailer from Eddie O'KEEFE on Vimeo.

This is the trailer for The Ghosts, a short film by Eddie O'Keefe. I don't know much else, but there are some absolutely killer shots in this.

More can be found on the awesome site for it here.

Massimo Vignelli Film Is Vital

Massimo Vignelli from John Madere on Vimeo.

Massimo Vignelli - both the man and his message - are vital to the field of design. This short interview with him is fascinating and engaging.

Enjoy.

Top Fifty David Bowie Songs of All Time UPDATED

One of the ways that I attempt to make sense of or understand a body of work by an artist is through the process of listmaking. This ordering provides me the opportunity to examine the work in an proficient manner, one which allows the significance of the work - emotionally, personally, autobiographically, creatively, inventively, spiritually, etc. - to emerge without emphasis on extraneous, unimportant factors such as sales, chart placement, etc. allowing a clearer perspective of the overarching magnitude of the work itself.

It is with this in mind that I offer you my first truly epic list - my Top Fifty David Bowie Songs of All Time.

Enjoy.

50. Kooks - Hunky Dory

49. Blackout – Heroes

48. All The Young Dudes - B-Side from Aladdin Sane

47. Blue Jean – Tonight

46. Heathen (The Rays) - Heathen

45. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

44. Oh! You Pretty Things – Hunky Dory

43. The Secret Life of Arabia - Heroes

42. Rebel Rebel - Diamond Dogs

41. Oh! You Pretty Things – Hunky Dory

40. Diamond Dogs – Diamond Dogs

39. Absolute Beginners – Absolute Beginners Soundtrack

38. Slip Away - Heathen

37. We Are The Dead - Diamond Dogs

36. Space Oddity – Space Oddity

35. Speed of Life - Low

34. Breaking Glass - Low

33. Queen Bitch – Hunky Dory

32. Be My Wife - Low

31. Beauty and the Beast - Heroes

30. Stay - Station To Station

29. A New Career In A New Town - Low

28. Drive-In Saturday - Aladdin Sane

27. Starman - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars

26. Boys Keep Swinging - Lodger

25. Look Back In Anger - Lodger

24. Young Americans - Young Americans

23. Cat People (Putting Out the Fire) - Let’s Dance

22. Ziggy Stardust - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars

21. The Man Who Sold the World - The Man Who Sold the World

20. Panic In Detroit - Aladdin Sane

19. Teenage Wildlife - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

18. Warszawa - Low

17. Joe the Lion - Heroes

16. Golden Years - Station To Station

15. Wild Is The Wind - Station To Station

14. Sound and Vision - Low

13. Word On A Wing - Station To Station

12. Cracked Actor - Aladdin Sane

11. Watch That Man - Aladdin Sane

10. Rock N Roll With Me - Diamond Dogs

09. Modern Love - Let’s Dance

08. Rock N Roll Suicide - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars

07. The Width of a Circle - The Man Who Sold the World

06. Always Crashing In the Same Car - Low

05. Five Years - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars

04. Life On Mars? – Hunky Dory

03. Station to Station - Station To Station

02. Ashes To Ashes - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

01. Heroes – Heroes

Yes, I realize this blog has been Bowie-centric of late, but that is where I'm at right now.

Madison Institute of Musicologists Official Winners 2010

This is a little bit late, but below are the Madison Institute of Musicologist (MIM) Top Ten Night Official Ballots, and the overall winner list as well. Let's begin there with the official selections, then the individual ballots. In addition to the below, you can read mine here.

And the overall winners are...

1. The National - High Violet 67 points (9 votes)

2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs 45 points (7 votes)

3. The Black Keys - Brothers 32 points (6 votes)

4. The Roots - How I Got Over 32 points (5 votes)

5. Spoon - Transference 28 points (4 votes)

6. Gaslight Anthem - American Slang 24 points (4 votes)

7. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 23 points (3 votes)

8. Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring 21 points (3 votes)

9. Broken Bells - Broken Bells 18 points (4 votes)

10. Delta Spirit - History From Below 18 points (2 votes)

And the individual ballots...

Mary Fahndrich

Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring
The National - High Violet
Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Beach House - Teen Dream
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Wolf Parade - Expo 86
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
New Pornographers - Together
The Walkmen - Lisbon
The Black Keys - Brothers

Kevin Kiley

The Black Keys - Brothers
The National - High Violet
Delta Spirit - History from Below
Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses - Junky Star
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do
Tift Merritt - See You on the Moon
Spoon - Transference
The Roots - How I Got Over
Bobby Bare Jr. - A Storm, A Tree, My Mother’s Head

Lauren Lofton

1. The National -- High Violet
2. Los Campesinos! -- Romance Is Boring
3. Superchunk -- Majesty Shredding
4. Arcade Fire -- The Suburbs
5. The Roots -- How I Got Over
6. Chris Pureka -- How I Learned To See In The Dark
7. Laura Veirs -- July Flame
8. Beach House -- Teen Dream
9. Broken Bells -- Broken Bells
10. Tallest Man On Earth -- Wild Hunt

Peter Fahndrich

1. The Black Keys - Brothers
2. The National - High Violet
3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
4. The Love Language - Libraries
5. Spoon - Transference
6. Deerhunter - Halycon Digest
7. The Walkmen - Lisbon
8. Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring
9. Menomena - Mines
10. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

Gia Weier

1. Delta Spirit – History from Below
2. Laura Veirs – July Flame
3. Doug Paisley – Constant Companion
4. Stephanie Finch and the Company Men – Cry Tomorrow
5. Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now
6. The Black Keys – Brothers
7. The National – High Violet
8. Bobby Bare, Jr. - A Storm, A Tree, My Mother's Head
9. Tift Merritt – See You on the Moon
10. Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues

Matt Hujet

1. The Roots – How I Got Over
2. Spoon - Transference
3. The National – High Violet
4. Vampire Weekend - Contra
5. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
6. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
7. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
8. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
9. The Walkmen - Lisbon
10. The Black Keys – Brothers

Karley Hujet

1. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. The Roots – How I Got Over
3. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
4. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
5. The National – High Violet
6. Massive Attack - Heligoland
7. Bonobo – Black Sands
8. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
9. Junip - Fields
10. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

Kevin Eichorst

10: Beach House - Teen Dream
09: Broken Bells - Broken Bells
08: Menomena - Mines
07: The National - High Violet 06: The Roots - How I Got Over
05: Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
04: Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
03: The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
02: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
01: Spoon - Transference

Tim Speaker

10. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
09. Lower Dens – Twin-Hand Movement
08. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
07. The Black Ryder – Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride
06. Crocodiles – Sleep Forever
05. The Walkmen – Lisbon
04. The Black Keys – Brothers
03. The National – High Violet
02. The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
01. The Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Top Ten David Bowie Albums UPDATED

So I've been on a huge Bowie binge of late, and whenever I am binging on something musical, it usually winds up culuminating in some sort of list. This recent Bowie binge led me to converse with other, like minded individuals, and so at the request of my good friend Pete, here is my Top Ten David Bowie Albums. As an side note, I would like to say that these are my personal favorite Bowie albums, not the best per se. If you don't already have these albums, go and get them asap, they are essential to any collectioin.

Enjoy.

My Top Ten Favorite David Bowie Albums

10. Young Americans - Fake plastic soul never sounded so real.

09. Let's Dance - I am not too cool to admit that this is a great pop record, featuring the guitar work of a young Stevie Ray Vaughn. And Modern Love might be the best single Bowie ever released (other than Under Pressure, though that is disqualified due to the fact that it is a collaboration with Queen).

08. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - for Ashes To Ashes alone. In some ways I believe that Ashes To Ashes is the perfect David Bowie song - let me explain. If I had to choose one song that most embodied who Bowie is as a musician/artist/songwriter, I would select this song, as it is sonically groundbreaking, features an invented character, and feels both cold and Eastern European while simultaneously being poppy enough to dance to.

07. The Man Who Sold The World - One of my favorite album openers of all time - The Width of a Circle - which I have a theory that Radiohead built Paranoid Android around an identical structure. This is one of my best music theories -listen to them side by side and then make your own judgment. I'd love Chuck Klosterman to test this theory.

06. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Sounds like a Greatest Hits collection. The final word on Glam Rock.

05. Heroes - For the immortal title track, which is one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

04. Aladdin Sane - Meaner and rawer than it's predecessor (#5). The production is peerless.

03. Hunky Dory - I love the sound of this period, and from track to track you can here so many artists entire careers that came after in this.

02. Station To Station - An underrated masterpiece, as I have discussed previously.

01. Low - My favorite album of the Berlin Trilogy, Bowie literally invents whole genres of music here. Synthetic and heart wrenching, cerebral and visceral - an album rife with beautiful contradictions.

Deus Ex Machina Is Living The Dream

MUSIC VIDEO RIDING SEPTEMBER from Hush on Vimeo.

The fellas over at the aforementioned Deus Ex Machina are totally amazing. Here they are driving across France, on motorcycles, stopping to surf along the way. In other words, they are living the dream.

This clip is absolutely incredible. Take a few and watch it, though you will seethe with jealousy if you are anything like me.

Carlos Mini-Series Is Perception Shifting

Oliver Assaya's Carlos, a mini-series made for French TV covers over two decades of the life of Carlos the Jackal, aka the FBI's Most Wanted Man in the World. The film follows the humble beginnings of a man whose name would strike fear into the hearts of millions as the most ruthless, daring terrorist in the world.

Played with charismatic fury by Edgar Martinez and running over 5 1/2 hours in length, the viewer begins to understand the motivations behind horrifying acts of violence. The film brilliantly straddles the line of empathy for Carlos, while never fully crossing the line into full sympathy the viewer does come to a clearer understand for the international political climate at the time. One of the truly fascinating aspects of the narrative is the roles played by many countries, constantly shifting loyalties, on the deplorable savagery of the period.

Superb - watch the full 5 1/2 hour version rather than the truncated 2 1/2 re-cut version. If, like me, you happen to find yourself sick on the couch, it is a great way to spend 5 1/2 hours as the film clips along, never dragging once.

Ashes To Ashes: This Is Where I'm At Right Now

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes from Viinyscrib on Vimeo.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, describes where I am in life at the moment like this song. Ashes To Ashes by David Bowie. One of my favorite music videos of all time (remember those?). All metaphors, metaphors all.

Enjoy.

Portlandia Is Hilarious, Timely

IFC's new show Portlandia (starring the super underrated Fred Armisen) is absolutely hilarious. And it's alot like me my life I must admit, especially in the clip above.

Thanks J Vizzle for the clip.

Chrysler Commercial Is The Best Of All Time

I have seen alot of commercials in my life, but the new Chrysler 200 commercial is maybe the best of them all.

God bless the D...

Designers & Books Is Brilliant

Designers & Books allows some of the worlds foremost design thinkers (Michael Bierut, Milton Glaser (above), Stefan Sagmeister, etc.) to list the books that most influenced them as designers. It's a great look into the minds of a bunch of geniuses.

Check it out here.

David Lynch Speaks The Truth

“I don't think about technique. The ideas dictate everything. You have to be true to that or you're dead.”

David Lynch

Frank Chimero Shows How To Publish In 2011

One of my big heroes - designer, teacher, thinker extraordinaire Frank Chimero - is publishing a book this year. And if that news weren't exciting enough, he did it through a very now means - he used Kickstarter to fund it's publication. Kickstarter is a site where individuals can solicit funds from the general public to support the creation of their Big Idea. And Frank was able to do this in a matter of hours.

Incredible. Leave it to Frank to do something this cool. Can't wait for it to come out in print.

More about Frank here.

PS - Thanks J Vizz for the heads up.