Two books from an artistic power couple.
An interview with Darius Airo.
Atmospheric instrumental, coming right up.
It's hard to say whether or not I'm knowledgeable about cartoons. I've been watching them my entire life, but their appearances in my life always arrive in sporadic increments. I might not be the voice of reason for a cartoon show, especially since I haven't seen some might claim to be “essentials” like The Fairly Odd Parents, Invader Zim, Ed, Edd, and Eddy. The list goes on.
That being said, I recently saw vocalist/producer theMIND tweet about the cartoon show Gravity Falls. I read the Wikipedia page, downloaded the first season, digested the first season, downloaded the second season, digested the second season, and here we are. Unfortunately only two seasons exist of this show. I usually lose interest in television shows, but I want nothing more than more episodes of Gravity Falls. Or maybe I don't. It ends as a series should end; with epic, climactic closure. Not only is the show a breath of fresh air for the Disney Channel, but this is a delightful and sharp show. I have no idea what the age group is here, as there are plenty of jokes on impending mortality, existentialism, depression, and more, all the while covering situations like first kiss, puberty, and pet pigs.
To keep it brief: twin siblings (one boy, one girl) stay with their great uncle Stan over the summer. Strange situations begin to unfold. At first, the show hosted standalone episodes, allowing the audience to understand their heroes. Then, the stories begin to connect, mysteries and questions form, and you fall deeper and deeper into a hilarious and witty mystery cartoon. There's also quite a bit of voice actor overlap with Rick and Morty. Some even argue that the two dimensions are connected (WARNING: may contain spoilers). Fascinating, really.
“A 68-hour marathon aired on Disney XD from February 12, 2016, up until the finale on February 15, 2016, with the entire series airing in order. Due to only having 39 episodes before its airing, the show was looped four times to fill the 68-hour slot.”
I wouldn't be able to compare Gravity Falls directly to any particular television show (which is a good thing), but plenty of elements of other shows come to mind: Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Angry Beavers. The humor actually reminds me quite a bit of the humor found inside A Goofy Movie. More than just a tale for kids. But also, a tale for kids.
So if you're trying to be youthful again and laugh at childish things like bottomless pit story time, video game sidekicks, bathing garden gnomes, a person-swapping electric rug, and handfuls of glitter, then dive right in. 40 episodes over two seasons. Find me 40 more enjoyable and cohesive cartoon episodes.
Grab the episodes on Hulu here.
Trapo's full length is not to be missed.
Two songs that should be in car commercials.
Two tunes from the Moon boys.
"El El Cool Che"
gets some crisp visuals
to accompany an already
hot #spacewave track. Shouts to
SXMPLELIFE, Durkin,
and Victor Radz.
The whole video
was shot with a GoPro
and features elegance
in slow motion.
Black EL dropped this song
a couple of months back
and now we get the video
in black and white,
showing off fancy cars
and helicopters that take
to the sky.
Be on the look out
for more from Black EL.
If you need a refresher
course, check out the
essential playlist below.
Nature poems and humanity poems.
I've watched
The Nice Guys
(2016)
two times
in the last week.
Written and directed
by Shane Black
(Last Action Hero,
Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3)
and starring
Ryan Gosling
and Russell Crowe,
the film draws
a great deal of comparisons
(in a good way)
to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(2005), which I often
said was Shane Black's opus.
Now, with The Nice Guys,
that opinion might change.
Similar in tone
i.e. murder, mystery,
sharp-witted comedy,
the two complement each other
very nicely. I couldn't
tell you which of the two
I prefer, but both
are damn fine films.
I think the cinematography
and color palette is stronger
with The Nice Guys,
but both have near perfect
stories to tell.
Without giving anything
away, the film takes
place in the 1970s
in California, and it revolves
around two private eyes,
one who is drunk
the entire film (Gosling)
and one who is stone
cold sober the whole time
(Crowe). They try
to track down a woman
and rest is left for you
to discover on your own.
Visually stunning,
hilarious, and an entertaining
action packed thrill ride.
If I had three thumbs,
I'd give it three thumbs up.
Shout-out again
to Shane Black
for also writing the screenplay
for The Long Kiss Goodnight
and The Last Boy Scout.
He might be the king
of the action screenplay.
Over at the Chicago-based music (and news) site TheseDays, I developed a radio segment known as Neon Nightlights. Over the course of twenty two broadcasts, I became better at crafting succinct episodes, improving not only on my GarageBand editing skills but also on my own voice. While this newest development (known simply now as Neon Broadcast) is very similar to my previous efforts (which you can find here), this marks new territory for my broadcast efforts. For now, Neon Broadcast will be a monthly segment, but I might pick it up (or slow it down) depending on where this new website takes me. I'm really pleased with the eclectic yet relaxed tracklisting for this debut segment. As you will come to learn, I always feature artist Alicks (or a l e x) as my background music while I talk. Enjoy the first edition down below.
01. Nellie McKay - "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
[TALK]
02. CocoRosie - "Sunshine"
03. Mulherin - "Leagues"
04. Electric Wire Hustle - "The Border"
[TALK]
05. Moon Man & Benjamin - "Grace"
06. bleeklino w/ Pryka - "Empty" [Prod. Joey Pecoraro]
07. Tobias w/ bleeklino - "S. Paulina St."
[TALK]
08. Damon Albarn - "On Melancholy Hill" (Gorillaz Acoustic)
09. Labi Siffre - "Bless the Telephone" [Hot Sugar Edit]
10. david & alex - "Pluviophile" [Instrumental]
11. Greaf - "The Silence That Lives in Houses" [Instrumental]
[TALK]
12. Qari - "Pants From Japan" [Snippet] [Prod. Mulatto]
13. Jasper MacRae w/ elton aura - "Currently Speaking"
14. Leaf Set w/ Catherine Poulos, MDMC, Blake Davis - "Go to the Sea"
New single from Jean Deaux.
These are the things
I discover
at 2:24 in the morning
when my eyes are low,
begging for slumber,
yet just won't close.
aka Punksgitcut
is an illustrator who
works on Bob's Burgers
and Sanjay and Craig
(both weirdly
awesome shows).
In the between
time, he draws his own
world, full of chinless
dudes and blood
and boobs.
You can grab
or browse his
journal entries
Good night.
Plenty of artistry from Zach G.
Watch them Atlanta boys chop it up for Mass Appeal.
Last summer, I spoke with graphic designer and prolific artwork guru Elyn Kazarian. The Californian (L.A.-based) has worked with Italdred Records, SoulEtiquette, Team Supreme, Omar Rodriguez-Lopz, ROM, SiR, Lege Kale, and Blink-182 (whoa) and is now the creative director for Fête Records. When we first spoke, I asked about preferred mediums and ideal creative spaces, tapping into her self-proclaimed style as "an atmosphere of orchestrated pulse." While that phrase really struck with me, it wasn't until after the interview that I really started noticing her philosophies. Both her Instagram and Facebook accounts are full of positive statuses and uplifting messages that focus on doing what we love, escaping our mind-numbing routines, and showing support and care for those around us. For our second interview, I made sure to dig a bit deeper, while also allowing the artist of the hour to talk about new companies, focused directions, and disco.
“The purest and truest form of creativity and innovation is the result of taking risks.”
Hey, how's it going? Where are you currently? Tell us a bit about your surroundings.
Hey Ben, things are pretty good on my end. I am currently living in Los Angeles in a quiet neighborhood just north of Glendale.
Since we last talked in the summer of 2015, what's changed? How have you grown?
Wow, I can't believe it has already been a year. A lot of things have happened since then. I was hired by Deckstar, a music management company, back in March of 2015, and worked there for over a year until my lay off this past May. Two days later, my father passed away, so you can say that this year has been a challenging one for me. Although, I think it has been the year that has allowed me to grow the most amidst all of the obstacles and the feeling of not knowing what will happen next.
Your social media presence is very motivational and inspiring. How do you stay positive? How do you combat hardships?
There's so much anxiety in our society nowadays around the idea of "followers" on social media. People can't seem to ever get enough. It took me until earlier this year to finally open an Instagram account, actually. It's not that I don't care about getting my work out there, but it's that I prefer to have supporters that truly believe in me and see something in me...it's not about the number of followers, that doesn't justify anything in my opinion. What's important for me is quality, and at the end of the day, my work gets across to those who understand where I'm coming from. I know that the right people have come my way and continue to do so. It's hard to stay positive sometimes because quite frankly I do become doubtful of myself, but I combat that by reminding myself that nothing happens overnight.
Have you always been optimistic or do you feel like your outlook on the world has grown over the years?
I've always considered myself a realist, and I truly believe that by maintaining a certain level of positivity, things begin to progress. People think by being positive or optimistic means that you're always happy, but that's not the case. It's about maintaining hope and putting into action what you dream of, even amidst hardship. My perspective on life changes over time, always growing and opening up to more possibilities.
Going back to music, what have you been listening to recently?
I can't say that I've been listening to anything in particular recently, because I find myself always listening to a lot of different genres in music. But I have been absorbed in Disco for some reason lately.
You seem to be the exclusive designer for Fête. How did you form that relationship with such a strong music outlet?
Yes! I'm their Creative Director, and have been working with them for over a year (since they started up, really). The guys that started Fête, Abhi and Robert, are two of the most dedicated and open guys I've worked with. We initially connected on Facebook I believe, and they had me create the cover art for the "1AM" EP and it all grew from there. Our relationship grew very organically, and continues to do so.
What can you tell me about this new endeavor of yours, Slug Agency?
Slug Agency was started by Fool's Gold Records artist, BOSCO this year. BOSCO and I have been following each other on Instagram for a while, and I saw her posting these teasers about how they were looking for designers in ATL. I was intrigued regardless of the fact that I'm in LA, and reached out to one of the other members she was working with to see what it was all about. They loved my work, and after a few email exchanges, BOSCO told me that I'm one of the other lead designers. There are four of us, and we're currently working on our launch for early next year.
What's the rest of the year looking like for you?
To be quite honest, I have no idea. I think that's the beauty of it for me right now. I'm allowing myself to see every angle, to be open to what's next. It's been a hard year, but I know great things are ahead.
“So many creative professionals on social media get caught up with satisfying others with their work rather than satisfying themselves. Not even creatives alone, a lot of people in general. Don’t get caught up in the anxiety of pleasing someone else, chasing followers, and being fake.”
Last year when I asked for advice, you said, "Be open to learning as much as possible. There’s so much out there. Don’t ever let failure upset you or stop you from growing. That’s the only way you’ll grow." Any advice updates/elaborations?
I can say that that piece of advice will always hold true for anyone. I will add by saying that there will be a lot of challenges and setbacks in your life/career/you name it, but all of the things that happen need to happen for whatever reason. What truly shapes you are those obstacles, and the reaction that you have towards those hardships will determine your future.
Any final words/thoughts/shout-outs?
I want to thank Elias and Eliot, the two that gave me my first ever album cover art job for their label Modern Filth back in 2012, and for whom I've worked with for over four years. I want to thank Abhi and Robert, the Fête Records boys for believing in me and giving me the creative freedom to express myself. Thank you truly to anyone that supports me, it doesn't go unnoticed. And thank you Ben for speaking with me!
The wolves cry at night.
Music as smooth as the artwork.
Who?
Three songs in preparation for Yeek's 2017 release.