i attended a spelling bee last night with -- you guessed it -- half price books of appleton, wi. we didn't win the bee, but we won the award for most creative costumes -- we dressed up like powderpuff football players, or something like it! :) it was a "back to school" theme... and it went a little long, but with the cash bar, it wasn't all bad. ;) i've always liked spelling bees, although i have to admit that the last time i was in one was probably the 6th grade, and i misspelled "juvenile" (juvinile) and that was that. the bee was the 14th annual to benefit the fox valley literacy coalition. so it was for a good cause.
and also, on a music note... discovered the site 22 tracks which, under different genres, aims to play streaming emergent music! the new lcd soundsystem song is on there, and suddenly i found myself hooked on many others! a sure favorite.
first, la roux. she's the newest addition to my itunes library... her self-titled album has finally been released in the united states... it's a totally 80s-infused dance album. it's funky, light-hearted sounding, but with really penetrable, deep lyrics. a few months ago i heard the tracks "fascination" and "in for the kill." itunes had "bulletproof" as their free single a couple of weeks ago and that was it -- i had to have the album. it's great driving music!
and another route altogether is beth orton, whose 1999 album central reservation we have been playing at work from time to time. below i posted the video for one of my favorite songs off that album, "blood red river." "stolen car," the first track, is another favorite. beth orton's voice is chilling and absolutely beautiful.
lately i've been in either a la roux- or beth orton-type mood. there's really nothing like pulling out beloved albums after not listening to them in ages... and adding new ones...
which brings me to my discovery last night; how could i have missed this? not that it's entirely old news or anything, but probably not stateside at all -- milow. if you haven't seen/heard his song "ayo technology" (yes, it is that song, a 50 cent cover [!!]) it's totally worth checking out. milow, who i believe is a dutch-belgian singer, is pretty popular in germany, as far as i can gather. not sure if i've been living under a rock or he just hasn't gotten over to the states yet much. but no matter -- check out the video below. it's awesome. and then check out some of his other songs; they are also quite nice.
via contemporist
OH MY STARS! i am so in love with this house AND its location... i cannot begin to really describe how much i love it. i went directly to the pb elemental architecture website and started fooling around looking at all of their delicious residential architecture. these are the houses that really stop me dead in my tracks... the ones that when all is said and done, look like they grew out of that spot in the earth and were made for exactly that place. this house is magnificent! in the northwest forest, it looks like it is glowing.
this particular house is in north bend, washington. the firm is based out of seattle and all of their featured residences online are in washington. it's no wonder; the northwest is where i would build a contemporary house, no questions asked. the geography is perfect.
i'm keeping these guys in mind. i love everything they're doing.
via slamxhype
pretty much this looks like the coolest show of the moment. andy warhol, damien hirst, jeff koons, takashi murakami, keith haring, and more. clearly. it's like... if i had a spare $800 i would jump a flight to london RIGHT NOW, and i would go directly to this show. the concept of the show is based on the andy warhol's famous quote, "good business is the best art."
the show is at the tate modern through january 17, 2010. maybe i can still make it after all. ;)
and speaking of london.. looks as though they're taking a hint from paris and other cities that have implemented the bikes-for-hire programs with the docks that you can swipe your credit card, rent the bike, then return... so you can bike around town. london appears to finally be getting on the bandwagon and if the implementation goes as planned, they expect there to be 6,000 bikes and 400 docks throughout the city next summer! link to the bbc video here.
i'd never heard of hugh ferriss before i read the september 2008 issue of dwell magazine. i could write an altogether separate post about how much i love dwell, and i probably will, so i'll save it for now. ;) i discovered hugh ferriss's draughtmanship in the archive section of the magazine, which is one of my favorite sections. i was blown away by the sharp contrast, the gotham-like quality of it all, like king kong could swing off any of the huge skyscrapers, or giant spotlights would careen over the angles of architecture that looked simultaneously sci-fi and stalinesque. his publication, the metropolis of tomorrow from 1986 (it coincided with an exhibit in new york city) foreshadows the cities of the future which, to me, look rather like... dubai.
john king put it right out there in dwell -- "in this age of computer imagery and photoshopped verisimilitude, it's hard to imagine a time when one of the nation's most provocative architectural theorists was an illustrator -- a man who never designed an actual building but instead crafted his visions in charcoal."
i'll also have to check out his tome power in buildings.
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went down to oshkosh's gallery walk. i like local gallery openings, even though it's rare that i find something that really gets me excited. a friend of mine had a small display in a space on main street and it was fun to see her stuff. plus, she's recently engaged! so, i feel i must emphasize my congrats to her for both the show and the engagement. :) woohoo!
on october 20, julian casablancas (better known as the frontman for the strokes) will release his solo debut, phrazes for the young. i've heard the sample song, the first single, 11th dimension, and it is pretty rad! link to his myspace page and the song, plus a few videos here. where the strokes were hailed as the gritty saviors of rock 'n roll at the time they released is this it back in what, 2001? -- julian is taking a new route complete with synths and drum machines on his solo work, and i LIKE IT. if 11th dimension is any representation of the rest of the album, it's going to be a catchy electro-pop party. i'm not sure what this means for the strokes; i cooled to them after room on fire. i'm pretty excited for the 20th. :)
via unurth
artist nele azevedo installed 1000 melting ice men on steps in berlin. the work was done in collaboration with the world wildlife fund as an artistic commentary on global warming. how cool is that? they look like they're all relatively small, but 1000 is no small feat. it would be so awesome if these were life size...
i attended a spelling bee last night with -- you guessed it -- half price books of appleton, wi. we didn't win the bee, but we won the award for most creative costumes -- we dressed up like powderpuff football players, or something like it! :) it was a "back to school" theme... and it went a little long, but with the cash bar, it wasn't all bad. ;) i've always liked spelling bees, although i have to admit that the last time i was in one was probably the 6th grade, and i misspelled "juvenile" (juvinile) and that was that. the bee was the 14th annual to benefit the fox valley literacy coalition. so it was for a good cause.
