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New Graphic Works by Talon Wolf

I am extremely excited to be posting new creations by Talon Wolf of Grand Rapids, Michigan. You may remember my previous post on the young graphic artist when I first introduced his abstract pieces early last year.

Wolf's latest releases are even more striking and vibrant than the ones I featured before.

You can view more of his images on his Flickr or Tumblr.

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Kyle Thompson Photography

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What We Can Expect From Oyster

Described as the "Netflix for Books", Oyster is a recent company that has emerged from New York City. The concept was established by an extremely talented group of engineers and designers who all shared a "passion for reading". Simply pay $9.95 a month to access over 100,00 titles and read an infinite amount of e-books once subscribed to the service.

This app deserves every bit of attention it has been and is receiving. Oyster will (without a doubt) change the face of reading. Below are some of the reasons why this app can only go up from this point:

A Book Attached at the Hip

I have only lived in New York City for a little over a year now, but it does not take long for one to figure out the importance of being entertained while riding the subway. Unless you are so tired that you don't care if hundreds of people stare and take pictures of you drooling on your shirt while you sleep; or are capable of tuning out (or enjoying) the homeless man preaching in your face about the apocalypse approaching; or are courageous enough to compliment the girl wearing a t-shirt of your favorite band and spark up a conversation with her, having something to occupy your time during your commute is crucial. While plugging in earphones helps tremendously - people tend to bother you less - I've seen people drowned in their music that cause them to miss their stop/ transfer.

With Oyster comes a solution. In today's society everyone has their smart-phones with them at all times. The Oyster app, thus, keeps a book(s) attached at the hip for anyone to pull out at any time - even if it is only a few minutes to spare, which, especially in The Big Apple, is all the time we can sometimes give.

Expanding the Reading Horizon; Pushing "Indies" to the Forefront

As aforementioned, Oyster is "NetFlix-like": subscribers can (and are encouraged to) browse across a broad range of genres. In addition, these genres allow for the readers to dive deeper into specific subjects and be introduced to fantastic works that aren't necessarily in the public eye.

Offline Access

Probably the coolest feature to the Oyster app is their offline feature. This allows a reader offline access to the last ten open books they previously viewed online. No longer do people have to worry about taking a camping trip deep in the woods or mountains, boarding a plane with no wi-fi, or sitting in a metal building that rejects phone service  (which has become NetFlix's biggest downfall). Oyster lets us continue reading even if we are in the world's most desert, remote, and disconnected parts.

Minimalistic Design and Beautiful UI

In the current age of graphic design and web/app development, it comes to no surprise that Oyster implements a clean, crisp, and simple user interface for their app. Subscribers can choose from a list of themes that vary in typography, colors, and layout.

For now, Oyster is pretty exclusive. The app is available for iPhone only and to obtain a $9.95 monthly subscription to over 100,000 books one must be invited via email (I was lucky enough to receive an invite, but unfortunately had just switched to android over the summer). However, the developers at Oyster have revealed that an iPad version should be released soon.

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Recommended Reading

It was not until I took an American Literature course last semester in college that I realized how many incredible authors I gave the *cold shoulder* to in high school. Don't get me wrong: I was an extremely avid reader (and still am), but forcing me to a read something made my blood boil. I remember disliking - no, *hating* - Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter, Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, and even the "American Novel", Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby when they were assigned. I was the usual suborn teenager with a common case of teachers-can't-make me-read-or-do-this.

"Young Goodman Brown" - Nathaniel Hawthorne / "The Man In the Black Suit" - Stephen King

Published more than one hundred years apart, "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Man In the Black Suit" display a chilling theme about the revelation of evil and the loss of faith in humanity. It is important to couple these two short stories together as King's piece pays homage to Hawthorne's earlier work. "Young Goodman Brown" critiques the vastly Puritan society of Hawthorne's time and establishes the disillusionment of society: the appearance of the whole is completely different than the true identities of its individuals. With "The Man In the Black Suit", set in modern day, King offers further insight to the established idea aforementioned, but, of course, with an injection of horror the writer is famous for.

This is not to say, however, that "Young Goodman Brown" does not embody its own element of fear. The main character, Goodman Brown, embarks on a spiritual journey that leaves him ultimately faithless and mentally destroyed in the end. As a reader it is impossible not to feel some part of Brown's own destruction; it is a sad and terrible thing to see a man degrade so far from his once peaceful life.

For all the dedicated King fans, "The Man In the Black Suit", will be an intriguing read: short, sweet (and by sweet I mean fantastically frightening), and one of his most critically-acclaimed stories that hasn't been put on the big screen. Thus, the reader is left to imagine the story's terrifying scenes and construct their own image of the "Devil".

5. The Celestial Railroad- Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Young Goodman Brown” is taken from Hawthorne’s The Celestial Railroad. The collection contains the rest of his terrific, well-known and lesser-known short stories. While most people are familiar with The Scarlett Letter (and if you particularly enjoyed it, this collection is absolutely a must read) many need exposure to his smaller pieces. The author touches on a complex range of subjects such as faith in humanity, breaking down established social and moral values, sexual relations, and exploring the fragile line of reality and imagination.

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Album of Inspiration - March 2013

Cabin By the Sea - The Dirty Heads

Formed out of Huntington Beach in 1996, The Dirty Heads' roots dig deep into surfer vibes and a beach bummin' lifestyle. Their sound fuses together a wide range of hip genres including reggae, hip-hop, ska, acoustic rock, with a slight touch of punk rock as well.

Cabin By the Sea is The Dirty Heads' sophomore album - a strong follow up to their critically acclaimed Any Port In a Storm. Front man Jared "Dirty J" Watson stated, "It starts with the title. No matter where you are or what's going on, when you hear this record, we want to transport you to this place, this 'Cabin By the Sea'"....and it is safe to say the album successfully achieves the Heads' goal.

To set up a beach scene right off the back, Cabin By the Sea opens with "Arrival" which starts off with a loop of seagulls calling out against the crashing of ocean waves. "Arrival" is one of the more softer and mellow tracks on the album but easily one of the best.

The album's title track, along with "Spread Too Thin", "Your Love" (featuring vocals from Bob Marley's son, Ky-Mani Marley), "Hipster,” and "Smoke Rings" with Del The Funky Homosapien, exemplify the true rock and reggae SoCal sound The Dirty Heads are known for. "Farewell" serves as a nice closing that slowly drifts you away from the cabin by the sea.

Tracklist:

Arrival

Cabin By the Sea

Disguise

Spread Too Thin

Your Love (feat. Kymani Marley)

Mongo Push (feat. Rome Ramirez)

Dance All Night (feat. Matisyahu)

Hipster

Notice

Day by Day

Smoke Rings (feat. Del The Funky Homosapien)

Burn by Myself

We Will Rise

Best of Us

Love Letters

Farewell

Purchase Cabin By the Sea on iTunes | Dirty Heads Official

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Digital Art by Alberto Seveso

Beibeees is one of the many beautiful projects by italian illustrator and graphic designer, Alberto Seveso. This collection features stunning altered portraits mixed with a sutle smokey texture - similar to his wallpaper series. More of Seveso's talented work can be seen at his Behance profile.

From Woman Souvenir:

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Sundelson Residence In Berkeley, CA

Stanley Saitowitz of Natoma Architects stripped and rebuilt this 1950's home into an H shaped contemporary residence containing a center that is an open courtyard to enjoy the west coast weather. Horizontal wood sliding and clad in zinc makes up the beautiful smokey exterior. The interior is composed of simple materials including concrete, drywall, glass, and wood. In addition, a garden intertwines in and out of the transparent walls.

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Collages by Dawn Arsenaux

Although she is not a big name in the arts community yet, Seattle native, Dawn Arsenaux is a fantastic multimedia collage artist. "Inspired greatly by the DaDaist movement", her classic collages feature a wide spectrum of cut-outs including, but not limited to, antique photos, colorful landscapes, and retro portraits. Her usage of surrealism and symbolism is insightful and deserves recognition.

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Watch: Skrillex's "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" by COOP3R COV3RS

From performing at small venues for the 20 locals that happened to stop by..to sold out shows all over the world, even snatching three Grammys this year, Sonny Moore of Skrillex has become a huge succes and a household name.

The popular Youtube channel, COOP3RS COV3RS, posted an amazing cover of Skrillex's famous "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites". I recommend hearing the original, before taking a listen to COOP3RS COV3RS' version to compare the different approach the group takes. On drums (cajon) and marimba is Casey Cooper, Erica Schiller on vibraphone & marimba, and Wesley Bruner is on bass. Their cover still keeps all of the original aspects and drops to Skrillex's but it is much more soft sounding. Cooper transforms the hard-hitting rhythm of the original using simply a cajon and with the melody played through the vibraphone by Schiller, the cover offers a soothing and cool-feel style.

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Watch: The Shins - "Simple Song"

If you've been a fan of The Shins since the release of Oh, Inverted World or Chutes Too Narrow, you probably weren't disappointed with "Simple Song", off their highly anticipated upcoming album Port of Marrow. The Shins have consistently kept their unique sound through all the years and "Simple Song" upholds the very idea of what The Shins are all about: uplifting guitar melodies and the idea that a song doesn't need to be overpowered with dozens of instruments to make it good. And of course, with James Mercer's vocals, how can they do any wrong?

Below, watch the music video for "Simple Song", directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. It features an interesting story where a deceased James Mercer the Third leaves none of his kids the will for his house, but instead hides it somewhere in the residence for them to find. Whoever finds it firsts gets to ultimately inherit everything......

Port of Morrow is out March 20th. Pre-order the album here.

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Digital Collages Created and Photographed by Matt Wisniewski

Recently, the "nature-collage" trend has been gaining popularity amongst digital artists and Philadelphia native, Matt Wisniewksi, has taken the approach to a whole new level. He embeds natural elements into the heads and bodies of his portraits - such a simple tweak to the photo that really transforms it into a stunning work of art.

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Drawings by Jade M. of Fagnewton

I take great pride in young artists such as Jade M. (fagnewton.tumblr.com). It is refreshing to see my generation producing pieces that add to the rapidly evolving art scene.

Jade's sketches incorporate a certain rawness as she free-hand doodles some of hip-hops biggest stars right now (Tyler the Creator, A$AP, + other members of Odd Future) in addition to a few interesting characters of her own imagination. Her informal approach completely transforms her drawings to become street and grunge like works of art.

View my other posts on emerging young artists here.

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WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain

WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain:

L Y F 

Cave Song

Such a Sad Puppy Dog

Summas Bliss

We Bros

Spitting Blood

Dirt

Concrete Gold

14 Crowns for Me & Your Friends

Heavy Pop

So much to say about WU LYF. This band creates music for the sake of creating music and to promote their anti-society/anti-authority/anti-big brother beliefs. Late 2011 (and beginning this year as well) the band has received much hype over the internet from their monumental tracks, support for World Unite, notorious Letterman appearance, and their association with The Lucifer Youth Foundation.

Established in 1998, The Lucifer Youth Foundation is a non-for-profit organization anchored to the concrete truths of unconditioned youth. The LYF encompases a selection of disciplines including petty crime, détourned design, dolla talk, busting heads, cutting film, scripting-ill literature and playing heavy (pop).

Go Tell Fire to the Mountain really executes LYF's foundational views. Right away, the album opens up with "We Bros", one of the more popular tracks off the album, which sings, "WE BROS YOU LOST MAN, WE BROS SO LONG PUT AWAY YOUR GUNS MAN, AND SING THIS SONG" - a powerful chorus relating to the violence in our world and its lost youth. "L Y F" talks of the new generation having to accept the responsibility of inheriting the future, "Dirt" shows how LYF perceives money as evil ("dollar is not your friend..."), and "Heavy Pop" exemplifies LYF's longing to stay young forever - "like children lets play i wanna feel at home I want to feel at home"......

Below, watch WU LYF's video for "We Bros":

I am more than excited to see the group at Coachella this year. It will be interesting to see what they do in a live show.

Here's more upcoming WU LYF tour dates:

28.04.12 - Brighton Music Hall / Boston, MA / USA

27.04.12 - Bowery Ballroom / New York, NY / USA

26.04.12 - MHOW / Brooklyn, NY / USA

24.04.12 - Union Transfer / Philadelphia, PA / USA

23.04.12 - Rock N Roll Hotel / Washington, DC / USA

20.04.12 - Coachella / California / USA

18.04.12 - The New Parish / Oakland, CA / USA

17.04.12 - Independent / San Francisco, CA / USA

13.04.12 - Coachella / California / USA

11.04.12 - El Plaza Condesa / Mexico City / MEXICO

30.03.12 - La '2' Apollo / Barcelona / SPAIN

29.03.12 - Magnolia / Milan / ITALY

27.03.12 - Benou / Berlin / GERMANY

22.03.12 - Heaven / London / UK

21.03.12 - Heaven / London / UK

19.03.12 - Wheelans / Dublin / IRELAND

17.03.12 - SWG3 / Glasgow / UK

15.03.12 - Ritz / Manchester / UK

08.03.12 - Bataclan / Paris / FRANCE

07.03.12 - Orangerie / Brussels / BELGIUM

06.03.12 - Melkweg / Amsterdam / NETHERLANDS

04.03.12 - Parkteatret / Oslo / NORWAY

03.03.12 - Kagelbanan / Stockholm / SWEDEN

02.03.12 - Inkost-Club / Malmo / SWEDEN

28.02.12 - Pumehuset - Frost Festival / Copenhagen / DENMARK

28.02.12 - Atlas / Aarhus / DENMARK

Purchase WU LYF music, merch, and more at their online shop.

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Padora Lane Beachfront In Carpinteria, California

Not only does this contemporary estate have high ceilings, a long gated driveway, a clay tennis court with lights, a 800+ square foot detached guest house, and white oak floors, but its' enormous walls of glass allow for a full view of the stunning sandy beach of Southern California's "Gold Coast".

This 5 bedroom/6.5 bathroom, 5,900 square foot oceanfront home is just north of Los Angeles, currently for sale at $29 million - listed with Suzanne Perkins.

Found via Contemporist

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Watch: L.E.D. Snowboarding

A production for Nowness, filmaker Jacob Sutton shoots the extraordinary - legendary - pro snowboarder, William Hughes, fitted in a specilaly-designed L.E.D. suit (designed by John Spatcher) riding the slopes of Tignes in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. Sutton filmed the "silver surfer" over a course of four nights.

(Mac users, for some fun press command + option + control + 8 to watch the production in negative/inverted coloring)

Besides the incredible designing and engineering behind the suit, it is even more spectacular that Hughes solely relied on the suit's light to see in front of him. The mountain range is rough, steep, and thousands of trees scattered its body; Hughes cruised down the course with ease, maneuvering in and out of the trees, with smooth turns that created great waves of snow for the production.

Sutton on the costume:

“I was really drawn to the idea of a lone character made of light surfing through darkness. I've always been excited by unusual ways of lighting things, so it seemed like an exciting idea to make the subject of the film the only light source.”

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Pianist Getaway Home In Austria

Found via Wanken