Kid Cudi Make Her Say

I'm lovin this track...Kid Cudi with Kayne and Common. The beat and mixing are hot, and the insidious hooks included are clever too. And is it weird to say that I'm diggin the balloons??!

Weekend Music Fest

I was at an amazing music fest this past weekend... Amazing for a few reasons to say the least. First off, beautiful sunshine all weekend, while being staged on a river island. Uplifting in a way. The people present were of such a diverse demographic, all there to enjoy the beauty and the music. Food that was served was absolutely delicious, and the prices weren't complete rip offs unlike other festivals or concerts. And then of course, there was the music. I guess you can say it opened my eyes. I really didn't know what to expect, because I was unfamiliar with the majority of the acts that were there. However by the end of the weekend, I had purchased several CD's and grown to love, and appreciate, so many different genres of music that I can honestly say, I probably wouldn't have given a chance prior to this fest. A few mind blowers were The Decemberists... a very eerie sounding band that bring together sounds of classical music and opera to rock, if that makes any sense. Also Emily Wells - who reminded me somewhat of Kaki King in how she utilizes the loop. However in her case, she uses the violin, piano, and xylophone, among others, and crashes it together with a hip hop drum beat. Throw on her mesmerizing vocals, and you get a sound that just fits so well together. Even a Rastafarian poet from Jamaica was there to blow peoples minds! MutaBaruka touched on everything from issues with religion, to current day American consumption, and struggles of his youth. His poem called 'Dis Poem' was with out a doubt one of my favs that he performed from the weekend. Check it out here from his performance on Def Poetry Jam.

Kaki King

If you have yet to experience Kaki King, prepare to be captivated. This video is from the TED series of talks, with Kaki delivering a unique acoustic performance that made me watch it a few times over. Her use of the full guitar neck, and her fingernails are just a few things that help separate her from other talented guitar artists. Check it out!

MediaStorm

For established newspapers struggling with their position on the internet, photojournalism has recently become the route of choice. With the Lens by NYTimes.com, and The Big Picture by Boston.com finding their legs online, others are following suit. One prime example is MediaStorm, sponsored by the WashingtonPost.com. Their moving projects include short scripted films, as well as strong narrative, touching documentaries. The online package took a year and half to produce and it shows. The expert editing, original music, and utilization of both stills in with video make for an engrossing experience.

Manhattanhenge

Manhattanhenge, or simply the Manhattan Solstice is a biannual occurrence where the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main street grid. The term of Manhattanhenge, is twisted off from Stonehenge, which is where the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. This term was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. The pic above shows people on the East Side looking west observing the Sun shining down the canyon-like street. There's a pretty amazing video of it too... Check it out below.

Flash Mob MJ Tribute Dance

Here's another one of those flash mob dances... There's two dances in this clip, both in Sweden, on July the 8th as a tribute to the late Michael Jackson. Amazing how it grows to a huge mob!

Classic Vid

Been feelin this track lately. Forgot how much I love it!

Legit Talent

This is an impressive video of an amazing musical artist... Going by the name of DubFX, Ben Stanford uses only his voice and a piece of mixing equipment called a loop station. While performing, Ben starts by singing each part of his songs and recording it in the loop station. He then sings over that beat, making adjustments to the device along the way. It makes the reult very unique...

Stop Motion Film

This is a very cool vid... it's almost 62,000 pictures, and 9,600 prints that are put together to depict a man's lifespan, with no post production. Even though this is a commercial, I still find the video, and even more so the song very inspirational...

"The years are flashing by and everything will change, but way down deep inside we all just stay the same"