Because Hyphen was there when the bowties was born. Because he was the one who taught me how to blog. Because you only turn a quarter century once. Because these nights are just too important to pass up. Because there’s nothing better than puttin’ the team on. Because it’s about time we introduce you to dJ Hemisphere and Louis XIII. Because we all need a reason to celebrate. For those reasons and more, we’re throwing a party next Thursday. You know the drill.
Working at a copy store by day while frequenting the punk clubs of San Francisco by night, the lifestyle of photographer Jim Jocoy in the ’70s may mirror that of many kids in our generation today. You work some job to stay afloat while you dream of making a living off your craft. While you make your money during the day, the real progress is made at night between the hours of twelve and three. Capturing the colorful personalities that frequented these clubs, Jocoy’s photography reveals a specific and unique era in American culture. Taken primarily between 1978 and 1980, Jocoy’s photos mark America’s transition into the decade of excess and extravagance. Comical, pathetic, glamorous and iconic, the photography of Jim Jocoy helps relate what it meant to be young in the ’80s.
In a lot of ways it was Bob who initially taught me about the grind. It was a shift in consciousness that occurred sometime around 2009, back in those Blogspot days. Before any Bowtie parties and before “143″ hit the charts, it was Bob and I who would drive to Santa Monica to pass out cards and CD’s. Persistence was probably the greatest lesson I learned from Bob during those times– the realization that success doesn’t come overnight, but rather over time. The title track off his latest mixtape, Stay On It finds Bob in a familiar place, going in over some heat from Trev Case. With features from the Six, YMTK and Too $hort himself, it’s hard to discount the progress Bob’s made from those Westchester days years ago. Check for the full mixtape and upcoming shows here.
Download: Bobby Brackins – “Stay On It”
As a novice novice film photographer myself, the past couple of months with my Yaschica have been enjoyable albeit trying. On top of correcting shutter speeds and adjusting apertures to focus an image, one of the hardest things for me to remember is to simply advance the film. While these simple accidents have resulted in many almost interesting images that turn out double exposed, not surprisingly there are actually photographers who do this on purpose. Situating womanly silhouettes against the backdrops of forests and greenery, Portland based photographer Jon Duenas has amassed this collection of engaging photos. Consider them double exposures done right.
Fresh off Coachella and on my way to Jazz Fest in NOLA, it’s hard not to feel like I’m getting spoiled by live music lately. In the meantime though, there’s been a ton of dope shit dropping left and right, and I haven’t had the chance to show love to all the great bands that deserve it. For one, the new Chromatics album is pretty epic. Aside from that, Fort Romeau and Hype Williams also came with some pretty excellent full-lengths, and 2 Chainz absolutely stole the show on the latest from Yeezy and the G.O.O.D. Music fam. Also, for the record, Willis Earl Beal is doing something special. Check out Acousmatic Sorcery as soon as possible. As usual, most of these tracks are just a taste of what folks are doing. So if you dig what they’re doing, go do your homework and support their grind.
I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve seen a good movie in an actual theater. While I’m sure there have been countless gems that have come across the big screen since I last saw a good one, recently I was fortunate enough to catch a film at the Colcoa French Film Festival. Highlighting the work of numerous French filmmakers, the annual festival celebrates the art of French film making while offering a platform for these films to be received by an audience outside the country’s borders.
Although a variety of films piqued my interest, I was able to attend a screening of the film Polisse this past weekend. Following the lives of members of the Child Protection Unit in Paris, Polisse reveals the joy, the pain, the laughter and the anguish that characterizes the work of police whose mission it is to protect children. Both directed by and co-starring French actress and filmmaker Maïwenn Le Besco, who plays a timid albeit dedicated photographer in the film, Le Besco’s work places you directly in the midst of the chaos that characterizes the CPU of Paris. Although I couldn’t characterize Polisse as a fun or lighthearted movie, it is an important one nonetheless as it offers a seemingly authentic and unapologetic window into realities that are constantly occurring all around us.
So what exactly is art? Any human creation? How does something transform from, “Just some shit I’m working on,” into a work of art? Must it hang in a museum, at least hang on a wall? What if it’s not to be seen, but only heard? What about that beat you made last night? Is that art? While we all have our own definitions of what art is, the video above compelled me to reconsider the definition of the term.
Meet Melati Suryodarmo, an Indonesian performance artist who has garnered global notoriety for her butter dance. Titled, “EXERGIE – butter dance” specifically, the film above documents part of Melati’s peculiar yet extraordinary 20 minute performance. Using 20 blocks of butter, laid out in a square across a black dance floor, Melati’s performance is received by a live and seemingly receptive audience. I usually don’t like to use the “W” word, but I already know a lot of you are sitting here like, “Damn this shit’s weird as fuck!” But wait, when she finished, people clapped! On top of the fact that they had just watched a lady writhe in butter for 20 minutes.
Which brings us back to my initial question, what, the fuck, is art? Personally, if Melati had performed this in her room by herself, I’d dismiss it as some weird shit. But since she’s on stage, with an audience and a camera perhaps this aligns more upon the side of artistic expression. In reality I suppose there is no definite answer, although perhaps Andy Warhol might’ve answered it best when he said, “Art is anything you can get away with…”
As many of us near, are at, or have recently passed that threshold known as the 25 year mark, our time on earth and how it’s spent becomes something to consider. Those, “What am I doing with my life?” thoughts tend to seep in at the strangest moments and for the first time we can begin to objectively look back at our childhood. Not to ostracize the folks who are far from 25 on either end, but age and purpose seem to lie at the foundation of Ping Pong, a new documentary about the reality of getting older. Centered around the lives of 8 players, (with 703 years between them) Ping Pong captures their pursuit of the annual World Over 80s Table Tennis Tournament, held in Mongolia each year. The film tells the stories of these players, revealing the unique ways in which ping pong influences their lives. Set to open in July in the U.K. Ping Pong should be making its way to the U.S. by mid-summer.
XXXY is a producer whose music has been described in a lot of different ways. Glitch, garage, two-step, house– he’s blurred and crisscrossed the lines between a handful of different styles and subgenres from project to project. Since last year’s “Ordinary Things” though, XXXY’s best output has become increasingly melodic, the kind of hypnotic, bouncy house exercises that start by repeating a vocal sample like a mantra, and eventually work their way into your brain until they become irresistible. “I Know This (Can’t Be Love)” is just that, a pulsing, danceable jam where every element just feels too good to deny, from the warm synth textures, to the dusty breakbeat, to the Cassie-lifting vocal. XXXY’s Everything EP drops this week, with “I Know” accompanied by the title track and “I Can’t Stop”, and none of the EP’s three cuts disappoint. Settle on this for now.
Download: XXXY – “I Know This (Can’t Be Love)”
An excerpt from Jonah Lehrer’s Imagine: How Creativity Works
The search for emotion shapes the way the virtuoso classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma approaches every concert. He doesn’t begin by analysing his part or by glancing at what the violins are supposed to play. Instead, he reviews the complete score, searching for the larger story. “I always look at a piece of music like a detective novel,” Ma says. “Maybe the novel is about a murder. Well, who committed the murder? Why did he do it? My job is to retrace the story so that the audience feels the suspense. So that when the climax comes, they’re right there with me. It’s all about making people care about what happens next.”
Ma’s unusual musical approach – one that has made him as famous for his recordings of Bach’s cello suites as the swing of American bluegrass – is apparent as I watch him rehearsing a new score in a dimly lit theatre in New York. I see it first in his body, which begins to subtly sway. The movement then spreads to his right arm, so that the bow starts to trace wider and wider arcs in the air. Ma’s slight shifts of interpretation – hushing a pianissimo even more, speeding up a melodic riff, exaggerating a crescendo – turn a work of intricate tonal patterns into a passionate narrative. These shifts are not in the score, and yet they reveal what the score is trying to say. Most of the time, Ma can’t explain what inspired these changes. But that doesn’t matter: he has learnt to trust himself, to follow his instincts. To let himself go.
It’s one thing to get inspired by an artist as you come across their work on the internet, but’s another thing to watch an artist’s progression in real life. Although I’m sure he was taking pictures before it happened, I’d argue that getting hired at Freshjive was one of the first big breaks of Ian Flanigan’s photographic career. From shooting product shots and live boxing matches, to photographing the out-of-pocket images that typify the Freshjive brand, Ian’s work is as varied as it is focused. Capturing a variety of compelling landscapes through his travels, the photo collection within showcases Flanigan’s eye for setting and composition through landscape photography. Having recently completed a short film comprised of over 4,000 photographs taken while in New York as well, it seems as though Ian’s portfolio is evolving by the day. Hit the MORE to check out Ian’s landscapes along with his short film from New York.
Something about Saturday night’s A$AP showcase at Coachella felt historic. Black, upside-down flags flying in the wind, silhouetted by the iconic Coachella palms, and the whole stage draped in purple. Nevermind the fact that Rocky and company had the whole tent in the palm of their hand, the whole time, pretty much entirely on the strength of songs from one tape. Or that they ended the set with a trapped-out dance party to “Ha” and “3 Hunna”.
Suffice to say, this is a pretty special time in A$AP’s run. From high profile festival sets to collabs with contemporaries in both the music and fashion worlds, the dude is moving pretty mean right now. “Goldie”, slated as the first single from Rocky’s official label debut LongLiveA$AP, falls under the second category, with Rocky going in over some minimal slap, courtesy of “Niggas in Paris” architect Hit-Boy. Like most of what we’ve heard from him so far, “Goldie” is rock-solid, no bullshit, infectious stuff– pretty much what we’ve come to expect at this point.
Having experienced Coachella for the first time this weekend, I thought it only appropriate to share some insight from a few of my experiences there. In short, Coachella is a spectacle of epic proportions. Unless you’ve touched another grandiose music festival, it’s hard to compare Coachella to anything else. Although Friday provided everything but sandal and shorts weather, the festival still managed to impress on a variety of levels.
Within I’ve shared ten insights, or lessons, or tips, that came to me throughout my time in the desert. Although a few of these relate specifically to the Coachella experience, hopefully a few can applied to life outside of music festivals. And although the festival seems to be forever shrouded in an increasing level of hype year after year, somehow it manages to live up to it. Coachella, a truly peculiar and extraordinary experience.
Highlighting the cult following that the Ralph Lauren brand has garnered over the years, this recent edition of Put This On focuses on the ‘Lo Heads, the famed Polo enthusiasts whose love for rare and iconic pieces of Polo gear has spawned a title and culture all its own. Charting the development of the movement, from its beginnings in the 1980s to its prevalence today, PTO sheds light on a unique American culture that draws from the lifestyle that Ralph Lauren embodies. An already intriguing culture within itself, it seems as though the ‘Lo Head culture may also be rooted in materialism despite its aspirational undertones. Makes me wonder what Ralph himself thinks of all of this.
I think even the most avid Instagram users were a little shocked when they saw the billion dollar price tag put on the photo-sharing network by internet juggernaut Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook empire. But looking at it from their perspective, the decision doesn’t seem all that strange. Instagram was becoming ubiquitous, essential, indispensable, and to their credit, they had found a way to intertwine what they did with Facebook and the iPhone–two similarly indispensable products– seamlessly.
Former entertainment lawyer Bob Lefsetz tends to stick to talking about the music biz in his now-famous newsletter. But please believe there are parallels between what Kevin Systrom and your favorite artists do. At the end of the day, it’s about putting the work in on your craft and creating something people love. Read on for some wisdom from Lefsetz on everything Instagram did right. For those pursuing big things, this one’s pretty essential.
