Company Pants

Trailer for La Meurtre (directed by Tom Haugomat & Bruno...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:54:18 -0800

Trailer for La Meurtre (directed by Tom Haugomat & Bruno Mangyoku)

By the same brilliant folks that brought us their tribute to Drive.

“Shapes #8” by Filippo Minelli Please check out the...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:32:03 -0800

Please check out the entire series featuring photographs of smoke bombs being let off around various locations throughout Europe.

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #098: COOLRUNNINGS:...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:18:24 -0800

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #098:

COOLRUNNINGS: “Badlands”

A new track from Knoxville, Tennessee’s COOLRUNNINGS is always cause for a celebration. The crew behind Dracula Horse has put together some of the most titillating and ever-evolving music that’s been passed around the internet over the past few years. “Badlands” is a truly fantastic trip down a whole new delectable rabbit hole for the band, but unfortunately, it also arrived with the frustrated ultimatum that COOLRUNNINGS would not be releasing any new music for at least another year. As happy as I am to have “Badlands” to leave a very much appreciated ringing in my ears, I’m equally as sad to learn that the group’s understandable growing distaste for the state of music critique along with the independent music industry has reached a point of no reckoning. Here’s hoping that they can feel a tiny bit at ease knowing that one silly little guy up in Portland will be eagerly anticipating their eventual triumphant return.

[“Badlands” can be found at the Dracula Horse Soundcloud]

XKCD: “Valentine Dilemma” by Randall Munroe “I...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:34:18 -0800

XKCD: “Valentine Dilemma” by Randall Munroe

“I panicked and stapled my hand to my face” is probably the funniest thing I’ve read in months.

“Untitled #153” by Simen Johan

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:18:34 -0800

“Untitled #153” by Simen Johan

“Work Hard” by Will Bryant Words to live by.

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:51:04 -0800

“Work Hard” by Will Bryant

Words to live by.

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #097: You Won’t:...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:01:32 -0800

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #097:

You Won’t: “Three Car Garage”

A timeline of my experience with “Three Car Garage” would reveal a rather wide range of emotions. I first heard the song a few days ago, enjoyed it and made a note to come back to it in the very near future. This morning, I watched the duo’s video for the song and though I was admittedly skeptical of it’s beginning movement, I was laughing and praising it’s cleverness just a few short moments later. Finally, this evening, after listening to the song as loud as possible at least a dozen times, I realized that this isn’t just a great new song, but it should be one of the most important songs released in 2012.

On the way back to my place after walking my dog earlier this evening, I smelled something that momentarily led me to believe that something in the vicinity of the building had caught fire. For the briefest moment, my mind flashed over what I would need to save from the apartment. Since the human and the animal element were already outside, I instantly saw visions of instruments, laptops and clothes that needed my immediate help. However, just as soon as the visions appeared, they just as quickly disappeared when it became clear that someone nearby was cooking some sort of awful food substance that was responsible for the smell of potentially toasted personal artifacts.

“Three Car Garage” is a send up of all of the ridiculous things that we each so desperately cling to believing are important to us. Ultimately, these “items” are just not that necessary to any of us. We are all guilty of taking the wrong things for granted too much of the time. At just under two minutes into the song, singer Josh Arnoudse slips into a Dylanesque cadence and relates a string of words that I believe to be some of the finer lyrics I’ve heard in quite a while. My apologies if any of these are slightly off:

I’ve been brought up clean and organized.
I’ve been each December satisfied.
I’ve had wishes granted, none denied.
I’ve been flown down south and Disney-fied.
I’ve sailed twenty seas in deep denial on a million frequent flyer miles,
ran a gauntlet built of grocery aisles in a walking wall of guilt and bile.
Tell me, are you not the same as me?
Did you pay your dues in little league?
Did you wash your hands of blood and greed and stumble back in time of need?
You are clever imitation minds of photographs and DVDs.
You are subtle repetition tied to thirty-two inch plasma screens.
It’s a delusion, babe.

[Skeptic Goodbye drops February 14, 2012 on Old Flame]

“The Kodak Instamatic” by Dowling | Duncan

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:31:10 -0800

“The Kodak Instamatic” by Dowling | Duncan

About The Clearing by Bowerbirds (directed by Creato...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:24:29 -0800

About The Clearing by Bowerbirds (directed by Creato Destucto)

The new album from Bowerbirds has quickly and not surprisingly shaped up to be one of the albums I’m enjoying the most so far in this very young year. I would highly suggest taking six and a half minutes out of your day to watch this mini documentary that shows how they work together as a group and how their new record came together. After that, head over to Dead Oceans and drop a few dimes to grab your very own copy of The Clearing.

“Palm Trees” by Nuno Oliveira

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:33:09 -0800

“Palm Trees” by Nuno Oliveira

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #096: Jaylib:...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:41:34 -0800

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #096:

Jaylib: “The Red (Original Version)”

In my opinion, the most perfect beat ever crafted from the very best producer hip hop will ever know.

[Champion Sound is available on Stones Throw]

James Dewitt Yancey February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006 Hero.

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:26:00 -0800

James Dewitt Yancey

February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006

Hero.

Bell Towers: “Scavengers” (directed by...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:07:51 -0800

Bell Towers: “Scavengers” (directed by Expialidocious)

I’m a little grossed out that someone had to have a mouthful of coins in their mouth to make this possible, but this is still one of the more creative videos I’ve seen in a while. Oh, also, it’s a bit NSFW at the tail end.

“Ooh Ahh Mmm” by Julia Chiang (available from The...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:37:49 -0800

“Ooh Ahh Mmm” by Julia Chiang (available from The Standard)

“I Know That Feel, Bro: Obsolete Technology” by...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:14:08 -0800

“I Know That Feel, Bro: Obsolete Technology” by Chris Gerringer

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #095: Tom Day:...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:10:02 -0800

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #095:

Tom Day: “Couldn’t Be Alone” (featuring Laura Lethlean)

With ”Couldn’t Be Alone”, Tom Day and his cousin, Laura Lethlean, have created a remarkable cover of a already very beautiful song (Burial’s “Archangel”). I would definitely love to hear more collaborations between these two.

[The Things We Leave Behind is available now on Tom Day’s Bandcamp]

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #094: Caves:...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:32:40 -0800

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #094:

Caves: “1993”

Kids these days, right?

Jesus, this is good.

[When You Were Partying, I Was Dying drops February 21, 2012 on Absent Fever]

“Hey World” by Marc Johns

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:32:46 -0800

“Hey World” by Marc Johns

“Solar Panel” by Matthew Lyons

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:44:25 -0800

“Solar Panel” by Matthew Lyons

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #093: MPSO: “Let...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:16:01 -0800

Song To Get You Through The Goddamn Day #093:

MPSO: “Let Go/Falling”

Sure, Daniel Grey is a member of recent Sub Pop signees Memoryhouse, but more importantly (in my opinion), he creates hazy and loopy folk masterpieces under the guise of MPSO (aka Mount Pleasant Symphony Orchestra). “Let Go” and “Falling” make up the luscious, chewy center of MPSO’s upcoming full-length Wisdom Teeth (which can be streamed in it’s entirety here). It’s going to be a absolute pleasure to see all of the ink that will eventually be spilled gushing about this record.

[Wisdom Teeth drops February 14, 2012 on MPSO’s Bandcamp]