Fotografieke

Dutch band Jean Parlette are going through a change. And a change it is. They have created a website dedicated to a new project: ‘Le System’. ‘Le System’ let’s you, me and your regular John and Jane subscribe and donate money in return for a piece of the package. If you go for the silver membership you become a bandmember and you will be invited to download a song now and then, you’ll get a voice in album art and new songs and you can get yourself guestlisted or even get on stage and play! If you go for gold though, you will be treated like a king: a lifetime (band)membership, a dinner gig for two, a song written especially for you, you’re given the freedom to put setlists together and you will get lifetime subscription to a signed version of every future release from Jean Parlette.

In short, what they try to achieve in a very cool way is to interact with their audience and find alternative revenues. We’ve seen other (Dutch) bands trying new things and allowing fans to come closer and be a part of party, but JP are stepping it up and pulled out the full range of possibilities. Let’s hope they can prove the entire music industry wrong and manage to make money on their own and from new products solely focussing on the fans and music lovers in general. Their level of creativity and ambition won’t stand in their way to make it big, that’s for sure.

From their Twitterfeed:
We are now 62 bandmembers! That’s great, wonder if we could make a symphony or a choir or just make 5 soccerteams including coaches… 

Become a bandmember!
http://www.lesystem.nl

Necklace with rhinestones and pearl by jeanmc

Bracelet with creme enamel and coral beads by jeanmc

Vintage Mod 60s Hinged Bangle Bracelet Pedre Watch by jenniesjunque

Bird Hair Pins by veryvintage

Vintage 70s Scarf Art Deco Style Scarf in Pink Blue and Black by catwalkcreative
Pink and gold beaded necklace by jeanmc

Silver and gold brooch and earring set by jeanmc

Burnt Umber Spectator Shoes by urbanlotusboutique

Faux Fur White Long Sleeve Jacket by ChicVintageWear

Pearl and Goldtone Cuff Links by whimsicalvintage

1950′s Crown Trifari Goldtone Brooch by whimsicalvintage

1970′s Colorful Lucite Bead Necklace by whimsicalvintage

Grand Avenue – Place To Fall

When I saw this band supporting Saybia a few years ago they made quite an impression. I’d even go further in saying that they outplayed the main attraction. There’s no way denying that these four Danes are mighty musicians and a joy to watch playing. Their determination to make it big is pretty darn obvious from their songs and their performances. It’s admirable. I’ve enjoyed most of their last album and doing the same with this one. The songs on ‘Place To Fall’ are funkier than ever, and a little rougher.
I do however have a nagging issue with this band’s sound. After these two records it’s become obvious that there’s certain continuity to their style and they seem determined to stick with it. What I’m missing is a certain kind of depth and low-fi quality, the production is so smooth that there’s no space for a rougher edge. A rougher edge would fit them like a glove and might be the last part of the puzzle to get them running full speed.
The chorusses especially seem to lack just a little bit of spark, transparency, flow, or whatever you want to call it. It’s like they forgot to press record on that last but defining layer. A hint of synth, or piano, or backing vocals. Maybe I’m asking too much, but I do sense that these guys have got potential but haven’t yet gotten to the end of the road. Which might explain why they haven’t had a defining hit so far. A shame really, but who knows, maybe this time..!

A favourite: ‘These Days’

Andy Bull – We’re Too Young

Is this young lad on the verge of hitting the charts? Probably! Every single song sounds like it’s ready for radio. Very play-, colour- and bashful. Just what we need, right? Probably! First characteristic you’ll notice is his high pitch, nasal voice that’s unlike anyone else’s. I’m absolutely certain that he’ll both have purists scratching the walls and have teenagers do the twist and jive. When it feels right it just does, ya know? And he’s definitely got himself some catchy tunes! But there’s obviously plenty room to grow. The lyrics, the music, the vocals, it’s all so fresh and void of life experience. Too young? Nope, this is fairly age appropriate.

A favourite: ‘Young Man’

Sondre Lerche – Heartbeat Radio

Mr. Lerche stole my heart when I saw him on tv, during an award ceremony, wearing an A-ha tee, ready to hand an award to the band printed on that same tee. He seemed genuinly thrilled and nervous. What a doll. The boy has grown up and with his latest release seems to have shed his rock ‘n roll tendencies from the last record, ‘Phantom Punch’. Its pace has been turned down a couple of notches. What hasn’t changed are the witty lyrics, the 60s vibe you get from the songs in general and the boyish charm to his voice. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! It feels like home, it’s comforting and puts a little smirk on my face every now and then. Go see him live if you get a change, you won’t regret it! He got everyone up and dancing last time I saw him. Go Norge!

A favourite: ‘Heartbeat Radio’

Rodrigo y Gabriela – 11:11

An honorable mention for the awesome Rodrigo Y Gabriela! I saw this duo at Lowlands once and enjoyed myself immensely. Their style would normally not find its way to my playlist, but they’re darn good at what they do and it seems so effortless.  “Gabriela? Yes Rodrigo? Want to play some music? Sure thing Rodrigo”. Close your eyes and you’re in Mexico dancing holes in your shoes.

I’m too busy taking care of other business right now so blogging has sunk a few spots on my list of priorities, sadly. But my eyes always wander all over the net looking for wonderful stuff, so let me just give you a mini-report for now. I will be back very soon with some reviews on recent cd releases and some other cool things.

Trailer for ‘A Single Man’
You know those ads for designer clothes and perfumes, those that look so very stylishly theatrical? Well this is a movie trailer that looks like an ad that looks theatrical! No wonder really, considering that the movie is directed by Tom Ford, of all people.

Liu Bolin – ‘Transparency’ artist
I found this amazing artist’s pictures through V1kram‘s blog. Yes, it’s painted!

Sondre Lerche – pictures by Isabell N. Wedin
Sondre kindly mentioned photographer Isabell N. Wedin on Twitter in regard to the new pictures used for his latest recording, ‘Heartbeat Radio’. I’m planning a little review later on.

Etsy shop: Elizabeth Wren Vintage
Ever since I started watching Mad Men and long before that show even started I developed an uncontrollable desire for 60s items. In those days there was such an incredible mix of quality products and pure, pure kitsch. But both very easy on the eye! Elizabeth Wren dug up some interesting vintage items.

I’ve got another small New York story for ya. While shopping at MoMA’s design store I discovered this lush NYC subway map, designed by ZERO PER ZERO. I finally dug up the map again and snooped around on their website. They also designed a NYC subway calendar, poster and several smaller maps. There’s more though. I’ve added a commercial they made for Krispy Kreme below which I think is pretty awesome.

Let me be very idiotic for a minute and pretend that I alone can give you lovely people what MTV can’t: heart-warming, unique, creative music videos. Now I’m sure that most of the following videos are being played plenty enough, so that’s not the issue in this first ‘Music | TV’ post, but I think it’s rather interesting to also show who’s creating those rare few cool videos these days.

Shynola has been a collective of 4 creative folks from London and have worked together for almost 10 years. Not only have they created music videos, they’ve also worked on video graphics for tv, movies and commercials. The most recent product of these multi-talents is Coldplay’s video for Strawberry Swing, which brought a tear to my eye when I first watched it. It’s really stunning. You’ll find more Shynola familiar videos below:

When I was visiting New York I had the luxury of time to visit some incredible shops in Manhattan. One of my favourite shops is Anthropologie. This is a store chain spread through the USA and Canada. They sell a large variety of unique, vintage-like items, from clothes to home deco and furniture. There aren’t any shops anywhere else, as far as I know. So all I can say is.. thank goodness for online stores!

Notions Necklace

Dazzling Daisy Posts

Saturated Petal Shoes

Dazzling Jungle Bag

Midnight Squall Skirt

Rain Pools Cardigan

Lively Mist Top

Topsy-Turvy Wallpaper

Oyster Shell Salt Cellar

King-Of-The-Jungle Jar

Twiggy Chopsticks

Nurata Tablecloth

Rectangular Nanette Dish

Twilight Grove Single Switchplate

Calico Owl Knob

Battersea Sofette, Toffee Leather

Redsmith Dining Chair

Decker End Table

Cooled Globes Lamp

Mechanic’s Beacon Light, Large Flower

Working as a volunteer at a local moviehouse, while I sell tickets for the movies on view for the evening I find myself staring at the movie posters across the counter a lot longer than I’d like to admit. It’s become quite entertaining to analyze the movie posters on display and try to put into words why I prefer one poster over the other.

Recognizability is what’s important for the blockbusters of the western world. As a fan of independent, small movies I can’t stand all those generic, commercial movie posters. On the other hand, a poster for a commercial movie looking all artsy and intellectual, will most likely bore the living crap out of blockbuster lovers. The trick is to come up with a design that will register just long enough to remind people to walk into the theatre. A cracking movie poster is an incredibly powerful marketing tool.
I’m not condemning the movie industry and all its plain looking promo-material. The quality of all that plain looking promo-material isn’t bad at all. But what I do find interesting is how most commercial movie posters become rather hysterically predictable when in larger numbers.

Because of this I’d like to show just how much they all look like the next one, and I’d like to propose different methods of designing a movie poster, with a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach.  I just can’t help myself..

I’ve collected recent posters (all 2009) to vizualize my theory:

Action/Thriller
It comes as no surprise that this is all about men, very anxious looking men, surrounded by either anxious looking villains or buddies, an occasional anxious looking woman and/or a gloomy environment. The little head-turn and suspicious glance to the side are also clear action poster characteristics.

Action/Adventure
Crossing over to adventure we notice more anxious looking ladies and gentlemen, this time (mostly) on their own, completely centered, weapon drawn and ready for battle. Whatever battle they’re facing, it’s bound to be rough. (although I’m wondering what Mr. Gray’s up to)

Drama
We’re moving slowly from anxious to happy or sad facial expressions. In the category drama the designers develop a  sudden urge to use lots of squares and rectangles to be able to get either the entire cast involved or show some moviestills.

Romance/Comedy
I try my best to avoid any movie where the actors are potrayed looking like the ones below. This category needs no further explanation I’m sure. One thing though: a lot of men still haven’t worn off their anxious looks or have gone to shocked/ill-at-ease.

Animation/Family
Designers find it necessary to be as obvious as possible if it comes to flicks for kids, therefor including most, if not all characters and use as many colours as possible. Kids love it, you know! And notice the huddling.

Now let me propose some solutions and show alternative ways of making a poster look awesome. Again I’m only showing posters from 2009.

Characteristics
If we’re talking about characteristics, why not use the main character’s? And keep it simple, less=more.

Graphics
Don’t shy away from using pencils, brush, crayons, but same goes for Photoshop, Illustrator and the lot.

Teenagers
Dealing with teenagers? Go all Juno, use their crazy imagination!

Love Story
Want to focus on the couple? Use colour, go abstract. No white backgrounds! And be easy on the leading actors, don’t photoshop the poor people until they look like their own waxmodels.

Cast
Sure you can introduce the entire cast if that’s your thing. Put them in one scene for example. Do an impromptu shoot between takes. And if you insist on using geometry keep it interesting. Use colour, avoid predictable (a)symmetry.

Moviestills
If you’re using moviestills for your design, why not just use one as a whole? Toy around with typography and its location within the moviestill, surprise and charm people with a stunning shot.

Faceless
Designs without the actors can send off a powerful message. All the more room for graphics and your own creativity.

After writing this item I came across actually just one blog that discusses movie posters and does so on a regular basis. If you’ve been drooling over the above posters, whichever posters you were drooling over, you’ll enjoy this blog: Movie Poster Addict.

If you think of a great place to live wouldn’t an all-American bungalow, including a porch and the works, be on your list? It’s on mine for sure!

Jessica and Erik from Portland, Oregon bought a 1920s bungalow earlier this year and have been renovating for a fair few months. What’s interesting is that their keen eye for vintage details helped them draw a line between what needed to be stripped, fixed or preserved. This resulted in a very delicate balance between the old and the new, blending the two seamlessly together and making for a warm and welcome home. Here are a few before and after pictures:

Dining room

Bathroom

Attic

Kitchen

Kitchen (from a different angle)

Living room

Porch

Check out Jessica’s blog, more before and after pictures and other loveliness on Jessica and Erik’s Flickr account.

Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
Vocalist Hayden’s stunning falsetto voice makes me wonder what he would sound like alongside Anthony Hegarty in a duet. And then there’s Tom Fleming, providing a second leading vocal, and a complete opposite to Hayden in vocal range. You can’t say that Wild Beasts sound like any other band, not even remotely. As soon as you think you’re hearing 80s influences the song changes its rhythm or melody slightly and puts you off your balance. Their songs are haunting and melodious and draw you into their glorious depth immediately. I love the softly singing guitar, the piano elegantly dancing around everything else. It all fits in together and makes perfect sense. Even if you’re not immediately convinced, you can’t deny the fact that these guys have taken their job seriously and invested a lot of time, love and energy into this collection of very well-crafted songs. Good stuff!

A favourite: ‘All The Kings’ Men’ [this is one of those songs that get stuck in your head for a week]

A Fine Frenzy – Bomb In A Birdcage
Having heard of Alison Sodul around the time of the release of her first album I thought I owe her at least of few minutes of my time to listen. Those minutes aren’t wasted. I’m getting in a of a pickle if I come up with comparisons between her and others singing redheads, so I’ll refrain from doing so! This is truly a lovely record from a lady with a pleasant voice and looks. It’s all A OK, but I’m still struggling with a few things. Maybe I’ve really become too impatient and need a lot more time to let this one sink in. Maybe it’s the production, which is a little too polished to my taste. Maybe it’s that I mistook her for Avril Lavigne at several moments during my listening session. But overall it’s a record perfect to play in the background on a late, breezy autumn afternoon.

A favourite: ‘Electric Twist’

Frankmusik – Complete Me
Why can’t I just believe people? Frankmusik has been showing up as support act for Keane during their Perfect Symmetry tour this spring. It was a bit of a shock for people who are used to generic, indie guitar bands who usually support bigger bands these days. Though Keane somehow find time to listen to new music and that’s how Frankmusik got picked as support act. His style could be described as pop, in its purest form. Though there’s something special about the songs, a certain catchiness that make them both radio-friendly, more than ready for the dancefloor ànd keep the nitpicking lovers of the Perfect Popsong happy. I’m happy anyway!

A favourite: ‘Better Off As 2′

fun. – Aim and Ignite
With a majority in up-tempo songs you’ll get the jest of it immediately. This is a band that stand for what they named themselves. Party! They somehow remind me of The Jayhawks musically, which for me personally is a comforting thought as I LOVE The Jayhawks. ‘At Least I’m Not As Sad’ sounds like a crazy Mika/Dresden Dolls mashup. But really, it’s a great record, I can’t put it any other way! It’s charming, funny, warm. You’d wish you could change the cd into a human being. If fun.’s tunes doesn’t put a smile on your face I don’t know what will.

A favourite: ‘Walking The Dog’