We have always been told to not judge a book by it’s cover and sometimes this pertains to books, other times it might pertain to people, movies or album covers. This saying always makes me laugh because…really..who DOESN’T judge a book/person/album by it’s cover? Of course we care about what’s underneath but you have to admit that the more aesthetically pleasing something is the more interested we become in learning what’s underneath it’s cover. Blah blah blah, I know I’m rambling but moral of the story is, I myself almost always judge by the cover (only when looking for books or albums, not people). Album cover art is just so much fun to look at! I find that Indie bands especially have the most eccentric, sexy, colorful, and off-the-wall album covers I have ever seen! So for funsies I put together a gallery of 50 of my favorite album covers (mostly within the Indie genre). I hope you have fun looking at them, and keep in mind these are my favorite album COVERS, not my favorite ALBUMS (although a lot of them are great). I am merely judging by the cover. Enjoy the eye candy, and I would LOVE if you could share with me some of your favorites too =)!
Soo I am starting to notice a pattern in the kind of art I like, digital collage work! Matt Wisniewski is a New York native, originally from Philly, and OMG does he make some incredible eye candy! I grabbed all of my favorites of his from several different projects of his. To check out the rest click here!
Wow! Yesterday I stumbled upon this photographer and HAD to share! Kyle Thompson is a 20 year old pizza delivery man who took up photography only about a year ago. Impressive huh? Most of his photos are self portraits taken in abandoned buildings. He somehow makes his photos so dreamy AND eerie at the same time! On his Flickr he is on day 155 of a 365 day photo diary. To look at more pictures of Kyles click here.
Emily Haines of Metric is one amazing woman. I know that I look up to her..not because she is a fricken’ rock star but because of the way she speaks of music, in a very wise and passionate way. Unlike the band Metric in which she sings lead vocals, her solo solo project Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton is like the name…soft, and piano driven, some might even say haunting. In her own words this is how her solo project came to be…
Sufjan Stevens is and will always be one of my top favorite artists for many reasons…for one he was born in Michigan (Twinsies :p). His name is persian for “comes with a sword” and that’s pretty badass. Also he can play all sorts of instruments! My favorite that he plays is the banjo (swoon). He also plays the guitar, piano, drums, flute, the oboe and English horn! I actually listen to his lyrics which most of the time I am a rhythm kind of person. But the main reason I love love love him is for his beautiful voice. Sufjan has made 10 albums: “A Sun Came“, “Enjoy Your Rabbit“, “Michigan”, “Seven Swans”, “Illinois“, “The Avalanche”, “Songs for Christmas“, “The BQE“, “Delighted People EP”, and “The Age of Adz”. My favorite album would have to be “Illinois” and “Michigan” is my favorite (pretty funny considering I am from Michigan and am planning to move to Chicago).
My favorite of his songs is from the album “Illinois” called “Casimir Pulaski Day”. It’s the most beautifully tragic story that interweaves a fictional story of star-crossed lovers with the locally recognized holiday Casimir Pulaski Day as indicated by the lyric, “… in the morning, in the winter shade, on the first of March, on the holiday…”. The song is sung from the male’s point of view as he falls in love with the female charecter, finds out she has bone cancer, and mourns her day. It is really sad if you listen but I also think it’s beautiful. My favorite line from the song is “In the morning, through the window shade, when the light pressed up against your shoulder blade, I could see what you were reading”. I even wrote a paper on the song for my English class, which was originally supposed to be a poetry analysis…but In my mind this song IS a poem, with it’s repetative use of the word “window” and “morning” (I will spare you my actual analysis).
Sufjan’s music uses personal history but also relies on the fiction writing techniques that he learned in school “I just know myself and my own story”. Living in Detroit has a magnificent influence on his life and a lot of his songs are about his life in Detroit, where he was born, and lived until he was 9 years old.
In my opinion Sufjan’s Stevens is a go to musician for what I like to call “mood music”. I definitely love to listen to a happy loud and upbeat song like “Come On! Feel the Illinois!” when I am in a good mood, and when I’m sad I will throw on “Romulous” or “For the Widows In Paradise” and mope a bit. Sufjan’s main sound is mostly Folk but his newest album “Age of Adz” is completely Electronic..so you can pretty much have your cake and eat it too in a sense. Mmm mmm gooooood! Please give his music a chance if you have never heard it before, and really breathe it in and revel in his lyrics, it’s positively enjoyable!!
Below are my Sufjan favorites…as always, Happy Listening
Last night you may have been at home watching a movie, or out partying, maybe taking your dog for a walk, but I was smack dab in the middle of a pit full of Death Cab for Cutie fans at the House of Blues Orlando!! I know I know, I can’t believe it either! After driving 4 hours in a torrential downpour and waiting for them to come on was enough to drive a person stark raving mad!! And finally the lights went out and the beginning chords of “I Will Possess Your Heart” sounded and the whole crowd started to scream with excitement (including myself)! I was extremely surprised at how ALIVE the show was! Mostly because (more…)
Ruben Ireland is a London-basedillustrator who uses digital processes, stained paper, ink, mixed media, acrylic and even dirty water to create some of the most unique art I’ve ever seen! Below I quoted an interview I had found online (click here to read the full interview) of Ireland answering various questions about his artwork.
Description: Using a fusion of traditional and contemporary techniques I try to make thoughtful images that seem as though halfway between a dream and a nightmare, whilst carrying emotional weight as well as a relevance to daily life, often in the form of metaphor and symbolism. I use a variety of techniques, often layering wild textures with careful drawings and digital processing.
Inspiration: I draw inspiration from looking at as much art as possible, as well as film and TV, I also find that music really helps me to work. I would recommend listening to Mount Kimbie, Clint Mansell, Dimlite, Joanna Newsom, Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, anything that inspires thought and creativity really. I also really like to travel and have spent quite a bit of time in Norway where it’s difficult not to be inspired, I think it’s important to leave you’re comfort zone as much as possible.
What’s Next: I’m currently working on an exhibition piece for London Miles Gallery where the brief for us all is to create a piece about a book that had a profound influence on us and our artwork during our formative years. Also I’m working on a collaborative piece with fellow illustrator Katty Bouthier. Our styles are very different so it will be interesting to see what we come up with.
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Pretty great huh?!? I’d love to have some of those paintings for myself!
If you feel the same you can purchase his art here and check out his site here.
Today I’ve got Metric on my mind and I just want to talk talk talk about them. Metric is my favorite band, which is actually a very strange thing since I constantly bounce from band to band, genre to genre, but Metric is just it for me. Metric is made up of 4 members. Emily Haines the lead singer (also: my role model), guitarist James Shaw (also has a great singing voice) , bassist Josh Winstead, and the drummer Joules Scott-Key.
They came from Toronto, Canada in 1998 and have been kicking ass musically ever since. The band has release four main albums: Old World Underground, Where are you Now (2003), Live it Out (2005), Grow Up and Blow Away (2007), and Fantasies (2009). I had never even heard of the band until one day last year I was at Target looking on my favorite self in the music section “ARTISTS ON THE VERGE” from which I had bought Omni by Minus the Bear, and The XX’s self-titled album.
I am newly obsessed with the website society6.com and all the crazy funky art it features. Every time I get on that website I find myself going to this gal’s section. Her name is Charmaine Olivia and she is an AMAZING artist!! I used one of her pieces for my site background (the little birdie) let’s hope she doesn’t mind. Be sure to check her out here. Here are some of my favorites that she’s done!
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