Pacific Standard

A Man And His Music

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:36:00 +0000

.
In its gift guide last weekend The New York Times featured a nice review by Ben Ratliff of the new CD from Tito Rodriguez, El Inolvidable: A Man And His Music – the first release from Fania since I started working with them.

The recently revived Fania Records has started reaching outside itself, giving new life to the catalogs of artists it never recorded. Here’s Tito Rodriguez, a singer and bandleader who lit up Afro-Latin music from the mid-’40s to the mid-’60s. (At which point he finally lost his drawn-out battle for mambo dominance with Tito Puente, relocated to his native Puerto Rico and died in 1973.) This exemplary set — taken from long-out-of-print records made during the ’60s — includes luxe big-band tracks and smaller, more intense conjunto jam-sessions, as well as live recordings from the Palladium, the locus of New York’s mambo-mania. There’s also a fascinating 1960 cut called “Esta Es Mi Orquesta” — possibly modeled after an earlier Stan Kenton piece called “Prologue” — in which the bandleader delivers a spoken lecture in mambo dynamics, introducing musicians one by one, letting them take their licks.

Click here to preview and buy Tito Rodriguez' El Inolvidable: A Man And His Music at fania.com. The CD was also reviewed by Milo Miles on Fresh Air – click here to listen.

Let's Go Back to Your Neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:28:00 +0000

.
On the eve of GO! MACHINE – two days of local hip-hop shows at the Crocodile – a Seattle hip-hop post for your pleasure. First up:

Yeah yeah: I still don't love the name Fresh Espresso, whatever, doesn't matter. The talent is undeniable – P Smoov is a beatmaking juggernaut that deserves attention. He recently posted a new mixtape, Face Scrunchers Volume 1, at Out For Stardom. Click here to get it gratis.

In a somewhat recent interview, P Smoov had this to say about the name of FE's album, Glamour:

One of the re-occurring themes on the record is grime vs. glamour. When we were composing this album Rik Rude and I were both well below the poverty line. I was homeless and Rik was unemployed. We definitely fit the “Starving Artist” mold. It was fun making music about how our grimey, poverteous lives were somehow glamorous. With the addition of Rabid Child Images' super clean photography it seemed to sum up the whole project under one word: “glamour.”

I like that. That is an all-encompassing creative direction. My view on hip-hop at this point is basically that there used to be a lot of rules about what you could and couldn't do, in order to be respected within the sphere of real hip-hop. A lot of people still follow those rules, and with very few exceptions, they are boring as hell. If I want to hear how great 1993 was, I listen to the records I bought in 1993. Fresh Espresso and Mad Rad are among the crop of people most aggressively pushing forward.

Next:

They Live! photo by Rabid Child Images

They Live! The Dro Bots Saga Plus was another one of my albums of the summer, and seeing them live at Block Party was one of the more enjoyable concert experiences I had in 2009. Larry Mizell Jr. basically has to big up everyone else because he writes the weekly hip-hop column in The Stranger and hosts Street Sounds on KEXP, but for my money he is the best MC in Seattle, at least that I've heard, maybe with the one qualification that I haven't heard Infinite on a mic for ten years. I wouldn't say that They Live! is pushing forward in the same way as the aforementioned or Champagne Champagne, et al., but they strike a weird balance between Bomb Squad-era Ice Cube and and, like, the weirder King Geedorah cuts, and I don't know what... "Work the Angles"-era Dilated Peoples.

Plus, it is crystal clear at this point that they know how to cook a gotdamn hot dog:

The other group I would want to really highlight is Champagne Champagne, who I love on principle, as well as in real life.

You can click here to listen to cuts from each of the artists performing at GO! MACHINE. Listen to Champagne Champagne & Thee Satisfaction "Magnetic Blackness" many, many times.

Image of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Since today has been all music. Jane Birkin and the Beatles at Cannes, 1968 [ via Chained and Perfumed ]

We Were Sleeping Till You Came Along

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:45:00 +0000

.
Another newish song I've been listening to a lot lately:
Beach House Norway mp3 [from the album Teen Dream on Sub Pop]
Feels like late Fall.

Eclectic Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:01:00 +0000

.
A design by Stacy Rozich, one of six designs by local artists featured on T-shirts available at Cairo during Eclectic Magic, a low-key but delightful pop-up shopping experience for the holidays. Cairo is open 12-6pm everyday now through January 3rd and they're having an opening this Friday night featuring music from Alaska's, Wild Orchid Children, and Stephanie. I don't know the other two but I had the great pleasure of seeing Alaska's at the Anne Bonny for Expo 87 the other weekend and would jump at the chance to repeat the experience.

Alaska's at the Anne Bonny for Expo 87 the other weekend

More info at Cairo.

Twenty Seconds Til the Last Call

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:23:00 +0000

Phoenix "1901" live in Paris by La Blogotheque

I have never been a huge Phoenix fan – there are a few songs I like – but I think I've listened to this song about 1900 times in the last year.

Image of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:00:00 +0000

.
This is a random image of the day in the truest sense of the word – I'm super busy, sometimes I don't have time to plan this out. I scrolled and picked the first image I found on my hard drive. When I used to work at V Magazine we had a bowling team, and we'd play other magazines (The New Yorker, GQ...a whole bunch of different magazines). Time Out New York was always the best, they were really annoying. We were generally down at the bottom with (I think it was) American Craft magazine or something like that, these girls that pretty much had just figured out what bowling was or something. My grandpa (not Don – different grandpa) was actually a pro bowler (the diamonds in Emily's engagement ring came from a gold pinky ring he had won, which my brother and I inherited) and I'm not too bad, but I had dislocated my shoulder like three months before, so I was sucking – I would roll the ball and then walk back to the team in pain. We bowled at the Port Authority bus terminal lanes. As part of the deal each team would get these towers of beer, basically like a big vase full of beer with a tap at the bottom of it. We'd finish ours really fast and then try to steal beer from the other teams. Good times.

At the Intersection ofE. Marginal Way and 4th Ave. S.

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:05:00 +0000

.
If you have not been to Matt's Hot Dogs on your way to the paintball range or South Park, I strongly urge you to make the trip some day on your lunch break. The story goes that this guy Matt, who is ever present at the counter, taking orders and speaking fluent Spanish to the Latina cooks, has been obsessed with hot dogs since day one. He went to business school and wrote a plan for a hot dog stand, became a mortgage banker to save money for said hot dog stand, and finally realized his dream in 1992. Specializing in Chicago dogs, chili dogs, slaw dogs and the like, this is the kind of place where you can really get yourself into trouble. I usually go for one Chicago dog, a slaw dog with chili, and fries. If you want to fake your friend out, get one dog and fries, tell them you are being good, and then slip away and order a second dog on the DL. See how jealous they get. This place has the formula down. Just be careful, get good exercise and don't get mustard on your shirt.

Go East, Young Man, & c.

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:08:00 +0000

.
This past summer, Robin Stein, a Seattle-based photographer (you may also know him from such bands as Flexions), spent a week on a tree farm outside of Chesterhill, Ohio, as a guest of the Harold Arts Residency. While there, he studied the pages of an obscure guidebook published in Pittsburgh in 1811, The Navigator: "Containing Directions for Navigating the Monongahela, Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers; with an Ample Account of These Much Admired Waters, from the Head of the Former to the Mouth of the Latter; and a Concise Description of Their Towns, Villages, Harbours, Settlements, & c."

The week after, Stein journeyed up the Ohio River Valley, and then East through the Alleghenies, using what he had learned from The Navigator to loosely trace a route of early westbound settlers, but in reverse. He ended up in New York City. And then he came back to Seattle, and started posting photographs of the journey on his blog. Here are a few of my favorites:

Bernerd’s Yard, Chesterhill, Ohio

Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia

For me, Stein's photos capture a feeling that is difficult to describe – the feeling of being from the coasts, but finding yourself between them, observing the land as you move through it. A roadtrip is always a good idea, but a roadtrip with a theme becomes more epic – in this case, connecting with the westward migration that is our country's collective internal road movie.

Check out Robin Stein's blog here, or better yet, see more of his work in person at a show opening this Thursday, with painter Matt Lifson, at Ursa Minor Gallery, 3308 East Spring Street (one block South of Union in Madrona, Seattle).

Lo-Flying Robitussin

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:07:00 +0000

.
Flying Lotus is giving away some incredibly hot Lil' Wayne remixes, plus instrumentals, including this one – maybe my favorite of all his beats:

Flying Lotus Robo Tussin (instrumental) mp3

Click here to get the rest.

[via Gorilla vs. Bear]

Image of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:27:00 +0000

. I tried to take a picture of Mt. Rainier

Matter Matters

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:05:00 +0000

.

Short trailer for The Visual Language of Herbert Matter, a long-overdue documentary on the Swiss-born design legend. More info here.

3-2-1 Contact

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:36:00 +0000

.
A contact sheet of photos by Jeanloup Sieff, featured in The Contact Sheet – a new book by Steve Crist exploring the editing process behind some of the most iconic images and photographers of the 20th century. This particular selection of shots produced the photo below, which appeared in a 1964 Harper's Bazaar editorial.

The Contact Sheet is published by Ammo Books.
See also: A Few Frames: Photography and the Contact Sheet, on view through January 3rd at the Whitney.

Image of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:04:00 +0000

.
There was an interesting interview on KUOW this morning with Vashon Islander Brad Matsen, author of The Sea King, a new book which explores the life of Jacques Cousteau. Among other interesting facts, I learned that Cousteau's ship Calypso (pictured above), built in Ballard as a WWII minesweeper and converted after the war for use as a ferry in Malta, was purchased in 1950 for Cousteau's use by Loel Guinness, heir to the beer fortune. Cousteau's wife and partner Simone sold her jewelry to finance the cost of fixing and fueling it up, and in 1952, they set out with their crew to explore the Red Sea. You can set out to listen to the podcast here.

While we're at it, here's a concept drawing for Calypso 2:

Pretty cool.

Police Scanner

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:00:00 +0000

.
So I don't know if everyone outside of Seattle knows this, but within Seattle at the moment there is a manhunt going on for Maurice Clemmons, the suspect in the assassination of four police officers in Tacoma this past weekend – and you can listen to the whole thing on local TV station KOMO's live feed of the police scanner. I'm not gonna make a habit of doing this or anything – I'm not going to be that guy – but it's intense. I hope they get him soon.

Wait for Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:35:00 +0000

. Remember when I was talking about the various details of putting this lookbook together? All the images are online now – have a look at sunshineandshadow.com. Congrats to Lily on another beautiful collection!

Full credits:
Sunshine & Shadow Spring Summer 2010
Designer Lily Raskind
Assistant Designer Rose Thomas
Photography Cameron Krone
Styling Mika Tajima
Makeup Greg B (DeFacto)
Models Mariel Soehner (Ford)
& Laurel Stovall (New York Models)
Graphic Design Strath Shepard (Pacific Standard)
Photo Assistants Chris Artz & Jenny Hueston

Click here for more Sunshine & Shadow on Pacific Standard, and here to visit Sunshine & Shadow online.

When I sell the project for 40 million dollars I will ignore any emails from you begging to be part of it and will send you a postcard from my yaght*

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:56:00 +0000

.
HA HA HA.
That's a burn.
Read the rest here.

Not quite as funny as Overheard at the Record Store but it did cause me to laugh audibly by myself in the office in front of my computer.

*[sic]
[ via Design Observer ]

"It turns out you can say a lot with fonts."

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:49:00 +0000

Rodarte Spring/Summer 2010

Eric Wilson finds some interesting insights on the creative process of Patrick Li – one of the top, and overall probably my favorite, of the relatively small crop of art directors producing graphics for fashion houses – in a New York Times article this past Thursday.

“I would describe Patrick’s work as like distilling something to the purest form,” said Kate Mulleavy. “Laura and I are so quiet about how we communicate with people. We like to work in isolation when we are working on the collection. So the first person we talk to about what we are doing is Patrick.”
Mr. Li designs the fashion show invitations that are mailed to hundreds of editors and store buyers each season, enticing them to see a collection and sometimes giving them a hint of what is to come. Ms. Mulleavy said that she and her sister typically fire off a mountain of inspirations. The spring collection, for example, was based on transformation myths involving a person who is burned alive and reborn as a condor or a vulture. There was talk of California condors, burnt sand and the wildfires that were spreading around Los Angeles while the Mulleavys were at work.
“Their references each season are totally off the wall, and sometimes I think they are meant to confuse,” Mr. Li said. “You can leave the discussion thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t really know what it means for a California condor to intersect with a Robert Smithson earthwork,’ but each of those things imparts a certain feeling.”

Knowing those references and the collection, the invitation shown above is a truly impressive distillation of Laura and Kate Mulleavy's inspirations. That is not an easy thing to do as a designer, and Li succeeds time and time again.

FW2009 Phillip Lim invitation, and a look from the SS2010 show

Read the rest of the story at nytimes.com.

Photos by Tony Cenicola for The New York Times

Your Weekly Mr. Littlejeans

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:22:00 +0000

.
My new camera takes these panoramic shots – you push the button, pan right, and it takes ten photos and pieces them together automatically.

Here we see young Fang casually staring at his mama as she sits at the computer in her bathrobe and flip-flops. If enlarged we also see an extremely dope 1967 record by The United States of America which, ironically, I acquired in Halifax, Nova Scotia. No matter; lil' Fang only cares about his mama.

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Me and my brother sitting on a gigantic log that washed up on the shore of, Sequim Bay, ca.1982? Somewhat unrelated but I am thinking about my brother across the country.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, dear reader. I myself am thankful for a million things, but in regards to this blog I am thankful for everyone who continues to surprise me by coming back to check out the things I post. Obviously I don't make any money from it, but that's not the point – I keep doing it because it makes me look out for interesting things to bring into my life. So... I'm thankful for all the interesting things in my life, and I am thankful for you.

7 Things

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

.
Portfolio, a new Steidl-produced printing of Robert Frank's photography portfolio at the time he moved from Switzerland to the US, in 1947, at the age of 23. Visit steidlville to view images.

Rainydawg Radio, an underground radio station from the University of Washington. Production value very low but I was listening in my office all last night and I don't think they played a single bad song. Old and new stuff, a big variety. You can listen online – click here.

Kimberly Ovitz PF2010. Very minimal and modern, kind of one idea done a bunch of different ways. I think Emily would like this stuff, but she's under 7 million schoolbooks right now, so I'm posting it for her. Hi Em.

Wine box floor boards. The chicness...the chicness.

My favorite Land Rover, featured in a New York Times article about Land Rovers a few years back. I know, I know... I've just been thinking about these a lot lately.

Irving Penn's first Vogue cover, October 1943. Beautiful colors, composition, and typography.

I can't remember where this came from but I love it

Image of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:36:00 +0000

. Robert Yoder: Beryl , 2009 (vinyl and collage on paper,
14" x 11") at Howard House, Seattle.

Sometimes I have a reaction to color that is the same reaction other people have to Sam Cooke singing. Something about these two colors together in particular just kills me. I had the same reaction to this. But yes, I like the composition, I like the white space... I like things that are collaged... I don't know anything about Robert Yoder but his other work looks great too. But this one especially.

[via Another Bouncing Ball]

What's It Look Like, Ace

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:22:00 +0000

.
Some quick neighborhood snaps with the new camera Emily gave me for my birthday.

The quality is not quite as high as with our bigger camera (a Canon 20D) but the new one is tiny, so I can bring it with me everywhere I go – plus, it shoots HD video and has a million cool features, including the ability to shoot well without a flash in extremely low light. I love it.

Corduroy etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:49:00 +0000

.
I'm too swamped to post much right now, but in case anyone missed it, I wanted to mention that today on Fresh Air Terry Gross had a very enjoyable interview with Wes Anderson about his new film The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Image of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Strath) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:55:00 +0000

In 1980, an 8-year-old boy found three packages containing $5,880 in decaying $20 bills on the shore of the Columbia River – part of the $200,000 ransom D.B. Cooper was carrying when he parachuted from a plane he had hijacked en route from Portland to Seattle. Fifteen of the bills were auctioned off earlier this year by Heritage Auction Galleries.

[ From here via here ]