The Hold Steady “Stay Positive”
Doesn’t grab me like their last release “Boys and Girls in America” but a few good tunes.
Hercules And Love Affair
So I like overtly gay dance music — I’m man enough to admit it. Very Bronski Beat sounding.
My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges”
I’m not sure what to make of this. At first I hated it. Now I merely dislike it. But a few songs are growing on me.
My entire month of July was consumed by a project for Wiley Publishing. Yes, the same Wiley that publishes the “…For Dummies” books. But this project was for their textbook division’s annual national sales meeting. To honor their top five sales people, the good people at Wiley contracted me to create a one minute animated film that was loosely based on the intro to the TV show “Sex and the City”.
Each sales rep was shown in some aspect of NYC activity, with the first rep in the role of Sarah Jessica Parker. Each rep is pleasantly surprised when they find their name and sales stats are part of the fabric of the city.
The entire project took 28 days straight. Sometimes fifteen hours long. Hand drawn characters, finished in Flash, composited in After Effects. The files were a whopping 1024 x 760 because the final was brought into Power Point. It was lots of work, tight deadlines, but a lot of fun. It also helps when you do work for an open-minded client that trusts your instincts. No wonder Wiley is so successful.
Sorry, but for contractual reasons, I can’t post the video. Here’s a few stills…
While my real passion is character design, I must admit, I really had fun drawing places like Yankee Stadium.
Been working on this on and off since October. If you look at the post back in October, you can see the hands were mushy. I originally just wanted to bang this out, not worry about style, craft, or quality — just let the humor speak for itself — kinda like South Park. But I can draw, and so I did. I redesigned parts of the characters, got a voice actor to play Batman, and worked to tighten everything up. I’m still adding to this, but this is the first start to finish version I’m willing to show. Much love to Joe Oesterle for his contribution on the script. Thanks to Adam Taylor for vocals and John Noll for sound.
Two things that should normally never be combined — each one interferes with the enjoyment of the other. Nonetheless, a great night out with the local NYC animation community last month. I shot some video and took some pictures of Bill Plympton, Fred Seibert, Dan Meth, etc., and then sat down and drew gorillas with everyone.
I’ve been working on character design for an educational project. I signed a nondisclosure agreement so I can’t post anything until product is released by the client. Stay tuned.
I’ve also been writing a long article on traditional animation combined with Flash. A guy named Hayk Manukyan, from Glendale, Ca. has a site called moollt.com where he gives video instruction on his process. I’ve definitely learned a few things from him. The article appears in next month’s aNYmator, the newsletter of ASIFA East, the NYC metro area’s animation association.
The Magnetic Fields “Distortion”
Oddly enough, I’d been playing older songs by The Magnetic Fields around the house the past week or so, because our friend Kate told my wife it was her favorite band. My wife, Judie had never heard of them and quickly became a fan. So the discovery of this release was rather serendipitous.
For some, this new release “Distortion” may be a tough listen. Truth in advertising be told; the unifying sound here is distortion. The whole record sounds recorded in the red. This sound can be fatiguing, but I’ve always enjoyed my Magnetic Fields in small doses, sprinkling their cuts in mixed tapes or iTunes equivalents. For me, even a distorted Magnetic Fields record is a welcome gift. There’s a sarcasm in their songs that seems like it can only come from my corner of the world — and I appreciate it.
Radiohead “In Rainbows”
I’ve owned this for some time now, but this is a sneaky record. It didn’t grab me like “Kid A” or “OK Computer” once did. This is more placid, almost background music. The lyrics don’t seem to jump out. Usually, when I take the train into Manhattan, I’ll listen to something that’s not distracting so I can read, but also drown out the incessant banter of inane cell phone users. “In Rainbows” has done the trick. But I need to actually start paying more attention. My friend Adam tells me there are some brilliant tunes here.
I’ve been thoroughly redesigning the Crucial Comics site to transition into animation. This is an ambitious project since a site about animated properties should really feature some animation, right? I’ll post the link just as soon as I’ve got a reasonable version of the site up and running in a week or so.
Speaking of animation, I’ve also become quite involved with ASIFA-East, the New York metro area’s animation association. I’ve been writing articles on Flash for their newsletter, crashing their board meetings, attending screenings, and meeting some great people.
I just finished Raymond Chandler’s “The Big Sleep” which I felt would help me with writing for Rat Bastard. The book is very similar to the Humphrey Bogart film, it just has a lot more details. It’s hard not to picture anyone but Bogart as the cool-as-a-cucumber private dick Phillip Marlowe. I love the language, the terminology, the smart talk. At one point, Marlowe is questioned by a local hood, who never uses Marlow’s name, he simply refers to him as “soldier” — a kind of a put down, implying he’s a just a grunt in a much bigger picture. “What’s your angle, soldier?” he asks Marlowe. A great tough-guy taunt.
Now I’m on to “Stanley” a reconsideration of the life of Henry Thornton Stanley by Tim Jeel. According to Jeel, Stanley got a bum rap up until now. He’s been branded a racist, opportunist, exploiter, and henchman of King Leopold II. But Jeel got a rare look at the archives of Stanley’s diaries, and found a much different man — A man who cared deeply for the people of Africa and a true love of the continent. His bravery was unparallel, and may have been the greatest explorer in modern history. I’m just getting into the book, but it’s a fantastic read so far.
Working For A Nuclear Free City – “Businessmen and Ghosts”
Clocking in at 1.7 hours, Businessmen and Ghosts is all over the modern British music musical map. This Manchester band is one part Fluke, one part, Stone Roses, a touch of Ride, some Radiohead, a little ambient, a pinch of low-fi, groove, experimental, and a whole lot more – hell, there’s 29 songs on this release. At times, I’m not sure it’s the same band from one track to the next. I’m not even sure if I like the whole thing – but that’s not the point of this entry – it’s just what I’m listening to this week. If I were to give them a grade, I would say A for Ambitious, but D for Don’t Know Which Way To Go.
Calvin Harris – I Invented Disco
UK Producer Calvin Harris’ cock-sure title “I Invented Disco” is a tongue in cheek send-up of the dance floor culture. Harris channels everyone from Bootsy to Rick James to Cerone, sprinkled with the most vapid, cliché lyrics inspired by the golden days of 70s disco. It’s all good fun and great for parties. But “I Get All The Girls” is the best tune by far – a really funny take on the self-absorbed strutting disco dandy.
The fact that I’m listening to Bruce Springsteen at this point in my life comes as quite a surprise even to me. Read the rest of this entry »
