Pitchfork.tv launched yesterday. Pretty nice UI and content so far. Their first piece of production basically involves following around Man Man for the afternoon as they run errands, answer questions, make music and set off fireworks. This is actually kind of what south Philly is like on a nice day with not much to do. Anyway, its pretty funny. I love how the cops care not at all that they are setting off fireworks in the street. Honestly, they’ve got bigger things to worry about. And I think pitchfork.tv will be pretty successful. They seem to have started out in the right place.
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Archive for the 'Philadelphia' Category
I had mentioned a few months ago the break of Nick Paparone with Art In The Age Of… Thankfully he didn’t run off to Brooklyn and instead threw himself into Print Liberation - a kind of Philly print-house/visual agency/brand development/clothing shop/all-around creative enterprise. They just came out with a bunch of new t’s and are dropping their “Print Liberation: The Screen Printing Primer“, which Paparone authors, in a few months. The book introduces the screen printing process to novices and gives some more advanced techniques to more experienced printers who are trying to hone their skills.
Amazon Description: Print Liberation is a comprehensive DIY guide to screen printing for both novice crafters as well as experienced artists. The book begins by giving readers a brief history of screen-printing while outlining the basic principles of the process including the equipment and tools needed to get started. Step-by-step instructions accompanied by full-color photographs show readers the various methods for making great screen prints and tips on how to avoid screen-printing mistakes. Information about printing on various surfaces from wallpaper to t-shirts, cylinders and more gives readers a general understanding of the various applications for screen-printing and solid information on how to turn their screen prints into a personal art or business. Bonus sample images formatted for screen-printing are included for readers to use in their own screen prints.
As to the shirts, really nice stuff. I love this Obama shirt, so obnoxious and awesome. See below for some other samples. Buy stuff here. Cheap. Good. Philly. Enjoy.
Last week The Roots held a listening party for their upcoming album Rising Down. (As a nerdy aside, I might be one of the only people on the planet who not only caught the reference to William T. Vollman’s 7-volume Rising Up, Rising Down, I also own it… sigh…). Anyway, so they had this listening party the other night for the album and I hear it was pretty awesome. One of their released singles off the album, Rising Up, features WALE, this DC rapper who I never thought would take off, even though everyone and their mother is like, yo, this guy is about to explode… we’ll see friends… we’ll see… But seriously, this is definitely a huge boost to a guy who has only released a (n albeit well-received) mix-tape of his stuff and has done a (great) D.A.N.C.E. remix.
Also, if you are in the Philly area - hell, if you are on the east coast - The Roots Picnic is on June 7th. $50. A little steep. But if you have a look at the line-up - The Roots, Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones + The Dap Kings, Santogold!, Diplo, Cool Kids… y mas - you can’t go wrong. Starts at 2 and should be a lot of fun.
So, check out the video below. The album drops April 29th, so we’ve got a few weeks.
Nice the Inquirer is getting in on the downtown dance-party thing with this Paperstreet/Tommy Up article. Paperstreet stuff is always fun but I knew next to nothing about Paperstreet-the-business and Tommy Up before reading this. Get on their list-serve to keep up with happenin’ goings on.
yo, I love the video. And the Beastie Boys cameo? Niiiiice. M.I.A.s situation is so weird though; you ask any random music loving fanboy on the street about her and for the most part people are pretty aloof. While at the same time she is making Time Magazine’s top 10 albums of the year. Sure, its a kind of indie/hipster-cred boosting pick, but it also goes to show how she exists in this strange very mainstream/very obscure limbo. Quite frankly, I am really surprised that Time chose M.I.A.s Kala for their top 10. Not to mention LCD Soundsystem… anyway…
Git the Paper Planes Remix feat. Bun B and Rich Boy HEREEEEEE. (via maddecent.com)
Went dancin’ at The (”New”) Barbary in Fishtown (that’s Philly for you out-of-towners) and caught sight of M.I.A.s former-beau Diplo helping out with the turn-tables (read macbooks) with White Ts, White Belts. Its a pretty cool venue for people looking for new haunts. Cheap at hell, and kinda’ right around the corner from The Arts Garage if you are up for after-hours.
I was getting hip to Philly-designer Tim Lahan’s site when I came across a link to Sleevage… Pretty nice. They basically write about album cover art. They are in beta at the moment, whatever that means, and are looking for writers. I request reviews of the last two Jose Gonzales albums… what’s going on there?And DURKL has new stuff out… Fall ‘07… which is amazing as always.AND Kanye’s Mom… That’s really too bad. Our hearts go out.
This is kinda unfortunate. For all you out of towners, Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction is a small Philly clothing company that does cool work, as is evidenced here. But recently two bad things happened at the same time. One, Tim Gough and Nick Pararone, the creative minds behind of Art In The Age Of… were taken off the project by (and this is the second bad thing) their financial backers, philly-based Gyro Worldwide Advertising.So now I am not really sure how to feel… its kind of like a A-Ron leaving aNYting… and not only that, we now know that some hipster-targeting ad firm is behind this beloved Philly clothing co…Philebrity covered it recently here.I’ve gotta go with Philebrity on this one… “good luck in New York guys.”
Tasty Treats at Fluid is one of the best parties in the city. Resident DJ Mike Nyce (and occasionally ?uestlove) is (are) always throwing down something crazy. Tomorrow night; Biz Markie guest DJs. Uuummmmm, get there early.
(pictured is Robin’s on 13th, just so there is no confusion)
Quite frankly, I am surprised that small bookstores in any proximity to larger retailers like B&N (as is the case of Robin’s on 18th) or Borders (as is the case of Robin’s on 13th) stay in business. I am all about the small, family owned… yadda, yadda. But the word today is browsing. And though I love Robin’s on 13th the selection is poor, if only because of the limitations imposed by a physically small store. (Their magazine section also sucks, but that’s a whole other story.) The whole lecture series that they host, among other events, is really smart, and it will be stuff like that that in the end will keep them rooted as a mainstay of the neighborhood or send them the way of the 18th st. store. I think the key is setting up shop away from competition from the big guys. Ever been to Bookhaven on Fairmount? Hands down the best bookstore in the city. But, because its in this residential area it is geographically buffeted from any competetion from B&N or Borders. Quality and location I think are key. The real question is when is Philly gonna get a larger independent bookstore, like the strand, that can go head to head with these bastards?
Oh, and everything is 60-80% off at Robin’s at 18th over the next 3 weeks or so.
Huge psfk reader. Huge fan of Philly’s Space 1026. Psfk profiled the art collective today.
