Class Mixtape Contribution

This song (Fork and Knife) by Brand New is my choice for the class mixtape.
It's a b-side from their album The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, which is my favorite album of all time. I know people say that a lot, but i'm serious, if there were some sort of technology failure, or weird musically-oriented dictatorship and i could only listen to one album for the rest of my life, it would be that album. It's perfect. I even have a tattoo from it. Before the album came out the demos that the band had been working on got leaked onto the internet in a makeshift album called the Fight Off Your Demons Demos (written as fghtffyrdmns). There we nine tracks, that were rough versions of what the album was supposed to be. Every demo had a number, and a working title (i.e. Demo #2 (Morrissey) or Demo #6 (Mamas)). The band was upset, as anyone would be, no one likes their work to be distributed before it's complete. A lot of songs on the demo got scrapped, but some got reworked, lyrics completely changed, and turned into amazing songs on the real album. (Fork and Knife) is on the album as Demo #7. It's unusual in reference to other Brand New songs because the main instrument is piano, which i've never heard them use before. The song was released a couple months after the CD came out (2006) as an iTunes single. The album art is also peculiar, all it shows is a completely blue canvas.

- The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me

 
- (Fork and Knife)

Download (Fork and Knife) 

Jon Mess - Artist

Jon Mess is a vocalist for the Hardcore/Experimental band Dance Gavin Dance. I absolutely love this band, and i just found out that as well as being an awesome lyricist/vocalist Jon Mess also paints. He recently opened a store on (shudder) etsy, where he has put all of his paintings. They are abstract for sure, and i really enjoy the use of colors, and the textured look each one has.
- Unknown, Jon Mess
  - Horse, Jon Mess

I would love to own one of these, if i had $900 dollars just lying around. Maybe i can take out one of those $2000 dollar loans the school is offering?


Jon Mess Paintings

ARTIST RESEARCH - Rudy Autio -- Ceramics

Rudy Autio is a multi-media artist, he sculpts, paints, and draws. Looking at his sculptures i noticed how unique they are. They are an amalgam of classic technique and modern imagery. Most of the sculpted shapes are simple and geometric, but when he paints over them they become more detailed looking, almost as if he had sculpted them in a different way.

The piece "Vortex" (right) is a good example of his style of work. A simple, symmetrical shape, covered in a complicated painting.






 



The piece "Curiosa" (left) is another good example of his style. A similar shape to "Vortex" both paintings feature a person and a horse. This piece is much less chaotic, but has a sense of movement to it that i like a lot.











Autio has a website that features all his works, not just ceramics, that i would recommend taking a look at if you are interested in seeing what his other pieces look like.


Rudy Autio

Coheed & Cambria - Music

Coheed and Cambria have a new album coming out this fall, and another in the spring (double album). They just released this video for their new single, which is eight minutes long. I'm all for long songs, and I know coheed has long songs, but i feel like most people aren't going to want to sit there and watch  an 8 minute music video. Although i'm thinking of watching it on TV, and no one does that anymore, i can't remember the last time i saw a music video on television. Anyway, i am very excited for their new album, especially because their last album was absolutely terrible.

TV on the Radio - Music

TV on the Radio is an amazing jazz-alt-rock-hiphop-experimental band. I saw them live when i was in junior high, they played with Franz Ferdinand. Their sound is a great mix of interchanging melodies from their two vocalists and spacey-deep sounds. Their live persona is completely different from the recorded versions of songs, but they are both amazing efforts. Their first record Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, aside from having an awesome title, is as solid a record as i can imagine. From the abrupt opening of Wrong Way to the spine-tingling emptiness of You Could Be Love, the album is non-stop quality.

I Kill Giants - Music

I Kill Giants - WCLINESP



I cannot stop listening to this album. The songs are short, almost entirely under a minute, and they're rough in parts, but i can't get enough. I'm a sucker for math-rock, and I'm also a sucker for this band. their first album (Let It Out) was my summer obsession, every road-trip, every five minute drive to a Safeway, every playlist i made had it. They released this album a few months ago, and then released a video for each song on the record every week for as many weeks as there are tracks. I also love the album art, and the best part is the album (and everything else they make) is free! Bandcamp is the best platform for new artists, even well known artists, every band should use it.

Stop Motion

I could watch this for days. Stop motion is one of my favorite art forms, especially things like this, where normal objects are used as something else. I also really like the Fleet Foxes video for "White Winter Hymnal". I'm not a huge fan of their music, but the song is catchy, and the music video has some great animation.
 

Don Kenn - Artist

Don Kenn is an amazing pen and ink artist, i absolutely love his line work and shading. His creatures are all immensely imaginative, i also love his paper choice, the parchment-like color and texture of the paper he draws on adds character to his work. I've put a couple of examples below, as well as his website which i recommend taking a look at.

John Kenn