Monday, July 25, 2011

Ford Museum

After the ACD, our guidebook said that the Ford Museum in Detroit was the grandfather of all museums and not to be missed. As it was on the way to Canada, we thought, hell, why not? The Ford is almost like the museum of Presidential death; there's the chair that Lincoln was sitting in when he got shot while watching the opera and there's the limo that Kennedy was shot in while driving through Dallas. But then again, as the richest man in America for a while, Ford did collect everything under the sun (including one of Amelia Earhart's planes). It was definitely, again, worth the splurge ($15 per ticket). We were here in September 2010...I'm just terribly late in getting all this posted up.
A mail carriage used to deliver mail in Minnesota, circa 1900. There's a little pot bellied stove in there to keep the mailman warm during the winter. The outside is covered in graffiti from ages ago.

Motorized roller skates!


The original Wienermobile by Oscar Meyer
Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House. One of the first kit houses, suitable for any terrain or environment, first developed in 1929 and then redesigned in the 50's to cater to the housing boom. Unfortunately it never took off, and if I understand it correctly, this is the last complete example.

Hood Ornaments




LinkAuburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum

Bobby Darin's Ride




Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum

The Auburn-Dusenberg-Cord Museum in Auburn, Illinois was a total splurge when Conner and I passed through. Although, by this point (in September 2010) we had been on the road for a couple months and felt like we hadn't really seen or done anything because we were afraid of spending the money. So we decided to just forget about our dwindling bank account and have some fun. Plus, if we needed to then we could make a pit-stop in North Carolina, stay with my folks, get jobs, and save up some more gas money. At $10 per ticket, this museum was a total splurge, but one of the nicest I've been too.The whole museum is housed in the old Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg (aka the ACD Museum) headquarters; a beautiful art deco building. The thing I loved most about these cars was all the details...I took a lot of detail shots. We posted all of the photos here.
The smaller headlights are attached to the steering shaft so that when you turn the wheel, the lights turn in the same direction; and look at that cute little horn.
Turn signal with a little arrow.





Hey, Got Any Ice?

We left Terry, Merilyn, and Conner's parents in Peoria and headed to Auburn, Illinois near the Michigan border. We wanted to hit up the Auburn-Duesenberg-Cord Museum the next morning, so we pulled off onto a cute little neighborhood side street to camp for the night. We were playing cards and drinking bloody marys that evening when we heard a bunch of people our age having a camp fire in the yard of the house we were parked outside of. It took us forever to work up the courage to "go make friends". We planned a ruse to gain access to their fenced-in back yard; taking our cups and some bloody marys, we asked for ice, saying we were parked by the road and were traveling around the country. The girl who answered the door looked at us funny, went and got some ice for us. She handed the small bag to us while closing the door and said, "Well, there you go. Have a good night." Our grand plan of making friends on the road was completely foiled. And on top of that, later we heard them all saying, "What kind of people camp in a neighborhood for the night? That's so weird..." Needless to say, Auburn, Illinois is not on the top of our list for Friendliest Towns In America.

Friday, July 22, 2011

It's Friday

It's Friday and everyone at the Bayfield, Colorado fire department, where I am the receptionist for the summer, is gone; it's just me and the IT guy. Having done everything I can to keep myself occupied up until a couple hours ago, I've begun going through some more of the photos from our road trip. If you don't keep up with these things then they just become overwhelming. I've gone through all the photos I took when we went to the Auburn-Deusenberg-Cord Museum and the Ford Museum. Oh my goodness, and I've just merely scratched the surface.

Peoria, Illinois

After our stay visit to Chicago/Crete, and our counting rabbits adventure in Chillicothe, we meandered down to Peoria, Illinois to rendezvous with Conner's parents and their friends, Terry & Merilyn. This was back in September-ish. Now Terry & Merilyn are the kind of couple that I strive to be when I'm in my 60's. They travel, they have a lovely house with lovely friends coming over for dinner, and they laugh a lot. Super cool people.They were telling us that back in the mafia heyday, Peoria was where the mobsters would go to dodge the police for a bit; and also where Frank Lloyd Wright spent some time.

Monday, July 18, 2011

In The Car

Back in September 2010, Conner and I drove through Illinois on our way to Peoria. It was corn fields the whole way, nothing but flat corn fields. I made Conner stop and take some photos...these are the fruits of our labor.

Butterflies

Driving across Illinois~September 2010

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Classical Beatles

Oh dear. These two teenagers playing a classical version of the Beatles "Let It Be" are too hip for words. They're in that awkward point before they go through growth spurts and hair but you can tell they are going to be super cool as they hit they're 20's. They both even have that skinny hipster look about them already...next up, the hipster haircut. This kinda made my day.

15-year-old Michael Province on violin and 16-year-old Nathan Chan on cello

Friday, May 13, 2011

Our Favorite Posters from the Indie Rock Poster Book

I adore visualized music. Knowing that some people don't like watching music videos because it disrupts their internal visual of the very same song, makes no difference to me. I love it all. In fact, I have on more than one occasion decided that I liked a song based solely on the video...and now that I'm thinking about that I will post my top 10 music videos soon. Anyhow, not that this has anything to do with music videos, it has to do with independent music posters. I read this article by Laura Medina on Paste Magazine.com and wanted to repost for you guys here.

~~~~~
“I see where the inspiration came from,” someone might say squinting at a smudge of brown paint on a canvas in a brightly-lit gallery. But it’s often difficult to see where an artist is coming from when the only explanation is a neatly printed card with a singular word or phrase accompanied by a high-price tag.

If you’re looking for a different type of sensory experience, settle in with the Indie Rock Poster Book featuring posters from some of the most badass illustrators in the industry. What makes this book so unique is that the artists’ handpicked the songs they illustrated, allowing the viewers to see the rationales behind their illustrations and work processes.

Here are six of our favorite posters from the book along with the songs that inspired them.

1. Julia Rothman
TV On the Radio – “Dancing Choose”

The dizzying maze of objects and shapes in Julia Rothman’s interpretation of TV on the Radio’s “Dancing Choose” closely mimics the tone and pace of the song. The tree is so packed with objects it feels as though it will topple at any time. Similarly, any song where the singer spits out words like “Weimaraner” in close-knit lines of lyrics feels as though it will crash down at any moment. The song itself is chaotic yet so upbeat that there is an overwhelming desire to pluck the shoes out of the giant tree in the illustration and get to dancing.

Julia Rothman Dancing Choose.jpg

2. Gemma Correll
The Dears – “Lost in the Plot”

There’s a girl and a cat. They’re alone in the middle of the ocean. At first glance, the illustration is whimsical and almost evokes a chuckle. It could be the intense determination in the eyes of the girl or the fact that she’s holding a flaming torch of skulls, but the chuckle is quickly disguised into a cough. The “edge of panic” that Correll illustrates in this poster is closely tied to the escalating intensity of The Dear’s “Lost in the Plot.” “Leave me in the middle of the ocean/ I can walk the rest of the way/ and I promise not to cry anymore.”

Gemma Correll  lost in the Plot.jpg

3. Chris Gray
“Lykke Li – “Tonight”

The geometric symmetry of this poster is visually stunning, but the only description that Chris Gray wrote for his interpretation of Lykke Li’s “Tonight” is a mysterious sentence, “The space between the tick and the tock.” After the cloud of confusion clears, and the music and sentence are viewed as a whole the connection is blatant. The opening piano chords mimic the chimes of a grandfather clock while the rest of the song sounds like the inner workings. The mechanical rhythm of the song and geometric shapes drive the metaphor of the clock leaving a feeling of desperation and longing “don’t you let me go let me go tonight.”

Chis Gray Tonight.jpg

4. Will Bryant
Beach House – “Take Care”

If Beach House’s “Take Care of You” is a reminder of being lost in a daydream, then Will Bryant’s illustration is a drug-induced trance. The dreamy colors and hypnotizing rhythmic swirls and shapes are described perfectly by the words “hazy nostalgia” drawn in the center of the poster. “The vibe of a track always has more impact on me than the lyrics,” Bryant says.

Will Bryant Take Care.jpg

5. Yehteh
Wolf Parade – “Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts”

“I spotted this guy—a guy who seemed dispirited—as if he’d given up.” At first it’s difficult to see this dispirited guy that illustrator Yehteh uses for inspiration. The lyrics of Wolf Parade’s “Dear Sons and Daughters of Ghosts” initially feel more like a powerful anthem. “I got a hand, so I got a fist so I got a plan.” But as the song goes on, it takes more of a desperate tone. As if he’s trying to convince people of a new plan—tricking them into thinking rust is gold. He’s “given up, kneeling on the ground, looking at the reflection of his failures,” Yehteh says.

Yeteh Wolf Parade.jpg

6. Ben Chlapek
Elliott Smith – “King’s Crossing” *

Ben Chlapek’s illustration and explanation of the connection between his poster and Elliott Smith’s “King’s Crossing” are equally brilliant. “This is because winter is a time for listening to songs that remove you from cold walks through gray streets—songs that have so much visual imagery that you don’t have time to think about freezing, although “King’s Crossing” still makes me think about freezing,” he says.

It’s the darkest song from Elliott’s last full-length release, From a Basement on the Hill, and it addresses the ever-present demons he fought throughout his life. This struggle is portrayed in my poster illustration in the way everything is climbing the hill toward the house, relentlessly trying to consume him. I wanted it to seem like he finally found a way to get away from it all, but when he broke free, something went awry.”

Well said, sir.

Ben Chlapek Kings Crossing.jpg

To see more of the posters and to purchase the Indie Rock Poster Book, visit yellowbirdproject.com. Not only will you feel great about having the coolest posters on your block, you’ll feel even better about giving your money to a great cause. The people at Yellow Bird Project “seek out only the coolest of cool artists, collaborate with them to design awesomely awesome tee-shirts [and poster books], and give all the prettiest of pretty profits to charities of the artists’ choice.”

The project raises money by the “barter and trade” of their tee-shirts and books, but they no longer accept goats as a form of currency as “money proved to be an easier currency to store.”

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Film Research

Lately Conner and I have been watching--or rather, intensely studying--a few particular documentaries. We have a couple ideas of how we want our documentary to look and feel when it's done and all of our inspiration seems to be coming out of the 50's and 60's...conundrum: how to make a modern music documentary look vintage but all the while maintaining it's contemporary flair.

These are films we've been pouring over...

F For Fake. Directed by Orson Wells, 1974. A documentary-essay on art and authenticity that has very little semblance of linear narrative however, stick with this one and it'll be rewarding. Beautifully shot and edited...like a moving painting.

American Look. Produced by Chevrolet, 1958. Short film highlighting all the timeless designs created in the 50's...and then some promotional automobile footage thrown in at the end by Chevrolet. via Mid Century Modernist


And of course, one of my all-time favorites, Jazz On A Summer's Day. Directed by Aram Avakian and Bert Stern, 1959. The intro is gorgeous. They spend a good amount of time filming the visitors and people just hanging out before they get down to the performers. I think that splitting the focus of the film between the two subjects was brilliant; it completely sets the tone in which you watch Antia O'Day (giving a superb rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown), Chuck Berry, and Thelonious Monk play later on...relaxed, mint julep in hand, just ready to kick back and watch some amazing jazz.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

It's Not Me, It's You: Breaking Up With Your Favorite Band~NPR

I thought this was a great list and I had to repost it from All Songs Considered...




On this week's All Songs Considered, we head to Splitsville with a look at some of the bands we've broken up with or grown apart from over the years, along with some of the artists we'll stand by no matter what.
While going through my music library to prepare for the show, I found that a lot of my relationships with bands are more complicated than a simple breakup or reconciliation. So I came up with a short list of sub-categories. Take a look and tell us your own picks for each one:
 
1. Band You Really Thought You Had Something With — They Said They'd Call But You Never Heard From Them Again
This is a relationship that never quite gets off the ground. It's over before it's begun. For me, this is Neutral Milk Hotel or My Bloody Valentine. They put out an amazing record, you get excited about the great life you're going to have together, but then you never hear from them again. What happened? Was it something I said?

2. Your Best Friend's Girlfriend Or Boyfriend You Secretly Want To Hook Up With
I see all my friends with My Morning Jacket, and I think, "I so want to hook up with My Morning Jacket!" They make loving My Morning Jacket look so awesome. Then we finally get together and it's a total disappointment. Basically, it's bands you want to love because everyone else you respect loves them, but it's never what you thought it'd be.
3. The Rebound: Bands You Start To Date After Everyone Else Is Through With Them
When early Weezer fans broke up with the band (around the time Make Believe came out, or possibly sooner), you know there was a whole new group of fans that discovered them for the first time. Early Radiohead fans broke up with the band when OK Computer or Kid A came out, but that's when I started to love them.

4. Band You Broke Up With, Then Got Back Together
I broke up with R.E.M. about 10 years ago when the band released Reveal. I never thought we'd get back together. But then R.E.M. released this year's Collapse Into Now and I found myself falling back in love. I broke up with Bright Eyes for a few years, but then the band returned this year with one of the most amazing albums I've ever heard (The People's Key), and I was head-over-heels in love again.

5. Band That Broke Up With You
This is a band that says it's done with you before you're ready to end it. I really thought The White Stripes and I would spend the rest of our lives together. Then, a couple of months ago, the band told me it was ready to move on. I'm still heartbroken over the breakup.

The original post.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Greil Marcus at The Pinhook-Durham, NC



We're heading down to Durham tonight to our favorite downtown dive bar in order to see rock critic god, Greil Marcus, speak. He'll be at The Pinhook and I love that he's taking time to appear in a venue that's a little more accessible than up on one of Duke University's untouchable podiums. Mr. Marcus has written countless articles and books on American culture and is thus, one of my favorite icons.

I can't wait!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Yann Tiersen on Valentine's Day


Tonight we're heading to the best local music venue Cat's Cradle so musician Yann Tiersen can serenade us into a lovey-dovey stupor. I adore the French film Amelie and wouldn't you know that this fine garçon composed the soundtrack. I can't wait! I'll post photos later.

Oh how I do love Valentine's Day...