Gabe Askew's fan-made video for Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks"
— lovely cut-out art direction, I want to play a game in this universe #Ultimate Muscle Roller Legend (mildly NSFW)
— the fusion of a number of Japanese memes from 2chan and Nico Nico Douga #Bokode
— very clever barcode design uses out-of-focus photos shot from a distance via realtimerendering.com #The Boy Who Heard Too Much
— Rolling Stone profile of a young, blind phone phreaker via Hacker News #4chan users launch embarrassing attack on Christian Facebook users
— using passwords from a Christian university, they’ve been posting fake entries on Facebook #Tipjoy shuts down
— they argue it’s the lack of official support that stifled growth via Hacker News #Kit Williams reunited with Masquerade's treasure after 30 years
— the original treasure hunt had a bitter ending via timemachinego.com #
The Grownup's Guide to Indie Rock
— guide to new music for the layman, written by a 57-year-old convert #Study finds smaller banner ads more effective than skyscrapers
— plus, 94% less likely to make you want to gouge your eyes out via niemanlab.org #Kind of Bloop On Sale
I’m happy to announce that Kind of Bloop is now officially on sale to everyone, $5 for high-quality digital downloads in MP3 or FLAC format. Buy it now with Amazon Payments.
Working with these guys was an absolute dream. Their creativity and dedication transcends the original concept, creating something that pays tribute to Miles’ seminal work while pushing the boundaries of the genre.
I know there are jazz purists out there that hate the idea of anyone interpreting a jazz masterpiece in this way, but to them, I’d only ask that you listen to it first before making a judgment. Virt responded to one naysayer in the comments on my original post:
Way I see it, chiptunes can either be a punishingly difficult artistic medium we happened to grow up with, or a tired retro fashion statement. Our goal was to stick to the former, pushing the limitations hard, building on our capacity for expression using the most basic sounds. There could be no better challenge, Andy thought, than one of the most expressive jazz albums of all time, one that has inspired us all.
So, you see, I’m not the least bit embarrassed by our work. In fact, I think you might be short-changing “the masters of jazz,” who I believe would be grinning ear to ear right now. They were ALL ABOUT mastering unusual techniques and expressing within a framework. That’s the whole point of Kind of Blue. The parallels to our own medium were dead obvious, and I got the same rush of perverse glee that the original ensemble must have felt 50 years ago, locking myself in a cell and playing between the metal bars.
I hope, if you still can’t enjoy the sound of the album itself, you might at least be less quick to dismiss it, given this perspective. It’s not a parade, it’s a love letter in our own weird handwriting.
So, thanks for listening. (Oh, and bonus points to anyone who can identify all the quotes and references in the album.)