Dan Funderburgh’s Work at Fellow Traveller

I wrote in my art show round-up last week that Dan Funderburgh was having a show in Brooklyn, so he was rad enough to send me some photos of the work he had up. He had mentioned to me that he was making “40 tools” for the exhibit, but I wasn’t really sure what he meant until I got to see these photos. As you can see, the ‘gunbrella’ from The DWP was turned into a real, giant sculpture! How cool is that?!

As you can see from the photos he went crazy, making grenades, files, saws, wrenches, a staple gun, a chainsaw, a gas can, and even a boomerang! The details are also totally amazing, like I can’t believe he had the patience to make all of those. I have a bunch more photos under the cut, so be sure to check all of them out. If you’re in the Brooklyn area as well, be sure to check out the show in person, I’m sure it’s even better!

Continue reading this post…

Bobby Solomon

Text by

May 13, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Photos From Kevin Lyons’ Show, Your Mom’s In My Business

Last Friday I popped over to the Kevin Lyons show over at HVW8 on Melrose and it was a good time. The show is called Your Mom’s In My Business and was made up of drawings and doodles that Kevin made while he was riding the train 4 hours a day back and forth to work. The work isn’t deep and full of meaning, but it has a good sense of humor and is sharp as a tack. It’s not even all his own work, some things are pulled from magazines and who knows where, but it’s rad nonetheless. The show’s gonna be up until June 15th, so be sure to stop by if you’re in the area.

To see a bunch more photos of the show check out my Flickr Set!

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

Text by

May 12, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

The New A Bathing Ape Store in Los Angeles

A couple weeks ago I was driving down Melrose heading toward the Beverly Center when I was shocked to see a pink, neon glow that I hadn’t seen before. Bear in mind I’m driving at dusk, a little after the sun had set, so this was BRIGHT. As I get closer I realize that this has to be the brand new A Bathing Ape store that has been in the process of opening forever.

For the five you who’ve never heard of A Bathing Ape, it’s basically this cult clothing brand in Japan, mostly because of it’s limited edition t-shirts and sneakers. Is it really all that exciting? I personally don’t think so, but Nigo, the man behind A Bathing Ape, is pretty smart and has come up with some great designs over the years. So while you won’t see me shopping there any time soon, it was still exciting to come upon.

The store was created by one of the best architecture/design firms companies out there, Wonderwall. I’ve been a huge fan of Wonderwall’s work for years now, so it’s exciting to have something of theirs here in Los Angeles. It’s a lot like the other BAPE stores out there, a lot of glass and patterns and neon, but it’s pretty cool in person. While I was taking photos there was a couple taking Facebook photos from the reflected neon light, so I thought that was funny.

Check under the cut for a bunch more photos!

Continue reading this post…

Bobby Solomon

Text by

May 12, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


You Can Do Better Than Me by Death Cab for Cutie

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


Bixby Canyon Bridge by Death Cab for Cutie

I’m happy to admit that I’m that guy who says he only likes a band’s “older stuff”, but I think there’s a validity to that. If a band has a life of 10 years or so, obviously their sound can change. And if anything, I get sad when my favorite bands release records that I don’t like, I don’t care about how cool they are I just want an awesome record. Upon hearing the first single from Death Cab for Cutie’s new album, Narrow Stairs, I was totally mortified. I Will Possess Your Heart is and 8 and half minute guitar jam that ends with some horrible vocal arrangements. Don’t get me wrong, I love guitar jams, Blue Line Swinger by Yo La Tengo is one of my all time favorite songs and that sucker comes in at over 9 minutes, but this new single was quite disheartening.

Nonetheless, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to listen to the new album. And well, it’s pretty dang good. The album starts out extremely strongly with Bixby Canyon Bridge, starting out crisp like DCFC songs usually do, and then the guitars kick in and things get serious. Gone is the pussyfooting around of the last album, and back to the more raw and lo-fi sound that they used to have. Skipping past I Will Possess Your Heart leads to No Sunlight, a poppy tune with slightly cheeseball lyrics, but the piano in the background makes me love it.

Then there’s Cath…, a song that feels much more like old DCFC. What really stands out on this track is the drums, much more creative and up front, something they used to do a lot more in their older stuff (think of A Movie Script Ending). Talking Bird is more of a mellow somber song, that then leads into the one of the best damn songs on this album, You Can Do Better Than Me. This song is possibly one of the best songs they’ve ever written, with Beach Boys-esque drums, piano melody and an organ providing a good backing. The song lyrically is not happy, nor is the title, but the music itself will make you instantly happy, I guarantee it.

Grapevine Fires is another gem on the album with some great backing vocals and a nice drum beat to it. The song talks about the fires here in Los Angeles along the Grapevine, a stretch of freeway that connects the Los Angeles area to the northern part of California (for those who aren’t from around here). Your New Twin Sized Bed is a good song, but I think it’s weird that he had Brothers on a Hotel Bed and now this… c’mon Ben, there’s lots of things to write about. Long Division is another really great song on the album, sounding like it could have been off of The Photo Album almost. Pity and Fear is not one of my favorites, it’s slightly electronic with a sort of Conga beat to it, I’m just not feeling it at all. But the album ends with The Ice Is Getting Thinner, a somber little ballad that ends how I think a DCFC album should end. It kind of reminds me of Coney Island.

Overall this album gets 7 or 8 out of 10, if I was to give it any sort of rating. It’s not perfect, nor is it the best album of the year, but it’s a really great step in a good direction, and something definitely worth taking a listen to. Now DCFC needs to call Modest Mouse and tell them to get their shit together and I’ll be REALLY happy.

Narrow Stairs comes out on May 13th through Atlantic Records.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

Text by

May 9, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Penguin Books Releasing New James Bond Covers

I never thought I’d be posting another Penguin Books story, but they’ve totally upped their game as of late! Following on the heels of their Shepard Fairey redesigned covers they’ve decided to redesign the covers of all the James Bond books in honor of (what would have been) Ian Fleming’s 100th birthday. The covers were created by illustrator Michael Gillette and feature beautiful women, a well-known vice of James Bond, with beautiful type artfully placed over their body.

The covers themselves are great, perfectly minimal, but they’ve also thought about the spines as well, adorning them with silhouettes of women and a good numbering system to keep your collection in order. I think this redesign is so successful, it works on so many levels. These are going to be released in hardback on May 29th, and you may just want to pick up the entire set just to have the hottest bookshelf ever.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

Text by

May 9, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Ads via The Deck