There’s something to be said about the consistentency of interesting artwork from a band. Although it’s not as important as the band’s music or live show, it’s key to create a visual image aside from the music for listeners to latch onto. Some bands manage to do this incredibly well, take Peter Saville and Factory Records for example, his designs weren’t that complex, but fit the music he created them for perfectly. One of my favorite designs of his is the cover for the 12″ Single of New Order’s “Ceremony” (Fac. 33). It’s a simple design, just a blue line on white background and black lettering, but for some reason I’m drawn to it and it represents the stark sound of the song.

Occasionally you’re immediately attracted to a band from their imagery, because these days, it’s likely one of the first things that you’re going to see and I guess that’s what lead me to write this post. It can also go the other way around; I can mention a few albums I picked up based on cover art alone and haven’t played since. But for Crystal Stilts everything clicked from the start. Even before I listened to a single note of Crystal Stilts songs, read a description or review, I was already drawn to them from their artwork. Their somewhat dark and moody art nouveau inspired work was a visual gateway to the band’s stripped-down post-punk sound. The one-two punch of solid songwriting and interesting artwork made me an instant fan of the Brooklyn quintet, now we’ll have to see about that live show.

Crystal Stilts play FRICTION on June 29th with Philly’s Tickley Feather and Seattle’s PWRFL Power at Cake Shop.

[MP3]: Crystal Stilts  ”Crippled Croon”
Crystal Stilts, eMusic Select; 2008

Tonight kicks off NY Design Week and there are tons of events happening all over the City. The celebration centers around the 20th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Javits Center (May 17-19). Over 50 design firms, magazines, and retailers — including Vitra, ID, Surface, and Kartell — host parties around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Events are open to the public unless otherwise noted. Core 77 has put together an easy to use list of exhibits and parties. Bring on the free drinks!

Coan Nichols and Rick Charnoski have been amassing some serious footage and pictures for the past three years and are ready to release the highly anticipated film, Deathbowl to Downtown a history of skateboarding in NYC. Their nostalgic style has produced two of my all-time favorite skate documentaries, Fruit of the Vine and Northwest. Known for their incisive and artful exploration of skateboarding and its culture, this looks to be an epic film that is long overdue. NYC is arguably one of the biggest and most diverse street skate cities in the world. Having been immersed in the skate culture since the 90s, local star Chloë Sevigny narrates.

I missed the premiere last night (saw the amazing Lykke Li at Bowery), but there will be another reception at Etnies Showroom in SoHo tonight. The Moving Image, “A photographic history of skateboarding in NYC” will have its opening party in celebration with the film from 7-midnight. I expect a fun party with free drinks and good music.

RSVP to RSVP@deathbowltodowntown.com
No need to RSVP, just show up.

Etnies Showroom
29 Grand St.
New York, NY
(212) 604-9988

If you live in or were recently visiting Philly, you may have noticed a winding trail of white-washed lines travelling through Independence Park, bounded by Walnut St. on the south, Chestnut St. on the north, Fifth St. on the west, and Third St. on the east. The white lines cut across cobblestone sidwalks, through lightposts, benches, and parkland demarking the once vibrant flowing Dock Creek, long ago buried beneath the city in which it helped sprout into the metropolis it is today.

Dock Creek, in a sense, gave birth to Philadelphia. American Indians once traversed this pristine stream and William Penn later landed in a nearby cove where Front St. is located today. The first European settlers built their homes on the banks of the creek, which provided a gateway to the city. By the time Philly playboy Ben Franklin entered the picture in 1723, the once translucent creek had become an open sewer, much like most waterways, swamps, and marshes in developing cities. Tanneries, beermakers, slaughterhouses, and raw sewage were dumped into the creek making it one of the first of many polluted waterways in America. It soon became a public nuisance and after failed attempts by a young Franklin to clean it up, the once freely roaming Dock Creek was encased in brick and buried becoming a subsurface waterway. It has remained that way to this date.

In an evolving sculpture project conceived by artist Winifred Lutz, the spring-fed tidal stream breaks free of the grid imposed upon it hundreds of years ago. Lutz’s project brings the tidal stream back to life again with white-wash and lime flowing over grass, concrete, cobblestone, marking its course from the juncture of Dock and Third Streets where it splits into two branches. Permission has been granted by park authorities to allow the lawn between the white lines to grow into a river of tall grasses containing clover, dandelions, and wild strawberries. In September 2008, Lutz will “animate” the grass swale with nearly nine miles of vibrant blue elastic stretched from end to end, recreating in a sense, the waterway that once served this city.

The installation runs from now through September 27th and Lutz is currently looking for volunteers to complete the blue elastic waterway. More information on the project, including photographs can be found here and by calling the American Philosophical Society at 215.440.3427.

Check out more of Philly’s hidden streams at Philly H20: The History of Philadelphia’s Watersheds and Sewers.

[MP3]: La Scala “Parallel Lives”
The Harlequin, Highwheel Records; 2008

Sounds like a nice strange mix of stellastarr* and Gogol Bordello. Post-punk + Eastern European.

I saw something similar to this using CD artwork to create collages, but not nearly as much fun! The Prince one might be my fav for its ridiculousness, but it’s borderline NSFW. Besides, you can’t go wrong with Tiffany.

As a followup to my Holiday gift post, here is a nice list of fairly inexpensive design gifts. Some of it quite ridiculous, some of it quite useful; like the reusable bags from baggu.

Take advantage of the shitty weather tonight and head out to Stonefox Artspace in Soho to check out the opening night of Alex Da Corte’s I Attach Myself To You. The exhibit will feature color portrait photographs and related sculptures that explore the nature of intimacy in a digital world where online dating, chat rooms, MySpace.com, blogs, etc. increasingly supplant real human interaction.

The photographs on view document the Philadelphia artist’s ongoing project, ”Activities,” (ie. Activity #9 – stuffing strawberries in your mouth) a series in which Da Corte invites strangers he meets in public parks to perform simple actions utilizing a variety of props in his studio. The props are often childlike in nature and include fake flowers, happy-face balloons, holiday party signs, brightly colored ribbon, costume make-up, glitter, etc. and the “Activities” are equally whimsical as well. The main directive is “to play spontaneously with a chosen object(s), and do something with it you wouldn’t ordinarily do.”

The exhibit opens tonight (December 11th) at 6pm and runs through February 12th. Shots from Flickr can/will be uploaded here. Check it.

The Holiday season is upon us and for me, this means getting crafty. I’m big on handmade gifts, not only to save money, but to give something from the heart. Most people really appreciate the effort despite if it was on their “list”.

Last year I did custom framed photos, some shirts with original artwork, and a skateboard deck with a my own graphics. If I could knit, I would love to make some beard caps like the one above…just awesome.

Keep an eye on design blogs (some very girly), like Craftster , Supernaturale, Get Crafty, and magazines like Ready Made and Make for good Holiday DIY gift ideas. If you want to buy handmade, I suggest checking out the local Designer’s Market every weekend on Mulberry. You’ll find some very unique and very New York gifts there.

Have a great Turkey Day!

These ironic t-shirt designs made me laugh. Almost so much so that I would actually wear one.

Also, I’m not a big fan of Busted Tees and I’m sure this is already on its way for mass Urban Outfitters’ production, but you can’t deny how good it is. I can see strangers coming up behind you to rock the Guitar Hero. Gives a whole new meaning to the term “reach around”.