City And Colour: Weightless.

Recently it's been taking a lot to convince to keep on liking Dallas Green as he was one of the main reasons that Alexisonfire, aka my favourite band since I was about 14, split up. If he keeps producing the music that he's doing and videos such as this to go with them, he's just about hanging on in there.

Mishka: How To Make It.

The real life Ben and Cam (okay, not literally) from How To Make It, Mishka co-owners speak on what it was like struggling to build their brand in the competitive landscape that is New York. The company has undoubtedly come a long way since its inception and shows no signs of slowing down now. But if anything else, this should get you even more amped for season 2 of HBO’s How To Make It In America, premiering this Sunday, October 2. Can’t knock the hustle. IMF Mag.
Inspiring Stuff.

Adele: Someone Like You.

If you've got a set of ears on you, you would have heard Adele relentlessly over the past year. If you've got eyes you would have seen her gracing chatshows galore and the front cover of Vogue. And finally if you have a heart, you would have felt an ache in it for the 23 year old's songs of heartbreak. I'm proud that Adele is British. She has sold gazillions of albums all over the world, and she has done so without the gimmicks and marketing of Bieber or Gaga, she has done it on raw talent and emotion. This girl deserves everything she gets, and if she carries on, she's getting a lot, of everything. Amidst her world takeover this year, British singer-songwriter Adele visited Paris and shot a music video for her heartfelt ballad, “Someone Like You.” The black-and-white, vintage 8mm-styled clip shows the 23-year-old strolling along the Seine river in a somber state and eventually focuses in on a close-up of her looking in the mirror while her love heads in the other direction. Adele’s sophomore LP, 21, is out now. Hypebeast.

Music Monday 68.

Azealia Banks - 212
I'm obsessed with this track. I don't know whether it's the beat, the flithy lyrics, Azealia's attitude, the dancing or just the combination of all that with a Micky Mouse jumper. It's probably the latter. This girl could be some talent, get obsessed.
Alex Clare - Trending Water
I think I've already labeled Alex Clare as the male Katy B. The man's got a great sounding voice, some solid writing skills and then the ability to wrap all that around a dance beat. Despite being a real talent, he's got that sound that will reach the masses, again you need to pay this guy some attention.
Wu Lyf - We Bros
Wu Lyf are certainly something a bit different, I'd even go as far to say a little odd, but by no means is that a bad thing. Something different in the music industry is a rare, rare thing these days. But saying that, this is the most 'pop' sounding song I've heard from the band.
Kele - What Did I Do? (ft Lucy Taylor)
Kele Okereke is continuing his path from Bloc Party to great success. The guy is clearly some talent, producing sounds on his own accord that is arguably as strong as some of BP's songs. While the song does take a step towards some of those generic dub-step beats that are heard all too often these days, the song really does hold it's own. By the way, does Kele look ever so slightly like Omar from The Wire now?
Childish Gambino - Bonfire
Speaking of a man with some talent in his back pocket, it's blogger's favourite actor turned rapper, Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. His latest song Bonfire (apologies for the poor quality video) contains a solid beat as ever and is clogged filled of disses, rhythms and word-play that rivals most rappers and gives the crowd PLENTY to scream about.

ASOS: As Seen On The Streets Of London.

Kidz got skillz:

How To Make It In America Music Video: Luis Guzman By Duck Sauce

This is BRILLIANT: Presented above is a witty revision of Duck Sauce’s hit track “Barbra Streisand” in anticipation of How To Make It In America’s second season this October. The music video is reworked and highlights Luis Guzman, the Puerto Rican actor who stars as Rene Calderon. Sharing the limelight with some infamous companions including Terry Richardson, Pharrell, Kid Cudi, Mark Wahlberg, Guzman takes us around the diverse and notorious neighborhood of New York’s Lower East Side. Hypebeast. How random is Asher Roth and Justin Bieber (probably the source of 75% of views) though?

How To Make It In America: Season 2.

There's a lot of things to like about How To Make It In America. It's set in New York and features wonderful shots of the city at every opportunity. It's funny. It's dramtic. It's emotional. It's full of beautiful people. It's got Kid Cudi. It's got Luiz Guzman. But above all, it's inspiring. Like no TV show I've watched, it makes me believe that I can achieve what I want to believe, and for a TV show to do that, is something pretty special. So if you haven't, catch up on season 1, and get ready for round 2.

Bands In Transit.

I'm a firm believer that there are few things better sounding than a man and his acoustic guitar and it was just my luck that I happened to stumble across Bands In Transit's Youtube channel. Rarely is a brand's involvement in a project so subtle and so well suited, but Ford have managed to do it with this project. Bands In Transit, predictably, involves bands playing in a Transit van. But what makes this project so special to be is the quality of artists involved and surprisingly the quality of the locations picked, culminating in some beautiful sounding and looking videos. Featuring some of the hottest and most talented singer-songwriters, take a listen to the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran and Ghostpoet, amongst a few other of my favourite videos. Bombay Bicycle Club - Beggars Ben Howard - Old Pine James Vincent McMorrow - Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree Ghostpoet - Survive It Benjamin Francis Leftwich Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You

The Singled Person.

“The Singled Person” is an installation of eight unsynchronized slide projectors displaying photographs by eight international photographers: Michael Ackerman, Morten Andersen, Lorenzo Castore, Thorsten Kirchhoff, Peer Kugler, André Lützen, Hisashi Murayama and Filippo Romano. It offers a subjective lecture on the relationship of the individual and his environment. The traveling installation is currently on view at the 7th Annual Wiesbadener Fototage through September 25th. This slideshow, set to the sound of a projector, shows a sampling of the work of each photographer. Leica. Just like a video Tumblr feed. Nice.

Music Monday 67: Bumper Edition.

Jay Electronica - Act 2 Blink 182 - After Midnight Florence And The Machine - Shake It Out J Cole (ft Jay-Z) - Mr Nice Watch Lana Del Ray - Blue Jeans Futures - Say My Name Bon Iver - Beth/Rest (Piano version)

Arctic Monkeys: Suck It And See.

With a song title like Suck It And See, you don't expect the quality of songwriting that's present in this song, but it's there. I've always been a fan of the original Myspace band, but at times it has wayvered. I really like the sound of this song and I like the video even more. It's got that gritty, unadulterated, redneck Americana feel about it. But with a song title like Suck It And See you do expect this level of near-on pornography.

French Connection - I Am The Suit.

This is odd. But I like it. It's a cool selection of visuals, some don't make sense, and some don't need to. The song is a bit odd too. In the words of French Connection themselves: The Suit. The pinnacle of a gentleman's attire. Never in the history of man has one garment had the power to add a glossy sheen of respectability to the humble male at both weddings and criminal trials alike. French Connection admires the suit's candor. Watch our homage to the fabled cut of cloth with music courtesy of Mr. Chris Brown, Mr. Busta Rhymes and Mr. Lil Wayne (aka Mr. Weezy to his homies). Odd is not necessarily bad. It rarely is in fact.

Supermodels X Jay-Z X New York State Of Mind.

Now this is one for some HD viewing. If you've got ears you would have heard Jay-Z and Alicia Key's monster track New York State Of Mind and just when you might have almost forgotten about it, Jay-Z's blog Life + Times produce their own video featuring every super model under the sun in the equally beautiful New York City. This is a win-win situation.

Frank Ocean: Swim Good.

This was a treat to come back from holiday to. The Odd Future boys are making some serious moves, Tyler is winding everybody up and winning a Moonman, Hodgy Beats is producing some serious stuff and Frank Ocean has produced one of the first R&B albums I have liked in a long time. Swim Good is probably the showpiece track from his album Nostalgia/Ultra, and it has finally got some pretty epic visuals. It's directed by Nabil would was also behind the Bon Iver Holocene video which was another treat for your eyes. And he's done it again with Frank Ocean, it doesn't all make sense, but why should we care?

Music Monday 66.

Lana Del Rey - Video Games Lana Del Rey has suddenly popped up on about every "One to watch" list I've see this week, and listening to her first single, Video Games, it's easy to see why. The pouting beauty has an epic melencholy feel to her songs, they feel as if they would slot right into classic Hollywood. The video feature archive footage over everything from pool parties to police arrests, it's got a feel of vintage American about it. It is reported that because of this song, she sold out her first gig in half an hour, impressive. As they say, one to watch. Real Estate - It's Real Now for something MUCH more cheerier, Real Estate. This piece of dreamy, indie-pop is simply wonderful. It reminds me of summer as I stare out of my September window that is being lashed by rain. Hmmm. Deaf Havana - I'm A Bore, Mostly. This is the first single proper from Deaf Havana with their new line-up, minus their screaming singer. Without their screamer, I don't know if they sound better, but they are certainly more accessible and have the potential to become more successful. There's a million of these rock/emo bands out there, too many are terrible, but Deaf Havana show some intelligence in putting their songs together, some tidy instrument work and some lyrics which aren't too bad. Justice - Audio, Video, Disco And finally, Justice are back! Whilst it may not be D.A.N.C.E (I'm not sure anything will be again), it's good! As usual, Justice are taking the other route to everyone else, and that is what sets them apart. It's what makes them one of the best at what they do.

The Street Aesthetic of New York City.

It's not difficult to make a city such as New York look pleasurable to the eye, but I really like the approach Christian Andersen took with his video. It's simple, but it's got great atmosphere to it, I'm sure the inclusion of The XX helped with that. Just wish it was longer.

Palladium Boots: Tokyo Rising W/ Pharrell Williams [Full]

You've seen the trailer, now it's time for the full documentary. Walk with Pharrell Williams as he talks to some of Toyko's most influential and innovative creatives as he discovers their reaction the earthquake that triggered the Fukushima Nuclear Powerplant disaster, 3-11 as they call it. Whether it be a protest, graffiti or just the general notion that this is an opportunity to start a fresh for the country, each creative has belief that Japanese people's resilience can over come this. This videos also approach the importance of Japanese creating their own culture, how it originated from copying Western society, but they got it wrong and when over the top, creating their own vision of society. It is an inspiring watch as people are keen to talk about the devistating effects 3-11 had on themselves, their community and their country, but they are more keen to speak about how they will overcome it and benefit. Watch: