Here Comes The Neighborhood

I am a firm believer that graffiti is one of the most relatable and appealing art forms in today's culture. Whilst so much art seems unattainable being sold for millions in places that don't allow those wearing trainers through the door, graffiti breeds and thrives right on your door. I'm far from an art expert, but that is exactly my point, how is it possible to relate or appreciate the flicks of paint or squares on a canvas by some guy who is very 'in'?
It's lost on me.
Now don't get me wrong, art manifests itself in many forms, film, music, design, photography, the list goes on. But in this instance I'm speaking about the more 'traditional' form, paint on a canvas. And graffiti is just that. Though the canvas maybe the side of a shop and the paint maybe from a can, it's still inspiring to look at, it's something that can definitely be appreciated by many (apart from the council) and it just brightens the place up.
This is where Here Comes The Neighborhood comes in: In the first episode of HERE COMES THE NEIGHBORHOOD the stage is set for the Wynwood Arts District. Parking lots, loading docks and factory walls are transformed into “The Wynwood Walls”. Founder Tony Goldman explains his vision for a town center, while Jeffrey Deitch, Arts Manager Meghan Coleman and Co-Curator Medvin Sobio offer their insight into the project’s significance, taking us into the present day expansion. In addition, Photographer Martha Cooper and Miami based Mural Project Primary Flight weigh in.



Here Comes The Neighborhood is a project with so many benefits. It brightens up an area that desperatly needs it - both visually and mentally, it keeps a place for artists to come together, express themselves and colloborate and it provides us, me, you something to watch and explore. It is a credit to the both those involved in getting the project off the ground, as well as the artists themselves getting involved. I'd love to see this project taken to other cities around the world, I can't think of many who would complain.

I will update with further episodes, but here's 2 and 3, featuring artists Gala and Kenny Scharf:

Bon Iver Deluxe.

It was recently announced that Bon Iver is to re-release his second album, and one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2011, in a deluxe format featuring a DVD that has 10 visual accompaniments for the album. It is to be stressed that these are not music videos. But they are videos to music.

Nevertheless I am really keen to get my hands on this version. Pre-Bon Iver, Bon Iver the only visuals fans had were live performances on various TV shows or in studios, sure these racked up millions of views, but to see the artist's own visual interruption of their own songs cannot be bested. These videos are even more poignant with an artist such as Justin Vernon as his songs are so deeply personal. Like Sigur Ros, Bon Iver is proving that his creative vision extends further than producing incredible music with videos such as Holocene and Calgary. Now it's time to feast our eyes on a visual companion for an entire album. Here's the first for us, Hinnom, TX:

The Playlist: Hilltop Hoods / Abstract Art

Hilltop Hoods - I Love It



Abstract Art - The Anthem

The Playlist: The Maccabees / Slum Village / Allen Stone / The Roots / J Dilla.

The Maccabees - Pelican



Slum Village - Fall In Love



Allen Stone - Unaware



This guy's voice is something else.

The Roots ft BIG K.R.I.T - Make My



J Dilla - Won't Do

We Are Your Friends Edit.

As a young boy I used to love filming and putting together little videos and it's something that I've not done for a long time. Too long. So as I made my way back down to my university home, Bournemouth, I decided to change this. Sure it's no Scorsese epic but I think it captures the fun times we had that night, more so than yet another Facebook album does. Enjoy.

The Beat Of NYC.

Regular readers will know I'm a big fan, like many, of New York City and videos of the city. I'll admite there is a lot of them, yet like a visit to the city, it is always different. The people, the sounds, the architecture, the fashions, are always unique and individual, yet together they make up the collective that is New Yorkers. This video has a great rhythm to it, not just in terms of the music, but also the editing. It shows that despite the speed and intensity of the place, there are those moments are calm and peace that you should appreciate just as much as everything else.

The Playlist: Yuck / Kid Cudi / SKTRKT ft Drake

Yuck - Soothe Me



Kid Cudi - To Da Top



SBTRKT Ft Drake + Little Dragon - Wildfire

Product As Hero: Go Pro HD 2

The late and great Steve Jobs always said it was important to let the product do the talking in advertising. Sure, it makes it a hell of a lot easier when you're selling beautiful and forward thinking machines such as Macbooks or iPhones. But that's not to take anything away from the statement. Showing that your product lives up to it's own high expections, showing that it works in consumers lives and that it is just generally a damn good product that sells itself. Yeah, sorry I just said 'sells itself'.

I digress. GoPro, the handheld cameras that are actually held by anything, head, chest, pole, helmet, snowboard, surfboard, cars, skiis, airplanes, are everywhere these days, and rightfully so. The latest release the HD Hero 2 looks superb, as does this video for in, unsurprisingly in conjunction with Red Bull.



The advert does what all great advertising does, it makes you feel something. It makes you feel compelled to ditch the day job, it makes you feel like you need to do something more exciting in your life, it makes you want to jump off a cliff. In a good way.

A Tribute: A Year In New York.

I've always said that it's not hard to make New York City look good. There is so much to love about that city, the aesthetic, the culture, the attitude and the best part is that it's all so diverse.

This video filmed by Andrew Clancy is lovingly shot and edited and with the beautiful James Vincent McMorrow track sitting comfortably behind the visuals, it forms a tribute to the city. It does not aim to show how cool or fashionable the city is. Instead, it shows that it a home to real people. Somewhere where people live, work and travel every single day, and I think that makes it somewhat unique. Enjoy.

Call Of Duty w/ Jonah Hill X Sam Worthington

I've always been a big fan of advertising of games. With the huge budgets and even 'huger' resource of special effects they have at their disposale, it is not surprisingly. However it was left to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, probably the biggest game of the year, to do something different (refer back to the huge budgets):



In the deathmatch arena of marketing, Call Of Duty has just used the "celebrity" perk. In an attempt at one-upmanship over its Battlefield rival, the team behind Modern Warfare 3 has ahead of tomorrow's launch unveiled "The Veteran & The N00B", a real-world re-enactment of the game's infamously immersive multiplayer mode starring Avatar's Sam Worthington, Moneyball's Jonah Hill and NBA baller Dwight Howard. The nods to the series are plentiful (isn't that a SCAR-H with red-dot sight that Worthington's wielding?) and we particularly like Hill's hapless "Should I have used a knife?" Still, we can't help but feel that if it were really accurate to the game, the veteran wouldn't be played by a chiselled Hollywood star but rather by an oily-faced 13-year-old screaming "You just got pwned!" GQ.com

Brilliant.

Murmuration.

If you've not seen this video, you need. Two girls take a trip down the River Shannon in Ireland and come across one of nature's most rare and phenomenal occurrences. Watching videos on nature is so often humbling and awe-inspiring, see anything by the legendary David Attenborough (Planet Earth, Life, Frozen Planet), though this video is not on the same sort of scale as Attenborough, it has a great rawness and feeling of the immediate power the birds possess to it.

The Playlist: Sigur Ros / Childish Gambino + Chiddy Bang

One for the night:



And one for first thing in the morning: