review by THE NEW YORK TIMES

Art Squared on Trendhunter Magazine

I was recently mentioned on TrendHunter Magazine's website as part of a micro-trend! TrendHunter is the "largest collection of cutting-edge ideas" as well as an online community of those noting interesting, hip trends. Along with BrandStudio Press, I was mentioned under a new topic of Do-It-Yourself Art Publishing. This is something that I did not pioneer, but rather learned from greats like Michel Gagne and Stephen Silver (among others).

Check it out, if for no other reason that you will find other very interesting reads and links.
I think you'll dig it...

iPhone 3G

I caved, and it is amazing.

Kung Fu Panda!

I don't know why, but I was unsure of how I felt about this movie, simply based on the trailers and advertisements. I wasn't too excited, but was sure I wanted to see what it was all about, so a friend and myself caught a midnight show last night. All I can say is that this is giving (one of my all-time-favorites) Pixar's Ratatouille a run for its money in animation as well as beautiful colors, textures and surfaces.

Kung Fu Panda is one CG animated film that goes the extra mile with color design and the animation is top-notch. The animators really have outdone themselves. The character traits are very inventive, detailed, human, exaggerated, cartoony and active. The voices are fun and the script is very good.

I could go on and on in detail what I enjoyed and critique it in depth, but I'll keep it to this: Overall I give this film two thumbs up. From a creative standpoint, I couldn't enjoy it much more than I did. It is definitely worth checking out, so go see it this weekend - twice!

.

Weezer #6

One of my all time favorite bands is about to come out with a new album, and I am finally excited. I noted that there is some great media out lately, and one of the pieces I am awaiting with anticipation is the 6th album from the quad from L.A., available June 3rd.

Weezer has had quite a past, and while I'll spare you the history lesson (15 years finicky nature, side projects, shifting bassists and musical styles all within one tight genre), I will give you my opinion on the progression of their music, album-by-album.

Blue album (self-titled debut, named 'weezer') - Immortal. This contains rock anthems like Say It 'Aint So, Only in Dreams, Buddy Holly, The Sweater Song, My Name is Jonas and more. One of the best rock albums ever recorded. You can hear the years of songwriting finely honed in a unique garage-rock style, mixed and produced wonderfully by the amazing Rick Ocasek [The Cars].

Pinkerton - recorded and mixed by the band members themselves, this took a departure from the high-school/college garage rock and turned up the fuzz / turned down the 'fi. The lyrics are more personal, songwriting more scattered, but still one of the all-time great albums. Not as many radio hits (none, to my knowledge) but a fan favorite that, for some reason, Rivers Cuomo [singer/songwriter/founder] dislikes and allegedly wanted or wants out of all stores and production. If you haven't heard it, get it now.

Green album (self-titled 3rd LP, 'weezer') - after nearly 10 years apart from working on personal projects, side bands, attending college, marriage and kids, etc - the band reunited with full force and plenty of fan support. Because of the rise of 'internet 2.0' Weezer had a very strong following even while there was no apparent activity. The green album is arguably good, holding much of the power pop sound in which they are often categorized. It has hits like Hash Pipe and Island in the Sun, among a terrain of similar-sounding chord progressions. Don't get me wrong, I hear this album criticized often, but it is catchy as hell and very easy to listen to... and short.

Maladroit - This is one of my favorites in a special way. In 2002-2005, Weezer offered many demos to fans online by way of their website, fan sites and 'leaks' all over. This was an effort to allow the fans to mold and shape what they wanted to hear, offering feedback on what songs they think should be on the upcoming albums. Green hosted some great work, but omitted some of the catchy demos. This approach was followed up by offering the fans what they wanted- the songs THEY liked. Maladroit has songs that sound like hard rock, metal, soft ballads, power pop, garage rock, classic retro guitar solos and much more. The great success of this album is often overshadowed by it's strange place with fans. I couldn't disagree more- I love this one. It is a diverse sampling of how much they rock. Plus, who doesn't love a video with The Muppets?!

Make Believe - While the record company really got behind their 5th LP and the fan-base became younger and stronger, I am not a fan of this album. While I love all band members' work and tastes, I feel that (despite the success of a few single tracks/videos, including the popular Beverly Hills) this is a total miss for the group. It sounds minimal, unresolved, overworked and weak. I've heard some people say that they really like this album, so I'll leave it up to you, but it was off my iPod pretty quickly.

---

...which left me skeptical about the 6th session for the group, shortly after a released collection of home recordings and early demos, called "Alone"...
---

Red album (self-titled... again... 'weezer') - I had heard from weezer.com that Rivers touts this as their best work yet. Still effected from the underwhelming Make Believe, I had my doubts. Then I heard from my brother that the first 8 (of 16, available with a 'deluxe edition' pre-order on iTunes) tracks were leaked, so I gave them a listen. My first impression was "Ooh... different." They combine some rap, metal, smooth acoustics, operatic harmonies and several key/tempo changes in multiple songs. Tracks come from all the band members, with each of them singing the lead at different times in different songs. A collaborative effort is apparently made with this one... and it works!

These songs (what I've heard so far) are VERY catchy, very well written, quite textured, not overdone or too hook-based and seem as though they will be long-lived. There is a fun spirit and confidence in them that was missing in the last album, and the song Thought I Knew sung by guitarist Brian Bell is superb. I can see many tastes of music satisfied by this fun album, with only the lyrics being fairly shallow at some points... but that does not bother me one bit, as they mesh with the sound quite well, and don't take themselves too seriously.

So check it out and get this album if you like '90s/current/classic/garage/punk/indie/alt rock... 'Cuz it rocks.

Ironman & the Raconteurs: the GOOD media

The media is often called "sleazy" or "cheap", but this is referring to the news media. Another use of the term is that which refers to audio and video; music, television and movies. There is a great trend happening in many areas of that sort of media nowadays and we are seeing it peak in many ways. Here are a few examples:

I watched the new movie Ironman the other day, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey, Jr. This movie was funny, interesting, visually stunning, well-timed and exciting at every turn. Even sitting in the second row of the theater and getting a cramped neck didn't at all hinder my enjoyment of this film. This, and many other movies coming out this summer, are great examples of the heights that this media is reaching. Comic book movies are hitting a new level of quality and popularity in the last several years, and I don't see a weak preview yet. Also, with animation hitting a new high in both story and visuals (Horton Hears a Who, wall-e, Ratatouille, Persepolis) I am looking forward to a logging hours and hours in movie theaters this summer.

I have been watching the television shows LOST and 30 Rock and have not been disappointed one bit. LOST has been returning to the once-great show of season one and two and has levels of subtle clues that are difficult to find but rewarding when noticed. 30 Rock is setting a new standard for quick comedy, picking up where Arrested Development left off, yet with it's own brand of slapstick and verbal childishly-clever humor. I look forward to Thursdays quite a bit, and the only thing stopping me from saving that one night for television is the recent return of hilarity to Saturday Night Live. The cast has matured over the last two years and I predict that one day they will each be known as legendary, and as a group: classic. I may have to set aside Saturday Nights at home.

Music has also hit a near and dear rise to my ears, as new music has been available from bands like The Raconteurs, the Black Keys, Radiohead, White Rabbits, Blitzen Trapper, Queens of the Stone Age and many many more great new and established bands, not to mention some classic comebacks for those that share my tastes in rock and roll such as Superdrag and Weezer... this makes me (once again) excited for this summer's releases. Rock shows in New York are accessible and comfortably energetic with amazing headliners weekly, sharing in the raised level of quality in rock and roll and blues inspired music.

Lastly the term media can involve technology and software tools. With ipods, iphones, development of air, electric, water, and hydrogen powered cars, fiber-optics in homes and most importantly (for me) tools like the Wacom Cintiq (see my review) and other advances in technology, we are in an age of convenience that we have never seen before. I am learning to embrace this and get on-board with much of it, and it saves us all time and waste.

I hope this trend continues.