Online home of writer & journalist Dan Gennoe
Vice Magazine and Intel have put together The Creators Project to showcase the work of influential and inspiring musical innovators and creators. Diplo, Peaches, James Lavelle, Phoenix, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Mark Ronson and film maker Spike Jonze all feature. Including an exclusive interview with each artist, videos and biographies it’s really very good.
I love the photography of Carlos Nunez. He’s got that whole ’70s rock’n'roll sex thing going on. See more at his website www.carlosnunezphotography.com and blog ohsnapscarlos.blogspot.com NSFW but not in a straight-up porny way.
Cool Snow White and The Joker iPad vinyl stickers.
If I had an iPad I might be tempted by a gothed-up Snow White.
I am a big user of Moleskine note books. I have way too many of them. I will no doubt have way too many more. The pictures above are from an imaginary ad campaign that Amy Nortman, a student of the University of North Texas, won a competition with. What competition? I have no idea. But they are genius and ably explain the love of the Moleskine, so I hope it was a competition with a big fat cheque at the end of it.
See these and the rest of the series in their full glory on the Moleskine Flickr. To find your own deep love and spend more money than is reasonable on notebooks, see the Moleskine site.
Jay-Z. Definitely cool. Or at least he is when he isn’t in sportswear. Sportswear Jigga is not a good look. Sweat bands and basketball attire aside, Sean Thomas Carter is a leading light in rap, not just because of his lyrical skills and business acumen, but because he carries himself with a dignified confidence that demands you listen up and take notice. Is that not the core ingredient of cool?
My new favourite video. Mirrorkicks cover of Bleedin’ Love + cheerleaders = future video classic.
Also worth noting that Mirrorkicks are in the process of making a video to accompany ever track on their brilliant, forthcoming album. More bands should do the same.
On the Road: London Calling from richard hernandez on Vimeo.
The Fifty Four from richard hernandez on Vimeo.
Two beautiful short films made by US journalist Richard Hernandez. Atmospheric in a cool/creepy/disturbing/brilliant way. The second, The Fifty Four, was made using only his iPhone. Stunning.
My love of chairs is legendary. I think I’ve just found me new favourite website in the whole world. Chair Whore.
How could you NOT want to read a film magazine with covers as cool as these? For more on Little White Lies and to see more covers: www.littlewhitelies.co.uk
*note-to-self: see previous post’s note-to-self
Just recently discovered +1 Magazine. It’s one of a new breed of ultra cool free magazines available in clothes shops and bars in London. It’s a really nice mag, with really cool covers.
For more info check out their equally cool website: www.plus1mag.com
*note-to-self: stop using ‘cool’ every other word. It’s not cool.
Maybe it’s because I work at home, alone, with no one to talk to, that I have a strange obsession with other people’s offices. Call it Office Envy if you like. But thankfully the internet provides satisfaction for every fetish imaginable and my office fetish is no exception. Welcome to OfficeSnapshots.com, one of my favourite websties. I’ve spent/wasted/enjoyed many a long afternoon starring longingly at the monitors, desks and chairs that others take for granted. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Again, you’re welcome.
*the picture above is of the office of brand development agency The Wonderfactory. I like the shelves. I have a thing for shelves. I like putting things on shelves. I know. I’ll stop.
Just ordered my one-sheet poster for Gary Hustwit’s new film Objectified. It’s going in the kitchen next to the poster for Gary’s last film, Helvetica.
The film got its world premiere at SXSW in Austin last Saturday. The London screening is in April but it’s sold out. Which is a bugger because I was too slow and didn’t manage to get a ticket (Gary, if you’re reading this, please, I’d be very grateful). If you’ve now idea what I’m talking about, here’s the Objectified trailer.
If that looks liks something you might be interested in then check out the Helvetica trailer.
Gary is also on Twitter @gary_hustwit
I’ll stop now.
Objectified, the new documentary feature from Gary Hustwit of Helvetica fame, which gets its world premier in March at this year’s SxSW, will include a rare interview with Apple design guru, Englishman Jony Ive (I know, a bit jingoistic, but we have so little to shout about these days). Rarer still, the interview, from whence the above picture came, was filmed inside Apple’s Design Studio. Might not sound like much, but it’s on a par with pulling back the curtain and catching a glimpse of Oz.
Not since Bobby Kennedy ran for the democratic nomination in ‘68 has the idea of a particular individual being elected President stirred so many – particularly in the jaded world of creative media – into action. From the primaries to the inauguration, graphic design and photography have been at the centre of capturing, distilling and expressing the Obama feeling. The posters, the photographs and the graffiti, as much as all the viral videos and Twitter feeds, were key to making him larger than life, aspirational and look like a president in waiting even before he’d won the nomination. Where photographs of John McCain made him look folksy, those of Obama made him seem almost god like. The notion of Obama – not just the colour of his skin but his young, dynamic approach – spoke of revolution while the other candidate looked like more of the same. Those looking for a claim on history sensed the opportunity to take their Kennedy pictures, write their Kennedy stories, to design button badges and posters which just like Kennedy’s would tell future generations that it was the most exciting of times. Obama inspired the best and the most talented and they literally made him history.
Muhammad Ali’s Esquire cover. A personal favourite of mine. What’s yours? Let me know in the comments, all part of the Definition Of Cool project.
Star Wars as retold by someone who’s never seen it. Genius. Especially the ‘whatever’s and special effects – arguably better than anything used in the Digitally Remastered versions.
Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.
Great track from Free The Robots. Even better video. If only all the world’s conflicts and crises could be settled with such style and politeness.
Ah, the eternal question: What is cool?
Always followed by: And why have some people/places/things got it while others haven’t?
Are cool and style the same thing?
Are all stylish things cool?
Does something have to be fashionable to be cool? Or is cool about doing your own thing?
Is cool the same as the other indefinable quality we call x-factor? Or can you have that special star something and still be naff?
Is cool passion, authenticity, confidence, lack of effort or all of the above?
How do you know when you’ve got it? How do you know when it’s gone?
Is it something you’re born with?
Can you acquire it?
Can you buy it?
Can you sell it?
Is it something you can learn to be or does trying result in instant disqualification?
What’s your definition of cool?
Would it be the same as mine?
If it really is indefinable, then how come we all seem to know that those pictured above – Barack Obama, Steve McQueen, Apple’s iPhone, New York, Philippe Stark’s Juicer, Keith Richards, Miles Davis, James Dean, Adidas Shell Toes – all have it. Or maybe you don’t agree that they do.
How important is it anyway?
All my life I’ve been fascinated by the concept of ‘cool’, something you can’t see or touch yet we all instantly recognise, and react favourably to. Cool people/places/things are always popular, always respected, usually successful, invariably admired. Why? What have they got? What do they know? Can they themselves define it?
That’s what I’m intending to find out with The Definition Of Cool, my own personal journey in search of that magic formula. But first I need your help. I need to know your definition of cool. Who are the people, places and things that you think have it? And how would you put it into words? Don’t be too clever. I’m trying to get together a solid cast of characters I can go and interview – or in the case of products, places and dead people, those who know/knew them well. So don’t be afraid to be too obvious – obscure may be cool, but for our purposes it won’t get us very far. Pick people, places and things which are widely known and recognised, and tell me why you think they’re cool, along with your own definition, in the comments. Once I’ve got a sufficiently cool long list, I’ll be running a series of polls here on the blog to narrow it down to a short list of interviews for the book so don’t forget to sign-up to the mailing list here or subscribe to the RSS feed here, so you won’t miss your chance to vote.
The Eames Lounger & Ottoman. Charles & Ray Eames at their best, although with so many stunning creations to their name, it’s a tough call. Don’t believe me, look here.
After years of searching the high street and the internet, months of envying those of friends and after sending numerous emails to the manufacturer begging for them to help me in my quest, I am finally the owner of my very own examples of minimalistic, futuristic, cartoonistic Japanese design that is the TagCup. And better still, I bought them in the Selfridge’s sale. Half price. Some things are just meant to be… for everything else there’s perseverance.
The coolest film posters by the greatest graphic designer of the 20th century. Find out more about Saul Bass’s life and work here and here.
Found this in a charity shop on the way to buy a coffee table. It was in the window. Framed & mounted. £11. Bargain.
|
MAILING LIST!
|
|
