when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

yesterday morning i had the pleasure of attending the latest installment of creative mornings los angeles at the amazing herman miller showroom in culver city. the special guests speakers were ted and angela from poketo. they shared how their company came into fruition in 2003 and how it has grown into an international brand that stands as a connection between art and everyday people.

hearing the excitement in their voices about how poketo has evolved and the humble pride they project at everything they've accomplished was definitely inspiring and left me with a nice outlook towards my own future. until the next creative morning, cheers!

-t

dont talk to anyone, don't touch anyone.

as a minor germaphobe, guess which parts of this trailer really rattled me.

it's outbreak for 2011, with one hell of a cast.

contagion hits theaters in september.

-t

gonna show the world that something good can work and it can work for you.

first person to make this for me gets to eat it with me!

-t

are you counting on me? can i count on you in the end?

eclectic los angeles trio pollyn sure know how to spice up the treatment for a black and white performance video. projecting tribal patterned fonts and a flashmob of stick figure dancers, the real eye catcher is the screen charm of vocalist genevieve artadi. 

i've been a fan of pollyn since their debut, this little night, dropped in 2009 and it's great to see them releasing new (and quality) goods.

pollyn - "how small are we"

-t

everything is shit, except you love.

multitasking at it's finest folks. jesse kivel, lead singer of my current favorite local band, kisses, also has a hand in the band princeton (another thumbs up) and this new outfit called sleeping bags.

check out their hazy new single, "park" below. keep on keeping on jesse!

-t

does you inspire you?

the title and chorus of the new chairlift jam sounds like one of those moments when i don't remember something's name and instead of admitting my forgetfulness, i kind of just slur and quickly hum a diddy through a false pronunciation. 

check out "amanaemonesia" from the brooklyn duo below.

-t

the other half believe in magic.

sprinkled with delicate detail and impeccable performances, beginners explores the beauty of love, loss and connection. the film speaks through a million tender glances and evokes strong feelings of loneliness despite repeated attempts to keep a stone face. it's beautiful, vulnerable and it makes you realize that the distances between people can feel like nothing when they're filled with genuine affections (and a scene-stealing jack russell terrier).

beginners is now available in limited release.

the film will also do for the eastside, what 500 days of summer did for downtown - it will make you want to re-explore your local surroundings on foot.

-t

a business without a sign is a sign of no business.

espo's (aka stephen powers) contribution to the art in the streets exhibit was by far one of the best corners of the space.

"flights of genius by stephen powers".

-t

the cross and the switchblade.

ahh yes. what makes the world go 'round but doesn't grow on trees. what you're supposed to save and not supposed to over value. money is a complex problem whether it's in your pocket or not. and in the case of bowl cut brooklyn trio, the drums, it's not quite payday.

the drums - "money"

their forthcoming record, portamento, hits stores this september.

-t

high time, high tide. barely made it out alive.

since college, jenn has remained one of my favorite people in the entire world. she's game for anything fun, random, dangerous and deep fried. she's got an unmeasurable big heart (aka appetite) and is probably the craziest person i know. despite our schedules never being on the same page, we successfully completed monday funday.

powered by the metro and our little feet, we checked out mendocine farms (kurobuta pork belly bahn mi), art in the streets @ moca, four leaf tea and crepes (milk tea w/boba), spitz (sangria, hummus, doquitos), far bar (shots of sake), runyon canyon (tough after all that alcohol and lack of sunlight) and we wrapped it all up with the light installation at lacma. jenn brought her DSLR and took embarrassing paparazzi/fob food pictures all day and there was even a special cameo from gaps in little tokyo. the best case of the mondays ever!

check out the videos we made at moca courtesy of the levi's film workshop.

panda time!

bitchslaaaap!


-t

when i tell you how i feel, believe me when i say it's real.

when everything in life feels as if it were in a constant limbo, sometimes the only thing that you can recognize as being real are the feelings that you keep about the people who leave their footprints right next to yours no matter what happens. 

real estate - "it's real"

look out for their sophomore record, days, this october.

-t

why don't you sit right down and stay awhile. we like the same things and i like your style.

ohmaaaghads! jean ralphio (ben schwartz) x summer finn (zooey deschanel) collab!

"tonight you belong to me" 

check out zooey's lip scowl.
-t

i need the darkness, someone please cut the lights.

sometimes you wake up and there's a break in the heat. the clouds are overbearing and you can rock a cardigan without an uncomfortable shift in body temperature. today is one of those temporary summer humidity hiatuses. to celebrate, dutch duo homework is unleashing some heat of their own.

subtle with its dance intentions, the track builds momentum around sexy vocal repetitions and jazz-like echoes for a slick seven minutes.

homework - "raw groove"

 

made to play,

-t

separated from the sea, by a shifting shore.

probably the cutest theophilus london flip ever.

click here for the original

TL featuring sara quinn - "why even try (RAC remix)"

timez are weird these days drops next tuesday

-t

drop the needle, we are playing for an audience of one.

a softy for little plastic trinkets and one-liners, check out the work of london's aled lewis. 

-t

asleep at the trigger.

last night i had the pleasure of heading to the skirball cultural center to check out courtyard performances from local favorites superhumanoids and autolux. with an assist from a bottle of jack and the beautiful westside wind, it was an amazing night of music that despite getting cut a little short (geez nina! jk), was still worth the trek down the 405.

superhumanoids latest, parasite paradise EP:

and of course, my favorite autolux jam:

special thanks to anthony valadez for the free tickets!

-t

whatever the situation - dramatic or mundane, some stranger will save you.

it's a michigan tripod of goodies in the new remix from ghostly international producer and hometown boy, shigeto. taking on a track from legendary detroit guitarist, dennis coffey featuring none other than ann arbor's finest mayer hawthorne, it's a dance floor ready reworking that utilizes an atmospheric pattern of bells and beats, while continuing to build upon the soulful vibes of the original.

dennis coffey feat. mayer hawthorne - "all your goodies are gone (shigeto remix)" MP3 via xlr8r.

-t

how to disappear completely.

i'll be the first to admit. i probably look so stupid when gawking at my computer screen. perennial DURRRR face.

this sketch video, people staring at computers, was brought to you by kyle mcdonald. read about his antics here.



-t

keep your heart strong and love long. and give kisses when you can.

it's been a death sweat high 90s this past week in los angeles. a far cry from spending the weekend in the low 70s bay area. so i've done nothing but dream of sitting somewhere in the windy shade, with a cold treat in hand and a good steel drum powered song to give the trees something to dance to.

beat connection - "balearic trunk rhythm" Mp3

-t

we've done no wrong with our blinkers on.

most people will press play below and think someone ripped a hook from our favorite toronto sexpot, the weeknd. but the chorus originally belonged to the 1980 siouxsie and the banshees' jam, "happy house". check out my favorite french label (kitsune) and their latest signees, shindu, pay due justice to the track in their new video below.

-t