The Best Album Art of 2009

In contrast to my earlier post - Rubbish Album Art work, this one celebrates the top 10 album art of 2009 voted by industry insiders. Some nice bits of work!

The Best Album Art of 2009:

The Best Album Art of 2009 | Muse - The Resistance

2nd | Manic Street Preachers - Journal For The Plague Lovers

3rd | Fever Ray - Fever Ray

4th | Massive Attack - Splitting The Atom

5th | Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

6th | Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

7th | Depeche Mode - Sounds of The Universe

8th | La Roux - La Roux

9th | White Lies - To Lose My Life...

10th | Editors - In This Light & On This Evening

- Domesticated Ape

Photo Diary 2010 | Day 5

Delays? really? Now that's unlike the London Underground(!)

Deep Focus - Heavy Metal | TGunn Remix

Thee best chilled dubstep I’ve heard for a long while – In fact, it’s a nice little break from the usually rampant dubstep tunes we have come to love… oh the delight!



- Domesticated Ape

Photo Diary 2010 | Day 4

Lunch
Dinner

Photo Diary 2010 | Day 3

Morning Tea & Biscuits
A Clean House
Always Coca Cola
I've also given up Coke. Today, I fell off the wagon upon discovering a can in the fridge.

Photo Diary 2010 | Day 2

Quitting Kills
This is also Day 2 since I've quit. Taking pictures of cigarettes didn't help.
Din Din
Avatar - 3D

Rubbish Album Artwork

Okay, so everyone knows that photos are manipulated all the time to make products and brands look desirable and shit-hot. But these album covers are just bad! Take a moment to admire these awful Photoshop jobs.

This guy, who hasn’t quite grasped the concept of the backpack, decided the effort of actually sitting outside a church was visually pointless when you have Photoshop.

At least this next guy has aspired to something more than the local church steps. But he’s not fooling anyone, we all know he’s not in that car.

Everything about this one is just bad.
- Domesticated Ape

Photo Diary 2010 | Day 1

Hello all,

The concept is simple: I will document my day with pictures for an entire year. There's no real point to this, but to test my commitment and the high nostalgic factor this will give when finished.

Rules: A minimum of one picture for 365 days (dull pictures are guaranteed). Due to life being what it is, posts may not be daily but will eventually be posted. This ends on 31st December 2010!

Starts with new year's eve/day:
New Year's Eve
New Year's Day
Evening

Spill.com

The guys at Spill.com do the best film reviews, I kid you not! They are funny as hell but their comedy is not at the expense of the film, unless it's a load of shit. Their reviews are solid and quite true.

http://www.youtube.com/user/spillcom

- Domesticated ape

The New Job

According to BBC New, 2009 is toughest year for graduates. No Shit! It's been demotivating and heartbreaking applying for the ideal job(s), only to hear the 'regretful' response or nothing at all. I dreaded the thought of working in retail over the festive period. It brings out bargain hunters with a crazed look in their eyes, not attractive.

In the past couple of weeks I've been lucky enough to be taken on by 7digital, an online music company. 7digital is fast growing with its online music catalog surpassing 7million tracks. It offers content to be downloaded from online stores such as Spotify, Universal Music and Sony Music to name a few.

I was anxious on my first day, I wasn't sure what to expect at the office. Although I secretly hoped a David Brent-like character would be there to greet me, alas there was not. However I'm excited to be working with music now, plus I now have weekends off!

- Domesticated Ape

Public Enemy on SellaBand.com

Here's an interesting approach for recording artists to fund their projects and for us to consume their music. SellaBand.com allows fans to chip in a few bucks to finance their chosen band's new venture, whether it's a live tour, a new album, or simply for promotional use. In return the contributors receive 'free' music downloads and other goods from the artist. It's pretty much like pre-ordering an album before it has even been recorded.

Public Enemy have recently signed up to raise $250,000 for their new album which will see investor receive a cut of the album sales and a physical copy of the album, including downloads.

ALLHIPHOP: 'SellaBand's financial engine model goes about restructuring the music business in reverse," PE frontman Chuck D said in a statement released today (October 6). "It starts with fans first, then the artists create from there. The music business is built on searching for fans and this is a brand new way for acts to create a new album with fans first, already on board."

The announcement of the Public Enemy partnership marks SellaBand.com’s entry into the United States market, according to the company’s CEO, Johan Vosmeijer.

"Working with Public Enemy is an incredibly exciting way to take the European success we’ve built over the past three years and offer it to stateside bands," Vosmeijer added. SellaBand is based in Amsterdam'

SellaBand breaks this process down in seven 'easy' steps:

1. Discover music
Browse through the site, look at the Charts, use the Search or listen to some songs and start discovering new music.

2. Support your favorite artist
On SellaBand you can support your favorite artists by buying a part and helping them to raise the funds for a new music project (a new album, tour or the promotion of their music).

3. "I'm with the band"
Join your favorite artists on their way to reach their funding goal. Promote them, stay in touch with them and help them.

4. Get your money back
At all times before the Target Budget has been reached you can withdraw your money from a Music Project. Any money on your balance can always be paid out via PayPal.

5. Artist reaches target
Once an artist has reached his/her goal the doors are closed, meaning that no new Believers can come on board and you can no longer withdraw your money.

6. Make magic happen
The artist will use the funds raised to complete his/her Music Project.

7. Get rewarded
Receive free downloads and other goodies artists might offer like exclusive CDs, t-shirts, free lunches etc. And artists might even let you get a cut of their revenues.

Hmmm... it's an interesting concept, however I can't see smaller recording artists reaching their $50,000 target as quickly as an established artist. I guess SellaBand make their profit by tucking away large sums of money in their Swiz bank accounts accumulating interest, so longer the better for them!

Check out their list of artist waiting for your contribution. SellaBand.com

- Domesticated Ape

My Feet, My Wings.

"My feet, so deep in the earth!
My wings, so far into the heavens!
And so much pain in the heart torn between."

- Juan Ramon Jimenez, 1976. (Spanish poet)

Captured in Västerås, Sweden.

The Bloody Beetroots Feat. Steve Aoki - WARP

Ahh! I love this track and I find the video quite entertaining too, albeit it's nothing special to look at. The dudes wearing the gimp masks are The Bloody Beetroots and the oriental brother is Steve Oaki. I was lucky enough to see Steve Oaki perform at Dour Festival this summer. His set was wicked but I had to wait till 4:00am for him to drop this tune...it was worth it!
Turn up your sub and enjoy this one... Woop woop!

- Domesticated Ape

His Master's Voice

The recession and apparently 'downloaders' have stripped music and film stores from the British high street, well almost. As I'm aware HMV (and a few HMV owned Zavvi stores) are the only stores primarily selling CDs and DVDs. So how should a company take advantage of the absence of its competitors without going bust? Easy! Open up temporary branches across the UK for peak trade and then shut them down.

RETAIL-WEEK: The retailer reported that plans for the festive period are “in good shape” and the extra shops will enable it to scoop up sales. Chief executive Simon Fox said: “This is the first Christmas without Woolworths and Zavvi on the high street. The demand means that the current stores can’t deal with all of it.”

Although new HVMs will be popping up over Christmas and the January sale period, I will still be mourning the loss of our dearest Zavvi. Their DVD boxsets were the cheapest :O(

- Domesticated Ape

Leonard Cohen collapses

TIMES ONLINE: 'Cohen, who turns 75 tomorrow, fainted on stage during a rendition of one of his best-known songs, Bird on the Wire, during a gig in Valencia, southeast Spain, late on Friday.

A spokesman for his tour said Cohen had been suffering from food poisoning.

The concert was stopped as fellow band members and others rushed to his aid. After regaining consciousness, the singer hoped to resume his performance, but he suffered continued stomach cramps.'

I saw Leonard Cohen perform at the O2 Area last year. I never thought I'd have the chance to see him live considering that he hadn't performed for about 20 years. I love his music and after a few shit scary e-Bay bids I had the opportunity to see him. He was surprisingly energetic for his age and had a cool vibe about him. He'd run off and on the stage for each of his encores (he did like, 10). I hope he gets well soon and back to doing his thing.

- Domesticated Ape

Alice vs Dr. Parnassus

I don't know which one I'm looking forward to seeing most. Johnny Deep, Heath Ledger, Jude Law and Colin Farrel (not so excited about the latter) playing the same role in 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' or Johnny Deep playing yet another trippy role in 'Alice in wonderland'.

Jay-Z Overtakes Elvis

Jay-Z is still breaking all kinds of records and topping charts despite his so-called 'retirement' awhile back. According to BBC News, Jay-Z's new album 'The Blueprint 3' is set to reach number one in the U.S. album chart. This will be Jigga's 11th number one album, making him a solo artist with the most number one albums in U.S. chart history. Unfortunately this title will be robed from Elvis Presley, who has had 10 number one albums. Then again, how hard can it be to beat a dead guy, right?


I've never been a big fan Jay's music even though he claims to be the king of New York, that title went to Nas ('Ether' ended that battle!). So I don't see the hype with him but he consistently tops charts, so you've got to give him props for that.

- Domesticated Ape

Crash, Bang, Wallop!

Oh yes, it's finally here! Logistics' new album, 'Crash Bang Wallop'. The master of liquid drum & bass drops his new album today (14th September), although it's only on vinyl until CDs hit the stores on 28th September.

I loved his 2006 album 'Reality Check' and from what I've heard of the new album so far, it won't disappoint!

- Domesticated Ape

DJ Hero

If I'm honest this was rather unexpected, but if Guitar Hero is anything to go by I'm freaking excited! The concept is the same as Guitar Hero, but rather than hitting notes you're required to use your controller to mix, scratch and beat match according to what's shown on screen.


The track list is pretty cool. Like real DJs, the game requires the player to mix two tracks whilst showing off your scratching and cutting skills. The track mixes are strange, to name a few: KRS-One into David Bowie, Daft Punk into Queen, and Rick James into Nirvana. The eclectic mix also sets up the game for my favorite function: DJ Vs Guitar. You can plug in your old guitar and play against your mate on the decks.


The controller seems as simple as the guitar. You've got three buttons on the deck - green is for record one, red is the sample button and blue is for record two. On the mixer is the cross fader to switch between tracks and the DJ Hero's answer to the whammy bar is the effects dial. If you're a left handed like me, you can detach the mixer from the deck and pop it in on the other side: LEFTY FLIP!

I like the idea, but I'm yet to be convinced. I'll definitely consider buying it once I get my mitts on a PS3 and Guitar Hero. Unless they release flute hero... that will change everything.

- Domesticated Ape

I'm Back!

Hey you stranger! Apologies for my absences from the blogging scene, I've been lame...I know!

Issues that kept me away from the blog world:

1) I've been doing my dissertation and major projects for uni.
2) Finished uni, been packing and moving back to London.
3) Goodbye Southampton!
4) Unpacking.
5) Job hunting.
6) Now working full-time...I miss number 5, it involved a lot of bed time and day time TV.
7) My blog's template has been messed up, thus I've been unable to blog.
8) Fixing the damn blog and making a new header... Do ya'll like? It took me ages!
9) Being a MASSIVE lazy sod (massive issue!).

Anyway, now I'm back on track (sort of) I'll keep on top of the blog game!

Goodnight virtual world!

- Domesticated Ape

Art & The Observer .

"Art is the stored honey of the human soul"

- Theodore Dreiser, 1917. (U.S Novelist)

Captured in The Saatchi Gallery, London.

- Domesticated Ape

Home, Sweet Home.

"What's the good of a home, if you are never in it?"

- George Grossmith, 1892. (British Singer & Writer)

Captured in Alum Bay, Isle of Wight.

- Domesticated Ape.

DJ For The Night: British Hip-Hop

I was asked a question by a friend whilst in the pub the other night which really got me thinking. She asked: ‘If you was to DJ for one night only and you could only play five songs, what song would they be?’ Hmmm… typical indecisive me, I was unable to give a clear answer. In fact, nor did she. A couple of issues made us hesitant to give a concise play-list. We concluded that it would it depend on the crowd (crowd pleasers), also we enjoy too many genres to have just the one set.

So, I’ve decided to post my DJ play-list for each genre of my fancy, consisting of five (or less) tracks. Of course my musical taste is forever changing, so I don’t think I will ever be fully satisfied (indecisive syndrome!), but it’s all a bit of fun. Oh, and I'm also limited to what is available on YouTube.

I'm going kick this of with some homegrown music, British Hip-Hop.

Lowkey & Logic - 'Home Is Where The Heart Is'

This is definitely not a party track, far from it. To really appreciate this song you have to listen to what these guys have to say. This particular track is based on the outlook of two boys living their war torn countries, Uganda and Palestine.

Plan B - 'Paint It Blacker' Feat. The Rolling Stones

I love what Plan B has done with this song. It features on his bootleg album, which is full of gems like this one. His others songs feature artists such as Leonard Cohen, Tom York and Coldplay.

Jehst - 'City of Industry'

Jehst is easily my favourite rapper, both British and international. It was really difficult for me to pick just one song of his. So here's one I picked at random... and it's still brilliant.

The Streets - 'Blinded By The Lights'

The Streets are a great band, but Mike Skinner has a skill of turning real life rambling thoughts into songs. He's your average British lad, rapping about about subjects which the average British youth can relate to. Like being 'mashed'!

Klashnekoff - Murda

This song exposed Kashnekoff to the scene over five years ago, and its still a heavy track..coz itz murrrrda! So turn the smile upside down, put on your meanest frown and nod your head to this!

- Domesticated Ape.

Perfect Pictures For An Imperfect World.

This video got some mixed reactions from me. I adore this video and I can see plenty thought has gone behind the making of it. The concept of using photographs to reveal the imperfections which it hides is very affective. Also each sequence manages to comment on the society we live in, touching on subjects which affect us all.

However, I found it more heartbreaking at the end of the video to discover that it is an advertisement for a digital photo company. Initially I thought the ad was for a charity or a public service campaign to raise awareness. But alas, it was ‘Fotoprix’ tugging at the heartstrings of its consumer to make a pretty penny.

Nevertheless, this is a well made bit of film. It is able to highlight some imperative issues in our world today, some of which are scarcely talked about.

- Domesticated Ape

Summer By The Lake.

"Summertime, and the living is easy"

- Ira Gershwin, 1935. (U.S. Lyricist)

Captured in Fullerö, Västmanland - Sweden.

- Domesticated Ape.

Wiltshire's Finest.

"The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man"

- Charles Darwin, 1871. (British Naturalist)

Captured in Longleat, Wiltshire.

- Domesticated Ape.

Food in a Tube.

I took this shot whilst in a supermarket in Sweden. I think these are some sort of prawn and bacon paste to spread over your bread... Nice(!)

Captured in Co-op, Sweden.

- Domesticated Ape.

From Alum Bay.

"Through all the changing scenes of life."

- Nahum Tate, 1696. (Irish Poet & Playwright)

This shot is taken by the beautiful cliffs of Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight.

Captured in Alum Bay, Isle of Wight.

- Domesticated Ape

A Spanish Street.

"I want to run, I want to hide,
I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside,
I want to reach out, and touch the flame,
Where the streets have no name."

- U2, 1986. (The Joshua Tree)

Captured in Barcelona, Spain.

I love the narrow street with the little balconies just peering over it.

- Domesticated Ape.