Otis Redding’s last performance the day before his tragic and untimely death at the tender age of 26. He will always remain one of the greatest soul singers to have graced the world.

Otis Redding Official Website
wikipedia

I cannot believe that I had not seen this purely genius music video for Alex Gopher’s, “The Child” until now. Always been a fan of this song which features the sampled vocals of Billie Holiday. Antoine Bardou-Jacquet is the creator of this impressive animated video that is composed entirely of typographic elements. Set in New York City, the video follows a young couple rushing through the city to reach the hospital to have their baby delivered. Graphic designers and typography lovers will surely cream for this one.

In 1983 British impresario Malcolm McLaren released Duck Rock, an album which mixed up influences from Africa and America, including hip-hop. The album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip-hop to a wider audience in the UK. Two of the singles from the album (”Buffalo Gals” and “Double Dutch”) became major chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Sex Pistols have announced a concert to mark the 30th anniversary of the release of their controversial album Never Mind the Bollocks. Original members John Lydon, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock will play at the Brixton Academy in London on November 8th. The group, who split in 1978, first reformed for a world tour in 1996 and last performed together in 2003.

Ian Johnson is a self–professed agoraphobe and portrait painter living in San Francisco, whose work features predominantly 1950’s and 1960’s jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans and Charlie Parker, to name a few. Intentionally or not, the subjects he chooses often had difficult lives in spite of their talents. When his subjects are creating music, the entire piece is full of energy, yet in many of his pieces a sense of solitude remains. Working as art director for Western Edition Skateboard Company, it isn’t surprising that many of his jazz portraits end up on skateboard decks. This makes sense as both jazz and skateboarding are rooted in movement and improvisation.

Here is Johnson’s stance on painting modern day musicians…

“I don’t really like that many new musicians. What they’re doing is not that exciting to me as something you hear from the ‘50s when people were breaking new ground. There was a kind of energy back then that isn’t in jazz now, even though they try to do the same thing. They’re just rehashing shit. Plus, they just don’t look as cool. People don’t dress good anymore. Their faces just look hollow to me. So many of them back in the day, maybe it was the heroin, but they had really cut features and really angular faces and I like drawing that kind of stuff. They all had their preppy style. I like drawing people in suits and ties. Eventually I’d like to do some more modern people, but I’m not in a rush.”

Matt Petty shot this cool little video and interview of Johnson during one of his solo shows in the Bay Area.

Remember back in the days before digital music players and MP3s?
If you do, then you probably made compilations of all your favourite music, to share with your friends and loved ones, on good old fashioned blank cassette tapes.
If you miss making mix tapes this product will inspire you again!