News
Reviews
Articles
Surveillance
Present: Flight Of The Conchords 2.0
what better way to round off 2008 than a new ep from FOTC?
30th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
LG
I've been trying to come up with a 2008 top five, I hardly thought I'd bought five albums this year. Pathetic. However, here goes;
1. Bob Dylan; 'Tell Tale Signs'
2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; 'Dig Lazarus Dig!'
3. Sons and Daughters; 'This Gift'
4. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy With Harem Scarem & Alex Neilson; 'Is It The Sea?'
5. Silver Jews; 'Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea'
30th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Best Of 2008
HHG
It was a good year for Hip Hop with some real heavyweight contributions from the likes of Lil Wayne, The Roots and Kanye West. Q Tip came out of retirement with a great album and Atmosphere gave us the fantastic When Life Gives You Lemons Paint That Shit Gold. But ultimately these 5 rocked my world.
Albums
Why? - Alopecia
This record dropped pretty early this year but has remained a permanent fixture ever since. Building on the clever songcraft of Elephant Eyelash, Alopecia is almost too packed with ideas to fully comprehend.
Black Milk - Tronic
Just as the year draws to a close, Black Milk drops his best work yet: super tight production mixes with raw old school might to produce a hip hop classic.
The Roots - Rising Down
Thank God for George Bush or we may not have ever had a record as venomous and thoroughly pissed off as this. Leaning more on the classic hip hop than the live band, the Philly boys really delivered here although the guest MC's nearly stole the show.
The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale EP
From out of nowhere came this EP full of playful bravado and classic old school hooks. "The new black version of the Beastie Boys."
lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
The most anticipated hip hop record of the year actually made good on its promise.
Songs
The Roots - Rising Down (feat. Mos Def & Styles P)
Black Milk - Losing Out
Why? - By Torpedo Or Crohn's
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Lil Wayne - A Milli
Disappointments
The Mighty Underdogs
Sounded good on paper, especially with Def Jux behind them, but in reality was a pile of shit.
Subtle - Exiting Arm
It was their most commercial release and certainly promised great things. But somehow it lacked some of the quirky excitement of all of their previous work.
TV
The X Factor
That duet between Beyonce and Alexandra...nuf said.
Movies
Sex And The City (Only because I went to the World Premiere and sat near SJP and Gary Lineker, it's the only way I see movies so was the only one I saw)
29th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviewsSearch
Best Of 2008
Muxloe
Its feels like I spent the whole of 2008 blinded by a career blizzard but when the weather did clear and some visibility was possible I did manage to spy a view highlights...
Album of the Year - Wagonwheel Blues - The War on Drugs
Though I risked the presence of much egg splattered all over my face by nominating this as album of the year after only a few listens providence has nevertheless confirmed the judgement of my hot headedness. Faith in the Secret Canadian quartet was bolstered by a blistering summer set at Brixton's Windmill. An album of mighty ambitions and glorious intensity it remains an absolute corker.
Gig of the Year - Broken Social Scene at Shepherds Bush Empire
Tunes multiplied by talent to the power ten. I'm not sure as I've ever heard a more haunting live performance than Kevin Drew's solo rendition of Lover's Spit - sublime.
Book of the Year - The Book Thief
Tear jerking yet mirth making, doom laden yet life affirming this is surely destined to be a 21st century classic. Genuis.
Let Down of the Year - Steve Coogan Live
Sure we fans chuckled along and it was great to see my idol Partridge in the flesh but oh dear; Steve you do seem tired!
Moment of the Year - Barak Obama's Chicago Victory Speech.
Like a Marvel comic character, minus the mask and the magic powers, Obama seemed to be the hero the people of the world had turned to as the only one who can save us. Tough kids at my South London school actually cried. Referencing Sam Cooke, with oratory skills from yesteryear, he realised and embodied the soul man's prophecy that 'a change is gonna come'. Let's hope nobody steals his kryptonite!
28th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Invisible Christmas
jump on board The Invisible sleigh before they run all over 2009 with this Christmas Number One (hallelujah my arse etc...) the album's out in March(ish) and is pretty great: check this XFM session for a live preview of four of the tracks
24th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
Chimpovich
Music:
Not been a vintage year in terms of quantity for me. El Rey by the Wedding Present and Living on the Other side by The Donkeys got a lot of listens. I haven't yet got round to listening to You and Me by the Walkmen, but reports suggest it's as strong as we've come to expect from them. But in loose order, my standout albums of the year:
Damien Jurado - Caught in the Trees: Not convinced at first, but grew and grew and grew. Lovely stuff.
Ladyhawk - Shots: Dirty rock n roll. Brains, booze and plenty of heart
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes: Yes!
Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight: An early release and still on heavy rotation. How can someone so miserable write such catchy and rocking tunes. Some great lyrics too.
Shows:
My Morning Jacket - The Forum: as reliable as ever when playing live
Frightened Rabbit - Madame Jojos/Sala Sol: Poor in a poor venue in London. Much better and relaxed in front of about 30 people in Madrid
Damien Jurado - Moby Dick (madrid): Warm and Intimate as Winter approached
Foals - Mynt (madrid): From the rousing drum intro. Through to the guitarist playing whilst walking along the bar. The tunes rocked and they gave it their all.
TV:
Bunk, Cutty, Clay, Daniels, Rawls, Omar, Snoop, Chris, Avon etc etc etc. Just (and only just) behind a niece and nephew as my favourite thing this year.
Films:
No Country For Old Men - welcome back Brothers
Into the Wild - Dam(n) that river!
24th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Pope Palpatine
now the Pope's saying defending heterosexuality from the gays is as important as saving the rainforest...
#chimp71
#CurrentAffairs
#D.U.D.(DumbUpDudes!)
23rd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Bees On Coke
bees like to dance a lot when they're high on cocaine too
23rd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
Locochimpo
Albums of the year:
Fleet Foxes - every song's a winner on this doozy. Though it's 'Mykonos (Alternative Version)' that gets my vote for song of the year.
Vampire Weekend - This lot strike me as being a bit smug, but i guess if you release a debut album this good then you're allowed to be.
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular - The hits way outweigh the misses on this one.
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night - Not their greatest work to date, but still very listenable.
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Notable Mentions:
- British Sea Power - Do you like Rock Music?
- Soe'za - 7 Obstacles
- Acorn - Glory Hope Mountain
Greatest Hits of the year:
Dr John - The Best of the Night Tripper - a bargainous £5 (on Amazon) for this ace compilation of the best 60's and 70's tunes from Malcolm John Rebennack Jr.
Film of the year:
- No Country For Old Men - awesome
- Iron Man - super duper
- Superbad - McLovin it.
TV Boxsets of the year - Battlestar Gallactica. Frackin good stuff.
Gig of the Year - La bomba del tiempo, Konex Centre, Buenos Aires. (Ha - I had to mention it somewhere).
23rd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Super Surf
We've mentioned Pulitzer-winning photographer Vincent LaForet before on Chimpomatic, for his video short to promote the High Definition video capabilities of the new Canon 5D Mark II stills camera (get it here). That promo got him a ton of interest, and the owners of Smug Mug have generously funded his next project, which will be a surf movie with Jamie O'Brien, shooting out at the world famous pipeline wave.
There's an area-man approved element to the project too - as they will be shooting the film on a handful of the 5D cameras, as well as an adapted Red One.
22nd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Northern Lights
Great pictures of aurora borealis or northern lights over at The Guardian
22nd Dec 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
R.Hammerstein
Top 5 albums
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
DJ /rupture - Uproot
Kanye West - 808's And Heartbreaks
Takka Takka - Migration
Films
The Assassination of Jesse James
Garage
In Bruges
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
There Will Be Blood
TV shows
Wallander
Gigs
Hercules and Love Affair - Bestival
The Dodos - Amersham Arms
Sigur Rós - Alexandra Palace
Sébastien Tellier - Bestival
Yeasayer - ICA
22nd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
iMacPlayer
The BBC have released a Mac version of the awesome iPlayer, so you can now download higher-quality versions of the week's shows - in addition to the already excellent web-based version.
19th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
BC
Looking down my list of the best albums of the year it seems that with the exception of Black Mountain, this year has been all about the debut album. Some fine releases from the likes of Calexico, Okkervil River and Deerhoof but it was the new boys who really stepped up. All the surprises for me came from a very healthy US underground indie/punk scene with No Age heading the lot. The highlight of the year would have to be meeting and interviewing David Berman of Silver Jews, a true artist and someone I could have talked to for hours. With the steady and inevitable decline of the Western World to look forward to next year I am hopeful that some new musical talent will rise from the ashes to guide us through it all.
Albums
Black Mountain - In The Future
We've had this so long it almost seems like last year that this rocked my world. It's had a solid road testing for 12 months and is still as mighty as it's first play. A comprehensive delivery of all that was promised on the first record.
No Age - Nouns
This record really lit a fire in me this year and started a frenzied search into the context from which it sprung. It's a furious and unbridled blend of hazy shoegaze, garage rock and dirty punk and is all delivered with remarkable ease.
White Denim - Workout Holiday
A ramshackle chaotic work of genius that treads a fine line between electrifying soul infused garage punk and utter shambles.
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
The whole conception of this debut in total isolation in deepest Wisconsin gave it a great angle to get the critics chattering but since its release earlier this year it has risen from that chatter as utterly captivating and has introduced Justin Vernon as one of the most beguiling voices of the year.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
It's been a tough old year for everybody and this 4 piece from New York has brought nothing but warmth and cheer to it from the start. Even way back in January it was obvious that this would feature in this list.
Close seconds
Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw
Four Tet - Ringer EP
Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
Songs
Tindersticks - Intro
TV On The Radio - DLZ
Portishead - The Rip
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Black Mountain - Stormy High
Gigs
Bruce Springsteen - Emirates Stadium
Silver Jews - ULU
No Age - Electric Ballroom
Black Mountain - Scala
Radiohead - Victoria Park
Movies
The Orphanage
No Country For Old Men
In Bruges
TV
Summer Heights High
The Wire - Season 5
Biggest Disappointment
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges. I really have nothing good to say about this album. I think I'm done with these guys sadly.
19th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Bigger and Best
Forget the chimp top 5 charts, and head over to The Big Picture for their 3 part run-down of the year's best photographs.
UPDATE: Part 2 here, Part 3 here.
18th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
chimp71
another decent year of pop culture for me, feels like there's been lots of good stuff to get into this year...
TV
The Wire (FX) - season five bowed out in great form. Still the greatest.
Mad Men (BBC4) - convincing, slowburn drama, with fascinating take on early 60s life.
Breaking Bad (FX) Engrossing suburban drug-dealing tension.
Battlestar Galactica (Sky1) - trippy, political, enigmantic, moving sci-fi with some great space battles thrown in for good measure. Don't want it to end, but I do want to find out where they're going with it.
30 Rock (Five) - made even better by Tina Fey getting rid of Sarah Palin.
Summer Heights High (BBC3) - don't want to be rude, but seriously, did you miss this? That's so random.
Criminal Justice (BBC1) - five nights of proper drama.
Film
Waltz With Bashir - brilliantly thoughtful animation, covering memory, loss and the intensity of war.
Man On Wire - beautifully simple doc about a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. High tension line, indeed.
Gomorrah - brutal Italian mob chaos.
In Search Of A Midnight Kiss - lo-fi indie romance
also enjoyed: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, In Bruges, No Country For Old Men
Albums
TV On The Radio - Dear Science an album that sounds like it could only have been made in 2008.
Black Mountain - In The Future retro maybe, but totally heavy and pretty essential
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes great debut.
Bon Iver - For Emma - as was this.
Santogold - Santogold (and Top Ranking, the Diplo-Dub) - and this!
also enjoyed: Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend, Grace Jones - Hurricane, Catfish Haven - Devastator
Gigs
Black Mountain - The Scala (great just after breakfast at Glastonbury too)
Jay-Z - Glastonbury a proper big moment. His cover of Wonderwall was deft, subtle and hilarious all at the same time.
Grace Jones - Royal Festival Hall disco from another dimension. Total legend.
Justice - Somerset House huge, gut-shaking digital rock, great to see in a classic setting.
Bjork - Hammersmith Apollo - still one of the best live acts around.
Also enjoyed: Matthew Herbert Big Band - Royal Festival Hall, Radiohead - Victoria Park
18th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Best Of 2008
Marmot
Music
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: best album of the year by far in my book. Every song is great.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: great songs and manages to sound like Paul Simon in a good way.
El Guincho - Alegranza!: this year's Panda Bear, nearly.
TV On The Radio - Dear Science: their sound came together spectacularly well and they managed to take their song writing up a notch.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Is It The Sea?: does a live album count? Slipped out almost unnoticed but is unbelievably good. Bought new vigor back to past songs.
Honorable mentions:
Pete Molinari - A Virtual Landslide : Chet Baker sings the Medway Blues.
Flight Of The Conchords : Very funny and surprisingly listenable.
Film
There Will Be Blood: for the first hour the best film I ever saw. Not so sure about the ending though.
No Country For Old Men: for the haircut.
The Orphanage: old school scary.
The Dark Knight: a bit long and self important but still one of this year's best.
Gigs
Smog @ St. James Church: even though they didn't play 'Dress Sexy At My Funeral'.
Jamie Liddell @ Koko: really.
Jim James @ St. James Church: hauntingly good.
Bog Log III @ 100 Club: his rendition of 'Clap Your Tits' was quite beautiful
TV
A year without television for me.
17th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Best Of 2008
Harris Pilton
Best Live Band - Zu
Sneaking in at the last minute (saw them twice in December) come Zu, an instrumental group consisting of Drums, Bass, and Baritone Sax. This, you might think, is not a recipe for success in these modern times but Zu have an unconventional approach to their sound which has to be heard to be believed. The honking Baritone is barked hard through overdrive and fuzz, the Drums played with power and true flair, while the Bass (?) seems to perform the role of just about everything else a band could need - metal guitar, brass riffs, sweeping electronics and some of the deepest low-notes known to mankind. The result is the sheer chunky heaviness of Helmet with the experimentation of Krautrock. No chance of the mix sounding empty with this trio - you just keep wondering who is doing what, and how the hell they can sound like that. Expect unusual time signatures, a party atmosphere and a monstrous sound.
Best Album - The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent
Thirty years into the turbulent history of The Fall, Mark E Smith is reunited with producer Grant Showbiz and, it would seem, the joy of making records. Imperial Wax Solvent is arguably the best Fall record ever, capturing something that was often hinted at during the previous three decades but never so consistently nailed. Thing is, MES has a great band these days and it sounds like he really digs what they can do, and this in turn produces some great vocal performances and lyrics from the main man. The titles tell you a lot:- Wolf Kidult Man, Latch Key Kid, Senior Twilight Stock Replacer, and 50 Year Old Man. One track is called Can Can Summer, and once it hits the main riff you realise why :- this is the Fall album where MES comes closest in sound to the group he has long-admired - Can. Smith's wife Eleni Poulou makes a considerable contribution to the album with way-cool squelchy analog synths and one lead vocal on the magnificent I've Been Duped (in which you'll hear her sing something about two hairy men digging up Scotland. Brilliant). But central to the proceedings is the wry old goat himself - clearly enjoying himself, sounding happy and enthusiastic, better recorded and lyrically sharp as ever. I've played this album all year long, and can't wait to hear the next one.
Best Game - Far Cry 2 - Ubisoft Montreal
The Far Cry franchise got off to a spectacular start in 2004 with the release of the original PC only game. Stunningly realistic landscaping, open fields of play and extremely smart (cunning even) AI enemies. A great start for any game series, which had console owners chomping at the bit. Sadly, the console based adaptations of the first Far Cry did not live up to expectations, with less diversity to the scenery, dumber AI, and on-rails game play. This was a big disapointment to anyone who'd played the original PC version, leaving console owners feeling rather short-changed. Far Cry 2 can be considered the first proper follow-up to the original, and it even raises the standard by several notches. Coming up to this release, Ubisoft were pretty confident about FC2's landscaping and weather modelling but it's not until you've seen the game running that you'll truly appreciate how spectacular this game looks, and how well it plays. Set in Africa, the story-line is mature and non-patronising, playing as a first person shooter with 50 square kilometers of free-roam play area. You choose your missions and when to do them, leaving you free to just roam about fighting off attacks from just about everyone you encounter. The AI is back to being cunning, the gently unravelling story is compelling, and the action is full-on. Sadly, there is one problem with this otherwise-perfect game:- many Xbox 360 owners have had their game's save files corrupted (all of them) by some mystery bug when they get to 88 percent game completion, forcing them to start all over again. That's a serious glitch and one which Ubisoft should be trying to address without delay. Luckily, I only encountered one single corrupted save file, losing only half an hour of progress. I checked my stats when I completed the game and found that I had enjoyed almost 60 hours of gameplay without ever getting bored.
16th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviews
Clint On Gran Torino
NYT interview with Clint for his new film Gran Torino
15th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best of 2008: Top 5s
With 2008 grinding to a halt, we're kicking off our round up of the year's best, starting with CJ. Already we're seeing a few consistent favourites.
15th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Of 2008
CJ
Music
Why? - Alopecia. Leftfield hip-hop of a high standard
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend. Song of the year: "Walcott"
Mighty Joseph - Empire State. As close as we've come to a follow up to the excellent Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes. I came to this late having enjoyed them on Later recently
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid.
Close: Despite a few clangers My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges has been working its way back up my playlists. It also has one of the worst album covers ever.
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
Film
No Country For Old Men - gripping
Iron Man - great entertainment
Best gig
Didn't go to enough
Biggest disappointment - The Dark Knight. Didn't live up to my high hopes, especially after Batman Begins
15th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviewsD.U.D. (Dumb Up Dudes!): Bush - Midnight Rambler
one last barrage of nonsense from the Bush administration...
14th Dec 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
THE Aaron Rose
You may have heard us mention Aaron Rose on this site, as a pioneer of the Lower East Side art scene, one-time boss of English Steve, promotor of many fine Skateboard related artists and director of the recent documentary Beautiful Losers.
Well it turns out he's now in Gossip Girl as rich chick Selena's artist squeeze. Or is he? Huffington Post has the details, via the New York Post.
10th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
NYT Credit Munch London
the New York Times looks for credit munch food in London with Savoir Fare London
10th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
More Gigs, Albums & Films Of The Year
Here's the Guardian's top ten gigs of 2008 and the Times' top 100 films & 100 Albums - get yours ready, Chimps, we'll be rounding all our lists up soon...
8th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ripley + Ridley - Alien = ?
are Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott really up for an Alien-less Alien 5?
6th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best of the year....
The end of the year 'Best Ofs' are starting to trickle in, with Rough Trade beating a fairly similar track to some Chimpo favourites - but the numbers don't lie, and Last FM's chart clocks Coldplay as the favourite album and single of the year, with MGMT taking the artist top spot. Top 50s from Uncut and Mojo here
4th Dec 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Guns N' Pepper
"It turned out that Dr Pepper did not define 'everyone in America' the same way as 'everyone in America' defined 'everyone in America.'" The GNR v Dr Pepper saga continues...
4th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trial By Fire
Tim Ferriss, life management sensei and author of the excellent 4 Hour Work Week (more on that later), has a pilot coming for a TV show - Trial By Fire. The concept takes the ethos of his book, where organising your life better (i.e. not checking your email every 2 minutes) can leave you with lots of time to learn extra curricular activities super-quick. He's starting by attempting master the ancient Samurai sport of Yabusame.
3rd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Devil Uses Poladroid
Looks like reality might be emulating art, with rumours spreading that long standing US Vogue editor (and inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada movie) might be getting the boot to make way for her French counterpart. More interesting perhaps is the fact that Gawker seem to be using Poladroid to make their graphics.
2nd Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Big Picture: Mumbai
The Big Picture has an unsurprisingly excellent set of photos up from Mumbai. Proceed with caution.
28th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Shake It Like A Fuji Instax Picture
Doesn't quite have the same ring about it as "Polaroid" really, but Fujifilm and Tomy are hoping to sweep up the instant picture void with their new cameras
27th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Just One Tiny Flaw In The Pirate Masterplan
d'oh! they forgot about satellites... Captain Jack never had this problem - isn't there a secret lagoon somewhere they could have hidden it?
27th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
R.I.P. Richey Edwards
RIP Richey Edwards. Officially dead, 13 years later.
26th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Steet View Fun
Plenty of fun spotted in Google's Streetview so far, particularly along Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh, who may have had a tip about the cars coming their way.
25th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
There's Matthew Herbert And There's Links
After a great show at the Royal Festival Hall last night, here's a couple of Herbert related links: some playlist tips over at Clash magazine with a handy download of Micachu, Alice And The Cool Dudes, Kwes, Finn Peters, Lime Headed Dog and Rowdysuperst*r; a Guardian piece from Matt explaining the thinking behind the new album There's You And There's Me; and an interview at Pitchfork
22nd Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Where You At?
You probably don't want to delve to deeply into the potential invasion-of-privacy issues, but recent developments are now allowing browsers to access your position, much like a GPS enabled phone browser - meaning websites such as Last Minute's Radar can provide you with location-centric data.
Google's Gears is one way of enabling such services, recent builds of Firefox include similar tech.
21st Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Arrrrrrr
What's life like for the Jolly Somali Rogers?
And here's a map to tell you which waters to avoid.
19th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Format 22
YouTube is quietly testing a further improved format, according to The Times. We tipped you off to Format 18 a while back, but now they've bumped it up even further with Format 22. I'm guessing that the same trick (add&fmt=22 to the URL) will work nicely, although the original video will need to have been uploaded in a suitable resolution. Try the sample clip in fullscreen.
19th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Foal Up
Sub Pop's Foals have just found out that they have the daunting task of following Men Called Him Mister on to the Madrid stage later this month.
18th Nov 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Speak Into The Microphone Squidbrain!
Google's new voice-enabled search App should have hit the iTunes store by the time you read this. Versions for other platforms coming soon.
18th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
RIP Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell, the great drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience has died. Always loved his ability to get as many rolls in a song as possible...
13th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Real Californication
the Anthony Kiedis biopic Scar Tissue is heading to HBO
13th Nov 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Data Protection
By sheer coincidence, and a determination to distract myself from some tedious essential tasks today, I stumbled accross hard evidence of two products that I have had long designed in my daydreaming mind. First up, the pocket video projector.
At art school I mated a portable tv with an overhead projector, before evolving the idea with a magnifying glass and a video iPod a couple if years back. Both ideas were solid, but the brightness of the source let things down. Now Texas instruments have developed the concept more thoroughly, bringing out a pocket sized projector, which can throw a 60 inch screen onto a nearby white surface. Perfect for when you find yourself flying air India, or you need to show Ari Gold your reel while he's stuck in line with the valet. The 480 pixel resolution is nothing to write home about, but it's better than some of the studio previews we're screening at the ranch this Thursday.
Next up, as previously noted, digital photography is finally entering the mainstream of film production in a major way. I've often wondered what was holding video back from the high-end goodness enjoyed by the digital SLR world for quite some time. Red have taken that idea to a certain point, but now Canon have stepped in with a new digital SLR that can shoot full 1080 digital video (barrage of tech data here).
As it's a regular Canon body you have a huge choice if easily available lenses, which keeps the cost low and the f stop even lower. Check out Pulitzer winning photographer Vincent Laforet's dummy shoot for some sample footage. The clip was shot using the cameras low-light capabilities (+ helicopter + Moby soundtrack), and doesn't feature any post-production to enhance the colours and whatnot. Canon has some clips of their own here, some stills here and even a making-of video.
Michael Mann's not going to be able to sleep.
The concept's certainly building steam (witness this bulked-up camera kit) and Red themselves haven't been snoozing in this marketplace however - and a specs announcement Is due tomorrow on their new 'Scarlet' product, which is said to have radically moved on since initial word got out. Low light, plus low price and slow- mo goodness. Yum.
As a cryogenically suspended filmmaker, both of these technolgical advancements light my fire... and I'm happy to withdraw any claims on the technology.
12th Nov 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet