Sort Of Natural

My Favorite Things of 2011.

thirddesign — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:39:50 +0000

I’m doing this instead of long lists of film and music rankings.

OTHER MUSIC

But first… here are a few albums that didn’t make the list but are still worth your time.

Dumbo Gets Made “Elephants At The Door” / Ducktails “Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics” / BOBBY “BOBBY” / John Maus “We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves” / Real Estate “Days” / Monster Rally “Crystal Ball” and “Coral LP”

OTHER FILMS

You can see how I ranked the films of 2011 on my “Flickchart” here… All 33 that I happened to see.

Ok, now for the list of things that I found to be enjoyable in year 2011

12. Colin Stetson “New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges” (music)

Heavy… Skillful… Enjoyable

Stream the album

11. Louie (television)

Funny in your heart ears.

10. Professor Blastoff (podcast)

A hilarious weekly look at the world, science, ideas and other things. Kyle Dunnigan says funny things in funny ways.

http://www.earwolf.com/show/professor-blastoff/

9. Le Havre (film)

Imagine if Tarantino was in a good mood and had an original idea. Then the took the idea to Wes Anderson. Anderson then shot the film and allowed Michael Haneke to edit it. It’s sort of like that.

8. Future Islands “On The Water” (music)

Beach House didn’t make an album this year. Future Islands did… Hopefully they do this every year or so.

7. Take Shelter (film)

A surprisingly affecting film. Michael Shannon is one of the greatest actors of all time. Go find this film!

6. Film Junk (podcast)

In a world inundated with big name podcasters. Four men ,from somewhere in Canada, have taken the medium to its loftiest height. A weekly 2 hour long movie review podcast and so much more. It also happens to be the funniest podcast on the interweb and boasts one of the most interestingly strange recurring guest/character in the, post-Karl Pilkington, world.

Here is great place for new listeners to start… Episode #250: The Clip Show

Or this amazing story from Film Junks resident filmmaker Jay Cheel and his colon cancer scare.

5. Panda Bear “Tomboy” (music)

What falling out of the warm nest of “Person Pitch” sounds like. Ultimately landing in a more ornate nest outfitted with artificial heat called “Tomboy”. It was a great trip.

4. Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues” (music)

Not timeless. A mindful and immediate ode to middle years and us middle children of history.

3. Breaking Bad (television)

There is nothing more to say. Get a Netflix account and watch the past seasons. Purchase the new season. Sleep until the next season.

No video… I don’t want to spoil any of it for you.

2. Drive (film)

This film absolutely flattened me. Flattened me like a boot to the head in an elevator.

1. The Tree Of Life (film)

2011: A West Texas Family Fever Dream

The world begins and ends and its beautiful.

Recent Personal Work – a bit abstract

thirddesign — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:24:43 +0000

Been trying to escape my own creative confines. Some of these are unfinished, some are overproduced. But each one is a reflection of a personal feeling or idea.

For once I don’t really care if others enjoy the work. This is mine, for my own pleasure. That statement is partially true.

My 19 Favorite Films Of 2010 (and the end of 2009)

thirddesign — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:46:53 +0000

Originality is one less film…

This is totally based on personal taste and entertainment received from the film. I have no personal experience in the technicalities of film-making, acting or sound design. My light dabbling in photography does inform much of this list.

Here are a few films that didn’t make the list. I wasn’t able to see them in time for this post, but I’m certain that they are great! (Let Me In, Carlos, Dogtooth, and Mother)

Now for the list… You would do well to watch each of these films!

19. ODDSAC

What just happened? Can I see it again…

18. Enter The Void

No film matches the visuals here, even if they are just hollow symbols.

17. Red Riding (trilogy)

You’ll never guess, but you should have.

16. Monsters

Not on this list because it was made for just under fifteen dollars. Hey Cameron, story trumps visuals everytime.

15. Catfish

I believe I don’t believe I believe I believe… I’m not sure if I believe but it doesn’t matter now.

14. Restrepo

A mandatory viewing for every American citizen.

13. Black Swan

Aronofsky creates the most chilling scenes of the year.

12. Shutter Island

Best ending of the year.

11. Animal Kingdom

Sucker punched by this… Turns into a great film when Pearce arrives.

10. Get Low

Thank you Bill Murray… It’s nice to see you again. Duvall deserves the world for this one.

9. The Fighter

Don’t worry, this isn’t a Marky Mark vehicle. Prepare yourself for Bale’s best performance…ever. (your argument is invalid)

8. A Prophet

It’s better than The Godfather. And it’s all in one film.

7. Inception

The brilliant mind of Nolan creates a muddled yet strangely coherent masterpiece. This is high art in a blockbuster dress.

6. The White Ribbon

I dare not try to explain it. You’ve seen nothing like it.

5. The Social Network

The best director, best actor, best score, best trailer, best opening scene, and best screenplay… and almost the best film.

4. Exit Through The Gift Shop

Pure joy… Don’t question the validity. Just sit back and enjoy the unfettered creativity.

3. True Grit

The Coens best film? Certainly the best western I’ve ever seen.

2. The Kings Speech

The best overall performances… And the best cinematography of the year.

1. Winters Bone

No movie has ever captured me the way this gem did. The most realistic looking film in ages. The desperately honest portrait of this young ladies life will no doubt bring a tear to your eye.

There it is. My top 19 films of the year.

Let me know how you would rank the films of 2010!

Here We Are #3

thirddesign — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:09:52 +0000

All of these photos can be found in our Flickr Group “SortOfNatural” and in the corresponding gallery.

Make sure to click on each photo to be taken to its original page.

Here We Are is a collection of photographs from the brightest and most inspiring minds I’ve stumbled across. I love these images.

This is Here We Are #3 … and as comedy legend Steven Brody Stevens would say, Enjoy It!

Sort Of Naturals “Top Ten Albums of 2010″

thirddesign — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:56:13 +0000

Here it is… A list of what I liked in music for 2010. Figured I would do the whole top ten thing. This will not be based off some kind of recommendation of musical quality, but rather the amount of liking I had toward the album.
So here they are in order of … personal likeyness. (including a youtube clip of my favorite song from each)

10. Young Man “Boy” EP

Album of enjoyable light enjoyableness.

9. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Before Today”

Out of the bedroom… Still lovely.

8. Yeasayer “Odd Blood”

Upon first listen I planned no second listen. Now this is the boppy bloopy soundtrack of my weekends.

7. Deerhunter “Halcyon Digest”

Can we all agree that Bradford Cox is a raging genius.

6. Mountain Man “Made Of Harbor”

Molly, Alexander, and Amelia are angels… vocal angels.

5. Beach House “Teen Dream”

The thickest most inviting wall of sound you’ll find.

4. The Tallest Man On Earth “The Wild Hunt”

Bob who?

3. Arcade Fire “The Suburbs”

Bahbabaabababaaaaa… the band of our time does it again.

2. Avey Tare “Down There”

Listen front to back or your missing the point(don’t ask me what the point is).

1. The Walkmen “Lisbon”

Sparse and wonderful. Full and flourishing.

Some other stuff I liked this year (In no order at all…)

Owen Pallett “Heartland“ – Vampire Weekend “Contra” – Jonsi “Go” – Glasser “Ring” – A Classic Education “Hey There Stranger EP” – Crystal Castles “Crystal Castles” – Panda Bear “Tomboy, and the money grabbing singles“ - Röyksopp “Senior” – The National “High Violet” – MGMT “Congratulations” – Local Natives “Gorilla Manor” – Emily Jane White “Victorian America” – Brasstronaut “Mt.Chimaera” – Animal Collective “ODDSAC” soundtrack

Here We Are #2

thirddesign — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:34:58 +0000

All of these photos can be found in our Flickr Group “SortOfNatural” and in the corresponding gallery.

Make sure to click on each photo to be taken to its original page.

Here We Are is a collection of photographs from the brightest and most inspiring minds Flickr has to offer. Photographers with the ability to frame a subject in a sincere and artistic fashion.

This is Here We Are #2 … as comedy legend Steven Brody Stevens would say, Enjoy It!

More Words Today

thirddesign — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:53:59 +0000

//PERSONAL WORK //

Recently got some of my work up in a coffee shop. If you’re in Delaware make sure to stop by The Young Bean. Great coffee and wonderful art.

Here is some of the latest photo / typo stuff I’ve put together. Go here for the rest of the work on my flickr.

Animal Collective – Live At Pitchfork Festival 2008 bootleg mp3 album

thirddesign — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:19:15 +0000

Recently found the recordings of Animal Collectives performance at the 2008 Pitchfork Festival.

They are killer live! Hear many of the MPP songs back before they hit the shelves.

I packaged it all together and made this “album art” for your iTunes library….

Click the photo to be taken to the download page! (Its in a nice tidy ZIP file)

(found the recordings on decibeltolls)

Panda Bear – Pitchfork 2010 Bootleg mp3

thirddesign — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:58:36 +0000

Noah Lennox (that drummer guy from animal collective // Panda Bear) performed perfect headphone drone out tunes to a festival audience. Yeah it was panned. But now we can have it in our headphones, where it always belonged. Get pumped for the new album!

Here it is. The full performance in mp3 format. Download here!

Im using this image as the album art in iTunes…

Feel free to snag it

Link to Gorilla vs Bear article and video from the performance.

Here We Are #1

thirddesign — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:17:30 +0000

This is the first of many posts that will make up the meat of this blog.

All of these photos can be found in our Flickr Group “SortOfNatural” and in the corresponding gallery.

Make sure to click on each photo to be taken to its original page.

Here We Are is a collection of photographs from the brightest minds in all of Flickrdom. Photographers with the ability to frame a subject in a sincere and realistic way. Also their composition techniques are pretty freaking sweet.

This is Here We Are #1 … Enjoy