Photographer digg

Paul Wilkes (appearing in picture below, red shirt)

who: was born in Taylor, (not Tyler) Texas in 1985. was raised in Dallas, Texas. lives, works, and plays in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. is currently a junior (of sorts) at the University of Central Oklahoma pursuing BFA in Graphic Design.

"I've spent those four years working on my technique and style, trying to figure out where I wanted to go with my photography - experimenting and experimenting and then some. I began to fall in love with people and the intimacy which comes through photographing them. A camera is my excuse to get to know anyone and everyone. It's like having the golden ticket or skeleton key to go inside so many doors I never had before."







www.pwilkes.com

Album of the Week

Explosions in the Sky
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temp. Residence Ltd.)

If Explosions in the Sky were an illness, they would probably fit best with Bipolar Disorder. Explosions exemplify duality. Their sound, while haunting and macabre, also brings feelings of hope and comfort. The music itself has always been defined by crescendos, spending half the time in the quiet zone and the other soaring in stormy skies. Their latest offering, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, doesn't betray its predecessors. It begins with the stellar track- also showing their duality with it's title- "The Birth and Death of the Day," which starts things off with a lift, tears that lift apart, and then explodes- highlighted by the riff at the climax.

One difference with this album from their others is the pace at which they navigate their crescendos. These songs show a stronger diagnosis of this bipolarism than their last record, which can be heard on the tracks, "It's Natural to be Afraid" and "What do You go Home to?," the former the most obvious as it lingers and spurts for a while before picking it up toward the middle where it starts to use emphatic crescendos to make it one of the better tracks on the album. This album is also more optimistic than their last 2 albums. They use the piano at times to exude this on "What do You go Home to?" and most notably, on the finale, "So Long Lonesome," which is much different that anything Explosions has done(it's heavily-driven by the piano and, gasp- clocks-in under 4 minutes) but still has their signature sound there to claim it. The overall finest track on the record is probably "Welcome, Ghosts" as it highlights Explosions strengths and has the strongest melody.


hear: The Birth and Death of the Day, Welcome, Ghosts, It's Natural to be Afraid


www.explosionsinthesky.com
www.temporaryresidence.com

The Runaways Found

"Pioneer" by Interpol
Live at the Capital Music Hall
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
April 15, 2007

Brand New Song! First time played live! If you look closely above, you can see that the release date for the new album is July 10th...

Will Ferrell in "The Anchorman meets 300"

Album of the week

Low
Drums and Guns (Sub Pop)

After an album like The Great Destroyer, you would expect that a band such as Low would have followed it up with a record having the same dynamic, filtering their signature "slowcore" sound within. Well, at least I would have. In fact, Drums and Guns isn't such a radical departure from their pre-Destroyer days, with it's haunting, echoing vocals layered over a minimalist type sound. The difference is the surprise: not only is Drums and Guns nothing like Destroyer, it's even more minimal than anything they've released. But the minimalism doesn't drown out and leave you unfulfilled. It's accompanied by electronic back beats and loops which give the record a more experimental feel. Alan Sparhawk has called [this element] hip-hop. And while it's far from the standard hip-hop style, the experimentation is similar to how hip-hop records are made, especially with- surprise- the drums. That's why it's experimentation: Low aren't rappers.

The result is one of restraint. You get the feeling Low could have busted loose and really created some memorable songs for the kids if they had wanted (ie. "Your Poison.") But Low is satisfied with not letting loose and comfortable with their pace. They know the songs are fine as stripped-down as they are and don't force the issue. As with any Low record, the lyrics are dark- but this time around- without much gentleness. Alan Sparhawk has said that as far as he can tell, the album is about killing. Really? "It looks like you could use a murderer" Sparhawk addresses his maker in the appropriately titled and stand-out track, "Murderer." Other titles like "Hatchet" and "Violent Past" state the case as well. Given the lyrical content, the title, Drums and Guns, seems less like a mantra to arms and rather an introspection of personal struggle.

The irony is that Sparhawk and co. are self-proclaimed optimists and after spending time with yours truly, I can attest to that. They're simply masters of a craft. Like Flannery O'conner, who was able to access and produce dark yet inspiring rhetoric, Low is able to tap into a similar albeit musical vein, which slightly echoes a sense of spirituality just as O'conner did. Low's previous album, while definitely not music for Stuart Smiley, unveiled Low's rock-pop side and had a sense of that optimism. But for all it's differences to The Great Destroyer, Drums and Guns is a solid record that returns to Low's roots. It's nice to have the old Low back, where instead of just telling us about darkness, they calmly whisper the haunting into our ears.

hear: Belarus, Breaker, Hatchet, Murderer, Violent Past

www.chairkickers.com
www.subpop.com

The larger the concert, the faster Global Warming will go away?

"Kanye, Pumpkins, Beasties Save World With Live Earth
Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson also get down philanthropically

Despite the current spate of April slush sliding off the rooftops of our Pitchfork office, all scientific evidence seems to suggest that global warming is goin' down. But even the staunchest glacier-hater has to agree: former vice-hippie Al Gore and concert promoter Kevin Wall's Live Earth, the wordwide series of star-studded charity shows taking place July 7 and aimed at combating climate change, has its heart in the right place.

Though concerts are also planned in Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and China, only two of the megagigs have been firmed up so far: London, and Jersey. LDN's Wembley Stadium will showcase the Beastie Boys, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Madonna, Damien Rice, Black Eyed Peas, Corinne Bailey Rae, David Gray, Duran Duran, Foo Fighters, Genesis, James Blunt, John Legend, Keane, Paolo Nutini, Razorlight, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, while the U.S. date features Kanye West, Smashing Pumpkins, the Police, Roger Waters, Rihanna, Ludacris, Fall Out Boy, KT Tunstall, Melissa Etheridge, John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, Akon, AFI, and Kelly Clarkson.

Conspicuously absent: Gore faves Kool and the Gang."

Wait for it...the far left has spoken:

Via Filter:

Can’t Al Gore just put on a series of concerts to raise environmental awareness without a storm of controversy? In our political climate, not likely.

The interesting thing is that this time the backlash against Live Earth isn’t coming from the right but from the far left. Activist with CarbonFootprint.com are crying “hypocrisy” since some of the performers set for the concerts live lavish lifestyles that cause environmental harm. Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers get particularly called out for past touring that allegedly produced massive amounts of CO2 output.

Complicated, conflicted stuff, this environmentalism.

Best TV show you didn't watch (2006-2007)

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

"This clip is emblematic of the sort of care and craftsmanship that warranted the New York Times calling Friday Night Lights, "near art" and one of the best shows on television."

Trailways

This was filmed on the "Heber Creeper" train in Utah. It's a fan video for the song Trailways by Red House Painters.