my top 12 albums of the decade

so its that time of year where people are making lists... and theres more of them this year than most because not only is it the end of the year, but its the end of the decade. it got me thinking about making my own list. my top albums of the 2000's. i gotta say, i was worried about music around the turn of the century/decade. really worried. but there were a ton of albums that given me confidence about the state of music, and creative thought in the world... and by the end of the decade, it seems that alot of this independent-minded music has started to win.

so here ya go - 12 albums to check out if you havent already. and if its been a few years since you've heard them, dig out the old cd or look them up on itunes and give them a fresh spin.

12. mastodon - crack the skye :: there are few really heavy albums that i can listen to on a regular basis (achilles and metallica withstanding)... but this is an album that consistently finds its way back into rotation. i think its because there is a real soul to it. its not just blast beats and screaming or groaning. the music is is powerful and heavy, but there seems to be a heart beating below the weight of the music. and there's great vocals.

11. pearl jam - backspacer :: a true return to form - full of muscular pop and rock songs and a few spectacular ballads. the vocals are strong, as are the melodies and hooks. if you liked pearl jam back in the 90s, you should definitely check this album out. its a concise half hour of great rock n roll.

10. john mayer - continuum :: i realize that this pick sounds wussy, but its a solid blues/folk/soul/rock album. its pretty perfect if you take off 'waiting for the world to change' (and just make it its own single). it sustains a continuous vibe throughout, and doesn't go in the normal cheesy lyrical directions that his records typically do.

9. the postal service - give up :: i think i have listened to this album more than any other album that has come out this decade, because it is perfect artroom music. when i first heard it, it was so fresh and different. ben gibbard's voice floats perfectly above and amongst the textural electronic beats. i can't wait for more music from this duo.

8. my morning jacket - it still moves :: my first introduction to one of my favorite bands. they are a wonderful mix of neil young and radiohead. it just feels like REAL music. 'nuff said.

7. modest mouse - the moon & antarctica :: to be honest, i didnt begin to love this album until after i heard their 2 more recent albums. but after hearing this album, it is obvious that it is their best work. it has an energy and flow that the others lack. this is a real gem of the turn of the century.

6. the black keys - attack & release :: i remember reading about the black keys in rolling stone - 2 dudes from crumbling urban ohio playing indie garage blues. it sounded like a cool premise, and with the addition of producer danger mouse, this album cooks. it has a wonderful atmospheric presence that accents the texture and sensitive muscle of the music.

5. arcade fire - neon bible :: indie rock that channeled springsteen. recorded in a church. tons of interesting instruments and multiple vocalists, both creating unique sonic textures. its a little dark but still manages to be uplifting. the perfect winter album.

4. radiohead - kid a :: this one shows up at the top of many many decade-end lists... and it deserves to be there for sure. i didn't think they would be able to top 'ok computer', but this took their fusion of rock and electronic elements to a new level. they were able to fuse passion and detachment into one cohesive package.

3. death cab for cutie - transatlanticism :: i have to thank rob & mandi on this one - they suggested i check this album out. i did, and havent looked back since. death cab has become one of my favorite bands - they have continued to grow and push since this record, but it still stands as their most complete statement. it felt so fresh when i heard it, and it remains that way today.

2. iron & wine - the shepherd's dog :: i loved sam beam's voice from the first time i heard it. but at the time, i was a bit bored by the minimalist instrumentation that backed it (basically just his guitar... very lo-fi recording). 'the woman king' ep came out, and i was more interested. but it lacked a full, solid body of songs. then came the 'the shepherd's dog', recorded with a full band. this, to me, is the quintessential indie folk album. off-kilter rhythms and instrumentation, dynamic shifts within songs as well as between songs, and abstract thought provoking lyrics. this album has been in constant rotation since it was released - and i have a feeling it will continue to be that way. it takes me someplace far away, but is still grounded here in the earth. listen to it and you'll get what i'm saying.

1. wilco - sky blue sky :: this album was all i could talk about for 6 months after it came out. its all i wanted to listen to, it was the first thing i recommended to anyone, and it showed up on all my mix cds. it is the closest thing to a perfect album that i can find - not just in this decade, but its up there with jeff buckley 'grace', pearl jam 'ten', and miles davis 'kind of blue' for me in the realm of complete, perfect musical statements. its not the most exciting album of all time (that title may to go mastodon 'crack the skye'), but with the addition of nels cline on guitar, jeff tweedy found his classic rock and avante-garde partner. this album is escape. its a worship of love and life. its simplicity and subtlety. if nothing else, listen to 'impossible germany' and see for yourself.

ROC pendant

i have been waiting for a while now to see lia beauchemin... not only because she is one of my awesome former students, but because she had a necklace for me. on wednesday, she brought me her new creation - my very own ROC logo pendant. so stoked.
you should get one too.

thanks lia. i show it to everyone.

"the rochester city symbol imprinted on this pendant has rich historical significance. around 1832, rochesterville, as it was originally called, became known as the flour city for the numerous and booming flour mills that sprang up along the genesee river. as the city grew and the expansion out west caused a slowing in the flour industry, rochester became known for the seed companies it was home to - several of which were the largest in the world. so by 1850, rochester was known officially as the "flower city." the symbol is meant to represent both of these formerly booming industries - it is both the lilac flower, which grows prominently in the area and is also a waterwheel which represents continual progress and vitality."

merry christmas :: gonna hear a little jingle. gonna hear a little jangle.

AP ART reunion.

we had our AP ART reunion today... i feel so lucky to teach such a great group of kids. my current class were great hosts and its always great to get together and enjoy each others' company.
thanks for being awesome.

AP ART reunion wisdom

friday wisdom.

artist of the week :: jillian erhardt

not many things give me more pride than seeing my 'kids' go out into the big bad art world and start to make a difference... and make art that builds off of (and far surpasses) what they ever did in my classroom.
one such artist is jillian erhardt.
she recently set up a website, and its deserving of a look. she is using her talent for the greater good - as part of a social design design collective at MICA. they are working on helping to educate the public about good hygiene, std's, as well as a variety of other community-based projects. its pretty awesome...
so, check out her work below, and if you are so inclined, you can see more at www.jillianerhardt.com







so... hopefully there are other alumns out there reading this - if you have a newly created site, or a new body of work to share with the world... shoot me an email, or better yet, bring it along to the reunion on wednesday. i would love to get you all up on my site!

elvis costello and u2 mashup live.

so cool.

david choong lee :: interview

saw this on upper playground's youtube channel. if you liked david choong lee's work, or if you like painting in general, you should watch it. he's pretty funny, and his artwork is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBHUaOEknOk

"ever since I started combining some mixed media or street art — the ‘there’s no mistake’ kind of idea — it makes me much more free."
-david choong lee

artist of the week :: kent williams

from his website :: "primarily a figurative painter, williams' work explores, in both bold and subtle ways, and often through a suggestion of narrative and woven symbolism, the thread of life that ties us together as human beings. embracing our virtues while not shying away from our faults, he shows us portraits of ourselves, intense and penetrating."

the artists statement.

friday wisdom.

thanks to melissa mazzo for the quote, via 'into the wild' (via thoreau)...
and thanks to calvin and hobbes for the font.

the snow falls, its time for the black keys...

i woke up this morning at 5:21.
it was december, and there was snow on the ground.

i've been listening to "we brave bee stings and all" by THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN for the past few days on heavy rotation ((highly recommended))... but the blustery morning seemed to call out for THE BLACK KEYS last album, produced (and heavily influenced) by danger mouse. its called "attack and release".
it was the perfect choice for this morning... some garage blues, some sludge, and just enough aged texture to make it sound as if it had been around for longer than 2 years.

i'm looking forward to the drive home.

jeremy fish studio visit

i was searching the web for info on this week's artist of the week - david choong lee, and in my lengthy web-travels, came across this jeremy fish studio visit on fecalface.com. terrible website name, great website.
they often have studio visits with contemporary urban artists, showing images of their workspaces, the artwork (sometimes in progress), and video interviews. its pretty awesome. i particularly love looking at the studios themselves - it gives you a glipse not only into their mind, but it lets you put together how they do what they do.

here are some pictures of jeremy fish's studio:

artist of the week :: david choong lee

David Choong Lee was born in 1966 in Seoul, Korea. David arrived in San Francisco from Seoul, Korea in 1993 with little money and speaking very little English but found a way to study art. While studying he lived downtown where he was surrounded by homeless people who became the focus for his painting for many years). They became his friends, helped him with his English and in turn he used his formal drawing skills to capture very moving portraits. He found that he was very interested in the art of young people after his graduation from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, in 1997.
After seven years of focusing on the figure, he began to explore different concepts, such as mixed media, sculpture and graphic design. He's been influenced by such diverse sources as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Sukdo, and underground music DJ scenes. He ended up creating his own artistic style that is a combination of graffiti, collage, portrait, and classical realistic skill with bold graphic elements. As you can see by the release of his products, he has combined many different forces to create his own, distinctive style.

see more of david's work on his photostream or his website

thanks to matt lucci for the heads up on this week's artist.

new show at the memorial art gallery

there is a new painting exhibit at rochester's memorial art gallery - finally, something worth getting really excited about!

the show is called paint made flesh, and it brings together 34 powerful american and european works, all created since the 1950s, that explore the biological, psychological or spiritual volatility of the human figure. the works, by such painters as georg baselitz, hyman bloom, willem de kooning, eric fischl, lucien freud, alice neel, pablo picasso, jenny saville and julian schnabel, employ a wide range of painterly effects to suggest the carnal properties of human flesh, as well as its metaphorical significance. MAG is one of only two tour stops for this show.

AP drawing students - we'll be taking a field trip there on december 11th. thanks go out to the arts in education committee, and our PTSA for giving us the money to make it happen.

AP thanksgiving dinner.

so, my AP class decided that they wanted to do a thanksgiving dinner together this year. they also wanted to make hand turkeys, naturally.

i feel honored to be a part of this group of young people... they, along with many students before them, are truly remarkable. i am blessed to have the job that i do.

heres some pics...

friday wisdom :: AP thanksgiving day

friday wisdom.

friday wisdom.

artist of the week :: dan funderburgh

PATTERN!

dan funderburgh is taking traditional and classical patterns and infusing contemporary imagery and sensibility into them... updating them for a generation that is hip on taking the classics and making them their own.
you can see more here.

thanks to ryan aquilino for the heads up on this cool new artist/designer.

ap art portfolio blogs.

for the first time, the WTHS AP art class are making portfolio blogs.
they have the choice to use either wordpress or tumblr (follow the links to see my examples).
you can check out the beginning stages of this experiment through the links on the right side of this page!

drawing 2 :: dream journaling

drawing 2 students.... don't forget you need to be journaling about your dreams each day in order to have material to use for your dream interpretation drawing.
we'll be looking at the surrealists for inspiration - heres a few links for you if you want to dig in a bit before we intro it in class...

the all-knowing wikipedia
google images
'the surrealists' website

friday wisdom.

a love letter to you from stephen powers.

artist steve powers, along with the philadelphia mural arts project, has been working on text-based murals along the elevated train line to and from the city of philadelphia, as well as along some of its more run-down areas. the project is called a love letter to you, and it was a collaboration between powers and the community in which the murals are painted - including ideas and stories from the residents themselves.

i am impressed by the sentiment of the murals, along with the great effect that such bright bold colors have against the worn down textures of the buildings.

check out more examples of the murals here

thanks to amy bonner for the heads up on this great project.

friday wisdom.

jake adams interview.

the following interview is from the newsletter and website of the alliance for young artists & writers.
jake adams is an 08 grad of WTHS, and was a member of the AP class his senior year. he now attends MICA for painting. check it out!

How did a once aspiring farmer become an aspiring artist?
And what goes on inside the mind of a young surrealist painter?
Just ask Scholastic Art Award alumnus Jake Adams, currently a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Adams was recently featured as a Celeste Prize candidate (an international prize for contemporary arts recognizing works in painting, photography and digital graphics, video and animation, installation and sculpture, and live media) for a new multimedia piece entitled Friends, about the impact of digital social media networks on friendships (seen below). Recently, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers caught up with Adams, who spent his summer break in Montecastello, Italy. He tells us how his work has changed since winning a Scholastic Award and what, as a young artist, he sees as some of his biggest challenges.




AYAW: Athletes usually have a stretch, prep, or warm up routine before going out onto the "field." Do you do anything special before going to work in the studio?
JA: I analyze many things and a lot of writing usually occurs. Thumbnails and mini-sketches are also very important to me. I need something to work from because everything from my mind accumulates and I cannot control it. It's like a broken bag of pebbles spilling into a moving stream. It is very hard to catch every thought.

AYAW: How did you end up in Montecastello, Italy, and what are you working on over there?
JA: I had a desire to do different things. [In Montecastello,] I have been painting landscapes and I go out every morning at very early hours and climb up and down mountains to find compositions. It has been a fantastic experience, and I have a new perspective on painting. You could say I have learned how to see better.

AYAW: Does location (such as a foreign place) or physical environment (such as weather) have a major influence on your work?
JA: Here it does. Montecastello is another universe. It's pretty much been the same here for hundreds of years, which I think is what makes this place beautiful. I think I am-- or any artist is-- forced to just see and think about seeing. The art work I make here is completely spiritually based because of this. It is unavoidable.

AYAW: How do you feel your work has changed in the last few years? Is there anything you're especially proud of?
JA: As a student, I am still learning. I don't know if I am proud of any one piece but I always feel good when I try new things. When I do that, I usually discover something within that process which I can then use in a series or concentration of work in progress. I also believe that as an artist I shall never be completely satisfied. Making a piece of art is like trying to catch a butterfly that is too high above you. You may try and try, but you will never catch it. That's how you make the most beautiful work. If everything was "finished," then no one would have anything to talk about.

AYAW: What's the most important piece of advice you would give to people who are applying for a Scholastic Art & Writing Award, or who are thinking about applying?
JA: Make sure your work is somewhat unified. You can have different media, but keep it all together process-wise. Let it say something as a whole.
She Is Land, He Is Sky (2008)

AYAW: What do you see as one of the biggest challenges facing young artists today?
JA: It's going to be very hard to be inventive. Many things have already been done. But if you still wake up in the morning with a desire to create, then that means you should probably just keep producing. Chances are you will make something that nobody has ever seen before if you keep working.

friday wisdom.

fall playlist.

i finally remembered to change the 'playlist' widget on the right side of this page. its only taken me, oh, 6 months.
some great fall albums in heavy rotation right now... some new, some old... but all great music to follow the changing leaves.

• the avett brothers - i and love and you (the format + folk music)
  
• pearl jam - backspacer (classic pj sound... + piano)
  
• tom petty - wildflowers (a forgotten classic. make it to the end... "crawling back to you" is awesome)
  
• david gray - draw the line (perfect autumn music. full of textured acoustic instrumentation)
  
• wilco - summerteeth (not my favorite wilco album, but perfect for right now)
  

russian icons

AP students - here are some stylistic examples for our MODERN ICON project. remember, your icon can be any person that you consider iconic - family member, famous person, religious figure, or anyone else you know or consider iconic to you. they should have something that represents them in the painting.

friday wisdom

artist of the week :: erik jones

bold lines.

solid color fields.

gestural lines.

full rendering.

...all combined in a new and unique way. just another way to push your techniques into new territory.