Just like last year, I decided to do a wrap-up of the music that I've really loved from the past 12 months. And also like last year, I'm not limiting myself to albums that came out last year. The reason is that even though new music can be very much "of a moment," I really feel that new artists or albums can relate to something that you're going through that might really strike a chord at a particular time in your life. Subsequently, I think it's fun to talk about those records too because readers may have missed them the first time around too.

Gang of Four - Content

I am a die-hard Gang of Four fan. When I hear that this album was coming out, I battled with equal parts excitement and apprehension. It seems like Punk is becoming more like the new Classic Rock with every passing day, but I was hoping the these guys hadn't lost their touch. Fortunately, I wasn't let down. Content sounds both like old GO4, and like something new. With so many bands influenced by GO4 out there these days, it's nice to know that they still have some lessons to teach.

The Kills - Blood Pressures

I'm not totally sure why, but this album really clicks for me. It probably has something to due with the minimal approach and electro-guitar sound combined with the drum loops. Allison Mossheart's pained wailing of considered lyrics can't hurt either. The total effect is a record that is fun to tap your foot to, but also stands up to deeper scrutiny.

The Thermals - Personal Life

Ok, here's where I go off the rails and start in with albums that I didn't get around to until this year. I've liked The Thermals' previous releases, but this one really stuck with me. It's definitely a bit more chill than previous albums, with the track that I'm including below being the fastest and most hard-hitting of the bunch. Taken as a whole, the album has a great arc however. It's more dynamic, and at the same time this me a feeling of greater emotional range than their previous albums.

Battle House - Some Sleep

This one's the first up from the somewhat obscure local releases. From my perspective, Boston has a bit of a sleeper scene right now. For every Passion Pit, there are a dozen bands around here that are just fantastic and subversive but put on a great show. I would put Battle House on the top of that heap, with their hard-to-categorize sound and general weirdness. I'm not sure how much widespread appeal that they have, but I'd nominate them to be our Rock Ambassadors anyday. Download the album for free here.

tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L

I don't normally take to music endorsements from NPR as a rule. I couldn't help but an exception in the case of this record, which I heard about on Studio 360. It's a little tough to describe this release, what with each song being primarily composed of electronic loops, percussion, ukulele, bass, a couple saxophones and vocals. I guess the best way to sum it up is Paul Simon's Graceland through a post-punk lense. Great stuff.

Jeff the Brotherhood - We Are The Champions

I started to come into my own—personally and musically—in the mid-'90s. Looking back, it seems like a rather odd time in music, with Rock ’n’ Roll really looking purpose, Hip-Hop coming into it's own, and MTV really going through its transition to not playing music. I definitely fell into the Grunge thing fairly hard, especially on the heavier end of the spectrum, so that may be why I have a soft spot for this album. We Are The Champions sounds like something that could've come out during Grunge's heyday, but the suburban angst is swapped out for a generally chill vibe and songs about girls and partying. Basically, making it much more fun and less mope-y.

Olde Growth - s/t

Back to local releases, and this case probably the heaviest slab on this list. I've been checking out more and more metal these days, and Olde Growth plays exactly the kind of stuff I like. It's dripping with sludge, and pretty heavy at times, but the tempo still gets rolling and the variety of the tracks keeps things interesting. I'm pretty sure that these guys aren't really breaking any new ground, but I really like this album and I think it deserves attention from a wider audience for sure. Oh yeah: and there are Tolkien references. Check them out.

Various - Drive (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Didn't see that one coming, right? When Drive came out in the theaters, I went to see it and generally enjoyed it. Good, but not awesome. For the week afterwards, the music kept haunting me though. It fit the mood of the movie really well, but it also seemed like it might stand on its own pretty well too. I grabbed the soundtrack, and it turned out to be quite good. In a way, it's two albums: five tracks by various electro/dance groups, and then 15 electronic and highly atmospheric instrumental pieces (by Cliff Martinez, no less). As with any compilation, there are a couple duds, but I think these tracks have longevity because they don't have that "soundtracky" feel that you often associate with glitzy Hollywood productions.

Iceage - New Brigade

12 tracks in 24 minutes. I'm not sure if there's a better indicator of quality in a record, but if you need one then this album probably isn't for you. It's fast, raw and refreshing. It could've been a Class of ’76 release, and I think it still would've stood out with the best of the Buzzcocks and 999.

Cold Cave - Love Comes Close

My other exception for the 2011 stricture. I bought Cherish the Light Years when it came out this year, and it was my introduction to Cold Cave. I really liked it, and the only reason that it's not on this list is that I went out and got Love Comes Close shortly after and liked it even more. I fully realize that this album sounds a lot like the ’80s recycled some thirty years later, but it still sounds great to me. I wasn't really aware of the early 1980s New Wave music when it first came around, so I can appreciate it much more now. As more of an oddity in 2011, it's easier to appreciate that it's just enjoyable music to listen to.

Generally, I think it was a pretty good year for music. It's a great time to be a music fan, since groups are pulling from so many different time periods and stylistic influences. Especially in small, local scenes (like Boston), artists are exploring and pushing some interesting boundaries.

So what do you think? Did you guys enjoy any of these albums too or did I shine the light on some stuff that you might've missed the first time around?

As one of the printmakers at Mastwood Press, my work will be on display at Gallery 321, which is part of the Washington Street Art Center. In addition to myself, will be the work of Rachel Mello and Rachel Silber, two excellent printmakers. While we are all printers and share a common working space, we have unique approaches to the medium that result in different work.

The work will be on display June 4 through June 25.

We will be having an opening reception on Friday, June 10, from 6-9pm.

Details:

Gallery 321 at Washington Street Art Center
321 Washington Street
Somerville, MA
http://www.washingtonst.org/

I'm happy to announce that a week from today, I will be opening my studios for everybody to come check out. For those that have been to the 11 Miller Street Open Studios before, you'll probably be aware that the event happens ever other year. This year, it happens to coincide with Somerville Open Studios, so I can kill two birds with one stone. I'm actually quite pleased with this, and I'm excited to show people the new work.

The Deets

The 11 Miller Street event starts next Friday (the 29th), from 6pm to 10pm. It's a great event, with a jazz band on the first floor and each artist puts out a great spread of food. Come on by after work.

Somerville Open Studios is Saturday, the 30th, and Sunday, May 1st. I will be in the studio from 12pm–6pm both days.

If you would like more information on the Miller Street Open Studios, click here.
Information on Somerville Open Studios can be found on this page.

I hope you can make it out, and I look forward to seeing you.

By the way, the image up top is by the fantastic James Weinberg.

The past year saw a lot of quite high-profile rebrands that received a very cold, if not hostile reception. Generally, this isn't something that is particularly unusual—at least among the design community at any rate. What is of note is the degree to which the average observed from outside of the design world had something to say about these rebrands.

Ask almost any designer, and they will have an opinion about any given logo. Even if branding is not part of their expertise, it's something the designers tend to be very opinionated about. They will go on and on about the merits of the FedEx logo or the timeless qualities of Paul Rand's IBM logo, but it has only been recently that non-designers have been particularly vocal when a logo that they share an emotional connection changes.

There are three examples that really stick out as examples of this over the past year: the GAP logo, the BIG10 logo and the Comedy Central logo. All three rebrands released in the past year were immediately met with intense, often vitriolic response. Consumers called for the return to the old logo, with frequent comments questioning whether the logo had been created by a child, or other rude critiques. What they are really saying, however, is that the design is bad.

The problem with online criticism

It is, of course, an individual's right to publicly question and critique anything. As the most frequently reproduced and most publicly facing representative for a company (or organization or a cause), a logo should never be immune to this discourse. However, the value of most online discussions of logos is rarely conducted in a thoughtful way. How could any critic have been a fly on the wall at all the meetings, all the brainstorming sessions, all the long hours of working that resulted in the final identity. As designers, we are only slightly more equipped to provide informed criticism. We can relate to the process, but we still weren't there when it happened.

Quality of criticism is another issue. What value does the comment, "meh" really bring to the table? What's the point in saying merely, "I liked the old logo" if you don't substantiate it with a "why" or provide some suggestions? The issue is that criticism is so easy, while logo design/branding is so difficult. In the online space, nobody asks you to provide evidence for your beliefs. Nobody asks you your credentials. Nobody knows your name, your background or your identity and the internet give you a listening audience.

What's at stake

If these scathing remarks were fired off into the ether, with no impact on the external world, then this scenario would be acceptable. The reality, unfortunately, is that people's reactions to these rebrands have caused companies to waffle and change their position. Instead of sticking with the decisions that have been made, they scrap everything and wind the clock back to the original identity, as if none of this had ever happened. Go about your purchasing, it was all just a bad dream.

Let's ignore, for a moment, that this would be a prime example of the excesses of American corporations. Let's look past the time and effort committed to the project by all the stakeholders. What message does this send to people about the value of design? It says that design is a frivolous pastime not to be taken seriously. It says that design can be discarded if there are a few vocal detractors.

That's not to say that customers should be ignored, or that their opinions don't matter. It certainly doesn't mean that bad design shouldn't be singled out and lobbied against. What it does mean is that the level of discourse that commonly happens via e-mail, on message boards, through social networks rarely adds something of value. Most often its off-handed comments and flame-war bait.

Worst case scenario

If this trend continues—and it certainly shows now signs of abating—it certainly has some rather grim implications. These rebrands have all taken place at large corporations, and to call these entities risk-adverse would be a rather severe understatement. It's not difficult to point out examples of large companies choosing the safe and easy path when it comes to their visual identity. While history has favored those willing to take risks, it's a difficult job to pitch challenging work to The Boardroom.

Sometimes the best design solution runs contrary to the research and the focus groups. It seems increasing unlikely that challenging work could make it past the decision makers without somebody bringing up, "Oh hey, that won't work. Reminds me too much of that whole GAP debacle. We don't need that."

For the record...

…I really hate that proposed GAP logo, but I have my reasons.

I had a lot of fun designing the holiday card that I sent out this year. It's a merging of my print work and some of the ideas that I explore in type and design.

Usually holiday cards are such a chore, since nearly everything has been done before. This year I tried to just relax a bit about what has been done, and just create what I was interested in.

The idea of the star came to me early in November, so it was mostly a matter of getting it all down. The type, however, was a bit more of an organic process. I had some idea of how I wanted it all to come together, but in the end it was playing around with the shapes that created a product that I was happy with. All the imagery is created digitally, using quite a few images from the library of wood textures that I have.

I hope you all are having a great holiday season. If you would like to receive this as an actual card (as in, in the snail mail), let me know and I'll send you one.

A quick scan of my last.fm page reveals that I have—shall we say—distinguished taste. I don't kid my self though. I'm very aware that I cast a pretty narrow net where music is concerned, and I'm pretty opinionated about other music. The reason that I'm doing this list, however, is that music is really important to me. I listen to a lot of music when I'm working and walking and driving and….

This time of year, tons of people do "Best Albums of The Year" lists, featuring their favorite releases of the past year. I've done those before, and they're fun. The only problem with that—for me—is that I buy maybe twelve new albums a year. Maybe. I just prefer older music more.

Since this is my blogfolio and I'm running the show the way I want, I'm doing my own type of list. These are the best albums that I've acquired this year—some old, some new.

Top 10 Albums (That I Bought in) 2010

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach I've been a fan of Gorillaz since my friends wouldn't stop playing a cheap CD-R that they got off an Italian street vendor and Clint Eastwood was on MTV all the time. I would say that Plastic Beach has a lot of good songs—and some that are less than good. Mostly, though, I really enjoyed this disc for being similar to the previous ones, but still different from any of their other releases. Going back and listening to their first album, it sounds like a much different affair.

Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power (Legacy Edition) I've been waiting for this remaster for years. Literally. I've really liked some of the tracks on this album for a while, and obviously Iggy & the Stooges have a place in the History of Punk Rock. The controversy surrounding the mastering of the album always seemed weird to me. I was so close to purchasing this album several times, but then during the research process, I read that they were creating a definitive master of the songs. So I held out for this release, and it was definitely worth it.

999 - 999 I was hooked on this release from the moment that I heard "Emergency" somewhere. I had to go out and get this album. While no other track stands out quite as much as that one, it's still a great album as a whole.

Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches I have to confess that there are at least a couple of reasons that purchased this album. First off, I really love Boston rock ’n’ roll. It has a character all its own, and this city has created some of the best rock bands in history. I also really like to be able to talk knowledgeably about Boston rock bands. Secondly, Burma is legendary around here and the songs that I've really enjoyed are on this album. After listening to it, I've found it to be one of the most ambitious hardcore albums that I've ever listened to.

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality The initial seed of this purchase stemmed from some sessions of playing Brutal Legend. It turned out that at times, the soundtrack was a lot better than the game itself. Children of the Grave is one of the tracks on this one, and as far as I'm concerned, this album could be nine cuts of this one song and it would still be one of my favorite albums. I mean just listen to the intro riff. It runs shivers up my spine.

Six Finger Satellite - A Good Year for Hardness This one caught me on the blind side. I completely expected The Chinese Stars "Heaven on Speed Dial"—which I purchased at the same time—to be the album that really caught my attention. I didn't know too much about 6FS before this, and reunion albums aren't really known for being stellar. I enjoyed The Chinese Stars’ album a lot too, but this was the one that really grabbed me. It's driving and varied, but far more focused than their previous releases. A new era to be sure, but I'm excited for what the future has in store.

Devo - Be Stiff Ok, I'm cheating a bit here. Be Stiff is really and EP, but who cares? This one EP has better songs on it than have been played on the entirety of mainstream radio for the past year. To top it all off, the cover art is just fantastic, and really encapsulates Devo's off-kilter aesthetic so well.

Liars - Sisterworld For some strange reason, I always lumped this band in with The Killers, who I really have no patience for. Fortunately I caught the video for Scissor on a music blog. I'm glad I figured things out, though, because I really enjoyed listening to this album. It's one of those releases that really sounds like a cohesive whole. Each song is unique. Each has a really interesting structure, that may or may not really be recognizable as a "song". From start to finish, this is one great and really challenging album. It's the perfect obtuse, artsy shit that I really go for.

Crocodiles - Summer of Hate I grabbed this album cause I thought the cover was kind of sweet, in a subdued sort of way. Turns out the music is awesome. For me, the stand-out track is Soft Skulls, which is two and a half minutes of fuzzed out jangliness. This came out in 2009, so that's pretty close to coming out this year. I'll chock it up to a victory. Sleep Forever did come out this year, but it lacked some of the edge that really appealed to me, so it's not my pick for this slot.

Black Keys - Brothers I don't think that the importance of this album can't be overstated, both to me and to music as a whole. ’Round the time when my dad was coming up, the whole "Blues meets Rock ’n’ Roll" thing was pretty hot. He loved bands like Zeppelin and Hendrix, as well as Jonny Lee and Muddy. He passed that love on to me, and now thanks to bands like The White Stripes and these two white dudes, we're seeing somewhat of a revival. Sure, there's plenty of people who have trod this road before, but these guys own it. Hand down, this is the best album I've heard this year, and it's been a while since I've heard anything this good.

Wrap It Up

Ok, not too bad, right? 50% of these choices actually came out this year. Hopefully, if you didn't know about some of these albums before now, you'll have the impetus to check them out now.

So what did I miss? Any big ones that I should check out?

Happy Day! Today marks the overhaul of the blogfolio. It's something that I've been wanting to do for a while now, but once it gets down to it, I'd rather create new work than tweak the presentation of work that I've already done. My aim was to integrate everything that I post, while at the same time maintaining a "portfolio" or at least catalog feel.

A Couple Remarks on The Execution

With the initial version of this site, my emphasis was on creating a whole packaging using some of the CSS tricks that I had up my sleeve, in addition to pushing WordPress a bit past its usual limits. Part of that was to use no images—beyond the content images—and to not use javascript. I especially didn't want to use sIFR or create images for custom headline type.

I decided this time around to use a few new-ish technologies on the web front (not extremely new or particularly untested, but developed in the past couple years). Beyond using a few supplemental images, I've integrate a javascript library, specifically jQuery, as an aid to presentation and functionality. Some of the plug-ins that I use on the site utilize it anyway, so that wasn't a hug decision. The second major change is saying "F.U." to IE6, and to some extent IE7 and 8. I'm using some CSS3 rules that haven't passed final review, but are well supported in Firefox, Safari and Chrome (as well as Opera for the most part). If you're not using one of those browsers anyway, I would suggest that you do so. I'm also using a method to render searchable type for some of my headers, called cufón. It can be a little funky, but the reality is that I'm quite bored with the web's typical font options. I'm using a face called Junction that is an open source typeface. It's a nice modern sans serif with a little bit of style. There is only one weight, unfortunately, but hopefully that will be expanded in the future.

Lastly is something that I'm doing on a trial basis: I'm using Disqus for my comment system. The main reason for doing this is that it really centralizes a lot of discussion and feedback with the posts. If somebody retweets a post on Twitter or likes it on Facebook, then it all shows up here. I really like that idea. Plus, it allows people to log in with a bunch of different credentials, so that you don't actually have to sign up for a user name.

The Wrap-up

So what does everybody think? Please leave a comment and let me know. I'm sort of fishing…but I also I want to make sure that the new comment system works, so help me put it through its paces.

As an artist, the most difficult obstacle to generating work is the Block. That is to say, figuring out what to do next. It's a challenge that really separates art from design, and one that defines art as a self-motivated endeavor.

When I was younger—say pre-college—the Block wasn't such a big deal from me. I would draw a  lot in my sketchbook, and would usually come up with something during that process that would warrant further exploration. This also wasn't exactly a problem during college either, since there was a constant string of assignments. If the assignments ever ebbed, or I just got bored, then I found something else to do that I had wanted to create for myself.

After college, several big shifts happened for me, both creatively and professionally. Creatively, I began to work almost completely non-representationally. Having just spent four years in college to study illustration, one could imagine how that might be a problem. As my personally work was moving away from a heavily representational approach, my professional direction shifted from trying to make a go of Illustration, to becoming a designer. Both of these changes are certainly connected, and though I wouldn't say that either shift was a result of the other. They simply happened rather naturally. The end result of these major shifts left me with a new means of personal creative expression, while at the same time grappling with learning new professional skills.

It's now almost nine years since I graduated from college. What it means to be an artist has changed dramatically since then, and now I'm struggling to figure out what the next thing is. I feel that I'm starting to create a body of work that is relevant to my life and my experience—something that I'm proud of—but I still search for what's next.

Somewhat at fault is the fact that I've been creating art that is, essentially, not about things. It's more about the process, the experimentation, the lasting impression that I get from the piece when I feel that it's ultimately complete. Those are important aspects of art, but I'm finding that it's just not enough for me. What I'm really searching for is inspiration from something around me. Some thing that grabs my attention and won't let go. I'm not looking for a perfect still life, or a picturesque landscape.

Ultimately, what I'm searching for is a concept.

I can't imagine a more difficult problem for an artist. It is truly the most basic, existential question an artist can grapple with and it's becoming a real struggle. I'm not sure what my next steps will be, but all I can really do right now is soldier on while trying to be receptive to the ideas floating the ether.

I know the blogfolio has a pretty limited reach, but what do you guys do? With nobody telling you what to do, how do you find the next big idea, the next thing?

Some Thoughts on 21st Century Communication

As social networks proliferate, there are more and more outlets for people to express themselves. Between Facebook and Twitter, as well as the second and third tier players, we constantly update our statuses to anybody who will listen. Blogs have matured, and become less of a publicly aired journal. Then there are the sites which are merely related to your life, such as LinkedIn or Flickr, that showcase one aspect of your life.

Taken all together, all of these sites can provide a thorough portrait of somebody's life. They can give an represent your activities, likes and dislikes, interests, how you make a living or how your express yourself. As a whole, this is a vastly different way of relating to people. In the not-too-distant past, this intimate insight into people's lives often took years or decades to fully investigate. Now we can learn almost everything about somebody in fifteen minutes.

Still there persists a certain disconnect. While some people project out through many social channels, the people who receive the message so often see such a narrow view. We may follow a friend on Twitter, but not on Facebook and Flickr. Or possibly we subscribe to a certain blog's RSS feed, but we ignore what the author posts on MySpace. The frequently conflicting nature of so many of these sites, combined with their proprietary networks, creates a sort of walled ecosystem around each site. Though people project a certain image of themselves, not everybody receives it.

This is not to say that it is any worse than communication in the past, just different. Communication is easier and cheaper today than it's ever been. And it will only get easier and cheaper from here on. Global competition has lowered the price of everything, and only for the better. We can see what our friends are doing in another city, another country or across the world. We can meet and interact with people who we never would have encountered just ten years ago.

In my personal life, the biggest disconnect is between the people "who get it" and those don't. Essentially, the people who are active with social networks communicate with each other, while those who choose not to have a more limited sphere. I feel more connected to friends who are participate in social networks than those who don't. I wouldn't argue that it's not a sort of one-directional connection a lot of the time, but it does let me know what a lot of my friends are up to without having to initiate a conversation myself.

All of this is not to single out a problem, or to suggest a solution. It's merely to try to identify some trends. Being alive at this moment is exciting, since everything around us is changing. It's good to step back and take a look at the bigger picture sometimes.

UPDATE: I've closed the comments since I've been getting a world of spam on this post. Feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts, if you feel so inclined.