Dilla: Last Donut of the Night
One of my favorite tracks from Dilla’s instrumental masterpiece Donuts, delivered at almost precisely the time he passed away. So beautiful, haunting and cinematic at once. (source, source)
A few years ago, I used it as the soundtrack for a Coachella inspired slide show of my front row photography. The music seemed to me like a soothing waltz overlaying the chaos of being front of stage.
Source: urb.com
Danny MacAskill - “Way Back Home”
My Red Bull bias aside (disclosure: I’m helping them launch a magazine in the US next year), this is about as good as it gets in the trick riding short film category. Red Bull BMX wunderkind Danny MacAskill (how does his name end with “skill”?) takes you on a seat of his pants journey across beautiful Scotland.
Gorgeous filmmaking. Great music. Exquisite landscapes. Enjoy.
More Red Bull
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You) (via MichaelFrantiVEVO)
I admit, that Corona Light commercial sent me scurrying to find this video. I was already a Michael Franti fan going back to his Spearhead days, but a little surprised at this reggae pop flavor. And I wasn’t alone in the search, since a Google click found several entries asking the same thing: “What’s that song?”
Source: youtube.com
Coca Cola Burn Ignite “Ride” video (via adnewsaust)
My posting has been slim these days (except on my Facebook), but my friends at Trafik Pictures came across this sick viral. Seems Coke launched a new energy drink in the UK. Are they finally going after Red Bull?
And can somebody please explain how the video above was made?!
Source: youtube.com
Maestro Knows
Had lunch with the future today. My new 23-year-old friend Levi. Last name Maestro (or at least that’s what his grandmother called him when he was a kid). But, wait, he’s still a kid. About as old as I was when I started my then print-only magazine URB. And as we move into almost 100% digital land, a kid like Maestro again reminds me why.
Maestro is a skater, something he wants me to remember—as well as all of his fans. But he also happens to be a self taught (I think) video auteur. He shoots, edits and scripts his own video series (Maestro Knows), traveling around the globe to bring back first hand stories of the freshness. Nike granted him an unprecedented video tour of their headquarters. He just returned from Tokyo, and is heading to New York this week for his next season (he produces episodic vignettes just like television—why not?). From there, who knows.
There’s a lot more than can be written about Maestro, but it’s more fun to feel you know him from his personal vlog and first-person adventuring. He’s defined a new media future with him squarely at center focus. His videos, which feature his road trips, friends and heroes—along with some smart product placement—get anywhere from 20-200k views. Maybe not quite prime time numbers, but in the world of viral clips, totally respectable. And definitely not bad for a self-made millennial. All I can say is watch this space.
Building with Levi late Sunday at Insomniac on Beverly Blvd, LA
Maestro Knows - Episode 9 (Nike Campus) from Maestro Knows on Vimeo.
Source: maestroknows.com
Burning Man in two minutes time lapse
I love this have to make something this cool next year
Internet killed the video star > Tough times in the porn industry
(From the LA Times)
The business, centered in the San Fernando Valley, is being undercut by a growing abundance of free content on the Internet.
The adult entertainment business, centered in the San Fernando Valley, has weathered several recessions since it took off with the advent of home video in the 1980s. But this time the industry is not dealing with just a weakened economy. A growing abundance of free content on the Internet is undercutting consumers’ willingness to pay for porn, and with it the ability of many workers to earn a living in the business.
Source: Los Angeles Times
