GRUM - 'Through The Night'

Grum, an 'electronic musician' who's playing HG Lounge in Seattle tonight, recently whipped up this vid for his latest single Through The Night. His real name is Graeme Shepherd and he's from the UK. As with most DJs, he made a name for himself remixing popular artists like Goldfrapp, Owl City and Passion Pit, and finally dropped his own deput in May of this year.

This video might make you laugh, it might make you cry, but if you let it... it'll sure make you dance.

I heart The Yeasayers

"Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest band in the history of New York: The Yeasayers!" - Representative Jay Inslee

First off, my favorite band in Capitol Hill Block Party's lineup was surely Yeasayer. Unfortunately, the most ridiculous moment of my entire BP experience had to be Jay Inslee's awkward introduction of the band, of which the band themselves were clearly uninformed. Now, I get that he was excited about them, but the greatest band in the history of New York?! Cool your jets, Jay.

When they took the stage, lead singer Chris Keating made sure multiple times to disassociate themselves from the politician, mocking him for mispronouncing their name saying "He must be talking about some other band".

Poor Jay, just don't try so hard next time.

Keating feels the music and the crowd feels it right along with him.

Anand Wilder, multi-instrumentalist, singer and style icon (peep the parachute pants), nailed every note with perfection as per usual.

Amongst a sea of Seattleites, it finally became clear what a sold-out Block Party crowd feels like. I'm pretty sure Yeasayer was the destnination band of the evening, with no empty rooftop, balcony, window or sidewalk spot in sight.

In spite of the horrible intro, the band went on to deliver a great set, dropping bombs from both albums in a high-energy barrage that was over too soon.

Here's a vid somebody captured of their wicked single Ambling Alp (a bit rough, but you get the idea):

Soul Train Kept It Simple

No phony plots. No drama. No rich housewives complaining about nonsense. Soul Train was reality TV as God intended: A bunch of soulful kids having a good time in front of the camera.

Check out the chick at 1:08. This is exactly what I would've done.... except I wouldn't have had the skill to pull off that drop!

Michael McDonald & Grizzly Bear

This track has been around for a while now, but I just listened to it again today and MAN it's good. Michael McDonald shows he's still got the chops that have made him beloved by nerdy white people and soulful black people alike. Especially at the end of the track, around 3:42, he busts out with the vigor of a brown-bearded, mid-70's Doobie Brother. Enjoy.

'You got a no-no goin'...'

No Mas, a New York-based apparel and art company, created a video about Dock Ellis' 1970 no-hitter. Ellis, a Pittsburgh Pirate at the time, claims to have pitched the game under the influence of LSD. The Dallas Observer published a piece in 2005 that claimed Ellis was so disoriented from a drug- and alcohol-fueled bender that he did not know what day of the week it was:

Ellis remained calm. The game would start late. Ample time for the acid to wear off. Then it struck him: doubleheader. The Pirates had a doubleheader. And he was pitching the first game. He had four hours to get to San Diego, warm up and pitch. If something didn't happen in the interim, Dock Philip Ellis, age 25, was about to enter a 50,000-seat stadium and throw a very small ball, very hard, for a very long time, without the benefit of being able to, you know, feel the thing...

Levi's Turn

Leave it to a brand to spark my patriotism:

America used to love Gingers...

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when a bright-eyed, freckly-cheeked redhead was the unofficial poster child for the American Boy. In post WWII United States, during the golden era of economic growth, suburban sprawl, TV dinners and giant Buicks, the American Ideal was at its strongest realization in our country's history. At this height of national stability, we represented ourselves with a symbol that has since become a thing of mystery, a thing we fear and misunderstand... a thing we as Americans have turned our back on. I'm talking about the American Redhead.

From Norman Rockwell to The Andy Griffith Show, popular culture in this country embraced redheads as the sweet, innocent face of our nation's prosperity and bright future.

As the American Ginger faded from the limelight, so has America's standing in the world as a beacon of happiness, hope, pride and prosperity. These days, I see no little Ronnie Howards lithping their way across our TV screens, I see no redheaded boys with fishing poles and rolled up overalls... in fact, the American Redhead has become the butt of jokes from a nation whose identity has become all but lost.

For the sake of our future as a great nation, I urge you as patriots to again embrace those who served as the face of America's finest years in its existence...

Embrace the American Redhead.

BTHOMP juggles, who knew?!

I've never been able to juggle. I've never practiced. I got home late from work last night to find juggling balls on the kitchen table. My roomate got em at some random event he attended. Within 2 minutes, I was able to keep a decent juggle going and it blew my mind. Where and when did I learn to juggle? How come I can do it now, and never before? The world may never know...

Mark Weaver: The Crowned Prince of Prints

I stumbled upon a few of Mark Weaver's print designs on a blog by the guy who is head designer at Gant Rugger. This style is right up my alley as the lines are clean, the images are vintage and the overall voice is consistent with his signature throughout.

Mark's from Boston and now based in Atlanta. You can check out a bunch of his work and photos HERE.