Well he does for the next 10 days as he spares them his jaws and stomach juices. In the meantime he is content with his apple sauce. What would you like for lunch asks the waitress: “Oh I have mine thanks,” as he chugs his sauce. Happy to be free of Oprah’s insides.

Oprah herself was recently inspired to eat consciously, but we now know different. Bryce said: “Actually that was me! I made a quantum leap into Oprah’s body and had to solve her eating disorder before I could get out. Maybe this next leap will be the one that takes me home. Damn It Ziggy!”

The past month I’ve had in heavy rotation the debut album by Santogold (self-titled). From the first listening, I was a fan. The songs are catchy, diverse song to song, great to sing along to or party with, and have a maturity from her earlier punk band-Stiffed-that shows a song writer who’s been working on her craft for some time now and really beginning to hit her stride.

Vocally, she reminds me of a cross between Dale Bozzio from the Missing Persons & Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s—both whom are unique singers, talented & crowd-awing on their own. Musically, Santogold’s sound is a mixture of 80’s new wave & pop, reggae, 90’s era Pixie’s, electro-dance and current indie. Thrown together, mixed & baked, the sound is uniquely hers.

Santogold, otherwise known as Santi White, has been dating pro-snowboarder Trevor Andrew for some time, otherwise known as musician Trouble Andrew, and her previous music venture, Stiffed, was a featured band in the documentary film Afro-Punk which explores racial identity in the punk scene across America and abroad.

I have an inkling that we’ll be hearing a lot more of her in the years to come, especially since I’ve already caught her tunes as the backdrop for both Bud Light Lime & VO5 commercials, as well as in the soundtrack for an EA sports game my man plays. And for that, I am stoked.

The other day was Micah’s last day with us at D.O.E. * sniff sniff * To mourn his last day we went to his favorite lunch joint in the area-Georgetown Liquor Company. Note all the old school video games in the background. Perfect work farewell for Micah and all his geek ways that we’ve come to rely on & will greatly miss. * sniff sniff *

Micah has always wanted to order a pitcher of whiskey…simply for the shock & laughter of it. (It’s Micah’s sense of humor for those who don’t know him.) Therefore Styk did his best to surprise Micah & make this desire come true. Either the bartender balked or Styk’s wallet prevented it from being a pitcher, but I think an entire PINT of whiskey is still a rare order in a bar & will accomplish messing one up. One should note the 2 gin & tonic’s Micah had consumed before the pint showed up.

Oh yeah…we gave him something to remember us by…if he remembers the night that is.

I love walking around to spy what is on my teams desktops. Everyone has different habits-some 1-2 windows open (me), some 10, some 50 (Styk!)…Therefore I thought it would be fun to start showcasing what some of ‘em look like at any given time.

The first one is from Micah’s computer. He’s from the 2D design department and is currently working on a logo for a current client (Round 2, I believe) as well as a few illustrations, a CD cover simply for the exercise of it (always good to expand your skills as a designer), as well as iTunes (music is always an essential around here for getting the creativity going full throttle) plus many other windows.

His desktop, which can only be slightly seen here, is of a dog parachuting from out of the sky. “Why?” you ask? Well, we leave that story up to you…

I have a sketch book that I’ve been keeping for a few years ongoing now that I do collage work in. It started after a design class I took while at school; the assignment was to bring in found items, markers, white out, tape, etc. and a stack of 11″ x 17″ blank paper. Then in 10 minute increments, you had to create something on the page with no thought, no judgment, no rules, just simply “spontaneously create”.

Being someone that loves rules and guidelines and taking as much time as needed to “get it just right”, this was both a scary & liberating exercise for me. I have held on to the tradition, and now years later, I have quite the book going. I use all kinds of found objects, from lace, to string, to bottle caps, nails, masking tape, whatever I find & like at the time. The pages are constantly morphing, rarely deemed “finished”. (That’s a rule if I were to say that, right?)

At times, elements from within the book end up in designs, which is never the intent behind the book, but if you find inspiration or a solution within it, it should become a tool within one’s toolbox, yes?

I worked in it over the weekend, so if you want to see a few pages from the book, (the cover is what is in the image above) then come on in and take a peek…

(more…)

As I’m walking by Bryce’s desk yesterday I noticed his mouse was covered in modeling clay and grippy rubber. I wonder to myself if he is trying to develop an innovative mouse structure, or was experimenting with turning the mouse into a toy of some sorts. (Bryce really likes his toys.) But then it dawned on me what was going on… (more…)

The Black Angels are back with another album full of siren songs. Murky, tripped-out rock that will lure us back into captivity with its haunting, yet meditative discordant jams not unlike their first release Passover.

Still nodding heavy homage to their psychedelic, garage rock, and drone punk influences such as The Velvet Underground, The Doors, 13th Floor Elevators, Joy Division, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and Syd Barrett, they still remain modern sounding for today’s young ears.

The story behind this sophomore release is that while recording the album, the Black Angels lived in an old haunted mansion in Austin, TX and are claiming to have seen a girl frequently walking the mansion at night robed in a red dress, resulting in the inspiration for the album’s title, Directions to See a Ghost. It would also seem that it influenced the darker mood it evokes.

Though a tad on the ominous side, it is still an album full of multi-layered chords, smoky echoing vocals, vibrating noises, guitar fuzz that thrums like electricity under the skin and steady tempo’s pulsing back and forth like a slithering snake that sets one adrift in uncharted seas where the undertows are ones of pure Epicurean delight.

The songs are epic even when under five minutes, cascading within walls of golden sound as if moving languidly through honey, or reminiscent of adagio kisses in the dark with pulsing goose-flesh shivering against warm flesh, one side with a five-o-clock shadow; definitely music one can union to, eyes darkened with smoldering passion.

After listening from start to finish, I twitch with the silence hailing the end, leaving me with a feeling much like waking up unsure of where I am until my eyes land on a midnight sylvan scene rendered in acrylic paint on black velvet, the jarring fluorescent highlights of the moon’s glow cast on bark and rippling river water, bringing me back to the present. Or am I still lost in dreaming?

Album release date May 13th.