My Writings. My Thoughts.
Broken Social Scene x Meet me in the basement
// July 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // History, Music
This video was made in response to the G20 meetings in Toronto.
The mechanical flower never dies.
Converse x Summer Tunes
// July 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Clothing, Music
In the world of ever confusing dollars for musicians is this the wave of the future? Sponsored fresh collabs in support of popular brands? I’m cool with it if the artists are. Anything where I can get glimpses of Bethany Cosentino is right on in my opinion.
Just so that we arnt one in a million blogs posting this today, here is last year’s Converse project with Julian Casablancas, Santogold and Pharrel. This appeared as the bonus track on NERD’s last album.
Big Bang! Big Boom!
// July 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Art
We’ve posted work by BLU before but here is the latest piece from the masterful street art storytellers.
BIG BAG BIG BOOM – the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Life Cycles Exhibit
// June 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // Art
Well the Life Cycles exhibit is officially over. It was an amazing year of work and special thanks go out to all who contributed. We can’t thank the photographers enough for their amazing work that anchored the whole effort. Much Love for Jalani, Carty, Javier, Will, Stef, Alex, Eric and Adam you are all phenomenal behind the lens.
Special thanks to Steve at Well & Good for hosting us for the two weeks and a giant hug to all who came out to support the photography and the cause at the root of it all, The REMIX Project. We were able to donate nearly $1500 to the charity providing creative arts mentor programs to the city’s at-risk youth and we can’t thank our supporters enough for that opportunity. A final cheers to Valentine of Riders Cycle & Board for providing all the bicycles for the entire process, he is Toronto’s king of bikes and if you need anything cycle related you ought to check him on the quick.
Special Thanks to our supporters at CARLSBERG, VITAMIN WATER and DAYMAK Ebikes for their generous contributions to the event.
Year 1 is in the books, we will be back for more.
This Movie Is Broken
// May 27th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
The future’s got soul.
// May 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
Grade Scool’s sonic discoverer Nomi Malik aka DJ Slim Pickens of The Poors aka The Half Mayor of Harbord Street aka MersheyMellow is on a neosoul kick and we’ve got a pair of videos you gotta check out. First, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. You better not be sitting at your desk or your dancing shoes might break something in a minute.
Second up, the equally amazing named Fitz and the Tantrums holding it down. If this is the dawn of the sound of summer 2010, we are all going to have a lovetastic heatwave.
I just made up Mershey Mellow by the way; but Nomi is mad chill so it works.
Hermann & Audrey Exhibit x 1 LOVE TO x T Square Media
// May 20th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Art
For those who don’t know, Grade Scool has been heavily invested in the production of a featured exhibit for this year’s CONTACT photography festival in Toronto. The exhibit runs until the end of May and is open Thursday evening through Sunday. Be sure to check us out on Milky Way Alley, which runs one street south of Queen at Dufferin in the west end of the city. Here is a great video giving you a great look at one of Toronto’s newest gallery spaces, The Baitshop, while also giving you a look at all of the art featured in the exhibit. See you there.
Hermann & Audrey Exhibit from T-Square Media on Vimeo.
CONTACT FESTIVAL x PREVIEW x STEVE CARTY
// April 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Art, Events
Grade Scool is happy to be helping with the presentation of one of this year’s featured exhibits for the CONTACT photography festival. Partnering with the folks from Hermann & Audrey we have collectively built what will be a must see piece of the 2010 version of North America’s largest photography festival. The show runs from May 5th through 29th and we will be sharing a plenty about what is happening between now and then. To start, we thought we’d share one of the most notable collaborations happening for the exhibit from Steve Carty and Skam.
Check out this dope preview video of their creations for CONTACT and have a read below to learn about the direction and inspiration Carty lined up with arguably Toronto’s most famous graffiti artist.
I’ve been collaborating with graffiti artists, painters and a flashlight for nearly 5 years. This year i decided to bring it to the Contact festival with my series, Lightworkers.
By choosing to collaborate with a most accomplished graffiti artist, Skam as well as painters Jon Todd and Kwame Delfish, I put the flashlights in capable hands. The result is a body of photographs shot both in studio and on location that have the depth of a still as well as a feeling of motion as you follow the light trails through the image.
I took a unique approach with my session with Skam. Graffiti art has always been seen as vandalism, and although Skam never paints anywhere he isn’t hired to paint anymore, the roots of graffiti still lay in the underground, painting clean walls with murals and tags, often leading to arrests and neighbourhood cleanups.
On the other hand, the graffiti Skam creates with a flashlight only exist within my photograph. The entire experience is captured in a single frame. Light trails. Removed from all things except light itself, drawn once, in space over time, and saved forever. A perfect collaboration between artist and photographer.
Choosing a cross section of downtown locations, i tried to give Skam the room to work with the flashlight in ways that he was comfortable as well as forcing him to be in an overall situation that he has never been, not being able to see what he was painting.
Bradley x Monster
// April 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
Brad Ferguson is Canadian artist Bradley. With the release of his sophomore album Mountain Tiger Bear, Bradley has set himself up nicely in our ears for one of the albums of the year. Reminding us of Belle and Sebastien and the Flaming Lips it is a beautifully Canadian genre mashup of Folk, Rock & Electronica with great repeat listening quality. Check out Bradley’s Radio 3 artist page at http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Bradley and below for you to enjoy is what we think to be one of the best tracks on a full album of goods called MONSTER.
Rest In Power Guru
// April 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
The Soft Pack
// April 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
Sure, they played Answer to Yourself on MTV just the other night. But this kind of video is why we love A Whale Vagina’s, The Soft Pack. errrr, San Diego rather. TAKE A JOKE PADRE!
Aloe Blacc x I Need a Dollar
// April 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
The show that took this song over as their own could easily be called “How to Make it In Toronto”. Here is the first music video of what is no doubt going to be some summer fire from Stonesthrow’s Aloe Blacc.
Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity
// March 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Issue
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
// March 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
Neon Indian
// March 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
I often walk to the places I go. I gave up a car last year and now find great piece of mind as I move through the city by feet and public transit. Some days I find myself walking slower than usual. When those days come about and I really have to get somewhere I find myself turning to music to pick up my pace. I learned last night that my ephemeral artery is in my leg. It now makes a lot of sense as to why Neon Indian makes me strut swiftly through the day.
Neon Indian – Late Night with Jimmy Fallon – 2-11-10 from Sam May on Vimeo.
Styrofoam Ones x Canadian Music Week
// March 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Events, Music
Our favourite Toronto pop punk noir trio hits the stage Wednesday night to kick off Toronto’s Canadian Music Week. This will be the dawn of a big year for Josh McGuirk and Alexander The, the two founding members of the group. Rumour has it that Daniel Lee of Hooded Fang will be holding down the set on drums and guest performances by Sarah Shafey and Tanika Charles will make this a must see of the entire festival. Don’t miss out. 9pm tomorrow at The Roosevelt Room.
This is best live dance party on the market today. You hear that Woodhands! I said it. You guys are good too though.
Stalley – MadStalley: The Autobiography Mixtape
// March 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
Meet Stalley, an aspiring young football hopeful turned conscious word-player, who is creating quite the buzz in the hip hop scene. Having already gotten stamps of approval from hip hop notables such as Mos Def and Black Thought from The Roots, Stalley is anxiously awaiting to bum rush the scene and make his mark. He is affiliated with Mickey Factz and the GFC Network, which can only mean great things for this young lyricist. For his second mixtape, MadStalley: The Autobiography, he gives you his life story over re-imagined Madlib productions. Dope.
Gorillaz x Tomorrow Comes Today
// March 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
With all the hype over the new Gorillaz video release of Stylo, I can’t help but want to share one of the videos that got me huge on this band from the start. Gorillaz; best animated super group, period. My apologies to The Archies
Gorillaz – Tomorrow Comes Today
Uploaded by woodsteur. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
Amazing Social Experiment Involving Chairs
// February 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // Art
Thanks to miss Paige for pointing this out. Paige is a master of style, design and all things internet. You should read her blog to stay gorgeous, in season, and undeniably cool. In this shared video, the Blu Dot group conducted an adorable social experiment to see what will happen if they left designer chairs unattended on the streets of NY.
You Say Party! We Say Die! x There is XXXX (Within My Heart)
// February 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
From Aux.tv
Broken Bells = Danger Mouse x James Mercer
// February 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
A new project from these two is well worth a share, this sound is hype.
TONIGHT x HORSESHOE TAVERN x STYROFOAM ONES
// February 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Events, Music
Be here tonight. Or you probably don’t like music or kittens. Don’t be caught getting called a kitten hater and we will see you on the dance floor.
Simon says get the fuck up.
That Perfect Valentine’s Gift
// February 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Art, Events, Issue, Music
Toronto’s The REMIX Project has put together an awesome Valentine’s Day fundraising campaign that you should jump on for that last minute gift idea. Drake’s DJ, Future The Prince and Styrofoam Ones’ Josh McGuirk (aka J Charles) have donated exclusive mixtapes and paired up with photographer Yasmine James to offer donors an awesome package to tell someone you care. For a $20 donation to REMIX you can have a mixtape and photo card of your choice delivered by email to your sweetheart Sunday morning. Visit the site, be a digital hero/romantic & jump on this very cool project for a very cool cause.
Hooded Fang x Southern Souls
// February 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
By now, everyone has seen France’s Blogotheque. Well you gotta love when easily duplicated inspirations are applied to the talent in your own backyard. Southern Souls is taking inspiration from France’s on the fly musical content farm and creating some very enjoyable film from southern ontario artists.
Putting it out there; Daniel Lee of Hooded Fang has one of the best male voices in Canada. Have a look at this video for Sleep Song and keep following Southern Souls, I double dare you. If you are having trouble watching the video make sure the HD button is turned off in the video player
HOODED FANG – Sleep Song from Mitch Fillion on Vimeo.
What are you doing Valentine’s Day?
// February 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Events
Introducing Mae to Jun and their Valentine’s event.
Pitchfork Diss Track by Woodhands
// February 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Music
Check out this hilarious diss track to Pitchfork from the lovely Woodhands
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Five & Dime presents photographs by Hermann & Audrey
// January 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // Art, Clothing, Music
World’s keep colliding as the massively popular Five & Dime booking show will feature work by Hermann and Audrey next weekend. Be sure to check out the Five & Dime site to learn more about the program including a show at Sound Academy from some original WU; GZA will be in the house!
The New Royales x Bite The Bullet x Hermann & Audrey
// January 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Art, Music
Its a pretty cool thing when world’s collide and this video is a good representation of our newest friends working together. We are fortunate to be working a bunch with directors Hermann and Audrey in 2010 on projects like Life Cycles and the CONTACT photography festival and while on a recent run out to Vancouver with Toronto’s Styrofoam Ones we were able to catch Vancity’s The New Royales at GE Plaza at Robson Square and get to know one of the mastermind’s behind the group, Chin Injeti. Very talented cat with great visions. Putting him and Alexander The in a room together has explosive properties.
So a video that pairs up two of our favourite camps is obviously something we should share with you. Cheers to Chin and the New Royales crew and aesthetic love goes out to Steve, Jalani, Javier and the whole team at Hermann and Audrey that worked to put Bite The Bullet together. Dope track folks.
Tetralogy x StyleByDrew
// December 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Music
‘TETRALOGY’ – StyleByDrew from style.by.drew on Vimeo.
