i'd rather dance than talk to you.

More Monday feel-good stuff (other than cake, of course)? This video from Kings of Convenience. It really makes me smile. (found via various sources)

i'd rather dance than talk to you.

More Monday feel-good stuff (other than cake, of course)? This video from Kings of Convenience. It really makes me smile. (found via various sources)

morrissey owns my heart...

...which means these limited-edition prints from Hunting Bears do as well. Beautifully well-designed posters featuring lyrics by The Smiths? I'm definitely sold. ($35 each or $90 for all 3 designs)

(Via A Cup of Jo)

morrissey owns my heart...

...which means these limited-edition prints from Hunting Bears do as well. Beautifully well-designed posters featuring lyrics by The Smiths? I'm definitely sold. ($35 each or $90 for all 3 designs)

(Via A Cup of Jo)

ten images of inspiration : stylish albums.

Even above art and design, my biggest love has to be music- but I truly love when the two come together. Needless to say, I adore both well-designed and stylishly kitschy album covers, especially when they go hand-in-hand with some of my most-loved musicians. These are some of my favorites for various reasons (along with bands/singers that own my heart.)

Albums (from top to bottom): The Ventures: Walk Don't Run, Elvis Presley: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, Camera Obscura: Underachievers Please Try Harder, Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson, The Beatles: Help!, The Smiths: The Queen is Dead, The Shangri-Las: Leader of the Pack, The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico, Belle & Sebastian: Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and Wanda Jackson: Rockin' With Wanda.

ten images of inspiration : stylish albums.

Even above art and design, my biggest love has to be music- but I truly love when the two come together. Needless to say, I adore both well-designed and stylishly kitschy album covers, especially when they go hand-in-hand with some of my most-loved musicians. These are some of my favorites for various reasons (along with bands/singers that own my heart.)

Albums (from top to bottom): The Ventures: Walk Don't Run, Elvis Presley: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, Camera Obscura: Underachievers Please Try Harder, Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson, The Beatles: Help!, The Smiths: The Queen is Dead, The Shangri-Las: Leader of the Pack, The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico, Belle & Sebastian: Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and Wanda Jackson: Rockin' With Wanda.

record collections.

We just replaced our broken record player with a new one and I am so happy to be listening to our collection again. I get smitten with the look and sound of a spinning record, so it's nice to take peeks into the homes of fellow vinyl lovers.

Above homes (from top to bottom): William Eadon, Matthew Mau, Jesse & Whitney Chamberlin, Ian & Marc Hundley, and unknown from LivingEtc.

record collections.

We just replaced our broken record player with a new one and I am so happy to be listening to our collection again. I get smitten with the look and sound of a spinning record, so it's nice to take peeks into the homes of fellow vinyl lovers.

Above homes (from top to bottom): William Eadon, Matthew Mau, Jesse & Whitney Chamberlin, Ian & Marc Hundley, and unknown from LivingEtc.

guest bloggers : poppytalk.

Hello and greetings from Vancouver! This is Jan from the Canadian design blog, Poppytalk and I'm honoured to do a guest post here for Summer while she's away on vacation. Design is Mine is one of my favorite blogs and I always stop by to be inspired!

I post a lot about affordable art and as I was perusing online the other day I came across these fun 45 rpm prints and thought I'd share them here. How can you not help but like these giant re-creations from a few of the greatest single releases of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

UK artist, Morgan Howell's large original painting of each single is photographed in super high resolution and printed directly onto a canvas sleeve, (68cm square), then a big black disc with a printed label goes inside. The slots are hand-cut and the centre is drilled so the art can be mounted on a chrome central spindle which doubles as a wall fitting. All prints are hand finished, complete with crinkled edges and small tears to resemble a giant 3D single ready to hang on a wall. Available through here. A little bit about each single (taken from here) after each image.


Apache, The Shadows

The recording for 'Apache' was done at the EMI Abbey Road Studio in London, June 1960. Singer-guitarist Joe Brown had bought an Italian-built guitar echo chamber. He didn't like it and gave it to Hank Marvin. Marvin developed a new sound using the chamber with heavy vibrato using the tremolo arm of his Fender Stratocaster. Percussion was by Tony Meehan (drums) and Cliff Richard, who played a Chinese drum at the beginning and end to provide an atmosphere of stereotypically Native American music. It topped the UK singles chart for five weeks, a month after the recording.


Paranoid, Black Sabbath

After seeing a large queue waiting to see the Boris Karloff film 'Black Sabbath,' the 'Earth' band changed its name in August 1969, deciding to create the musical equivalent of horror films. 'Paranoid' was written in the studio at the last minute. As Bill Ward explains: "We didn't have enough songs for the album, and Tony Lommi played the (Paranoid) guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty-five minutes from top to bottom." The single was released ahead of the album in September 1970 reaching #4 in the UK.


White Man, The Clash

White Man in Hammersmith Palais' helped The Clash assert themselves as a more versatile band musically and politically than many of their peers, and it broke the exciting but limiting punk mould that had been established by the Sex Pistols; from now on The Clash would be "the thinking man's yobs". The single was originally released in four different coloured sleeves - yellow, green, blue and pink.


I Can't Explain, The Who

'I Can't Explain' was the A-side of the group's first single released under the name The Who. The track also features on The Who's 1971 compilation album 'Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.' In the album's liner notes, Townshend noted the song's similarity to the hit single 'All Day and All of the Night' by The Kinks. "It can't be beat for straightforward Kink copying. There is little to say about how I wrote this. It came out of the top of my head when I was 18 and a half."

Available at notonthehighstreet.com

Thanks Summer for having me!

-Jan

Site: poppytalk.blogspot.com
Shop: poppytalkhandmade.com
Current market theme: Back to School

guest bloggers : poppytalk.

Hello and greetings from Vancouver! This is Jan from the Canadian design blog, Poppytalk and I'm honoured to do a guest post here for Summer while she's away on vacation. Design is Mine is one of my favorite blogs and I always stop by to be inspired!

I post a lot about affordable art and as I was perusing online the other day I came across these fun 45 rpm prints and thought I'd share them here. How can you not help but like these giant re-creations from a few of the greatest single releases of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

UK artist, Morgan Howell's large original painting of each single is photographed in super high resolution and printed directly onto a canvas sleeve, (68cm square), then a big black disc with a printed label goes inside. The slots are hand-cut and the centre is drilled so the art can be mounted on a chrome central spindle which doubles as a wall fitting. All prints are hand finished, complete with crinkled edges and small tears to resemble a giant 3D single ready to hang on a wall. Available through here. A little bit about each single (taken from here) after each image.


Apache, The Shadows

The recording for 'Apache' was done at the EMI Abbey Road Studio in London, June 1960. Singer-guitarist Joe Brown had bought an Italian-built guitar echo chamber. He didn't like it and gave it to Hank Marvin. Marvin developed a new sound using the chamber with heavy vibrato using the tremolo arm of his Fender Stratocaster. Percussion was by Tony Meehan (drums) and Cliff Richard, who played a Chinese drum at the beginning and end to provide an atmosphere of stereotypically Native American music. It topped the UK singles chart for five weeks, a month after the recording.


Paranoid, Black Sabbath

After seeing a large queue waiting to see the Boris Karloff film 'Black Sabbath,' the 'Earth' band changed its name in August 1969, deciding to create the musical equivalent of horror films. 'Paranoid' was written in the studio at the last minute. As Bill Ward explains: "We didn't have enough songs for the album, and Tony Lommi played the (Paranoid) guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty-five minutes from top to bottom." The single was released ahead of the album in September 1970 reaching #4 in the UK.


White Man, The Clash

White Man in Hammersmith Palais' helped The Clash assert themselves as a more versatile band musically and politically than many of their peers, and it broke the exciting but limiting punk mould that had been established by the Sex Pistols; from now on The Clash would be "the thinking man's yobs". The single was originally released in four different coloured sleeves - yellow, green, blue and pink.


I Can't Explain, The Who

'I Can't Explain' was the A-side of the group's first single released under the name The Who. The track also features on The Who's 1971 compilation album 'Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.' In the album's liner notes, Townshend noted the song's similarity to the hit single 'All Day and All of the Night' by The Kinks. "It can't be beat for straightforward Kink copying. There is little to say about how I wrote this. It came out of the top of my head when I was 18 and a half."

Available at notonthehighstreet.com

Thanks Summer for having me!

-Jan

Site: poppytalk.blogspot.com
Shop: poppytalkhandmade.com
Current market theme: Back to School

thought of the day : philosophy.

"Color my life with the chaos of trouble," lyrics by Belle & Sebastian (still one of my all-time favorite bands), from music philosophy, a new love of mine.

thought of the day : philosophy.

"Color my life with the chaos of trouble," lyrics by Belle & Sebastian (still one of my all-time favorite bands), from music philosophy, a new love of mine.

hand in glove.

Because of my very deep love of The Smiths, I just couldn't resist posting this tee from Opening Ceremony. If it weren't for the rather steep price tag, it would probably be on my body at this very moment. ($60)

in the sun.

I know, I know- I already shared my song of the week yesterday morning, but I couldn't resist posting this: the new video from ultra-fabulous duo She & Him. Just because it will totally brighten up your Tuesday afternoon and no one is more adorable than Mrs. Deschanel.

ten images of inspiration : musique.

One thing I adore is seeing very well-done, intimate photographs of my favorite musicians- it tends to make me a bit giddy. Certain photographers really manage to capture the artist and their sound so well through an image, it's just wonderful.

Sources (from top to bottom): Willaims + Hirakawa, Lauren Dukoff, Tina Tyrell, Flora Hanitijo, Aya Brackett, Mads Perch, Ye Rin Mok, Pamela Littky, Matthew Frost, and Jason Frank Rothernberg.