We were introduced to Ariel Pink on holiday last week. Sounding like they were taking inspiration from Brian Wilson surf music, 80s cock-rock and 70s prog and lo-fi folk.

New album is called Before Today and is fantastic, but you should also download the Greatest Hits. Not a bad place to start when trying to learn about a band that has released 100s of songs over the last 10 years, but you’d never before heard of.

The Guardian write:

The cheap Italo synths and scatterbrained guitar lines are still there, but added into the mix are Miami Vice saxes, floral hippy meanderings, bump’n'grind basslines; an orgy of all the most sensual and decadent parts of the 70s and 80s. Special mentions must go to soft-rock cop show theme Beverly Kills, in which you suspect Tom Selleck might start intoning over the middle eight. The single Round and Round mooches about, piecing fragments of melody together before suddenly joining them up in a chorus for the Age of Aquarius.

It’s new music day at TheScrapBook clearly.

Red Bull Music Academy – Video Archive – Theo Parrish.

“Fuck house music. Fuck any moniker that tries to limit music.”

As anyone who has experienced a Theo Parrish the work of this consummate architect of sound envelopes the listener, and transmits new perspectives on club sonix. Theo’s musical expression fuses the rhythmic, disco-based pulse of Chicago house with the modernist motorik soul of Detroit techno; at the same time pointing to a lineage in black music that runs directly from Sun Ra to Sound Signature. “Jazz spawned house music, jazz spawned hip hop, jazz spawned funk and they all reflect back into that,” says Theo. So if you want to see the future via the raw, soulful and black roots of house music, then you’ve come to the right teleporter.

Tracks explored include:

Stevie Wonder – As
(where Theo explains the song lyrics as Stevie being God, singing to Man)

Mr Fingers – Can U Feel It
(the first tracks that really turned Chicago on to house music)

Marvin Gaye – Funky Space Reincarnation

The JB’s – Doing It To Death

(Understanding the importance of the mix itself, and James Brown as the GodFather of House, not just Soul – or hip hop even)

Aaliyah – Rock The Boat

Herbie Hancock – Sleeping Giant

Lil’ Louis & The World – I Called U (Why’d U Fall)

(“It’s not house music, it’s Jazz!”)

Theo Parrish – Lake Shore Drive

Herbie Hancock – Chameleon

Zoo York Mixtape (FULL) from scottieb on Vimeo.

A classic video that’s become a staple in New York City Skate and Hip Hop culture. The Zoo York Mixtape Volume 1 has reemerged in its entirety through Vimeo. Legends in the realms Hip Hop and Skateboarding – Harold Hunter, Jeff Pang, Vinny Ponte, DJ Roc Raider, Bobbito, Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z & Busta Rhymes are just some of the names featured.

MAXENCE CYRIN – piano covers of pop-ish tunes, and lays them over silent movie clips. The above clip is Pixie’s Where Is My Mind coupled with “The mysterious Lady” (1928) with the great Greta Garbo.

Also does covers of Daft Punk, Beyonce and others. Maxence Cyrin’s new album “Novö Piano” is out soon.

I threw all that motherfuckin money up in the Prada knapsack.

What are you going to do with all your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and YouTube audiences?  “We forget that these programs have to pay into something, a shared value or a social context where the product actually gets used” says Erich Joachimsthaler at Vivaldi Partners.

Smug, stunt-driven apps, games, and videos generate buzz but little else. Social currency is what’s truly valuable.

FastCompany produced the above infographic about a piece of research from VivaldiPartners. They highlight the main points as follows:

1. Advocates Trump Followers

2. Context Matters

3. Not every brand should be social

4. Social Tools arae a means not an end

5. Gimmicks marginalise trust

Amazing “Temple” installation from Faile in Lisbon, Portugal. Integrating their work into the surroundings like never before, the Faile crew have excelled themselves.

They’ve brought to life in mosaic, sculpture, and bas-relief their iconic posters and images to create the Faile Temple. Materials include ceramic, marble, bronze, cast iron, steel, limestone, and mosaic. And it’s massive! Measuring 16ft. width x 30ft. length x 14ft. height.

Find the temple here, between these dates:

Portugal Arte 10 — July 16 – September 5th, 2010
Praça dos Restauradores Square – Lisbon, Portugal

More information, and 43 pictures can be seen at the FaileTemple site.

I love tree houses. Nothin makes me happier than sitting up in the canopy with a new perspective on life. I also love the eco-awareness that’s meant lots of legitimate tree houses have been made around the world.

For my next holiday, I may well head to Sweden to check out the Tree Hotel.

‘Why not create a comfortable, well-designed hotel where guests can live among the trees in harmony with nature?’ Tree Hotel.

LSN says:

Aimed at bringing urban dwellers closer to nature, the hotel comprises four rooms: The Mirrorcube, The Bird’s Nest, The Cabin and The Blue Cone, all built high up in the trees. Two more Tree Rooms will be completed this year, The UFO in October and Room with a View at the end of this year.

The rooms vary in size from 15–30 square metres and range between four and six metres from the ground. Each room has an eco-friendly incineration toilet and a water-efficient hand basin, which means there is no artificial plumbing.

Check out more photos and words here.