Blog
Art in the Age at SXSW Music Fest 2010!
During the next few days I'll be in Austin for SXSW witnessing what is sure to be a monumentally insane experience while I gather video interviews with bands for ... Read More
Richard Holmes and The Age of Wonder
This past Monday, I was fortunate enough to attend a talk given by Richard Holmes at Philadelphia's very own Chemical Heritage Foundation. Mr. Holmes is a scholar of Romanticism, and ... Read More
Watch Generationals Perform Two Songs in Our Store!
New Orleans band Generationals stopped by our store for a live session not too long after their label-mates The Spinto Band, and performed the ridiculously catchy "When They Fight, They ... Read More
Retro Visions of the Future [PICS]
At some point in our lives we have all considered and, in some cases, even romanticized or romanticized about what life would be like in the future. In the 1950's ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Bowerbirds - “In Our Talons”
I recently caught this video for an older Bowerbirds song on one of my favorite blogs Kitsune Noir (whose post you should read) and it is a stunning/trippy stop-motion masterpiece! ... Read More
Watch The Spinto Band Perform Two Songs in Our Store!
Local(ish) talents and all around awesome dudes The Spinto Band stopped by our store a few months back and brought with them two charming tunes. Both songs, the pop gem ... Read More
Brooklyn band Clare and the Reasons recently stopped by our store and kindly graced us with thier unique brand of lush and whimsical chamber-pop. Check out a charming performance of ... Read More
Video + PICS: Sherlock Holmes Ending Sequence & Early Storyboards
The ending sequence of the new Sherlock Holmes film may be its best attribute -- aside from Robert Downey Jr.'s performance.The design and animation are both superb. Have a look: Prologue ... Read More
In Memorium: Jay Reatard 1980-2010
As most of you already know, the talented Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., better known as Jay Reatard, passed away last week at the young age of 29. Although we never ... Read More
Every year (for 10 years!?) Duck Brand Duct Tape holds a contest where students are challenged to create their prom outfits out of Duct Tape and the winners get scholarships. ... Read More
Art in the Age In-Store Video Interview With The Big Pink!
The music of buzzworthy British band The Big Pink is a powerful mix of early Shoegaze and new Industrial. The band recently stopped by our store during their Philly visit, ... Read More
Magazine Covers Re-Drawn By Hand
John Paul Thurlow's "attempt to remake cover art for every great magazine he owns" is not only ambitious, but also beautiful. Can you imagine if all magazine covers were created ... Read More
Amazing Experimental Animation From Benjamin Ducroz
Watch this awesome video experiment from Benjamin Ducroz. Press + eatures 3D animation and printed animated frames created with watercolor and ink. The crackling, glitchy minimal music adds to the ... Read More
VIDEOS: Asobi Seksu Live Session Clips and Interview at the Art in the Age Store
Our friends Asobi Seksu stopped by the store recently and graced us with a wonderful acoustic set, featuring such gems as "New Years" and a cover of Hope Sandoval's "Suzanne". ... Read More
“Do” Lecture Video Series Featuring Geoff McFetridge and Others
The mission of "The Do Lectures" is to "getting a handful of speakers together in one place, in the hope that they may inspire you to go Do something. To ... Read More
The Museum of Vintage Walkmans
Hello fellow electronic nerds! If you have not yet visited The Museum of Vintage Walkmans, then what are you waiting for?? This is the place for you. It's an awesome ... Read More
Check out these amazing and inventive barcodes created by Japanese designers as a part of the Barcode Revolution. (via) Follow us on Twitter Fan us on Facebook Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Ólafur Arnalds – “Ljósið”
Check out this beautiful video for Sigur Ros touring musician Ólafur Arnalds' minimalist, neo-classical piece "Ljósið”. Directed by Esteban Diácono, the effect used in the video is absolutely hypnotizing! For ... Read More
VIDEOS: Watch Sun Airway Perform 3 Songs at Art in the Age
Recently, one half of Philly's newest (and best, in our opinion) electronic pop duo Sun Airway stopped by our store. Dressed to the nines, Jon Barthmus graciously performed acoustic versions ... Read More
Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By
Here's the description from Amazon. "Obsolete contains essays and entries on more than 100 alphabetized fading subjects, including Blind Dates, Mix Tapes, Getting Lost, Porn Magazines, Looking Old, Operators, Camera Film, ... Read More
Bus Shelter Made From Salvaged School Buses
Here's a rad idea from Christopher Fennell that turns recycling into art--with a purpose. Learn how it was done: "Decommissioned school buses get sent to the scrapyard every day, so sculptor ... Read More
A Look at NYC Graffiti Through the ’90s
Take a trip through the '90s New York graffiti scene with this beautiful photo series shot throughout the city and the 5 Burroughs between the late '80s and 2000. See more ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEOS (Halloween Edition): Klaus Nomi “Lightning Strikes” & “Cold Song”
No single artist may have been as scary and as unique as Klaus Nomi. Combining New-Wave pop and Opera, Nomi dumbfounded audiences in the late '70s and early '80s with ... Read More
4 Song In-Store Video Session with Nurses (+ New Song!)
Portland's Nurses stopped by our store recently and performed a great session, including 3 songs from their excellent new album Apple's Acre and a new sing-a-long gem entitled "Disney". Watch ... Read More
EXCLUSIVE Art in the Age Video Interview with A Place to Bury Strangers
On Sunday night we caught up with Oliver Ackermann, lead singer of Brooklyn Neo-Shoegazers A Place To Bury Strangers, and asked him some questions...only a few, short hours before the ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Asobi Seksu - “Transparence”
The beautiful new video for Asobi Seksu's "Transparence" mixes washed-out and saturated tones into a series of late-summer dream sequences featuring core-band members Yuki and James. Check it out: "Transparence" can ... Read More
TWITTER CONTEST: Music/Tee Giveaway From Art in the Age + Park the Van Records!
Art in the Age is teaming up with Park the Van Records to give away 2 artist tees and new music from two awesome bands on their label, The Spinto ... Read More
PHOTOS: Fanfarlo Live @ Kung Fu Necktie in Philly!
After stopping by our store on Sunday for some of our t-shirts and a sampling of our new spirit ROOT, UK band Fanfarlo ripped through an awesome set at a ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Black Mold (Chad Vangaalen) - “Metal Spiderwebs”
As you may or may not have noticed we curate the best in animated + artistic music videos here on the AITA blog, and this one from multi-talented artist and ... Read More
An Exclusive Interview with Thomas Mars of Phoenix
French band Phoenix has had an exciting career thus far releasing 4 albums of '80s inspired pop gems. Their sound is becoming unmistakable, partly due to lead singer Thomas Mars' ... Read More
ART IN THE AGE + The MUSIC SLUT TWITTER CONTEST: Win a Music Prize-Pack and 2 AITA Shirts!
WE ARE ALL A-TWITTER!!! Art in the Age has teamed up with famed indie music blog The Music Slut for an EXCITING TWITTER GIVEAWAY!!! THE PRIZE: 2 Art in the Age ... Read More
Last night I caught Nurses at Johnny Brenda's in Philly and was definitely blown away. It wasn't that they have the most original sound around, (Grizzly Bear x Animal Collective ... Read More
VIDEO: A Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Tour Diary (Shot By The Band)
You may remember seeing our in-store sessions with kick-ass Seattle band Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band a few weeks ago on the blog. Now, we have another treat for you. ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: The Antlers - “Two”
This beautiful new video for The Antlers song "Two", directed by Ethan Segal and Albert Thrower, has a cut-out/rotoscope look and fits nicely with the mood of the song. Watch ... Read More
MP3: The Smith Westerns - “Girl In Love”
The Lo-fi, fuzzed-out Glam Rock of The Smith Westerns' new B-side "Girl in Love" from their fourth 7" owes as much to T-Rex as it does early Elephant 6. Blown ... Read More
VIDEOS: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Live Session in The Art in the Age Store (2 New Songs!)
Seattle's up-and-coming Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band recently stopped by our store/gallery in Philly and treated us to a live session. Set up in front of one of our video ... Read More
The Big Pink's new single "Dominos" has all the makings of a brilliant pop song -- a head-bobbing rhythm, quality production and an addicting chorus that actually gets more awesome ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - “Albatross Albatross Albatross”
This new video from Seattle band Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band is a step up from their early promo videos (although we loved their early promos very much). In this ... Read More
MP3: Sun Airway - “Oh, Naoko” (Highly Recommended!)
Sun Airway, made up of two former members of Philly's A-Sides, have just released a new, free EP called Oh, Naoko that has been getting some heavy rotation here at ... Read More
**NEW** Exclusive, Ltd. Edition Art in the Age Tee Designed By ASOBI SEKSU!
Art in the Age is proud to announce that our newest tee collaboration is with Brooklyn's excellent shoegaze/dream-pop band Asobi Seksu! The design, affectionately known as "Tour Doodles", features fun, ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Sour - “Hibi No Neiro”
Easily the most charming video of the year, Japanese pop band Sour's newest one features their members of their fanbase from all over the world in separate webcam clips. The ... Read More
Art in the Age Mixtape #7: “ROOT of EVIL ’80s POP” (7.10.09)
To celebrate Art in the Age's '80s dance party and first ROOT drink special at the Rum Bar in Philly this Saturday, here is a mix of dark pop tunes, ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Bachelorette - “Her Rotating Head”
Here's a weird video for ya. It comes from New Zealand, where the band Bachelorette makes ethereal pop music. In the case of their song "Her Rotating Head", there is ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Woods - “To Clean”
We love the band Woods here at AITA and their newest video for "To Clean" is the perfect blend of stop-motion, live-action and surrealism. This band is going places... Woods' new ... Read More
MP3: The New Time - “Neutral Milk Hotel”
Since I can't post a new Neutral Milk Hotel song (and may not ever be able to), at least I can post this awesome song from Philly band The New ... Read More
MP3: Circulatory System - “Overjoyed”
Yes, I am "overjoyed" that former Olivia Tremor Control (possible reunion?) psych-pop mastermind William Cullen Hart is back with his band Circulatory System and some excellent new music in the ... Read More
VIDEOS: Drink Up Buttercup Live Session in The Art in the Age Store! NEW SONG!
Yes, the good gents of Philly's Drink Up Buttercup. came by our store, grabbed some merch (as all of our band friends do) and played us some awesome music...including a ... Read More
MP3: Micachu and the Shapes - “Just in Case”
Micachu aka Mica Levi is a 21 year old songwriter with a gift for mixing lo-fi electronics, folk and everything else under the sun (including vaccums!). This track from her ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Wax Stag - “And How”
This new video for UK's Wax Stag's "And How" is a colorful dirge into the art of animating with cut-out paper, courtesy of Clem Stamation. Wax Stag's music is available from ... Read More
MP3: Stegosaurus Trap - “Broken Castles”
Stegosaurus Trap (real name unknown) recently released a free album, Miniature Maze, that I am seriously addicted to. The songs on the album range from warm, lo-fi to whimsical, orchestral ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: La Roux - “Bulletproof”
Parisian directors The Holograms whipped up an uber-stylish, 3D video-scape for La Roux's latest electro single "Bulletproof". This new-wave Alice in Wonderland adventure is full of eye-candy and may lead ... Read More
MP3: Drink Up Buttercup - “Sosey and Dosey”
Here's an acid-soaked summer tune from one of our favorite Philly bands, Drink Up Buttercup. "Sosey and Dosey" is a Kinks-ian circus jam about two clumsy kids. Sweet and catchy! Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Violens - “Already Over” (dir. Caroline Polachek of Chairlift)
Here's a video challenge: Take one beautiful song by Violens, add footage of a heavenly George Michael and make it appear as though he is singing the words of the ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Classic Album Covers Re-imagined as Penguin Book Covers
Do you hate how some album covers looks glossy? Would you rather have your whole record collection look older and worn? Perhaps you prefer them to resemble the covers of ... Read More
VIDEOS: Takka Takka Live Session in The Art in the Age Store! (2 New Songs!)
Last month, our good friends Takka Takka visited our store in Old City Philadelphia. Not only did they grab some of our swate merch, but they also played a few ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Jeremy Bradley Earl (WOODSIST)
Jeremy Bradley Earl is not only a multi-instrumentalist in the California band Woods (one of my favorite bands of the moment), but he also runs the label Woodsist, which has ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Oi Va Voi - “Everytime”
Katarzyna Kijek & Przemysław Adamski directed this ambitious and stunning music video for London band Oi Va Voi's new single "Everytime" using a paper shredding machine. Every third frame of ... Read More
Adventures in Album Art: Extraordinary Records - A Book By Giorgio Moroder
Whether you realize it or not, chances are you are familiar with the work of Italian producer extraordinaire Giorgio Moroder. In addition to producing his own electro opus, 1977's From ... Read More
MUSIC VIDEO: Populous w/ Short Stories - “Man Overboard”
Stuart O'Keefe's beautifully animated video for this buzzing and somber tune features squishy, buoyant creatures that may not be human, but can still feel human emotions. "Man Overboard" can be found ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: The Modernist Editions
There certainly is a connection in logic between this series of album cover re-interpretations from Illumination Ink and Steven Heller's recent article in Wired Magazine. These "Modernist Editions" bring to ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Man Man - “Rabbit Habits”
Avant, Philly favs Man Man have teamed up with Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live), Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up) and Martin Starr (Superbad, Knocked Up) on a video for the band's ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Rainbow Arabia - “Omar K”
Great art tends to make you question things, but in case of Rainbow Arabia's "Omar K" video, you are left saying "What the f**k!?" It's slice of world music fused ... Read More
Art in the Age Mixtape #6 - “SPRING” (4.3.09)
Still not convinced it's Spring? Well, have a listen to this mixtape, which coincides with the opening Art in the Age's Spring Group Show tomorrow. It features a collection of ... Read More
VIDEOS: Bishop Allen Live Session in The Art in the Age Store!
On March 13th, one of our favorite bands, Bishop Allen, visited our store in Old City Philadelphia. After checking out some of our tees, noteworthy books and knick-knacks, they treated ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: “Uncovering” Jandek?
Though the Jandek project has produced 54 albums of various styles (blues, jazz, folk and rock), since 1978, it is still the most mysterious project on the planet. Sometimes the ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Panda Bear - “Take Pills” (Dir. by Gang Gang Dance’s Brian DeGraw)
Panda Bear's strange and beautiful tune is visualized by the equally weird Gang Gang Dance-man Brian DeGraw, resulting in a fitting psychedelic journey that will do one or all of ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: The Groundbreaking Work of Barney Bubbles
The artwork of English graphic designer Colin Fulcher aka Barney Bubbles is often described with words such as daring, bold and experimental. However, for me, his often geometric-styled images and ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Daito Manabe and Friends - “Electric Stimulus to Face”
Japanese multimedia artist Daito Manabe created a machine which converts sounds to electrical impulses. He hooked up four of his friends to it and their facial expressions began synchronizing to ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Steven Heller’s “Design Artwork for a Shrinking Album Cover”
Steven Heller, Editor of the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, recently ... Read More
An Interview with Experimental Sound Designer Diego Stocco
Last month I posted a fascinating video by experimental sound designer Diego Stocco called "Music From Sand" in which he sampled sounds found in grains of sand. Ever since then ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Hauschka - “Freibad”
This wonderfully animated video of Hauschka's ochestral instrumental "Freibad" features odd characters and even odder instruments. This is all great of course, but the fact that the one of the ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Jan Tonnesen’s Flickr Stream of Weird Album Covers
According to his Flickr profile, Jan Tonnesen is a bookseller at Wahrenbrock's Book House in Downtown San Diego, the area's oldest & largest used & antiquarian bookshop. He plays guitar ... Read More
I know hardly anything about WOODS, aside from the fact that they hang with fellow like-minded freaks like Crystal Stilts, WAVVES, Vivian Girls, and Blank Dogs and that THIS IS ... Read More
Art in the Age Mixtape #5: “BEEER!?” (3.5.09)
Today is a fine day in the city pf Philadelphia and a fine day for a tasty beer! In celebration of Art in the Age's new exhibit, Pennsylvania Brewery Historian, ... Read More
Record Exec Shares His Thoughts on “The Death of The Album”
An anonymous music exec contributed a well-written, thought-provoking essay/rant to Ben Lazar's A Deeper Shade of Soul blog today, expressing his thoughts on the digital age of music collecting where ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Make Your Own Fake Album Cover on Facebook
The Facebook game/group Fake Albums, in which you make random fake album covers based on the 3 simple steps, is gaining in popularity. If you have a few minutes and ... Read More
MP3 PICK: Eternal Summers - “Able To”
It's a spring-tease here in Philly today and although it's a bit cloudy with a good chance of rain, the warm air feels excellent. So why not post a song ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Towa Tei - “Mind Wall”
WARNING: This is the weirdest music video you will see all week. It's for former Dee-Lite DJ ("Groove is in the Heart") Towa Tei's fusion-dance-pop song "Mind Wall" and it ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Diego Stocco - “Music From Sand”
This is not a traditional music video by any means, but rather a peak into Diego Stocco's method of creating music from grains of sand. The ambient, truly "of the ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Brian Roettinger + No Age
Our friends No Age not only produce awesome, timely pop music but they also package it beautifully with the help of L.A. designer Brian Roettinger. The above image is Brian's ... Read More
MP3 PICK: Bishop Allen - “The Ancient Commonsense Of Things”
It's pretty hard not to love Brooklyn's Bishop Allen. They are impeccable songwriters, super ambitious (um, did someone say "an ep a month" project?), and their records have awesome artwork. ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Sportsday Megaphone - “Meet Me In The Middle”
Windmills + see-sawing doggies + flying barber shop tools + psychedelic meat factories in a Candy Land-esque, super intricately illustrated world culminating in a sweet little love story. Impossible you ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Chairlift - “Evident Utensil”
Oh Caroline Polachek, lead singer of increasingly popular pop band Chairlift, you are cute even when your face is distorted and compressed resulting in messy abstract swirls courtesy of director ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Hidden Images
Whose face is hiding in the new Black Lips album cover? I'm a big fan of subliminal messaging in art and album cover art definitely has its fair share of it. ... Read More
MP3 PICK: Asobi Seksu - “Familiar Light” (Twins Remix)
Asobi Seksu's new record Hush is awesome, as is the video for the first single "Me & Mary". This song "Familiar Light", which is the single's B-side, was remixed by ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Fleet Foxes - “Mykonos”
Check out this awesome new Fleet Foxes video for "Mykonos", directed by Sean Pecknold aka Grandchildren (he also directed "White Winter Hymnal"). Who knew that earth-toned triangles could be so ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Jews on Vinyl: “And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Our Vinyl”
Josh Kun and Roger Bennett's book And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Our Vinyl, a survey of obscure Jewish records has been turned into an exhibition at ... Read More
MP3 PICK: The Lisps - “Brackish Water”
Close your eyes and have a listen to this beaut from a band that describes their music as "an assemblage of 21st century indie-rock vaudevillians writing songs about science and ... Read More
Art in the Age Mixtape #4 “EMANCIPATION” Songs of Freedom/A Tribute to Abe Lincoln (2.5.09)
In honor or Abe Lincoln's 200th Birthday and the new AITA Lincoln Exhibition "The Great Lincoln! Memorial Tableaux" which opens at the Art in the Age gallery tomorrow night (Feb. ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Ron Hays and Larry Fast - “Delta 1″ (70’s Scanimation)
This clip was pulled from a laserdisc (awesome!) entitled "Ron Hays Music Image: Odyssey", which was a 1970s compilation of experimental music videos using the analog animation technique of Scanimation ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Record Envelope (Vintage Record Sleeves From Around The World)
Today I stumbled upon a great resource for obscure, and very awesomely designed record sleeves. The blog is called Record Envelope and although it seems to no longer be update ... Read More
MP3 PICK: Dirty Projectors & David Byrne - “Knotty Pine”
Yes!!! We are looooving this "meeting of great minds" track that sees Brooklyn experimentalists Dirty Projectors teaming up with the legendary Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. "Knotty Pine" was recorded ... Read More
Art in the Age Mixtape #3: “WARMTH” (1.30.09)
Dear Winter, We at AITA understand that you are required to visit us under the laws of Nature. However, we feel as though you have overstayed your welcome and would now ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Asobi Seksu - “Me and Mary”
Asobi Seksu's newest single is as beautiful as anything from their last album Citrus. On first listen the song filled my head with bright abstract colors, but after watching this, ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Favorite Album Covers of the 21st Century (…Thus Far)
One of our readers recently asked us to publish a list of visually/artistically exceptional album covers created between 2000 and the present. Well we pondered the question and here, in ... Read More
MP3 PICK: Soft Rocks - “Slowdown”
Instead of throwing up a predictable "indie" tune, I'd thought I post something a little different this week. This one comes from the mysterious Brighton UK-based DJ collective known as ... Read More
Art in the Age Mixtape #2: SPACE IS THE PLACE (1.22.09)
This week's mixtape is a collection of spacey tunes inspired by The Men of Magick Outlaw "Space is the Place" Exhibition @ Art In The Age, which is coming to ... Read More
MUSIC VID PICK: Sin Fang Bous - “Clangour And Flutes”
Animated by Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, this clip for Sin Fang Bous' single "Clangour And Flutes" features the man himself in the center of kaleidoscopic hand-drawn wondermint. While the music lies somewhere ... Read More
ADVENTURES IN ALBUM ART: Goodbye, Babylon Box Set (2003)
Dust-to-Digital's Goodbye, Babylon, a 6 disc box set of reissued Gospels from the years 1902-1960 should be treasured not only for its music but also for its beautiful packaging. Designed ... Read More
