Sad News- Heath Ledger 28, found dead in New York apartment

In a truly sad bit of news, actor Heath Ledger was found dead today in his NYC residence. He had the rare ability to get totally engrossed in the roles he embodied, and I'm sure he would have had an amazing body of work in the future. Our condolences go out to Ledger's daughter, family and friends.

Ledger was currently filming "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" by director Terry Gilliam, and just finished playing the Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight," one of 2008's most anticipated films:

* Update- My friend Camerin over at Liber Metawitch has articulated a lot of thoughts I share on this tragic matter

FoundTrack's January '08 MixTape - Liner Notes (Tracks 1-5)

Track 1 - Europe - The Final Countdown (Them Jeans/Anti MC Remix)
Album - Promo
Label - Promo
Release Date - Dec. '06
Founder - JJ (stilllistentogangstamusic.blogspot.com)

Comment - This track features a remix from AntiMC of Palmsoutsounds and Jason Stewart (AKA Them Jeans) of the Swedish glam metal band Europe's "The Final Countdown". The lyrics were inspired by David Bowie's song "Space Oddity". "The Final Countdown" was written to be an opening song for concerts but the band never in their wildest metal dreams thought it would be used as the synth riff to rally the Detroit Pistons crowd as they announce the starting lineups and now as the Foundtrack introduction to our January mixtape.

Speaking of introductions, hopefully one day the FoundTrack can commission the services of Detroit's John Mason.
Michael Buffer, eat your heart out.



What a difference a decade makes.









Track 2 - Dj Shadow - Six Days (Soulwax Remix)
Album - Most of the Remixes....(See picture below for full title) (Sample/Purchase)
Label - Parlophone
Release Date - 10/22/07
Founder - Dan Wilcox - KCRW DJ

Comment -To celebrate the release of the Radio Soulwax documentary called Part Of The Weekend Never Dies, Parlophone has helped compile (almost) all of the remixes the DJ duo has done over the past 10 years. The album's full title contains 545 characters of text, hence the "...". Full title may be read in the album artwork below or next time you're waiting over 30 min. on hold for a Time Warner customer service issue. FYI- this title is about 100 characters more than the Fiona Apple album When the Pawn, which was the previous record-holder before Most of the Remixes... The double-disc album features remixes of classics by the likes of Daft Punk, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, and of course this tasty mash-up of the B-52's "52 girls" and DJ Shadow's "Six Days".

Check out the mathwork for the soulwax mashup below.



+



=

Track 3 - Breakwater - Release The Beast
Album - Discovered: A Selection of Daft Punk Samples (Sample/Purchase)
Label - Rapster
Release Date - 11/20/07
Founder - Jack Catlin - DJ KnewJack

Comment - Discovered gives listeners the full versions of songs sampled for many of Daft Punk's biggest hits. It also acts as a stand alone compilation of disco jazz and funk from the collections of two of the most influential producers in dance music. The compilation Includes the sources for "Around the World," "Robot Rock," "Harder Better Faster Stronger," and many more, including this beast from Breakwater. This tune reminds me of Edwin Starr's "War" as they both share the "hugh" sound effect of getting head-butted in the stomach by Tattoo from Fantasy Island.

Just see what IMEEM below











Track 4 - Katy Perry - Ur So Gay
Album - Ur So Gay EP (Sample/Purchase)
Label - Capitol
Release Date - 11/20/07
Founder - Mixtape Maestro
www.myspace.com/katyperry

Comment - Weather you love it or hate it, Katy Perry's un-PC "Ur So Gay" will leave an inevitable impression on you. Katy's the latest to follow the footsteps of the young female indie-pop fame and is slated to bring her debut full-length through capitol this spring. In the meantime, chew on this EP which features a cover of Outfield's 80's hit "Use Your Love". After hearing her bitter laundry list of complaints in "Ur So Gay", make sure to use your love wisely.






Track 5 - Castledoor - The Birds and the Fleas
Album - Follow the Dove EP (Sample/Purhase)
Label - None
Release Date - 7/25/06
Founder - Amoeba Music
www.myspace.com/castledoormusic

Comment - This LA sextet is Kevin Bronson's (LA Times Buzz Bands columnist) favorite new band, earning its DIY-cred by playing dozens of shows in Eastside clubs, winning hearts with its exuberant boy-girl harmonies and layered guitars and keyboards. The band also just finished recording an EP, "Shoutin' at Mountains," with Earlimart frontman and Aaron Espinoza. - LAtimesblog

Check out their live show Jan. 31st @ Spaceland with Airborne Toxic Event and Deadly Syndrome.

Music Video - Colin Monroe's take on "Flashing Lights"

Checkout Colin Monroe's awesome take on "Flashing Lights"... It's got a chilled out beat and the video has this awesome nu-disco vibe to it:



Source: Rawkus' The Rap Up

2008 Oscar Nominations - The 80th Annual Academy Awards

While Hillary, Obama, McCain and the rest of the crew are battling it out with their nominations, we here in Hollywood have much more important fish to fry- namely the 2008 Oscars...

While its seems likely that the big show will go on despite the strikes, we all know what happened with the Golden Globes. You can checkout the nominees here, and check back soon for our predictions on the winners and opinion on who was left out of the nominations mix.

Despite everyone knowing that the always on-point and uber-selective Daniel Day-Lewis is a shoe-in for Best Actor, a lot of the other categories should be pretty interesting this year...

** UPDATE ** - Checkout Apple's quicktime trailer page which has a special sub section dedicated to all the nominees- http://www.apple.com/trailers/awards/

Awesome Interior Design - BAPE Shabuya Store

I was hunting the web, helping Serge (Upcoming NYC Interior Designer/FoundTrack Friend) with one of his design gigs, when this caught my eye. Checkout the hot interior of A Bathing Ape's (BAPE) store in Shibuya Japan. I love purple, so the picture above is what caught my eye, but the entire store looks pretty clean. BAPE tends to feature simple yet highly sought-after designs that feature bold colors and shapes, and the store seems to follow that aesthetic:

The space was designed by WonderWall - be sure to checkout their site for more case studies on their other design projects.

Source - Yossawat (Your Interior Design Ideas) Blog

Weekly Events Calendar : Found in LA (Jan. 21-27th)

Monday Jan. 21st (Martin Luther King Day)
Kingdom Day Parade @ intersection of Western Avenue and MLK blvd.
Publish Post

MLK Gospel Celebration @ Leimart Park Village



Parson Red Heads @ Spaceland

Radar Bros. @ Echo


Tuesday Jan. 22nd
The Teenagers , Mezzanine Owls @ Echo


Be Kind Rewind (FREE Advanced Screening) @ Harmony Gold - Lovers of maverick filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, too many great music videos to mention) will be happy to know that they don't need to travel to snowy Park City to catch the premiere of his latest, much-anticipated film with Jack Black and Mos Def acting out blockbuster movies with household items as props. Film Independent is sponsoring a sneak preview right here in our own backyard. Pass it on. -going.com



Listen Again - A Discussion on Pop Music @ REDCAT - REDCAT hosts this discussion of high-powered music critics, who each have 5 minutes to explain to you why their favorite pop song is worthy.



Wednesday Jan. 23rd
Steve Aoki with Special Guest DJ A-Trak and DJ AM @ Roxy - Record Release Party (Free with RSVP to partyline@dimmak.com)


The Teenagers , Run Run Run @ Spaceland (Club NME)

Meiko, Buddy @ Hotel Cafe

The Moon Upstairs @ Echo


Thursday Jan. 24th
Sia @ Amoeba Music (FREE)


Brownout @ Little Temple

Airborne Toxic Event @ Spaceland

Hey Willpower, Money Mark @ Echo

Holy Ghost DJ'ing @ Mountain Bar - Holy Ghost! will be spinning a set that draws links between classic disco and the latest electronic releases. Don't miss this night to witness the DFA's new disco phenomenon shipped in from New York... - going.com




Friday Jan. 25th
KCRW Presents Au Revoir Simone @ Troubadour

Black Rebel Motorcyle Club @ Safari Sam's (SOLD OUT)

Mirah, The Blow @ Henry Fonda

Amel Larrieux @ Catalina Bar & Grill

Talib Kweli @ House of Blues (West Hollywood)

Bedtime For Toys @ Big Bear Mountain (FREE SHOW) - Indie 103 presents the much-anticipated return of the k-town electro indie-hip pop outfit. Note: this show is in the middle of the day so in case you feel like enjoying another 3 day weekend and catching some good snow while the season lasts, here is the weather forecast. If work doesn't permit, make sure to catch them on Sat. night at Spaceland.
P.S. i have a crush on the blondie below..



Saturday Jan. 26th
MGMT, Yeasayer @ Echo


River of Suns @ Molly Malone's

Bedtime For Toys, Rocket @ Spaceland

Amel Larrieux @ Catalina Bar & Grill

Talib Kweli @ House of Blues (West Hollywood)

Historic LA Theatre Slide Show Presentation @ Egyptian Theatre -Slide Show presentation and lecture surrounding the publication of the new book "Los Angeles Theatres", which details historic theatres in Los Angeles through rare photographs and text. This approximately 2 ½ hour event will consist of the slide show/lecture and book signing with co-authors Marc Wanamaker, Suzanne Tarbell Cooper and Amy Ronnebeck Hall. The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles will begin the event with a progress report on their activities in historic preservation in 2007 and a preview of plans for 2008-americancinematheque.com


Sunday Jan. 27th
Heavy D, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane @ House of Blues (West Hollywood)

White Williams, The Blakes @ Echo

Amel Larrieux @ Catalina Bar & Grill

Cavs @ Lakers - In a showdown of two bonafide superstars, LeBron James leads the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers- going.com



Long-Running Events
Bitten!
Now-Jan. 26th, 2008
Kim Light/Light Box Gallery


Takashi Murakami
Oct. 29- Feb. 11th, 2008
MOCA at the Geffen Contemporary


Will Rise
Jan. 19- Feb. 12th
Robert Berman Gallery


Alex Steinweiss' Album Covers
Jan. 19- Feb. 12th
Robert Berman Gallery


2008 Dine LA Restaurant Week
Jan. 27- Feb. 1
Feb. 3- Feb. 8
www.dineLA.com



Resources
KCRW Presents
LosAnjealous.com
Upcoming.yahoo.com
Going.com
Metromix.com
theguide.latimes.com

Next: Found in LA (FILA) Listing
Jan. 28-Feb. 3rd

Veuve Clicquot x Porsche Design = How Bruce Wayne and I store our Champagne

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a secret nerd delusion that I'm the real life Batman/Bruce Wayne. Anyone who knows me also knows that a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne is the to my heart. One day when I multiply my $6.50 net worth by a billion (Bruce Wayne's net worth as estimated by Fortune Magazine), I will store said champagne in a container such as this.

Another amazing creation from Porsche Design. See above and below for opened and closed action:

Fittingly sourced from the Billionaire Boy's Club blog

Hot Puma Bikes

So first Adidas starts making jeans and now Puma releases some super rad bikes... I guess shoe companies are too cool for good old fashion shoe cobbling these days. Regardless of what trade Puma decides to partake in, their cool new bikes were released and are uber-stylin'.

I imagine myself and an imaginary brunette summer-love riding down the coast basking in our glorious hipness. Dependent on the fact that your clothes of the day actually color coordinate with the bikes, I believe both models are unisex:



Sourced from the oh-so-hip Moco Loco (The Modern and Contemporary Design blog)

Canadian Artist Sarah Joncas

A few months ago, on a random visit to DeviantArt, I dug the work of artist Sarah Joncas, but in an A.D.D. moment, forgot to it. By chance, I was just reading about a cool gallery that is currently running through Feb 1st at Thinkspace LA, entiled "Sour Hearts and Sweet Tarts":

Low and behold, it features the work of both Joncas and another talented illustrator/painter/designer, Camilla D'errico. Just as most good art tends to be, Joncas mentions in her artist's statement, that while one can spend a lot of time reading into the work, most are spontaneous and intuitive.

Now I'm going to be spontaneous and intuitive and say that I like the following piece because it reminds me of Sarah Connor. (On another A.D.D. note- the new "Sarah Connor Chronicles" TV show isn't half bad... repeat not half bad, i never said it was half good).

You be the judge:


Source: Vinyl Pulse