All entries from October 2008

As a kid – in second grade as I recall – I remember wondering why our television skipped from channel 10 to 12. I’d ask my folks why this was, only to be told that “we don’t get that channel.” This seemed odd to me.

At my buddy’s house I investigated the issue further to discover that channel eleven was this thing called MTV, and they broadcasted a lot of interesting content. Like guitar solos. I realized this was the sort of television for me.

I began to suspect the reason why our television skipped eleven. Shortly thereafter I figured out how to operate the clunky switches in the back of our TV to enable the channel. I’d watch all I wanted while my folks weren’t around, and simply re-disable when I was finished. At the same time, all of my pre-adolescent income (from lawn-mowing, yard-raking, log-splitting, etc.) was diverted from collecting baseball cards to purchasing cassette tapes at the local record store. My folks figured out what had happened, and after a short period of resistance (mostly related to the PMRC’s push for parental advisory stickers on essentially all of the records I wanted to buy) the battle fizzled out: MTV remained unlocked, and my personal identity took a permanent turn.

I loved watching music videos, and for a period of time, I enjoyed some of the additional programming as well. But, as we all know, MTV eventually stopped showing videos in favor of all sorts of weird shows. They had MTV2 for a while there, but I’m not even sure if this still exists.

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So this week I’m excited to see the introduction of MTV Music, a new video site with a large collection of music videos that date back to the early 80s.

It looks like they’re still building the library, but already it’s quite robust. Check Bowie’s page — there are some deep cuts in there. Also, you can search by director. For instance, Athletics’ David Ahuja.

I’m glad this new site exists. It’s a more focused, and less chaotic version of YouTube.

But in a way this signals the end of the MTV I grew up with. MTV was how I kept up with music: I took MTV News seriously; I watched 120 Minutes with pen & paper in hand, taking note of the videos I liked. MTV Music, however, isn’t a tool for keeping your finger on the pulse. It’s more of a nostalgia machine for revisiting moments from 10-20 years go.

By the looks of the MTV Music home page, it appears MTV understands and embraces this new dynamic.

Don’t say Athletics never did anything to support the troops.

Tonight (10/24 8pm) MTV will air “A Night for Vets” a concert in NYC as as an event to mobilize support for the Bill of Rights for American Veterans (BRAVE), a petition organized by MTV and several veterans’ organizations.

Athletics’ David Ahuja and Matt Owens completed all of the branding and show packaging for the broadcast. The taping was last night at Nokia Theatre:

A bunch of people that the kids listen to nowadays are performing. You can find out more here:

http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/brave/series.jhtml#bio

Tune in if you get a chance.

Lately we have been obsessed with Emitt Rhodes, an American singer/songwriter active in the early seventies. It all started when we discovered Dylan Gaughan’s fantastic write-up on Rhodes’ career, which includes a rip of Rhodes’ 1970 self-titled solo debut. Since then this lost pop gem has been in heavy rotation here in the studio.

The record is a total pleasure. Perfect, really. 12 tracks in 32 minutes. No rambling, no filler.

What makes Emitt Rhodes such an interesting record is its derivative nature, as Rhodes’ Beatles/McCartney influence cannot be overstated. Rhodes nails every detail: the voice, songwriting, production, guitar lines, even the lyrical content. Each track is an exercise in what-would-Paul-do, and Beatles fans could easily confuse Emitt Rhodes for an actual Paul McCartney record.

There is a serious Faul dimension to the record.

With the Beatles/McCartney influence being so strong, it’s difficult for Rhodes to establish his own voice, or a strong sense of authorship. However, there is something endearing about Rhodes’ clear obsession with Beatles pop. And upon close observation one does find a lot of honesty in the tunes; it’s almost as if Rhodes wrote the songs without quite realizing he was directly channeling Paul McCartney.

Rhodes vs. McCartney:

In 1970, both Paul McCartney and Emitt Rhodes released their solo debuts: McCartney and Emitt Rhodes, respectively. Both records were one-man-band affairs recorded in home studios. Being Paul’s first post-Beatles release, McCartney was highly anticipated. Rhodes, on the other hand, was a relatively unknown 20-year-old Californian recording out of his parents’ garage.

Thus, it’s fascinating to A/B the two records and hear Rhodes out-McCartney McCartney. While McCartney has its merits – “Maybe I’m Amazed” is a bonafide classic – the record is, for the most part, a rambling collection of musical doodles. I don’t think it’s worth debate: Emitt Rhodes is the record Beatles fans wished Paul had delivered.

Top tracks: With My Face On The Floor, Fresh As A Daisy, Live Till You Die, You Should Be Ashamed.

Summer 2008 was busy. At this point it’s all a bit of a blur. Between work, travel and an obsession with political punditry, it’s slightly difficult to remember what all happened. So, before we forget, a roundup of projects completed this summer…

U.N. Icons Suite

We worked with OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to develop a standard symbol set for all OCHA maps. We created roughly 120 icons communicating a wide variety of subjects: security, relief materials, infrastructure, sanitation, etc. The symbol set was made into a typeface that OCHA cartographers will use worldwide.

The project was a serious graphic challenge. Some concepts are extremely difficult to represent using simple graphics. Consider a subject like security. How does one design distinct graphics for things like arrest, detention, abduction, assault, attack, forced entry, harassment/intimidation and hijacking?

Fortunately we were given enough time to get the set right. We’re pretty happy with the results. And attending meetings at the U.N. was a bit of an adventure.

Design by Matt Owens with significant assistance from Dylan Mulvaney, one of our summer interns.

Good

We worked with Good on The Hidden Cost of War, a 2-minute video feature examining the hidden costs of the Iraq war for the Transparency section of the new Good website. The research behind the piece comes from Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilme’s book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.

Design and animation by Matt Owens and Jason Bishop. Opening intro sequence by Mark Owens.

The piece has been getting some attention, and we were psyched to see it discussed, among other new Good video pieces, on Brian Lehrer Live:

(Skip to the 3:50 mark)

If you’re not familiar with Brian Lehrer, you should check out his regular 10am program on 93.9FM WNYC here in New York. You can listen on the web. He has the best opening theme music.

After the video piece turned out well, Good asked us to design the Transparency section of the November/December Good Magazine, now on newsstands. The Transparency section covered 5 topics: the hidden cost of war; the amount of energy burned by the average car vs. the average human; a glance at refugees worldwide; smokers by state; and taxi queues in the United States.

Some spreads:

You can see more from this project here.

Sesame Street

David’s spent the summer regressing back to his childhood. He was asked to direct four short spots for newest season of Sesame Street, season 39.

Drum Machine:

Forward and Backward:

A Boy and his Robot: Lunchtime:

Cowboy Patterns:

King Tuff, The Weight

In addition to Wes’ summer as The Rambler, he created two LP packages, one of which features a staggering coupling of complimentary spot colors, the second is more photo-driven, but equally ridiculous.

King Tuff Was Dead:

The Weight Are Men:

Nevikov

Athletics’ Jason Gnewikow has been busy with his fashion line under his phonetically spelled name: Jason Nevikov. Spring/Summer 2009 is currently in production, with some pieces already available via Oak:

http://www.oaknyc.com/product/jason-nevikov-1984
http://www.oaknyc.com/product/jason-nevikov-outdoor-min
http://www.oaknyc.com/product/jason-nevkov-brooklyn-har

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And that’s only half the summer. More coming…

Athletics contributed a new article to Thinking for a Living:

Thoughts on Context Switching

It’s about being busy.

Words: James Ellis, Illustration: Matt Owens