It’s time for the second installment of my top albums of 2008.  There were so many good albums that I just couldn’t cut it down to a list of ten.  I realize that some of of the albums on my list were released before 2008, however, I included them because they were the albums that I dug the most over the past year.  So without further ado, here is the rest of my list, again, in no particular order:

Dr. Dog - Fate

The Killers - Day and Age

Menomena - Friend and Foe

Sam Amidon - All Is Well

The Pragmatic - Circles

Coldplay - Prospekt’s March EP

The National - Boxer

Kanye West - 808’s and Heartbreak

The Go Find - Stars On the Wall

Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires

In light of his recent legal troubles, I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on artist Shepard Fairey, who gained popularity for his Obey Giant campaign and is now probably most well known for his iconic poster of Barack Obama.  Along with the poster’s success, it has also brought him some grief as well.  Recently, an AP photographer accused Fairey of using a copyrighted image of Obama without permission to base his poster on and is now taking him to court.  

Recently, design legend Milton Glaser offered his take on Fairey’s current situation to Print Magazine.  Read the interview here.

Here also is a link to a recent interview Fairey did with Charlie Rose about his Obama poster.

Although I don’t subscribe to all of Fairey’s views, I am fascinated by his focus on propaganda and the idea that art can have such a widespread effect.  As one who explores the ideas of propaganda and advertising in my own art, I am a fan of Fairey’s work and will continue to look to him for inspiration.  Art CAN change the world, and I truly believe that.

I know I have given you an overload of links, but here’s just one more link to a video of Fairey talking about his art and philosophies.

I haven’t even gotten the chance to watch it myself, but check out this 3-part interview with graphic design legend Paul Rand.  Thanks to AisleOne for the link!

My buddies, Jim and Ben, over at Clover recently did an interview for KKLA, a Los Angeles radio station and talked about their amazing company Clover.  We use Clover at Centerpoint.

Read more here. 

Check out this great resource for iPhone wallpapers via Smashing Magazine.

Check out this trailer for Objectified, the new documentary by Gary Huswit who also brought us Helvetica.  I loved Helvetica so I’m intrigued to see this one.

Here’s a synopsis from the film’s website:

Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about industrial designers, the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. 

Perhaps you’ve already seen this.  Perhaps you won’t get it.  But if you’re a Photoshop geek you’ll enjoy this ad for Adobe Photoshop CS4.

If you’re like me, you need music to keep you going throughout the day.  2008 was a great year for music.  We saw new material from Coldplay, Sigur Ros, and Kanye, as well some exciting debuts from promising new artists like Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.  The following is a list of my top ten albums for 2008, in no particular order.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Radiohead - In Rainbows

The Sea and Cake - Car Alarm

The Dodos - Visiter

Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust

Say Hi - The Wishes and the Glitch

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Editors - An End Has A Start

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Foals - Antidotes

Well, last year I had a lot of trouble regularly posting to my blog.  Weeks, sometimes even months would pass between each of my blog posts.  In fact, I probably changed my blog design/layout more often than I posted.  Call it laziness, call it lack-of-inspiration, call what you will.  It is what it is.  Perhaps, I’m easily distracted.  But it’s a new year and I’m turning over a new leaf.  Or at least I’m making an attempt.  What does this mean for you?  Well it’s simple.  More posts.  I hope I can follow through.  I’ll try my best.

Also, you’ll notice I’ve moved my blog to a new site.  This is my portfolio site.  Feel free to look around and hire me if you want.  Seriously, I need work.