Brass Bows & Beats Symphony by Adam Theis

This is dope. Stick with it through the intro for the real badness. And your mama's favorite rapper, of course.

The Fumbata Tumblr blog

I done gots me a tumblr blog. Given that Tumblr is a much easier way to do the same thing I'm doing here, it may eventually replace this blog. Stay tuned...

E-Rockit human-hybrid electric motorcycle

The video is in German, but you'll get the point. The E-Rockit is an innovative new kind of electric bicycle/motorcycle. You ride it exactly like a bicycle, but an electric assist motor amplifies your pedaling, allowing you to accelerate like a motorcycle and reach speeds up to 50mph. In essence - it turns you into superman on a bike. God, I want one.

Electric car kicks ass

John Wayland's electric 1972 Datsun 1200 shows that the environmentally responsible choice can be better, faster, and a whole lot of fun!

“I don’t think you should tell people that they’re bad, but I do think you should show people there’s a better way.”

Unstoppable

Awesome.

The question posed at www.freshcreation.com is: who is the most important person in this video - the first person dancing by himself, or the first person to join in?

Reco: Fat Freddy's Drop, Muse, Grizzly Bear, Seeed, The Decemberists

I've had a few albums on constant rotation for the last few months. The lyrics get stuck in my head, I wake up humming the tunes, and I have to listen to it, which starts the whole process over again. There's a lot of damn good music and lovely production here:



Fat Freddy's Drop is a band from New Zealand that plays Dub/Soul/Reggae/Dance music. Their latest album, Dr. Boondigga and the Big BW, is pure genius. My favorite line from their website: "released after two years of beat reduction and sonic fine tuning."

Unless you've been under a rock for the last year, you've probably heard of Muse. I like to think of them as Queen crossed with Radiohead crossed with Debussy. Pretty impressive for a three-piece. Their latest album, The Resistance, is ambitious to say the least, but they somehow managed to pull it off beautifully. There's a soft spot in my heart for the massive three-part exogenesis symphony at the end. I've heard they even play it live, and I hope like hell they will play it when I see them in Arnhem this summer. The video above is from their previous album, but I had to include it here for sheer awesomeness.

Grizzly Bear is a four-piece from Brooklyn who make gorgeous, melodic, harmonic music - like a modern, indie version of the Beach Boys. They've been blogged to death already, so I'll just say: get a good pair of headphones and listen to the killer production on Veckatimist.

I told you about Peter Fox in a previous post. This is his former dub/reggae band from Berlin, Seeed.

And finally, we have the latest concept album from The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love. This epic album weaves a wonderful story with eloquent storytelling and understated playing. This album is worth a listen if only for the awesome B3 organ. And, they also have an animated DVD version. 

Mmmm, lovely stuff. Must go have a listen now....

Sustainable living

Swedish designer Olof Kolte talks about the incredibly un-sustainable way we are living today, and offers a very simple, common sense way to reverse the trend. He does a very good job of getting to the very core of global sustainability issues. From a TEDx conference.

Dave Barry's year in review: 2009

The Miami Herald published Dave Barry's always excellent, always funny year in review today:

The big health story in April is the rapid spread of swine flu, a dangerous new virus strain developed by the makers of Purell. Public anxiety over the flu increases when Vice President Joe Biden, demonstrating his gift for emitting statements, declares on the Today show that he would not recommend traveling by commercial airplane or subway. A short while later, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs assures reporters that he is "not aware of any 'Vice President Joe Biden.'"

Read the full story here.