ALBUM | Working intensively in the studio with jazz musicians, vocalists, guitars, trombones — even weird instruments like a toy piano and a harmonium, Pretty Lights (aka Derek Smith) made A Color Map of the Sun completely from scratch. He pressed the recordings into vinyl records and sampled them turntable-style to produce the electronic album. His funky bass style, infused with two and half years of attention to each hand-crafted detail, results in a wholly unique album that’s perfect for a long drive or a chill party.
TV | The casually surreal and darkly humorous FX network comedy Wilfred puts Elijah Wood on set with an Australian dude in a dog suit. Everyone else sees Wilfred as a furry gray mutt, but to Wood’s character Ryan he’s a bipedal stoner confidant. The juxtaposition of Ryan’s sanity and Wilfred’s crudely profound doggy insight revolves around themes like fear, pride and guilt, employing clever twists on mental health and the side of ourselves that we hide from the real world.
YOUTUBE | Jason Silva, host of NatGeo’s Brain Games, delivers optimism and visual profundity in his video series Shots of Awe. Zooming through images of galaxies and brain neurons, Silva invigorates our humdrum routine in 180 seconds with his fast-talking philosophy about wonder, technology, human potential and awe. Each video scrambles our perception of the mundane with a boost of fresh perspective, doing the trick a lot more effectively than your usual shot of espresso.
