Hello Rewind will take your old T-Shirts and turn them into laptop sleeves. Hipsters take note: This is an entirely new medium with which to be ironic. What are you waiting for?

> go there

Illustration by Michael BollsTo furrow is to, generally in a pained manner, wrinkle one’s forehead. This expression is so pronounced that the bunched skin resembles the parallel farming trenches, from which, the verb derives: furrows. While digesting the lyrics presented in Furrows’ self-titled debut, you imagine that Cody Cox, lead singer and songwriter, has heard that description before. It isn’t hard to suppose that, after living some of the experiences described here, the topography of one’s brow would be altered. It is a credit to the songwriting that these experiences are felt, with the mind, just as acutely as the physical expression would be noticed by the eyes.

The album is dense with well-written imagery and emotion, and starts out with Sweet Anesthesia, a twangy tale of the relief that can only come in forgetting. Cox sings, over a punchy swing rhythm, “I'll buy you a drink if you whisper in my ear. Just promise me that I won't wake up 'til sometime next year.” The initial impression is one of a strong familiar tie to the rootsy leanings of Cox’s former band, Goodman County, where he was also joined by Furrows’ bassist Barry Shannon and drummer Tony Abercrombe. But where Goodman County was more of a freewheeling amalgam of garage, punk and country, Furrows is more evolved and polished, showing a wider variety of influences.

> read entire review

Botanical Bakery has completed an incredible rebrand with the help of DBD International. They've slyly used the implied lips from the logo to playfully give the product title a sense of action, each in their own colorful voice bubble. The design is whimsically bohemian, mixing vibrant hand drawn art elements with sophisticated typography. But the real brilliance is that the design is fully dependent upon you seeing and interpreting their new logo. And when you are re-branding, any additional looks at the logo are like coins in the meter of the customer's mind.

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When I arrived in Jackson years ago, there was this really loud, fast punk/garange band that played a lot at Martin's and Don's called The Overnight Lows. They were composed of Jackson's Marsh and Daphne Nabors, a husband-wife duo that just so happened to rock pretty hard. Their ripsaw guitars and thunderous, rock-god beats filled those tiny bars with a wall of sound that could deafen those with lesser hearts. Many moons later, this band is finally making the national splash it deserves, signing with Memphis' Goner Records and releasing their first full-length, City of Rotten Eyes. Blending bits of influence from 70's NYC garage, amped up punk, a little whimsy of The Vasolines, and the audacity of Goner alumni Jay Reatard, the band waves their party flag high.

Standout tracks include the driving title track, Shut Up Looking at Me, Lipstick Burn, and Picked Apart (Left to Rot.) It's a very quick listen, with no song lasting over three minutes, and most substantially less. With such a longer playtime, the lack of variety in tone and pace might wear on you. But this album is in and out so quickly that you might very well listen to it twice before you realize it. Punk has always been a dish best served in small portions. This album may well make you want seconds.

Their LP release gig is Saturday, March 6th @ Ole Tavern on George Street.

> Goner Records

> Buy on eMusic

Last night at the Jackson ADDYs (American Ad Federation's Awards Show), Mad Genius (the place that Sir Noleo calls home) won 14 ADDYs out of 16 entries. This included 10 Gold ADDYs and a Best of Show for Interactive. Of note to noleofantastico.com, to my knowledge Sir Noleo was Art Director on all of them, including a Gold for the MG logo, which you can see the here. But like all Mad Genius projects, each was a team effort from start to finish, and we all take ownership in the wins. I am very proud of that team accomplishment, and we have every reason to believe that 2010 will be even better. Wait until you see what "tasty" stuff we are working on right now....

from gizmodo.com

Let me start by being perfectly clear: When the iPad hits streets in April, I will probably buy one. Because I am weak and need the comfort of sexy technology to fill the emptiness of this modern life. But existential crisis aside, the device disappoints on a few fundamental levels, particularly for the creative mind.

Aside from the crushing lack of Flash, removable memory, or even a freakin' USB port, the biggest failing is that this device has been crafted into one of pure media consumption. Not creation. Granted, we have desktops and high-end laptops for creation purposes, what I had hoped for was a device that would allow for some on-the-spot creative generation and sharing opportunities. A device that would allow me to use the tablet as a journal, to send the goodness that I've gathered with the device out to others in a collaborative environment. Such endeavors seem wholly impossible on the iPad. But I realize that this desire is unfair to the little tablet from Apple. It's because my expectations for what i wanted it to be had already been fulfilled by another, the Microsoft Courier. And I was yearning for Apple to rise to the challenge and create something even better. But what we got was a big iPhone.

In and of itself, this isn't evil. Hell, it's sexy. And I still want one. But if I can only buy one computer product this year, my choice has been made already. Courier wins. EASILY. Check out the attached videos below to see what the future of creative collaboration looks like. It looks like a win sandwich, with pickles and a side of hell yeah.

Microsoft's Courier is rumored to release mid-2010 at about the same price point as the iPad.

> see more + videos of interface

photographer unknown - contact me and you'll be credited

Musicians are a bit like objects in space. Give them a particular orbit with which to hang around, and eventually they bounce off of each other. Sometimes, these cosmic particles stick together, drawn by gravity into bands. And sometimes, these bands bump into other bands, giving way to an all new creation...bound together by the magic ties of the universe: the "supergroup." Horse Trailer is such a collaboration, formed with members of some of Jackson's most talented groups. And like any supergroup, they succeed most when they are not just individual artists taking turns at the mike, but when common purpose and love...that gravity... slings them forward on the same course like a comet streaking across the sky. Composed of many pieces, but greater than the sum of its parts...able to let those individual parts shine brightly, but never more brightly than the whole.

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Moxie Sozo presents a stunning line of soap packaging for Leap Organics, featuring the dynamic illustrations of Charles Bloom. The typography perfectly complements the colorful and evocative environments and creatures depicted. Truly, one of the best packaging lines this year, as featured on TheDieLine.com.

> see more

© Melody Moody

Taylor Hildebrand is a beautiful soul. In fact, I would wager that just about anyone who knows him would attest to his warm company. I, however, fall into the category of acquaintance...having worked with him on a few festivals, but I can tell you that there are few artists who are as friendly or so open. He sets you at ease. Which makes his outstanding lyrics the more disarming. It helps that those lyrics are propelled by a soulful and dynamic voice that soars above the soft melodies he has crafted. His sound recalls Ray Lamontagne a bit, but less Memphis and more Portland. His bands Horse Trailer and Passenger Jones are stylistically quite different, but equally able to showcase Taylor's strengths, as a frame would a portrait. But not on this particular evening. 

> read full review

Introducing a long overdue addition to noleofantastico.com, LOCAL SCENE, covering all things Jackson, MS. As it is our home which we love, it is worth pointing out awesome things we find along the way. The first entry in this category is a piece I'm pretty proud of: The sound of history dying, a review and farewell to Goodman County and their last album, the self-titled Goodman County. You'll find a short preview below.

© Josh Haley

Goodman County - Self Titled

A Review and Farewell, by Chris Nolen

Southern cities have their own brand of soggy desperation. Particularly the small ones. There is a hunger for something more than the immediate surroundings provide, and those with an inclination for satisfaction can get restless. The low-rent apartments can get powerfully small, and we take to the streets with intent of making good on these yearnings. But small cities being what they are, entertainment isn't necessarily had, so much as it is found. Some people find it in creative collaboration. The coming together of minds like a joining of hands and thunderous noise ensues, echoing through those apartment buildings and taverns, carried by the viscous southern air. Tattoo ink and Jameson give it a unique bouquet. A siren song for the southern yearn.

In the primordial soup of Jackson, a thing took shape years ago in the form ofGoodman County, an amalgam of Whiskeytown country and Replacements punk, which produced perhaps the anthem of Jackson, in my eyes, Anarchy in the Southern States. And through years of evolution and improvement, the latest and perhaps last work of Jackson's best band have ripened potently. It is a true shame that their greatest work seems to have been their eulogy, but it's good to go out on the top of your game, I suppose. Their self-titled swan song is the culmination of many sweaty nights and broken hearts. And you feel every one. Singer/Songwriters Cody Cox, Ryan Baucum, and Josh Taylor have a knife, and don't mind twisting that fucker. Backed by the steady rhythm section of Tony Abercrombie and Barry Shannon, the rush of adrenaline in the faster tracks like When History Dies is a sensation like you imagine the beating heart of a V8 engine in your own mortal chest would feel. And this album, as a whole, has a more up-tempo personality than their previous efforts.

> read full review

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> watch it