Channel Frederator Blog

Jesse Thorn (seen above with taxidermy) hosts one of the web’s most consistently entertaining interview podcasts: The Sound of Young America. He recently corralled a somewhat-animation-themed trio of innovators at the Integrated Media Association Conference in Atlanta. The panelists were Funky Flash-ness pioneers Bros. Chaps (creators of the pioneering cult webtoon HomeStarRunner), Jeff Olsen (adultswim.com head honcho), and Merlin Mann (who runs productivity and creativity site 43folders.com, among other things). The panel was titled “Blow Up Your Brain” and it’s really worth checking out their conversation about inspiration, celebration, and other essential engines for making Internet coolness. Their comments about how they hate the word “branding” are particularly refreshing. Chock full of insightful concepts like “The mullet approach to doing social media”.

Download here.

And you likely will enjoy this G4 interview with Bros. Chaps. For more on them, see the official HomeStarRunner page and more at the HomeStarRunner Wiki.

—Anne D. Bernstein

I’ve been noticing a trend in the animation community recently, and that’s Animators Who Rap. Maybe it’s something to do with all the timing and rhythm, but I think it’s a good thing.
Here’s a few of the best I’ve found across the internets. (Can I add myself to that list?)
(*ed. Note: There might be bad language in some or all of these. Don’t listen to it if you don’t wanna hear them.-JX)

I make music from time to time under the name Plankton. This is a song called “Y’all Soulz” from the What Whales Eat Sessions, 2004. Recently, my friend Ryan who runs a Net Label, Serac Label, digitally re-issued an album of mine called “15 YR Petting Zoo”. Even I don’t know how to classify it. It’s lower than lo-fi, and still a charming album. Download it for free. It will change your life.

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