Paul McCartney outside Ed Sullivan Theater

Paul McCartney recently sat down with David Letterman in his first appearance at the Ed Sullivan Theater since The Beatles played there 45 years ago. He then proceeded to rock the streets of New York, which was also reminiscent of this classic Beatles performance -- their last public concert together -- on the rooftop of Apple headquarters in London...




How cool would it have been to see either of these shows? Also cool is the new environmental campaign Sir Paul started called Meat Free Monday. It's a great idea for your own health as well as the planet's.

Man off the grid

Like a modern day Thoreau, John Wells went off the grid, built a $1600 house with solar power, composting, rainwater collection, and a blog.

He calls it: The Field Lab.

If Dylan had a beard

A play on Milton Glaser's Bob Dylan, Beard Revue has a poster in the likeness of Leonardo da Vinci.

In love with A. Lincoln

This illustrated tribute to Abraham Lincoln is a must-read. By Maria Kalman.

Zach Galifianakis: Live

Here's a clip from the hilarious Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion. Now streaming at a Netflix near you.

Afghanistan: Peace through accordions

This just in... Afghans love accordion music.

Ronald Chevalier

Jemaine Clement stars as novelist Ronald Chevalier in the upcoming flick, Gentlemen Broncos, by Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. A suitable pairing to anyone who's seen Eagle vs. Shark.

Jemaine's regular gig, Flight of the Conchords, begins airing Season 2 this Sunday. Watch the first episode online!

New Bon Iver and Andrew Bird

Let's face it. 2008 sucked for new music. Nobody's albums were as good as their previous ones. Luckily, there were a few great newcomers like Bon Iver, whose amazing For Emma, Forever Ago is Beard Crumbs' official choice for album of the year. (Even though it first came out in '07, most people are counting the re-release date on Jagjaguwar.) Some other top newbies were Fleet Foxes, The Accidental, Santogold, She & Him, and in case you haven't turned on your radio in a year, Vampire Weekend was undeniably catchy.

Bon Iver is already back this month with a new EP. Why not make a full album? Who knows, but you can go have a listen to the four song Blood Bank EP at MySpace. It's damn good stuff, but let's hope he got the Kanye out of his system with that last track. You can pick this up on January 20.

Update: The full EP is no longer on MySpace, just the title track.

Double Update: Grab a free MP3 of "Blood Bank" here.



Another sign that 2009 will be a better year in music is Andrew Bird's upcoming release, Noble Beast. This guy is good. Really good. But don't listen to what some dumb blog says, go see for yourself... they've got the whole album streaming on NPR. The record -- along with the instrumental deluxe-edition disc Useless Creatures -- is also out January 20.

Triple Update: Noble Beast is no longer streaming on NPR, but is on MySpace.

For what it's worth, the 'Crumbs did like a few other albums in 2008. Most notably, Death Cab, Beck, The Black Keys, and although they were once again over-hyped, TV on the Radio had some stellar tracks. What do you guys think? Any faves of '08 or anything looking good for '09?

Little Friends - "Baddies"

Sweet new posters from the "Baddies" series by Little Friends of Printmaking. Shown here are the "Visit Milwaukee" German and the "Visit Chicago" gangster. See 'em all at the Little Friends "OOPS!" Temporary Webstore.

Fleet Foxes on Conan

I'm not sure if I've posted these guys yet. So here they are... Fleet Foxes with "English House." This one can be found on the Sun Giant EP.

Btw, that's Eva Mendes in the preview pic. If you want to be completely bored by her, you can skip back a couple dots on the timeline. She's in Frank Miller's new movie, The Spirit, which does not look boring.

Update: Looks like the video is down. Check out the Foxes in a couple recent posts here and here.

I Made You a Beard

Check out all the crafty beards that Erin Dollar has been making. Her work is for sale on Etsy. Get 'em while they're furry!

Redford on Saving the Redrock

According to a government official, "the Bush Administration is on pace to do almost as much damage to our environment in its last eight weeks in office as it did over the last eight years." Actor/director/activist Robert Redford sent out a message today trying to stop one of the Bush Administration's final "Fuck yous" to our environment, a plan to auction off Utah's Redrock wilderness to oil and gas speculators...

"The Bush Administration cynically chose Election Day to
advance an outrageous plan that will sell off leases for some
160,000 acres of spectacular Utah canyonlands to oil and gas
speculators.

While America was voting for Barack Obama and his vision of a
clean energy future, Bush and Cheney's underlings were
conspiring to plunder one of the crown jewels of our natural
heritage for their fossil fuel cronies.

The auction of Redrock country will take place on December 19.
At stake are world-renowned vistas near Canyonlands and Arches
National Parks, as well as near Dinosaur National Monument. The
highest bidders will earn the right to turn vast tracts of
pristine wilderness into industrial wastelands.

It's bad enough that Bush officials went behind the backs of the
American people with this disastrous scheme. But what's worse,
they didn't even tell their own National Park Service until
after the fact."

Tell the Bush Administration to cancel the Redrock auction!

The image above is from the outstanding 1972 Sydney Pollack-directed mountain man movie, Jeremiah Johnson, which was filmed in Robert Redford's adopted home state of Utah.

Bon Iver on Letterman

Justin Vernon and friends brought a little backwoods Wisconsin to New York City with their performance of "Skinny Love" on The Late Show. Dave got a taste of what many are calling the best live act of 2008... and... is that a Bucky Badger t-shirt?

If you were lucky enough to see Bon Iver in concert this year, there's a good chance you heard them perform a couple new songs which will be on the four-song Blood Bank EP, out January 20. Check out the tracklist and a sample of "Blood Bank."

Hierarchy of Beards

Get a load of this beauty... an 18" x 24" chart tracking the hierarchy beards, "suitable for framing and gazing upon during times of despair and/or loneliness." See the full poster here, and order your own for a mere $15 here.

Thanks to Dave for the link!

Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show

I'm off to holiday in the great northwest, home to quite possibly the best new band of the year, Fleet Foxes. Here they are with two tunes, "Sun Giant" and "Blue Ridge Mountain," filmed in an abandoned wing of Paris's Grand Palais for La Blogothèque. Sit back and enjoy. I'll be hangin' with these people.

Beards and Moustaches

A collection of mannequin facial hair (via kottke). There are some great moustaches here, but is it too much to ask to get some decent beards on these dummies?

See more in this larger image.

Mr. T Challenge for Diabetes

I pity the fool who don't donate to diabetes research. Apparently, that's what Beard Crumbs contributor Chris "LudaChris" Mischler was thinking when he decided to grow a beard, dye his blond hair black and sculpt it into the bad-ass Mr. T look you see above. Chris has even pierced several holes in his ears and got a small "I Pity The Fool" tattoo on his arm, all in the name of diabetes research. The transformation continues with new donation challenges each step of the way. Next up, he needs to raise $7,500 by Nov 23 for a portrait of Mr. T to be added to his arm tattoo.

See more pics and donate to the cause at www.mrtdiabeteschallenge.com.

PhotoshopScrappers

Adobe CS4 just came out, and already we get a sneak peek at what's in store for us with the next release, PhotoshopScrappers!! Go take it for a spin... The possibilities of creating images with a superimposed bearded face (seen in The Body Report) are endless! Don't believe me? Take at peek at the gallery.

And last, but not least... If you haven't started already, you better get to work on your Holiday NeckBeard!!!

Design by Beard

Adam Hopwood, a recent design grad from the UK, has a tasty collection of work on his excellently named portfolio site, Beard. That burrito looks especially tasty!

Christopher Silas Neal

Brooklyn-based illustrator/designer Christopher Silas Neal has a pretty fantastic use of color, texture, typography, and wit. Well done, sir.