Failed Work Projects Become...

Part of my portfolio! Woo!

Do you know who the woman is?

New York Kicks

If I had the $70.00 to spend right now, I would buy these and never wear another pair of shoes again. Not even to a funeral.

Converse's website does an awesome job letting you customize a pair of Chuck's down to the racing stripe on the rubber sole. Cool stuff.

BTW, it should be an interesting game vs. the NYets tonight. Go Knicks!

Seriously, Who Wouldn't Want To Drink This?

Anytime a wise owl is involved, you know it's gotta be good.

p.s. Just tracked down the magical beer website, and I've got to say, it's AWESOME. 

The Beach Boys Make Me Want To Clean...

My Aim Is True, Deconstructed

                                                      Rob Baranoff, 2010

Self Explanatory

James LeBing Cleveland for Miami -- Thoughts

As a Knicks fan, welcome arms quickly turned up-in-arms late Thursday night. I've been following LeBron's every move pretty extensively for the past few years, and all I have to say is this:

Lebron, if I were you, I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to play with Bosh and Wade either. However, thats because I fear failure, and thus, would need the crutch of two other super-talents. Logically speaking, we all assumed you wanted to broaden your brand and prove to the world you were good enough to win on your own. Basically; to be able to improve the players around you, form some extreme team chemistry, and win it all. Imagine the satisfaction in that? Its at least 110.1% times sweeter than winning it with the dream team. Its what a guy named Jordan did, and its why he will always be the real King.

p.s. Sure, he had Pippen. But LeBron had Jamison and chose not to deal with a supporting star. LeWimp needed not one, but TWO superstars to truly make him feel at home. Good luck. The rest of the world is rooting against ya'll.

Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man - there's your diamond in the rough

HBO On-Demand has 5 eps from season 2 of Curb (aka the best show still on TV) and I just can't stop thinking about how much I love Mr. David and his antics.

A Knicks Fan Can Dream

The Big Apple is in your hands, LeBron.

You Say That You're My Friend... But You're One Of THEM!

I don't know what's come over me, but I'm fairly certain that Black Flag is the only band I'm going to listen to for the next 3 months.

The Get Up Kids - Simple Science 12" EP (Blue Marble)

THE GET UP KIDS - Simple Science 12" EP (SIMPLE PSYENCE RECORDINGS 01)

 

Side A:

1) Your Pretty Pretty Things

2) Keith Case

Side B:

1) Tommy Gentle

2) How You're Bound

Got # 734 of 2000 copies (1/500 BLUE MARBLE) in the mail -- completely destroyed. Vinyl Collective sent me a second copy for free. Oddly enough, it was #735. Coincidence or crazy ass conspiracy? The world will never know.

COVER & SIDE A

SIDE A

SIDE B

BACK COVER

#'s 734 & #735? Conspiracy theory.

Old MAIT Design

Old My Aim is True design I made. The fish illustration was done solely in illustrator with a pressurized Wacom tablet.

Born At The Wrong Time

I convince myself that I know a lot about rock music and history, but anytime I discover (or re-discover, in this case) a band like Canned Heat, I realize the contrary. Its not the distorted blues riffs of the late 60's, its not the driving beats, the hair nor the beards that comprise the true essence of rock. Rather, its the reality, the understanding that the music was an experience and culmination of of a generation ready to break out of the Pop-oriented seams of the time. This performance by the classic psychedelic rock band Canned Heat portrays the true, unbridled rock & roll aesthetic that seems to have disappeared over the last forty or so years.

The sixties was a different, fresh time period for music, and while I pretend... WISH... that I truly understood all there is to know about good ol' rock 'n' roll, I find myself starting fresh any time I find a performance of this caliber. 

Enjoy.

Rivers Cuomtoe

Playing his smash hits, "Dope Toes", "Undone - The Sock Song", "Pink Tri-ankle" and "Say It Ain't Shoe".

"CUOMTOE" Famous Feet concept by Rob Baranoff 2010

Radical in the Meantime...

Just Found This Old Photo...

Of me and my buddy Nawalany. He's an awesome dude and has an awesome blog, which, I just realized, I never linked. Long over due, check it out here.

LAST SATEOTW FREEBIE

This is the last of my SATEOTW design project. The project? 4 designs, less than two colors per, and raw (old school?) feel.

Fred Flinstone beware...

Oh, and, by the way:

More...

"SATEOTW PHOTOGRAPH PRINT" 2010

"SATEOTW VICTORIAN PRINT" 2010

Sleeping at the Elephant of the World

My friends in Sleeping at the End of the World asked me to do some designs for them. Here is the first of a few... it is modified off a previously designed piece I completed a few months back.

Oh Boy... Drama

Kevin of Boy Drama recorded my band earlier this month for super cheap, so I whipped up a t-shirt design for his band. Here is that design.

"A-A-All My 'So-Called' Friends" Rob Baranoff, 2010

Sketchy...

...where have I been? Oh, yeah, that's right... too busy for my quaint little blog. I'm sorry I've deprived my massive amount of viewers from random doodles and such for so long.

Yes, I'm being a facetious!

For the doodle-deprived comes another sketch of my man-partner in crime:

UNTITLED COWBOY MATT SKETCH - RBARANOFF 2010

SherAHHHzada

Made this super creepy shirt design for my roommate's band, Sherazada. Admit it, clowns still scare you, even when they are plastered onto a sharp seafoam green.

I Guess I Do Love Myself...

...a little too much? Heh, no, its not like that. This one was just an innocent experiment with graffiti type  accidentally turned into shameless, self-centered promotion... not the other way around. Whatever, its my damn blog and I'll post what I want! YEAH!!!


...sorry for raising my voice. Its not you, its me.

Tuesday, April 20th -- J. COLE @ MSU

Feel free to print, copy and re-post.

Recent Doodles

Monday, April 19th -- Person L @ MSU

Kenny Vasoli of The Startling Line's new band. If you are around, you should definitely come out to this show -- plus, it's only $5 for MSU students!

Reality-Actors and The Hyper-Awareness of Constructed Personalities

(note: wrote this essay for my seminar in mediated communication class... however, its an interesting topic considering our culture's general fascination in reality-celebrities and such. The essay is a response to a chapter that my professor had published in a book called Film and Television Stardom)

Shackled Arms

Notebook doodle!

This always made me laugh...

Strawberry Alarm Clock -- Incense & Peppermints

MINE!!! - NM Incense & Peppermints (1968), $4.99 off eBay. This is me smiling.

I'm going to keep this one short and simple: Strawberry Alarm Clock was an amazing psychedelic rock band from LA that gained steam in the 1960's. The music is authentic sixties and reminds me of psych bands like Sagittarius and Fresh Air and more mainstream bands like the drug-induced Beatles era or early seventies Doors tunes.

In any case, Strawberry Alarm Clock's Incense and Peppermints is a classic album. Oh, and before I forget, my roommate reminded me that the title track appeared in Austin Powers, as the song that is being played when Powers enters the Electric Pussycat Swingers Club. Ya dig?


RAINY DAY MUSHROOM PILLOW - 1968
 
INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS - AUSTIN POWERS CLIP

-RB

MSU Non-Profit PR Project

For the last few weeks, I've been assigned the responsibility, along with 3 other group members, to help a non-profit organization in the form of some kind of benefit/fundraiser scenario. My group has the opportunity to work with Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization with locations spanning the country that is dedicated to donating instruments and installing music ed programs to schools that have been stripped of their music curriculum.

Being in local bands since my High School years, I totally understand the importance and influence music can have on someone's childhood. Furthermore, I myself would have much preferred a rock-band format music curriculum. LKR has told us that within a few sessions, they have full classrooms jamming out songs by teaching common chords, rhythms, and simple theory. Imagine how much more effort you would have put into your K-12 music classes if you were jamming out "Hotel California" instead of "Hot Cross Buns".

Anyway, without divulging too much information that is in the woodwork, our project is going well beyond what we had originally planned in nearly every aspect; we are going to raise more money, organization awareness, and help run an overall smoother event than we had initially aimed for.

I've enjoyed working with my group members and Keith from LKR. I'm looking forward to an awesome event, and I'll be posting confirmed updates here as the information rolls in.

Lastly, it's important to note that Erika from MSU's Class One Concerts has helped us out more than she probably realizes. She runs an awesome organization and deserves a lot of credit. Be sure to check out C1C's facebook page here.

-RB

Monster Match-Up: The Cagefight Between ABC and Cablevision

If you have Cablevision and/or Optimum Cable like I do, you saw the whiny, hissy fit ads on both sides of the spectrum. We saw Optimum pleading to its "valued customers" to take action and push ABC's hand. We also saw ABC's side, explaining how Optimum has unfairly charged customers a fee for the programming that is supposed to be "free cable".

In any case, while both multi-billion dollar companies were crying over some form of greed, I couldn't help but to side with ABC. Here's my thing: I pay a fee to Optimum every month in exchange for a certain service. Cable TV. I don't care what the feud is; what I do care about is watching my programs, namely Lost, and if Optimum can't provide me with the means to view it, then it is Optimums foul. Regardless of ABC's demands, I didn't feel like it was my obligation to fight for my right to view TV. It's Optimums.

Regardless, ABC understood the possible repercussions of withholding the Oscars and succumbed to the pressure while they worked out a deal with Cablevision. While I still believe Optimum handled the situation poorly, ABC definitely realized the negative publicity surrounding the situation was extremely detrimental to both sides.


In my estimation, this was the right move. ABC took the high road, and whatever the outcome is with the contract situation, they ensured that I would get my product. For that, I believe ABC ultimately made the right move.

-RB

Music To Get You Through The Freakin' Week, pt. II

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks (2010)

I like this in five words (or less) because: Catchy, diverse, happy and loud
Favorite songs: Bottled Up In Cork, Where Was My Brain, Mourning In America
For fans of: Punk rock through the eyes of an on-the-verge pop innovator / Elvis Costello ethos in 2010 music / good, fun music

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (2010)

I like this in five words (or less) because: Smart, poppy, groovin' and classic
Favorite songs: Some Kind Of Nature (Lou Goddamn Reed!), On Melancholy Hill, Plastic Beach
For fans of: Damon Albarn, Blur and Kylie Minogue musically fornicating, Hip-Pop.

Flake Music - When You Land Here, It's Time To Return (1997)

I like this in five words (or less) because: Creative songwriting with minimal production
Favorite songs: Spanway Hits, The Shins, Blast Valve
For fans of: The Shins, Built To Spill, Weezer

Note: I listened to this blindly; it came on my iPod and I had no idea who it was... but I loved it. Once I discovered that it was the precursor band to The Shins, I actually decided to give The Shins a real, fair chance. I found that I truly love this album and the work the Shins would go on to create in the years to follow. I never liked The Shins until I was tricked into liking them. Funny how the world works.

Namesake

HIRE ME-RBARANOFF@GMAIL.COM

I Spy...

Care to play? Lets see what you can find! Leave your discoveries in the comment section.

"No Mistakes"

Random Doodle, Notebook Sketch -- Illustration Fall 2009 / Color Spring 2010

FOR THOSE INTERESTED: This was originally a one-color, black pen ink doodle that graced the back of my MSU Fall 2009 notebook. I decided to scan it into my computer and see what I could do with it. Instead of sticking to a color scheme, I decided to do the opposite; add as much color as possible without regard to palettes and/or traditional color rules. In the end, I pretty much got the look I was going for. 

When I was a youngin', my Grandpa, Papa Paul, would tell me of his glory days; the days where he would work in NYC with a bevy of artists and creative people. His favorite of all, however, was the renowned Peter max. Papa Paul would tell me stories of hangin' in Max's studio and the immense amount of creativity that would come to him. He told me about a huge, revolving pen-holder that literally held THOUSANDS of pens in every color and every shade. When Max (and Papa Paul, depending on the accuracy of my 'Pas story) would work, they held no boundaries -- simply put, illustrate anything and add as much color as your heart desired. In a way, this is how I tackled this project... no holds barred and as much color as I could fit. It's Peter Max for the punker.

If you have never seen Max's work before, I suggest you check it out. It is just the type of cheery art that will complement the cheery weather we're having today.

-RB

My Aim Is True -- Graphic Odds and Ends

These pieces are some of my favorites from the fledgling days of my band, My Aim Is True.

You're Just Catching Up (Free EP)

DOWNLOAD IT HERE FOR FREE

BITE THE BULLET MAIT DESIGN

UNPRESSED, 2008

MY AIM IS TRUE 2008 LOGO

MAIT DAILY MOCK-NEWSPAPER

CREATED AS NEWS RELASE FOR TEMPORARY MYSPACE SHUTDOWN

That's all for now, folks.

-RB