These new works by L.A.-based artist Doug Aitken are kind of a trip, placing animals in motel rooms – the kind of animals that, by no stretch of the normal imagination, belong in a motel room.

Installed as a large-scale film titled ‘migration,’ the project “depicts the movements of migratory animals as they pass through vacant and deserted hotel and motel rooms, delineating a nomadic passage across America from east to west.” If you’re over there, check it out – it’ll be up at Regen Projects through October 17^th.

Well, kind of. My mind took a leap as soon as I saw the names mentioned in the same sentence, and I assumed the visionary director actually took the helm of this music video for Au Revoir Simone‘s ‘Shadows.’

Lynch has been a vocal fan of the keyboard-based girl group since as far back as 2007, when the two were paired together for an interesting music/interview evening in Barnes and Noble Union Square. The man read from his book, the girls provided the music, and Lynch apparently fell in love.

Side note: I never made the connection until now, but the man has a voice and pacing that reminds me of Mr. Rogers. Click here and watch this clip  where he talks about music in general, and Au Revoir Simone in particular (it’s not embedding for some reason). Come to think of it, looking back, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood feels oddly Lynchian, going by author (and fan) David Foster Wallace’s pretty all-encompassing definition of the director’s trademark creepy-slash-normal style. Hmm.

Anyway, our generation’s greatest weird-ass director genius sounds practically breathless here as he types all-caps, Kanye-style:

“I LOVE AU REVOIR SIMONE ….. THESE GIRLS HAVE WHAT IT TAKES ….. MUSIC JUST FLOWS OUT OF THEM SO NATURALLY – AND IT’S GREAT MUSIC …… THIS VIDEO FOR “SHADOWS” – FROM THEIR NEW ALBUM “STILL NIGHT, STILL LIGHT” IS MIGHTY – THE COLOR AND THE LIGHT ARE STELLAR – THE MOVES AND LOOKS – MINIMAL – CLEAN – MODERN AND SOLID ….. IT ALL COMES ALONG SO WELL SUPPORTING THE GIRLS AND THEIR MUSIC ….. ANNIE, ERIKA AND HEATHER HAVE GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER – THEY’RE BIG – BUT THEY’RE GONNA BE BIGGER – THEY’RE GONNA BE REAL BIG.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFG-cUQ1a8k&fmt=18 540]

No, Lynch himself didn’t direct this haunting clip; credit actually goes to Brendan Colhurst and Vikram Gandhi, who worked with the group on the clip above from their 2007 record The Bird of Music. The video is, however, presented by David Lynch on his website as a strong show of support, I guess. No matter — the clip isn’t too far off from what I’d imagine Lynch creating anyway, from the lighting and the slightly unsettling shaky effect to the way the song and video both end so abruptly.

This is my new obsession, just as the days of summer start to fade. For these San Francisco boys, who play under the name Girls, summer’s not the kind of thing that ever has to end.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuoTjYYqe4c&fmt=18 540]

Shot with exuberance on Super 8, this plays like a Levis commercial that doesn’t want you to buy any damn jeans – it just wants you to fall hard for every one of these lip-synching girls while kicking back with “a pizza and a bottle of wine.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwvc6fmXmuY 540]

Late night San Francisco streets turned into a human game of Tetris via Geekologie (by way of good friend Rusty). It speaks for itself…and there’s a great soundtrack to boot.

Far and away my favorite celebrity run-in? When a couple guys from The Strokes came into the store earlier this year while I was working the floor and Julian spent some time jamming on the air guitar.

I guess that little interlude didn’t quite scratch his music itch because, thank God, he’s back. Trading guitars for synths, this is the sunniest-sounding throwback jam I’ve heard in a long time. Go have a listen…full album coming in October.

More shoe talk: Nick Schonberger of Selectism just put up a nice retrospective of California brand SeaVees, a lost-but-not-forgotten icon recently re-discovered and revived with some fresh new ideas, including a great collaboration with Pantone. For a little insight into how a small, dead brand is brought back to life, check the feature over at Selectism now.

Joe Fig creates mini sculptures depicting some of my favorite artists hard at work in their studio spaces: Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Chuck Close, to name a handful. This is the perfect mix of childlike whimsy and serious artistic endeavor, like a model train set that’s really, really important.

Take a look at the collection over at www.joefig.com and, if you’re in NY, consider dropping by the Hendershot Gallery October 15^th for an artist’s reception celebrating the release of his book Inside the Painter’s Studio.

From Chris Bray’s blog via Valet Mag.