Here’s a great song by French cello/violin duo SomethingALaMode featuring singer K. Flay called “5am.” The video for the song is pretty captivating— the gang of three are seen wandering around the streets of New York City in the wee hours of the morning. I love the quirky vibe that the video gives off. Check it out.

Who ever would have thought that a combination of garbage bags, subway grates, and tape would be capable of creating some of the coolest street art that we’ve ever seen? The installations of Joshua Allen Harris, a New York City based artist, have made waves within the street art community. Using the aforementioned items and a dash of creativity, Harris amazes New York City pedestrians with his inflatable garbage bag sculptures. When securely fastened to a subway grate, the bags (which look like trash) fill with air from the passing train below and take their shape. A few of his past creations include a polar bear, giraffe, ape, loch ness monster, a zoo, and something that closely resembles the creature from Cloverfield. Be sure to check out his interview with NY Magazine below.

Joshua Allen Harris' Inflatable Polar Bear in NYC

Two weeks ago, we here at Jetcomx published a short article entitled 14 Amazing Works of Political Graffiti and Street Art from Around the World. It quickly became the most viewed article on our site. Due to the popularity of the first article, it was only natural that we once again showcase a few more hand-picked examples of the most fascinating political street art and graffiti from around the world. Without further ado, we present to you, part deux:

16. John McCain’s new campaign slogan: McCain’t. This was found in Austin, Texas.

15. A TV show poster is modified to portray the faces of Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and Condi Rice.

14. We live in the age of the laser guided democracy. Seen in the Soho section of New York City.

13. Barack Obama says that this is our moment. This was found in Brooklyn, New York City.

12. Barack Obama looks good on an orange background. Designed by Billi Kid.

11. Barack Obama is good with words.

10. Ronald Reagan and Zombie Reagan make an appearance this election season.

Ronald Reagan as a cat (or mouse).

Zombie Reagan needs BRAAAAAAIIINNNSSSS. Zombie Reagan was found in Washington, DC.

9. Richard Nixon also decides to make an appearance during the 2008 presidential election season. This particular piece was found in Paris, France.

This piece was seen in Brooklyn, New York City.

8. Dick Cheney clutches his infamous shotgun, dressed in Wild West garb. Designed by Billi Kid. This poster was pasted on the corner of Bellevue and Memorial Avenues in Newport, Rhode Island.

This version was seen on Wooster Street between Grand and Canal in New York City.

7. John McCain sprouts wings and spews (or sucks) what looks to be oil funnels in this graffiti piece.

6. Barack Obama knows how to use cans. Seen at the Cans Festival in London.

5. Barack Obama and John McCain hang out with a little girl in this graffiti piece in Spokane, Washington.

4. George W. Bush is a true cowboy at heart. This was seen on the corner of Jackson Avenue and Davis Street, Queens. Designed by Billi Kid.

This poster was seen on 22nd street between 10th and 11th in New York City.

3. Al Gore has always been known to love the Earth. Now we know why. This piece was found in London, England.

2. Sarah Palin was once crowned Miss Wassilla. Maybe she has a future in bodybuilding? Both of these were found in New York City and created by Billi Kid.

1. “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick.” -Sarah Palin
This stencil piece features Sarah Palin’s head on pitbull’s body wearing lipstick. It was found on Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta, Georgia in between Briarcliff and Highland. The artist is unknown at this time.

This is the same exact piece as above, but shot from a different angle.

Here is the same piece cleverly placed on a billboard underneath text reading “This is why we are FUCK’D.”

When you think of graffiti and street art, politics is probably one of the last things that comes to mind. There seems to be a complete disconnect between the two realms. Knowing this, we here at Jetcomx decided to scour the corners of the internet and come up with the 10 most astounding examples of modern political graffiti. Here’s what we came up with:

14. Barack Obama shakes the hand of America in a piece by Chicago based artist Ray Noland. This was spotted at the Got Next art exhibition in San Francisco.

13. John McCain gets his heart ripped out by the devil himself. This was spotted in downtown Freemont, Washington.

12. George W. Bush depicted as a true cowboy. Spotted in Sydney, Australia.

11. Hillary Clinton wears a Barack Obama campaign button on her hat. Found this in New York City.

10. Barack Obama is straight gold.

9. It only seemed natural that these next two graffiti pieces be grouped together as one.

8. John McCain sings “Bomb, bomb, bomb… Bomb Iran” to the tune of the Beach Boys Barbara Ann. This was spotted in the Pearl district of Portland, Oregon.

7. This John McCain piece was found on Olvera Street in Hollywood, California.

6. Dick Cheney as Jabba the Hutt. Found in Brooklyn, New York City.

5. George W. Bush points a gun to his head in a chair. This piece was found in London, England.

4. Bill Clinton was always known as a ladies man.

3. Barack Obama gives a speech to America on a street corner from Chicago, Illinois.

2. Hillary and Barack put up their dukes. This was spotted in New York City.

1. George W. Bush as an old school football player clutching a bomb. This is by Maya and was found in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Well, what do you know…it’s Monday already. Time seems to move so fast. This week in the Mixtape Mondays segment, we have some Ratatat for you guys. More specifically, we have the Ratatat Remixes Volume I. Like the mixtapes prior, this mixtape is nothing new. It came out nearly four years ago, but it’s still great to blast. Ratatat’s sound incorperates electronic influences and is comprised of heavy beats using the synth and organ. Hailing from New York City, Ratatat is comprised of guitarist Mike Stroud and synthesizer driver and producer Evan Mast. They were made famous with the release of their hit singles Seventeen Years and Germany to Germany. Seventeen Years has since been featured in a Hummer Commercial and the movie Cloverfield, among other things. On Ratatat Remixes Volume I, the duo integrates electronica into 14 hip hop tracks, including Kanye West’s Get Em High, G-Unit’s Stunt 101, and Raekwon’s Smith Bros. This is one mixtape album you must download.

Here’s a sample of the first track on the mixtape:

Click here to download Ratatat Remixes Volume I.

In the late 1970′s and early 1980′s, something amazing was happening to New York City’s urban youth; they began to deviate from the cultural norms and embrace new, ‘strange’ practices like graffiti, breakdance, and hip-hop. Martha Cooper, a photo-journalist from New York City, captured on film the entire movement in its infancy. All of this was happening at a time when society viewed the movement as asinine, idiotic, ridiculous, and even threatening. Most people thought that ‘real’ art was in galleries, not alleys; ‘real’ dance belonged in ballrooms, not street corners; ‘real’ music emerged from guitars, not beat machines. Take a look at this fascinating video that documents everything Martha Cooper accomplished from 1979-1984 in Hip Hop Files.

[flv:/wp-content/video/marthacooper.flv 480 360]