This here is a perfect example of advertising brilliance. Willie Nelson covering Coldplay’s “The Scientist” over an extraordinary animated storyline that leaves me appreciating Chipotle’s surge toward ethical farming. It’s hard to think this company was ever affiliated with McDonald’s but those days are long gone and the brand is moving into much greener pasture. Chalk one up for team creative.

Last weekend, half of Holiday Matinee met in the middle of a spacious San Francisco park for Outside Lands. Despite our inability to be in four places at once, we caught some really rad shows and met volumes of super friendly people. Smaller, less-packed performances by Vetiver and Phantogram were a treat for our elbows and ears, while bigger bands like Arcade Fire and The Shins lived up to the hype and successfully gave us the chills.

If you were on the hunt for more than just music, the festival offered a bunch of different options for exploring. We spent a lot of time in McLaren Pass, admiring the interactive installations from Monica Canilao, swinging with the chimes and sampling bites from the Food Truck Forest vendors (tots + fried mac & cheese = <3). The booze selection, however, left a lot to be desired. Forget Big Boi, we were missing craft brews, as Heineken completely dominated the beer booths. This had Kiran and Ice Cream Man reminiscing over the good ol’ Goose Island days of Pitchfork. Thankfully, the $2-4 pours splashes of local vino inside Wine Lands were there to quench our thirst.

Some favorite memories include: The Decemberists’ encore performance of Mariner’s Revenge Song, which had the audience clapping and screaming like they were being swallowed by a whale, our interviews with Chaz, STRFKR and The Stone Foxes, winning a koozie in the shape of a shoe, a magician playing the cello in Choco Lands and Dave Chappelle’s first beach ball concert.

In its fourth year, Outside Lands took it up a notch, hosting a wonderful weekend packed with memorable shows, enthusiastic fans, delicious food and environmental friendliness. We’re already counting down the days until next year’s festival and looking forward to the magical things that take place within the woods of Golden Gate Park.

See more photos here and check out our previous Outside Lands coverage too!

If you’ve ever swooped up a record just because you liked the cover, you should totally check out Sleeveface. Similar to Pencil vs Camera and Dear Photograph, Sleeveface blurs the line between imagination and reality with reenactments of random and recognizable LP jackets. Take it from me, two sleeves are better than one, so try sleevefacing in pairs while browsing a record store, or experimenting with a 3-way sleeveface, if that’s what you’re into. Buy the book here and discover endless submissions on Flickr and Facebook too. Super fun!

It might be their first-ever music video but wow was it worth the wait. “Last Known Surroundings” is a total jam and the video is a piece of artistic mastery. Directed by Austin creative shop Ptarmak, I urge you to stop everything you’re doing, put your headphones on and bliss out to the best 8 minutes of your day.

About a year ago I went sleuthing for info on Blake Sennett. Rilo Kiley or The Elected hadn’t put out an album since 2007 and I wanted to know if I could ever expect more. Various emails to record labels got me nowhere and an IMDB search only revealed he was working on screenwriting projects and taking an indefinite break from music. So when a couple months ago I heard rumors of a new Elected album, I was thrilled. Bury Me In My Rings was released today and totally hits the spot for me. Sennett goes for variety with shades of R&B influence and even a breezier, tropical feel (yep, there’s ukulele which is pretty sweet). Sure, you can read into his lyrics for veiled references to Jenny Lewis, and while some have called for him to give that a rest, I kind of never minded because it speaks to how there are people in all of our lives that we just can’t forget. Look At Me Now is a track I’ve had on repeat and is convincing me to make the drive to Los Angeles tonight to catch the release show. I’m excited for that, but if you can’t make that a summer tour has just been announced.

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I’ve always felt like the shuffle on my iTunes is biased, but don’t you totally love it when it brings a song back in your life that really means something to you? I remember finding out about this band (Stairwell) years back on a message board when someone suggested them, but little did I know their message would give me the courage to take some risks and move to California. It’s not musically the greatest song out there, but it doesn’t need to be. This lyric means the world to me.

“Why don’t you be what you always want to be, why don’t you go where you wanted to go? I don’t see a single thing that’s truly keeping you, why don’t you go where you wanted to go?”

Stairwell – “Ancient Ruins”

Bring on the face-paint, robo-trippin’ choreographed partytime. Tuneyards new video is the jam and unless you hate being awesome, it’s time to check-in and become the mayor of happytown. Added bonus from our pals at 4AD, you can score a free download of “Bizness” right here.