The ride on this primordial rock can feel like a long one, at times. But the joy we allow ourselves to experience can fill our sails and breathe new life into our world! That which unites us will always be far greater than our detractors. 🎶✨ Music & Fun: #MusicClassFun #LearnMusicNYC #CuteMusicClass #NYCMusicLessons #UkuleleVibes #TinyMusicians #SingPlaySmile #MusicIsJoy #MusicWithFriends #LittleNotesBigDreams 🎨💖 Cute & Aesthetic: #CutieMusician #WholesomeVibes #AdorableArtists #MiniMozarts #HappyTunes #SmilesAndSongs #ColorfulClassroom #MusicAndGiggles #KawaiiJamSession #JoyfulJams 🗽🎤 NYC Local: #NYCKidsClasses #NYCParents #AfterSchoolNYC #ManhattanMusic #BrooklynBeats #NYCFamilyFun #DowntownJams #UptownRhythms #CitySoundsNYC #BigAppleBeats

Direct Line In – Ukulele Jake, featuring Dylan Wood Dylan Wood is a short order chef, a leader of men, and a friend to the poor. Dylan & I crafted the lyrics for this poem together 📝. We laid it over a ukulele riff 🎸 that I had been playing obsessively for the last couple years– so often, in fact, I would wake up humming it, thinking about it reflexively🌙💭. Bringing that dream-like requiem to this song 🎵 only seemed right, so my mind immediately went to Dylan 🐻. His writing style flows between avant-garde metaphor and visceral imagery like an Olympic figure skater ⛸️✨. We had this writing session as I was putting the finishing touches on the album that would be this song’s namesake 💿🖋️, Direct Line In. As a spectral piece of art 🎨👻, I realized that my first album was – at its heart ❤️– is a eulogy for our childhood: the learning, the love 💘, the loss 🕊️, the lamenting, levity, and longing 🌅 of a time long since past. So our lyrics reflect that sentimentality 📝.  And then—there are the Bears 🐻🐻🐻.  The Bears are a direct tribute to Dylan because of his lovability 💞, his strength 💪, & his adorable nature 🐾. But also because of this story that I’d like to impart with you:  I remember that Dylan and three of our friends visited California 🌴🏄‍♂️ when we were hardly of age. They all came back with Brown Bears tattooed to their chests. Which I probably razzed him for at the time when we were at parties, but I always thought that it was so incredibly cool 😎. And now I realize, as I write this, Dylan has always been so incredibly cool: Bears or no Bears. 🐻 #AIBears #BrownBear #GrizzlyBear #BlackBear #PolarBear #PandaBear #SunBear #SlothBear #BearWatching #AIWildlife #AIGeneratedNature #VirtualWilderness #DigitalBear #AIBearVideo #WildlifeInMotion #CreativeAI #AIVisuals #AIAnimalArt #WildlifeVideo #BearsOfInstagram #BearLovers #CuteBears #BearVibes #AIArtVideo #MachineVisionWildlife #FictionalWildlife #AnimalKingdomAI #AIWonders #Bearstagram #NatureThroughAI

Done Things Differently – Ukulele Jake, from Direct Line In The Mallards in this video are used as a catch-all for the friend group I grew up with in Ann Arbor. Reason being: some of us left, some came back, and some stayed. But in any case, you can usually find us hanging out in a public park. 🦆🅿️🍞 Some other childhood mainstays are depicted in ‘Done Things Differently’. I.e our beloved neighborhood pool. Between sneaking in Sake during the day and skinny dipping at night, this pool was so much more than just a big bowl of concrete filled with water and some forever chemicals to us. And it still is to this day! I love to visit this specific place many times when I’m vacationing or touring in Michigan. Just maybe not during the winter…! ❄️🥶🧊 Cops! Cops are also frequently referenced. That is because someone was always either getting off of probation or going back on probation. 🚨👮🍻 In this video we see the Bear’s first appearance. This will become a more significant character in the future videos. The Bear represents the poet who co-wrote Direct Line In’s title track. He is a sage, a mystic, a shaman, a farmer, and my friend: Dylan Wood. 🐻🌿☀️ 🐾 Cute Animal Vibes     1    #CuteAnimals     2    #ChipmunkVibes     3    #DucksOfInstagram     4    #BearEnergy     5    #AnimalLovers     6    #AdorableCreatures     7    #CutenessOverload     8    #WholesomeContent     9    #AnimalAesthetic     10    #NatureAndNurture 🎶 Lyric Video + Music Vibes     11    #LyricVideo     12    #MotivationalMusic     13    #PerseveranceAnthem     14    #FightSong     15    #MusicForTheSoul     16    #MusicVisuals     17    #InspirationThroughMusic     18    #UpliftingLyrics     19    #EmpowermentSong     20    #FeelGoodMusic 💪🏽 Motivation, Strength & Positivity     21    #KeepGoing     22    #NeverGiveUp     23    #YouGotThis     24    #InnerStrength     25    #PositiveVibesOnly     26    #RiseAbove     27    #StayStrong     28    #MotivationDaily     29    #ResilienceInMotion #PowerThrough

I’ll Be There  – Ukulele Jake, from Direct Line In I wrote ‘I’ll Be There’ the same time I became a Hiroshi Nagai fan. His paintings export my troubles, and in its place it leaves the antithesis of hysteria. The paintings are poppy, soothing, free of pain and full of optimism. It satiates a very specific part of my mind. The way painters and musicians compliment each other is uncanny, both screaming into their own separate abyss. Painters and sculptures are some of the best company you can keep. Maybe that’s my bias, but there is something about making something with your hands that I feel keeps you grounded.  🎨 Visual & Aesthetic Hashtags (Hiroshi Nagai Inspired)     1    #HiroshiNagai     2    #NagaiVibes     3    #CityPopArt     4    #80sAesthetic     5    #TropicalSurrealism     6    #JapaneseModernism     7    #VaporwaveArt     8    #PalmTreeDreams     9    #RetroJapan     10    #IslandAesthetic 🎶 Music, Lyric Video, and Mood     11    #LyricVideo     12    #MusicVisuals     13    #ChillwaveVisuals     14    #AestheticMusicVideo     15    #SummerSoundtrack     16    #DreamPopVibes     17    #VisualLyrics     18    #LoFiVisuals     19    #SonicEscape     20    #SynthSunset 🌴 Nostalgia, Mood, and Vibe Tags     21    #CityPopVibes     22    #80sNostalgia     23    #JapaneseCityPop     24    #SunsetDrive     25    #NostalgicAesthetic     26    #PoolsideDreams     27    #NeonNights     28    #RetroSummer     29    #EndlessSummerVibes #QuietParadise

♻️🎨 ART SHOW ALERT 🎨♻️ Come with me to visit my amazing Aunt’s Art show “Taking Out The Trash” in Red Hook, Brooklyn 🗽🛠️🧹 — a bold, brilliant celebration of transformation, found objects, and turning throwaways into treasure 💎🖼️✨ Every piece had heart, humor, and heaps of meaning. So proud! 💖🧠🧺 📍Red Hook, BK 🖌️ Absolute one-of-a-kind exhibit! #RedHookArt #BrooklynArtScene #RecycledArt #FoundObjectArt #ArtShow #ArtExhibit #SupportLocalArtists #CreativeReuse #EcoArt #TrashToTreasure #ArtInstallation #NYCEvents #GalleryVisit #ModernArt #SustainableArt #ArtWithPurpose #UpcycledArt #ArtistSpotlight #BrooklynArtists #ArtMatters #WhatIsArt #VisualPoetry #MixedMediaArt #UrbanArt #IndieArtShow #EmbraceTheMess #ArtLife #GalleryHop #NewYorkArt #ArtThatSpeaks

: 🚨✨ STICKER SCAVENGER HUNT — BROOKLYN EDITION ✨🚨 We’ve hidden 🎵 Direct Line In 🎵 stickers all over BROOKLYN… Can you find them? 🕵️‍♀️💿🗺️ 📸 Be one of the first three to snap a pic of three different stickers 🖼️📷 and win a FREE full set of Direct Line In stickers! 🎁🔥 🧠 HERE’S YOUR ONE HINT: You may want to begin your “Prospect”-ing at this popular park… 🌳🏃‍♀️🌭🦆🧺🎨 📍 Don’t forget to tag us 🏷️ in your photos and let the hunt begin! 🐾✨🌆 #DirectLineIn 🎶 #StickerHunt 🔍 #ScavengerHunt 🗺️ #FreeStickers 🎉 #IndieArt 🖌️ #StickerDrop 🎯 #BrooklynArt 🗽 #UrbanAdventure 🚶‍♂️🌆 #StickerCollectors 📦 #FindersKeepers 🧩 #DIYScene 🔧 #LimitedEdition 🔥 #MusicArt 🎼 #StreetHunt 🚦 #VinylVibes 💿 #StickerBomb 💥 #CreativeChallenge 🧠 #ArtInTheWild 🦋 #HiddenGems 💎 #SupportLocalArtists ❤️‍🔥 #thingstodoinnyc 🗽#thingstodoinbrooklyn 🍕

Quick As Lightning – Ukulele Jake, from the album Direct Line In, w/ @starspann Sometimes I can taste a movie, hear a painting, feel a song. And I dont think I’m alone in that. I didn’t even realize when I was writing QAL how much of it was inspired by Kehinde Wiley’s work. Now that it’s been two months since I published the album, I feel like the natural perspective brought by time has made it obvious. Seldom does an artist bottle lightning the Mr. Wiley does. I feel resilience and the force of nature in my fingertips when I get to spend time with his paintings. There hangs his pieces at the Detroit Institute of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and many other halls of intellectual achievement the world over. My intention is not to pontificate or try to draw a comparison between my work and his. I made this lyric video as a tribute to his work. As a gratitude towards him. His boldness, audacity, and creativity make him a generational artist. And a legend in his own time. 🎨 Art & Visual Aesthetic #KehindeWiley #InspiredByWiley #ContemporaryArt #AfroArt #BlackPortraiture #ModernBaroque #ArtMeetsMusic #VisualLyricism #ArtisticVibes #ArtVideo 🎶 Music & Lyric Themes #LyricVideo #MusicVisual #LyricsAndArt #ArtInMotion #SoulfulSound #PoeticVisuals #VisualAlbum #MusicalPortrait #MusicIsArt #CinematicMusic ✊🏾 Cultural & Social Resonance #BlackExcellence #BlackCreatives #ReclaimTheGaze #BlackArtMatters #RoyalBlackness #RepresentationMatters #BlackIdentity #AfrofuturismNow #ArtForChange #VisualResistance

It’s getting sticky, and it ain’t the humidity!

Palm Tree In My Mind – Ukulele Jake, from the album Direct Line In This song and video are inspired by extreme beauty. Such beauty befitting of our species greatest artists. Classical meeting modern, we bring these seductive oil paintings to life using Video AI. Mixed media is one of my favorite ways to interact with art. So I challenge you to name as many of the paintings as you can recognize before reading the bibliography below! 🧑‍🎨🖼️🎨 • The Birth of Venus by Sandro #Botticelli • Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer • The #MonaLisa by Leonardo #daVinci • Woman with a Parasol By Claude #Monet • Blue Marilyn by Andy #Warhol • Portrait of Madame X by John Singer Sargent • Flaming June By Frederic #Leighton • The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri #Rousseau • Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by #FridaKahlo • The Kiss by #GustavKlimt • The Lady of Shalott by John William #Waterhouse • Portrait of Dora Maar by Pablo #Picasso • The Blue Room by Suzanne #Valadon  • The Swing by Jean-Honoré #Fragonard • #ClassicArt • #ArtHistory • #OldMasters • #RenaissanceArt • #Masterpiece • #FamousPaintings • #TimelessArt • #ArtAppreciation