the ghost robot

video content should be banned and

2008-04-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

my youtubes should be tied, but this was pretty funny.

2008-03-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Ambitious Television Producers of America,

Please start making Wire knock-offs post-haste, and set them in Houston. Feel free to cast members of the S.U.C. in key roles. Bun B would make an excellent Chief of Police, and if you got Dizzee Rascal a good voice coach, he'd be a pretty good fed.

Sincerely,

Blog Dudes

BEEP BEEP

2008-02-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

GLORIOUS

kanye west- flashing lights

2008-02-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

West, Kanye West. Fresh off a dignified Grammy night, Yeezy and co-director Spike Jonze deliver some Freudian wish fulfillment: Agent Provocateur spy girls, over-saturated dusk-for-night, George and Jennifer in Out of Sight, and the a bit of vehicular mystery cribbed from the "Karma Police" video. DJ Federico Fellini would be proud.

Rule Four

2008-02-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

Consider Everything An Experiment

No Age at Food Fight, a vegan grocery in Portland. Photos are from Pitchfork, and by Nilina Mason-Campbell. More supremely good looks of this rare instance of supermarket rock from Meghan Holmes, who has a great website.

Weekend America visited the Corita Art Center in Los Angeles, so click for that good old American Public Media.

Rule Three

2008-02-08T13:24:00.002-08:00

General Duties of A Teacher:

Pull Everything Out of Your Students

(illustrated example by professor thirteenyearold at left)

i must be in a good place now

2008-02-08T09:54:00.001-08:00

I found this on the Abe Vigoda blog. She's coming back.

Go get this Bobby Charles album from the Heat Warps right now. It's literally the Band and Dr. John wading through a swamp of fish, whiskey and Jesus. It's creep vine in your mind garden, sunlight in your sweet tea, Bud for breakfast with a side order of hashbrowns. Mr. Charles played keys on the Last Waltz, wrote hits for Fats Domino and Frogman Henry, and that's all you need to know.

BAWSSS

2008-02-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

Chioma Nnadi's style interview with Rick Ross is my favorite piece of music journalism in this young year. The TV guide summary might read: **** Promoting his forthcoming album Trilla, Miami rapper holds court on fabrics and sunglasses. A discussion of airbrushed Timberlands leads Ross to remove his shirt, revealing his numerous tattoos, symbolized personal history, and unexpected intimacy (2008).

Re-Up Gang- "Good Morning"

2008-02-03T23:42:00.000-08:00

They reloaded! New clips! Re-Up Gang Records: WE GOT IT FOR CHEAP VOL.3: We Just Think We Better: We Like Multiple Titles: Promotional Strategy and Powder Product Demonstration

On First Listen: Sure, it's nice to hear the new coke rappers tip their hats (and scales) to some earlier coke rappers on 'Rainy Dayz,' and yes, their versions of 'Dey Know' and 'Roc Boys' kinda rip it, but this isn't the Clipse/Re-Up of Vols. 1+2. Those mixtapes were with cut with wordplay and metaphor, but behind all the clever vial/vile talk was resignation, resentment and bitterness. The Clipse despised not only Jive, but also the entire dunce-capping and kazooing music industry. They weren't merely trying to outshine some others rappers, they were trying to completely obliterate the originals with hate-verses, erasing with one white line at a time. Label woes and a critically acclaimed album behind them, Re-Up Records are now very much part of the music industry. The lyrics are still graduate thesis material, but they kinda forgot the hate=great equation. Solo albums from Ab-Liva and Sandman as well as another Clipse are in the pipeline, and I'm looking forward to them, but I hope they either get mad again or find a salt-substitute by then. There's a big Wayne diss on the 'Re-Up Intro,' and maybe the can go beat for beat with Weezy next time on We Got It For Cheap Vol 4: What Really Grinds Our Gears: Album Delays and Wayne's Psychedelic Non-Sequitors

Image: Craphound

Sister Corita's Second Rule

2008-02-02T01:16:00.001-08:00

General Duties of a Student

Pull Everything Out of Your Teacher
Pull Everything Out of Your Fellow Students

The Guardian has a great Corita slide show.

Whole Foods was kinda getting hectic with the valentine's chocolate and pink champagne and the loud hits of motown, but this little dude taught me to relax and enjoy my checkout experience.

coulda been a contract attorney

2008-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Bun B on a mother's expectations and college classes. From Nah Right.

More at the Houston Chronicle.

undo paste

2008-01-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

Cut Copy's Bright Like Neon Love came out in early 2004, back in the mesozoic era blog era. People kinda slept on it, but then they woke up and told the rooster that Cut Copy is pretty much the bright burning morning sun of this indie dance thing. Tim Goldsworthy, Chad to James Murphy's Pharrell, produced their upcoming record, In Ghost Colors. The title sounds like that Radiohead album, but the album sounds like everything I imagined the second Rapture would be. No offense; I guess imagined the KLF and love songs, not Brooklyn fun times. Anyway, I guess that's why this video looks like the album art from the first Rapture album. It's dreamy.

Sister Corita's Rules

2008-01-31T15:14:00.000-08:00

1. Find A Place You Can Trust and Trust It For A While

Sister Corita Kent was a Catholic nun and art teacher in Los Angeles in the 1960s. She produced serigraphs about God, typography, color, play, and the universal messages of embedded in mass media advertising. Her work is breath-taking, wildly creative and downright inspiring. Here's a list of her rules, which will be the basis of this next series of posts.

negative thinking can ruin your life

2008-01-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Motherfucking Deathset are the real deal: punk rock dialed up to two thousand and 7-11, triggering samples, splitting heads and jumping off stages. Sure, you can trash to it, but you can also hum in hindsight, I don't want be like/ the people that I liked to yourself in the elevator or in your boxy sedan on the way home from the show. This video is about joy, community and Baltimore, Maryland and does an incredible job of capturing a band in context. It reminds me a lot of the group portrait of No Age, the Smell, and their friendly family of Weirdo Rippers, and that's an important thing to remember: positive communities can create support great art!

2008: SHAKER STATUS.

one big yes to 2008

2008-01-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a rad year. Can you feel it?

Lounge Lizards- One Big Yes

Jazz, late horn modernism and John Lurie in the house.

happy new year

2007-12-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Brion Nuda Rosch is killlling the holiday collages, so get hip like cosmic cat.

no age at other music

2007-12-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

The best part is the audience hugs at the end.

r.i.p. pimp c

2007-12-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Pimp C was found dead in a Hollywood hotel room today. I'm sure there will be more news at houstonsoreal.

"One Day" is an incredibly moving song about pain, suffering and unpredictable loss. It's monumental, and seems appropriate for Chad Butler's passing.

UGK- One Day

mailer for mayor

2007-12-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

The 51st state. It's huge.

Oh, hello R. Kelly

2007-11-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes DJ Khaled calls me, and I tell him, "Dude, for the last time, I know exactly who 'duh bes' is, ok?"

the haymaker

2007-11-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

Breece D'J Pancake has got to be one of the worst names.

image onslaught

2007-10-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Dove_Onslaught

A warp speed British ad about the imaging of beautiful women. It's selling soap and the "Dove Self Esteem Fund," but it's thought-provoking marketing against marketing. Here's another one, very similar to this flash graphic on girl magazine cover photoshopping that ran here back in December 05. I guess it's still an issue, huh?

square-headed birds

2007-10-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

I like to imagine that the inside of people's heads look just like their apartments, with posters tacked up the skull wall, piles of unsorted papers and a maybe a cushy futon for guests. FFSF's studio visit series confirms most of my suspicions and gives a good look at both kinds of artist interiors. Check out their Dutch field trip to visit the excellent and omnipresent Parra.

They've also got new urban animal diorama paintings from Josh Keyes, and an oldish interview with Matt Furie, pen and ink of his tragic adult muppets and star of the current radness at New Image Art.

other tastes

2007-10-01T18:40:00.001-07:00

One of the pioneers of the New Journalism along with more celebrated writers like Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson, Terry Southern wrote short stories, a couple of novels, Dr. Strangelove and a good part of Easy Rider. Esquire sent him out to cover the 1968 Democratic convention with drug buddy William Burroughs and post-modern theorist Jean Genet, and it'd be a challenge to come up with better late-sixties cool credentials. At its best, his short story collection Red Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes approaches counter-culture lost gospel. "Twirling at Ole Miss" is a proto-gonzo investigation into the teenage baton battalion, and "The Sun and the Still-born Stars" is a moving piece about films and farms set in James Agee's America. Although a little tarnished (and dated) with a sixties liberal brand of soft racism, "Razor Fight" is a fantastic country bar crapshoot tragedy and " You're Too Hip Baby" is dead-on portrait of white college kids trying hard to be cool and get down with black music scenes. "Recruiting for the Big Parade" delivers a firsthand account of the Bad Day at the Pig Bay, and Kennedy's Cuban misadventure has some parallels with more recent botched invasions. It's not uniformly strong- the imagined apartment swap between Kafka and Freud is more What's New Pussycat? than Dr. Strangelove as far as farcical period comedies go. Anyway, just go to Amazon or the library and get hip already.

Catalog of Cool has an interview with Mr. Southern from 1982, when he was a staff writer at SNL.

cool kids- black mags

2007-10-01T13:21:00.001-07:00

this video is four months old

2007-09-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

But I keep seeing it around, and it reminds me of E.T. the ride at Disneyland. Those first four beats remind me of "Just Like Honey," or possibly "Gold Lion." This song probably falls somewhere in between.

Also: has she heard italians do it better?

conservative windsurf

2007-09-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

Barry McGee's ADVANCED MATURE WORK at redcat, the lil art gallery that could on the back of Gehry's Disney silver apocalypse compound.

Abe Vigoda played the opening, and they make excellent tropical punk. This may be old news to you, but if you haven't taken a sip of their Good Vibes Special, served in a coconut with a neon lime straw and a pink drink umbrella, go ahead and take a sip.

Vorticists get put on BLAST! Family is selling mega-rad reprints of Wyndham Lewis's little magazine, with British futurist woodcuts and poems by Erza Pound.

the good life

2007-09-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Now dedicated to the essentials.

boneface

2007-08-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

may you never problems that animal collective can't help solve.

2007-08-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

John C. Reilly in Judd Apatow-produced "Walk-Hard," a Ray/Walk the Line/rock star parody. Jack White as Elvis "You see how close I came to your head? I can chop a man in half!"

Anybody out there use bloglines? Whatcha think?

Also: major new-new on the way.

they got drunk before they got high

2007-07-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

The panel’s report said: “Interviews with both flight surgeons and astronauts identified some episodes of heavy use of alcohol by astronauts in the immediate preflight period, which has led to flight safety concerns.”

“Alcohol is freely used in crew quarters,” it said. “Two specific instances were described where astronauts had been so intoxicated prior to flight that flight surgeons and/or fellow astronauts raised concerns to local on-scene leadership regarding flight safety. However, the individuals were still permitted to fly. The medical certification of astronauts for flight duty is not structured to detect such episodes, nor is any medical surveillance program by itself likely to detect them or change the pattern of alcohol use. ”

Report Uncovers Astronaut's Heavy Alcohol Use

Interplanetary Music!

2007-07-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Zongamin is a one-man Japanese-born French-dance band-man, and his first album is one of my long drive secret weapon cds. He's had releases on Ed Banger and Kitsuné, but it goes deeper than neon indie dance night, friends. In the beginning, there's rhythm, but there's also quirky samples slowly turning into hiccup groobe and laid-back soundtrack numbers.

This is him and some friends covering Sun Ra and making a goofy 16mm about gold lamé planetary computer wizards that walk the rocky desert and need spare parts. The song has a perky little shuffle. I imagine happy seventies Japanese auto workers breaking efficiency records to this song. Maybe it's playing in a compact station wagon when a Kurt Vonnegut car salesmen is taking mom and dad out for a Midwest test drive.

big things a gwan

2007-07-11T20:56:00.001-07:00

Bob Dylan to be remixed by Mark Ronson. Is this tremendous or insignificant? English-major thesis writers, please head to the library. I'll need it by October 1st at sundown.

Evel Knievel is still suing Kanye West. Former stuntmen must have serious medical bills or something.

Photo: I googled William Christenberry, and got Tracey Snelling. Go figure.

this week's messages

2007-07-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, dude. Bushwick makes deals!

I only got one snap off before camera death,
but the men of Steadfast Associates are righteous dread lions.
Thanks.

carolina linx

2007-06-18T23:48:00.002-07:00

Regional raps from North Carolina! Showdown and the Fire Department have a radio show on 102 Jamz, one of the two big rap stations in the Triad. 'Sausage' owes R. Kelly some publishing; first for the gross-out drip sound effect from 'Trapped in the Closet,' and second for borrowing corny sex-food rhymes from 'In the Kitchen.' (Closets and Kitchens: There are many rooms in the House of Kells). Showdown gets credit for taking his appetite for sex/food a step further and shouting out all the big girls "132 pounds and up!"

The Showdown myspace offers some terrible flavor of the month remixes, one steel drums and 'reggae-tinged,' and the other with generic crunk rock guitar loops and a fake Lil Jon. I can't see the rockstar movement going much further. It's too much about the signified and not enough about the sound, as evidenced here and discussed at posse on blogway. I've been thinking about this, and I'll post more later.

epso thinks

2007-05-30T14:54:00.001-07:00

From the Fader blogodrome. The slack jaw really says it all here.

nine jazz funk greats

2007-05-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

I caught the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble outside Washington Square on Sunday, and they just about made my day. It's a big sound and a big band, and I couldn't fit all nine guys into frame. These eight-half brothers and a drummer make whole foods organic soul without any of the pretension associated with the supermarket (or modern jazz for that matter). They might be playing a street corner near you and slanging cd-rs, but they're performing at James Brown tribute show at the Apollo with Mos Def and Maceo on June 11. Listen to "Mercury" below.

Read their blog.
Watch the video for "War."
Read Edwin "Stats" Houghgton's take in the FADER.

"Do it with the white and the black like a cop car"

2007-05-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Shop Boys- "Party Like A Rock Star"

Playing golf with the Osbornes, Travis Barker, the expression "cowabunga, dude," Pamela Andersen, a giant explosion that forms the devil horns, a mohawks, five dudes in Kiss makeup, smashing guitars, trashing hotel rooms, babes on car hoods, crowd surfing, rocking out in the trailer park, skull belts and wallet chains, lampshade hats, Marylin Manson, whipped cream, air guitar, doing donuts in the dirt, facial piercings, Jack Daniels, and the Titanic!

The Shop Boys make being white look fun! Modern rock alternative, where you at? Fred Durst remix coming soon!

crab fishing kittens

2007-05-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Corey Arnold is a photographer and a fisherman. He has a feature up at FFSF, and more work at Richard Heller Gallery. I've been sharing this with just about everybody. These are amazing images with care, skill and humor. Ice fishing, crabs and kittens!

It's All About the Benjamins (Rock Remix)

2007-05-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Late Nineties Bad Boy Videos

1. The lengthy home video opening is not self-indulgent. It's a way to showcase the LOX's actings skills. Theater departments is watching.

2. Styles P doesn't have a verse in this song, but he knows the difference between a deer and a flat.

3. It's a million dollar tour bus with leather couches and mirrors and all kinds of accouterments, but there's no spare. None.

4. Just look how much the Chris Isak cow tux Puff annoys Cool Puff Daddy. Dualism people! This may be the second version of a remix video, but Puff has something to SAY. Clearly the inspiration for TI vs. TIP.

5. The song is actually really, really good. Better than "Party Like A Rockstar" or Trick Daddy's Ozzy sampling "Let's Go," or whatever. Q: Why?

6. A: Dave Grohl on drums.

7. And: Rob Zombie screams!

8. What about the completely unexplained pyro? Where did the light show come from? A/V kids are always ready to rock. Always. Even booking an REM cover band could not stop the rock.

9. Kimberly Rebecca Worthington had been a small town girl with a great chance of becoming Suburbtown High School's Miss Prom Queen 1998. A momentous flat tire and ill-timed bathroom break changed all that. Becky, as she was known then, mostly ignored the first two verses of this "rock-rap," opting instead to head for the punch until the slow jams returned. Then Sheek Louch mentioned that he was "trying to cop those/ colossal sized Picassos," and awoke inside Becky- something materialistic and fashionable and rappy. She headed for the stage. Conveniently, Kim had worn a bondage bikini under the taffeta that night for Bobby Quarterback (he had a thing for Madonna back then). Lil' Kim tore it off and proceeded to tear it up. While an amazing first performance, her inexperience is plainly evident in the long pauses and lack of curses in her verse.

10. Witness the power of an awkward prom photo montage.

11. Joking aside, Biggie's verse is just out of control. Shit is inspiring. I'm going to smash this guitar, then you're going to smash the drum set, then the whole band is going to trash the stage, and then we're going to fuck up this whole school. The streamers, the chem lab push cart, the papers, the books, fuck everything up. And Tabby, don't forget the trophy case. We're going back to the tour bus, and we're partying for Brooklyn.

i can see the sun

2007-05-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Pitchfork just upped the official video for Gui Boratto's "Beautiful Life." South American sunshine poured into minimal Kompact techno, "Beautiful Life" has been one of my favorite songs in the last couple of months. It's eight minutes of effusive joy, an simple appreciation that you can't possibly count all of the good things in life.

The official video tries to capture this timeless feeling with shots of cheery grandparents working with their hands and a family enjoying life's innumerable small pleasures. It's moving scene, but I like this homemade version better. Driving through Buenos Aires at sunset, a driver's side mirror reflects what's gone by as the car hurls forward. The hand held camera jumps around a bit, but there remains a sense of stillness and calm amidst all the motion. It could just be my headphones, but the track sounds much more like a private moment of revelation than a communal celebration of shared feeling. The youtube'd video captures this personal intensity with single perspective, whereas the official flick tries to make the feeling appear more universal. Summer is here, so please enjoy either or.

kanye west

2007-05-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Kanye West hired Murakami to do the artwork for Graduation, his next album, and samples Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster" on one of the tracks. It's a little unexpected, but it makes lots of sense.

glitter and doom

2007-05-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

ninety-nine cent city

2007-05-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

"Advertising works best precisely because we don't think it works on us."

Check out Catchdubs' "Pump It Shawty."

Megan Whitmarsh embroiders yeti-rock keg parties with some mountains and some lazers. It's cute and crafty, and here's an interview with her.

These Rocks Pop is doing a really good job these days. A couple of jams everyday in the 'no format' dj style, and some goofy pictures.

german tv in 1966

2007-04-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I humbly present the Monks, a garage era band that has more in common with !!!, Tussle or Holy F*ck than any of their temporal contemporaries. Be prepared for sixties rock and roll gripped by zombie rhythms, torn away from any notion of pop, and carried away into joyous cult noise. Then watch the video.

d.a.n.c.e-justice

2007-04-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's ok to be suspicious when the hot new remix/dance act rents out the London Boys Choir. It's also ok to be pleasantly surprised when the results are so good. Justice has a new album out in July, and it includes seven unreleased songs. Let's hope more of them are like this.

And in the battle of plot-less graphic designer music videos, I think So-Me's colorful t-shirt treatment just beats out Geoff McFetridge's hand-drawn work for Whitest Boy Alive.

use lanes

2007-04-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

Run Into Flowers (Midnight F#ck Remix by Jackson)- M83

Discogs labels this record as "abstract electro downtempo noise." It's also a beautiful way to spend seven minutes. Chords and melodies drift in and out then replace each other, drones build up then fall away, and little drums machines patter along. This song has that particular mix of drive and atmosphere you get from sitting in a big dark theater and watching some forgotten film from the nineteen seventies. It reminds me of a sleepless millionaire staring out of his spotless modern windows and watching waves crash at four in the morning, alone and a little drunk.

lil mama-lip gloss

2007-04-17T23:27:00.001-07:00

Wholesome teenage rap optimism. Drums and claps that knock. Choreographed acrobatics, visually and verbally. High School Musical and your fond memories of Fresh Prince. This may be corny, but I am with it!

dynaflex

2007-04-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

never fall off

2007-04-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

ratatat show is all solds out tonight. bummersville city, huh?

Party and Bullshit (ratatat remix)- the Notorious B.I.G.

links:
-a million quality ATL underground classics. Dungeon Fam and Zulu Nation are first cousins once removed.

-interview with megan whitmarsh, who embroiders backyard Yeti keg parties.

-the nytimes profiles Feist. They think she's going to be huge.

if you're in nyc: true believers at riveria gallery

mathematical!

2007-03-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

I was going to post a weird music video by a south indian film star, but this children's cartoon is the wholesome and fun kind of weird, not the strange and funky kind.

ryda girls

2007-03-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

D.O.G.- Ryda Lady (Smart Tech Sale Edit)

Photo by Luis Gispert.

two color flip flop

2007-03-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

P.Nice (of Certified Bananas)- Throw Some Seas

This is the second remix of "Throw Some Ds" I've posted here, but damn this one is nice. I'm telling you to listen to these sea breeze Shins drum loops and get ready for shorts (and two color flip flops) cause it's SPRANG (already).

single beer are sold in here cooler

2007-03-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about the new photography issue of Stop Smiling. It's a great magazine, but I usually pass over it in a vain effort to save money. This time it features an interview with William Eggleston, which means that money is coming out of pocket, now.

not entirely sure about the vocals

2007-03-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

the early staged shots and the later digital composites

2007-03-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

The Tate Modern website has an incredible feature on Jeff Wall, an incredible artist best described as a single frame cinematographer. He also has a career retrospective at MoMa right now. Read the New Yorker review here.

human history in glass and steel

2007-02-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is an amazing building. The huge steel ediffice looms over the surrounding Virginia scrub countryside, and lurks beside the sprawling military complex next door at Quantico. At first it's surprising that the Marines, one of the most conservative institutions in our society, would chose a contemporary steel and glass skinned building to celebrate its 23o year history. I would have imagined something brick, or marble columns, something more Monument and less monumental. As you stare, the building begins to transform. The 210-foot mast becomes a club, then a knife, then a razor, a bayonet, cannon, a tank's gun barrel, an implement of strength and power aimed at the sky. Then you realize that the towering Museum is this:

and everything makes perfect sense and you wonder whether any building could stand as tall as those soldiers. I haven't been inside, but the Museum caters to the lifelong brotherhood of proud Marines, perhaps exclusively. I may never stop and visit, but I am awed and reverential every time I drive past.

Another surprise: read about the structure's green design features here.

mounted tiger head

2007-02-25T15:46:00.001-08:00

SNL digital short weekend update.

a good idea gone bad

2007-02-13T22:59:00.000-08:00

I added a best of ghost robot section to the right. It's a convenient home for some of the best posts on the site, and it will grow as I work my way through the archives. Thanks for reading.

Valentine's Day is good for flower sellers, chocolatiers, and happy couples. It's not great for everybody, and if you're not having the best one, listen up:

Life Is Phair (Vin Sol's Fuck and Run Remix)

Image credit goes to Steve Powers at deitch projects.

"whre are they now (mid 00s blog mix)"

2007-02-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

I updated my links. Many of my old favorites are dead and gone, but this here blog rolls on. Also, grindin is now well represented as well.

Rich Boy feat. Polow Da Don- Throw Some Ds (Them Jeans Edit feat. Spinto Band)

Listen to "Oh Mandy" by the Spinto Band here.

Them Jeans is hung there.

ps- getting proper attribution for remixes is kinda tedious and boring.

homer simpson watching 'when buildings attack' on fox

2007-02-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

Oh Dennis Oppenheim? He makes insane sculptures about buildings. That's all. And the metal and paint thing at left? It's a bus station in the middle of California. It's also a bus turning into a house. Nothing mind-blowing or anything.

Maybe a little. Maybe a lot.

Here's a building taking a drink of water.

Here's a song about a particular combination of love, intoxication, shyness and longing. You can dance to it. It's wholesome.

Walter Meego- Romantic

gold records on my wall, blood on my hands

2007-02-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

This was came out last August, and is probably a little topical, but I laughed really hard today. It's a spoof of the little known indie rock promotions industry, as well as music documentaries, pitchforkmedia, and america's most wanted. Stars Tapes N Tapes, Ted Leo, Devandra Barnhart, and Aziz Ansari. If you don't recognize any of those names, I could get back to posting about cool buildings, y'know, if you want.

My favorite part: "That's right, child arsonist. He burns kids."

tokyo, you are so far away

2007-01-29T17:55:00.000-08:00

Building as branding, as observed by the english edition of a south korean newspaper. Mikimoto is a pearl and jewelry company.

[break]

The New York Times reports that Culver City, a municipal entity in the belly of the beast Los Angeles, is quite happening. My childhood home is less than two miles from Culver City, and I had no idea of the recent developments in cool.

Apparently, there are more than TWO DOZEN contemporary art galleries here. They're likely to be profiled at the flog, an l.a. art blog with lots of good snaps. Reportedly, there are also many fine restaurants that serve the tasty food. This deserves as post of it's own.

this is how we will stay alive

2007-01-29T07:16:00.000-08:00

THE NEW VERSION OF THE OLD THING IS EVER CLOSER.

Until then, here's yesteryear's forgotten future parisian disco ballad.

Black Devil Disco Club- "H" Friend

picture by jay howell, brought to you by an unfortunately named SF-based art community hang-zone.

frames without frames

2007-01-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

last week, i finally 'got' why people frame pictures. something about glass and styled box just makes the photo look better. my tendencies is just to tape/tack everything up on the wall with varying degrees of grid and chaos, depending on the wall. this tiny vices installation in japan is more my style, but without all the clippings and scraps of paper and scramble scrawl.

my computer is broken, which means that theghostrobot will be taking a little break. i've got grand plans for the re-opening, but i don't want to promise too much. suffice to say i'm working on ways to incorporate more original material and less of an empty3 blog. i want to keep sharing the cool stuff that i find online, creating a little forever database of good stuff, but i also want to share more off-line cool stuff, like good views and hand-drawn thoughts. i'm also wondering how much of 'me' i want to put out there, but i'm leaning towards supreme confidence and putting it all out there.

hopefully, i'll see you in february, groundhogs!

go downtown

2007-01-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a big gallery of Chicano murals in LA. I understand where the revolutionary and pre-Colombian motifs come from, but I've always wondered where all the clown and joker imagery comes from.

Thieves Like Us- Drugs in My Body

This is pretty much a wisp of New Order, merely a sign of the real thing, but it's a good way to start off a monday morning.

snl prepares for gerald ford's death in 1996

2006-12-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

the aim of the game is to feel real good

2006-12-25T13:24:00.000-08:00

happiest of holy days to you and yours.

Peter, Bjorn and John- Let's Call It Off (JD Twitch's Optimo Remix)

Human brothers and sisters, let's live and let live. The aim of the game is to feel real good.

Flanging high hats, peppy steel drums, Swedish lost love lyrics in English, perfect percussion, an eternal redwood bassline, and one addictive optimum poppy guitar hook. Drills, keys and a borrowed ashram mantra to taste. I have been listening to this song many times in a row, and I want you to do the same. I feel real good.

my mashup hates your mashup

2006-12-22T15:20:00.000-08:00

Witness James Rosenquist's Pop Art mash-up at the left. Then listen to Diplo work the "My Love" acapella over some unreleased lcd soundsystem.

My Love (Diplo Remix)- Justin Timberlake feat. TI and James Murphy

2006-12-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

I'm in los angeles this week, so I'm thinking of going to an exhibition of Ed Rusha prints out in Pasadena. I've been reading a book about west coast pop art in the sixties, so it seems like the thing to do. Rusha and co positioned themselves as art studs prowling the streets and strutting amidst the storefront signage. Instead of subverting popular California stereotypes, the sixties pop scene opted to embody them. Yes, surfers, motorcross, swingers, wanderers, shallow pleasure seekers, sure, we're all of those things and we're also incredibly talented serious artists. In addition to all of our gallery work, we're going to hang out, make it look dangerous, and let Denis Hopper document it all on 35 mm. We're going to take huge blocks of ice and build igloo walls in the middle of parking lots across l.a. in the summer of 1967. Hey Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and all you boring new york pop art dudes: WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?

tiny cities in the vast jungle.

2006-12-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

what the hell happened to my listening this year. there were some cohesive albums, some periods of focused examination, some discoveries, but these little patches of organization, science and understanding are completely dwarfed by gigs and gigs of unsorted mp3s.

unreleased joint, christmas that never comes.

ghostface- charlie brown

at the left is a crystal charlie brown priced at three hundred and sixty clams. that's like three pairs of wall-os, son!

they tried to make me go to rehab

2006-12-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

<- Michael Leon of Commonwealth Stacks, a neato t-shirt company.

Skulls, lightning bolts, bright colors, sunglasses, photoshop/photocopy textures, masks, and the shadow of terror: this sounds like a list of design and streetwear clichés circa 2006. It is, and you can them all at the left but there's nothing tired or boilerplate about Michael Leon's work. Instead, it's something new and fun and hard to pin down. Young people: transcend your influences.

Do The Whirlwind (Hot Chip Remix)- Architecture in Helsinki

Rehab (Hot Chip Remix)- Amy Winehouse

According to discogs, Hot Chip did 10 official remixes in 2006, for a total 24 remixes in the past three years. They also released an album this year, which is quite good, and the band received its fair share of remixes as well. This is beginning to be a formidable catalog, but do not fear. It's all wheat, no chaff, all the time, which is something special. Listen how they approach ensemble indie and vintage-inspired British soul with equal aplomb and equal success.

be there yawll

2006-11-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here's an index of early hip hop flyers from Buddy Esquire and Phase 2. Be patient, as the images take a while to load (Ancient Analog technologies all up in your grill, and breakbeat graphic design all up in your face). Esquire was profiled in wax poetics a while back, and his work is pretty stunning. Rub on lettering, wax machine layering, parallel line lazers, and stars in silhouette. There have been lots of contemporary references to Buddy's work, including the recent DFA remix compilations.

dj medhi- i am somebody

2006-11-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

seen at the fader. this makes dancing and handshakes look really cool.

ending sincerely without "sincerely"

2006-11-26T10:54:00.000-08:00

The New York Times weighs in on the tricky subject of email sign offs. Until next post, I remain

Your friend,

ghost

PS- DJ Technics, one of the architects of baltimore club music, has made his recent batch of remixes available for free ninety nine at baltimoreclubtracks.com. Radiohead, Rick Ross, and Shawana especially.

pps- Wooster Collective is a site dedicated to the global street art movement. They're opening a space on Spring Street in New York, and trying to get as many artists as possible to draw all over it. It opens in December, and I cannot control my enthusiasm. Drawing and doing big things. What's not to like?

zombie raps

2006-11-25T23:16:00.000-08:00

Nas- Hip Hop is Dead
Feat. Jay-Z as hype man
From BET's 106 and Jay special last Friday

i ain't even wiping my sweat

2006-11-24T21:28:00.000-08:00

In the quiet before the storm of year end lists, (top ten this, top five that) let's pause for a moment to reconsider one of the year's worst reviewed albums. Specifically, Mobb Deep's G-Unit sponsored cred-cash-out Blood Money. More specifically, Prodigy the target of Jay-Z's first verse in the Doors sampling "Takeover" back in 2001. Dude used to threaten Brooklyn's finest, but this year Prodigy sounded tired and washed-up, much more so than rap's most famous 37 year old.

And then this track, a horrorshow paranoia murder scheme, with seventies bass and patient demon hand drums. This makes the "50 and G-Unit ruined everything" theory much more probable than the "Mobb Deep fell off and Prodigy sucks" theory. More low-budget videos for mixtape singles, please.

y'all ready to get raw?

2006-11-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Painting by Dan Colen, seen at tiny vices. Aparently he uses parts of his friend Dash Snow's wall in some of his installations, so we haven't strayed far.

Raekwon, GZA, U-God and El Michaels Affair- Glaciers of Ice (Live)

get right

2006-11-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

My set is now up at nse.

Painting at left by Ricard Price.

New work from Ryan McGinley up at tiny vices. Naked kids having fun outside.

a steam engine powered commentary mill

2006-11-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

At left is the 'How Things Work' Book series, first published in Geneva in 1967. Each books explains exactly how everyday machines work in clear, concise language, illustrated with stunning three color diagrams of power and precision. Silver hardcover with a bright yellow placeholder ribbons, these book-objects are treasures, future relic spell books of mechanical alchemy.

How does this blog work? Is it advisable to build your own little museum of cool for all the internet to see? This blog runs on:

a) clipped links: a choose-your-own-life-adventure (financial edition) from New York Magazine is amazing. I don't really understand the nyc signifiers, nor do I completely agree with ends justify the means vocational planning, but I fully support Flash based infographics.

b) self referential nonsense: I just learned how to moderate my comments. Shout-outs forthcoming. Also- I used somebody else's proprietary photography in an August post. Problem fixed, apology sent. Now, go to Broad & Market for some Philadelphia street fashion photos and everything will be alright.

c) the unauthorized sharing of sound meaning:

holy fuck- tone bank jungle

This blog runs on the inability to keep things, especially things of striking excellence, to oneself.

we ain't going nowhere

2006-11-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

although overshadowed by jay-z's video for 'big pimpin' in the summer of 2000, puff's "we ain't going nowhere" is filled with all sorts of pop culture ephemera and meaning. Watch two cultures sniff each other's tails.

Witness:

-conspicuous product placement
puff's clothing brand 'sean john' is prominently featured, as are gold bottles of cristal and converse high tops.

-the halycon dayz of rap-metal
travis barker of blink 182, and dave narravo of jane's addiciton appear as puff's garage rock comrades. they are talentless, but they scream "recognizable rock dude." rock dudes and puff agree: grow your audience, spread the brand. at the end of the video, diddy himself dreads the arrival of CRAZYTOWN, as if the makers of 'butterfly' might out-do the excesses of puff himself.

-"don't worry if I write rhymes/ i write checks"
diddy respnds to rumors that his material is ghost-written. making money is more important than making art, and pop music is not about authenticity. his on-screen signature is a nod to a line of american express advertisements.

-east-west truce
after the truncated debacle of the1999 nba season, the lakers have returned to their late 80s glory and cinched the title. los angeles basks in national glory. shaq popularizes the phrase 'bling bling.' puff and the big fella take on the neighborhood kids and invent an new zombie dance. also, pay attention the cameos from ice cube, xzhibit, snoop dogg, sporting their purple and gold laker finery (including low riders sitting on hundred spoke rims, an l.a. classic). inviting west coast rappers to appear in the video demonstrates that the east-west rivalry that claimed the lives of biggie and pac is mercifully behind us.

-Sports commentator, host of access hollywood, and recent indecent voicemail scandal survivor Pat O'Brien as the 'awkward white guy.'

-recognizing/popularizing trends
puff trumps the razor scooter trend by riding around on a gas-powered model. these will be followed by 400 mini motorcycles in the summer of 2004. also: throwback basketball jerseys from mitchell and ness. headbands! wristbands! even better: both!

- "we ain't going nowhere" subtext
bad boy records will survive after the death of biggie, the only talented member of our roster. except for the lox, but those dudes left for ruff-rider. lil' kim is too crazy to count.

-proof that they did, in fact, go somewhere
nobody knows/remembers black rob or mark curry.

-puff's man-servant fonzworth bently, now a purveyor of boutique umbrellas and pop culture commentary on vh1.

-diddy's terrible golf swing. the ceo of bad boy records completely slices it. hard. flash-forward to twenty oh six, where two separate interviews with T.I. talks mention his improving golf game as a means to make more contacts with more *cough* traditional businessmen.

-ben stiller at the height of his career. meet the parents grosses 160 million that summer. zoo lander is still ahead of him. this is the stiller sweet spot.

-suburban apporpriation of hip-hop culture
although he parodies sean comb's ever expanding collection of nickmanes, ben stiller uses the unfamiliar construction, "shout me a holler, dun." coming from the queensbridge neighborhood of nyc and most conspicuously used by mobb deep, "dun" never caught on nationally, but it means that derik zoolander might be more familiar with "that whole [rap arm gesture] thing" than he lets on.

-hip-hop appropriation of white culture
motorcycles! harleys! guitars! evel kanieval! dude, we're, like, in the suburbs! we totally rock! but we're not poor. don't ever forget it.

-the work of director chris robinson, who went on to direct both ATL and Soul Plane for the silver screen. is he the most important music video director in hip-hop since hype williams? wait, didn't ice cube direct a video for color me bad?

-bathrobes.
sh*t is hot. ask the old dude at the beginning of the video. nah. ask ghostface.

pt. 2

2006-11-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

the (subliminal) answer to why nike wins is advertising. these ads are an alternate history of electric evolution and the animal space program told through animated felt and cardboard. this arty-art is tuff 2 top. the product in question is a series of sneakers that incorporate patterns and color schemes of 'classic' sneaker models. hiring an innovative firm to . celebrating your storied past ensures a successful future.

and since this is a sequel post, here's the original song:
Various Production-Hater

new joyous rapture video here. same people that did the awesome juan maclean vid for 'give me every little thing.'

grimesteps in my dunks?

2006-11-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

Collectible sneakers are so over, everybody rocks cons or vans again, and absolutely nobody cares about any of this limited edition bullsh*t anymore. Besides, nike probably has terrible labor practices and all that.

So why did I search for "jordan 3 dunk 13" on ebay today? What's my problem? Can't someone just tell me where to get some damn dress shoes?

Wiley-I'm A Sinner

So I took another listen to Wiley, and I'm happy to report that I've been missing out. Here's the Eski boy absolutely ripping Various Production's instrumental dubstep number "Hater." Narrative wins out over atmosphere.

safest of all

2006-11-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

Artwork of the musique pour l'image library record catalogue (on waxidermy).

I just checked some of my referring pages. Dear google searchers, I owe you an apology. I think I've only helped you twice. Keep on searching in the free world.

cars (steel drums are at their best)

New ideal car- 1978 ford truck with the big rearviews. diesel. biodiesel. electrobiodiesel.

some people think we're stupid but we're not

2006-11-07T14:35:00.001-08:00

OneDuran of 1200 problems and Disco Inferno was kind enough to invite me to do a guest spot on unc/wxyc's new science experience. I did an hour long set, and somebody heard me play raps on fm radio. Exciting. I had a really great time and hope to do it again one of these days. OneDuran played a great set himself, featuring some padded cell, various production and wiley on the grimestep tip, as well as a jazzy cover of 'white lines.'

wxyc has much, much nicer digs that good ol' walt. Decades of indie rock posters, sophmoric scriblings, staff pics and weird newspaper clippings all over the place. Party on, wayne!

ALSO: I did a little mix on Saturday to prep for wxyc. My external hard drive was out of commission, so my set on wxyc was literally ALL songs I had downloaded in the last two or three days. This mix helped me get familiar with the material. I guess the track list is sorta trendy in that respect, but who cares. After all, this is the internet.

"live at wxyc trials"
track listing:

29 minutes
My name a Borat- DJ Excel
18 Dummy (Capski Restomp)- The Federation
Fingertips pt. 3- Pase Rock
My Boyfriend's Back (Mathmix)-The Angels
Tira a Camizero- DJ Gorky
TRAPSTAR (Bonde do Role remix)-jesse novac
Yah!-Buraka Som Sistema
XR2 Turbo- MIA
It's going down pt.3- bamabounce
More (sinden remix)- Plan B & Epic Man
Standing in the Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)- The Gossip
Shake it Over and Over- Diplo introduces Pitbull to Hot Chip

things I'm working on as a dj: taking more care with levels, using the sampler consistently, taking more shit.

where is it moving

2006-10-31T08:43:00.000-08:00

During the First World War, British and American naval forces created a new kind of stunning camouflage. Working to protect ships from the ravages of U-boats, officers quickly discovered that no paint job could hide thousands of tons of steel between sky and sea. A pattern perfect for a cloudy day would stand out on sunny one. Instead, military minds decided that if they could not mask what they were, they might at least obscure where they were going. Borrowing from contemporary art movements, especially Italian futurism and British Vorticism, ship-makers painted brilliant stripes and bright curves of pure color across once dull gray bows. Working against the principles of perspective, the new dazzle ships seemed to move, plough and drift in every direction at once, confusing the common sense of the average U-boat periscope operator.

My love (DFA Mix)- Justin Timberlake

This is razzle dazzle slink disco from prominent groove captains. It doesn't hit like a warship, but not all spaceships do it like that. Coming or going? Unclear.

Read more about dazzle ships here and here.

what hath hatched

2006-10-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

An incredible interview with the GZA here. Some of the most interesting words about music that I've read all year. The most 'intellectual' member of the Wu Tang breaks down his rhyme style, complete with me v. them examples. Much better than the completely-by-the-numbers waxpoetics interview with T..I. or the Blender/timbaland joints. Specialty internet outlets, 1. Mainstream mags with much better access, 0.

Now, relentless Southern raps on super nintendo beta beats.

Trae-Real Talk

i told myself to join my band

2006-10-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

Do I still have the heat? Let's just say I'm going to grab the monkey wrench and give y'all a last taste of summer.

Loose Joints- Shoot the Pump

Thanks to the MPthree generosity of DJ ayres.

photo by tim barber.

for the cabin, for the club

2006-10-12T01:45:00.000-07:00

M.Ward- Chinese Translation

Simian Mobile Disco- Hustler

80s videos

2006-09-26T13:02:00.001-07:00

Posting Youtube videos isn't really content. When other blogs do it, I don't usually watch. These are both pretty good. The first is a tale of a young englishman coming out, leaving home, going swimming, and getting beaten up by london tuffs. It's very well done, and puts other 'serious' music videos to shame.

Bronski Beat-Smalltown Boy

Dominatrtix-Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight

Things to come: rip-hop, James Jarvis, the electronic aesthetic of Jose Gonzales, and the return of grunge.

what it clap!

2006-09-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

Found over at gorilla vs. bear. Aaron Brink from Chi-city based May or May Not remixed the latest Clipse leak, taking an indie rock keyboard riff to the chop shop. That makes this piece of music obscure three times over, but it has equal parts joy and skill. Isn't that a recipe for staying power? Perhaps I'll just tuck this away in my secret(imaginary?) mp3 dj crate.

Clap Your Hands Say Wamp Wamp!

I thought about using the same sample from "Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth," but the idea only showed up in the drawing to the left.

socrates eats hemlock

2006-09-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Intro: It's been a long time since I wrote anything here. That has statistical implications. Something good or something bad is happening outside of the internet. I'm feeling pro-privacy and pro-fessional today, so I won't clue you in.

ITEM: Work at left by Peter Callsen. Skulls and skeletons are beginning to reach a design saturation point, but this is gentle, wry, and not the product of a photoshop half hour.

ITEM: I read most of a New Yorker today, and the writing reminds me of a beautiful hardwood floor. Polished, sturdy sentences built for the ages, lined up end to end and side by side, ready to support as much or as little intellectual weight as you choose. The Shouts and Murmurs are the latest trends in throw rugs. Shag is in, shag is out, but the floor staaaays.

ITEM: The NME vis-a-vis the bee elle oh gee-osphere has invented a new genre of music, creatively titled "neu rave." It's clever, but I hate it. I think the name only refers to the Klaxons at this point, and some vague impression of electronic artic monkeys or something. Call it the Bride of Electroclash, or merely recognize it as a made for glossy print media phenom and call it a day.

Pop-culture revivals usually plunder from the period precisely twenty years beforehand (what dusted-out historians used to call a "generation"). Witness the obssesion with seventies glam and "funk" throughout the middle nineties, and the contemporary revival of eighties fashion trends and new wave pop posturing. Cough, Lenny Kravitz and the Killers. As we lean into the second decade of the twenty-first, early British rave culture is due for a revival, and has begun making threats. Glowsticks, rainbows, baggy pants, synthetic fibers, lazers, etc. The neo hippie combination of utopian drugs and youth entitlement doesn't do much for me, but there might some good music lurking somewhere. Let's see, shall we? These are two acid tracks from the hood-famous hollerboard.

VIM-Maggie's Last Party

Maurice- This is Acid

I'll keep poking around.

ITEM: I have recently been involuntarily exposed to large doses of both emo and metal. They're both hugely popular, and suck in pretty much the same ways. I'm told there are good songs in both categories, but I've only heard evidence for metal. Bad metal is preferable to bad emo.

CONCLUSION: Mo betta blogging to come.

everyone has their price

2006-09-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Item: Geoff McFetridge is a visual artist/graphic designer, and he seems pretty awesome. His work is meticulous, smart and funny. He's done a series of figurines that reference his own t-shirt work, rendering both the depicted object and the t-shirt object. The clevering is delicious.

Item: For those of you long on time, here's a seventy-five minute mix from optimo, kindred spirits of the mighty dfa and the best dj team in scotland.

Optimo- Banging in Belgium

It sounds like it's been put together with abelton live five, a loop-based production software application that's been co-opted as a dj tool. The passage around 12 minutes is especially good, with the 'hung up' acapella floating over three or more instrumentals. Optimo is rumored to have a new comercial mix out before the end of the year, which is 'ace,' which means good (i think). Their previous efforts, How to Kill the DJ Part 2 and Psyche Out, are highly recommended.

under my thumb

2006-09-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Doug Barker and Carrboro native Ron Liberti have a show at Wootini right now. Designer art vinyl toys, rock posters, and the rich tradition of underground comics are all on display, so stop by if you're in the area.

While I'm still learning the basics of all of this and checking out the treasure trove at gigposters.com, I think i understand the basics. Vinyl toys are close cousins of limited edition sneakers. This sort of rock/comic art lives in the same neighborhood as the beautiful losers/alleged gallery stuff. Points of contact seem to include skateboarding, childhood, monsters, ninties alternative rock, playtime, and giant robot magazine. Sorry if I'm not getting all of this right. Learning is forever.

wandering satellites of soul

2006-09-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

Let's take a little break from internet music. I'm going to resist the temptation to post any white label remixes, super exclusive european mp3s or anything like that this week. As I'm trying to remind myself, music was still pretty good in the times before computers and cable tv. Let's see how long this (my attention span) lasts.

Irma Thomas- Don't Mess With My Man

A track from the official Soul Queen of New Orleans. There is an exquisite universe of sixties and seventies funk and soul, and I'm only familiar with the brightest stars. I've there are galaxies labeled "Chess" and "Stax" I'd like to have an honest understanding and appreciation for this stuff without fetishizing rare records or turning the lives of singers and session players into so much music nerd trivia. Maybe I can make some soul friends (shout out to Andy in Mississippi).

Clarence Reid- Master Piece

I could also make soul friends on the internet. This is from O-Dub's excellent Soul-Sides Vol. 1, a compilation of the best hits from his blog/living record collection. These songs are better than words like 'beautiful' can capture. I feel 'true' comes closer. These songs are true, and they are good. Bring truth and goodness into your life.

bump bump buh-bump

2006-09-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Bump (Switch remix)- Spank rock

Switch incorporates some thinly sliced funk into his britbeat voodoo soup, and the results are more delicious than I could have imagined. He also stirs in some whole grain raps and some chopped vocals in there too. Severed hot (duh).

List of people officially not fucking around
1. Switch
2. Spank Rock
3. Amanda Blank

The song came from discobelle, whom I thank profusely. The picture came from wooster collective, whom I praise similarly.

goings on about town

2006-09-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

"The New Yorker Dance Party
hosted by New Yorker pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones

Time: 10pm – 2am
Place: T New York, 240 West 52nd Street (must be 21+ to enter)
Tickets: $20, available through Ticketmaster."

Lindstrom and Prins Thomas- Mighty Girl

Call Me Mr. Telephone- Answering Machine (Lindstrom and Prins Thomas Remix)

pequeno juan

2006-08-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

Pitbull- Fuck that Bojangles

Here's a little blend I made earlier this evening. It's the acapella from Pitbull's "Bojangles" over the instrumental from Kelis's "Fuck Them Bitches." I recorded it live on turntables, so you may be able to hear little scratches, fluctuations, and mistakes in there. Oh well. I wanted to clean some of those up in an audio editing program, but Audacity was not cooperating this evening. To quote Beck's cover of the Korgis, everyone's gotta learn sometime.

go ahead, google yourself

2006-08-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here’s a snap shot of TV Party, a New York City public access show that ran from 1978 to 1982. Sporting pink dickies, chucks, the microphone, ray bans, a cold beer, and none other than Debby Harry as an accessory, host Glenn O'Brien sits second from the right. He edited Andy Warhol's Interview magazine in the early seventies, then hung out with downtown nyc weirdos while holding down a day job at Rolling Stone, and eventually became GQ's style guy. There are worst fates. He wrote, produced, and provided some funny dvd commentary for downtown 81, a film about the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. I’m putting all of this out there because I'm amazed how the internet keeps such thorough records of relatively minor cultural figures, people that might have disappeared into history during less information-saturated times. Searching—and finding—trivial information about real people is an odd voyeuristic experience, and one that I find particularly “right now.” As far as I can gather, Glenn O'Brien seems to be a clever, charming person who managed to be in some right places at some right times. However, I'm sure that the real life breathing person is remarkably different that his collected search results.

All of our lives are becoming more public, and I wonder how that affects our own sense identity. I regularly google new acquaintances, and I also find myself recognizing people in real life from their blogs/profiles/party pictures. Strangers, classmates, and colleagues not only judge you by your clothes, the company you keep, and your character, but also by your list of favorite books, your links, and possibly your page rank. It is becoming increasingly normal to know people before meeting them, and more common to actually meet people you know online. Potential employers (and marketers) are trying to see how you present yourself personally as well as professionally, and are steadily chipping away at remaining notions of the private life.

On one hand, this brave new world encourages social experimentation by making new activities, artworks and people available to you. If they don't find you, feel free to find them. On the other hand (the sinister left hand), the record of your changing identity is now available for all to see. Perhaps I should stop worrying and learn to love the googly-eyed spacebook. No sense losing sleep over peace on earth or purity of essence.

The Normal- T.V.O.D.

the bottom feels so much better than the top!

2006-08-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

As a current member of the service industry, I am searching for a material medium. I'm not particularly interested in getting dough, rocking ice or stacking chips, but I certainly would like to live rich, eat good and take trips. For advice, we turn to our resident British pop-topper and myspace sensation.

Lily Allen- Nan, You're A Window Shopper

Some people don't like Lily's attitude. Critics call her a self-satisified daughter of comfort and wealth, waltzing through life as it with the world was her boutique.These are the same critics that give all-day passes on misogyny, rascism and low-expectations to all sorts of other musical acts. While I'm all about tunes righteous and good, the lesser sin wins here at the ghost robot. Keep spitting them slow burning reggae fashion raps, Lily. Let me know if ya figure out the whole make art v. make money v. make happy thing.