Wednesday, August 29, 2007

can't take credit for this...

"i thought i told you before?

no, it wasn't you, was it. someone else that reminds me of you. or do you remind me of someone? it doesn't matter really. i think its funny, cuz we are all people, ya know? all trying to survive, trying to come to some sort of conclusion with some sort of contention. contention. i dunno. i think that it is hard, pretty god damn hard to get through this...this, meaning this. this is life maybe? or is life this. like i said, it doesn't matter, cuz we are all trying to get by. or at least i am...with as little pain as possible. but it sucks at times and i want to eat the whole city, alive. i want to drink it all down with some beer, chase it down. or just burn it to ashes...and then throw them into whats left of the world. hardy har har, i must be losing it. nah, you lost me, i didnt lose you. or maybe i never had you to begin with. the one you want always gets away, away far far away from anywhere you are. i wanted to be that person but i ended up someone else. the one who doesnt run away, but the hunter. i am a hunter. i hunt life, and happiness and death. and the things that can never be caught. or maybe i gotta stop catching and just start infecting...or getting infected, without choice, without warning. a shot of another, another person. im sick, doctor, wont you give me a shot? please, i need a dose of her or him or them and all of nothing.
everything and nothing is what i want."

but i empathize.

showing some love corner


big birthday wishes going out (mighty early) to ms. russo. i sorely will be missing your celebratory soirees this weekend, but i hope you know you and your art are a joy and inspiration to me.

you're tops in my book!

Monday, August 27, 2007

speechless

could it be the pastel plaid shirt neatly tied around his waist, just so, over his wide leg pantalons? or the way he rests his hands on his geetar, waiting for the chorus to kick back in so he can jam on the neck?




either way, i am in awe.

impostor!



me as Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan-- october 2006/halloween




some misshapes hussy august 2007
little late to the game missy

Friday, August 24, 2007

legacy



this is katherine. she is my neighbor and she has been living on my street longer than i have been alive. every now and then she sits out on her front porch and contemplates the amazing life she has. not only does she have an impeccable green thumb, but she also throws out slang from time to time, "hey andrea, takes its easy". i also love her because even though we don't always understand each other (she was born and raised in the ukraine) she always finds my never ending effort of general gesticulations amusing. see that pink sweater she's wearing? she made it herself--- rife with arthritis and she's still killing it. she wasn't very pleased that i was taking a photo of her bespectacled, but i think they make her look regal and majestic.



some of you may recognize this pool, some of you may think i'm sneaking into daddy warbucks' basement.
all i know is that it has now become my mission to take a stealth dip into its heavily chlorinated waters.
it will be mine, oh yes, all mine.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

let me massage your eyes and ears

Due to a busy work week and general chaos Mr. Robinson was unable to contribute to last weeks blog-o-rhythm. However, he's back this week and ready to be your A/V sherpa on the journey of mashups and all things magestical from YouTube:::::>>>

Back in the 80’s and early 90’s dorks like me had to get their out-of-print movies, Heavy Metal Parking Lots, ridiculous religious and government propaganda, and meme-of-the-moment videos via something called the underground tape circuit. This meant squinting at 10th generation dubs of sex-ed films from the 50’s. Well, I often find myself also squinting at blurry YouTube videos – sometimes ripped from 10th generation VHS tapes themselves. Still, while back in the day, there was a mashup or meme every year or so, they are now hurled at us every day. Speaking for myself, I think this is a good thing for the most part. I’m not saying that there needs to be a Final Fantasy or Sims 2 mashup for every Carrie Underwood or Nickelback song (there is), but damn, there are a lot of talented junior editors with way too much time on their hands and we get to reap the benefits.

The first mashup animation I ever saw (and according to the Interwebs, the first one) was a dubbed tape of 3 pieces called Apocalypse Pooh, Blue Peanuts, and a video of The Archies performing God Save The Queen. These works of genius were watched repeatedly by me and my stoned friends and I was overjoyed to find them on YouTube.

In tribute to these great pioneering mashups, I bring you my top 3 mashups of the week.

1. The dance of the moment, Crank Dat Soulja Boy, reinterpreted by SpongeBob Squarepants.






2. Whoever the hell user jc0123a is, he or she is a genius! DJ Unk and Bob Fosse happily together? Who’d a thunk it! This is a hundred times better than The Wizard of Oz and The Dark Side of the Moon.







3. This one is not even a mashup, but the result of blood, sweat, tears, and a closed down ShowBiz Pizza. Apparently from South Georgia, christhrash has painstakingly hacked an animatronic Country Jamboree Bear Band to perform the greatest hits of yesterday and today. Yesterday’s Der Kommissar is amazing, but this one will blow you away! (props to Idolator)





Monday, August 20, 2007

waxin'



LFS

guernica hits the solar plexus


"feeling the human condition..."

on another note--- i discovered that we cook facts and memories far too often. for instance, we always expect to feel better on a birthday than on a general day e.g. monday. when in fact that is not always the case.
assuming is the greatest evil we seem to commit on a daily basis.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

human highway

about a week ago myself, the roommie and few others were spending some quality time together. listening to records, drinking ginger beer and soaking up the cool breeze through the window. roommie was pulling out some real gems that night, notably eugene mcdaniels'-outlaw.
AND
then without warning he threw another album on, this time we were asked to guess the artist:
?????
dumbfounded that it wasn't some kraftwerk/devo amalgam b-side, he finally reveled it was * --neil young. .

apparently the artists label was giving him a headache so this was sort of a, 'fuck the man' album.






*highlight the blank spot to find out the mystery artist

Friday, August 17, 2007

epistolary form



the setting sun, and music at the close
as the last taste of sweets, is the sweetest last
writ in remembrance more than things long past.

w. shakes.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

silence in my ear

if i had to pick two dj's that have influenced my taste in mixing and general turntablalism, i would say that devlin and darko have been holding down the top spots for like ever. i received a bartered copy of the voila mixtape about 2 1/2 years ago and it still gets played at least once a week. the 'percolator' into 'crosstown traffic' alone still makes me thump thump thump.







Tuesday, August 14, 2007

there's a motion in the ocean

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two things that force me to be centered:

mares and the sea.

Monday, August 13, 2007

can't see your face no more




"may god forgive me for killing you in vain

now you're the flower that's growing from your grave "

david v.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

and when I cry for me I cry for you

again, i did it again. this time it was while i was putting on my drawers. threw out my back while i was leaning over to put my right leg through some turquoise zebra print cotton number. the first time happened while i was putting on my socks. i wish i could say it was while i was having some tantric sex of olympic proportions but no, it's always while i'm putting some article of clothing on.

haven't decided if i'm going to take some of that good ol fashioned
cyclobenzaprine. shit makes me feel loopdy looped.
which isn't such a bad thing, if trying to make sense and completing sentences weren't a daily requirement.

i'm only 28, pretty active, far from unhealthy and this still happens? suppose stranger things have occurred.


Friday, August 10, 2007

sacre coeur

"And if that doesn't work out, I'll just go pray for a while. Something's bound to happen..."






cycles





"A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo sapiens -- second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter."

Reynolds Price

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

he's got guitar phobia. a guitar killed his mother!

my dear sweet friend john robinson in atlanta is going to be a guest writer here on my wee lil blog today. john has extensive knowledge of motion pictures, ethnomusicalogy and a penchant for things that stem from the continent of asia; more specifically south and eastern regions. hopefully if time permits with our schedules we can see more of him. maybe even a weekly visit?! :::::>>>>

So, by now, it’s no secret that the new M.I.A. record has leaked (big surprise!) and is being blogged about like crazy (big surprise!). What you might not have heard is that her Bollywood-gone-Discobelle track "Jimmy," is in fact just that: A cover of a Bollywood musical number; and thankfully it’s about 1/8th the running time of a typical Indian musical number.

DISCO DANCER came out in 1983 (eh, it’s Bollywood – you gotta give em at least 5 years to catch up) and details the epic journey of Jimmy (a zinger of a stage name given to him by his manager played by a young and slender Om Puri, whose character’s name is, uh, David Brown?). His mother, previously imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit by a competing Disco Dancer's manager (there are just so many!), is tragically and hilariously electrocuted by a booby-trapped electric guitar meant for her son. Traumatized, Jimmy develops an irrational fear of picking up a guitar, hence disappointing his fans and putting his status as top Disco Dancer at great risk. Apparently, even by 1983, Bollywood hadn't figured out that knock-off Stratocasters had little to do with this new disco thing.

Regardless, the song "Jimmy" encapsulates forever his fans imploring him to pick that guitar right back up, in the same way that we all want M.I.A. to overcome her issues with sexism at Pitchfork and get that god damned visa and perform for us here in the good ole US of A.

We're only disappointed that M.I.A. didn't to choose to cover the superior title track from the movie: "Disco Dancer": It’s much more entertaining than "Jimmy" ("Gimme a 'D'!! Gimme an 'I'!! Gimme a 'S'!! Gimme a 'C'!! Gimme an 'O'!") The song was even the inspiration for a Devo song/video six years later, when disco seemed like a dim, far-away, and irrelevant memory. It was also the biggest of 3 hits from the movie. In my friend Shonali Bhowmik ’s town it was the hit of the summer. In fact it was so popular that during some holiday celebration there was a parade and her and all of her friends dressed like Jimmy and recreated the entire dance scene from the title song!

Another contender could have been "Auva Auva", which features some amazingly awkward robotic breakdancing and is a shameless rip off of The Bugles’ Video Killed the Radio Star. Actually, come to think of it, his dancing style sort of neatly ties up the DISCO DANCER - Devo connection!



JIMMY:



MP3:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ii93y6


DISCO DANCER:



MP3:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/1ks883


AUVA AUVA:



MP3:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/azcwir



UPDATE:

Apparently M.I.A. not only all caps her moniker, but also her rants via Myspace blog:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40161-mia-goes-crazy-on-myspace

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

hermetically sealed

The Waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.


by Theodore Roethke

spinning shame

do you ever have random songs pop into your head? i'm sure you can track back to a tone that in turn becomes a melody, then a hook and so on...
i remembered the spinners version, but i became obsessed with trying to remember the female rap version the other day.

so, in all its glory i present to you ms. monie love:


base notes of crazy with a hint of coo coo

one is marketing towards men the other to women. both seem to hocking towards a looney demographic.







Friday, August 3, 2007

svensk huvudverk

the caveat emptor (for some) at the second job is that the music will be loud, and never soft rock/easy listening. never. still a swede insisted that ace of base be played. 'i saw the sign' he said smirking, followed by empty pun filled threats; 'don't turn around lil one, i could go crazy at any moment!'

okay, sure, let me see if we have some
aquaveet, maybe that will make you happy/shut you up.

at least we agreed the jukebox was lacking abba.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

y o u .




if you have to ask the question you probably already know the answer.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

goodnight


"From the French phrase 'esprit d'escalier,' literally, it means 'the wit of the staircase', and usually refers to the perfect witty response you think up after the conversation or argument is ended. "Esprit d'escalier," she replied. "Esprit d'escalier. The answer you cannot make, the pattern you cannot complete till aterwards it suddenly comes to you when it is too late."

RIP
Theresa Duncan

1966 -2007
Jeremy Blake
1971-2007

cobra spoke