Not normally one to dwell on such things, I thought it would be appropriate to acknowledge a few recent deaths, as the lives of these people impacted mine in profound ways. Continue reading “Rest in Peace: Three Giant Influences”
Sound Unbound is out!
Sound Unbound is now available! I recently served as Assistant Editor to Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky on his essay collection, Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture. Contributors include Erik Davis, Manuel De Landa, Cory Doctorow, Chuck D, Brian Eno, Dick Hebdige, Vijay Iyer, Jaron Lanier, Jonathan Lethem, Moby, Steve Reich, Simon Reynolds, Scanner aka Robin Rimbaud, Bruce Sterling, Lucy Walker, and Saul Williams, among many others — and now it’s out. Continue reading “Sound Unbound is out!”
No Country for Old Hen
My good friends Patrick Barber and Holly McGuire (of McGuire-Barber Design — the fine folks who designed my book, Follow for Now) run their own egg cooperative. Well, edible Portland ran a story on them this week — featuring a video clip of just what goes down with the chickens and the eggs. Check it out.
Commercial Art: Belvedere Vodka
Something about this Belvedere Vodka commercial has haunted me since its constant airing during the holidays last year. I must’ve seen it fifty times. I’m not shilling for Belvedere here. Hell, I’ve never even tasted the stuff, but I can’t get this ad out of my head.
Directed by the chronically flannel-wearing fashion photographer Terry Richardson, the spot is set in a self-consciously “downtown” party featuring Richardson himself snapping pictures of fellow party-goers, including actor/director Vincent Gallo and graff artist Earsnot. The soundtrack, which sounds drunk itself, was composed by Gallo and The RZA.
It’s obvious by the parties involved that Belvedere is trying to position itself as the hippest vodka at the party. So obvious in fact, so over-the-top, that it ceases to matter. The ad-overdosed cynic in us all sees Gallo greet guests and scrawl a face on a painting with a marker, Earsnot saunter in with a hottie on his arm, Richardson blatantly snapping his point-and-shoot, Gallo under the piano with some woman, RZA mumbling over a drunken bassline, and it’s all so contrived…
…but, it’s also so cool. there is something qualitative about this ad that nails exactly what I think Belvedere was shooting for when they conceived it. Somehow all of this pretense, all of this obvious posturing, gives us a thirty-second glimpse into the world of cool. Somehow, the ad works.
The problem with advertising in general is that it’s ineffective. That’s why it’s everywhere. As much as the industry tries to quantify and coordinate dollars to sales, theirs is a qualitative enterprise. Did Belvedere sell more vodka because of this commercial? No idea, but it’s rare occasions like this that we see the art of advertising shine.
Here’s the commercial in question (runtime: 0:30):
The Strength of Weak Ties Among Music Fans
One of the main ways I’ve gotten into music since I first started buying and listening some thirty years ago is through friends. I’ve made many friends because if a mutual interest in music, and I’ve gotten into many bands and artists because of my friends. Continue reading “The Strength of Weak Ties Among Music Fans”
Amen, Brother
V. Vale sent this out in his most recent newsletter (thanks, Vale). It’s a mini-documentary of a six-second drum break from the B-side of a Winstons’ record, a track called “Amen Brother,” that’s been sampled, looped, and reapproriated — by everyone from N.W.A. to car manufacturers — since its release in 1969. This is Nate Harrison’s meditation on that break, the “Amen Break.” It is “Amazing Grace” to his Bill Moyers, and this is a deep monologue on the ownership of cultural artifacts, the legality of sampling, and this six seconds of recorded history. Continue reading “Amen, Brother”
UNCONSUB by Mark Lewman
My friend Mark Lewman sent me this video clip a few years ago. It’s sort of a video zine called “UNCONSUB” that he made with a digital camera. At the time, one couldn’t share such things as freely as we do now (he sent it to me on a CDR via the regular mail), but now that we have the bandwidth, I thought I’d share it. Continue reading “UNCONSUB by Mark Lewman”
The Disintegration of the Compact Disc
When The Cure was recording their 1989 record, Disintegration, Robert Smith said it was the first time that they went into the studio knowing that they’d be recording for a release on compact disc, which meant they could shoot for over an hour of music. “Disintegration is the first real CD-LP,” he claimed, “It was about time the musicians learned to use this format: instead of two twenty-minute sides of an LP, you now have a seventy-minute stream of music without interruptions.” The LP had restricted bands to a runtime of forty-five minutes, but with the advent of CD came additional time to record songs (“bonus tracks,” anyone?). Continue reading “The Disintegration of the Compact Disc”
Christian Marclay mini-documentary
Artist Christian Marclay has been manipulating records and turntables in a very un-Hip-hop manner since anyone else has (Hip-hop or otherwise). As someone who creates new compositions out of old ones using turntables and records, he very well might be the first turntablist. Continue reading “Christian Marclay mini-documentary”
Predicting the Present
Daniel Pinchbeck once wrote that traditionally the job of the writer was to “define the zeitgeist,” what Marshall McLuhan referred to as “predicting the present.” Now everyone is a writer, and the zeitgeist is defined by an algorithm, which is probably much more precise. Like time itself, the zeitgeist moves. With the imperceptible passing of the present, it changes from moment to moment. Continue reading “Predicting the Present”