WFMU's Beware of the Blog

White Mic Fever!

Last Night's Protest Against Varvatos

(pic left from Flickr page of Jeremoss). I for one have grown completely numb to the co-opting of cool culture for nefarious commercial means. If the Strangulated Beatoffs had a song appear in a McDonald's ad, I probably would not bat an eye at this juncture (though if they do decide to do this I sort of fear for humanity what the band would be doing with their check). So, while I am right onboard with everyone who feels that downtown's identity has been clomped over by the high-rent boutiques, wine bars and luxury condos, I can't really feel that the amount of creativity in the city has been scaled down, just sort of displaced (to places with varying degrees of accessibility). I was truly saddened by Tonic's demise, mainly because it was such a central hub of important activity for so many artists who are somewhat more scattered now, but I never got that weepy over CB's. The last show I saw there was the Chain Gang, a good couple years before it's closing, and I think I hadn't been there since 2000 before that. Hence, the fact that John Varvatos decided to buy the old CBGB space and turn it into a fancy retail outlet that happens to preserve the club's graffiti, stage, lights and postered icons amidst racks of $700 jeans isn't as appalling to me I guess as it is to all of last night's protesters down in the Bowery. The difference between 315 Bowery becoming this or a Starbucks is what seems to be really rubbing people the wrong way; I mean, if the current realty office that owns the old Pier Platters space in Hoboken decided to put a box of Flying Nun records on their reception counter I'd probably applaud them. Perhaps someone who has respect for the careers of Graeme and Peter Jefferies may be the kind of person I'd like to rent an apartment from, who knows. Regardless, I'm glad there's still a spirit of protest alive (who's headed down to the LES to get a slab of that Bruce Willis-as-roast pig effigy happening?), though I did get a laugh from a comment on Curbed, whether it be facetious or not (thanks Doron): "I can't wait to protest this abomination, I'll meet everyone at the Whole Foods on Houston at 8PM!"

Black Flag Hair: A Timeline

Link via Her Jazz and Photobucket. Listen to Black Flag's "Annihilate This Week" [Real Audio]

 

Doris Duke, just your local wacky rich babe

A beautiful heiress with 5 houses is not the usual  neighbor.  And for the locals who grew up in her Hillsborough, NJ nabe, the reclusive Doris Duke was not exactly a household word, or at least while she was alive.  But once the televised summation of her will hit the airwaves, everyone had a story to tell about the kooky rich babe who built multi-story access ramps for her many dogs to let themselves in and out of the rambling mansion.  Doris Duke spent a certain amount of down time in rural NJ, when she wasn't jetting to her homes in Hawaii, Newport RI, sunny California and elsewhere.  But unfortunately right now some of what is left of her NJ presence is quietly being ushered out, to ready her estate for its next big thing.
     In 1925 when she was only 12 years old, Doris Duke inherited $80 million of a family fortune, the other half mostly going to her father's foundation and namesake, Duke University.  Born in NYC she continued into her teenage years in a townhouse that is now home to the fine arts department of NYU.  In between several unsuccessful marriages and the 'accidental' death of a date, whom she pinned to a tree with a car in Newport, Doris Duke fell head over heels in love with horticulture and all of its leafy greatness.  She designed many greenhouses on her Hillsborough property, recreating gardens she had seen in Europe and Asia.  Duke  opened these gardens to the public in 1964. These greenhouse display gardens are still open to the public, free of charge right now, but only until the 25th of May.  After that they will be closed indefinitely while the Duke Farm steers a new path into the future.  Housed in Victorian styled glass mansions, these gardens are meticulous in attention to age old detail, and lush in growing splendor.  Even the desert scape is designed to make you feel a bit thirsty around the edges.
     When I first visited the greenhouses, in the mid 90's, her aging Irish butler, Bernard, had inherited a chunk of Doris's estate after she died, and was still living on the property.  As a result, the grounds were kept under mission-impossible style surveillance.  Visitors parked in a small lot by the front gate and were driven to our destination in a unmarked van, blindfolded.  Naaah, but it sounded good... Today the massive grounds are open to walking, bike tours and family events.

Besides her 2,700 acre NJ refuge, Doris kept herself busy with jazz piano, gospel choirs, high fashion and amassing a huge Asian and Islamic art collection, most of it housed at Shangri-la, in Hawaii.  But some did end up in NJ, and a small Thai village is in half-erected storage on what used to be the indoor tennis court, right next to the pool.  Unfortunately most of the furniture was sold off to add funds to her charitable foundations, so the house isn't quite a replica of her time, but a strange tour all the same.  Photos prompt  a bit of what life was like under Doris, but it is best to get the guides who are willing to share some of the gossip.   When I toured Rough Point, Duke's Newport home, our tasteful confessor filled us in on the camels sleeping in the sun room during hurricanes and stories of the Saudi prince that she got them from, as a gift with the purchase of his private jet.  And if all of this house touring just isn't enough, HBO just showed an imaginary what-if-this-was-how-it-was-movie called Bernard and Doris starring Susan Sarandon and Ray Fiennes as the out of the closet butler,  and confidant .
     Doris Duke surfed with Duke Kahanamoku, adopted a 35 year old Hare Krishna woman she met at a dance class - only to 'regret' it later, and stole into the Newport Jazz Festival to invite jazz greats to jam at her ocean side mansion.  It's not nearly as impressive as having a NJ rest stop named after you, but Doris did have access to better fashion designers than Molly Pitcher.

WFMU's SXSW Poster for Sale

WFMU is pleased to offer up our beautiful, limited-edition 2008 SXSW poster.

Designed and screen-printed by Aesthetic Apparatus, the poster features a scary monkey, multi-directional "action arrows," and the list of bands that performed at our SXSW showcase on 3/14/08: Half Japanese, Hank IV, Evangelista, Paul Metzger, Gary Higgins, Harvey Milk, Lexie Mountain Boys, Psychedelic Horseshit, Kelley Stoltz, The Bad Trips, Citay, Cheveu, The Homosexuals, and Los Llamarada.

The poster is on fancy, thick paper stock and measures 18" x 24". Each poster is individually numbered (limited edition of 200). Click here to buy one!

SXSW: Butts, Bulls, Backpatches & BBQ

Ah, so there I was, in the land where everything has to do with meat or music, in one way or another. I had never ventured to this conference/land o' plenty festivalism before and was glad to see what all the ruckus was about! After checking in, dropping my stuff off at my friend Mer's house, and receiving my SX gear, I went to the first venue of many. I started my "holiday" as it were, at Red 7, to see the mighty EASY ACTION, yea! I caught John, Harold, Tony & Matt in the backyard/second stage of the venue before they went on & captured some of this buttiness... I mean nuttiness...OK, so it was not really a big deal, I thought it was amazing that Mr. Gold, Mr. Red and Mr. Silver all had no pantylines - these guys are pros - no doubt performing at a venue near you soon. EA vocalist John Brannon told me that he was going to be singing some Negative Approach songs later in the week with Fucked Up on the famous Congress Street "Bat" Bridge at 2am. Most of the bats are still away in warmer Mexico, but just the idea of seeing anyone play at 2am on a bridge that's famous for bat migration was pretty great.

27 photographs of a T-shirt with Albert Einstein's face on it, shifted slightly each time

I have an old T-shirt with a black and white photo of Albert Einstein's face silkscreened on the front. This shirt is almost a quarter of a century old—I got it when I worked at Bill's Records in Dallas, Texas (from 1985-87). For the last several months this T-shirt has been neatly folded and placed on the top of a stack of shirts in my studio. The stack gets moved around repeatedly. I am amazed that every time I looked over at that stack of shirts with Einstein's face on the top, a completely different person is staring back at me. Sometimes it's downright eerie. Obviously, whenever the shirt gets moved, its creases and ripples shift ever so slightly, which affects the "expression" of the silkscreened face photo. The face on the T-shirt is always of Einstein, but isn't Einstein necessarily. Sometimes the face looks funny, and sometimes it looks menacing. I have recreated the effect for you here: these are 27 photos of the same shirt, shifted slightly each time...

Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want More New Wave

If you're life hasn't been illuminated with neon light enough this weekend, Last Days of Man on Earth offers this little slice of Joachim Witt (and the days of when Defender was humanity's greatest threat). Be aware that this video doesn't really start "happening" for a bit.

Weird World, Pt. 2

The Club makes you Tan.  Or does the Tan make you Club?

Via Barstool Sports.  More club shots available at a lot of places.  Thanks again, Mike.

I Wish They All Could Be Gyaru Girls

The following is a snippet of conversation between me and Ed Shepp at the recent WFMU Holiday Party:

Mark: No Ed, I've never tried Norival. By the way, I like the black around your eyes.
Ed: Oh my God! I wanted it, but wasn't sure I applied it right -- I just took the pencil and went like *r-e-e-a-a-u-h-h* around each eye.
Mark: It looks great, it's smeared perfectly, like you're in rehab and have dark circles.
Ed: Oh my God! That's what I was going for!
Mark: It's like the opposite of those girls in Japan, the "Gyaru" girls.
Ed: What's that?

The Fetid Corpulence of Brian K. Jones

Brian K. Jones' paintings of fat men culled from the Craigslist classifieds are strangely alluring. I usually find that source material of this nature trumps any “artistic” copy because of the incredible difficulty in conveying the dense but subtle narratives of the originals. Jones seemingly started this project for shits and giggles (some of the paintings come off as one-note fat man jokes) but somewhere along the line he hit a painterly stride where he began to enjoy rendering the mounds and folds of flesh in a manner not unlike Jenny Saville albeit in a much (appropriately) cruder manner.

Janitor From Mars' Top 10 of 2007

The Janitor From Mars checks in with his list (in alphabetical order):

Burmese Cafe (RIP)

 

Mark Ladner / Del Posto

Nike Dunk Mid Pro SB (Black / Light Graphite) "Grip Tape"

 

Ohio State 14 | Michigan 3

Reigning Champ by CYC

 

Uniqlo Vintage Chinos

West Ham 3 | Spurs 4

==========================

+ three interpretations of animal skins:

Nike Court Force Premium (White/Black-Medium Grey) Atmos "Elephant" (laces by Starks)

Puma Clyde (Black / Metallic Gold) "Solebox"

 

 

Vans Chukka Boot LX (Black / Lime Fizz) 3 Feet High - "Huf"

365 Days #345 - The Money Maker (mp3s)

MP3:
01. Come, Come, Come to the Fair (0:27)
02. Enjoy Our Dairy Products (0:28)
03. The Finest Dairy Products (0:30)
04. There's Fun in Your Feet (0:30)
05. A Fountain Pen with Purple Ink (0:29)
06. Many Items Made of Plastic (0:28)
07. We Even Bless You If You Sneeze (0:30)
08. My Favorite Department Store (0:31)
09. Our Diaper Service (0:29)
10. We Serve Your Baby and You (0:30)
11. It's Discount Priced (0:28)
12. Down, Down, Down (0:31)
13. All at Discount Savings (0:29)
14. At Your Discount Store (0:30)
15. Be There Early on Dollar Day (0:31)
16. Dollar Day Is on Its Way (0:30)
17. Dollar Day Is Here Again (0:29)
18. Shop Downtown (0:26)
19. A Downtown Shopping Spree (0:32)
20. Curtains and Draperies (0:33)
21. Your Private Dining Room (0:31)
22. Serves You Right in the Car (0:26)
23. Drive-In Movie (0:30)
24. Your Complete Drug Store (0:27)
25. Since I Found a New Machine (0:32)
26. Get Dressed Up for Easter Day (0:25)
27. Get Ready for the Easter Parade (0:32)
28. Here's Where to Start Your Easter Parade (0:29)
29. Step Into Easter (0:29)
30. The Latest Easter Ware (0:29)
31. locked groove (0:30)

Presented here is a 1963 generic commercial jingle album The Money Maker. Not many words are needed to describe this... it simply speaks for itself.

- Contributed by: Perry Amberson

Image: Record

Media: LP
Album: The Money Maker
Label: CRC (Commercial Recording Corporation)
Catalog: 103A/B
Date: 1963

The Lead & How To Swing It

Who doesn't like scrawny rockers in tighties. But wait a second, who is that after the jump (NSFW)?

365 Days #335 - National Safety Council Records (mp3s)

Six scratchy pop-filled 33 1/3 rpm records (to accompany a filmstrip or slides?) from the National Safety Council (in collaboration with the United States Department of Labor on 5 of the discs) from well over 50 years ago.

Open for Infection - Part 1 (8:24)
Open for Infection - Part 2 (7:31)
Image: Open for Infection

Follow The Leader - Part 1 (9:14)
Follow The Leader - Part 2 (9:34)
Image: Follow The Leader

Right Dress - Part 1 (10:23)
Right Dress - Part 2 (10:28)
Image: Right Dress

Principles and Interest - Part 1 (10:03)
Principles and Interest - Part 2 (8:53)
Image: Principles and Interest

Stop, Look and Listen - Part 1 (8:29)
Stop, Look and Listen - Part 2 (7:54)
Image: Stop, Look and Listen

Production with Safety - Part 1 (8:50)
Production with Safety - Part 2 (7:53)
Image: Production with Safety

Picked up the lot at a second hand furniture store in Oakland, California in 2005. The shopkeeper pointed to me a corner of broken down tables and chairs and cabinets that were free and on the way out the door. I took a look figuring I could always use something (or possibly restore something). It was all trash, but... looking inside a small side table cabinet I saw a box in the far back. I pulled it out and dusted it off and looked inside and there they were, these 6 records. No paper sleeves, just the vinyl and layers of dust about them. I asked the store owner how much and (bless her heart) she let me have them for free. So here they are. For two years they have been collecting dust at my home so it's about time they got shared, for everyone's safety.

- Contributed by: Otis Fodder

New Crap Added to WFMU's Online Store!

That's right, just as the annual season of consumption gets underway, WFMU has added new crapola to our online store.

Lay your hands on a fabulous Creepy Meatball shirt! Spread WFMU propaganda with our sticker and postcard pack! Check out our DVD compilation of short and strange videos, WFMU's Celluloid Babylon! Learn about our sordid past with a set of Great Moments in WFMU History cards!

Or if those items don't fulfill your wildest fantasies, we've got beer coasters, live CDs, magnets, cassette tapes (!), lunchboxes, and other fine treats to browse right here.

Because nothing says "happy holidays" like an Eat Flaming Death, Fascist Media Pigs! t-shirt.

no sheeeeep till brooklyn

Sheep have it bad.  One the one side we have the infamous Minor Threat analogy that to be like sheep in the modern world is the lowest of the low.  To follow blindly and accept anyone/any trend as leader seems to be the unfortunate choice of so many overstimulated American consumers (because we have now devolved into consumers, a definate downgrade from de Tocqueville's citizens).  On the other side of the pasture fence, is the peaceful little bundle of soon to be wool, that only asks for a green patch, and yearly sheering to blithely carry on its' eco-cycle of no-kill production of goods.  Well, yes, occasionally there is the one too many rams that need to be shipped off to start their own commune or perhaps eaten.  Of course the natural solution would be to let the wolves thin the flock, but unfortunately they don't kill by gender, and then all those handsome llamas and master sheep dogs would be out of work and that could get very ugly on a Saturday night  in downtown small townville.

ANYWAY, there I was  killing time while in line at my semi-local, overpriced, out to crush the little guy organic supermart and a lefty publication caught my eye, suggesting vegan options to WOOL!  Wool, the perfect no-kill winter weather protector?  Wool, the happiest product of the sweetest little rambouillet and hebridean? 

The article cited industrial sheep farming in Australia, as the destructive culprit, suggesting sheering leads to some animaIs freezing to death, and being unfairly treated. While I am not a vegan, I  do surely know that Industrial farming can lead to no good end.  What about all the small-time farmers who raise sheep as members of the family, naming them and grieving emotionally and financially if one should pass on before its time?   To take this encouragement of  avoiding wool to a practical application; If no one wore wool, then wouldn't sheep die out, in that no one would raise a farm animal that  wasn't  bringing in money?  I can't really continue this train of thought, it's too horrifying to think of a world without sheeeeeep...

For those who worship sheep and all they stand for, the holiest of weekends is fast approaching:  the annual Sheep and Wool Festival held at the Rhinebeck, NY fair grounds, October 20, 21.  Hundreds of vendors and small farmers from near and far haul their prized animals in to show folk how good the pastoral life can be. In past visits I've met some wonderful longtime farmers and just starting out, second career folks who are working hard to find a way to make a living off the land in an wholistic and individual way.  Quick, make that reservation for your Zipcar to carry you away to the land of sheep dog trials, home spun yarns, alpacas, maple candies and fabulous lamb stew.

Move That Goat a Little To the Left, Darlin'

From French Vogue, the inevitable Satanik Chic comes to fruition. Can't wait for Kate Moss' Death In June cover (via Jezebel).

Create Your Own Caption

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks to Mike Adler (via NY Times).

Most Inexplicably Nude Album Covers

There are many nude rock impulses I can understand: sexy singer, looks good naked (Bow Wow Wow, Boss Hog); fashion (Prince, Buckingham / Nicks); defiance (Slits); unemployed tube sock (Chili Peppers); transgression, shock, titillation, art, and whatever Herbie Mann was thinking.  Then there's what these bands are doing.  In some cases, it looks like a defiant over-identification with hippiedom, like "we are your children and we are unclothed!"; but what are Orleans, Pablo Cruise, Steam, Styx and Man trying to say?  My best guess: "Bros Before Hos".

Update: all the links above now work - sorry about that former plethora of suddenly dead links! 

Atlanta Drag Legends

Well hello there, Blog. I've been out there criss-crossing this vast country on my solo television show tour and visiting glamorous cities like Detroit, Tulsa, and Baltimore. I've been in love with all of them. D-Town's abandoned burned-out buildings are awe inspiring. Tulsa still feels like a town where Bob Wills plays nightly and Route 66 is open for travel. And Baltimore? Well, what other city would kick my weekend off with a community-organized water ballet that reinterprets War and Peace with dogs and squirrels...in swimwear.

In a few weeks I am heading to Atlanta, Georgia. I'm pretty excited to finally see Atlanta, but it's not because of the sights. Rather, Atlanta is home to what may well be the best public access in the whole world. Specifically, I speak of the glorious American Music Show. Spearheaded by the amazingly perky DeAundra Peek, the show offered a smorgasbord of crazed, fun, and completely unique southern drag stars doing their thing.

To start with, here are the fabulous Peek Sisters via the Internet Archive:

Here's another clip of the Peek Sisters performing "Gentle on My Mind" via YouTube. And don't miss DeAundra Peek's solo works, like this U2 medley. More DeAundra is available on her "internet theme park". And for a peek behind the Peek persona, here's an interview with him by the Swans' Jarboe.

There's so much more at Funtone USA, the cable access music channel that relives the lost days of that classic cable show, and features stars like Maxine Odum, a ton of RuPaul (including the legendary low-budget film Starrbooty, coming soon as a remake), and some vintage footage of NYC legend John Sex - like this video for "Hustle With My Muscle".

Then pop on over to Odum's Double Wide Mobile Home Court, for more Atlanta drag celebrity madness.

PS - All of my knowledge of this comes third hand, via the internet and VHS dubs that have been shared with me over the years. If anyone has the real story, or was a part of the action, please feel free to comment.

Send Us Your WFMU Pix!

Do you have any great pictures of yourself sporting your WFMU t-shirt? If so, and if you don't mind sharing them with your fellow listeners (and the internet at large), you can now contribute your pix to our forthcoming Gallery of Listeners Decked Out in WFMU Swag! Send your contributions to pictures@wfmu.org. Better yet, stage a photo of yourself in your WFMU shirt with an especially impressive backdrop. (Take a cue from the ladies of Afrirampo, who took to the high seas with their FMU duds in mind, as this picture is testament to.) And of course, no names will be associated with the photos, so you needn't worry about turning up in anyone else's dubious google searches.

Guess The WFMU DJ Personal Article, Part 25

Man, I wish I had a wallet like my friend the anonymous DJ has a wallet!  Here's the wallet.  Who's the anonymous WFMU DJ that owns it?

Winner gets some FMU swag.

And here's your bonus mp3, just for playing, or looking.  [mp3 for download, 4.2 megs]

And here's who the wallet doesn't belong to:  Trouble \ Joe Belock \ Hatch \ Diane Kamikaze \ Irwin \ Fabio \ Bryce \ Maria \ Bill Zurat \ Liz Berg \ Stork \ Scott \ Billy Jam \ Charlie \ Rich Hazelton \ Mike Lupica \ Bronwyn \ Vicki \ Gaylord Fields \ Monica \ Brian Turner \ Ken \ Andy Breckman \ Kenny G. Who it does belong to must at some point have had a regular show on WFMU.

Create your own caption

Docs, Made To Last

From Boing Boing via Matablog:
Saatchi & Saatchi/London has a new print/poster campaign in the U.K. that cleverly employs four dead rock stars – Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, Joey Ramone and Joe Strummer – as Doc Martens endorsers. “We wanted to communicate that Dr. Martens boots are ‘made to last,’ ” explains writer Andrew Petch, “and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them. Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots’ durability perfectly. And, as images, they feel very iconic.” As for the legal implications of enlisting the support of this particular fab four from beyond the grave, Petch says the images have been cleared for use in the U.K. only, in an arrangement with Corbis, supplier of the original photographs, which have been enhanced by photographer Dimitri Daniloff and retoucher Christophe Huet.