WFMU's Beware of the Blog

New Version of 1911's Revenge Anthem, "The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life" Winner of Free Music Archive's Latest Contest

For this month's Revitalize Music Contest, artists from Lisbon to Austin dug through public domain songs, got inspired, and submitted their creations to our contest repository. Our talented judges from the music, radio, and public domain worlds loved hearing the wide range of incredible entries, but eventually had to select a winning song.

OUR WINNER IS CROWN THE INVISIBLE

Crown the Invisible created an incredible power pop rendition of the 1911 revenge anthem "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" by Billy Merson. The song tells the story of a man whose girl is charmed away by a Spanish bullfighter.

'Twas at the bull fight where we met him
We'd been watching his daring display
And while I went out for some nuts and a programme
The dirty dog stole her away

The winning band's been around for about a year, and are a blend between a studio compositional project and a raucous psychedelic act. They are all young, grizzled rock dudes who live and work in East Williamsburg warehouses, where they've been cultivating their space/stoner rock sound. They describe their band as "if Rick Wakeman played with Ride, but the songs were written by The Pretty Things while they watched Planet of the Apes and listened to Hawkwind." That is to say, they all grew up on early '90s and '60s British stuff.

Thumbs Up For Free Music Archive and Prelinger Archive Mashups

When two open digital libraries fall in love... this happens.

For our on-going video remix contest, WFMU's Free Music Archive and Prelinger Archives asked you to show us what video mashups of our collections would look like. From Betty Bop dancing the Charleston to modern jazz, to 1906 San Francisco set to dubstep... our remix children are deeply disturbing, abstract, violent, beautiful, and often half-naked.

We dare you now to find a comfortable chair in a dark room and watch all 122 entries. If you see one you like, log into the website, and click the thumbs up. You can vote for multiple videos, but only once. All voting will wrap up by 5pm ET on Monday, November 25th. The winner of the popular vote will take home an iPad.

So journey on, little monkeys! Vote now, and help natural selection determine the fittest.

Giein It Laldy: 80's/90's Scottish Folk-Punk From Nyah Fearties

Nyah Fearties was a Scottish band hailing from Lugton in the 80's and 90's that played a chaotic brand of folk-punk. Davey Fearties was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band and to give us permission to post a few of their songs.    
-- Nick Rogan

1) How did you all come up with the band name Nyah Fearties? I think it's great. Were you all fans of dub and reggae at the time?

Yep, the original band played a few reggae covers. Keith Hudson's Smoking was one.

2) What bands were you listening to when you formed Nyah Fearties?

We listened to all sorts from Nick Cave, Pogues, Violent Femmes, Alex Harvey, Suicide, einsturzende neubueten... and lots of Reggae. Reggae music was so alive in the 80's. It's so overlooked when people mention 80s music.

3) What bands did you most enjoy playing shows with? Have any good stories about playing live?

The Pogues has got to be my favourite. We were a pair of hobo street musicians when they took us on tour with them.Andrew Rankin, the drummer, used to play the last 2 songs of our set with us, and Spider would play whistle sometimes.

But there was one night when we got to the last song, and I looked across the stage and there was Shane beating on a plastic chair with a stick and doing some crazy rockin roll dance, Jem on Banjo, Phil on Guitar, Spider singing, Daryl on plastic chair, Andrew on drums just giein it laldy (it's a Scots saying that means letting go and giving it all you've got) to the song Drunken Uncle that we did as our last song - cartoonesque.

The other band which, like the Pogues, had that live magic about them was Mano Negra, the most energetic live band on the planet at the time. A Mano Negra gig was like an early Clash gig for atmosphere.

 

Something Engaging & Trasformative: An Interview with Vicki Bennett

Vicki Bennett has been making audio and visual collage since 1991, when the internet was a fetus and you probably didn't own a computer. She creates her work with the nom de plume People Like Us. It's a moniker that speaks to the role of the collective and popular culture in her work, and a need to belong. Using collage as her medium, she creates audio recordings, films and radio shows that mix and manipulate original sources from both experimental and popular media. Her work has been shown at Tate Modern, The Barbican, Sydney Opera House, Pompidou Centre, Maxxi in Rome and Sonar, and she's hosted the WFMU radio program Do or DIY since 2003.

Plus, she's a judge for the Past Re-Imagined As the Future remix contest with the Free Music Archive. In this Q&A, Bennett shares that she's hoping to see works that are engaging and transformative. As you comb through the materials in the Prelinger Archives, she reminds us that these videos aren't just about the past, but also about the present, the future, and something timeless.

What first drew you to the practice of AV collage art?

That there is a huge palette to choose from which means you can get started right away. I've been making collages since I was about 16. I found that I like working with audio and imagery with previously existing conceptual/contextual associations, because it allows me to redirect the focus of these associations into new stories, like a conductor or director. It also appeals very strongly to my surreal, subversive sense of humour - being able to turn things upside down. Collage has a very long history and made huge statements, just by taking what already exists and representing it in a new or different way - it has frequently been political or politicized. Collage is not just about putting random images together, collage is about composition, editing, and language. It exists everywhere since all languages are a collage of content that already exists.

 

How has changing technology influenced your practice?

 

The coming of broadband, file sharing platforms, and the affordability of high speed computers and editing software around 2000 changed everything for me. No longer was I reliant upon finding things locally to work with or borrowing other people's dat machines or cassette four tracks - suddenly I could multitrack and edit in the way I always wanted to. I was waiting for 10 years to do things how I really imagined.

 

When did you first encounter the Prelinger Archives? How has it played a role in your work? 

 

As soon as I got broadband in 2000. This really changed not only the way I thought about making work but also opened my mind to just how much things were going to change now that people could share, exchange and converse. This was around this time that Brewster Kahle persuaded Rick Prelinger to share some footage online for free at archive.org. Before this I was really in a difficult position sourcing well transfered moving image - dependent on vhs rips from things from video and tv. The films Rick shares are beautiful quality with wonderful images, subjects and messages. I downloaded one film from archive.org and emailed Rick and thanked him. Then I sent him a big package of CDs and we started corresponding. We were in touch for years on a daily basis exchanging ideas and so on. I made many films and two live performances entirely from Rick's films.

The Past Re-Imagined as the Future: Remix Contest with Prelinger Archives

Showcase the creative possibilities of open digital archives!

WFMU and the Free Music Archive proudly introduces a video remix contest called "Sound for the Moving Image: The Past Re-imagined As The Future." The contest invites artists everywhere to mix video from the incredible Prelinger Archives Collection with audio from the Free Music Archive to create new masterpieces for the commons. The point of this contest is to showcase the creative possibilities of open digital archives like these.

VIDEO: HOW TO GET INVOLVED

BASIC GUIDELINES

1. At least 50% of video and audio materials in your entry must come from the Prelinger Archives and the Free Music Archive.
2. Use at least one video from the Prelinger Archives, and at least one track from the portion of Free Music Archive's library that can be used in videos (more info).
3. Time limit: 15 minutes max.
4. Upload to your hosting service of choice (i.e. Vimeo, Internet Archive) and then submit your video entry via the competition website form (here).
5. Proper Creative Commons licensing is required. Attribute yourself by name and indicate which Creative Commons license you have selected for your video. Your submission must also include licensing and attribution (with hyperlinks) for the material you have remixed. You should do this in the video description field at the site where your video is hosted. You can also do this within the credits of the video itself.
6. All material from outside the FMA / Prelinger must either be original, or used under a CC license, or used with signed permission

Please see our the Official Rules. And check out our FAQ.

TIMELINE

Sept 28: Contest Launch! Entries are now accepted here.
Nov 4: Submissions Deadline
Nov 5: Judging and Public Voting Begins
Nov 18: End of the Public Voting
Nov 29: Winners Announced online and in a public screening at NYC's Anthology Film Archives

PRIZES

The two winners will each be awarded an iPad (3rd Generation with Wi-Fi, 16GB), engraved with the contest name as a trophy, in recognition of their innovative remix. One winner will be selected by the judges'. And the other winner will be determined by public-vote. If the winner is the same for both categories, the runner up in the judge's vote will be given the prize for that category.

JUDGES

We have hand picked an incredible panel of judges including Vicki Bennett (Musician and Filmmaker, People Like Us), Kirby Ferguson (Everything is a Remix), Ken Freedman (WFMU Station Manager, Free Music Archive founder), Mark Hosler (Artist, Negativland), Paul D. Miller (Musician and Filmmaker, aka DJ Spooky), Nina Paley (Filmmaker, Sita Sings the Blues) and Rick Prelinger (Founder, Prelinger Archives).

WINNERS SCREENING AT THE ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES

This presentation will explore centuries of culture to demonstrate how remixing -- creating music from samples of existing music -- is a good metaphor for all varieties of creativity. Ferguson will discuss some of the myths of creativity, present several popular examples of remix-like technique, and show how creativity -- like remixing -- is the result of three basic techniques: copying, transforming and combining.

This will be at the Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave, New York, NY) on November 29th 8-10pm. You can reserve your free ticket here.

---

This contest is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

And In the Middle of Negotiations - The Fabs' Last Stand

by Jason Gross

ED NOTE: After Apple Records had a fire sale of their items in April 1970, a collector named A.J. Weberstone came across a videotape labeled 'Final Meeting'. He was curious about this and told by Derek Taylor that he could view it and take notes only. Weberstone watched the tape and wrote down everything that he heard and saw there. Mysteriously, the tape was never seen or heard about after that. Weberstone died last year but in his papers were the notes that he carefully and thoroughly jotted down from the tape that he saw at the Apple offices. For the first time, we're pleased to present this important piece of Beatles history, looking into the dissolution of the band with an intimate, first-hand view.

-----

September 1969- Savile Row office of Apple Records

Scene: meeting room filled with 30-40 loud talky people, some in business suits, some in hippy gear; mood is a little somber. In the middle of the room are John, Paul, George and Ringo, looking tired and distracted. Yoko is also there, quietly sitting next to John.

Lennon: (loudly) Alright, that's enough! That's enough! (room quiets down). Everyone who isn't in the band is going to have to leave NOW. Come on then! (loud grumbling and arguing) I mean it, NOW! Get going! (more grumbling) Let's start with the barristers- all lawyers gone, now! (a dozen suited men file out methodically). Right, now the hangers-on, get on now! (a dozen hippies shuffle out). OK, now the groupies! (two forlorn guys slowly leave).

Harrison: (shaking his head) Sad, isn't it? Used to have much more than that.

Lennon: (to Yoko, solemnly) Alright mother, you too.

McCartney: (protesting) But she's the fifth Beatle! We wouldn't all still be together if it wasn't for her!

Lennon: (sighs, annoyed) I know, I know...

read the full transcript below...

Dorian's Secret Science Club Needs a Hand

Long term listeners of WFMU may remember Dorian's long-running interview shows The Speakeasy or The Green Room.  These days Dorian is running The Secret Science Club, which is a science lecture, arts and performance series based in Brooklyn.  They host live science events for the public, featuring subjects ranging from Black Holes and Dinosaurs to Human Evolution and the Human Brain. Every month, leading scientists give talks on discoveries in their fields and unleash their research on an inquisitive audience.

The Secret Science Club has a Kickstarter underway to help expand in their fifth season.  Pledge and find more info here!  Find Secret Science Club's homepage here.

Blank Generation: Ivan Julian live at WFMU (mp3s)

via emcecil @ FMA:

In the Voidoids, he and Bob Quine comprised what was probably the fiercest guitar duo in punk's infancy.  And just last week, Ivan Julian turned in a solid WFMU performance on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic as both he and his band tore through a number of covers and originals from his new alb, The Naked Flame (2:59 Records). 

Fans of his work in the Voidoids, Outsets and beyond will be stoked to hear that time hasn't tamed Julian one bit.  His guitar's still as sinewy and caustic as it ever was, and his band brings up the rear with some real panache.  They pull out a surprising and great cover of the Nuns' "The Beat," not to mention a haunting original, "You Is Dead."  Hell, the whole set's rife with those trebly strangulations that Julian harnessed throughout his time in LES's punk and no-wave heydays -- and those that son Austin Julian continues to harness in his own no-wave unit, Sediment Club -- but they sound just as vital as ever.  So have a listen, chum.  And don't forget to catch one of his upcoming live shows, three of which are with Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek (who'll make his own trip to WFMU's Three Chord Monte on Aug 25th):

August 20 - New York, NY - @ Highline Ballroom w/ APB
August 26 - Brooklyn, NY - @ Bell House w/ Deniz Tek
August 27 - Hoboken, NJ - @ Maxwell's w/ Deniz Tek
August 28 - Philadelphia, PA - @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Deniz Tek

 

this post via emcecil at the Free Music Archive

The Ultimate Negative Christgau Review

Excerpt from The Consumed Guide

by Brian Joseph Davis

The Consumed Guide is a text composed from thousands of negative words and phrases assembled from 13, 090 reviews by Robert Christgau and turned into a single review:

A born liar, showing all the imagination of an ATM in the process, a certain petty honesty and jerk-off humor, a man without a context, a pompous, overfed con artist, a preening panderer, mythologizing his rockin’ ‘50s with all the ignorant cynicism of a punk poser, a propulsive flagwaver attached to UNESCO lyrics about people all over the world joining hands, a simpleton, but also a genuine weirdo, a spoiled stud past his prime, so that while he was always sexy he wasn’t always seductive, a stinker, from Jesus-rock to studio jollity, a tedious ideologue with a hustle, a tough talker diddles teenpop’s love button. Act authentic for too long and it begins to sound like an act even if it isn’t.

“Adult” grit and phrasing, affluent spirituality cum cornball romanticism from a florid New Age keyb maestro, ain’t nobody gonna boogie to the moons of Saturn. Air-kiss soul, alienated patriotic, all clotted surrealism and Geddy Lee theatrics, all form and no conviction, except for the conviction that form is everything. All he proves is that when you dwell on suffering you get pompous. An archetypal indie whiner.

Off-Mic DJ News for June

Though it may be unadvisable for most haggard DJs to appear in the visual realm and remain in the ideal realm of radiowaves, some WFMU DJs have plans to emerge from their LP crammed dungeons to appear publicly.  Here are some special events we're involved with this month!

Friday, June 3rd, Laura Cantrell will perform at Tin Angel, 20 South 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA, 7:30 pm, $12. On June 4th, Laura will be play at Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave E, Vienna, Va. 7pm. $14.

Friday, June 3rd, The New Pornographers "Moves" video plays at the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto The video was written and directed by Tom Scharpling and produced by Robert Hatch-Miller (aka WFMU DJ “Hatch”). 9:30 pm. Information here.

Saturday, June 4th, Henry Lowengard's band, Mamalama, will be playing at the Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY. They will be at the June 8th, Woodstock Farm Festival, Woodstock, NY and at the Grand Central Greybar on June 10th, 6-9 as part of the “Music Under New York” program. Mamalama can also be occasionally found playing the subways of New York City.

Sunday, June 5th, Mr Finewine DJs at a "Slow Soul" ballad night at Huckleberry, 588 Grand St. (at Lorimer), Williamsburg.

Sunday, June 5th, Steinski will be performing in Los Angeles in the show “TJ Miller (Makes Mayhem)” at Largo At The Coronet. He'll be performing a short set combining stand-up comedy records with hip hop breaks. More info.

Tuesday, June 7th, Meghan McKee will be DJing at LITM, 140 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, for the WHO? WHAT? WHERE? art opening from 7pm to midnight

Thursday, June 9th, The Secret Science Club with host Dorian Devins presents Sensory Neuroscientist, Jim Hudspeth 8pm at The Bell House, 149 7th Street, Brooklyn. Find out what happens when sound reaches your ears.

Friday, June 10th, Robert Hatch-Miller's new short documentary A Man Named Magick is playing in NYC at Rooftop Films' New York Non-Fiction night. 350 Grand Street, NYC. Greg Garing will perform live at 8pm followed by the films at 9pm. More information here.

Saturday, June 11th, Nat Roe will be DJing at Shea Stadium along with C Spencer Yeh/Greg Fox (Liturgy) duo, DJ Dog Dick and the Dreebs.  Full info is here.

Tuesday, June 14 after the 7:00pm performance of the musical biography, The Shaggs at Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, NYC, Irwin Chusid, one of the driving forces behind the 1990s digital reissue of Philosophy of the World, will discuss his connection to The Shaggs and provides insight into the true story of the girl-group that inspired the musical.

Saturday, June 18 at 2 PM the 2011 Mermaid Parade takes to Surf Avenue in Coney Island and marches right past our own Chris T. (Aerial View), who will serve as M.C. for his 22nd year. Chris says, “Prime viewing spots always go early, so bring a folding chair, some water and a nosh and plan to be in place by 11 am – 12 Noon.”

Saturday, June 18th and Monday, June 20th. The Ted Leo "Bottled In Cork" video plays at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by Tom Scharpling and produced by Robert Hatch-Miller and Paloma Basu. Find out more here.

Saturday, June 18, Mr Finewine will DJ at the Commodore, 366 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg.

Monday, June 20th, Meghan McKee will be DJing at LITM, 140 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, for her monthly DETENTION! A Flashback to the 80's from 6:30 to midnight.

Thursday, June 23rd, 9pm, Kenzo's likely last live lately NYC performance of Ken's Last Ever Radio Extravaganza, weaving whole-sounding fragments, a specific environment of ambiguity, a live improvised sound collage experiment, in a cosy cellar space beneath a flower shop. Diane Cluck follows playing many songs new and some older. At Sycamore, Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, 1118 Cortelyou Road. More info.

Tuesday, July 5th, Keili Hamilton will be DJing at Tandem Bar's Selective Tuesday Dance Party. 236 Troutman Street, Brooklyn, NY.

Every Sunday, Dave the Spazz plays rock & roll records at Union Pool. 10pm (484 Union Ave at Meeker in Williamsburg Brooklyn) Free.

Every Wednesday, except June 15th, Mr Finewine spins soul 45s at Botanica (47 East Houston St.) 10 till late, free.

Have A Nice Day: An Interview with Boyd Rice

article by Arvo Zylo

  In a round about way, Boyd Rice has led a charmed life. But in a lot of ways, maybe not always a charming one. He's been called a Nazi, a Fascist, a Social Darwinist, a Satanist, a misogynist, a misanthropist, an abusive alcoholic, and in no uncertain terms, an asshole. He's been appointed to high ranks while also harboring a strong friendship with Church of Satan founder Anton La Vey, and he's visited Charles Manson on a daily basis at one point in the 80s, also rallying, if only symbolically, for the lifer's release from time to time. Christian Radio Televangelist Bob Larson interviewed Rice in the early 90s, where he faced the mother of Sharon Tate in favor of Manson and Satanism.

He's got an ex, Lisa Carver, the mother of his child, that wrote a book where nearly half of it portrays him in a, let's just say, a highly unfavorable manner. Earlier in his career, he encountered a fair amount of protest, especially regarding his collaborations with the neofolk band, Death In June, whose lyrics and art allude to Nazi imagery. Rice has appeared in a teen magazine with a member of the American Front and on a racist television program called Race and Reason. Some of his recorded material employs ideas akin to Social Darwinism, and even in some cases, he describes people in general as a “stupid, lifeless, shuffling horde”. An album called Hatesville details a fun loving kind of sadistic mind state, a single by his one-off side project The Tards mocks the less fortunate, and a song called Alone With The Calm describes a peaceful place away from disruptive noise and “unruly niggers”. Some of his writing, even if, perhaps in jest, portrays women as a species of people who are only in power because a man allowed them to be. And in the face of a world oozing with political correctness, disillusioned by American culture's omnipresent lip service to equality and diversity, as well as a pervasive onslought of “professional victims”, as Adam Parfrey put it, Boyd Rice refrained, more or less, from apologizing or explaining himself in any kind of empathetic manner. To be fair, he has casually mentioned that he would prefer to hang out with a dominant black person than a dull one of any race, and when he describes fascism, he speaks of it as if it is something that happens in nature, not something that needs to be enforced by a group of idealists. Rice, at one point,said that women are often too emotional (to say the least), but he also said that, like people in general, he gets along well with plenty of women who stand apart from the rest. And further, all of the aforementioned has happened over 15 years ago, some of these views have clearly morphed over time. Still, it might seem like this is an introduction to a brooding sociopath on the surface; surely a person who is brutally honest, for good or ill. But speaking to him on the phone, both on and off the record, he's a soft spoken gentleman with a strong sense of humor. Almost every account of meeting him comes with a resounding: "He's the nicest guy you could ever meet.". Where most people see two sides to every coin, Boyd seems to see 3, 4, or 5, and overall, it is because of making this observation that I decided to write a letter to Boyd Rice, asking him to grant me an interview on my radio show close to 5 years after his last one, and more than a few years after his proclamation that he would no longer grant interviews outside of personal inquiries.

Continue reading the full interview below...

Help Ergo Phizmiz Fun The Third Policeman

Whoa!  There's a British version of Kickstarter called Crowdfunder?

Sample-happy WFMU DJ Ergo Phizmiz is trying to raise funds to produce a play, full info is here!

Fabio's Favorites of 2010

MUSIC:
•       Akira Kurosawa's Movie Soundtracks 1950-1958  - 4xLP FUMIO HAYASAKA &
MASARU SATO,  (DOXY records)
•       Pärson Sound -  Pärson Sound - 3xLP box (SUBLIMINAL SOUNDS)
•       Masahiko Satoh & Sound Breakers  - Amalgamation CD re-issue (DRONE
SYNDICATE)
•       Barn Owl & the Infinite Strings Ensemble -   The Headlands LP (IMPORTANT
RECORDS)
•       Circle X  - Circle X  EP/12" (1979, 2010 re-issue)
•       Bjørn Fongaard: Elektrofoni 3CD/1DVD Box-Set. (Prisma Records)
•       Gnod/White Hills - Gnod Drop Out With White Hills II. 2xLP (Rocket
Recordings)
•       Catherine Christer Hennix - The Electric Harpsichord CD (DIE SCHACHTEL)
•       Sun City Girls - Funeral Mariachi LP (Abduction)
•       Love Cry Want - s/t  - 2xlp re-issue (Weird Forest)
•       Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky LP (Young God)
•       Luc Ferrari - Éphémère I & II CD (Alga Marghen)

FILMS:
•       Valhalla Rising - Nicolas Winding Refn
•       Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film
•       Stone screening at Lincoln Center
•       Enter the Void - Gaspar Noe
•       On the Bowery - LIONEL ROGOSIN
•       Bubble - Steven Soderbergh (released in 2006)
•       The Outfit - John Flynn  - 1973 (screening at Anthology)
•       Kurosawa Retrospective at Film Forum
•       The Ghost Writer by Roman Polanski
•       I am Love  - Luca Guadagnino


OTHER STUFF:
•       Getting married
•       Oaxaca, Mexico - Abastos Market, Tlacolula Market, Monte Alba Ruins &
local Mescal in Oaxaca.
•       Paul McDonough: New York Photographs 1968-1978 by Paul McDonough
(Umbrage Editions)
•       Leon Levinstein's photographs "Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players" at the Met
•       Miroslav Tichy exhibit at I.C.P.
•       Mark E. Smith - Renegade (Penguin books)
•       Anthony Bourdain - Kitchen Confidential  (Ecco Books)
•       J.G. Thirlwell Plays & Conducts Steroid Maximus with  20 piece orchestra
in Prospect Park
•       Swans play at Brooklyn Masonic Temple
•       Gundecha Brothers concert at Asia Society
•       Brion Gysin exhibit at New Museum
•       John Baldessari  retrospective at the Met

Jack Mello's Best of 2010

In no particular order....

Albums:

Guido -- Anidea (Punch Drunk) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfCNbq8WVE)

Kenny Graham and His Satellites -- Moondog and Suncat Suites (Trunk) (http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bnskASlKlsA)

Hype Williams -- Untitled (Carnivals); Find Out What Happens When People Stop Being Polite And Start Getting Reel (De Stijl) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZsad3s3hk)

Digital Mystikz -- Return II Space 3LP (DMZ) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhIbyzvZFqM)

Mad One -- House Girls (Devine UK) http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/house-girls-the-album/ id401732838

Yellow Fever -- s/t (Wild World) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4NRsW85tiI)

Forest Swords -- Dagger Paths (Olde English Spelling Bee) (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=UgYOcWh8G5E)

Dylan Ettinger -- New Age Outlaws, Director’s Cut (Not Not Fun) http://dylanettinger.bandcamp.com/ album/new-age-outlaws

Actress -- Splazsh (Honest Jon’s) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wsKiQDTBzg)

Tracks:

Ms. Dynamite -- legendary UK garage vocalist appears on two banging house/bashment/electro tracks in DJ Zinc’s “Wile Out” (Bingo Bass) and Redlight’s “What You Talking About?!” (More Than Alot). (http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvfFZvf8ePw)

Night Slugs, Numbers -- a pair of hot young labels with strong releases from Lil Silva, Girl Unit, L-VIS 1990, Kingdom, Jam City, Mosca, Taz, Slakk, Roska & Untold, Deadboy, Mr. Mageeka, Redinho, etc. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OHvRKQptg)

Ramadanman/Pearson Sound -- a slew of future bass singles from Hessle Audio cofounder David Kennedy (“Glut”, 2x12” s/t ep, “Blanked”, “Stifle”, “Fall Short/Work Dem”, “Grab Somebody”). (http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pLzBTmmt0E)

LHF -- “EP1 Enter the Silence” (Keysound Recordings)...the ghosts of Goldie, Peshay and El-B filter through this debut 12”. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf7qwcKZ3EE)

Boddika -- “Boddika’s House” (Naked Lunch) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_3dN29n3I)

Space Dimension Controller -- “The Love Quadrant” (Kinnego) (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=e6Vq9E-p3xM)

Hounds of Hate -- “Tumble Down Slow” from the “I Like Triangles” EP (Back Yard)...a sweet summer jam. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxPfAB_kWU0)

More favorites from the year + bonus pic of cat in a box below!

Dylan Going's "Best of 2010" Awards

Best Book on the Cultural History of the Vocoder: Dave Tompkins' How To Wreck A Nice Beach (Stop Smiling Books)

Most Based Performance: Lil B's New York debut at Santos Party House

Best Solo Black Metal Record On This List: Horn -Distanz LP (Black Blood Records)

Best E-40 Double Album: E-40 - "Revenue Retrievin"

Best Surprisingly Thrilling Performance: Merzbow live at Issue Project Room

Best Drug Use Anthem: Tonetta - "Drugs Drugs Drugs" + 777 Vol I & II LPs (Black Tent Pess)

Best Comeback Tour and Record: The Swans comeback tour and record (Young God)

Most Happenin Digital Dancehall Crossover Internet Release: South Rakkas Crew - The Stimulus Package Digital Release (Mad Decent)

Best Use of Mens High Heels: Humanbeast - Queer Marriage Cassette (Gross Domestic Product)

Best Small Press Celebration of the Ecstasy of Masculinity: Straight To Hell Issue #67

Best English Three Song Dance Music EP with Chipmunked Vocals: Girl Unit - Wut (Night Slugs)

Least Likely To Leave My Ipod: Natalie Storm & Sticky - "Look Pon Me" (Mixpak) + Songs 2 Fuck and Fight 2 (Federation Sound)

Best Opening Credits: The "Enter the Void" opening credits

Best Promotional Mask: The Waka Flocka Mask

Best Chicago Utilization of Italian Synth Rock Influence: Ga'an - s/t Cassette (available for download on Records on Ribs)

Best Dylan Going Favorites on the Free Music Archive (click here or after the jump):

Arwulf Live from Michigan Museum of Art on WCBN Tonight

Long time listeners may remember Arwulf's radio program on WFMU from the late 80s. Now at WCBN-FM, the student-run freeform radio station at the University of Michigan, arwulf has been asking Ann Arbor to “Face the Music” for 30 years (WCBN is also the radio career launching point for WFMU General Manager Ken Freedman and DJ Rob Weisburg). Every Thursday since 1980, arwulf has led a study of American subcultures, Ann Arbor’s underground, traditional blues and jazz, and everything in between on his freeform program, ‘Face The Music’.

On Thursday, December 9, at 7pm, WCBN will celebrate this freeform legend with a live broadcast of ‘Face The Music’ from the University of Michigan Museum of Art. The performance will feature arwulf’s presentation of Beyond The War Model. Accompanied by improvisation and creatively coordinated sounds from the student-led Modified Starch Ensemble, arwulf will offer lessons learned and concepts cultivated during his more than thirty years’ involvement at WCBN.

Beyond The War Model will discuss why avant garde is an inadequate and inappropriate term for art and artists. The December 9th performance will draw from arwulf’s extensive knowledge and experience in a candid discussion of our culture and language.

Arwulf Arwulf—who says that, at age 13, “the name chose me and I accepted it” (Michigan Daily) —describes himself as an autodidact, meaning that he is fully self-taught. He is a poet, a composer, a cultural genius, an inventive dj constantly challenging the possibilities of the medium of radio, and a great supporter and purveyor of freeform radio. live on WCBN, December 9 @ 7pm. Tune in at www.wcbn.org (or 88.3FM in Ann Arbor!).

Bart Plantenga's Beer Mystic

"Furman Pivo believes he [plus beer] may be the cause of a rash of streetlight outages. This sense of empowerment transforms him into the Beer Mystic. He has a mission and a mandate. Or does he? In any case, 1987 NYC will never be the same and the rest is history or myth or delusion."

Bart Plantenga was once the editor of WFMU's LCD Magazine.  Nowadays, he's working on a book called "Beer Mystic: A Novel Of Inebriation And Light".  Each chapter of the novel is being published on a different website - the full list of chapters is viewable here, chapter 31 is at Onomatopee and chapter 32 is below in this post.

Be Mesmerized By The Hypnotic Sounds of Star And Superstar (mp3s and videos)

Story by Jason Elbogen 

Star And Superstar - Mad Man Want To Marry Me

Neville Lawrence ("Star") has had a presence on late-night television commercial in the Omaha, Nebraska area for a while, but he originally started performing right around here in New York City back in the late 1980's--when he says he played at places like The Arc and the Samy Hotel (where he shared a stage with Snoop Dogg in 1988). He had emigrated from Trinidad in the early 80's, and his unlikely path to from there to Omaha, Nebraska started on a New York City subway when he approached Ann, a tourist originally from South Dakota. Apparently, he'd caught her eye because he was wearing one of his many 'costumes' (all of which he makes himself--see videos). Neville asked her out right there, and Ann, apparently willing to go on a date with a costumed man in a early 1980's New York City subway station, agreed to meet him. Lo and behold, more than twenty years later they live in Omaha, and have a daughter together. One has to assume the costume was fantastic.

 Anyway, what do Superstar and Star sound like? Well, the Nebraska-area late night television commercial hawking Superstar's CDs describes the music as "a blend of pop and soul with Caribbean flavor and a message: Life is Worth Living. Superstar's music affirms his belief in discipline tolerance respect and peace. Be mesmerized by the hypnotic sounds of Superstar -- positive music for life."

I'd say 'hypnotic' is about right--although not very 'poppy' at all to these ears. Neville digs repetition; all his songs have him croon-moaning two or three lines of lyrics over an pretty much unchanging looped beat and pretty much unchanging looped synths effects, over and over and over for five to ten minutes (a bit like early rap songs, actually). A friend of mine recently told me he thought Superstar was primarily a video phenomena (and yeah, the videos are, ummm... rather striking), but I just spent the last ten minutes of my life listening to 'I am the Lover Man', a song off their "Superstar & Star In Sexy Girl" cd--and I don't regret it a bit. Neither should you.  Incidentally, if you buy CD's from Neville, you should know that even though he has recorded more than 20 "Superstar & Star" albums, they are ALL self titled!

More Star and Superstar music videos below the fold...

Noah's Top Ten of 2009

 

1. Will C. "Evil In The Mirror" (Brick Records) Hands down as one of the records that regained my confidence in rap music. Sonically, one of the best productions of the year. Did I mention that Will is about 22 years old and has crazy rap knowledge?

2. Subway Art: 25th Anniversary Edition - Martha Cooper & Henry Chalfant (Chronicle Books) Some view this book as a real time capsule for the graffiti world, and that, it is. It's also one of the most visually striking collections of graffiti I've ever looked at. Now expanded to giant person size!

3. 13th Floor Elevators "Sign Of The 3 Eyed Men" (International Artists Records) I'm not one to buy something on impulse, however there was a video online that showed everything in this collection with a button that said "click to buy". At 2 in the morning, I was the proud owner of this amazing archived bundle of greatness. I'm sure whoever put this together is now in a retirement home.

4. Bernard Purdie "Soul Drums" (Greenstreets Entertainment) I've always been a fan of Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and when I got the chance to produce the re-issue of his first album I jumped at the opportunity. Going through photo archives and talking to people who have worked with him was a highlight to say the least.

5. Daniel Joseph "Pretty / Ugly" (High Water Music) I first met Daniel Joseph when he was going by the name Espee and was in the group Bully Mouth. They were one of my favorite groups and he was one of my favorite people. He recently joined the Coffee 2 Go podcast which is another reason for him to be on my top 10, then he released an incredible solo project. Look for this artist, he has a bright future!

Continue reading Noah's top ten below and check out other DJ top ten lists here.

Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume Thirteen (mp3s)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lux and Ivy's Favorites!!!

Welcome to Volume 13.

Lux_and_Ivys_Favorites_-_Volume_13.zip

Visit Volumes 1-11 here and Volume 12 here.

This is the first Lux and Ivy's Favorites to include artwork. I worked closely with a friend of mine to come up with some cool artwork that would fit in with the theme of the series.

At some point, all of the other volumes will have artwork as well.

This one was a tough one to put together. It just took a lot out of me for some reason. As time goes on, there are less and less L and I interviews, etc to take from.