free money

2009-08-25T20:55:00.002-06:00

Fuck the haters- I want to go.

The Control OF Nature

2009-08-22T13:10:00.001-06:00

Is it crazy to think that this whole collapsing post-apocalyptic Detroit might be an incredibly interesting and cheap place to live?

Yes.

Finally.

2009-08-21T22:35:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you but this is going to be a big help.

Dream Bomb

2009-08-18T15:35:00.001-06:00

If you look closely you can see the 30 ft tall tank treads this majickal contraption rides upon. Take that, Hummer!

2009-08-07T12:04:00.002-06:00

This is so beautiful it makes me emotional.

!

2009-08-02T01:39:00.001-06:00

Strange and wacky creatures on the clickthru.

Morans!

2009-07-30T22:45:00.001-06:00

Really?

Jimmy the Fingers

2009-07-09T10:36:00.004-06:00

I love this song and this video. It feels like the work of a sympathetic mind.

Newest in New

2009-07-09T10:26:00.003-06:00

After a dog's age of absence, feels like it might be about time to come back to this project. I'm not really sure how to use this format yet, but as I look back over what is here already it seems to have been worth it thus far, and that with some commitment to it and to giving it depth it might just be an interesting outlet. Or maybe the trick is to not think about it at all and just let it be what it wants to be- see what happens. Hopefully there will be more to it as time progresses. Cheers.

!

2008-01-11T11:13:00.001-06:00

This seems to date low 80s. I wonder if this is where they got the idea. Terribly odd.

Incredible

2007-10-16T12:43:00.000-06:00

This magical creation, made by Ron de Jong, may be the most inspiring thing I've come across lately. The fact that one can switch between recumbent and standard on the fly is absolutely mind-blowing.

The Country Squire

2007-10-12T11:15:00.001-06:00

The Country Squire was constructed over a frantic two-day period in August at Chunkstation Zebra in S.E. Portland. Big B. has been delving deeply into no-welds bike architecture, and I found this inspiring, as it's been some time now that I've no welder at my disposal. And a well-placed bolt is actually going to be stronger than a shitty, awkward weld; many times in bike-building, you find yourself making this very choice. I had formerly thought of metal drilling as something requiring a drill press, but no.
I wanted to make something I could take on the plane home.
I wanted to do a rack-and-pinion steering assemblage out to a projected fork, and
I wanted to make something that could be mounted to any bicycle.
As in, a universal (providing one brings a 5/16 metal bit and a drill) chopper front-assemblage, for all those times when you want to bring a chvnk bike somewhere far away. Below is a detail of the steering linkage. I particularly feel good about the front fork: weld-free, made of two front forks and an old 70s rear end.

More Alvord.

2007-10-12T10:54:00.000-06:00

These flats spread approximately 15 miles in all directions.

Yrs trly.

The "Willamaconda." Most successfull of the sailchops, Big B.'s modified co-operator carried two sailors (or more properly a Cptn. and a 1st Mate), went about 15 knots, and handled rougher terrain than the two-wheelers.
This year's trip, while fun as hell, mostly laid the groundwork for a much more successful go next year; a lot of the ins and outs only revealed themselves in the testing stages. For instance, as the Willamaconda illustrates, bigger, heavier bikes with larger sails and more than two-wheels (I personally think 3 is ideal) work much better. I'll post a design for next year's entry shortly.

Lefsetz Letter

2007-10-05T12:14:00.000-06:00

Bob Lefsetz used to or still does work in the music business. I think he was once a big shot entertainment lawyer. Strikingly, he has an array of very salient and interesting observations on music and the very broad changes currently taking place in how music is dispersed. His blog is here.

Alvord Desert, 29 Sep 07

2007-10-04T10:21:00.001-06:00

Recently, we made a trip to southeasternmost Oregon, for "sailchop". We had, as you can see, quite a time. More photos shortly.

Polack Banghra is Back!

2007-09-22T10:02:00.001-06:00

Lovely and Amazing

2007-09-20T21:30:00.000-06:00

A fashion show by designer Hussein Chalayan. (via boing boing gadgets.)

Iraq and Colonial Legacy

2007-09-18T12:02:00.000-06:00

I came across this letter in today's Times.

"To the Editor:

Roger Cohen (column, Sept. 13) considers an Iraq breakup “unthinkable.” Why? What is so sacred about the artificial colonial borders? Why is “democracy” in conflict with self-determination?

Why should the Sunnis and Kurds be ruled by the Shiites? Or in Kosovo, what is so wrong with a referendum, which might result in the Serb-populated areas voting to return to Serbia?

Who are we to set the borders of other nations? How would we feel if they did it to us?"

I think this about sums it up. I would add that all these borders within the former Ottoman Empire were drawn by the British following the defeat of the Turks in the Great War, and that the fallout is still with us.

Web 3.0

2007-09-18T08:49:00.001-06:00

This thread of discussion, which comes from some friends' rather well-known music blog's eulogetic post regarding the end of our band makes for an interesting read, I think, with regard both to the nature of the music business, and to the more interesting and certainly more meaningful role of the interweb in the development of culture and how it is created and consumed. I think we will (I hope) look back on these early years of bloggery as a period of general juvelinility, a sad reflection of the pervasive ill effects of living in a society whose chief national product is a sort of propaganda of meaninglessness, where even something as important as, say, presidential elections are discussed less as rational sets of serious choices between differing strategies for desirable outcomes than as mindless beauty pageants, where hard work, dedication and love are all kind of secondary to the superficial trappings of celebrity and wealth, and where laziness, mental even moreso than physical, is not only not shameful, but in fact absolutely celebrated.
This is not to sound hopeless, but I think it honestly characterizes these sad sad Bush years of an America lost in the desert, wandering, which godwilling will soon to come to an end.
And what I'm really getting at is this, with respect to bloggery, is that these larger issues manifest themselves even in the seemingly small and insulated world of "indie rock" and the constellation of internet forums that surround it; many many people are not only willfully, gloriously ignorant, but are snarky, wanky, and cynical in said ignorance. As I told good friend D. Bartholow, he of the insanely beautiful polaroids, the thing I have always loved about Gorilla Vs. Bear is their unwillingness to discuss music they don't like, and the tacit understanding that de gustibus non est disputandum, that art that we have no use for may be totally useful and rewarding for someone else, and that these choices, whilst reflecting aspects of ourselves, in no way define us. I.e. a kind of grown-up attitude towards music. Part and parcel of our cultural sickness lies in our belief that our choices as consumers define our identities, and therein sits the fundamental nut (and nuttiness) of lame, unhelpful, and boring slaggery on music blogs. Sam's long post at the end is especially resonant in this regard, as he really hammers home the point that makers make for (1) themselves, (2) other makers, (3) friends and loved ones, and on and on til (x to the n) everybody else. Music fans love the myth that the music was made for them, and the fallacy is understandable for they are so genuinely moved by the things they like. But thbis is far from making it so. Hence, with regard to GvB, what I like: they have crafted their approach in the manner of artists, making it a tool for themselves and like-minded interfriends to share stuff they think is cool.
Which brings me to the real underlying thrust of this essay:
We need to fix the way we communicate. We need to restore civility and decorum. Not oppressively so, but generally, and pervasively, and persuasively. I mean laughter is great, and it's own virtue. But. The point is to move this all forward, to trim the fat and baggage and landfills left us by our forebears while replacing these things with new and better and smarter, more rational choices. Because it is a choice. It is one thing to make mean sport of people one finds distasteful in the private laughs with friends (I have certainly slagged many a band/artist/buffoon in my time), but to leave it out there in public, written on the bathroom wall, with only passing thought or thoughtlessness, this is to me totally moronic, especially in the context of something as dumb as "indie rock", and constitutes little more than the playground bully's casual displacement of his own damage and abuse onto the weak bespectacled mama's boy who is the prime candidate for a later career in the rock music. And ultimately the bully is just abusing himself as well, just as those less-than-kind anonymous commenters are really just reflecting their own inability to actually hear anything good, their own insecurity about how they are perceived and about their own judgement of what constitutes goodness in the first place.
So. Let's do this. It can be done, and all the tools are certainly there. Shame is a very powerful regulator of undesirable behavior. It's just a question of how to integrate that structure into something as chaotic as the internet. But as far as memes go, this one seems to have it's own internal strength and logic and I know many people are already diligently working on this very problem. I'd love to read any responses any of you might have to this.

The Dream Is Over

2007-09-16T10:09:00.001-06:00

I have thus far eschewed the blog-as-confessional-diary and I plan to keep it that way in the future. But.
It was a strange day yesterday. We played the biggest show we'd ever played, and then it was over, and now it is done. I went to work. In an odd twist, the trailer hitch broke off three blocks from Big Orange on the way home. Spooky and perfect.

I don't feel sad. It's just so incredibly strange to now look back on all this in hindsight.
We really had a great run, though I'm not sure if outsiders realize this. I got to do so many amazing things.
I saw this beautiful fucked up country of ours more completely than I had ever thought to. I swam in every river between San Francisco and Minneapolis. I saw the Rosetta Stone, and the Elgin Marbles, and climbed up the cliffs of Edinburgh Castle. I had a moment with David Bowie (he smelled like freshly baked cookies) whilst watching Arcade Fire destroy Central Park from the side of the stage. I listened to the masters of the original Smile (which nobody will ever hear) and toured the Reverb Chambers underneath the Capitol building. I was introduced by David Bailey to Julian Schnabel, who was wearing a bathrobe on the corner of 8th Avenue and 23rd st, and I stood on top of a hidden missile silo in North Dakota at sunset.

I made many beautiful talented friends, and we had a lot of laughs.

I grew up and learned who I really was and to believe in that.
I became a real musician, for which I will always be grateful.

I joined a most amazing group of friends and we chased our dreams and wrestled them down out of the ether and were in turn chased and wrestled by them. Some of those wrestling matches are still going on.
I was incredibly lucky, and I am very grateful for all the lovely and even some of the not-so-lovely people that helped to make it happen. Thanks to all.

Old vs. Young

2007-09-13T01:29:00.000-06:00

Yet another gem culled from excessive attention to boing boing: man on the street interviews (it's got to be NY) regarding young people's attitude towards old people, vice versa, with lots of fun topics like the N word, rap music, and B.O. Sample city.

Mario Zen

2007-09-11T19:34:00.000-06:00

It seems that Mario has finally learned to just stop trying so hard and be himself. Look at how many benefits spring from his newfound equanimity and detached calm!

86

2007-09-10T22:54:00.000-06:00

Music of the Spheres

2007-09-08T07:47:00.001-06:00

Apparently Toshio Iwai was able to convince Yamaha to pay him to make this. As you can see, it is a kind of live, totally improvisational sequencer with a purely visual interface. I'm not sure how totally awesome this particular device might be, but it bodes well for the future. I am guessing different sounds/samples may be selected.

Regime Change

2007-09-07T22:40:00.000-06:00

Alrighty dear reader/s (whosoever few/nil thou art)
I promise to begin with more and better posts shortly. Yes. Fine then.
Let's get small, yes?

Not an animation.

2007-04-02T12:41:00.001-06:00

This little piece of techno-art magic was produced by a certain Sachiko Kodama and his/her (?) friend/collaborator Yasushi Miyajima. It involves magnetic dust and cpu-programmed currents that make the dust dance. Kind of makes me wish I had stayed in school. And that I was born in Japan.

Insanity

2007-03-28T17:47:00.001-06:00

These gentlemen have a large house, a video camera, and way more free time than me. They are also awesome. Apparently, more of the same can be harnessed here.

Jen Stark

2007-03-28T16:46:00.000-06:00

Jen Stark made this beautiful cut paper object, among many others. I like.

2007-03-24T00:22:00.001-06:00

Beauty

2007-03-21T09:22:00.000-06:00

If you have never encountered the work of Jim Woodring, now is the time.
Above, a prehistoric sea slug who closely resembles the fruit of Mr. Woodring's candy-colored interior life.

Imagine

2007-03-20T12:58:00.000-06:00

This is a virtual tour of a cell at Guantanamo. Jesus.

A Behemoth's Slow and Agonizing Demise

2007-03-17T12:11:00.000-06:00

Apparently, David Byrne gave a presentation here at SXSW regarding the future of the music industry. Essentially, Byrne's prediction is that we will go totally wild-west/free-market sometime in the next 5-10 years. Music will be written, recorded, and distributed by it's makers with only a small, managerial/promotional role played by the people who used to run the show. I say bring it on, unless Rick Rubin gets his way.

Old ladies from Florida

2007-03-10T19:11:00.001-06:00

Nice.

2007-03-09T13:25:00.001-06:00

#30

As a general admirer, even addict, of elegant and eye-pleasing design, I recommend this. Spanish print ads from the 70s courtesy of this gentleman.

2007-03-08T02:12:00.000-06:00

The Glenn Branca Challenge

2007-03-07T20:17:00.001-06:00

Glenn Branca is a musician/composer known for bridging the gap between the more academic/serious experimental music of people like Phillip Glass, John Cage, and Steve Reich and the wierd downtown art-rock of late 70s-early 80s New York, most famously Sonic Youth. J. Neal of Allmusic places him in the "fringe between the edgier end of art music and the artsier end of rock." Among his works: a symphony for 100 electric guitars performed at the base of the World Trade Center in 2000.

Anyways, quoth same in his New York Times blog (web-and-members-only TimesSelect edition, hence the cutting annd the pasting):

"Yes, this is a contest.

And it’s open to any and everyone.

Here are the rules. Write and record up to three minutes of startlingly new and original instrumental chords. They can be scored in any fashion whatsoever, using any instrumentation or sound producing devices. You can submit a static series of chords or you can perturb the chords in any fashion. You can just submit one big gorgeous chord if you wish.

The submissions can be sent . . . in the form of a posted link to a site where a recording of the piece can be heard (like MySpace, for example).

At the end of the month I will announce the winners on my last blog entry.

I was hoping to be able to have some kind of small rewards for the winners, but it’s not possible at this time. The links to all of the entries will stay posted in the comment section so that people can judge for themselves if they don’t like my choices. But I will only post entries that seem to be within the spirit of the contest.

[Legal Note: By submitting a link to music you represent and warrant that the music found there is your original creation and that it does not infringe on any existing copyright.]

Anyone who can’t post an entry because they’re not a member of TimesSelect can just send the link to me at glenn@glennbranca.com and I’ll post it.

In searching for lost chords there can only be one method, and that is the method that eschews all pre-existing methods."

Wow. That last line is a real doozy, right?

Glenn Branca's website, and a picture of a truly insane guitar, can be found here.

Vintage Violence.

2007-03-06T05:45:00.001-06:00

Made by Christy Karacas, erstwhile late-night drinking companion of 2002 (the bearded man in front) at the Greenpoint Tavern, where hopefully one can still buy a 32 oz. Budweiser for 3.50, though I am doubtful.

on the fickleness of the universal order:

(really quite touching, isn't it?)

and of the vanity and cruelty of men:

(To download in entirety click here or here.)

Now This.

2007-03-06T03:35:00.001-06:00

wow.

Greetings and Salutations!

2007-03-06T01:52:00.000-06:00

Hello, dear reader, peoples of the world/interweb, my hopeful and beloved posterity,
As this constitues my baptismal post, I apologize there is not much to it. Hoping to hereby keep a record of notable items, happenings, photographs, artworks, news of my own doings and findings, should there be any, or those of my associates and colleagues (somewhat likelier), I have made this tentative step into a net-existence hopefully more fertile than that of myspace. At the very minimum, it has forced me to finally learn how to write a hyperlink. Should anyone besides myself find meaning in any of this, please let me know. Cheers.