Summer 2011 is here
Musically speaking.
Goldroom (solo project of Josh Legg from Nightwaves) has put out a few tracks that are just the EPITOMY of Summer. Especially this song, Morgans Bay, which has just every sound from the wonderful Southern California beaches. It’s the perfect care-free/relaxing but always moving, song.
Lot of news coming soon, it’s been busy town over here. For now enjoy this massive tune:
Goldroom – Morgan’s Bay by Goldroom
one/off – the bird
One/off: b&w design prints created in 15-minutes (or less). Each is a quick reflexive creation that comes from moments in my life, as it happens. Starting on the blog, eventually all the designs will be put together in some as-yet undetermined way.
April. whoa.
I finally moved back to Los Angeles! Whoooop! Thank goodness I got out of the OC. I like Costa Mesa a lot, but everything around it is balls.
Moved into the Yellow house on the Little Hill in LA. That IS code, so don’t worry. The word Lomita means Little Hill in Spanish.
Enjoy this tune. Brand New kills it, and this dub remix supports the original in an amazing way. Took a tune and made it even better, that’s what I call good remixing.
2.O
Put this together quickly today while watching a rousing Meet The Press.
Man David Gregory is cool.
TWO point O.
these days…
ugh ,
what day is it? mild sickness & a lot of “NEW” things, is so dizzying. what a combo. backsoon.
We only look and don’t speak
great song. great video with found footage from a Brazilian Punk documentary.
You’re my favorite daydream
I’m your famous nightmare
Devilish
I’ll be the first to admit that for 8 years, beginning in 2000, I was fairly convinced that the Vice President of the USA was born of the Devil & a Harlot. His insidious puppeteering brought the behemoth country to it’s knees rather quickly. The man seemed evil – the aura of darkness peered out from the TV back at us in our living rooms. Many saw a grandfather figure in the old hunchback, but I saw something much darker, the lurking black behind the eyes, the pit in his gut, the knives in back pockets.
I seemed to be vindicated when I learned that the man had withstood death multiple times – of course the spawn of satan would beat death at her own game, multiple times. When he was given a mechanical heart I knew the worst had happened – Evil had teamed up with Machines. The end was nigh! The machines were slowly taking over, a top-down approach. As always throughout history, the clutches of deception strangled the most powerful among us, slowly letting the black blood drip down the social pyramid. It was only a matter of time before we were all covered in the goo, the black tar heroin of our extinction.
But it seems that something has happened to the fallen angel – he has been given a new heart pump and something about the man glows warmth now. I caught an interview with the man on TV the other night, wherein he both looked better (his skin was not a deathly white, his hunch was un-hunched, he did not talk out of the side of his mouth as if every word was barely getting past his diminishing moral center) and spoke better (a softness unseen previous, a rationality uncharacteristic of Republicans and a willingness to let go of previous beliefs). The man won me over, and I found myself aghast at both his words, tone and humanity.
If Mr. Dick Fucking Cheney can become human again, perhaps I can also let go of resentful memories and atrocious demonization of a person I, truly, hardly know. Maybe his terms in the White House took a heavier toll than us plebeians could imagine? Perhaps the corruption of power was vast and deep. I too know the horrors of falling into a dream-like existence, where the mirror feels more like a projection than a reflection. The hazy feeling of being so deep into something so wrong you can hardly remember where you live at night. The isolation you can’t understand, the despair as you feel all of those around you slowly become strangers. The fact that it is YOU becoming a stranger, and not them, escapes you, and will always escape you until the haze is lifted.
Until further notice, my hatred of Dick Cheney is on hiatus. He is no longer the specter haunting us, though we must not forget the damage the shadows he cast have done on countless thousands of lives. But his damage is done, and grudging does nothing but drag you into a deep well behind the family farm.
2011: rolling deep
It’s a new year. New work, new locations. Many new things in 2011. The year of the rabbit has begun with a ferocious bang for me and I intend to keep the fevered pace.
Much like Adele, I’ll be rolling in the deep, with my heart and soul.
Is there any other way to live?
Don’t Ask
President Obama this morning signed into law the bill repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
“I am just overwhelmed,” Obama said as he took the stage among chants of “Yes we can!” and whoops from the audience. “This is a very good day.”
this IS a VERY VERY good day
What did you learn tonight?
Oh, order your daughters to ignore me
think that will sort me?
and sweep me under the rug?
while you’re beating with a book
everyone that book tells you to love.There is an ember in the heart of this kiln
and it’s burning hot with love.
Burning out my center till there’s nothing but dust
then rolling me with care into your cigarette
cause the God i believe in never worked on a campaign trail.
Brand New have always been a pillar of independent rock music. Their style, lyrical content and maturity have always been the most exciting, beautifully intricate and profound music around. This song, The Archers Bows are Broken is a great track off their effort “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me” (2006), and is full of political and social commentary. The power and drive the band puts into this song really lets their frantic yet determined fever show through.
Brand New is one of those rare and far in-between groups that really stick out as legendary unsung heroes. Despite their solid rise through popularity in the music world, they still sit poised to take on the entire scene, but just like their music, the band seems content to just sit back, enjoy and comment on it all. Fame does not concern them.
With the rain coming down outside, and nothing pressing to work on, my mind follows Brand New through their somber tales and feverishly paced angst. It’s a slow burn, a slow boil. The heat on low, the constant sound outside, slow guitar drips from the stereo and everything is ok.
from their hit, Jesus Christ:
Jesus Christ, I’m alone again. So what did you do those three days you were dead?
Because this problem is going to last more than the weekendJesus Christ, I’m not scared to die
But I’m a little bit scared of what comes after
Do I get the gold chariot, Or do I float through the ceiling?Or do I divide and pull apart
Because my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark
This ship went down in sight of land
And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?I know you’re coming in the night like a thief
But I’ve had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique
I know you think that I’m someone you can trust
But I’m scared I’ll get scared and I swear I’ll try to nail you back up
So do you think that we could work out a sign
So I’ll know it’s you and that it’s over so I won’t even try
Feeling Right
PUNCHES bring the feelin right. This little jam is a great blend of disco, funk and straight up party music. The 3man team kill it with their recent EP release, Sleepless City. This official video does the perfect job of describing the mood of the song – all members dancing silly and just getting into the groove. You can feel the love, and you can feel that you’re feeling right. bam.
Future Generation
475 VOLVER from cinthia marcelle.
Exercises in futility seldom have paid off as handsomely as they did Friday for Cinthia Marcelle, a 36-year-old Brazilian conceptual artist who was named the first winner of the Future Generation Art Prize sponsored by Victor Pinchuk, the Ukranian billionaire art collector who’s on the board of L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
Futility seems to be around us, our collective breath a constant reminder of this. From futility in everyday life, to the incessant bickering we see on the 24hr News Box. It seems that futility finally pays off – the futility of waiting trumped by the active interest in futility. My contradictions abound, and futility itself is a reflection of contradiction.
Why work on your body when you’re doomed anyhow? The futility of exercise. Why wake up when you’re only going back to sleep? The futility of experience.
Whatever side you come down on this, it seems inevitable that futility will be the backbone of the Future Generation. The futility that has grown in our bones is now showing on our collective faces – and we will continue. Why? Because giving up on futility is itself, a futile exercise.
Lovingly, Rose Peebles
The MATERIAL ladies have done it again. This time they’ve put together a photography show with the theme of peer editorialization.
From the show:
For this exhibition, ten artists, who all work with photography in some form, have been invited to edit the work of another. The structure is that of a star. Through a process of studio visits, correspondences and conversations, each artist has been in dialogue with and helped select the work of another for this exhibition, in a chain until the first point of the star. This exhibition’s content is generated by these conversations and collaborations between artists, and the subject of the show—rather than being organized around a single theme—is instead constituted by these processes.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the MATERIAL ladies are hosting an artist talk & discussion event Today (Sat, Dec 11th) at the Brand Library. For the exhibition MATERIAL also put together a small broadsheet that houses the conversations, poetry and other correspondences the artists had with each other. The texts range from email exchanges to poetic responses to diatribes and everything in between.
To promote the show, the texts and work of the artists, MATERIAL also decided to create a mini-site to house all the texts, images and information for the show. They asked me to work on designing and coding the site, and I think we were able to come up with something that both reflects the tone of the show as well as engages the viewer – in the way the artists & editors were engaged with each other. The basic premise of the design was to make it so that, like in the show, each artist is linked to each other. The only navigation through the site revolves around the star – to get to an artists work you must work through the star to get to them, seeing everyone else’s work along the way. This idea reflects the basic premise of the show – interconnectivity – and the sparse cleanliness of the site conveys the clinical and barren tone of the exhibition in it’s space.
one/off – eyes
One/off: b&w design prints created in 15-minutes (or less). Each is a quick reflexive creation that comes from moments in my life, as it happens. Starting on the blog, eventually all the designs will be put together in some as-yet undetermined way.
Dogs in Office
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said during floor debate that Republicans are taking their strategy from Lucy van Pelt, the cartoon girl who takes the football away right before Charlie Brown tries to kick it.
“We’ve all heard Republicans weep for the deficit they say they fear. Democrats agree that we need to do something about it,” Reid said. “But what did Republicans do? They pulled away the football and said: Rather than reduce the deficit, we’d really rather give an unnecessary, unwanted and unaffordable handout to the richest of the rich.”
The Republicans who hold office in this country are clearly nothing more than paid whores for the wealthy capital-driven unconscionable controllers of our media, culture, oil, transportation, etc…
Today those Republicans (many voted in by lower-class middle-americans with good hearts but clouded judgement – thank you FOX news), decided that they would hold the unemployed and poor hostage until the rich are given their tax breaks. Like some sleazy bizarro Robin Hoods, these ethical degenerates are showing their true colors. Their time WILL come, their hypocrisy will continue to show and soon they will be sent out of Washington like the pathetic dogs they are.
Next time you vote, 2012, do this country a favor and vote for anyone BUT a Republican.
CT: The New Limb
Over at Creamteam.tv, I introduce you to The New Limb. Read my thoughts on the fun young band, here.
The Revolution Is NOT Coming
The United States of Rome. In a country where political leaders are either spineless and unable to mobilize, or their motives are purely gains for the wealthy and wealthier, what can you expect? With this many holes in the boat, why have you not jumped out yet? What are you waiting for?
Sometimes I believe the holes close themselves, and sometimes they do. Sometimes we make smart decisions – Elizabeth Warren I’m looking at you – and I would be remise in denying that fact. Regardless it feels more like an alcoholic who occasionally doesn’t drink, and loves to say “I have 10 days sober!”, all the meanwhile they’ve moved onto smoking crack.
When do your good choices outweigh your bad ones? When are you empirically good and not intrinsically bad? How much does it mean to be in 19th place versus 20th place? Dead Last is not much worse than Next to Last – or is it?
Do you run out of the burning building, or continue to cook your hot pockets all the while believing that only the servants quarters will burn down and your master bedroom will be spared? How far do you have to travel down the delusion? How far does the rabbit hole of your own denial take you? Can you even see the light anymore? Do you remember what the color white looks like?
Are we all on shrooms, or is this actually happening? Am I watching Rome burn down before my eyes, or will the Fire Department get here before then? What will the damage be? How many centuries will the fire blaze?
A friend told me he thinks America will turn into a big playground for rich elite foreigners. I like the idea, but have reservations that this charred reservation will ever be a “fun” place. The ride only goes down from here. Are you going to count the diminishing returns, or strike out and start over before all is lost?
When do you hold em, and when do you fold em?
Back Home
Bronxville is an affluent village within the town of Eastchester, New York, in the United States. It is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of midtown Manhattan[2] in southern Westchester County. At the 2000 census, Bronxville had a population of 6,543.
For Thanksgiving I took a little trip out to Bronxville, NY to visit my studious girlfriend. The town is a beautifully quaint colonial town, nestled in the North Eastern woods of America. Highly recommend.
Signing back into the grind.
Out of the blackhole, into the black muck.
Waste Land
Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT, COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.
I’m seeing this on Wednesday and I’m VERY excited. Check the trailer, I think you’ll want to catch this gem.
One/off – Crashycle
One/off: b&w design prints created in 15-minutes (or less). Each is a quick reflexive creation that comes from moments in my life, as it happens. Starting on the blog, eventually all the designs will be put together in some as-yet undetermined way.
Young Blood
The Naked & Famous hit heavy and big with this wildly catchy tune. “Young Blood” has been on heavy rotation over here – with its super-sweet lyrics, entrancing melody and immaculate drum breaks, I just can not get enough of this song. Not to mention this video does a terrific job of taking you on a fun and interesting journey through the song. Very few music video directors do justice to the attitude and personality a song exhudes, but Special Problems hit this one out of the park. A catchy video for a catchy tune – what more could you ask for?
the Futility of Making Salad
This past Sunday, Oct 3rd, the MATERIAL Press ladies put on a truly exciting event; The Futility of Making Salad. An artist panel discussion revolving around the idea of “community”.
From the press release:
Joseph Kosuth, in “Art and Its Public” defined an artist community as “…a community of artists who collectively, through individual effort, define what is meaningful at a particular historical moment concretely within the practice of their activity.” And comedian Stephen Fry, while viciously ripping into a head of lettuce, asks why making a salad (with no other motive other than love!) (and a decent desire!) is so frustratingly futile. We have invited a number of artists to address the question: is there such a thing as an artist community? Do they feel a part of one? What constitutes it? What would it mean to be able to collectively define meaning today, in a diverse and ever-changing art world?
The astounding panel was comprised of some of the more interesting Los Angeles based artists working in fields ranging from photography to film/video and writing. The full list included: Mathew Timmons, Marcus Civin, Elana Mann, Adam Overton, Dorit Cypis, Julie Orser, Melanie Nakaue, Ginny Cook & Kim Schoen.
MATERIAL Press worked with Insert Press to create a 52page booklet with submitted texts based on the idea of “community”, and specifically an “artistic community”. I was fortunate enough to get to handle all the design & typesetting of the booklet, and it turned out great. The booklet is a companion piece to the panel discussion, and features writing from the panelists, as well as other artist/writers who were asked by MATERIAL & Insert to submit their thoughts and words on the idea of “community”. The final piece is a beautifully crafted booklet featuring some of the best and brightest thoughts and words.
You can pick up a copy of the book, The Futility of Making Salad, over at the MATERIAL Press website. And if you’d like to check out the booklet, and see what I got to design & work on, then you can do so on my website, Futility of Making Salad.
Enter the Void
Enter The Void is far-and-away one of the most engaging, seductive, unrelenting and powerful films I’ve seen in a really long time, possibly ever. Gaspar Noé does an incredible job at bringing you right into the middle of the film. He pulls and prods you through a post-life experience, and every uncomfortable, awkward and disturbing thing that happens, twists the story deeper and forces you to not just ‘watch’, but ‘FEEL’ this film.
It’s hard to put into words what the movie is about, but i found this to be useful:
A surrealist drama about a drug-dealing teen killed in Japan, after which he reappears as a ghost to watch over his sister, Enter the Void is a provocative yet contemplative exploration of life, death and sexuality.
Somewhere between a drama, art film and drug movie, Enter The Void is NOT a film to be missed. I recommend watching this on as big a TV as possible, because the visuals are astounding, and yet they do nothing but fully support the story-telling. Truly the most ambitious, successful and provocative film to come out in the last 20+ years.
‘Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption’
“The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has just completed a detailed review of more than 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer. Its conclusion is rocking the health world with startling bluntness: Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption. Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.”
If sodium nitrite is so dangerous to humans, why do the FDA and USDA continue to allow this cancer-causing chemical to be used? The answer, of course, is that food industry interests now dominate the actions by U.S. government regulators. The USDA, for example, tried to ban sodium nitrite in the late 1970’s but was overridden by the meat industry. It insisted the chemical was safe and accused the USDA of trying to “ban bacon.” Today, the corporations that dominate American food and agricultural interests hold tremendous influence over the FDA and USDA. Consumers are offered no real protection from dangerous chemicals intentionally added to foods, medicines and personal care products.
Arm yourself, Read the article and learn what to stay away from the next time you go shopping, or when considering what to eat out.
Be safe, eat well. Stay away from sodium nitrite.
New D/L Blog
Welcome to the D/L blog. It’s been a long time since i’ve had my own personal dedicated blog, but in conjunction with the soft release of my new website design (totally not finished yet, but the basic framework is here).
As with my new portfolio site, this blog will cover any topic i deem worthy. from music, to film, to politics, to whatever. I hope you enjoy.