Monday, 29 July 2013

RIP Mick Farren

Mohammed Abdullah John Alder, AKA Twink, says: “We certainly had our ups and downs, and I would go so far as to say more downs than ups. However, I will be eternally grateful to Mick who introduced me to Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehreh of Sire Records with a view to him producing a ‘Twink’ album for Sire. I was the drummer with THE PRETTY THINGS at the time, and it came as quite a surprise to me that someone had faith in my abilities to do my own solo album. Thank you, Mick, old pal. R.I.P.”
Tim Blake, the Crystal Machine driver from HAWKWIND, remembers Mick: “He’ll remain one of the London Revolutionaries from the ’68 explosion who kept a straight path in his thinking – and never really Deviated!.. Musically, I wasn’t close at all, but read much of his writing on my way through the past 45 years. Someone suggested a “PinkWind” memorial gig… That’d be the thing you’d get from all the Ex-Hawkwinders clammering for attention – and highly inappropriate . Mick did that kind of thing his way, putting on a gig with THE DEVIANTS , and dropping dead on-stage – Man, he’s always admired the legend of rock ‘n roll, an now he’s pulled it off! You cannot but admire him!”
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Michael Anthony 'Mick' Farren (3 September 1943 - 27 July 2013)

Sunday, 28 July 2013

Angelica Paez: Poker Face (Collage 2011)

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(Thanx Martin!)

♪♫ Asian Dub Foundation - Radio Bubblegum

Scientists ‘freeze’ light for an entire minute

'I Guess You Really Ain't Shit, Questlove'

HA!

167 Theremins inside Russian dolls play 'Symphony No. 9 Boogie'

Have you ever heard of a theremin? If you haven’t, you’re definitely not alone. A theremin, thanks to Wikipedia, is an instrument patented in 1928 by a Russian inventor named Léon Theremin that can be played without touching it. Watching someone play it is almost like watching someone play with a marionette or conduct an orchestra, until you hear the electronic, vaguely piano-like noise that comes out of it in time with the player’s careful hand movements. Really, it looks a bit like magic.
Now imagine one of those russian dolls that fit inside each other, also known as a Matryoshka or Russian nesting dolls. Good. Now picture a theremin inside of a Matryoshka. You’ve just pictured, or tried to picture, a very real instrument called a Matryomin.
In China, there are ensembles that play the Matryomin in groups. One such ensemble is called Matryomin ensemble “Da.” A video of the group’s performance of Beethoven’s 9th appeared on NPR today, and watching the 167 members play together simultaneously is quite a site. In this video they play Beethoven’s 9th with their own added “boogie,” which kicks in around the 1:30 mark.
Watch the full performance above. You can watch more Matryomin videos here.
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