Thursday 24 March 2011
World Water Day
To mark World Water Day, on March 22nd Solidarités International and its agency BDDP Unlimited will roll out a campaign to build awareness of the scourge of undrinkable water.
Today, it is estimated that 3.6 million people, including 1.5 million children under the age of 5, die every year of diseases borne by unhealthy water, making it the world’s leading cause of death.
Yet the public isn’t aware of it and political leaders do not demonstrate the drive it takes to end the terrible deaths. The campaign calls on journalists to spread awareness of this scourge and appeal to readers to sign a petition that will be personally handed to the French president during the 6th World Water Forum in March 2012.
To evoke the silent and invisible threat of unhealthy water, BDDP Unlimited opted for a minimalist approach that is both visually appealing and surprising, using water and ink exclusively. The spot shows the power of ink to reveal the invisible.
The spot, created by BDDP Unlimited, produced by Hush and directed by Clément Beauvais, a young director, illustrator, musician and photographer. His multiple talents and mastery of various techniques enabled him to both create the drawings and direct the spot.
The campaign will be seen from mid-March on TV, in cinemas, on the Internet and in print. A dedicated web site, votregouttedeau.org, will gather signatures for the petition.
Via
Sun Ra: ‘Mr. Honecker, Tear Down This Wall’
I have some odd interests. Two are the Sun Ra Arkestra (the legendary jazz commune/band) and East Germany (the former country). I was reminded that these two interests once intersected by the Ra blog Adventure-Equation last weekend. In trying to sort out the band’s (often label-less) records and tapes that were sold at its shows, the blog mentioned a 1986 performance that was “also broadcast, unedited, on East German TV in 1988, as two 45-minute shows.” That merry band of space pranksters? Broadcast to the East Germans before the Berlin Wall opened? Hilarious! (This clip may be from the same East German concert, to judge from the banner at the back of the stage.)
I imagine a portly East Berlin bachelor getting home from his shift on the S-Bahn, turning on his Robotron Radeberg Combi-Vision RF3301 television set to the Sun Ra concert and saying, “What can this possibly portend?” I’m not implying that Sun Ra and the Arkestra were responsible for the fall of Communism and the opening of the Berlin Wall, but the timing is curious.
Harvey Dickson @'NY Times'
BIG congrats to Yotte (of this parish) for his truly wonderful Sun Ra blog making the NYT!!!
I imagine a portly East Berlin bachelor getting home from his shift on the S-Bahn, turning on his Robotron Radeberg Combi-Vision RF3301 television set to the Sun Ra concert and saying, “What can this possibly portend?” I’m not implying that Sun Ra and the Arkestra were responsible for the fall of Communism and the opening of the Berlin Wall, but the timing is curious.
Harvey Dickson @'NY Times'
BIG congrats to Yotte (of this parish) for his truly wonderful Sun Ra blog making the NYT!!!
Irina Werning: Back to the Future
MORE
Egypt govt passes law criminalizing protests
The new law will be enforced as long as the current Emergency Law is in place, said the Council of Ministers in a statement on Wednesday. The Emergency Law has been in force since 1981 following the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat.
The new law will apply to anyone inciting, urging, promoting or participating in a protest or strike that hampers or delays work at any private or public establishments.
Via
Since the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February, Egypt has witnessed nationwide labor strikes and political protests. Among those protesting have been university students, political activists, railway workers, doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, journalists, pensioners, and the police force.
pourmecoffee pourmecoffee
How bad has it gotten at The Washington Times? They published an Op-Ed on Libya by ... Ted Nugent. http://bit.ly/e3SFAS
The Blitzen Trapper Massacre
Rainn Wilson, or the weird yet hilarious guy we all know as Dwight Schrute from the US version of The Office, stars in this short film, The Blitzen Trapper Massacre, as a homicidal fan who awkwardly tries to join the band but inevitably gets rejected.
Co-written by Wilson and Blitzen Trapper band member, Brian Adrian Koch, and co-directed by Wilson and Joshua Homnick, this short film follows Wilson (with his creepy facial hair and even creepier disposition), getting rejected by the band and the wacky killing spree which he consequently embarks on. From bites to the jugular to putting smashed glass in a sandwich, Wilson crosses the band members off his hitlist one by one, and ends his massacre by performing a cover of their track Furr, covered in blood, to a rather unimpressed and enraged audience.
Hilarious and ridiculous, this short film should act as a warning to other bands planning to say no to fans.
Via
Exxon Valdez 22 years on
Minutes after midnight on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez super tanker ran aground and began leaking oil in Alaska's beautiful and biologically rich Prince William Sound. Today, the sound's herring fishery has not yet recovered, and heavy crude oil can still be found on some beaches just below the surface sand. The lingering lessons of the Exxon Valdez spill are more vital than ever as we contemplate drilling in the extreme, remote and ecologically fragile U.S. Arctic Ocean.
Via
Via
Thurston Moore - Benediction
“Benediction” [192kbps mp3]
Via
Bill Callahan - Baby's Breath
Master folksmith Bill Callahan’s new LP, Apocalypse, is poised for arrival this April 19th. Above is the second track off that LP, described by a press release thusly: “After the album opening salvo of ‘Drover’, the dust settles to reveal - in ‘Baby’s Breath’ - a man on a plot of land which he has chosen to settle. He walks between weed and flower, represented here by dueling guitar lines that could only be described as ‘Middle Western Blues.’” The description goes on in heady, lofty prose, but I think it’s best just to have a listen. It’s brilliantly produced, sparsely arranged, and cinematic in tone, while deftly intertwining a variety of folk modes, all girded by Callahan’s formidable baritone. You can download this single for free at record label Drag City’s website.
Via
Via
♪♫ Four Tet - Unspoken (unreleased version)
Rounds is the third album by Four Tet. It was released on 5 May 2003
A promotional version of the album was issued in March 2003. The only track different from the version on the final release is "Unspoken", which originally featured an alternate piano melody sampled from the Tori Amos song "Winter". Because Amos' record company refused to clear the sample, a new melody was improvised for the official release of Rounds.
A promotional version of the album was issued in March 2003. The only track different from the version on the final release is "Unspoken", which originally featured an alternate piano melody sampled from the Tori Amos song "Winter". Because Amos' record company refused to clear the sample, a new melody was improvised for the official release of Rounds.
Rico Rodriguez - The Legacy (Documentary)
"This documentary (made by Jep Jorba, Miquel Àngel Arnáiz and Ester Casals) is a very humble documentary, in terms of money and material resources. We know that it has its limitations and could be much better.
In spite of that fact, the national TV in Catalunya wanted to show it and everything was OK for the broadcasting. We thought that should be no problem with the rights of the songs, as we didn't get almost any money for that broadcasting.
The surprise was when the companies that owns the rights of the songs asked me an ashaming quantity of money that it was impossible for us to pay. We explained that we were students, that we didn't had that kind of money. We got no reply. Those are the so called "defenders of the rights of the culture-makers". Pure rasclaat lies!
So, after two years, I've decided leaving apart the top-down strategy to an horizontal one, creating this blog, in order to show the entire documentary to everyone.
Please enjoy it!"
http://ricorodriguez-thelegacy.blogspot.com/
via
Sabbath Assembly - Hymn Of The Consecration
From the album Restored to One.
Sabbath Assembly play London's Scala on 12th April with Earth and Beak> - http://www.atpfestival.com/events/earthscala2011.php
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Michael Ciancio – English Language Poster
Keen poster design by Michael Ciancio who states, “basically this was a conclusion I came to at the end of my one-year stay in Europe.” We can all certainly agree.
You can purchase this poster directly from Michael on his site here. There you can see much more of his terrific portfolio.
via
dedicated to my English teacher mona!
4 Times Journalists Held Captive in Libya Faced Days of Brutality
Tyler Hicks, The New York Times photographer near the front line during a pause in the fighting on March 11 in Ras Lanuf, Libya. Four days later, he and three other Times journalists were taken captive by government soldiers.
Word of the day: "Natoesque". That's what the #Libya military operation will be apparently. Which means not Nato-led but Nato-ish. Clear?
Autechre – Radio Mix [1997]
“Radio Mix (or simply Radio, according to the official discography) is a CD-only promotional recording by Autechre. It is mostly made up of continuous, DJ-style remixes of other artists’ tracks, and is considered extremely difficult to get hold of. The mix was released to promote Chiastic Slide.”
Tracklist
Gescom -Mag (Ae Remix)
Lexis – Hypnotise (Autechre Remix)
Gescom – Keynell (Remix)
Slowly – On The Loose (For Internal Use Only)
Push Button Objects – Non-Existant (Keyed In By Gescom)
Jimi Tenor – Take Me Baby (Fucked Up Remix)
Impulse- One Six Four Seven (Numbers Rammed Down My Ear Mix)
Edge Of Motion – Earth Ball (Autechre Remix)
Skinny Puppy – Killing Game (Autechre Remix)
Autechre – Interview
Will Oldham Readies New Single, Audiobook
Back in 2005, Will Oldham, in his Bonnie "Prince" Billy guise, got together with Chavez frontman/guitarist-to-the-stars Matt Sweeney to release the great Superwolf album. On April 19 in the U.S. and April 18 in the UK, the two will reunite to drop a new single, "Must Be Blind" b/w "Life in Muscle", on Drag City in the U.S. and Domino in the UK.
Oldham also has another very different release coming out on Drag City. On June 21, the label will re-press Slow Fade, a 1984 novel by Rudolph Wurlitzer. But before they book comes out, on April 19, the label will release it as an audiobook read by Oldham and a friend of his, High Fidelity/Grosse Point Blank screenwriter D.V. deVincentis. Oldham reads the main story, while deVincentis reads the story within the story.Next month, Oldham will take the audiobook on the road, doing readings at a few East Coast dates. Avant garde guitarist Ben Chasny, otherwise known as Six Organs of Admittance, will provide musical accompaniment, while Magik Markers member Elisa Ambrogio will do an opening reading. We've got the dates below, as well as the video for the Superwolf song "I Gave You".
Oldham also appears in the latest season of the comedy web TV show "The Internet Shack". Watch the first episode here.
Will Oldham:
04-26 Brookline, MA - The Coolidge Corner Theatre *
04-27 Montague, MA - Montague Bookmill *
04-28 Hudson, NY - Basilica Hudson *
04-29 Brooklyn, NY- Spoonbill and Sugartown Booksellers (afternoon) *
04-29 New York, NY- Anthology Film Archives (evening) *
* with Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers), Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance)
Via
Maggie Bjorklund – Coming Home (2011 - Albumstream)
The notion of a female alt-country star from Denmark sounds a bit like a joke, perhaps something Garrison Keillor might mention in passing on A Prairie Home Companion (perhaps referring to a CD the nephew of one of the Norwegian bachelor farmers brought home from college), but Maggie Björklund most certainly isn't kidding, and her first solo album, Coming Home, is a well-crafted, low-key delight. Björklund is a pedal steel guitarist from Copenhagen best known for her work with the Darleens, and she's also backed up a handful of American artists, including Exene Cervenka, Mark Pickerel, and Christy McWilson. Though Coming Home is Björklund's first solo effort, it sounds like the work of a seasoned professional with a clear vision and the talent to bring it to life. Björklund was able to attract some impressive names to help her out on Coming Home; Mark Lanegan duets with her on two tunes, Jon Auer of the Posies sings lead on a pair of songs, Rachel Flotard of Visqueen contributes two vocals, and Joey Burns and John Convertino of Calexico anchor the backing ensemble. While Björklund isn't afraid of sharing the spotlight on this album, her presence is clearly felt on every tune; her pedal steel work is short on needless flash, instead conjuring evocative washes of sound that add color and personality to the songs, while her melodies are richly atmospheric, with American roots music flavors seasoned by melancholy minor-key accents and spare
arrangements that add to the spectral, subtly cinematic effect of this music. And despite the shuffle between instrumentals and a handful of different singers, each with distinct musical personalities, these 11 songs cohere into an album where the whole is superior to the many fine parts. Coming Home is an effective collection of late-night numbers that should serve as a calling card for a musician and songwriter with talent, style, and the know-how to make a truly memorable album. (Marc Deming - allmusic)1. Wasteland
2. Intertwined feat. Mark Lanegan
3. Summer Romance feat. Rachel Flotard
4. Vildspor feat. Jon Auer
5. Falling
6. The Anchor Song feat. Rachel Flotard
7. Insekt
8. Coming Home feat. Mark Lanegan
9. Frost
10. Playground Stars feat. Jon Auer
11. Finale
ALBUMSTREAM
thanks to mona for pointing to this album!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
