Nouns

SUMMER MUSIC:


MORE SUMMER MUSIC:



I know this album isn't exactly "new" by some standards, but in my world it's new because it's not from the '70s and/or the '90s. No Age's newest full length, Nouns, is going to be on heavy rotation this summer along with the new Black Lips, Sebastian Tellier, and this Colette No. 7 mix I found in my bedroom at my parent's house this weekend.

& MORE SUMMER MUSIC:

Françoise Hardy

On such an ugly, rainy day all I want to do is listen to nice music and look at this pretty face.

Sometimes I really wish my parents gave birth to me in Paris, France and not in Staten Island, NY. Not that they've even been to Paris, I'm just saying...

RUN-D.M.C. VS JASON NEVINS

IT'S LIKE THAT, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS!

I don't mean to hate on the ladies but the guys won this one. SORRY!

Rockin' the Casbah

"The word "torture" doesn't appear in our orders."

Clip from The Battle of Algiers directed by Gillo Pontecorvo (1966)

If you haven't seen this movie, I think you should add it to the top of your Netflix queue. Or borrow it from the local library. And if you really like what you see, may I then suggest reading Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth? Oops, I just did.

Scenes from La Haine aka My Favorite Movie EVER.

I love everything about this clip. I love even more about the movie.



C'EST MOI TU PARLES COMME CA MA MEC?!

A few clues for latecomers: Several weeks ago... A pile of money... An English class... A house by the river... A romantic young girl...

I also must admit that the opening credits of this film are my second favorite part of this movie.

JEAN-LUC
CINÉMA
GODARD

Chiho Aoshima 青島千穂

If you like Murakami, I'm 98% sure you'll like Chiho Aoshima (she is a part of Murakami's Kaikai Kiki Collective):






The artist's webpage is here.
Kaikai Kiki Collective's webpage is here.

I'll be your savior, steadfast and true. I'll come to your emotional rescue.

I present to you (all) the Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue" for your viewing & listening pleasure:



One time at Enid's, the dj played the Franz Ferdinand version of "All My Friends" followed by "Emotional Rescue." That was a great night out, if only for hearing those two songs.

P.S. If anyone knows where I can get a copy of Cocksucker Blues, I'll be your BFFAEAE. Promise.

Mister Lonely

I don't know how I didn't know about this, maybe it's the fact that I've been completely ignoring movies since I saw There Will Be Blood in the theatre, or maybe it's because I either LOVE or HATE Harmony Korine and stopped paying attention... Either way I really want to see Mister Lonely.


INTERNATIONAL TRAILER

Reasons I'll See It:

Harmony Korine
Diego Luna
Samantha Morton
Michael Jackson
The Soundtrack w/J. Spaceman & Sun City Girls
Paris, France

And just for fun, Harmony Korine talks about ODB:


"I want to plant my seed up in there!" RIP ODB

Internationally Known: Mel-1 and PK The Mixtape Maniacs

Mel-1 and PK. The Mixtape Maniacs:

Who we?

We're both are O.G. New Yorkers (Him-harlem world, Her-Shaolin)
We both possess MA's from overpriced private universities.
We both know what goes down in la banlieue.
We both are the oldest of four children.
We know all about the CRS and the Guardia Civil.

CIRCA '97
It's pretty apparent that Mel-1 and myself live parallel lives. When we found out that we had both delivered very important mix tapes to people within one month of each other, we were like "Oh, word?" So in celebration of our efforts, we've decided to dissect and discuss each other's mixes in a joint blog entry.

-PK, May 15, 2008

CIRCA '07 - TEN YEARS STRONG

Read Colonel K Speaks for Pat's thoughts on Melissa's Mix.

PAT K BRINGS THE RUCKUS:

Name of mix: SSS
Author: The Man, The Myth, The Legend... Colonel K.
Nature of origin: Friendly request
Length: 1hour, 6 minutes
Most difficult challenge during compilation: It was rough having to cut "Machine Gun" by Portishead at the very last second because it didn't "fit." Also, it was pretty hard finding moody songs to use as transitions between the more upbeat material as well as trying to lace the tracks with secret messages without being crass or obvious.

Two Favorite Tracks:
"Camino del sol" by Antena
"Sketch for Summer" by The Durutti Column

The Goods:
*Bang Blur
*Camino Del Sol Antena
*Climbing Up The Walls (Zero 7 Remix from Com Lag EP) Radiohead
*Moody ESG
*Loaded (Album Version) Primal Scream
*Poppies In The Field The Teardrop Explodes
*Sketch for Summer The Durutti Column
*Hot as Sun/Glasses/Suicide Paul McCartney
*Crucifix Heaven (vinyl ONLY) Felt
*Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen Cover) Nouvelle Vague
*Ando Meio Desligado Os Mutantes
*Prairie Rose Roxy Music
*Nothing Can Stop Us Saint Etienne
*The Bomb- The Bucketheads
*Fisherman (Album version) The Congos
*We Are All Bourgeois Now McCarthy

La Histoire:

Everyone remembers how they met their best friend. Pat and I go way back - I think it started by discovering our mutual love for skateboarding and music (namely Eric Koston and Minor Threat) back in ’97 when rap was still good and Coney Island High was still around. As we are both music elitists to a certain extent (being a handful of students who actually knew who the fuck Fugazi were IS empowering), I can say that Pat has always had remarkable taste in music. Not only in the sense that he knows good from bad, but also because Pat makes music himself and understands it on an entirely different wavelength than the typical music fan. Pat’s knowledge of the Beatles and Radiohead recording sessions could put John Peel to shame thus when I received the track listing for his latest mix, I couldn’t NOT love it. Pat’s taste and intentions ring through on each track.

This is the quintessential spring time mix. It makes me wish I were in a park somewhere in Europe with some portable speakers, a couple of 40s (though in Europe the preferred term is liters) and an accomplice. Tulieres or Montjuic would serve well. SSS covers much musical territory. If you know Pat, you know he is a huge fan of Tony Wilson’s brainchild, Factory Records, and has included on this mix The Durutti Column and other similarly sounding bands like Primal Scream and Felt that have the ticking metronome of a punk song but maintain their airy eloquence with experimental instrumentation. Pat doesn’t just remain in UK land, oh no, he expands outside of post -punk by taking a trip to Brazil by throwing in some tropicalia and a little funk in the mix. South Bronx’s finest, ESG, graces the mix with “Moody,” a groovy song with a sweet hook and ill bass line that clearly draws its influence from the hip hop and disco dancing phenomena that were sweeping New York City at the time (yep, viva the early ‘80s, only for the music). The Os Mutantes track is obligatory and acidic, whilst The Bomb is one of those dancey house-influenced throwbacks that makes you wish the Dee-Lite and Kenny Dope days weren’t a distant memory. You have the cool-out stretch with The Congos, because a little reggae never hurt nobody. Overall, the mix empowers the listener with that “spring is here, bitches!” sentiment. It bangs out with moody tracks all the way through. Upbeat and appropriately mellow at times, the mix is reminiscent of that which is the essence of spring.

P.S. We really need to move to Europe ASAP.

Just Saying.

Contrary to the rest of the world, I like:


better than


///end transmission.

Ballymun Projects, Dublin, IE

Being a volunteer at the New Museum's Hub & Resource Center, I meet a lot of interesting people on a weekly basis. The last exhibit at the Hub was called Tlatelolco and the localized negotiation of future imaginaries curated by the Museo Tamayo, Tlatelolco, Mexico City, Mexico. Below is the overview by curators Jorge Munguía and Tobias Ostrander.

In approaching the subject of neighborhood or barrio, we address this topic by defining a barrio as a multifaceted, fluctuating structure that contains within it not only a particular identification with a site, but also with a set of human relationships, ideals and visions about what a particular space is and can possibly become. We recognize this collective identification as representing shared desire or desires and as such the notion of barrio inherently involves the projection of a future imaginary or potentiality.

Tlatelolco's history plays a huge role in the concept of neighborhood. Tlatelolco is well known for being situated around the Plaza de las tres culturas wherein the Spanish, Aztec and post-colonial influence are represented. This was the site of protests which resulted in the massacre of over 300 students, two weeks before the '68 Olympics in Mexico City. Shortly thereafter, there was an earthquake that devastated Tlatelolco. Tlatelolco is almost a forgotten part of Mexico City, a section of the city that gets little attention from its own government. Through the artists' pieces that were exhibited at the Hub, the sentiment that Tlatelolco's inhabitants are uninvolved and lack the initiative to take control of their own pueblo seems to resonate above all.

A woman from Dublin was visiting the museum and told me about the Ballymun Hotel in Dublin. Unlike Tlatelolco, a city loittered with vacant buildings and lasting impressions of the marginalization of those without money and government support, Ballymun took its social stature and used it artistically. Ballymun's original seven towers have mostly been demolished but, Clarke Tower (which has since been torn down), was turned into a hotel, used to engage Ballymun's inhabitants in a more artistic/cultural sense.



PHOTOS FROM ONE OF THE HOTEL ROOMS, BEFORE & AFTER

From Ballymun Hotel's webpage:

Guests at Hotel Ballymun were able to appreciate the spectacular views over Dublin, just weeks before these views ceased to exist. Clarke Tower is due for demolition in Summer 2007.

In addition to the nine individually designed, single and double bedrooms there was a garden room, a tv lounge, communal kitchen, reception area, breakfast and seating area, as well as an intimate conference and events centre.

The rooms were furnished with one-off pieces, customised and remodelled from existing furniture, which were designed and made by people from the Ballymun area, during a two month series of workshops with Irish design duo Sticks and recent RCA graduate Jonathan Legge.

A diverse programme of cultural and social events took place in the Hotel. Talks, live art and music performances took place at the Hotel throughout the day and in the evenings. From 2.00 p.m to 5 p.m daily there was also a chance for the general public to take the lift up to view Hotel Ballymun. There were a maximum of twenty places in the audience or for participants, depending on the nature of the event, making for an intimate and memorable experience.

The concept of neighborhood and claiming one's community as their own is an interesting and engaging theme that applies heavily to art and the arts. What is it that makes one feel a sense of community? What is that pulls community members apart? How does this effect art and how can art effect it? How can we engage community and the arts as a combined force for the beautification and betterment of the places we live?

The New Museum's next exhibit is entitled Dongducheon: A Walk to Remember A Walk to Envision and is opening this week, curated by the Insa Art Space from Seoul, SK.

Beam Me Up, Scotty

Devorah Sperber recently had an exhibition called Mirror Universe at the Caren Golden Fine Art Gallery in Chelsea.


The above is made out of BEADS. My mind was blown.


Spock & Kirk made out of chenille.

A few words about the show from Caren Golden's webpage:

The title, Mirror Universe, alludes to the 1967 Star Trek episode Mirror, Mirror in which a transporter mishap swaps the crew of the Enterprise with evil counterparts, trapping them in a “savage parallel universe.” The concept of a mirror or parallel universe is a dominant theme in the show, and, in keeping with this metaphor, many of the works incorporate mirrors to view the work. For Sperber the exhibition is an opportunity to look at the relationship between popular science and art, and how they relate to larger metaphysical issues. In particular, she is interested in how consciousness and the act of seeing create the illusion of a stable, predictable, singular world.

SO. EFFING. COOL.

I Stay Coogi Down To The Socks

Usually during that time of the month I get really emotional. When I say emotional, I mean I literally start to cry when I listen to some of my favorite fallen rappers. The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered at only TWENTY-FOUR years old. That shit blows my mind. Biggie was one of the best rappers in my opinion for his simplicity and honesty. Rappers like to glorify shit and act tougher than they really are. Biggie was never about that. He was about teaching his audience where he came from and how he was able to turn it around through rap.



The above is probably my all time favorite photo of Biggie. One day I'm going to get t-shirts made with that image. Until then, i'll listen to Ready to Die over and over and leave you with the lyrics to Juicy to marinate on.

Yeah, this album is dedicated to all the teachers that told me
I'd never amount to nothin', to all the people that lived above the
buildings that I was hustlin' in front of that called the police on
me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughters,
and all the niggaz in the struggle, you know what I'm sayin'?

Uh-ha, it's all good baby bay-bee, uh

It was all a dream
I used to read Word Up magazine
Salt'n'Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine
Hangin' pictures on my wall
Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl
I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped
Smokin' weed and bamboo, sippin' on Private Stock
Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack
With the hat to match
Remember Rappin' Duke, duh-ha, duh-ha
You never thought that hip hop would take it this far
Now I'm in the limelight 'cause I rhyme tight
Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade
Born sinner, the opposite of a winner
Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner
Peace to Ron G, Brucey B, Kid Capri
Funkmaster Flex, Lovebug Starsky
I'm blowin' up like you thought I would
Call the crib, same number same hood
It's all good

Uh, and if you don't know, now you know, nigga, uh

You know very well who you are
Don't let em hold you down, reach for the stars
You had a go, but not that many
'cause you're the only one I'll give you good and plenty

I made the change from a common thief
To up close and personal with Robin Leach
And I'm far from cheap, I smoke skunk with my peeps all day
Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way
The Moet and Alize keep me pissy
Girls used to diss me
Now they write letters 'cause they miss me
I never thought it could happen, this rappin' stuff
I was too used to packin' gats and stuff
Now honies play me close like butter played toast
From the Mississippi down to the east coast
Condos in Queens, indo for weeks
Sold out seats to hear Biggie Smalls speak
Livin' life without fear
Puttin' 5 karats in my baby girl's ears
Lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool
Considered a fool 'cause I dropped out of high school
Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood
And it's still all good

Uh...and if you don't know, now you know, nigga

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis
When I was dead broke, man I couldn't picture this
50 inch screen, money green leather sofa
Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur
Phone bill about two G's flat
No need to worry, my accountant handles that
And my whole crew is loungin'
Celebratin' every day, no more public housin'
Thinkin' back on my one-room shack
Now my mom pimps a Ac' with minks on her back
And she loves to show me off, of course
Smiles every time my face is up in The Source
We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us
No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us
Birthdays was the worst days
Now we sip champagne when we thirst-ay
Uh, damn right I like the life I live
'Cause I went from negative to positive
And it's all...

(It's all good)

...and if you don't know, now you know, nigga, uh
Uh, uh...and if you don't know, now you know, nigga
Uh...and if you don't know, now you know, nigga, uh

Representin' B-Town in the house, Junior Mafia, mad flavor, uh
Uh, yeah, a-ight