my current reading stack...
April 30, 2009
325, 324, 323...
many new projects afloat...including a massive spring cleaning...and a new job...photo project is still active, just not up to date...here's the latest...
St. Marks...4.24.09...
80 mph...
orb..
St. Marks...4.24.09...
80 mph...
orb..
April 23, 2009
April 22, 2009
back from the dead...with today's cool shit...
(via zefrank)
this station is playing 24 hours of Mingus to celebrate his birthday...
(via ucb)
some hot Donna Summer action fo yo asses...
~Disco~ Donna Summer - I Feel Love from ourvinylcollection on Vimeo.
(also via ucb)
most exciting of all is this post on Deep Media...
"Is a nonlinear book still a book? Yes, sort of. But in both a literal and a figurative sense, the book will come unbound. As the strict linearity of printed text gives way to the associative engine of hypertext, books seem destined to become not so much grand constructs as an agglomeration of chapters. Just as you can buy individual songs on iTunes for 99 cents apiece, Johnson projects, you'll be able to buy individual chapters or short stories."
this is just one of the kinds of things i'm working on...
we'll catch up on the photos starting tomorrow...
April 18, 2009
April 16, 2009
the new micro-patronage...
the last two years have been very interesting...reading and watching musicians use the internet to find new ways of financing, selling, and marketing their work...i'm working on a plan to do some of the same things for my next book...stay tuned...
your comments and observations are welcomed...
your comments and observations are welcomed...
April 15, 2009
goal keeping...
i've submitted a story to a local lit journal il literate magazine...please check it out and vote for it if you like it...thanks...
their theme is Love to Hate, Hate to Love...
their theme is Love to Hate, Hate to Love...
April 14, 2009
April 13, 2009
April 12, 2009
jazz & me...
i have a complicated relationship with jazz music...so much so, that when i started writing this...two weeks ago...i had a hard time coming up with a track list that best exemplified what I want to say...and then i stumbled upon my case of mix tapes...and an unmarked tape from 2000...the year i stopped making mix tapes...i can't think of a better playlist to use to talk about jazz and me...
Side A
Moanin' - Charles Mingus...straight up, the man was a musical genius...and his music is the fat center of my wheelhouse...when it comes to music period...nearly everything i listen to somehow leads to, or is rooted in Mingus' legacy...
Step Right Up - Tom Waits...this is just a fun, bluesy tune...before waits went really nuts...
The World is My Ashtray - DeeJay Punk-Roc...here's where it gets tricky...the intersection of hip hop and jazz is choked with thieves and posers...1998's ChickenEye from DeeJay Punk-Roc is not one of them...
See-Line Woman - Nina Simone...one of the finest jazz vocalists there ever was...this track is nothing more than a drum, a flute, Ms. Simone, and some back-up singers...i love it...
Natural Blues - Moby...okay, Moby can be a pompous ass...so what...if you can get past that, you might hear how this song and the last one are both rooted in the same place that jazz came from...
Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens - DJ Cam...one of the few DJs that can actually play the turntable like a musical instrument...
In Walked Bud - Thelonius Monk...i like bebop...can you tell? i love how on the live track from the mix tape, you can hear Monk win over the inattentive audience who chatter away at first...then hush as this playful composition drapes over them...
Unknown track - Unknown artist...this is where i get into trouble...because i have just enough knowledge to make me dangerous...first impression makes me think this is The Modern jazz Quartet...because it reminds me of The Cylinder...and Milt Jackson's unmistakable vibraphone work...
but it can't be, it's a sextet...trumpet, sax, piano, drums, bass, and vibraphone...the song has a Lee Morgan feel to it...like The Sidewinder...
and i know Morgan and Jackson did some work together, but i just can't find it...or maybe it's Art Blakey...i'm probably way off...any ideas?
The Next Movement - The Roots...Black Thought's cadences...the groove that Questlove is throwing down...it's undeniable...
What? - A Tribe Called Quest...probably the hip hop act most responsible for bringing a jazz sound to hip hop...including Digable Planets...we'll ignore this travesty...
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too - Charles Mingus... it always comes back to Mingus...always...this is a flat out jam...
Side B
The Western Lands (A Dangerous Road Mix) - Material...i came for the Burroughs...I stayed for the funky space jazz...
Echo Four Two - Johnny Gregory and his Orchestra...big band stuff...good luck finding this one...
Keep Movin' - James P Johnson...this is my grandfather...this is where my connection to jazz music begins...i have a lot to be thankful for because of that...loving jazz music is one of the blessings that my grandfather gave me...
Freshwater Girl/Chameleon/We Want the Funk - Los Hombres Calientes...purists hate it when jazz musicians cover pop music...they don't realize that a lot of jazz standards started out as pop music...
Una Cosa Buena - DJ Logic...taking what he learned with Medeski, Martin, & Wood to the next level...
Agua de Beber - Antonio Carlos Jobim...some of that swinging bosa nova style...Sinatra's best work was with Mr Jobim...
Blue Train - John Coltrane...an excellent introduction to a definitive jazz artist...it speaks for itself...
Salsation - David Shire...latin jazz meets disco...i can't help myself, this is just plain fun...
Whatever Happened to Gus (Guru remix)- Medeski, Martin & Wood...Guru's rap is lame, but MMW leads the way here on showing how jazz can move closer to its roots by moving towards hip hop...that's right, i said closer...
Syeeda's Song Flute - Medeski, Martin & Wood...MMW doing Coltrane's classic...
Midnight in a Perfect World - DJ Shadow...still believe jazz has nothing to do with hip hop...think again...
Aguas De Marco (Waters of March) - Elis Regina, Antonio Carlos Jobim...the big finish...quietly...this one goes back to my childhood
Side A
Moanin' - Charles Mingus...straight up, the man was a musical genius...and his music is the fat center of my wheelhouse...when it comes to music period...nearly everything i listen to somehow leads to, or is rooted in Mingus' legacy...
Step Right Up - Tom Waits...this is just a fun, bluesy tune...before waits went really nuts...
The World is My Ashtray - DeeJay Punk-Roc...here's where it gets tricky...the intersection of hip hop and jazz is choked with thieves and posers...1998's ChickenEye from DeeJay Punk-Roc is not one of them...
See-Line Woman - Nina Simone...one of the finest jazz vocalists there ever was...this track is nothing more than a drum, a flute, Ms. Simone, and some back-up singers...i love it...
Natural Blues - Moby...okay, Moby can be a pompous ass...so what...if you can get past that, you might hear how this song and the last one are both rooted in the same place that jazz came from...
Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens - DJ Cam...one of the few DJs that can actually play the turntable like a musical instrument...
In Walked Bud - Thelonius Monk...i like bebop...can you tell? i love how on the live track from the mix tape, you can hear Monk win over the inattentive audience who chatter away at first...then hush as this playful composition drapes over them...
Unknown track - Unknown artist...this is where i get into trouble...because i have just enough knowledge to make me dangerous...first impression makes me think this is The Modern jazz Quartet...because it reminds me of The Cylinder...and Milt Jackson's unmistakable vibraphone work...
but it can't be, it's a sextet...trumpet, sax, piano, drums, bass, and vibraphone...the song has a Lee Morgan feel to it...like The Sidewinder...
and i know Morgan and Jackson did some work together, but i just can't find it...or maybe it's Art Blakey...i'm probably way off...any ideas?
The Next Movement - The Roots...Black Thought's cadences...the groove that Questlove is throwing down...it's undeniable...
What? - A Tribe Called Quest...probably the hip hop act most responsible for bringing a jazz sound to hip hop...including Digable Planets...we'll ignore this travesty...
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too - Charles Mingus... it always comes back to Mingus...always...this is a flat out jam...
Side B
The Western Lands (A Dangerous Road Mix) - Material...i came for the Burroughs...I stayed for the funky space jazz...
Echo Four Two - Johnny Gregory and his Orchestra...big band stuff...good luck finding this one...
Keep Movin' - James P Johnson...this is my grandfather...this is where my connection to jazz music begins...i have a lot to be thankful for because of that...loving jazz music is one of the blessings that my grandfather gave me...
Freshwater Girl/Chameleon/We Want the Funk - Los Hombres Calientes...purists hate it when jazz musicians cover pop music...they don't realize that a lot of jazz standards started out as pop music...
Una Cosa Buena - DJ Logic...taking what he learned with Medeski, Martin, & Wood to the next level...
Agua de Beber - Antonio Carlos Jobim...some of that swinging bosa nova style...Sinatra's best work was with Mr Jobim...
Blue Train - John Coltrane...an excellent introduction to a definitive jazz artist...it speaks for itself...
Salsation - David Shire...latin jazz meets disco...i can't help myself, this is just plain fun...
Whatever Happened to Gus (Guru remix)- Medeski, Martin & Wood...Guru's rap is lame, but MMW leads the way here on showing how jazz can move closer to its roots by moving towards hip hop...that's right, i said closer...
Syeeda's Song Flute - Medeski, Martin & Wood...MMW doing Coltrane's classic...
Midnight in a Perfect World - DJ Shadow...still believe jazz has nothing to do with hip hop...think again...
Aguas De Marco (Waters of March) - Elis Regina, Antonio Carlos Jobim...the big finish...quietly...this one goes back to my childhood
330...
Eric's tree...
a lot of birthdays recently...and upcoming...it seems like most of my favorite people in this life were born in springtime...i don't know what that means, but i'm pretty sure it means something...this tree is a memorial for one of the departed...
and because I missed a day, here's a bonus photo for you...
fresh blood on the pavement...
whatever happened here, it wasn't fun...
April 10, 2009
April 8, 2009
332...
Amy's garden expansion...Pt 2...
till and grade...add 10 cubic feet of topsoil and clay buster...build fence...done, done, and done...nothing left to do but dream of peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, basil, lettuce, snap peas, squash...
this is how we turn a 3x5 patch of dirt into 5x10 of arable soil around here...
unemployment is killing me...
April 7, 2009
333...
Amy's garden expansion...pt 1...
last year ms. scribe asked for some space to plant vegetables...so, for her birthday she got that fancy 3'x 5' fenced in area you see on the left...i knew it wouldn't be enough...last fall she asked for more space...soooo...
pull old shrubs...check...remove ground cover torn up by the dogs...check...
move mulch...check...rake area clean...check...back fill parts of the yard dug up by the dogs...bonus points...
i need to find a job...
today's cool shit...
i'm all over the place today...first there's this...
"Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh Hard times come again no more.
Chorus:
Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard Times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;
Oh hard times come again no more.
While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door;
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus)
There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
With a worn heart whose better days are o'er:
Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus)
Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore
Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus) "
Stephen Foster's Hard Times Come Again No More...kinda fits my mood today...
then there's this...just plain fun...
then, a story about how Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is creating new ways to connect with his fans...and possibly reinventing the business of music...lead me to this...
"Deep Media is a blog about the evolution of narrative in the Internet age"
and i can't possibly explain why this Op-Ed geeks me out...it just does...
"TODAY is an important date in the history of the Internet: the 40th anniversary of what is known as the Request for Comments. Outside the technical community, not many people know about the R.F.C.’s, but these humble documents shape the Internet’s inner workings and have played a significant role in its success."
somehow, it all seems connected...
enough...time to get out and enjoy some fresh air...
"Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh Hard times come again no more.
Chorus:
Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard Times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;
Oh hard times come again no more.
While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door;
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus)
There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
With a worn heart whose better days are o'er:
Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus)
Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore
Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave
Oh hard times come again no more.
(Chorus) "
Stephen Foster's Hard Times Come Again No More...kinda fits my mood today...
then there's this...just plain fun...
then, a story about how Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is creating new ways to connect with his fans...and possibly reinventing the business of music...lead me to this...
"Deep Media is a blog about the evolution of narrative in the Internet age"
and i can't possibly explain why this Op-Ed geeks me out...it just does...
"TODAY is an important date in the history of the Internet: the 40th anniversary of what is known as the Request for Comments. Outside the technical community, not many people know about the R.F.C.’s, but these humble documents shape the Internet’s inner workings and have played a significant role in its success."
somehow, it all seems connected...
enough...time to get out and enjoy some fresh air...
334...
St Marks 4.7.09...
over the course of a decade i've taken many dozens of versions of this photo...this is today's...
here's a 2 minute sample...
April 5, 2009
April 4, 2009
April 3, 2009
337...
the mix tapes...
one of the advantages of being broke and out of work is that i get to be more resourceful about my entertainment options...so...i've started digitizing my analog music...in this case...my old mix tapes...28 of them...today I just pulled one from the case...it has no title... and only the faint inscription of the date it was made...10/95...here's the tracklist...and some commentary...
Side A
Hey Man, Nice Shot - Filter
Do What You Wanna Do - Lords of Acid
Creator - Messiah (this has got some soaring vocals from The Cult's Ian Astbury...or a very good sample...anyway, that three song set is all very techno/ravey...sue me, it was 1995...also, if you don't know the Lords of Acid, this song pretty much is all you need...)
Feel The Heat - Beautiful People (i don't know who i'm more embarrassed for...me, for admitting to listening this...or the Hendrix estate for agreeing to let these yahoos make an entire album of club tunes using whatever samples they wanted...)
Positive - Spearhead
Dred Loc - Me'Shell NdegeOcello
9000 dizzy miles on a trane- Bad Karma (beats from a local hip hop act...)
Out of Nowhere - James Carter
This Little Girl of Mine - Ray Charles
Louisiana Blues - Muddy Waters
Weary Blues From Waiting - theThe
Side B
Root Down - Beastie Boys
Black Aura - Bad Karma
Nappy Heads - Fugees
Rentstrike - Groove Collective
Oleo - James Carter
Bullwinkle Pt 2 - The Centurians
Wynona's Big Brown Beaver - Primus
I Saw the Light - theThe
Comin' to Get Ya - Beautiful People
Wake Up - Rage Against The Machine
Hey Man Nice Shot (Remix) - Filter
April 2, 2009
338...
let's pause my self-serving navel gazing for a moment...
my friends Shannon and Gary have opened a book store...God bless 'em...and i'm happy to report it's a wonderful place to catch up on your bibliophilia...and spend your allowance on books...please, do enjoy...
my friends Shannon and Gary have opened a book store...God bless 'em...and i'm happy to report it's a wonderful place to catch up on your bibliophilia...and spend your allowance on books...please, do enjoy...
April 1, 2009
339...
we went outside to take this picture...
and this one happened...
i promise...i'll try to keep this kind of stuff to a minimum...
this makes me a selfish bastard...i know...
"To imagine what it might be like to be a mother or a father to our children is not much different to imagining what it might be like to live in California. We are likely to focus more of our attention on the good things about being a parent and less so on the bad things about being a parent, perhaps because of the belief that children bring happiness. What this theory is implying is that we are likely to become happier with our life – and this will be much more so than usual because of the focusing illusion – the moment we find out we are about to become a parent, which could be up to nine months before the birth of our child. Reality (e.g. more time spent changing dirty nappies than seeing them smile for the first time) will likely kick in, however, almost as soon as we or our partner give birth to our child, which will lead to a considerable drop in well-being afterwards."
here's the full article
(via constant siege)
here's the full article
(via constant siege)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)