- John Peel’s record collection. And it isn’t even done being archived yet. Damn. Apparently he had around 25 thousand LP’s 40-some thousand singles, and “several thousand” CD’s. Plus the site itself is really well designed, like being transported to the place he broadcasted and listened to all that music over the years. “The Space”.
I know there’s a whole shitload of record collections out there. And especially amongst the DJ’ing type, where they’ve got a basement full of shelving up to the ceiling. But I thought this was a cool picture. Apparently it’s Madlib’s collection, and it weighs 4 tons:
Madlib’s 2010 idea of releasing an album every month — the project was dubbed “The Medicine Show” — was clever. From what I took away from it, he essentially dug through his record collection by genre, then made break-beat type records zeroing in on one particular style. So he’s got an album that’s all Brazilian music, one that’s African music, there’s even one that’s “psychedelic, progressive and hard rock & funk circa 1968–1976″. It’s a great idea. And something more DJs with assloads of records should look into.
- So I’m absolutely going to go see theAvengers, no question. And I’m sure with Joss Whedon at the helm quite a bit of focus will be put on character, importantly. But I don’t know why everyone’s making such a big deal about it “outdoing” Dark Knight Rises, especially before either has even come out. I’ve heard and read so many people lately talking about how they’re doing such a better job promoting it, and how the trailers are soooo much better and all this. Dude, it’s a movie… like, can’t we judge what’s “better” based on what’s the better movie. Wait a second, it isn’t even about “better”. These are two completely different things. Avengers is your razzle-dazzle ZOMGIronManvsThor?!!!? action flick and Batman is… well, more of a film’s film. Cause seriously, in the end, I would be shocked if TDKR wasn’t the better movie on the whole. And maybe everyone is off the C. Nolan bandwagon, I dunno. I’d be fine with that. Maybe even a little bit happy.
- I’m taking a break from studying to write this, but I’m also watching the first episode of Game of Thrones. It’s been so well received by critics and viewers alike I figured I had to at least give it a try. I’m not too big into the medieval fantasy stuff, but it’s certainly not something I would shy away from. The first thing that struck me from the opening episode is how nice it looks, probably on account of Tim Van Patten (he directed the first 2 episodes; he’s also done a bunch of Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire) and whomever he hired as a DP. It’s a beautiful looking show, if anything else.
“Watched again over 25 years later, Blue Velvet looks even more bizarre than ever, a disorientating palimpsest of moods and eras and genres. It’s an intensely 80s film in many ways: MacLachlan in his white jeans and shirt looks as 80s as Michael J Fox in Back to the Future. But perhaps only the tape-deck playing In Dreams signals this period explicitly. The rest of the time it could, of course, be a Forties noir. His small town is quaintly known as Lumberton, on account of the local logging business, and perhaps we are supposed to assume the lumber is transported via the hugely wide river that we see in one shot – it looks as huge as the Charles in Boston. This little place is nonetheless sufficiently cosmopolitan to support a smart night spot called, enigmatically, The Slow Club, where a live band and singer perform ballads.”
“While the overall proposal is to give NASA $17.7 billion, a decrease of 0.3 percent or $59 million less than 2012, the steepest cuts — a near 39 percent decline — hit plans for robotic exploration of Mars.
The budget did not specifically mention the ExoMars collaboration with the European Space Agency, which was to send an orbiter to the red planet in 2016 followed by a pair of rovers in 2018 ahead of plan to return samples to Earth in the 2020s.
However, scientists familiar with the proposal have said the level of financial cuts would likely spell the end of the NASA-ESA deal.
The president’s budget said that “support for robotic exploration of Mars is reduced following the launch in 2012 of the multi-billion dollars Mars Science Laboratory,” a sophisticated rover nicknamed Curiosity that should land on the red planet in August.”
Right now I’m listening to music the old fashioned and interactive way: spinning vinyl records in my basement.
I know, I’m not walking to the corner store with my earbuds while blogging this on my mobile device, I’m a geezer. I dunno know how it went down in your town, but Record Store Day in the Twin Cities was a massive success this year. Just check out this list of participating shops at Gimme Noise, and that was only part of the madness. For a small(er) town, we’ve got quite a few options up here. True, we don’t have the shops Chicago or New York has… but we also have a few less million people.
I bought a concert ticket that day (for local Hip-Hop festival Soundset), so I was careful not to spend too much. That being said, not including the CDs I bought and received for free (SEE, supporting your local record store does have its perks), this is what I walked away with:
This shit will rattle your brain out. When I shop for music, be it CDs or records or MP3s, I typically tend to get at least one thing I previously hadn’t heard of or know very little about. This was that purchase. But I’m really glad I got this, because it’s one of those vinyl’s that’s great to have around: vocal free, percussive, blasting Electro that’s ripe for sampling to or simply sampling. Some of the kicks and hits alone were worth the price. Not to mention this amazing cover in large form:
I’ve always loved mixing classic Dub music (I’m talking the kind from Jamaica, from the 70′s, not “Dubstep”) on my turntables — particularly this guy — but never owned any on vinyl. That’s a problem. But I finally got my wish of owning some old-form King Tubby. It was surprising, the Hip-Hop shop (RSE’s… it’s called “Fifth Element“) had several different Tubby records. That shit is hard to find even at the most eclectic of record stores. Declaration Dub, bitch.
I also snagged that Rhymesayers record store day exclusive vinyl which has some of the coolest looking album art (I’m talking literally on the disc… picture discs) I’ve seen. It’s a mean looking beast.
A careful little piano lick is the first noise you’ll hear when you throw on Arlo Guthrie‘s 1970 album “Washington County”. The opening song quickly evolves into a sort-of gentle jam with Arlo switching from singing and lead guitar, never at the same time. “Listen to my songs”, he quivers between thin layers of simple instrumentation.
Fence Post Blues:
The transition from track one to this song is seamless. It almost sounds like they went straight into it live while recording. The piano here sounds lifted straight from the intro, and part of me feels like it may even be in the same key. The soloing guitar doesn’t stop this time around while Arlo sings. It is incredibly dialed down, however, I can barely make it out. The bass and piano drive this song with a punchy repeated lick. Technically the “opener”.
Gabriel’s Mother’s Highway Ballad #16 Blues:
The third song on Washington County is the longest, clocking in around six and a half minutes. That pales in comparison to Guthrie’s most famous song: “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre” off ’67′s Alice’s Restaurant (supposedly, Arlo frequently extends that song to 30 to 45 minutes when he plays it live). For as complicated – and, let’s get real, terrible – the title is, the song is quite straight forward. “Come on children, come on”, is repeated over and over a dreamy acoustic guitar line that’s just as simple. But simple’s good here. After all, this is Woody Guthrie‘s son we’re talking about here. But still, I hate that title. Read the rest of this entry »
Got another mixtape and awesome DJ to point out today. His name is Robert Paulson… naw, that isn’t his name; his name is KING MEGATRIP, and he’s got some chops. Ran into him via the very much approved discussion on WhiteChapelwhere DJ’s post mixes and/or mixtapes. Megatrip is doing 12 mixes — one for each month — in 2010. So if you like one or both, make sure you keep coming back every month this year for more mixtape deliciousness. He’s dubbing them “A Year In the Soul Society”. Mixtape number ONE is already up and it sports some remixes from talented DJs, legends, a fair amount of scratching, even some Jazz. It’s a very eclectic mix. That’s exactly what he’s done with his second tape too. Number TWO features everything from Jackie Wilsonto RJD2to Nas. Your music taste will no doubt be humbled by the awe inspiring inclusion of the UNIVERSE of music!! Just try to keep up. It’s a long Megatrip.
I was pretty young at the time, but when I was a little boy I had a fairly extensive tape collection. Probably not as sprawling as my action figure collection, consisting mostly of X-Men, Batman, and Ninja Turtles, but varied for a little guy who just recently recieved his first comic book ever in the form of Punisher. I had tapes ranging from Weird Al to Metallica to Appetite for Destruction.
The tape I always was the most obsessed with though was a copy of the 1987 album Badin all its wanna-be street punk glory. I also had 1991′s Dangerouson tape, but Bad was always my favorite of the two (Thriller was truly before my time). I’m sure the Internet is flooded right now with everyone and their brother paying tribute to the man, and I guess that’s sort of what I’m here to do. But I want to make this short and sweet. Mike Jackson was the first guy to ever get me into anything besides Rock & Roll music, though his music (specifically Bad) often had shades of Rock. To this day, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who says: “I hate Micheal Jackson’s music”. Sure, every now and again you’ll get a “I hate Micheal Jackson” comment, but that has NOTHING to do with his music. If there’s any one star, legitimate international STAR, who fell from grace so quickly to the depths of pure unlikeability, it’s MJ. In the latter years, there was almost nothing likable about him (besides maybe the fact that he was a grown man w/ a child’s heart; but even that, to me, isn’t likable). Still though, personality issues and accusations abound, his musical legacy never suffered. And that is the highest compliment his relatively short discography can receive. Thriller on vinyl is calling my name from the basement, I gotta go.
