Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Neon Boyz

In the 1970's Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, and Billy Ficca were in Neon Boys before they went on to form Television.  They have one EP.



Saturday, December 20, 2008

Millerisms

Henry Miller's writing has redifined my conception of adjectives.  More importantly, the word cunt has never been spoken so eloquently. 

An excerpt of an interview with him by  George Wickes, for The Paris Review, conducted in London, in September 1961:

"Interviewer- You wrote several essays in the thirties on the art of the film.  Did you ever get a chance to practice that art?

Miller- No, but I still hope to meet the man who will give me a chance.  What I deplore most is that the medium of the film has never been properly exploited.  It's a poetic medium with all sorts of possibilities.  Just think of the element of dream and fantasy.  But how often do we get it?  Now and then a little touch of it, and we're agape.  And think of all the technical devices at our command.  But my God, we haven't even begun to use them.  We could have incredible marvels, wonders, limitless joy and beauty.  And what do we get?  Sheer crap.  The film is the freest of all media, you can do marvels with it.  In fact I would welcome the day when the film would displace literature, when there'd be no more need to read.  You remember faces in films, and gestures, as you never do when you read a book.  If the film can hold you at all, you give yourself to it completely.  Even when you listen to music, it's not like that.  You go to the concert hall and the atmosphere is bad, the people are yawning, or falling asleep, the program is too long, it hasn't got the things you like, and so on.  You know what I mean.  But in the cinema, sitting there in the dark, the images coming and going, it's like a rain of meteorites hitting you."

You can read the rest of the interview here.

I'm writing a song about this quote, I'll post it later on.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Big Digits/Siriusmo





Big Digits, from Boston, make tasteful electro rap.  The band members are Mac Machine TD, and DJ Mark E. Moon. Further description would be more confusing.


Siriusmo, from Germany, is on Boys Noize records.  He doesn't DJ or perform live.  There are no interviews with him.  You could read this, I guess.

Twelves

Once a year, I fall in love with a DFA 12".  In 2006, it was Shit Robot-"Wrong Galaxy/Triumph".  The Kraftwerk-esque sequence pattern is perfect, and James Murphy's (LCD Soundsystem/DFA Records founder) vocals in the second half are unlike anything he's done in recent history.  In 2007, it was Bot'Ox-"Babylon by Car - EP".  I could almost call this kraut/motorik disco.  In 2008 there were two: Still Going (1/2 Rub n' Tug, whose !!! remix i'll never get over)-"Still Going Theme - EP", and The Juan MacLean-"Happy House - EP".

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Best of 2008

Top 5 Songs:
1)M83-Midnight Souls Still Remain
2)No Age-Teen Creeps
3)Lil' Wayne-A Milli
4)The Juan MacLean-Happy House

Best Album:
Lindstrøm-Wherever You Go, I Go Too

Artist of the Year:
Jay Reatard/Lil' Wayne

Monday, December 15, 2008

"The fat beneath the skin seems made of lead"

Venus Anadyomène
by Arthur Rimbaud

Comme d’un cercueil vert en fer blanc, une tête
De femme à cheveux bruns fortement pommadés
D’une vieille baignoire émerge, lente et bête,
Avec des déficits assez mal ravaudés;

Puis le col gras et gris, les larges omoplates
Qui saillent; le dos court qui rentre et qui ressort;
Puis les rondeurs des reins semblent prendre l’essor;
La graisse sous la peau paraît en feuilles plates:

L’échine est un peu rouge, et le tout sent un goût
Horrible étrangement; on remarque surtout
Des singularités qu’il faut voir à la loupe…

Les reins portent deux mots gravés: CLARA VENUS;
—Et tout ce corps remue et tend sa large croupe
Belle hideusement d’un ulcère à l’anus.




DNA-5:30
From the compilation New York Noise: Dance Music From The New York Underground 1978-1982 from Soul Jazz Records

Sunday, December 14, 2008