Dick Tracy

"Dick Tracy is a long-running comic strip featuring a popular and familiar character in American pop culture. Dick Tracy is a hard-hitting, fast-shooting, and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror."
Wikipedia, Dick Tracy Museum

MTA - 60s, 70s, and 80s

"New York's MTA has a YouTube channel that features some pretty great historical videos from the 60s, 70s, and 80s."
YouTube - Metropolitan Transportation Authority, We're Coming Back TV Commercials (1989), Don't Do It (1988), Where Do We Go From Here? Part 1 (1970), Part 2, Part 3. Daily Miracle Part 1 (1961), Part 2, Part 3.

Time Waster

"Tonematrix by AM Laboratory is a very fun and easy-to-use music sequencing toy. It's a 16 x 16 grid of grey boxes, and clicking in a box will turn it on. Boxes that have been turned on go white, and you will quickly see that each line of boxes has its own individual tone."
Tonematrix, Andre Michelle

Fresh Stuff From Vinchen

"More from Vinchen here."
Wooster Collective, Vinchen

John Zorn / Spillane

"John Zorn, talking in his apartment about his file card composition Spillane, how TV and cartoon music inspired him and other stuff."
YouTube - 1, 2, amazon - Spillane, John Zorn

1934 West Coast waterfront strike

Bloody Thursday on the 1934 San Francisco General Strike
Wikipedia - "The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike (also known as the 1934 West Coast Longshoremen's Strike, as well as a number of variations on these names) lasted eighty-three days, triggered by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States. The San Francisco General Strike, along with the 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite Strike led by the American Workers Party and the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 led by the Communist League of America, were important catalysts for the rise of industrial unionism in the 1930s, much of which was organized through the Congress of Industrial Organizations."
Wikipedia

Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance

2008 Image, Dia Art Foundation
"Much of contemporary photography and video seems haunted by the past, by ghostly apparitions that are reanimated in reproductive media, as well as in live performance and the virtual world. By using dated, passé, or quasi-extinct stylistic devices, subject matter, and technologies, this art embodies a melancholic longing for an otherwise irrecuperable past."
Guggenheim

Sun Ra - Disco 3000: Complete Milan Concert [1978]

"This is a remarkable live recording of Sun Ra playing various keyboards with a small ensemble that includes John Gilmore (tenor sax), Luqman Ali (drums), Michael Ray (trumpet) and June Tyson (vocals). Recorded during his brief stay in Italy in the winter 1977-78, it was originally released on Sun Ra's own Saturn label. Superb!"
Know Your Conjurer

All Creative Work Is Derivative (Minute Meme #2)

"Copyright control extends not just to verbatim copies, but to 'derivative works.' This has led to censorship on a grand scale. For example, the seminal German silent film 'Nosferatu' was deemed a derivative work of 'Dracula' and courts ordered all copies destroyed. Shortly before his death, author J.D. Salinger convinced U.S. courts to censor another author who transformed his characters. And so on. The whole history of human culture evolves through copying, making tiny transformations (sometimes called 'errors') with each replication. Copying is the engine of cultural progress. It is not 'stealing.' It is, in fact, quite beautiful, and leads to a cultural diversity that inspires awe."
All Creative Work Is Derivative (Minute Meme #2)

Electric Windows 2010

"On Saturday July 31st 2010, OPEN SPACE gallery and Burlock Home present Electric Windows 2010. 30 artists will converge in Beacon, NY to create live artwork and have their work installed on the exterior of a 19th century factory building. Electric Windows draws its name from the former electric blanket factory at the foot of Mount Beacon that will act as the backdrop for the event."
Electric Windows 2010

Dean & Britta “13 Most Beautiful… Songs For Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests”

"There certainly hasn’t been a lack of programming associated with the Wexner Center’s 'Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms' exhibition, especially of the musical variety. And for good reason, considering Warhol’s inseparability from the Velvet Underground."
Don't just do something, stand there, YouTube, Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed, Ingrid Superstar, Nico, Ann Buchanan, Dennis Hopper, Richard Rheem, Bob Dylan

Corinth Press

Anne Waldman & Eileen Myles; Lewis Warsh. Corinth Books, c1971.
"In the aftermath of my Floating Bear column, RealityStudio informed me that Jan Herman worked at the Eighth Street Bookshop and might have some facts about Corinth Press and the mysterious Bill Wilentz. According to Jan, Eli and Ted ran the bookstore and the press as I mentioned. No scoop on Bill Wilentz. Jan suggested I contact Bill Reed who also worked at the store and wrote a memoir entitled Early Plastic."
Reality Studio

The Silver Dream Machine: The synthesizer that accidentally changed the world

"They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. By that reckoning, you certainly shouldn't judge a synth by it's cheap plastic casing. On first impressions you would probably not take much notice of this little silver box with it's array of silver knobs and switches scattered over its clumsy exterior."
The Silver Dream Machine, Google - Roland TB303 Documentary BASSLINE BASELINE by Nate Harrison

Orientalism

The Snake Charmer, Jean-Leon Gerome
Wikipedia - "Orientalism is primarily a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists. Since the 19th century, 'orientalist' has been the traditional term for a scholar of Oriental studies, however the use in English of 'Orientalism' to describe academic "Oriental studies' is rare; the Oxford English Dictionary cites only one such usage,'by Lord Byron in 1812."
Wikipedia, YouTube - On Orientalism, Edward Said, 1, 2, 3, 4

Blaxploitation

Wikipedia - "Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made specifically (and perhaps exclusively) for an audience of urban black people; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words 'black' and 'exploitation.' Blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music."
Wikipedia, Blaxploitation, African American cinema, Blaxploitation Jive, YouTube - Great Moments In Blaxploitation History, Shaft trailer (1971), Savage! - Blaxploitation Trailer

Acousmata

"Acousmata is dedicated to no particular genre, style, or aesthetic. Most of what is covered here can be called, in a broad sense, '20-century music.' But I am not a partisan: to paraphrase Apollinaire, 'I have not made my mind up to admire everything new. I am trying to distinguish the good from the bad so that the energies liberated by the good should not be lost.'"
Acousmata, twitter

The Artful Pose: Early Studio Photography in Mumbai, c. 1855-1940

Sepia sisters: A photograph from The Artful Pose collection.
"A melancholy young woman sits on the steps of a crumbling building, a pile of glistening fruit beside her. The folds of her white robe seem to glow. Do her garments symbolize purity? Is she a representation of the chaste goddess Diana? Instead of a toga, though, the snowy fabric swaddling her looks suspiciously like a sari—draped in the Gujarati style favored by the Parsi community in Mumbai."
Artforum, The Artful Pose - Early Studio Photography in Mumbai 1855 - 1940

The Syndicate of Sound

Wikipedia - "The Syndicate of Sound was an American garage band that existed between 1965 and 1970. Originally from San Jose, California, the band had an edgy style that some critics have considered to be a forerunner of psychedelic rock."
Wikipedia, YouTube - Little Girl

back to geography (PoemTalk #34)

Charles Olson
"Bob Perelman, Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Charles Bernstein converged on Al's office-studio to attempt what Al in his intro dubs a 'daunting' task - to talk somehow about one of Charles Olson's Maximus poems in such a way that would make the poem make sense and might serve as a good introduction to The Maximus Poems more generally."
PoemTalk - back to geography (PoemTalk #34)

Richard Dumas

Miles Davis
"Richard Dumas is not a portraitist, but a photographer. In contrast with another photographer named Richard (Avedon, to be exact), Dumas is not a socialite or a star because he shoots celebrities or fashion photographer. This distinction is not intended to tarnish this celebrated photographer's essential role but to better understand Dumas's personal talents."
Agence VU

Draft dodger

Wikipedia - "A draft dodger is a term that refers to a person who avoids ('dodges') the conscription policies of the nation in which he or she is a citizen or resident by leaving the country, going into hiding, or other attempts at fraudulent means. Avoidances involving nonviolence or conscientious objectorships are sometimes referred to as draft evasion or draft resistance."
Wikipedia - Draft dodger, W - Conscientious objector, W - War resister

Planet Patrol

Wikipedia - "Planet Patrol is an American electro group from the 1980s. The members were Arthur Baker, John Robie, and a quintet of vocalists led by Herbert J. Jackson: lead singer Joesph Lites, Rodney Butler, Michael Anthony Jones, and the late Melvin Franklin."
Wikipedia, last.fm, YouTube - Play At Your Own Risk, Cheap Thrills, I Dint't Know I Love You

Elodie Lauten

Wikipedia - "Elodie Lauten (born October 20, 1950) is a composer described as postminimalist or a microtonalist."
Wikipedia, Elodie Lauten, MySpace, Sequenza21, Dusted Reviews, YouTube - New Museum on September 11, 2009, The Death of Don Juan - Death as a Shadow, Sonate Modale part 1 of 3 - Live at Music Gallery, (2), (3)

SHINDIG! - Soul

James Brown
"Shindig! Presents: Soul ... James Brown, Joe Tex, Booker T & the MGs, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Major Lance, Marvin Gaye..."
YouTube, (2), (3)

Late Renoir

Bather with Long Hair
"Late Renoir follows the renowned painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir through the final—and most fertile and innovative—decades of his career. At the height of his creative powers and looking toward posterity, Renoir created art that was timeless, enticing, and worthy of comparison to the greatest of the old masters, such as Raphael, Titian, and Rubens. He devoted himself to joyful subjects—frolicking bathers, domestic idylls, the drama of classical mythology, and the brilliance of Mediterranean landscape and sea."
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bloomberg - Nude Bathers, Homebodies Dominate ’Late Renoir’ in Philadelphia, NYT - Avant-Gardist in Retreat

Elysian Fields Quarterly

Wikipedia - "Elysian Fields Quarterly (EFQ) is a literary baseball journal of 'writing on baseball from the fan's perspective', published in St. Paul MN. It features articles on baseball history and lore."
Wikipedia, Elysian Fields Quarterly

Dieter Roth

Daily Mirror, 1961; Artist's Book, 2 cm x 2 cm
Wikipedia - "Dieter Roth (April 21, 1930 - June 5, 1998) was a Swiss-German artist best known for his artist's books and for his sculptures and pictures made with rotting food stuffs. He was also known as Dieter Rot and Diter Rot."
Wikipedia, MoMA, P.S.1, Dieter Roth Foundation, artnet

Material World: Sculpture to Environment

Karla Black
"Working in a range of modest, industrially produced materials -- from plastic sheeting to fishing line -- Michael Beutler, Orly Genger, Tobias Putrih, Alyson Shotz, Dan Steinhilber, and collaborators Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen engage the former factory spaces of our second and third floors, creating extraordinary environments from ordinary things."
MASS MoCA, Living large, Material World: Sculpture to Environment - PDF, ARTINFO

Punk zine

Wikipedia - "A punk zine (or punkzine) is a zine devoted to punk culture, most often punk rock music, bands, or the DIY punk ethic. Punk zines are the most likely place to find punk literature."
Wikipedia, Operation Phoenix Records

Once Upon a Time

Wikipedia - "Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, broken relationships, and the rise of mobsters in American society."
Wikipedia, YouTube, amazon

Cheba Zahouania

Wikipedia - "Halima Mazzi, alias Cheba Zahouania (also spelled Chaba Zahouania) is an Algerian-born singer known for raï music. She has lived in France since her singing partner was murdered."
Wikipedia, Rhapsody, YouTube - Mazal Galbi, Bakitouni Bakitouni, Rijal El Allah, The Sheltering Sky

The Chiffons

Wikipedia - "The Chiffons was an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960."
Wikipedia, last.fm, W - He's So Fine, YouTube - One Fine Day, George Harrison - My Sweet Lord

The Skatalites

Wikipedia - "The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including 'Guns of Navarone'. They also played on records by Prince Buster and many other Jamaican artists who recorded during the period. They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since."
Wikipedia, The Skatalites, last.fm, YouTube - Guns of Navarone, Ska Ska Ska, Simmer down, Rude Boy Dreams, Little irene

The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free

Wikipedia - "The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free is an anarchist parody of the popular Tintin series of comics. An exercise in detournement, the book was written under the pseudonym J. Daniels and published by Attack International in April of 1988 and then republished in 1999."
Wikipedia, amazon

Rem Koolhaas

Wikipedia - "Remment Lucas Koolhaas (... born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and 'Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design' at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA."
Wikipedia, Lava, WIRED