The Illuminated Mixtapes 2007 – Present

"I am currently the Design Director for BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn, so Gigawatt is on hiatus. I would still love to hear about any projects or collaboration opportunities you might have, even if just to be able to suggest a talented colleague who would be perfect for it."
The Illuminated Mixtapes

Gil J Wolman

Métagraphie, 1954
Wikipedia - "Gil Joseph Wolman was a French artist, born in Paris in 1929 and dying there in 1995. His work encompassed painting, poetry and film-making. He was a member of Isidore Isou's avant garde Letterist movement in the early 1950s, then becoming a central figure in the Letterist International, the group which would subsequently develop (without Wolman himself) into the Situationist International."
Wikipedia, Gil J Wolman, Independent, art tattler, YouTube - "Gil J Wolman. I am immortal and alive" Notes by Bartomeu Marí, Lettrisme, letterism, letrismo, poesia sonora, "La mémoire" - from Mégapneumes

UB40

Wikipedia - "UB40 are a British reggae band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success."
Wikipedia, UB40, YouTube - Can't Help Falling In Love, Red Red Wine, Kingston Town, Here I Am Baby

The making of "Tender Buttons"

"Tender Buttons is enigmatic on its own, but to add to its legend, few readers know that the manuscript was untitled until the final few weeks before publication, that Stein almost did not have the book reach publication at all, and that she would not publish another book until eight years later. A brief history of the publication of Tender Buttons can provide insight into Stein’s focus on composition, and offer some new directions for reading it."
Jacket2, Tender buttons: objects, food, rooms (1914), amazon

Wikipedia, The Poetry Foundation

2007 November: Gertrude Stein

Word Above the Street

"Imagine the opportunity to engage millions of people through the transformative power of art, with the purpose of raising awareness of Water as one of our most precious resources. Word Above the Street seeks to combine forces with sponsors whose commitment in the area of environmental sustainability is in harmony with our goal of drawing worldwide attention to Water."
Word Above the Street

Roy Chicago & His Rhythm Dandies

Wikipedia - "Roy Chicago (John Akintola Ademuwagun) (d. February 5, 1989) was an indigene of Ikare-Akoko in Ondo State, Nigeria. He was a musician and band leader who played in the Highlife style, introducing talking drums into the musical style. He moved to Lagos from Ibadan in the late 1950s, and was most popular during the 1960s. In contrast to Victor Olaiya, whose music was based on Ghanaian melodies and progressions, Roy Chicago based his music on Nigerian indigenous themes and folklores. He was one of the highlife musicians who changed his name to a purely Western form, perhaps to make it sound more cool."
Wikipedia, YouTube - Roy Chicago & His Rhythm Dandies - Ranti Ola, Maria / Iyawo Pankeke, Onile Gogoro, Olubunmi

The Kids in the Hall

Wikipedia - "The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson."
Wikipedia, IMDb - Video, YouTube - Sarcasm at its best, or worst., Buddy Cole, Chicken Lady: Blind Date, My Pen!, French Fur Trappers, Crushing your head, "How the hell could I know?" (Guest Party), Comfortable High, Gavin and the Evangelists

Christian Marclay's Video Quartet

"A few minutes of Christian Marclay's 13-minute music/video installation Video Quartet, as shot on DV at the Tate Modern in London. Christian Marclay (born 1955) is a visual artist and musical composer based in New York, who is exploring the pattern languages connecting sound, photography, video, and film."
YouTube - Excerpt #1, Excerpt #2

The Rings of Saturn - W.G. Sebald

"Early on in W.G. Sebald‘s strange and beautiful novel The Rings of Saturn, the erudite narrator (seemingly) offhandedly alludes to Albrecht Dürer’s 1514 engraving Melencolia I. Rings is larded with such references, stuffed to the gills with analysis of history and literature and art (and so much more), but the quick allusion to Melencolia I seems a particularly informative way of interpreting–or at least comprehending–Sebald’s grand, glorious book."
biblioklept, amazon, NYT: In the Company of Ghosts, A SHORT WALK THROUGH THE RINGS OF SATURN

Wikipedia - "Cape Breton Island (French: île du Cap-Breton—formerly Île Royale, Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Cheap Breatainn, Míkmaq: Únamakika, simply: Cape Breton) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany."
Wikipedia, YouTube

The Harrow & The Harvest - Gillian Welch

Wikipedia - "The Harrow & The Harvest is a 2011 album released by American musician Gillian Welch. It was Welch's first album in eight years and was released on June 28, 2011. John Dyer Baizley provided artwork for the album."
Wikipedia, amazon, YouTube - The Way it Goes, Dark Turn of Mind, Making of the Album Cover

Citizen Kane - Orson Welles

Wikipedia - "Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. The film is often considered the greatest of all time and is particularly praised for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film."
Wikipedia, Film Site, amazon, Roger Ebert, YouTube - Citizen Kane, Citizen Kane (1941) film 1st, How to Run a Newspaper

A.M. - Wilco

Wikipedia - "A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco. Prior to the release of the album, there was debate about whether the album would be better than the debut album of Son Volt, the new band of former Uncle Tupelo lead singer Jay Farrar."
Wikipedia, YouTube - I Must Be High, Casino Queen, Box Full Of Letters, Pick Up the Change, It's Just That Simple, Passenger Side, Too Far Apart

Songs of Acsension - Meredith Monk

"Songs of Acsension explores musical and spatial motifs that highlight rising sound and movement to convey the spiritual or otherworldly. With the architecture of a cathedral or tower as a metaphor, and historical grounding in the devotional practices and rituals that evoke ascension, Monk draws inspiration from the processionals of Buddhist stupas, Moses’ journey up the 4000 steps of Mt. Sinai, and the Tawaf around the Ka’Bah in Islam. Songs of Ascension is written for vocal ensemble and string quartet and was created in collaboration with multimedia artist Ann Hamilton."
Boosey & Hawkes - Video, amazon

Søren Kierkegaard

Wikipedia - "Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ...(5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel and The Church of Denmark. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a "single individual", giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking, and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment."
Wikipedia, W - Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, YouTube - Kierkegaard - Sea of Faith - BBC documentary - 1 of 2, 2 of 2.

Record Row: Documentary of major Chicago Soul labels

"Wonderful documentary here narrated by none other than Etta James, which chronicles the rise and subsequent fall of the early independent record labels from Chicago which provided the world with so much great Soul music ~ all from not much more than a stones throw from each other."
YouTube - Record Row Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5

The Structure of a Medieval Manuscript

"For more than a thousand years all manuscripts were written and illustrated by hand. By the Middle Ages, books were being made by folding sheets of parchment, arranging them into gatherings, and assembling and binding them together. This animation illustrates how medieval books were constructed—a feat of engineering that remains essentially the same today."
Art Babble - The J. Paul Getty Museum

West Fourth Street – Washington Square

Wikipedia - "West Fourth Street – Washington Square is an express station on the IND Sixth Avenue and IND Eighth Avenue Lines of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of West Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. It is served at all times by the A, D, E, and F trains; by the B and M trains on weekdays; and by the C train at all times except late nights."
Wikipedia, NYC Subway, YouTube - E train at West 4th Street-Washington Square #3

The Moon

Wikipedia - "The Moon (XVIII) is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination."
Wikipedia

Machito

Wikipedia - "Machito (died April 19, 1984), born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. He was raised in Havana alongside the singer Graciela, his foster sister. In New York City, Machito formed the band the Afro-Cubans in 1940, and with Mario Bauzá as musical director, brought together Cuban rhythms and big band arrangements in one group. He made numerous recordings from the 1940s to the 1980s, many with Graciela as singer."
Wikipedia, Machito, anazon, YouTube - MACHITO & HIS AFROCUBANS: EL BAILE DEL TORNILLO, NAGUE, TAMBO, Cubop City, Carambola, Sambia

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy

Wikipedia - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the second studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released April 14, 1988, on Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at Chung King Studios, Greene Street Recording, and Sabella Studios in New York City. Noting the enthusiastic response over their live shows, the group intended with Nation of Millions to make the music of a faster tempo than the previous album for performance purposes."
Wikipedia, Don't Believe The Hype, Louder Than A Bomb, Night Of The Living Baseheads (Dope Version), Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos, Rebel Without A Pause, Bring the noise

2011 Tour de France

Wikipedia - "The 2011 Tour de France is the 98th Tour de France. It starts today with a 180km 1st stage at the Passage du Gois, and will end on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on 24 July. The complete route of the 2011 Tour de France was announced on 19 October 2010. The route this year also enters Italy for a short stretch."
Wikipedia, W - Tour de France, Guardian: Tour de France, steephill, INRNG, YouTube - Kraftwerk- tour de france

Ingénue - k.d. lang

Wikipedia - "Ingénue is the second solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1992 (see 1992 in music). It has more of a cabaret flavor than Lang's previous work, and was her most successful album on the pop charts both in her native Canada and internationally. The salsa-inspired 'Miss Chatelaine' was ironic; Chatelaine is a Canadian women's magazine which once chose lang as its 'Woman of the Year,' and the song's video depicted lang — who was usually best known for a fairly androgynous appearance — in an exaggeratedly feminine manner, surrounded by bright pastel colours and a profusion of bubbles reminiscent of a performance on the Lawrence Welk show."
Wikipedia, YouTube - Save Me, The Mind Of Love, Miss Chatelaine, Outside Myself, Season Of Hollow Soul, Constant Craving

"Image-Nation 21 (territory" - Robin Blaser

"Canadian poet Robin Blaser reads from the poem 'Image-Nation 21 (territory' from The Holy Forest, winner of the 2008 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize."
YouTube, The Holy Forest

“The Urban Prisoner” - Matt Weber

"I want you to enjoy my galleries of street photography without getting lost. There are many different galleries with subjects you can peruse. If you you are interested in Subway photos there are plenty of images which show the NYC subway system in all its 'splendor'. You can leave comments if you feel so inclined."
Matt Weber, amazon

Mary McCaslin

Wikipedia - "Mary McCaslin (born December 22, 1946 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American folk singer who wrote, recorded and performed some of the most beautiful contemporary folk music of this era. Her tunes, with their sensitive finger picking, the piquant lyrics, and memorable, moving imagery remains unparalleled in the singer song writer and folk traditions."
Wikipedia, YouTube - Mary McCaslin Profile, Prairie In The Sky, Back to Salinas w/ Wake the Dead, Dust Devils, Last Cannonball, Way Out West

"Bookstalls" - Joseph Cornell

"Bookstalls is interesting in that its footage looks old and is thus clothed with a feeling of nostalgia. It is also interesting as an exercise in putting pieces of film together. A boy leafs through volumes at a Paris bookstall and he imagines faraway places."
UbuWeb

Gamelan gong kebyar

Wikipedia - "Gamelan gong kebyar is a modern style or genre of Balinese gamelan music. Kebyar means 'the process of flowering', and refers to the explosive changes in tempo and dynamics characteristic of the style. It is the most popular form of gamelan in Bali, and its best known musical export. Gong kebyar music is based on a five-tone scale called pelog selisir (tones 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the 7-tone pelog scale), and is characterized by brilliant sounds, syncopations, sudden and gradual changes in sound colour, dynamics, tempo and articulation, and complex, complementary interlocking melodic and rhythmic patterns called kotekan."
Wikipedia, GSJ Ensembles Overview, YouTube - gamelan gong kebyar

Emma Goldman

Wikipedia - "Emma Goldman (June 27 (NS), 1869 – May 14, 1940) was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century."
Wikipedia, PBS, Emma Goldman Papers Project, YouTube - Emma Goldman, Emma Goldman Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Babel - Alejandro González Iñárritu

Wikipedia - "Babel is a 2006 international drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring an ensemble cast. The multi-narrative drama completes Iñárritu's Death Trilogy, following Amores perros and 21 Grams. The film portrays multiple stories taking place in Morocco, Japan, Mexico, and the United States."
Wikipedia, amazon, amazon - Various Artists, YouTube - Babel, Endless Flight

A distressing matter of connoisseurship

"Fake or Fortune is a remarkable new BBC series. It explores the processes involved in authenticating artworks to determine their value as well as gain acceptance as part of a particular artist's body of work. The first episode focused on an alleged Claude Monet presently owned by retired Royal Navy Officer David Joel."
three pipe problem

"I'm Your Man" - Leonard Cohen

Wikipedpa - "I'm Your Man is the eighth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1988. The album marked Cohen's further move to a more modern sound, with many songs having a synthpop production. The song 'Everybody Knows' was one of Cohen's first writing collaborations with Sharon Robinson, who would become a frequent collaborator in the future."
Wikipedia, YouTube - First We Take Manhattan, Ain't No Cure For Love, Everybody Knows, I'm your man, Take this waltz, I Can't Forget, Tower of Song

The Lost Salt Gift of Blood - Alistair MacLeod

Wikipedia - "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood is a collection of short stories by Canadian author Alistair MacLeod. It was originally published in 1976. All of the stories contained is the collection were later republished in the book Island, together with other works by Alistair MacLeod. According to the blurb of the book; 'The evocative and haunting collection is set Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and in Newfoundland, a remote region where Gaelic is still spoken, old legends live on, and the same cold sea that washes the Hebrides beats against the granite cliffs. With a tearing lyricism, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood lays bare the joys, the fears, the darkness, and the shining hope of communities whose isolation is at once a curse and a blessing.'"
Wikipedia, W - Alistair MacLeod, Google - The lost salt gift of blood, amazon

Film (1965) - Samuel Beckett

"With every new wavelet of contemporary cinema turning directors, in effect, into authors, it took the surprising author of Film, playwright Samuel Beckett, to become, not too surprisingly, its real director. Not that I wasn't always around, red director's cap flying, riding the camera dolly, or telling Buster what to do."
UbuWeb - On Directing Samuel Beckett's Film, UbuWeb - Film (1965)

The Sopranos

Wikipedia - "The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The series also features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and storylines, most notably his wife Carmela (Edie Falco) and cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). The many conflicts in his life lead to an on-off professional relationship with psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco)."
Wikipedia, W - The Sopranos Episodes, HBO: The Sopranos, A&E, amazon, The Italian Grocer, YouTube - The Sopranos intro, 9 Nine Minute Sopranos