Funky Four Plus One

Wikipedia - "Funky Four Plus One (also known as Funky 4 + 1) was the first Hip-Hop/Rap group from The Bronx, New York, United States to receive a recording deal. They were notable for having a female MC, and were the first rap group to perform live on a national television broadcast. Jazzy Jeff from Funky Four Plus One is not the same artist as DJ Jazzy Jeff from DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince."
Wikipedia
Articles - Funky 4 + 1
YouTube: That's The Joint, Rappin & Rocking The House, King Heroin

Nervous Structure

"Nervous Structure is a series of site-specific, interactive installations and sculptures made collaboratively by Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza. The installations generally consist of two elements: a physical structure and a software-driven video projection. The structure is composed of either strings or elastic, and they tend to be parasitic to their “host” space; that is, our physical structures tend to become extensions of the existing architecture rather than standalone structures in their own right. The video projection at first is used to illuminate the structure, but the movements of viewers when near the installation influence this illumination. Thus, when a viewer moves, the piece’s software interprets the motion as forces that affect the projection."
Triangulation (Video)
Cristobal Mendoza (Video)
Annic Leah Cuppetelli (Video)
vimeo: Nervous Structure (field) (2012), Nervous Structure 5 (2011), Nervous Structure 3 (2011)

A Constant Forge - John Cassavetes

Wikipedia - "A Constant Forge is a 2000 documentary film directed by Charles Kiselyak about the life and work of John Cassavetes. It contains interviews with Cassavetes himself as well as recollections by actors who have worked with him and thoughts by admirers, including Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel, Peter Falk, John A. Gallagher, Ben Gazzara, Lelia Goldoni, Annette Insdorf, Carol Kane, Sean Penn, Gena Rowlands and Jon Voight."
Wikipedia
YouTube: A constant forge (subtitulos), A Constant Forge (2000) - Film Clip, The Technique

2008 September: John Cassavetes
2010 December: Shadows (1959)
2011 June: A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
2012 February: His Life and Work

Julien Dupré

Haying Time, 1890
Wikipedia - "Julien Dupré (1851–1910) was born in Paris on March 18, 1851 to Jean Dupré (a jeweler) and Pauline Bouillié and began his adult life working in a lace shop in anticipation of entering his family's jewelry business. The war of 1870 and the siege of Paris forced the closure of the shop and Julien began taking evening courses at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs and it was through these classes that he gained admission to the École des Beaux-Arts."
Wikipedia
Rehs
YouTube: Peace and Quiet

A Schuyler of urgent concern

"Just a little more than twenty years after his death, James Schuyler seems to be doing well, thank you. The bulk of his work is in print (his collected and uncollected poems, three of his novels, and his letters), while the out of print materials (his art criticism, his diaries) are easy and still relatively cheap to come by. The reception of his unpublished poems, Other Flowers, two years ago was hugely positive and offered reviewers an opportunity to make big claims for Schuyler’s achievement, such as Dan Chiasson’s lovely statement that 'James Schuyler is a supreme poet of articulated consciousness' or Ange Mlinko’s judgment that 'the weight of the world is a ballast against the levitating effect of James Schuyler's courteous English, which made him our most angelic poet: full of air, intelligence, light.'"
Jacket2
Schuyler entries - Bill Berkson, Poems by Ken Bolton - Ken Bolton, A few words on James Schuyler - William Corbett, James Schuyler's "Freely Espousing" - Maude Emerson, "Building a nest out of torn up letters" - Andrew Epstein, James Schuyler's specimen days - David Kaufmann, Past = past - Nathan Kernan, A poem by John Koethe - John Koethe, The skinny on Schuyler's line - Marit MacArthur, Days and nights with James Schuyler - David Mikics, A poem by Stephen Paul Miller - Stephen Paul Miller, A few of Schuyler's revisions - Charles North, A poem by Ron Padgett - Ron Padgett, "Mark Trail" collage poem - James Schuyler

2008 January: James Schuyler
2009 October: James Schuyler: Six New Recordings Added
2011 March: Broadway: A Poets and Painters Anthology
2011 December: An Anthology of New York Poets

Johnny Copeland

Wikipedia - "Johnny Copeland (March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997) was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer. Born in Haynesville, Louisiana, United States, while Copeland was becoming interested in music, he also pursued boxing, mostly as an avocation, and it is from his days as a boxer that he got his nickname 'Clyde.' Also as a teenager influenced by T-Bone Walker he formed the 'Dukes of Rhythm' in Houston, Texas, and made his recording debut in 1956, signing with Duke Records the following year. In his early years he played with such acts as Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Mama Thornton and Freddie King."
Wikipedia
Johnny Copeland
amazon: Johnny Copeland
YouTube: Honky Tonkin', Devil's Hand, Flying High, Houston, Ghetto Child, Just One More Time, I got to go home, Wella Wella Baby, Down On Bending Knees, Cut Off My Right Arm

101 Books To Read This Summer Instead of '50 Shades of Grey'

"This epic flowchart goes to great lengths to help you help yourself put down the trashy erotica. Share it if you know anybody who's reading '50 Shades' right now."
101 Books To Read This Summer Instead of '50 Shades of Grey'

Doin’ It In The Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC

"Here’s a trailer for Doin’ It In The Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC, a new film co-directed by basketball die-hards Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau that is scheduled for release this summer. Doin’ It explores the definition, history, culture and social impact of New York’s summer basketball scene, widely recognized as the worldwide 'Mecca' of the sport. The film uncovers and dissects the NYC streetball movement through the voices of playground legends, NBA athletes, and most importantly the common ballplayer who all day looks forward to calling 'next' game at their local schoolyard."
Doin’ It In The Park (Video)
facebook: Doin’ It In The Park (Video)
YouTube: A.R.T.S.Y: Bobbito Garcia
Heart & Soul of New York City (Vimeo)

2011 June: American Basketball Association

Van Dyke Parks

Wikiedia - "Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his collaborations with Brian Wilson, and especially for his lyrical contributions to the Beach Boys album Smile and WIlson's 2008 solo project, That Lucky Old Sun. Parks has worked with such notable performers as Phil Ochs, Grace Kelly, Delaney Bramlett, The Byrds, Loudon Wainwright III, Rufus Wainwright, Harry Nilsson, Silverchair, Ry Cooder, Joanna Newsom, Inara George, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr."
Wikipedia
Van Dyke Parks
Guardian - Van Dyke Parks: return of a musical maverick
YouTube: Van Dyke Parks "Heroes and Villains", Sail away, Surf's Up (Brian Wilson solo, Autumn 1967), The All Golden, Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks - Orange Crate Art, The All Golden, Sailin' Shoes, 'Jack Palance' and 'Sweet Trinidad', Palm Desert, Riverboat, Clang Of The Yankee Reaper, Opportunity for Two, Donovan's Colours, Wings of a Dove

Sorbet

Raspberry Sherbet
Wikipedia - "Sorbet is a frozen dessert made from sweetened water flavored with fruit (typically juice or purée), wine, and/or liqueur. The origin of sorbet is variously explained as either a Roman invention, or a Middle Eastern drink charbet, made of sweetened fruit juice and water. The name comes from the Latin verb 'sorbere' and the modern Italian verb sorbire, meaning to eat and drink at the same time."
Wikipedia
NYT: Super-Simple Sorbet (Video)

"The Spanish Earth", Written and Narrated by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, during the Spanish Civil War, about 1937
"German warplanes cross the sky. Explosions flash. Shell-shocked villagers stagger out of their damaged homes and begin to grieve. 'Before,' says Ernest Hemingway in his flat Midwestern accent, 'death came when you were old or sick. But now it comes to all this village. High in the sky and shining silver, it comes to all who have no place to run, no place to hide.' The scene is from the 1937 film The Spanish Earth, an important visual document of the Spanish Civil War and a rare record of the famous writer’s voice."
The Spanish Earth, Written and Narrated by Ernest Hemingway (Video)

2011 July: Spanish Civil War, 75 Year, 18 July
2010 February:Spanish Civil War

John Peel

Wikipedia - "John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. He was known for his eclectic taste in music and his honest and warm broadcasting style. He was one of the first broadcasters to play psychedelic rock and progressive rock records on British radio, and he is widely acknowledged for promoting artists working in various genres, including pop, reggae, indie rock, alternative rock, punk, hardcore punk, breakcore, grindcore, death metal, British hip hop, and dance music."
Wikipedia
John Peel Centre for Creative Arts (Video)
John Peel THE BLOG
BBC Peel Sessions
The Paris Review: Peel Sessions

It Dread - The Ghetto

"I chose this sound to be presented here for two reasons: One, it was played everywhere in the spring 1978 when I came to Jamaica, it was the absolute frenzy for a week or two (a typical length of time for a reggae sound to be No 1 at the time). Two, it gives you a very good idea of what rub-a-dub is all about. Maybe not the world's most rich and sophisticated reggae sound. But a hell of a beat to be enjoyed in the boiling sun."
YouTube: The Ghetto - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Andrei Tarkovsky: Still Time on Polaroids

"It is not widely known that Tarkovsky, whose films often seem to be composed as a montage of still photos, in a period effectively took photos with a Polaroid camera. These photos, taken at home and in Italy, in spite of all their technical imperfections bear witness to the same way of seeing and visual world as the great films."
Andrei Tarkovsky: Still Time on Polaroids (Video)

2009 June: Andrei Tarkovsky
2009 July: Andrei Rublev
Solaris

Joy Division: Tragedy and Synth

"... Even 'Love Will Tear Us Apart,' a track which featured a music video and peaked at number 13 on the UK's single chart, betrays some of Curtis's personal woes. 'You cry out in your sleep/All my failings exposed/ And there's a taste in my mouth/As desperation takes hold/Just that something so good just can't function no more,' he sings over a deceptively poppy synthesizer. Had those lyrics been written by another rock singer, the track could easily have been passed off as any of the myriad of mopey, hollow love songs which spewed out of the 80's. But with Curtis, who was quite likely being torn apart by love at the time he wrote the song, it was real."
WFMU: Joy Division: Tragedy and Synth (Video)

Art of Another Kind: International Abstraction and the Guggenheim, 1949–1960

"In the 1950s, the Guggenheim Museum's then-director James Johnson Sweeney championed what he called the 'tastebreakers' of his day—those individuals who 'break open and enlarge our artistic frontiers.' This decade witnessed the revitalization of experimental art and the advent of fresh and bold styles, a shift that was rather presciently documented and examined in 1952 by French critic Michel Tapié in his book Un art autre (Art of another kind) and an eponymous exhibition. Taking its title from that pivotal study, this collection-based presentation seeks to consider the artistic developments of the post–World War II period and draw greater attention to the lesser-known tastebreakers in the museum's collection alongside those long since canonized."
Guggenheim (Video)
Exhibition site (Video)

Lunch Hour NYC

"The clamor and chaos of lunch hour in New York has been a defining feature of the city for some 150 years. Visitors, newly arrived immigrants, and even longtime New Yorkers are struck by the crowds, the rush, and the dizzying range of foods on offer. Of the three meals that mark the American day, lunch is the one that acquired its modern identity here on the streets of New York."
NYPL: Lunch Hour NYC
YouTube: NYPL's Lunch Hour NYC

John Lincoln Wright

"John Lincoln Wright brought country music to the rock clubs of Boston and Cambridge from the 1970s into the ’90s, introducing audiences to honky-tonk music in performances that earned accolades during the heyday of his band, John Lincoln Wright & the Sour Mash Boys. As a songwriter, he drew inspiration from life in the Northeast, far from country music’s usual wellsprings. He declined to follow the lead of acts that build a local base, then decamp to Nashville to chase stardom that might require compromises."
Boston Globe
Music Museum Of New England
MUSIC SCENE: John Lincoln Wright was a country icon
John Lincoln Wright and the Sour Mash Boys
YouTube: Pine Tree John, Songwriters in the Round : John Lincoln Wright, October Days, Too Old To Die Young, Rockabilly Man, The Gandy Dancer, John Lincoln Wright 2007, john lincoln wright and the sour mash boys #5, One Who Cares, THE RED SOX SONG - 1976
W - Beacon Street Union
Boston Sound Home Page
Rising Storm (Video)

Zarina Bhimji

No Border Crossing, 2001-2006
"Zarina Bhimji (born in Mbarara, Uganda, 1963) is a Ugandan Asian photographer and film maker, who was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2007. ... In 2007, she was shortlisted for the Turner Prize for photographs of Uganda. Their theme is the expulsion of Asians from the country by Idi Amin and the subsequent loss and grief caused. The photos were in exhibitions at Haunch of Venison gallery in London and Zurich. Her Turner Prize display includes a film, Waiting, which was shot in a sisal-processing factory. This is on high-definition video, transferred from the original 35mm film."
Wikipedia
Zarina Bhimji
Whitechapel Gallery (Video)
Guardian - Echoing spaces: Zarina Bhimji at the Whitechapel Gallery – in pictures
Waiting, 2007 (Video), Out of Blue, 2002

Bill Morrison

Wikipedia - "Bill Morrison (born in Chicago, November 17, 1965) is a New York-based filmmaker and artist, best known for his experimental collage film Decasia (2002). He is a member of Ridge Theater and the founder of Hypnotic Pictures. He attended Reed College 1983-85, and graduated from Cooper Union School of Art in 1989. ... Eight of his titles have been acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. He has been commissioned to create films for some of the most important composers of his time, including John Adams, Gavin Bryars, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, Michael Gordon, Henryk Gorecki, Vijay Iyer, David Lang, Harry Partch, Steve Reich and Julia Wolfe."
Wikipedia
Bill Morrison (Video)
vimeo: Bill Morrison
YouTube: The Film Of Her (Bill Morrison, 1996)

Progressive rock

Wikipedia - "Progressive rock (also referred to as prog rock or prog) is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of 'a mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility.' John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just 'succeed the pop of the 1960s as much as take its rightful place beside the modern classical music of Stravinsky and Bartók.' Progressive rock bands pushed 'rock's technical and compositional boundaries' by going beyond the standard rock or popular verse-chorus-based song structures."
Wikipedia
Gibraltar Encyclopedia
Progressive rock (Video)
YouTube: BBC Prog Rock Britannia an Observation in Three Movements 1:28:47

Transit of Venus - Harry Crosby

"...And in addition to all that, today's also the exactly right and perfect time to specially celebrate a book of poetry named after the celestial event: Harry Crosby's Transit of Venus (Paris: Black Sun Press, 1928, revised editions 1929 and 1931)."
the glade of theoric ornithic hermetica
TRANSIT OF VENUS, 1928
W - Black Sun Press
amazon - Black Sun: The Brief Transit and Violent Eclipse of Harry Crosby

2009 January: Harry Crosby

Koo Nimo

Wikipedia - "Koo Nimo (born Kwabena Boa-Amponsem on 3 October 1934, baptized Daniel Amponsah is a leading folk musician of Palm wine music or Highlife music from Ghana. Born in the village of Foase, in the Atwima District of the Ashanti Region in Ghana, West Africa, he worked in various jobs in science and medical-related field while maintaining his interest in music."
Wikipedia
Koo Nimo: Ghana's leading folk singer
Ghana Speaks (IV): … and Koo Nimo plays guitar and sings (Video)
YouTube: Afrikafestival Hertme Koo Nimo Palmwine Quartet, Koo Nimo for Sounds from Ghana, Boniaye Kae Dabi

Before Air-Conditioning by Arthur Miller (1998)

"Exactly what year it was I can no longer recall—probably 1927 or ’28—there was an extraordinarily hot September, which hung on even after school had started and we were back from our Rockaway Beach bungalow. Every window in New York was open, and on the streets venders manning little carts chopped ice and sprinkled colored sugar over mounds of it for a couple of pennies. We kids would jump onto the back steps of the slow-moving, horse-drawn ice wagons and steal a chip or two; the ice smelled vaguely of manure but cooled palm and tongue."
The New Yorker

Can - The Lost Tapes

"Spoon Records and Mute are delighted to announce the release of Can – The Lost Tapes, the long awaited box set of unreleased studio, soundtrack and live material. The Lost Tapes, out on 18 June 2012, was curated by Irmin Schmidt and Daniel Miller, compiled by Irmin Schmidt and Jono Podmore, and edited by Jono Podmore. When the legendary Can studio in Weilerswist was sold to the German Rock N Pop Museum, they bought everything, including the army mattresses that covered the walls for sound protection, and relocated it to Gronau. Whilst dismantling the studio, master tapes were found and stored in the Spoon archive."
MUTE (Video)
feuilleton: Can’s Lost Tapes
EARMILK (Video)
Can Explain Where They Found ‘The Lost Tapes’
W - The Lost Tapes (Can album)
amazon
YouTube: Midnight Sky, Millionenspiel, A Swan is Born, Abra Cada Braxas, Messer, Scissors, Fork and Light, Dead Pigeon Suite. First Look: Can - The Lost Tapes UNBOXING

2011 September: Can

The Dial-A-Poem Poets: The Nova Convention

"[from Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs by Ted Morgan, New York: 1978, Henry Holt]: . . .[in 1978] a Columbia professor named Sylvere Lotringer had approached John Giorno about organizing some sort of 'homage to Burroughs,' bringing together European and American academics for a series of seminars. Lotringer saw Burroughs as they did in France, where he was acclaimed as a philosopher of the future, the man who best understood postindustrial society. Giorno discussed the idea with James [Grauerholz], and they saw it more as the gathering of the counterculture tribe which would enshrine Burroughs as its leader. There would be seminars, but there would also be music and entertainment, and star attractions."
UbuWeb - The Dial-A-Poem Poets: The Nova Convention (Video)

In Which We Lather Our Sensibilities At Length

"On July 23rd 1965 the poet Charles Olson took the stage at the University of California-Berkeley Poetry Conference, ostensibly to read a few poems. There was always an apprehension among Charles' friends whenever he attempted public speaking during his last years. The full text of Olson's remarks that evening runs over 60 pages, and it must have been evident to everyone in attendance that Olson, while somewhat cogent for him, would have to be dragged off the stage."
This Recording (Video)

2009 January: Charles Olson
2010 September: Charles Olson: The Art of Poetry No. 12
2010 December: "In Cold Hell, in Thicket", NET film
2011 July: Charles Olson: February 21, 1957
2012 April: A Trip to Charles Olson’s Gloucester

Alex Katz Prints

"Enter the world of glowing light and vibrant color of 'Alex Katz Prints.' Bold portraits, idyllic landscapes, scenes of sophisticated leisure—they’re all here in the works of the renowned contemporary artist. With arresting simplicity of line, color, and form, Katz distills his subjects down to their essence, with a powerful graphic punch."
mfa: Alex Katz Prints (Video)
Alex Katz
amazon - Alex Katz: Prints

2008 February: Alex Katz
2010 December: Life Imitates Art

Tommy James and the Shondells

Wikipedia - "Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — 'Hanky Panky' (1966) and 'Crimson and Clover' (1969) — and also charted 12 other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: 'Crystal Blue Persuasion', 'Mony Mony', 'I Think We're Alone Now', 'Sweet Cherry Wine', and 'Mirage'."
Wikipedia
amazon: Tommy James and the Shondells
YouTube: Hanky Panky, Crimson And Clover, Mony Mony, I Think We`re Alone Now, Crystal Blue Persuasion,

Taxicabs of New York City

"The taxicabs of New York City, with their distinctive yellow paint, are a widely recognized icon of the city. Taxicabs are operated by private companies and licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). The Commission is a New York City government agency that is best known for its responsibility for the more than 13,237 taxis operating in the city. It also oversees over 40,000 other for-hire vehicles, including 'black cars', commuter vans and ambulettes. 'Medallion taxis,' the familiar yellow cabs, are the only vehicles in the city permitted to pick up passengers in response to a street hail."
W - Taxicabs of New York City
NYC Taxi Cabs
Taxi of Tomorrow
npr: Hail, Hail! 'Taxi Of Tomorrow' Arrives In NYC (Video)
How to Hail a Taxi Cab…Like a Man!
NYT: Painstakingly Reimagining City’s Cabs, Down to the Floor Mats
YouTube: How To Take a Cab in New York City, NYT: NYC's Next Taxi Cab? (Video), NYC's original last CHECKER CAB, Out From Behind The Wheel: New York City Taxi Drivers, Canada film on New York City Yellow Cab Driver. Two 4 minutes parts.

This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s

"This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s covers the period from 1979 to 1992. During this era, the political sphere was dominated by the ideas of former US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the music scene was transformed by punk and the birth of hip-hop, and our everyday lives were radically altered by a host of technological developments, from the Sony Walkman and the ATM to the appearance of MTV and the first personal computers. In the United States, the decade opened with an enormous anti-nuclear protest in New York’s Central Park and closed with mass demonstrations against the government’s slow response to the AIDS crisis. This exhibition attempts to make sense of what happened to the visual arts in the United States during this tumultuous period."
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
LA Times
Huffington Post

Squeak Carnwath

Calendar, 2010
Wikipedia - "Squeak Carnwath (born 1947 in Abington, PA) is a contemporary American painter. ... Carnwath has a distinctive and recognizable style which combines diaristic and personal elements with universal or existential themes. Her paintings 'combine text and images on abstract fields of color to express sociopolitical and spiritual concerns.' She has described herself ironically as a 'painting chauvinist' due to an abiding preference for that medium, although she is also an accomplished printmaker and has created sophisticated Jacquard tapestries, artist books, and mixed media works in addition to her oil and alkyd works on canvas."
Wikipedia
Squeak Carnwath
Magnolia Editions
Melissa Morgan Fine Art
YouTube: Squeak Carnwath: Imagination Is The Mind's Freedom, Squeak Carnwath "Philosophy" Artist's Book

Peter Tosh – Equal Rights Lyrics

"What is your goal? 'To promote equal rights and justice for every man' What will happen when this goal is reached? "The flowers will bloom and the pollution will go away. There will be fresh air and no pestilence. Man has created these things for experimental purposes to promote death and advance technology. But soon the earth will tilt on its axis and begin to dance to the reggae beat to the accompaniment of earthquake. And who can resist the dance of the earthquake, mon?' - Peter Tosh (being interviewed by Eric Olsen), 1983. Click the orange lyrics for meanings to Peter Tosh – Equal Rights lyrics."
Rap Genius (Video)

2012 May: Peter Tosh

Ne Boltai! Collection of Soviet Propaganda

Mikhail Baljasnij, “Communism means soviets, plus the electrification of the whole country,” 1930
"Welcome to Ne boltai! This website provides thousands of selections from a large archive of political propaganda—mainly works on paper—produced by artists in the Soviet Union and its satellites."
Ne Boltai! Collection of Soviet Propaganda

The 1969 Bob Dylan-Johnny Cash Sessions: Twelve Rare Recordings

"Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash had formed a mutual admiration society even before they met in the early 1960s. 'Of course, I knew of him before he ever heard of me,' Dylan wrote shortly after Cash’s death in 2003. 'In ’55 or ’56, I Walk the Line played all summer on the radio, and it was different than anything else you had ever heard. The record sounded like a voice from the middle of the Earth. It was so powerful and moving.' When the young Dylan arrived on the scene in 1962, Cash was impressed."
The 1969 Bob Dylan-Johnny Cash Sessions: Twelve Rare Recordings (YouTube)