Woody Guthrie at 100: Celebrate His Amazing Life with a BBC Film

"Saturday marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Woody Guthrie, the greatly influential folk singer whose music was inseparable from the hard circumstances of his life and his deep sense of social justice. 'A folk song is what’s wrong and how to fix it,' Guthrie once said, 'or it could be who’s hungry and where their mouth is or who’s out of work and where the job is or who’s broke and where the money is or who’s carrying a gun and where the peace is.'"
Open Culture (Video)
Woody Guthrie 100
npr: Fresh Air Celebrates Woody Guthrie At 100 (Video)
Democracy Now: On Woody Guthrie’s Centennial, Celebrating the Life, Politics & Music of the "Dust Bowl Troubadour" (Video)

2008 January: Woody Guthrie
2009 May: To Hear Your Banjo Play - 1947
2010 June: Dust Bowl Ballads

Transsubstantiatio

I Am Sitting In A Room
"Images generated from sound files. No edition, just automatic data bending. 1. Save sound file as raw. 2. Open raw in graphics editing program."
Transsubstantiatio
null66913BLOG (Video)
vimeo: _blank’s Videos
disquiet: The Sonic Image

Photographing the Mexican Revolution

"The Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920 is among the world’s most visually documented revolutions. Coinciding with the birth of filmmaking and the increased mobility offered by the reflex camera, it received extraordinary coverage by photographers and cineastes—commercial and amateur, national and international."
U. Texas
Photos of the Mexican Revolution
ZONE ZERE (PDF)
W - Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution: An Overview
YouTube: The Mexican Revolution 1910 -1920.
PDS: The Storm That Swept Mexico (Video)

Nick Drake

Wikipedia - "Nicholas Rodney 'Nick' Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician who was known for his sombre guitar-based songs. He failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime but his work has gradually achieved wider notice and recognition. Drake signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded two more albums — Bryter Layter and Pink Moon. Neither sold more than 5,000 copies on initial release. Drake's reluctance to perform live, or be interviewed, contributed to his lack of commercial success. Drake suffered from depression and insomnia throughout his life and these topics were often reflected in his lyrics."
Wikipedia
Bryter Music
amazon
The Paris Review: Things Behind the Sun
YouTube: From The Morning, Cello Song, Place to be, Time Has Told Me, One Of These Things First, Fly, Day is Done, Riverman, Things behind the sun, Way To Blue.
A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake 48:56.
Kaleidescope BBC Special part 1, part 2, part 3

Fred Frith at Cafe Oto, with Christian Marclay, John Edwards, and Mark Sanders

"Fred Frith was back at Cafe Oto for his third annual residency, playing just a week after his old colleague in 70s avant-garde rock group Henry Cow, Tim Hodgkinson, had appeared alongside synth player Thomas Lehn. Frith was paired on consecutive nights with a local free jazz tag team in bassist John Edwards and drummer Mark Sanders, and with turntablist and fellow New Yorker Christian Marclay in what was, incredibly, their first collaboration since the 80s, when they were both prime movers in New York’s creatively vital ‘downtown’ jazz scene."
Dalston Sound
cafe OTO (Video)

Tacita Dean

“Tacita Dean: Five Americans,” 2012
"This May, the New Museum will present an exhibition of works by British artist Tacita Dean—the most substantial presentation of the artist’s work in New York to date. The presentation focuses on a group of recent pieces that capture five important American artists and thinkers of the last fifty years and features Merce Cunningham, Leo Steinberg, Julie Mehretu, Claes Oldenburg, and Cy Twombly. These works are beautifully crafted portraits of each individual, opening a lens onto their artistic processes and personal memories. This installation, organized in close collaboration with Dean, provides insight into the way in which her filmmaking intersects with painting, sculpture, writing, and dance."
New Museum
Tacit Approval: Tacita Dean’s “Five Americans”
Tacita Dean’s ‘Five Americans’ Captures a Quiet Brilliance (Video)
Guardian: Tacita Dean's Film is the reel deal - video

Deep Roots Music 1: Revival/Ranking Sounds

"... Part 1-'Revival' examines the evolution of African music and its influence on culture and the formation of new styles, like ska. Part 2-'Ranking Sounds' reveals the origins of deejaying and toasting with an exemplary live performance of a Jamaican sound-system. This thorough series serves as the ultimate authority on reggae history!"
YouTube - Deep Roots Music 1: Revival/Ranking Sounds 51:10
amazon

7th Berlin Biennale 2012

Burak Arikan
"'THIS IS NOT OUR MUSEUM / THIS IS YOUR ACTION SPACE,' reads a banner greeting visitors to KW Institute for Contemporary Art, the Berlin Biennale’s main venue and traditional host. Its authors, members of Occupy Berlin and affiliated groups invited to set up shop there by the biennial’s curator, the artist Artur Żmijewski, are the exhibition’s main attraction and set its tone. They paradigmatically stand for the concept of art to which Żmijewski has dedicated his 'biennale for contemporary politics': 'Art that actually works, makes its mark on reality'."
ARTFORUM
Art Agenda
domus
YouTube: 7th Berlin Biennale 2012

40 Years Ago Today: Chess Rivals Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky Meet in the ‘Match of the Century’

"They called it the 'Match of the Century.' The eccentric American chess master Bobby Fischer and the reigning world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union faced off against one another 40 years ago today in Reykjavik, Iceland. As the world looked on, the Cold War struggle between two superpowers was played out in proxy, on a chess board."
Open Culture (Video)
HBO: Bobby Fischer Against The World
npr: Bobby Fischer: A Chess Champ 'Against The World' (Video)
YouTube: Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011)
W - Bobby Fischer

2008 October: World Chess Championship 1972

Kontakthof mit Senioren ab "65" (2000) - Pina Bausch

"Duration: 148 minutes. Legendary Bausch piece Kontakthof, this time performed by ladies and gentlemen over 65, premiered in 2000. Ein Stück von Pina Bausch"
UbuWeb (Video)

2008 May: Pina Bausch
2009 July: Pina Bausch, 1940-2009

MacDougal Street

Peter Orlovsky, Ginsberg and friends in front of the Kettle of Fish, 1959
"MacDougal Street is a one way street in Greenwich Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The approximate six-block street is bound by Prince Street and West 8th Street. It has been the subject of many songs, poems, and other forms of artistic expression. MacDougal Street has been frequented by numerous famous individuals. It is named for Alexander McDougall."
Wikipedia
YouTube: Quick "Macdougal Street" Tour, Village: Macdougal Street

Doughboys Playboys & Cowboys: The Golden Years of Western Swing

"Western Swing is a musical genre wonderfully described by its leading historian Cary Ginell as 'a bastard child that neither country nor jazz is willing to accept into their own house. In my opinion they are an important part of both genres.' Jazz historian Ted Gioia in this thoughtful The History of Jazz, while also omitting any mention of Western Swing, does address a key reason for its neglect among jazz listeners: For example, most chronicles of musical activity in the 1920s will draw an implicit delineation between popular music, jazz, and classical composition. Hence, accounts of jazz tend to present a polarized landscape in which hot bands (Henderson, Ellington, Goodman, Basie) thrive, develop, and change in complete isolation from other musical currents."
bravo juju
amazon
YouTube: Tiger Rag - The Light Crust Doughboys, Bob Wills - Take me back to Tulsa, I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart ~ Patsy Montana & The Praire Ramblers, Kangaroo Blues - Cliff Bruner And His Texas Wanderers, Fort Worth Doughboys - Sunbonnet Sue, Bob Wills - San Antonio Rose, Milton Brown and the Musical Brownies - Down By The O-Hi-O, The Tune Wranglers - Texas Sand, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IWEcW8N-Uc">Cliff Bruner - One Sweet Letter From You, Who's Sorry Now - Milton Brown & his Brownies, The Light Crust Doughboys - Pussy, Pussy, Pussy

Atlantic City (1980)

Wikipedia - "Atlantic City is a 1980 French-Canadian romantic crime film directed by Louis Malle. ... The film tells the story of a young Canadian woman, Sally Matthews (Susan Sarandon), whose dream for a better life in the gambling business is interrupted by the return of the drug-dealing husband, whom she had left behind, and older Lou Pascal (Burt Lancaster), a long time resident of Atlantic City, and how their lives interact and change, both for the better."
Wikipedia
amazon
NYT: Atlantic City (1980)
YouTube:

Brian Eno Profile And Interview - Oct 2011

"Brian Eno discusses the future of creativity, against a backdrop of economic hardship. Jon Savage discusses Eno."
YouTube: Brian Eno Profile And Interview

The Rub – Summer Of The Rub

"Ayres and Eleven aka The Rub are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their long-running Brooklyn party with “Summer Of The Rub” a free all-day, all-ages blowout at Dekalb Market on Saturday (6/23) and also enlisted their friends Neil Armstrong & Rich Medina to join them. ... To celebrate, they put together a great mix of classic rock: 'We came up with a big list, and then narrowed it down to 1967-1973, took out the obvious 'UBB Rock Breaks' ('In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida') and the stuff which was too soft ('Strawberry Letter 23'), then we each mixed for 30 minutes and boom!'"
Brooklyn Radio (Video)

BBC Proms Music Walk

"John Cage had an enormous influence on the way modern music, dance and art developed in the late 20th century. John Cage was a musician, composer, writer, artist and respected mycologist whose experimental works, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, had an enormous influence on the way modern music, dance and art developed in the late 20th century. ... To celebrate John Cage’s centenary, 10 pieces of music by 10 different composers have been created, inspired by 10 places close to the Royal Albert Hall."
BBC Proms Music Walk (Video)

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté - Debe live at Bozar

"Live recording of the song 'Debe', from Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté's first album 'In the heart of the moon'. Filmed at Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, in 2005."
YouTube: Debe

2010 November: Ali Farka Touré

The Art Box - Art Bears

Wikipedia - "The Art Box is a six-CD box set by English avant-rock group Art Bears. It contains all Art Bears album and single releases, plus new material, including live and unreleased Art Bears tracks, and unreleased remixes and reworkings of Art Bears material by other musicians. The box set also contains a book of photographs, artwork, articles, interviews and commentary on the CD tracks, the work process, the band and their tour of Europe in 1979. The Art Bears material was recorded between 1978 and 1980, while the work by other musicians was recorded between 1998 and 2003."
Wikipedia
amazon: The Art Box
dusted
Hard Format
YouTube: ART BEARS SONGBOOK au RIO 2010, Art Bears Songbook: truth, Art Bears: 01, 02, 03.
YouTube: Coda To "Man & Boy", Moeris Dancing Hopes and Fears, The Songs of Investment Capital Overseas, Art Bears revisited - Roberto Musci, Freedom, The Winter Wheel, Democracy, The Bath of Stars

2010 February: Art Bears

2012 Tour de France

Wikipedia - "The 2012 Tour de France is the 99th and current edition of the Tour de France. It began in the city of Liège in Belgium, and is scheduled to end on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. Besides Belgium and France, the Tour will also pass through Switzerland. ... The route features a total of 101.1 km covered in individual time trials and only three uphill finishes: La Planche des Belles Filles (stage 7), La Toussuire - Les Sybelles (stage 11) and Peyragudes (stage 17). The Col du Grand Colombier will be visited for the first time in Tour de France history."
Wikipedia
Tour de France 2012 (Video)
steephill (Video)
Cycling News
Guardian: 2012 Tour de France
YouTube: Official History of Le Tour de France 1903-2006. Tour history 1:54:53. Stars and Watercarriers, 1973 Giro d'Italia 1:28:57. Bartali, Coppi, Gimondi and the Tour de France Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Crash of Wim Van Est (Tour de France, 1951).

2008 July: Tour de France 2008
2009 July: Tour de France 2009
2010 July: Tour de France 2010
2011 July: Tour de France 2011

Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective

"Roy Lichtenstein was deeply immersed in art history and popular culture. See here how he transformed his sources—from drawings to paintings and from Monet to benday. Move the slider to witness his creative process as you move from source material or preparatory drawing to finished painting."
The Art Institute of Chicago (Video)
Wikipedia
Roy Lichtenstein
NYT: Lichtenstein’s Gatekeeper Uses Her Key
Huffington Post

Banga - Patti Smith

Wikipedia - "Banga is the eleventh studio album by American rock musician Patti Smith, released on June 1, 2012 on Columbia Records. Recorded throughout 2011 at New York's Electric Lady Studios and Hoboken's Hobo Recorders, Banga was produced by Smith, Tony Shanahan, Jay Dee Daugherty and collaborator Lenny Kaye. The album includes a number of guest muscians including Tom Verlaine of Television, Jack Petruzzelli and Smith's own children, Jackson and Jesse Paris. Inspired by Smith's 'unique dreams and observations,' the material on Banga focuses on 'a wide range of human experience' and features songs about history, current affairs, death and nature."
Wikipedia
Song Premiere: Patti Smith, 'Banga'
amazon: Banga
npr: On 'Banga,' Patti Smith Pays Homage To Friends (Video)
amazon: Banga, Deluxe Edition (Video)
YouTube: Banga, This Is The Girl, April Fool, Tarkovsky (The Second Stop Is Jupiter), Mosaic, Amerigo

Computer Music Journal

"Published continuously since 1977, Computer Music Journal (CMJ) is a quarterly journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published (in hard copy and on-line) by MIT Press. The topics addressed in Computer Music Journal include: software and hardware for digital audio signal processing; electroacoustic, electronic, and computer music; software for music notation, printing, and archival systems; music representation languages and music cognition; new physical performance interfaces; sound localization and 3-D sound spatialization; sound in computer user interfaces and virtual realities; aesthetics of contemporary music, and other areas."
Computer Music Journal
MIT Press Journals
discogs

The Box Tops

Wikipedia - "The Box Tops were a Memphis rock group of the second half of the 1960s. They are best known for the hits 'The Letter', 'Cry Like A Baby', and 'Soul Deep' and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period."
Wikipedia
The Box Tops
YouTube: The Letter, Cry Like A Baby, Soul Deep, Neon Rainbow, Turn On A Dream, Sweet Cream Ladies

The Gallery of Lost Art

"The Gallery of Lost Art is an online exhibition that tells the stories of artworks that have disappeared. Destroyed, stolen, discarded, rejected, erased, ephemeral – some of the most significant artworks of the last 100 years have been lost and can no longer be seen. This virtual year-long exhibition explores the sometimes extraordinary and sometimes banal circumstances behind the loss of major works of art. Archival images, films, interviews, blogs and essays are laid out for visitors to examine, relating to the loss of works by over 40 artists across the twentieth century, including such figures as Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miró, Willem de Kooning, Rachel Whiteread and Tracey Emin."
TATE’s Online Exhibition “The Gallery of Lost Art”
It's Nice That
Tate: The Gallery of Lost Art (Video)

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