July 22, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Having lived my entire life on the east coast of the U.S. and briefly in Europe, the concept of California and the west coast was always an imagined, distant place for me. Eventually I’d like to make it out there, maybe spend a few years in San Francisco, experience some of that laid back attitude you hear so much about.
Anyway, these artists and songs, all from the Golden state, represent collectively the California consciousness. For me, as an outsider to this culture, it gives me an idea of the range and energy inherent in all the different genres of music that emanate from Cali. I can’t include some of the more popular choices such as Dr. Dre, Snoop, Sublime, and the Chili Peppers, but I’m sure you’ll recognize a couple of these artists. Enjoy and chillllllllllll…..
P.S. Gotta give props to the Mamas & the Papas too…bunch of characters, those guys.
Souls of Mischief- Let ‘em Know
on 93 ‘Til Infinity (1993, Jive)
Murs- Brotherly Love
on The End of the Beginning (2003, Def Jux)
Madlib- Sickfit
on Madvillainy (2004, Stones Throw Records)
Ugly Duckling- Rio De Janeiro
on Taste the Secret (2003, Emperor Norton Records)
The Nonce- Mix Tapes
on World Ultimate (1995, American Recordings)
Long Beach Dub All Stars ft. Barrington Levy - Saw Red
on Right Back (1999, Dreamworks Records)
The Crystal Method- Wild, Sweet and Cool
on Tweekend (2001, Outpost)
Image: Brandon Cayaban
July 21, 2008 at 6:59 pm
In a district that sleeps alone, save for your few back-pocket lobbyists sharing space under the covers, post-work social events are networking for some, but that seldom found chance to breathe for others. In a city bursting at its seams with political rhetoric and hot air, founded upon agendas far deeper than hidden, it is not every night that one is able to find an hour away from “D.C.” much less one which could be remotely defined as “happy.” What a joy then to stumble across a lounge whose happy hour not only raises one’s spirits, but soothes the soul. The Eighteenth Street Lounge is a three story bar/club/lounge with a playlist more exclusive than its guest list. The locale only plays its own artists, only those from the ESL record label. Not a gimmick, but rather a complete synthesis of the atmosphere. An hour at ESL is an indulgence of the senses; there is nary a bar — D.C. or anywhere — that can boast a panoramic deluge of taste, touch, sight, sound, and yes, smell reflecting their own distinctly unique vibe.
While I cannot provide social lubricant to wet the palate, I’ve opted instead to let your ears indulge in sonic delights. Each artist showcased below is from the Eighteenth Street Lounge label, the artists which make the hour ecstatic. Enjoi.
Joe Bataan - The Bottle
(Salsoul Classics, Vol. 1/ 1992)
Federico Aubele - El Amor de Este Pueblo
(Gran Hotel Buenos Aires/ 2004)
Karmisky Experience Inc. - Exploration
(The Power of Suggestion/ 2003)
Federico Aubele - Besos de Sal
(Gran Hotel Buenos Aires/ 2004)
Quantic & Nickodemus - Mi Swing Es Tropical
(Ritmo Tropical/ 2004)
Chris Joss - You’ve Been Spiked
(You’ve Been Spiked/ 2004)
photo credit: IntangibleArts
July 10, 2008 at 3:39 am
Like in the children’s book we moved representationally. Where the yellow blob
stands in for warmth… We were all imagination and mistake, experiment.
- Priscilla Becker.
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Ocre
Paraiso 91.90.77 Ep (Oslo, 2007)
Four Tet - Wing body wing
Ringer (Domino, 2008)
Valerio Cosi - Hoboland
Valerio Cosi & the spiritual commitee (foxglove, 2006)
Kenneth Bager feat. Camilla Munck - Fragment five
Fragments from a Space Cadet (Shhh!, 2007)
Lali Puna - 6-0-3
Tricoder (Morr, 1999)
Born Ruffians - I need a life (Four Tet Remix)
(web download only)
µ-ziq - Goodbye, goodbye
Royal Astronomy (1999)
Download full playlist.
This music reminds me strongly of travelling, specifically it reminds me of the sensation of waiting in a foreign train station. It’s a very ambiguous sensation, a weird mixture of emotional detachment and curiosity. Intimate but not mawkish. Excitement turning into boredom turning into excitement. Propulsive enough to be lively, but muted enough to be beautiful.
Images: Scans from Jauna Gaita magazines by Mikus.
July 5, 2008 at 3:26 am
Image: Bart Pogoda
Late night drive on an empty city with nothing but a pair of cigars and decadent thoughts.
Delia Gonzales & Gavin Russom - Rise (DFA remix)
Italian #1 (Italians do it better, 2007)
Panthers - Goblin city (Holy Ghost! Extended disco dub)
Goblin city 12″ (Permanent Vacation, 2008)
Prototypes - Synthetique
Synthetique (Minty Fresh, 2008)
Glass Candy - Beatific
Beat Box (Italians do it better, 2007)
Agoria feat. Scalde - Baboul Hair Cuttin
Baboul Hair Cuttin (Different, 2006)
Over the past century, the world burned through a trillion barrels of oil. Another 1.2 trillion barrels of known conventional oil reserves wait to tapped, according to BP, one of the world’s biggest oil companies. It sounds like a lot. But given the current rate of growth in demand, a trillion of those barrels will be used up in less than 30 years.
What then? Many analysts estimate another trillion barrels of yet-to-be-found oil remains, but in remote places like the Arctic Ocean where it will be expensive to extract, or in countries that might restrict access.
The big oil companies have been in a global dash to find and pump more oil. But it takes time, sometimes a decade, before the first barrels from a newly discovered oil field are pumped and sold.
- The future of Oil. Jad Mouawad for the New York Times.
June 25, 2008 at 9:02 am
Images: [1] [2] [3] [4]
It was a time when technology was king, status was determined by your high score, and videogames were blitzing the world…From Pong to Pac-Man, Asteroids to Zaxxon–more than fifty million people around the world have come of age within the electronic flux of videogames, their subconscious forever etched with images projected from arcade and home videogame systems.From the first interactive blips of electronic light at Brookhaven National Labs and the creation of Spacewar!
Van Burnham - Supercade
01. New Balance - Role Model
(A New Fragrance / 2005)
02. Trash 80 - Icarus
(unreleased)
03. Bruna - Lost And Found (not found rmx by MAT64)
(Milky Disco / 2007)
04. Trash 80 - Sodium Sonet
(Unreleased)
05. Crystal Castles - Alice Practice
(Crystal Castles / 2008)
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June 22, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Image: EnzoDavide
Dave Bowman: Hello, HAL do you read me, HAL?
HAL 9000: Affirmative, Dave, I read you.
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL 9000: I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Dave Bowman: What’s the problem?
HAL 9000: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave Bowman: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL 9000: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
Dave Bowman: I don’t know what you’re talking about, HAL?
HAL 9000: I know you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I’m afraid that’s something I cannot allow to happen.
Dave Bowman: Where the hell’d you get that idea, HAL?
HAL 9000: Dave, although you took thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.
Quote from “2001: A Space Odyssey”
01. Growing - Lateral
(Lateral / 2008)
02. Lindstrom - I Feel Space
(It’s a Feedelity Affair / 2006)
03. Jersey Devil Social Club - Child 13
(Milky Disco / 2007)
04. Cloudland Canyon - Dambala
(Silver Tongued Sisyphus / 2007)
05. Eluvium - As I Drift Off
(When I Live by the Garden and the Sea / 2006)
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June 14, 2008 at 9:53 am
Photo: Corbis
The hotel Adlon became our club. In the Adlon lobby we met and gossiped and exchanged news. In the Adlon bar we rolled dice for drinks… When I was first in Berlin, I recall, Dorothy Thompson and Sigrid Shultz wouldn’t come into the Adlon bar; they stayed in lady-like aloofness, in the lobby or restaurant. Later they relented; but Sigrid never ordered anything but a Shultz cocktail. She wouldn’t tell me what it was. I asked Fred, the barman. “Das ist ein Geheimnis!” he answered. I asked Franz, another barman. “Dat iss a secret!” he replied. Finaly Sigrid herself told me. A Shultz cocktail is composed of equal parts of orange juice, orange juice, and orange juice.
T. R. Ybarra - Young man of the world
01. Yoav - Club Thing
(Charmed & Strange / 2008)
02. James Pants - Were Through
(Welcome / 2008)
03. Liquid Liquid - Cavern
(The Perfect Beats, Vol. 2 / 1998)
04. Boat Club - Warmer Climes
(Caught the Breeze / 2007)
05. Poni Hoax - Antibodies
(Images of Sigrid / 2008)
Note: the excerpt and the name of Pony Hoax’s album mix perfectly… this was not wanted, it’s a pure coincidence: I can’t believe it.
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