The first time I saw the name Kill Pixie, it was written on a bathroom wall at a party.
Kill Pixie is Mark Whalen. Check out his work at killpixie.net and look for new work at the Edwina Corlette Gallery from March 22nd to April 10th.
Can’t make it to the show? You can always buy a zine or a print.
Joe Matt wears his heart on his pen. Since 1987, the cartoonist’s trials and tribulations pertaining to friends, roommates, his cat, his relationships with women, his porn habit and the human race, have all been found in his serialized autobiographical comic book, Peep Show. Joe was kind enough to answer some of my questions recently, via email. The results are below.
Lee Ranaldo makes a lot of noise. When he’s making it with Thurston Moore and company, they’re called Sonic Youth. When he’s making it with Tony Buck, they’re called Glacial. When he’s making it with Alan Licht, William Hooker, DJ Olive and company, they’re called Text Of Light. Text Of Light bring their sonic splendor to the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10th. Sample and purchase Text Of Light audio here. The footage below was taken from a show performed at the Latvian House in Toronto in 2007.
http://www.vimeo.com/5480894
Another Coppola has decided to stimulate our visual enjoyment. Photographer Gia Coppola, granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola and niece to Sofia Coppola, co-directed beside Tracy Antonopoulos, the short film, Non Plus One. The short stars Gia’s cousin Jason Schwartzman and Kristen Dunst and was created to celebrate the launch of fashion label Opening Ceremony’s spring 2010 line. The film is scored by Schwartzman as Coconut Records, providing the song Is This Sound Okay? from the album Davy. No need to adjust your audio, the first minute of the film is intentionally silent.
http://www.vimeo.com/9338991
We decided to start a series of posts called “City by City” where we ask artists to remark on the city in which they live. We were curious to find what results we would get by asking them to provide testimonial details of where they call home. Here’s what the lovely Robe Pope had to say about Lawrence, KS:
“Pretty much all of my friends and associates call me Rob Pope. Some people that have known me longer … like my mom … call me Robbie. I play bass in a band called Spoon that hails from Austin, TX. We recently wrapped up a short tour of Europe that took us to Glasgow, Manchester, London, Amsterdam, Koln, and Berlin. It was a great tour overall and I was able to meet some new people and catch up with a lot of old friends. Next week I head to NYC to play on some late night television programs. That’s always a bit nerve wracking and incredibly exciting all at the same time.
I’m currently between homes. I lived in Seattle for a couple years but Lawrence, KS is where I’ve slept for the majority of the last 12 years. For those of you unaware … Lawrence is a pretty massive college town. Keep in mind that when I say massive, I mean about 100,000 people live here … while school is in session. The University of Kansas is located just a few blocks from where I’m writing. I’ve found that it’s the cultural mecca for a state that is dominated by small towns and small town mentality.
Some things I love about Lawrence:
The Love Garden. This is one of the finest record stores in the world. Plenty of old friends and bandmates work here and are always extremely helpful in keeping me up to date on amazing LPs that make their way through the door.
The Bourgeois Pig. I’m a bit biased on this one since I’m co-owner of this establishment. ”The Pig” (as locals call it) serves coffee drinks all day and delicious adult beverages at night. This has been my daytime and nighttime spot for years and years. Lawrence also has plenty of other great night spots (see The Eighth St. Taproom, The Replay, and Harbour Lights (mainly for it’s foosball table)
Lawrence has it’s fair share of great music venues (see The Jackpot, The Replay, Granada, Liberty Hall) and great local bands (see Fag Cop, Fourth Of July, Ad Astra Arkestra). Also, quite a few touring bands stop through Lawrence.
I love that Lawrence is constantly flooded with new people that are interested in music, visual arts, movies, and books. It’s incredibly easy for me to walk down Mass St. (the main street of downtown) and strike up a political conversation with someone, discuss a George Saunders book, and get in an argument about which Stooges album is the best.
Here’s the bad part:
Lawrence can feel like you are stuck in the middle of nowhere. I’ve been here long enough to see most of my really good friends move on because the town can feel a bit isolated. I don’t know how many times I get a confused/disgusted look when I tell someone I live in KS. Let the Wizard of Oz comments begin!
For a city that considers itself very liberal and progressive, few things are different from other cities that rest in Kansas. Case in point — Lawrence has yet to adapt to Curbside Recycling. I find that quite embarrassing.
Lately the weather in Lawrence has really got me down. It’s been a rough winter. KS seems to get the extremes of all the seasons. Very hot and humid in the Summer, frozen tundra in the winter, and Spring and Fall seem to fly by in a matter of days.
Ok, enough bad stuff … I could go on but am beginning to feel a bit guilty.”
Rob Pope
So I just found out about this South African group Die Antwoord (which means “The Answer” in Afrikaans). The group consists of Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek. Apparently there’s debate about the authenticity of the band on various music blogs.
At first I didn’t understand what the fuss was about and why they were being hailed as the new hot shit and simultaneously being called fake. I thought they looked like some hipsters who just happend to be from South Africa – and I think that’s exactly what they are. I think the argument for them being fake is that they are not really “Zef” which in Afrikaans equates to being a redneck. Personally I don’t really care if they are fake or not. I wouldn’t know what the fuck a South African redneck looked like or sounded like anyway. Plus, I’m sure anyone living in Silverlake or Brooklyn can find hipsters that look just like these three. So who’s real and who’s fake now?
Enjoy.
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Die Antwoord’s full length $O$ is set to drop sometime in 2010.
I remember reading something online about a mystery person who was using neon colored tape to create squares and rectangles around Brooklyn. The author didn’t know who was responsible for the shapes on the sidewalks and walls. He/she really liked it and wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery so they could give credit where credit was due. I don’t remember any more specifics.
But it’s not really important because the artist responsible for all that tape is now known. I give you Aakash Nihalani.
I had the opportunity to get in touch with Aakash and ask him some questions:
01 Magazine is an independently owned arts and culture online magazine that encompasses contemporary art, photography, and fashion with a focus on emerging and established artists. 01 Magazine is based in Vancouver, Canada and is published online bi-monthly. The “01” Group Exhibition will be presented at the 107 Shaw Gallery in Toronto on March 11th, as an extension of the magazine, featuring works by artists and who have inspired them in their craft.
Audrey Ewell and Aaron Aites weren’t Black Metal aficionados when a friend of theirs at Amoeba Records in San Francisco turned the two indie-music fans onto a sub-genre, that strangely enough, these days is also being appreciated by even the low-fi and roots music communities, for it’s purity and relevance. Yep. Black Metal is almost hip now. But when Ewell and Aites delved a little deeper, and became aware of the notorious history of true Norwegian Black Metal, which includes arson, suicide, and murder, they decided the subject would be perfect for their feature debut. So they set off for Norway, where they lived for two years, and ended up getting a very clear and unflinching look at what is often a very misunderstood subculture.
- via twitchfilm.net
The result of their research: The Norwegian Black Metal Documentary Until The Light Takes Us All
The Doc makes it’s Toronto debut at The Royal Cinema
Showtimes:
Friday February 19th – 9:30pm
Saturday February 20th – 9:30pm
Sunday February 21st – 7pm
Monday February 22nd – 7pm
Tuesday February 23rd – 7pm
Wednesday February 24th – 9:30pm
Thursday February 25th – 9:30pm
General Admission: $10
Students and Seniors: $8
Tickets go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.
It’s been awhile since we heard from Daniel Clowes … the cartoonist. I stopped asking for new issues of Eightball during trips to The Beguiling years after his popular serialized Ghost World graphic novel became a major motion picture. A few years later Sony Classics released Art School Confidential, loosely based on a short story of the same name that appeared in Eightball #7. He seemed to be on his Hollywood A-Game and so, still, all I had was my Death Ray issue to reread over and over again. (Rumour has it Jack Black’s Black and White Productions are to adapt The Death Ray into a film). Well, the wait is over. Come May of this year we can smell and hold the sweet pages of Wilson by Daniel Clowes. Wilson is the story of ”an opinionated middle-aged loner who loves his dog and quite possibly no one else”. It is to be published by Drawn and Quarterly making him the newest member of the D and Q family. Preview the pages of Wilson here.
Jaime Sin and Pammm are Toronto DJ’s who bring a positively good time to The Ossington throwing their monthly Girls Nite Out party. They recently compiled the mixtape Highway 7, with content consisting entirely of 1990’s Riot Grrrl Indie Rock. Both the selection and the tape’s title spread the nostalgia on thick for me. Highway 7 also happens to be a main street in Markham, Ontario, Canada … where i spent my teenhood, in the 1990’s. Download the mixtape here.
Liars are releasing their new album Sisterworld on March 9th.
It’s going to be double LP with the second disc consisting of remixes by the likes of Thom Yorke, The Melvins and Atlas Sound (aka Bradford Cox) to name a few.
More info HERE.
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There’s another track called “Scarecrows On Killer Slant” on their myspace page.
I’m really hoping that this record scares the shit out of me.
It’s like it wouldn’t be a Liars album if it didn’t.
At least in terms of their more recent recordings.
What I have heard does sound a bit more rock ‘n’ roll like their first LP.
This album and two of their EPs
(We No Longer Knew Who We Were and Fins To Make Us More Fish-Like)
are my favorites of any of their releases.
Denton Texas’ own Final Club are four young dudes making a decent racket. They have recently recorded an EP worth of tunes called Hot Gaze. You can preview and download it for free here. I’ve had the the song A Tragic World on heavy rotation for several days. Dig it.
12 February 2010
5906 N Figueroa St. LA / CA 90042
7p – 10p
Message from THIS:
“So here we are, our first opening.
When came up with the idea to do THIS we had no idea how many people would get behind us and be excited about what we are trying to do. It’s been a really amazing experience already, and we haven’t even opened our doors yet.
Tomorrow night, Friday February 12th, is our inaugural event. A group show of our closest friends. We did this whole thing to showcase
our friends, the ones we already know and the ones we are going to meet.
Thats what THIS is all about.
In addition to our opening show Friday night, we will be opening our doors for the NELA art walk happening on Saturday, go to http://www.nelaart.com/ for more info.
We’ll also be having a little BBQ get together for the families and kids on Sunday the 14th from 12-3PM so all of our kids can meet and get to know each other.”
At The Company of People Group Exhibition over at Space 15Twenty, I was surprised to find out that Drawlings aka Abby Portner was performing since this wasn’t listed on the invite.
I’ve talked to Abby a bit since then because I wanted to find out what’s going on with her musically & artistically. I was curious to find out if she was going to be releasing anything this year under her moniker Drawlings.
“I am going to record in the spring I think. My brother (Dave Portner aka Avey Tare of Animal Collective) is recording my record and it will come out on Paw Tracks but I’m not sure when. Late summer or fall maybe?
I have to wait until Dave has time to record me since he wants to do it. His life is finally mellowing out, so it should be soon.”
Abby’s been busy in the meantime with her art. “I’m working on some new decks for Alien Workshop and just finished getting a bunch of drawings and photos together for this art show curated by Peter Sutherland. It is a benefit show that will stay online to raise money for Fresh Air which is a foundation that raises money for city kids in NY to go to summer camps.”
Abby also just completed a store front art piece for South Willard here in Los Angeles during her recent visit. “The way of life is really mellow out in LA. I live in NY but grew up in Baltimore. I really liked being able to go on hikes and go the beach while I was working on something intensely. I feel much healthier. It’s also just nice to be around different people and see what people are working on. The way people make things and what they make is totally different than NY.”
You can keep up with Abby’s art & happenings HERE.
Buy Abby’s music (Rings and Drawlings) HERE.
Video for “Wolfie’s Christmas” by Drawlings
Video for “In The Flowers” by Animal Collective directed by Abby Portner
Get three new NO AGE tracks on Daytrotter.
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Kría Brekkan (formerly of múm) has a new 7″ available on Paw Tracks.
What?! You don’t have a turntable?! Ok, ok… you can get it on iTunes or Amazon.
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“Early this year I was sick for weeks coughing bad air out of my lungs cause of all the smoke from the fire cumulating in the old electricity. The waters of our insides had already dried up in the heat and would not become of much use to bring the flames braking out down. That night outside wind blew unruly. I was staying in an apartment of a friend who was gone and had a song to make for children to go to sleep to. I crawled onto the floor and created Uterus Water with the instruments I found around me like shelter.”
—Kría Brekkan
Ghostly International is giving away Syntaks’ Mistral Moon EP for free!
Download HERE.
It’s a great way to sample the Danish duo’s ambient pop sound.
If you are digging it, check out the full length, Ylajali also available on Ghostly HERE.
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The video for “Blue Sunshine” by Syntaks.
Jasper Gahunia is a force to be reckoned with. Under the alias Lil Jaz, he has battled his way to the top of the DMC World DJ Championships, tours the world as DJ and keyboard player with the power house emcee known as KOS and recently decided to reinvent himself. After exploring an entirely new angle of turntablism through scoring music for The Rubber Band Dance Company, he kept going. He crafted an entire album of beautiful and interesting music under the alias El Jay II. This record, as was the score he masterminded for The Rubber Band Dance Company, was made using only classical music manipulated with his hands and his turntables in his home studio in downtown Toronto. Explore Jaspers amazing brainchild here. Listen to samples of it here. He is presently working on new music for the The Rubber Band Dance Company.
Spike Jonze has a new 30 minute short entitled I’m Here that will debut some time in March. The film is a love story about the relationship between two robots living in L.A.
Find out more about the film HERE.
2010 is starting off pretty good musically.
I’m really loving the new Beach House record Teen Dream.
And I just got the new Midlake album The Courage of Others which is really great as well.
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Some other albums I’m looking forward to this year are releases by Liars, Broken Social Scene, Panda Bear, No Age, Sleigh Bells and LCD Soundsystem.
Stereogum compiled a whole list HERE.
What about you? Anything awesome you are listening to? Anything you are looking forward to?
You can leave comments here, you know?! Let’s fucking do this!
Leanne Shapton and Jason Fulford founded the not for profit New York / Atlanta based book company in 2000 and their catalogue keeps growing. I once had the honor of being published in one of their books. They’re adding a few new titles come Spring 2010. Check out everything else J and L here. Below is a video of Leanne discussing one of her books.
Check out our friends The Dahls. These two sisters have a sweet country/folk sound that takes cue from the likes of Joni Mitchell and The Mamas and The Papas.
If you are in LA, you can catch them live at Crane’s Tavern on March 3.
Their self-titled EP is now available on iTunes.
And you can see their video for “Lie To Me” below.
I finally made it over to Vacation today. It’s a really great little record shop with a nice selection of indie records mixed in with some classics. I think I saw a few cds but it’s mostly vinyl and cassette tapes. Guess I’m going to have to get a USB cassette deck so I can listen to some of this stuff.
Check out Vacation’s site HERE.
One day I’ll get my shit together and go to Sundance. This year would have a good one because I could have seen ODDSAC, the “visual album” by Danny Perez and Animal Collective and Exit Through The Gift Shop by famed street artist Banksy.
There will be screenings of ODDSAC coming up in other cities, but as of right now there are only one each in New York and Chicago. Let’s cross our fingers that they make it Los Angeles.
More info HERE.
Here’s the trailer.
And Banksy premiered his film Exit Through The Gift Shop at Sundance 2010 as well. I don’t know much about this film but here’s some cell phone pics of Banksy’s work in Park City, UT courtesy of DM via Holly Palmer.
And here’s a trailer at banksyfilm.com.
Free Stuff from Craigslist.org is a book compiled by LA based photographer Jimmy Collins. There’s some crazy shit that people are willing to give you for free on Craiglist. Jimmy has done his research and found such shit. Why pay when you can get it for free?
Download a PDF copy of the book for free HERE.
Check out Jimmy’s other photography books HERE.
The Story of Anvil is a documentary about the Toronto metal band that you’ve probably never heard of. They were around in the 80’s and well…. they’re still around today. These guys are the epitome of persistence.
Buy an autographed copy of the DVD HERE.
Visit the official Anvil website HERE.
Davida is an awesome photographer with great ideas and an amazing mind. She’s an old Toronto friend of mine. We used to exchange our thoughts of everything via phone call, daily. Our busy lives caused us to lose touch. I’ve been told she’s spending time in LA these days. I should really reach out to her. She fucking rules.
Check out her site HERE.
If you are in LA, check out the group show that Davida is in. click HERE for more info.
u dont no what pain is is a split screen video piece featuring Silence of The Lambs and Screwed. It was on display in the bathroom at Whitney’s Bi, August 2009
http://www.vimeo.com/7071968
I’m partial to the Washed Out Remix of Small Black’s “Despicable Dogs”.
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Get the EP on emusic or iTunes.
What a great way to start off 2010 with a new Beach House record! Teen Dream is out now via Sub Pop.
Here’s the video for “Silver Soul”.
http://www.vimeo.com/9100295
New series of work by LA photographer Alex Prager.
Musical guests The Petrojvic Blasting Company will play some sweet Baltic music at the after party.
You can stream the upcoming release Black Noise by Pantha du Prince in the box below.
You can download “The Splendour” from this album HERE.
Click the image to download!
