Dive into the archives.
- Desktop of the Pops
Cleaned all the stray files from my desktop today because people say you should do that. Here’s a selection of the songs I found on there. All good, a couple KILLER, especially this first one.
Johnny Farmer w/ Organized Noise - Death Letter
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I got a letter this morning. This is the way my letter read:
It said you better come home Farmer John, your baby’s deadMichael Jackson - This is it
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I never heard a single word about you, falling in love wasn’t my plan
I never thought that I would be your lover, c’mon baby, just understandJoss Stone w/ Nas - Governmentalist
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I’m an ordinary project dude, I’m subject to genetically modified food
That’s FDA approved, mass produced, still we can tell a lie from the truthRhythm on the Loose - Break of dawn
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I’m surprised to see your suitcase at the door.
Remember the good times, don’t you want some more?The Clipse w/ Pharell & Cam’ron - Popular Demand (Popeye’s)
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Money stacked to the ceiling and just as quick it is dispensed
Who knew those commas meant you could lose your common senseFuzzy Logic w/ Egypt - In the morning
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You and me together, what a fantasy, such a fantasy
You and me forever, it’s just you and me, for eternityTimbaland w/ Drake - Say something
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I am the topic of conversation, this is a celebration
Let’s toast to the fact that I moved out my mama’s basementPopularity: 3% [?]
- Baby Beats
Image flagrantly jacked from OG Raymond ScottThese days many of the of my favorite are people having babies. Since I move around a lot, I rarely get a chance to see them or help out in any way. This instrumental mix is a modest attempt to right that wrong. It provides a nutritious blend of baby-friendly beats to feed a growing mind and nourish a grimey soul.
Expensive Jewelry - Baby Beats Vol 1
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right-click + save link as (mac)/ save target as (windows)Dedicated to my niece Natasha and the rest of the under 1 crew…
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Strictly Business
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox27b8b
The above clips are taken from my new favorite blog Weird Dude Energy. The first is from American Psycho and the second I am convinced is a screen test for a sequel. It features the unintentional comedic stylings of Joel (no relation to Jack) Bauer - professional motivational speaker, amateur martial artist, and author of the most impressive business card he has ever seen.
But he obviously hasn’t seen this:
or this:
or this:
Popularity: 2% [?]
- DJ Haas: Women are beautiful
Another amazing mix from my friend DJ Haas. The third in his Stupidtelligent series and maybe his best ever. Hosted by Richard Pryor (in a way).
DJ Haas - Stupidtelligent 3: Women are beautiful
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right-click + save target as [windows] / save link as [mac]Tracklist
01 - Angels Instr. - Diddy & Dirty Money
02 - Fat LAdy Sings - Raekwon
03 - La La La - De La Soul
04 - True Love - Apathy feat. Phonte
05 - Fear Instr. - Drake
06 - Fear - Drake
07 - She dont have to see you (to see through you) - Bobby Patterson
08 - Soft Hoop - Metro Area
09 - Scorpio - Dennis Coffey
10 - Boriken Soul (dub mix) - Yonurican
11 - LAtrifying - Dam Funk
12 - Where’s My Money (Caspa remix) - TC
13 - Heartbeat - Nneka
14 - It’s Not Over (Skream remix) - Klaxons
15 - ReUp - Joker
16 - Miracles - Jamie Vexd
17 - Happy Feelings - Maze & Franky Beverly
18 - Seventh Dangerous Match - Scientist
19 - Love Hangover acapella - Diana Ross
20 - 2-D - Skream
21 - Ribbon in the Sky - Lloydie Crucial
22 - Sweet Love - M Beat
23 - The What acapella - Notorious BIG
24 - Run ‘Em Out (Ft. Roots Manuva) - Breakage
25 - Punanny - Admiral Bailey
26 - Go Go Club Riddim Instr.
27 - Bike Back - Blak Ryno
28 - Bill - Gaza Kim
29 - A Nuh Whore - DeMarco
30 - Knock Knock - OG Ron C & Pleasure P
31 - Be Mine - Donaeo
32 - In The Morning - Egypt
33 - I Should Have Cheated - Keyshia ColePopularity: 4% [?]
- Brett Domino all over your…
DJs it’s all up to you.
A while ago, I made a big post about nerd music where I tried to break down the various subsets of the category. It’s become an ongoing project and I always try to keep an eye out for new examples, and so I was suitably pumped earlier today when my friend Josh sent me a link to this video…
It’s by 2/3 of the Brett Domino Trio, a group music lovers out of Leeds. I can’t get enough of this clip. Check out more of their stuff on Brett Domino’s youtube channel, including an epic MJ tribute performed on the keytar.
Thanks Josh!
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Read this man!
My homey and former roommate Jason Horowitz just started his new job as staff writer at the Washington Post. Jason is a good friend, a dangerous drinking partner, and real deal journalist. He paid his dues writing for years for the New York Observer, and I’m very happy he now has a bigger platform.
His first Post piece is about the Cheney family’s rapidly enlarging sphere of darkside influence. Here’s the opener:
Good morning, you’ve reached the offices of Cheney, Cheney & Cheney.
Mary Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney and the sister of go-to Obama critic Liz Cheney, is leaving the political consulting firm Navigators Global to start her own consulting company, and multiple sources familiar with her plans say she will not be going it alone.
“She told me she is going to be starting a firm with her dad and sister,” said one friend of Mary’s, with whom she has shared her plans.
Read the rest here.
Keep up with all of Jason’s articles here.
And definitely look through his very impressive back catalog of Observer stories here.
Mets suck.
Popularity: 3% [?]
- Props to Prop II: USA
Today I had lunch with my friends Shuyu, Max, and Lei and we got to talking a little about the propagandistic nature of the 60th anniversary festivities that I mentioned in my last post. Lei pointed out that the US (Land of the Free, Home of the Brave) has its own elaborate mechanism for promoting its cultural ideals, but it’s less blatant because the messages are usually sent by non-governmental organizations, such as Harvard University and Viacom. This is undeniable and it got me thinking about the different messages that the world’s two great propagandist superpowers put out. Based on the 60th Anniversary parade, the Olympic opening ceremony, and the upcoming Shanghai Expo, the PRC seems to promote discipline, tradition, and unity. What about the US? Freedom, innovation, and diversity? Greed, amnesia, and morbid obesity? Then I came home and opened up iTunes and was introduced to Miley Cyrus’s new single “Party in the USA”. This song/video covers almost every inch of the American ideal. Youth worship, hedonism, multi-cultural homogeneity, muscle cars, a triumphant underdog, cowboy boots, wonderbras, the whole 9. And I won’t lie, it speaks to me.
And a Jay-Z song was ooooonnnn……
And a Britney song was ooooonnnn……
From sea to shining sea.
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Props to Prop I: PRC
I think it’s ironic that so many of my designy Western friends are so admiring of the propaganda of the past century (Soviet film, Czech posters, American cartoons, Nazi set design…), while being so critical of the propaganda of today. The PRC’s latest exhibition of muscle flexing on the its 60th birthday seemed to freak them out universally. But my feeling is that if it’s OK to separate aesthetics from ideology once a regime has collapsed, we, in our Twitterfied 24-hour news cycle world, should be able to make that cut in real time. Besides, one’s anxiety is another’s pride and my feeling is that all the festively painted weaponry is meant to reassure, not threaten. Here is a collection of beautiful contemporary propaganda from China.
First, the parade in Tiananmen Square to mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China - as seen in timelapse and slow-motion. Created by Dan Chung:
The Big Picture also has an amazing feature on the 60th anniversary festivities. Here’s a couple of examples:
You can see the rest here.
Next, another very stylish cliche parade. CCTV Ink TV Commercial - Directed by Niko Tziopanos
Last here are some (sorta) oldie by goodies - Paralympic posters from the Beijing games. Art directed by Zhao Meng:
See the full set here.
Thanks to Dan & Jeru for forwarding the Party line.
Popularity: 3% [?]
- Surfing in the world’s biggest kiddie pool
Image: Next Generation OnlineBack in Beijing after a long hiatus in the morally corrupt, ideologically impure West and, as ever, I am extremely unhappy with the state of the Chinese Internet. Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter were blocked even before I left, but since Blogspot and almost all webhosts have been shut down, depriving me of much music among other things. I made a few posts about online censorship when I was working here in 2007*, so I won’t retread that ground. But I think it’s worth sharing the image above, a kind of snap shot of the Great Firewall of China. (Click here to enlarge at the source…) Also, if you’re elsewhere, wish to share our pain, and use Firefox you might want to check out this plug-in that allows you to simulate the Chinese web experience.
*I have to give Net Nanny some props though, she’s vigilant. The post I made when I was here a couple years ago giving tips on how to get around the firewall is now almost totally useless.
Popularity: 3% [?]
- DON’T SLEEP: The Urban China book is coming
Urban China: Work in Progress, a book I worked on last year, is finally coming out. It’s based on 5 issues of 城市中国, an incredible archi-socio-historico-cultural magazine made by my friend Jiang Jun, among many others. I made several posts previewing the material when I was working on it. Check them out here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
I probably shouldn’t be ‘publishing’ it before its official release, but for the past half year the book has been caught up in an excruciating limbo as various parties argued about money. But it’s finally printed now, and I cannot contain my relief, happiness, pride. Matter of fact, let’s have a song…
In all honesty, this book is very good and you should buy it. It’ll be in stores in about a month. There are photos and my intro after the break.
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Editalk with Jen Sigler
I’m in 60-year-old China now, but I’ve got one last bit of business from Holland to attend to.
I mentioned a little while ago that I’m doing an interview series for Domus China. The basic idea is to try get a sense of what architecture is by talking to people who are not architects themselves but who contribute in one way or another to architecture. So far that’s included graphic designers (Michael Rock of 2×4), 3D renderers (Lu Zhenggang of Crystal CG), curators (Barry Bergdoll of MoMA), engineers (Rory McGowan of Arup), etc.
A couple months ago I had the pleasure to talking to Jennifer Sigler, mother, motivator, and next level editor. Jen schooled me when I was a freaked out kid trying to make a book for OMA. She was then and remains the world’s leading expert, having been responsible for OMA’s greatest book S,M,L,XL.
Anyway, here’s the conversation. Long as hell, but very worthwhile to read for all the previously unknown S,M,L,XL back stories among other things…
Brendan McGetrick: The aim of this series is to try to understand the experiences of people who work with architects and find out what they give and receive in the collaboration. I want to begin with the basics. How did you start editing?
Jennifer Sigler: Actually I started making books as a kid… writing, drawing, cutting and pasting words and images and letters from magazines to construct these stories. I was less interested in writing the stories than in assembling them – in arranging these sequences and stapling them together. The act of turning pages has always been important. There’s drama in that—suspense, engagment. It’s physical.
Popularity: 4% [?]
