April 25, 2008

Uke-KKK



I'm a sucker for some ukelele, and for people rocking out in their preferred manner. That said, this video is nothing special. But he's so excited, and so into it.

February 18, 2008

Double Dutch



There's a whole lot of really really good double dutch out there. If you can get past the bad production quality of this particular recording, it's really quite rewarding.

All you need to do is practice!

Today's Challenge: Get me a copy of that song playing in the background.

Edit: Through some insane kind of coincidence, some pals at These Rocks Pop actually posted the real video for the track (Calabria by Enur ft. Natasja) at about the same time as I posted this video. I have to say, I'll stick with the double-dutch!

February 17, 2008

Dancing



I have a post in the works that this video will serve as a great prelude for. Just watch this guy get down and it'll be hard not to be infected by his good cheer and love for dancing. I don't know anything about this video except that everything about it makes my life a bit more joyful -- the after-hours restaurant setting, the song, the moves, the outfit. NickFRESHBoogie is what hipster party culture unsuccessfully tries to be.

Today's Challenge: Find a place where you are comfortable letting go, and do something as happily as in this video! Then record it. I'll post my results eventually.

February 16, 2008

FM3 Buddha Machine: I'm'a buy it!

life is suffering


I am purchasing this device on Monday morning when I deposit some money into my bank account.

It has nine loops and uses two AA batteries, and is a variant on Buddhist chant boxes. Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls bought twenty-four of them, which is exactly one more than the number of dollars that each costs (if you are bad at math, that is $23) if purchased from Forced Exposure. The artists who made the loops are performing at SXSW, and they have a MySpace page.

Isn't the future full of wonders?

February 3, 2008

Noise Night, etc.

The second Noise Night was last night. It's "an evening of populist experimentation and improvisation," at least according to the emails I send out. I sent out the last email with too little notice, or people don't check their email daily, or something, and only three of us showed up at 7:30 (the new time).

D played saxophone and kicked a metal box cover. E, a music prof here, has been working on a "pitchfork orchestra" and brought one of his instruments, like an amplified pitchfork head you can whack and slide and stuff. They sounded really, really swell together, so rather than join, S and I talked about and planned our column for the college's newspaper (we'll be visiting some really great places in Iowa and maybe even beyond!). So anyhow, around 8:30, they stopped, and C/D/Myself started a new round of something.

C and I both use pedals but he sometimes uses more pedals and I sometimes add a guitar for something. D and I, I think, tried to listen and respond to one another. Occasionally we'd do things that made each other laugh. And then M joined in and made loud sounds, which ended up with a table breaking off and fucking getting destroyed and I pretty much flopped over on my back and laughed, saying "You f*ing idiot!" over and over until I realized that I really wasn't laughing because it was funny but because I was about to freak (since Bob's is my responsibility, guess who has to explain how we destroyed a very sturdy-looking table) and had also broken a guitar string! So I took some shots of vodka (good thing I went shopping for that Super Bowl party, huh?) and made some very grating noises of protest with just the delay looped to itself, and then I walked away and then D and I decided that all the other kids who were showing up were just too damn loud and weren't listening to one another and something needed to happen so that they'd start listening to one other.

A herd gathered underneath this umbrella we had at our disposal, stalking around and peering at people, trying to impart some sort of nonverbal advice, but mostly they just looked confused and uncomfortable. We put on the radio over the Bob's sound system. Then we put the radio on louder. At some point D stood in the corner and announced angrily "If you can't hear other people, you're too loud!" and at some point I stood in the middle and sang Row Row Row your boat to myself. No one was listening to either of us -- no one was paying attention, or perhaps they just thought that we were trying to be funny.

We turned off the lights and put the radio on louder. All the lights. At the same time. We waited a very long time. Then we turned the lights back on. Eventually people stopped. Someone had broken a mug and started to sweep it up.

Afterwards we tried to talk as a group and as individuals about what was going on. The majority of folks seemed to think that our three rules should be "unspoken" rules. The three rules are these:
1) IF YOU CAN'T HEAR WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING, YOU ARE TOO LOUD AND YOU CLEARLY AREN'T LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE.
2) IF YOU AREN'T LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE, YOU SHOULD NOT BE PLAYING.
3) YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO PEACE OUT EVERY NOW AND AGAIN AND NOT PLAY THE WHOLE TIME.
3A) YOU SHOULD NOT PLAY THE WHOLE TIME

I agree, they should be unspoken! But people aren't listening! They're so loud! At both the first and second Noise Night, people have told me to use a different amp because mine is not very loud at all and they can't hear me. But when no one else is playing anything, and I put on my amp, I think it's pretty clear that even the softest I ever have it (with the mids and highs totally cut out and the lows totally boosted), that's loud enough.

I'd really like for Noise Night to work out! But I'm having a problem with it because in my ideal world, it would be soft enough that if I or someone else decided it was time, they could stand up in the middle and sing Row, Row, Row your boat and people could hear it, and people would listen.

Next week I will be using just a delay looped with my brother's "Metal Zone" pedal. It'll give me some more variety in terms of tone and other things. The broken guitar string is probably a sign that I should set aside the prepared guitar thing until I'm a little less angry. It broke right right right at the bridge so I probably hit it too hard when I was very angry.

January 30, 2008

i've been discovered!

hi friend.

you are reading this post because i am rewriting my very pretentious former posts.

because i am ashamed to be alive.

i love you!