A Modern-Day Ziggurat

In today's New York Times, author Nicolai Ouroussoff tells us about an architectural movement in the Netherlands by talking about the new Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. It's a great article, with a wonderful slide show. Check it out here.

But How Good Are They With Maple Syrup?

My quick trip to Trader Joe's today turned into a sad yet fruitful trip to the record store next door. The House of Records, "L.A.'s oldest record store," on Pico is closing! Right now everything is 30% off (and the prices are cheap to start with). It's a great little store -- they have a huge vinyl collection, lots of CDs under $5, and a listening station that can accommodate as many people as are ever in the store at one time (hmm.. maybe that's not such a good thing?). But their best asset is (presumably) their access to promos. They are just a couple doors down from The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and as one might expect, they have tons of "for promotional use only" CDs and LPs on their racks. It's always fun to look at the extra info the companies provide on those disks -- blurbs to read on the air about how great the band is, suggestions about which songs to play, details on release dates, etc.

Once I saw the huge "closing" sign I knew I had to go in. So today's playlist is a collection of new acquisitions. I didn't notice until I sat down to write this, but I really do seem to stick to themes when I select music, whether I am aware of it or not. Today's theme is Britian (esp. britpop):

The Soft Boys -- Nextdoorland (promo CD -- 2002)
The Charlatans -- Tellin' Stories (1996)
Blur -- The Great Escape (promo CD -- 1995)
Oasis -- Interview Disc & 120 page book (1996)
New Order -- Waiting For The Sirens' Call (2005)(yes, I finally got it)

and the one "local" album:
Marky Ramone and The Intruders -- The Answer To Your Problems (1999)
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Joey's Birthday

Today is Joey Ramone's birthday. See a tribute video here. Visit his website here and a tribute myspace page here. We miss you, Joey.

Ooooou-Eeeee-Ooooou

The BBC had a little department called the Radiophonic Workshop (1958 - ~1995) that created a lot of amazing and innovative music first using tape decks (truly experimental music) and later using the first Moog synthesizers. Here is a BBC 4 documentary about it. Have a listen, even if only for a few minutes -- it's great.

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I Love Vikings (Apparently)

My favorite Swedish band at the moment, however, is Mono Stereo. They sound like a cross between early Jesus & Mary Chain and Ride. (This needs to be updated. This was an accurate description of the few songs they had up when I first found them, but wow, are they different now.. One of these days I will write a proper review. They're still one of my favorite bands to promote, so check them out!)

Here is their myspace page.

I don't know too much about them yet -- they don't have a website or anything other than the above page. They don't even have an album out yet! But they promised they would tell me once they put one out, so I'll keep you posted.

Please let me know what you think of these bands -- use the comment feature, okay?

...It's 4 A.M., do you know where your director is?

"Question: When did you first encounter punk rock?

Alex Cox: It was either Devo at the Starwood, which was their first Los Angeles performance, or it was an aborted gig at the Elk's Lodge Hall in Los Angeles, which I think The Go-Go's played at. And it was supposed to be the Plugz and X and all these other L.A. bands, but the cops came and shut it down. The man wouldn't let the kids play their music. It was like a police riot: The police were smashing people's heads on the ground and that sort of thing. That was my introduction to the punk-rock scene. Either that or Devo, because both those shows were around the same time. "

Today, on the UCLA campus, there will be a screening of REPO MAN (1984) followed by a Q&A session with the writer/director Alex Cox. Go see it if you can.

The above quote comes from a 2000 interview posted on the A.V. Club website. Read the whole thing here.

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Swedish Polarbears

It's a band. Yes, they are from Sweden. They sound like Teenage Fanclub. If we all beg them enough, maybe they will visit us stateside. Wouldn't that be cool?

Here is their webpage.

Here is their myspace page.

Gee, I wish I had known about myspace when I visited Scandinavia. The bands let you listen to several full songs so you know what you are getting yourself into, they post all their gigs on their page, and they link to the other bands they will be playing with (usually). What a resource! Just think of all the great concert stories I could have come home with if I had known about all these bands! No, instead I saw bands from the U.S. while I was up there, and now I'm hoping to see all these Scandinavian bands when they visit the U.S. Life is funny that way.
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Yes, The Internet Can Get Even Wierder

If you thought the daily video of David Lynch giving a weather report was absurd, check out CheddarVision TV. Yes, it's a little video camera aimed 24 hours a day at a ripening cheddar wheel. Really.

Here's a nod to the New York Times for drawing our attention to it, with a great little quote:

“The cruel randomness of celebrity became clear to Tom Calver in February, when the cheese got a romantic Valentine in the mail and he did not. 'What has he done?' Mr. Calver asked of the cheese in question, a 44-pound round of cheddar currently maturing on his farm in this Somerset hamlet. (Mr. Calver’s farm, not the cheese’s.) "

You can read the full article here.

And thanks should also go out to the latest addition to the theory community who alerted me to the above article. We are all searching for absurdity together, it would seem.

And The World Is A Little Darker

"i suppose it was the interview with clint boon that started it all off hed asked me for a few words on perry farrells satellite party single dogstar [which he thought was great] so i went on and lo and behold mentioned the N>O> split so i suppose because it was me sayin it it was out at last. im relieved really hated carryin on as normal with an awful secret so lets move on shall we? played the openin of rios in leeds on friday great crowd and considerin theyd been through 5 local bands already had an amazin resilience/ some kid came up and gave me a hug and said "sorry to hear about new order hooky" i was really touched its like your budgie dyin!"

Peter Hook confirms that New Order broke up on his Myspace blog. You can listen to the radio interview that he mentions here (The interview is pretty funny. My favorite part is when he says the project came together when two different Welsh musicians "bumped into each other surfing in Santa Monica, as you do."). You can listen to the song Peter Hook plays on here (it's the first track: Wish Upon A Dog Star).

Thanks to the website NewOrderOnline for letting us all know about the post and the interview.

Today's playlist, then, will be a tribute (dirge?) for one of my favorite bands:

on CD:
Power, Corruption & Lies
Technique
Brotherhood
Republic
(the best of) New Order

on tape:
Low-Life
Substance 1987
(and more -- I just can't find them right now)
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Touching From A Distance

"Ian Curtis Biopic Control to Premiere at Cannes

If you only see one depressing-ass musician biopic this season, make it this one."

A new rocumentary about the life (and presumably the death) of the lead singer of Joy Division is coming out this year. Pitchfork Online has the latest scoop. They also included a link to the band performing Transmission. It's always a little scary watching Ian Curtis perform, and this clip is no exception. I just keep waiting for the meltdown. I'm not sure how he held it all in.

Speaking of movies, if you haven't seen 24 Hour Party People, I highly recommend it. It might not be the best-made film ever, but it's fun, and the music is great, and the nostalgia factor is almost painful (in a good way, of course).