Julia Easterlin - Eyes On The Prize
If you love music, then you have to hear this. A truly incredible piece of music by a truly incredible artist. The accompanying videos are really top notch too.
Alan Lomax was a folklorist and ethnomusicologist, whose work helped bring together the cultures of the world (especially musically) throughout the 20th century. His entire collection of recordings has been made digital and uploaded online:
The Sound Recordings catalog comprises over 17,400 digital audio files, beginning with Lomax’s first recordings onto (newly invented) tape in 1946 and tracing his career into the 1990s. In addition to a wide spectrum of musical performances from around the world, it includes stories, jokes, sermons, personal narratives, interviews conducted by Lomax and his associates, and unique ambient artifacts captured in transit from radio broadcasts, sometimes inadvertently, when Alan left the tape machine running. Not a single piece of recorded sound in Lomax’s audio archive has been omitted: meaning that microphone checks, partial performances, and false starts are also included.
Art using shadows. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before. Really incredible stuff. Check out more here.
Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler - the original man-eater.
Son Lux’s We Are Rising was definitely one of the best and most interesting records of 2011. This is a really cool video showing the making of the album’s artwork (taken from his tumblr), with the title track playing in the background. Both the video and his music are definitely worth your time.
The world’s most valuable stolen painting.
A Kiss for the Whole World
The final part of Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze, on display in Secession Hall as a tribute to the composer. This particular image is based on the last line of the Ode to Joy, which brings the ninth symphony to a close.
To each age its proper art, to art its proper freedom.
Art is never finished, only abandoned.
Leonardo da Vinci
Paul Valery said something similar about poetry, and George Massenberg said the same about mixing. One of the hardest things about art is that there is no definite end point. There’s no right way or wrong way. Actually deciding when something works as much as it’s ever going to, or when enough is enough, is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. There’s no set method to follow with a predetermined end result. You’re on your own right from the start.
‘Instructions’ - Neil Gaiman
Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never
saw before.
Say “please” before you open the latch,
go through,
walk down the path.
A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted
front door,
as a knocker,
do not touch it; it will bite your fingers.
Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat
nothing.
However, if any creature tells you that it hungers,
feed it.
If it tells you that it is dirty,
clean it.
If it cries to you that it hurts,
if you can,
ease its pain.
From the back garden you will be able to see the
wild wood.
The deep well you walk past leads to Winter’s
realm;
there is another land at the bottom of it.
If you turn around here,
you can walk back, safely;
you will lose no face. I will think no less of you.
Once through the garden you will be in the
wood.
The trees are old. Eyes peer from the under-
growth.
Beneath a twisted oak sits an old woman. She
may ask for something;
give it to her. She
will point the way to the castle.
Inside it are three princesses.
Do not trust the youngest. Walk on.
In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve
months sit about a fire,
warming their feet, exchanging tales.
They may do favors for you, if you are polite.
You may pick strawberries in December’s frost.
Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where
you are going.
The river can be crossed by the ferry. The ferry-
man will take you.
(The answer to his question is this:
If he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to
leave the boat.
Only tell him this from a safe distance.)
If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe.
Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that
witches are often betrayed by their appetites;
dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always;
hearts can be well-hidden,
and you betray them with your tongue.
Do not be jealous of your sister.
Know that diamonds and roses
are as uncomfortable when they tumble from
one’s lips as toads and frogs:
colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.
Remember your name.
Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found.
Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped
to help you in their turn.
Trust dreams.
Trust your heart, and trust your story.
When you come back, return the way you came.
Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid.
Do not forget your manners.
Do not look back.
Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall).
Ride the silver fish (you will not drown).
Ride the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur).
There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is
why it will not stand.
When you reach the little house, the place your
journey started,
you will recognize it, although it will seem
much smaller than you remember.
Walk up the path, and through the garden gate
you never saw before but once.
And then go home. Or make a home.
And rest.
In the Autumn of 2006, BT put out his masterpiece ‘This Binary Universe’, which combined incredible electronic music with some equally brilliant animation and visuals. Aside from the astounding music, one thing that really intrigued me was the way that he had created areas of very sparse music to give the animators plenty of room to work. Having worked on scoring films, I’ve often been impressed by how aware the directors are of where music will be, and they often give a lot of time with certain shots (which must feel a little awkward to film in silence) to give the composer room to work. It’s pretty interesting to see the same thing in reverse here.
Pran Bandi - Music Maker, Typical Student
