New album from Brad Hammers (of Phlegm)

Brad Hammers, the voice behind Phlegm, will soon be releasing "Cut-ups of a Paper Woman", his new solo venture on his little-known record label "3 Sides of a Circle". Hammers created much of the soundscape himself, taking up production duties on most tracks, save for one produced by former partner Solomoshun, two by label-mate Nobs, and one by Australian-band Just Like Us. Slated to be released earlier this fall, the album faced a few setbacks, typical for independently run labels without major funds - where the artists bare the bulk of the gruntwork. However Hammers seems to be confident that the album will indeed be released within the following months, as he expects to receive his order from the pressing company within the next week. Keep up to date on this release and other 3 Sides of a Circle happening's at their forum. Cut-ups of a Paper Woman 1. one bedroom apt 2. mechanical ... and stuck in a downpour 3. a. i play dead / b. return rewound 4. black & white 5. half world 6. a. sinking summer boat / b. water drops and record pops 7. cliff notes 8. a. lookbehindu ... and the pregnant way to carry an art textbook / b. psychedelic scarecrows 9. footstep (a smile in script) 10. a pickpocketed memory clip / b. hiking kit 11. arms made 4 hugs like wrenchmetal 12. hic-cup 13. a. loose brain thread / b. from a hole in my dining room 14. one bedroom apt. (fully furnished)

De L'art Si Je Veux (Basquiat, Bacon, Duchamp)

Interesting interactive exhibit that presents unsuspecting young people's opinions on classic pieces of art. The dialogue is in French but you can still enjoy the great use of music and video as an enhancer. For those of you familiar with the work of graf-head turned Warhol-buddy Basquiat, make sure to check for that interpretation. [You'll need the latest shockwave plugin but I urge you give it a try, via BoingBoing, props to Xeni!]

Flash & Furious Five Denied

Not that it matters much but Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five didn't make the cut. I wonder what criteria the judges use to make the final decision.

"Passed over for the Hall of Fame were legendary British punk rockers the Sex Pistols, whose singer, John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten), once said the Cleveland museum is where "old rockers go to die." The Pistols were among a group of 10 artists who were eligible for induction but passed over this year.Fellow punkers Patti Smith and the Stooges also didn't make the final cut, along with Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd and one of the pioneering acts in hip-hop history, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, who would have been the first rap act to be inducted into the hall."

over 121104

Last month's selection will probably stay up for a while. This yousendit is working out pretty well. Enjoy and support the artists if you're feeling it! Blueprint - Mission Statement Official Buy C-Rayz Walz - We Live Official Buy MF Doom and MC Paul Barman - Hot Guacamole (Produced by Prince Paul) Official Buy Nas and AZ - Serious Official Buy Noah23 and Ceschi - Chicken Soup Official Buy Ol' Dirty Bastard - Thirsty Ol' Dirty Bastard with Rhymefest - Dirty Dirty - not from album Official Buy Pedestrian - anticon Official1, Official2 Buy 1/24/04 Sage Francis with Will Oldham - Sea Lion (produced by alias) Official1, Official2 Buy 1/10/04 Sole - Sin Carne Official1, Official2 Buy 1/24/05

US Supreme Court to hear MGM-Grokster case

"...a case that could help decide the future of content delivery in the digital age.... Grokster and Morpheus are Internet file-sharing networks used to swap music, movies and software. At issue is whether or not such networks should be held responsible if copyrights are infringed by users of their software." [read more]

Short video interview with good guy Rjd2

The Great Debate: Vinyl vs. CD

Wired article on the difference between vinyl and cd audio. [Link, scroll down]

THE GREAT DEBATE: VINYL VS. CD

Among great technological squabbles, vinyl versus compact disc has almost the same cachet as PC versus Mac. The superiority of one over the other is a matter of preference, but there are differences. Fundamentally, audio reproduction is about physics, and optical, binary CDs diverge pretty far from analog LPs. For each vinyl purist's argument, there is a digital rebel's rebuttal. Here's the basic science. - David Goldenberg VINYL: The irregular, analog grooves of an LP produce a smooth, continuous sound wave.To make a record, a microphone's diaphragm transduces sound into back-and-forth motions that are encoded as grooves in a vinyl platter. As a needle plows through the groove, its movements are converted into analog electrical impulses that drive a speaker, producing sound. Those smooth, continuous vibrations yield sleek sound waves. But as the needle traces the groove, dust and other debris can get in the way, degrading the sound. And over time, the needle wears out the record, slathering the music in a layer of noise. CD: Tiny pores of a CD represent minuscule increments of sound.Going digital means converting a continuous sound wave into a string of 1s and 0s. This is done by measuring, or sampling, the audio signal thousands of times per second; when played back at the same rate, the samples reconstitute the original sound. For CDs, that rate is too slow to capture subtle nuances, critics say. The new DVD-A and SACD formats pack in much more information per second of audio. Nonetheless, vinylheads claim that chopping audio into pieces, no matter how small, corrupts the music.

How Hip-Hop Music Is Slowly Transcending Its Circular Culture

Good essay on Hip-Hop from the roots to it's current flex on pop culture. Here's the intro:

How Hip-Hop Music Is Slowly Transcending Its Circular Culture

Hip-hop started out as a counter-culture expression of pain-laced, defiant joy by New York's penniless and angry. You make studio time and instrumental tuition too expensive for me, place me in ghettos I lack any means to escape or improve, cut off the power to my housing block, keep me locked down in a miserable job for pathetic pay and generally treat me as a politically powerless and racially inferior minority? I will mix records together with no respect for their discrete heritage or creators; set your anthems as backing vocals for the rhymes I've spent my fruitless hours of drudgery whetting with pent-up bitterness; paint your greyly hideous constructions wildly, vibrantly beautiful; and funnel the electricity from your streetlights into my decks and speakers, to dance with my peers in new and explosive ways that pay homage to our frantic, cooped-up energy. And I will tell my people that they are beautiful, and that you cannot hold us forever, for this raucous, rhythmic, illegitimate music will bring us together, and in its crude but irresistible power we will find and share our impoverished strength and soul once more.

Gold Plated 45rpm Adaptor

"Hand polished gold plating to match your gold teeth." I think I'll stick with the ones that came with my 1200s. But now I won't feel so odd when I rock them around my neck! On sale for big willies everywhere at DigitalGravel.

White People (Nate Patrin)

Nate Patrin sounds very disappointed with the new Handsome Boy Modeling School album. He pretty much fronts on the whole concept, from the guest appearances to the comedy-skits to the production. I guess he didn't get as excited as I did when Lord Finesse starts spittin right after the transition in HHCNRRLT Pt II. And why shouldn't Finesse try to set the record straight about how Fatboy Slim sampled him (arguably for his most popular song) and never paid him a dime? Anyway, I hope his disappointment from the album didn't influence his decision to shut down his blog. Or, I hope whatever disappointment he's experiencing (blog or whatever) doesn't influence his writing for too long. I for one enjoyed reading his rants. Link to review; Link to Nate's blog; Link to Nate's old blog; Link to other reviews