Vast and grand, monumental

Anyone know anything about this old Observer magazine cover?

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:53:39 -0500

Anyone know anything about this old Observer magazine cover?

“St. Judy’s Comet” by Paul Simon from There...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:16:36 -0500

“St. Judy’s Comet” by Paul Simon from There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

“It’s a brilliant film. It’s so funny, and...

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:02:00 -0500

“It’s a brilliant film. It’s so funny, and violent, and the soundtrack kicks fucking ass.”

"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I..."

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:53:27 -0500

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

- from Emily Dickinson: Selected Letters

Counting Sheep

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:47:23 -0500

  A scientist has a test tube full of sheep. He
wonders if he should try to shrink a pasture
for them.
  They are like grains of rice.
  He wonders if it is possible to shrink something
out of existence.
  He wonders if the sheep are aware of their tininess,
if they have any sense of scale. Perhaps they think
the test tube is a glass barn…
  He wonders what he should do with them; they
certainly have less meat and wool than ordinary
sheep. Has he reduced their commercial value?
  He wonders if they could be used as a substitute
for rice, a sort of wolly rice…
  He wonders if he shouldn’t rub them into a red paste
between his fingers.
  He wonders if they are breeding, or if any of them
have died.
  He puts them under a microscope, and falls asleep
counting them…

By Russell Edson

[Scene change: Eric jumps up and plays air guitar.]In the...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:07:00 -0500

[Scene change: Eric jumps up and plays air guitar.]

In the Forman kitchen, Jackie and Eric come in to talk to Kitty, Eric telling her that he knows exactly what’s going on, and he imagines Donna with hair like Kitty’s, they both look at Eric’s naked baby pictures, and agree that he’s nice…for a nancy-boy. Kitty laughs and walks out of the kitchen.

The classic TV trope of a parent showing embarrassing pictures to their kid’s dates has gone the way of carbon copies, floppy disks and newspapers. By the time the current generation is dating, every embarrassing picture (not to mention video) ever taken of them will be on Facebook, Flickr and Twitpic for the whole world to see—and will have been for their—the kids of this generation, that is—entire life.

It’s weird how many embarrassing naked baby pictures Mark Zuckerberg “owns”.

Other People’s Songs Vol. 1 by Damien Jurado and Richard Swift is a collection of covers...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:20:00 -0500

Other People’s Songs Vol. 1 by Damien Jurado and Richard Swift is a collection of covers recorded on the weekend of August 21-22, 2010 (with the aid of a four-track cassette recorder and a Coles-4038 ribbon microphone). It is available to you (the world) via the inter-webs for FREE. These recordings came about spontaneously, and we wanted to share them in the same manner. Look for another one around Winter time.

Song Islands vol. 2 is a 2xLP collection of Mount Eerie rarities...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:02:00 -0500

Song Islands vol. 2 is a 2xLP collection of Mount Eerie rarities out 10/19 on P.W. Elverum & Sun

I’m excited to finally have “Calf In Pasture” on vinyl. Maybe Phil will reissue “Song Islands” on vinyl too.

Many of these songs have never been released before, and the rest have only been released into ultra-obscurity on limited 7” singles and forgotten compilations, finally compiled here for the first time onto 2 white vinyl LPs (with free download!), wrapped in a heavy gatefold jacket with a 32 page booklet of details, all enfolded in a fancy letterpressed bookband. Every song was re-mixed and remastered by the illustrious John Golden. As always, P.W. Elverum & Sun maintains the highest standards of manufacturing quality.

“Comin’ Through” by War on Drugs from Future...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:46:48 -0500

“Comin’ Through” by War on Drugs from Future Weather

(via yvynyl)

Cains & Abels are playing a cool new all ages venue in a...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:33:00 -0500

Cains & Abels are playing a cool new all ages venue in a beautiful 100 years old Rogers Park theater with Spring Standards and What About Rosiland.

September 8th at 7:30. Get your tickets form Mayne Stage.

(photo credit: David C Sampson)

Wonder what John Berger thinks of my watching Ways of Seeing on...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:31:59 -0500

Wonder what John Berger thinks of my watching Ways of Seeing on my iPod.

"Contempt for the past surely accounts for a consistent failure to consult it."

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:14:23 -0500

“Contempt for the past surely accounts for a consistent failure to consult it.”

- Marilynne Robinson

This hit a little too close to home.

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:25:11 -0500

This hit a little too close to home.

Examples of WWI Dazzle camouflage: Dazzle did not conceal the...

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:38:04 -0500

Examples of WWI Dazzle camouflage:

Dazzle did not conceal the ship but made it difficult for the enemy to estimate its type, size, speed and heading. The idea was to disrupt the visual rangefinders used for naval artillery. Its purpose was confusion rather than concealment. An observer would find it difficult to know exactly whether the stern or the bow is in view; and it would be equally difficult to estimate whether the observed vessel is moving towards or away from the observer’s position.

(image via Partners & Spade)

brf.ly is a very cool app that shortens your tweets to fit the...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:15:14 -0500

brf.ly is a very cool app that shortens your tweets to fit the 140 character limit. It has been nominated for a 10K Apart award from A List Apart.

You should vote for it.

Archer on the Beach by Destroyer “Grief Point” is the...

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:16:32 -0500

Archer on the Beach by Destroyer

“Grief Point” is the first recording Bejar made after deciding never to record again.”

- Merge

When did Bejar decide to never record again?!?

(via The Catbirdseat)

How can I get my hands on a copy of Andrews Crop Circle...

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:23:01 -0500

How can I get my hands on a copy of Andrews Crop Circle Catalogue? According to his site:

It has been decided to publish this valuable record as a high quality book and to bring it up to date. Available soon. A very limited number only will be printed - It will be a high quality book. The price will be known soon.

“Blood Red and Goin’ Down” by Tanya Tucker

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:51:29 -0500

“Blood Red and Goin’ Down” by Tanya Tucker

New Real Estate 7” “Out of Tune”. I...

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:04:00 -0500

New Real Estate 7” “Out of Tune”. I didn’t really love this band, but this number has me hooked. Time to give the eponymous debut another spin.

(via grimmertown)

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:08:06 -0500

(via grimmertown)