masbath

Sweet (and Sad) 60's

2010-04-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

one of the best show will run for its 4th season in July 25th. Mad Men's 4th season is planned and it will be so a pleasure to see Don Drapper back in town

Kids are alright

2010-04-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

Theater at school should sometimes be carefully considered by parents...

Rip It Up But Will It Start Again?

2010-04-09T01:45:00.000-07:00

“J'étais juste ce type étrange qui vivait avec ce rêve fou. J'ai essayé de réussir avec les Sex Pistols ce que j'avais foiré avec les New York Dolls. Prendre les subtilités de Richard Hell, le côté pop homo des New York Dolls, les dessous de l'ennui, mélanger tout ça et dégainer un manifeste, peut-être le seul manifeste que j'eusse l'occasion de produire. Et pisser sur cette scène rock'n'roll, c'est tout ce que faisais". (Malcolm McLaren in Please kill me. Uncencored Oral History Of Punk).

Allumeur intermittent du flamboyant pétard mouillé que furent les New York Dolls au début des années 70 à New York, partenaire stylistique de Vivienne Westwood, grand ordonnateur du cirque punk à Londres au cours de la même décennie, meilleur ennemi de la marionnette émancipée John Lydon, improbable artisan hip hop (pastiché vingt ans plus tard par Eminem) et mondialiste (Bow Wow Wow) dans les années 80, zélateur inattendu de la musique 8-Bit dans les années 00, et insatiable corsaire situationniste jusqu'à ses derniers jours, Malcolm McLaren est mort ce matin à New York, à l'âge de 64 ans.

"Il souffrait d'un cancer depuis quelque temps, mais avait récemment récupéré une bonne forme, qui s'est ensuite détériorée rapidement. Il est mort à New York ce matin. Nous attendons que son corps soit rapatrié à Londres et enterré au cimetière de Highgate", a commenté le porte-parole de McLaren.

Cocasserie de l'histoire, ce mercredi 7 avril, Public Image Ltd., le groupe formé par John Lydon après la débandade aussi clownesque que tragique des Sex Pistols, se produisait pour la première fois depuis dix-huit ans devant les caméras d'une télévision américaine. Voyez la performance au bout de la litanie de vidéos ci-dessous.

{AUX DERNIÈRES NOUVELLES - Sur ce sitofficiel, John Lydon a réagi de la sorte : "Pour moi Mac était toujours amusant. Et j'espère que vous vous en rappelez. Avant toute chose, c'était un amuseur, et il va me manquer, comme il devrait vous manquer aussi" - Johnny Rotten}.

anatomy of a city and its sound

2010-02-06T07:34:00.001-08:00

Last year, a journalist of the famous "Der Spiegel" published a book about the sound of a city. and to be event mopre precise, about the evolution of a metropolis through various paramater such economic and societal but also through urbanism, history and music.

the book is neither a history of electronic music nor a guide to enjoy the berlin's nightlife. it's more than that.

Berlin is, for me, one of the first post-modernist city. the effort after the fall of the wall to become the capital of Germany was a failure. People left berlin, industry never decided to locate their headquarter there. All the factors that should normally create growth and jobs in our current economy never came.

But a new kind of society was created there, based on creation, art, music and new ways of living. the city has succeed to create a new form of attractivity.

Tobias Rapp tries to explain how the current attractiveness of Berlin for party, music and fashion takes roots in history but also that globalisation and liberalisation of the EU market have played a major role. moreover (and it is the forst book I read on it), the author shows the difference between the 90's and the 00's.

If you have been in Berlin, this book is for you. and you will remember a lot of souvenir in clubs (Berghain, WMF, Maria, Bar 25), bars, S-Bahn, Alex, usw...

Black noise in Winter

2010-02-03T05:55:00.000-08:00

On February, sky is low and grey. the mood is to stay at home thinking about the animal and species life outside. the imagination could be lost in a snowy forest where there are only mineral sounds and silence.

the new album of Pantha du Prince starts when the previous LP left us. in a middle of a cold and mineral forest. this album is a perfect mix of minimal,deep and electronica music.

the single "the splendour" is rather easy to describe: simple, beautiful and efficient of memories and feelings.

the year starts low and grey but full of warm feelings...

NYC in Pictures

2009-06-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Marc L****

2009-01-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

article Paru dans Le Tigre... don't under-estimate your traces on the web....

Bon annniversaire, Marc. Le 5 décembre 2008, tu fêteras tes vingt-neuf ans. Tu permets qu’on se tutoie, Marc ? Tu ne me connais pas, c’est vrai. Mais moi, je te connais très bien. C’est sur toi qu’est tombée la (mal)chance d’être le premier portrait Google du Tigre. Une rubrique toute simple : on prend un anonyme et on raconte sa vie grâce à toutes les traces qu’il a laissées, volontairement ou non sur Internet. Comment ça, un message se cache derrière l’idée de cette rubrique ? Évidemment : l’idée qu’on ne fait pas vraiment attention aux informations privées disponibles sur Internet, et que, une fois synthétisées, elles prennent soudain un relief inquiétant. Mais sache que j’ai plongé dans ta vie sans arrière-pensée : j’adore rencontrer des inconnus. Je préfère te prévenir : ce sera violemment impudique, à l’opposé de tout ce qu’on défend dans Le Tigre. Mais c’est pour la bonne cause ; et puis, après tout, c’est de ta faute : tu n’avais qu’à faire attention.

J’ai eu un peu peur, au début, d’avoir un problème de source. Pas par manque : par trop-plein. À cause des homonymes : il y a au moins cinq autres Marc L*** sur le site Copains d’avant. Mais tu n’y es pas : ce doit être une affaire de génération, à la fin des années 1990 et au début des années 2000, les gens s’inscrivaient massivement sur Copains d’avant et renseignait leur parcours scolaire, pour retrouver les copains du CM1. C’était avant Facebook. Ah, Facebook... Mais n’allons pas trop vite. Je t’ai rencontré, cher Marc, sur Flickr, cette immense banque d’images qui permet de partager ses photos avec ses amis (une fonction que Facebook s’est empressé de copier, soit dit en passant). Pour trouver un inconnu dont je ferai le portrait, j’ai tapé « voyage » avec l’idée de tomber directement sur un bon « client » comme disent les journalistes, puisque capable de poster ses photos de voyages. Je t’ai vite trouvé : il faut dire que tu aimes bien Flickr, où tu as posté plus de dix-sept mille photos en moins de deux ans. Forcément, j’avais des chances d’y trouver tes photos.

Alors, Marc. Belle gueule, les cheveux mi-longs, le visage fin et de grands yeux curieux. Je parle de la photo prise au Starbuck’s Café de Montréal, lors de ton voyage au Canada, avec Helena et Jose, le 5 août 2008. La soirée avait l’air sympa, comme d’ailleurs tout le week-end que vous avez passé à Vancouver. J’aime particulièrement cette série, parce que Jose a fait des photos, et ça me permet de te voir plus souvent. Vous avez loué un scooter, vous êtes allés au bord de la mer, mais vous ne vous êtes pas baignés, juste traîné sur la plage. En tout, tu as passé un mois au Canada. Au début tu étais seul, à l’hôtel Central, à Montréal (série de photos « autour de mon hôtel »). Tu étais là-bas pour le travail. Le travail ? Tu es assistant au « service d’architecture intérieur », dans un gros cabinet d’architectes, LBA, depuis septembre dernier (Facebook, rubrique Profil). Le cabinet a des succursales dans plusieurs villes, et a priori tu dois travailler dans la succursale de Pessac, dans la banlieue de Bordeaux. Ça, je l’ai trouvé par déduction, vu que tu traînes souvent à l’Utopia (cinéma et café bordelais) ou à Arcachon. Donc à Montréal, tu étais dans un bureau avec Steven, Philipp, Peter, en train de travailler sur des plans d’architectes, devant deux ordinateurs, un fixe et un portable. En agrandissant la photo, on peut même voir que tu avais un portable Packard-Bell et que tu utilisais des pages de brouillon comme tapis de souris. Je n’ai pas dit que c’était passionnant, j’ai dit qu’on pouvait le voir. Le 21 août, c’est Steven qui t’a accompagné à l’aéroport. Retour en France, où t’attendait un mariage (Juliette et Dominique), puis, la semaine suivante, le baptême de ta nièce, Lola, la petite sœur de Luc (qui fait des têtes rigolotes avec ses grosses lunettes), à Libourne.

Revenons à toi. Tu es célibataire et hétérosexuel (Facebook). Au printemps 2008, tu as eu une histoire avec Claudia R***, qui travaille au Centre culturel franco-autrichien de Bordeaux (je ne l’ai pas retrouvée tout de suite, à cause du caractère ü qu’il faut écrire ue pour Google). En tout cas, je confirme, elle est charmante, petits seins, cheveux courts, jolies jambes. Tu nous donnes l’adresse de ses parents, boulevard V*** à Bordeaux. Vous avez joué aux boules à Arcachon, et il y avait aussi Lukas T***, qui est le collègue de Claudia au Centre Culturel. Fin mai, il n’y a que quatre photos, anodines, de ton passage dans le petit appartement de Claudia (comme si tu voulais nous cacher quelque chose) et une autre, quelques jours plus tard, plus révélatrice, prise par Claudia elle-même, chez elle : on reconnaît son lit, et c’est toi qui es couché dessus. Habillé, tout de même. Sur une autre, tu te brosses les dents. C’est le 31 mai : deux jours plus tôt, vous étiez chez Lukas « pour fêter les sous de la CAF » (une fête assez sage, mais Lukas s’est mis au piano pour chanter des chansons en allemand, tout le monde a bien ri, vidéo sur Flickr). Ce 31 mai, vous avez une façon de vous enlacer qui ne laisse que peu de doutes. Et le 22 juin, cette fois c’est sûr, vous vous tenez par la main lors d’une petite promenade au Cap-Ferret. C’est la dernière fois que j’ai eu des nouvelles de Claudia. Note bien que j’ai son numéro au travail (offre d’emploi pour un poste d’assistant pédagogique au Centre culturel, elle s’occupe du recrutement), je pourrais l’appeler. Mais pour raconter une séparation, même Internet a des limites. Avant Claudia, tu étais avec Jennifer (ça a duré au moins deux ans), qui s’intéressait à l’art contemporain (vous avez visité ensemble Beaubourg puis tu l’as emmenée au concert de Madonna à Bercy). Elle a habité successivement Angers puis Metz, son chat s’appelle Lula, et, physiquement, elle a un peu le même genre que Claudia. À l’été 2006, vous êtes partis dans un camping à Pornic, dans une Golf blanche. La côte Atlantique, puis la Bretagne intérieure. Tu avais les cheveux courts, à l’époque, ça t’allait moins bien.

On n’a pas parlé de musique. À la fin des années 1990, tu as participé au groupe Punk, à l’époque où tu habitais Mérignac (à quelques kilomètres de Bordeaux). Il reste quelques traces de son existence, sur ton Flicker bien sûr mais aussi dans les archives Google de la presse locale. Tu sais quoi ? C’est là que j’ai trouvé ton numéro de portable : 06 83 36 ** **. Je voulais vérifier si tu avais gardé le même numéro depuis 2002. Je t’ai appelé, tu as dit : « Allô ? », j’ai dit : « Marc ? », tu as dit : « C’est qui ? », j’ai raccroché. Voilà : j’ai ton portable. L’article disait : « Pour les Punk, l’année 2001 a été révélatrice. Leader du premier concours rock, ils sont pris en charge par l’association bordelaise Domino, qui propose, pour une formation, un accompagnement de groupes de musiques actuelles. Devant plus de 700 spectateurs, ils se sont produits également à l’Olympia d’Arcachon pour un grand concert. » Mais 2002 semble être la dernière année d’existence du groupe - on imagine comment tout ça s’est fini, tu es parti à Montpellier à l’université (Facebook, rubrique Formation), les autres ont sans doute continué leurs études ici ou là... Mais tu vois, il ne faut jamais désespérer, parce qu’avec Michel M***, le guitariste, vous avez joué à nouveau, le 19 juin 2007 au Café Maritime, à Bordeaux. Il y a une petite vidéo où je t’ai entendu chanter, rien de transcendantal mais enfin c’est honnête. Et puis avec Dom, vous vous êtes remis à jouer ensemble, puisque dans les rues de Nantes, lors de la fête de la musique 2008, vous avez fait un spectacle, spectacle que vous aviez répété la veille chez lui et sa copine, Carine T***. Dom, c’est Dominique F***, il est thésard à Bordeaux III. Beau sujet, « Ni là-bas ni ici », une sociologie de la fin de vie des migrants. Tiens, bizarrement c’est en faisant des recherches sur lui que j’ai découvert que tu avais aussi une page sur YouTube, pour les vidéos. Et que, début 2008, tu étais en Italie (jusqu’au 27 mars, où tu filmes ton retour à Bordeaux dans un marché couvert). J’avoue manquer d’informations sur ce que tu faisais à Rome : sans doute pour du travail, parce qu’on voit que tu es installé avec ton ordinateur dans un appartement (belle vue, au demeurant). Tu as fait la fête avec Philippe S***, et chanté le jour de la Saint-Valentin au Gep Wine bar.

J’ai triché, une fois : pour avoir accès à ton profil Facebook (ce qui m’a bien aidé pour la suite), j’ai créé un faux profil et je t’ai proposé de devenir mon « ami ». Méfiant, tu n’as pas dit « oui », à la différence de Helena C*** dont j’ai pu admirer le « mur », là où tout le monde laisse des petits messages. Mais tu m’as répondu. En anglais, bizarrement : « Hi Who are you ? Regards Marc » Je m’apprêtais à inventer un gros mensonge, comme quoi j’étais fan de Vancouver et que j’avais beaucoup aimé tes photos de là-bas, mais au moment de te répondre, Facebook m’a prévenu : « Si vous envoyez un message à Marc L***, vous lui donnez la permission de voir votre liste d’amis, ainsi que vos informations de base, de travail et d’éducation pour un mois. » Je me suis dit que la réciproque était vraie, et je n’ai donc pas eu besoin de te répondre pour avoir accès aux informations de base. Au passage, j’ai découvert que Facebook propose une solution pour éviter les captcha, les petits textes à taper pour prouver qu’on n’est pas un robot : c’est très simple, il suffit de donner son numéro de portable au site pour qu’il vérifie qu’on existe vraiment. Et voilà : il restait une dernière information que Facebook n’avait pas, dépêchons-nous de la lui donner.

Je pense à l’année 1998, il y a dix ans, quand tout le monde fantasmait déjà sur la puissance d’Internet. Le Marc L*** de l’époque, je n’aurais sans doute rien ou presque rien trouvé sur lui. Là, Marc, j’ai trouvé tout ce que je voulais sur toi. J’imagine ton quotidien, ta vie de jeune salarié futur architecte d’intérieur, ton plaisir encore à faire de la musique avec tes potes à Bordeaux, tes voyages à l’autre bout du monde, ta future petite copine (je parie qu’elle aura les cheveux courts). Mais il me manque une chose : ton adresse. Dans ces temps dématérialisés, où mails et téléphones portables tiennent lieu de domiciliation, ça me pose un petit problème : comment je fais pour t’envoyer Le Tigre ? Je sais que tu es avenue F***, mais il me manque le numéro, et tu n’es pas dans les pages jaunes. Cela dit, je peux m’en passer. Il suffit que je ne te l’envoie pas, ton portrait : après tout, tu la connais déjà, ta vie.

***

À la demande de l’intéressé, ce texte a été entièrement anonymisé et modifié (villes, prénoms, lieux, etc.) à la différence de la version parue dans Le Tigre en papier, dont seuls les noms propres des personnes citées étaient anonymisés. En revanche, ce travail d’adaptation n’enlève en rien le fait que toutes les informations citées sont véridiques et étaient librement accessibles.

Happy new year with...DJ Shadow - The 4-Track Era Bundle (2008)

2009-01-11T01:21:00.001-08:00

source: beatboxradioshow.blogspot.com

Disc 1

Volume 1: Best of the KMEL Mixes (1991)

1. Part One
2. Part Two

Disc 2

Volume 2: Best of the Remixes and Megamixes (1990-1992)

01. Eric B. & Rakim - Let The Rhythm Hit Em (DJ Shadow Remix)
02. DJ Shadow - Best Of The Megamixes (Part 1)
03. Poor Righteous Teachers - Shakiyla (DJ Shadow Remix)
04. DJ Shadow - Bubble Gum Beat
05. DJ Shadow - Best Of The Megamixes (Part 2)
06. TKA - Give Your Love To Me (DJ Shadow Remix)
07. Cutty Ranks - Stopper (DJ Shadow Remix)
08. Jungle Brothers - Jimbrowski (DJ Shadow Remix)
09. Latee - No Tricks (DJ Shadow Remix)
10. DJ Shadow - Best Of The Megamixes (Part 3)
11. 3rd Bass - Wordz Of Wisdom (DJ Shadow Remix)

Disc 3

Volume 3: Best of the Original Productions (1990-1992)

01 - Shadow T-Mor Beat
02 - DJ Shadow’s Theme (Original Version)
03 - Sampler Phone Message
04 - The Source Is Serious Business
05 - Make It Critical
06 - Track The Groove
07 - Rock Lesson
08 - Genesis Beat
09 - Shadow’s Legitimate Mix (Alternate Version)
10 - Preacher Beat
11 - Cult Of Brutality
12 - Beat For Paris
13 - UMC’s Drop
14 - Ms. Chauncey
15 - Do You Remember
16 - Lesson 5
17 - Ain’t That A Bitch
18 - Reverse Beat
19 - Oras Intro
20 - Lesson 4 (Alternative Version)
21 - Closing Credits
22 - Zen Outro

Disc 4

Bonus Disc: KMEL Mix #4 (1991)

1. KMEL Mix #4

Link1
Link2
Link3
Link4

Several hours of Shadow’s formative work is included in this limited set. Recorded between 1989 and 1992 in bedrooms, dorm rooms and friend’s attics, Shadow’s passion and sweat is evident in every mind-bending minute of breakbeat madness. Remixes, mega-mixes, original tracks…all made for the sheer love of music.

Armed with just a Yamaha MT-100 4-Track cassette recorder, a stack of vinyl and an overwhelming belief in the progressive emergence of Hip-Hop music, DJ Shadow stitched together hours of musical thought. Some sketches were elaborate and articulate, others brief and oblique. The common thread is experimentation, but not without adhering to the basic principles of what made Hip-Hop so revolutionary, ie: Have fun. Say something important. Add on to the culture, but let your own voice be heard. These volumes reveal what Shadow was saying at a time when only a few could listen…until now.

”The 4-Track Era Volume 1: Best of the KMEL Mixes (1991)”:

“The Best of the KMEL Mixes,” features two of the five mixes Shadow recorded for the pioneering Bay Area urban station in 1991. Broadcast during a time when rap was simply not allowed to dominate mainstream playlists, Shadow’s mixes were among the first all hip-hop programs (without the inevitable transitions into R&B and crossover) to air in the Bay. Extremely eclectic for the time, artists like De La Soul and the Geto Boys sit along side mid-school obscurities like Almighty & KD Ranks, and Shadow frequently mixes in original breaks (something very few DJs were attempting at the time). Unheard by all but a few since airing over 15 years ago, here’s your chance to revisit “Lesson 4-era” Shadow in full glory.

”The 4-Track Era Volume 2: Best of the Remixes and Megamixes (1990-1992)” :

Entitled “Volume 2: Best of the Remixes and Megamixes,” this collection of work spanning from 1990 to 1992 focuses on Shadow’s first steps into full-fledged production. Classics like Eric B and Rakim’s “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em” and Jungle Brothers’ “Jimbrowski” are given the full cut-and-paste treatment, all performed with turntables and a multi-track cassette recorder; no samplers or computers are used. Included in this volume are tracks from the infamous “Reconstruction” tapes, which led to Shadow’s first big breaks into the broader hip-hop scene (including the Source Magazine article which led to commissioned works from Hollywood BASIC Records’ Dave Funkenklein, which directly led to interest from Mo’ Wax). In some cases, the remixes were created for the fun of it; others, such as Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Shakiyla,” were made at the behest of A&R men, hopeful that the result would amount to remix gold (admittedly a difficult task given the sonic limitations of cassette tape!) And then there’s the megamixes, earlier examples of the technique eventually realized and broadcast on Bay Area radio (see Volume 1 of this series); Ice Cube meets Brand Nubian, T La Rock meets Freshco & Miz, and N.W.A. meets 3rd Bass, all for your sonic amusement!

The 4-Track Era Volume 3: Best of the Original Productions (1990-1992):

This is the one all hardcore Shadow fans have been waiting for! Following on from Volume 1: Best of the KMEL Mixes and Volume 2: Best of the Remixes and Megamixes, Volume 3 reveals, for the first time ever, eighteen of Shadow’s earliest original compositions. NOTHING ON THIS CD HAS EVER BEEN AVAILABLE, ANYWHERE, until now.*

While in High School, Shadow saved up and purchased a $300 4-Track cassette recorder. For the next several years, this would be the only method available for Shadow to record, and he made the most of it by committing tons of ideas to tape, several of which eventually saw release: tracks like debut “Lesson 4” for Hollywood BASIC, “The Legitimate Mix” for African MC’s Zimbabwe Legit, and part of his Solesides bow “Entropy” were all realized during these pivotal years. Now, for the first time, Shadow has hand-picked some of his favorite moments and compiled them for this EXCLUSIVE DJShadow.com/ ShopDjShadow.com release. (Have we made it clear yet? You can’t get this disc ANYWHERE ELSE.)

Among the highlights:
-The original “DJ Shadow’s Theme,” with multiple breaks and cuts colliding for a playful but intricate mission statement.
-An alternative mixdown of “Lesson 4.”
-The follow-up to “Lesson 4,” “Lesson 5” which was intended to showcase 45s only (this is 1991 we’re talking about, folks!!).
-Several beats for early MC collaborators T-Mor and Paris.
-“The Source Is Serious Business,” Shadow’s entry into a (never released) compilation commissioned by the Source Magazine of all “Unsigned Hype” column winners.

Need we continue? Volume 3 delivers the most comprehensive glimpse ever into Shadow’s early musical ideas. Shadow reports that many tracks have been lost forever (such as “Gangsta Jazz,” immortalized over the telephone on a Radio Sole skit), and still more have yet to be located. So with Shadow facing forward and gearing up to work on his next album, it is unlikely that there will ever be a more definitive document of his 4-Track era than this.

*(Okay, so “DJ Shadow’s Theme (Original Version)” came out on a cassette attached to copies of NME 10 years ago, but c’mon. Has anybody ever seen that???)

The 4-Track Era Bonus Disc KMEL Mix #4 (1991):
The 4-Track Era Bonus Disc is a 4-track Era Box Bundle Exclusive, and includes a previously unreleased KMEL radio mix. A must-have for the Shadow faithful.

Speed of Innovation

2008-12-08T05:41:00.000-08:00

Make a pause few minutes... after this short film, please remember what was the state of the art when you were 10...

Facebook Profiles Can Be Used To Detect Narcissism

2008-09-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2008) — A new University of Georgia study suggests that online social networking sites such as Facebook might be useful tools for detecting whether someone is a narcissist.

“We found that people who are narcissistic use Facebook in a self-promoting way that can be identified by others,” said lead author Laura Buffardi, a doctoral student in psychology who co-authored the study with associate professor W. Keith Campbell.

The researchers, whose results appear in the October issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, gave personality questionnaires to nearly 130
Facebook users, analyzed the content of the pages and had untrained strangers view the pages and rate their impression of the owner’s narcissism.

The researchers found that the number of Facebook friends and wallposts that individuals have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism. Buffardi said this is consistent with how narcissists behave in the real-world, with numerous yet shallow relationships. Narcissists are also more likely to choose glamorous, self-promoting pictures for their main profile photos, she said, while others are more likely to use snapshots.

Untrained observers were able to detect narcissism, too. The researchers found that the observers used three characteristics – quantity of social interaction, attractiveness of the individual and the degree of self promotion in the main photo – to form an impression of the individual’s personality. “People aren’t perfect in their assessments,” Buffardi said, “but our results show they’re somewhat accurate in their judgments.”

Narcissism is a trait of particular interest, Campbell said, because it hampers the ability form healthy, long-term relationships. “Narcissists might initially be seen as charming, but they end up using people for their own advantage,” Campbell said. “They hurt the people around them and they hurt themselves in the long run.”
The tremendous growth of social networking sites – Facebook now has 100 million users, for example – has led psychologists to explore how personality traits are expressed online. Buffardi and Campbell chose Facebook because it’s the most popular networking site among college students and because it has a fixed format that makes it easier for researchers to compare user pages.

Some researchers in the past have found that personal Web pages are more popular among narcissists, but Campbell said there’s no evidence that Facebook users are more narcissistic than others.

“Nearly all of our students use Facebook, and it seems to be a normal part of people’s social interactions,” Campbell said. “It just turns out that narcissists are using Facebook the same way they use their other relationships – for self promotion with an emphasis on quantity of over quality.”

Still, he points out that because narcissists tend to have more contacts on Facebook, any given Facebook user is likely to have an online friend population with a higher proportion of narcissists than in the real world. Right now it’s too early to predict if or how the norms of online self-promotion will change, Campbell said, since the study of social networking sites is still in its infancy.

“We’ve undergone a social change in the last four or five years and now almost every student manages their relationships through Facebook – something that few older people do,” Campbell said. “It’s a completely new social world that we’re just beginning to understand.”

University of Georgia (2008, September 23). Facebook Profiles Can Be Used To Detect Narcissism. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/09/080922135231.htm

Intimacy

2008-08-22T05:02:00.000-07:00

After Radiohead, NiN, David Byrne & Brian Eno (oops I forget the Raconteurs), Bloc Party decided at the beginning of this week to release their 3rd album through the web (this Thursday). The physical release of "Intimacy" will be on October.

This new example of distribution is fanstatic. By announcing so abruptly this release, Bloc Party wanted to adapt the new era of Information, the feeling that you could have in the old system of physical record shop (waiting months and be the first in front of the record shop to buy your cd). Now with ICT and instant web access to create momentum and crazyness (nowadays through big discussion on blogs, forum), you should take your fans by surprise!

I must admit that my latest good feeling by buying music was Radiohead, Byrne & Eno and Bloc Party. Before waiting was key to raise fan's fever, now surprise & urgency are the key! (it works clearly on me). The way of distributing music and spreading the information have changed some bands have realised that, and it should be further investigated, not in the economical sense but more through the fans' feeling and community.

Bloc party's first album - Silent Alarm - was really a big surprise for me, fresh, exciting, terrific sounds, one of the best albums of the decade. their second effort was produced by Jacknife Lee and I should admit that I really hate his production (e.g: The Killers). the sound is only for big stadium and radio, without rage and tense feeling (P. Epworth succeeded for the first effort). So I was a bit disappointed with "A week end in the city"

what about the album?

a very good surprise! the first part of the album is a real success. we can observe the evolution in the sound, they succeed to integrate electronic sounds in a smatter way than in a weekend in the city. Ares and Mercury are really 2 bombtracks. the sound is sharp, smart and dancing. Halo is an easy heroic piece of music but it succeeds to appeal the body.

On biko, the smooth electronic sounds give strength to a simple song which is the key issue with this kind of sounds. Trojan Horse is an explosion with a perfect kele's voice, complexity of the track will be enormous in gig.

Zephyrus is for me the big surprise of this album. I can't find the word because it is simply a beautiful song. simple, sad background, strong emotional voice.

"Better than heaven sounds" starts like a depeche mode track but with more tempos due to the voice of Kele and finishes in an explosion.

this album is not really a revolution but shows that bloc party is a great band with a lot of potential. it is a long time that a UK band really succeed in integrating electronic sounds in pop music without using "fat beat" and exhausted acid sounds.

As said by a band member at the BBC:
"It isn't really experimental, it's still pop music," he said. "The goal was to make music which sounded good on the dance floor or stuff that would make people want to move as opposed to something that you want to sit down and immerse yourself in.

"We tried make something that was up and just tried to make some unconventional sounds rather than necessarily experiment with ideas about form."

and they succeed.

Techno Story

2008-08-21T04:48:00.000-07:00

I found this on the excellent website Boing Poum Tchak! (ah the Kraftwerk's reference...).

quote in French
"L’été reste la période idéale pour effectuer quelques révisions. Revoir ses bases afin de repartir sereinement à la rentrée. C’est ce que propose Boing Poum Tchak! aujourd’hui avec le meilleur documentaire français (divisé en cinq parties) jamais réalisé sur l’histoire des musiques électroniques : Techno Story.

Diffusé sur la très discrète chaine Histoire en 2004, Techno Story a principalement été vu sur Internet, grâce à sa mise en ligne sur Dailymotion. Retraçant sous un angle français l’histoire des musiques électroniques, et plus spécifiquement des musiques dansantes (techno, acid-house, hardcore…) de la création de la techno au milieu des années 80 jusqu’à sa “reconnaissance” publique à la fin des 90’s, cette série passionnante se décline sous la forme de cinq épisodes de 26 minutes chacun : origines et racines, le temps des raves, l’âge d’or, la grande répression, l’âge de raison.

On retrouve beaucoup d’images d’archives, ainsi que les commentaires de nombreux acteurs de l’époque comme Laurent Garnier, Manu Casana, Jérôme Pacman, Manu le Malin, Arnaud Frisch, ou Jeff Mills.

Un doc à faire tourner le plus possible, en espérant qu’il puisse un jour être rediffusé sur le réseaux hertzien (pourquoi pas France 5), car malgré “son âge” (quatre ans) il reste toujours aussi instructif et plaisant à regarder."

the TV documentary is in French.

Techno Story : Origines Et Racines 1
par mebinho

Techno Story : Origines Et Racines 2
par mebinho

Techno Story : Le Temps Des Raves 1
par mebinho

Techno Story : Le Temps Des Raves 2
par mebinho

Techno Story: L'âge d'or 1
par mebinho

Techno Story : L'âge d'or 2
par mebinho

Techno Story La Grande Répression 1
par mebinho

Techno Story La Grande Repression 2
par mebinho

Techno Story : L'age de raison 1
par mebinho

Techno Story L'âge de raison 2
par mebinho

Berlin

2008-08-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

As said last week, I spent 4 days in Berlin (in reality 2 & half 'coz I went to Dresden). It always a joy to be in this beautiful city. I brought back with some photos (I just bought a SLR and it's so cool to take picture!)

Berlin's calling

2008-08-08T02:59:00.000-07:00

Found on my Bro's blog:

"I've always been really disapointed by movies about club culture but I think this one could be great. No better place than Berlin and no better man than Paul to play the superstar dj, as he knows exactly how to act like a cunt ... or like a great guy, depends who's in front. Hardly waitin' to check if it could be a generational movie (my generation ???) or a shit like some movies like "It's all gone Pete Tong"

this movie sounds pretty good to really catch the atmosphere of the scene... this is the kind of stuff, i do not need to see before the Bptich night at the Panorama Bar...

It will be released in November in Germany, it has been presented at Locarno festival the last few weeks...stay tune...

It's a wii world

2008-08-07T05:34:00.001-07:00

Wii-habilitation: Using Video Games To Heal Burns

ScienceDaily (July 21, 2008) — Video games — often regarded as nothing more than mindless entertainment for lethargic kids and teens — are proving to be an effective, new tool to motivate patients to perform rehabilitation exercises.

Rehabilitation therapists from the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are using the motion-sensitive Nintendo Wii video game console, along with traditional methods, to help patients recover from life-changing injuries.

Patients hold wireless remotes that control actions on screen. Players swing the controller to simulate realistic motions, like swinging a tennis racquet, swatting a baseball for a homerun, among countless other motions. For burn patients or any patient with a skin graft, moving and stretching the skin is very painful, but imperative for a successful recovery.

The Burn Center is also employing a special add-on to the Nintendo Wii system, Guitar Hero III. The controller for the game resembles a miniature guitar. Patients strum a bar on the guitar's body and press color-coded buttons that resemble notes. Therapists hope that Guitar Hero will help patients with burns on their hands, arms and shoulders to regain fine-motor control.

New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College (2008, July 21). Wii-habilitation: Using Video Games To Heal Burns. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/07/080718080755.htm

Le téléchargement illégal de films se porte bien en France

2008-08-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Interesting article found on the website ecrans.fr in French

the report on In rainbows from Radiohead is very interesting...

« Volumes de piratage quotidien » entre novembre 2007 et juin 2008 - Source ALPA

450 000 films récents sont téléchargés chaque jour illégalement en France. Le chiffre impressionne. Si on ajoute que c’est presque autant que le nombre d’entrées en salle de cinéma en France, il peut assommer. Surtout à quelques semaines du passage de la loi Création et Internet devant le Sénat. On doit ce chiffre à une étude statistique « concernant les téléchargements de contrefaçons de films sur les réseaux P2P » d’octobre 2007 à juin 2008 de l’Association de lutte contre la piraterie audiovisuelle (ALPA).

L’étude a été réalisée sur les cent films français et étrangers les plus piratés (qui représenteraient 90% du trafic) entre octobre 2007 et juin 2008. Elle établit que, ces huit derniers mois, il y a eu en moyenne par mois 14 millions de téléchargements illégaux de films en langue française. Et ce serait loin de satisfaire la demande. Schéma à l’appui (ci-dessous), l’étude estime en effet que cela correspond à moins de 40% des sollicitations. C’est-à-dire que 60% de pirates ne seraient pas arrivés à télécharger La Môme ou Cloverfield. Une affirmation étonnante que l’ALPA explique par des serveurs régulièrement saturés. L’enquête a été réalisée par Thomson et Advestigo, une des principales sociétés françaises de surveillance des réseaux p2p, sur eDonkey, Gnutella ou Bittorrent et Overnet.

« Offre et demande de contrefaçons de films », avril-juin 2008 - Source : ALPA

Les machineries Hollywoodiennes ont toujours la côte chez les pirates français. Sur l’ensemble des longs métrages téléchargés illégalement, 66% des fichiers sont d’origine américaine. En tête des plus sollicités, on trouve Jumper de Doug Liman, Cleaner de Renny Harlin et Iron Man de Jon Favreau. Côté français, ce sont Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis de Dany Boon, Persepolis de Marjane Satrapi et Vincent Paronnaud et La Môme d’Olivier Dahan qui arrivent premiers. Comme le note la récente étude de BigChampagne et MCPS-PRS Alliance (PDF), le piratage aime ce qui est populaire, et donc il n’est pas étonnant de voir que ce sont les albums ou films en haut des ventes/entrées les plus piratés. Et vice versa. Les contenus boudés par le public, tel le dernier Astérix, sont peu téléchargés illégalement .

Premier des films français piratés, Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis aurait donc été piratés 682 000 fois. Ce qui ne l’a pas empêché de dépasser les 20 millions d’entrées en salle. Dans ce cas, on peut difficilement parler de préjudice. Pourtant une information judiciaire a été ouverte pour identifier ceux qui ont mis en ligne les premières versions illégales du film.

Mais surtout, Frédéric Delacroix, le directeur général de l’ALPA, se dit inquiet. « Nous sommes face à un phénomène majeur qui peut mettre en péril l’industrie du cinéma et de l’audiovisuel », a-t-il déclaré. Il oublie toutefois de préciser que le nombre d’entrées en salles en France à augmenté de 2,5 % en un an, et que la vente des DVD de films a augmenté de 2,1% entre les premiers semestres 2007 et 2008 (selon le CNC).

Par ailleurs, Frédéric Delacroix semble penser qu’il y a là un lourd manque à gagner alors que son étude ne fournit aucune donnée sur ce point précis. On se souvient de Cindy Sanders qui estime que les 200 000 téléchargements de son single (mis par ses soins) sur les réseaux p2p est un manque à un gagner de 200 000 CD. Le raccourci (682 000 téléchargements illégaux de Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, c’est autant d’entrées en moins pour la comédie de Dany Boon) est facile, mais erroné. Au dire de différentes études, dont celle de BigChampagne et MCPS-PRS Alliance, les industries du divertissement se trompent si elles estiment que la baisse du piratage génèrera une augmentation de la vente d’albums ou du nombre d’ entrées dans les salles.

Waiting For The Sun

2008-08-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

Just because I don't want to take my holidays as all common families, I decided to wait december to catch up the sun and to continue my trip in South East Asia with Laos. Nonetheless I will take one week off before the rush of September.

it is time for my annual trip to Berlin! ah ! Xberg, Friedrichshain, Neukölln, Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg.. . great place to enjoy summer. For those who understand German, check this article

Fresh sound, exciting moments (Vodka/redbull on the beach near the Spree), great city and full of history (past/present & future)!

For the time being, the only huge uncertainty is whether or not I will visit the building in photo... the charming place is called the Panorama Bar and there is a n interesting event :

SATURDAY 09.08.2008

BPitch Control - KLUBNACHT "PITCHNASS"

Be prepared for a memorable night with the complete BPitch Control Crew.
Just cancel all your appointments for sunday because it's gonna be a long and excessive party night.

DATE: 09.08.2008
LOCATION: Berghain / Panoramabar (berlin)

Berghain
00:00 h – 4:00 h Zander VT
04:00 h – 5:00 h Modeselektor live
05:00 h – 7:00 h Lee Van Dowski
07:00 h – 8:00 h Thomas Muller live
08:00 h – ende Ben Klock

Panorama Bar
24:00 h – 04:00 h Chaim
04:00 h – 08:00 h Sascha Funke
08:00 h – 12:00 h Ellen Allien
12:00 h – 16:00 h BPitch Artists back to back
16:00 h – ende DJ T

Es gefällt mir...

Krautwerk - Das Model goes rock

2008-08-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy listening to this CD, from beginning to end. Kraftwerk is an exploratory art rock album with psych roots first and foremost, with Conny Plank's brilliant co-production and engineering skills as important as the band performances. Still, Hütter and Schneider play organ and "electric percussion" -- Hütter's work on the former can especially be appreciated with the extended opening drone moan of the all-over-the-place "Stratovarius," combined with Schneider's eerie violin work. But it's a different kind of combination and exploration, with the key pop sugar (and vocal work) of later years absent in favor of sudden jump cuts of musique concrète noise and circular jamming as prone to sprawl as it is to tight focus. Having never been given an authorized CD re-release, and long since out of print on vinyl, Kraftwerk only came to wider notice again in 1993 as part of the bootleg series that also resulted in the appearance of the early Neu! albums. The connection is important, given that Neu!'s Klaus Dinger is one of the two drummers; the roots of the motorik trance and tripped-out ambient wash of the later band can clearly be heard throughout. "Ruckzuck," with its repetitive flute mantra from Schneider and the initial groove suddenly turned into a stuttering, nervous freakout, is merely one demonstration, as is the steady rise-and-fall of feedback and flute at the end of "Megaherz."

The CD's electronica is typical for the Berlin scene of 1970.

What I think makes this CD so special, is the way they just sort of start a song, fade it out, fade back in playing it faster, fade out, fade back in with the song so fast, that VSO (Tape speed manipulation) must be the only explanation, and then fade out, only to fade up a last time, with raging versions at hyperspeed, of the original theme. This happens during RUCKZUCK for instance. In fact, many of the songs use fade ins and outs, and "SILENCE" as musical devices. In that sense, it suggests the classical, experimental music of Stockhausen, and Ligeti, with some Fluxus influence to boot. Other songs, like the quietly beautiful MEGAHERZ, where silence and drones push the listening experience into the deeply meditative.

For those KRAFTWERK fans that only know AUTOBAHN, or THE MODEL (from Mensch Maschine), be adviced the motorik dance grooves, and dead pan vocals, were not developed at this stage. ALtho the use of a "REAL" drummer is much bantered about with this CD, the drummer is only used on two songs, from what i hear. So, what is this work aiming for? First off, very quiet, meditative places, where electronic drones and shimmering sounds dominate. The POWERPLANT (English translation of their name) is not generating proto new wave dance grooves. Instead, it's a powerplant generating a 60 Herz hum, random beeps and black outs, and an eiry dead calm. Sometimes you wonder if they are painting a soundscape of WWII, and the WIRKSHAFTWUNDER that followed it. It's a powerplant that empowers the spirit, and mind, more than the body and soul. Later KRAFTWERK LPs delved into body and soul, with their motorik dance music, clever lyrics, and robotic stage presence.

In many ways, this is perhaps the most EXPERIMENTAL Krautrock album made, as far as minimalism and sonic manipulation goes. Had Ralf and Florian only explored the territory they did on their first 3 LPs, they STILL would have been considered groundbreaking pioneers of the electronic music scene. However, they built on all they developed by 1974, then added their rythym section and lyrics, to become the KRAFTWERK that wrote the book on NEW WAVE Electronic sound. They pushed into international stardom, and influenced so many musicians and trends, that the ripples are still felt from their heyday.

I would suggest this CD to anyone, who enjoys minimalist and experimental electronica, and trance inducing drones. KRAFTWERK 1 is KRAUTROCK at its embryonic finest.

Great Deal on eBay! A 1920's Turntable

2008-07-31T03:48:00.000-07:00

Just found on a German Website.

eBay item 220262676074 is a great looking pair of record players, apparently from a radio station. I'm not sure they'll fetch $2,200 + $250

Kraut + Rock = New Landscape In Music

2008-07-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

As promised earlier, I dig into an excellent book while listening to the first Kraftwerk LP (which is incredible and totally different to the wholy discography)and here is a small story of the excellent and under-estimate genre!

Krautrock maybe most undervalued and least listened subgenre of progressive rock. In a rather short history (from late 60’s to the end of 70’s) this German underground rock scene features consistent works with a really distinctive aesthetic and musical philosophy. Krautrock views on sound and cultural/ political freedoms make his movement unique, in reaction against both commercial and mainstreams. Krautrock was born in German counter culture whose interest was to destroy a cultural, artistic imported context dominated by the merciless ideology of the United States since the re-construction of Europe after the World War II. War’s children from Germany wanted to have the control of their collective destiny without suffering under the memory of Nazis dictatorship. They didn’t want anymore to have the feeling that their culture were robbed. During the hippie 60’s, the young generation estimated that art was the best manner to express its anger, worry to gain its cultural freedom. In music, the rock scene will highly represent this adventurous, revolutionary spirit. This was encouraged by free form rock bands, entirely devoted to experimentation and improvisation in order to create something unique.

Musical formations as Amon Duul (first, original line up), Floh de Cologne, were openly engaged in politics, so much that the music press created the term polit-rock. Rather anarchists, communists they were determined to “bomb” underminethe old system. With their concept of “Machine music”, orientated to the development and technology capacities of control, Kraftwerk also mentally worked against the traditionalism. They made connections between technologies, the experimental science, robotic music and new consciousness. Can’s members also tried to express around the intention to rebuild the German culture on an new background. The producer Rolf Ulrich Kaiser with his “kosmischen Kuriers” label brought radical ideas with the pretension to develop world’s consciousness thanks to LSD, cosmic music and sideral energies.

First of all, the free form rock music developed by Krautrock was inspired by the psychedelic, hippie movements emerging during the 60’s in the “Anglo-American” world with the music of the Grateful Dead, 13th Floor Elevator…The difference appeared in the way of composition and arrangements. Bands as Faust, Guru Guru, Neu!, Can deconstructed rock standards, making parodies, augmenting their own work with a constant use of experimentation with electronic collages, weird tape manipulations (inspired by the "musique concrete” , minimalismand electro-acoustic), monotonous pieces, mystical atmospheres, precise rhythms, efficient melodies constructed next to improvisations. In their respective styles, bands as Amon Duul, Embryo, Agitation Free, Popol Vuh rapidly found their own combination, providing a strange, mantra-like rock music inspired by the East and ethnic instruments. The typical German sound can be described as a clever, original mix between experimentation, avant-garde, contemporary music, weird, psychedelic rock, jazz, folk and mysticism.

The scene first rises to public attentionin the end of the 60’s with very atypical bands, attached to endless drug-inspiredimprovisations and anarchist experimental rock. Among the most notorious bands we can quote:
-The initial Amon Duul formation with their long 68’s chaotic, folk “trippy” jamming, published later in four cult albums (“Psychedelic Underground”, “Disaster”, “Collapsing”, “Paradieswartsduul”). Amon Duul II and their acid folk/ space rock compositions in the two epic & classic “Phallus Dei” (1969), “Yeti”.
-Guru Guru and their strange bluesy/psych jamming experience (“UFO”, “Hinten”)
-Annexus Quam delivers a solid cosmic/ jazz item with “Osmose” published in 1970. In early days of kraut/ jazz we can also quote a few others major albums: "Wake up" (1970) recorded by a fusion/ brass psychedelic band called Out Of Focus, the jazz / ethnic rock "opal" (1970) released by Embryo, Kraan and their self title album (1972). All these bands came from Munich.
-Popol Vuh started their spiritual adventure in the esoteric, shamanic “Affenstunde” composed for ethnic percussions and Moog synth.
-From Berlin, Tangerine Dream (“electronic meditation”, “Alpha Centauri” /1969-71) Kluster (“Zwei Osterei,” “Klopzechein”/1969-70) took an interest for embryonic electronic manipulations applied on standard rock instruments. In 1972, one year after the seminal “Alpha Centauri” which introduces “cosmic music”, Klaus Schulze writes in solo his hypnotic cosmic “orchestration” (“Irrlicht”). With their original album “Malesch”, Agitation Free explores psychedelic/ acid rock improvisations with the add of acoustic, eastern influences. Mythos recorded their self title album in a rather similar interest for space rock, weird sounds, exoticism and spirituality. Ash Ra Tempel go further than Tangerine Dream’s “electronic meditation” in their two first efforts (“ART”, 1971 / “Schwigungen”, 1972). These are largely made of instrumental psych/rock compositions and pre-electronic arrangements. Wallenstein also signed their two dynamic symphonic space rock albums “Blitzkrieg” & “Mother Universe” with the astonishing Bill Barone on the guitars.
During this period, all major albums have been signed on the ohr, Pilz & Brain labels. The producers Conny Plank, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser, Dieter Dierks had a great importance on the development of krautrock, German “acid” music.

In 1973, Krautrock knows a peak of popularity thanks to feeback from specialized music press. Bands as Amon Duul II, Guru Guru, Kraftwerk start a successful career outside Germany. In 1974, Kraftwerk releases “Autobahn”. This classic electronic/ experimental synth pop album will have a highly popular recognition everywhere. Brain records, Sky records continue to publish memorable “alternative” krautrock albums, notably with the pre-ambient Harmonia side project by Roedelius & Moebius (Cluster’s members). In 1973, the producer Rolf Ulrich Kaiser founded his own label “Die Kosmische Kuriere” for numerous nice space rock / cosmic synth recordings, his “Cosmic Jokers” project (several improvised sessions in studio with ancient krautrockers as Klaus Schulze, Manuel Gottsching, Jurgen Dollase…). For his prolific production in intergalactic rock music, Rolf Kaiser has constituted a small community around personalities of the 60’s psychedelic, esoteric philosophies (Timothy Leary and his collaboration in Ashra Tempel’s “seven up”, the Swiss esoteric writer Sergius Golowin in “Lord Krishna von Goloka” and the gypsy folk artist Walter Wegmuller in “Tarot”). The Virgin label founded in 1973 by Richard Branson is for a large part responsible of Can, Tangerine Dream, Faust’s commercial success. After a promising success with their first album, Faust rapidly reiterate with “So Far” (1972). This album had a wide success outside of Germany, notably in England . This album is a fascinating collection of short avant garde “pop” sketches with a nice technical /musical background. Thanks to the success of this album, Virgin signed the famous “Faust tapes” (several recordings from 1971 to 1973). Really appreciated by different public from England, France , Germany, the successful second Can album “Tago Mago” (1971) is a very efficient work of strange, “acid” rhythmical rock with a few humorous ballads.
In 1974, Manuel Gottsching records his first solo album “Inventions for electric guitars” under the Ashra Tempel name. With simple electronic effects, he creates a unique trancey, space minimalist essay for guitar. In 1975-76, Klaus Schulze publishes two of his most popular analog synth efforts with “Timewind” and “Moondawn”.

In the second half of the 70’s, as for the most part of the progressive rock scene, Krautrock will gradually loose the attention of the public to finally disappear. This is mainly due to the coming of new musical scenes as Punk (in cold with complexity , musical’s technicity), heavy metal and new wave. Numerous krautrock bands as Amon Duul, Agitation Free, Guru Guru split up. Only very popular bands as Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream success to stay alive. In solo, several artists as Holger Czukay (Can), Conrad Schnitlzer (Tangerine Dream, Kluster) counts on faithful fans and the interest of a specialized public. Klaus Schulze, TD, Ashra (with “New Age Of Earth”, “Blackouts”, “Belle Alliance”, “Correlations”) pursue their works in a more accessible, ambient synth genre but partially failed to renew their genre.

A second wave of German prog bands chose to develop their music on a more conventional , harder and symphonic rock such as Grobschnitt , Novalis , Jane Anyone's daughter , Birth Control etc.... These groups will reach their apex of popularity in the later 70's.

After one decade in the wilderness, Krautrock comes back to life thanks to the rediscovery of ancient classics. This was possible thanks to the expanded reissues of new independent labels as Garden of delights, Spalax, Captain Trip and more recently SPV. Several bands will reform for special occasions during festivals and for the publication of box sets (Guru Guru, Faust, Can…). Young generations of musicians with Stereolab, Sonic Youth…speak about their admiration for Neu!, Can, sometimes working with glorious old figures (the multimedia artist Luigi Archetti and his collaboration with Manni Neumeier for the project Tier der Nacht…). Other bands such as Cul De Sac are overtly influenced by Krautrock groups such as Can and Kraftwerk. Today, Krautrock, space rock from Germany is considered as a pioneer style in the development of musical subgenres which emerged during the 80’s until now.

During the seventies, German bands were not alone to explore distinctive musical ideas, experimenting drugs with music, free jazz and electronic. German first releases received a percussive feedback from the 70’s underground rock scenes born in France, Swiss, Italy, England…almost everywhere in Europe. In France, Lard Free is one of the worthy representative answer to Krautrock’s melting pot of jazz, psychedelic and electronic influences. The spacey rock of the band in their three first albums obviously resonates with Krautrock (especially with the Berlin electronic rock scene). Still in France, the innovative guitarist Richard Pinhas (both in solo and with his group Heldon) also explored electronics, molecular machines in an hypnotic repetitive mood (“Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale”, “Electronic Guerilla”…). The french folk rock band Tangerine published peaceful, dreamy compositions that have discreet similitudes with Emtidi, Langs’yne beautiful acoustic music. In their album “Cottonwoodhill (1971), the Swiss of Brainticket made an evident connection between schizo-bluesy improvisations and psychedelic space rock to create a jointy, freak out atmosphere that wouldn’t deny most part of krautrock bands. In England, the glam rocker Brian Eno reaches his music into a cerebral, aquatic ambient style (“On Land”, “Apollo”, “Music for films”…) during and after his collaboration with the German musicians of Cluster (“Cluster & Eno”, After the heat”) and Harmonia (“Harmonia 76 tracks & traces). David Bowie also moved in Berlin to get impregnated with this special ambiance to produce his Berlin Trilogy (with Robert Fripp at the production).

Krautrock was highly influential on the development of Post-punk, notably artists such as The Fall and This Heat. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the resurgence of electronic music and a new generation rediscovering much of the early work of German music in that period, Krautrock came to be considered a style in and of itself. Artists such as Stereolab, Laika, Mouse on Mars, Tortoise, Coil, and Fujiya & Miyagi working under the post-rock and electronica rubrics have often cited bands in the Krautrock canon as being among their more significant influences. Radiohead has done a cover of Can's song "Thief" and cite Can, Neu! and Faust among their influences, while The Secret Machines not only covered Harmonia's "(De Luxe) Immer Wieder" on their The Road Leads Where It's Led EP, but have also played live with Michael Rother. Porcupine Tree has also covered Neu!'s Hallogallo as a demo for their album Signify. The band Wilco has shown a growing Krautrock influence in their music, specifically on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and several songs on A Ghost Is Born, especially on songs like Spiders (Kidsmoke). In interviews Jeff Tweedy (the band's lead singer/songwriter/guitarist) has often spoke of his admiration for bands such as Can and Neu!. Julian Cope has always cited Krautrock as an influence, and wrote the book Krautrocksampler on the subject. The Kosmische Club was founded in London at his suggestion in 1996, with the motto "Music from the Future", and did much to promote the genre on the underground music scene, including promoting gigs featuring many of the original German musicians and through a weekly radio show on Resonance FM since 2002. The nu-krautrock scene in Leeds is said to be directly inspired by krautrock, with band Die Plankton seen as pioneering the style. The Legendary Pink Dots claim heavy influence from krautrock - naming in particular Can, Faust and Neu!, with one of their few cover songs being Neu!'s "Super" on the Cleopatra Records album A Homage to NEU!, which featured covers and remixes by bands including Autechre, Dead Voices On Air, Khan, Sunroof, System 7, James Plotkin, as well as an original track from Michael Rother.

eine kleine Nachtmusik

2008-07-10T11:51:00.001-07:00

Just a small post about the last mix from the german DJ Riton. He mixes only sounds the krautrock period. For those who don't know Can, Neu Amon Duul and so forth. I will post a small post on this movement soon. the movement brought enormous persective to the music (but also brought cosmic music, argh!!!).

listen to that sound and you will understand the importance of Germany in the today sound! you will maybe find it boring but don't under-estimate what was behind the sound experimentation.

here is the tracklisting:

eroc - zimperlein
edgar froese - pinnacles
intence - jump on velvet paws
kraftwerk - boing boom tschak
kraftwerk - neonlicht
tone band - this is germany calling
toy planet - two dophins go dancing
faust - its a rainy day, sunshine girl
guru guru - globetrotter
conrad schnitzler- das tier
peter bauman - the third state
cluster - caramel
cluster - grosses vasses
holger czukay - on the way to the peak of normal
die grüne reise - ich bin
baffo banfi - indian
rheingold- dreiklangsdimensionen
canaxis 5 - boat woman song
amon düül -
überfällig - puls
neu - hallogallo
eloy - impressions
holger czukay - persian love
tangerine dream - love on a real train
segius golowin - die weibe aim

and be happy, you can download it here

The great escape...in West Africa

2008-06-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

long time that I didn't write something and I repair right now this absence. Through this small post, I want to share one of the last great discovery I've made during the last months.

the story is quite simple: A guy who loves music decides to travel all over Africa to dig and find past musical treasure. This guy is amazing and share wonderful funk, afro-beat and others stuffs that lay down in small suburbs of Kinshasa and other places in Africa.

The sound is incredibly good and shows the excellence of the continent and it's pleasure to listen to this kind of music and not to have the stereotype that only "traditional" music has place there!

Voodoofunk blog is perfect place to find good sounds & rare pieces.

They start searching for money to make a movie of this wonderful quest.

it's time to protest!

2008-05-20T04:58:00.000-07:00

The long awaited second album of the Viennese extraordinary artist Gustav aka Eva Jantschitsch is finished! I discovered her through the excellent German Magazin de:Bug.

For many people Gustav's critically acclaimed debut "Rettet die Wale ( save the whales ) was nothing more than rescuing the whole protest song genre. Besides the media artist and laptop-songwriter Gustav all of a sudden has become a new icon of the feminist music-scene and - concerning the movement of alter-globalization - the conscience of her generation.

In 2005 Gustav wins the prize of the Austrian Music Industry called Amadeus Award. At the peak of her success she consequently avoids further public appearances as a solo artist and concentrates on remittance work and a bunch of other quite different side projects, recently the queer burlesque theatre piece Orlanding The Dominant. The cross-gender alias Gustav represents a political thinking and basically media critical artist. The music sounds extremely ambivalent: catchy pop songs enter geeky la la laptop land and get infiltrated with some subversive aesthetic & political strategies: reinterpretation, exaggeration, ambiguity. All double layered by Gustavs unique voice. Gustav thinks that her new album Verlass die Stadt has gotten darker - politically and emotionally - than her debut. But thats exactly what you dont recognize in the first time. What makes the earnest of her music so comfortable is an easiness which comes together with a great sense of humour. Gustavs imagination combined with her pue nonchalance is simply amazing and leaves anybody in astonishment. Her songs are like musical roller coaster rides through all kind of possible and impossible genres: experimental laptop sound, but also traditional Austrian brass music, Schlager as well as Sicilian mandolins. Gustav plays with all the cliché and extravagance of each different style - and leads the listener often to the garden path/leaves the listener in confusion. Theres an enormous gap between the cozy appeal of her music and the topics of the songs. Cause: the situation is definitely serious and theres really NO reason to tell anybody: all clear. Cause it isnt. Not at all. Behind Gustav Eva Jantschitsch lives and works in Vienna as an artist. She composes music for theater, movies and iPods. Gustav produces songs on the laptop, plays all kinds of instruments and "sings with the sort of inimitable power you cannot muster up any resistance to". With an origin in Vienna, Gustav's tunes are in various languages, sometimes English, sometimes French, sometimes German - " but the appeal ist completely universelle".

Keep your old K7

2008-04-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Week-end was cool and quite with some confrontation wth a bottle of cachacca on Friday evening. To start a new week, I found an interesting K7 that I want to share with you!

Some sounds, I am currently listening, enjoy (especially for my friend in Australia).

Masbath's mixtape

Who is Jim

2008-04-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

How can the English (and some French) music papers compare this guy to Amy Winehouse! Much more talented and with a real experience (see discography on warp and not a freaky creature made by Universal and Pascal Négre).

First episode of 3 short films saga...

Springtime is coming back!

2008-04-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ah! what a lovely time!

Even if time is hard in our country, it is always joyful to see the sunny days back! Winter was long with its days of darkness and rain. Winter period was always one of the weird moment but with the sun, everything re-born! Good gigs as well!

Making my gigs agenda through the excellent tool last.fm (better that any other "so-called" community website and with less problem of data privacy - be careful guys, your datas are the next holy graal for advert - your web profile will follow whenever you go...freaky?No reality! I will come back later on that!), I picked and booked several gigs!

here are some gigs, I will go!

April 16th - Jamie Lidell, Midnight Juggernauts

April 30th - Why? (new album is terrific)

May 8th - Blood Red Shoes

May 19th - Vampire Weekend

May 27th - The Black Keys

May 28th - MGMT

June 5th - The Notwist

June 10th - Radiohead

If you have other tips for concert in Paris...I'm your man!

my lastfm profile

The Devil, You + Me

2008-04-09T02:20:00.000-07:00

If you read this blog, you will think that it is an obsession but anyway... I had the pleasure to put an ear on this long awaited album...As always, first listening was difficult and complex. An Lp from the Notwist can only be understood in certain conditions and when magic happened, strange feelings emerge - tense and sad but also light and power. Lots of people will go through this disc without taking time to see its complex beauty. So take your time and book your ticket, they will be on tour in spring/summer.

The Notwist - Good Lies

see article in Billboard:

The Notwist Channeling 'Devil' On New Album

After a six-year hiatus, German indie rock act the Notwist will return
June 17 with "The Devil, You + Me," its follow up to 2002's breakout "Neon Golden."

The 11-song set was composed and recorded over the last two years at the group's Alien Research Center studio in its hometown of Weilheim, Germany.

For the last several years, members of the Notwist have been involved in numerous side projects, most notably a collaboration under the name 13 & God with San Francisco-based hip-hop act Themselves. That partnership proved to be fruitful.

"When we started with this Notwist record, there were a lot of ideas from the 13 & God recordings," founding member Markus Acher tells Billboard.com. "But we don't want every band to sound the same, so we have to think what is different with the Notwist, and the reasons why we should make a record."

As such, "The Devil, You + Me" sees the group experimenting with different sonic arrangements and dipping into dark, folk-based sounds at times, contrasted with optimistic, upbeat guitar rock. Longtime fans need not fret, however -- the band is still mixing in a fair amount of electronics, the bread and butter of the Notwist's past.

Of the different moods, Acher says that the band members have all had personal problems that are coming through in the new crop of songs.

"There were friends that were very sick, or struggled with bad things in their lives; they were a part of our lives, so they had to appear in the music, in the lyrics," Acher says. "We've all got children, and that's also very happy. There were a lot of feelings that were much stronger this time than [when] we made 'Neon Golden,' when things were kind of balanced."

The Notwist will tour Europe in May and June, with sporadic festival dates throughout the rest of the summer. A U.S. tour is in the works, beginning in October.

Here is the track listing for "You, Devil + Me":

"Good Lies"
"Where In This World"
"Gloomy Planets"
"Your Alphabet"
"The Devil, You + Me"
"Gravity"
"Sleep"
"On Planet Off"
"Boneless"
"Hands On Us"
"Gone Gone Gone"

Cat Vs. Dog

2008-04-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

Fever Music

2008-03-20T03:07:00.000-07:00

Jamie Lidell’s second album, Multiply caught people off-guard in 2005. Few expected the restless sonic scientist to make an uplifting soul record, but he did; and audiences and critics were captivated by the fusion of his influences with deeply felt song writing, meticulous production skills, and most of all, that flipping amazing voice. According to the reviews, Jamie was at various times, Little Richard, Jimi, Otis, Sly, Prince, Marvin, Stevie or some mashed-up combo of them all. Meanwhile, his live show has become an infamously exhilarating experience, with Jamie performing on the edges of control and chaos, turning music inside out.

And now here he comes again. Jim is ten very different songs. Jim is energy, integrity, emotion. Jim is all about the hooks. Jim is getting the sounds absolutely right. Jim is keeping things fresh. Jim is the voice. Jim is Jamie and Jamie is Jim.

Recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles and Paris, Jim takes even further what was started with Multiply, finding the balance between the spontaneous creativity of his raw ideas and the careful craft and polish of a great record. The musical world of Jim is richer and more refined; but it always comes back to the voice. As Jamie says, “The most important thing was the vocal, to capture the balance of me delivering the songs with full gusto, and at the same time retaining the grain and the grit.”

Jim will switch you on in the morning, move you on the dance-floor and take you down in the small hours. It’s a bold, promiscuously diverse album, mixing up gospel grooves, sweetly sung and fiercely passionate soul, delicately moving ballads, thumping early R & B, synthed-up disco, and even a touch of ‘hillbilly funk’. “I haven’t tried to hide the influences,” he says “This is the music I love.” But, listen closely and you can hear Jamie moving in new directions, creating a sound and style that is entirely his own.

He will be in gig in April in Paris, I will be there... can't wait for him. I had a first listen to the record and I cannot live without since then!

it's time to react!

2008-03-19T05:11:00.000-07:00

Today, A French newspaper titled "Les Francais sont fatigués", how should we consider it? I will not give an answer right now and it is certainly not my ambition but you! how do you feel today!

The economic machine is going mad (desindustrialisation, new threats, dependancy of the old powers to new emerging states). No motivation at all because no reward! the structure itself of our economy is broken.

the car is on fire and there is no driver at the wheel...

never forget your dreams because it's all we've got nowadays.

sometimes is good to remember what you wanted to be when you were young...

Olympic Games

2008-03-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Following my last post on The Notwist, I would like to continue with some materials on the Olympic Games. No don't worry, I don't want to launch a debate on whether or not the next olympic in China will be a chance for democracy...

Today I start reading a book on the German electronic and experimental music scene in the 70's and it seems to look very good to me. The book wants to give an overview of an incredible scene with bands such as Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Faust and so on. But I will post something on the search of metrik sounds and the political aspects later on.

By searching some sounds from this period on the excellent website ubu.com, I found an incredible recording from Ammer & Console. Console (aka Martin Gretschmann from The Notwist) recorded an enormous live in centre pompidou in France that I discovered in Munich (if you find it, buy it!). The sound is ambient, melancolic and eletronic, A true experience for listeners...

In 2000, the WDR (West Deutschland Rundfunk) ordered a music piece on the Olympic Games, Ammer and Console recorded it live. The basic materials for this recording are the voices of radio/TV sport reporters from 1936 to 1988 (nationalism, propaganda, terrorism & the media), combined in ironical and sometimes poetical way by andreas ammer (well-known for similar productions in collaboration with fm einheit) and orchestrated by the german electronists console. The music consists in rather minimalistic pop or techno tunes, oscillating between a naive disco feeling and some rather melancholic moments.

Tracks such as Emil Zatopek or Ping Pong Pirouette are simple beautiful.

The recording can be downloaded here.

München...Berlin...Volksbühne - Pick up the phone

2008-02-27T09:12:00.001-08:00

you can't imagine my pleasure when I saw that one of my favorite groups will release a new album - The Notwist. Since my Erasmus time, I was waiting for new songs from the best pop group ever (ok maybe it's too much, but when you listen to Neon Golden, yiou cannot say anything else). I saw them in Paris when they have made a project with Themselves (13+God) and it was tremendous.

they will tour in Europe but not in France for the moment. one of the 2 dates planned in Germany will be in the old East German theater (Volksbühne) in Berlin (May 9th) . It looks like this night will be unforgetable.

and then on the sunday, Lali Puna will be on stage with other bands in the same venue. I have the impression that I will take some vacation to visit Berlin once again!!!!

Rainy Days & Grey Sky

2008-02-26T01:43:00.000-08:00

Small post today. I was in the tube this morning with the last Syd Matters' album. I heard about him some years ago but I recently saw the movie "La question Humaine" and his music was in perfect harmony with this strange and difficult movie. But this morning, I don't know what happened... I was lost in my thoughts when I was submerged by the music. A strange feeling mixing beauty & sadness and Tears slowly came into my eyes without knowing what happened to me. Too much things to think maybe... but I was touched by the simplicity and depth of these songs, especially "Everything Else". In a certain way, it make me think of Nick Drake..."I was asleep" and "after all these years" are simply pure jewels.

Take the money and run...

2008-02-23T06:07:00.000-08:00

Last week, I read the last text published by André Gorz before committing suicide with his wife. This text has been published in a excellent revue (ecorev).

André Gorz was one of the leading social philosophers of the 20th century and a pioneer of political ecology. A member of the editorial committee (1961-74) of Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Temps Modernes, and a co-founder of theleftwing weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, he was also associated for a time with the ecological bi-monthly LeSauvage, where many of the articles collected in the groundbreaking Ecology As Politics (1975) were published. He argued that a meaningful political ecology must imply a critique of economic thought in general, on the basis that any adequate conception of wealth must necessarily exceed the economist's impoverished notion of "value". This thread ran through his later writings, which focused particularly on questions of the transformation of work and working time, envisaging the possibility that the productivity gains made possible by capitalism could be used to enhance individual and social life, rather than intensifying ruthless economic competition and social division.

His last work was very interesting to me in the light of the current situation of our society. I currently thin k that the system as such is not sustainable and should lead to a complete transformation of our way of doing. I always have in mind lyrics from Godspeed you! Black emperor when I think about the current situation:"the car is on fire... and there's no driver at the wheel".

the current condition of workers in our globalised world is alarming. even if you work more, you will not necessarily have more money in order to consume (and this is crucial to calm down people in order not have a violent opposition).

the growth of product goes not with an increase of activity. Companies have to increase sell by lowering the cost of labour though productivity gains (or with computerisation or machines). but we are at the point where investment in production ceases to increase benefit. the value is not in the product in itself anymore.

the value of a product is now depending on the (social, sexual, symbolical) significations vehiculed by it. For an excellent theory about conspicuous consumption, I can only recommend the work of J.Baudrillard.

when you look at the big companies, the only way to increase benefit is by reducing the number of employees or becoming an engine of innovation to increase the part of non-material value of a product.

the system was sustainable when labour and capital went hand in hand. today as already said, labour (productivity) offer no more benefit. the only engine of growth is becoming the capital. but when you look at the recent development of the capitalist model, you can only conclude that it goes wrong. the so-called Krach with the sub-primes crisis showed that our model works on hazardous investments and on debts. An economy based on the art of making money by only selling other forms of money is not sustainable because nothing real and concrete has been produced.

So if you consider that people have less money and that the system needs to make money by "offering" money, the vicious circle is in place.

In that way, Gorz works are very accurate. nonetheless, he also admits that we could avoid a crisis if we change the system by considering the immaterial content of product. By linking the knowledge based society, software and Open source, Gorz considers that a communitarian approach of labour and creation is possibly a solution to avoid a future like in the movie Mad Max...

article ecorev

Bohemian Rhapsody

2008-02-20T00:40:00.000-08:00

Last week European Commissioner McGreevy (in charge of Internal Market) announced that his service will work on the copyright protection for perfoming artists. The main change will be an extended protection from 50 to 95 years. Nonetheless, as always, the devil is in the details. here we talk about performers (and producers) not about composers (protection right is 70 years). In his official statement, the Commissioner said that he wants to help the "poor cousins" of the music business. but let's have a closer look...

The music as we know it today starts becoming commercial as such in the beginning of the 50's. Glorious popular performers from this decade are still in activity (e.g: in France: Charles Aznavour, Johnny Hallyday - in UK the still living Beatles, Cliff Richards) but their current copyrights protection will start entering the public field (domaine public). Performers earn revenue from public gigs at the difference from composer. The revenue from CDs is another revenue for them but not the main one. There was an emergency to extend the protection of their early works... So this will only benefit the big performers still in activity.

Moreover the text that the EC wants to published before the summer break will also include the rights of producers. By effect, the owners of old recordings (often big majors) will also have more time to commercially exploit the artist's works...

IFPI statement

Some big mouths consider this issue as a lobbying from the French government and Big record labels behind the scene... everybody knows in France, that the President is not a close friend from J. Hallyday and Charler Aznavour...

Feel free to comment

see McGreevy press release

Ready.....to.....rumble

2008-02-19T03:49:00.000-08:00

During my childhood, my brother and I spent our saturday afternoon watching the World Wrestling Federation TV programme (The Undertaker, Razor Ramon) and we were also fans from Japanese programmes such as X-Or (ok, it was very funny).

I've never thought that both of the programmes would be mixed one day into reality!

http://kaiju.com/

The 365 days project

2008-02-19T02:26:00.000-08:00

It took us a while to find this one, we spent days on this site a few years back. ‘The 365 Days Project’, a piece of strange and obscure audio for each day of 2003 & 2007. Want to hear a rap song about gas, go ‘Jogging with Jesus’, maybe you want an examination into whether Paul McCartney is actually dead.So much great stuff on here we don’t know where to start, but if you only listen to one thing, check out Dean Milan’s ‘Do It Like A Dog’ from his ‘Phattest Jams’ LP. That’s had us in tears.

http://www.ubu.com/outsiders/365/index.shtml

it’s just a modern rock song...

2008-02-10T10:03:00.001-08:00

Start my first post with some shared thoughts about music. I was the past months quite insatisfied with music I was listening to. I felt like no soul was put in LPs, the strange sensation that all the success are now written in advance by some magazines or key websites. No real excitment in discovering new stuff because everybody discover it at the same time...a strange feeling of harmonisation... but anyway...Ok maybe I sound like a geek with these words. But sometimes, it is precious to dig in some “underground” or maybe even less mainstream. Sometimes it is good to come back to what was really indie-pop, at the beginning...not the perverted word that we found in every big malls.

I wanted to come back to a cheesy, gummy sound, some people would say girly sounds...but what makes me feel good with music is that even you’ve listened to hundred songs about love, sadness, happiness you’re still thinking that each song is different but perfect.

after listening to several bands from Germany and Sweden I really have the impression that the heart of pop music moves from UK to other places with more heart and soul. The band Acid House Kings is a perfect example.simple melody, lyrics several times heard but you can’t stop listening and singing because it makes you smile and you remeber when you broke up or felt in love with someone in the street...

through several searches on the web, I was also astonished that a lot of indie pop bands are still promoted and quite alive! here below you'll find some links where you can find good free mp3, a very interesting article from pitchfork on true indie-pop... you could call it twee pop or anorak pop, but the indie spirit is there!

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10242-twee-as-fuck

http://www.indie-mp3.co.uk/

http://www.indiepopradio.co.uk/

http://www.indiepages.com/

http://www.twee.net/