Choose Your Own Adventure

Wednesday, September 30

Andrew Bird Debuts "Anonanimal" Video


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
Rolling Stone has the new video for Andrew Bird's "Anonanimal". The clip, from director Lisa Barcy, takes place in a universe populated by freaky stop-motion worms. But it's done so fluidly and rapturously that when Bird shows up halfway through, you're like, "Wait, why is this normal-looking person here?" Check the video out here.
On 11/03/04, Andrew Bird played Soundlab with The Stay Lows and John Long/Amber Long.

RJD2 Announces New Album Details


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
The hip-hop instrumentalist RJD2 hasn't released a solo album since 2007's ill-fated indie pop move The Third Hand, and lately he's mostly been entering our living rooms via his earwormy "Mad Men" theme. But that's about to change. Last month, we reported that RJ has started his own label, RJ's Electrical Connections, and he's in the process of reissuing his back catalog. And come January 19, he'll release his fourth official album, The Colossus, via RJ's Electrical Connections.

The Colossus will alternate between the sample-based approach of his classic debut Deadringer and the live instrumentation of his more recent stuff. And while some tracks are instrumental, he's also recruited a few guest vocalists, including Little Brother rapper Phonte Coleman and Kenna, Malcolm Gladwell's favorite would-be pop star.
RJD2 hit Soundlab on 09/20/04 with Diplo and Rob Sonic. On 04/23/06, he returned with Soul Position (RJD2 and Blueprint) with One Be Lo.

Junior Boys Want To See Your Halloween Costume


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
The mannered, well-dressed Canadian synthpoppers in the Junior Boys are not exactly the types to gargle fake blood onstage, but according to a recent press release, frontman Jeremy Greenspan has a love of Halloween that rivals that of Glenn Danzig. Greenspan loves Halloween so much, in fact, that he's encouraging people to rock costumes at every show on their forthcoming North American tour, which will run through most of October and some of November (hitting Soundlab on Tuesday, November 3). The group promises CDs and T-shirts as rewards for the best costumes.

Greenspan said, "Part of being a young Jewish kid to me was directing all of your excitement that should've been for Christmas towards Halloween. I was obsessed with Halloween as a kid, I waited for it impatiently, lamented it when it was over. All of my childhood obsessions with science fiction, horror stories, weird movies and strange music all seemed to converge at Halloween. I was particularly mesmerized by Halloween specials like Disney's 'The Skeleton Dance' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', and a television show produced in Hamilton [Ontario] called 'The Hilarious House of Frightenstein'. Even my indoctrination into dance music came from older gothy friends of mine who seemed to see a direct continuation from the spooky sounds of Throbbing Gristle and Skinny Puppy to early 90s Detroit techno."

He added, "When it came about that we would be touring around the release of our single called 'Bits and Pieces' during October, all sorts of Halloween fantasies started churning up in my mind. So although we couldn't quite afford full on GWAR style theatrics, we are hoping that people come to the shows in a Halloween kinda mindset (and attire), and help us ring in Samhain all month long."

About that single: "Bits and Pieces" will feature remixes from Modselektor and Prins Thomas and will be out in the coming months via Domino. There will also be a video directed by Stephanie Comilang.

Dirty Projectors Debut New Tune on Jimmy Fallon, Thoroughly Charm Questlove


By Rob Harvilla for the Village Voice's Sounds of the City blog:
The actual clip of our heroes and heroines debuting a new tune ("When the World Comes to an End") last night is here, but the real story last night might be their profound effect on Questlove, who pegged them for arty Brooklyn types immediately but nonetheless found himself completely smitten -- this backstage video is really incredibly sweet. Note the loose talk near the end about a possible future collaboration.
Dirty Projectors have performed at Soundlab 3 times: on 06/29/05 with Wind Up Bird and Nat Baldwin; on 04/18/06 with Why? (and "The Getty Address," an animated film by James Sumner); and on 08/27/07 with Yacht and Vampire Weekend.

Monday, September 28

This Week at Soundlab... Liturgy


Wed, Sept 30, 9pm--LITURGY, LULLDOZER and w ((aa)) ou w. By K. O'Day for Artvoice:
Another last-minute announcement this week comes from NYC’s Liturgy (not to be confused with Chicago’s death metal band of the same name), a newer black metal band that approaches their music as a modern religious critique and a countercultural, artistic statement. Though the band is comfortable enough with the “black metal” label—which can seem grim even to metal fans—songs like “Ecstatic Rite” off of their recently released debut Renihilation (20 Buck Spin) have more to do with euphoric experiences and transcendentalism than destruction and anihilation. So whatever “Renihilation” means, it’s more about a positive force, albeit a conflicted one. Perhaps the album’s cover art quote says it best: “(It) is supposed to represent transcendence, which for us means an ecstatic encounter with the present; a violent, apocalyptic, cosmic joy.” Sounds good.

Sunday, September 27

This Week at Soundlab... Japandroids


Monday, Sept 28, 9pm--JAPANDROIDS, with Mt St Helen's Vietnam Band. By K. O'Day for Artvoice:
This Vancouver duo works the power combo of guitar and drums, with a kind of teen-pop élan playing punk meets lo-fi noise rock that just about begs definition as much as it defies it. Maybe that’s why they named this year’s debut Post-Nothing—to head off critics who are a little too fond of that prefix when assigning genres. On the other hand (and to shamelessly quote Pitchfork yet again), ”what makes Post-Nothing such a blast is how Japandroids tend to embody the opposite sentiment of that song title.” Just goes to show some self-awareness and a sense of humor, right? Certainly those qualities are in evidence in both the band’s live shows and on the latest recording. The music is for the most part no-frills power pop, and lyrics address topics like girls, and music, and drinking, and girls. Guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prouse exhibit considerable talent simply and unpretentiously with ridiculously catchy hooks and the kind of energy a two-man band has got to bring in order to fill the room. Japandroids play on Monday (Sept. 28) along with the Seattle quintet, Mt St Helen’s Vietnam Band.

Friday, September 25

Dan Deacon Launches Totally Amazing Awesome Crazy Poster Contest


By Ryan Dombal for Pitchfork:
Dan Deacon is firing up the veggie bus once again this fall for a tour starting October 1. And to promote the trek, he's set up an insane poster contest. This isn't your typical "design a poster" contest. The poster, created by Post Typography, is actually already in place, and pictured above. What you have to do is name every single one of the 243 cartoon characters drawn on it. There goes my Friday night.

A big version of the poster is here, the answer form is here, and a numbered diagram of the poster is here. (Don't worry, they already identified "Super-Obsessed-Too-Big-Glasses-Wearing-Super-Dan-Fan," "Really Bad Drawing of Philip Glass," and "Skull on a Skateboard" for you.)

If you're the first person to send in an answer form with all the characters correctly identified to postercontest@whamcity.com, there is a prize. Actually, four prizes:

01 $500 cash
02 A portrait of you painted by Dan Deacon.
03 One of the last copies of Wham City Box Set #1.
05 A copy of each of Dan Deacon's first eight impossible-to-find releases: Silly Hat vs. Egale Hat, Meetlemice, Goose on the Loose, A Green Cobra Is Awesome vs. the Sun, Porky Pig, Twacky Cats, Live 2003, and Acorn Master.

Good luck, everybody!

Thursday, September 24

This Weekend at Soundlab... Adultnapper


Saturday, September 26, 9pm--ADULTNAPPER, UNA SLIM, MARK WEBB.
“Adultnapper” is a shadowy figure drawn from the dark reaches of Francis imagination. Harris, a philosphy phD drop‐out with punk rocker roots, suburban Las Vegas but has called Brooklyn home for the past 9 years in which he has gone from “hating dance music,” to establishing himself underground DJ/Producer with a unique sound and a global audience.

This Weekend at Soundlab... Communist Pary feat. Hot Pink Delorian


Fri, Sept 25, 11pm--COMMUNIST PARTY feat. HOT PINK DELORIAN.
Picture walking into a packed nightclub; the air is thick and smells of booze, the people are sweaty, the women are scantily clad and everyone has one hand in the air while the other gropes the person next to them. Two men are on stage surrounded by sexy hot pink female gogo dancers bouncing to the beat. One of them slams around like an enraged gorilla while controlling the computer and turntables unleashing massive kick drums pushing the low end of the sound system while ripping guitarlike synths tear through the high end as one of the men onstage MCs and controls the dripping sexed up mob destroying the dance floor. You have just experienced a Hot Pink Delorean performance.

Hot Pink Delorean was formed in October of 2007, when Chris Barlow, Matt Simmers & Jon Spero, members of the drum & bass group, Terravita, decided to make an electro tune with their good friend, TJ, otherwise known as Fantastadon. In one year, Hot Pink Delorean became an internet favorite, regularly being featured on the world’s hottest blogs.

http://www.myspace.com/thehotpinkdelorean

This Weekend at Sugar City... Zaireeka Listening Party


Friday, Sept 25, 8pm, Sugar City (19 Wadsworth)--ZAIREEKA LISTENING PARTY.
Experience the majestic psychedelic freakout that is the Flaming Lips’ legendary ZAIREEKA album as it was meant to be heard. For those who don’t know, ZAIREEKA is an experimental album by the Flaming Lips that consists of 4 separate CDs meant to be played simultaneously on four separate sound systems. The result is an album unlike any other ever recorded. Due to differences in timing (CD players do not play in perfect sync), sound sources, speaker arrangement, and different rooms, ZAIREEKA is never the same twice and can only be experienced in person. Orchestras crescendo behind you while swarms of insects whirl around on either side of you, until three synced-up drum solos emerge from six different directions, which then drift in and out of sync with each other. Be ready for some of the strangest and most unique music you’ve ever heard.

Due to the logistics of playing four CDs at once, ZAIREEKA is inherently a social listening experience that can only be heard properly by a group of people getting together and having fun. There will be Christmas lights, projections, and other surprises. So come hang out in Sugar City’s comfy space and freak out to the mindbending sounds of ZAIREEKA. The event is FREE, although as always Sugar City will be accepting donations for the generous use of their space and equipment. For best results, bring a boombox, a friend, a costume, a flashlight, and/or yer brain.

Also, stick around afterwards for a screening of Jeff Krulik’s hilarious cult documentary HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT (1986). One of the great rock movies of all time, HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT consists of 2 men, 1 video camera, and 20,000 tailgating Judas Priest fans who very much want you to know that punk sucks, Priest is the baddest, and metal will always rule.

Take a taste here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhRCVm-1r2k

Tuesday, September 22

Hackerspace Conference in Hamilton, ON 10/2-3


By James for Boingboing.net:
Four Hackerspaces in Ontario have joined forces (Hacklab.TO from Toronto, think|haus from Hamilton, diyode from Guelph, and Kwartzlab from Kitchener-Waterloo) to put on a mini hackerspace conference!

On Friday evening October 2nd and all day Saturday October 3rd, think|haus will host talks, how to sessions, and a projects gallery at which anyone who is interested can give a 20 minute talk on something related to creating projects, show people how to build/take apart/modify something, or show off their cool projects.

Some confirmed talks so far are: You Let Your Kid Do What? / A brief story about children and taking advantage of applied engineering skills in a positive way.

* Intro to Kite Aerial Photography / Come learn about the kinds of kites you can use to fly your camera, what you need to build your own kite, and how to modify your camera to take pictures automatically.

* RF Countersurveillance / A primer on monitoring police and security frequencies using a trunk-tracking scanner, and how it can assist in penetrating a targetMo< * OpenWRT Demo / Unboxing, flashing, and demonstrating OpenWRT on an Asus WL-520GU

* Intro to Electronics Hardware Design By Someone Who Isn't an Expert / It's not nearly as hard as you think it might be, I'll show you the steps and tools you may want to take, and warn you of some of the potential issues you may face.
Visit their wiki site here.

Tokyo Police Club Change Labels


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
Fresh-faced Canadian yelpers Tokyo Police Club released last year's Elephant Shell on the venerable label Saddle Creek, but the band now has a brand-new home. They've signed a U.S. deal with mom+pop, a label that two industry veterans founded last year. The band is currently at work on their second album, and it's penciled in for an early 2010 release.
Tokyo Police Club landed at Soundlab on 04/30/08.

New Hush Arbors Video - "The Devil Made You High"


By Brandon for Stereogum:
Hush Arbors, aka James Toth/Six Organs Of Admittance pal and occasional Current 93 player Keith Wood, is releasing Yankee Reality next month. It's his second full-length for Ecstatic Peace, but his extensive back catalog stretches from loner-psych CDR to the more recent fully banded material. The new tracks, dedicated to Link Wray, include some of his most propulsive work: Listening to closer "Devil Made You High" for the first time, I thought of Dinosaur. Reading the liner notes, turns out J Mascis co-produced the 10 songs, contributes drums to one, guitar to two, and mellotron to another. More generally, Wood's backed by a three-piece pack of multi-instrumentalists: They're the ones who tear things up on "Devil." Its chaotic video was directed by Wood with Lizzie Oswell: You gets lots of fuzzed-out grass, flowers, and trees, along with a subliminal bloody mouth.
Watch the video here. On 10/10/05, Hush Arbors shared the Soundlab stage with Six Organs of Admittance and Warmer Milks. On 07/01/06, J Mascis played drums with his stoner rock band Witch, on a bill at Soundlab that also included Blue Cheer and Chylde.

Monday, September 21

Gordon Beeferman Interview


From the Roulette blog:
Gordon Beeferman is a composer and pianist whose work spans opera, orchestral and chamber music, improvisation, and collaborations with dance and other arts. On Tuesday, September 22nd Gordon presents, at NYC's Roulette Space, “Music for an IMAGINARY BAND” – a (real) 7-piece group comprised of some of New York’s most uniquely creative musicians. The band explores the territory where classical ‘new-music,’ jazz and free improvisation intersect. Beeferman’s compositions range from the gnarly to the operatic, and are both incredibly detailed and very free.

ROULETTE: Do you consider yourself more a composer or a performer?
GORDON BEEFERMAN: I really consider myself a composer-performer. For me the two are really inseparable. I grew up playing piano and writing music at the piano, and I’ve written plenty of music for myself to perform. These days I spend more time composing than performing, but that’s not necessarily by my own design– there are a few reasons. One is the ecology of the local music scene. There aren’t very many places for me to perform — I’m a pianist and very few experimental music venues have proper pianos (Roulette is a major exception). I used to perform a lot on junky uprights, but I’ve gotten a bit weary of it. The other reason is that composing demands so much of me — in time and energy– that I don’t have as much opportunity to get out there as I’d like. When you’re composing you don’t have to worry about things like junky pianos or bad sound systems or scheduling rehearsals. It’s just you and the music. It’s kind of ideal. Unfortunately you can’t stay there though.

I think it’s a great time to be a composer-performer. There was a period not long ago when composers were expected to be specialists — up in the ivory tower. It makes a lot more sense to be down on the ground in the nitty-gritty of making your music happen. You get a better result and it’s a whole hell of a lot more fun. Recently I saw an LP in a used record store– Stravinsky conducting “Les Noces” with Barber, Foss, Copland and Sessions playing the four piano parts. To me, that’s the best thing ever. Composers performing their own music, and each other’s.
Read the rest of the interview here. Gordon Beeferman played Soundlab as part of the group Rara Avis (Gordon Beeferman/Seth Misterka/Jeff Arnal) on 03/19/04, with BWO (Brett Masteller/JT Rinker/ Leif Nicklas) opening.

Friday, September 18

This Weekend at Big Orbit... Extreme Center, by Millie Chen & Warren Quigley


Opening Reception: Saturday, September 19, 8-11pm--EXTREME CENTER, a 16-channel sound installation by MILLIE CHEN & WARREN QUIGLEY, at Big Orbit Gallery, 30d Essex Street.
Big Orbit Gallery is pleased to present Extreme Center, a 16-channel audio installation in the form of a maze by Ridgeway, Ontario based artists Millie Chen and Warren Quigley. This exhibition was constructed as result of Big Orbit Gallery's 2009 Site-specific Summer Residency.

As visitors negotiate the twisting passages of Extreme Center, they hear a cacophony of whispering, issued from speakers set into the passage walls. The sound of whispering ushers visitors along the passages but also engenders a range of reactions from unease, insecurity and paranoia to intimacy and the conspiratorial. Concentrating on individual speakers, the listener can then decipher text, sourced from a range of authors across vast geographies, epochs and political positions. The common denominator of all the text is the arguable categorization of "extreme."

Thursday, September 17

War Is Over: CAE Defense Fund's 4-Year Nightmare Ends with Donations to Civil & Human Rights Groups


After a widely watched four-year legal battle, the CAE Defense Fund was officially dissolved last week, with its remainder of unexpended funds donated in two substantial gifts to the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU).

The CAE Defense Fund was originally created as a mechanism to raise funds for legal bills incurred by Dr. Steven Kurtz and Dr. Robert Ferrell in what its members argued was a politically motivated attack by the Department of Justice--one which threatened the constitutional and fundamental rights not only of the two defendants, but also of everyone, due to legal precedents that would have been set by an unfavorable outcome. For more information about the case, please visit: http://caedefensefund.org

In response, thousands of people worldwide organized demonstrations and raised money for the two men's legal defense through fundraisers and a variety of other grassroots efforts. 2 fundraisers took place at Soundlab: On 06/14/04, The Evolutionary Girls Club presented the "Art is Activism Fundraiser, in support of the Critical Art Ensemble, Free Speech & Democracy." On 04/20/05 another benefit for the Critical Art Ensemble took place featuring DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Polmo Popo (DJ set), Mark Kloud and Cort Lippe/Jonathan Golove. The fund was also heavily supported by internationally renowned artists including Sol Lewitt, Richard Serra, Hans Haacke, Cindy Sherman, Carl Andre, Mike Kelley, Kiki Smith, Sam Durant, Mark Dion, Jeremy Deller, and many others, who donated work to an auction at Paula Cooper Gallery in April 2005. Other artists such as Chuck Close, Walid Raad, and Ed Ruscha made substantial direct cash contributions. In all, the Fund raised approximately $350,000.

Drs. Kurtz and Ferrell were indicted for mail and wire fraud in June of 2004. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the maximum sentence for those charges was increased from five years to twenty years in jail. After an arduous four-year-long struggle, in April of 2008 the indictment against Kurtz was finally dismissed by Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara as "insufficient on its face"--meaning that even if the actions alleged in the indictment (which the judge must accept as "fact") were true, they would not constitute a crime. Ferrell pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in October 2007 after recurring bouts of cancer and three strokes suffered during the course of the case prevented him from continuing the struggle.

When the case was dismissed instead of going to trial, approximately $108,930 remained in the fund. "Had the case gone to a jury trial, that amount wouldn't have been enough to cover Steve's legal bills through the trial, let alone appeals in the event of a guilty verdict" explained Edmund Cardoni, Executive Director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo NY, and the Fund's fiscal administrator. "When the case was finally thrown out, we were thrilled, but we were presented with a new problem. The committee was very conscious of our ethical responsibility to make sure this money would be used in a way that honored the original intent of the many people who gave money to the fund, and the artists who donated art works to the fundraising auction."

In keeping with that purpose--to defend our fundamental constitutional rights--the CAE Defense Fund and Trial Fund committees, in consultation with artists, curators, and others centrally involved in the fundraising efforts, voted to disburse the remaining funds by awarding 80 percent ($87,150) to the CCR, and 20 percent ($21,780) to the NYCLU.

This Weekend at Artspace... Ecologies of Decay: Dennis Maher, J-M Reed, Julian Montague


Friday, September 18, 6-10pm, Artspace, 1219 Main Street--ECOLOGIES OF DECAY: DENNIS MAHER, J-M REED, JULIAN MONTAGUE. Geoff Kelly for Artvoice writes:
One scours demolition sites and abandoned buildings for materials—anything, really, that is or was part of a human act of construction—and reassembles the pieces into sculpture. Another is a photographer fascinated by fire as an endgame in the process of urban decay, as the ultimate consumer of the American Dream. The third is artist as taxonomist, whose work identifies, describes, and elevates systems that surround us but hum just below the level of conscious observation. Three artists—Dennis Maher, J-M Reed, and Julian Montague, respectively—whose work is ultimately concerned with our environment, how we construct it, and how what we construct ultimately contains the seeds of its own decay. Their work appears together in a three-way show called Ecologies of Decay, which opens this Friday (Sep. 18) with a reception at Artspace’s immense gallery. The intention of the show, according to the artists, is to examine the changing nature of the city—the way it is shrinking, the way its built environment is evolving or decaying—and to provoke a discussion of the manner in which residents relate to urban blight and the degradation of Buffalo’s housing stock. Maher contributes assemblages harvested from deconstructed materials; Reed contributes his photographs of urban fires; and Montague contributes a study of the creatures that reside in and contribute to the decay of urban structures. Definitely one of the fall’s most fascinating shows.

Ecologies of Decay runs through October 19. Viewing hours are every Saturday from noon-4pm (during exhibitions only), and by appointment Wednesday-Friday from 10am-6pm.
Julian Montague was a frequent contributor to Murder the Word events and debuted his well-known shopping cart project, "The Nomadic Architecture of Buffalo NY" on 04/26/02 at the gallery at the original Soundlab.

Stream New Times New Viking Album In Its Entirely


Thanks to Matador Records, you can check out the whole of Born Again Revisited here. Times New Viking hit Soundlab on 07/02/08.

Jeremy Jay Releases New 7", Covers Buddy Holly (The Guy, Not the Weezer Song)


According to the K press release:
Bold guitars and chilly synths abound in Jeremy Jay’s “Breaking the Ice,” the latest release in K's International Pop Underground series of 7” 45rpm records. The single made its initial appearance on Jay’s springtime 2009 release, Slow Dance, and is partnered with an alternate version of “Winter Wonder” and a hushed visit to Buddy Holly’s chanson d’amour, “Words of Love.”

Said Buddy Holly cover can be heard here.

Deerhunter Take a Break


By Zach Baron for the Village Voice's Sound of the City:
Deerhunter's Bradford Cox announced from an ATP stage this past Saturday that the band is taking a hiatus. It is not the first time Deerhunter has taken a hiatus. The hiatus is to last "a long time." We'll see. Deerhunter hit Soundlab on 05/06/08.

New Order's Peter Hook Curates Hacienda Acid House Compilation


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club, the history of the legendary Manchester venue by former co-owner and New Order/Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, will be published October 5 by Simon & Schuster. That juicy-looking book will have something of a musical accompaniment, as Hook himself has curated a badass-looking compilation of vintage acid house.

The Hacienda Acid House Classics double-disc compilation is due October 5 from New State Music. Given that the Hacienda played a huge role in popularizing dance music in the UK and that Hook was there for all of it, he's as good a guy as any to put this thing together. And judging by its tracklist, this comp could be pretty definitive. In any case, reading Hook's stories of debauchery will probably be a whole lot more fun with Josh Wink's "Higher State of Consciousness (Tweakin Acid Funk Mix)" jamming in the background. You know, for context.
On 10/01/05, Peter Hook visited Soundlab to DJ a 2 hour set with special guests Mark Webb, Thee Donnie Shaft and Snackboy.

This Weekend at Nobody's... Ulysses' Crewmen


Friday, September 18, 8pm, Nobody's Art Center, 1121 Elmwood Ave--INSURGENT THEATER'S "ULYSSES' CREWMEN," a single scene play based on Homer's Odyssey, produced by DIY Theater troupe Insurgent Theater. Derek Masters for Artvoice writes:
Described as a “claustrophobic scene between two people, one of whom is bound and gagged,” this production questions and investigates our bureaucracy and those attempting to rebel against it. Written, produced and directed by Ben Turk, this complex original work is about the political kidnapping of a US Delegate. On this—its first—tour, Ulysses’ Crewmen will be performed in non-traditional spaces throughout the northeast and mid-west, including a stop next weekend (Sept. 24-25) at the G20 summit protest in Pittsburgh. Ben Turk is co-founder of the theater troupe and has written other full length plays such as Bring the War Home, and pushed boundaries with anarchist theatrical experiments like Play in a Day (a full length play written, constructed, rehearsed, and performed in a 24 hour period). Space is limited so get there early. For more info, preview and tour journal check out ulyssescrewmen.blogspot.com

Tuesday, September 15

2010 NYFA Fellowship Application for Sound/Music Now Available Online


Artists' Fellowships are $7,000 cash awards made to individual originating artists living and working in the state of New York for unrestricted use. Grants are awarded in 16 artistic disciplines, with applications accepted in eight categories each year. Since the awards began in 1985, NYFA has awarded over $22 million to over 3,688 artists. Peer review panels select approximately 100 Fellows each year, the goal being to buy recipients creative time to continue making work.

NYFA's online application is now open please go to www.nyfa.org/afp to apply.

The following categories will be reviewed during the 2009 - 2010 cycle:

Architecture/Environmental Structures; Choreography; Fiction; Music/Sound; Painting; Photography; Playwriting/Screenwriting; Video

Watch New Sunset Rubdown Video "Black Swan"


By Ryan Dombal for Pitchfork:
This is music video-as-peyote hellscape. It's like that dream you had after accidentally ODing on curry powder, dying, coming back to life, and then tripping over your own eyeballs. There are husky men dressed as skeletons who make stabbing motions. There is a nude woman stuck inside a triangle. There's an inter-space travel segment straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Hallucinate like you mean it by watching this Sunset Rubdown clip from director Throne Boogie (seriously).

Boris to Release 7" Series


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
There's no new Boris album this year, but the Japanese metal band is keeping busy. Over the next three months, their descriptively titled Japanese Heavy Rock Hits 7" series will drop three new slabs of distorted swagger on the world. Southern Lord, the band's label, has all the details on its website.

Starting with September, Boris will release one 7" per month. You can buy them individually or pre-order the whole series. If you pre-order all three, you'll also get a fourth 7", as well as an exclusive Boris T-shirt. So yeah, you're probably going to want to do that.
Boris played Soundlab in late fall, 2008.

Monday, September 14

This Week at Soundlab... Fruit Bats, Iran


Wed, September 16--FRUIT BATS with IRAN and KEVIN BARKER.
Fruit Bats started in the mid 1990’s as the four-track project of Eric D. Johnson. The name “Fruit Bats” was actually one of many cryptic monikers scrawled on the cassettes. Somehow that one stuck. Some of the other band names included “Holiday Inn,” and “Senseless Tripe.” For a number of years there were many warbling, feedback laden tapes, but no shows and no band.

In early 2000, Johnson joined the cast of characters that made up Califone and the whole Perishable Records family. It was this kinship with a bunch of like minded folks that coaxed the Fruit Bats from out of the bedroom and turned the shy lo-fi project into a real band.

Brian Deck produced the first record, Echolocation, which featured hi-fi versions of many of the old four-track tunes. The album sold poorly, but garnered rave reviews in places like Mojo and The Village Voice, the latter calling it “a mini-masterpiece of zoology rock.” Shows were offered, and a band was hastily put together. The lineup would remain ever shifting for the next eight years or so.

Tours and friendships with Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine and The Shins led Fruit Bats to sign with Sub Pop records in 2002. The first release on that label was Mouthfuls. The record went on to be a modest success, selling well and ending up on many of 2003’s “best of” lists.

2004 would see the release of a limited edition, vinyl only rarities compilation, Tragedy Plus Time Equals Fruit Bats, as well as a move to the west coast for Johnson. In 2005, Spelled in Bones was released. The album debuted at #4 on the college radio charts, and the band had its first network TV appearance on “Last Call with Carson Daly.”

Four years went by, in which time Johnson continued his career as a sideman, most notably with Vetiver and The Shins. Fruit Bats reassembled in late 2008. The next album, The Ruminant Band was recorded with Graeme Gibson at Clava in Chicago. Incidentally, Clava is the same studio where Echolocation had been recorded nine years before.

Besides the aforementioned “zoology rock,” the two best obscure genres the Fruit Bats have been linked to by the press are “bootgazer,” and “rustic pop.” Life is a sweet peach.

Fruit Bats are Eric D. Johnson, Christopher Sherman, Ron Lewis, Graeme Gibson and Sam Wagster.

Friday, September 11

Totally Weird: Win a YACHT New Era x FADER Hat


Yup, Buffalo-based hat producer New Era makes a YACHT cap, and Fader magazine is giving one away. Here's what they have to say about it:
Continuing their beloved themes of triangles and all things nautical, DFA home electronics-loving beat punks YACHT designed a poop deck-ready, crisp black and white cap with a giant anchor for our New Era hat series. We’ve got a number of these super limited hats to give away to oceanic dance lovers. All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite body of water and why, your hat size (they’re fitted!) and register with your real email so we know how to find you.
Yacht played Soundlab on 08/27/07 with Dirty Projectors and Vampire Weekend.

Thursday, September 10

This Weekend in Theater (Multi-Media)


This Friday, Sept 11, Downtown Buffalo celebrates the official start of the theater season with CURTAIN UP!, a city-wide evening of cocktails, theater and street parties marking the simultaneous opening of 14 different shows at 8pm on the same night. Here is the skinny on 3 companies with ties to Soundlab, but to see the full schedule check out: www.curtainupbuffalo.com
FREUD AND THE SANDMAN: based on a Tale By Hoffman and an adaptation by Sigmund Freud.
Devised and directed by Robert Waterhouse
September 10 – October 3
A new and uncanny entertainment, featuring puppets by Michele Costa and an award-winning score by Paul Kozlowski, about a nightmarish figure who steals the eyes of children….based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s Tale THE SANDMAN and an original version by Sigmund Freud.
Thurs., Fri., Sat. 8 pm. Tickets: $15 - $20
The New Phoenix Theatre On The Park, 95 Johnson Park, Buffalo, NY 14213
(716) 853-1334

TWILIGHT
by Anna Deavere Smith
September 3- 26
This passionate one-woman docu-drama tells the real story of the 1991 Los Angeles riots in the words of the people who actually lived it.
Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m. Donations accepted
Manny Fried Theatre, 255 Great Arrow Drive, Buffalo
Subversive Theatre, 380 Maryland Ave., Buffalo, NY14202
(716)408-0499

AREA by Dan Shanahan
September 10 – 27
AREA makes the smallest observations mythic through movement of people and objects in sculptured space by use of light, sound and images as two women confront their roles in a visceral crime scene.
Sept. 10 – 12; 18 & 20; 25 – 27 at 8 pm. Tickets: $12 - $20
Adam Mickiewicz Dramatic Circle, 612 Fillmore Ave., Buffalo, NY,
(716) 812-5733

This Weekend at Squeaky Wheel... Submerged Ghosts


Friday, Sept 11, 7-10pm--SUBMERGED GHOSTS (Opening Reception). 7:30pm - Artists Lecture w/ Megan Roberts & Raymond Ghirardo. 8:30pm - Outdoor Animation Festival (Encore Screening) in Adjacent Parking Lot.
On September 11th, 2009, Squeaky Wheel will celebrate the opening of their newly accumulated storefront exhibition space during Curtain Up! 2010 with a full-scale video/sound sculpture, "Submerged Ghosts", by award winning artists Megan Roberts & Raymond Ghirardo. After spending much time on the west coast during various art residencies, this Ithaca-based art duo created “Submerged Ghosts” with a fascination regarding ghost towns and ghost lands, specifically to address issues surrounding the disappeared towns of the west-- not just for the historical narratives, artifacts and physical evidence, but for the initial stories conjured that lead to other stories told. This site-specific video and sound sculpture will feature video projections which reflect off of multiple man-made ponds built into the space and casted salt molds of body parts that will slowly disintegrate throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Raymond Ghirardo, a sculptor and media artist, has worked collaboratively with Roberts in sculpture, installation, video, and performance for the last 30 years. They have received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Experimental Television Center. Their work has been widely exhibited and screened nationally and internationally, most recently in Finland, Anchorage and Seattle.

During the opening night, both artists will be present for an artist lecture at 7:30pm. The installation will be on view in our new ground level gallery space through Friday, Oct. 9th, 2009. Hours of gallery operation are Tues - Thurs. from 1-7pm, and Fri & Sat from 1-5pm. This event is co-sponsored by the Experimental Television Center and UB Dept. of Media Study.

This Weekend at Soundlab... Josh the Funky 1


Saturday, September 12, 10:30pm, $10. MUSIC IS ART AFTERPARTY feat. JOSH THE FUNKY 1, AMUNGUS, BRANDON CHASE, DJ K GUNZ
Hailing from Chicago, USA (the birthplace of House Music) Josh The Funky 1 wears the hat of DJ, producer, radio/podcast host and founder of the label Funktion Recordings. Having firmly etched his way into the fabric of Dance music culture and recently being hailed as “one to watch” in Mixmag magazine (UK), the world has begun taking notice of one of North Americas finest exports.

In a world where everyone wants to be a DJ, he has carved his niche by combining superb showmanship with turntabilist styled DJ skills. “For me Deejaying is about being an entertainer and a music selector, I never have to pretend like I’m feeling the music, it shows naturally and its infectious to others in the crowd.” A DJ now for over a decade, his travels across the world have developed his unique musical sense, easily genre hopping between styles, it’s not surprising to hear a blend of Big-room house, uplifting vocals, tech, progressive, tribal and funky jacking beats all side by side. “I look at my sets like cooking , you need different ingredients and spices together or it's a bland meal”

While some DJ’s are content simply playing record to record "The Funky 1" has become synonymous with using scratching, loops, acapellas, and effects, while playing on three CDJ decks, allowing for an unparalleled level of creativity

Lee Ranaldo Injures Wrist Playing Tennis, Sonic Youth Postpone Shows


By Michael Schmelling for Pitchfork:
If you're going stand onstage and reproduce the jagged riff-sprawl that Sonic Youth have spent decades perfecting, your wrists need to be in perfect working order. Unfortunately, guitarist Lee Ranaldo's wrists are not in perfect working order at the moment. As the band's website reports, Ranaldo fractured his wrist playing tennis (Andy Ranaldorick over here!), and the band have had to postpone some of the dates on their fall tour as a result.

Two of the band's shows have been straight-up canceled: September 26 in Santa Barbara and October 4 at the Austin City Limits festival. The band will make up the rest of those dates in January.
On 09/07/01, The Lee Ranaldo/William Hooker/Glenn Hall Trio played the Tralf as part of a co-production between Hallwalls and Soundlab/Big Orbit Gallery.

Download New DJ Spooky "Azadi" feat. Sussan Deyhim


According to Ryan Dombal for Pitchfork:
Thurston Moore, the Coup, the Jungle Brothers, and Rob Swift are just a few of the guests set to show up on eclectic producer DJ Spooky's sixth LP, The Secret Song, out October 6 on Thirsty Ear. Download a track from the record, called "Azadi", here.
The notes accompanying the track on Soundcloud.com explain further:
The term Azadi simply means "Freedom" in Farsi. The song "Azadi" is an interpretation of an ancient poem by the legendary poet Rumi, sung by renowned Iranian artist Sussan Deyhim, with prouduction by Dj Spooky from New York City. The collaboration is a single on Dj Spooky's next album "The Secret Song" that will be out in October, 2009. For a translation of the lyrics and more info about the project, head to: http://djspooky.com/art/the_secret_song.php
DJ Spooky played 2 seminal shows at Soundlab, the first being the inaugural event at the first space, on 4/05/02 with DJ Marcos/DJ Del Mar and Christ Sinister/God Morgen (live video by Chris Borkowski & Chris Coleman); the second being a Benefit for the Critical Art Ensemble, on 04/20/05, that also included Polmo Popo (DJ set), Mark Kloud and Cort Lippe/Jonathan Golove.

Aki Onda: "Cinemage"


Watch an exclusive excerpt from Aki Onda's Cinemage project (via The Wire online). Music by Loren Connors and Alan Licht. This is a short excerpt from "Lost City" (2007), and the images were shot in New York between 2001 and 2002. Video editing by Simpei Takeda.
"Cinemage refers to “images for cinema” and “homage to cinema.” In this project, I show still photo images by old-fashioned slide projections with music which is improvised by solo or duo guitarist(s) - Loren Connors, Alan Licht, Noël Akchoté, Jean-François Pauvros and Oren Ambarchi.

The visual images are snapshots taken from my daily life. I apply similar methods developed from my work as a composer, particularly the ongoing project Cassette Memories, in which I play field-recordings which I keep as a sound diary. By documenting fragments of my personal life, something is revealed in their accumulation. The meaning of the original events are stripped of their significance, exposing the architecture and essence of memory.

Although most photographers slice out a single moment in time to render an image as absolute, my photographic images consist of a moment within a movement. The sensibility is essentially filmic. The photos are more like moving images than stills and the style is similar to Chris Marker's La Jetée. Projected on a screen, the images have the eerie familiarity of an out-of-focus memory and evoke a feeling of déjà vu."--Aki Onda.
Aki Onda performed cassettes at Soundlab on 04/10/05 with John Long/Amber Long.

This Weekend at Soundlab... Keir Neuringer


Saturday, September 12, 9pm--Music Is Art Afterparty Pre-Party feat. KEIR NEURINGER and an ensemble that includes members of Buffalo experimental groups TENTET/OCTET and NOVELIST
For this performance, NYC-based artist, composer and musician Keir Neuringer will collaborate with Buffalo based art/improv groups Tentet/Octet and Novelist on a piece in which the assembled musicians perform a response to computer-generated scores projected on the wall behind the stage. Neuringer writes, "An audio waveform acts as the score and backdrop of Dodging Bullets. Performers are given a set of gestures they can choose from in order to interact with and complete the score, confronting it in real-time. As they perform, they ‘learn’ the piece and make choices based on how they perceive each of the other performers’ musical decisions. Dodging Bullets is what people do, figuratively and literally, all the time. I constructed a piece that reflects that, but allows the players to learn how to react over time, how to improvise a collective response that sounds, perhaps, less like dodging and more like firing back."

Born in New York in 1976, Keir Neuringer is a composer and performer (saxophone, voice, electronics). His output ranges from pulse-based electronic music, through free jazz and experimental electroacoustic improvisation, to music for theater and notated compositions for contemporary chamber ensembles. He also writes texts and makes videos and installations critical of the destructive behavior of the dominant culture. In 1999 he moved to Europe and spent ten years, during which time he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Adacemy of Music in Krakow, a master's degree graduate of The Hague's interdisciplinary ArtScience Institute, and curator of the audiovisual program at contemporary art platform. It was in these ten years that he cultivated a personal and intensely physical approach to solo saxophone performance that honors, builds upon, and eschews diverse music-making traditions. Keir Neuringer collaborates with a wide and undefined network of musicians, including Rafal Mazur, Ensemble Klang, Joel Ryan, DJ Sniff, Carlos Iturralde and Matt Bauder. He has performed and exhibited works in the US, Mexico, Israel, Turkey, South Africa and throughout Europe. He moved to New York in January 2009.

"...a cleverly programmed synthesis of sound and vision…we witnessed Neuringer move – very quickly at times – from absurdly long circular breathing tones to abrupt shifts in register and high and low skronks, leaving him looking thoroughly exhausted by the piece’s end."-classicalsource.com
http://keirneuringer.com/info.html http://www.myspace.com/tentetoctet http://www.myspace.com/novelist

Attend Alison S. M. Kobyahsi and Lewis Colburn Opening at Hallwalls


Friday, 9/11--ALISON S. M. KOBAYASHI and LEWIS COLBURN (Opening Reception 8-11pm). Artist Talks at 8pm in the Hallwalls Cinema. Exhibition on view 9/11-10/23/09. Gallery Hours Tues-Fri 11-6, Sat 11-2
Alison S. M. Kobayashi: Videos. Alison S. M. Kobayashi is a visual artist working in video, performance, installation and drawing. In her performance video works, Kobayashi explores issues of identity, crossing in/between gender, race, class and sexuality. Her work with found materials has resulted in two critically acclaimed videos, From Alex To Alex and Dan Carter. Finding a lost letter in the first case, and a discarded answering machine tape in the second, Kobayashi imagines identities for each person mentioned in the narrative, performing each role. For her exhibition at Hallwalls, Kobayashi will present these two works and a new Buffalo-based video, Period 4L, which is derived from a letter found on a Buffalo sidewalk in 2004 by Hallwalls Visual Arts Curator John Massier. Kobayashi's installation is curated by Media Arts Director Carolyn Tennant.

Lewis Colburn: Interregnum (1815-1969). Interregnum (1815-1969) takes the form of a large-scale, mixed media installation. The project consists of a life-size replica of Napoleon Bonaparte's carriage, crashed on a stage set of the Moon. Flanked by a backdrop depicting the lunar surface, the wrecked carriage is surrounded by a raised boardwalk from which viewers experience the piece. By drawing a line from Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo to the now-faded promise of the Apollo landings, the project asks us to question the significance we assign to these supposedly pivotal moments in history.

Wednesday, September 9

Matt and Kim "Daylight" Remix Featuring De La Soul


By Tom Breihan for Pitchfork:
You really have to hand it to Matt and Kim. A couple of years ago, they were exclusively playing Brooklyn loft spaces that smelled like spilled beer to an audience of 20 people. Now they've got one of history's greatest rap groups on a remix.

That's right: De La Soul have dropped verses on Matt and Kim's single "Daylight", which you might know from "Kimmel" or that Bacardi commercial. DJ Troublemaker's synth-heavy, De La-boosted reworking of the song will appear in EA Sports' game "NBA Live 2010", which will be in stores October 6.
Check it out here, and catch them live at Soundlab on Friday, October 2.

Monday, September 7

This Week at the Adam Mickiewicz Dramatic Circle (Multi-Media)


TORN SPACE THEATER Presents: AREA. September 10th, 11th & 12th / 18th & 20th / 25th, 26th & 27th @ 8:00pm. Adam Mickiewicz Dramatic Circle, 612 Fillmore Ave. $15 general admission, $12 students.
Synopsis: This production attempts to illustrate the nuances of a world lost to simulation. In AREA we follow a girl as she enters an environment of images that are at times alluring and sometimes shocking. Although she experiences moments of terror, she does not turn back, but remains in search of some unattainable end. As her journey continues, we watch as her past begins to fade, obscured by the lens of this new world. Then a crime is committed. There are questions that need answering. Her response could reconnect her with her ever-distant past or condemn her to a constant state of unfulfilled desire - in a region of indefinite boundary.

Written and Directed by Dan Shanahan. Featuring: Kara Gabrielle McKenney, Rebecca Globus, and Melissa Meola. Video and Production Design: Tim Stegner and Brian Milbrand. Sound Design: Justin Rowland. Set Design: Greg Faust. Still Photography: Lukia Costello

“Leaving a performance of “AREA” in Torn Space Theater is a lot like waking up after a fitful nightmare. You know you’ve just been through a vaguely terrifying experience, but the second you try to grasp at the memory of it, the essence of it slips into the ether of your subconscious.”

“The haunting nature of the production is augmented by video and sound design from Tim Stegner and Brian Milbrand, incorporating alternately violent and beautiful still photography by Lukia Costello.”--Colin Dabkowski, The Buffalo News
On 10/22 and 10/23/04, Torn Space used Soundlab to stage a variation on their original production Muriel Vanderbilt Goes Walking, written and directed by Dan Shanahan.

This Week at Soundlab... Free Energy


Thursday, September 10--FREE ENERGY with WORRYWORT (ex Besnyo). From Artvoice:
With a roster that includes Hercules and Love Affair, Hot Chip and Yacht, DFA Records pretty much owns the hipster dance genre it created in the early 2000s with seminal releases by the likes of the Rapture and label founder James Murphy’s group, LCD Soundystem. Trending toward a sound reminiscent of late ‘70s and early ‘80s punk-funk, DFA tends to release rock music you can dance to, and dance music you can rock to. In the case of their newest act—Minneapolis rockers Free Energy—the emphasis is clearly not on dancing, which is surprising considering LCD Soundsystem’s Murphy and Pat Mahoney not only produced the record but filled in on bass and drums respectively. Making summery power-pop evocative of ‘70s rockers like Cheap Trick or Steve Miller, Free Energy will likely confuse those looking for a party—unless it’s of a more laid back sort. As Pitchfork put it, Free Energy makes “Perfect mood music for a night that looses itself in the afterglow of the inevitable busting of the moontower kegger, leaving everyone a little high, a little bored, and completely enraptured with the endless possibility of youth.” Opening for them next Thursday (Sept. 10) is the new Buffalo group Worrywort, featuring ex members of Besnyo.

Friday, September 4

Catching Up With Marina Rosenfeld


In addition to a variety of upcoming appearances, installation projects and live performances, art-turntablist/sound artist Marina Rosenfeld has 2 albums in the works. Due this fall are: Plastic Materials (2009, Room40); and Sour Mash (vinyl)/ Sour Mash (CD), dual-function recording and 'DJ tools' by Marina Rosenfeld and George Lewis (2009, Innova). For those seeking a broader survey of her past work, Ubuweb.com will soon post a full archive of rare and unrelased performances, collaborations, video and audio, dating from 1998 to the present.

Marina Rosenfeld performed a solo turntable set at Big Orbit Gallery on 11/16/01. She returned to Buffalo to play the old Soundlab as part of a DJ trio organized by Christian Marclay (who could not make it), that also included DJ Olive and Toshio Kajiwara.

Thursday, September 3

This Weekend at Soundlab... Shock & Awe


Saturday, September 5, 11pm--SHOCK & AWE.
Headbands are so last season, even Ms. Waldorf has graduated to ciggies & condoms. Get your denim on & perfect your Courtney Love costume because SAT. SEPT 5th we're all dropping out.

This Weekend at Soundlab... Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber


Friday, September 4, 9pm, $8-$10--BURNT SUGAR THE ARKESTRA CHAMBER

Founded by conductor, producer, musician and Village Voice icon Greg Tate, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber is a sprawling band of musicians whose prodigious chops cover a wide swath of the experimental soul-jazz-hip hop spectrum. Anchored by Jason DiMatteo (acoustic bass) and Jared Michael Nickerson (electric bass), the live version of the group can feature as many as 22 players at any one time.
Our manifesto: Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber was originally conceived in 1999 as a forum for the New York area improvisational musician to compose, record and perform material which reflects the breadth and depth of American diasparan music in the 21st century. The intent of the Arkestra Chamber, through the deployment of Butch Morris’s conduction system, is to make every performance a fresh interpretation of its constituent parts.

Rather than limit ourselves to the straight jackets that the commercial recording industry uses to market contemporary Black Music, Burnt Sugar freely moves amongst many styles, eras and genres to devise its own exciting hybrids. These hybrids are based on a solid foundation of various musical traditions and the use of cutting-edge music technology. In this sense the group mission honors its deepest inspirations, the first post-modernists of American music – Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Parliament Funkadelic and The Art Ensemble of Chicago.

As with any venture of this ambitious nature, audience development must come in many forms – live performance, magazine and newspaper profiles, and most importantly, cutting-edge recordings, which seem to generate the former two. Because of the necessity to build the TruGroid brand; Burnt Sugar, and its collective, must continually generate new product highlighting the Arkestra Chamber’s continual metamorphosis integrating rhythm and blues vocal extrapolations, rock and roll guitar brio, free jazz horn explorations, 20th century string dissonance and up-to-the-minute electronic manipulations.

Music must be heard – especially music designed to push back current musical boundaries. Burnt Sugar and TruGroid fill a major vacuum in terms of reestablishing a presence and profile for American experimental music on the world stage that is conversant with the idioms and recording techniques of hip hop, drum and bass, jazz and alternative rock. In today’s musical context there are few American bands like the Arkestra Chamber that are innovative on stage and in the recording studio.

Tuesday, September 1

Dirty Projectors Perform "Cannibal Resource" on Letterman


OK performance on Letterman 8/31/08. Dirty Projectors have performed at Soundlab 3 times: on 06/29/05 with Wind Up Bird and Nat Baldwin; on 04/18/06 with Why? (and "The Getty Address," an animated film by James Sumner); and on 08/27/07 with Yacht and Vampire Weekend.

WHY? and Themselves Team Up for New Song: "Canada"


By Tyler Grisham for Pitchfork:
Themselves, the duo of Doseone and Jel, have teamed up with WHY?, whose main man Yoni Wolf was a member of seminal Anticon group cLOUDDEAD with Doseone, to bring us the song "Canada".

"Canada" was recorded for a possible compilation that hasn't been released; the vibe recalls WHY?'s Alopecia, as do lyrics like "You're showing your pinkest parts in my absence". Both Themselves and WHY? have new albums on the way later this year: CrownsDown and Eskimo Snow, respectively.

Stream and/or download "Canada" here.
Why? performed at Soundlab on 04/18/06 with Dirty Projectors.

In Praise Of Jason Forrest's "War Photographer" Video, Unjustly Excluded from Pitchfork's "Top 50 Videos of the 2000s"


By Rob Harvilla for The Village Voice's Sounds of the City blog:
No quarrel with this list overall -- hell, I love "Pork & Beans" as much as the next dude, and probably way more so, to my possible detriment. But operating under the assumption that everyone who reads the headline immediately thinks of their personal favorite music video, eagerly awaits its placement on the list, and gets offended when it ain't there at all, this whimsically deranged gumbo of pirates, cock-rock guitar, Voltron, and marching bands is my jam. I tear up a little sometimes at the brass-heavy grand finale, for reasons I will make no attempt to explain.

"War Photographer" is from his manic 2005 macho-disco opus Shamelessly Exciting, a fine gym record if you're trying to injure yourself. Lately Jason's moved on to making badass iPhone apps.
Jason Forrest hit Soundlab twice, first on 03/29/06 and again on 10/20/06.
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