until hurricane season 2006

Sunday, February 26, 2006

More Mixtapes

I think I'll do several posts to document the more interesting items in my homebrew cassette collection.

I'll begin this installment with another simple Maxell XLII, 90 minutes this time, titled and devoted to "Live Dylan(Covers)mostly..."

Tape Detail 01
Tape Detail 02

With all the various sources, I did a fine job of mixing this one. It begins with the needle dropping on the Isle of Wight album and Jimi's introduction banter to Like a Rolling Stone. The Phil & Friends Watchtower fades in and out from whatever direction the jam was coming and going, the lovely analog recreation of Rage's Maggie's Farm set my speakers wobbling. You can tell its very much a "Jamband" mix, and it includes some smoking instrumental performances. Tangled Up In Blue becomes a maelstrom as Jerry delves into his solo, the band launching him ever higher with gospel chord changes.


The next cassette is the original I finally found of the copy of a copy I got from my roommate back at Tulane, before he was my roommate. Kenta was Spanish/Japanese, an architechture major, and a sophomore, I was a freshman when we became friends on Mo 7, our dorm. He took me to my first rave, in a parking garage downtown. I danced all night like an idiot and had the time of my life. So back to the tape. Nikki B was one of Kenta's friends. She was a good enough House DJ to spin in the lobby of the State Palace. The tape came to me from her, through Kenta, and Terry Mullan will always be my favorite DJ. This was my first House DJ mixtape, and I got it sometime in the fall of 1996. I started spinning about a year later, and this tape would become my DJ 101. Even though I started out spinning Jungle. Years later, I add this one to my cart at pureacidmixtapes.com and lo and behold, its that one Terry Mullan bootleg we've been going on about for years.

Tape Detail 17

Terry Mullan live @ equal 1.19.96
Penultimate Chicago House. I soon learned how to not dance like an idiot, and watched in awe as Disco Donny brought international talent to Canal St. for the next few years. I joined the massive that would become the Freebass era. And then it all ended, with the master stroke of making glowsticks illegal. That'll teach 'em.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Traps

I'm packing to move, as some of you may know, and I just realized a strange habit.

You know how you can prop a box open by having the corners of the lid-flaps touching ever so slightly? That works great until the least brushing upsets the balance, and the flaps fall in, a gravity trap I set for myself again and again. I have... at least five paper cuts from ornery corrugated. The technique does allow me to see the contents of the box and the spaces therein with which I may possibly be able to cram stuff in as I'm searching for said stuff to cram in, but I'm starting to think I should find a better way. Paper cuts + dry hands + constant handling and cramming of various objects = the need for several bandaids a day.

Don't you just love packing?

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Factoid

Just checked some site stats and found my Windows to Mac visitor ratio to be 5 to 3, and there are more people using Mac's than there are using Firefox. Since it was recently quoted in an online message board that 90 percent of the world's population is using Windows, it gives me pause, like a comma. Is this a strange anomaly, or is my stat-checker faulty? I'd bet on the latter, but ponder for yourself.

...and yes, I know that's a bullcrap stat on Windows users... 90 percent of the 'world's computer using population' might be a scooch closer to reality, but still likely inaccurate.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Jewels

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

LED Throwies

Because T-P'ing someone is just so 20th Century...




LED's, tape, button batteries and magnets. You throw them at metal objects and they glow. Paint your downtown, make garage doors across your entire neighborhood shine in your favorite team colors, tag and release taxi's, leave electronic trails to underground parties. Invented by Graffiti Research Lab, click the name for a video of Throwies in action. Instructions here.

Princess Superstar

Princess Superstar - My Machine

Remember the Deltron 3030 album with the Automator, Del and Kid Koala? This is the electro version with a superheroine. Instead of Del's cerebral flow, you get the Princess with her superstar fembot tip, like a clone of Madonna and that one bad but still really cool girl from your high school who was proud about being laid before her freshman year and you still have a secret crush on, spliced together and installed in a cyborg shell modeled after Barbie to take over the world at the end of the 30th century. Think Chicks on Speed's We Don't Play Guitars and Bladerunner and some dirty East Coast badass she-pimp lyricism from the P-Super.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Jawdropping

We've passed up Tron and now I'd say we're almost up to Minority Report. Watch this touchscreen demo.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Viva L'analogue!

Mixtape

When you're packing to move, as I am, you often run into many procrastinators. The most recent being a really great mixtape I put together in the mid 90's. It is a Maxell XLII, 110 minute cassette tape simply marked with a multicolor paint-pen bullseye, but I of course recognized it as the Epic Alternative Rock mixtape. I made it as my greatest hits of my collection, with an emphasis on the Grunge and Alternative, so-called college radio type tracks. With no furthur ado, I present it to you.

Side One

Jane's Addiction - Three Days
1990
sets the epic and alternative tone with its sultrily whispered intro

Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual



Radiohead - Anyone Can Play Guitar
1993
a strong rarity with an exuberant chorus, giving us a larger glimpse of the greatness to come

Radiohead - Pablo Honey


R.E.M. - Exhuming McCarthy
1987
Going back to the roots of alternative with this offbeat Athens rocker

R.E.M. - Document



Sonic Youth - Bull In The Heather
1994
alternative yes, but also a nine on the danceability scale, nice job noisemeisters

Sonic Youth - Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star


Pearl Jam - Rearviewmirror
1993
don't you love it when Eddie sings along with himself singing along with himself?

Pearl Jam - Vs.



U2 - The Fly
1991
this track is in the pocket, with the Edge ripping some velcro

U2 - Achtung Baby


Nirvana - Something In The Way
1991
slowing it down a bit

Nirvana - Nevermind


Red Hot Chili Peppers - Apache Rose Peacock
1991
funkmonster psycho sex set in nola

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik


Stone Temple Pilots - Vaseline
1994
Core laid the groundwork, but Purple secured the takeover with its vintage and grungy guitar sounds epitomizing the entire genre. those guys always had great guitars, and a hell of a front man

Stone Temple Pilots - Purple


Smashing Pumpkins - Soma
1991
this one picks up where Hummer trailed off and quickly drops into Billy's pre-emo rawking and guitar strangling

The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream



Side Two

Blind Melon - Leaf To A Tree
1992
one of my favorite bands. I always thought these guys were psychadelic southern rockers and pretty much repressed the whole bee girl thing.
"I drink from the faucet, from the porch I take a pee"

Blind Melon - Blind Melon


PJ Harvey - Sheela-Na-Gig
1992
a throbbing rocker from the original Ms. Grunge. this album stomps and lumbers like a brontosaurus on hallucinogens, with its hair sticking in its smeared lipstick

PJ Harvey - Dry


Dinosaur Jr - In A Jar
1987
another oldie on the mix. Mascis is the guitar god of noisome and painful ugly beauty

Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me


Pearl Jam - Black
1991
Pearl Jam's makeout song

Pearl Jam - Ten


Meat Puppets - Backwater
1994
another group who always had great guitars and a certain beautiful ugliness

Meat Puppets - Too High to Die


U2 - Mysterious Ways
1991
alternative club-banger with the Edge whipping up an syrupy iconic riff. I always thought the video for this song was really hot

U2 - Achtung Baby


Stone Temple Pilots - Adhesive
1996
a very mature and smartly produced album from STP and the most recent selection so far. I'm surprised this made it before Seven Caged Tigers, although this is the more epic of the two, probably the most epic of the entire catalog

Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop


Radiohead - Permanent Daylight
1994
I like the ending

Radiohead - My Iron Lung EP


The Lemonheads - Mallo Cup
1989
I met Evan in New Orleans once. He was an asshole, but I still like his music. another early offering from the northeast crew. Where's Juliana?

The Lemonheads - Lick


Nirvana - Serve The Servants
1993
I like the surf backbeat

Nirvana - In Utero


Pearl Jam - you know, the one that goes, "I walk the line, won't you help me in the night/right..." I think its from an xmas single


Liz Phair - Stratford-On-Guy
1993
what happened to her amazing ability to create awkward phrasings like "but once I really listened the noise just went away"

Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville


U2 - Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
1993
can you tell I loved this album?

U2 - Achtung Baby


and then wouldn't you know it, I put a quick jab of maniacal laughter at the end of side two, after several minutes of dead air. a secret, surprise track to scare my pants off just now, probably 10 years after I first recorded it. awesome!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Lisa by the Oodle

Boxwork

at Overstock.com

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Madonna vs. Gorillaz?

Madonna - American Life Gorillaz - Demon Days

Pink is the New Blog is reporting Madonna will team up with the Gorillaz to open the Grammys. Here's a video of the Gorillaz as they performed live last November at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Drawn explains how they pull it off using a Victorian technique.

Crooner in the Canine Milieu

Leroy is a real smoothie. Not only can he prepare dinner, with dessert, he knows about mood lighting and how dashing it is to play an original song for your lady-friend.