Quimby the Mouse

Scrabble

Mathematical Origami

Robot

RiP: A Remix Manifesto

Just recently downloaded this documentary. The director Brett Gaylor took the cue from Radiohead and released the documentary under the pay-what-you-want model. The documentary prominently features the musical collagist Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig, and Cory Doctorow, with a short appearance from Negativland.

In RiP: A Remix Manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.

A participatory media experiment, from day one, Brett shares his raw footage at opensourcecinema.org, for anyone to remix. This movie-as-mash-up method allows these remixes to become an integral part of the film. With RiP: A Remix Manifesto, Gaylor and Girl Talk sound an urgent alarm and draw the lines of battle.

You can download RiP here.

Engagement Party - Knifeandfork Part 1

Just to reassure all of you that this blog has not turned into a music blog, here's an art-related post for you.

Engagement Party, the first Thursday night event presented by MOCA, is returning with the collective Knifeandfork. I'll be heading out to MOCA with some friends to meet up with the FS gang on Thursday night.

Knifeandfork, founded by Brian House and Sue Huang, presents three new works for Engagement Party, MOCA’s series of interventions by local artist collectives occurring the first Thursday of every month from 7–10pm at MOCA Grand Avenue. Events are free and open to the general public.

For the first event, artists-in-residence Knifeandfork present Emptiness is Form (Golf and Donuts).

The popular game of miniature golf is recast as a community social event as Knifeandfork installs a custom course that appropriates the museum's unique architecture, utilizing both interior and exterior spaces and following multiple paths through MOCA's Grand Avenue campus. Visitors are encouraged to team up and utilize balls outfitted with RFID tags to show off their skills. Other interactive surprises are also planned for the evening.

Voice interventions by Nathan Phillips
Donuts by Deanna Moody of Dee's Bakery and Donuts
DJ set by Wendy Yao
Blogging by Guthrie Lonergan
Cash bar

The Submarines & The Morning Benders @ The Troubadour

The Submarines

The Morning Benders

I'm not sure if this is too late for posting. Most of the things on here are so time sensitive. But this past Saturday night I went to the Troubadour with a friend to see The Submarines.

I'm including the videos by this guy instead of my own because his quality is much, much better. I've been following his concert videos for awhile now. When I saw him up front at the Troubadour I didn't make any connections. But when I watched his videos on YouTube, I recognized his compositions from the small LCD display on his digital camera I saw that night.

I know that sounds totally weird, but I don't think I go to a show anymore without scanning the crowd to see who's capturing the live performances. Then I check the next morning to see if any of those videos are up.

This was the third time Sandy and I have seen The Submarines together in the past, I think, eight to ten months. Really since they began touring to support their current album, Honeysuckle Weeks. We've been trying to get together twice before since December to go see them, but our plans never gelled.

This was also the second time we have seen The Morning Benders this past year.

A Band Called Quinn

I conducted this email interview with Louise Quinn from the Glasgow-based A Band Called Quinn some time back. I was busy with MOCA at the time, and I never posted the interview. I thought this would be an opportune time for it since their new album Sun Moon Stars is coming out March 16 on Tromolo Neon Tetra Records. The single "The Glimmer Song" is currently available for download.

Let's start at the beginning. How did the band come about?

Bal and myself met after he saw me busking in Glasgow and realized I was his Uni mate's wee sister (my brother had been bugging him for months to let me sing with his band!) We met Robert through a legendary Glasgow band called V-Twin that just about everyone has been in at some point. Steve was a stunt bass player for our previous player who never returned.

If you have to describe to someone what your music sounds like, how would you do it?

It's like putting your head in a tumble dryer at a Psychedelic Launderette.

The band is located in Glasgow. What are the advantages of being there? What's the music scene in Glasgow like?

Glasgow is amazing for all things art and music. From The Pastels to Franz Ferdinand, everyone knows each other and inspires each other. It's very cold and wet most of the time so there's a lot of time to kill and making music is a perfect way of doing that!

I guess almost as a follow up to the last question, what are some of your favorite bands in the scene? Well, perhaps even bands that you're listening to, ones not necessarily based in Glasgow. What's currently on your iTunes playlist these days?

Fleet Foxes; The Shins; TV on the radio; Regina Spector; The Young Fathers, Mia and Fiest.

How did you become involved with Kid Loco?

Bal was recording a record for The Pastels - Katrina sings "Love Me Sweet" on A Grand Love Story. We were huge Kid Loco fans so we got his address from them and sent him Inbetween Worlds and asked him to remix "Rising Star." Next thing he flew me over to Paris to sing on "Kill Your Darlings." Around that time Madonna was shopping for a French producer and expressed an interest in working with Kid Loco but he decided to come over to Glasgow and record Luss with us instead!

You have supported for the B-52s and Blondie. What were those experiences like?

Incredible; Blondie were the reason I wanted to be in a band and Debbie Harry is a total Goddess. It was amazing to see them perform all those classics live. I met Kate Pearson after we supported The B-52s; I think she has one of the best voices in the history of rock and I love her style. She said she thought we sounded great - made my life!

You have a new album slated for release soon. Can you maybe talk a little bit about it?

Sun Moon Stars is the culmination of the band's live experience. We started a night club in Glasgow called Club Tromolo with badgers playing jazz and burlesque mediums. We'd have a surreal cabaret followed by ourselves; another Glasgow band and then dance floor crowd pleasers til 3am. This album captures a bit of the atmosphere of the club; a bunch of people getting together to forget the everyday stuff or put it on ice and strut your stuff.

I guess this question is a bit of a personal interest, but any chances of ABCQ coming to perform Stateside? Perhaps doing some sort of American Invasion tour?

We'd love to perform Stateside; we have a lot of support there - who knows; maybe [this] year we'll arrive in town with Jazz Badger and The Govan Seer in tow....

Corrections: I previously said above that Sun Moon Stars will be out on Tromolo Records. But after this interview was posted, Louise emailed me to let me know that my original information was incorrect because of a change to a new label. The album will now be released on Neon Tetra Records. I have also linked to the video for "The Glimmer Song." The HD version can be found here.

Feed The Animals

Feed the Animals has been out for awhile. It's the current album by Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis). Since then people have been creating music video versions of the tracks. I thought I would post all of them here for your enjoyment. Feed the Animals is meant to be listened as one long track. There is a list of the samples here.

Play Your Part (Pt. 1)

Shut the Club Down

Still Here

What It's All About

Set It Off

No Pause

Like This

Give Me a Beat

Hands in the Air

In Step

Let Me See You

Here's the Thing

Don't Stop

Play Your Part (Pt. 2)