a life less ordinary

kitty composition, originally uploaded by third uncle.

islands - return to the sea
LISTEN/jogging gorgeous summer

i need to find a way to make a modest living without having to wake up early five days a week. i need to work for myself. despite the best efforts of my elementary school teachers, i do not work well with others. that's not completely true. i work well with like minded people. so, i'll wake up early as long as i get to work with awesome people. only four days a week, though. which is still the bigger half of a seven day week. isn't that how the french do it? or has sarkozy americanized the work force?

this post is a suggestion box. please feel free to drop one in.

all this dissatisfaction at work is making me all the more excited for my trip to new york next week. looking forward to seeing good friends, drinking till 4 in the morning, roasting a pig, going to the david byrne exhibit, uniqlo shopping spree, sweating in the heat and humdity, feeling a proper warm summer night, and just walking around a loved city, taking it all in.

once in a lifetime

baby boy, originally uploaded by third uncle.

i hold tremendous admiration for david byrne. right now he has, what looks to be, an incredible sound installation in nyc called "playing the building" open through the summer. the piece basically turns a space and structure, in this case the battery maritime building, into a musical instrument. an old gutted pump organ has been rebuilt w/ cables and hoses coming out the back that lead to the near and far reaches of the vast structure. the organ keys act as triggers, sending energy through the cables to vibrate sections of the building, like the steel beams that span across the ceiling; or to strike parts with a tiny anvil, like the radiator that sits over the shoulder of the player. other keys push compressed air through thin hoses that are fed into the old pipes to make beautiful flute like sounds. it's an amazing idea that encourages interaction with the art, deepens the character and presence of the building itself, and just looks and sounds super cool. i think i need to plan a trip to new york.

here's a video that pitchfork made w/ david byrne showcasing the building and installation. and if you haven't read his online journal, he writes about life and art, the fascinating and the mundane, with equal amounts thoughtfulness and intellect.

bo diddley 1928 - 2008

hey! bo diddley, originally uploaded by third uncle.

bo diddley - bo diddley
LISTEN/hey! bo diddley

maureen tucker - life in exile after abdication
LISTEN/bo diddley

the originator

clicks and cuts

closing time, originally uploaded by third uncle.

while reading an interview with collage artist extraordinaire, and sometime monday night drinking pal, alexis mackenzie, i was linked to these amazing electromagnetic sound recordings by christina kubisch. at times sounding like something off a mille plateaux comp, at others something more abstract; these are some of the most curious and hauntingly beautiful sound recordings i've ever heard. like tapping into the ghost in the machine. it's fascinating to think of all this sensory activity buzzing around us that is mostly left unheard. rhythmic blips and clicks keeping time between modulating waveforms; a vast symphony performed by the hidden mechanisms of our modern world.

i wanna go wild

life outside the front door, originally uploaded by third uncle.

dirty projectors - rise above
LISTEN/spray paint (the walls)
LISTEN/rise above
from - la blogotheque
WATCH/new new attitude/depression/spray paint (the walls)

i can't get the music of dirty projectors out of my head. it's been weeks now. i wake up with them, trudge through work with them, and rest my head to their songs winding endlessly through my minds ear. i sing their songs in the shower, because everything sounds good in the shower. but, dave longstreth's voice is inimitable. stylistically bringing bob dylan and beyonce together, filtered through a more (please excuse the phrase) punk sensibility. together with his nimble picking, and the beautiful harmonies that speak like angels to a troubled soul; this music made me remember that melody and song need not only be recycled, but can be reinvented.

singsweetbird mixtape no. four

cross bones style, originally uploaded by third uncle.

LISTEN/singsweetbirdmix4

a hawk and a hacksaw god bless the ottoman empire
the bug poison dart (south rakkas crew remix)
bjorn torske spelunker
ruth roman photo
chromatics running up that hill
the honeydrips fall from a height
kim ki o kapali kapali kapali
tenniscoats umbarepa!
dirty projectors rise above
radiohead nude (holy fuck remix)
colleen the happy sea
the breeders here no more

happiness is

le bonheur, originally uploaded by third uncle.

david bowie - lodger
LISTEN/fantastic voyage

the magnetic fields - distortion
LISTEN/three way

kiss me if there's no coffee.

you want a kiss or coffee?

everything.

you're lucky, i have both.