Small Room Season Two Episode Seventeen: More Power

Major Lazer (XLR8R) Interview

Just got back to work and came across this interview.



"This time around, XLR8R comes pon some dense lingo from Major Lazer, the playful persona of DJs Diplo and Switch. The two wax Jamaican about topics ranging from DJing New York to vending-machine jerk chicken to... burning hair with lazers at a show. Major Lazer’s debut full-length, Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do, is out now on Downtown." read interview in its entirety

last.fm / myspace / website

Wake Up of the Week: "It's Time to Ban an Arsenic Compound From Chicken Feed"

"Most people don't know that the chicken they eat is laced with arsenic. The ice water or coffee they enjoy with their chicken may also be infused with arsenic. If they live on or near a farm, the air they breathe may be infected with arsenic dust as well.

Why do our chicken, our water and our air contain arsenic? Because in the United States, most major poultry producers add an arsenic compound known as roxarsone to their chicken feed. Inorganic arsenic is a Class A carcinogen that has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and declines in brain function. Recent scientific findings show that most Americans are routinely exposed to between three and 11 times the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended safety limit.

The poultry industry has been using the feed additive roxarsone -- purportedly to fight parasites and increase growth in chickens -- since the Food and Drug Administration approved it in 1944. Turns out that the arsenic additive promotes the growth of blood vessels in chicken, which makes the meat appear pinker and more attractive in its plastic wrap at the grocery store, but does little else." read the entire article by Douglas Gansler in the Washington Post...

We decided to have a "stay-cation" instead of going to the beach and so far it's been amazing.

Slept In
Bob Marley
3 Floors Up
Brunch on Balcony
Small Breeze
Portuguese Sweet Bread
Apples + Grapes
Black Coffee + Pound of Sugar
Wife Massages Neck

Audio Treat of the Week:The Music of David Lynch

David Lynch has always been one of my favorite filmmakers. One of the best parts of his films is the use of music. The best music is always made, or at least co-produced, by Lynch himself. This morning, I found a collection of music created specifically for David Lynch films. Below are quotes from David Lynch on music, followed by some great tracks written by and, in some cases, performed by him.

"I'm not a musician. I've been brought into the world of music by Angelo and by sound effects. But it's not like I have one thing on a little roll of tape that I just like to slug in every once in a while. The picture for the most part dictates the sound - music or sound effects - but sometimes in the reverse.

Actually, I think sound effects are music. You can have a feel for things, and you don't really know where it comes from. And I just have a love for sound effects as music. Now - thanks to Angelo - I'm sort of able to get into the world of music as well.

Sound is almost like a drug. It's so pure that when it goes in you ears, it instantly does something to you. And you can tell if that's working for you. (Building a mix is a process) action and reaction to sounds until you get something that fills the bill. It's action and reaction to this pure power.

The thing that I'm after is when the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. It's so beautifully abstract. The great thing is that it can't be picked to death and talked abut to death, because it's so fantastically complicated. It's a beautiful realm to experiment in. There's a magical thing that happens that elevates it to another place. And it can't happen until everything is there. It can jump in those last moments and it has to do with sound and picture working together in a certain way. It's such an abstract thing. It's just impossible to guarantee it happening." - David Lynch, from The Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Music Special Issue, 1990. read article in its entirety

Thanks to The City of Absurdity. It's a great site dedicated to the world of David Lynch.

Download:
David Lynch - Ghost of Love (Lynch, INLAND EMPIRE) mp3
Laurel Near - In Heaven (Lynch/Ivers, ERASERHEAD) mp3
Julee Cruise - Falling (Lynch/Badalamenti, TWIN PEAKS) mp3
David Lynch - Ants Song (Lynch, DUMBLAND) mp3
David Lynch - Rabbits Theme (Lynch, RABBITS) mp3

Let's see:

David Lynch and his hand discuss music in film.

Dan Deacon on "Drinking Out Of Cups"

Dan Deacon sets the record straight. Stupid internet. Stupid dresses.

"the video for 'drinking out of cups' (2003 meetle mice) seems to be going viral again, this time in the comedy world. sara silverman posted it on her twitter and 'opie and anthony' discussed it on their radio show. there is an amazing amount of disinformation and completely wrong information about this piece and i just want to clear some things up.

in 2002 i recorded myself watching television with the sound off doing a character that was meant to embody long island culture (where i grew up). i was NOT on acid when i made this piece. i have NEVER DONE ACID.

while i have no problem with psychedelics and think that they are important to human culture, i do want it to be known that i was not on any psychedelics or any drugs while making this piece. it was all stream of conscience, reacting to watching the tv, changing the channels, with the sound of, talking to it as if it were a person communicating back to me.

the track was on my 2003 album meetle mice. in 2005 or 2006 liam lynch came across the track as it was getting passed around on message boards and file sharing sites. he contacted me about making a video for it and about using my song 'big big big big big' as the theme song to his podcast show. i love liams work and of course said yes. the video has grown in popularity to the point where i get fan mail from soliders in iraq, blog about my celebrity comedians and its gotten 2.8 million views on youtube.

this is all great and whatever but i want people to know this video was created without drugs or acid. i'm glad that people like the video but lets just make this perfectly clear:

1. I WAS NOT ON ACID WHILE MAKING THIS VIDEO

2. I WAS NOT LOCKED IN THE CLOSED AND BEING RECORDED

3. I RECORDED THE TRACK 100% SOBER

4. I USED THE TRACK A SCHOOL PROJECT AS A SOLO VOICE/TAPE PIECE

5. I HAVE NEVER DONE ACID, AND LIKE JEFF LEWIS, NO I DON'T WANT ANY ACID, THANK YOU

6. YES, THAT IS ME TALKING AND I WROTE THE PIECE

7. ITS A CHARACTER SATIRIZING LONG ISLAND STEREOTYPES

8. THE SONG CAME OUT IN 2003

9. THE VIDEO CAME OUT IN 2006

its really insane to me that i have been the subject of two separate viral videos that exist simultaneously inside and outside of my music career. the internet is a strange place. i don't really know how i feel about this kind of stuff. while my work is weird and some what 'experimental' its not that weird or that 'experimental' where it should cause so much confusion and bewilderment among the mainstream audiences that it comes across. but i guess thats what happens when anything is out of the immediate ordinary.

anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. please stick up for me if you see on message boards or youtube comment sections or anywhere if you see it being stated that i am on acid while making that piece. i made the piece to be funny and a piece of absurd humor. it was edited down and crafted with care. while it seems like a mindless ramble, some time and effort went into making it. if that ads or distracts from the piece so be it, it wasn't meant to be a process piece and i never thought i'd be explaining it or that it would be seen by nearly 3 million people.

i guess i should just be glad so many people enjoy it. however, to have it be stated that i was on acid time and time again takes away from any of the creative process i put into the piece. i'm not sure i'm getting my point across but i am tired of writing this and need to get back to work on whartscape. love you all.

dan deacon"

website / hisspace

Let's see: (again)

Small Room Season Two Episode Sixteen: Use It For Good, Not Evil

(idiot comics) : Apartment

click image

BREAKING NEWS - STILL DEVELOPING...

Hello everyone
I'll be taking the next 9 days off.
We'll be in PA for the next 3 days and then VA Beach for the rest of the week

Happy Independence Day!

For the first time in eight years, it's okay to be an American.

Download America, Fuck Yeah! from Team America: World Police.
Available for one day only.

XLR8R TV Ep 116:Telepathe: Curve-Learnin' and Fang-Bearin'

XLR8R TV Ep 116: Telepathe: Curve-Learnin' and Fang-Bearin' from XLR8RTV on Vimeo.

"Melissa Livaudais and Busy Gangnes of Telepathe ponder the dust gathering on their guitars and drums once they mastered Reason and Logic, and wax lovingly about Culture Club. Plus they confront their critics—this means you, Pitchfork!!—all while scarfing down veggie burritos." - XLR8R

previous EH post

I would like to throw out a quick shout-out to Telepathe for being super awesome and letting me photograph them @ their last show in DC. They put on such an amazing show (even though the sound guy was being a complete dickhead). If they come to your area, you should definitely go and see them.

Audio Treat of the Week: Iron Claw

To read my weekly posts, one might think the only new music that comes my way is over 30 years old. This is usually true but it's because there is so much awesome stuff out there that inspired, in some small way, most of the music of today that I like. You hear about a new band, and therefore hear about an old one. It all just keeps landing in my lap. This week's band is Scotland's Iron Claw. Little is written online about this band. Even their page on allmusic.com is small and has no information, really. Thanks to Joey for dropping a burned compilation of them in my mailbox. After hearing it, I knew why it just couldn't wait. Below is what little information I could gather, as well as the entire compilation of Iron Claw (1970-1973).

From the TUFF ROCK blog: "Hailing from the town of Dumfries in South West Scotland, the origins of the band Iron Claw started in the summer of 1969. Founding member Alex Wilson, who was then aged 21, and was at the time assisting in the management of another local band, as well as recording music as a hobby.

Alex knew the best young guitarist and drummer in the area who were still uninvolved with any other bands, and on August 13th 1969, Jimmy Ronnie (15) (guitar) joined, followed by Ian McDougall (15) (drums) on August 23rd 1969. Finding a vocalist proved more difficult, and Alex had to handle vocals as well as bass during the early rehearsals and for the first three public appearances! Playing cover versions at first to 'tighten up', songs by the likes of Johnny Winter, Free, Taste, 10 Years After, Blind Faith, Keef Hartley Band, and Black Cat Bones gave an indication of the type of blues based material that the band were developing. Finding a name at this point was also a problem, and their first public appearance on October 3rd 1969 was under the name 'NAJ', which continued until mid November. Then another 'revelation' occurred on November 16th 1969. While Alex was recording a local band at Dumfries Youth Club, Black Sabbath played a set and amazed everybody who was lucky enough to be there that night. As well as pointing the way to a heavier type of music, in the audience that night was a local musician who agreed to join as vocalist for the impending Claw, Mike Waller (17)."

theirspace

Download:
Iron Claw compilation 1970-1973 .rar
Note: Files must be extracted after download. Download expires on July 7, 2009.

After writing this post, today, I found another link to download Iron Claw. It's a self-titled album with a lot of the same tracks. The mastering on this download is better, and you can get it HERE. Rather than change my original post, I thought I'd offer a second option.

Thanks again, Tuff Rock! That's a really great blog. Check it out.

Small Room Season Two Episode Fifteen: We're Supposed To Laugh