HACKNEYED

Conversations on AIM and my Facebook statuses have led me to the conclusion that everyone is all about the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.

From Wikipedia:

The Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, which first aired in 1987, is a week-long series of feature television programs dedicated to facts on sharks. Shark Week is held annually, normally running in July or August.

In the NBC sitcom 30 Rock Tracy Jordan encourages Kenneth to “Live every week like it’s Shark Week.”

On the animated TV series The Simpsons, Homer was about to leave Maggie under the supervision of “Grandma Shark Week.”

News comedian Stephen Colbert featured a small segment on The Colbert Report in which he found that sand (especially people being trapped in their own sand holes) has been responsible for more fatalities in the United States than shark attacks, prompting him to suggest the Discovery Channel hold an annual Sand Week.

Been listening to the C86 compilation quite a bit as of late. For the unfamiliar:

C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine New Musical Express (NME) in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from independent labels of the time. As a phrase, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a musical genre best remembered for its devotion to Byrdsy guitars and fey melodies even though other musical styles were represented on the tape. Inspired by the DIY ideals of punk, it evolved into one of the most derided UK music genres in the last thirty years.

Ex-NME staffer Andrew Collins summed up C86 by dubbing it “the most indie thing to have ever existed.” Bob Stanley; a Melody Maker journalist in the late 1980s and band member of Saint Etienne similarly claimed in a 2006 interview that C86 represented the: “beginning of indie music…It’s hard to remember how underground guitar music and fanzines were in the mid 80s; DIY ethics and any residual punk attitudes were in isolated pockets around the country and the C86 comp and gigs brought them together in an explosion of new groups.”

Tracklist:
Side One

1. Primal Scream / Velocity Girl
2. The Mighty Lemon Drops / Happy Head
3. The Soup Dragons / Pleasantly Surprised
4. The Wolfhounds / Feeling So Strange Again
5. The Bodines / Therese
6. Mighty Mighty / Law
7. Stump / Buffalo
8. Bogshed / Run to the Temple
9. A Witness / Sharps And Sticks
10. The Pastels / Breaking Lines
11. The Age of Chance / From Now On This Will Be Your God

Side Two

1. Shop Assistants / It’s Up To You
2. Close Lobsters / Firestation Towers
3. Miaow / Sport Most Royal
4. Half Man Half Buiscuit / I Hate Nerys Hughes
5. The Servants / Transparent
6. The MacKenzies / Big Jim(there’s No Pubs In Heaven)
7. Big Flame / New Way(Quick Wash And Brush Up…)
8. We’ve Got Fuzzbox… / Console Me
9. McCarthy / Celestial City
10. The Shrubs / Bullfighter Blues
11. The Wedding Present / This Boy Can Wait

You can download the album here. A muxtape of the first side is available here.

In lieu of the upcoming Common Ground Festival in Lansing, I did interviews and wrote features on Dweezil Zappa and the Zombies.

Zappa:

Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times once wrote that “Frank Zappa’s catalogue is so diverse and complex, any musician capable of performing the music has every right to do it.” Dweezil Zappa, the late musician’s son, feels the same way. He also feels that he makes the cut.

Since 2006, he has been touring as Zappa Plays Zappa, a tribute to his father’s vast musical catalogue, which mixed rock with jazz and classical with often biting satirical lyrics that commented on everything from Scientology to freedom of speech, spanning more than 30 years and somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 studio and live albums.

The Zombies:

Forty years after the band posthumously released the acclaimed album Odessey and Oracle, the Zombies are still at it. The band kicked off a tour earlier this month, playing Zombies classics, hits from keyboardist Rod Argent’s band ARGENT, lead singer Colin Blunstone’s solo material and new songs, including “I Do Believe” and “Any Other Way.”

Both pieces, as well as a full schedule of the fest, can be found here.

The Zombies - The Way I Feel Inside

I got this from Kevin Fanning:

You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You have:
1. One weapon.
2. One song blasting on the speakers.
3. One famous person to fight alongside you.

Weapon can be real or fictional; you may assume endless ammo if applicable. Person can be real or fictional.

Answers:

1. Any sort of high-caliber, automatic whatever that reloads by me simply walking over the ammo (which is strewn about) would do just nicely.

2. Death Rides a Horse by Russian Circles. It would be intense, and, if timed right, way awesome.

3. Seems like Bruce Campbell is well-qualified in this arena.

The Physical Value of Sound - Pieces By Yuri Suzuki
“Sound Chaser looks like a little toy train that rides on record rails. You can align and connect each chipped pieces of second-hand records one to another and compose a new track that the train will play.” (tags: art music)

Penguin Design Award
The winners and shortlist for the 2008 Penguin Design Award. They had submissions from over forty colleges. (tags: design)

Blue Flash: Homemade Roller Coaster | Offbeat Earth
John Ivers made his own roller coaster, complete with 360 degree loop. (tags: design)

Forget the New York Times
Google should buy the AP. (tags: business)

The Paper Version of the Web
“People have been sketching user interfaces since the birth of the web (possibly even before) but the sketches usually stay locked away… but some folks have been thoughtful/narcissistic enough to upload photos of their UI sketches.” (tags: design)

Recently posted at http://twitter.com/hackney:

Listened to Scott Baio’s albums. Despite some strong titles (”What Was in That Kiss?”), I can’t get into it, not even on some camp level.

I just read at benandalice.com that “there are more semicolons in the New York Review of Books personals than balls in a gay bar.”

Going to the Andy Warhol exhibit today, Phil’s wedding tomorrow, then I’m off to see the old man for his special day Sunday.

Contemplating putting “ability to control the weather” under “skills” on my résumé.

I’ve recently seen four of the five movies that were nominated for Best Picture. I think the powers that be pick the nominations at random.

Just a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Life is like a wiener. Sometimes it’s hard.

@detroitpistons: It’s OK, I still love you.

Late last night/early this morning, a bum in a free RetroDuck t-shirt asked me for a few bucks for beer. Bums, always wanting more.

I’m supposed to call my mom in a little bit about Andy Warhol, Netflix, an album I purchased for her and something else that I can’t recall.

Contemplating making a documentary about Insane Clown Posse and their fans.

Tax Plans
A money graph showing the differences between the plans of Barack Obama and John McCain. (tags: politics)

Why Does My Voice Sound Different?
Answer: science! (tags: science)

Religious Zealots or Rappers
Who has the worst rep for homophobia? Take this quiz. (tags: music)

Lit 101 Class in Three Lines or Less
ISHMAEL: I’m existential.
AHAB: Really? Try vengeance.
ISHMAEL: I dig this dynamic. Can we drag it out for 600 pages? (tags: humor)

Do Black Muslims in America Identify as Sunni or Shiite?
Third choice: none of the above. (tags: politics)

Olympic Start Gun Gives Inside Runners Edge
“Runners in lane eight got off the mark on average about 150 milliseconds after runners in lane one, Dapena found. A time delay of that magnitude translates to about a metre’s difference at the finish line.” (tags: science sports)

A Two-Part Rule for Naming Your Startup
Use two words: one that describes what it does and one that evokes a characteristic or feeling. (tags: business)

The Wikipedia entry on Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock is a comedic goldmine, particularly the section on his career:

As a child, Tracy was a castmember on the Nickelodeon show Ray Ray’s Mystery Garage. He lived with his single mother in 1979 and was discovered after doing stand-up comedy at the Apollo Theater in 1984. Tracy claims to have no memory of this, but it was allegedly listed on wikipedia. (This fact was made self-referentially in the episode “The Head and The Hair”) Tracy Jordan believes he is a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and slave Sally Hemings. However, this is based on information given to him by Dr. Spaceman.

Tracy has starred in 14 movies including:

• Who Dat Ninja?, where he plays an African-American ninja. (Portrayal of a non-Asian ninja might be a reference to Beverly Hills Ninja) Early episodes show the spelling in the poster found in Tracy’s dressing room as being ‘Who Dat Ninga.’
• Black Cop/White Cop (“One does the duty; the other gets the booty!”), in which he plays a Black cop who disguises himself as a White cop. (Reference to White Chicks)
• Black Cavemen (“So simple, a Black Caveman can do it!”), in which he plays a Black Caveman who, along with his friends, tries to fit into a society which is slow to accept them. (Reference to Geico Cavemen)
• Honky Grandma be Trippin’, in which he portrays a Black man who disguises himself as an overweight elderly White woman. (Reference to Big Momma’s House)
• President Homeboy, in which he plays a Black president. (a reference to Head of State)
• Fat Bitch (“She’s off the leash!”), in which he turns into a dog. Don Geiss wanted a sequel made, despite the fact that Coco (Fat Bitch) died at the end.
• Samurai I Am Awry, spent nine months in Japan filming this movie.

He was also in a Western in which his entire role was done without leaving his car. His current project in development is called Jefferson, where he plays Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings and King George III. Tracy put together a truly abysmal short trailer for his prospective film that Don Geiss watched and said was horrifyingly bad. It is mentioned to come out in Christmas 2008

He also tends to play multiple roles in his films, much like actors Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy. According to Jack Donaghy, Tracy’s movie career has taken a downturn because of enemies he has made in the industry.

Tracy did a Christmas album in 1998 and is a big fan of Pat Benatar. In addition to his acting career, he writes a column in Ebony Magazine called “Musings”. He owns several houses and later got into debt because he didn’t make the payments on them. Tracy owes Quincy Jones $75,000.

When Jack Donaghy is made the new Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming at NBC, he forces Liz Lemon, the head writer of The Girlie Show, to hire Tracy as the show’s new star. When Tracy joins the cast, the show is re-named TGS with Tracy Jordan.

He also once wrote a novelty song entitled “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah”, which he recorded for Geffen Records. The lyrics include “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, spooky, scary! Boys becoming men, men becoming wolves!” His attorney Harvey Lemmings (who Liz is not sure actually exists) helped him record the song by teaching him Jewish religious phrases to use in it.

As previously reported, the new Girl Talk album is all downloadable and shit, cheap as free at Illegal Art. Here are some details via Billboard:

At the $5-or-more level, buyers can choose to download the album in MP3 or FLAC format, the latter being exact copies of the original source files without compression. Also included is a single MP3 file featuring the music without track breaks.

At the $10-or-more level, consumers will get the above plus a physical CD when it becomes available this September. Fans can also choose to pay nothing for the music, which prompts a follow-up screen gauging the reason for doing so (”I may donate later,” “I can’t afford to pay,” “I don’t believe in paying for music,” etc.).

The pilfered include Roy Orbison, of Montreal, Prince, Butthole Surfers, Radiohead, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Cat Stevens, Jackson 5, Spank Rock, Bowie, Ice Cube, Wu-Tang and about a million other people. A list is being compiled at Wikipedia.

Last night, Frush kinda/sorta live blogged his listening of the record by way of sending me text after text:

6:30: Jay-Z spittin’ over “Paranoid Android.”

6:34: “Let Me Clear My Throat” over “Come On Eileen,” this guy is a fucking genius!

6:41: That “Lip Gloss” song over the thrash guitar breakdown from “One” by Metallica.

6:51: Salt-N-Pepa rapping over Nirvana.

6:51: Followed by Luda over Earth, Wind, & Fire.

The Associated Press to Set Guidelines for Using Its Articles in Blogs
The Associated Press said that it will, for the first time, attempt to define clear standards as to how much of its articles and broadcasts bloggers and Web sites can excerpt without infringing on The A.P.’s copyright. (tags: publications)

The Zero Guide
Spend less time touching women and more time converting your Guitar Hero controller into a musical instrument. (tags: technology music)

The Gerbil’s Revenge
An in-depth look at T-Pain’s bread and butter, the oft-used Auto-Tune. (tags: music)

How to Live With Just 100 Things
David Bruno is slowly whittling his list of possessions down to 100. (tags: articles)

When I was a wee lad, my stepbrother moved from the upstairs to the downstairs at my old man’s. Taking his old room, I did toss a few things he left behind, but kept one thing in tact: a poster of the Beastie Boys he had pulled from a magazine.

The photographer of said poster is Robert Matheu, who today, for better or worse, is a good friend of mine.

I just made his website. You should go look at it. There are photos of the Ramones, Iggy Pop (whom I saw last year with Bob), Keith Richards, Johnny Cash and the MC5, among others.

From his bio:

With over 100 album covers and 500 magazine covers to his credit worldwide, Robert Matheu’s work has appeared in a host of prestigious publications such as PLAYBOY, ROLLING STONE, CREEM, LIFE, TIME, MOJO, MELODY MAKER, HARPERS, VOGUE and THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, to name but only a few.

I am by no means a professional web designer, so I have done what little I am able to.

Despite my limited capabilities I am liking how the site is turning out. Bob has fired off a lot of great shots, and it is cool to see them on the web. The man’s taken his fair share of photographs, so there is still a lot of work to be done, but in the meantime you should stop by and see what we have put up.

The Gospel of Consumption
And the better future we left behind. (tags: business politics)

Jello Biafra and the Politics of Punk by Patrick Ambrose
Ex-Dead Kennedys vocalist talks Obama, political parties, and participatory democracy. (tags: music politics)

Memorare
“While AIDS is still a major killer around the world, it has become a manageable condition for most HIV-positive Americans. Timothy Ledwith bears witness to a time when the mortal threat was closer to home.” (tags: essays)

Foreign Policy: The List: Top Tourist Spots Americans Can’t Visit
Five destinations you can’t reach. (tags: politics travel)

Sedaris Bares Body and Soul in ‘Engulfed’ : NPR
Fresh Air interview with David Sedaris and excerpt from his new book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. (tags: essays storytelling)

Pau Gasol Googles ‘Lakers + Celtics + Rivalry’
“I guess these teams go way back,” Gasol told reporters. (tags: humor sports)

From Now On
Sez Jack Lessenberry: Forget post-9/11! Get ready for the post-Obama era. (tags: politics)

Cassette Badges
Wear your mixtape-lovin’ heart on your sleeve with these painstakingly-detailed cassette one-inch buttons. (tags: apparel)

A new Girl Talk album is on the way:

Girl Talk fans should keep their eyes on the Internet over the next few weeks, as it will be the only place to obtain his new album in the short term.

Girl Talk mainman Greg Gillis tells Billboard.com he will release “Feed the Animals,” a 55-minute album featuring more than 300 samples, in a pay-what-you want format a la Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” via his label Illegal Art’s Web site.

No release date set, but the article also says the album will be available in compact disc format in a few months.

While we are on the topic of Girl Talk, here is an anecdote the man recently posted about Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore on his MySpace page that I love for a variety of reasons:

One time two weekends ago, I met Thurston Moore. I told him that I sampled his music without asking for permission and sold it on a legitimately produced CD called Night Ripper. He had never heard of the album, but he said, “That’s cool, man.” When we stopped talking, he was all alone, and then he played air guitar for a few seconds and made these distorted guitar tones with his mouth.

A Thriller in Ten Chapters
The Observer’s literary editor Robert McCrum examines the changes in the publishing world in 10 short chapters. (tags: books)

Toy-A-Day
“This is a year-long project whereby I will be designing, constructing and posting a new paper toy from a basic template each day for one year.” (tags: art)

Buy One Week of the Guardian Prints
Static data visualization project of the stories printed in one week of the Guardian newspaper. (tags: publications design)

What Newspapers Still Don’t Understand About the Web
An article via Publishing 2.0. (tags: business design)

iPhone Features - 3G
Interesting information about the updated iPhone and how the protocols were integrated into the device. (tags: technology)

Got this in my inbox this morning from Kellen, AKA Black Dominoes, whose remix of Vampire Weekend I posted just over a week back:

Thanks for posting my song man. Here’s some new stuff.

I just finished the Yeasayer project, and since you posted my Vampire Weekend track I figured I’d let you have these. They’re lovely and minimal like the Kwassa Kwassa remix. No one’s posted the lovely “2080″ yet as it was made a few hours ago!

Remix of “2080″ below. Yes, he sent me more than that, no, you can’t have it.

Yeasayer- 2080 (Black Dominoes remix)