Wed - December 15, 2004
Rhythm Science by Paul D. Miller
I finished reading Rhythm Science by Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) today.
It's part of the MIT mediaworks pamphlet series.
It's fair to say right away that I'm a big fan of Paul D. Miller. I own 10+ CDs by his alter ego DJ Spooky, and have seen him perform both conventioal DJ sets and an avant-garde film remix. At the "Rebirth of a nation..." show I was able to hear him speak with a UofC prof and the audience about the film, which gave me some insight.
Rhythm Science is at once an autobiographical sketch, a meditation on the philosophical ramifications of turntablism and an appreciation for the wondrous complexities in the modern world. It is smart -- and in the spirit of turntablism tries to broaden our horizons by connecting disparate ideas/sounds/beats/vibes/sensations...
It's good food for thought. Be careful not to dismiss it as pseudo-intellectualism, because there's something real there. Beneath the textures on the surface is an appreciation of how agency can be wrested from the structures beneath.
It's fair to say right away that I'm a big fan of Paul D. Miller. I own 10+ CDs by his alter ego DJ Spooky, and have seen him perform both conventioal DJ sets and an avant-garde film remix. At the "Rebirth of a nation..." show I was able to hear him speak with a UofC prof and the audience about the film, which gave me some insight.
Rhythm Science is at once an autobiographical sketch, a meditation on the philosophical ramifications of turntablism and an appreciation for the wondrous complexities in the modern world. It is smart -- and in the spirit of turntablism tries to broaden our horizons by connecting disparate ideas/sounds/beats/vibes/sensations...
It's good food for thought. Be careful not to dismiss it as pseudo-intellectualism, because there's something real there. Beneath the textures on the surface is an appreciation of how agency can be wrested from the structures beneath.
Posted at 09:52 PM
Tue - December 14, 2004
C: A Reference Manual by Harbison & Steele
It's the rare technical book that gets read
cover to cover, but in preparation for a class that forced me to recall whatever
"C" programming I once knew, I ended up reading most of
C: A Reference
Manual by Harbison &
Steele
... to the point where I decided I might
as well read the remainder so that I could add it to the
list.
The other technical book I can recall reading cover to cover is the famous The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Ritchie, which has as much of a lyrical quality to it as the genre can muster. Harbison & Steele's book takes a very different approach to referencing the C programming language and is perhaps best suited as a companion to K&R.
Digression: I've read enough of Core Java 2 (Horstman & Cornell) to consider finishing it off and writing a review. The technical book I'm looking forward to finishing is Beazley's Python: Essential Reference which is written with a certain sleekness to it that makes it enjoyable to read.
The other technical book I can recall reading cover to cover is the famous The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Ritchie, which has as much of a lyrical quality to it as the genre can muster. Harbison & Steele's book takes a very different approach to referencing the C programming language and is perhaps best suited as a companion to K&R.
Digression: I've read enough of Core Java 2 (Horstman & Cornell) to consider finishing it off and writing a review. The technical book I'm looking forward to finishing is Beazley's Python: Essential Reference which is written with a certain sleekness to it that makes it enjoyable to read.
Posted at 08:37 PM
Sun - December 12, 2004
Never a City so Real by Alex Kotlowitz
Some 3 months after hearing Alex Kotlowitz read from "Never a City so
Real" I finally got around to sitting down and reading it. It's
good. You can't tell the story about a place without telling the stories of the
people who bring that place to real. Kotlowitz was approached to write a
"travel" book about Chicago, and instead gives us insight into the people who
aren't the usual "cause
celebre" but who give this place it's
character.
The
part of me that argues for spending some months writing when I'm between jobs
took alot out of the way that Kotlowitz writes about people. He balances their
faults and their gifts to give us a deep appreciation for their
lives.
After I work through the backlog on the reading list, I'm going to do a proper chicago unit.
--
Thanks to JF for lending me the book.
Also, here's the amazon link.
The
part of me that argues for spending some months writing when I'm between jobs
took alot out of the way that Kotlowitz writes about people. He balances their
faults and their gifts to give us a deep appreciation for their
lives.After I work through the backlog on the reading list, I'm going to do a proper chicago unit.
--
Thanks to JF for lending me the book.
Also, here's the amazon link.
Posted at 12:00 AM
Sat - December 11, 2004
Saul Williams @ Sonotheque 12/10/2004
I stopped by Sonotheque on friday night to
catch part of Saul Williams' DJ set. I was hoping that he'd some of his own
material, but it was simply a DJ set. Not too many surprises considering the
artist.
Sonotheque has a hipster cool thing going for it, and had the kind of crowd you'd expect at an IDM-esque event plus the usual friday night / weekend warriors. Pretty much exactly as advertised.
Sonotheque has a hipster cool thing going for it, and had the kind of crowd you'd expect at an IDM-esque event plus the usual friday night / weekend warriors. Pretty much exactly as advertised.
Posted at 06:38 PM
Wed - December 1, 2004
Last Night of the Earth Poems by Charles Bukowski
On the train ride home, I finished reading
"the Last Night of the Earth Poems" by Charles Bukowski.
I've never read a Bukowski collection before, and have to say that
he intrigues me. I picked "Last Night of..." because it includes "Dinosauria, We" which is a poem I really like
and one that was read in "Born Into This".
Every now and then while reading bukowski you'd think 'I can write this', and then later you'd realize that the only way you could write something like this is if you tried, and that the second you tried, it's lack of sincerity would be evident and sink it under the weight of it's own pretension.
This is the only thing I've read by Bukowski, but it's enough to make me want to try something else.
Every now and then while reading bukowski you'd think 'I can write this', and then later you'd realize that the only way you could write something like this is if you tried, and that the second you tried, it's lack of sincerity would be evident and sink it under the weight of it's own pretension.
This is the only thing I've read by Bukowski, but it's enough to make me want to try something else.
Posted at 08:15 PM
Thu - November 18, 2004
Rebirth of a Nation by DJ Spooky @ MCA Chicago 11/18/2004
KO and I caught
DJ Spooky's
sold-out
live remix of "Birth of A Nation"
(Rebirth of a
Nation) at the Museum of Contemporary Art
in Chicago tonight. Wow! I was so pleased by the performance. Descriptively,
I can't do justice to the
experience.
Here's the excerpt from the announcement: French literary theory meets Grandmaster Flash – Rolling Stone Every culture has mythmakers, storytellers who can capture the essence of today and push it into the future. Paul D. Miller, also known as DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, is a multitalented trickster of the imploding digital age whose mercurial mind crisscrosses cultures. Now he tackles one of the defining images of America – D. W. Griffith’s profoundly racist, controversial and prophetic 1915 film Birth of A Nation. Tracing the roots of America’s quick-cut, media-saturated popular culture, he remixes Griffith’s film, fragmenting and melding it with new footage on three screens set to DJ Spooky’s illbient score – creating a counter-narrative in which new stories can rise from the ashes.
Notes:
-Spooky mixed the audio and the video live
-He managed to resist the urge to upend the narrative structure
-His soundtrack mixed beat driven and ambient sounds. The blues of Robert Johnson formed the foundation for the set. The "soundscape" worked with the production of the film...
-The film mix had a wonderful amount of detail, and visual geometries that got one's mind spinning
- He resisted the urge to splice in overly "modern" images
- He was excellent in the post-show discussion (moderated by a UofC professor no less). It's a treat when you realize that a musician who's work you admire also happens to be intelligent and shares your politics.
--
My DJ Spooky "credentials": At present, I own 10 albums by DJ Spooky and was able to see him perform at the empty bottle earlier this year.
Here's the excerpt from the announcement: French literary theory meets Grandmaster Flash – Rolling Stone Every culture has mythmakers, storytellers who can capture the essence of today and push it into the future. Paul D. Miller, also known as DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, is a multitalented trickster of the imploding digital age whose mercurial mind crisscrosses cultures. Now he tackles one of the defining images of America – D. W. Griffith’s profoundly racist, controversial and prophetic 1915 film Birth of A Nation. Tracing the roots of America’s quick-cut, media-saturated popular culture, he remixes Griffith’s film, fragmenting and melding it with new footage on three screens set to DJ Spooky’s illbient score – creating a counter-narrative in which new stories can rise from the ashes.
Notes:
-Spooky mixed the audio and the video live
-He managed to resist the urge to upend the narrative structure
-His soundtrack mixed beat driven and ambient sounds. The blues of Robert Johnson formed the foundation for the set. The "soundscape" worked with the production of the film...
-The film mix had a wonderful amount of detail, and visual geometries that got one's mind spinning
- He resisted the urge to splice in overly "modern" images
- He was excellent in the post-show discussion (moderated by a UofC professor no less). It's a treat when you realize that a musician who's work you admire also happens to be intelligent and shares your politics.
--
My DJ Spooky "credentials": At present, I own 10 albums by DJ Spooky and was able to see him perform at the empty bottle earlier this year.
Posted at 11:59 PM
Sun - November 14, 2004
Ryan Adams/Jessse Malin @ the Riv, 11/12/2004
My sister and I caught a good concert at the
Riv on Friday night. Ryan Adams, a very talented musician & vocalist,
played a solid show. Moving between alt-country and good old fashioned Rock N
Roll Adams played material from a few albums (and a few pieces that were
"vintage"). We missed most of Malin's set, but got a chance to hear him some.
It's funny -- I like both of his albums, eventhough I intellectually understand
that empirically they are "alright" at best.
Random Notes: Malin hung around the merch table after the show for a little. Talking to people, signing stuff. Cool, but weird. Probably just eyeing the ladies. Must be new to the rock-star game.
I was the darkest person at the concert venue. It's plenty of responsibility being the sole representative of billions of persons of color at these kinds of events, but someone's got to do it.
--
My Ryan Adams // Jesse Malin "credentials": I own both of Malin's major record releases "TFAOSD" & "the Heat", and a few Ryan Adams albums "Love is Hell", "Rock N Roll", & "Gold". I started listening to both last year, and haven't listened to any of their older material. Adams' stuff is pretty good consistently. With Malin, it might take you awhile to get used to his voice but then he's alright. A few gems.
Random Notes: Malin hung around the merch table after the show for a little. Talking to people, signing stuff. Cool, but weird. Probably just eyeing the ladies. Must be new to the rock-star game.
I was the darkest person at the concert venue. It's plenty of responsibility being the sole representative of billions of persons of color at these kinds of events, but someone's got to do it.
--
My Ryan Adams // Jesse Malin "credentials": I own both of Malin's major record releases "TFAOSD" & "the Heat", and a few Ryan Adams albums "Love is Hell", "Rock N Roll", & "Gold". I started listening to both last year, and haven't listened to any of their older material. Adams' stuff is pretty good consistently. With Malin, it might take you awhile to get used to his voice but then he's alright. A few gems.
Posted at 09:55 PM
Sun - November 7, 2004
Lone Wolf & Cub Films
Over the weekend I watched three of the Lone
Wolf & Cub films from the
1970s.
I watched "White Heaven in Hell", "Baby Cart in Peril", and "Baby Cart to Hades" (1974) while procrastinating on more critical tasks.
Notes:
-Casting: Every now and then Itto Ogami looked more the part of the shogun's accountant than the Shogun's official executioner. Daigoro was perfectly cast. Just like I'd imagine he'd be from the comics.
-I like how the 70s were the 70s everywhere. Every now and then you'd get this wonderfully 70s funk guitar sound when the action was about to speed up.
-If I was more of a collector (and wealthier) I would make a point of going back and buying all the re-releases of the Lone Wolf & Cub comics. Growing up, they were some of my favorites.
- Retsudo Yagyu would occasionally seem like a James Bond villain. In the final movie "White Heaven in Hell" there is a ski-ing scene, where I half expected to see Roger Moore join the fray.
-The movies were a good time. The 3 I watched were the only ones that Netflix carried. Hopefully they'll get the other 3.
I watched "White Heaven in Hell", "Baby Cart in Peril", and "Baby Cart to Hades" (1974) while procrastinating on more critical tasks.
Notes:
-Casting: Every now and then Itto Ogami looked more the part of the shogun's accountant than the Shogun's official executioner. Daigoro was perfectly cast. Just like I'd imagine he'd be from the comics.
-I like how the 70s were the 70s everywhere. Every now and then you'd get this wonderfully 70s funk guitar sound when the action was about to speed up.
-If I was more of a collector (and wealthier) I would make a point of going back and buying all the re-releases of the Lone Wolf & Cub comics. Growing up, they were some of my favorites.
- Retsudo Yagyu would occasionally seem like a James Bond villain. In the final movie "White Heaven in Hell" there is a ski-ing scene, where I half expected to see Roger Moore join the fray.
-The movies were a good time. The 3 I watched were the only ones that Netflix carried. Hopefully they'll get the other 3.
Posted at 09:24 PM
Quick Links
Present Tense
Reading:
Gob's Grief
by Chris Adrian
Listening to:
"Bubblegum"
by The Mark Lanegan Band
Last Concert:
Saul Williams (DJ set)
12/11/2004 @ Sonotheque
Last Movie: (seen in a theater)
Moolaade
12/9/2004
New Album I'm looking forward to:
Gob's Grief
by Chris Adrian
Listening to:
"Bubblegum"
by The Mark Lanegan Band
Last Concert:
Saul Williams (DJ set)
12/11/2004 @ Sonotheque
Last Movie: (seen in a theater)
Moolaade
12/9/2004
New Album I'm looking forward to:
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Published On: Dec 15, 2004 10:54 PM
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Published On: Dec 15, 2004 10:54 PM