iPod Piece to Appear in Print

The iPod piece which I originally wrote and had remixed for public radio a while back will now be published by an academic journal shortly. Since in the original I had included various commercial music snippets, I decided to record an edited version of my original piece again as it would have taken too long and/or it would have been too tedious a process to get music clearance for it. After discussing it with friends of mine trained in (and about to get trained in IP) Law, it made good sense to create yet another version of a remix.

Much thought went to this new remix and, one sunny day as I was enjoying the weather riding my Ventura, the answer came to me. I decided to remix my original piece with a different kind of commercial music. The kind that is created by my own friends whose work I love and support.

The Literary Theory-informed piece on the 'text' of the iPod would have never happened without, to quote myself, "music being in the background" so it was only apropos that I include a kind of music that reflects the very creative process I was engaged in while working on it: one of direct collaboration. I was very happy to get clearance from my dear friends and am happy to post the recent version of this remix here. (see below)

The music used to remix this piece comes from the very talented Camille Nelson and her newly released album First Words as well as the West-based band Calico whom I greatly appreciate.

You may hear this new remix here.

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Fashion Is Danger

Too funny/relevant to ignore.
Bret and Jemaine channel Bowie, Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel, and much of the SynthPop scene.

It's a well-captured satire of the substance of fashion and the 'cool factor' of rock musicians.

Methinks my friend, Liam, of the West-based band Calico, will concur.

Also, to read a previous piece I wrote over a year ago on the 'text' of the scene and scensters, check this out. Tip of the hat to Liam for his continued discursive presence.

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Is Clothing Text?

As per some of your requests, here is my piece on Clothing as Text.
Feedback is welcome.
Enjoy.
Pictured here: One of my favorite artists while visiting in Europe.

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Yes, I'm a Calicoan!

No travel is complete sans new music. To me, at least. So, in true fashion, I have been surrounded by new sounds lately. Coldplay's new album was a welcome addition to my playlist for roadtripping purposes. Rilo Kiley and She Wants Revenge have been used much as well. However, recently I had been needing a kind of music that would allow me to adequately fill my creative time and space. I have been needing a kind of music that speaks to people who have a tendency to wake up most mornings enveloped by a mixture of recent losses and current gains. Try explaining this to a record store owner in Minneapolis when searching for new beats, but I digress.
Anyway.
I need a special kind of music to write to. It needs to be mellow yet daring, soulful yet sharp, well-paced yet moderate. In short, it needs to be a kind that begs for attention. Calico's new album Blackpyramid does exactly that.
I took a break from the family visit and travel today to write a little bit. I did so to Blackpyramid. I created a whole new page. To Blackpyramid. And that's how a new album passes my test: if it fuels my own creativity, it passes with flying colors.
Well, that, plus it fuels my own sense of pride in a job well done. My friend's. Liam B. Hesselbein is a member of Calico and that's reason enough for me to check anything out that he's helped create. Liam gets indie. And he gets 'cool.' Hence, whatever he makes I am inclined to enjoy. De gustibus non discutandum est. Period.
Now, how can I describe Blackpyramid?
Well, I'll try to use the same words I had circulating in my head when I first heard their tracks "Diamond" and "Hands are Sand." It's the kind of music that involves the senses in an unapologetic way. This is not the kind of music to listen to when attempting to fill the external noise in a cafe in a foreign land or when drowning the unbearable silence in familiar territories. No, this is a sound that begs for one's full attention. It's a sound that transports. It successfully seals one in a well-isolated space wherein introspection can be performed peacefully and no one will access your realm without permission.
Then, there is "Heaven." Even Beatrice would walk to its sound. I stand by this.
Much could be said about this album, for like their track "Teeth in the Fire" it evokes a sense of perpetual expression. And which member of the creative class would say 'no' to such an effect?
Dickens perhaps, but only if he had stopped getting paid by the word as the myth has it.
Blackpyramid delivers. Get it. It won't disappoint. It will inspire.
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