posted November 6, 2017 #
Recently,
Baldwin sent me the track "Danse a La Musique" by
The French Fries, which is really just a Sly and the Family Stone released under a pseudonym. It's great and it got me thinking about how many other releases are out there released under pseudonyms. I put together a quick list...
- Percy Thrillington - Paul McCartney re-recorded the entirely of RAM as an instrumental album, released it six years after he was done with it (1977) and didn't tell anyone about it until 1989. Read more.
- Ciccone Youth - The Whitey Album - members of Sonic Youth put together this ode to 1980's pop with samplers and sequencers as the foundational elements but it still sounds like Sonic Youth. Regardless, a worthwhile listen. Read more.
- The French Fries - Danse a La Musique - the aforementioned Sly and the Family Stone track released as a single in 1968 that's basically a remix of their own song. Read more.
- Camille (aka Prince) - a still unreleased album from 1987 that had Prince performing as a pitched-up vocal alter-ego, Camille. Read More.
- Dukes of the Stratosphear - a 60's psychedelic rock tribute from XTC, this was supposedly released as tongue-in-cheek but it (and the follow-up Psonic Psunspot) hold up on their own. Read more.
- Instruments of Science and Technology - a moniker from Richard Swift in which he released more kraut rock and electronic inspired music. His name is all over it so it barely counts on this list but if you weren't looking for it, you'd likely miss it. Read more.
I think there are plenty more examples. McCartney's
Country Ham's collaboration, DEVO's
The Wipeouters or Green Day's
The Network come to mind.
I'd love to hear others suggestions if you have them. I'm looking for albums or singles released under different monikers, not just live performances done under a different name with the same playlist.
posted November 6, 2017 #
I'm a big fan of the work of Josh Breeden, aka
St. Francis Elevator Ride, a Memphis designer and artist that has been making
consistently compelling work for years. It's often a collage of styles pulled from old publications, reworked into
new visions and it's
always interesting.
Breeden just opened a new show of fine art at the Channel to Channel gallery in Nashville called
Lush Interiors. The exhibition takes his work from the flat world of digital and print and gives it a lot of depth and
presence; even literally dripping into the floor. The pieces are still done in his signature style but die cut and layered to be even more compelling.
If you're around,
go see it. If not,
check it out online and watch the amusing
intro video.
posted November 6, 2017 #
There's a rather interesting vibe to the work of Hungarian designer
Fanny Papay. It's clearly pulling from 80's reference points - floppy disks, bold color palettes and that bizarre catalog style flatness to the photoshoots - but doesn't feel contrived, it feels
inspired by. There's certainly a unique voice being expressed here but, as someone that grew up in that decade, many of the visual cues here feel heavily familiar.
It's an impressive and amusing body of work with
burning roses,
cantaloupe album covers and
shredded faces as just the tip of the iceberg. Dive into the
portfolio or the
Instagram for the full effect. I find myself rather enjoying the
manual glitching.
HT
Caspar.
posted November 5, 2017 #
1968 pseudonym release from Sly and the Family Stone.
posted November 5, 2017 #
stories of artists whose physical "shortcomings" led to their signature work
posted November 4, 2017 #
Watching people return this dropped hat at the parade today was unreasonably thrilling https://t.co/oUocCtFo3i
posted November 4, 2017 #
It me https://t.co/XQAnJgfWEf
posted November 3, 2017 #
November! I've got plenty to say about plans for 2018 but it feels premature with two months left to go. Laying groundwork now for some good stuff ahead.
Here's some distractions, we all know we need them.
posted November 3, 2017 #
CREATION opens tomorrow at @cedokzakkastore in Tokyo. Enjoy a visit to Asakusa and join for the opening reception a… https://t.co/koGDsNUwRK
posted November 3, 2017 #
possibly future poop emoji variants lie ahead
posted November 2, 2017 #
Convinced if we put our minds to it we could just guess Trump's Twitter password.
posted November 2, 2017 #
Did you know Bandcamp offers
Subscriptions? For a recurring fee, you can get everything an artist releases. This really doesn't sound too appealing if your favorite band only releases an album every 3 years but for someone like
Makeup and Vanity Set, it's a killer pairing.
After releasing
a song everyday in October, it seemed appropriate that he could launch Subscriptions and have enough material to make it worthwhile. So,
he did. The fee is pretty small ($2.50/mo) and comes with a ton of exclusive releases, back catalog items and discounts on merch.
I think it's great business for him and will likely only inspire more creative output - win win all around.
posted November 2, 2017 #
Not only is the
name Logo Pizza an entertaining concept but the sites offerings are solid too. Dave from
MetaFizzy decided to challenge himself to design 50 logos in a range of styles but ambiguous in their application. Some may argue that a good brand mark is curated specifically for a brand but, let's be honest, this is a graphic design exercise with a fun name and some amusing results. Enjoy!
posted November 1, 2017 #
We appreciate the support and offers to help with the van robbery. I've been set on dealing with… https://t.co/7JM5VOcDpB
posted November 1, 2017 #
we asked 100 people 'what is the most unnecessary halloween costume in the history of the world?'
sexy Steve Harve… https://t.co/0SE0RGlTn5
posted November 1, 2017 #
I am sad to report that after a very successful West Coast run of tour dates,
Skyway Man was robbed. The tour van was parked outside of a very brightly lit area in the Mission District of San Francisco and someone just busted out the side glass and stole a laptop, passport, pedalboard and actual family heirlooms. It could have been worse but it's always an incredible bummer to hear about a touring artist getting beaten down like this. Making money as an artist is
very hard and it's even harder when you have to re-buy stuff like van windows, laptops and equipment.
James
insight on the ordeal is incredibly positive, for which I admire him beyond belief.
Please take a moment to browse the
Skyway Man store and consider buying some merch as a way to contribute to his funds. I promise this
Color Changing Monolith will be among the best $20 you've spent in a good long time.
