Jeremy Ferguson: Battle Tapes Recording

posted July 24, 2017 #

I've been following the work of Jeremy Ferguson, aka Battle Tapes Recording, for probably as long as he's been operating under that name. His Nashville based studio has produced records for the likes of Be Your Own Pet, PUJOL, and Apollo Up to name a few and he's worked the boards in other studios for Forget Cassettes and Lucy Lucy! All that is to say, he has a massive body of work from the past 20 years and it's phenomenal to see him featured in Tape-Op magazine. The interview they partake in with him does get a bit technical in terms of gear discussion but I love hearing people nerd out on something they're passionate about, even if the specifics are a little lost on me.

Give it a read through and then follow him, as you should do with any interesting person you encounter.

The Edgeless & Ever-shifting Gradient

posted July 24, 2017 #

If there is a more descriptive title for a site I'd love to know of it but, for now, I think The Edgeless & Ever-Shifting Gradient: An Encyclopaedic and Evolving Spectrum of Gradient Knowledge wins the prize. It is, as it says, an index of gradients; both naturally and unnaturally occurring. It covers a wide range of topics - Diffused Skies, Circumhorizontal arcs and even Gender Fluidity. A fascinating gathering of topics that kept me reading for far longer than I suspected I would.

via Daywreckers.

Richard Swift: Dumbing His Way In?

posted July 24, 2017 #

great interview in TapeOp

Moveable Type at NYT

posted July 24, 2017 #

Ryan recently clued me in to the public art installation of the New York Times lobby, Moveable Type. The piece, from Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin, went through a lot of iterations but eventually landed on this fascinating wall of screens displayed pertinent information parsed from recent articles in The Times.

This has been around for 9 years but I'd never encountered it before. This is pre-machine learning and before AI was a thing people said haphazardly. It's an impressive piece of art and a damn fine piece of technology as well.

posted July 22, 2017 #

Latest ep of #musicdigest w/ me and @subinev features listener calls from @yewknee and music picked by album art... https://t.co/crV8q94Yrw

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Planets

posted July 21, 2017 #

alarmingly simple video but it works

posted July 21, 2017 #

I laugh at anything man https://t.co/OWUrASmT97

Friday Videos - July 21st, 2017

posted July 21, 2017 #

The above gif is from the opening credits of Cry of the Banshee, animated by Terry Gilliam. Sometimes I just like to see Vincent Price's face crack open and have a bunch of ghouls fly out. That GIF does the trick.

Onwards to distractions and delights!

Alex Jones Rants as Indie Folk Song - I'm speechless to explain the dangerous stupidity of Alex Jones but at least SuperDeluxe made something funny of it.
Beer Can Ice Race - I am not above this sort of awkward absurdity.
If Inception Was Made in 2017 - wait for it. Waaaaaait for it.
Interstellar 2017 Update - more of the same but no less enjoyable.
FrameRate Wing Flap Sync - when your camera shutter speed and the flapping of a birds wings sync up perfectly (looped).
Toothbrush Nightmare - did you see this Kickstarter toothbrush? I followed Chad's lead and just paired their promo video with Makeup and Vanity Set to give it that proper dystopian vibe.
Conspiracy Cake - I chortled.
I smell like Beef - I don't care that this is from 2014 or that it was on Tosh.0. It's new to me and funny.

Need more entertainment? Check out the macabre but entertaining Dark Stock Photos or watch this factory lose its mind or enjoy this new Will Smith Aladdin rap.

A hacker stole $31M of Ether - how it happened, and what it means for Ethereum

posted July 21, 2017 #

a good read but damn, $31M

Birdcloud UK

posted July 21, 2017 #

As you may know, I'm a fan of Birdcloud; the country duo known for writing irreverent and satirical songs. I've posted about their controversy, effective unravellings of said controversy and even put out an album from them.

They recently announced a rather large European tour that will take them around the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Germany and Italy. I'm happy for their success and ability to see more of the planet through their bonkers performances. However, I wonder if their songs will translate to those audiences? For me, a song like Livin' with My Granny is not so much about growing up in Southern poverty as it is about poverty in general. Maybe the references to cornbread won't matter so much. Fortunately, most of their songs - i.e. Do What I Want or Here in Body - aren't regional specific as much as they are commentary on lamentable self-destructive behavior.

Godspeed Birdcloud!

posted July 21, 2017 #

who is she https://t.co/DeoMOvlAuO

posted July 21, 2017 #

Sections from the “Unsorted” folder, volume III https://t.co/mZB73aeWGd

What's your favorite non-guitar solo?

posted July 21, 2017 #

a worthwhile question

Emily Martin Winfield

posted July 21, 2017 #

Portland artist Emily Martin Winfield has a slew of paintings on her official site, along with an active blog of new works and process pieces and social media for updates and inspirations. I'm particularly intrigued by her pieces that feel like old world postcards, an exotic bird or kimono depicted simply but beautifully; like a relic from another place.

posted July 20, 2017 #

the a/c is out at the office so this was inevitable https://t.co/We3O0o5WTU

posted July 20, 2017 #

This killed me https://t.co/BDzD4Ln3cR

posted July 20, 2017 #

Here go meat https://t.co/5DxHUpLKZ7

posted July 20, 2017 #

Stumbled on this @jasminkaset show from a @Lightning100 show in 2016. Great to hear these Quiet Machine songs live:… https://t.co/TcadWSRqcQ

Reikai Doushi

posted July 20, 2017 #

I make no claims to be well-versed in the world of indie video games or even the sorted histories of well known games. So, reading through this Matt Hawkins piece on Mortal Kombat Clones as the Ultimate Form of Self Expression was a real eye-opener. I don't feel particularly compelled by Mortal Kombat but I do love a cheap knock-off, in just about any more.

Scrubbing through videos of Brief Karate Foolish and Dong Dong Never Die is a bizarre undertaking, while these knockoff Fatality compilations waiver between hilarious and a bit sad.

In the end, I was most pleased to learn about Reikai Doushi, a fighting game done with claymation puppets that pre-dates Mortal Kombat by a few years. It's certainly a bit awkward (and probably worse to play than to watch) but just knowing that it exists is a real treat. Learn more about it, and other clones, here.

Patrick Joust

posted July 20, 2017 #

I was trying to determine what style of photography Patrick Joust was the most adept at but I think he's just got a damn good eye for just about everything. He's a Baltimore resident (by way of California) capable of snooping out the surprising and the adorably weird and quiet places. It's a huge body of work spanning across his official site, Flickr, Tumblr and a rather clever Instagram but it's an enjoyable journey of work no matter where you start.