We Own This Town - Volume 88

posted July 6, 2017 #

Happy to be back in Nashville and continuing to compile some of the notable releases emerging from the city (and surrounding area). I will never tire of the notion that a town known for Country Music and Honky Tonks can also produce some of the finest 80's influenced Pop and fresh Kraut Rock. It's a diverse landscape and I'm happy to be shining a light on it with Volume 88.

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Steelism - Chartreuse
TRISTEN - Glass Jar
Los Colognes - Unspoken
NORM - Another Town
Kid Freud - Late (Lioness)
Woodsplitter - Song for Driving
Hammock - Things of Beauty Burn

Hate Plow

posted July 6, 2017 #

There's an ambiguity to the work of Zach Dougherty, aka Hate Plow, that I massively appreciate. This interview has him giving short responses to questions that many artists would gush over. His official site is just a gif emblazoned with the message "Not a real website." He isn't hiding but he isn't forthcoming either.

This leaves a lot of room for interpretation on his work - a mostly dystopian, hyper-realistic, view on the future and technology. Some of it is tongue-in-cheek mixing high art with VR, some of it is commentary on experiencing the world around us and some of it is a cheeseburger in a wind tunnel. Not to be too overly high brow about it but it manages to skirt that line between actual social commentary and a bit of a goof. It's funny but it also hits the nail on the head.

The archive goes back many years but it's worth the deep dive to discover some real gems.

Richie Brown

posted July 6, 2017 #

This Klutoo interview describes animator Richie Brown as the hypothetical son of Walt Disney, Robert Crumb and Andy Warhol. That's not too far off but leaving Ren & Stimpy's John K out of the mix would be an oversight.

Brown is responsible for one of my favorite GIFs and manages to create a slew of weirdo characters that skirt the line of sanity. There's tons of aliens, weird slime and enjoyable oddities throughout his site and an unbelievable amount of more to discover on his Instagram, Tumblr or his alternate portfolio.

posted July 5, 2017 #

Happy Birthday, Winamp https://t.co/vZZrOHjlSN

Won't Keep Me Up At Night

posted July 5, 2017 #

Vinyl pre-orders now available HERE: https://goo.gl/tQJAlp iTunes now available HERE: https://goo.gl/CvQPec Apple Music now available HERE: https://goo.gl/HNjuzq 1. Churchill 2. Biddeford 3. Won't Keep Me Up At Night 4. With Nothing But Our Last Words 5. Sunny Day Girls 6. Might Be Time

SETI vs METI

posted July 5, 2017 #

Find some time to read through this NYTimes Magazine piece, Greetings E.T. (Please Don't Murder Us) that runs through the history of SETI and it's more proactive, controversial, counterpart METI.

The gist of the article is that we've been listening to the Universe for a long time but only rarely do we intentionally broadcast messages out to the unknown (we unintentionally leak radio all the time) - a decision that should not come lightly. I was familiar with the Golden Record but was unaware of the Arecibo message - 168 seconds of noise that, when decoded, tries to communicate who we are, where we are and what kind of science we're working with. The information contained in each seems harmless enough but the mere fact that it establishes that we exist is the fundamental concern.

Some big thinkers of our time warn that this could be a dangerous undertaking; akin to being a Native American inviting Columbus to discover you. We may be better off alone on our pale blue dot but we're a curious species, often at our own detriment. It's a great, lengthy, read but I highly recommend it.

Factitious, The Fake News Game

posted July 5, 2017 #

I can only assume you've seen this floating around your social news feeds as of late but if you haven't taken time to check it out, please take a few moments to give Factitious a spin. It's a Tinder-style "game" where you swipe left for fake news, swipe right for real news. The idea here, of course, being that all news articles look the same when presented as headline and text, it's the content and the source that really matter. You know this. I'm not telling you anything new but I guarantee we all have family members that this would be fascinating to try out on.

posted July 5, 2017 #

The thing about birthdays is they are a sign of mortality. America has never felt more mortal. HBD, America.

Modobag - The World’s ONLY Motorized Luggage!

posted July 4, 2017 #

Idiocracy meets Wall-E?

posted July 1, 2017 #

Eid mubarak everyone https://t.co/KNW36HWX8w

Balloonfest

posted June 30, 2017 #

1.5 million balloons launched in Cleveland... with a vaguely tragic twist at the end

Friday Videos - June 30th, 2017

posted June 30, 2017 #

Take a moment to watch that latest Vimeo Net Neutrality video and then start a calm discussion with your family over the July 4th holiday about the power of corporations over our lives and what constitutes a right. Food? Water? Shelter? Internet? Have a hot dog.

I'm just kidding. Go shoot some fireworks and stare off into space, blankly.

Forever Spinning Kid on Cart - I hope this kid is alright because he's become a rather amusing meme for his hardships.
doitlooklikeimleftofbadnboujee - don't know what's happening but the editing is, aggravatingly, on point.
Weather Boi - funny but this kid will likely grow up to be a real prick.
Man on the Street: 1979 - fascinating bit of street interviews from almost 40 years ago. The answers they give are certainly on par with what people would answer today. The bit about "Information Society" and OD'ing on info... spot on.
LAN Party - 4 minute mini doc on LAN. The intensity is perfect.
Cloudmouth - Drunk on What - I see a good bit of local music videos from running WOTT and this one is particularly well done. All of the "party" scenes are filmed inside of a moving U-Haul; an experience we've all wished to have but never been brave enough to try.
Signs of Life - I've been luke warm on the previous tracks that have come out from the upcoming Everything Now album from Arcade Fire. But this one feels way more up my alley. The 80's influence is crisp.

posted June 29, 2017 #

the four genders https://t.co/Hxwh1Jkl2W

posted June 29, 2017 #

DJ STRANGE https://t.co/b6UKJH78mp

posted June 29, 2017 #

America elected a very shitty person to be President

The Net Neutrality Battle Continues

posted June 29, 2017 #

Recently, Vimeo put out a call to Join the Fight on Net Neutrality. More specifically, the call to arms is to Join the fight to protect our free, open, weird internet; a much more accurate appeal in my opinion. The blog post goes on to explain some ways to appeal to the FCC and spread the word about awareness on the issue.

The video is great. I'm hardly one to tow the company line when it comes to Vimeo but it is refreshing to see a big company standing their ground on this; particularly after seeing Netflix back down a bit and Tumblr get silenced. The ongoing battle for Net Neutrality is a long game, which easily wears people down. It's political fatigue that intentionally draws an issue out to ensure supporters get tired of having to rally behind the cause. Fortunately, something like this Vimeo piece can help boost some spirits and ensure that you're adding your voice to keep the dream alive a little longer.

posted June 29, 2017 #

If you go on a walk with me, buddy you better believe I'm gonna point out every dog and cat I see in my path.

posted June 29, 2017 #

I photoshopped a flesh-light into the background of this photo please RT so one day it accidentally get's used in a… https://t.co/KO9uiG5kdi

posted June 28, 2017 #

This is a super good tweetstorm! https://t.co/JP6YJ8eqKv

Making Your Own Electric Grid

posted June 28, 2017 #

It's not a new concept to put solar panels on your residence to create power outside of your local power provider. It's not a new concept that any overages in power that you create are fed back into the grid, often resulting in a small payout to you for being a contributor. However, this article on Making your own Electric Grid does bring something new to the table - the involvement of LO3, an energy company bringing solar power creation into the world of Apps. The article does a great job of explaining what their goals are and their website does a great job of re-explaining all of that in much more technical and business speak (not great).

I don't know what it is about this particular piece that grabbed me but the idea that solar power is finally starting to make its way into a more accessible realm is exciting. The involvement of apps and transparency into the process means that this kind of power share may actually start being commonplace.