The first new song from brand new band Echolalia dropped today - "Odd Energy." Not to abuse the term but the band is a bit of a "supergroup" - consisting of Spencer Cullum, Andrew Combs, Dominic Billett, Jordan Lehning, Jason Lehning, Eli Beaird and Juan Solorzano; all heavy hitters in the Nashville music scene.
I did the vinyl and CD layout (Michael Gaughan did the incredible watercolor) and had the pleasure of hearing the entire record early. It's a fantastic collaborative effort across the board. You will enjoy.. promise!
Matyus ponders the question - are Gif's Art? With a capital A. His ponderance cites Duchamp and "found objects." It's not a lengthy artist's statement but it's worth considering. Scroll through the gallery of Gif's and enjoy them being presented in such a clean and classy way. I think I'd probably pay to see an exhibit like this in real life.
The IMG_0001 project is brilliantly simply - crawl YouTube for videos that use the default filename from the era of iPhones (2009 - 2012) that would send videos over to YouTube with a single button. In short, it's a massive repository of random videos from the nascent era of mobile video. Author Riley Walz says it much better than myself:
Between 2009 and 2012, iPhones had a built-in "Send to YouTube" button in the Photos app. Many of these uploads kept their default IMG_XXXX filenames, creating a time capsule of raw, unedited moments from random lives.
The project was inspired by a similar Ben Wallace project but Walz repository contains 5 million videos. Take it for a spin.
Random aside: this all reminds me of one of my favorite (now vanquished) sites on the web - foundphotos.net. Rest In Peace random photo archive.
"This is the world that you know; the world as it was at the end of the 20th century. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation that we call the Matrix." &emdash; Morpheus to Neo in The Matrix
I have to imagine that quote has inspired countless sci-fi enthusiasts, researchers and technologists. Actually, I don't have to imagine it because this research paper directly cites it. They go on to ask the question: How close are we to realizing the vision of The Matrix (1999), where AI crafts a fully immersive, interactive world, blurring the line between reality and illusion?
Then it goes into some details and examples about a new interactive, realtime, AI model that they've built that lets you steer an object through a limitless 3D space. They primarily use a car through familiar terrain but the examples further down the page get much more wild. I recommend making sure you scroll all the way down and watch them all. There's no interactive demo yet but you get the gist.
Clearly, here in 2024, we are nowhere near the reality shown in The Matrix (as far as I can tell) but the question the researchers pose does contain a phrase worth pondering a bit. We do not have "fully immersive, interactive worlds," but we do seem to be edging into examples that "blur the line between reality and illusion." It's all about escalation from there, no?
Rather enjoyed this antialiasing nerd out from Jonathan Hoefler. Who better to really dig into the subpixel differences between the same font on two different social platforms? Unsurprising, but no less impressive, to read through how he reached his conclusion on which option feels more natural to a user's eyes.
YouTube decided that I needed to see this video, "flying through fractals using a 90s camcorder. The channel host clearly has a love for "vintage" tech of the 90s and demonstrates a rather unique effect with a very specific camera with a very specific setting enabled with a very specific angle of shooting. It looks so unbelievable, I have a hard time believing it's real! It's that wild!
The goods kick in at 3:37 but I suggest watching up to that to get the background and insight on what is happening.
Sometimes Beaker is the perfect encapsulation of *all the things.* Truth be told, just about any Muppet losing their mind fits the bill. Hope you're having a good week, here's some distractions to slide you into the weekend.
FKA twigs - Drums of Death (choreography glitch) - do I know anything about FKA twigs? No. BUT you don't really need any context to appreciate this combination of choreography, office setting and Aphex Twin style flipping out.
Drive Share - remember the go90 streaming platform of original content brought to you by Verizon? Yea, me neither. But Paul Scheer and Rob Heubel made a series for it called Drive Share and it's pretty funny. All the episodes are here and there's a ton of cameos from names you like. I rather enjoyed this Jason Mantzoukas / Jessica St. Clair episode.
The Curious Case of the Blocked Window - watch this March 1972 BBC broadcast in full and then tell me if it's parody or entirely earnest. I honestly could go either way.
Voyager meets Frasier - in 1996 there was a TV special / documentary called Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond. It's mostly a clip show and talking heads exhalting the show (rightfully). But there's also a sketch about 30 minutes in featuring Captain Janeway with a rather surprising new crew. It's corny but also legitimately entertaining, especially if you grew up on both of these. No shame in enjoying this!
Stupid Cookie Sketch - still enjoying the absurdity of Montessori Boy, even if I'm lightyears behind by watching on YouTube instead of TikTok.
The Ross Sisters - Solid Potato Salad - this takes a full 1:30 to really start. Then it takes another full minute to reveal itself. Stick with it. Insanity awaits.
Been spending some time on the Ampwall Discord and found myself listening to Megafauna's original score for Nosferatu - entitled To The Land of Ghosts. It's intended to be played underneath the film but it works quite well as an atmospheric, somewhat creepy, soundtrack to your day. Excellent find.
I love a collage as much as the next person but I gotta give special accolades to fontanesi - an Italian artist doing a whole lot with a single slice. Two images with one division between them that makes for quite an immersive result. Is there post processing going on here? Maybe! I choose not to believe so and just enjoy the clever simplicity of collaging these images so perfectly.
I recently came across the indie game Odallus, a Metroidvania platformer that feels very much like a classic NES game. The trailer does a good job of showcasing the gameplay and aesthetic.
I haven't actually played it yet but I was really intrigued by this graphics breakdown from the author. It seems many fans were so smitten with the 8-bit style that he wanted to clarify how Odallus actually breaks the limitations of true NES art. This gets extremely far into the weeds discussing limited color palettes, sprite sizes, blends (and lackthereof), animations, aspect ratios and the whole lot.
I don't know the first thing about indie game development of this nature but I really enjoy and respect the understanding of the finer details - and when it's appropriate to break the rules. Great read and, probably, a great game!
"Guy sweating bullets because he's been asked to cut a pizza into four equal slices at a lunch with important business contacts he's never met before"
"Person standing in line at the security checkpoint of an airport"
"Person who foolishly ordered curry udon despite wearing white clothes"
"That one coworker who kindly fills the office humidifier with water ever morning"
I mistakenly did not post this back in October but this thread of Mundane Halloween costumes is incredibly entertaining. There are 30 tweets in the thread, so if you like the four above, you're in for a real (mundane) treat.
Who's ready for some fun? Or, at the very least, some momentary distraction? I certainly am! Not all of these are the bite sized absurdities you may be used to as a long time yewknee dot com reader (that's what TikTok is for) but I am confident you can turn your brain off for awhile here. Let's get to it...
Marbula One S5 GP4 - the qualifying rounds for some pretty gripping marble runs. Yes, that's right, marble runs. If you've never enjoyed the high paced thrills of marbles running down a track, strap in! And these are just the qualifying rounds! Go deeper.
Robert Smith's Funniest Moments - I think the new album from The Cure is phenomenal but I will never tire of seeing Robert Smith be a cheeky little cutie.
The Interrogation - speaking of TikTok, Montessori Boy posts many funny things buuuuut they aren't really also available on YouTube. Here's a good one and then you can make the leap.
MF Doom - Vomitspit - celebrating the 20 year anniversary of MM.. FOOD, the animation style on this video is fantastic.
The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet Was Finally Found - if you have dabbled in lost media at all, you've definitely heard of "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet" - a bootlegged recording that no one has been able to determine the source of for 17 years. It seems they've finally cracked it!
Lloyd Langford Standup - I watch a healthy amount of Taskmaster, any of the English speaking variety I devour. Langford was a competitor on the Australia version and quite amusing. His bit here about ice cream really got me.
I've been listening to Self since, approximately, 1995 when their debut record Subliminal Plastic Motives was released. They haven't really released any new material since 2015's "Monogamy" single. That nine year gap is pretty grueling for a fan but, fortunately, frontman Matt Mahaffey makes plenty of other music with his production company Cake in Space. Not to mention that other members of the band make great music.
Anyway, that's big wordy intro to note that Self has broken the seal and released new music. "Love You Less" is streaming on all the things. It's a far cry from the sound of the band that emerged 30 years ago with SPM but it's an enjoyable evolution. Hopefully this is the first slow drop of more new music. Time will tell.
I can't say I'm shocked by the 2024 Election results - Trump winning again was always a close race. What I am surprised about is that it was a close race! I don't get it. Never will. The majority of America wants something that I can't articulate or understand.
As the blunt news settles in, I wanted to remind myself of a couple things:
Tuning out is a privilege. There's a path for many people to just try to ignore everything that is coming and that is an understandably sane path to take! But for many folks, it's not an option. If you're in a place where you can help others better their position, do it.
Local communities make it go. I can't stop thinking about DRKMTTR, a venue here in Nashville that is all ages, fiercely independent and embraces a punk "Do-It-Together" ethos. These places are safe havens for many groups. Help build them up, even if that's just by donating a bit of money every month. We need these spots.
I'm not in a place to espouse positivity or rallying cries just yet. I'm down to wallow in the bad news for a few days. I don't understand America or what the majority wants but none of that deters me from wanting to create an uplifting place for all kinds of people. If there's an opportunity to improve things, take it.
Shruggie snatched from Jackie Lay / The Atlantic
I think it's fairly safe to assume that if you're a reader of this site, you're likely a somewhat liberal person that is mostly disgusted by Donald Trump. His politics, his business practices, his morals, his manner of speaking - it's all bankrupt. That's not being hyperbolic or dramatic, he's a habitual (proven) liar and really just does or says whatever he thinks makes him look the most powerful. You already know this.
I don't know how we got here again. I was raised by Republicans that instilled beliefs from the Presbyterian church and the Boy Scouts of America. My parents and social circle were all about empathy; help those in need, turn the other cheek, do a good turn daily. Find ways to be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. That's my DNA. I don't go to church now and I find the institution to be corrupt beyond repair but there are some inarguably good core tenets. Especially around empathy. That's why I'm liberal. Or leftist. Or whatever label aligns with seeking out ways to help people have a better life. Not motivations to "lift themselves up by their boot straps" (a physical impossibility) but actual means and ways of helping.
I don't have any helpful words to make the anxiety about this election feel less dire. Mostly I find that writing things out can help; even if there's no actionable takeaway at the end of it all. Have you ever tried writing an email reply, a text response or a social media post and deleting it before you hit Send? It actually feels great. This is my version of that but I'm actually going to hit the Add button!
At this point - actual Election Day - I doubt you need any more fuel for your election fire. Your firehose is likely at full blast. Mine too. But just in case you want a few more blasts in the face, here ya go:
This Verge piece - "A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for school shootings and measles" - articulates a lot of my woes for the future and frames it around technology a bit, unlike most other reporting I've seen.
Last Week Tonight's Election 2024 summation did a fantastic job of wrapping up the mess we're in; speaking about Harris, the Palestine situation and the road ahead. Jon Oliver is always a good watch.
Did My Friends Vote? - a tool that takes public data to look up people by name / location / age and let you know if they voted or not. Obviously not who they voted for but if they actually did the deed. Kind of fun.
I'm sure we're all very tired of this Election cycle. Hopefully we're on the very tail end of it now. Good luck to us all.
For awhile, musician Jonie lived in Nashville. He contributed a lot to the burgeoning pop scene here, ran a cool studio, had a podcast and was generally pleasant to hang out with. I am sure that last one continues to be true but Jonie moved away to Los Angeles in pursuit of other endeavors. Nashville misses his contributions but he's still putting out great work. For example...
His latest EP is called Infinite Desire and it's a love letter to 1980's classic horror movies fused with Jonie's own flavor of upbeat, danceable, fun. It's a rare combination of spooky and euphoric. Helluva combo.
Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club, along with producers John Paul Bullock and Josh Hook, have launched Major Label Debut - a podcast talking with artists that took the leap from indie label to major label. The first episode is with Rob Schnapf on Elliott Smith and XO.
I've been fortunate enough to see the guest list of future episodes and it's going to be a great season of chats and insights. I highly recommend adding to your podcast app.
When you rediscover a gem you posted about in 2018 and it still holds up perfectly six years later.. that's a good bloggin'! If you don't feel compelled by "Metroid music as analog synth" just reframe it this way - Do you like John Carpenter soundtracks? If so, hit play.
It's Halloween. That means it's time for you to get your dose of the KXVO Pumpkin Dance. Yea, you've seen it a thousand times and you think you're over it.. but you're not. Even this unnecessary extended cut is delightful for the entire 4 and a half minutes!
For me, this music video for Ejmi Rhiel supercedes just being a plain ole music video. The entire vibe of it feels like a nod to horror movies, latent spaces, back rooms and the days of VHS - all swirled into one. If you told me this was plucked from a thrift store and these kids were never heard from again, I'd believe it. The artist name, the song title, everything about it is just the right amount of bizarre. It really takes off in the 4minute range. I'm posting this on Halloween and it couldn't be more appropriate.
The immersion is even more effective when you dig into the rest of the AmyReal channel, which has a completely opposite, maximal, aesthetic.
