yewknee http://yewknee.com/ A brief respite along the Information Superhighway. en-us Copyright 2001 - 2026 - yewknee.com michael@yewknee.com (Michael Eades) Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:45 -0500 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:45 -0500 60 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification http://yewknee.com/_img/rss_logo.jpg yewknee http://yewknee.com/ 70 70 <![CDATA[Softjaw]]>

Pop Rock Record continues to be a wellspring of great new music discovery. For example, a recent post led me to the full-length, self-titled, debut of Softjaw. The platitudes from the review include "Beatlesque charms", "strong Big Star flash" and "guitar-hook rush from start to finish." Certainly more than enough to hit play!

If you do hit play, you're likely to hear "Playing Bogart" - the last track on the album but the default selection. Much to my surprise, that's a cover of 23 Jewels from 1979. Equally surprising, the track preceeding it - "Working Too Hard" - is a cover of The Nerves (you know the one). They're at the end of the record but they really do serve as the perfect introduction to the band.

]]> Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:45 -0500 <![CDATA[Ezra Li Eismont]]>
The website of artist Ezla Li Eismont is intentionally minimal. Specifically he says "I am opting for less screen time as I strive to find the time to create new physical works, and spending time researching music." Admirable! But his Instagram and Patreon have plenty to see.

I find myself incredibly fascinated with these literal vinyl collages aka "Cut Ups." Eismont slices up actual records and glues them back together, resulting in these incredible - somewhat accidental, somewhat curated - sound collages. Check out examples here, here, here and here (just to start). Phenomenal.
]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2026 06:03:24 -0500 <![CDATA[Pinkpop Archive]]>
There must be something in the air recently. I found myself deep diving into the FuelTV archive and now I'm rummaging around the Pinkpop Archive. I'd heard of the festival in the Netherlands but never really paid much attention to its lineage. Turns out, having a music festival running since 1970 with fully recorded and broadcast performances since 1992 results in quite a few delightful goodies. Here's a sampling of items I plan to partake: I suggest you go to their videos list and just filter by a year. What you'll find in the results is nuts. ]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2026 05:00:25 -0500 <![CDATA[555 Series]]>
Funny story, Vimeo is shutting down their On Demand service. As of November 2026, it will no longer be available at all. Truth be told, it's been a long neglected service and (mostly) unnecessary since Vimeo acquired VHX, aka Vimeo Streaming, in 2016.

Another funny story: right around the same time as the VHX acquisition, Vimeo announced Vimeo Originals - a slate of exclusives and Vimeo-funded endeavors - and their own SVOD service. The plan was for people to subscribe to Vimeo content in the same way you would subscribe to Netflix. Those plans were nixed in 2016. I am not privy to the exact reasons why but I do recall it being a surprising bit of news when I worked there.*

One of the headlining pieces of content for that forthcoming Vimeo SVOD service was 555, a five episode series from Kate Berlant and John Early, directed by Andrew DeYoung. The episodes were all released and have been available for years but I just recently noticed that John Early has been posting them to his YouTube account.

Are the episodes being shared because Vimeo On Demand is finally being shut down? Is it promotion for Early's new film Maddie's Secret? Probably a bit of both and I'm happy for it! Here's all the episodes (and the bloopers) in one playlist - let it roll!
* Worth saying: the slate of content from Vimeo Originals was actually quite good and very well curated. The idea of a Vimeo service ala Netflix is a different conversation to have. I hope that Vimeo's legacy is that they highlighted a lot of great, independent, content and even managed to create some of it themselves.]]> Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:59:37 -0500 <![CDATA[FuelTV Archive]]>
This performance from The Helio Sequence was posted just a few weeks ago in mid-June 2026. It's taken from The Daily Habit, a show on Fuel TV... an Action Sports channel. I've not heard of any of this and, clearly, this footage is not from 2026.

The Fuel TV Channel is filled with hundreds of performances from this late aughts era: There are so many performances here and most of them have been viewed less than 100 times. The entire channel has less than 1 Million views. This is a phenomenal, untapped, time capsule, truly.

It's wild to me that someone has been uploading to this massive archive but not even bothering to put the airdate alongside each video. There's not even a link accompanying subscription channel for FuelTV - a site that also makes no mention of these performances. I think it's probably safe to assume that this isn't really a Vevo channel, despite the clever naming.

Wild stuff here folks. I hope someone is downloading all of this before it's zapped away forever.]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:31:04 -0500 <![CDATA[Christian Marclay: The Clock]]>
I'm a bit shocked at myself for never having mentioned Christian Marclay's The Clock. If you are unfamiliar, it is a 24-hour film composed of film and television clips showing the exact time of day. It will screen in a museum and when it's 12:05 here on Earth, The Clock is showing you snippets of media that display 12:05. It's very difficult to see this creation because it's incredibly long, it simply rarely screens anywhere and its not exactly fast paced. This thing is a gauntlet. You can watch a bootleg snippet of it here or read about the experience here.

I've never seen it myself. I did see another enormous installation from Marclay back in 2015 called Surround Sounds that left quite an impression tho.. so I am intrigued by his works.

Despite not having seen it, I find it fascinating. I am not alone. There is a Fandom Wiki for The Clock that crowd sources a minute-by-minute breakdown of what clips are shown throughout the 24-hour experience. It's an impressively thorough tome. You can see the individual works used or browse the timeline. Incredible.issin]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:18:24 -0500 <![CDATA[The Tomb Of Dracula ]]>
I have never played 1982's The Tomb of Dracula before but when a friend shared this delightful Dracula pixelart, I had to give it a spin. It was... something special! You may be better off just watching a playthrough or just enjoying more screenshots. Some real delightful drawings in there! ]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:42:46 -0500 <![CDATA[Gremlin's 3-Hr Cut and More]]>
]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:41:08 -0500 <![CDATA[Midjourney Medical]]>
There's no way I can keep up with (or share) the firehose of tech news but I'd be remiss if I did not mention Midjourney Medical - a new division from Midjourney that aims to introduce a new body scanning device that will replace / compete with MRI's.

Yes, the company that generates AI images and videos has started a new division to create immersive medical devices. I was sure it was a joke after reading the announcement. A clever way to showcase their next generation of models? But then I found a press release from their hardware partner talking about the agreement they signed to leverage "semiconductor-based ultrasound devices." The device is very real. I was also struck by this quote from Joseph DeVivo from the semi-conductor partner, Butterfly:
"After nearly 35 years working in healthcare, it's clear to me that our U.S. healthcare system is still primarily designed to treat illness, not prevent it. The future of health starts with awareness: understanding your body earlier and tracking how it responds to factors like diet, exercise, and behavior. Midjourney has unveiled an extraordinary whole-body scanner — no radiation, no magnetic risk, low cost, and accessible — with about half a million sensors scanning simultaneously and over two petaflops of processing power. Designed for weekly use, this is the next generation of AI on device. A continuous window into your health… because the earlier you can see what's changing, the sooner you can do something about it."
On paper, an inarguable standpoint to take! The US healthcare industry is broken in a bunch of ways! Our entire US culture is not really shaped to be health conscious in this way. Maybe there's promise here? Conceptually, it's an interesting stance.

Practically speaking, my skepticism is at full boil. It's an AI company that likely stole all its training data now adding a medical division. I am sure there is overlap in the tech but it's a long road before you convince me to step into one of their spa / MRI machines. Their device deep dive blog post didn't really quell my fears either.. they don't even cover the basic question of why Midjourney is the company you would trust with your privacy, your body and (one day) your health insights.

Look, spin off companies happen! Flickr was spun off from a multiplayer game called Game Neverending. Slack was spun off from... a multiplayer online game called Glitch. Twitter was originally a podcasting directory. It's not impossible that Midjourney could pivot or expand into medical but it certainly feels wild to imagine the new association.

I know one person that works at the new medical division and they are smart, hardworking and not treating any part of the undertaking with folly. I am intrigued to say the least and will be keeping an eye out as it develops. ]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:48:45 -0500 <![CDATA[Dev Lemons - Maybe I'm The Reason ]]>
I posted about this in Friday videos but it really bears repeating - this Dev Lemons song and video for "Maybe I'm the Reason instantly hit heavy rotation. The track is a blend of ethereal and melancholy pop that unfurls into a big wall of fuzzy guitars. Delightful.

The video is lo-fi as hell, combining vaporwave, glitch, videogame and a twinge of unexpected horror. I absolutely love the turn and I think you will too. Repeatedly.]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2026 08:20:41 -0500 <![CDATA[Moss Moss ]]>
I wish my setup for gaming from a laptop was even slightly together because I'd be putting in serious time with Moss Moss. It's a platformer / Metroidvania with an excellent lo-fi aesthetic and just the right balance of puzzles to exploring. I know this because I've watched playthroughs.. which just makes me yearn to play it more myself! ]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 18:57:58 -0500 <![CDATA[cachemonet]]>
The concept here is unbelievably simple - a tiled background GIF paired with a transparent subject GIF, randomly chosen and recycling forever. The curation on the source material is top notch. You'll see repeats but every pairing is incredibly satisfying. Enjoy cachemonet.
]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:00:58 -0500 <![CDATA[Friday Videos - June 19th, 2026]]>
In a world of TikTok, Instagram Reels,YouTube Shorts and every other "pivot to video" platform out there - I don't think you really need a collection of videos to distract you on a Friday. But, then again, who doesn't need a random slice of absurd happiness simply for the sake of absurd happiness? Let's go!
  • The Strangest 1970s Public Information Film of All - you do not know where this is going. I promise.
  • Bob's Burgers "Transmission" - an excellent Joy Division cover. Watch like 30 seconds, that's plenty.
  • Puerto Rican Michael Jackson - I love MontessoriBoy. This one is particularly stupid but that's the charm.
  • Robot Falls During "Billie Jean" Dance -Truthfully, a pretty stellar recovery but I lost it the first few times I watched.
  • Breaking Bad but his HAT grows proportionally to his ego - just like the title says but it really delivers.
  • Dev Lemons - Maybe I'm The Reason - new-to-me artist bringing the goods with this video. The first 1:40 is a delight but the turn is the real treat.
  • The Room Returns - The original version of The Room cost $6 million dollars and months to film. What if it was done by professional actors with no budget, all green screen, no rehearsal and only teleprompters? Better? Worse? If you live in LA, you can find out next week.
      • ]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2026 07:26:38 -0500 <![CDATA[The Shit Split]]>
      A few months ago, Talking with Hands sent me a demo for a song titled "Hot Shit." It was a big riff, noisey, number that was like an autobiographical takedown - a nod to his past self being a "hot shit."

      Around the same time, Mac Burrus of Telefone sent me a demo of a song he was working on called "Bullshit" - a takedown of some unknown source that was full of shit.

      Two songs. Two shits. It seemed reasonable to suggest that we combine powers and release them together as The Shit split EP! So.. we did!
      Both artists fleshed out their songs to their proper final forms and each added additional tracks. So, the actual split EP is four songs - sandwiched in "shit" songs but providing plenty of real sustenance. Get Some Magazine reviewed the split and had many, very, nice things to say! Most notably: "Talking With Hands and Telefone are able to create some serious magic."

      Obviously I'm biased but I'm happy with how it turned out. It's streaming on all the things and you can support it on Ampwall and Bandcamp.

      There's also two great music videos - "ESP" and the aforementioned "Hot Shit" but more on both of those later...]]>       Fri, 19 Jun 2026 07:13:32 -0500       <![CDATA[Autolux Demos, Streaming]]>
      I mentioned this in 2004 and 2005, so it seems appropriate to mention again in 2006. These Autolux Demos are now available on streaming platforms (and vinyl).

      I remember getting these original demos back in 2001 / 2002 and playing them ad nauseam. If we're being honest, I've played them ad nauseam for the past 25 years. I love the "proper" recordings of Autolux as well but these demos are burrowed into my brain something fierce. That said, I recommend you let them burrow into your brain as well. ]]>       Thu, 18 Jun 2026 08:38:38 -0500       <![CDATA[New Zealand Spy]]>
      Well, this is frustrating but there's a new TV series called New Zealand Spy and there seem to be approximately four clips of it on YouTube; all shorts, none in fullsize. I know we live in an era of deprecated attention spans but lemme have a 16:9 video, please!

      I digress! The point here is that Paul Williams - comedian and musician (I hope you know this video) has launched a new show called New Zealand Spy and it features a staggering amount of NZ, Australian and British comics - Rose Matafeo, Bret McKenzie, Joe Thomas, Claudia O'Doherty, Tim Key, Sam Campbell, Abby Howells and so many more. Of course it's also worth nothing that it is genuinely funny. Anyone that's a fan of Naked Gun, absurdist comedy or just something slightly goofy is going to have a blast.

      I've no idea how you watch it but maybe you have a friend with a PLEX, or maybe you know someone at Hulu that can get it properly licensed for US audiences. It's excellent. Make sure you watch all these.]]>       Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:11:36 -0500       <![CDATA[Daniel Mandelbaum ]]>
      I swung by the new Nashville gallery Ziehersmith to catch the Archetypos show. One of the artists showing was Daniel Mandelbaum, a New Jersey, New York, Nashville, Memphis artist offering up some fantastic sculpture pieces.

      I'm particularly smitten with this tired Mercury bust. When you're moving as fast as Mercury, you're bound to get exhausted. There's several sculptures in this latest show (and in his online gallery) that are both impressively crafted and genuinely delightful.

      Go follow @danmandelbaum and enjoy those delights.
      ]]>       Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:57:39 -0500       <![CDATA[Kagi Small Web]]>
      Kagi Small Web is a simple redirect tool to somewhere random on the Internet. You hit that web address - kagi.com/smallweb - and you end up somewhere random. Maybe it's a miniature train enthusiast blog, or a Commodore64 IDE for Mac, or maybe it's Pride Flag Planet Cross-Stitch Pattern Generator.. words I never thought I'd see strung together but am overjoyed to discover.

      Kagi Small Web is an open source reminder that the web is plenty weird and interesting, despite the reports that social media is making the Internet homogenized. Social Media is not the Internet and there's a lot of goodness to enjoy outside of it. Go find it with Small Web! ]]>       Mon, 15 Jun 2026 06:04:44 -0500       <![CDATA[Les Ailes + My Friend Alan]]>

      Les Ailes My Friend Alan- 5 Songs
      A few years ago, I stumbled on the work of Les Ailes, a (then) Nashville based artist that had just finished recording her debut record Tennessee with Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead). I think "Lately" was my first exposure to her work and the vocal performance has stuck with me ever since. Over the years since, her work has continued to be compelling and evolving (spend some time with her second LP, Lou Heron).

      Given that evolution, I should not have been surprised by the somewhat transformative vibe of the new collaborative EP with My Friend Alan entitled 5 SONGS. Many of the tracks on the release showcase Les Ailes unique vocals within dancier arrangements; sometimes synth laden, sometimes accompanied by a wailing sax, sometimes in a hynpnotic chant but always in a new and compelling way.

      I urge you to take the catalog deep dive with Les Ailes, starting with the first record back in 2021, listening through all of the various singles, and the second album from 2025. All that and this new EP make for a rather rewarding dose of time well spent.

      ]]>       Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:30:50 -0500       <![CDATA[More Or Less, Mitts]]>
      I receive a pretty decent amount of marketing emails every month about new music releases. Many of them are not up my alley but, occasionally, you encounter something that is entirely unknown and quite the refreshing listen. Texas based indie musician Mitts is an excellent example of that phenomena.

      More or Less is the undertakings debut record. Produced in part with the help of Bill Baird and Dillon Ocon, the record offers up a handful of absolute bangers, thoughtful introspections and one ode to an enchilada. The whole album is a good listen but the bookends - "Baby Brother" and "Here Everything's Better" - have a specific blend of indie rock, country croon and stumble-y pace that really showcases the project's strengths. ]]>       Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:28:23 -0500