Carol Kaye

Carol Kaye. She may be one of the greatest bass players you've never heard of. "...In 1963 when a Fender bassist didn't show up for a record date at Capitol Records, she picked up the Fender bass (as it was called then) and augmented her busy schedule playing bass and grew quickly to be the no. 1 call with record companies, movie & TV film people, commericals (ads), and industrial films. She enjoyed working under the direction of Michel LeGrand, Quincy Jones, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, David Rose, David Grusin, Ernie Freeman, Hugo Montenegro, Leonard Rosenman, John Williams, Alfred & Lionel Newman, etc. as well as the numerous hits she recorded for hundreds of recording artists." Watch excerpts from the Carol Kaye documentary First Lady of Bass (.wmv Video 08:33) and flip out to the fact that Carol Kaye played the bass-line on Stevie Wonder's I Was Made To Love Her - one of the best ever, IMHO.

Mosura ya Mosura

The Peanuts... Mosura ya Mosura (.mp3 audio 02:23). Shobijin (The Peanuts) summon Mothra in Mosura tai Gojira (Mothra vs Godzilla, 1964). What's fun is that it's sung in Malay; not Japanese. Lyrics are:

Mosura ya Mosura
Dongan kasakuyan
Indo muu
Rusuto uiraadoa
Hanba hanbamuyan
Randa banunradan
Tounjukanraa
Kasaku yaanmu

UFO over the Bra Fence

UFO over the Bra Fence. UFO photographs a pretty neat. UFOs photographed near the Bra Fence in Cardrona, New Zealand are the best.

So Far Away

The Chords... So Far Away (.mp3 audio 04:47). Title track from The Chords' debut album So Far Away (1980, Polydor POLS 1019) - a neo-Mod classic. From The Chords.

Vintage Vandals

Koichiro Takagi... Untitled. "...I found picture of a cult religion's cathedral, and I painted fiercely dog and psycho girl on it. In this work I am asking what is your scary thing. each people probably have different. I think the Religion is one of the most dangerous things in recent world situation such as fundamentalist's self righteousness, terrorism, and lie. I don't refer specific religion group." From Vintage Vandals at the Wurst Gallery. "...each artist was asked to find a framed piece of artwork at their local thrift store and manipulate it into a piece of their own." More works by Koichiro Takagi at GFXMODE.

Hawaii Samurai

Hawaii Samurai... Voodoo Princess Terror (.mp3 audio 03:05) and one very wigged-out cover of Link Wray's Rumble (.mp3 audio 03:10). From Hawaii Samurai. "...remember...only Hawaii Samurai are pure cryptic and voodoo instrumental surf-punk." (fr)

Jamie Blond

The Bananas... Jamie Blond (.mp3 audio 02:49). Fun, loose take on the James Bond Theme by The Bananas - Surf music from Slovenia. Other Slovenian surf bands include The Bitch Boys, Tubestone, and The Matching Suits.

Frédéric Thiry

Works by Frédéric Thiry at la galerie. "...Formé à la bande dessinée à Saint-Luc Bruxelles, Frédéric Thiry aborde avec un même bonheur des domaines très divers: illustration, publicité, livres pour enfants,... des oeuvres reconnaissables entre toutes (voir ses couvertures pour le 7ème soir), qu'il englobe modestement dans la catégorie des travaux professionnels. C'est que Frédéric Thiry cultive un jardin plus secret, le versant proprement artistique de sa production. Dès ses débuts dans le neuvième art, il entreprend d'explorer un moyen d'expression qui lui tient à coeur, le collage." More at Frédéric Thiry - Illustrateur. (be)

Joyeux Noël

Joyeux Noël et très bonne Année de gmtPlus9 à Osaka, le Japon.

Jeffrey Scott Holland

Jeffrey Scott Holland... Frosty at the Crossroads (2005, acrylic on canvas). From the exhibit Retrocognition, paintings by Jeffrey Scott Holland at Gish Art in Louisville, KY.

Watch

The Cincinnati Reds U.K.... Watch (.mp3 audio 03:40). Very cool! From the album You Take The High Art & I'll Take The Low Art on Tokyo Rose Records.

Nazif Topçuoğlu

Nazif Topçuoğlu... Nuclear Game (from the series, 'Offal with Girls/Istanbul 2000'). From Photography by Nazif Topçuoğlu. "...The underlying thread in my work is a constant preoccupation with time, memory and loss. I worry about the transience of people and things in general, and try to reconstruct unclear and imperfect images of an idealized past. Such an attempt inevitably requires the ability to recapture past, hence my constant art-historical references to classic paintings and photographs as well as to authors such as Proust and Thomas Mann. Hence I have no problems with my images becoming visually seductive in the process."

Santa Claus Boogie

Hasil Adkins... Santa Claus Boogie (.mp3 audio 02:47). "...Come on, baby, let's Santa all night." God love 'em!

Bethlehem

Banksy... Bethlehem (2005, Vandalised oil painting #031). From Banksy.

Mendoza

The Manatees... Mendoza (.mp3 audio 04:28). "...The wacked-out glory of free-fall theremins and wave-breaking surf guitar." From Orange Recordings.

Füssli: The Wild Swiss

Füssli: The Wild Swiss. "...The Kunsthaus Zürich presents a major retrospective of the Zurich painter Johann Heinrich Füssli (1741–1825), known as a Sturm und Drang artist in the German-speaking world, but familiar to English speakers as the 'British artist', Henry Fuseli."

Shonen Knife - Space Christmas

Shonen Knife - Space Christmas - From the EP "A Shonen Knife Christmas Record For You," Gasatanka 1991. YES! From Little Hits.

My Mom and Santa Claus

George Jones... My Mom and Santa Claus (.mp3 audio 02:28). Our new favourite Chistmas classic.

Kelly Gang Armour

Kelly Gang Armour. "...The armour had been the subject of endless debate, especially as it made accurate aiming of a rifle impossible. Yes, it was proof to a Martini-Henry bullet at ten paces. But extra horses were needed to carry it, it had to be put on and off, which was time-consuming in the best of conditions. A new set of habits was required. In other words, the members of the gang would have to learn how to wear it; new disciplines were required to replace natural habit. There were too many unknown factors, said Joe, and the weight was terrible. It was approximately that of a bag of wheat, in other words about as much as a strong man could carry. To compensate for the inaccuracy of fire associated with the armour, Ned bought four rapid-fire Winchester repeaters and shortened the barrels. The gang now had several score men ready to take up arms. No doubt the armour captured their imaginations and it was their preference which swung the argument." From Ned Kelly: Australian Iron Outlaw. Hang out with an Aussie long enough and you'll eventually hear about Ned.

Bin Laden Speaks English

Bin Laden Speaks English (flash video). Fun claymation by Martin Hultman, Therese Elfström and Alineé Candan; directed by Tarik Saleh. From ATMO independent film and tv productions in Stockholm, Sweden.

El Monstruo

Los Shains... El Monstruo (.mp3 audio 02:18). Spanish cover of 'The Crusher' by The Novas.

Neji

Yoko Utsumi... Neji (.mp3 audio 02:33). Features one of the better sax solos I've heard in a long while. Shades of JC.

Tim Bobbin

Tim Bobbin... Plate 2: The Statesmen (Printed and Published by John Heywood, 170 Deansmate, Manchester, June 1772). From the Book of Heads entitled Human Passions Delineated, "...These oppressing Dignitaries should blush, instead of complaining, that libertinism and freethinking drive like Jehu, whilst they court simony in public advertisements, make use of bribery to procure Dispensations, Pluralists, and Nonresidencies. The common people are not so hoodwinked now as in the time of yore: — They cannot but have some doubts of that religion which is only made a stalking-horse of by those who should be their honest and holy guides." From Great Caricatures.

Gábor Kerekes

Gábor Kerekes... Weekend no. 3 (1980, b/w photograph on silverbromid paper). From Works by Gábor Kerekes. Also... Sense of Orientation, works by Gábor Kerekes at the Hungarian House of Photography in Mai Manó House in Budapest. "...He has been active for 30 years; initially he worked as a technical photographer and then for six years as a press photographer. For the past ten years he has been aiming at a metaphorical representation of the relation between 'Art and Science.' His technical processes range from the camera obscura through historical photographic techniques to large-scale professional methods."

Kid Funk: Musical Rarities from the 1970s

NPR... Kid Funk: Musical Rarities from the 1970s by Jennifer Sharpe. "...Writer and designer Jennifer Sharpe collects musical oddities. This time, Sharpe shares some selections from an unusual genre she calls "kid funk," including 6-year-old Angela Simpson's 1970s rendition of Langston Hughes poetry." Bravo!

Works by Misaki Kawai

Works by Misaki Kawai. Drawings, collage, photographs, and more.

There is No Place Like Home

Yoshitomo Nara... There is No Place Like Home (1995, Acrylic on canvas). From Works by Yoshitomo Nara at Blum & Poe Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. A nice selection of paintings, sculpture, photographs, and drawings. Also... Yoshitomo Nara + graf A to Z - set to open at graf media gm in Osaka on the 18th. (jp)

Once Bitten Twice Shy

Ian Hunter... Once Bitten Twice Shy (.mp3 audio 04:45). 1975. From his first solo album.

Match World

Match World. "...Japan Match Manufacturers Association and Japan Match Lateral Corporation operate this Match Museum. The biggest feature of this museum is superior match labels, which are specially selected from Rankei Library's gigantic match label collection of twenty or thirty thousands pieces owned by the Japan Match Manufacturers Association." I've heard that in the late 19th and early 20th century Japan was the third largest exporter of matches in the world, behind the U.S. and Sweden.

Satan Is Real

The Louvin Brothers... Satan Is Real (.wav audio 03:00). Title track from their classic 1960 album Satan Is Real (Capitol 37378). Oh... and what he Heck... here's Devil Devil Go Away by Little Marcy (.mp3 audio 01:27).

David Kramer: Recent Paintings and Drawings

David Kramer: Recent Paintings and Drawings at Feigen Contemporary. "...Recycled from other people's idea of garbage, Kramer's art turns refuse into mockeries of polished commercialism and glistening, muscular achievement. The original drafts and sources of much of his work's caustic humor, Kramer's drawings pair prosaic image-fantasies like 70s vacation vistas and a Virginia Slims billboard. Directly referencing America's conformist forest of cultural cliché, Kramer's writings riff on the oppressive, brain-deadening burden of unremitting, '24-7' advertising without directly locating 'the thing not named.'"

Rompan Todo

Los Shakers... Rompan Todo (.mp3 audio 02:26). A very hot track by Los Shakers - the 'Uruguayan Beatles.' From UruRock - El Rock Uruguayo de los 70's.

Sheltered Life

Sheltered Life. A photoblog by Yuki Yanagida of Fukushima, Japan. I like her photo of the Rollercoaster. It looks like a little plastic diorama.

Milk Man

Deerhoof... Milk Man (.mp3 audio 04:23). Deerhoof pretty much rule! Their latest recordings are on Kill Rock Stars.

Kung Fu Saturdays

The Mel-Tones... Kung Fu Saturdays (.mp3 audio 02:12).

Murmullo de Amor

Los Yaki... Murmullo de Amor (RealAudio 02:30). Spanish cover of 'There's A Kind Of Hush' by the 60's Mexican beat group Los Yaki.

Go Go Yamaha

The Neanderthals... Go Go Yamaha (.wma audio 02:09). From the album Shutdown 2002 B.C. on Munster Records.

Arthur S. Aubry

Arthur S. Aubry at Gitterman Gallery in New York, NY. "...Photographing in and around the Pacific Northwest, Arthur S. Aubry's color photographs are both expressions of abstraction and documents of a transformed reality. Aubry combines the modernist tradition of geometric abstraction with a sense of 19th century exploration, engaging in the discovery of hidden subjects. Some of his pictures are closely cropped, omitting a horizon and forming strong and stark abstract compositions that challenge our perception of scale, while others present whole, often industrial, objects that have been abandoned. While these subjects may have come to a grinding halt long ago, Aubry's photographs suggest a new life for these objects."

Death Letter

Eddie James "Son" House...Death Letter (.mp3 audio 04:21). Son House made his recording debut in the early 30's at the Paramount Record Co., a division of the Wisconsin Chair Company in Grafton, Wisconsin.

Unpublished Rodchenko

Unpublished Rodchenko at Howard Schickler Fine Art in New York, NY. "...Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1956). The pre-eminent Constructivist photographer of the 20th century promoted its principles as a theorist, educator, graphic designer and as a photographer. On exhibition are both unpublished and seldom seen prints from his photographic oeuvre."

Cause You Don't Me

The Peawees... Cause You Don't Me (.mp3 audio 03:16). Smoke! Covered by the Groovie Ghoulies. From The Peawees of La Spezia, Italy.

I'll Never Go Back

The Louvin Brothers... I'll Never Go Back (.mp3 audio 02:41). Recorded in 1952 at WMPS Radio, Memphis, TN. as part of a series called, 'Songs That Tell A Story.'

Beverley Ashe

Beverley Ashe... Lost Weekend (acrylic on canvas). From Works by Beverley Ashe.

József Tóth: Christian and Jewish Houses of Prayer in Hungary

József Tóth: Christian and Jewish Houses of Prayer in Hungary. "...Book of Hungarian Medieval Churches. It is an exciting and demanding task to discover and describe the merits of constructed heritage produced in the Hungarian historical past. The creators of the book have chosen 61 medieval churches and chapels from the photographic material of trips all over the country throughout 20 years. In addition to their architectural excellence these buildings offer outstanding visual experience as well. The pictures are accompanied by concise architectural and historical descriptions. Besides the most beautiful, widely-known buildings special interest has been paid to including churches which strike even narrow professional circles as new. Synagogues in Hungary. The album recalls the relics of the great age of synagogue-building in Hungary, tracing the development of styles in the most outstanding architectural pieces of work in this field. It fills a gap of more than two decades, since the former book with a general view of Hungarian synagogues was published."

La Saveur de la Pastèque

Trailer for La Saveur de la Pastèque (.wmv Video | QuickTime) - a juicy and fruity musical by Tsai Ming-Liang. More at the official site for La Saveur de la Pastèque. (fr)

It's Educational

Saw The Pixies at Zepp Osaka tonight. They were monster. Happy as all H that they did 'La La Love You' and 'Vamos' - which features one of the wildest guitar wig-outs since 'Sister Ray.' Watch them do 'Wave of Mutilation (.wmv Video | QuickTime) live in Belfort, France last year.

Hommage à Monsieur Anonyme

Hommage à Monsieur Anonyme. "...Anonymous photography consists mainly of the accidental photograph made by the accidental photographer. Surprising pictures from various surprising angles. The picture can be a technically succesful image or a failed picture which gets an unexpected power of expression precisely because of its imperfection. A power of expression experienced by the viewer and not by the maker of the image. These are mainly pictures saved just in time from the waste disposal and recycled by the viewer. Anonymous photographs are mainly very recognisable images from daily life. Pictures about unexpressed intimacy."

Culturas del Gran Chaco

Culturas del Gran Chaco en las Colecciones del Museo Etnográfico de la Universidad de Buenos Aires y en las fotografías de Grete Stern. "...El conjunto de piezas pertenecientes al patrimonio del Museo Etnográfico que datan de principios del siglo XX y la selección de fotografías de Grete Stern tomadas entre los años 1958-1964 en sus continuos viajes a la región del Gran Chaco argentino dan cuenta de la riqueza cultural de las poblaciones indígenas habitantes de la región y de las transformaciones sociales a través del tiempo." From Fundación Proa Arte Contemporáneo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (ar)

Boy Bunny Tot Doll

Boy Bunny Tot Doll by Edward G. McCandlish. "...These nice illustrations are from consecutive patents for boy Bunny Tot dolls. Edward McCandlish's illustrations would have been familiar to Washington Post readers in the 1920s and 30s. McCandlish drew his Bunny Tots stories for the newspaper's children's pages and later published a series of Bunny Tots books." From Toy Drawings at the Patent Room - the art of industrial design.

Who is Guo Fengyi?

Guo Fengyi... Wealth and Prosperity (1989, paper). From the exhibit Who is Guo Fengyi? - a retrospective exhibition of 20 years work by Guo Fengyi at Long March Space. "...The body of Guo Fengyi is that of a vessel - her body acting as a channel for the energy which she draws upon to create her works. After retiring in 1987 due to health problems, Guo Fengyi began practicing Qigong as a means to alleviate her illness, strengthening her health through an understanding of the bodily contents of energy. This content led to form when suddenly after two years of practicing Qigong, she began to have strong visions which she felt compelled to express through drawing."