Blogs

Episode 94: The Cyrus Virus Edition

Sauna "Glitter Party"
Sian S. Rathore "In The Restaurant I Heard My Food Talking"
Galapagoose "One Who Can't Move"
Matt Mullins "Blood Sacrifce"
Rego: R.E.M.
MH: Surface Energy
Galapagoose "One Who Can't Move"
Greg Santos from Tweet Tweet Tweet

Listening:
1. The Ex-Girlfriends Club: Kick-off the weekend with a little bit on nasty glam rock. Listen to: The Witch (mp3)
2. Hustle Roses: Pounding dance-pop crafted in and oozing LA.
3. The New Limb: Catchy indie-pop from the new creative mecca of Silver Lake. Listen to: Refugees

Reading:
1. How Furniture Feels by Fatimah Asghar
2. Home, Still by Kristen E. Nelson
3. Banana Bread by Barclay Shields
4. Keeping Susie Whole by Matt Getty

Episode 93: The Renegade Scrapbooker Edition

Conveyor: Mukraker
Shaun Gannon: I Am Shaun Gannon
Architeq: Into The Cosmos
Elephant & Castle: En Memoria
Capybara: Neighborhood Crime
Gonjasufi: Nikels And Dimes
Mike Decapite: excerpt from Creamsicle Blues

The beauty and magic of music is it's ability to help the listen refocus. After a hectic day music can guide you back to a peaceful or familiar place. Lately, I have been turning to the shifting compositions of the sound designer Justin Hopkins (aka RareBit). His pieces are layers, textured, complex, still very listenable and enjoyable. Non Project recently released RareBit's debut EP The Destroyer EP. This collection is just a taste of what is to come later this year with Justin's full-length debut. At the age of 24, Hopkins seems to have a sense of sound and rhythm that is far beyond his years.

Jeff Soto "Decay and Overgrowth", 18" x 18", acrylic on wood, 2011

Listening:
1. Night Genes: Eric Ingersoll is the creative force behind the genre-bending tunes. A slightly more upbeat version of The National. Listen to: Cyber Me (mp3)
2. Liz Green: Beautiful chamber-pop from the UK. Her debut album, O. Devotion!, comes to the US in Feb. Listen to: Hey Joe (mp3)
3. Said The Whale: Canadian indie pop with a fun, retro sound. Listen to: Heavy Ceiling (mp3)

Reading:
1. Waking by Paul Lask
2. A Faerie Tale by Heather Fowler

Tweet Tweet Tweet by Greg Santos (Corrupt Press, December 4th, 2011)

Can poetry be "meta"? A poem is crafted in a moment and build within a reality that belongs to the poet. The reality that Greg Santos works within he chooses to pull in others to create something new. It is not as if he is using their words or images, but it is more just referencing the name of Ellen Kennedy or Billy Collins to force the reader to recall those worlds.

In his latest collection, Tweet Tweet Tweet, Santos also writes about writing in a way that isn't often done.

"No, actually it is more like the unicorn of poems. This poem can only be read by the pure of heart, like you."

That line is taken from a poem called "This Poem Wants You to Trust It" which is a poem that describes itself in multiple ways. It is a poem about a poem. However, makes you think what exactly is a poem?

The collection also contains moments of subtle humor and moments that intentionally off and strange. Both "Bieber Fever" and "Cyrus Virus" make appearance, and there is Leonardo da Vinci eating chicken soup. This collection is small size, but enormous in scope.

Look Into My Beautiful Eyes by Zansky, Giclée Print on paper and canvas

Listening:
1. Tiny Victories: Another great band out of NYC. Listen to: Lost Weekend (mp3)
2. Badbadnotgood: Instrumental hip hop jazz from Toronto.
3. Leema Mountain: Do you want to feel good? Listen to: "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" (mp3)

Reading:
1. The Drunkard’s Round Dance by Dana Dickerson
2. I Hoped it Meant What I Hoped by Alex Thornber
3. Miss In Polish by Franki Elliot
4. The Story of Us by J.E. Reich

Jenny Brown "Untitled #6", 2011 Ink and found collage on antique paper approx. 5 x 7.5 inches