Twittering Machines

Soul Station Sex gets 4 stars! Peter Hum of the Jazzblog.ca goes to town on the imagined Cover:

“Leave it to Britney Spears and Blue Note to come up with just the project to inject new oomph into their brands.”

“Spears renders Remember and If I Should Lose You with neo-soul aplomb. Her lyrics and vocalese on This I Dig of You are a bit ragged, but fine for a first effort at jazz. “

Finally Hum asks – but is it…blasphemous?
A. No, it’s photoshop

Reiko and Tori Kudo
Light

I have Simon to thank for the heads up on this one and I waited nearly a year to post because…I don’t know why. One of the most lovely packages, Light also happens to contain some of the simply loveliest purposefully clumsily made music. Like stumbled upon/over beauty. Released December ’08 on Siwa Records, this is the Kudos at their finicky finest. Piano, accordion, etc. (Tori) and breathy vocals (Reiko) and viola on track 2 courtesy Kazuko Matsushima.

Art work by Namio Kudo

Tokyo designers Bedwin & The Heartbreakers took their inspiration from classic American work wear and that old crusty crooner Tom Waits to produce some crisp (and pricey) Waits Wear. (that’s my name for it, not theirs).

If you were thinking the reference may not be literal, they’ve got you covered with an all-out paraphrase-y quote. Gives a whole new meaning to wearing your heart on your sleeve. BaDaBoom.

And they teamed up with all-American manufacturer Lee Jeans (founded 1889) for this denim jacket. That shawl collar is a reference to old US Navy style. Is Tom a Navy-man? I am a rain dog, too.

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night
For it was all ripe for dreaming
Oh how we danced away all of the lights
We’ve always been out of our minds

Maximum Continuous Output : 152 dB SPL at 1 meter
Beam Width: +/-15° @ 1.0 kHz/-3dB
Communications Range: Highly intelligible speech transmissions over 3000 meters; *Max range of 1250 meters over 88 dB of background noise.

Oh Baby! 152 dB is just what I need for my Mahler and Megadeth moments. Long Range Acoustic Device says “LRAD is not a weapon, military or otherwise; it is an effective long-range communications device”. Yeah take that sound pussies. Just like a bullet is an effective long range touchy feely device. At just 14″ x 14 ” x 6″, I plan to mount 1 on each side of the new 150″ TV and and have movie night for the neighborhood.

“One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.” Bob Marley

Berkeley, CA (REUTERS) Breaking News – Spy photo of the first Magico / Pixar collaboration to be unveiled at AVN 2010 in 3D.

Provo, Utah (CNN) — Wilson Audio Specialties confirmed today their much rumored partnership with The Walt Disney Company just in time for CES 2010. Through a costly licensing agreement, Wilson will incorporate Disney’s Wizard Mind Control technology in the Alexandra II which makes even the most insipid and bombastic entertainment seem really entertaining.

“It’s a small world after all” commented Wilson Audio’s Peter McGrath “and we want our speakers in most of it.”

In a related story, Magico’s Alon Wolf announced their partnership with Pixar.

The Dutchess And The Duke
Sunset / Sunrise

Sad, slow and bittersweet songs from Jesse Lortz (the Duke) and Kimberly Morrison (the Dutchess) and Co. This is their 2nd release and it took me some listens to warm up to it and have it take hold. But now their country-tinged simple songs are on a repeat play list fitting nicely between Bon Iver, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young and MV & EE.

Bleaks
Haste, Error

3 guys/old friends/musicians got together for a weekend in Chicago and made structured noise. Kyle Bruckmann (EKG, Lozenge), Jeremy Lemos (White/Light) and Steve Silverstein (Christmas Decorations) laid down an LPs worth of righteous industrial sound collage of analog synth, crashing mashing metal, mijwiz, hiss and drone.  I liked this record from the first listen and moreso now. Sometimes noise, especially beautifully recorded and rhythmic driving rain-like noise is just what the Dr ordered to clear the head.

On Wodger Records, Steve Silverstein’s very own label in an edition of ‘about’ 200. Like most music in this vein Haste, Error is also beautifully packaged.

From Kyle Bruckmann – “I’m not sure what we thought we were doing, but the result is a very odd and creepy record at the unlikely intersection of doom drone, clumsy eai, and caveman techno. To my ears, it evokes more than anything the droll minimalism of turn-of-the-80s UK (think Dome, This Heat) and grey proto-industrial. Sure, there’s a little oboe on there, and I take a very old-school cameo on metal percussion, but it’s about the GESTALT isn’t it now?”

Ellen von Unwerth, Fraulein
Ingrid Sishy

Fashion and fetish in a female fantasyland

Got a well-off, generous uncle?  Fraulein from Taschen is 15 years and 482 pages of model/photographer Ellen von Unwerth’s photos of “female icons” including Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis, Britney Spears, Eva Mendes, Lindsay Lohan, Dita von Teese, Adriana Lima, Carla Bruni, Eva Green, Christina Aguilera, Monica Bellucci and more.

Published in a limited edition of 1,500 signed / numbered copies and yours for only $700. Come to think of it, your uncle would probably just keep this for himself. Bob’s your uncle.

Don Cherry
Art Deco

Recorded over 3 days in August 1988 direct to tape at Rudy’s place in Jersey, Art Deco is Don Cherry proving Dizzy’s quote – “Don Cherry is just full of surprises”. Recorded as part of the A&M Modern Masters of Jazz series which must have had a nice budget seeing as they picked up James Clay in a limo for the ride over the river. The other surprise here is how straight ahead this quartet plays, especially since this an Ornette reunion of sorts with Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins and James Clay on tenor. It’s also a lovely and beautifully recorded record with lots of air time for each musician to spread their chops over standards like “Body and Soul” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face”.

I remember hearing this for this first time back in the ’80s on CD at my friend Joe’s place in Providence and his comment – this is a great sounding recording. It is, even on CD but the vinyl version is luscious.

Here’s a note on that sound from James Clay – “I have never been recorded so well. The sound that this master engineer got from his equipment was incredible. Being able to hear myself like that made me feel very relaxed and ready to play the difficult music I had to play.”