Back in the Big City

By John Thursday September 24, 2009

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vincent

Sometimes the world can seem like a strange little place. California is burning to the ground, kids are wearing keffiyah, and Conar Oberst, MWard and Yim Yames have started a shitty band. It feels like it may be just a litle too late to save american culture, but to even ruminate on these things is as american as apple pie, mom, the white picket fence and Horatio Alger all wrapped into one.

So over the past few weeks I have looked north for inspiration, and what I saw was Afie Jurvanen in a little band named Bahamas. His first effort “Pink Strat” is a low-fi and laid back drawl.

Many of the songs were written over a period of 5 years of touring as part of Jason Collett’s band, and then Feist’s band. Check it out HERE

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Payola in the Blogosphere

By Mitch Tuesday June 30, 2009

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71wa770xk9l

Hype Machine released a statement today (6/30) about the integrity of their prided “Popular” song stream. Songs with the most votes for three days will appear at the top of the list and get countless listens, downloads… and hype. Three days seems like a short period of time, but how long does anything last on the internet these days? You don’t know it, but I’ve already moved on to writing my next post.

Apparently Hype Machine has uncovered illegitimate votes from multiple account holders or even bots that propel certain songs to the top of the charts. Not only do they name names, but they name every name in alphabetical order. It doesn’t appear the accused will be banned from the site, but Hype is taking action so this kind of abuse won’t happen again.

One name I was surprised to see was one of Soft City favorites Emil & Friends. They may be guilty of making people believe they were Hollywood bad boy Emil Hirsch, but they’re also guilty of slick-ass beats. Check out a couple tracks on Hype and give them a legit vote if you like it.

Downed Economy

The Shrine

New in Town (remix)

**Update: Emil has been responding via Facebook:

“while I can tell you I don’t do any of my own promotion, this list says im the one who has to take the blame. please people, in the future, don’t go apeshit with the voting. and enjoy the rest of your flight.”

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How to Kill Someone With a Magazine

By John Tuesday June 30, 2009

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theseptemberissue-1

No matter what your opinion is of Anna Wintour you have to respect her ability and longevity.  You may not like her, but you know who is steering the ship. This leadership was able to produce the single largest issue of a magazine ever produced. The September 2007 issue of Vogue Magazine weighed nearly five pounds, and contained 727 pages of advertising. If anything, it was a postmodern experience where Wintour convinced advertisers that they needed to include their ads in what was essentially just a catalog of ads.

The new documentary September Issue tells the story of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her team of editors as they create the issue.

//Next on SoftCity: How to survive Y2K
It’s just takin’ a while to kick in//

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The tipping point

By Mitch Sunday June 28, 2009

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This is a viral video. 70% people who read that just groaned and 15% will stop reading this post. Sorry to use buzz words -those of you bold bored enough to read on, thank you. But this video wasn’t thought up by an agency trying to sell soft drinks or pre-pay cell phones. It’s amateur footage of a music festival, and the people in the video are the ones “infected” if I may be so lazy to not think of another word. Just watch as one passionate dancer catches the attention of other festival-goers. For starters, there’s the voyeuristic videographer, then a few early adopters and some tag-alongs. Three minutes later… watch and find out.


//Next on Soft City: The phone bill that broughtt down a beverage company - The OK Soda story//
//

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Diego

By John Friday June 19, 2009

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Photorealism has never been my favorite genre of painting.  I always want to compare it to fascism, and abstract expressionism to communism. They all take an extreme  form of what starts as a good idea. But over the past few years my opinion has slowly been changing. Through the discovery of artists like Chuck Close , Maurizio Cattelan, and to a degree Stuntkid.

The Buenos Aires artist Diego Gravinese  is now being added to that group. Take a look at some of his work below -

gilw

web1

webs

Check out more here - www.diegogravinese.com

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Do you like Smooth Music?

By Mitch Monday June 8, 2009

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smoothmusic

Do you have at least one working tympanic membrane? Do you like sunny days? Are you a human? Do you dress in all black and  put on lipstick before before feeding baby mice to your snake?

If your answers were as follows; yes, yes, yep, yes, ahhh…no - you should check out this music! It’s a band called Mystery Roar.

Stream it!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download it!

Here

//note: I know nothing about this band. If you are in this group and want us to stop giving your music away for free, please let us know by mailing a self-addressed/stamped envelope to PO Box 3654, Brookline, MA, 02446//

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13 Reasons not to hate Twitter: Part 2

By Mitch Thursday June 4, 2009

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nerdist

A derogatory term by definition, the nerd has embraced the label over the past decade and is no longer ashamed of his/her desire for obscure(and no so obscure) facts. Whether it’s processor specs from the latest smartphone or vintage broadcast logos. I don’t know anything about these things, but the Nerdist does! Remember that quippy guy on MTV’s “Singled Out”? No? Remember that show Jenny McCarthy was on? Yeah. Well that guy was/is Chris Hardwick, self-proclaimed Nerdist, and he’s broadcasting hilarious bits of Nerdism on Twitter (and his blog). Follow his tweets for a healthy mix of Nintendo, nerd celebrities, and poo poo jokes.

twitter.com/nerdist

more: Part 1

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People have been found, and interviewed

By John Monday June 1, 2009

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David Lynch’s Interview Project , the new documentary series, premiered publicly today. The interviews in this series were conducted during a 70-day road trip, and feature regular people talking about their lives. One short video will be released online each day for the rest of the year.

Watch the piece below to see a typically absurd description of the project by Lynch and a short trailer -

These interviews can easily be written off as mundane,
but I find real life anything but…

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Make Borgs Not Bombs

By John Tuesday May 26, 2009

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borgger

Thought I would pass along a new site I have been using a lot lately called Borgger,  a place to develop ideas and connect hands with minds to make them happen.

Unlike blogging, which is about opinions and editorials, borgging is about action, making new businesses, connecting on ideas, remixing art and music, etc. Pretty cool concept, perfect for fostering new ideas in a down economy.

You can use Borgger to:
1: Finish a partially fleshed out idea with the help of others.

2: Share a great idea that you can’t make on your own but would love to see created.

3: Have a great idea? Prove it, apply a Creative Commons license, and see if it merits paying for a trademark.

4: Want to start a business? Scan Borgger for great ideas and either network with the author to co-develop or inexpensively buy the idea outright.

5: Post a piece of art / music / writing and see where other creatives can take it.

6: Quickly scan the homepage to see the best ideas as voted on by the Borgger community.

The site is just coming out of beta, but already has some ace content. Check out some of the top threads: De-centralized manufacturing, a plan to save newspapers, and so much more…awesome.

So check it out and start borgging today - http://www.borgger.com

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Shel Silverstein

By John Tuesday May 19, 2009

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sidewalk

This month marks the tenth anniversary of Shel Silverstein’s death. I grew up with his books and I must say that he still is one of the most original poet/artist/songwriters I have ever been exposed to.  His official site has some great animations with voice recordings by Shel himself - www.shelsilverstein.com Here is one of my favorite poems from “Where the Sidewalk Ends” -

Pirate Captain Jim
“Walk the plank,” says Pirate Jim.
“But Captain Jim, I cannot swim.”
“Then you must steer us through the gale.”
“But Captain Jim, I cannot sail.”
“Then down with the galley slaves you go.”
“But Captain Jim, I cannot row.”
“Then you must be the pirate’s clerk.”
“But Captain Jim, I cannot work.”
“Then a pirate captain you must be.”
“Thank you, Jim,” says Captain Me.

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