A Silent Flute

Blue

2010-02-22T12:01:00.002-05:00

A Russell Harty (the guy Grace Jones attacked on air) Show appearance by Wham! An early on, '83 thing. If you're much for "Blue", I can recommend the tunes appearance on my No Kimono mix. A proper cassette classic.

Koudlam Live

2010-02-19T14:09:00.004-05:00

Last night I took in French recording artist Koudlam at the Austrian Cultural Forum on 52nd. Koudlam describes his music as electronica/tropical/psychobilly; duly apt. The vibe was very Easton Ellis party piece; first scene of The Informers moody or alternately Less Than Zero coke-fete-montage creepy jubilance. Maybe it was the sunglasses. While sucking on an imported bottle, Koudlam crooned (think time-stretched "Bela Lugosi's Dead"), virtually motionless in front of a laptop. All told, the performance and vibe added up to a sort of Vangelis featuring Jim Morrison collaborating on a cocktail of Adderal and THC vibe.

LIFE Style: Chilin'

2010-02-17T09:25:00.001-05:00

This particular collection of images is about one of my favorite pastimes; chillin' out. You can chill by yourself, or you can invite friends and make it a chill festival, like my friends here in Cannes.

A good thing to do is get ice cream. Or drunk.

When he wasn't 007-in' on 'em, George Lazenby was quite a master of chilling with babes on the slopes. Note the ultimate in chill attire - pas de laces.

Chilling with babes es muy importante; they can keep you warm in Central Park. Yowww.

Christian Slater has always been a fan of relaxing by doing drugs, which is certainly one way to do chillin'. Important mellow attire is a t-shirt and khakis.

But, you can be dressed up and also be low-key. I'm not a big The Who guy, but Roger Daltry's style got kind of interesting in the '80s; lots of striped shirts, lightweight blazers and jackets with tailored pants. Tres chill.

Pitt's overall vibe is cool, because you can tell he's saying to himself, "OK, let's get this over with so I can go roll a doob." Even in Inglorious Basterds.

This is some dude that went to Yale, protesting something. I don't exactly get what there is to protest if you're going to Yale, but whatever, he doesn't looked too stressed about it. OK, looks like it was about apartheid, but still.

A chill ensemble from The Dominican Republic. Supreme will never, ever make pleated pants, by the way. Dare you, Baque.

Unfortunately, Ralphie Lo's cornered the mindshare market on the ageless sport of polo, yet there's a whole lot more style and vibes going on than pique, especially in Texas. A good way to burn through a Saturday.

I get the distinct impression whoever did the tagging on the LIFE image archive doesn't know one Baldwin from another.

These Korean guys weren't actually chillin', they were fighting.

This cat is cafe ready in a t-shirt and a double breasted.

Pierce and Andre are relaxing; khakis, salads, water. Quite a mellow one.

Anthony Perkins in white chinos, maxing, relaxing.

All images, LIFE Archive

Wiliwear by Willi Smith

2010-02-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

''I don't design clothes for the Queen,'' Mr. Smith once said, ''but for the people who wave at her as she goes by.'' - The New York Times

Le Vampire

2010-02-11T09:43:00.003-05:00

via Land of The V

Painlevé, like Guillaume Apollinaire in 1909, claimed that "the cinema is a creator of a surreal life". - Wikipedia

Runway

2010-02-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

"In a place far away from anyone or anywhere, I drifted off for a moment."
— THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE

Runway (55:32)

Hajime Tachibana "Theme from Nihon No Sugao"
Sting "Be Still My Beating Heart"
Rita e Roberto "Vitima"
David Sylvian "Red Guitar"
Ryuichi Sakamoto "Risky"
Sade "Hang On To Your Love"
Linda Di Franco "TV Scene"
Playgroup "Going Overdrawn"
Jah Wobble "East"
David Sylvian "Bamboo Houses"

Runway on Soundcloud
Runway on Mixcloud

Keep 'Em Dancing

2010-01-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

Because there isn't a video for "Sexy Eiffel Tower" and so you know why the McLaren Supreme Vans looked the way they did.

Version City II

2010-01-25T07:40:00.001-05:00

With some unconscious forethought, I saved a note of the tracklisting for Version City II. In case you were wondering. Only now do I realize that I put two Lenny White cuts on it - it's worth mentioning, the guy was quite stylish, rarely photographed without his signature hat. Of course, Gil Scott Heron wasn't half bad himself.

A Silent Flute - Version City II (60:46)

Flash and The Pan "Waiting for a Train"
The Rivits "Future Soon"
Phil Manzanera "Diamond Head"
Lenny White "Prince of The Sea"
Space "Running In the City"
Mick Fleetwood "Super Brains"
Edwin Birdsong "Kunta Dance"
Chaka Khan "All Night’s All Right"
Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson "Late Last Night"
Lenny White "Night Games"
Osamu "Yesterday & Karma"

You Know More Than Me

2010-01-18T02:40:00.007-05:00

They say Europeans use Dailymotion more than YouTube. I've been looking around for this music video for Linda Di Franco "TV Scene" for many summers, so maybe "they're right and maybe there's a whole stash of Euro vids to be found. While it's not the more dance floor friendly classic 12" mix, I'll live; the sax solo and "how does it feel" ad lib are both intact. In related news, I managed to stuff this tune on a new mix, forthcoming. Look for it. It's the one with the piano bridge.

Torture Taxi by CTRL+W33D

2010-01-16T11:33:00.003-05:00

20 minutes of w33d jams: CTRL+W33D's Torture Taxi

Weekend Reads | Mazes, Minds, Menswear and Man

2010-01-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Labyrinth Discovered Under The Bosnian Pyramids by Sam Semir Osmanagich on LVL39
The Harvard Psychedelic Club by M.J. Stephey on Time
The Nifty 50 | Patrik Ervell, Designer by Laird Borrelli-Persson on T Magazine
Was Neanderthal Man the Original Metrosexual? in The Daily Mail

You Can Dance

2010-01-14T17:59:00.002-05:00

HELL FEATURING BRYAN FERRY 'U CAN DANCE' from Gigolo Records on Vimeo.

Read all about it on T Magazine.

Reflections, They Say

2009-12-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

"A young girl in leather jeans and a jersey which did not make it to the top of her jeans began to sing. She was extraordinarily good. They all sat at the table to listen to her." - CARIOCA FLETCH

Reflections, They Say (55:51)

Bobby Caldwell "Kalimba Song"
Bobby Caldwell "What You Won't Do For Love"
Quincy Jones "Somethin' Special"
Chaka Khan "What Am I Missing"
Daniele Baldelli & T.B.C. "Cosmic Voice"
Graham Central Station "Mr. Friend"
Atmosfear "Creator's Dream"
Delegation "Darlin' (I Think About You)"
Dexter Wansel "I Will Never Forget (My Favorite Disco)"
Chaka Khan "Best In The West"
Sister Sledge "You Fooled Around"
The Limit "Could This Be Love"
David Joseph "I'm So In Love"

Fraulein

2009-12-20T12:59:00.001-05:00

Ellen von Unwerth at Staley Wise, through January 30th.

Mount Fuji, Miyajima and Iwate

2009-12-16T20:01:00.001-05:00

(autumn) from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo. via Pink Tentacle

Did someone say chill-out room?

Lick It Up

2009-12-13T20:04:00.002-05:00

via Franki Chan

All Black | Jungle Fever

2009-12-11T00:39:00.002-05:00

"Jungle is a London sumting." Take this 1994 BBC2 documentary for a spin. Look for a young Fab and Bukem, Shy FX in the bedroom days, Rap & Trace at the record shop and UK Apache on stage in Wolverhampton. Heavy.

Pyramid Over Moscow

2009-12-10T20:39:00.001-05:00

The Stooper

2009-12-08T11:07:00.001-05:00

Freddy Peguero, 53, a short-order cook from Manhattan, rooted for Mr. Leonardo to scan a winner one recent afternoon.

“Everybody in here loves Jesus,” he said. “When Jesus wins, we all eat, and we all drink. Jesus is a very generous man.”

Weekend Reads | Hard Bottoms, Political Correctness and Radicals

2009-11-26T22:23:00.003-05:00

Brogue Bros by Douglas Hart in Vice
Words That Think For Us by Edward Skidelsky in Prospect
Ji-Hobbyists by Ben Schott on The New York Times

'92 Thing

2009-11-17T22:19:00.001-05:00

Bad Romance - Just Another Grandma's Boy Rip-Off?

2009-11-13T10:51:00.002-05:00

The footage speaks for itself.

High as a Georgia Pine

2009-11-13T08:52:00.000-05:00

In 1970 Dock Ellis threw a no hitter while tripping on acid. Using the audio from an Ellis interview conducted by writer Donnell Alexander, No Mas and James Blagden put together this animated short illustrating Ellis' zeitgeistic trip to the fifth base, and beyond. If you're interested in more No Mas, I did a somewhat-lengthy interview with them a few years back.

Thirsty Thursdays

2009-11-12T01:04:00.002-05:00

The guy that cuts my hair sent me this. Needless to say he is not a hairdresser.

Shusei Nagaoka

2009-11-11T14:49:00.002-05:00

Take a retrospective look at the commercial illustration work of Japanese sci-fi illustrator Shusei Nagaoka on Pink Tintacle. This particular piece is the cover art for Caldera's Sky Island, an awesome funky-fusion album.