Via Boing Boing and my friend Brad Taylor. I really enjoyed this film about shelter. I also thought the background music was spectacular.
SHELTER from jason sussberg on Vimeo.
This guy makes me look like a hack.
Our dear friend, Terry Teachout, has written a biography of Louis Armstrong entitled “Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong
Unfortunately, I can’t review the book since I haven’t had a chance to crack it yet. However, the book is getting spectacular reviews from everyone, including the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and pretty much anyone who has actually read the book. Michiko Kakutani from the NYT put it on her top ten list for 2009. Terry definitely earned the praise, since it took him 5 years to source and write this biography.
Here are some of the headlines for the reviews on Amazon:I’m going away to Hawaii for a 2 week vacation/marriage/honeymoon. Usually I travel light and bring magazines, but in this case, I think I’ll bring this nice heavy tome along.
Ok, so I stole the title from Jonathan Coulton The phrase was also borrowed by Merlin Mann at 43 Folders
Both are referring to the work by Israeli-born musician Kutiman. Merlin says it so much better than I can when he says:
Unsolicited tip for media company c-levels: if your reaction to this crate of magic is “Hm. I wonder how we’d go about suing someone who ‘did this’ with our IP?” instead of, “Holy crap, clearly, this is the freaking future of entertainment,” it’s probably time to put some ramen on your Visa and start making stuff up for your LinkedIn page.
The video they are referring is below. All of Kutiman’s video tracks can be found here.
This sort of sampling, remixing, reissuing in new form was rampant in the 90s (sans video) before everyone got sued.
BTW, I found this through Kelly Murphy who is an awesome illustrator.
There is a great article on the Ukulele revival in the NYT. You can read about it here.
One of the things about flying every week is that I tend to leave things on the airplane. I’m most at risk from this when I am tired – late at night or early in the morning. Unfortunately, I left my V-Moda Vibe earphones on a flight home a few weeks ago.
I like the V-Modas. They have a decent sound to them, they are stylish, and their cord is balanced and doesn’t tangle easily. Oh, and they attenuate a fair amount of noise, making them much less bulky than noise-cancelingphones. They were really expensive; they were about a hundred dollars when I bought them. They can be found for about 80 dollars now.
When looking around for a replacement, I found that there are a ton of choices. Top of the list, in my mind, are the Etymotic ER-6i They are supposed to attenuate from 20 to 35db. The other pair I looked at are rated very highly by headphone.com.
I ended up buying Sennheiser CX-300-B. These are balanced-sounding, but they have some quirks. First, they have an asymmetrical cord style that takes some getting used to. Secondly, the cord is definitely more lightweight, and I am not sure how it will hold up over the long term. Lastly, they sit somewhat shallow in my ear, and I don’t think they attenuate as much sound as the V-Modas. The real selling point though is that a NEW pair is available for about 20 dollars on Amazon.com if you look in their New and Used section. Overall, I think they are a great value at that price point.
Since I spend so much time in Bentonville Arkansas, I thought I’d practice my Ukulele while I am out there. I really should have picked up a 90-100 dollar Uke off of Ebay, but I made an impulse purchase at Guitar Center and bought this Hilo Uke.
Honestly, the ukulele stinks. It doesn’t stay tuned through more than one or two songs. The sound is actually very flat and the action is way too high. I am thinking about making some mods to it once I am done with Arkansas, but I doubt I’ll be able to make it sound half as good as my other Ukulele.
The running joke is that whenever I buy a second of something to use in Arkansas, it becomes Tracey’s. I purchased a second set of golf clubs…which are Tracey’s golf clubs. Now there is a ukulele that is really Tracey’s ukulele.
Lastly, as Terry Teachout pointed out to us, we’re a “two ukulele household.”
Yes, Magnetic Fields are playing the Somerville Theater on Valentines day this year. Unfortunately, I am scheduled to be in New Jersey working on a project. I don’t really need to introduce them. I’ve always wanted to see them live.
I haven’t seen a live show in months. I really need to find a way to get to see shows I want to see.
I used to play bass guitar on occasion. I liked learning the bass, and it really helped me learn some music theory. I sold my bass when I left Minneapolis, mainly because I never had time to play it.
The main thing I wanted was an instrument that I can play while watching TV and vegging out. I thought about a buying an acoustic guitar, but I started to get interested in another four-stringed instrument – the Ukulele. So, I just bought an Ohana CK-50 on Ebay. It was shipped to me from Hawaii, and I am very happy with my purchase.
So far, it is awesome. It sounds great, and I have a lot of fun playing it!
Uke Stats: Ohana CK-50
Concert Size
Solid Cedar Top
Solid Rosewood Back & Sides
Solid Mahogany Neck
19-fret Rosewood Fingerboard
Rosewood Bridge
Pearl Dot Inlays
Nickel Friction Pegs with White Buttons
Aquila Strings
One of my favorite bands, Built to Spill, is currently on tour in Europe. I started listening to them about 8 years ago after I saw a live show. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I heard on the Current that they have tickets on sale for their new tour, and that they will be playing First Avenue at the end of June. I think I will go pick up tickets the next time I’m in town.
My conflict is that the last time I saw them at First Ave, the crowd was the worst I’ve ever seen. It was filled with teenagers who were “moshing”. It was a really bad experience. I’m hoping that it will be better this time. My only consolation is that I saw Doug Martsch on a solo tour once, and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen.