Cinematography: We’ve come a long way?

We don’t have to ask why we love videos and movies, visual literacy is becoming more important as time goes on. Thinking about today’s conventions I see in contrast to the silent films of the early years of cinema, the first thing is obvious: there are a lot of talking heads. The cinematic elements that…

rAndom International’s latest: Audience

Audience, the latest media installation from rAndom International, is outta sight – as the viewer walks through it, the mirror-fellows track them, making each viewer the “focus” of the piece as they are reflected in each little mirror: t>

Coldcuts: Reuben Palmer in Barcelona

I’ve met some cool musicians while living in Barcelona and traveling elsewhere. Why not shoot some vids, have some fun and help them spread the word? In that vein, Coldcuts was just created to showcase these pals’ work. This weekend, we shot some tunes with Reuben Palmer in my flat here in the Born:

Here, Now

Easy to take this all for granted. Breathing. Walking. Seeing. Feeling. Any sense. Pick one. And it’s even easier to stroll through this whole thing blind to the possibility that this may just very well all be some dream. We know nothing about what any of us are doing here. In the meantime, we find…

Swim Until You Can’t See Land

We salute at the threshold of the North Sea in my mind And a nod to the boredom that drove me here to face the tide and swim (Whoaaaa) I swim (Whoaaa) oh swim (Whoaaa) Dip the toe in the ocean. Oh how it hardens and it numbs. And the rest of me is a…

Sean Hayes: Garden

The Garden When the morning breaks We will be out walking We will watch the sun Rise above the wall We will ask ourselves What road to take We will catch our hearts You and I decide Where to take our journey How high to fly Love to love our turning You and I Take…

slowly, very well

These were the words spoken by one of my young, student directors as she attempted to motivate her 3rd grade counterparts appropriately during one of our practice shoots:

Number Stations

Our dear pal, Alec (aka Catigator), contributed a track to this compilation, titled cooly-enough: Number Stations File under experimental and have a listen:

The Irony of Beauty

This is an astounding metaphor for our culture and the gravity of our situation as lifeforms on a planet we know next-to-nothing about: enveloped by the inelegance of our current technology, with wires and all kinds of ugly schwack running up and down the walls surrounding and protecting him, Ed Lu is aboard the International…

Alec Johnson on PublicSpacesLab

My pal Alec Johnson [aka Carbon Productions] is having lotsa talent: his skills to pay the bills: Landscape Architect. His way to play: stop-motion-making dad, husband, athlete, tinkerer and gifted musician, which is especially why he’s being featured here today: Alec submitted some of his musical work to PublicSpaces Lab, where it’s being released as…

Walls of Time

I just love Ricky Skagg’s version of this tune but, before performing it himself, Peter Rowan tells the story in the clip below of how he and Bill Monroe wrote this tune after having driven all night on their bus traveling north from the Grand Ole Opry:

The Pines : Tremolo

The Pines‘ latest album, Tremolo, has earned some great reviews fresh out of the chute, including Penguin Eggs, which reviewed it in this month’s issue: Potent, poignant, minimalist country from Iowans David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey (son of Greg Brown sideman Bo, who produced this record). The duo spin spare, haunting melodies and imagistic words…

MOBY in MPLS

Moby was in town @ The Current this past week and, in addition to hosting Theft of the Dial, left us with some great live recordings, including this moving Gospel rendition:

Skoal Kodiak

The sounds these guys make are made to be experienced live and man, look out because the grooves powered by Brady’s bass and Freddy’s drums carry the audience off to dance land. The clip below does their thing little justice but after their set @ the 501 Club last night, I had to mention them…