my favorite photographs. no. 1

new feature here on pluto drive; one where i introduce you to my favorite photographs, and while doing so, introduce you to some of my favorite photographers.  without further delay, our first installment:

patti smith shot by danny clinch

certainly not the first to capture smith’s appearance (robert mapplethorpe comes to mind with that incredibly haunting ‘horses’ album cover), danny clinch’s  portrait of the great poet/musican affects me in the most amazing way. equal parts intimate, claustrophobic & revealing; the photograph captures the moment in time perfectly.  as cold and hard as the mapplethorpe was, this image is warm and telling, but asks more questions than it reveals.  why john coltrane?  what is she looking at?  what does music mean to her?   i think it would be amazing to be in a small dingy record store in the village with patti leading the way through the stacks and guiding me towards musical treasures.  a little cliche i’m sure, but special just the same.

clinch is a noted photographer working quite a bit in the rock world.  his photographs have graced album covers as well as published in vanity fair and rolling stone.

click here for more about danny clinch.

i’ll tumbl for ya

i’m trying/testing/exploring something new over at tumblr to see if i can get the blogging juices flowing again.  there, i will post photography / art / music, etc… don’t worry tho’ i’ll be keeping this site up in order to blog “about” things – see how it goes at least.

in the meantime; bookmark or check out my tumblr site:

missed connection

found posted on the door at the black dog cafe:

i wonder what caused jane to be such a impatient twit.  or perhaps red haired meghan & chris were just too rude to show up on time?   and who is this “we” – who else was involved?  too many questions…too few answers.

artistic license (aka theft, but imitation is the highest form of flattery… right?)

the original:

my twist:

good advice.

bless the kindness of (internet) strangers

big props to one helluva generous blogger (not sure if he wants to publically thank him or not – but he knows who he is) for getting me a copy of the wendy & lisa album ‘friendly fire’.

the album, being typical bootleg fodder features not only the unreleased tracks from friendly fire, but a number of other rarities including pieces of their score work from the short-lived tv series ’snoops’ and the movie ’soul food’ as well as a number of demo’s & b-sides.  (love the fan-made c0ver art; not)

this makes me very happy.  very happy indeed.

psycho kitty

parker

a long walk along the river

the sky is a poisonous garden #1

matt channeling his inner saturday night fever.

parking garage straight out of 'drag me to hell' (but cool eerie lighting)

flying rat condo's in the bluffs

he so doesn't enjoy his picture being taken.

lines!

i've named him chuck.

more chuck.

not quite a poisonous garden

dandelion or freaky sphere? you decide.... (also available as an iphone wallpaper)

poisonous garden...or wrath of god?

that's a really big chain, don't'cha think?

eye of sauron

nice ass

wendy & lisa; friendly fire

the completist in me is desperate to find the unreleased album ‘friendly fire’ by wendy & lisa.  if anyone has it and wants to do a swap or can point me to a mp3 site that would be great.  most helpful. (it does live on a torrent site [found here] but i can’t get it work…)

ack! new music… now? ok then, yeah. i’ll take some of that!

so much for everything i posted below….

i wandered into the e’fetus last night looking for the new la roux (drat, its still not out) – but found some treasures on sale including:

prince | dirty mind (6 bux) [can you believe i didn't own this on cd?]

melissa etheridge | skin (2 bux)

the duke spirit | cuts across the land (7 bux)

+

the brand new the crystal method record, which i didn’t even know was out.  divided by night:

this is going to be in my cd player non-stop for days.  thick, dense, wet grooves with a cast of current who’s who (new order’s peter hook, metric’s emily haines, she wants revenge’s justin warfield + jason lytle and samantha maloney).  

i swear i should have been a club lighting designer – as i was driving to work this morning, i could completely envision a mad lighting design for the track ‘drown in the now’ featuring matisyahu – the track is just wierd and cool.  i need a career change pronto!

here’s the video for ‘drown in the now’:  

want to know more?  the crystal method in the wall street journal

pluto drive | #1 06/2009 – mix disk

hey, look – its june 2009 & i haven’t made a mix-tape (disk? playlist?) in sometime.  i was killing time the other day so i threw together some shit that i’m loving at this moment – some of it is new, some of it old, some funky & filled with hooks – other tracks a lil’ quieter… but all good imho.  want a copy?  let me know… or better yet, show the bands some love & spend .99 on them, most of these tunes are on itunes.

 

baditude | spoon, harris + obernik

 

this was a huge dance floor jam last summer & it still amazes!  dave spoon, paul harris & vocalist sam obernik join forces for this instant classic.  we’ve used it a ton in runway shows & trust me, girls can walk the fuck out of this groove.  turn this baby up loud in the car, with the windows down.  

 

disco heaven | heloise & the savoir faire

 

what do you get when you mix “tina turner beyond the thunderdome era…diana ross central park 1983 era…and the french revolution”?   nyc’s club scene/fashion provocateur’s heloise + the savoir faire.  disco punk never sounded so fun.  debbie harry is swooning in her hair bleach even as we speak.  i’ve been addicted to their cd ‘trash, rats & microphones’ for about 6 months now, the full album never ceases to get me to jump around my apartment like a fool.  

 

heads will roll | yeah yeah yeahs

 

what new order started in 1983 with ‘blue monday’ evolves sweetly into the brand new yeah yeah yeahs track ‘heads will roll’ – it’s urgent, synth-y & pure dance floor sex.  the infectious groove get’s under your skin & sticks to your bones.  and based on their gig last week at minneapolis’ 1st ave, we finally have a proper heir to siouxsie’s throne.  throbbing, sexy, hard, soft, aggressive & vibrant.  all at the same time.

 

i was made for loving you | queen of japan

 

having absolutely nothing to do with japan (are a nebulous group of producers + catriona shaw on vox), queen of japan are a confusing lot.  they’ve made their underground name on remaking (reworking?  destroying?) well known tunes with an ear towards sleaze/electroclash.  the track here, originally done by kiss, turns into a slow-burn, deeply intimate/sexual come-on to an unseen girl.  is the music a lark, or is it meant to be taken serious?  not sure, but i do know i love the groove they’ve laid down & again, this thing sounds massive in a car or in headphones.

 

black + gold | katy perry

 

yeah, yeah, she kissed a girl and the track sucked balls.  she’s redeemed herself a bit here with this cover of last year’s sam sparro smash.  completely up-ending the tune and reworking it as an urgent, quiet ballad works well for the song (!) and for katy’s thin voice.  yeah, i love the original, but katy’s version opens new layers to sparro’s grammy-nominated song.  

 

listen to the darkside | charlie mars

 

this track is my new favorite as i just discovered it a week or so back.  one review i read compared him to the ethereal quality of daniel lanois mixed with a bit of g. love.  to that i would add some of the country-rock flavor the jayhawks.  the tune is a simple little groove that is quite lovely and subtle, but with a lot of soul.  

 

front street | the gutter twins

 

anyone who’s ever read any of my blogs knows i love me some greg dulli.  along with prince, siouxsie, peter gabriel, kate bush & concrete blonde; his songs have informed the better part of my musical world for the better part of 15 years.  this tune, off last year’s saturnalia was the result of a partnership with screaming tree’s mark lanegran  and finds dulli at his most confessional.  admitting secrets is never an easy thing, but his words evoke a dark feeling most of us are too afraid to tell the world.  for me, it’s amazing when a song can take you on a journey – and that’s just what front street does, granted its a dark journey, but a journey just the same. 

 

lassoo | the duke spirit

 

i discovered the duke spirit after they appeared on the last UNKLE record & was immediately taken with liela moss’ voice (NME calls moss’ a proper lady of rock, and what a wonderful thing that is).  then i checked out their sophomore effort, neptune, from-which ‘lassoo’ was taken and was quickly blown away.  the mix of big horn’s, 60’s grooves and tight hard rock makes for a pretty impressive sound.  

 

you can’t see me | grand ole party

 

ok, you won’t be able to get this track for a bit o’time – the band gave it out at a show i saw last week (they opened for the yeah yeah yeahs).  matt and I were completely impressed by this cali trio (by the way, the vocalist is also the drummer, how cool is that?)  the music itself is such a brilliant mix of that classic 60’s sound mixed with the modern edge of a siouxsie or a pj harvey.  i see big things happening for grand ole party .

 

tell the lie | the bellrays

 

discovered these guys via lead singer lisa kekaula’s appearance on the ’05 basement jaxx album kish kash.  and was a little taken aback by the bands punk/soul vibe (vs, the straight up soul/disco of the ‘jaxx), but the more i listen, the more i love.  this is what i think me’shell ndegeo’cello would sound like if she ever made a straight up bar/rock record.  powerful pipes supported my a very muscular lil’ punk/soul band.  nice job bellrays!

 

exit through you  | joseph arthur, peter gabriel aka big blue ball

 

i’ve talked at length about how much i love the world beat fusion rock record big blue ball (recorded over a 4 year period in the early 90’s & then guided to release over the next 13 years by karl wallinger (world party) and stephen hague (pet shop boys, annie lennox) before, and the album is still a-must listen to a couple times a week – and this is the track that fires on all cylinders.  arthur’s moody earthy vox and words partnered with gabriel’s world view is a great mix.  filled in with a cast of players from all over the world and you get one great tune – a tune that you’ll be humming for days to come.  

 

fucking boyfriend (peaches remix) | the bird & the bee

 

as a huge fan of the bird and the bee, i was giddy happy to see what electroclash queen peaches would do to this killer track.  what she does as a remixer is brilliant; she takes the track, twists it and builds the monster groove (in a club this would be amazing), but holds onto the essence of the song (love when it all drops out about 3/4 of the way in and your left with the simmering original vocal).  very nice peaches.  and yes, i would be your fucking boyfriend.

 

puppets | atmosphere

 

winning the title for best album name of 2008 (when life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold), minneapolis based hip hop kings return with this moody, atmospheric (!) slow burning anthem.  puppets is simply an amazing piece of poetry with a really great groove underneath.  who’s it about?  who knows, but given they’re from minneapolis – there’s a ton of speculation that they’re about our purple prince.  slug’s words are nothing short of amazing:

 

i think its great how you used to be great

i cant hate on how you choose to relate

but i know that you had the potential

i understand why you wanted to let go

a lot of pressure in the middle of those shoulders

and we aint gettin nothin but older

aint nothin change but the day we run from

but nobody knows it better than you huh?

 

billionaire | peaches featuring yo majesty’s shunda k

 

all hail the queen.  peaches came back this year with the utterly amazing ‘i feel cream’ album.  what puppets did for subtlety, billionaire does for sheer force of power and bravado.  billionaire is raunchy, hard, throbbing and completely inspiring.  there’s power here in both her rap and shunda’s – these are women completely, unapologetically in control of their lives and sexuality.  lucky is the man (or woman) picked to please them.  peaches is the female equivalent to every male rock-fantasy icon in a way madonna can never be. 

 

absent minded friends | moloko

 

this is an old track that is stuck on repeat for me lately.  what grabs me every single time is the amazing production (layers upon layers; listen to it in headphones = amazing) mixed with róisín murphy’s amazingly fragile voice.  normally she sounds strong and hard, but her voice here is like a pane of thin glass.  i love that dichotomy.  surprise me like they did in 2000 with this release and i’ll come back time and time again.

 

i’m good, i’m gone (black kids remix) | lykke li

 

hailing equally from stockholm, portugal, lisbon, morocco, nepal & india, lykke li is much like a better travelled bjork.  albeit a better travelled bjork with more accessible tunes.  equal bits new wave & dance-pop – this tune is infectious and slinky.  as rolling stone said in their 100 best singles of ’08; “hand claps are the new power chords.”

 

quiet steam | peter gabriel

 

rumor has it that gabriel, fearing that his 1992 hit ‘steam’ would simply be dubbed ‘son of sledgehammer’, simultaneously recorded this muted, ambient version & released it as a b-side.  as great as steam is, this version just blows it away.  there is an aching, yearning quality to his voice that the pop version simply doesn’t have.  the rhythmic percussion, simple repeating guitar line (that maintains a bit of that soul/stax vibe the original has) & flutes move the song along a gentle winding stream. 

drifting away | faithless

 

i am dying to use this song in a show; i have the whole production mapped out in my head, now to just find the money and the talent!  hard to sum up this song in a paragraph – it’s just beautiful plain & simple… the opening vocals, to the percussive  (loose) beat.  the song just moves me.  

 

new york city on film (or a reasonable facsimile of film anyway)

i haven’t posted pics from my recent trip to nyc cause.. well, because nobody reads this blog anymore… there’s like 8 of you (8 truly brilliant souls who check this thing out everyday hoping i’ll post.  you, fine people – have a lovely space in nirvana reserved).  i guess there’s some truth to the whole thing about readership going up and down with how often you post.  

christopher specifically requested pics, so this post is really for him .   enjoy:

 

the above shots are of the fountain in bethesda terrace in central park.  i’ve walked by this fountain a bunch, and never really paid much attention to it. however, its matt’s favorite spot in the entire city – and when you really pay attention, it’s just one of the most striking pieces of art i’ve ever seen.  really dig these shots.  the first one is a mosaic of 3 different shots, i put it together using photogene.

another shot from central park.  this robin was rooting around looking for dinner no doubt.  i love the pissed off look in his eye.  

the woolworth building.  designed by minnesota architect cass gilbert (who also did the mn state capitol, the u.s. supreme court building in washington dc, the master plan for the university of minnesota.

interestingly enough (at least to a geek like me; he’s one of my favorite architects), gilbert also designed the building that our good friend cb over at the mangina monologues lives in (about a block from from where i live).  he also designed the us federal courthouse in new york – the next 2 photos show some detail work of the building:

this of course is the empire state building.  i just love the contrast of styles between the empire and the glass and steel office building in the forfront.  

details of the frank lloyd wright designed guggenheim museum.  can never get enough of mr. wright’s designs.  

my friend jenn took matt and i to an impromptu gay marriage rally in the city while we were there.  the main difference between a gay rights rally in nyc and minneapolis/st paul.  they get celebrity’s.  i shot a cool video of sex & the city’s miranda (aka cynthia nixon) speaking at the rally.  you can view it here)

this placard at the rally just sum’s it up so well.  

isn’t he cute?

the aforementioned jenn.  one of the greatest chicks in the world.  love her to pieces… thanks for a great sunday in the city (and an even better meal at lil’ frankies)

i swear i didn’t photoshop this pic, but who doesn’t love a little ass power!  or should that be power to the ass?  up with ass?  fight the ass?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

happiness.

with respect to by the bayou who posted a version of this first – good lil’ list, don’t you think?

1. Throw out a lot of crap you never really use, and don’t really need.
2. Take your dog for a walk early in the morning, when the world’s waking up.  (note; must get dog, or perhaps i should just take matt for a walk early in the morning)
3. Light a candle.
4. Take a nap.
5. Don’t turn your television on for 72 hours.
6. Curl up on the couch and read something.
7. Have a strong cup of coffee (or tea or whatever it is you like).
8. Find a contemplative space and sit there for 30 minutes, doing nothing. (If you live in Minneapolis I recommend the Walker Art Center Scuplture Garden.)
9. Find a job you love and do that.  Don’t settle for anything less.

gasm; post script

madhouse6 nice company eh? less than 5 seconds ago from web

    

madhouse6 p.s., did you know the only other act (besides Prince) at the time to ever have a #1 film, album & single at the same time was the Beatles?less than 5 seconds ago from web

purple rain-gasm

thought i’d post a string of tweets that i bored the twitter-verse tonight with.  it’s the 25th anniversary of purple rain this year & in honor of that, i listened to the soundtrack album start to finish.  floored by how well this album holds up.  so freaking good.  start reading from the bottom up to get the tweets in order (and yes, i already know what a geek this makes me sound like):

madhouse6

1. ….do a proper remaster release. the album sounds horrible (acoustically)… the audio needs to be cleaned up big time. le sigh.8 minutes ago from web
       

2. this is, without a doubt-the album that made me a fan of Music with a capitol M. wish to got he and warners would get it together and…9 minutes ago from web
       

3. wow. never knew. ok, world – almost done with my purple rain-gasm. this album is the shit. brill-wait for it-iant!!13 minutes ago from web
       

4. “Like what the fuck do they know?/All their taste is in their mouth/Really, what the fuck do they know? / Come on, baby. Let’s go crazy!”14 minutes ago from web
       

5. ha! just read an article that printed the opening lyrics (backmasked) to ‘baby i’m a star:14 minutes ago from web
       

6. tho’ i’m dead serious about that ‘computer blue’ track. i really need a new copy of that.23 minutes ago from web
       

7. (fyi, my sob’s, that’s what it sounds like when doves cry). ha!24 minutes ago from web
       

8. speaking of, anyone have an mp3 of the 14 minute version of ‘computer blue’? i’m still looking for that (my copy doesn’t play anymore..sob)24 minutes ago from web
       

9. @anakin1814 are you kidding? that thing is a big bike. i’ve seen it a few times. beautiful ride too 41 minutes ago from web in reply to anakin1814 (this was in response to some tool who made a crack at prince’s height: anakin1814: Wonders if they had to order prince a tiny little purple motor cycle for Purple Rain #barbiemotorcycle)
       

10. the album also had 4 top 10 singles (and additional 1 top 25).43 minutes ago from web
        

11. in case u forgot: at one point Purple Rain had the #1 movie in America & also the #1 album and the #1single.about 1 hour ago from web
        

12. <—listening to Purple Rain (25th anniversry ya’know). i haven’t listened to this record start to finish in eons…about 1 hour ago from web