I'm trying something new. It's a podcast mix .. and it's a bit all over the place. Which is sort of the way I like it. The name just showed up one day (as names are wont to do around here ), and it wouldn't leave.

I didn't have time to post this before CMJ, but some of these bands played during the festival. (Some are just personal faves and/or fit inside this Brooklyn/NYC bubble I've been in lately.) In my hunt to find shows to hit up that I would later end up blowing off, I still discovered some cool stuff. My new favorite thing is Teengirl Fantasy , who I didn't get to see. They are not from Brooklyn nor did they go to RISD. But hopefully they'll be back.

Anyway, this first one's pretty short, definitely not perfect, and there's not much talk, but I hope to do more in the future. (Perhaps I'll resuscitate my old Muxes—Muxtape remembers here and here .) Drop me a line if you enjoy it.

Here's the tracklist:

° High Places - Golden (Brenmar Remix)
Brooklyn, NY: myspace.com/hellohighplaces

° Hercules and Love Affair - Classique #2
Brooklyn, NY: myspace.com/herculesandloveaffair

° Black Dice - Roll Up
New York, NY: myspace.com/blackdicemyspace

° ESG - My Love For You
Bronx, NY: myspace.com/esgband

° Lightning Bolt - Dracula Mountain
Providence, RI: myspace.com/laserbeast

° Lansing-Dreiden - Part of the Promise
New York, NY: myspace.com/lansingdreiden

° Lemonade - Blissout
from CA but just moved to Brooklyn, NY: myspace.com/bananasandecstasy

° (bootleg) - The Right Shorty
Brooklyn, NY

° Teengirl Fantasy - Portofino
Oberlin, OH: myspace.com/teengirlfantasy + teengirlfantasy.angelfire.com

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I did see Women and Ponytail (and I think Vivian Girls) during a Todd P show Friday at this big Bushwick warehouse called Danbro Studios. I thought Women were great. And the hyperactive lead singer of Baltimore's Ponytail reminded me of myself when I was 8 years old, mullet and all. With not much to it but brick and rafters, this raw space made it sound kind of like hearing music in a castle and was therefore pretty awesome. As a friend pointed out, it was a lot like something out of Berlin. The view of Bushwick industrial graveyard magic out the back was nice, too. The Danbro flyer said something about 'restaurants' and 'photo' along with recording and rehearsal spaces, so rumors that they're turning this into a proper build-out may be true.

I popped by Spoonbill on Bedford Ave earlier this week and noticed that Peter Saville will be signing stuff there this Saturday 1p-3p.

° A Certain Ratio - Knife Slits Water mp3

° Brian Eno + David Byrne - The Jezebel Spirit mp3

° Santogold - Starstruck mp3

Here's an interesting snip about the "undesigned" from an interview with Saville in Digital Arts Magazine:

Are there any trends in current design that you particularly appreciate or dislike?
There’s a trend at the moment towards the undesigned. There’s a lot in there that just gets directly to the point; it understands the truth in something. There are certain works at the moment that are just what they need to be – it’s like walking into Muji for the first time again. The worst thing, though, is ironic un-design that has then become a sort of design, and then become a mess. When it’s still radical – a spread or an ad in a magazine – it’s effective. Once 99 per cent of the publication has adopted a don’t-care poise, it’s a mess and has become that which it sets out to mock.

° Killing Joke - Change mp3

Last Friday night I watched the first presidential debate at the new LEED-certified Galapagos space in Dumbo. Outdoing the aquatic entrance of its former Williamsburg location, the new Galapagos is laid out with an undulating archipelago of round booths hovering above an impressive 1600-foot lagoon. Plenty of pix on their site help illustrate. I think it's a good look, even though there's not much open floor space. The seating-focused design signals a shift in programming—toward cultural events that are a bit classier than, say, rocking, raving and titty dancing (all of which are still in full force up at the original space, now Public Assembly.)

° Brian Eno + David Byrne - America Is Waiting mp3

Despite its supper-club layout, the venue was standing-room-only for the debate. I barely made it in, just as they were reaching capacity an hour before the broadcast, and friends who weren't so lucky texted me to say the line outside had become super long. Because CurrentTV's Hack the Debate was hosting, instead of watching pundits and regular folks keep score on CNN , we were watching a real-time feed of Twitter messages as they floated up over the broadcast, "powered by Adobe Flash." Neat idea, but the execution was a little distracting. I found myself reading them during McCain's time but trying to ignore them when Obama was up. (It was also in 3D, apparently, but I was too late to snag a pair of glasses.) Photos of the night, including screen shots, are Flickr'd here .

° Baby's Gang - America mp3

Galapagos is showing the VP debate Thursday, this time with a $5 guaranteed-seat-and-free-drink reservation .

If you're Burg-bound that night, you should try to reserve a spot at MonkeyTown , which will have just celebrated its 3rd anniversary the night before with free food, free drinks and djs. It has teetered on the edge of being priced out (a la Galapagos), and I'm really glad it's still in the hood. (Who doesn't love that place?)

° Devo - Freedom Of Choice mp3

Before the debate, head to Kiosk , where my favorite traveling merchant-curators have cleverly timed the spectacle with their next Opening Party:

The KIOSK American Installment #1, an exploration of sorts into our past, present and the future. With all the activity going on in this country now we could not think of a better place to focus on. Opening Party October 2nd, the night of the Vice-Presidential debates, from 6 - 9 pm. Obama fundraiser comb and hopefully a poster (we are taking sides: OBAMA YES!). Economics and coin rolls, politics and surprise balls, things to fish with and stuff for babies to chew on, it's America after all, we hope you will like our sampling. Opening party starts early this time so we can watch the debate at 9, FYI we hope to have a TV hook-up here and are working on getting reception now. Hope you can pass by! Hope you are hanging in there during these trying times!

° Jupiter - I Love America mp3

Kiosk threatens to move overseas if Obama doesn't win. Make sure you're registered to vote by October 10th and that your friends and fam and neighbors all know what's up.

° Antiballas - Who Is This America Dem Speak Of Today? mp3

See also: The nascent American Design Club has its first show up at Character through Thursday: "The club produces events and socials to improve the lives of designers and the appreciation of American design."

You will not be able to stay home.

° Dead Kids - America (RAC Mix) mp3

I'm only a little scared: Hadrons, yes. Collisions, no. End of world to follow...

Eddie Izzard - The Awesome Universe mp3

Kode 9 and the Spaceape - Portal mp3

Electric Light Orchestra - From the End of the World mp3

See also: NYTimes article and infographics

image: The Big Picture (Boston.com)

° Magazine - The Light Pours Out of Me mp3

Apologies. Been too busy to post lately. But as promised here's an update.

Just a quick collection of experimental music [re/]production methods that freshen up old ideas with new technology or work old-fangled tech into new designs. Some of the tracks are directly related; some I've just correlated.

[Also: The lettering above is from a new typeface I'm working out. You can see it in action on the flyer for the Sharegroove get-down last Friday and on this Bastille Day Party invitation.]

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[A] PLOrk: Princeton Laptop Orchestra
Of course. I think it's cute.

° PLOrk - Conflict: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Parse Error mp3

° Computer Club - Bizarre Love Triange mp3

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[B] Graphite Sequencer
I love when visuals are tapped for sound source material and vice versa. This does both with a simple lo-fi charm.

"Graphite conducts electricity. Two wires brush against the surface of a paper disk as it spins. The wires are connected to a simple electronic tone generator. When a line of graphite is drawn across the disk, connecting the two wires, a tone is heard."

(via new favorite blog dataisnature.com)

° Muddy Waters - My Pencil Won't Write No More mp3

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[C] MAKE: Blog: Is Gilligan the next Jules Verne?
I often wonder what impact Lost might have on the rest of popular culture, like how much is the series to blame/thank for this so-called 'cocopunk' craze? Anyway, check out this cute ukulele amp housed in a coconut shell, and forget I ever asked.

° High Places - Shared Islands mp3

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[D] Big Ideas (don't get any)
For his final project in a Glasgow School of Art graphic design course, James Houston punk'd Radiohead's "Nude" remix contest. Except he missed the entry date.. but won our hearts! Aw.

"Based on the lyric (and alternate title) 'Big Ideas: Don't get any' I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware, and placed them in a situation where they're trying their best to do something that they're not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there."

Give the vid some time to get going. The still shots of vintage hardware are reason enough to watch.

° Radiohead / James Houston - Nude (Big Ideas (don't get any) Remix) mp3

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[E] Final Product // ATTIGO TT
Another thesis project demo'd on Vimeo, this prototype of a digital dj setup lets the beatmaster paw actual waveforms running across touchscreens instead of handling records (or CDJs or Serato Controls or.. paper-disks!)

° Daedelus - Touchtone (feat. Paperboy and Taz) mp3

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See also: Random music-technology scene in one of my favorite '70s sci-fi fantasies. And here's the Speilberg mashed up with M83.

° Parson - Stickfight mp3

My good friend Chris Parson has made a name for himself in the dubstep world and is finally paying New York a visit tonight at the long-running (14 years?) Konkrete Jungle weekly. With tracks out on Planet Mu and digital dubplates circling the net, he's headlining d-step parties around the US and is adored in the UK by Radio 1's Mary Anne Hobbs. He also co-hosted a similarly long-running (7, 8 years?) dnb/garage weekly called Mental Note on Tuesdays in Austin. I was more into house music at the time, but became a Mental Note regular because Chris et al got me dancing with a mix of 2step and that crossover soulful/jazzy/cinematic/liquid stuff coming from the likes of Hospital Records.

This new track of his, Stickfight, perks my ears with similar crossover appeal. He's still using that sparse, post-apocalyptic sound design but then he draws a more uptempo angle, really emphasizing the double-time. It's a departure from what you probably think of as dubstep, and especially from Parson's trademark chopped-n-screwed brand of it, exemplified on Throw Some D's. Stickfight is more like dubstep's answer to Flat Beat. It also reminds me of my weakness for jump-up.

Parson at Konkrete Jungle
[Monday, June 16. The Pyramid, 101 Avenue A bw 6th/7th. Doors 11p.]
$10 / $8 w/ flyer or guestlist. $5 before 12AM with flyer or guestlist.

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See also:
Venetian Snares
[Monday, June 16. Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. $25. 9p.]
If you're feeling extra adventurous and bass-hungry, catch Parson's Planet Mu labelmate Venetian Snares beforehand. Here's his dubby answer to heavy metal.

° Venetian Snares - Black Sabbath mp3

Busy week so short and sweet: Listen to Lemonade, best friend to sparklers, partner of three-legged race winners, and secret ingredient in that summer cocktail of good music and good friends.

° Lemonade - Blissout mp3

° Lemonade - Big Weekend mp3

These tracks are from the as-yet-unreleased Lemonade output on True Panther, which you can expect around the end of the summer. They've also got a split 12" coming out with Barcelona's Les Aus.

—

See also:
+ SFWeekly: Lemonade samples the world on the way to the dancefloor

This sort of falls under the "guess you had to be there" category. So here's a set of phonecam flicks to help illustrate. I'm not purporting to be an art critic by any means, but I really enjoyed the evening of absurd, interactive performance art and breezy beats at Michael Portnoy's Milk the Weasel, Pull the Rug and Summer Session 2008 at the SculptureCenter in Long Island City last night. Thanks to Jeremy for the heads up and to him and Matthew for the jams. I woke up this morning with Eye in the Sky still playing in my head.

Read on for my attempt at putting this into words.

° Deux - Game and Performance mp3

° Black Dice - Roll Up mp3

I hadn't been to the SculptureCenter before, but it's easy to get to in the vicinity of PS1. The space is great. The courtyard was set up with round card tables to go along with the gambling theme. Inside I saw Marianne Vitale's "expo on dice-footed animals" which consisted of her reading from a text about ungulates to accompany a slideshow of her drawings. Meanwhile Michael Portnoy—his face hidden by black fringe hanging off the edge of a baseball cap—stomped around with a half-empty bottle of Jim Beam and barked directions like "bouncier!" and "rise up!" to her.

But the real treat was the dank and dark basement where you passed a series of installations before the gambling tables. Portnoy and another "dealer" led "games" in which nonsensical, absurd and imaginary things were done with strange die, ribbons, keys, etc. I thought the tables were really beautiful and reminded me of an idea I had for some pinball machines once. People were made to touch each other in made-up rituals like "scratching the ones." Fake money was tossed around. "Is it nines or fives?" had to be answered repeatedly. People got really into it. Someone even threw real money on the table at one point. It was all very Mad Hatter and looked totally fun.

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See also:
Long Island City Museum of Natural History
Grand Opening Gala
[Saturday, May 31st. 8pm to late / DJs at 12. 3629 Vernon Bd, L.I.C.]
Featuring specimens from the permanent collection
Performances by Slow/Dynamite
DJs Matthew Radune, Tropical Jeremy in the Athanasius Kircher Roof Garden

I can't tell you what to expect but I can say I've toured the building and it is neat.

Looks like all the World Science Festival events that really interested me are sold out. Actually, that's not entirely true, but I'll be in the Poconos this weekend so will have to miss out on, say, Saturday's What It Means to Be Human moderated by Charlie Rose, with a panel that includes Jonathan Harris among philosophers, geneticists and neuroscientists. Get tix, go, and I'll borrow your notes when I get back.

° Solvent - A Panel of Experts mp3

If you can't make it out to these talks either, keep reading for a round-up of science and science-y links that I've been bookmarking (wikis, articles, vids, etc), so you can school yourself without leaving your desk/couch/hammock. With science-y musics, of course.

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Wiki: Voyager Golden Record
This was the topic for Andrew Andrew's Pecha Kucha NY presentation.

° Voyager One - The Future is Obsolete mp3

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Wired: Very Short Stories
"33 writers. 5 designers. 6-word science fiction."

° Hilotrons - Science Fiction Music mp3

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TED Talk: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World by Paul Stamets
"Stamets believes we could terraform other worlds in our galaxy by sowing a mix of fungal spores and other seeds to create an ecological footprint on a new planet."

° Can - Mushroom mp3

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NOVA: The Elegant Universe
The only course I ever had to drop and do-over in college was a quantum physics class for humanities nerds that I was required to take. I still never really got it the second time. To make up for it, I'm trying to read the book by Brian Greene now... but I'll probably get more out of this miniseries he hosted that you can watch online.

° Kelley Polar - We Live In An Expanding Universe (Caribou Remix) mp3

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ZDNet: Apple testing geotagging for iPhone 2; 3G switch confirmed
This is mainly for the rad track and lyrics: She is the latest in technology / Almost mythology / But she has a heart of stone / She has an IQ of 1001 / She has a jumpsuit on / And she's also a telephone.

° Electric Light Orchestra - Yours Truly 2095 mp3

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Revver: Imagining the 10th Dimension
See also: the hypercube.

° MGMT - 4th Dimensional Transition mp3

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NYTimes: Mars lander sends photos from Red Planet's arctic

° Alan Parsons Project - I Robot mp3

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Bonus prize for making it to the end:

° The Black Angels - Science Killer mp3