Sundance Channel

Will Country Music come out of the closet?

Chris Willman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:00:36 +0000

A few years ago, Willie Nelson released an iTunes single called “Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other.” As a novelty tune prompted by the popularity of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, it hardly represented a serious attempt to introduce gay subject matter into country music. But, in its own jocular way, it did break through a verboten barrier for the genre and cause some folks in Nashville to look around at each other and think: Just how many music-industry “cowboys” are we talking about here? And just how necessary is the secrecy?

Not Your Mom’s Baryshnikov

Sundance Channel — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:29:34 +0000

Baryshnikov | Photo Credit: Kah Poon

We know you're probably wiped out after the double wammy of Proper Villains and Valissa Yoe last week, but we here at Sundance Channel urge you to party onward, always with Garo in your fiery dancing hearts. The sixth installment for all you ladies, gents and gender benders is here -- The Baryshnikov Mix. Coming to you once a week as tribute to couture fashion designer Garo Sparo, all thanks to our lovely friends over at Garo's workshop. Watch as Garo, part-time psychiatrist and full-time dream weaver, helps his clients battle their inhibitions and unleash their true selves in our all new original series UNLEASHED BY GARO, Fridays at 9p!

Jessica Rabbit is a DJ?!

Sundance Channel — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:09:54 +0000

DJ Valissa Yoe

Announcement! Garo's workshop has decided that this week shall have twice as much popping and locking as previous weeks! After downloading yesterday's mix tape, all you ladies, gents and gender benders can grab the fifth mix right here -- DJ Valissa Yoe Mix. Coming to you once a week (maybe twice) as tribute to couture fashion designer Garo Sparo, all thanks to our lovely friends over at Garo's workshop. Watch as Garo, part-time psychiatrist and full-time dream weaver, helps his clients battle their inhibitions and unleash their true selves in our all new original series UNLEASHED BY GARO, Fridays at 9p!

Properly Villainous Beats

Sundance Channel — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:53:19 +0000

Proper Villains

Had enough booty boppin' after last week's mix tape? Of course you haven't! The fourth installment for all you ladies, gents and gender benders is here -- Proper Villains Mix. Coming to you once a week as tribute to couture fashion designer Garo Sparo, all thanks to our lovely friends over at Garo's workshop.

36 covers, 1 Radiohead song

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:30:51 +0000

of this song by people from all corners of the world. I can't imagine how much time this took, but the end result is surprisingly coherent and listenable. I forecast that there will be a trend of others doing similar stitched covers.

Bike-touring musician inspired by “the trembling music of water”

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:07:39 +0000

As a musician who tours by bike and train with the Pleasant Revolution, and also powers performances by pedaling, Heather Normandale already has a lot of green cred. But her environmentalism doesn't stop with her methods of traveling or amplification; She also finds the inspiration for her music in the natural world. Her current project looks to the source of all life on the planet: water.

More remixed music from Pogo

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:09:28 +0000

Previously mentioned artist Pogo née Nick Bertke is back with another in his popular series of remixed ambient songs created by incorporating sounds from Disney and Pixar films. His latest, “Bloom” is made from various Disney films with the chord sampled from “A.I: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” and the harp sound from SLEEPING BEAUTY.

Animated mash-up GIF “music” video

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:00:03 +0000

Ani Up – Animated Gif Mashup from Evan Roth on Vimeo. Evan Roth created this bizarre, but brilliant video mashing up a few items from the “low brow” pop-culture menu. He incorporates the popularity of animated GIFs typically used as avatars on message boards with a robotic 8-bit re-voicing of MOP’s song “Ante Up.” The [...]

Warm Up all summer long at MoMA/P.S.1

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:00:43 +0000

It's been four months since we announced the winner of P.S.1/MoMA's Young Architects Program. Now that summer is officially upon us, the museum has opened up its courtyard and unveiled Interboro Partner's winning design, "Holding Pattern," which will play host to the annual Warm Up party series. One of the first things you notice when you enter the space, aside from the fact that it seems to be undergoing some last minute construction, are the bright yellow tags on nearly every item in the courtyard (pictured below). They read "Hold For" and are stuck to the chairs, benches, planters, trees, chess boards and ping pong tables. The tags are marked with the names of local businesses and organizations who will receive the tagged item after Warm Up closes in September. When Interboro Partners was conducting their initial research they went out into the neighborhood and asked people, "Is there something you need that we could design and use in the courtyard and then donate in the Fall?" The community seems to have answered eclectically. In addition to seating, there's a sandbox, foosball table, lifeguard chair and even a self-misting modular stage for breakdancing performances.

John Turturro’s PASSIONE for Naples

Sundance Channel — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:20:53 +0000

Filmmaker John Turturro on the set of PASSIONE. Photo credit: Iole Capasso / Squeezed Heart Productions.

John Turturro’s latest film PASSIONE opens on Wednesday June 22^nd at the Film Forum in New York. The film, his fourth as a director (MAC, ILLUMINATA, ROMANCE AND CIGARETTES), is a “musical adventure” through the beautiful, mysterious, and often misunderstood city of Naples. With 23 songs performed by Napoli’s contemporary musical artists, Turturro and cinematographer Marco Pontevecchio create a visual representation of the history, emotion, and perseverance captured in the city’s music. Sundance Channel met with Turturro to discuss the film, his musical influences, and his love for the city of Naples. What is PASSIONE and how did you become involved with the film? It’s a musical adventure through Napoli. And you see various aspects of Napoli through songs that we chose, through the thousands of songs to choose from, and there are many great artists and songs that are not represented. So we were trying to find something that would have a balance like when you write a symphony. You have something legato, something very strong, something that builds. We wanted to have a balance of the old and the new. (Producers) Carlo Macchitella and Alessandra Acciai invited me to make a BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB from Napoli. I realized it’s not a Communist country, it’s not about a band reuniting, and also because of the longevity of (Naples’) music history it would be interesting to maybe explore various aspects of it because it’s such a complex city. So we didn’t know if it would be a documentary...they wanted different singers...they wanted some old footage. They had made some documentaries for (Italian television company) RAI, five hour versions, and Federico Vacalebre is a musicologist and co-author. He’s a journalist, he introduced me to a lot of music and different arrangements of songs I was interested in, and I thought it would be great to have living artists connected to some of the artists of the past.

15 must hear songs from around the world

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:50:54 +0000

The Los Angeles Times Magazine asked 15 music critics and writers from around the world to nominate one track by one homegrown artist from that person’s country and “the result is a true rhythmic patchwork of intercontinental sounds, proving that though we all dance to different drummers, they always have a great beat.” Broaden your [...]

Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend

Bradford Shellhammer — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:31:21 +0000

My obsession with Swedish singer Robyn is ever further cemented with her new video for the single "Call Your Girlfriend." In a textured sweat top, leggings, and sneakers she makes a video fascinating only because of her spunk. It was recorded in a single take in Los Angeles at an abandoned warehouse by Max Vitali, who often collaborates with the singer. It's emotional and fun. And you'll keep watching, I promise.

Hey you! What song are you listening to?

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:15:19 +0000

Tyler Cullen stops random Manhattan pedestrians lost in their headphones and asks them what song they're listening to in this video. Conclusion: appearance is not always an indicator of musical taste.

Kanye music video animated with home-made GIFs

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:17:46 +0000

KANYE WEST Power (Unofficial) from WE ARE FROM L.A on Vimeo. This music video for Kanye West’s “Power” by We Are From LA created with home-made animated GIF images is genius! I predict this “organic” and “grassroots” technique will be “borrowed” by a creative director for a commercial coming soon to you.

Vegan cooking meets heavy metal

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:00:04 +0000

"Heavy metal vegan" may strike you as an oxymoron... but, then, until a few months ago, Fair Trade organic coffee by Rob Zombie may well have had the same effect. Despite the head-banging, leather-wearing clichès, veganism has found its way into metal culture... and a couple of web-savvy headbangers are creating online cooking shows devoted to this niche.

Dreaming with Mike Gordon: We’re in That Deeper Place

Sundance Channel — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:00:42 +0000

DreamStates: Mike Gordon Animation by : Bran Dougherty-Johnson The bassist/vocalist for the band Phish, Mike Gordon is also a multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker. In 1983, he formed the band Phish along with guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth and drummer Jon Fishman. On his own, Gordon has an inclination toward bluegrass and folk music and plays a variety of instruments including guitar, banjo, and piano. An avid filmmaker and photographer, Gordon has shot music videos for Phish and directed the 2000 feature film Outside Out. He released his debut solo album, Inside In, in 2003. Green Sparrow followed in 2008 and Moss in 2010. Mike has kept a dream journal since 1977 and had so many dreams to talk about it was hard to pick just one for our new video series DreamStates. The DreamStates series takes a look into our dreams through the eyes of creative innovators from the worlds of music and film. In Mike Gordon’s episode of DreamStates, Mike discusses how sometimes when playing live – he gets to a “place” that connects him to one of his “night dreams” and he’ll literally see a “vision” from a recurring dream. Intense.

Gawker vs. Gaga

Bradford Shellhammer — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:15:59 +0000

Gawker’s Brian Moylan rips Lady Gaga’s new column for V Magazine to shreds. In a post entitled “Lady Gaga’s First Magazine Column Is as Annoying as You Expected” Moylan lets us in on the fact that Gaga spells Marc Bolan’s name wrong and laughs at her lecture on art and fashion. Moylan’s not buying it: [...]

Student music video trains peers on recycling

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:00:46 +0000

Ever get frustrated when you see someone throwing away a recyclable item... right next to a recycling bin? Or throw a recyclable item in the wrong container? High school junior CJ Joseph certainly has, and has played the role of "recycling police" (or "recycling nazi" if you prefer) at Queens' The Renaissance Charter School: "If I see somebody I'm like, 'You're throwing that out in the wrong bin. Follow the signs people! I know you’ve heard it: Papers go in the blue (bins), and bottles in the green." But as many of us have learned, badgering only gets you so far... so CJ decided to apply her other passion, music, to her recycling fervor, and wrote the song "R to the E to the Cycle." If you read the lyrics, you'll see they're not much different from her "recycling police" instructions... but definitely more catchy!

Japanese World Order featuring amazing dance

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:30:16 +0000

This new music video and catchy song out of Japan is one of the more remarkable things I’ve seen lately, especially the unique synchronized dance choreography. Also, the song’s message is more of a hopeful manifesto, as explained in the video description: Many disasters are ongoing in Japan; earthquakes, Tsunami, and nuclear accidents. These unprecedented [...]

Dreaming with Questlove: Soul Train Pressure

Sundance Channel — Thu, 05 May 2011 20:29:09 +0000

DreamStates: Questlove Animation by Nessim Higson Questlove is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He has produced for artists such as Common, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Jay-Z, Nikka Costa and more recently, Al Green, Amy Winehouse and John Legend. He’s also featured in our new animated web series, DreamStates, talking about his crazy, bizarre recurring dream. DreamStates takes a look into our dreams through the eyes of creative innovators from the worlds of music and film. In Questlove’s dream he is watching himself on a movie screen while he waits for a train at 30th St. Station in Philly, worries about failing out of school and is plagued with the daunting task of coming up with a new theme song and animation to Soul Train. What? We can’t make this up. Check it out.

Night of 1000 Stevies Hits NYC!

Michael Musto — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:30:12 +0000

Once a year in New York, Steve Nicks is wearing a fringed shawl and twirling, ever twirling, as she sings (or more likely lipsynchs) “just like the white winged dove” and other familiar lyrics to a packed house of fervent admirers. Well, not Stevie herself, if you want to get technical. It’s actually scads of Stevie impersonators and worshipers, who convene at the “Night of 1000 Stevies” event to pay tribute to the Fleetwood Mac waif who went on to ethereal solo stardom complete with all kinds of witchy/hippie/gypsy paraphernalia and a pronounced catch in her throat.

Questlove: Coming to Sundance Channel in May…… and lots of other places too!

Sundance Channel — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:50:26 +0000

Image from DreamStates, featuring QuestLove. Questlove is a very busy man! Drummer, DJ, blogger, producer. He seems to do it all. However, he wasn’t too busy to sit down with us and tell us about his very bizarre recurring dream for the new series DreamStates – which launches on SundanceChannel.com on May 2nd. You can check out [...]

Earth Week music: Gulf Coast musicians mark BP oil spill anniversary

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:39:26 +0000

As I noted in a post last year, musicians in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast have worked as hard as anyone to keep last year's Deepwater Horizon explosion, and the subsequent oil spill, in the public mind. This week, as we celebrate Earth Day, and mark the one year anniversary of the disaster in the Gulf, musicians will again go to work to memorialize those killed in the explosion, and to raise awareness of the ongoing struggle with oil and dispersant pollution faced by coastal residents.

Music video starring exploding cakes

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:01:55 +0000

To wake you up this Monday morning, Miles Jay and Derek Blais directed this official new music video for Autoerotique’s the electropop goodness “Turn Up the Volume” starring exploding cakes. Get those fist pumps in the air!

Depeche Mode remixed

Bradford Shellhammer — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:00:26 +0000

Depeche Mode, the U2 of electronic music, is releasing a remix album this summer. And I am freaking out! The 4-disc set will feature remixes of tracks from all their albums, spanning 81-11. Included will be new and old remixes. The band's releases have also become a wonderful study on package and graphic design. By the looks of the above image, this release continues on that tradition. Here's to a summer of Depeche Mode blaring from speakers in gay clubs across the world. More info below:

Bb 2.0: online collaborative composing

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:55:37 +0000

Inbflat.net is the home of Bb 2.0, a web-based sound experiment that harnesses the power of YouTube, namely the user’s ability to play an unlimited number of YouTube videos at the same time. In what is perhaps the most creative application of this feature, Bb 2.0 is basically an online music-making platform that allows the [...]

On traveling to Bjork’s homeland

Bradford Shellhammer — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:39:44 +0000

Angie Grant was a friend of mine in 9th grade. She had a blunt-cut died black bob and wore black and white striped tights with black Creepers. She stained her lip cherry red and idolized The Cure's Robert Smith. At 15 Angie had found a look. She'd created a strong visual that invited ridicule and attention. I admired her greatly. And when i found out a few years back she'd died a little piece of me too also left this world. I was thinking of Angie Grant this past weekend as I traveled to Iceland for the first time. Angie gave me Bjork's album Debut when we were high school kids. And it changed my world. It was one of those crystal-clear moments when you easily look back and remember finding a new world.

DreamStates Coming in May

Sundance Channel — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:49:34 +0000

What do you dream about? What’s that one dream story you’ll never forget? The one that’s “seared into your brain” forever. We all have them. Now, Sundance Channel takes a deeper look into our dreams through the eyes of creative innovators from the worlds of film and music. Created by Option-G, DreamStates is a five-part [...]

The Amen Break

Bradford Shellhammer — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:59:13 +0000

The above 20 minute documentary was made in 2004 and it's all about what is likely the most famous sample ever recorded, the "Amen Break," pulled from a hit, then forgotten, record from the 1960s. That single, the song "Amen, Brother" was performed by the The Winstons. This film honors it.

Pet Shop Boys go to the ballet

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:00:18 +0000

The Pet Shop Boys, the techno-pop duo, have scored their first ballet. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's story The Most Incredible Thing, the ballet is choreographed by Venezuelan dancer Javier De Frutos. It has opened to mixed reviews that match the reviews the PSBs have received their entire career: dramatic, uneven, fun, unforgettable, and a bit confused. If unable to make it to London to see the show the soundtrack was released last week. More on the show below:

RIP Ms. Holloway

Bradford Shellhammer — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:00:24 +0000

We gays have icons that sometimes become huge stars, the Gagas and the Madonnas. But we also have more obscure icons, those that the general public could never embrace the way we did. Loleatta Holloway was one of those icons. Her voice was big. Really big. And she too was no small lady. Her "Crash Goes Love" still makes my skin crawl and her "Love Sensation" is just so, so, so good. It is a record that defines that late 70s/early 80s disco meets house sound. It holds up to this day.

George Michael covers New Order

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:00:13 +0000

The above video is George Michael's odd yet infectious new single. It is a cover of the classic New Order techno-pop gem "True Faith," a song released in 1987. "True Faith's" always been my favorite New Order song. It's aged well and it's lyrics are dark and moody. The song in my eyes always summed up what it was like being gay as a kid. New Order's video for the song was modern and Bauhaus inspired. It fused primary colored cartoon characters with ballet. The characters fought one another too.

120 film titles, 30 friends, one-shot music video

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:36:48 +0000

Rapper T.Shirt weaves 120 film titles into one cohesive song while wandering through the two-floors of the Angelika, my favorite theater in the City. And this video was also done in one-shot. As his t-shirt says, I think this video is MAD ILL. You can view a list of all the films name dropped in [...]

OMD Live at Terminal 5

Bradford Shellhammer — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:02:10 +0000

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the iconic electronic band that sadly most in the US only know from "If You Leave," played their first US shows this week in over 20 years. At NYC's Terminal 5 the energy was palpable and nostalgia flooded the room. OMD's latest album, History of Modern, is a welcome return to form. Unlike many other past-their-prime pop stars' recent efforts, this album is quite good. It's so good in fact it trumps much of OMD's back catalog, which has always been a bit uneven.

Jessica 6′s “White Horse”

Bradford Shellhammer — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:00:41 +0000

Every once in a while a song comes out that just makes you shake your ass. Jessica 6‘s “White Horse” is that record. It’s pop with a Latin soul; it’s electro with a world beat. Nomi Ruiz’s vocals are sultry and deep-throated and the song’s an ode to cocaine. Which is not something necessarily worth [...]

Buy music, support green non-profits: the Patagonia Music Collective

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:17:20 +0000

Got eclectic tastes in music? Have no problem shifting directly from Pearl Jam to Ben Sollee? Pride yourself on a collection of unique, even hard-to-find, tracks on your mp3 player? Outdoor wear maker Patagonia has you covered... and their new collection of downloadable songs from artists ranging from Bonnie Raitt to Maroon 5 to Philip Glass also gives you an opportunity to support a variety of environmental non-profits just by making the purchase.

Billie Ray vs. Vince Clarke

Bradford Shellhammer — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:39:11 +0000

Sweet suburban disco(vince clarke remix) by billie ray martin Billie Ray Martin is releasing a new single next week, “Sweet Suburban Disco,” and this little blog had something to do with the above collaboration (click on the link to listen!). Billie’s been a friend of mine for a decade now. And Vince Clarke, the legend [...]

Just be a queen

Bradford Shellhammer — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:18:42 +0000

The editors of Out Magazine asked me to pen an essay in defense of Lady Gaga, as many within our community are vocally criticizing her new anthem "Born This Way." That can be read here. But I also thought I'd share it with the SUNfiltered community too. See below.

Vimeo of the Week: Need You Now

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:39:38 +0000

Cut Copy – Need You Now from Cut Copy on Vimeo. Australian band Cut Copy‘s video for the song “Need You Now” is good gay fun. It’s hilarious in its use of cliched sport imagery that’s existed in commercials and sports television for years. While the band plays straight, the athletes (swimmers, runners, fencers, and [...]

Music video: The Limousines, Very Busy People

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:22:50 +0000

THE LIMOUSINES from Mathieu Wothke on Vimeo. Mathieu Wothke directed and produced this creative music video for The Limousines’ (catchy) song “Very Busy People.” It cleverly incorporates aspects of the multi-window technique seen popularly in Arcade Fire’s recent interactive film “The Wilderness Downtown” and this video for Japanese band Sour that I mentioned here. [Via]

Xavier’s Valentine’s Song

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:27:45 +0000

For the past seven years NYC-based singer Xavier has recorded a free song download for his fans. It's a really sweet gesture and I thought it would be great to share with a bigger audience. So now you're in on the secret. An added bonus is that this year all the past year's songs are available for download too. That's better than chocolates in a heart-shaped box. Get them all here.

Still Faithful

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:05:31 +0000

I really have my sister Angie to blame for my homosexuality. Maybe not entirely. But I am sure she had a hand in it. Because the year was 1987 and she was a George Michael die-hard. She made me, and our entire house, dance to Michael's album Faith. Looking back through time it's obvious that Michael and I were nelly, nelly queens in 1987. But that was a different time. And a different place. And the world's most famous homosexual was actually a straight sex symbol.

History of hip hop in four minute beat box

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:11:09 +0000

This impressive four minute video of French beat boxer EKLIPS covering the “history” of hip hop’s classic hits in a single take is blazing through the web. Relatedly, check out this cute 19 year old Canadian Chinese girl Sophia KiddBeatz who posts beat box tutorial videos on YouTube which are pretty popular. [Hat tip: Pooja!]

Animated album covers

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:09:18 +0000

This single serve Tumblr devoted to animated album covers is strangely addictive. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it.

Cee-Lo in sign language

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:48:13 +0000

One of my favorite songs of 2010 was Cee-Lo’s anthem “Fuck You” which I blogged here. Going viral is this video of a student in an American sign language class at her college doing Cee-Lo’s song for her final.

Music video: Sunlight

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:00:09 +0000

Bag Raiders – ‘Sunlight’ from Modular People on Vimeo. Start the first year of the second decade of the 21st century off on an upbeat musical note with “Sunlight,” an awesome new song and cool music video (starring a Scarlett Johansson lookalike?) by Bag Raiders from their debut, self-titled album. This song, girl, video is [...]

Music in the shadow of Sundance

Amy Reiter — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:09:35 +0000

The Sundance Film Festival has long had a secondary focus on music. This year’s official, Sundance-sanctioned performers will include Lou Reed, who has a documentary short, RED SHIRLEY, premiering in the festival. And there are also afternoon showcases at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café. The festival provides “an especially welcoming environment for musicians; the Sundance [...]

Pogo’s SNOW WHITE music remix

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:25:11 +0000

Pogo aka Nick Bertke is a favorite at here at SunFiltered (previously) for his ambient electro-pop musical creations built from the sounds of popular classic movies. In case you missed it, here’s his recent one using Disney’s SNOW WHITE.

Ferocious Battle of the Bands in Downtown NYC

Michael Musto — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:30:52 +0000

For nine years, M.E.A.N.Y. Fest has lured me to judge their intense rock band competition finals by promising free chicken wings, some Diet Cokes, and a chance to make life-changing decisions about something I know almost nothing about—music! It’s kind of intoxicating to sit there, all greasy faced, caffeinated, and devoid of any real credentials, and get to pick which of four bands deserves to win recording and performance time, not to mention a free guitar and probably some chicken wings and soda too, for all I know.

Jeff Tweedy’s (of Wilco) son writes awesome math-related song

Matthew Rodriguez — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:10:20 +0000

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy’s 14-year-old son Spencer wrote and recorded “Single Digits (Put a line on it),” a brilliant math-related spoof of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” for his Algebra class project. There’s so much geekiness in this. I love it. Five on your left and Five on your right and Ten on your little bitty toes [...]