tv on the radio, on the magazine (on the blog)

mini-controversy brewing at the village voice about their recent cover -- which TV on the Radio's very own Martin Perna wrote in to condemn.

TV on the Radio Guy Calls Our Cover Racist [villagevoice.com]

ok,,, clearly its not intentionally racist. maybe it is unintentionally so. but the question is, does it matter?

we are a bunch of humans on this planet, going about our business ... if someone jumps onto the subway before me and i cant get on, will i be pissed? ya. will i consider it a human rights violation? no. point is we all live in our separate worlds, that are overlapping and interconnected. it is impossible to go through life and not step on any one else's toes. "Jain monks walk barefoot and sweep the ground in front of them to avoid killing any insect."¹ Are we to all take this degree of sensitivity in every aspect of our lives? This obviously offended some people -- clearly Martin Perna at least -- but it would be hard to say it has any other damaging results. I don't think it will encourage or perpetuate any racial hate, division, or violence -- won't provide any set-backs for anyone "committed to social justice and healing America of its sick racist condition." So Mr Perna you are entitled to your opinion and feelings of offense but I suggest you recall the Stylistics lyrics that "people make the world go 'round."


1 - Jainism, wikipedia

>>>PS1derful!!i!

guys, PS1 is great, but you probably already knew this. After 4 1/2 years in NYC I finally made it out there on Sunday for a great opening. Actually, the opening was good-not-great. My favorite thing I saw was the James Turrell room. amazing. (pictured below.) As far as trendy scenester arty NYC parties go, this totally beats Deitch in all the best and worst ways. can't believe I just wrote that.


PS 1-derful

seamus enjoying the james turrell room

cheapun (the paradoxical post title)

cheapun - noun or verb - to reduce the value of something by associating it with a cheap wordplay.

Ex:
Blogger 1: "Did you read that article in the Times last week?"
Blogger 2: "ya! It was great. Too bad Jennifer 8 Lee cheapunned it with that lame title."
Blogger 1: "Actually I thought it sucked anyway."
Blogger 2: "ya I guess you're right."

I've seen cheapuns (cheapunning, cheapunism) running rampant these days. In everything from the blogosphere to print media to the art world. Don't denigrate yourself by resorting to this lame shallow pseudo-cleverness!

folk off

Its Friday ... that means its time for another YouTune ... this one is pretty fascinating ... One of apparently only two surviving video recordings of Woodie Guthrie performing. Sit through the long talking-heads intro for a pretty great little song. "That'll be the death of me." amen.



(ps -- and here is what the poster claims to be the only other video of Guthrie. again, sit through the annoying intro. amazing.)

good design makes us whole

jesus is this true? I find the degree to which our world is dependent on "design" these days to be somewhat depressing.

When our tools don't work, we tend to blame ourselves, for being too stupid or not reading the manual or having too-fat fingers. "I think there's almost a belligerence -- people are frustrated with their manufactured environment," says Ive. "We tend to assume the problem is with us, and not with the products we're trying to use." In other words, when our tools are broken, we feel broken. And when somebody fixes one, we feel a tiny bit more whole.

... from Time magazine's recent article on the iPhone.

Apple's New Calling: The iPhone [time.com]

gaysted is the new hasbian

dang why didnt I think of this ...

Gaysted [buzzfeed.com]

The Slits vs. Takako Minekawa

I love how these two songs go together in some bizarre way.

Early reggae-punk OG grrl-power group The Slits and contemporary Japanese cutesy rocker Takako Minekawa who's music (like the latest wave of Web 2.0 startups created just to be bought by google) is perfectly suited for the next Sofia Coppola project. enjoy.

coinci-dance

Was walking around town today, pounding the pavement, trying to make money, running around to meetings for various freelance jobs that I've lined up.

On the way back home, waiting on the platform, I saw a dude with the brightest green sneakers I've ever seen. The train came, we got on, and he sat down on the opposite side of the train from a girl sitting there in equally bright green sneakers. She and I got off at the next stop and they never saw each other.

Reminded me for some reason of the liner notes to Joni Mitchell's 1979 album Mingus. (scroll down)

from miu to you

If Miuccia Prada can go from being a mime (yes, a MIME) to what she is now then anything in this world is possible. I mean ... its just a testament to like the power of human volition and the fact that there is no such thing as a wrong path in life.

This was such a surprisingly good interview. She talks about issues of class and dignity and how that is lacking so much today as compared to past eras. And it touches on so much that is great and awful about New York.

The Woman Who Loves Men [men.style.com]