Creative Time Presents Playing the Building: An Installation by David Byrne The Battery Maritime Building 10 South Street, New York, NY (Map) 31 May - 10 August 200
Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Noon - 6PM (Free) Playing the building is a sound installation in which the infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument. Devices are attached to the building structure -- to the metal beams and pillars, the heating pipes, the water pipes -- and are used to make these things produce sound. The activations are of three types: wind, vibration, striking. The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate so that the building itself becomes a very large musical instrument.
Yesterday was my graduation, and I'm having one of those days where you don't know what to do with yourself, so you just sit in front of the computer and mindlessly indulge yourself on the internet. I've been downloading music for an hour now, and attributing all of these new songs I like to old memories, I'm going to post them.
Although people have told me that they think the new Sigur Ros video for "Gobbledigook" is pretentious, which I agree with, I think that the song is very good. I haven't heard all of his very recent (6/23 release of,) Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, but I can tell from at least this track that he's starting to expand into more Animal Collective-y territory while maintaining his ambient/folk/evidently Icelandic sound. The sound that I'm talking about - (The Beach Boys vs. Ladysmith Black Mambazo vs. Supernatural/Theatrical instrumentation) is being mimicked so much nowadays, however, by bands like Au with their new album Verbs which I just thought was another Panda Bear project...but I genuinely feel that Sigur hit it on the dot with this one.
And - after being talked to by another music enthusiast and additional listening periods, (this is an entry update,) I'd also like to compare the new Sigur to a more progressive Rhythm of the Saints Paul Simon. The reason I like "gobbledigook" so much is that it conveys that kind of innocence that I enjoyed as a baby on a swing in the early 90s. NOW, there's a nice segue...
I read something funny on the YouTube responses to the Gobbledigook video and I thought I'd share it because it displayed some insight.
"There has always been scenery in Sigur Ros's videos that isn't innocent. In "hoppipolla," there's a shoplifting steal; in "glosoli," kids are about to set a car on fire. I don't think they like the usual and polished way of portraying innocence."
Trudat: "Gobbledigook"
The making of: "Gobbledigook"
Also-
The new Beck album, Modern Guilt, is going to be good. He collaborates with Dangermouse, Cat Power etc. It's out July 8th, but as we all know by now, there are leaks.
Dear all - I am in Barcelona, SPAIN, and stumbling upon a small and tender vinyl shop, I came across Los Mismos. I'll write more when I return in 3 days. Enjoy their music, though.
7/11: No Age promotes their new album, Nouns. (also: Telepathe, Abe Vigoda)
7/25: Atlas Sound, El Guincho - I don't know much about El Guincho, but Atlas Sound, made up of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox, has the potential to relax you to the ages by the seaport's convenient sunset affected located.
On Friday night, WHITE RABBITS, FRANKPOLLIS, SOFT, and THE SUBJECTS performed at the wonderfully accomodating THE RED DOOR, a rehearsal space in Chelsea. The night was a lot of fun: Here are some photos:
On Friday night, 
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