LinksHere are some places I enjoy visiting... Wayside Music. I've been buying music from these folks since I was in high school. Originally an outlet for cut-outs and hard to find progressive and experimental music, it's my favorite place to browse for interesting music. It's primarily oriented toward noncommercial rock and jazz, especially experimental, progressive, and improvised. I find their descriptions especially good and have rarely been disappointed when I trust them to guide my purchases. The on-line version of the pre-cookie cutter mall/chain record store, when those stores were owned by people who actually listened to music and liked talking about it. A good chunk of the music discussed on my site is available from them (and chances are, Wayside is where I bought it.) Head Heritage. The official web site of Julian Cope and all forward-thinking motherf**kers. Pagan rock, the Earth Mother, standing stones, krautrock, and the coolest streaming radio I've found. The Unsung section is a gold mine of recordings you've never heard of or have completely forgotten about; it also links directly to the amazing Book of Seth. Cope is a bit unhinged, but so sincere and passionate you have to love him. His music doesn't suck either. Ipecac. Mike Patton's label, home to some pretty interesting noise . Patton is the most adventurous, if not the most talented, vocalist of this generation; he's a pretty astute judge of music as well, so the label is packed with interesting groups , many of which feature Patton as a contributor. If you know what Ipecac is and can't figure out why anyone would name their label after it, don't bother visiting. The Web Of Mimicry. Trey Spurance's web site/label. Mr. Spurance was the guitarist for Mr. Bungle. That group has been on "hiatus" since 1999, and he has gone on to lead a bunch of really interesting projects, most notably the fantastic SECRET CHIEFS 3. This is the home to a lot of really terrific musical groups including the stunning SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM. Spurance also reviews books he's read and discs he's listening to and generally rants on about stuff. Highly literate and thought provoking. And funny. GUAVA Records. Homepage of one of the more interesting indie labels around. Editions are limited to 5-15 copies (!) of sonic curiosities that run the gamut from the lost electronic scores of a dissident Soviet composer to a Renaldo & The Loaf tribute album. A very worthy venture in marketing noncommercial sound manipulation. Tod Dockstader. Dockstader is a master tape-music/musique concrete artist who did the bulk of his work in the early 1960s. He has recently begun to receive well deserved accolades. His sound compositions are required listening for any sound designer. Akira Rabelais' Homepage. One of the loveliest and most oblique web sites I've encountered. Akira is the programmer of the terrific Argeiphonte's Lyre, as well as several other cool utilities for Mac; he's also a musician and multimedia designer. Worth an hour of your time to work through the labyrinth he calls his homepage. Alien Loves Predator . My favorite online comic, which follows the adventures of Alien and Predator as room mates in NYC. Their other roomy is Jesus, who's playing ball for the NY Yankees. Done with action figures, Photoshop and a ton of clever humor, there is nothing like it to brighten up your day. Five Card Nancy. An online version of Scott McCloud's clever game, which involves taking individual panels of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy comics and arranging them into somewhat cohesive, surreal strips. I'm a huge fan of Nancy's droll, almost Dada-esque, humor and Bushmiller's iconic, minimalist drawings - do yourself a favor and rediscover these low-key masterpieces. Awful Plastic Surgery . The name says it all. Pages and pages of photos and hilarious commentary dealing with celebrity plastic surgery. Be prepared to spend an hour or three. The saga of Michael Jackson's face, from cute boy to ghoul, is terrifying. Chris Watson . Chris Watson was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire and The Hafler Trio, two of the most critical noise/sound groups ever. It appears that he currently spends most of his time now doing field recordings, occasionally releasing collections of his sounds on CD. His work is amazing, in the context of both field recordings and sound art. There are some downloads on his site but you owe it to yourself to hear a copy of OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE OF FIRE, a collection of sounds you will probably never otherwise have the opportunity to hear. Highly recommended.
Just Hit Pause . Depending on your point of view, either one of the great indie pop bands or one of the most annoying and overrated bands ever. I think their web site is pretty amusing but I have a great tolerance for annoying smarty-pants things. Smack the Pingu . One of many sites featuring a version of this Flash game. Slightly disturbing, but the penguin seems to be having a really good time, so you get past it. There Are No Bad Ideas. The one of the few blogs I read, written by one of my colleagues at work. Dave's a good writer with a keen eye for the ridiculous (esp. in politics). He also has a deadly sense of humor and manages to continually find really funny links. Music Thing. Another blog I read, it's nonstop music stuff. The Naked Accordion Players of Newfoundland Calendar. Finish virtual air guitar. Guitars shaped like guns. Digital bagpipes. It's all here for your one-stop viewing. Their motto: "You Can't Buy Talent, But You Can Try". "Winners" by 7 Seconds Of Love . Another Flash site with what is hands-down the most amusing video I've seen in years. I have it bookmarked and watch it whenever I'm in a foul mood. It never fails to make me smile. Habu.org: The Online Blackbird Museum . My favorite SR-71 web site. Good overview of available books. Also some U2 stuff (the plane, not the band). Fun Quotes . Funny things actually said in Bob Clearmountain's recording studio. His whole site is pretty entertaining, even if you're not interested recording. CMU School of Drama . I work here. Audio Resources. My other set of links are here - these are strictly related to audio, sound design and things for making noise. The Urban Legends Reference Pages . I swear, this actually happened to a friend of my sister's roommate.... that's how they all start. Be amazed at how many times that "true" story you heard has been told over the decades. Oh, and Walt Disney isn't cryogenically frozen. Matt Howarth's Attic . The writer of my all-time favorite comic book Those Annoying Post Brothers , which follows the, um, madcap adventures of two reality hopping assassins as they lay waste to anything that annoys them. Brutal, sick, twisted and funny. Matt also is a voracious music listener and writes about a lot of really interesting bands you've never heard of. He also manages to continually create the coolest non-biped aliens you've ever seen. Ant City . A flash game that involves frying city dwellers with a giant magnifying glass. Disturbingly addictive. Paper Rocket. Plans for a way cool paper rocket, complete with paper launcher. It not only works, it works well. Girl Through A Basketball Hoop. A little movie wherein a bunch of guys toss a girl through a basketball hoop. Who thinks of this stuff? Who talked the girl into this? Note during the high-5ing how no one checks to see if the girl is okay. Postal Experiment. These curious folks wondered how far they could push the US Postal service so they mailed some of the most unbelievable stuff you can imagine - amazingly 2/3 of it arrived at its destination! Yamaha Papercraft. I'm not sure why this is on the Yamaha Motor pages, but you won't believe the amazing paper animals, motorcycles, and other stuff they offer. Download the PDFs, get your scissors and glue and go to town. Ubuweb. Online resource for experimental film and sound art. Cage, Burroughs, Beckett, Pinter, Duchamp and others. You can even download an MPG of UN CHIEN ANDALOU. Pierre Couprie: développement. I don't know much about M. Couprie- I don't read French but he seems to be a composer and programmer- but I can tell you he has programmed the coolest software synthesizer since Rebirth. It's a virtual AKS V3 synthesizer called Le Synthe V4. It's free. It has just about as steep a learning curve as the original and it's just as awesome. Instructions are in French though there is an English version of the software. Married To The Sea. A daily online comic that uses public domain images to create something not unlike La Femme 100 Tetes only not as creepy and more chuckle-filled. Tabishland. A blog I administer - it's a community built around our high school drama teacher, Dave Tabish. Supposed to be a tribute to him but usually just a lot of 40-somethings acting idiotic and opening old wounds. Pittsburgh Signs. One of my favorite websites to browse. Hundreds of Pittsburgh signs, lovingly photographed and some with comments by the photographer. Something about it is really compelling. The Didjshop. Purveyors of the finest didgeridoos on the planet, not to mention other Native Australian art and instruments. Really really nice people. Excellent website.
Last updated on 5 June 2008.
mayonnaise |
