Sound and Vision

It's been a good year

2011-12-29T22:41:00.001+01:00

La mort.

2011-12-26T21:25:00.002+01:00

This blog is pretty much dead....

2011-12-26T20:59:00.003+01:00

Seems I can't keep my promises :(

University, work, a social life, films, gigs.... I guess the internet/blogging does not have the appeal it used to... That and not having enough time.... Maybe being stuck on Facebook all the time doesn't exactly help either.

Listener

2011-09-24T00:41:00.003+02:00

Saw this band live last month, ever since I've been listening to it quite a lot again. This gig on youtube is awesome too.

It's been a busy summer

2011-09-05T21:48:00.004+02:00

Wow, I haven't been this inactive in a long time. As a matter a fact I think I've never been THIS inactive before. Working a lot throughout summer, a short trip to Berlin with friends, introductionweek for University, some gigs and stressing out over leaving my laptop in a state of irrepairable damage after spilling my entire drink over it (got a new one now though) are all causers of this. Period ahead is not getting any less relaxed either as lectures at Uni start next week. I'll do my best to catch up on here though.

Want to go back to smoking now

2011-07-18T05:10:00.000+02:00

Incredibly jetlagged

2011-07-18T04:55:00.003+02:00

Got back from Canada last thursday. Now I'm jetlagged. and bored since waking up at 3 am. Wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have to go to work in a couple of hours *sigh*

Just want to sleeeeep

May & June 2011

2011-06-29T23:08:00.002+02:00

Pictures from my birthday party and the last couple of weeks before summer.

Barcelona & Primavera Sound 2011

2011-06-26T10:18:00.003+02:00

Back in London for a few days, May 2011

2011-06-25T22:52:00.003+02:00

Some music! And still no time for blogging....

2011-06-17T00:31:00.005+02:00

I love the new Bon Iver album a lot, makes me feel all tingly and sparky. This video is quite shit though, yet the thing that makes it quite funny again is that the chick in the video was in America's Next Top Model at some point, haha.

Also digging the new Tom Vek album very much!

As you may have noticed I haven't had that much time for my blog lately, holidays to London and Barcelona last month are causers of this; when I got back I needed a lot of time to catch up on schoolwork. Perhaps also the fact that I've had to keep a blog on the news for a course in college is not that benificial either; it makes me neglect this one a bit! Next week I have my final tests, so no time now nor next week really then as well. Apart from that, my part-time job and my private life are also taking up a lot of time as well :)
Hopefully more blog entries during summer! I will post my pictures taken during my trips to London and Barcelona quite soon though, so that's something I guess.

Victor Pasmore

2011-06-05T12:54:00.003+02:00

Search the shores
of an ancient land
under the stars
along the sand;
between the pines
and cactus tree
see the stone
where the lizard sleeps.

What is that object
over there?
Who is the man
by the orange tree?
The voices calling
in the square?
The light that flickers
out at sea?

tUnE-yArDs

2011-05-20T19:42:00.002+02:00

The new album is my favourite album of the year so far, along with the new Gang Gang Dance, J. Mascis and Bon Iver.

Also: absolutely stunning video

Analogue photos February until April

2011-05-20T16:29:00.005+02:00

Click to enlarge

Fisheye photos November 2010-February 2011

2011-05-20T15:50:00.007+02:00

Got some catching up to do on the blog

Some new vids

2011-04-30T09:34:00.002+02:00

The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts

2011-04-25T10:48:00.001+02:00

Poem, by Man Ray

2011-04-25T10:29:00.001+02:00

Been Smoking Too Long

2011-04-19T10:22:00.002+02:00

Well when I'm smoking
Put my worries on a shelf
Don't think about nothin'
Try not to see myself.

Whip It

2011-04-19T10:17:00.001+02:00

Dolphins

2011-04-16T16:45:00.000+02:00

\\\\\

2011-04-15T15:00:00.002+02:00

Summer is on its wayyy

2011-04-12T21:42:00.003+02:00

Well I made it to the real world / But I'm not living in the real world

2011-04-12T18:57:00.003+02:00

Back to bloggingggg

Great video

2011-03-31T11:34:00.001+02:00

Amazing artwork by Chad VanGaalen

Matisse by Henri Cartier-Bresson

2011-03-26T22:35:00.002+01:00

Ahoy sailor

2011-03-26T22:22:00.001+01:00

Sincerely hoping Ponytail's new album will be followed by a (European) tour

2011-03-25T15:47:00.001+01:00

Anxiety

2011-03-24T18:35:00.003+01:00

Incredibly stressed out for my resits, exams and other deadlines for the upcoming 2 weeks.

We're out in the flowers and feel better

2011-03-18T11:38:00.001+01:00

And we're dancing, early hours drunken days finally ended
And the streets turn for pillowcase
And I fumble all good lie
Then the ecstasy turns the writhing light through our windowpane
Now I am gone, I left flowers for you there

hullo there

2011-03-18T11:31:00.001+01:00

This gives me a boner

2011-03-15T20:34:00.002+01:00

Hand In Glove

2011-03-15T20:32:00.000+01:00

Die Kind by Ingrid Jonker

2011-03-12T13:44:00.002+01:00

Die kind (wat dood geskiet is deur soldate by Nyanga)

Die kind is nie dood nie
die kind lig sy vuiste teen sy moeder
wat Afrika skreeu skreeu die geur van vryheid en heide
in die lokasies van die omsingelde hart

Die kind lig sy vuiste teen sy vader
in die optog van die generasies
wat Afrika skreeu skreeu die geur
van geregtigheid en bloed
in die strate van sy gewapende trots

Die kind is nie dood nie
nòg by Langa nòg by Nyanga
nòg by Orlando nòg by Sharpville
nòg by die polisiestasie in Philippi
waar hy lê met 'n koeël deur sy kop

Die kind is die skaduwee van die soldate
op wag met gewere sarasene en knuppels
die kind is teenwoordig by alle vergaderings en wetgewings
die kind loer deur die vensters van huise en in die harte
van moeders
die kind wat net wou speel in die son by Nyanga is orals
die kind wat 'n man geword het trek deur die ganse Afrika
die kind wat 'n reus geword het reis deur die hele wêreld

Saul Leiter

2011-03-12T11:47:00.001+01:00

Animal Collective

2011-03-12T10:41:00.002+01:00

Pavement revival

2011-03-11T18:47:00.003+01:00

Have been listening to them again a lot lately, was once more reminded of their brilliance I guess.

Oh hellooo

2011-03-11T17:39:00.002+01:00

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

2011-03-10T08:06:00.001+01:00

So it goes

2011-03-10T07:59:00.001+01:00

Songs About Fucking

2011-02-27T18:06:00.001+01:00

One of my favourite scenes from a film ever.

2011-02-24T13:54:00.001+01:00

La crevasse

2011-02-23T15:12:00.004+01:00

by Frères Bisson, 1862

Fahrenheit 451

2011-02-23T13:53:00.002+01:00

Seeing Bright Eyes live tonight!

2011-02-21T09:50:00.002+01:00

Nothing is funnier than unhappiness

2011-02-20T22:08:00.004+01:00

'If' by Rudyard Kipling

2011-02-19T11:52:00.002+01:00

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

The Last Day Of Disco

2011-02-19T11:28:00.002+01:00

New Year's Eve 1978, Studio 54, New York

I'm the ghost in the back of your head

2011-02-17T19:40:00.004+01:00

Neutral Milk Hotel

2011-02-16T23:06:00.005+01:00

I would be able to die happily and peacefully after seeing Neutral Milk Hotel/Jeff Mangum live, I think. Considering Jeff Mangum has been playing a couple of shows (and announced a few more), and is curating ATP this year, I am hoping he will do a European tour as well. I'd give up an organ or a limb to see this band live, I love them so much!

Changing Of Seasons

2011-02-13T13:59:00.001+01:00

by me.

You

2011-02-13T12:00:00.004+01:00

Late 2010 until now.

2011-02-12T17:30:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I posted some analogue photos; therefore the following batch comprises of pictures taken from (late) October 2010 to January 2011. Guess this whole lack of pictures is also attributed to me having been trying out my fisheye camera for the past few months. I still need to finish up the film on that one as well.

“They were gone, without a word, snapped out, made accidental, isolated, like ghosts even from our pity.”

2011-02-11T17:28:00.002+01:00

Best films I saw at the International Film Festival Rotterdam

2011-02-11T16:16:00.004+01:00

1. Biutiful

2. 127 Hours

3. Somewhere

4. Wasted Youth

5. Adrienn Pál

6. Les Amours Imaginaires

7. Poetry

8. Attenberg

9. Drei

10. Pulsar

Quick update

2011-02-08T16:42:00.003+01:00

January, what a month. Someone close to me passed away and I fell seriously ill just before my exams, resulting into me missing out on the majority of them. Also spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital and the doctor's office. Not that pleasant, I can tell you... Once feeling better I got incredibly immersed in the IFFR, enjoying working there as a volunteer and seeing many films! It was a lot of fun, not much sleep though, but it was worth it. Once the festival was over, there was this sense of emptiness, feeling unsure about what to do next, the kind of feeling you get after coming home from a holiday or after spending a few days at a music festival.

Not that I get much rest now, just started a new period at school and it seems busier than the last one, somehow. Will try to keep updating this blog, but no promises!

I saw the best minds of my generation....

2011-01-19T11:17:00.002+01:00

And we're just like how Rousseau depicts man in the state of nature: we're undeveloped, we're ignorant, we're stupid, but we're happy.

2011-01-16T15:25:00.003+01:00

The Interior Of Detroit's Michigan Theater

2011-01-16T10:45:00.003+01:00

The Michigan Theatre was built in 1926 by Chicago architects Rapp & Rapp. It functioned as a performance space until 1976 when it was converted into a parking garage. Photo by Sean Hemmerle.

Click HERE for more of the photo essay called 'The Remains of Detroit' for TIME magazine

Click HERE for Sean Hemmerle's online portfolio.

Because I love looking at Kim Jong-Il looking at things.

2011-01-15T21:58:00.004+01:00

Kim Jong-Il looking at corn

Kim Jong-Il looking at dolls

Kim Jong-Il looking at a student

Click HERE for more pictures of Kim Jong-Il looking at things.

Pet Sounds

2011-01-15T21:51:00.000+01:00

Buildings Made Of Sky II

2011-01-15T21:47:00.001+01:00

by Peter Wegner

How to pirate a vinyl record

2011-01-15T19:16:00.003+01:00

Quite a while ago I found this website that teaches you how to “pirate” a vinyl record using normal silicone casting materials. I haven't tried it, but it looks pretty cool, so I thought I'd share.

Click here to find out more.

Life is what happened to you while you're busy making other plans

2011-01-08T21:31:00.004+01:00

I had quite a depressing week, really hope this doesn't set the tone for the rest of the year. I'm dreading upcoming Monday and want for that day to be over and done with. In a way I'm glad it happened, because it was going to sooner or later, though now wasn't really the best of times. But I guess there isn't a 'convenient' time for these kind of things anyway.

Natural History Museum backrooms, circa 1970s

2011-01-06T21:14:00.001+01:00

Twin Shadow for Yours Truly/Pitchfork

2011-01-04T20:56:00.000+01:00

Yup, I know, I just love this band too much.

A Fresh Start

2011-01-03T20:16:00.006+01:00

First and foremost: Happy New Year everyone!

January is going to be quite a busy month for me: a lot of coursework and exams, working at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and maybe I'll be able to go to a few gigs and parties too. Perhaps being busy does not really create a great start of the year, but hopefully a 'productive' one. Also got some new ideas for the blog, so I'll try to put those ideas into action.

My year in lists: music edition

2010-12-28T17:18:00.011+01:00

Or the last Audiophilia part of the year: #4.
Audiophilia #3

As promised; here is a list of my favourite albums of 2010. I've added the links to the reviews I wrote for the IKRS 'Favourite Albums Of The Year-Countdown'.

01. Former Ghosts - New Love

Review

02. Twin Shadow - Forget

Review

03. Perfume Genius - Learning

Review

04. The National - High Violet

Review

05. Beach House - Teen Dream

Review

06. Sleigh Bells - Treats

Review

07. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Review

08. Zola Jesus - Stridulum II

Review

09. Best Coast - Crazy For You

Review

10. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts

Review

11. Lower Dens - Twin-Hand Movement

12. Pulled Apart By Horses - Pulled Apart By Horses

13. Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring

14. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

15. Salem - King Night

16. Warpaint - The Fool

17. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

18. Wild Nothing - Gemini

19. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner

20. Glasser - Ring

Other albums I enjoyed this year (in a more or less particular order): Xiu Xiu - Dear God I Hate Myself, Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This, Zach Hill - Face Tat, Bathcrones - Psychorama, Surfer Blood - Astro Coast, Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns, Small Black - New Chain, Future Islands - In Evening Air, Women - Public Strain, Caribou - Swim, Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils, Holy Fuck - Latin, El Guincho - Pop Negro, Abe Vigoda - Sequins, Autre Ne Veut - Autre Ne Veut, Girl Talk - All Day, Blank Dogs - Land and Fixed, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today, Baths - Cerulean, Forest Swords - Dagger Paths, Tickley Feather - Tickley Feather, Jeans Wilder - Relics, How To Dress Well - Love Remains, Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II, Fool's Gold - Fool's Gold, Suuns - Zeroes QC, Liars - Sisterworld, Harlem - Hippies, Woods - At Echo Lake, Sun Airway - Nocturne Of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, Cloud Nothings - Turning On, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - The Logics Of Chance, Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be.

2010-12-27T15:14:00.002+01:00

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T11:04:00.001+01:00

Weekends are never fun, unless you're around too

2010-12-24T21:09:00.002+01:00

It's a jungle out there.

2010-12-24T17:04:00.002+01:00

Same Hill, Different Day

2010-12-19T09:54:00.002+01:00

A project by Paul Octavious

Click here for more

Wayne Levin

2010-12-19T09:43:00.001+01:00

My year in lists: Film edition

2010-12-18T13:19:00.014+01:00

The end of 2010 is near, and this year has been incredibly awesome for me. However, I'm not looking forward to doing anything during the holidays, I just wish I could spend it hibernating and I want for this year to be OVER. It's been good, I have had a lot going on, but enough is enough and I'm keen on making a 'fresh start' in 2011. There are a lot of great things to look forward to, but also certain goals I want to achieve, so it could become a rather important year.

Anyhow, as a tradition during December; end-of-the-year-lists are popping up all over the internet. Rough Trade had its top 100 albums of 2010 ready about two months ago, while I can't even figure out my top 10. I'm working on it though, as from Tuesday we're doing a countdown on IKRS. So, my end of the year list concerning albums (or 'Audiophilia part 4') will be on here at the very end of the year somewhere.

My favourite films 2010
As I don't recall having seen that many GREAT films (not sure why though... is it the crisis? did I go to too many gigs to leave time to visit the cinema? were the films released this year just not my taste?), I only came up with a top 5.

01. Submarino
The latest film by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, director of 'Festen' and part of the Dogme 95 collective, is darker than dark, hence incredibly depressing, but oh so mindblowing. Submarino is about two brothers experiencing a traumatic childhood. Thirty years later, the scars of their past are still visible and goes way beyond the label of 'dysfunctional family': one of the brothers is filled with anger and agression, has been to prison and is seen drinking continuously, while the other brother is a widow, a heroin addict and father of a young boy named Martin. Little Martin here is the only opportunity of breaking the cycle of abuse and damage, but no matter how hard his father tries, does Martin have any future when his father can't kick the drug habit? Vinterberg does another great job here of making you feel uncomfortable throughout the film, as its content is poignant, and you're never sure whether you want to continue watching or want to look away.
When I saw this film in the cinema, I gazed across the room when it was over and saw a full grown man a few rows away from me wiping his eyes. I could relate to him entirely. Vinterberg is back, and how.

02. The American
Dutch photographer-turned-director Anton Corbijn referred to his second feature film as 'a suspense thriller in the framework of a Western', and it truly was the most pleasant of surprises this year. From the trailer I would have considered this to be a typical Hollywood thriller, not very interesting in my eyes. But then I heard so many postiive things about it, I decided to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did because 'The American' was wonderful. The film is incredibly slow, but there's no moment without tension. There's barely any dialogue, yet that is exactly where its strength is, as Corbijn almost goes back to the basics of filmmaking as applied by people like Alfred Hitchcock: to let the film tell the story. George Clooney here does a great job of not speaking much, and this Jack character is one of the darkest he's ever played. To stay in the Hitchcock mood: he also slightly resesmbled Cary Grant. The tempo, beautifully shot images and close ups (being a photographer Corbijn clearly has an eye for visuals) make this film nothing like a Hollywood film, but not completely European arthouse either, it's somewhere in the middle, making its result incredibly effective.

03. The Social Network
Almost a classic story of friendship, jealousy, betrayal and wanting to belong in a group; The Social Network tells (through two different lawsuits) the story of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook. He is a computer nerd at Harvard, who more or less steals the idea of starting an online social network from some of his fellow students, until the website goes beyond limits Zuckerberg could ever dream of. Despite Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook obviously existing in real life, and certain elements in the film might be based on true events too, there's no other way to approaching this story as fiction. But then again, brushing up events from real-life to add extra drama prove to create an excellent film.
The portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg here is very interesting for two reasons;
a. We are never really able to grasp what he's thinking or how he feels; we hardly come across any facial expression (I don't recall a single moment of seeing a smile on his face) or enthusiasm about what he's doing; he truly appears to be an excentric whizzkid, whose motives are mainly defined by actions.
b. In the beginning of the film Mark's girlfriend breaks up with him, because, well, he's an asshole. He only has one true friend and he wants to be in a final club, probably to simply 'belong' and join in on the parties. Then at the end of the film he may be millions of dollars richer; he has lost the one true friend he had, his ex-girlfriend still doesn't care about him (we can see him sending her a friend request on facebook and frantically refreshing the page), he's still wearing ridiculous flipflops and his interns are snorting cocaine off each other's bodies at a big party, while he sits in the Facebook headquarters working on the site...
Next to this characterisation of the almost tragic Zuckerberg; the strength of the film lies in the dialogues, which are incredibly fast, cunning and as sharp as a knife. A brilliant, well-written film, as long as you are able to keep in mind you are looking at fiction here.

04. A Single Man
First thing to be said about this film is that from a visual perspective it is probably the best film I have ever seen. There is so much attention to detail, but then if you see who directed, it all makes sense: it is fashon designer Tom Ford's debut as a film director. The story depicts a day in the life of George Falconer, an English Literature professor in 1962, who has lost his partner Jim in a car accident. With the death of his one true love and the unbearable loneliness that has followed up on this, he decides he is going to commit suicide at the end of the day... Colin Firth delivers a delightful perfomance as the grief-stricken, world-weary and terribly lonely George. Oh, and Julianne Moore isn't too bad either.

05. J'ai tué ma mère
Literally meaning 'I have killed my mother', this Canadian film is an intruiging portrait of a disturbed mother-son relationship, as well as the story of a confused and angry teenager. Hubert Minel, a homosexual sixteen year old wanting to move in with his boyfriend, despises his petty, old fashionedly dressed mother, and their 'conversations' involve hysterical yelling, screaming and wishing each other the worst. As this is mainly what the film consists of, it's not the most pleasant of things to watch, even though the fact that it's done so in French, makes it all the more passionate and intense. Xavier Dolan, who is responsible for directing, writing and playing the main character, has provided us with a visually stunning and enchanting debut, something quite remarkable for a twenty year old I should say.

Films I'm looking forward to see in 2011

Biutiful

True Grit

Black Swan

The King's Speech

Les Amours Imaginaires

Somewhere

127 Hours

Attenberg

La Nostra Vita

and I'm not sure whether the following films are going to be shown in the Netherlands; but I certainly hope so.

Howl

Jack Goes Boating

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

seems like 2011 is going to be a better year for films than this one!

Oh Captain, my Captain.

2010-12-17T23:43:00.002+01:00

Captain Beefheart, Rest In Peace.
(1941-2010)

picture by Anton Corbijn

Let time wash us out with the tide

2010-12-17T23:20:00.004+01:00

I hope in my heart that we on a whole
Will die and the earth be left alone
Just beast and bee and fish and tree
This hope I wish will someday be
That bacteria will have ate our remains
That all knowledge of us has decayed
Our burden raised the world set free
The earth returns to land and sea
Our buildings burned and highways gone
I love my friends and everyone
but we've had our chance let's move aside
let time wash us out with the tide

pictures by Wallo Villacorta

I'm wondering how things could've been

2010-12-17T22:47:00.000+01:00

Breaking off is misery
I see a wilderness for you and me
Punctuated by philosophy
I'm wondering how things could've been

Seriously Hollywood?

2010-12-16T20:01:00.000+01:00

2010-12-16T19:52:00.001+01:00

Hey DJ

2010-12-09T14:15:00.004+01:00

The Transformation, a series

2010-12-07T23:14:00.003+01:00

By me.

cool thing is it also works backwards.

Metropolis

2010-12-07T22:42:00.001+01:00

All The World Is Green

2010-12-06T13:47:00.002+01:00

Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
We can bring back the old days again
And all the world is green

The moon is yellow silver
Oh the things that summer brings
It's a love you'd kill for
And all the world is green

Not everyone looks down on you / not half as much as I fucking do

2010-12-06T12:13:00.004+01:00

Six Feet Under nostalgia

2010-12-06T00:16:00.002+01:00

Did a presentation on Six Feet Under this week. During my 'research' I was reminded of how brilliant this show is once again.

Nathaniel Sr.: The day I turned 40, you were in Europe. I spent the whole day wondering if you'd call.
Nate: Sorry.
Nathaniel Sr.: Oh, don't apologize. You did what you had to do, you little fucker.
Nate: You know, so much crazy shit has happened since these pictures were taken. So much. The idea of 40 more years—
Nathaniel Sr.: The next 40 fly by much faster. It'll be over before you know it.
Nate: Time flies when you're having fun, huh?
Nathaniel Sr.: No, time flies when you're pretending to have fun. Time flies when you're pretending to love Brenda and that baby she wants so much. Time flies when you're pretending to know what people mean when they say "love". Face it, buddy boy, there's two kinds of people in the world: there's you, and there's everybody else, and never the twain shall meet.

and how fuckin great the acting is;

The Road Not Taken

2010-11-22T11:34:00.002+01:00

2010-11-22T10:18:00.000+01:00

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.

2010-11-21T18:34:00.002+01:00

Drugs

2010-11-10T22:10:00.001+01:00

It's hard to remember / what we did last November / it's hard to forget / what we haven't done yet

2010-11-07T17:49:00.003+01:00

Twin Shadow

2010-11-06T14:17:00.004+01:00

'Forget' truly is my favourite record at the moment. It just might end up somewhere at the top on my favourite albums of the year list.

September / October

2010-11-05T19:35:00.003+01:00

Support Our Troops

2010-11-04T16:24:00.005+01:00

Did you know you were going to shoot
off the top of a four year old girl's head
And look across her car-seat down into her skull
And see into her throat and did you know
that her dad would say to you,
"Please sir, can I take her body home?"
Oh wait, you totally did know... that that would happen
Cuz you're a jock who was too stupid and too greedy
And too unmotivated to do anything else but still be
The biggest and still do what other people tell you to do
You did it to still be a winner
You shot your grenade launcher into peoples windows and
Into the doors of peoples houses why should I care if
you get killed?

This morning I was on a train and listening to this song, then a soldier came into the carriage and sat down next to me. What a mindfuck.

Themed post: Unmade Beds

2010-11-01T12:59:00.003+01:00

San Francisco

2010-11-01T12:29:00.002+01:00

Peanutbutter never looked this erotic

2010-10-31T19:51:00.002+01:00

Video for new Former Ghosts single 'Taurean Nature'

and I'll be seeing him live again this wednesday, hopefully!

Pieter Laurens Mol

2010-10-31T14:23:00.002+01:00

Chamber Metaphysics

Inertia

Lightness Of Being

Specific Impulse

Things Are Queer

2010-10-31T11:46:00.002+01:00

My favourite work by Duane Michals

Duane Michals

2010-10-29T15:06:00.005+02:00

Yesterday I went to a 'symposium' (or an academic conference, if you like) organised by the Dutch Photo Museum in Rotterdam, it was called 'Fantastische Fotografie' ('Fantastic Photography') and revolved around the theme of staged photography and the use of imagination in photographic works. During the afternoon there were interviews with Dutch artists who conduct this type of photography, among them Pieter Laurens Mol, Teun Hocks, Ellen Kooi and Jaap Scheeren.

In the evening there was a 2 hour lecture by 78-year old American photographer Duane Michals. Well I say 2 hour, but in fact the man talked so fast that his ramblings were done within an hour. The lecture was rather random, he told his opinions and thoughts on several issues; his problems with religion, his amazement about the size of the universe, homosexuality, the American (ex-)government, beauty, philosphy, and ofcourse he quickly steered us through his work, often telling anecdotes or background information about the pictures in question.
I have to say his work is quite amazing, he often uses sequences of photos to tell a story, all his photos are little stories, often with descriptions and text which he wrote underneath. Most of his work is humoristic, sometimes more serious stating his philosophy or serious thoughts, but often still remaining funny at the same time.
Though I'm still wondering why the lecture was so short and whether Michals was actually interested as he went so fast, it was very intruiging none the less; it was amazing to listen to his thoughts and I was baffled by the vitality and liveliness of this old man. What a hero.

Here's some of his work:

The Unfortunate Man
The unfortunate man could not touch the one he loved.
It had been declared illegal by the law.
Slowly, his fingers became toes and his hands gradually became feet.
He began to wear shoes on his hands to disguise his pain.
It never occurred to him to break the law.

Chance Meeting

I Build A Pyramid

This Photograph Is My Proof
This photography is my proof.
There was that afternoon,
when things were still good between us,
and she embraced me,
and we were so happy.
It did happen, she did love me.
Look, see for yourself!

Paradise Regained