Steady On Your Aim With The Petrol Bomb

A famous little song from the early days of the "Troubles" in the six occupied counties of Ireland. It stems from the bitter "Battle of Bogside" in Derry city when the residents of the Bogside (the main "nationalist" area) for three days successfully fought off the attempts of the Police to enter the neighbourhoods in 1969.

The song is performed here by Caroline Quigley of Derry, age 7 at the time of recording in about 1971. Her mother was Helen Quigley, a very fine singer and a well known member of the Republican Movement in Derry. This is a live recording made at The Bogside Inn in Derry at a special concert organised by members of the Official Republican Movement.

The Twitter Fiction of Noel Fielding

 

Over the past year or two, Noel Fielding (of the Mighty Boosh), has been emitting increasingly complex parables via frantic bursts of tweets, and I feel sad for anybody not reading them.  They usually begin from what is ostensibly a matter-of-fact "status update" and then progress into a drunkenly remembered narrative of insular magical logic, often involving debaucherous inanimate objects, fashion mishaps, and unicorns.  While similar to his stand-up material and the universe he and Julian Barratt created with the Mighty Boosh, these micro-fictions seem to only make sense in the context of twitter. You can follow him on at @noelfielding11.

Here is the last one, from about an hour ago:

worked on my art book today with bongo brown who is a visual wizard. There was also a spanish bull in the mix and a sausage sandwich. x.

i think the bull was famous at some point although he was well balanced and not aloof in anyway. x.

cant say the same for the sausage sandwich though. He was up his own arse. x.

And he told a really long story that didnt really go anywhere. dick head.

but he thought it was the best story ever and started rolling about the desk making a grunting sound.

i could tell Dave and the bull were both equally disgusted and rightly so. That sausage was unbearable.

i felt bad for the sausage in the end because he had no social skills and it turned out that he his wife had been sleeping around.

although to be fair to her if he tells stories like that and makes that grunting noise all the time its not surprising.

i always feel sorry for outsiders i cant help it so i offered to go camping with him in europe. Nightmare. Why did i do that?

i hate camping and that noise he makes goes right through me. Disaster.  

I feel in my heart the sausage knew this though.

I think I saw him crossing out Daves number from his phone book. in permanent marker.

Anyway to cut a long story short I turn up at the sausages penthouse flat with my ground sheet and him and @jimmylazers have already left.

So now i have to turn my chariot around and persuade my unicorns to take me back home. But they already had another job booked in.

So not only have i been double crossed by the sausage I am walking home with a ground sheet over my head. I look like a small plastic hill.

And @jimmylazers and the sausage are in the south of france in a two man tent. living the dream.

worse was to come I got back to mine and the Bull was there drunk trying on my clothes. this is like a nightmare.

hes stretched most of my good stuff. The stuff I keep for night times. Dry cleaning only stuff. He's in a track suit now doing shots.

He's so wide its ridiculous. He is dancing around the bedroom with electrical appliances hanging off him. all caught round his legs.

And my best hat hanging from one of his horns. Its bent out of shape. I will have to steam press that tomorrow.

I am standing directly on the bulls head now as he crashes about the kitchen looking for more southern comfort.

He is so drunk he is shouting to the bedroom for me to come and help him and I am standing on his head. He's out of control.

Well if you cant beat them join them. x x x.  

The guy from next door has heard all the noise and is banging on my door. Gonna send the bull out to answer the door dressed as me. Ha Ha Ha.  

Oh no the bull is bringing the guy from next door in. Unbelievable its not the guy from next door its the sausage. Wearing a pancake.  

Hes got a crepe poncho on and is throwing playing cards everywhere. @jimmylazers is here as well dressed as the pope.

This is not how I saw my evening panning out. Boom for real.  

me standing on a drunk bulls head whilst a sausage in a pancake overcoat pelts @jimmylazers dressed as the pope with playing cards.

Ive got my French Nan staying with me as well. x.  

Anyway hope you guys are having a good night x Bye x

Progress and Resistance in Central India, Part 3

 

Arundhati Roy has republished her essays on the Maoist struggle in central India (previously discussed here and here) in her new book of essays, Broken Republic.  Of course, like all of her work, these essays follow the logical and poetic implications of the injustices and struggles of indigenous people in India to global and metaphysical levels, providing novel possbilities of understanding and inspiration.  I can say without having read the new edition and the third essay it contains that this is a must-read for advocates of indigenous rights, environmentalists, and anti-capitalists of all stripes.

Here is a BBC interview with Arundhati Roy about the book:

NEW DESIGN PROJECT: The Ghost Trade Poster

A suite of posters created for a show by my band The Ghost Trade.

NEW DESIGN PROJECT: Filmmobile 2011 Poster

This is a poster I designed for the Echo Park Film Center's 2011 FIlmmobile National Tour.  Check out their website for dates and times in a city near you!

Oritsunagumono

Oritsunagumono ("things folded and connected") by Takayuki Hori.  The artist printed images of animal skeletons and discarded trash onto translucent sheets of paper, and then folded them into origami animal shapes. Hori folds each animal -- both bones and trash -- out of one uncut sheet of paper. (via Fast Co. and Colossal)

PLAYLIST 06: SPRING

Steve Reich is an American composer who pioneered the style of minimalist music. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns (examples are his early compositions, "It's Gonna Rain" and "Come Out"), and the use of simple, audible processes to explore musical concepts (for instance, "Pendulum Music" and "Four Organs"). These compositions, marked by their use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm and canons, have significantly influenced contemporary music, especially in the US. Reich's work took on a darker character in the 1980s with the introduction of historical themes as well as themes from his Jewish heritage, notably the Grammy Award-winning Different Trains. Reich's style of composition influenced many other composers and musical groups. Reich has been described by The Guardian as one of "a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history", and the critic Kyle Gann has said Reich "may...be considered, by general acclamation, America's greatest living composer." On January 25, 2007, Reich was named the 2007 recipient of the Polar Music Prize, together with jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins. On April 20, 2009, Reich was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Double Sextet. (WIKIPEDIA)

South is an ambient, post-rock unit from Richmond, Virginia. Core band members include songwriters Patrick Phelan and Nathan Lambdin, along with percussionist Tod Parkhill, founder of the company that publishes Nothing Nice To Say. Musicians who have played a supporting role with the band include bassist Bryan Hoffa, Labradford contributor Peter Neff on hammered dulcimer, Jess Bittner on vibraphone, and either Via Nuon (Drunk, Bevel) or Rick Alverson (Drunk, Spokane) on keyboard. Their self-titled debut was released via Jagjaguwar, with recording help from The Technical Jed's Clancy Fraher, Brent Lambert (Carbon Leaf, Superchunk) and John Morand (Cracker, FSK). (WIKIPEDIA)

Abilene formed in 1998, and originally consisting of Alex Dunham on guitar and vocals, Scott Adamson behind drums, and bassist Craig Ackerman, they recorded and released a six-song slow-burner on the now-defunct Slowdime label. Before writing and recording Two Guns, Twin Arrows, Fred Erskine (June of '44, Hoover) joined to play trumpet, and the band evolved musically into something more dense, equally brooding, yet still ambient and subtle in nature.

The Mercury Program is an American musical group composed of Dave Lebleu on drums, Sander Travisano on bass guitar, Tom Reno on guitar, and Whit Travisano on vibraphone andpiano. They are based in Gainesville, FL. The first three members formed a trio in August 1997 and Whit Travisano joined in late 1999. The band members live in different cities across the United States. Their first two albums featured sparse, spoken vocals. However, with the release of the EP 'All the Suits Began to Fall Off' and onwards they become entirely instrumental. Their style is described as intricate and groove-led with many categorizing them as post-rock. After the release of 'Confines of Heat' in 2003, The Mercury Program took a much needed break. Then over the next several years they worked on new material in a much more relaxed manner. But in October 2006, the band got back together and recorded a new record with Andy Baker in Athens GA. This much anticipated new record, named "Chez Viking" was released November 24, 2009 on Lovitt Records. (WIKIPEDIA)

Beti Kamanga — no information available.  From the album Nyasaland: Northern And Central Malawi, 1950 & 1957-58, SWP Records.

Arthur Russell (May 21, 1951 – April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, singer, and disco artist. While he found the most success in dance music, Russell's career bridged New York's downtown, rock, and dance music scenes; his collaborators ranged from Philip Glass to David Byrne to Nicky Siano. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, a series of reissues and compilations have raised his profile in the 2000s. (WIKIPEDIA)

DOWNLOAD THE MP3s:

Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians (section IIIA)

South - In the Course Of

Abilene - Blackleg

The Mercury Program - Every Particle of the Atmosphere

Beti Kamanga - Ndalama Ndi Satana

Arthur Russell - This Is How We Walk On The Moon

Worldprocessor

Globes by Ingo Günther.  

Nameless Places

Life Expectancy

Military Budgets

Gold

Aesthetics of Microfluidics, Part 2

Carly Waito

Paintings by Carly Waito.