YouTube’s new policy says “we own your content.” So uh, you better think twice about what you put online there…

What, not planning on checking out the Diplo/Cansei De Ser Sexy show Friday night? Bad idea:

PaperStreet and R5 Present :
The Official Mad Decent Tour Afterparty
*HOLLERTRONIX REUNION with DJs Lowbudget + Diplo*
(spinning together) w/ special invited guest Dave P

This Friday July 21st - Midnight till 3:30am (drink all night!)
At Transit Nightclub (600 Spring Garden Street)
21+ / Free with Diplo Show Wristband / only $5 without
Reinforced Sound Being Provided, So Expect Big Things !

So I started this Flickr group for live music photography in Philly called *Philly Live*. If you use the site, or know someone who takes photos a shows, join up. I’d really like it to get off the ground but it needs more contributions by more people. So pass this message around, tell your friends, etc…

After Jon’s comment on the previous blog entry, my interest was piqued about this whole SCMX deal. It sounded like it was crashing and burning faster than Lady Sovereign’s meltdown at Silk City, and there’s nothing I love more than a good trainwreck.

The smaller stage that featured local bands was called the Limelight Stage and as I rolled up the A-Sides were playing their set. BTW, am I the only one who hates the way music festivals ghettoize local bands by relegating them to second stage? Yesterday, the A-Sides had more of a crowd than The Legendary Shack Shakers, whose only legendary feat was having a scrawny, pale white guy as their front man bestow us with the glory of going shirtless on stage. The A-Sides played a solid set, light years beyond the rest of the second stage bands on yesterday’s schedule.

De La Soul were up on the main stage and I gotta hand it to these guys — they saw right through the whole point of the festival [music disguised as marketing] but honestly tried to engage the audience with a back-and-forth of heckling and psyching people up. Best part? They were all, “We’re not gonna stand up here and grab our crothes and talk about thuggin’, ’cause we’re old…” So are they rapping about 401(k)’s? Not quite, they’re still throwing down tracks from _3 Feet High…_ and sounding solid.

I have never seen Bob Mould live so I was a bit surprised at how solid his show was and to see Brendan Canty of Fugazi as his drummer. He treated the audience with some old Sugar & Husker Du chestnuts. Good times, only to be brought down by the SoCo promo girls who went up on stage to rally the audience. Unfortunately, their voices sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Pure agony that seemed to last an eternity.

This is the part of my story where things get weird, mainly because Jon’s old lady Nicole handed me her lanyard during the Flaming Lips set. I went backstage [where there is another bar, strangely], ran into some friends and watched the show from the side of the stage. Unfortunately, with the way the Flaming Lips set everything up and the sizeable crowd there, I couldn’t see. So I went around to the front and watched from the audience for a bit. Wayne Coyne floated around in a bubble, which I caught with my real camera before I ran out of film.

I went backstage again where some folks had gotten over the little fence on the side. Much dancing and joy ensued, but it became even more so when the security guards let us go behind the alien elves on stage left. So there I was with confetti flying everywhere while the band played “Do You Realize?” and I couldn’t have been happier. Couples all around here hugging and kissing, someone proposed on stage; the enegry was unreal. I know watching the Flaming Lips is an experience unto itself but being on stage was something entirely else. Hm, I wonder if they laced the confetti…

The final encore was a cover Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and Coyne took it upon himself to get up on the soapbox. This is ultimately what drives me nuts about rock politics — it’s one thing to rant about the infinite sadness in the Middle East, but so extremely misguided on the other hand. Did he bother to pay attention to his surroundings? Any staff member in a position of power was white. The people cleaning up the mess of drunken frat dudes as we were exiting? Black. A year after the ineptitude of Katrina and nothing’s changed in our country, the divide keeps getting larger and larger — so why not use that time to encourage a crowd of 3,000 to be more proactive in their communities? Sigh. Sorry to be a Downer Debbie, but it’s been gnawing at my mind.

Anyway, kudos to De La Soul, Bob Mould and the Flaming Lips for making it a legitimate festival in the end, ’cause that thing could have trainwrecked even further. As we all said yesterday: someone’s getting fired today. And I hope it’s whoever thought up the SoCo girls.

OK, so i’ve got a lot of report on — like dancing _on stage_ with the flaming lips, wayne coyne’s speech, de la soul’s heckling/psyching up, the potential lameness of the day and how it was ultimately defeated by people in alien masks and santa claus outfits. in the meantime, enjoy some quick cameraphone snaps!

Looks like festival frenzy has arrived in Philadelphia! Over the course of the next two weekends, it’ll be time to slather on sublock [highly recommended], forgo clothing that makes us look attractive and revel in the sights of humanity at 100 degrees. Roy Batty might have seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, but I’m willing to wager he’s never been stuck in a humongous swarm of obese, sweaty shirtless men and their annoying girlfriends. Aside from that whole replicant thing, he’s a lucky son of a bitch.

To fill that empty hole, we’re getting not one, but _two_, festivals — WXPN’s All About the Music Festival and the Southern Comfort Music Extravaganza, which is abbreviated to a vowel-free SCMX. That shit might fly with cellphones, but music festivals? I’m not so sure about that.

Perhaps I’m crazy for even attempting to compare these festivals with Intonation, Pitchfork or even All Tomorrow’s Parties, but here’s the thing: look at their schedule, I get a very clear idea of their audience. With our two festivals, it’s a little trickier.

SCMX gives me no clue as to who their target audience could be — I mean, I get it, as indie tastes become more “democratized”, there’s a likely possibility that people are as equally into the Flaming Lips as they are De La Soul, Ozomatli and Bob Mould. But that probably accounts for a small fragment of the population; festivals reach for accessibility. Or is their inclusion a means to mask the scent of a kinda snoozy lineup — who the eff are American Princes? Chris Clouse? I might see one soul patch among the band photos, but I know there’s many more invisible ones. And I have to wonder: what is up with the Flaming Lips playing this, anyway? Why aren’t they playing the way cooler Siren Fest? Somewhere in America, a booking agent is getting fired. [_Note: I’m going based upon what I can find on the internet regarding the lineup. The official website blows and it’s tough to find more info._]

Actually, wait, I realized what their demographic is: people who like to drink, as evidenced by this, “Apart from the superstar lineup SCMX will boast the all new SoCo Lime®-Light Lounge, Southern Comfort Hurricane® trailers and bars, and the best local grub.” So, douchebags + a whole lotta booze = total fucking disaster.

On the other side of things, WXPN reflects its listenership — Josh Ritter, Jefferey Gaines and so on. Perhaps, their problem is that they know their crowd too well. It’s all about the music, but not much else. You can see the underpinnings of their attempts to sex up the image: Konono No.1 [hipster record nerds love this shit], New York Dolls [people who never got over glam rock], Jim James [pfork bloggerati represent] and a slew of local bands [BC Camplight, Slo-Mo, Hoots & Hellmouth, etc] so that the under-30 crowd doesn’t feel weird about hanging out in daylight. All this aside, It’s nice to see WXPN stretching their wings out [and not on this front either, they’ve recently accquired Y100rocks.com] — but seriously, dudes need to bring the rock _on_. There’s potential in this festival for it to be on par with other nationally recognized festivals, rather than copycatting a popular trend.

So, at this point, I bet you’re wondering, “What’s the better deal?” Granted, free is a very nice price. I can’t argue with it. But free has its limitations — specifically in this case, potential drunken douchebaggery — even if there’s three entertaining bands. WXPN looks interesting despite is price [40$ for both days; there is no discounted pass for the entire fest, either]. Just remember this — suburban dads in khaki pants get really mad when you try to squeeze past them in order to get to the front. Play nice.

» way to go, weingarten — you told me that paperthinwalls.com was launching wednesday, so i wrote about it. what did my eyes spy that day? an unlaunched site. anyway, dear readers, its live _now_. sign up!

» since its my job to comment on all things klosterman [but i did not go to see him read at borders few weeks back due to prior commitments]… what is the intent of the producers and additional contributors to _snakes on a plane_? are they trying to create a good film or is this supposed to be bad on purpose? i think this is what confuses and excites me the most — its like a kinder egg of campy kitsch, or kitschy camp, i dont know. in an era where movie box office sales are declining, perhaps this “choose your own” approach to filmmaking might be a means to re-engage the audiences.

» we’ve got a stack of megaword’s new issue at work. looks good.

decent show that flew by. i mean, really just flew by. it was disturbing. i had extra records. also, lots of annoying callers [fuck you, emerson lake and palmer dude, ditto for the dude who wanted something “funky”], with the except of the acid house kings calling in for record store recommendations. how sweet! i am sorry i did not have their request.

edith frost - cars and parties - wonder wonder

roy wood - wake up / rock down low - boulders
PAS/CAL - oh gosh - a gift from a garden to a flower
fern thomas - didnt it rain - the glory road
King Kong Ding Dong - missing tooth - s/t - N
suntan - Every Night - send you home
desert storm - new triton - hey drag city
sonic youth - the neutral - rather ripped - N

finally punk - peyote - s/t
Puffy AmiYumi - go baby power now - splurge - N
Stereo Total - holiday innn - Juke-Box Alarm - N
thee headcoats - man trap - heavens to murgatriod
eleventh dream day - bite the hand - stalled parade
tranquility bass - megamix - reich remixed
the ah club - in this quiet place - kiss the sky goodbye
l hollis & the mackadoos - bui bui - eccentric soul.. the big mack label

can - father cannot yell - monster movie
blonde redhead - sciuri sciura - s/t
caribou - hendrix with ko - up in flames - R
enon - in this city - high society
cat power - free - you are free
air miami - see through plastic - fuck you tiger EP
pagoda - seven nights - seven nights ep
like a fox - almost there - s/t - N

the feminine complex - time slips by - livin love
dorothy - softness - grlz
pointed sticks - perfect youth - Perfect Youth - N
zumpano - lets fight - goin’ through changes
jose gonzalez - hand on your heart - stay in the shade ep
undisputed truth - big john is my name - nicky siano’s the gallery
four tet - she moves she - rounds

sequence - funk you up - tommy boy presents: hip hop essentials v. 8
breakfast in bed - fortune cookies - australian coffee
the jam - down in the the tube station at midnight - snap!
futureheads - fallout - news and tributes - N
black taj - octastone - s/t

» OK, WTF? has someone taken stephen colbert’s gay snake bit a little too far? [which i have to wonder, is a nod to blade runner…]

» new rad site alert! let’s welcome paper thin walls to the fold in all its rss-y, music blognerd radness. what does it do? its so next level i cant explain it to you. goes live at noonish today!

» peep the constantines playing on carson daly earlier this year. i hope they tour soon!

» i try not to cramp plain parade stuff down your throat here, but seriously, you should come to our show saturday night. we’ve got ill ease playing and they rule like no other. i mean, who else could make a video like this?

» today begins day one of my seemingly never-ending birthday celebration: pizza-cake with Ms. A. what is pizza-cake, you ask? i really dont know just yet but my basic guess is that its a cake fashioned out of pizza. im just letting A surprise me.

» last but not least, my good pal Josh Os/josh kline/joachim fast’s new show he curated opens on thursday. when he lived in philly, he was one of a handful of dj’s that kicked my ass every time — HI SCORES 4 EVA! you know that phrase i throw around all the time, “next level”? thank josh. anyway, im writing about this, so obviously i think you should go — premiere screening starts at 8pm, get there early for the good seats:

ACTION ADVENTURE @ CANADA
Premiere Screening: 8pm Sharp, Thursday, July 13, 2006
Exhibition runs from July 13 ­ August 13, 2006
CANADA, NYC: 55 Chrystie Street (between Hester & Canal)

Summer is here. Time to take a time-out from the high temperatures and humidity in an air-conditioned movie theater. Time to kick back and eat popcorn in the dark. Time to spend some quality time with slick multi-million-dollar Hollywood fantasies.

_Action Adventure_ is a group video show in the spirit of the Hollywood Blockbuster. The major part of the project is a 90 minute-long curated program of video exploring the influence of the movies in videos made by artists. Cinema provides a momentary escape for billions of people from the ordinary difficulties of their lives. It is a mass produced language of imagination and emotions universally understood in our culture. The artists in _Action Adventure_ harness elements of the movies to tap into this system. They reuse, rearrange, or redeploy the ideas and strategies of Hollywood in the service of art-making.

Jim Drain, Jocelyn Shipley, and Antoine Catala hijack cliché movie genres by creating absurdist parodies. Ryan Trecartin takes the narrative and edits it into something new and radical. Shana Moulton, Paper Rad and Scott Reeder create vivid character-driven stories. Stina Wirfelt and Tim Etchells take on the stars. Abbey Williams pays homage to Kenneth Anger by doing a remake. Rachel Mason, Marie Lorenz, and Lan Tuazon perform daring and dangerous deeds and document them. Tanyth Berkeley turns the camera on the audience and experiments with slow-motion excitement. Jeremiah Clancy, Julie Orser, Alistair Banks Griffin, and Cate Snook create moments of abstracted cinematic beauty. Chris Moukarbel takes bootlegging a little too far. Trevor Shimizu’s text-based video catapults a 1909 manifesto into the future. Finally, Siebren Versteeg supplies closing credits drawn from a live internet-feed of obituaries.

Beyond the video program, _Action Adventure_ experiments with the presentation of video within the gallery context. For one month, CANADA’s gallery will become a theatrical environment, creating a space that will encourage the visitor to stay and spend significant time watching videos. The installation will include a concession stand where popcorn, candy, and an assortment of refreshments will be available for purchase. CANADA will also be air conditioned for the duration of the show. On the opening night of the exhibition, Thursday, July 13th, a premiere screening will take place at 8pm.

Organized by Melissa Brown, Josh Kline, and Michael Williams

Participating Artists:

Tanyth Berkeley
Antoine Catala
Jeremiah Clancy
Jim Drain
Tim Etchells
Alistair Banks Griffin
Marie Lorenz and Lan Tuazon
Rachel Mason
Chris Moukarbel
Shana Moulton
Julie Orser
Paper Rad
Scott Reeder
Trevor Shimizu
Jocelyn Shipley
Cate Snook
Ryan Trecartin
Siebren Versteeg
Abbey Williams
Stina Wirfelt

Josh Kline, _Nightline (Leading The Way)_, 2003 - 2004.

» first and foremost, RIP syd barrett. pink floyd wouldn’t have been remotely interesting were it not for you.

» i’ve been anxiously awaiting the day philly had its own craft mafia and finally, it’s arrived. is a parts+labor-esque store right around the bend? who will be our own all dressed up and shy? you have no idea how psyched i am about this — texadelphia is becoming a reality!

» going to homo a go go this year and have a burning desire to document every waking moment of the experience on film? here’s your opportunity:

For the first time ever, this year’s Homo a Gogo will be preserved for posterity by an independent production team. The filmmakers are looking for your help in two ways:

1) One aspect of the documentary will consist of video diaries from audience members and performers alike. The filmmakers are looking for 3-5 individuals/groups who want document their trip to/experience at HAGG ‘06. You must have/be able to borrow a mini DV camera.

2) A few more production interns are needed. Responisbilities will include keeping tapes stocked and batteries charged, getting release forms signed, logging daily footage. Previous film/video experience preferred, but not required. Volunteering for half a day will get you into that day’s events, volunteering for 15 hours gets you a festival pass. And you get to tell people that you worked at HAGG (if only for 15 hours…).

Contact Info

philly’s own sam barrow [a former co-worker and fellow ladyfest alumni of mine] is perfoming at HAGG this year. go sam! i wish i could go just for this!

» contest alert: think you have what it takes to remix philly’s newest resident, mr lif? one lucky winner receives a gemini CDT-05 hybrid turntable and the track will be featured as a download on definitivejux.com.

runner-up prizes include 100$ gift certificate to sandbox automatic and autographed limited-edition 7″ of “the fries”.

sound up your alley? roll on over to indievirus, register, download tracks and get to it!