Taming of the Queue

A few weeks ago, I managed to catch the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met, two days before it closed. In total, approximately 660,000 people visited the show during its run, and in the final weeks, some waited as many as six hours to get in. My total wait time of 1 hour and 52 minutes was modest in comparison.

I was struck by the ambiance of the main atrium of the Met, around which the massive line wrapped twice, so I caught some of the noise on tape. It got me thinking about the mental experience of hundreds of people waiting in a line:

By the way — it was totally worth the wait.

Unrelated Lyrical References

Presented without commentary:

Talib Kweli, “Gun Music” (off 2002′s Quality):

Toys for guns I got guns for toys
Silencers bring the heat without bringing the noise
Bringing the funk of dead bodies go ahead bring in your boys
You’ll see the soul of black folk like W. E. B. DuBois

and,

Das Racist, “Hugo Chavez” (off 2010′s Shut Up, Dude):

W. E. B. DuBois
We be da boys

 

WEB

Sampling the Classics

"He's got the fuckin' Lincoln!" "Chick is bad!" - Q-Tip

Last night I saw the excellent Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.

I’ve always been fascinated by the creative process of hip-hop, and the rare glimpse into that process unfolding is among the most pristine pleasures of this film. It also relates to the game of figuring out the root of a sample, and opening your world to a genre or era of music otherwise forgotten.

It may come as a surprise, but I’ve never thought of the reasons behind hip-hop sampling as simply as the way the members of Tribe state it in the film. Describing how they couldn’t afford instruments, they explain that it was at first exciting to try rhyming over another artist’s music. And once they realized how easy that was, it was the logical next step to start creating these beats themselves.

The most quietly exciting scene comes in the middle of the film, in which we get to watch Q-Tip recreate the way that he found and created the basic drum beat for “Can I Kick It?” An avid record collector, he first explains why he picked up the record Drives by Lonnie Smith: the album cover (pictured above) was sexy. He was attracted to the clothing, the Kangol-style hat, the woman, the Lincoln. Once he heard the drum beat on the song “Spinning Wheel,” he said that he knew it had to be in one of his songs. In a moment of music geekery both recognizable and kindred, Q-Tip’s eyes light up as he recounts this discovery. Then, we continue to peek in his studio as he places the record on his turntable and shows us exactly how he cut and looped that beat. Voilà. Add that Lou Reed bass groove, and the classic song is practically created before our eyes. It’s exhilarating to watch.

This idea of sampling has been on my mind lately because of the new Kanye and Jay-Z song “Otis” off Watch The Throne. Upon first listen, I was thrown off by the straightforward use of Otis Redding’s classic “Try A Little Tenderness,” over which Ye and Jay take turns rapping. I know Kanye is a talented producer; using Bon Iver’s “Woods” on MBDTF‘s “Lost in the World” drew new depths of loneliness and sorrow from Justin Vernon’s original. So it struck me as odd that “Otis” should be so underwhelming. I find it almost cloying that the sample builds and builds without diving into Redding’s ecstatic chorus. It makes me want to turn off “Otis” and turn on the original. I’m not sure if Ye and Jay are necessarily trying to be provocative by not allowing us to hear the place where we expect the song to go, but in sampling a song that is so recognizable and well-loved, they detract from their own collaborative effort.

And now, after watching the new video for “Otis” — in which Kanye and Jay torch, decapitate and destroy a very expensive looking car — I’m tempted to say that it’s over the top braggadocio that’s really at work here. “Try A Little Tenderness” is possibly one of the most expensive samples ever used — and Kanye and Jay-Z seem more preoccupied with the swagger of that than with the song just having a really solid drum beat.

Crazy Stupid Elf

Spotted in the Clinton-Washington Subway station in Brooklyn. Strange photo quality due to photographing across the platform, and then zooming in.

No errant comma-usage here!

The Best Month for People-Watching

Using a modern accessory (a mirrored iPhone case) to touch up a vintage ensemble. Credit: Spike McCue

This June, there have been lots of celebrations in New York that had its attendees trotting out some of the greatest, wildest and (in some cases) naked-est costumes all year. Between the Pride Parade and Governors Island’s Jazz Age Lawn Party (both this past weekend), and the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, there have been many opportunities to dress up, show off and mug for the camera.

I wasn’t able to hit the Pride or Mermaid parades this year, but I did get to spend yesterday’s lovely afternoon being transported to the roaring twenties, complete with a swinging band, Charleston dancing and the requisite hooch. One of my favorite parts was the journey to the Governors Island ferry: trying to figure out who was headed to the Island, and who just dressed crazy for no reason. I caught a couple of elderly folks smiling my way.

Once there, I couldn’t keep my eyes off some ladies’ and gents’ meticulously-crafted costumes. There were adorable older couples who caught fire on the dance floor. Everyone there was in great spirits, complimenting strangers’ outfits and toasting to both an age past, and the new generation that appreciates dressing up in period garb, and retreating to the modern luxury of air conditioning at the day’s end.

Check out my buddy Spike’s photos here.

Me!

Solstice Weirdness

Though I missed the Solstice sunset over the Manhattan Bridge tonight, there were a few strange things I came across on a walk through Brooklyn:

- What’s the deal with the enormous, spherical, neon blue sculpture that sits in the front yard of a house on Dean St. in Boerum Hill? I am inclined to ring the doorbells of this brownstone until someone answers. It looks like it belongs in the MoMA, and lights up the street in an eerie glow. I wonder what the neighbors think. It’s very cool.

- Sometimes people who live on first floor apartments leave their blinds open and their lights on, so you can see right into their apartments. One of the most grotesque, shocking and enigmatic displays I’ve ever witnessed: an intense doll collection. Floor to ceiling,  shelves filled with Barbies, American Girl Dolls, Laura Ashley figures, and more, all still in their boxes, and a sheet of plastic “protecting” (?) them from–er–danger? Theft? This brings up so many questions. Who is this person? Are they young or old? Gasp–what if it’s a dude? The mystery continues.

Update: Apparently, the folks over at The Hairpin also had massive doll collections on the mind today.

- This is less creepy-weird and more awesome-weird: today, Nick Franglen, of the band Lemon Jelly, played a 24-hour improvised piece underneath the Manhattan Bridge. He played the theremin, in collaboration with the ambient noise of the cars and trains. He even set up a sensor to insert a blip of silence in the piece whenever a biker or pedestrian passed over it. A collaborative, sun-saluting hymn. Well done.

Thesis.

Apologies for the darkness on this blog since last August. But! I graduated from graduate school. That is a decent excuse, right?

From August to December 2010, I was working on my Master’s thesis, in the form of a radio documentary (a meta-radio story, as I like to call it) about, well, radio. To learn more, keep reading.

Raising Barns, Raising Voices:

NY is Gleefully Weird. Also: Radio Interview!

Walking home today, I happened upon this:

Ah, I was wondering where to store my scythe.

***

ALSO:

I’ve got another radio interview cooking, and I’m serving it up on Monday night at 9pm EST, on WFUV.org! (I promise there won’t be any bad puns in it though.)

Eli “Paperboy” Reed digs soul, R&B and gospel in a way that you probably wouldn’t expect from a dude in his mid-twenties from Brookline, MA. But let me tell you – his knowledge of all this legendary music – from doowop to Motown to Baptist church choirs – made me both envious and enthralled to get a chance to chat with him about it. Plus, he rolls out some acoustic versions of his own tunes. Kid can wail. He dresses snazzy. I promise you’ll dig it too.

Tune in, by going to WFUV.ORG and clicking “Listen Now.” If you miss the live broadcast, the show will be archived right here for streaming on the website.

Tune in!

Edit: If you missed it – you can still hear it in the archives. Here’s a direct link.

My first big interview is airing on actual radio airwaves!

I hung out with the incredible Montreal-based musician Patrick Watson and his magical band of mischief makers a couple weeks ago at WFUV and they were awesome. Patrick is a classically-trained musical gourmet who writes his songs like he scores films – from subtle and sweepingly gorgeous to rollicking bouts of sounds. We cover a lot of territory – including meeting strangers, David Lynch, Iceland, antique shopping and his favorite noises.

They play four songs, and tell me they’ll play my birthday party.

Please listen! You will love them a whole lot.

Monday, June 7th at 9pm eastern standard time – if you are in New York and own a radio (I hope you do) turn your dial to 90.7 FM.

Most of you, however, would most likely visit WFUV.ORG instead to stream it live! And if you don’t catch it live, it will be archived on the site for future listens and enjoyments.

I Was Present.

Every time I look at this photo of myself, I feel like I am looking at someone else that is not me. I have no idea what is going through my mind at the exact moment this photo was taken. I can’t tell if this occurred at the beginning of my sit, when I was stiff and uncomfortable, my heart beating almost painfully at the awareness that I was being watched. Both by strangers observing and by Marina herself. I had expected my mind to be racing but instead it was blank. Maybe this was taken a couple minutes in, when I found the entire situation funny — though not funny in an absurd sense, but enjoyable funny. I giggled, but probably in my mind, because I was too scared to contort my face, too afraid to smile. I felt compelled to hold the same expressionless face that she did, although judging from other photos in the set, people made all sorts of faces. I felt like I couldn’t, for some reason. Her face was straight, but her expression soft. And even though her stare was strong, never letting my eyes drop for a second, I didn’t feel like they were harsh. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Was she trying to figure out who I was? My essence? Or was she just looking, observing?

Maybe this photo was taken toward the end of the session, when my eyes began to hurt from the bright lights and the murmur of the observing folk around us began to fade away. I felt like I was becoming trance-like and considered how when why I would finally know to get up. I almost came out of the trance, and then fell even deeper into it. I can’t remember what I was thinking about other than this. Suddenly, it just felt like the right moment to bow my head, close my eyes, and walk away. I felt like I had been sitting for around fifteen minutes – it turned out to be thirty-two.

I felt it necessary to walk straight out of the museum, nodding goodbye to my new friends from the line, and outside before I could even utter a word. Then I called my friends and told them as I walked to class it felt like I was floating. I had a headache. My eyes hurt. It was so cool. Yes. It just felt good. I think it is something everyone should try. The opportunity to have a connection — profound or totally meaningless — with a complete stranger is a rare and exhilarating thing. Or even just staring into someone’s eyes until one person, or both people, arbitrarily decide to stop — this is something I want to do with people.

I’m also quite sure that Marina has honed her telepathic abilities. I’m not even being sarcastic. She has probably learned to read minds, judge facial cues and look deeply into people’s eyes to learn something about them. This is totally possible.

I have been obsessed with looking through these photographs. Seeing how different everyone’s faces are…it’s fascinating. You know how they say that if you stare at something long enough, patterns will emerge? Well, I’ve found a few interesting ones in here. The prominence of certain facial features, one girl who has come in many different costumes (find the burka and go from there!), the repeats, the smilers, the criers, the celebrities. I find that when I walk around New York, I pay more attention to the detail of people’s faces, and take notice of the juxtaposition of one face with the face of the person next to them.

Marina Abramovic’s piece, The Artist is Present, has been getting a fair amount of buzz. These are some commentaries worth checking out:

Seeing Comedy in Serious Art

A Flower Every Day

The Art of Sitting

The Photographer is Also Present

The Other Artist is Present

Beautiful, Gorgeous Marina

I would love to hear other peoples’ experiences with this exhibit and piece.