Shot at Night Blooms dark room and bookstore, in Kansas City, MO,with the Lomo Lens app.
Archive for the ‘hip’ Category
Night Blooms Vibes.
March 5, 2016Are These for Sale?
March 4, 2016
I walked by my local outpost of hipster chain store Urban Outfitters the other day. Are these display yurts for sale? What a great place to crash while at your next “relevant” music festival. These yurts will likely be featured at a Mountain Dew-sponsored shanty town at SXSW. The hipster tiny house could also provide functional living space after we all default on our student loans.
Past Interview Subject Quintron Featured in Popular Science.
February 25, 2016
Quintron (image via Consequence of Sound)
I was thrilled to see past interview subject Quintron featured in a recent article in Popular Science. The article focuses on his creation of the Weather Warlock, a synthesizer controlled by the weather.
Quintron is someone that is truly ahead of his time. He puts out raucous music with his puppeteer partner-in-crime, Miss Pussycat. It’s fascinating to see how Quintron uses his inventions to enhance and inspire his music. I also love that he respects and was influenced by so many classic NOLA musicians, even as he forges in the future. When I interviewed him in 2011, Quintron told me a story about New Orleans R&B legend Ernie K-Doe, “K-Doe was the Sun Ra of New Orleans RnB. He was my mentor…him and Antoinette. Best thing he ever said was during this one rehearsal the drummer stopped…and he looks over at her and asked why she stopped. “I made a mistake,” she says. Then Ernie looks at everyone and goes, “THERE ARE NO MISTAKES IN MUSIC!! NOW PLAY!!!!” He was the absolute best. I don’t think he sang a false note in any recording he ever made either. God he was the best. Him and Johnny Adams had such amazing voices! Where are those guys now?”
The quality and the wonderful strangeness of his music is on a whole different level. A lot of people try too hard to be quirky, Quintron is real. Maybe one day we will catch up to him, but probably not.
Here’s a video an early prototype for the Weather Warlock, the Singing House:
A Hairy Situation: Portrait of a Man Bun in KC.
February 20, 2016
A photo portrait of a man bun in KC. Shot with Lomo Lens. #whitepeople
Self Portrait 2/19/16.
February 20, 2016
“Guns Don’t Kill People. People From Texas Kill People.”
February 20, 2016
Sonic Exploration at YJs: Falling into the Minimalism Void.
February 19, 2016As I sat in YJs the other afternoon, a minimal soundscape floated through the snack bar. I asked a barista friend of mine what was being played. “It’s this Japanese composer, Ryoji Ikeda. These are all micro sounds, subsonic sounds,” he clarified. The music was shifting, weird and oddly soothing. It was new to me and melted my mind. In a CD booklet, Ikeda once said about his approach to sound, “A high frequency sound is used that the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance.”
I went through a brief minimal music phase in my life. I love the minimal electronica of Plastikman.
However, I often feel pretentious when the subject of minimalism comes up. It can make for strange conversation, “Sounds you can totally hear are so mainstream. I prefer mostly subsonic sounds. I like my music like the amount in my bank account, micro.” “Does he ever play live? It sounds like he plays on the moon or underwater,” I asked my friend. “It seems like he mostly plays art galleries and really hip places,” he said. “Underwater would be the place to see him. I saw him before he was dry. I saw him before he formed land legs.”
JR JR: A Hairy Situation.
February 16, 2016
JR JR (Photo credit Jeaneen Lund).
JR JR hit the Midland crowd hard on Friday night with electronica-tinged indie pop. The Michigan-based group brought the fun, the energy and beasted it so hard live. However, one thing about the show made it a very hairy situation. The keyboardist/vocalist’s haircut was one of the strangest I have ever seen at a show.
JR JR at the Midland, 2/12/16
The coif was intense for sure. It looked like a hip version of Foghorn Leghorn. “I SAY, I SAY, I SAY MY JEANS ARE WAY TOO SKINNY!!!” It looked like it was in 4 dimensions.
Foghorn Leghorn (Image via looneytunes.wikia.com)
“Why doesn’t he just pull it back?!?! JUST PULL IT BACK!” my friend cried out in distress. I heard that the hairstyle will be voting in the next election. I almost expected the haircut to pull out a tiny drum kit and play a solo. I would like to note that I am no style critic. I’m probably just jealous because I look like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Harry Potter had an unholy love child that overdosed on recreational bath salts. It freaks me out now, but in five years everyone will probably have hair like this. JR JR indie pop smashes it. You can wear your hair however you want, just be sure to crush it live.
Here’s a snippet of JR JR’s Kansas City set
Hooping at the Indie Rock Show.
February 14, 2016
Hooping isn’t just limited to raves and jam band shows anymore. Many white people enjoy hooping in diverse scenarios During indie rock band Marian Hill‘s set in Kansas City on Friday, a fan tried to hoop to the sax-laced tunes. Some music is not easy for hooping. A+ for effort though. A nice change of pace from most fans at indie shows that just look at their feet and try to act unimpressed.
Bad Hyper Irony: The WORDS ON A STICKER Sticker.
February 8, 2016
WORDS ON A STICKER Sticker.
I walked into my local hip/ironic shop the other day. I saw a product that made seething anger rise up inside of me. The “WORDS ON A STICKER” sticker made my brain hurt. Are these supposed to be funny? The only thing that gets me angrier than seeing stickers like these is when I have a weak wifi signal.
Why do phrases like these make me so mad? It’s because they are trying so damn hard to be ironic that the phrases wind up being pointless and stupid. It’s like some bad attempt at hyper irony.
Who is the target market for these? Are they a hot seller? Who sees these and says, “OMG, I really need this in my life!” Would you buy the “WORDS ON A STICKER” sticker? What the hell do they even mean? You get a free brain aneurysm with purchase of this sticker.
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