An earlier post focused on discovering 60’s band The Action years ago on e-music. They were always name checked but never played anywhere. Anyways it was a great discovery, I was impressed by how deep the album was in great tunes. Other elusive bands of the era like The Creation had some great tunes but whole albums weren’t that rewarding. I was really surprised to find a new release of The Action. It consists of a lot of covers and isn’t as strong (naturally) as their greatest hits package, but it also holds some great music. including some of the songs from the documentary I had linked to.

SUMMER SONIC !!

It’s always so amazing to be able to DJ for so many people and experience that energy… 

Hung out back stage and ate snacks, met Verbal from M-Flo who has a rad jewelry line as well, hung out with Elli Rose and played dress up, put on THE CREATION by FLOCK, DJed on the same stage we saw Soulwax perform on yesterday (!!!!!), danced with our hands up, threw glitter, popped off a confetti popper, mellowed out with some friends. THANK YOU SUMMER SONIC!! That was Coachella x 20!!

xo

V

ML: Vintage swimsuit, FLOCK The Creation in Royal Blue, POSSO 12″ Limited Edition Spats in Turquoise Croco (and then later) Vintage black one-piece future romper, POSSO The Pause belt

V: Bantu Swimsuit, FLOCK The Creation in Vanessa Turquoise, POSSO 12″ Limited Edition Spats in Turquoise Croco (and then later) Vintage blue wrap, FLOCK leggings rigged as a sparkle vest, POSSO Black Croco THE SUBJECT, shoes from Santee Alley 

OK. Thought I’d shove up some random archive stuff, especially as my hard drive backup seems to be eating my old files, never to return. First, an interview from 2005 conducted for… where? I have no recollection, but I feel that perhaps I used some of this later in a Plan B feature. There’s already plenty of stuff about some of these bands elsewhere on my blogs (particularly here) and there’s a great article from Alistair Fitchett about it here, but I really can’t be arsed to link to it all. Sorry.

Alright, first the basic questions that I ask everyone:
Which were the most important earlier bands leading up to the C-86 wave?
Orange Juice, Josef K, Aztec Camera (the sound of Young Scotland): the ideology behind Creation Records but not the bands themselves (with the exception of the Mary Chain and The Pastels): anything on Rough Trade records post-1978 (except The Smiths who always were corporate sell-outs): The Fall (because they influences EVERY independent band from the UK post-1977): Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, Captain Beefheart (half the bands on that NME tape ripped the good Captain off), The Velvet Underground (and the other half ripped the Velvets off): Trixie’s Big Red Motorbike, Sophisticated Boom Boom and any of the girl-led pop groups that Peel used to play in the early Eighties: Captain Beefheart again: The Byrds and The Creation and The Kinks and all that white boy jangling guitar Sixties stuff: Television Personalities: plenty more, but that’ll do for now.

If I were to pick 10 bands from the C-86 era to write more about – which should I choose?
The Pastels
Talulah Gosh
Shop Assistants
The Wolfhounds
Jasmine Minks
The Membranes
Big Flame
The Wedding Present
June Brides
The Legend!

(This is a random list, drawn from the top of my head – and I’d be amazed if I haven’t forgotten a load of great bands.)

Are there are any bands that surfaced after the tape but are still considered to be C-86?
Not for me to say – but some people may consider what Matt and Claire put out on Sarah Records to fall firmly within the “C86 category”. Talulah Cosh were actually post-C86 if my memory serves me correctly. Comet Gain are totally C86 – as were many of the Riot Grrrl bands (especially the later ones that lost the politics but retained the cutie edge). Oh, and I guess BMX Bandits would’ve loved to have been.

What other musical events (gigs, record releases etc) except for the tape made the year 1986 stand out?
I remember standing at a Soup Dragons Hammersmith Clarendon (upstairs) concert with a basket full of new Legend! fanzines (Wolfhounds/Razorcuts flexi) and not moving all evening – people coming up to me in a constant stream, as I sold about 130 copies. Also, I’d travel up to Bedford Esquires (and other venues) a great deal for their fine triple bills starring folk like Talulah Gosh and Big Flame and Membranes – shows put on by Nigel Turner, who now runs Pickled Egg Records. I can’t recall events – was ’86 Live Aid? USA Against Warmongering By Capitalist Countries? C86 was actually a massive disappointment to me: for a compilation that so clearly had its roots in all the bands I would write about for NME at the time, it was incredible I hated so much of it (it’s cos the compilers were too arrogant to consult a “kid” like me). I still don’t like much of the tape – it’s unrepresentative of its times certainly (as opposed to the brilliant C81 comp, five years earlier) and even unrepresentative of the small narrow strata of music it thought it was representing. I recall a Troublefunk show that I danced my ass off at.

Were there any venues or clubs that were central to C-86?
Was McGee still putting on shows then? If so, then whatever he was behind would have been central. If not, then certainly Dan Treacy’s Room At The Top, upstairs at the Enterprise Chalk Farm, next to the excellent Marine Ices shop where everyone would hang out before bands, was vital. As were Leigh’s shows at Woolwich Polytechnic and Nigel’s shows in Bedford. They were the main three I’d go to.

Was C-86 in general political – lyrically or musically? Or was it just shaped by the politics of the time? And was it working-class or middle-class?
Depends which strata of C86 you’re talking about: the crap pop bands like The Bodines and Mighty Mighty or god-awful Close Lobsters certainly weren’t political. The more obviously Beefheart-influenced bands like Stump and The Shrubs and Big Flame and The MacKenzies seemed to be on the surface – although it’s arguable that was only because of the style of music (angular, awkward, challenging) they were aping. The Age of Chance seemed revolutionary, the way they matched guitar pop to dance rhythms, and were unfortunately (for them) 10 year ahead of their time. Half-Man Half-Morons (who should NEVER have been near the compilation) were an out-and-out joke band.

The temptation nowadays when faced with a crop of ‘indie’ bands is to automatically think of them as middle-class but looking down the list on C86 I’d have to say most of them are working-class (probably in some last echo of punk’s diverse roots that spread out to the working-class communities from its middle-class origins with Strummer and McClaren and that whole London thing). Most of those C86 would’ve played benefits for the miner’s strike and the like… again, I think this was probably part genuine outrage at the Thatcher years, and probably part follow-on from punk and post-punk’s obvious political leanings. Yes, of course the bands were shaped by their times, and among that section of society in the mid-Eighties, dissent was very much to the front.

Interesting that, out of 22 bands on the compilation, only three of them are female.

I’ve heard that there wasn’t a homogenous indiepop sub-culture before C-86. Is that true? And what were the identifying markers of anoraks, both on the surface and ideologically?
No, there wasn’t – not readily identifiable, at least. The most it amounted to was boys like Bobby Gillespie and Edwyn Collins who wore their hair like members of The Byrds: there was definitely a Mod and Sixties crossover with some of the more jangling elements of the independent sector (thanks a lot to the Creation Records aesthetic) but no… To be honest, I don’t think C86 was the main factor behind ‘indiepop’… that was more down to the law of diminishing returns and Sarah Records’ (in particular) sometimes inspirational but more often damn right annoying tunnel vision and insistence on sticking with ONE PARTICULAR SOUND, no messing (and certainly with no room for females, barring the ever-present Amelia Fletcher). Anoraks were NOT the norm in ’86 (Stephen Pastel wore one, but with leather trousers) not at all… it was the younger brothers of the C86 generation who decided that they were cool, not the people of the time.

Where did C-86 go? Did it merge with other genres or did it all turn into twee?
Let’s get this straight. C86 didn’t actually exist as a sound, or style. It was supposed to be a “state of the independents” compilation, similar to C81. The reason it wasn’t was down to the myopic vision of its compilers. The reason it wasn’t stronger was because major contributor behind the scenes, Neil Taylor – who only ever chose to write about bands I’d reviewed two weeks before – had no actual idea about music beyond reading other journalists. I loved soul and dance music at the time of C86. But the compilation didn’t reflect any of that. One half of C86 obviously turned twee – was already on the verge even as the tape was being put together. The other half continued existing merrily on its own terms thanks very much.

What’s your definition of C-86 today?
I don’t have one. See above. And I find it weird bordering on surreal that people are starting to use it again, specifically to sell seven-inch singles on eBay. No one used the term back then. They really didn’t.

And now the more important questions, especially tailored for you:
I assume you wrote the fanzine The Legend! – how would you describe it?
Impassioned, arrogant, self-obsessed, determined to strike its own path separate to the great morass of fanzines who all just seemed to be content with being third-rate copies of NME (I always knew I couldn’t do interviews, so I never ran a single one in any of the five issues of The Legend!)…naïve, futile, excitable, plenty of exclamation marks, instant, brutally honest, refused to take any ads whatsoever (and yes, I was offered some), very proud of what it did… almost entirely written by me, designed and published by me…

What other fanzines do you remember liking and what distinguished them?
Idiot Strength, Are You Scared To Get Happy?, Juniper Beri-Beri, Attack On Bzag, The Rox, that damn magazine Miki and Emma did years before they formed Lush (Alphabet Soup), Incendiary, Hungry Beat… for pretty much the same reasons as I’ve detailed in the description of The Legend! (None were as passionate or extreme as mine, of course.)

You were writing both for your own fanzine as well as for the NME – was that uncommon? And what did you think about the NME ca 1986?
There were several of us who wrote for both our own magazines and the music press – me, John Robb, James Brown, probably several more. It wasn’t that uncommon, there was a great tradition of writers coming to the music press from fanzines that started during the early punk days – and to the best of my knowledge has continued through even till today. I hated NME but of course I secretly loved it too. I didn’t exactly socialise with any of the other journalists there… I was routinely ridiculed and looked down upon by my fellow writers, especially the more august ones (and with some reason: I still couldn’t string a sentence together at that point). Danny Kelly supported me, and Steven Wells and David Quantick. Cheers mates.

Were you involved with compiling the C-86 tape? Why was it put out and what determined which bands were on it? (If possible, compare with C-81.)
I think I’ve already answered this question above: it was basically intended as a “state of the independents” round up – NME had a tradition of putting out tape compilations, like C81, but covering all forms of music (Rebellious Jukebox was my all-time favourite, introducing me as it did to the wonders of Southern Soul Music: there were several others also, covering jazz and hip hop). This was at least a decade before the idea of giving music away with a music magazine had become so thoroughly devalued that nowadays you don’t even bother buying Mojo or Uncut unless they have a free CD attached, and even the broadsheets get in on the act…

I wasn’t involved. I should have been, but I was a jumped-up fanzine kid (who just happened to be introducing most of these previously ignored bands to the music press and their readers). The standing joke at the time was that the tape comprised all the bands who’d slept on my floor when they played London – Shop Assistants, Wedding Present, Pastels, Bogshed, A Witness, Age of Chance, Soup Dragons….If I’d been involved there’s no way bands like Mighty Mighty or Half-Man Half-Biscuit (neither of whom had ANYTHING to do with anything) would have been allowed near the tape.

How come the two in retrospect perhaps most classic C-86 bands, Razorcuts and Talulah Gosh, were not on the tape?
I’m fairly sure Talulah Gosh were only just emerging right about the time the tape came out, so you can hardly blame the NME for not including them. (Why no June Brides, though? That was a bigger scandal.) And same held true of Razorcuts (although I absolutely LOVED that band by the time C86 appeared)… as I say, I had nothing to do with that tape despite being part of the inspiration for it. If I had then of course the ‘cuts would’ve been on it.

What were the connections between C-86 and other related terms such as anorak, shambling, jangle or twee? What did they mean and in what order did they emerge?
Anorak was something Simon Reynolds invented a couple of years later, in Melody Maker (he wrote a big article in ’88 on the whole fanzine ‘scene’, which by that time had moved along to the Canterbury Arms in Brixton, I think, that included massive pictures of John Robb and me – much to NME’s disgust). I think he may have invented ‘twee’ at the same time. Both are horrible condescending words. Ugh! Jangle was probably around since ’81 or so, with Orange Juice and the bands that loved Sixties groups like The Byrds. Shambling (and the thankfully underused grebo) has been credited to John Peel circa ’85 – but I never listened to him so I wouldn’t know. I think it was taken to mean bands like The Fall, and the Beefheart-influenced lot, who didn’t care so much whether everything was perfectly produced or polished, but had a more ‘shambolic’ approach to recording and playing live. I used to think it meant any band that took more than three attempts to start a song… in which case Teenage Fanclub early on were the ultimate shambling band. But to me, Bogshed always were.

Why did the NME turn on a scene of their own creation and start using the term ‘C-86’ in a scornful manner?
That was because most of the writers never liked it in the first place – and also cos the description quickly codified into a certain sound. And that always sucks when that happens.

Some people seem to think the invention of ‘C-86’ killed off indiepop. What were the negative as well as the positive effects?
I can’t comment here; neither term actually means much to me as descriptions of a genre of music (the two are synonymous as far as I’m concerned) so the question is meaningless. Cheers, Everett

Every good mix begins with some original work

In college, I had a friend who made mix tapes for me and others with great frequency. She even joined an international indie music swap but lagged on making and sending a tape to her chosen person in the exchange, so she made that person two tapes as a means of apology. I’m using that friend as a role model for the moment, as I find myself in the daunting but extremely exciting pilot’s chair for my own mix for a friend. But it’s not like I’m dragging ass stubbornly behind the times. I’ll burn the songs onto a disc.

This process used to result in one of the most pleasurable and simplest gifts to give a person. You rifled through your stacks of CDs, queued up the songs that you deemed necessary, and hit a record button. You got to spend a few hours listening to music you love, and you were doing something nice for the recipient of your mix. But how might that lucky recipient interpret your choices? What if the person dismissed that bouncy, cotton-candy picker-upper track you picked as brain-numbing treacle? What if your friend couldn’t grasp why that one Smiths song was important enough to put on the mix even though they play it on the “alternative” radio station at least five times a day? What if you crammed every second of space on your chosen medium with lyrics, instrumentation, and themes that mean everything to you but not as much to the person the mix is for?

First of all, you’d have some pretty classless friends if any of them flat-out told you these things. Those kind of people don’t deserve tapes or CDs or possibly even music in their lives. But the personalized music mix begs the question: Which person is the mix really for? I would always start my mix tapes and CDs with selfless intentions. John won’t shut up about the Hold Steady, maybe he would benefit from some historical background with the Replacements. Or Jane can’t stop listening to all those awful canned Top 40 beats, so she might enjoy that single from the Dirty Projectors that almost sounds like it could be a Top 40 R&B hit.

But as helpful as your musical education lessons might be, it always comes down to why you pick the songs that end up on your mix. To some extent, every mix you make is for yourself, even if you plan to give it away. The blank tape takes the form of your storyboard or your canvas. Every song is a statement to express your thoughts on a specific point in time or a particular event. Each track will say something about your feelings for the mix’s recipient, which are often hopelessly tangled with your feelings about yourself. Even a line of reasoning as uncluttered as “I thought this person would like this song” implicates both the giver and the giftee with characteristics and desires that weren’t completely articulated until the song played.

But all the same, I love mixes for the thrill of unfamiliar and well-loved bands playing surprising songs as well as favorites. In all the mix tapes I got from my college friend, there were always tracks I didn’t care for very much. At the same time, the tapes introduced me to artists I hold in high regard as well artists similar to them, in that unending web of musical connections that grows as soon as you hear a song that blows your mind.

Finally, a word for my friend, since it’s her departure that inspired this post. She is the Elle of Elle in Wonderland fame, or DK to her friends, and she will be missed tremendously as she works toward her masters in anthropology in Albany, New York. Through DK’s encouragement, I began this blog, and I’ve always valued her comments here, to say nothing the insights she’s offered into my considerably less tidy real life. Hopefully, some of the following songs don’t cause her dad to veer off the road as they make the trek across the country.

The Creation ~ Making Time

Backstreet Boys ~ I Want It That Way

To clarify, that one has a background. Maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime, if you’re nice.

Seu Jorge ~ Oh! You Pretty Things

Grizzly Bear ~ Two Weeks

Lonely Island feat. Norah Jones ~ Dreamgirl

Chicharones ~ Taco Wagon

Loretty Lynn & Jack White ~ Portland Oregon

Cut Copy ~ Out There on the Ice

Jens Lekman ~ Pocketful of Money

Tori Sparks ~ Tall Towers

Throw Me the Statue ~ Lolita

Cake ~ Mexico

DeVotchKa ~ Along the Way

The Builders and the Butchers ~ Hands Like Roots

Magneta Lane ~ Ugly Socialite

Sin Fang Bous ~ A Fire to Sleep In

The Low Anthem ~ Omgcd

The Thermals ~ You Dissolve

Jenny Owen Youngs ~ Fuck Was I

Andrew Bird ~ Fake Palindromes

Flight of the Conchords ~ She’s So Hot (Boom)

I kinda forgot that Sundays were my Song of the Week day, so sorry its pretty late in the day.  I’m in a heavy “summer song” feeling, so there may be a theme starting.  You may recognize this song from such films as “Rushmore”, directed by Wes Anderson.

The Band: The Creation

The Album: We are the Paintermen

Song: Making Time

Wanna download the song?  CLICK HERE

This is a sweet live recording of them on a German Talk Show.

Aparición da mítica banda de garage inglesa The Creation no programa Beat, Beat, Beat da televisión alemana o 23 de setembro de 1966.

‘I’m A Man’

‘That’s How Strong My Love Is’

‘Makin’ Time’

Discovered this, trawling through old blog posts for Tangents.

Decided not to run with the Tangents stuff as it would upset too many folk (no, don’t ask), thought I’d run with this instead, to celebrate the fact Billy’s record label Damaged Goods sent me a fair old parcel this morning – three Holly Golightly’s and a Singing Loins, all of whom I love.

Only thing is, I’m not quite what it’s for. It could be a) an early draft of the Plan B Christmas 2007 cover story I wrote on the man, b) a review of that excellent DVD documentary which came out a few years back, or c) none of the above. I have no idea.

Billy Childish
Words: Everett True
There’s more to Billy than simple three-chord thrash.
   “I don’t want to hide behind volume and monitors,” the Chatham (South London) poet has said. “I want to close the 15 feet between us and the audience and have true communication.”
   He’s an eccentric, suffered terrible abuse and bullying as a child, has painted over 2,000 paintings, penned 30 volumes of poetry, written two novels and continues to fascinate mainstream artists with aspirations towards credibility such as Jack White, Kurt Cobain and – well, most of the Seattle/Olympia lot, actually. He is bloody-minded: follows his own path of anti-establishmentarianism (art, music) through both Stuckism and his refusal to self-promote. His writing, especially for someone self-proclaimed dyslexic, is brilliant – incisive, cuts away the bullshit, hits the blooded nail. The music he plays is at the core of much I enjoy – raw garage rock (in the old sense), stripped right down and given plenty of attitude and melody (over 100 independent records).
   He’s parochial, lived in the same part of Medway forever, shaves with a cut-throat razor, has a fascination with the two world wars, doesn’t tolerate fools, doesn’t quite see why his former lover, prominent bratty Brit artist Tracey Emin should take credit for ideas that he gestated and is brutally frank, sometimes disturbingly so. He was expelled from St Martins School of Art, been turned down by Goldsmith’s Art College (home to Blur, Damien Hirst and Malcolm McLaren) on two separate occasions, and continues to carve his own path out of nothing.
   His music – based round the direct approach of Sixties bands such as The Creation and The Kinks – favours analogue over synthetic every time, antique instruments, onstage uniform and attitude. Bands such as Pop Rivets, The Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesers, Thee Headcoatees and The Buff Medways have garnered any amount of plaudits. Critics who say anyone could do what he does are missing the point: not only are his woodcuts evocative of Van Gogh (he once staged an exhibition of his own work in tribute to the Dutch artist) but no, no one could do what he does, even with those three chords. For the appeal of Billy Childish lies in his personality, his self-created aura – and no one else possesses that.
   “I do not like whitewall galleries, large rock venues or offstage mixing,” Childish says. “I do not read newspapers or go to music concerts.” How can you not admire that?

Love this. Wish I could have been in the audience. Eddie Phillips is AMAZING with the violin bow on the guitar! This is from the German television show “Beat Beat Beat”

Haydn, modern view – by Andreas Roseneder

Today is the great Anniversary Day for Joseph Haydn! Exactly 200 years ago he died on may 31, 1809 in Vienna in the age of 77.
Among his last words was his attempt to calm and reassure his servants when cannon shot fell in the neighborhood. (The french army under Napoleon was in Vienna):  “My children, have no fear, for where Haydn is, no harm can fall.”
Two weeks later, a memorial service was held in the Schottenkirche on June 15, 1809, at which Mozart’s Requiem was performed. (Mozart died before Haydn, they met 1781 for the first time and stayed friends since Mozart died in 1791)

The Anniversary Ceremonies in Eisenstadt began in the middle of the night: at 0.40 a.m. the bells of the Haydnchurch began to ring (it was the hour of Joseph Haydn’s death) and a commemoration was held there.
Todays further program:
at 9.00 a.m. Haydn’s “Schöpfungsmesse” (Creation Mass) is celebrated, with Bishop Dr. Paul Iby, the Hadnorchestra & Choir – (live in ORF)
at 11.00 a.m. Haydn’s “The Creation”, live in TV from the Haydnsaal, Esterhazy Castle: with The Austro-Hungarian Philharmonics under Adam Fischer, with the singer Anette Dasch and Thomas Quasthoff!!!

“The Creation” was played to honour Joseph Haydn at his 76th birthday at the Old University Hall in Vienna on march 27, 1808. Joseph Haydn was there, Antonio Salieri was conducting, Beethoven kissed his hands, the audience was enthusiastic! In the front, sitting on a chair in the middle: Joseph Haydn. – Watercolor by Balthasar Wigand, who was also there.

- and here the (tv-)pictures from “the Creation”, live from Haydnsaal:

I’ll celebrate this day and have a few thankfully thoughts on Haydn!

For those, who aren’t able to watch the Austrian Broadcasting “ORF”, a real great satellite-tipp:
on monday, june 1st 2009, you can watch at the  ORF European satellite-channel the Haydn-documentation “HEUTE SCHON HAYDN GEHÖRT? (“Have you already been listening to Haydn today?”) – 200 years after Joseph Haydn’s death on the trail of the great composer.

june 1, at 5.05 p.m. – ORF 2 Europe (information-pdf, english, spanish, german to download)

Reception
• Satellite ASTRA ORF transponder (117)
• Position 19.2 degrees east
• Frequency 12,692 GHz
• Polarization Horizontal
• Symbol rate 22,000
• FEC 5/6
ORF 2 EUROPE (ORF 2E) is easy to find using the automatic channel search function.
Technology:
ORF 2 EUROPE is a free-to-air channel available through the ASTRA digital satellite – its reception requires a digital satellite reception set.

If there’s a possibility to post a stream-link to the Haydn-live-event “The Creation, live from Eisenstadt”
(with the Austria-Hungarian-Haydn-Philharmonie and the Vienna Chamberchoir, directed by  Adam Fischer – and the singer Annette Dasch, Thomas Quasthoff and Christoph Strehlon)
on sunday, june 31, I’ll post it here!

It’s not as easy as it may look…but if you love what bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Creation and Sigur Ros have done in the past, the violin (or cello) bow can be a great trick to add to your repertoire!

Playing with the bow: Led Zeppelin, The Creation and Sigur Ros

Sure…an eBow is a really cool effect that we recommend to any guitarist interested in further sonic explorations of his instrument…but using a violin bow can produce different sounds, and be much more challenging…besides, playing an actual violin bow looks really cool onstage, too!

Basically, there’s no “correct” way to do it as a violin bow is not meant for guitar anyway, but here’s a few tips we collected, that may help you to achieve some good results:

You’ll need three things: One- An electric guitar (they sound better bowed compared to acoustic.) Two- A bow (Note: You will need rosin.) Three: an amp with more than one distortion setting (recommended reverb/delay more than any other.)

Once you have all you need to adjust your shoulder strap so that the guitar comes down below your stomach. (Adjust the strap all the way lose.) You want to hold the bow the same way you hold it as if you were playing violin. One exception- you may want to extend your finger across the bow. It makes it easier when you’re playing. Don’t let any pedantic killjoy tell you you’re holding the bow wrong- you’re not. This is completely different from playing a violin.

Set your amp to a regular tone (no freaky metal stuff yet)  and set just a little bit of distortion, with added reverb/delay for best results.) Slide the bow across the strings (You’re sliding where you’d normally pick.) It may take several times for you to get a vibration. Okay around with the amount of pressure you place on the bow. It may also take you a while to find a comfortable position. You want to avoid hurting your wrist at all costs (though playing with a flat neck will hurt your wrist anyway.) There are some special guitars that have a curved neck. This allows you to play the strings more accurately.

It’s hard to play chords with a bow- but you can still try. You could make an entire 4-minute song based off of G and A with a bow. It’s also hard to hit higher notes (above fret 12.) without it sounding scratchy. I recommend watching this for technique inspiration:

You can notice the player’s body position. (Note how the back is slightly arched and one knee is up.) It may take you a while to figure out how you want to play.

Vibrato: Yes, you can do it. It’s difficult, but it can be done. You can even bend the strings; as well as hammer-on’s pull-off’s. (Play around with other guitar techniques as well. You may end up with a cool new sound!Refer to the link above for vibrato and string bending inspiration!)

Usually, it’s easier to do power chords. But there’s no list of what works with a bow and what does not. You’re gonna have to figure that out by yourself. Also refer to this other video for inspiration:

Important points

Cleaning: A rag! Get a cloth rag (preferably cotton) and wipe your strings. You need to do this after every time you play with the bow. Guitar strings weren’t made to have rosin on them- and I’m sure if you want to play Metallica later on, you don’t want sticky strings. So wipe them down with a dry cotton rag.

Rosin: All you need to do is apply it to the bow. You don’t need to place it in water or chip pieces of it off. Just slide it across the hair of the bow. (About 14 slides will do for guitar.) You’ll need a lot of rosin to make the strings vibrate. (Amount of rosin may need to increase depending on the type of your strings.)

Bow: Try tightening it to the highest it can go without ripping the hair. You don’t want it too lose, and you don’t want it too tight- so somewhere in the middle there- have it firm, that’s all.

Effects: All effects need to be tweaked from scratch based on the bow squeaky sounds. in other words your normal distortion settings won’t be good when you replace the guitar pick for a violin bow.  Best results as a matter of fact may be by using the bow and only one pedal (a BOSS DD3 digital delay or a RE-20 Space Echo for instance).

Strings: Because the Bow basically rubs on the strings to produce a noise, older the strings the better, as older strings loose their smooth texture by the pickups due to the constant picking and strumming. Also using a cleaning solution for the strings before playing with the bow will help you A LOT.

Palm Muting: it will be hard to do while playing with a bow, but you could (only to try) use a little masking tape by the bridge to simulate the muting technique, it’s worth a try!

Playing: Yes- you may want to play like Jimmy Page. That’s cool. But he wasn’t the first nor the last to use a violin bow, so besides Jimmy Page, you may want to check 60’s freakbeat combo The Creation (Eddie Phillips was the first guitarist to use a violin bow) and Sigur Ros.

Dolphin Music offers some affordable violin and cello bows, so if you’re a guitarist looking to expand your horizons, why don’t you try one?

Stentor Bow Round, Half Ebony Frog 4/4 (only £13.21!)

Stentor Bow Round, Half Ebony Frog 3/4 (only £13.21!)

Stentor Bow 4/4

Stentor Bow 3/4

Led Zeppelin, Dazed And Confused

The Creation, Making Time

Sigur Rós,  Svefn g englar

And by the time it gets published will probably be my third published book. At the moment I can’t refer you to Amazon, but we do have one book under contract with Wiley, tentatively titled Mouse Pigmentation Genetics.

The new book:

Biology for Normal People

I’m talking real biology, no games, no metaphors, no fairy tales, no debates. Just the provable facts. I sincerely believe anyone who wants to can understand the most simple basic laws of nature, and I also believe this information is being withheld from the people. It’s so nice to know something powerful that someone else doesn’t know, isn’t it. But we are on a campaign to prevent the withholding of this factual information. So that’s the background.

I could use a little help with the first chapter.

I want to start off with everyone on the same page, so we need to agree on what we are talking about — what we are trying to understand is the place where we live, right? Biology is the study of life, so we are going to talk about the place where life exists. On this earth, where life can and does exist. How should we name that place?

The Earth Ecosystem?
The Creation?
The Biosphere?

And for all you creationists out there, I’m especially happy to have your input because I already know a scientific definition. What exactly is your definition of The Creation (the creation we live in, not the event)? What is the difference between the ecosystem that we live in and The Creation. Aren’t they the same thing? If not why not?

Thanks all, I will appreciate whatever you have to say, and I may quote you.

This week No More Booty talks trash about Julian Schnabel and plays rock and roll from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Oh, and you’re fired.

(mp3)

PLAYLIST:

“Street Hassle” by Lou Reed, Street Hassle (Arista Records 1978)
“Paint Work” by The Fall, This Nation’s Saving Grace (Beggars Banquet 1985)
“Venus” by Television, Marquee Moon (Elektra 1977)
“Natural’s Not In It” by Gang Of Four, Entertainment! (EMI/Warner Bros. 1979)
—
“Torture” by King Khan & the Shrines, The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines (Vice 2008)
“The Drag” by Ty Segall, Ty Segall (Castle Face ?)
“Dating Cops” by The Intelligence, Deuteronomy (In the Red 2007)
“Hand on” by Coachwhips, Double Death (Narnack 2006)
“Blood Bomb” by Yikes!, Whoa Comas/Blood Bombs (Kill Shaman 2007)
“Buy American” by Ex Models, Chrome Panthers (Troubleman Unlimited 2005)
“Take Hold” by Mika Miko, C.Y.S.L.A.B.F. (Kill Rock Stars 2005)
“Monk Chant” by The Monks, Black Monk Time (Infinite Zero 1966)
“I Can Only Give You Everything” by Them, Them Again (Deram 1966)
“Making Time” by The Creation, We Are Painterment (Hit Ton 1967)

The view from the back row of the chorus during rehearsal. There were a lot more people than this photo would suggest: 100-plus singers and 35 musicians.

I spent a pretty good chunk of time this weekend in Eisenhower Auditorium, taking part in rehearsals for, and then the performance of, Haydn’s The Creation. I sing alto in the State College Choral Society, a town-gown mix of singers that was marking its 60th-anniversary year with today’s big production. I say “big” because we don’t always sing in Eisenhower Auditorium with a 35-piece orchestra and soloists flown in from out of town.

I joined the Choral Society maybe five years ago and have really grown to enjoy classical choral music. These days I’m just as likely to pop Vivaldi’s Gloria into the CD player in the car as I am to listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter or the Eagles. A sure sign of middle age, I know.

I like the Monday night rehearsals (most of them, anyway—some are just hard work) and I’m very fond of our conductor/director, Russ Shelley ’97g—especially his patient, encouraging approach to teaching us the music, and his cheerful good humor in the face of an impending deadline. I’m constantly wishing I could do a better job of emulating his management style.

Today’s concert was a lot of fun, with an all-star cast of instrumentalists, including School of Music faculty Daryl Durran (bassoon), Smith Toulson (clarinet), and Lisa Bontrager (horn), among many others. We even had Kim Cook, the first-ever University Laureate, playing cello. And, oh my, could those soloists sing. The tenor was Richard Kennedy of the School of Music; the bass was a guy from New York City named Andrew Gangestad; and the soprano was Tamara Matthews, who teaches at Furman but who, rumor has it, flew in from Prague for the concert.

Choral music has a really long tradition at Penn State. One of these days we should do something on this in the magazine; it’s one of those topics that we just haven’t yet figured out how to shape into a story. But there are at least seven different choirs a Penn State student could join—from the Glee Club to the Concert Choir to Essence of Joy—and a lot of talented students and faculty doing great things with music.

Tina Hay, editor

It drives me crazy the media trying to teach us to not think, but only respond to their hype like a bunch of Pavlov’s dogs (Wikipedia should have that). We are not so dumb as that. So let’s get started. A book that explains the real facts about biology. Tentative title, “Biology for Voters and Activists and Politicians and Fundamentalists and other Normal People” Facts will be separated from opinions and fairy tales. (Fairy tales includes metaphors.)

Anyone who wants to participate is welcome. You will be credited if your questions or comments (or pictures or videos or drawings) are used in the book. For the videos we will have an online version or a DVD.

We will start the book with a question: What is The Creation (That is, strictly what it is now.)

My definition, which I swiped from Huston Smith (one of our prominent philosophers and scholar of comparative religion) in “Why Religion Matters.”: “Everything, as it is.” I checked with a religious site on the web and it agreed with that definition. So if anyone can provide a better definition and explain why it is a better definition with which to begin a book about the science of biology, please do so.

Today dawned under a dusty blue sky decorated with wispy pink clouds. The front blew over about an hour later, the front edge yellow-orange, the following clouds in shades ranging from charcoal to silver Cadillac. Churning and roiling in the wind. The little birds scattered for cover and Buttermilk Pie headed for the front door. The buzzards rose up from their nest behind the oak trees and coasted down the front, again and again, like eight-year-old kids sliding down a banister until, about in another hour. Crisp blue cloudless Yankee air took over.

I stood in he wind-whipped pasture, turning and turning, trying to see 360 degrees all at the same time – in awe of the power that brings life to our relatively small bit of space rock. Wishing that everyone could know this Creation.

The buzzard, she is my neighbor after all, dipped her wings to me.

Photo by Annemarie Mountz ’84

Hey you should hear these cats rock!

Dan & Cath

It turns out they (and a lot of other Choral Society members) were skipping rehearsal to attend the Ax-Perlman-Ma concert on campus. Pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma were performing together for the first time ever—and doing it at Penn State. It’s one of only two shows they’ll do, the other being tonight at Carnegie Hall.

You can see photos from last night’s concert here.

Tina Hay, editor

At the dog park this week there was another stark example of the proud and the humble. It was another one of those interactions which makes me seriously consider carrying around a small digital recorder so I can better remember the details of these conversations.

So I was talking with this man for quite a while on the subject of idolatry. He brought up the subject himself and was criticizing that segment of American society which worships sports as “god”. Agreeing with him, (that sports is an American idol) I used that as my opportunity to speak to him on the subject of spiritual things and decided to bring up all the other things people worship, and all the rest of the Law. But after identifying as a Humanist, he responded to God’s Word by declaring his good deeds and self-righteousness. He then went on a rage about how he should not have to thank God (if there was one) for anything; for “what has He done for me lately?” He accused God of being responsible for evil in the world, and accused Him of not doing right (or making this messed up world right). He praised the superiority and independence of Humanity, then lifted his fist high in the air, and shook his fist at God in defiance, loudly yelling his curses against God.

Towards the end, another man began listening and joined the conversation. He also witnessed to the Humanist. This man was a brother in Christ, and not only did he proclaim the truth that God is Creator, Judge and Savior, but he also, with great love and gentleness of spirit, declared his gratitude to God for salvation, and for His goodness, even through severe and painful life trials. This man publicly blessed the Lord with thanksgiving.

The thing I found so wonderfully amazing was that this brother that proclaimed his gratitude to God, did not begin hearing the conversation until after the first man completed his diatribe of hateful ingratitude against God. Thus they both demonstrated who they were before God: one demonstrating the text of Romans 1:18-25, and the other demonstrating every scripture about believers giving thanks to God for all His blessings, especially salvation of sinful men, by His grace.

Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations. Ps.100:4-5.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (surpassing grace!) 2Cor.9:15.

It’s All About The Benjamins:

Taiwan's based manufacturer, High Tech Computer (HTC) Corporation logo.

When Taiwanese handset maker, High Tech Computer (HTC), unveiled the third phone based on Google’s technology, the internet giant has fallen determined in their bid over the mobile phone operating software market on Tuesday, February 17.  At the moment, the touch-screen HTC Magic has been sold-off by the British network operator, Vodafone.

Competitors are battling against time and technology in creating a more dominant operating system for mobile phones with Google and its Android system (more information here).  One of the top companies to beat is the long-standing software giant, Microsoft, handset maker Nokia, open-source Linux-based project as well as Blackberry; the competition is tough to beat.

HTC Casts No Shadows:

Days of rivalry are numbered!  As the technological devices get smaller and screens get bigger, there begs to be something different in the market.

(Photo, courtesy of Fast Company) John Wang, HTC chief marketing officer -- AKA Chief Innovation Wizard -- talks about how his company does its magic.

John Wang is the Chief Marketing Officer of the Taiwanese phone maker, HTC.

“It’s got to come from the heart,” says Wang.  It is how you get a launch in the industry, how you sell, and the only way to get the best of ideas.

Though smart phone specialist have since launched two new phones: the Touch Diamond 2, targeted to the consumer market; and the Touch Pro 2, for business users.  According to Wang, the people do not want a pretty face over the technology, they want all the technology beyond the screen, buttons and shell.

This is what Apple has exposed as the key in mobile internet and such services, it is all about: the user experience.

According to the mobile phone industry statistics, people do not want their phone to get more complex or powerful, most of the surveyed are not capable of using half the built-in applications.  What do the consumers want?

HTC is determined, they are offering a hott, but simple technology.  It is, of course, the secret behind Apple’s success after all.

“We have tried to apply technology not to make things more complex, but to simplify.  And we have tried to make browsing the Internet from your phone a less terrible experience,”  Wang explains.

The heart of the idea is what HTC calls, “push-Internet,” introduced Monday, February 16.  From the exposure, much is to be expected from this technology as it is to ship in Europe by the end of the second quarter.  Key point: no one likes waiting on the internet.

The phone will download the information at regular intervals from the internet, therefore ready at moment’s will, with just a simple push of the button.

“It’s almost like having a conceirge that would go and get your newspaper every morning,” says Wang.

Another key feature is the layout of information: under each contact, users will be able to view threads of e-mail and text-message history as well as records of in-person meetings or phone calls.

“It works more like the human brain (Interesting read on the computer in comparison to the human brain).  When I think about Steve, and I want to find a restaurant he told me about months ago, I would rather search under his name than have to dig through the individual applications: e-mail, text message, etc.,”  Wang explains.

As impressive as the technology sounds, however, it may surprise you to find that none of these announcements are revolutionary; they are not doing anything new.  The technology, instead, allows the user to make use of their technology, efficiently.

Taiwan Tech:

(Photo, courtesy of the Associated Press, by Wally Santana) A model display's a MSI laptop containing Intel Corporation's new "Atom" chip at Computex Taipei, the biggest information technology trade show in Asia, in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, June 3, 2008.

In February 2008, mobile phones are more widely accepted as mini-computers, known as smart phones.  Apple’s raving iPhone (lists all the problems with the phone) is one of the most prominent examples, however Taiwanese technology is making its way to beat the Apple company.

Taiwan’s very own IT industry is changing.

Taiwanese companies are in a revolution of coming out to be recognized with their own lines and with an advantage: Taiwan has the technology.

(Photo, courtesy of HTC) Debut brings breakthroughs in size, style connectivity and overall user experience, leaves compromise at the door.

Peter Chou is the co-founder, CEO and President of Taiwan’s most aggressive starters of the HTC Corporation.  The company offers premium levels of mobile phones, built under contracts to Sprint, Vodafone and T-Mobile, have become the standard under the executive gear globally.  If that is not enough, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer is redefining its household name in prestige cell phones.

Wang, the Chief Innovation Wizard, says: The only way for a company to succeed beyond its own success, is to be the BMW of the industry.

CRAFT: The touch-activated handsets are Microsoft-based and has adopted Google’s android platfrom since their alliance.

The company’s sole focus is on the cutting-edge high-end products – like BMW: it is not the biggest, but it is the leader and has earned the international recognition and reputation for being the leader of the industry.  One cannot get to the top, without offering the best, it is what people want.

CRAFT: Smartphones were still within their infant-stages, but in a few years when smart phone and blackberry technology will find themselves in an exploited situation.  It’s all that either line will have to offer and like technology, the consumer always wants the best and continuously improve themselves.

Another One Bites The Dust:

At the phone's launch, Vodafone's Patrick Chomet called it the "the thinnest, nicest Android-powered device on the market."

August 2007, Taiwan’s HTC beats Apple’s iPhone to Japan.  The secret weapon: a touch-screen handset that is safe with NTT DoCoMo’s 3G network, begining in early 2008, last year.

The H1100 is soundly superior to the iPhone: not only can it zip heavy video loads at speeds of 3.6 Mbps, but is compatible with the various cellphone standards around the world, such as GMS, GPRS and W-CDMA.  It’s Windows Mobile 6 operating system doesn’t hurt either for personal or business users (this are key weaknesses to the iPhone).

“We learned that some customers are frustrated by the Windows UI (User Interface),” Chou continues, “While it looks sophisticated, it’s too techy and difficult to use.  Our new user interface is simple.“

YouTube Millionare:

Steve Shih Chen is the Co-Founder and CEO of YouTube.

(Photo, courtesy of CNA) Steve Chen (center) is welcomed back to his former school, the Chingshin Elementary School in Taipei, June 11, 2007, by Principal Chien Yu-Ling (left) and young students - during his Taiwan visit, in discussing Web2.0.

Chen’s beginnings was as an employee at PayPal, where he met Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim – all three whom created YouTube in 2005.  What many do not know, is that for a short, brief period, Chen as well worked as an employee for Facebook, however left in due to YouTube’s launch.

June 2006, Chen was decorated, by Business 2.0, as one of “The 50 People Who Matter Now” in business.

How is YouTube relevant in this report?

October 16, 2006, Chen and Hurley, two of three of the company’s founders, have sold YouTube to Google, Inc. for USD $1.65 billion.

“When we met with (Google CEO) Eric Schmidt, and this was the day before the acquisition was going to be announced, the question was, ‘what priorities do you want us to concentrated on?’ “  Chen said.

“The mandate was that if you have happy users and have great content, that monetisation and working with advertisers will always come later.

“And in much of 2007, it was same policy, same strategy — ‘let’s make sure we build the best product possible, and let’s make sure the monestation solutions we put out there don’t anger or frustrate the users.’ “

The Creation: At a dinner party in January 2005, Chen and Hurley agreed: there was no available efficient method to share an online video or photos.  At the time, they were between jobs and living off of credit cards – then, there was the launch of YouTube in February, and it’s official launch in December.

(Photo, courtesy of digital lifestyles) YouTube: Time Magazine’s ‘Invention of the Year’

“Only YouTube created a new way for millions of people to entertain, educate, shock and grok one another on a scale we’ve never seen before,” enthused the editors of Time Magazine.

“The rules are different now, and one Web site changed them: YouTube,” said the editors.

Taiwan’s Hero: The Taiwanese-American has become the pride of Taiwan.  In the beginnings, Chen had to give up his dreams of education for the work field, lived off of credit cards, and started a business in a Silicon Valley garage.

Why do all technology tycoons start out in a garage?  Perhaps there’s something behind the stuffy, carbon oxide-filled air of the room.  (Joke)

With over seven million visitors a day, YouTube is the hottest site on the internet, gaining much respect from the mainstream American media.  As an example, Mtv with its USD $12.5 billion advertising industry is contemplating how to partner with the website.

(Photo, courtesy of TAIPEI TIMES, by Liao Chen-Huei) YouTube co-founder Steve Chen smiles while delivering a public speech at the Taipei International Convention Centre Saturday, June 9, 2007.

In early June of 2007, Chen returned to his homeland of Taiwan, in speaking at Economic Daily News for the paper’s 40th Anniversary.  Everyone wanted to know how the [then] 29-year-old created the site in a garage, that could very well have taken on Google.

Chen said, he simply wanted to “solve problems people have on the Internet.”

Very well said for someone with credit card debt, no college-graduate degree – and all having sold very wisely, in perfect timing to its very own rival: Google.

Before the website it would take up to three to five days to upload videos, and some sites screened the videos as a mandatory step in the process.  It was in all, a very frustrating and unpopular experience – Chen and Hurley’s video-sharing site changed history and the internet forever.

Chen explains, “I was really poor at the time.”

He had just bought a house, while being in between jobs; the equipment and broadband connections required for the video-sharing site held a price: USD $50,000.  Thus explaining the substantial debt he carried.

Fortunately, the faith and timing in the market was accurate and the attention among internet users spread like fire.

Just a mere 15 months after its debut in 2005, the site had attracted six million visitors, 65,000 home-made video clips and over 100 million clip viewings – standing as a giant over similar video sites as Microsoft and Google.

Sequoia Capital took an interest and invested USD $11.5 million and have since turned the two-man company into one with 25 employees.

Not a bad start at all.

(Photo, courtesy of australianit.news.com, by James Croucher) Steve Chen, CTO and founder of YouTube, at Google's office in Sydney on March 19, 2008.

Chen is obviously, no longer in debt – as a matter of fact, is a recognized [overnight] multi-millionaire.  He was named one of the “100 Most Influential People In The World” by Time Magazine and the 28th “Most Powerful Business Person” by the Industry Journal Business 2.0.  The lists goes on, but one more I must insist on mentioning: Chen was awarded a “Person of the Year” award at the Webbies, or the “Oscars” of the World Wide Web. Even Oprah had a say.

Is it luck?  He even said that 20 years ago, when told by a Taiwanese fortune teller that he’d never be wealthy – never imagined he could gain such honours.

It was all luck, Chen said modestly: 2005 just happened to be the year when the concept of “Web 2.0,” sharing and interactivity, took off; online video technology was in bloom and high-quality digital video recording started its popularity.  These factors and the partner involved, was the ideal for their success.