Everyone can be an artist and that’s ok. In fact it’s great. I’ve had no money and I’ve had a lot of money and it made no true difference in my personal happiness. What you share and leave behind on this earth is what matters. I wish my father created music albums. It would be a thrill now to hear him singing about what was important to him.

“The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities. But does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.” – presspauseplay.com

For more info: presspauseplay.com

The FP – Trailer from Trost Bros. on Vimeo.

I called this post “Retard World”. I could have also called it “End of Days”. Please watch the movie trailer above. Please tell me this is a joke, a fake trailer or a bad dream. How is something so stupid possible? America’s financial rating should be downgraded solely on the basis we can produce something like this.

“THE FP is a little difficult to explain; it’s basically a gang warfare movie, except instead of rumbles the rival gangs fight it out with Dance Dance Revolution.” – aintitcool.com

For more info: aintitcool.com/node/50632

Two retro futuristic things get mixed together in Jacob Borshard’s Moog meets Tron Poster. Imagine this as one of those 70s felt glow in the dark posters you could get at Spencers. $25 for blue, $50 for the limited edition red ones.

“A survey of notable modular series types as well as a complete collection of every classic Moog all-in-one synthesizer, presented in chronological order. Two color screen print on heavyweight black paper with gloss varnish. Measuring 18×26, this artist printed art print is signed and numbered in an edition of 75. Also available in a ‘BAD GUY’ red edition of ONLY 6!” – nakatomiinc.com

For more info: nakatomiinc.com

via matrixsynth and synthtopia

Gaspar Noé. Do you know that name? If not go and rent a movie called Irreversible. Are you back? I apologize. I know that was really hard to watch. Now you will never forget the name Gaspar Noé. He’s a French director who up until this point had ridden the line between “The next Stanley Kubrick!” and “Disgusting useless film maker”. He has a new movie called Enter the Void which will help the world decide which tag line will be set upon his name permanently.

I’m not sure why but there is violence that is wrong,  violence like porn and violence like art. Our world has a large pool of music that fits in the violence as art category. Maybe violence as a musical form is the easiest way we as humans digest and excise such dark parts of our physiques. What I find so interesting about Gaspar Noé’s films is how they seem less like movies and more like my favorite evil album.

Have you seen any of his films?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9-n9gpFVpk

Growing up, my father showed my brother and I films from a reel to reel machine that he owned. Looking back I’m pretty shocked at some of the stuff he subjected us to including the movie Liquid Sky. Liquid Sky (1983) was a sci-fi flick directed by Slava Tsukerman where the alien was searching for drugs but discovered orgasms were better. Now imagine all the actors as club kids and the sound track was all real analog electronic. One of my favorite films of all time? You bet!

“Invisible aliens in a tiny flying saucer come to Earth looking for heroin. They land on top of a New York apartment inhabited by a drug dealer and her female, androgynous, bisexual nymphomaniac lover, a fashion model. The aliens soon find the human pheromones created in the brain during orgasm preferable to heroin, and the model’s casual sex partners begin to disappear. This increasingly bizarre scenario is observed by a lonely woman in the building across the street, a German scientist who is following the aliens, and an equally androgynous, drug-addicted male model. (Both models are played by Anne Carlisle, in a dual role.” – Marty Cassady, imdb.com

You can hear four of the crazy songs from Liquid Sky in full on the following MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/liquidskyslavatsukerman

1. Noon
2. Me and My Rhythm Box
3. Aliens Theme II
4. Margret’s Apartment

Come on now scream it with me: “It is pre-programmed. So what!” – Me and My Rhythm Box

Another great music documentary has popped up on my favorite place I find my daily “TV” viewing aka Best Free Documentaries. This movie called “Scratch” chases down the origins of Hip Hop’s background sound.

Grand Wizard Theodore (the “Thomas Edison of the movement”) recalls the day, way back in 1975, when his grandmother told him to turn down the music he was making in front of his Bronx River Houses apartment. In order to hear her, he put his hand on the turntable, holding the record in place. As he moved his hand, slightly, a new sound rose up. And so, he smiles, scratching was born. – Best Free Documentaries

An interesting side note is that this video is one hour long and it’s on YouTube. They have started rolling out this feature for some film makers. Believe it or not my favorite Scratch track of all time is Reckless from Ice-T… seriously check it out: click here. Oh yeah and while your listening to it listen for the TB-303′s!

Have you put any Scratching into your own productions? Have you tried any of the various Scratch plug-ins?

A Documentary By Michael Greene. In October of 2006, a small mom and pop record store in Southern New Jersey named Full Circle Records announced that it was going out of business and that the liquidation sale would continue until mid December. Ironically, at approximately the same time, Tower Records, the iconic juggernaut of the music retail market, made the same announcement. Something has happened to the music retail world and it seemed to have happened overnight. …Or did it? The Final Days Of Full Circle Records is a fascinating documentary that provides valuable insight into the rise and fall of the record store industry and subculture which may change the way you think about music, music retail, and the art of collecting music forever.

via bestfreedocumentaries.blogspot.com

I’ve mentioned the Berlin synthesizer shop Schneider’s Buero a few times on this blog. In fact I posted a photo set from the amazing store: click here. It’s run by Andreas Schneider who could not be a nicer or more enthusiastic synth head. The store is just down the street from me and just last week I ordered a Vermona DRM1 MKIII from them. So I am delighted to discover there is a documentary in the works about the shop! It looks like its going to be really great with interviews with people like Daniel Miller (Mute Records), Ken Macbeth and Anthony Rother.

‘Totally Wired’ explores one man’s electric evangelism, and the interface he has built to connect analogue instrument inventors with their end-users. The film features an informed selection of inventors and artists alike, including Dieter Doepfer, Junior Boys, Ken MacBeth, Anthony Rother, Jessica Rylan, Daniel Miller, Wowa Cwejmann, Per Salzwedel, Ricardo Villalobos, Magda, Marc Houle and many more. – totallywired.tumblr.com

Keep an eye out on their official blog for more news: totallywired.tumblr.com

If you consider yourself a musician of any kind then take one hour and fifty minutes out of your schedule and watch this movie. Originally released in March 2005 on Sony Pictures it tells the amazing, sad, crazy, unbelievable story of artist and singer song-writer Daniel Johnston.

Director Jeff Feuerzeig exquisitely depicts a perfect example of brilliance and madness going hand in hand with subject Daniel Johnston. As an artist suffering from manic depression with delusions of grandeur, Daniel Johnston’s wild fluctuations, numerous downward spirals, and periodic respites are exposed in this deeply moving documentary. – sonyclassics.com

The best thing about the film is you get to discover Daniel’s music. Songs like “Story of an Artist” completely blow me away. Since I saw the film I keep heading over to Hi, How Are You? the official website of Daniel Johnston and buying music. He was seriously prolific and there are over 400 songs ready to buy straight from his old cassettes as downloads. Rotten Tomatoes gives this movie an 87%, I give it a 100% you should give it a serious viewing.