FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Museum of Modern Art announces ambitious Kraftwerk retrospective
02.15.2012
02:49 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Kraftwerk fans in the New York area have much to be happy about with the announcement about MOMA’s lavish celebration of the band’s unique art form. They also might want to jump on these tickets the minute they go on sale next Wednesday!

New York, NY, February 15, 2012—The Museum of Modern Art presents its first time-based artist retrospective with Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, performed live on eight consecutive evenings from April 10 through 17, by Kraftwerk, the avant-garde electronic music pioneers.  Each evening will consist of a live performance, in the Museum’s Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, of works from one of the group’s eight albums, created over four decades, followed by a selection of original compositions from their catalogue adapted specifically for this exhibition’s format, to showcase both Kraftwerk’s historical contributions and contemporary influences on sound and image culture.  Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 is organized by Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator at Large at MoMA and Director of MoMA PS1, with the assistance of Eliza Ryan, Curatorial Assistant, MoMA PS1.

The elaborate staging of the performances will combine sound and 3D images to present more than 40 years of musical and technological innovation, with new improvisations and 3D projections.  The albums will be performed in chronological order:  Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003).

Tickets are $25.00 and will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, February 22, at 12:00 p.m., only at MoMAKraftwerkTickets.showclix.com.  Space is limited.  There is a two-ticket limit per person for the series, with each individual order limited to one transaction.  Tickets will be distributed exclusively via will call, with photo ID required.  

“Kraftwerk is an influential force not only in music, but also in visual culture,” says Mr. Biesenbach.  “Through their experimentation with how images and sound are shaped by the latest recording and visualization tools, they have continuously anticipated the impact of technology on everyday life, and have captured the human condition in an era of rapidly changing mobility and telecommunication. Today, they remain vital to contemporary practice through their intersection of popular culture, mass media, and artistic production.  In Kraftwerk’s practice, all of the components—melodic music and ambient sound, elaborate stage sets, live performance and performance by robots, their trademark videos and logo-like still imagery, all conceived and realized by the artists themselves—coalesce as one work of art.”

Performance Schedule as follows:
 
Tuesday, April 10, 8:30 p.m.                Autobahn (1974)
Wednesday, April 11, 8:30 p.m.            Radio-Activity (1975)
Thursday, April 12, 8:30 p.m.                Trans Europe Express (1977)
Friday, April 13, 10:00 p.m.                  The Man-Machine (1978)
Saturday April 14, 8:30 p.m.                Computer World (1981)
Sunday, April 15, 8:30 p.m.                  Techno Pop (1986)
Monday, April 16, 8:30 p.m.                  The Mix (1991)
Tuesday, April 17, 10:00 p.m.              Tour de France (2003)
 
As part of Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, a presentation of Kraftwerk’s historical audio and visual material will be on view in the new MoMA PS1 Performance Dome at MoMA PS1, from April 10-May 14, 2012. 
 
Below, a performance of “Autobahn” on German television in 1974. Note that they were using Mini-moogs and drum pads then, not the “remixing” with laptops bullshit they do now…
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
02.15.2012
02:49 pm
|
Worst acid trip: ‘Skeletons Having Sex on a Tin Roof’
02.15.2012
11:33 am
Topics:
Tags:


 
Or the best fucking acid trip. Not sure.

The song is “Skeletons Having Sex on a Tin Roof” by Icelandic group Orphic Oxtra from their album Kebab Diskó. I’ve never heard of Orphic Oxtra until today, but from what I’ve listened to so far, I really, really like them.
 

 
Via The Stranger

Posted by Tara McGinley
|
02.15.2012
11:33 am
|
‘Leonard Cohen consoles Nick Cave’
02.15.2012
12:39 am
Topics:
Tags:


 
Australian artist Ben Smith’s “The Influence. Leonard Cohen consoles Nick Cave” depicts, with both wit and affection, the two melancholic bards as guru and student, father and son, ventriloquist and dummy, sharing the blood of Jesus and the fruit of knowledge.

Visit Smith’s website for more tantalizingly cool paintings.

Via Cherrybombed.

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
02.15.2012
12:39 am
|
Puddin’ Pops: Bill Cosby covers ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
02.14.2012
01:45 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
This is so unbelievably bad, it’s…bad. From the 1968 album Bill Cosby Sings Hooray for the Salvation Army Band! Zip zop zoobity bop!
 

 
Via Cynical-C

Posted by Tara McGinley
|
02.14.2012
01:45 pm
|
Remain in Light: Talking Heads live in Rome, 1980
02.14.2012
11:27 am
Topics:
Tags:


 

“The big difference between us and punk groups is that we like KC and the Sunshine Band. You ask Johnny Rotten if he likes KC and the Sunshine Band and he’ll blow snot in you face.

—Chris Frantz

As I mentioned in a recent post about the excellent new Talking Heads: Chronology DVD, for me, the apex of the band’s career was, hands down, Remain in Light. This 1980 concert, shot with the expanded Talking Heads “Afro-funk orchestra” line-up in Rome, captures these musicians in fine, fine form with four out of the eleven numbers coming from that classic album. Featuring future King Crimson guitar god Adrian Belew wringing all kinds of impossible noises out of his guitar.

Play this one LOUD, it’ll knock you sideways. Just imagine what a Blu-ray DVD release of this with a 5.1 soundtrack would be like? I’d take this over Stop Making Sense any day.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
02.14.2012
11:27 am
|
‘One Drop’: The first new Public Image Ltd. song in 20 years
02.14.2012
09:53 am
Topics:
Tags:

Rotten!
 
DJ Steve Lamacq premiered the new PIL song earlier today on BBC 6.
Our John may have lost his upper register, but it is nice to hear him strain at it in such a raw way over the type of back-to-basics reggae-rock bed that’s screaming for a remix/dub-out…

According to the alt-‘80s blog Slicing Up Eyeballs:

The song will be released on a vinyl EP as part of Record Store Day on April 21 in advance of the release of the full-length This Is PiL in May or June.

Enjoy…
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
PiL : Design
Public Image Ltd: The infamous riot at the Ritz gig

Posted by Ron Nachmann
|
02.14.2012
09:53 am
|
Purple Minds: Dam Funk’s bad ass Prince tribute mix
02.14.2012
08:00 am
Topics:
Tags:


Prince “Lovesexy” by Norn Cutson

After ten years in the (print) game, the hip-hop/soul/funk magazine Wax Poetics has reached its 50th issue, and to celebrate they have commissioned an exclusive mix from LA’s King of the Boogie, Dam Funk. In keeping with the issue’s theme, the mix is all about, as the magazine itself says: “one of the most iconic musicians in the history of African American music, the one and only Prince.”

A Prince-themed mix by Dam Funk? That’s two of the most brilliantly funky acts of modern times coming together. Dam stays away from the obvious hits, to focus instead on album tracks, live recordings and re-edits, and even adds his own exclusive cover version of the song “17 Days”. It’s great and a must for all Prince fans, even the most obsessed who think they’ve heard it all. You may know some of these tracks, but you won’t have heard them quite like this…

Wax Poetics’ 50th issue is also dedicated to the purple sex pixie (truly one of the most outstanding artists in the history of popular music, no?) and features interviews with, and wrtiting on; Larry Graham, Morris Day, Questlove, The Family, Frank Ocean and much more. You can buy the magazine, which is being printed on high quality paper and is designed not to be disposed of, directly from the Wax Poetics website. In the meantime, you can check out Dam Funk’s Prince mix right here:

 
1. Prince & the Revolution – 17 Days (original version)

2. DāM-FunK – 17 Days (D-F Re-Freak)

3. Prince – Irresistible Bitch (Props Re-Edit)

4. Prince (featuring Andre Cymone & Pepe Willie) – One Man Jam

5. Prince – Wet Dream Cousin

6. Prince – Dirty Mind (1981 Live Version)

7. Prince – Soft & Wet (original version)

8. Prince – Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (D-F Extended Re-Edit)

9. Prince – Sticky Like Glue (Props Re-Edit)

10. Prince & the Revolution – All My Dreams

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Download Dam Funk’s new EP for free
Dam Funk: King Of The Boogie

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
|
02.14.2012
08:00 am
|
Who the f*ck is Paul McCartney?
02.13.2012
12:14 pm
Topics:
Tags:



 
I guess a lot of today’s Twittering youngins’ had no idea who this old Paul McCartney guy was performing at the 2012 Grammys last night.

I wonder if any of these people would recognize Don Henley? Robert Plant? Peter Gabriel? Roger Waters? Probably not, I mean, not knowing who Paul McCartney is, is truly shameful (no matter what you think of his music after, say 1976). Would these folks know Elton John if he was standing in front of them? Mick Jagger if he head-butted them?

Where is the line drawn with someone who can’t identify one of the Beatles???

They would be able to ID Gene Simmons, though. That’s fucked up!

See more of the “Oh gawd do I feel old/Christ they’re bloody ignorant” tweets at BuzzFeed.

Posted by Tara McGinley
|
02.13.2012
12:14 pm
|
Nicki Minaj puts the ‘Devil’ back into the Devil’s music at the Grammys
02.13.2012
03:19 am
Topics:
Tags:


 
I’m drawn to The Grammy Awards much in the same way that I find myself rubbernecking at a multi-car pile up on the freeway or dropping a crisp dollar bill to see the two-headed cow at a carnival sideshow. This year’s production wasn’t much different than the usual pop star circle jerk. The Boss opened the festivities with his usual blue collar bombast (which I did find rousing) followed by….well, I can’t really remember. Disembodied heads float through my brain like balloons at a birthday party - I think that one is Brian Wilson…oh look, Paul McCartney…isn’t that a Foo Fighter…George Jones?...no, Glen Campbell. For a moment, I thought I saw James Brown but according to later reports it was Bruno Mars channeling the lost Hawaiian member of Sha Na Na.

Alright, I’m fucking around here. No one expects much of the Grammys and it always pretty much lives up to our diminished expectations even in a year when the ghost of Whitney Houston hovered above the ceremony, stuck in some kind of twisted Bardo Plane, a malignant magnetic field that humans create to entrap the vestiges of the ones they love, as if the dead are paying attention to any of it. If Whitney managed to make it to heaven she had to bypass the purgatory of media hype. Among the dead, this is known as tabloid turbulence. As I’m not a fan of the long wail that follows a pop stars death, that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate Houston’s talents. But I save my hue and cry and gnashing of teeth for Syria, Libya, Greece and the radiated folks who lived near the Fukishima power plant. You know what I mean? Or maybe you don’t. Go ahead tell me that I’ve somehow disrespected Whitney in our national hour of mourning. Fine. I can dig it.

So where is all this leading? Well, it leads to the performance that managed to transform the banalities of award ceremonies into something so awesomely tacky, cheesy and sublime that it makes Madonna’s appearance at the Super Bowl look like a classy outtake from Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra. I’m talking about Nicki Minaj’s delirious take on her hit “Roman Holiday,” a spectacle so staggeringly unhinged that I thought I had taken some Ambien and wandered into a theater where a triple bill of Showgirls, Flaming Creatures and The Exorcist were playing simultaneously while a popcorn machine was ejaculating giant buttered nuggets into my lap causing my scrotum to pulsate like a vibrating bed in a sleazy motel somewhere on Route 666. And I loved it!

Dave Grohl may have worn a Slayer t-shirt but it was Minaj that brought the dark stuff to the Grammys.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
02.13.2012
03:19 am
|
This one’s for the hippies: Greenwich Village in the 1960s
02.12.2012
03:10 am
Topics:
Tags:


 
Cool film footage of Greenwich Village in the Sixties.

The Village has always been a vortex for cultural energy and you can see it in these images. Soulful young longhairs, wide-eyed teenyboppers and angel-headed hipsters cruising the streets looking for something, not sure what it is, but knowing there was something magic in the air and if you walked along MacDougal or Bleecker street long enough you’d connect with it.

Music: “Summer In New York” by The Imaginations.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
02.12.2012
03:10 am
|
Page 600 of 856 ‹ First  < 598 599 600 601 602 >  Last ›