Italian electro-futurist disco producer extraordinaire, Giorgio Moroder, now 70, has had his share of hits working with the likes of Donna Summer, Blondie, Sparks, David Bowie, Elton John, and, uh, Leni Riefenstahl (?), but he’s had a few misses as well, like this shockingly crap/brilliantly awful discofied version of The Moody Blues’ classic, “Nights in White Satin” from 1976. Of all the songs to cover in this fashion… I mean, the Moody Blues??? (Moroder’s version is actually titled “Knights in White Satin.”). This is so wrong that it’s right.

I was LOL’ing about this and I mentioned it to Tara, who promptly replied that she had the CD in the car stereo at this very moment. My wife is awesome.
 

 
The B-side, “I Wanna Funk With You Tonite” is even better!
 
(Listen to the original Mooody Blues version here)

Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Norman René, Peter Hujar, Ethyl Eichelberger, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Cookie Mueller, Klaus Nomi….the list of New York artists who died of AIDS over the last 30 years is countless, and the loss immeasurable.

A heartwrenching tribute to New York City painters, writers and performers who died of aids, Last Address is composed of images of the exteriors of the buildings where the artists last lived. The video was shot by Ira Sachs and if you visit the film’s website you can read about the artists featured in this bittersweet poem of a film.
 

Last Address from Ira Sachs on Vimeo.

 
In this short, but riveting glimpse into the Taliban, Norwegian journalist Paul Refsdal goes behind the lines to film the insurgents from their point of view. This was broadcast on Australian television.

There is no question that the mujahideen are strong willed, relentless, and, in their absolute belief that Allah is on their side, seemingly fearless. Watching the Taliban perched on their mountaintops firing at Americans like targets in a fairground shooting gallery makes me wonder if this war will ever have an end. Too many mountains. Too many men willing to strike in the name of Allah. Too many men with nothing left to lose and, consequently, ruthless and deadly.

Some of the early shots in the video remind me of photos of Che and his guerrilla fighters in the Sierra Mastra Mountains: longhaired, bearded and fiercely determined.
 

The Fleshtones at Club 57
 
A photographer named Robert Carrithers has posted an extraordinary series of 63 portraits taken at the legendary Manhattan early 80s nightclub, Club 57 on Flickr. Club 57 was hosted by Dangerous Minds pal Ann Magnuson and some like-minded friends.

Club 57’s entertainment, much of it rooted in punk rock and an ironic take on campy TV re-run culture, had the same kind of “let’s get up and put on a show” spirit as a Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney musical, but against a much more decadent backdrop. It’s fascinating to see how this era is being defined by contemporary art historians, as well as first rate digital fare like this unique portfolio.

From photographer Robert Carrither’s statement:

I lived in New York during the early ‘80s, a very special unique time of creativity in New York. I was a regular at a place called Club 57 in the basement of a Polish church on St. Marks in the East Village. It was a creative laboratory that would change night after night with themes and happenings. One night there would be an art opening and then another night there would be bands, films or a crazed theme party. Many talented and fun people developed their art at Club 57 throughout this time. The following photographs capture some of these memorable people through portraits or at the various events.

Each of these photos has its own story. Please read them and you can understand each one better.

Carrithers: “Ann Magnuson was one of the founders and the first creative manager of Club 57. She developed her performance skills night after night going from one incredible character into the next. From Soviet lounge singer to country and western to heavy metal. She went from performance artist in the downtown 80’s New York to the thirteen all-girl band Pulsallama (and was the lead singer and lyricist for the band Bongwater and in the fun heavy metal band Vulcan Death Grip). She went on to Hollywood films and TV. A charming, talented chameleon performer. There really is way too much to write about her. It is best to go to and see for yourself: www.annmagnuson.com.”

Carrithers: “I guess I do not need to write too much about Keith. He was a regular at Club 57 and had his first shows there. He took off as an artist not so long after. An inspiring person and artist of the early 80’s in New York. I photographed him at one of his first shows outside of Club 57 somewhere on the west side of New York City.”

Thank you, Julien Nitzberg!

 
Apparently, Lewis Floyd Henry (graffiti artist KNOWN) performs regularly at Tottenham Court Road Station and Portobello Road in London. This guys kicks some serious ass! Do watch.

More Lewis Floyd Henry after the jump…

 
Although the sole obscure 1970 LP Parallelograms by erstwhile dental hygienist Linda Perhacs was long ago unearthed and feted by the so-called freak-folk crew I still feel compelled to share the highlights here on the DM for those of you who might not yet have availed yourselves to its considerable charms. What makes it for me is the stoney, whisper-quiet vocals and arrangements which verge at times into free-form home-made musique concrete. It’s really a pretty damn unique record and it always slows my brain down a bit. Yes, it’s relaxing and experimental simultaneously. A difficult thing to pull off!
 

 
Thanks Heather Harris !

18 x 24″ Screen Print.  Signed and Numbered Edition of 450.  $70.  Limit one per person/household.  A portion of the proceeds go to the Spirit Foundations, Inc.

John & Yoko print by Shepard Fairey. They’re available for purchase 8/26/10.

(via Nerdcore)

 
Italian musician Mushy has coupled her haunting industrial sound with exquisitely eerie footage from films by Jonathon Rosen, Slavko Vorkapich, J.S. Watson Jr., Melville Webber, Robert Florey and William Cameron Menzies. It’s called ‘Adrift’ and it’s definitely a contender for my top 20 videos of 2010. Thanks to Warren Ellis for turning me on to this.
 

 
Thunderbird is the crack cocaine of wines. It’s fortified with additional alcohol to get you drunk quicker. If you drink enough of the swill it will turn your tongue black, incinerate your gut and napalm your liver. The Gallo Wine Co. designed their firewater with the ghetto in mind. Their radio ads featured a song with a proto-rap vibe, “What’s the word? / Thunderbird / How’s it sold? / Good and cold / What’s the jive? / Bird’s alive / What’s the price? / Thirty twice.”  It is said that…

Ernest Gallo once drove through a tough, inner city neighborhood and pulled over when he saw a bum. When Gallo rolled down his window and called out, “What’s the word?” the immediate answer from the bum was, “Thunderbird.

In a move that seems almost surreal, actor James Mason was recruited by Gallo to pitch its poverty punch. He was given a Rolls Royce as payment. Years later, Mason went on to star as a vicious slave owner in the soft-core blaxploitation potboiler Mandingo. Thunderbird shill to sleazoid slave owner ain’t much of a stretch character wise and probably didn’t earn him any dividends in the karma department.

The first ad in the following video tries to glamorize Thunderbird as a sexy, hip and happening cocktail for young stylish Blacks. The second is Mason trying to keep a straight face as he describes Thunderbird as “not quite like anything I’ve ever tasted.’

Apparently James had never drunk gasoline.
 

 
Tattoo You? More like “fuck you” if your names happen to be Ronnie, Charlie and Bill!

Business Insider asked former Windows head, Brad Silverberg how he and his team got the Rolling Stones song “Start Me Up” for use in the company’s marketing campaign for Windows 95. What transpired makes for a rather amusing tale:

The Stones are a Corporation, with Mick as CEO, Keith as COO. Their business happens to be music. Those two make decisions. The other band members are essentially employees.

The Stones had not licensed their music for TV commercials. Mick was reluctant to license the song to us because of “artistic purity.” But Keith apparently has a higher burn rate than Mick, or not as good as an investor. He told Mick he could use the money and ultimately convinced Mick to do the deal. At the same time, the Stones were at a low point in their career and looking to become relevant again, and Win 95 looked like it could be a big hit and give them a helpful association and visibility.

The final version of the song was delivered for the commercial. We noticed though that it was not the studio version, but rather a more recently recorded live version. We pushed back and got the familiar studio version. The reason we got the other version was some of the band members in the newer version were more recent, and Mick/Keith got much higher royalties for themselves from that version than the studio one. Nice try. But it was tense till the very end.

Via the essential Bob Lefsetz