Photo via Chris Holmes on Instagram

Rumor has it that it was not—as the crowd certainly seemed to think—Daft Punk who were DJ’ing at Maroon 5’s elaborate Halloween party the other night at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but rather Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Chris Holmes of Ashtar Command in costume as Daft Punk.

Both men were at the party, I saw them myself: Chris Holmes was dressed as a skunk (skunk rhymes with punk… is that a clue?) and Thom Yorke was seen circulating around the grounds—a huge carnival-themed production in an actual graveyard in Los Angeles where the likes of Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks and two Ramones are buried—wearing a Dickensian-looking tramp get-up.

If this is true, I commend these gentlemen for their beyond-the-call-of-duty dedication to this priceless, multi-leveled Halloween gag. I’m guessing that Daft Punk must have been in the crowd—perhaps dressed as Thom Yorke and Chris Holmes—laughing their asses off.

Second place for best costume should go to Maroon 5’s Mickey Madden who was dressed as Skrillex. His costume was so good that my friends and I thought that it was Skrillex dressed as himself.

Via The Daily Swarm
 

 
Creator, Martin Bircher writes,

“…moi non plus is an interpretation of Serge Gainsbourg’s song “Je t’aime… moi non plus” in the form of an audio game. By operating the joystick, the human components of the song can be controlled according to selected preferences.”

You may wanna turn down the volume if you’re at work. Lots of sexy moanin’ and a groanin’ going on here.
 

 
Via Nerdcore

 
If you haven’t seen the clip of Mitt Romney getting into a heated discussion with the conservative talk radio guy (Jan Mikelson of WHO-Iowa) who dared to ask him about the whole Jesus will rule the Earth from Missouri belief of Mormonism, give it a whirl.

The guy is TOTALLY on his side, and explicitly tells him so, but Romney will have NONE of it! Hilarity ensues. Then in the final minute you get to hear exactly how he’s going to deal with a woman’s right to choose.
 

 
Further explorations of the best music of 2012.

Cody ChesnuTT’s The Headphone Masterpiece is one of my all-time favorite albums and I’ve been patiently waiting (10 years) for his follow-up. Well, this past Tuesday Cody delivered a new record, Landing On A Hundred, and while it’s a departure from the innovative lo-fi eccentricities of Masterpiece it is no less wonderful. The new album is more easily categorizable - solid soul and funk - and therefore may end up reaching a larger audience. I hope so. ChesnuTT is keeping alive the flame set by cats like Gil Sott-Heron, Al Green and Oscar Brown Jr. He’s the real fucking deal.

Lyrically, it sounds like ChesnuTT has exorcised some of the demons that haunted his past. Perhaps that’s why the new stuff is less whacked-out than the old - and I miss some of that wackiness - but whatever is keeping ChestnuTT alive and well is more important than what was fueling his wilder proclivities. 
 

 
I see stupid people. Everywhere. Except you really don’t need a sixth sense to spot them. They’re the most reliable voting bloc in America.

According to a new poll by Public Policy Polling, 68% of Republican voters believe in demonic possession (although just 48% of them buy into that whole global warming scam).

Makes sense…. but before you go pointing and laughing at those blighted GOP chuckleheads, 49% of Democrats believe the same damned thing!

Via The Daily Caller:

More interestingly, even though most registered voters believe possession is possible, only a minority — 37 percent — believe in ghosts, while 57 percent of voters don’t believe in ghosts.

Democrats are more likely to believe in ghosts than Republicans by a 39 percent to 35 percent margin. And women are more likely than men are to believe in ghosts by a 39 percent to 35 percent margin.

Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say that they have seen a ghost by a 31 percent to 22 percent margin. However, only 26 percent of voters at large say they have seen a ghost.

This seems as good a time as any to re-post this clip of TV exorcist Bob Larson performing an exorcism on comedic genius Marc Wootton’s “Shirley Ghostman” character on Showtime’s brilliant (and criminally underrated) La La Land series.
 

 
Times Up environmental group is using bicycles to generate electricity to charge generators, cell phones and laptops for folks on New York City’s Lower East Side. People without power desperately need their phones and computers to communicate with family and emergency workers.

Time’s Up! will continue to provide free bike-powered assistance on Friday, Day 4 of power outage, from noon - 6pm in front of ABC No Rio, 156 Clinton Street.

Thanks to Times Up and their bikes, people do have the power.
 

 
Via EV Grieve

 
Since department stores and drug stores decided to pump out their Christmas tunes during Halloween (WTF?), this ill-fitting, acrylic Merry Krampus sweater sends a message I agree with:

This is a limited quantity item! Krampus is the anti-Santa Claus from Europe who punishes the naughty girls and boys on Christmas Eve. If you’re bad, instead of bringing you presents, Krampus stuffs you into a sack so that he can eat you for dinner. This sweater tells the world that even though you weren’t on your best behavior this year, you’re still in the Christmas spirit. It’s the perfect look for an ugly sweater party this holiday season.

The Merry Krampus sweater is available to purchase for $42.50 at the Archie McPhee webstore.

Via Laughing Squid

 
President Obama to fist Donald Trump if re-elected??? And Mitt Romney wants to shoot women in the head??? Really? Well only according to this comedy mash-up by Cassetteboy, a duo who are best known for their cut-and-paste comedy edits of politicians, royalty and the media. Here Cassetteboy takes comic aim at the US Presidential Elections, remixing the recent televised debates.
 

Because massive privatization, environmental and financial deregulation, and the destruction of what little social safety net we have is cool if we can smoke weed
 
As we endure this seemingly never-ending and completely grueling election season, one of the most iniquitous injustices pervading the public discourse is the undemocratic nature of the two-party system. Beyond the obvious advantage of the wealthy in electoral politics, so institutionalized are these major parties that they can’t possible represent the needs and values of such a diverse electorate! There must be a better way!

Enter Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate. He’s the man’s man’s candidate, assuming of course, all ‘men’s men’ are my Uncle Levi, who runs a chop shop in Georgia, the walls of which are adorned with similar posters, albeit generally featuring I-Roc Zs.

The poster, created by a fan and shared on Johnson’s facebook page, has been received with quite the controversy, both in support and condemnation. Here are some highlights:

“If we get an ad for the ladies, may we please opt for an intelligent, respectful, attractive, mature gentlemen in stylish clothes reading the contribution[sic? Constitution?], or labeling our GMOs, in lieu of a mostly naked guy on a sandless beach?”

“Oh come on and enlighten up folks. It got my vote.”

“Stop hating yall…sex sells! GJ for prez 2012.”

“How does Gary feel about GMOs? I have not heard him speak on the issue. Anyone know?”

“As a libertarian, he stands for small government. This means saying no to crony capitalism, which gives monopolies to the Monsantos of the world. Without those monopolies, and having a free market returned, corporations like those lose their power and, real organic foods will once again make a comeback to the mainstream and make short work of Monsanto and its domination over US food supply.”

“I am much more offended by corporate whores than pretty girls.”

Regardless of your opinion on the ad, it sends a clear message: Gary Johnson isn’t like those sexist, Republican prudes! And Gary Johnson believes women should make their own choices about their bodies!  And those values inform his policies! From his website:

Life is precious and must be protected. A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus.

And there you have it! Clear as day! No room for patriarchy in that language! I mean, unless you’re trying to abort a “viable” fetus, you have complete body autonomy! Because they’re the party of Liberty. And if we can just get government out of the way, we can be free to pursue a future where we’re rewarded for initial advantages and natural strengths!

Capitalism: it owns your titties. And will try to sell you “better” ones.

 
On seeing an exhibition of Francis Bacon’s work in the summer of 1962, poet Stephen Spender wrote in his journal:

“After Bacon most other contemporary painting seems decoration, doodling, aestheticism or stupidity.”

Like much of the substance to his poetry, Spender could grasp Bacon’s importance, but was unable to explain why - thinking it more to do with “the life of disillusionment he [led] which he [faced] in its implications; perhaps it is the old English puritanism and dislike of pleasure…”

Spender maintained a friendship with Bacon throughout his life, and in August of the same year, visited Bacon at his studio, where they discussed painting.

“F. doesn’t think painting should be a record. It should be an exploration of reality which gives it a new twist. ‘What I am thinking all the time is how in painting I can slightly complicate the game. I can do very little but I think when I am optimistic that I might still live to make the game a bit more complicated.’

....

“F. also went some way towards expanding what he meant by the twist. He said he wanted to do some little thing which gave the image added depth and poignancy.’

Bacon’s intention was to present the ‘brutality of fact,’ to ‘give the sensation without the boredom of conveyance.’  In this his final interview from 1991, Bacon talked about his life and career, and his reasons for painting, but leaving the overview and assessment of his work to others, instead Bacon said, ‘I’ll go on until I drop.’

Presented by critic Richard Cork, this radio interview with Bacon was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Kaleidoscope, August 17, 1991.
 

 
Bonus: Francis Bacon Interviewed by David Sylvester, March 23, 1963.

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:

Notes Towards a Portrait of Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon’s Women