The Chronicles of Andalucia. The magic house, the keyhole, the hairy rock and the Скакун

The Inner Moor Land

Весна в САО

Streets of Paris

Wasted and wounded

Here's a quick update on the state of Blues as of 21st century. This is a story of a small record label called Fat Possum located in Water Valley, USA. Fat Possum is a bit like Buena Vista Social Club for Mississippi bluesmen whose age is past the life expectancy of an average African American. Only this story is way darker and funnier than any written about the colleagues from the Freedom Island, if you love black humour of course. It's about blues as a means of living your daily life soaked in poverty, murder and cheap whisky. A couple of picks, one from RL Burnside: 'I didn't mean to kill nobody. I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head and two times in the chest. Him dying was between him and the Lord.' And one from T-Model Ford: 'I play the blues,' he says during a whiskey break. 'But I don't ever get the blues. After my sister died I prayed to God to please let me live like a tree. Tree don't care if them other trees is dyin'. Tree don't care about nothin'

Fat Possum presents:
alpha_to_omega/rl_burnside/
alpha_to_omega/asie_payton/
alpha_to_omega/compilations/not_the_same_old_blues_crap_vol2/
alpha_to_omega/compilations/not_the_same_old_blues_crap_vol3/

Streets of Manchester

при помощи общего согласия, мы достигнем общего согласия.

Новый альбом Фёдорова и Волкова называется "Романсы". Вот бы такие романсы почаще бы крутили по радио и телевидению вместо Старушка в ванну сядет чулок развязать. Рецензии на альбом можно не читать, там типа все как-бы в недоумении и восхищении. Сумасшедшие стихи тоже лучше не читать, погодить, послушать песни сначала, дать им проникнуть в сознание, поплавить мозг. А потом, позже, можно прочесть здесь и удостовериться если я ещё не спятил значит я уже не спятил значит я уже не сумею полюбить хороший дятел. Эх, хочется цЫтировать ещё, это - кайф, конечно. У меня стоит вопрос последнее время: где у поэтов и музыкантов реакция на жизнь в стране, ну вот она, Как хорошо в лесу Как светел снег Молитесь колесу, Оно круглее всех.

Послушать:
alpha_to_omega/fedorov/i_volkov_romansy_2007/

Forget Cassettes

It's curious to see one get enchanted with Music. First, you pay little attention to her murmur in your ears, then you stall pensively and stare at the wall, then hand reaches for the volume control, you push it higher, face muscles relax, eyes glaze over. That's it, you're under the influence. This is how your friends will find you two tomorrow in the parks: you, silent, dreamy, with a blissful smile, her on the loop. There will be many days of obsession. She will become your Sun and your Dark Side of the Moon.

The reviews of the both albums made so far are full of "raw", "professional", "loud", "quiet", "shriek", "beauty". Fun to read. Clearly, this duo/trio has got loads of people hooked and puzzled. Me, I'm not addicted, this is only my third day of solid non-stop listening.

Reviews:
Salt - at Cluas, at pennyblackmusic, at DIS
Instruments of Action - at Dusted

Listen:
alpha_to_omega/forget_cassettes/

Шарманщик

Сегодня чудесным образом открылось мне наконец значение слова Grinderman - название прошлогоднего альбома Ника Кейва. Почему-то я никак не мог связать напуганную и раздражённую обезьяну на обложке и глагол молоть (to grind). Образ бездомного шарманщика и его несчастного спутника всплыл в рецензиях на детские рождественские книги. В догонку, вот отличная по-песенная интерпретация альбома от Кейва и соратников. "In the video we made for the song Grinderman, the ape, trapped by the lurid porno lights, flails ineffectually, while off-screen, the organ-grinder, God, the Grinderman, cranks the handle that makes him dance. This would seem to be some kind of clue", says Cave.

Listen:
alpha_to_omega/nick_cave_and_the_bad_seeds/

Sixtoo

Sixtoo is a Canadian who mixes electronica with live instruments to create a mash-up of abstract hip-hop, a dark rendition of dub, noir-beat. All in all, makes for a good background music. I don't mean it in a bad way, Kruder and Dorfmeister, for example, produce great background music, chilled, trippy and humorous. I can work to it easily. I guess it should be and probably is played in elevators around the globe -- makes an elevator ride a relaxing and pleasant experience. Sixtoo's music is a notch too dark and sarcastic to be accepted in shopping malls. For now. But, in malls of the future, it could, for example, be comforting customers shopping for a new iBanksy.

alpha_to_omega/sixtoo/

Amsterdam Canals

Apnea and Diving Reflex

Apnea is suspension of breathing. Free divers can stay under water on a single breath of air for more than 9 minutes. That's at least 3 times longer than they can stay on a single breath of air on dry land. Instead of damaging their lungs under high pressure and destroying their brains due to lack of oxygen, they go as deep as 200 meters to take photos of say leopard sharks and come back smiling. Apparently, when submerged, human body adapts in the following way:
1. Drops pulse
2. Redirects blood stream from limbs to heart and brain mostly
3. Releases blood cells carying oxygen
4. Fills blood vesels in the lungs with blood plasma
These are the factors of diving reflex, the whole thing sounds like sci-fi to me.

Update: Blaine's static apnea attempt

Georgia Anne Muldrow

This is 21st century jazzoetry. I am surprised how these broken beats and thick intertwined bass lines and all these free jazz things are so light and uplifting. This music makes my happy. Truly positive vibration, springtime energy, this lady is a healer and she plays all the instruments as well.

@stones throw

О! Нашёл рецензию по-русски в Афише на Olesi: Fragments of an Earth.

alpha_to_omega/georgia_anne_muldrow/

Would You Snore While Faking Inemuri?

inemuri is a phenomemon also known as "napping at work", but only in Japan where it is socially acceptable. It's clearly a very healthy thing to do, but can be taken to extreme: "Inemuri is viewed as exhaustion from working hard and sacrificing sleep at night. Many people fake it to look committed to their job".

Кактус потрогай кактус
достань из кармана атлас и усни на посту.

Make Чай Not War

It seems like a mixture of art, science and sorcery, however, there are some guidelines on how to make a cup of tea:
1. Start with cold, fresh, soft water
2. Warm your ceramic teapot
3. Use as hot water as possible to facilitate infusion
3. Brew your loose tea (1 teaspoon per cup) for at least but not more than 3-4 minutes (2 mins for tea-bags)

There is also an illuminating discussion going on: what to pour first, milk or tea. In fact, you should not use milk at all. If you do, then, according to George Orwell, always add milk to the tea. Doing so will make the brew taste stale discovered the Royal Society of Chemistry and hence, the process should be reversed. Physicists disagree and add: china would crack if hot tea is poured directly, so, historically, cold milk was poured first, simply to chill the brew and save cups from cracking (unless you're rich and can afford porcelain).

The picture is Gong's Flying Teapot by the way.

Loudon

Maybe it's just the way they all, i mean bards you know, sung back in the last century, like you're so drunk and/or stoned, you're about to collapse, and then before you do, you deliver this witty, painful truth about the world. Well, anyway, that's how I'd describe the way Loudon Wainwright III sings, in a true troubadour style, mixing pain, love and laughter, hilarious and surreal, awsome stuff.

alpha_to_omega/loudon_wainwright_iii/

Antimatter

Antimatter@Wikipedia

Today's antimatter news:
1. Scientists create most powerful antimatter beam
2. The parallel universe of anti-matter
3. Antimatter Announce European Tour Dates