Beard Quest

It would appear I’m not the only one to be experimenting with facial hair. Introducing Jon Dyers Beard Quest:

I’ve been growing a beard every winter for some years now, and every spring, I try to see how many facial hair variations as I can check off from the chart of facial hair types. Listed below are descriptions of the 34 facial hair types from the chart, including examples of the 19 24 variations that I’ve been able to attain so far.

Cool Klingon, dude!

Meet The Über-Fans

Chuck Klosterman has a look at those kooks who attempt to physically resemble their musical idol, and comes to a conclusion which I think reaches beyond just that phenomenon:

My suspicion is that highly prolific artists – especially ones slagged off by cultural elitists – unknowingly present themselves in such a way that audiences recognise elements of themselves within the sonic iconography. If a musician a) ignores public criticism while b) producing a substantial body of work, an unwavering fanbase will self-select itself. They will see the artist as extra-human, will feel they “understand” how that artist’s music reflects (and replicates) their own experience, and will immerse themselves in the musician’s catalogue.

Don’t miss the photo gallery.

The Real Thing

Long before there were air guitarists, there was the real thing: Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Guitar Slim, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, and of course, Brian May.

1991 Hollywood Records remix of “Tie Your Mother Down” with a video mix made by Dave R. Fuller. Released on the A Day At The Races US CD. Remixed by Matt Wallace.

Two Minutes and 42 Seconds

Hey, Mr. Musician, don’t waste our time! The scientific reasult is: 2.42!

Just look at what clocks in between two and a half and three minutes: “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “We Got the Beat,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Good Times Bad Times,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Paranoid,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Debaser,” “God Only Knows,” and “Fall on Me.” These are not only stone-cold classics but they also encapsulate all that is great about the band without wasting your goddamn time.

I started wondering, does FZ have a song this long (I mean short)… Oh yes! Sofa #2!

Signals, Noise & Fog

It’s been a bit of a busy week for me, fellow fen! However, here’s some stuff that didn’t pass by my radar unnoticed:

  • In Japan, this and that hits the streets. Says Thomas Marrot: “the plot happens in Frank Zappa Street where human and animal characters live together in a “funky & pop” city.”
  • A Zappa Music Map
  • Soundpainting: “the live composing sign language created by New York composer Walter Thompson for musicians, dancers, actors, poets, and visual artists working in the medium of structured improvisation.”
    A bunch of clips, again via Thomas:

  • Some books we ordered from Amazon.co.uk finally arrived!
  • Armed America — portraits of gun owners in their homes.
  • Painting elephant — this is nothing short of mesmerizing.

.. and then there’s this:

Buenos Aires Smog

…have a great weekend!…

Hot ‘n Nasty

It’s Wednesday, hump-day, and you are no doubt in need of something special to get you through those mid-week doldrums (perhaps brought on by a certain vaultmeister’s recent non answer). So, here’s Jim Dandy to the rescue, so to speak, with Black Oak Arkansas‘ “Hot ‘n Nasty” followed by “Lord Have Mercy On My Soul (Halls of Karma)”. I don’t think anyone can possibly view these two videos, the first especially, without realizing where Van Halen got much of its stage act.