1997 Captain Beefheart Documentary

Posted on September 29, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Not sure if I’ve posted this before, anyway, here’s a BBC documentary on The Captain, narrated by the late great John Peel. Part one:

Parts two, three, four, five, six.

Via MetaFilter.

Posted in Captain Beefheart, Interview, Movies, Music, YouTubery | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Joe’s Menage

Posted on September 26, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Oooh, look!

Joe's Menage

Quoth GZ:

Rare 1975 thrillingness.
Be very afraid of being Danish. Or not.
Rant & Roll.

Fellow consumers! Let’s track down the venue and playlist!
If we don’t, nobody will!

Exclamation mark.

Posted in Frank Zappa, In The News, Music | Tagged , | 63 Comments

Bill Hicks: Angry Young Man of Stand-Up Comedy

Posted on September 26, 2008 by urbangraffito

Born in Georgia in 1961, Bill Hicks worked his way around the U.S. stand-up comedy circuit in the late 70s and throughout the 80s after first beginning his career at the Comedy Workshop in Houston, Texas, at the age of 17, when he was still a high-school student by day. By the early 90s, he had hit the big time.

Mostly known for his particular brand of anti-war, pro-smoking, corporate-bashing stand-up — Hicks was, and remains, the “angry young man” of stand-up comedy. Perhaps best remembered for his attitude to smoking – Hicks revelled in being a chain smoker and baiting the “prissy non-smokers” who urged him to quit.

But his career, and life, were cut short; he died from pancreatic cancer on 26 February 1994, at the age of 32.

Posted in Bizarre, Heh Heh, Miscellany, Pop Cult, YouTubery | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Slacker Uprising

Posted on September 24, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Michael Moore’s latest film, Slacker Uprising is now available as a free download — US and Canada only unfortunately, although it’s reported to be available as a torrent at a certain pirate bay on the intertubes. The film is described as “a road trip documentary based on the 2004 film election about Michael Moore trying to inspire the youth of the nation.” Here’s the trailer:

… and a 10 minute chunk of the movie on YouTube.

Posted in Community, Movies, Politics | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Today’s Brainfart: SanDisk Introduces SlotMusic

Posted on September 23, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Proof that the music industry will never get it: in the latest attempt to shore up sales of music on physical media, SanDisk Corp. and the four major music companies plan to announce Monday a new format called slotMusic.

Each unit is to contain an album, plus extras, on a compact memory card that can be played on mobile phones, PCs and some portable MP3 players. The cards are inserted into vacant slots on phones and other devices.

Indeed: why on earth would I buy music from iTunes right out of my home while sipping a nice chilled Grimbergen, when instead I can:

  • Go to Wal-Mart
  • Buy said memory card
  • Drive back home
  • Plug the card into my computer
  • Search for 15 minutes to find the drive’s icon
  • Copy the mp3’s to my hard disk
  • Import in iTunes
  • Hit play

This is going to be huge, oh yes!

Posted in In The News, Insane, Music | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Fialka Interviews Bickford

Posted on September 23, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Philip Marion writes:

A wonderful cultural archivist, metaphysical snake-oil salesman, antiquarian ne’er-do-well, and star of the end of the VHS version of “Baby Snakes” Gerry Fialka interviewed Bruce Bickford recently after the showing of FZ’s Bickford film at the silent movie theatre in LA.

Part one:

Parts two, three, four, five. Thanks, Phil!

Posted in Frank Zappa, Interview, Movies, Visual Arts, YouTubery | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Fialka Interviews Bickford

Road Plays Lone Ranger Theme

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

Ian Stonehouse writes:

How about this – a road in the USA – in Lancaster, California no less (FZ’s old stomping ground!) that plays the theme from the Lone Ranger as car tyres pass over the road surface…

Crazy stuff indeed:

The sound is made by specially cut grooves in the asphalt that emit different sounds as the tyres pass over them, similar to a stylus on a record player gliding across a vinyl LP.

Posted in Bizarre, Music, Pop Cult | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Monday Mix: Mothers of the Blues

Posted on September 22, 2008 by urbangraffito

All right, Summer is officially gone, and Fall is now into full swing. It’s Monday, and there’s probably not very much to celebrate. So, what better time to post another KUR Mixtape to start your week off with a bang, Monday Mix: Mothers of the Blues. I dove into my extensive collection of Mothers music over the weekend and picked out thirty tracks which I thought best exemplified their talent performing the blues (since the Mothers were basically a blues band when they they first formed). My choices weren’t limited to just the early Mothers, either, but also included tracks from solo work by various Mothers alumni, too. So, sit back, relax, and for goodness sakes, “Cheer up, things can’t be that bad…we’ve still got the music…and music is the best!”

Click here to listen to the mixtape.

Note: If anyone feels we are infringing their copyright, contact us and we will remove the item in question.

Posted in Bizarre, Frank Zappa, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Joe’s Garage Close To Premiere

Posted on September 18, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

LA Weekly has a rather lengthy article dedicated to the upcoming Joe’s Garage Musical, including a small image gallery. Anyone in the LA area going to see this?

Posted in Frank Zappa, In The News, Music | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Bandcamp

Posted on September 17, 2008 by Barry's Imaginary Publisher

The young aspiring musicians among you may find this website of interest: Bandcamp. You get to have your own homepage, upload your music, allow for streaming your tracks, set your price per track, etc:

We provide fast, dependable streaming and downloads of your entire catalog, and we do it for free. Give away your music, sell it for a set price, or let your fans name their price — it’s up to you.

Best of all: it doesn’t have the sleezy, seizure-inducing looks of MySpace — quite the contrary. Here’s an interview with the makers.

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment