Another club-banger remixed from the soundtrack to the 1986 low-budget horror-thriller Churchville’s Purgatorio. (As with last week’s installment—also remixed from the original score to Churchville’s Purgatorio—be advised that big bass demands big headphones.)
Author: dave-o
“Of Archival Interest Only” (on artists who behave despicably)—UPDATED
I normally would have skipped this (“Vulture—Louis CK Is Done”), because I don’t particularly care for Louis C.K.’s work one way or the other. But do yourself a favor and give this article read; it’s bigger than this moment, and starts to get its arms around something that we finally need to wrestle down:
When disturbing stories about respected artists come from the distant past, we treat them dispassionately, as just one detail among many. Present tense or near-present tense revelations hit us differently because we share the same world as the artist, breathe the same air, feed the same economy. We think of them as contemporaries, even as people we know. This kind of revelation changes the relationship between the artist and the art, in a way that places an unasked-for, unfair burden on the audience. This is what’s happening culture-wide. And it’s not the fault of people who didn’t report it, or audiences who aren’t sophisticated enough to separate the art from the artist. It’s the fault of the artists for being secret creeps or criminals, and the fault of the system for making it possible for them to act this way for years without being punished.
UPDATE:If you’re the sort of person who uses storytelling to help them understand the world, then this horror story might maybe help you understand Louis CK right now: “Hello, Handsome”
If I’ve learned anything from my daughter…
…it’s that every love note is a ransom note.
Beats per Week #06: “The Flautist is Suffering” (for @johnchurchville )
A grimy little one-off aimed squarely at John Churchville—but the rest of you can listen in, if you like (pro-tip: Probably most fun on headphones or speakers with biiiiiiig bass).
Start NaNoWriMo Right! Smash Writers Bloc!
Lots of you are creative sorts, and all creative sorts struggle with the same million-faced goblin, under a variety of: Writer’s Block, procrastination, “activation energy,” the Lil Hater, Imposter Syndrome, not inspired, “so busy!”, obligations, etc.
I’ve spent pretty much my entire adult life wrestling this same sinister, slippery blob, and talking with other creative folk about what we each do to try and wrangle that ass-jackal into a corner so we can Get Shit Done.
I’d like to share the choicest bits with you. Learn to:
- Use “Sprint Bursts” to build your writing muscles
- Eat the frog and puke up the draft
- Harness the power of the Pomodoro
- Work with “The Guys Downstairs” to do the heavy lifting before you sit down to write
This is all wrapped up in a tidy little week-long clinic, waling you through the process of laying the groundwork for a solid Daily Writing Ritual. The clinic is totally free, with no lingering hassles. This list doesn’t get combined with my newsletter or anything else, and there is no hard sell, because I don’t have anything to sell. Just the benefit of my experience and that of the other writers I know. Sign up, get the first email the following Monday, and the final check-in/thank you a week later. That’s it.
Wanna invest 10 minutes a day into getting the words flowing? Check it out:
Beats per Week #05: “In the Celestial Monastery (ii)”
Beats per Week installment number five, with another deep cut from the limited U.S. release of the 1994 film In the Celestial Monastery. Folks will recall this motif—worked much more gradually in the film score as it appeared in theaters—from the long montage in which Sieto and P’u finally begin to find a way to communicate with the Wanderers and their technology.
How Samsung, Disney, and You Bankrolled North Korea’s Nuclear Program
If you’ve been wondering how North Korea (a nation of 26 million people with 7x the population and ~1/10th the GDP of the Detroit Metro Area) paid for a very fast-moving nuclear and ballistic missile program—SPOILER ALERT!—: You paid for it, asshole.
Episode 800: North Korea’s Capitalists
see also: “We Have Entered the Zone of Maximum Mayhem“
The Devil’s Craft Project: Go Superdog, GO!
I found this image in a note on my computer labelled “The Devil’s Craft Project: Go Superdog, GO!“
I don’t know where I found it. I don’t know why I saved it. I don’t know what I intended to do with it.
But … just … man, right? The past is hella fucked up at every turn.
Beats per Week #04: “In the Celestial Monastery (i)”
For the fourth Beats per Week we’re switching gears, with a brief snippet from the soundtrack to the U.S. release of the noted 1994 “first contact”/martial arts film, In the Celestial Monastery:
Feedback? Email or tweet at me with your thoughts. Thx!
The Last Selvedge Denim Mill in the U.S. is Closing #America
The Cone Mills plant in Greensboro, N.C. has been continuously weaving denim since 1905, and is currently the only U.S. plant producing selvedge denim. They’re calling it quits at the end of this year.
“Selvedge” is a specific style of denim produced in broad strips on relatively narrow shuttle looms using a continuous weft such that the edge is automatically finished—i.e., it produces a “self-edged” bolt of fabric that won’t unravel (if you’re looking at denim and the edge of the seam is white with a single thread of color—often red—then you’re looking at selvedge denim). Because it’s produced in narrower strips on shuttle looms (and usually with un-dyed weft), the fabric has certain characteristics in how it breaks in and ages, both in terms of fit and coloration. Some folks dig these. Other folks just dig putting their money where their mouth is, in terms of “Buying American.” I kinda like to do both, so I’m kinda bummed that Cone Mills is rolling up. Certainly the generations of weavers in Greensboro are bummed.
By the end of this year, you’ll only be able to get this prototypically American fabric from Japan. That’s still great selvedge (hell, it’s made on American machines: Japan bought them up in the 1980s when Levi’s et al. made the shift to larger looms), but it’s a bummer that this once uniquely American product is going extinct.
The only upside: When you see some Stars-and-Bars waving asshole in blue jeans popping off about “foreign manufacturing” next year, you’ll know he’s wearing jeans from Vietnam, and thus can go fuck himself. He didn’t put his money where his mouth was, and subsequently American selvedge denim died. That’s how economies work. Way to “Make America Great Again,” bro.
Anyway, if you’ve been thinking about getting into high-quality American-made denim, it’s sorta now or never. Brave Star is my go-to company on this: Incredibly reasonable prices given the quality, nice cuts, excellent craftsmanship, solid customer service, 100% American made: The denim is from N.C., the hardware from KY, the cutting and sewing in California.
