Bootleg Sessions on Hypebeast?

Yes, it's true... Be prepared to experience a whole new level soon.

Poseur

I hate this guy. Less than a year after he blasts Simian Mobile Disco and "electronic music" his mug is rendered on his latest tour poster like an old rave dj. Keep trying man. Keep trying...

Thank You South Carolina

Looks like we've got our next president. Sorry Hillary.

Supermighty Release 1

Limited screening by NYC's own Supermighty. Looking fresh, definitely coppin one of each. Big ups guys!

Wait, what's this Neil Denari?

It seems as though one of my favorite paper-architects, Neil Denari has built something that appears to be a domicile. I cannot believe this. His day has come. An actual house. Well, it's an addition, but it's still inhabitable for longer than 4 hours. To be honest; I'm floored. When I look at this house, it's sweeping lines, the details and the materials, it's exactly as I had always hoped a built Denari work would look. Stunning, perfection and BUILT!

Good New Old Albums

Repressing / Re-releasing older metal albums is probably one of the best things ever. All of these albums were difficult to find until now.

Trouble and Bass Tomorrow!

Yeah, don't miss this. The Fader, reppin' T&B. Ups!

Brap Brap Brap Brap

Skeeter runs brakeless

... and on platforms. Look at Doug's envy!

Tom off the jump, one hand

Tom off the jump, one hand
Originally uploaded by jonnystiles

Yeah, 'nuff said

Last.FM moving to a subscription-based service?

Some of you may be a nerd like me and have noticed the Last.fm widget on the right of my blog. It shows what I'm listening to and scrobbles the music to my profile, where it breaks down the most frequently listened to tracks and offers recommendations. Currently, they offer 30 second sound blips as well. That's all about to change. As per Techcrunch's coverage, Last.fm has launched full streaming audio and while this doesn't work on unregistered [leaked or unsigned] music, it DOES work for many obscure artists. Great resource. Get on it! More information:

Website: http://last.fm

Location: London

Founded: 2002

Total Funding: $5.00M

Last.fm is a social networking company which revolves around its music recommendation engine. Recommendations are made by comparing user data to the rest of the Last.fm user community. Learn more

NYtimes on Dubstep

I'm a fan of dark and deep music. Heavy bass, sci-fi clips and dubby beats makes my day. Dubstep, naturally is my current obsession. The NYTimes has written an article on it. I also wanna drop a link to XLR8R's more in-depth coverage of the Dubstep awards. CLICK ON ALL THOSE LINKS! Vivian does a great job over there. Keep it up! Read below: D1, the dubstep producer and D.J., right, appeared at the club Love on Friday for the monthly Dub War, along with the M.C. Juakali. By KELEFA SANNEH Published: January 21, 2008

You could tell this wasn’t a normal dance party because the music kept doing something strange: stopping. The record would spin backward, the dancers would cheer, the D.J. would pause, and then the song would start again, from the top. This crowd-teasing technique — the rewind — has long been a major element of reggae concerts and parties. And as a few hundred dancers were reminded on Friday night, it also lives on in the reggae-influenced electronic genre known as dubstep, which has sprouted around London over the last few years.

The location was Love, a subterranean nightclub in Greenwich Village. The party was Dub War, a monthly get-together for the obsessed and the curious. And Friday’s headliner was D1, a dubstep producer and D.J. from Fulham, in West London; the gig was billed as his American debut.

On paper the labyrinth of British dance genres and microgenres can seem hopelessly complicated. But at Love D1 emphasized the basics, and he got a big cheer every time he dropped one of the monstrous bass lines that dubstep is known for. Although “bass line” scarcely seems like the right term: the timbres are scrambled and the tones are obliterated; instead of a melodic groove, you get a huge, serrated blob.

Dubstep is one more aftershock of an explosion that happened in the early 1990s, when British producers drew from electronic dance music and dance-hall reggae to create a furiously syncopated genre called jungle — and, later, drum and bass. Since then the sound has been mutating, spinning off new genres as producers and D.J.s change their priorities: hot declaration versus cool abstraction; voices versus beats; fits and starts versus nonstop dancing.

Earlier this decade grime emerged, with dirty bass lines and sparse beats that left plenty of room for rappers. Dubstep is nimbler and lighter, with skittering beats that hint at 1990s-era syncopation without sounding busy. One dubstep producer, Burial, has converted some American listeners with an excellent pair of murky, melancholy albums that seem designed for bedroom (or iPod) listening.

By contrast, the party on Friday showed off the genre’s gregarious side, thanks partly to those frequent rewinds. The party’s hosts were a pair of D.J.s, Joe Nice and Dave Q, and an M.C., Juakali, who stayed in the booth during D1’s set, providing public-service announcements (“Bass line!”) and hospitable encouragement (“D1!”).

D1 specializes in moody, bittersweet tracks that sometimes emphasize dubstep’s debt to house music. Last year he released “Trial Run” (Tempa), a six-track EP that included “Mind and Soul,” which already feels like a dubstep classic. It’s based on pitched-up snippets of “Give It Back,” by the Atlanta-based R&B singer Gaelle, with brisk drums that keep switching in and out of half-time. (Like many dubstep tracks, this one makes it difficult to say which is the true tempo.)

“Mind and Soul” is light and sublime and (thanks to those sped-up vocals) girly, but on Friday night, D1 mainly stuck to heavier, tougher tracks, which seemed to please the crowd. Often the warped bass lines pulled the tracks toward hard techno, even as Juakali’s patter underscored the link to dancehall reggae. And by the end of the set, the term dubstep was starting to seem too big, or too vague. This is cellular music, and it grows by dividing. How long will dubstep stay whole?

Velo City 2008

Year after year I always mean to get out to this. Well, since Squid scheduled it for Monster Track weekend, I don't have an excuse not to. 2008 Velo City is upon us. I'm ready to have my ass handed to me all weekend [except for the MT Trick Contest]. Because Squid's so tech savvy, you can now pre-register here. Check out that flier! Ugalde does it again. See you guys on the track.

Oh man o man

4 days later...

Four days after we saw Cloverfield, I'm itchin to go back and see it again. In all honesty, I'm a huge gore / horror / scifi / cult film freak. I'm not saying I'll go digging through VHS tape piles to find that obscure flick like Terrorvision [sorry, couldn't resist], but I know excellent cinematography and plot when I see it. More so than the aforementioned qualities, I feel that Cloverfield's execution was key. Abrams nailed the characters. I know, or have known people that fit the character types to a 'T'. The Upper East side débutante, the quirky, talkative, socially awkward dunce, the o.c.d. idiot and the smart ass girl who knows when to leave a loft party in the Financial District. [I'm right there with you girl. Sorry your head explodes.] The camera movement was highly successful as well. I know I know, Blair Witch did it first. WRONG Cannibal Holocaust did it first. The difference between those two films and Cloverfield lies manly in the original intent of the film. It's not a lost excursion into the woods of rural America, or some vast jungle. It's a kid making a good-bye video for his brother that turns into a rather long Youtube video about the events unfolding. Then there's the pretentious and long-winded complaints of the NY Times about it being "too soon after 9/11"... Shut up please. It's a freaking monster flick you moron. The potential for sequels, hidden clues, ect. can be found all over the net. I did find this one blog interesting though and this guy pretty much sums up how I feel about the movie. Anyway, this isn't a review or a term paper, just wanted to say that this movie is the best Monster flick I've seen in a long time. The ONLY one that comes close is the Host.

Docks en Seine

There's been a lot of really beautiful architecture being built in the past few months. Most of which has flown under my radar. Luckily for me, my friend Hunter works for Morphosis and is in Paris, taking pictures of said architecture. Here's a choice cut.... Docks en Seine by Jakob + Macfarlane

Plaid and Elliot Lipp

One of my favorite electronic duos, Plaid, is playing a show at the Knitting Factory February 1st. The best part about this show is that Elliot Lipp will be mc'ing as well! Check out the flier below, via XLR8R

Is this what the future looks like?

I hope so. California-based company Aptera has developed an electric car slated to be released to the the general public next year. Popular Mechanics has an informative video up on their blog. Watch it here I really like it, even if it does look like a sperm cell.

It has begun

The race every other city tries to emulate. Monster track 9 March 8th, 2008 NYC

Danzig's Books

Hey Glen, you're a deep dude.

Danzig LoLz

He's still got it!

Jose Hooks it Up

My boy Jose Martinez took some shots of the crowd last Sunday at the 4th Bike Shorts. Peep them here at Fatlace and below

Slow Sunday

Jonny Stiles FINALLY lifted the invite-only restriction off his Slow Sunday video from a few months ago... PEEP IT BELOW

Mobile Home

One day, I'd like to spend a year or so carting around a studio via bicycle. This Chinese guy is doing just that.

X Up Garage Sale!

Times Up is having a garage sale to help ease their move, which is approaching quickly. Come put together that chopper or polo bike, you know you want to.

Laek House ELVS Deep Vs

Squid, of Cyclehawk recently got a pair of Deep Vs "painted" with Laek House's safety paint called ELVS. This Enhanced Light Visibility System goes on as a clear film onto the Deep Vs, much like my Fatlace decals. In normal lighting conditions, they appear their standard color. But hit them with a flash and they light up. A perfect bicycle safety feature for those heavy ass deep vs. Good job dudes!

Cloverfield

The long-awaited JJ Abrams movie, Cloverfield hits theaters this Friday. As a small spoiler, the Gothamist has posted some images of the beast, drawn by people who have seen the movie. I'm sure it will live up to it's expectations!

OMA's Slaves

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture, headed by rockstarchitect Rem Koolhaas, has released a Youtube video showcasing the young leaders of his Dutch firm. Watch below. Something they don't mention is being at the office 24 hours a day and not being paid...

Bootleg Sessions Premiere

Wow. What a weekend. As you can imagine, anytime the best riders from Philly come up to NYC to hang out and Ride/Relax, amazing shit happens. The Slow Sunday crew came up for the Bootleg Sessions premiere at Bike Shorts tonight. We spent the last 48 hours gettin pitted and pinch flats. Last night, we hit up a few spots in the neighborhood, got some good food and pretty much just goofed off. The crew woke up and rolled out to the polo courts and eventually, back out to the banks. After 3 hours of hammering it out, we all rolled to Fett Sau and ate some good bbq. With full stomachs, we made our way to Bike Shorts. Once all the films were shown, the premiere of Bootleg Sessions took place. Within the next few months, you'll see a series of very serious and heavily produced track bike videos. All of these videos are very artistic and intensely edited and compiled. Bootleg Sessions IS NOT one of these films. Bootleg is gritty and funny and takes the energy of old skate videos and re-appropriates it for the track bike riders paving the way and laying the foundations of the sport. Think of 411 Volumes 1-8. This series will be quick [4 months from filming to pressing] and low-brow production. This is not a diss to videos like MASH, Macaframa and others. However in this fast-paced world of Youtube videos and blogs, videos need to be cranked out in weeks, not months. There's a place for both styles, but the riding is evolving that fast, so it's nice to get something so fast and so fresh. Anyway, enough of the bullshit. Here's a few multi-burst shots from this weekend and one short Youtube joint I posted.

Bicycle Powered Super Computer

I'd rather be doing this than studying for sure...

The Klash

Billabong Bites Cupcakes

No, really. Johnny Cupcakes just posted a bulletin on Myspace. Read below... Above you can see my original golden tooth Johnny Cupcakes design, which was created and released in 2005. It was featured in many magazines, blogs, and even seen on television. Next to it you'll see something very similar. Anyways, a ton of my loyal fans just sent me some different links to this new shirt that Billabong JUST released, called "Billabong Bling Bling". Looks familiar, eh? It's the exact same thing, minus the cupcake! Look at the teeth, look at the bottom row of teeth. With them being a bazillion dollar corporation, you figured they could of at least changed it around a little bit, or hired a decent designer. I guess they had to do this so that all the other corporate giants wouldn't pick on them for not being bully enough. Tssk Tsk! Please spread the word on this not so good situation / "coincidence" via blogs, myspace, facebook, etc.. The truth MUST be told about this type of nonsense! (Feel free to use the photo & info above.) Here's Billabong's info. Please tell them how you feel. Billabong International and Australia Head Office 1 Billabong Place Burleigh Heads QLD 4220 PH: +61 7 55 899 899 FAX: +61 7 55 899 800 EMAIL: info@billabong.com.au

Peel Sessions Rollin Strong

I'm recovering from a nasty migraine today. You know, the kind that makes you nauseous and dizzy? Yeah, that kind of a migraine. Regardless though, since I live 2 blocks away from the Peel Sessions spot, we're still on tonight. Same as it ever was... Yo kids. We're throwin a lil competition tonight. Nothing big. Like 10 minutes. To give you an idea, we're gonna meet around the grind box. See who can do the coolest shit on it. I know most of you haven't done this before, so if you wanna get there early and fuck around on it [or any 12" tall ledge in the city] and try to learn something. Be it pedal grinds, wheel plants, wheel rolls, nose boinks, ect... The coolest shit gets a free Laek house ELVS hat. We've got one for the girls and one for the guys... Also, who ever does the coolest shit throughout the night, gets a voucher for a FREE COPY OF BOOTLEG SESSIONS! The winner will need to be at the Brooklyn Banks at 3pm on Sunday to claim their prize. In order for you to get your prize, you must throw [and hit] a water bottle at Tony. He'll probably be rolling around shirtless too, so make sure you hit him with a 1/2 empty, or 1/2 full, water bottle.

Bootleg Sessions Flier

Words can't describe...

This will either be a huge waste of money, or a revolutionary design. Maybe both knowing Apple's track record! Obviously, it's the same as using an adapter with a Macbook, but much sexier.